Lebanon County Research Articles

Implementing Locally Tailored Strategies to Promote Redemption of Farmers' Market Nutrition Program Vouchers Among WIC Participants in Central Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) provides vouchers to participants of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to purchase locally grown fruits, vegetables (F&V), and herbs every year from June to November. Voucher redemption is suboptimal among WIC participants in Lebanon County, a community with high numbers of low-income and Hispanic families. Supported by a Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) award, our community-academic coalition partnered with the local WIC provider to implement locally tailored strategies to promote redemption of FMNP vouchers. In 2019, we surveyed FMNP participants (n = 100) to examine opportunities for improved voucher redemption. Increasing sites for voucher use (47%) and a larger variety of F&V (27%) were the most commonly selected improvements participants identified. Participants also supported improvements to increase awareness of available seasonal produce (14%), text/phone reminders to redeem vouchers (13%), and having recipes to cook meals with FMNP-approved F&V (12%). These findings led us to implement a weekly, Farm-to-WIC "grab bag" program in 2020/2021. We partnered with a local farmer to offer a variety of FMNP-approved produce in $3 and $6 grab bags at the local WIC provider. Each grab bag included healthy recipes using the included produce. In 2021, we launched a text/phone reminder intervention to encourage voucher redemption among FMNP participants (n = 57). Our work demonstrates the value of community-academic partnerships to identify and implement feasible strategies that are responsive to local needs as well as supporting existing programs providing greater access to affordable produce.

Historical Archaeology of the Delaware Valley, 1600–1850

Historical Archaeology of the Delaware Valley, 1600–1850

A Methodology for Determining the Concentration of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials in an Urban Environment

The detection of radioactive sources in an urban setting is greatly complicated by natural background radiation, which emanates from various materials including roadways, sidewalks, soil, and building exteriors. The method presented and demonstrated here represents an effort to characterize the concentration of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) in these types of materials. The location surveyed in this work was the Fort Indiantown Gap Combined Arms Collective Training Facility in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Over 70 measurements with a high-purity germanium detector were performed to ascertain the NORM concentrations present in the soil, asphalt, gravel, concrete, and walls found throughout the site. Monte Carlo radiation transport calculations were used to obtain detector responses for these various geometries and materials to convert these measurements into NORM concentration estimates. Finally, synthetic spectra were simulated using the predicted source terms and compared to actual measurements, showing acceptable agreement.

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OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Improving public health requires effective community-engaged approaches. The Better Together Lebanon County initiative plans to create opportunities for improved health and quality of life by aligning strategies of local organizations, previously working independently. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Better Together began with a 1-day summit, convening stakeholders with the goal of coordinating efforts and maximizing resources in the Lebanon community. Key stakeholders were identified using the socioecological model to assist with planning, goal setting, and developing outcomes for this initiative. Representation included community members, hospital systems, restaurants, school administrators, nonprofit organizations (including YMCA, American Heart Association), grocery stores and policy makers such as the mayor, health departments, and state representatives. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The Better Together summit brought together almost 200 individuals representing 82 local organizations to share ideas and evoke collaboration around decreasing health disparities. Attendees learned about programs within and outside of their communities and volunteered for task forces to propel the community forward. Currently, we have members committed to further this work through Action Teams within the sectors of Physical Activity, Healthy Food Access and Family and Community Engagement. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Convening individuals from many layers of the community helps to ensure discussions are representative of the overall community voice. It is vital to facilitate effective collaboration that includes networking, identifying assets and areas of improvement, brainstorming solutions and integrating research and best practices to improve the health of a community.

Larinus turbinatus Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Lixinae), a Eurasian Weevil New to North America with a Summary of Other Adventive Larinus in North America and a Key to Species

Abstract. Larinus turbinatus Gyllenhal, a Palearctic weevil that feeds on thistle species of the genera Cirsium and Carduus (Asteraceae: tribe Cardueae), is newly reported for North America. It was first collected by sweep net sampling of flowers of pasture thistle Cirsium pumilum (Nutt.) Spreng. at Fort Indiantown Gap, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania in late July 2011 and specimens were hand-collected from field thistle Cirsium discolor (Muhl. exWilld.) Spreng. at Gettysburg National Park, Adams County, Pennsylvania in late August 2012. This is the first published record of this Old World species in the Western Hemisphere. At present, five species of the genus Larinus are known as introduced into North America. These are L. turbinatus Gyllenhal, L. carlinae (Olivier) (known formerly as L. planus), L. curtus Hochhuth, L. obtusus Gyllenhal, and L. minutus Gyllenhal. Brief summaries of their hosts, distributions, biology and a key for their separation are provided.

Remote sensing to monitor cover crop adoption in southeastern Pennsylvania

In the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, winter cereal cover crops are often planted in rotation with summer crops to reduce the loss of nutrients and sediment from agricultural systems. Cover crops can also improve soil health, control weeds and pests, supplement forage needs, and support resilient cropping systems. In southeastern Pennsylvania, cover crops can be successfully established following corn (Zea mays L.) silage harvest and are strongly pro- moted for use in this niche. They are also planted following corn grain, soybean (Glycine max L.), and vegetable harvest. In Pennsylvania, the use of winter cover crops for agricultural con- servation has been supported through a combination of outreach, regulation, and incentives. On-farm implementation is thought to be increasing, but the actual extent of cover crops is not well quantified. Satellite imagery can be used to map green winter cover crop vegetation on agricultural fields and, when integrated with additional remote sensing data products, can be used to evaluate wintertime vegetative groundcover following specific summer crops. This study used Landsat and SPOT (System Probatoire d' Observation de la Terre) satellite imagery, in combination with the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Cropland Data Layer, to evaluate the extent and amount of green wintertime vegetation on agricultural fields in four Pennsylvania counties (Berks, Lebanon, Lancaster, and York) from 2010 to 2013. In December of 2010, a windshield survey was conducted to collect baseline data on winter cover crop implementation, with particular focus on identifying corn harvested for silage (expected earlier harvest date and lower levels of crop residue), versus for grain (expected later harvest date and higher levels of crop residue). Satellite spectral indices were successfully used to detect both the amount of green vegetative groundcover and the amount of crop residue on the surveyed fields. Analysis of wintertime satellite imagery showed consistent increases in vegetative groundcover over the four-year study period and determined that trends did not result from annual weather variability, indicating that farmers are increasing adoption of practices such as cover cropping that promote wintertime vegetation. Between 2010 and 2013, the occurrence of wintertime vegetation on agricultural fields increased from 36% to 67% of corn fields in Berks County, from 53% to 75% in Lancaster County, from 42% to 65% in Lebanon County, and from 26% to 52% in York County. Apparently, efforts to promote cover crop use in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed have coincided with a rapid increase in the occurrence of wintertime vegetation following corn harvest in southeastern Pennsylvania. However, despite these increases, between 25% and 48% of corn fields remained without substantial green vegetation over the wintertime, indicating further opportunity for cover crop adoption.

Kitchen from the Müller House, Millbach, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, 1752

Installed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1928, the kitchen from the 1752 Müller House in Millbach, Lebanon County, was the earliest and arguably the finest colonial Pennsylvania German interior in any American museum. The woodwork of this room—fireplace mantel, staircase, and doors—as well as its ironwork provide a dramatic illustration of the transfer of the German baroque style to America by the first generation of immigrant clients and craftsmen. Due to subsequent changes to the house and kitchen, director Fiske Kimball made certain compromises in the kitchen’s installation in an attempt to recreate its original appearance.

Modeled nitrate levels in well water supplies and prevalence of abnormal thyroid conditions among the Old Order Amish in Pennsylvania

BackgroundNitrate is a widespread contaminant of drinking water supplies, especially in agricultural areas. Nitrate intake from drinking water and dietary sources can interfere with the uptake of iodide by the thyroid, thus potentially impacting thyroid function.MethodsWe assessed the relation of estimated nitrate levels in well water supplies with thyroid health in a cohort of 2,543 Old Order Amish residing in Lancaster, Chester, and Lebanon counties in Pennsylvania for whom thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were measured during 1995-2008. Nitrate measurement data (1976-2006) for 3,613 wells in the study area were obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey and we used these data to estimate concentrations at study participants' residences using a standard linear mixed effects model that included hydrogeological covariates and kriging of the wells' residuals. Nitrate levels estimated by the model ranged from 0.35 mg/L to 16.4 mg/L N-NO3-, with a median value of 6.5 mg/L, which was used as the cutpoint to define high and low nitrate exposure. In a validation analysis of the model, we calculated that the sensitivity of the model was 67% and the specificity was 93%. TSH levels were used to define the following outcomes: clinical hyperthyroidism (n = 10), clinical hypothyroidism (n = 56), subclinical hyperthyroidism (n = 25), and subclinical hypothyroidism (n = 228).ResultsIn women, high nitrate exposure was significantly associated with subclinical hypothyroidism (OR = 1.60; 95% CI: 1.11-2.32). Nitrate was not associated with subclinical thyroid disease in men or with clinical thyroid disease in men or women.ConclusionsAlthough these data do not provide strong support for an association between nitrate in drinking water and thyroid health, our results do suggest that further exploration of this hypothesis is warranted using studies that incorporate individual measures of both dietary and drinking water nitrate intake.

Nitrate From Drinking Water and Prevalence of Abnormal Thyroid Conditions Among the Old Order Amish in Pennsylvania

PP-31-193 Background/Aims: Nitrate is a widespread contaminant of drinking water, especially in agricultural areas. At high concentrations, ingested nitrate interferes with iodide uptake by the thyroid; thus, potentially impacting thyroid function. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of drinking water nitrate concentrations and thyroid conditions among 2543 old order Amish residing in Lancaster, Chester, Lebanon Counties, Pennsylvania. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, an indicator of thyroid function, were measured from 1995 to 2008 and were used to define the following outcomes: clinical hyperthyroidism (n = 10), clinical hypothyroidism (n = 56), subclinical hyperthyroidism (n = 25), and subclinical hypothyroidism (n = 228). We obtained nitrate concentrations for private wells in these counties that were previously measured (1976–2006) by the US Geological Survey. We estimated nitrate concentrations at study participants' residences using a standard linear mixed effects model that included hydrogeological covariates (aquifer type and land use) and kriging of the wells' residuals. The residual value for each study participant included a weighted average of the 20 neighboring wells. Generalized linear regression was used to assess the relationship between nitrate exposure estimates and thyroid disease status. Results: Nitrate levels estimated by the model ranged from 0.35 mg/L to 16.4 mg/L N-NO3, with a median value of 6.5 mg/L, which we used to define high and low nitrate exposure. Among women, high drinking water nitrate exposure was significantly associated with subclinical hypothyroidism (Odds Ratio = 1.60; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.11–2.32). Nitrate was not associated with subclinical hypothyroidism in men (Odds Ratio = 0.98; 95% Confidence Interval: 0.63–1.52) or with clinical thyroid disease in men or women. Conclusion: Although these data do not provide strong support for an association between nitrate in drinking water and thyroid disease, our results suggest that further exploration of this hypothesis in studies that incorporate measures of both dietary and drinking water nitrate intake are warranted.

Role of Manufacturing Textile Products from Purchased Materials in the Economy of Lebanon County

The Penn State Workforce Education and Development Initiative conducted an analysis of the economic impact of other miscellaneous textile product in Lebanon county in Pennsylvania. The analysis was designed to help understand the impact of the Pacific Coast Feather Company plant closing in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, effective April 30, 2010, affecting 130 employees. This plant closing was announced by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry as required through the WARN Act, a federal law that requires employers to provide 60 days notice in advance of business closing and layoffs.The Lebanon plant manufactures down pillows and comforters to be sold under the Pacific Coast Feather Co. label, headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The Lebanon Daily News reported the layoff on March 2, 2010, citing the company's decision to consolidate the Lebanon-based plant with one located in Henderson, North Carolina.Products provided by Pacific Coast Feather classified in North American Industrial Classification System code 314999 - the all other miscellaneous textile product mills industry. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, establishments in this industry are primarily engaged in manufacturing textile products (except carpets and rugs; curtains and linens; textile bags and canvas products; rope, cordage, and twine; and tire cords and tire fabrics) from purchased materials. During 2007, 38,624 U.S. workers were employed in 2,189 establishments offering support activities for transportation with a payroll of $1.1 billion.

Role of Federal Military Spending in the Economy of South Central Pennsylvania

Federal military spending is an important part of the history and economy of South Central Pennsylvania, which is composed of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Juniata, Franklin, Lebanon, Perry, and York counties. Federal military spending creates jobs and compensation for workers throughout these counties and influences tax revenues in the counties.

Role of General Medical & Surgical Hospitals in the Economy of Dauphin, Lancaster & Lebanon Counties

General medical and surgical hospitals are an important part of the history and economy of Dauphin, Lancaster, and Lebanon counties in Pennsylvania. The industry creates jobs and compensation for workers and generates tax revenues in the counties.

Role of General Medical & Surgical Hospitals in the Economy of Dauphin, Lancaster & Lebanon Counties

Role of General Medical & Surgical Hospitals in the Economy of Dauphin, Lancaster & Lebanon Counties

Occurrence, Density, and Distribution of Parasitic Fungus <I>Hesperomyces virescens</I> (Laboulbeniales: Laboulbeniaceae) on Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

The coccinellid-specific parasitic fungus Hesperomyces virescens Thaxter was found on the multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), in fall and winter in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Research objectives were 1) to determine the density of H. virescens on field-collected H. axyridis adults held in the laboratory, and 2) to determine H. virescens presence, density, and distribution on H. axyridis adults in the field. In the laboratory, male and female H. axyridis adults hosted >150 H. virescens mature thalli (i.e., fruiting bodies); distributed primarily on the elytra and abdomen. At the overwintering site, H. virescens density per host was often <20 mature thalli, which were distributed primarily on the elytra of both sexes. On average, 52.5 and 57.4% of H. axyridis males and females, respectively, hosted H. virescens mature thalli in late winter (5 March 2003); <14% of either sex hosted mature thalli the following fall (15, 22, and 28 October and 10 November 2003) at the same site. This study suggests that H. virescens is an established parasite of H. axyridis in Pennsylvania but that field estimates of infection may vary considerably between dates that adult beetles arrive and depart from overwintering sites. Preponderance of fungal thalli on the dorsum rather than the ventrum of H. axyridis males suggests that mating behavior is not solely responsible for transmission of H. virescens from infected to noninfected adults.

Winter Aggregation Of Harmonia Axyridis (Coleoptera : Coccinellidae) In A Concrete Observation Tower

Aggregations of thousands of multicolored Asian lady beetles, Harmonia axyridis, have appeared each fall since 1993 in a 20.1 m high concrete observation tower at Mt. Gretna, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. The tower is located in a clearing on a ridge in otherwise regenerated oak-maple-birch forests in Clarence Schock Memorial Park at Governor Dick (326 m elevation, 40° 14.78' N, 76° 27.35' W). Beetles aggregate in the ceiling/wall comers on four different levels in the tower's internal ladderways. Since the tower is open to the public for recreational purposes, one can visit the tower in late fall and witness these aggregations. During some winters, mortality appears very high, suggesting that the tower lacks adequate insulative properties for optimum survival.

Farmer's Wife

My mother still lives on our eighty-acre family farm in Lebanon County, southeastern Pennsylvania. Since I live two-thousand miles away in New Mexico, I am able to visit only two times every year. When I am there, I photograph her and the spaces and things in the house and buildings. This world, especially the house, has not changed much since I spent my childhood there in the 1950s and 1960s. My mother began shaping it after she and my father took over the farm from his parents in 1947. It had been owned by four generations of his Swiss-German Anabaptist family. She was not so concerned about carrying on this heritage. Her family lived in town, and she had been a factory worker. She and my father just wanted to make this run-down farm a comfortable, modern home for us three children. They called it Sunnydell Farm. They wanted the best for us, the best that they could afford on a small dairy farm income. They encouraged us to be and to perform the best, to compete at school, in 4-H clubs, and children's contests, to go to college, and to be upwardly striving. Now the land is rented to neighboring farmers, the buildings stand empty, and my mother has lived alone since my father died in 1991. She continues to take care of the place as she has for fifty years. When I stay there, I am drawn back into old emotions and the intensity of our lives when I was a child. In some of my photos I attempt to recreate those feelings with toys, paper dolls, arrangements of objects, perspective. This project includes photographs, family snapshots, and stories, local history, and my autobiographical writings. I want to bring across the complex layers of cultural and personal meaning in the things and spaces there, the history of a family, and the development of a subjectivity that arises from the particularity of a time and place. I am developing a book and a CD-Rom that will include texts, photographs, digitized family photos, and imagery from papers, magazines, and greeting cards found in the house.

Organic metamorphism in Middle Ordovician carbonates, Lebanon Valley nappe, Pennsylvania

An assemblage of highly brecciated organic fragments at the contact of the Middle Ordovician Annville and Myerstown Formations in the Lebanon Valley nappe, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, was found to have maximum reflectances generally exceeding 8% R, with the highest values approaching 13% R. Such reflectance values are consistent with greenschist facies metamorphism, the latter supported by metamorphic mineral assemblages. Brecciation and metamorphism of the organics probably occurred at the time of the emplacement of the nappe during the Ordovician Taconic orogeny.

Storm-water management and sinkhole occurrence in the Palmyra area, Lebanon County, Pennsylvani : W. E. Kochanov, in: Karst geohazards: engineering and environmental problems in karst terrane. Proc. 5th conference, Gatlinburg 1995, ed B.F. Beck, (Balkema), 1995, pp 285–290

Storm-water management and sinkhole occurrence in the Palmyra area, Lebanon County, Pennsylvani : W. E. Kochanov, in: Karst geohazards: engineering and environmental problems in karst terrane. Proc. 5th conference, Gatlinburg 1995, ed B.F. Beck, (Balkema), 1995, pp 285–290

Age-related Utilization of Advanced Life Support Services

AbstractPurpose:To investigate the relationship between age and Advanced Life Support (ALS) utilization.Population:All patients from 1 January 1987 to 31 December 1988 transported by ALS ambulances within Lebanon County, a rural/urban county of 112,000.Methods:All runs resulting in patient treatment by ALS personnel were tallied at five-year age intervals and sub-grouped by trauma- and non-trauma-related calls. Utilization rates for each age group were obtained by dividing the calls by the population of each group. Correlation with age was tested by Spearman's rank correlation. Treatment rates for age groups were calculated for the six most frequent medical etiologies. To illustrate the effect of age distributions, age rates were applied to projected state and national population distributions.Results:There was a significant correlation with age for all transports (p &lt; .01; r=.93) and for those not related to trauma (p&lt;.01; r=.98). Correlation was not detected for trauma-related responses (p&gt;.10; r=.19). Non-trauma-related case incidence varied among age groups, ranging from 1.1/1,000 for age five through nine years to 89/1,000 for age 80–84 years. Congestive heart failure, cardiac ischemia, syncope, myocardial infarction, and cardiac arrest evidenced increased incidence with age. Seizure did not. Older populations had a higher projected utilization of ALS services than did the younger age groups.Conclusion:Non-trauma ALS utilization is highly dependent on the age of the patient. Due to projected aging of the population and increased utilization of ALS by the elderly, projected utilization will increase at a rate faster than will the population. Age:rate data can be combined with population projections to estimate future need.

Measles among the Amish: A Comparative Study of Measles Severity in Primary and Secondary Cases in Households

An outbreak of measles among a predominantly unvaccinated and susceptible Amish population in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, offered the opportunity to test the hypothesis that secondary cases in households are more severe than primary cases because the former have more intense exposure and receive a greater virus inoculum. Of 130 measles cases reported between April and June 1988, 119 (92%) constituted a study of disease severity. Severity was assessed by determining frequency and duration of symptoms, length of any hospitalization, and number of days in bed. In a univariate analysis, fewer secondary cases had conjunctivitis (relative risk [RR], 0.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48-0.96) and headache (RR, 0.37; CI, 0.15-0.86), but more had earache (RR, 9.69; CI, 1.8-202.9) compared with primary cases. Secondary cases had a shorter mean duration of coryza (4.0 vs. 5.0 days, Student's t test, P = .08). However, a logistic regression model that matched by family and controlled for age and sex indicated that there were no significant differences in measles severity among primary and secondary cases in households.