Northern Louisiana Research Articles

The Calusa: Linguistic and Cultural Origins and Relationships (review)

Reviewed by: The Calusa: Linguistic and Cultural Origins and Relationships Geoffrey Kimball The Calusa: Linguistic and Cultural Origins and Relationships. Julian Granberry. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2011. Pp. xviii + 86. $30.00 (paper). Granberry’s preface to this slim volume suggests that he has already received some daunting, perhaps even negative, criticism during the preparation of the work. He compares himself to Joseph Greenberg, whose Language in the Americas (1987) received a storm of criticism because of his conclusions, and Granberry expects similar criticism concerning the contents of his book. He probably is correct, for his conclusions—that the language of the Calusa Indians of southern Florida is a form of Tunica, a language historically attested to exist in central Mississippi and northern Louisiana, and that the language of the Ais, Surruque, Mayaca, and Jororo of north central Florida is a form of Chitimacha—will certainly be received with a great deal of skepticism. Granberry does not make it easy for the reader to accept his conclusions. His style is effusive and full of digressions and moral judgements about persons, events, and academia that seem to have been calculated to be piquant, but more often are simply distracting. Is it germane to the thesis of this book, for example, that Franz Boas was a family friend (p. xiii)? Or that “culturally insensitive sixteenth-century Christian Spain and its incredibly cruel Inquisition” is “so reminiscent of American actions in the Middle East in the late 1900s and early 2000s” (pp. 2–3)? In addition, the organization of the book could and should be more user friendly. For example, chapter 5, the most important portion of the book in regard to his Calusa-Tunica thesis, is haphazard. The list of Calusa words and phrases that have Spanish glosses, the foundation of his thesis, is relegated to table 9 in this chapter, rather than being at the beginning, and the derivation of the meanings from the glosses is not clearly discussed. Rather like Greenberg’s language data, Granberry’s is less than accurate. My critique of Greenberg (1992) was not concerning his hypothesis, which I considered worthy of exploration, but rather the haphazardly transcribed, often erroneous data that he used to support it. Certain of the apparent errors in Granberry’s book actually weaken his argument. For example, he states that the Tunica phoneme written ɛ is pronounced like /ey/ of English they. However, according to Haas, orthographic ɛ is actually “a low vowel, slightly closer than the a of English mat but not so close as the e of English met” (1940:15), thus, more like /æ/. Using the correct pronunciation, Granberry’s equation of Tunica /tataštʔæ/ (orthographic tataštʔɛ) with Calusa tatasta becomes much closer. He compares the erroneous Tunica form *táskʔhapo with the Calusa tejiEue /tešihebe/(?) ‘watchtower’; the correct Tunica form tásɛhapo ‘mirror’, especially as its literal meaning is ‘the examiner’, is much closer to the Calusa. It would help his identification of Calusa /es(i)/ as ‘water’ (in the form Guasaca Esgui ‘Rio de Cañas [Cane River]’) if he had discussed the fact that Tunica wiši ‘water’, to which he relates the Calusa word, is also used in names of rivers, for example, táwišmíli ‘Red River’, literally, ‘the red water’ (Haas 1940:63). Additionally, there seem to be typographical errors in [End Page 387] some of the other Tunica words cited, but they are not of a serious kind that would affect the validity of Granberry’s argument. One might quibble about the place names in Florida that Granberry claims to be Natchez (ʔapalica vs. *ʔapalaci; ʔahaya·nah vs. *ʔahana) (cf. Kimball 2005), but one would still need to explain why there appears to be a Natchez loanword in Apalachee, and that interjections in various unrelated Southeastern languages are similar in form (Koasati hí·hà ‘damn!’, Chitimacha ʔi·hà ‘alas!’, Natchez hi·hà ‘interjection of disgust’). One also might argue with Granberry’s use of Chitimacha in an attempt to explain the tribal name Ays and the single phrase of that language recorded by Luis Carcer in 1549. While the evidence seems weak, there is nothing to be found that...

Hatchling Emergence From Naturally Incubated Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) Nests in Northern Louisiana

Abstract We report emergence dates for 38 alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) hatchlings from 6 naturally incubated nests laid during the 2008 and 2009 nesting seasons in northeastern Louisiana. Per capita emergence success for 2008 and 2009 combined was 19.5%. Hatchling emergence occurred from 28 August to 25 September and was asynchronous for 80% of nests that had multiple hatchlings emerge, with emergence duration as long as 12 days. We found no evidence of delayed emergence; some hatchlings may remain in the nest for up to 3 weeks before successfully emerging.

The Devil’s Triangle: Ben Bickerstaff, Northeast Texans, and the War of Reconstruction in Texas (review)

Reviewed by: The Devil’s Triangle: Ben Bickerstaff, Northeast Texans, and the War of Reconstruction in Texas James A. Hathcock The Devil’s Triangle: Ben Bickerstaff, Northeast Texans, and the War of Reconstruction in Texas. By James M. Smallwood, Kenneth W. Howell, and Carol C. Taylor. (Lufkin: Best of East Texas Publishers, 2007. Pp. 240. Illustrations, maps, appendix, notes, bibliography, index. ISBN 9781878096876.) Right from the start the authors of The Devil’s Triangle let the reader know that this book is about death. More specifically, this book deals with the violent lawlessness of post-Civil War northeast Texas, and the men who carried out acts of murder [End Page 222] and crime in the region. Other books have been written detailing the exploits of Texas Reconstruction era desperados such as Cullen Montgomery Baker and Bob Lee, but this is the first work to provide an in depth study of Ben Bickerstaff. The purpose of this work is to bring Bickerstaff’s life story into the larger context of violence in northeast Texas and Reconstruction in the South. The authors contend that the Civil War did not end in Texas in 1865 but rather continued on until the state was redeemed by the Democratic Party in 1874. Smallwood, Howell, and Taylor make the point that violence carried out by Ben Bickerstaff and men like him was political in nature and state, “Those men helped ensure that ex-Confederates would ultimately control Texas” (7). They fully explain Bickerstaff’s early years and his Civil War service in the Eleventh Texas Cavalry that fought in several major battles including Pea Ridge, Perryville, and Murfreesboro. Bickerstaff was wounded at Murfreesboro on January 3, 1863, and while mending was ordered to forage for supplies. The authors convincingly make the case that this period led Bickerstaff to a life of crime. He robbed Southern civilians, burned their feet, hanged them, and committed all manner of atrocities in an effort to obtain valuable goods for himself. Bickerstaff also abused Union prisoners and was eventually demoted from sergeant to private by his commanders for his actions. On January 29, 1864, Bickerstaff was captured by Union forces near Sevierville, Tennessee. Bickerstaff’s time as a prisoner of war at Rock Island Barracks in Illinois is presented as a life-changing event. At this prison camp, diseases were rampant, rations were cut back, and the authors suggest there is some evidence of wrongdoing by African American soldiers who guarded the camp. The case is made that being held prisoner in the camp made Bickerstaff hate the Union, Yankees, and African Americans with a level of passion that led him to commit acts of violence against them once he escaped. Bickerstaff spent the last months of the war in southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana with a group calling itself the Frontier Rangers. These men became notorious for killing freedmen and white Unionists and robbing local Southern civilians. With the authorities on their trail, the group came to Texas and continued their criminal activities. From 1865 to the time of his death in Alvord, Texas, on April 5, 1869, Bickerstaff was a wanted outlaw who joined or created Klan-like organizations that sought to maintain white supremacy and uphold the Lost Cause. To that end he murdered, robbed, raped, and pillaged across northeast Texas, targeting primarily African Americans and whites loyal to the Union. Local authorities in northeast Texas did little to stop Bickerstaff and men like him because they viewed them as heroes to the South. As the authors state, “Such men interfered with efforts to implement the Reconstruction process. They cared little for life, nothing for the law, and nothing for the stability of their regions. Death and destruction characterized their world” (56). The authors managed to weave together the national, state, and local narrative of Reconstruction and presented it in a fluid and comprehensible manner. Their use of primary and secondary sources is exhaustive with well over 100 monographs, articles, and dissertations cited as well as dozens of government documents and thirty-four newspapers. This work is an important addition to our overall understanding of Reconstruction in Texas. [End Page 223] James A. Hathcock University of North Texas...

Additions to the Spider Fauna of Northwestern Louisiana

The spider fauna of Louisiana tabulated here is based only on precise localities for species named in the scientific literature or on specimens in the scientific collections of the Museum of Life Sciences of Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Collections of spiders from northwestern Louisiana during the last 40 years or so have resulted in the recognition of several new records of spiders for the state of Louisiana (34 species), northern Louisiana (14), and northwestern Louisiana (15). Other species (22) are discussed because of major additions to their geographic distributions. Of the 319 species of spiders expected in northwestern Louisiana, 120 (38%) have been collected and verified. Three are under study as possibly representing undescribed species.

Physiological Differences In Mixed Martial Artist And Traditional Martial Artists: A Pilot Study

To determine the difference, if any, in the physiological characteristics of mixed martial arts athletes and traditional martial arts athletes. Twelve male participants age 18 to 36 yr volunteered for the study. Group 1 (n = 6) was comprised of professional and amateur mixed martial artists from northern Louisiana. Group 2 (n = 6) was traditional martial artists recruited from a local karate tournament. Each group performed the same tests. Tests included height, weight, body composition (TanitaTM bioelectrical impedance device), flexibility (sit and reach), leg power (vertical jump), muscular endurance (1-minute push-up and 1-minute sit-up), grip strength (20.5 kg plate hold), muscular strength (1 rep max bench press), and o2max. Body composition was the only significant difference (p < 0.05) between the 2 groups. The mixed martial artists were significantly leaner than the traditional martial artists. This was not surprising because class separation for traditional martial artists goes by age rank, while mixed martial arts competition is broken down into weight classes. In order to compete in a lower weight class, mixed martial artists reduce their body mass to make a specific weight class. In doing this, percent body fat is typically reduced. There were 2 major limitations to this study. One was the timing of testing. The traditional martial artists were tested 1-2 hr after competing in a karate tournament, while the mixed martial artists were tested weeks before their next fight. The other limitation was the number of participants. Though only one significant difference was found between the groups, it can be suggested that a high level of physical fitness is essential for performance in mixed martial arts and traditional martial art competitions. Mixed martial artists usually train at high intensities with various forms of interval training to improve their aerobic capacity. This helps condition them for their fights. Although o2max was not found to be significantly different between the 2 groups, there was a trend for the mixed martial artists having higher aerobic capacities. Had there been more participants and lower standard deviations for o2max, this variable may have been significantly different. Future studies should attempt to test the groups during the same time frame, have more participants, measure psychological characteristics, and consider using a DXA scan to measure bone mineral density. Acknowledgments: We would like to thank Dr. David Jordan for letting us use his tournament to recruit participants.

Biogenic origin of coalbed gas in the northern Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain, U.S.A.

New coal-gas exploration and production in northern Louisiana and south-central Mississippi, Gulf of Mexico Basin, is focused on the Wilcox Group (Paleocene–Eocene), where the depth to targeted subbituminous C to high volatile C bituminous coal beds ranges from 300 to 1680 m, and individual coal beds have a maximum thickness of about 6 m. Total gas content (generally excluding residual gas) of the coal beds ranges from less than 0.37 cm3/g (as-analyzed or raw basis; 1.2 cm3/g, dry, ash free basis, daf) at depths less than 400 m, to greater than 7.3 cm3/g (as-analyzed basis; 8.76 cm3/g, daf) in deeper (> 1,500 m) parts of the basin. About 20 Wilcox coal-gas wells in northern Louisiana produce from 200 to 6485 m3 of gas/day and cumulative gas production from these wells is approximately 25 million m3 (as of December, 2006). U.S. Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas resources in the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain, including northern and south-central Mississippi, indicates that coal beds of the Wilcox Group contain an estimated mean total 109.3 million m3 (3.86 trillion ft3) of producible natural gas. To determine the origin of the Wilcox Group coal gases in northern Louisiana, samples of gas, water, and oil were collected from Wilcox coal and sandstone reservoirs and from under- and overlying Late Cretaceous and Eocene carbonate and sandstone reservoirs. Isotopic data from Wilcox coal-gas samples have an average δ13CCH4 value of − 62.6‰ VPDB (relative to Vienna Peedee Belemnite) and an average δDCH4 value of − 199.9‰ VSMOW (relative to Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water). Values of δ13CCO2 range from − 25.4 to 3.42‰ VPDB. Produced Wilcox saline water collected from oil, conventional gas, and coalbed gas wells have δDH2O values that range from − 27.3 to − 18.0‰ VSMOW. These data suggest that the coal gases primarily are generated in saline formation water by bacterial reduction of CO2. Shallow (< 150 m) Wilcox coal beds containing freshwater have little or no biogenic gas. Molecular and isotopic analyses of gas samples collected from conventional gas and oil wells suggests that both biogenic and thermogenic gases are present in and adjacent to the Wilcox intervals that contain biogenic coal gases. Oil, probably sourced from thermally mature, down-structural-dip parts of the Wilcox Group, is produced from sandstones within the coal-bearing interval. Gas chromatograms of C10+ saturated hydrocarbons from Wilcox oils show a depletion of n-alkanes probably resulting from biodegradation of the oil. Isotopic composition of the gases associated with the oils is of mixed themogenic and biogenic origin (average δ13CCH4 = − 44.4‰ VPDB, and average δDCH4 = − 182.4‰ VSMOW).

Relationships of red-cockaded woodpecker reproduction and foraging habitat characteristics in Arkansas and Louisiana

Red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW; Picoides borealis) productivity is influenced by characteristics of forests in which they forage. Thus, we investigated the relationships between stand conditions and RCW reproduction. We conducted focal animal sampling two to three times per season for ten RCW groups from September 1999–September 2001 in southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana, USA. We measured overstory and understory vegetation characteristics associated with observed foraging sites. Mean diameter at breast height (DBH) of hardwood trees and autumn forb cover were inversely correlated with number of eggs laid. The numbers of eggs, hatchlings, and fledglings were similar between groups with and without helpers, though helpers tended to remain in higher quality habitat. Groups with helpers used foraging areas with greater basal area of pines (Pinus spp.) ≥25.4 cm DBH, conifer canopy cover, leaf litter cover, litter depth, autumn vine cover, and winter woody cover than groups without helpers. Our results suggested that foraging habitat recommendations should include understory conditions, although additional research is required to clarify the interrelationships between RCW reproduction, forest stand characteristics, and the arthropod community.

Healthelinks Update

In 2000, the Health Sciences Library at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center/Shreveport (LSUHSC-S) accepted the challenge of meeting public health information needs in a rural setting. This endeavor began with the development of a consumer health Web site, “healthelinks,” promoted through training sessions for public librarians in the 29 parishes of northern Louisiana. Since that time, there have been many improvements to the healthelinks Web site, and the LSUHSC-S Library has reached out beyond the limited needs of public libraries to train teachers, public health workers, medical students, and physicians to use this valuable resource.

“Nazis Hoe Cotton”: Planters, POWS, and the Future of Farm Labor in the Deep South

Abstract During World War II, the POW labor program provided cotton planters in the lower Mississippi Valley with a temporary yet timely solution to an increasingly mobile local labor supply. While war prisoners worked in a variety of crops and non-agricultural industries, one of the greatest concentration of camps and captive workers devoted to a single crop occurred along the southern stretch of the Mississippi River. Cotton planters in Arkansas, Mississippi, and northern Louisiana secured over twelve thousand war prisoners from 1943 to 1946. German and Italian prisoners reinforced a labor system based on boundaries of color even as their presence in the fields revealed racial contradictions. Even as the inexperienced field hands undercut planter profits, exposed racial tensions, and undermined racialized notions of work, their presence helped to extend the life of an exploitative plantation economy. Despite the limited scope and dubious success rate of POW labor, cotton planters in the Deep South found a temporary workforce to hold a place on the plantation for African-American labor.

"Nazis Hoe Cotton": Planters, POWs, and the Future of Farm Labor in the Deep South

During World War II, the POW labor program provided cotton planters in the lower Mississippi Valley with a temporary yet timely solution to an increasingly mobile local labor supply. While war prisoners worked in a variety of crops and non-agricultural industries, one of the greatest concen tration of camps and captive workers devoted to a single crop occurred along the southern stretch of the Mississippi River. Cotton planters in Ar kansas, Mississippi, and northern Louisiana secured over twelve thousand war prisoners from 1943 to 1946. German and prisoners reinforced a labor system based on boundaries of color even as their presence in the fields revealed racial contradictions. Even as the inexperienced field undercut planter profits, exposed racial tensions, and undermined racial ized notions of work, their presence helped to extend the life of an exploit ative plantation economy. Despite the limited scope and dubious success rate of POW labor, cotton planters in the Deep South found a temporary workforce to hold a place on the plantation for African-American labor. ON A BLAZING SUMMER MORNING IN 1943, dozens of curious planters gazed across a field full of white men chopping cotton. These spectators had gathered at E. J. Mullens's plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, to witness an unusual experiment. With the cooperation of military officials, local planters had secured sixty prisoners-of-war from nearby Camp Como. When the POWs arrived by bus, Mullens put his regular hoe crew of black farmhands on one side of the railroad and the Italian hoe hands on the other. Noting that the workers operated JASON MORGAN WARD is a doctoral candidate in history at Yale University. He is currently researching a dissertation on segregationist politics in the South during the 1940s and the early 1950s.

Diverse origins and timing of formation of basinal brines in the Gulf of Mexico sedimentary basin

AbstractA review of five different field areas in the Gulf of Mexico sedimentary basin (GOM) illustrates some of the potentially diverse chemical and physical processes which have produced basinal brines. The elevated salinities of most of the formation waters in the GOM are ultimately related to the presence of the Middle Jurassic Louann Salt. Some of these brines likely inherited their salinity from evaporated Mesozoic seawater, while other saline fluids have been produced by subsequent dissolution of salt, some of which is occurring today. The timing of the generation of brines has thus not been restricted to the Middle Jurassic. The mechanisms of solute transport that have introduced brines throughout much of the sedimentary section of the GOM are not entirely understood. Free convection driven by spatial variations in formation water temperature and salinity is undoubtedly occurring around some salt structures. However, the driving mechanisms for the broad, diffusive upward solute transport in the northern Gulf rim of Arkansas and northern Louisiana are not known. In the Lower Cretaceous of Texas, fluid flow was much more highly focused, and perhaps episodic. It is clear that many areas of the Gulf basin are hydrologically connected and that large‐scale fluid flow, solute transport, and dispersion have occurred.The Na‐Mg‐Ca‐Cl compositions of brines in the areas of the Gulf Coast sedimentary basin reviewed in this article are products of diagenesis and do not reflect the composition of the evaporated marine waters present at the time of sediment deposition. Large differences in Na, Ca, and Mg trends for waters hosted by Mesozoic versus Cenozoic sediments may reflect differences in: (i) the sources of salinity (evaporated seawater for some of the Mesozoic sediments, dissolution of salt for some of the Cenozoic sediments); (ii) sediment lithology (dominantly carbonates for much of the Mesozoic sediments, and dominantly siliciclastics for the Cenozoic sediments); or (iii) residence times of brines associated with these sediments (tens of millions of years versus perhaps days).

Sites in Northern Louisiana with Major Collections of Historic Caddo and Other Native American Pottery

Archaeological sites in northern Louisiana that date to the 18th and 19th centuries which have yielded significant amounts of Native American pottery are plotted on the accompanying map, and briefly summarized below. A common feature of ceramic collections from these sites is the prevalence of shell temper, a trait that is rare prior to the late 17th century in the region. The earliest contexts probably date from the late 17th to the early 18th centuries and include utilitarian types that were common during the Late Caddo period (ca. A.D. 1500-1700). By the middle 18th century, these types apparently were no longer used as shown by their absence at Los Adaes and sites along Cane River. Many traditional Caddo vessel forms (such as bottles and carinated bowls) appear to have dropped out of use during the late 18th century. Several early 19th century sites that relate to occupants of the ethnically-mixed Bayou Pierre community north of Natchitoches contain Native American shell-tempered pottery, but represented vessel forms are similar to the "Colonoware" that is widespread in the eastern U.S. A small number of engraved and incised sherds have been recovered at these sites, but it is possible that they are from earlier Caddo occupations. Groups that originated east of the Mississippi Valley moved into northern Louisiana during the late 18th century, and new types such as Zimmerman Black, Chickashae Red, Chickashae Combed, and Chattahoochee Roughened appear in the archaeological record. Native American pottery disappears from the archaeological record in the region by 1830.

Picric Acid Degradation in Sediments from the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant

Picric acid is an explosive historically produced and disposed at the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant (LAAP) in northern Louisiana. The potential for natural degradation of picric acid was investigated by creating picric-acid slurries with four LAAP sediments of variable composition and monitoring for up to 98 days. The concentrations of picric acid decreased rapidly in all slurries during the first day, attributed to adsorption, followed by slower decreases in some samples due to degradation. Degradation in unsterilized slurries was nearly complete within 80 days for two of the four sediments. Increases in nitrite and nitrate concentration over time were proportional to the loss of picric acid and indicate that at least two of the three nitrite groups were removed from the picric acid molecule. The absence of significant concentrations of compounds with a mass greater than 100 amu in the final solutions suggests that all three nitrite groups were removed. No correlation was found between the degree of degradation and grain size, clay content, organic content, carbonate content, or a suite of element concentrations in the sediment. Degradation in sterilized samples was minimal for all sediment slurries, indicating microbial activity as the primary mechanism of degradation.

Complete Excavation and Mapping of a Texas Leafcutting Ant Nest

A medium-sized nest of the Texas leafcutting ant, Atta texana (Buckley), in northern Louisiana was excavated completely, and a three-dimensional model of its external and subterranean features was constructed. In total, 97 fungus gardens, 27 dormancy cavities, and 45 detritus cavities were located. At the lower center of the funnel-shaped nest was a large central cavity, which in winter functions as a domicile for the colony and where the alate brood is reared. Vertical tunnels, possibly as deep as 32 m, may serve as wells leading to the water table. Winter mean annual temperatures within the central cavity may limit the northern geographical range of A. texana to ≈33° N latitude. The inquilines Attaphila fungicola Wheeler, Pholeomyia comans Sabrosky, Ceuthophilus sp., Lobopoda subcuneatus Campbell, Geomysaprinus nr. formicus (Hinton), species of Aleocharinae, and a species of Annelida were seen in nest cavities and galleries.

Organic petrology and coalbed gas content, Wilcox Group (Paleocene–Eocene), northern Louisiana

Wilcox Group (Paleocene–Eocene) coal and carbonaceous shale samples collected from four coalbed methane test wells in northern Louisiana were characterized through an integrated analytical program. Organic petrographic analyses, gas desorption and adsorption isotherm measurements, and proximate–ultimate analyses were conducted to provide insight into conditions of peat deposition and the relationships between coal composition, rank, and coalbed gas storage characteristics. The results of petrographic analyses indicate that woody precursor materials were more abundant in stratigraphically higher coal zones in one of the CBM wells, consistent with progradation of a deltaic depositional system (Holly Springs delta complex) into the Gulf of Mexico during the Paleocene–Eocene. Comparison of petrographic analyses with gas desorption measurements suggests that there is not a direct relationship between coal type (sensu maceral composition) and coalbed gas storage. Moisture, as a function of coal rank (lignite–subbituminous A), exhibits an inverse relationship with measured gas content. This result may be due to higher moisture content competing for adsorption space with coalbed gas in shallower, lower rank samples. Shallower (< 600 m) coal samples consistently are undersaturated with respect to CH4 adsorption isotherms; deeper (> 600 m) coal samples containing less moisture range from under- to oversaturated with respect to their CH4 adsorption capacity.

Opening Our Doors for All Newborns: Caring for Displaced Neonates: Intrastate

Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, one of the first women’s specialty hospitals in the nation, is a 225-bed, private, not-for-profit organization that delivers more than 8000 infants each year. Sick newborns and infants less than 1 year of age are cared for in the 83-bed Center for Newborn and Infant Care, comprised of a level III-C NICU,1 special care nursery (level II), developmental nursery, infant care center, and neonatal surgery center. A private physician group consisting of 9 neonatologists and 2 neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) provide in-house coverage on a 24/7 basis. The hospital employs 4 NNPs to serve as transport NNPs. The Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) designated Woman’s Hospital as the referral center for high-risk obstetrical patients and neonates for both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In a period of 5 days, 87 neonates were transferred to Woman’s Hospital during Hurricane Katrina, and transports were arranged for an additional 34 infants to other facilities. Twenty-one neonates were transferred to Woman’s Hospital during Hurricane Rita. ### Peak Census: 61; Midnight Census: 56* Katrina, still in the Gulf of Mexico, became a category 2 hurricane, and by 11 pm, the landfall forecast was for just east of New Orleans, Louisiana.2 We knew Baton Rouge would experience some type of adverse weather. The Hospital Emergency Incident Command System contains 4 increasing states of storm readiness based on the type of tropical storm/hurricane watches and warnings issued for Baton Rouge. Level 2 was implemented, which included fueling of emergency power generator tanks, establishment of alternate communications, updating departmental emergency call lists, stocking of hospital linen, replenishment of emergency food and drinkable water supplies, battery charging on portable equipment, and an evaluation of current medication supplies in the pharmacy, with procurement of additional needed emergency medications. ### Peak Census: 59; Midnight Census: 54 Katrina became a category 3 hurricane. During the day, the … Address correspondence to Steven B. Spedale, MD, FAAP, PO Box 45171, Baton Rouge, LA 70895-4171. E-mail: steve.spedale{at}infamedics.com

Attitudes and acceptability of soy‐based yogurt by college students

Purpose – This study aims to address consumer attitudes toward and acceptance of commercial soymilk and dairy yogurts containing varying levels of fat.Design/methodology approach – A convenience sample was used, consisting of 185 students from a university in northern Louisiana. Four yogurts (soymilk yogurt, full fat dairy yogurt, low fat dairy yogurt, and non‐fat dairy yogurt) were evaluated. A 9‐point hedonic scale was used to evaluate each yogurt for overall acceptance. Questionnaires were used to ascertain consumer knowledge of the benefits of soy, attitudes toward soymilk yogurt and demographic characteristics of subjects.Findings – Acceptance scores for soymilk yogurt were significantly lower than scores for traditional dairy yogurts ( p<0.0001). Consumer attitudes regarding the health benefits of soy correlated with overall acceptance of soymilk yogurt (r=0.29; p<0.0001). Results indicate that college students are unaware of the health benefits of soy, and presently prefer traditional dairy yogurt ...

The Pine Saddle site (3PL1080) in the Ouachita Mountains, Polk County, Arkansas

Novaculite was procured and knapped by aboriginal Indian populations living in southwestern Arkansas for thousands of years, and there are numerous prehistoric novaculite quarries in the Ouachita Mountains. In Late Archaic times. this desirable material was widely traded and exchanged with other groups to the south, east, and west, particularly with the peoples living at the Poverty Point site and environs in the lower Mississippi valley in northern Louisiana. Later groups such as the Caddo also made considerable use of this material, since it was in their traditional homelands, and many habitation sites and mound centers in the region contain quantities of novaculite lithic debris and tools. Other local materials were also chosen for lithic tool manufacture, such as Big Fork chert, a distinctive black chert. Abundant amounts of novaculite and Big Fork chert are also found apparently in nondomestic Caddo contexts on lithic workshops and camp sites in the Ouachita Mountains, and one such site is discussed in this article.

A re-evaluation of aragonite versus calcite seas

Some workers have argued that the mineralogy of ancient carbonates may have been different from that of modern sediments, with calcite being considered the dominant mineral during the Ordovician, Devonian-mid Carboniferous, and Jurassic-Cretaceous to Early/Middle Cenozoic (e.g. Sandberg 1983; Wilkinson and Algeo 1989). Variation in carbonate mineralogy has been related to the position of global sea level (emergent or submergent modes, Wilkinson et al. 1985), change in rates of seafloor spreading (e.g. Mackenzie and Pigott 1981; Hardie 1996),PCO 2 level (e.g. Sandberg 1985; Mackenzie and Morse 1992; Hallock 1997) and Mg/Ca ratios related to spreading rate (e.g. Stanley and Hardie 1998). However, other researchers suggest that the assumption of change of original carbonate mineralogy through time needs to be re-evaluated in the light of mineralogical change that is related to water temperature or latitudes (e.g. Nelson 1988). Evaluation of Ordovician (Arenig to Ashgill) Gordon Group carbonates of Tasmania (Australia), based on petrographic (e.g. abundantChlorozoan biota, and oomold texture) and geochemical criteria (such as high Sr/Na ratios) indicated that aragonite (not calcite) was the predominant mineral in these warm water, subtropical carbonates (Rao 1990). Petrographic (e.g. presence or absence of aragonite relicts, abundant acicular to fibrous isopachous marine cement, presence of diffuse laminae and a number of spalled ooids) and geochemical evidences (such as elevated Sr) in the Upper Jurassic Mozduran limestone, in Kopet-Dagh Basin in northeast Iran, showed variation in carbonate mineralogy, in spite of similar atmosphericPCO 2 level, global sea-level and tectonic setting. This is evidenced by aragonite occurring in the shallowest part of the basin (Adabi and Rao 1991) and mainly calcite with some aragonite forming in the relatively deeper water (below wave base) (Adabi 1997). Carbonate mineralogy in Recent shallow marine carbonates, and in experimental studies, varies with seawater temperature. In the Recent, aragonite is the predominant mineral in warm, shallow marine carbonates and calcite the dominant mineral in marine cool water carbonates (James and Clarke 1997). Therefore, variations in carbonate mineralogy in the Mozduran limestone are attributed to seawater temperature assuming invariant seawater chemistry prevailed in the Upper Jurassic. Several Jurassic examples show variations in ooid carbonate mineralogy, such as the Upper Jurassic Smackover oolite of the Gulf Coast region (southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana) and Upper Jurassic ooids in the Purbeck limestones of Swiss and French Jura. These results are not in agreement with the concept of a “calcite sea” during the Ordovician and the Upper Jurassic periods. Very recently, Westphal and Munnecke (2003) showed that in spite of the tendency of abiotic precipitates (Sandberg 1983) and skeletal mineralogy (Stanley and Hardie 1999) to follow the general trend of calcite seas and aragonite seas, organisms with calcite and aragonite mineralogy coexisted throughout the Phanerozoic. They have examined the temporal and spatial distribution of limestone-marl alternations in Ordovician, Jurassic and Cretaceous (times of calcite seas). Limestone-marl alternations are most abundant in settings that favored aragonite production and accumulation analogous to the modern environment (Westphal and Munnecke 2003). If the above observations confirmed, the proposed secular variation in Phanerozoic carbonate mineralogy needs to be re-evaluated.

Summer Dissolved Oxygen Concentrations in Forested Streams of Northern Louisiana

Abstract Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations are critical to aquatic communities and are an important measure of water quality conditions in streams. Best Management Practices that maintain shade near streams and avoid introduction of slash should minimize forest management effects on DO concentrations. However, many streams in the South Central Plains Ecoregion of Louisiana have summer DO concentrations below the 5 mg/L criterion recommended by EPA. Based on a synoptic survey of 43 least-impaired and reference forest stream reaches, we found that over 80% of these reaches had DO concentrations below 5 mg/L, and almost 60% of monitored sites had DO concentrations below 3 mg/L. These low DO concentrations are associated with low streamflow velocities and organic channel bottoms. Unachievable DO standards in the region need to be addressed to realistically reflect local environmental conditions. South. J. Appl. For. 27(2):92–99.