Fort Bend County Research Articles

Pharmacist intervention to improve controlled substance dispensing and use practices in Texas: A pilot study

BackgroundPharmacists play an important role in preventing and addressing opioid-related harm; as such, efforts to encourage and improve their participation are valuable. Face-to-face peer-pharmacist-delivered academic detailing targeted at community pharmacists may serve a role to support best practices in dispensing controlled substances (CS). ObjectivesThe objectives of the project were to (1) develop and pilot an academic detailing intervention, (2) determine the feasibility of delivering the intervention, and (3) determine which knowledge and practice should be emphasized during the education. This information would drive refinements to the project before it was expanded. MethodsEducational content and materials were developed based on previous research on dispensing practices and on delivering academic detailing. A pharmacist trainer visited community pharmacists to deliver education and to collect data about knowledge and practices surrounding CS dispensing. The community pharmacists were also offered drug disposal products for distribution to patients. ResultsA total of 53 community pharmacies in Fort Bend County, TX, were identified as potential targets for the intervention. Seven were determined to be ineligible and the pharmacists in 33 pharmacies consented to participation. Before the intervention, 60.6% of the participating pharmacists reported feeling uncomfortable filling CS and disposal of leftover CS was infrequently addressed with patients. Most pharmacies did not use drug disposal systems before intervention and most pharmacies were interested in receiving free drug disposal envelopes through the intervention. ConclusionAn educational intervention was developed and pilot tested. The pilot showed the intervention’s feasibility and suggested which educational content needed to be abridged to accommodate community pharmacists’ busy practices. Plans were made to scale up the intervention to include more peer pharmacists and community pharmacies.

Geospatial analytics of driving mechanism of land subsidence in Gulf Coast of Texas, United States

Land subsidence has been an ongoing issue for over a century along the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. This study assesses and models the factors contributing to land subsidence covering fifty-six (56) counties along the Gulf of Mexico coastline from Louisiana to the border of Mexico, approximately 300,000 km2. Geospatial statistical techniques and regression models were employed to investigate and predict the fundamental causes of land subsidence by integrating multiple datasets such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) (147 stations), groundwater extraction (78,420 wells), hydrocarbon production (84,424 wells), precipitation, and population growth. In the last two decades, the overall population rose by 33 % and the compound annual population growth rate increased from 2.08 to 4.10 % in Montgomery, Waller, Fort Bend, and Chambers counties. Emerging hotspot analysis reveals that the groundwater level is persistently declining and the regression model (R2 = 0.92) tested over Harris County predicts that the population growth significantly contributes to land subsidence in this region. The groundwater withdrawal rate is increased from 23 to 96.6 billion gallons in Harris, Montgomery, and Fort Bend counties in the last two decades. A prolonged drought from 2010 to 2015 due to low precipitation affected all fifty-six counties. Oil production increased eightfold and a high extraction rate of 19.5 to 40.1 million bbl/yr of oil in Karnes County was recorded within the last 20 years. The regression model (R2 = 0.73) over this county suggests that oil extraction is a primary contributing factor to the observed subsidence. Although the gas extraction rates for all counties are decreasing over time, some counties in the southern part of the Gulf Coast Aquifer show relatively higher extraction rates. For the first time, this research determines that all fifty-six counties along the Gulf Coast of Texas are undergoing land subsidence and experiencing high population growth, groundwater withdrawal, and hydrocarbon extraction.

Finding Place in the Archive: A Case Study of St. John [Colored] Missionary Baptist Church, 1866–1900

AbstractThis article explores the ongoing preservation efforts of The St. John Fundraising and Preservation Committee at St. John Missionary Baptist Church (SJMBC). The church, founded in 1869 by former slaves, is located in Fort Bend County, Texas, a county which held the second‐largest slave population in the state in 1860. SJMBC sought to develop an archive of historical records to narrate St. John's early history, particularly at sites it intersected with the history of Fort Bend County, Missouri City, and the Dew Brothers plantation during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Because the majority of the church records were lost in a fire in 2006, Friends of St. John needed to locate other sites in the archive where the church's presence and significance were recorded. They recruited researchers, public scholars and architects and developed relationships with nearby universities and churches to aid in their mission. Highlighting several types of source materials such as a slaver's account book, maps, census, deed, and school records and tax assessments held by the county, SJMBC established a historical narrative of the church through a calculated juxtaposition to well‐established historical narratives of significant white people and events in the county.

The Diversity Contract: Constructing Racial Harmony in a Diverse American Suburb

Although theorists argue that ideology and material conditions emerge in relation to one another, the connection between racial ideology and place is undertheorized. Analyzing in-depth interviews (N=109) with residents of a racially diverse suburb—Fort Bend County, Texas—the author uncovers a local racial ideology that they term the diversity contract. In contrast to colorblindness, which requires avoidance of race talk, residents exhibit selective engagement: race is recognized for certain purposes—including to celebrate diversity—but recognition of racial inequality in the community is disallowed. Through the diversity contract, residents co-construct the appearance of racial harmony. The author theorizes that this ideology emerges in highly selective, socioeconomically homogeneous diverse suburbs and finds preliminary support for this theory through comparative interviews in Queens County, New York (N=20). Overall, findings suggest that place should be centralized in analyses of racial ideology and illustrate how racial inequality is upheld through different ideologies across varying local contexts.

Streamlining admissions to outpatient substance use treatment using lean methods

ABSTRACT Background Waiting to be admitted to treatment poses a significant barrier to substance use recovery. Such delays occur when service demands exceed treatment capacity. One issue that contributes to this problem is clients missing scheduled appointments (i.e., no-shows) because it typically leaves time that could be used to counsel others in need. Methods This research utilized Lean methods, which encompass approaches for improving process efficiency by reducing waste (i.e., work that does not add value to a product or service), to reduce intake appointment no-shows and admission wait-time within an intensive outpatient substance use treatment program in Fort Bend County, Texas; hence, this study involved mapping the client admission process, analyzing it for causes of inefficiency, and developing and implementing countermeasures (i.e., solutions) to address the issues identified in order to improve performance. Results By implementing enhanced appointment reminders, posting admission process information online, and transferring financial eligibility tasks to nonclinical staff, intake appointment no-shows were reduced from 24% to 17%, and admission wait-time was reduced from 14 to 9 days. Conclusions This case report provides a detailed example from which other outpatient substance use treatment programs can learn to streamline their admission process with little to no additional resources.

Analysis of employment change in response to hurricane landfalls

Abstract. Hurricanes cause extensive harm to local economies, and in some cases the recovery may take years. As an adequate, skilled, and trained workforce is a prerequisite for economic development and capacity building, employment plays an important role in disaster reduction and mitigation efforts. The statistical relationship between hurricane landfalls and observed changes in employment at the county level is investigated. Hurricane impact is classified into temporary and permanent categories. In the former category, the level of economic activities is lowered following a hurricane landfall but quickly recovers to the pre-storm norm. In contrast, the permanent shift alters the mean value of the data and results in lasting losses in future years. The results show that Hurricane Katrina produced significant permanent impact on Orleans County, Louisiana. Chambers and Fort Bend counties experienced a significant temporary impact due to the landfall of Hurricane Ike. The results are further discussed through a qualitative analysis of various social, economic, and engineering factors in these affected communities. The findings support the notion that a higher resilience level leads to quicker recovery after a disaster. However, the underlying data-generating processes are characterized and tested in a more detailed manner.

Cultural Resources Report for the Cane Island Branch Section of the Buffalo Bayou Project Between Katy-Flewellen Road and Kingsland Boulevard in Fort Bend County, Texas

Cultural Resources Report for the Cane Island Branch Section of the Buffalo Bayou Project Between Katy-Flewellen Road and Kingsland Boulevard in Fort Bend County, Texas

Cultural Resources Survey for the Proposed MUD 121 Brazos River Levee Protection Project in Fort Bend County, Texas

This report summarizes the results of a cultural resources survey by Gray & Pape, Inc. of an approximately 14.8-hectare (36.6-acre) property in Fort Bend County, Texas, planned for a bank stabilization project on behalf of their client, Berg-Oliver Associates, Inc. The goals of the survey were to determine if the proposed project would affect any previously identified archaeological sites as defined by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (36 CFR 800), and to establish whether or not previously unidentified buried archaeological resources were located within the project’s Area of Potential Effect. Portions of the project are on property owned by Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District Number 121, political subdivisions of the state, as such, a Texas Antiquities Permit (Permit Number 8734) was required prior to the commencement of fieldwork. All fieldwork and reporting activities were completed with reference to state (the Antiquities Code of Texas) and federal guidelines. Prior to fieldwork mobilization, a background literature and site file search were conducted to identify the presence of recorded sites and previous cultural resource surveys within or near the project area. The search indicated that no previously identified archaeological sites, cemeteries, historic markers, or National Register properties are located within the project area. The same research identified that eight previous cultural resource surveys had been conducted within the study radius of the project area, one of which overlapped with the current project area. In addition, 14 previously recorded archaeological sites are located within the study radius, none of which are located within or immediately adjacent to the current project area. Field investigations were carried out in two mobilizations in January and December 2019 and consisted of a combination of pedestrian survey and subsurface testing, resulting in the excavation of 32 shovel tests. Five planned tests were left unexcavated due to inundation, and eight planned tests were left unexcavated due to significant surface disturbance. All shovel tests were negative for cultural resource material and no historic-age resources were identified during survey. After a revised scope of work was submitted to the Texas Historical Commission, investigation of deeply buried soils took place tandem with construction by regular monitoring of construction excavation. When the construction schedule allowed, traditional deep testing, by means of mechanical excavation, was carried out in five of six areas anticipated to have deep impacts from the proposed bank stabilization project. A total of 22 trenches were excavated. No buried features or deeply buried paleosols were encountered. Gray & Pape, Inc. archaeologists are of the opinion that the shovel test survey and deep testing completed within the Area of Potential Effects has adequately assessed the potential for surface and near surface intact, significant cultural resources, as well as determining the potential for deeply buried resources or paleosols. No artifacts or cultural features were encountered during the course of the survey, and no new archaeological sites were identified. No negative impacts on any previously identified sites are anticipated from the proposed project. Based on these results, Gray & Pape, Inc. recommends that no further cultural work be required and that the project be cleared to proceed as planned. As required under the provisions of Texas Antiquities Code Permit 8734, all project records are housed at the Center for Archaeological Studies at Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.

Mechanical Trenching Cultural Resources Survey: Proposed Emergency Bridge Repair at Peek Road Bridge City of Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas

Terracon Consultants, Inc. (Terracon) was retained by CivilTech Engineering, Inc. (Client) to conduct a mechanical trenching survey along the embankment slopes of Buffalo Bayou at Peek Road, the location of proposed emergency bridge repair in Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas. Since the proposed undertaking will occur on land owned or controlled by a political subdivision of the State of Texas, and because funding for this project will come, in part, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) this project required compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; Title 44, Part 10 CFR) and was subject to the Antiquities Code of Texas (Texas Natural Resources Code, Title 9, Chapter 191). This project was conducted under Antiquities Permit #8904. The proposed project area comprises an area approximately 200 feet wide, from high bank to high bank, and approximately 2,000 linear feet, consisting of 1,000 feet each upstream and downstream from the Peek Road bridge crossing (approximately nine acres). Terracon archeologists monitored the excavation of eight (8) trenches to the anticipated depth of impact (approximately five feet or one to two meters). One isolated find (a chert flake) was encountered during trenching. This artifact was recorded on site and not collected. Fieldwork was conducted between May 21 and May 23, 2019 by Jenni Hatchett Kimbell (Principal Investigator), Catherine Jalbert (Project Archeologist), and Michael Hogan (Staff Archeologist). The report was authored by Catherine Jalbert and Michael Hogan. Given the absence of known archeological sites within the proposed project area, Terracon recommends no additional cultural studies are warranted at this time. In the event that human remains, historic properties, or buried cultural materials are encountered during construction or disturbance activities, work should cease in the immediate area but can continue where no cultural materials are present. Terracon, the THC’s Archeology Division, or other proper authorities should be contacted.

Selected Detention Ponds: SH 36 from FM 2218, Fort Bend County to FM 1495, Brazoria County

On behalf of CP&Y and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), AmaTerra Environmental conducted an intensive archeological survey of two of five proposed detention ponds in Brazoria and Fort Bend Counties, Texas. The detention ponds are part of TxDOT’s proposed widening of State Highway (SH) 36 from Farm to Market Road (FM) 2218 in Pleak, Fort Bend County to FM 1495 in Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas (CSJs 0187-05-050, 0188-02-029, 0188-03-019, 0188-04-035, 0188-04-025, 0188-05-027, 0188-06-046, 0111-08-100, 0187-05-048, 0188-04-044, and 0188-02-036). The project was completed in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (Section 106) and the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) under Permit no. 8868. Work was conducted April 17, 2019 by a team of two archeologists and consisted of visual inspection and shovel testing of two proposed pond locations (Varner Creek and Pond B). A total of 21 shovel tests were excavated and one new archeological site (41BO282) was recorded. This mid-twentieth century site, recorded in the proposed Pond B location, retains little to no data potential within the APE. It is therefore recommended not eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places or as a State Antiquities Landmark. Access was not available at the time of survey for proposed detention Pond A. However, it was visually inspected from the existing right-of-way (ROW) and its current use as a paved construction staging area indicates that archeological resources are unlikely to exist at the location. Therefore, no further work is recommended for this pond site. Rights of Entry (ROE) were not available at the time of survey for the remaining proposed pond locations (Big Creek 1 and Big Creek 2). AmaTerra recommends intensive archeological survey for these areas when access becomes available and prior to construction.

Nuisance American alligators: an investigation into trends and public opinion

The population rebound of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis; hereafter, alligator), with the rapid growth of populations throughout its range, has caused an influx of human-alligator conflicts. We quantified 5,838 nuisance alligator reports from 2000 to 2011 to develop more site-specific strategies of management and to determine where management should be focused to minimize the conflict. We also surveyed the general public's attitude toward and knowledge of alligators (n = 98) as a technique to better understand human dimensions of nuisance alligator management in Texas. Counties that received the largest numbers of nuisance alligator reports were Jefferson (16%), Fort Bend (14%), Matagorda (11%), Brazoria (10%), Harris (7%), Jackson (5%), Orange (5%), Chambers (5%), Calhoun (5%), and Liberty (3%) counties. We found that of the nuisance alligators reported, 45% were male, 18% were female, and 38% were reported as unknown. Most residential situations occurred in Fort Bend County, while more roadway and worksite situations occurred in Jefferson County, and more livestock depredation occurred in Matagorda County. Conflict resolution differed by alligator size. Most (41%) alligators 1.5 m in length were removed through lethal means. Most (93%) survey responders would support an alligator removal program that conducted capture and relocation, but they were unwilling to have alligators relocated near their homes. Only 15% of survey responders would support an alligator management program that utilized lethal removal. Visitors with more education (bachelor's degree or higher) were more willing to support lethal control of alligators. We determined that survey responders had some knowledge of alligators and that an alligator educational program targeted to residents of the northern Texas Gulf Coast could help reduce the number of human-alligator conflicts.

Notes from the Field: Health Care-Associated Hepatitis A Outbreak - Texas, 2015.

On August 27-28, 2015, the Texas Department of State Health Services received calls from Fort Bend County and Harris County health departments requesting postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) recommendations for contacts of two nurses (patients A and B) with confirmed hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection. Both nurses had symptom onset during August 15-19 and worked for the same pediatric home health care agency in another jurisdiction. Because of the proximity of the onset dates, a common source exposure was suspected. The state and local health departments began an investigation to identify potentially exposed patients, their families, and other agency personnel; offer PEP; and identify the source of exposure.

Effects of Bait Type, Bait Age, and Trap Hours on Capture Success of Freshwater Turtles

We trapped freshwater turtles using hoop nets and 3 different bait types along a short section of Oyster Creek, Fort Bend County, TX. Using a model-selection approach, we tested the effectiveness of different baits on capture success, taking into consideration the length of time the bait was in the water, time of day, and the number of hours for the set (trap hours). We had significantly more success when we used dry dog food and dry cat food than traditional canned sardine bait. Bait age and time of day when traps were checked had no influence on capture success. Contrary to our expectations, the number of captures decreased throughout the study. Our results suggest that turtle researchers should consider using alternative bait types to maximize trap effort. However, there was a significant interaction between canned sardines and bait age for Trachemys scripta elegans (Red-eared Slider) captures, suggesting that canned sardines should be replaced often. In addition, more research is needed to test capture success when baits are older than one day.

New Home Cemetery (41FB334): Archaeological Search Exhumation, and Reinterment of Multiple Historic Graves along FM 1464, Sugar Land, Fort Bend County, Texas

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) plans improvements to Farm-to-Market road (FM) 1464 between Stratford Creek Drive and Oyster Creek, Sugar Land, Texas, in eastern Fort Bend County, southwest of downtown Houston. Those proposed improvements will expand the FM 1464 right-of-way about 20 feet eastward into an approximately 328-foot length adjacent to New Home Cemetery (41FB334), which is at the intersection of FM 1464 and Orchard Lake Estates Drive. Geo-Marine was contracted by TxDOT to search, exhume, analyze, and rebury any human remains found within the right-of-way and under the existing roadbed of FM 1464. From mid-November to mid-December 2010, Geo-Marine conducted Phase I fieldwork—the archaeological search, exhumation, and analysis of multiple historic graves. A total of 24 unmarked burials—11 complete skeletons and 13 partial—was recovered. The comprehensive osteological analyses, which included the identification of sex, age, ethnicity, pathology, nutrition, and other health history, plus possible/probable cause of death, revealed that these individuals were engaged in an active lifestyle, mostly associated with physical labor that led to severe physical pain and suffering, and at times early death. During Phase I, analyses of funerary materials, including markers, burial containers, casket handles, plaques, nails, and thumbscrews, was undertaken to determine typology, material, and timeframe. Based on the funerary analyses, the timeframe for the burials ranged from 1895 through the late 1960s. Additionally, a small area containing prehistoric materials was also encountered, but the historic cemetery did not appear to overlap. On May 2, 2011, Phase II of the project began with the systematic scraping of the area located under the old roadbed. No burials or human remains were encountered during that phase. On May 9, 2011, the 24 individuals removed and recorded during Phase I were reinterred, along with all associated funerary objects, furnishings, and all associated artifacts, within the existing New Home Cemetery.

Glyphosate-Resistant Common Waterhemp (Amaranthus rudis) Confirmed in Texas

Glyphosate-resistantAmaranthusspecies are a recognized risk to U.S. agriculture. With affected cropland exceeding 1.2 million ha, this epidemic is particularly pertinent to agricultural regions that utilize an intensive glyphosate-based management program to control weedy pests. Before 2006, Texas had no identified glyphosate-resistant populations. Two independent common waterhemp populations exhibiting poor control by glyphosate were identified in Wharton County and Fort Bend County, TX in 2006 and 2008, respectively. The objective of the present research was to characterize the level of glyphosate resistance (50% lethal dose [LD50] and 50% reduction in growth rate [GR50]) in each population. Resistance levels in four putatively glyphosate-resistant common waterhemp biotypes selected from these two populations were compared with confirmed glyphosate-resistant and -susceptible common waterhemp populations under greenhouse conditions. The LD50value for the susceptible population (736 g ae ha−1) was equivalent to the 0.9× labeled rate of glyphosate, whereas the putatively resistant lines exhibited a broad range of resistance with LD50values ranging from 3.5 to 59.7× the labeled rate of glyphosate. The GR50value for the most resistant line was 2.5-fold greater than the susceptible biotype (317 g ae ha−1of glyphosate). These results confirm the first documented case of a glyphosate-resistant weed species in Texas.

Blackbirders and Bozales : African-Born Slaves on the Lower Brazos River of Texas in the Nineteenth Century

About forty miles south of Houston, in Brazoria County, Texas, down a gravel road and across a fenced pasture, lie the ruins of a large brick building, two hundred feet long, wrapped in a chrysalis of vines, with trees sprouting in and around it. The structure was once the center of Chenango Plantation, the heart of Texas’s nineteenth-century African community. In the 1830s this was home to more than one hundred—at times perhaps nearly two hundred—African-born slaves. And Chenango was far from only plantation in the area with African-born slaves: The Mims plantation farther south on the San Bernard River had at least seventeen; the various plantations belonging to members of the McNeel family had an unknown number, likely in the dozens; the Randon plantation straddling the border between Brazoria and Fort Bend Counties had an undetermined but significant number, as did a host of other local plantations.

The Handwriting on the Wall: The Klan, Language Issues, and Prohibition in the German Settlements of Eastern Texas

Photograph of the proclamation posted on the door of the Lutheran Church in Berlin in the early 19,20s. Courtesy ofBillNeinasL The Handwriting on the Wall: The Klan, Language Issues, and Prohibition in the German Settlements ofEastern Texas Walter D. Kamphoefner* FOR HISTORIANS IT IS NO NEWS THAT THE Ku KlUX KLAN OF THE 1920s did not restrict its hostilities to blacks. Among its targets were also white Catholics and Jews, foreigners, and anyone who failed to conform to the Klan's definition of "morality." But it has largely escaped notice that even native-born white Protestants could be targets of Klan violence and intimidation merely because they spoke a language other than English. For the German Americans of Washington County, Texas, in the early ig20S, the handwriting was literally on the wall. The following proclamation was photographed from the door of the Lutheran church at Berlin,just a few miles west of Brenham.1 Be It Known and Hereby Proclaimed: That this organization composed of native-born Americans who accept the tenets of the Christian religion, proposes to uphold die dignity and authority of the law. No innocent person of any color, creed or lineage, has any cause to fear or condemn this body of men. . . . We . . . shall ever be devoted to the sublime principles of a pure Americanism and valiant in the defense ofits ideals and institutions. * Walter D. Kamphoefner, professor of history at Texas A&M University, has published widely in die field of German American immigration and ethnicity. His latest book, Germans in the Civil War: The Letters They Wrote Home, edited wiüi Wolfgang Helbich (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006) , includes a cross-section ofTexas Germans ofvarious political leanings. 1 Charles C. Alexander, Crusadefor Conformity: The Ku Klux Klan in Texas, ig2o-ig30 (Texas Gulf Coast Historical Association, [n.p.], ig62), 6. The Brenham Banner-Pressori December 24, 1921, carried the bizarre headline, "K.K.K. Sends Gift to Old Negroes on J.E. Routt Place." It was subsequently revealed that Routt was a Klan leader; one suspects that he simply processed his usual Christmas bonus (fifteen dollars) dirough the Klan. On May 17, 1921, a German from Fort Bend County gave a secondhand reported ofa recent Klan procession in Rosenburg. Not yet realizing for whom the bell tolled, the German remarked: "Not a Negro was to be seen. Can't hurt widi the Negroes, since their impudence went a bit too far." Wochenblatt (Austin), May 26, 1921, p. 5 (trans, by the author, as are all German sources cited in these notes); Alexander, Crusade, 15-26. Vol. CXII, no. 1 Southwestern Historical QuarterlyJuly 2008 54Southwestern Historical QuarterlyJuly Havingpledged our allegiance to the Hag which protects our Nation, we maintain and insist upon a ?oo per cent Americanism, which includes speaking theEnglish Language. The eyes of the unknown hath seen and doth constantly observe those whose hearts are not right. To each and everyone ofsuch we say: Do not disregard the warning. Be ioo per cent American. Speak the English language or move out of this city and county. Without regard to official, social or financial position, this warning applies to all persons alike living within diisjurisdiction of this Klan. . . . This warning will not be repeated. Mene Mene Tekel Upharsen. KNIGHTS OF THE KUKLUX KLAN2 This sign wasjust the tip of the iceberg in a series of interlocking cultural and political conflicts that extended beyond Washington County to adjacent areas and to some extent to wherever there were significant concentrations of Germans in Texas. Austin County, a few miles southeast of Washington County, was home of the two oldest German settlements in the state, Industry and Cat Spring, both ofwhich predated the Texas Revolution. Austin County was demographically similar to the adjoining counties of Washington and Fayette (with its seat in La Grange). In all three counties, Germans made up a slight majority, ranging from 50 to 54 percent of the white population according to the 1887 agricultural census (which although notoriously vague about its methodology, provides marvelously detailed data regarding ethnicity, which it seems to have assigned based on language and country of origin). The black proportion of the population ranged from 44...

Response to the Presidential Address

Response to the Presidential Address

Spatial Relationships of Soil Texture and Crop Rotation to Aspergillus flavus Community Structure in South Texas

ABSTRACT Aspergillus flavus, the causal agent of aflatoxin contamination of cottonseed, is a natural inhabitant of soils. A. flavus can be divided into the S and L strains, of which the S-strain isolates, on average, produce greater quantities of aflatoxins than the L-strain isolates. Aflatoxin contamination can be severe in several crops in South Texas. The structure of A. flavus communities residing in soils of South Texas was determined from 326 soil samples collected from 152 fields located from the Rio Grande Valley in the south to Fort Bend County in the north from 2001 through 2003. Analysis of variance indicated significant differences in the incidence of A. flavus isolates belonging to the S strain (percent S) among regions. The Coastal Bend (30.7%) and Upper Coast (25.5%) regions had significantly higher percent S incidence than the Rio Grande Valley (4.8%). No significant differences in percent S among years were detected. The CFU per gram of soil were not significantly different among regions. Strain S incidence was positively correlated with clay content and negatively correlated with sand content. Fields cropped to cotton the previous year had a higher S-strain incidence, whereas fields cropped to corn had greater total quantities of A. flavus propagules. Maps of S-strain patterns show that the S strain constitutes >30% of the overall A. flavus community in the area extending from the central Coastal Bend region to the central Upper Coast region. The west Rio Grande Valley had the lowest S-strain incidence (<10%). Geographic variation in S-strain incidence may influence the distribution of aflatoxin contamination in South Texas.

Spatial distribution of Aspergillus flavus and its toxigenic strains on commercial cottonseed from south Texas and its relationship to aflatoxin contamination

The structure of Aspergillus flavus communities associated with south Texas cottonseed was determined by analysing samples from 178 truckloads of commercial cottonseed from 35 gins, extending from Fort Bend County in the north to the Rio Grande Valley in the south, from September 1999 to October 2001. The number of colony‐forming units (CFU) of A. flavus on the cottonseed, and the percentage of S strain (%S) were both correlated with aflatoxin contamination of cottonseed. The number of CFU differed between both regions and seasons, while %S differed only between regions. Comparison of maps of CFU and %S revealed that CFU shows a higher variation across years, while %S shows higher spatial variation. The Rio Grande Valley had significantly lower CFU and %S strain than the Coastal Bend and Upper Coast regions. Cottonseed produced in 1999 had significantly more A. flavus than that produced in either 2000 or 2001. Identification of factors dictating geographical variation in S‐strain incidence may provide insights that will lead to improved aflatoxin management.