Southern United States Research Articles

Urban-Rural Differences in Acute Kidney Injury Mortality in the United States

IntroductionAcute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with increased mortality. AKI-related mortality trends by US urban and rural counties were assessed. MethodsIn the cross-sectional study, based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER (Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research) Multiple Cause of Death data, age-standardized mortality with AKI as the multiple cause was obtained among adults aged ≥25 years from 2001−2020, by age, sex, race and ethnicity, stratified by urban-rural counties. Joinpoint regressions were used to assess trends from 2001−2019 in AKI-related mortality rate. Pairwise comparison was used to compare mean differences in mortality between urban and rural counties from 2001−2019. ResultsFrom 2001−2020, age-standardized AKI-related mortality was consistently higher in rural than urban counties. AKI-related mortality (per 100,000 population) increased from 18.95 in 2001 to 29.46 in 2020 in urban counties and from 20.10 in 2001 to 38.24 in 2020 in rural counties. In urban counties, AKI-related mortality increased annually by 4.6% during 2001−2009 and decreased annually by 1.8% until 2019 (p<0.001). In rural counties, AKI-related mortality increased annually by 5.0% during 2001−2011 and decreased by 1.2% until 2019 (p<0.01). The overall urban-rural difference in AKI-related mortality was greater after 2009−2011. AKI-related mortality was significantly higher among older adults, men, and non-Hispanic Black adults than their counterparts in both urban and rural counties. Higher mortality was concentrated in rural counties in the Southern United States. ConclusionsMultidisciplinary efforts are needed to increase AKI awareness and implement strategies to reduce AKI-related mortality in rural and high-risk populations.

Scars on the Land: An Environmental History of Slavery in the American South, by David Silkenat

<i>Scars on the Land: An Environmental History of Slavery in the American South</i>, by David Silkenat

"I Don't Feel Judged, I Don't Feel Less of a Person" - Engaged and Supportive Providers in the HIV Care Experiences of Black Sexual Minority Men Living with HIV.

Black sexual minority men (BSMM) in the Southern region of the United States experience a disproportionate burden of HIV. Research findings suggest that having supportive patient-provider relationships are critical for sustained HIV care engagement. The present study explores the role of supportive healthcare providers in the care engagement among BSMM living with HIV (BSMM+) in the US South. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with BSMM+ in Texas (n=27) to explore perceived barriers and facilitators of sustained care engagement. Interviews lasted 60 minutes on average, were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using applied thematic analysis. Participants described how important having relationships with engaged and supportive HIV care and service providers is to sustained engagement in care and positive HIV clinical outcomes. Supportive providers were characterized as non-judgmental, meeting patients' needs, and making patients feel "seen". Less supportive providers were described as making their patients "feel like a number" and having lack of follow through on proposed support and resources. Supportive providers were associated with increased care engagement of their patients while less supportive providers often led to patients switching providers, losing touch with services, and getting off track with their care. We found that among BSMM+ an important facilitator of sustained care engagement was having positive, affirming, and knowledgeable healthcare providers, while negative and dismissive experiences with providers was a notable barrier to care engagement. This work highlights the need for a scale up of comprehensive, ongoing trainings in patient-centered and person-first communication for providers. Further, manageable provider caseloads can facilitate more thorough patient interactions where tailored HIV care and education can be provided in a safe and non-judgmental environment.

Jay Watson, Fossil Fuel Faulkner: Energy, Modernity, and the US South

Jay Watson, <i>Fossil Fuel Faulkner: Energy, Modernity, and the US South</i>

Country Capitalism: How Corporations from the American South Remade Our Economy and the Planet by Bart Elmore (review)

Country Capitalism: How Corporations from the American South Remade Our Economy and the Planet by Bart Elmore (review)

Vibe: The Sound and Feeling of Black Life in the American South

Vibe: The Sound and Feeling of Black Life in the American South

“He’s Probably the Only Teacher I’ve Actually Learned From”: Marginalized Students’ Experiences With and Self-Perceptions of High School Mathematics

Understanding how marginalized students experience and perceive mathematics is critical to achieving the goal of inclusive and equitable math pedagogy. We report on 67 focus groups with 251 predominantly Black high schoolers experiencing economic marginalization in the Southern United States and attended to their achievement level and race-gender identities. Students often shared concerns about their teacher’s math knowledge for teaching and effectiveness in supporting academic success. Their self-perceptions of math identities varied, and students often did not value advanced math even when they expressed career interests that require advanced math. We discuss practical implications for supporting the math development of marginalized high schoolers, including centering the needs and strengths of Black girls, and propose an expanded inclusive and equitable pedagogical framework.

Internalized Oppression: Exploring the Nuanced Experiences of Gender and Sexuality in Historically Black Colleges and Universities

In the American South at the turn of the twentieth century, quality education was scarce and legislative laws were put in place to ensure that African American individuals remained far away from Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). As a result, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) became a catalyst for change in this “separate but equal” society. This article will explore the significance of HBCUs in elevating Black Americans throughout the twentieth century, while also assessing the conservative nature of the institutions and their inflexibility towards the various nuances of African American communities. While it is not particular to HBCUs, a tolerance of toxic masculinity and severe conservatism has resulted in starkly different Black experiences for cis-gendered heterosexual men, in contrast to cisgendered women and other members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community. By investigating various experiences within HBCUs, this article will explain the unifying and uplifting benefits for Black individuals in these institutions, as well as its many divisive components. My research will strive to analyze and properly convey the various nuanced experiences throughout HBCUs and assess the variety of factors that have led to these underrepresented interactions. This article will provide an understanding of how HBCUs have and continue to reflect American society but also demonstrate their role in various Black communities and their representation of non-dominant Black groups from the late nineteenth century to the present.

Recipes for Life: Black Women, Cooking, and Memory

In African American history, food has functioned as expression of colonial power and control, and as a source of Black celebration and liberation. Cookbooks written by Black women from the mid-eighteenth century to late twentieth century reflect the long history of the development of African American cuisine. These texts are practical and instructional, while also offering insights into the transnational development of food as an expression of cultural history through African, Indigenous, and European influences. African Americans, and more specifically Black women, have contributed to the food history of the Southern United States by developing a distinct African American cuisine and creating the texts by which to publicly declare their knowledge and ensure its survival. By analyzing the cookbooks of Malinda Russell, Edna Lewis, Vertamae Smith-Grosvenor, and Carole and Norma Jean Darden, a timeline of cookbooks from the Civil War to the Black Power Movement can be established. Their commonalities, including the use of cookbooks as autobiographies, community memoirs, and genealogical records, are features that resonated with the Civil Rights Movement in the latter half of the twentieth century. Food is more than a means of survival. It is a constantly evolving expression of culture, people, and celebration.

Community-Based Participatory Research to Promote Health Equity Among Sexual and Gender Minorities in the US South: Research Laureate Address

Community-Based Participatory Research to Promote Health Equity Among Sexual and Gender Minorities in the US South: Research Laureate Address

The relations of difficulties in emotion regulation and distress intolerance with cannabis problems: The role of protective behavioral strategies underutilization

IntroductionDifficulties with emotion regulation and distress tolerance are related to more cannabis problems, yet little research has identified why this is the case. Cannabis-related protective behavioral strategies (PBS; behaviors used to mitigate cannabis related problems) are related to less cannabis consumption and related problems. Potentially, these individuals may use cannabis to alleviate the distress and/or in an attempt to regulate their emotions. Thus, the present study aimed to examine the mediational role of PBS on the relations of emotion dysregulation and distress intolerance with cannabis problems. MethodsUndergraduate students who endorsed past-month cannabis use (N = 339, Mage = 19.33, SDage = 1.37; 77.9 % female) at a southern United States university completed a survey online via Qualtrics. ResultsMore emotion dysregulation and less distress tolerance predicted less PBS use and more cannabis problems, but not cannabis use frequency. After statistically controlling for sex, the relation of each transdiagnostic factor with cannabis problems occurred indirectly via the relations of less PBS use and greater cannabis use frequency ConclusionsThe present study supports previous claims that emotion dysregulation and distress intolerance are related to more cannabis problems. Additionally, results suggest that individuals with high levels of these problems underutilize PBS which, in turn, is associated with more frequent cannabis use and use-related problems. Clinical implications are discussed.

Advocacy for Equitable Access to Nature and Outdoor Recreation.

Recent research highlights disparities in access to nature and green space, a determinant of mental and physical health. The aim of this report is to describe the process of park auditing as an innovation in nursing education. Teams of baccalaureate nursing students used a practice guideline and park auditing tool to examine the amenities of recreational parks and green space in an urban metroplex in the southern United States. Through data collection and analysis, nursing students captured key indicators of quality and accessibility of 50 urban parks. The findings form the basis for stakeholder recommendations for advocacy to ensure equitable access to green space. Nursing students identified priorities for advocacy to promote park improvements through community-academic-practice partnerships designed to increase outdoor recreation and nature conservation among community members. These experiences reinforced the importance of advocacy with community stakeholders to cocreate strategies for equitable access to nature. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(X):XXX-XXX.].

Development and implementation of nested single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assays for breeding and genetic research applications.

SoySNP50K and SoySNP6K are commonly used for soybean (Glycine max) genotyping. The SoySNP50K assay has been used to genetically analyze the entire USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection, while the SoySNP6K assay, containing a subset of 6000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from SoySNP50K, has been used for quantitative trait loci mapping of different traits. To meet the needs for genomic selection, selection of parents for crosses, and characterization of breeding populations, especially early selection of ideal offspring from thousands of lines, we developed two assays, SoySNP3K and SoySNP1K, containing 3072 and 1252 SNPs, respectively, based on SoySNP50K and SoySNP6K mark sets. These two assays also contained the trait markers reported or contributed by soybean breeders. The SNPs in the SoySNP3K are a subset from SoySNP6K, while the SNPs in the SoySNP1K are a subset from SoySNP3K. These SNPs were chosen to reduce the SNP number in the large linkage blocks while capturing as much of the haplotype diversity as possible. They are highly polymorphic and of high quality. The mean minor allele frequencies of the SNPs in the southern and northern US elites were 0.25 and 0.27 for SoySNP3K, respectively, and 0.29 and 0.33 for SoySNP1K. The selected SNPs are a valuable source for developing targeted amplicon sequencing assay or beadchip assay in soybean. SoySNP3K and SoySNP1K assays are commercialized by Illumina Inc. and AgriPlex Genomics, respectively. Together with SoySNP50K and SoySNP6K, a series of nested assays with different marker densities will serve as additional low-cost genomic tools for genetic, genomic, and breeding research.

Gastroimaginaries: a framework for conceptualizing narratives of food and place in the American South

ABSTRACT This article develops the concept of gastroimaginaries – narratives that use food as a rhetorical device to define and encapsulate what are believed to be the essential characteristics of a people, place, and time. The article adapts the concept of social imaginaries – defined by Taylor (2023) as “the ways people imagine their social existence, how they fit together with others … ” – to underscore the significance of food-related narratives for shaping, reinforcing, and potentially contesting regional identity and place-making projects, and for signaling membership within a particular group or imagined community. I apply the gastroimaginary framework to an analysis of food media representations of the American South, arguing that dominant gastroimaginary frames – which emphasize potent but generally uncritical ideas like hospitality and nostalgia – generally elide the realities of food system labor and environmental and other externalities; alternative or subversive gastroimaginaries, however, can both attend to these past and present realities while imagining more radical futures.

What is a migrant death? An operational definition for a more accurate enumeration of migrant mortality along the US-Mexico border

Over the last forty years an indeterminate number of persons, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands, have died along the US-Mexico border during migration, fleeing poverty, armed conflict, situations of violence, and disasters. An accurate accounting of migrant deaths along the southern US border is the first step toward an understanding of the extent and the contributing factors of these deaths. In this article, we describe a key aspect of our collaborative work aimed at developing a more representative account of migrant mortality along the southwestern US border: the determination of criteria for inclusion of specific forensic cases as “migrant.” Our intention is not to propose a definition of “what is a migrant death” applicable to all contexts and situations but rather one specific to the US-Mexico border region. Our main impetus is to build and launch a web portal to track and map migrant deaths at the US-Mexico border. The criteria we have identified are based on an examination of death data collected by various agencies in the four border states (California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas) and at the federal level by the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). They include a) context of human remains discovery; b) identification media/documentation; c) geographic setting; and d) personal effects. Taken together, these criteria will facilitate our determination, case by case, of the probability that human remains found along the United States side of the border may be from a person in the context of migration.

Interest in and Willingness to Use PrEP: A Cross-Sectional Study of Individuals with Problematic Substance Use Residing in a High HIV Prevalence Jurisdiction

Although it is an effective HIV prevention method, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is underutilized in the Southern US. Many people who use drugs (PWUD) have increased susceptibility to HIV which could be lessened by using PrEP. Potential barriers to PrEP use include lack of awareness of PrEP, low knowledge about HIV prevention, low self-efficacy for HIV prevention, inaccurate risk perceptions, and anticipated stigma. The current study examined predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors that may predict interest in PrEP. The purpose of the current study was to explore factors associated with interest in and willingness to use daily oral and long acting injectable PrEP among sexually active adult PWUD. The data were collected from adult participants (n = 270) residing in Harris County, TX, who self-reported problematic substance use and who reported oral, anal, or vaginal sex in the six months prior to completing the survey. The survey was distributed and completed online via Qualtrics Panels in March of 2022 and included measures of PrEP and HIV knowledge, PrEP stigma, sexual health self-efficacy, experiences of discrimination, health literacy, and medical mistrust. The majority of participants reported circumstances or behaviors that increased their susceptibility to HIV. Findings indicated that PrEP user stereotypes and PrEP anticipated disapproval by others were associated with interest in using daily oral PrEP and willingness to use long acting injectable PrEP. These results provide insight into reasons for low PrEP uptake among PWUD who live in a high HIV prevalence jurisdiction. Implications for HIV prevention intervention are discussed.

Evaluating the transferability of airborne laser scanning derived stem size prediction models for Pinus taeda L. stem size estimation to two different locations and acquisition specifications

ABSTRACT Airborne laser scanning (ALS) datasets are used widely for estimating forest biometrics. The transferability of predictive models among ALS acquisitions is a topic of research due to differences in timing, flight parameters, equipment specifications, environmental conditions, and processing methods. The transferability of predictive models therefore is subject to uncertainty. This paper presents an evaluation of the transferability of models for the estimation of stem volume and diameter at breast height (DBH) based on individual tree crown size and competitive neighbourhood metrics derived for managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and slash pine (Pinus elliottii) forest in the Southern USA. Two predictive models types were tested: multiple linear regression (MLR) and Rand Forest (RF). We also evaluated the inclusion of additional training data to model development. Models were able to be transferred to other locations with similar structural and management conditions as the original training dataset with little decrease in accuracy, specifically unthinned stands, despite different ALS acquisitions (Plot stem volume: R2 0.7–0.8; NRMSE 10–12%; mean DBH: R2 0.4–0.7; NRMSE 10–17%; plot basal area: R2 0.7–0.8; NRMSE 12%). Increases in structural differences between the training and test data, driven by age or thinning status, introduced unacceptable levels of uncertainty (Stem volume: R2 0.4–0.7; NRMSE 12–16%; mean DBH: R2 0.4–0.5; NRMSE 18–20%; plot basal area: R2 0.5–0.6; NRMSE 22–40%). Generally, RF models most accuracy estimated DBH, and MLR for stem volume. Improvements to estimate accuracy can be achieved through the addition of relatively small datasets, representing features which were not present in the original data. ALS’s ability to provide accurate and near-complete inventories of forests hold a great deal of potential for forest management. The existence of a transferable model that can be used across different acquisitions represents a saving in terms of cost and time, we would argue that future research is therefore warranted.

Predictors of Shock-Reduction Programming and Its Impact on Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Therapies and Mortality: The CERTITUDE Registry.

Shock-reduction implantable cardioverter-defibrillator programming (SRP) was associated with fewer therapies and improved survival in randomized controlled trials, but real-world studies investigating SRP and associated outcomes are limited. The BIOTRONIK CERTITUDE registry was linked with the Medicare database. We included all patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implanted between August 22, 2012 and September 30, 2021 in the United States. SRP was defined as programming to either a therapy rate cutoff ≥188 beats per minute or number of intervals to detection ≥30/40 for treatment. Among 6781 patients (mean 74±9 years; 27% women), 3393 (50%) had SRP. Older age, secondary prevention indication, and device implantation in the southern or western United States were associated with lower use of SRP. The cumulative incidence rate of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator shocks was lower in the SRP group (5.1% shocks/patient year) compared with the non-SRP group (7.2% shocks/patient year) (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.83 [95% CI, 0.73-0.96]; P=0.005). Over a median follow-up of 2.9 years, 739 deaths occurred in the SRP group and 822 deaths occurred in the non-SRP group (adjusted HR, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.88-1.07]; P=0.569). SRP was associated with a lower all-cause mortality among patients without ischemic heart disease compared with patients with ischemic heart disease (adjusted HR, 0.64 [95% CI, 0.48-0.87] versus adjusted HR, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.92-1.14]; Pinteraction=0.004). Adoption of SRP is low in real-world clinical practice. Age, clinical variables, and geographic factors are associated with use of SRP. In this study, SRP-associated decrease in mortality was limited to patients without ischemic heart disease.

Ecological determinants of leishmaniasis vector, Lutzomyia spp.: A scoping review.

Leishmania spp. are zoonotic parasites transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies, including those of the Lutzomyia genus, which can cause leishmaniases in both humans and dogs. Lutzomyia spp. are established in many countries in South and Central America and some areas of the southern United States, with suspected potential of these vectors to undergo further range expansion due to climate change. A scoping review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extensions for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines to describe the current state of knowledge on the key ecological factors associated with Lutzomyia spp. survival, reproduction and establishment. The following electronic databases were searched for eligible studies published from 1 January 1990, to the date of search, 26 April 2023: CAB Direct (CABI), MEDLINE (via Ovid), Biological Sciences Database and Environmental Sciences Database. Primary research articles that were available in English and focused on ecological factors associated with Lutzomyia spp., such as climatic and habitat factors, geographic range, seasonality and temporality, and host abundance, were eligible for inclusion in the study. Following de-duplication, a total of 167 studies were included in Level 1 screening, 64 studies were included in Level 2 screening and 31 studies met the criteria for data extraction. Study locations included Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, the United States, Mexico and Canada, with some studies including multiple regions. A total of 31 different Lutzomyia spp. were assessed across these studies, with most (51.6%) of the studies focused on Lutzomyia longipalpis. Eligible studies investigated factors such as seasonality (n = 5), temperature (n = 19), precipitation (n = 13), humidity (n = 2), vegetation presence or requirements (n = 13), ecotypes (n = 7), and/or community type (i.e., urban, suburban, rural) (n = 5). Lutzomyia spp. activity was found to be higher during the rainy season, and peak when temperatures were between 20 and 25°C. Lutzomyia spp. were also found to preferentially reside in tropical or subtropical forests, which are characterised by their lack of a distinct dry season and high precipitation. This scoping review summarised the current state of the literature on the ecological factors associated with the survival, activity and reproduction of Lutzomyia spp. While there appears to be some consensus in the literature regarding some ecological requirements (such as seasonality, temperature and habitat features), overall, there is a lack of published research in this topic. This poses a significant challenge for future studies, which aim to predict the future distribution of Lutzomyia spp. in the context of climate and land use changes. Additional ecological research is urgently needed on Lutzomyia spp. given their relevance to both human and animal health.

Seeing change in seafood: examining impacts of globalization and climate change on mid-atlantic black american foodways

ABSTRACT Foodways develop as human communities adapt to changing geographic, environmental, and economic circumstances. In this paper, we examine seafood foodways in an urban Black American community in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and place those foodways in the context of two northward migrations. The first is the Great Migration, one of the largest human migration events ever—when Black Americans emigrated from the southern United States during the middle of the twentieth century. The second is the more recent and ongoing northward range shifts of marine species along the eastern United States seaboard related to climate change. As fish species continue to move north, availability of culturally familiar seafood species in the region is changing. We use interviews to characterize the culture of seafood consumption among Black residents of Philadelphia, descendants of those that came during the Great Migration. In parallel, we draw upon Atlantic fisheries data, to examine the case of whiting (Merluccius bilinearis), documenting the simultaneous changing abundance and catch of this species over the last two decades. This study illuminates challenges that both globalization and climate change pose for food systems and foodways. Keywords: fish, foodways, Merluccius bilinearis, Philadelphia, silver hake, silver trout, whiting