Louisiana Parishes Research Articles

Qualitative Study among African American Parents to Inform an Intervention to Promote Adoption of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Food and Physical Activity Recommendations

This qualitative study was conducted to enable the research team to culturally tailor an intervention to increase adherence to Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) in African American parents and their children living in Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) communities. Focus group results guided the planning of an obesity prevention intervention utilizing the We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity and Nutrition) obesity prevention program. Main outcome measure was perceptions of approaches to use in culturally tailoring a nutrition and physical activity intervention. Six focus group sessions were conducted with 86 African American adults to identify cultural concerns, intervention strategies in two Louisiana parishes in the LMD. Focus groups discussions were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed to identify recurring trends and patterns among focus groups. Major themes that emerged included cultural influences on food habits and physical activity, challenges of meeting the DGA and the CDC physical activity guidelines, facilitators and barriers to adhering to healthy food and physical activity guidelines and program development. Wider acceptance and use of the DGA recommendations are needed by LMD populations, leading to reduced prevalence of overweight and obesity and parallel reductions in the prevalence of chronic diseases. Interventions are needed that will enhance adherence to the DGA particularly for diverse subpopulations in the U.S. This study provides important insights for culturally tailoring an intervention to promote adoption of the DGA in two low-income African American Delta communities.

HIV-Associated Burkitt Lymphoma: Case Report and Literature Review

IntroductionHIV associated Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a highly aggressive lymphoma. Compared to other AIDS related non-Hodgkin lymphoma's its clinical presentation is less predictable and characterized by rapid clinical changes. The paradigm shift to treat HIV associated disease with highly effective intensive chemotherapy regimens while managing immunosuppression has made it possible to achieve remission and long-term survival. Southern Louisiana has one the of the highest incidence rates of HIV and cancers in the US. The authors present a challenging case of a 33-year old HIV+ male from southern Louisiana with advanced stage BL. The patient presented with advanced disease and a poor performance status. His initial providers recommended palliation only and significant education was needed to allow aggressive treatment. The patient tolerated induction chemotherapy and remains in remission. This is a case based review of local and nationwide epidemiology and the trial data supporting different treatment options for HIV associated Burkitt lymphoma. CaseOur patient is a 33 year-old male who presented with severe cachexia, poor performance status and clinical symptomatic cord compression. He was diagnosed with advanced stage Burkitt lymphoma including bone marrow involvement. His CD4 count was 277 with an HIV viral load of 571,000 copies/mL. Although he had a poor performance status and his primary team favored palliation only he underwent induction chemotherapy with 4 cycles of infusional dose adjusted R-EPOCH with IT CNS chemoprophylaxis. HAART therapy with efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir was started during his initial admission. He tolerated this regimen well, clinically dramatically improved being independent in his ADL/IADLs, and remains in remission. DiscussionThe pathogenesis of HIV-associated Burkitt lymphoma is linked to oncogenic virus co-infection (40% EBV association) and chronic HIV antigen stimulation that provoke expansion of polyclonal B-cells. This leads to oncogenic chromosomal translocations - most notably t(8;14) causing constitutive expression of oncogene c-Myc. HIV patients have a 60 to 200-fold increased incidence of NHL. Relative risk for BL in HIV patients is 261-fold higher compared to the general population. Unlike the nationwide reported 19 per 100,000 person-years, data from a large HIV clinic in southern Louisiana continues to show an incidence rate of 23 per 100,000 person-years. Louisiana continues to have comparatively high incidence rates in HIV (4th in US) and cancer (11th in US) with the highest rates in southern Louisiana parishes. It is important for community physicians, especially in these areas, to feel more confident when treating these HIV associated malignancies.Historically highly immunosuppressive chemotherapy has been avoided in HIV patients with lymphoma as studies in the 1990's showed increased toxicity. The addition of the monoclonal C20 antibody rituximabin the treatment of AIDS associated NHLs was also controversial, as trial results showed increase infectious death rates. However, these clinical trials confirmed similar death rates from infections in individuals with a CD4 count >50. In addition concomitant use of HAART with chemotherapy has improved overall survival. Although the more dose intense Burkitt regimens have not been studied extensively in HIV-associated BL, CODOX-M/IVAC and DA-EPOCH +/- Rituximab (depending on CD4 count) have shown good efficacy and tolerance and are treatment regimens of choice this disease. A recent trial with 14 patients with HIV associated BL receiving RD-CODOXM/IVAC had 86% progression free survival rate at 1 year; patients receiving concomitant HAART had 100% PFS rate at 1 year. In another trial, 10 HIV associated BL patients receiving DA-EPOCH-R showed a 100% overall survival rate at 57 months. ConclusionHIV associated Burkitt lymphoma should be treated with HAART and high dose chemotherapy. Long-term remission has been shown with regimens including CODOX-M/IVAC and DA-EPOCH +/-Rituximab (R use discouraged in low CD4 counts). This case based report outlines the relatively high prevalence of disease in Southern Louisiana and emphasizes that remission is possible in patients with poor performance status and advanced disease. [Display omitted] Disclosures:No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Community traumatic events and the temporal distribution of suicide and calls to the suicide and crisis hotline: Is there an impact?

Survivors of community traumatic events (CTEs) are thought to be at an increased risk for suicide. Current studies of the impact of CTEs on suicide have (a) produced varied results and (b) not accounted for co-occurrences or series of CTEs. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between the temporal distribution of CTEs and the temporal distribution of suicide and calls to the crisis hotline in a Louisiana parish, taking into account co-occurrences and series of CTEs. The sample consisted of 11 years of data on suicidal deaths and 5 years of data on calls to the crisis hotline. Poisson regression was used to assess whether suicide patterns and hotline call volume were affected by CTEs. The distributions of suicide and calls to the crisis hotline were not affected by the presence of single, co-occurring, or series of CTEs. Though suicide prevention efforts are often increased after CTEs, this study indicates suicide prevention efforts should be ongoing and have a community-wide focus. Given the varied results across studies of CTE impact on suicide distributions, further research should focus on co-occurrence and series of CTEs rather than the historical trend of focusing on a single CTE. Also, psychological autopsies of people who died by suicide in the wake of a CTE should be conducted using phenomenology as the guiding qualitative paradigm. Language: en

Climate Change Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Policy in South Louisiana: Planning and Preparing for a “Slow Disaster”

Our climate is in a constant state of flux and disaster policy and hazard mitigation measures must anticipate and adapt to these and other changes. This is especially true in the parishes of South Louisiana where a combination of factors have created a highly dynamic landscape where residents must react to anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic forces simultaneously. Major policies and mitigation efforts along Louisiana's Gulf Coast as they relate to disaster management and/or climate change were chronicled to determine how they have incorporated the unique vulnerabilities of South Louisiana. In addition to exacerbating disasters, changes in climate can create a “slow disaster” because of far-reaching impacts on multiple natural processes. A “slow disaster” is difficult to encourage communities to prepare for because the impact is usually realized over the course of years and decades instead of a few hours or days, as is the case with most disasters. Proactive planning and inclusion of potential climate change impacts in hazard mitigation plans is a positive step in reducing the impact of future disasters.

Rapid Spread ofBalclutha rubrostriata(Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in Texas and Southwestern Louisiana, USA with Notes on its Associated Host Plants

The red streaked leafhopper, Balclutha rubrostriata (Melichar) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is an invasive insect from southeastern Asia that is known to be a vector of the phytoplasma that causes Sugarcane White Leaf Disease (SCWL). Sugarcane is a vital crop for the United States and is being considered as a biofuel source. The purpose of this survey was to determine whether B. rubrostriata has established populations in Texas and Louisiana, USA; and, if established, to estimate its range expansion. The gulf coast region of Texas, east Texas, and 2 southwestern parishes of Louisiana were surveyed for the red streaked leafhopper. Samples of the leafhopper were collected in all Gulf Coast regions and the majority of east Texas counties. However, it was only collected in one Louisiana parish. The leafhopper appears to be closely associated with an invasive grass, King Ranch Bluestem, Bothriochloa ischaemum (L.), throughout much of its present range in the United States, and it is now common along much of the Texas Gulf Coast and is moving into Louisiana.

Using focus groups to inform an intervention to promote adoption of the DGA among African American children in the Lower Mississippi Delta

Childhood obesity is a major public health concern and the associated risks for chronic diseases. There is a need to identify effective strategies to enhance adherence to the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) and the CDC Physical Activity guidelines to prevent childhood obesity, especially for African American children. Intervening early may reduce the consequences of obesity and promote adoption of healthy behaviors before development of obesogenic lifestyle behaviors. Focus group results guided the planning of a culturally‐specific intervention to accompany a parental childhood obesity prevention intervention for eight to 13 year old children. Six children focus group sessions were conducted in two Louisiana parishes. Questions were designed to identify children's perceptions of factors influencing eating and physical activity behavior and recommendations for planning a healthy eating and physical activity program. Focus groups discussions were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed to identify recurring trends and patterns among focus groups. Major themes that emerged included cultural influences on food habits and physical activity, body size perceptions, and curriculum content recommendations. Focus group discussion results were used to culturally tailor the intervention to promote adoption of the DGA.Grant Funding Source: USDA/ARS project #58–6251‐8–041

The African American Saga from Enslavement to Life in a Colorblind Society: Or, Racism without Race

76 The African American Saga from Enslavement to Life in a Colorblind Society: Or, Racism without Race By Yolanda Abel & LeRoy Johnson In early twenty-first-century America, discussions about past, present, and future race relations—especially between Black and White Americans, but increasingly between Whites and Latinos/ as—are charged with passion and lack of historical analysis, and, of course, are loaded with fears about the results of the evolving demographic makeup of this society. In order to understand the increasingly complex and mutable nature of our society's racial landscape, we must examine and analyze the genesis and evolution of African Americans' protracted struggle to obtain full citizenship rights in the United States.1 The Civil Rights Movement for the purpose of this paper has been divided into two parts: (1) the first phase of the Civil Rights Movement, or the period of Reconstruction, from 1865 to 1877, and (2) the second phase of the Movement, or the period of Brown v. Board of Education, from 1954 to 1965.2 Secondly, this short review is designed to be a practical guide for those who would like to teach about the Civil Rights Movement. Placing the development of African Americans' quest for equal rights in its historical context is the only way to make sense of this historic movement. If one attempts to teach such a topic without placing it in its proper historical context, one presents a facile rendition of one of the most important sociopolitical, legal, and economic developments in our history. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, our students will have little chance of grasping how much progress took place in our history. Though we still live in a very racially pernicious society, monumental progress was achieved from the Civil War (1861-1865) to the 1970s, when the reactionary forces opposing the Civil Rights Movement gathered enough political momentum to organize a formidable political and legal challenge to this movement. Moreover, without context, our students—and even their teachers—may view this movement as simply a bygone period in our history, when it is still part and parcel of the American sociopolitical, economic, and legal landscape. Both opposition to affirmative action and the treacherous concept of a colorblind society are nothing more than racism without mentioning the color and history of the victims of centuries old racial oppression. In short, without a historical analysis of the civil rights saga of African Americans, young people will relax their political and intellectual guard and become unable and unwilling to understand dialectical connections between past and contemporary racism in our society. Students and teachers must understand the history of the Civil Rights Movement; if not, others who would like to deny the rights of full citizenship to African Americans and other people of color will continue the nefarious effects of racism in this society. During this first period (Reconstruction, 1865-1877) a number of important changes made to the Constitution of the United States improved the political, if not the social and economic, situation of African Americans. Already, and prior to the beginning of Reconstruction, President Lincoln had decreed the Emancipation Proclamation (enacted on January 1,1863), an act that freed slaves in the rebellious states. It is true that the act left slavery intact in the states loyal to the Union and in localities of Southern states where the authorities remained loyal to the federal government, (i.e., the forty eight counties of Virginia which eventually became West Virginia; seven counties in eastern Virginia, including the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk; and thirteen parishes in Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans).3 Nevertheless, while the Emancipation Proclamation was intended more to cripple the economy of the South, it freed all but 800,000 of the 4 million slaves in the United States (1860 census). However, it was during Reconstruction (the historical term used to describe the process undertaken by the federal government to literally reconstruct the political and socioeconomic institutions of the states that rebelled) that laws were passed to protect the humanity of African Americans.4 Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment (passed in January 1865 and ratified in December) while the Civil War was nearing its end...

Documentary Evidence for the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Location of the Adaes Indians

The location of the habitation sites of the Adaes Indians has not been thoroughly investigated by archaeologists and historians. Most researchers have placed Adaes habitation sites in the general vicinity of Los Adaes simply because the presidio and mission were named after the Adaes Indians. This paper will focus on historical documentation to provide a better understanding of the location of the habitation sites of the Adaes Indians during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The earliest accounts presented are narratives of travels along the Red River in the early 18th century. While they unfortunately have no definitive geographical data such as plat maps or land claims, they still provide relational information which can be interpreted along with the more precise geographical documentation of the latter 18th century. All of the late 18th and early 19th century documents reviewed for this paper are primary sources such as conveyances, successions and land claims. The evidence presented in this paper will reveal that the “homeland” of the Adaes was in southern Desoto Parish, Louisiana and extreme northern Natchitoches Parish. This area is approximately twenty miles north of Los Adaes, which agrees with the Spanish documents and with John Sibley’s location of the Adaes. Archaeologically, there is an abundant sample of historic sites that date to the 18th and 19th centuries in that region. These appear as pure aboriginal sites or mixtures of aboriginal and European components.

Women and Property in Early Louisiana: Legal Systems at Odds

This study examines the intersection between gender, law and ethnicity in female property holding in Louisiana between 1811–1835. The civilian legal tradition, operative in Louisiana during this time period, offered married women considerable economic benefits compared to the common law legal tradition utilized in most other states. Women under Louisiana civil law retained their legal identity and they inherited half of the property accrued during marriage. They might also own and manage their separate property. A comparison of women’s probated wealth, in a contiguous transect of counties and parishes in Mississippi and Louisiana demonstrates that Louisiana women accrued economic benefits from these provisions and fared better economically than their common law counterparts in Mississippi. Some women actively managed their property. For others, there is evidence to suggest that their property allowed them a kind of “bargaining power” within marriage. Yet, Louisiana women reaped economic benefits from civil law only if their families adhered to the law. Ethnicity influenced whether that happened. French-speaking families, more familiar with the civil law tradition, were more likely to adhere to the letter and spirit of the law. As a result, French-speaking women in Louisiana were more likely to reap economic benefits from the law than their Anglo counterparts. Female property holding in Louisiana exposes a legal borderland where civilian and common law legal traditions were at still at odds.

Avian Simuliotoxicosis: Outbreak in Louisiana

From April 20 to May 10, 2010, multiple species of birds were seen at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Zoological Medicine Department for a disease syndrome characterized by acute lethargy, generalized subcutaneous petechiae, vasculitis, and death caused by a black fly identified as Simulium meridionale. Twenty psittacine birds presented with severe depression and multifocal subcutaneous hemorrhages over the body and especially noted in the featherless areas of the head and neck. Ten out of 20 clinical cases seen survived on a treatment regimen consisting of intravenous fluid therapy, anti-inflammatories, antihistaminic medications, and supportive care. The 10 other birds likely died of cardiopulmonary collapse and anaphylactoid reactions. In all post mortem examinations multifocal to coalescing dermal hemorrhage, eosinophilic dermatitis, severe edema, and vasculitis were observed. The LSU School of Animal Science conducted a brief survey that included 34 of the 64 Louisiana parishes and showed that 17 parishes, at least, were affected by this outbreak. A total of at least 225 poultry bird deaths could be attributed to black fly strikes. Simuliotoxicosis outbreaks have previously been reported in North America, and this report documents the clinical and post mortem findings, treatment response, and extent of such an outbreak in pet and farm birds in Louisiana.

Accelerated Microbiological Testing in Membrane Water Treatment Systems

The water that St. John Parish in southeast Louisiana treats and supplies originates from a groundwater well that produces water of high organic content and color. In the past, the organics were oxidized and broken down by chlorination, but utilities are moving away from this practice because of the production of disinfection byproducts such as trihalomethanes and haloacidic acids. The utility has therefore sought to remove the need for chlorination from the injection point near the well and treat the raw water completely via cartridge prefilters followed by a bank of membranes in the treatment plant.

Senior CHAT: a model for health literacy instruction

Purpose – Senior CHAT (Consumer Health Awareness Training) improved health information literacy and promoted better health outcomes through basic computer instruction among senior citizens in a healthcare impoverished Louisiana parish. Librarians at a state university in southeast Louisiana partnered with senior citizen centers to promote National Library of Medicine databases in a project funded by National Network/Libraries of Medicine/South Central Region. This paper seeks to describe and discuss this initiative.Design/methodology/approach – Librarians responded to a community assessment demonstrating the need for basic computer instruction and increased health information literacy among the 1,800 clients served by the Tangipahoa Voluntary Council on Aging (TVCOA). Senior CHAT included two series of hands‐on classes with 25 students. Seniors were instructed in the use of MedlinePlus and NIHSeniorHealth databases. TVCOA staff were trained to continue to assist seniors after the project's completion. A S...

Formative evaluation for promoting adoption of the DGA, 2005 among African American parents and children in the Lower Mississippi Delta: Focus Group Results

Formative research was conducted to increase adherence to the healthful food and physical activity patterns set forth in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005 (DGA, 2005) and thereby reducing weight gain and risk factors for obesity‐related chronic diseases in African American parents and their children living in Lower Mississippi Delta communities. Focus group results guided the planning of an obesity prevention intervention utilizing the obesity prevention program “We Can!” ‐ “Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition.” Eight parent and six children focus group sessions were conducted in two Louisiana parishes. Questions were designed by the research team to 1) identify cultural values, biases, and norms that influence eating and physical activity behavior, 2) review “We Can!” Parent Handbook, and 3) identify intervention materials and delivery preferences. Focus groups discussions were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed to identify recurring trends and patterns among focus groups. The study showed considerable variability in perception of factors that influence eating and physical activity behavior and educational approaches. Major themes that emerged included challenges of meeting the DGA, 2005 and the CDC physical activity guidelines, cultural influences on food habits and body size, barriers to participation in a program to promote healthy food choices and regular physical activity. Focus group discussion results were used to culturally tailor the intervention to promote adoption of the DGA, 2005.Grant Funding Source: USDA/ARS project #58‐6251‐8‐041

Community Attachment and Negative Affective States in the Context of the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster

This study advances research on the mental health impacts of disasters by examining how a mainstay of the sociological literature, community attachment, influences negative affective states such as anxiety and fear stimulated by a technological disaster. Survey data were collected in three coastal Louisiana parishes (counties) geographically proximate to the BP oil spill of 2010 while the oil was still flowing. The data reveal that community attachment is associated with higher levels of negative affect. This finding holds for those tied to the fishing and seafood industry, those tied to the oil industry, and those having no immediate links to either industry. These results highlight that although community attachment is essential for community resilience, it can also be disruptive to individual well-being when technological disasters occur in communities dependent on renewable and natural resources.

Two Kinds of Freedom: Mercantile Development and Labor Systems in Louisiana Cotton and Sugar Parishes After the Civil War

Although the importance of country stores to the economy of the post―Civil War South has long been widely acknowledged, by far the most careful and influential analysis of rural merchants is Ransom and Sutch's One Kind of Freedom (1977), which used mostly region-wide data for its estimates of the numbers, capital, and spatial density of stores in the Cotton South. While paralleling the categories, methods, and evidentiary sources of One Kind of Freedom, this article instead takes a micro-level approach, comparing store development in two Reconstruction-era Louisiana parishes―one devoted to cotton production, the other to sugar. Data from these parishes and elsewhere in Louisiana suggests several problems with Ransom and Sutch's conclusions, especially their famous territorial monopoly thesis. Moreover, the superior performance of sugar parish stores underscores the significance of differences between the credit-dependent sharecropping system prevalent in cotton regions and the cash wages paid to sugar workers—distinctions that have often been intentionally blurred in recent historiography.

Foster Trailed-Incised: A GIS-Based Analysis of Caddo Ceramic Distribution

The use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) allows for dynamic visualizations in the analysis of spatial distributions and the modeling of data clusters and outliers. An on-going analysis of Foster Trailed- Incised vessels found within the Caddo Homeland seeks to construct a distributional framework that can be applied and compared to additional Caddo ceramic types and site location attributes using a GIS database. Preliminary results show high frequencies of Foster Trailed-Incised vessels along the Ouachita and Red River drainages as well as along the Saline, Arkansas, and Little Missouri rivers in Arkansas. Additional possible varieties of Foster Trailed-Incised have been identified in Caddo, Ouachita and Morehouse parishes in Louisiana and at Caddo sites in northeast Texas. While a full analysis of the distribution of Foster Trailed-Incised vessels (and relationships with other Caddo vessel types) is far from complete, initial conclusions are presented in this article.

Nivalenol-Type Populations of Fusarium graminearum and F. asiaticum Are Prevalent on Wheat in Southern Louisiana

U.S. populations of the Fusarium graminearum clade cause head blight on wheat and barley and usually contaminate grain with the trichothecene mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). Recently, however, individual nivalenol (NIV)-type isolates from the United States were described that belonged to either the newly described species F. gerlachii or the genetically distinct Gulf Coast population of F. graminearum sensu stricto (s.s.). Here, we describe the discovery of NIV-type F. graminearum s.s. populations that were found in high proportion (79%) among isolates from small-grain-growing regions of Louisiana. We genotyped 237 isolates from Louisiana with newly developed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) restriction fragment length polymorphism markers and multiplex PCR primers that distinguish among the three trichothecene types: the two DON types (15ADON and 3ADON) and NIV. These isolates were compared with 297 isolates from 11 other U.S. states, predominantly from the Midwest. Using Bayesian-model-based clustering, we discovered a southern Louisiana population of F. graminearum s.s. that was genetically distinct from the previously recognized pathogen population in the Midwest (MW15ADON population). Population membership was correlated with trichothecene type. Most isolates from the southern Louisiana population were of the NIV type, while the majority of the isolates from the Midwest were of the 15ADON type. A smaller proportion of isolates from Louisiana belonged to the previously described Gulf Coast population that was mostly of the 3ADON type. The NIV type was also identified in collections from Arkansas (12%), North Carolina (40%), and Missouri (2%), with the collections from Arkansas and North Carolina being small and unrepresentative. F. asiaticum was detected from the two southern Louisiana parishes Acadia and Alexandria. All identified 41 F. asiaticum isolates were of the NIV type. Greenhouse tests indicated that U.S. NIV types accumulated four times less trichothecene toxin than DON types on inoculated wheat. This is the first report of NIV-type populations of F. graminearum s. s. and F. asiaticum in the United States.

Attention to process and clinical outcomes of implementing a rural school‐based trauma treatment program

The Louisiana Rural Trauma Services Center was established to provide, improve, and enhance urgently needed assessment, treatment, crisis management, and consultation services for children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events in three rural southeastern Louisiana parishes. The purpose of this study is to describe the process of implementing the rural school-based trauma treatment program and to evaluate its effectiveness in 115 students. Through attention to process including the three-tiered approach of relationship building, trauma training, and trauma services, the school-based trauma treatment program proved effective in reducing trauma symptoms. This study is important to support the widespread implementation of school-based mental health services.

Estimating and Mapping the Direct Flood Fatality Rate for Flooding in Greater New Orleans Due To Hurricane Katrina

AbstractThe unprecedented tragedy of Hurricane Katrina produced unprecedented data for studying the impacts of natural disasters. The current paper looks at one public health outcome of this event: direct flood deaths in Orleans and St. Bernard parishes of Louisiana. In particular, the risk of death for the flood‐exposed population is estimated, mapped, and discussed. Of the nearly 1,500 deaths that Louisiana officially counts as Katrina deaths, approximately 600 are determined to be associated with exposure to floodwaters. Additionally, it is estimated that approximately 63,000 persons were exposed to floodwaters. The ratio of flood deaths to flood‐exposed population, termed the flood fatality rate, provides an empirical measure of flood risk. Georeferenced datasets on both the flood deaths and the flood‐exposed population are developed, and then used to estimate and map the flood fatality rate. For the overall event, the flood fatality rate is estimated to be 7 11 deaths per 1,000 persons exposed, which is consistent with other coastal flood disasters. At the blockgroup level, the highest values of the flood fatality rate are observed in the Lower Ninth Ward, while comparatively lower values are observed in New Orleans East. A preliminary univariate regression model with water depth as the independent variable is presented, and applied to Hurricane Gustav, which impacted the region in August 2008.

Rapid Identification of Oil‐Contaminated Soils Using Visible Near‐Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy

In the United States, petroleum extraction, refinement, and transportation present countless opportunities for spillage mishaps. A method for rapid field appraisal and mapping of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soils for environmental cleanup purposes would be useful. Visible near-infrared (VisNIR, 350-2500 nm) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a rapid, nondestructive, proximal-sensing technique that has proven adept at quantifying soil properties in situ. The objective of this study was to determine the prediction accuracy of VisNIR DRS in quantifying petroleum hydrocarbons in contaminated soils. Forty-six soil samples (including both contaminated and reference samples) were collected from six different parishes in Louisiana. Each soil sample was scanned using VisNIR DRS at three combinations of moisture content and pretreatment: (i) field-moist intact aggregates, (ii) air-dried intact aggregates, (iii) and air-dried ground soil (sieved through a 2-mm sieve). The VisNIR spectra of soil samples were used to predict total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content in the soil using partial least squares (PLS) regression and boosted regression tree (BRT) models. Each model was validated with 30% of the samples that were randomly selected and not used in the calibration model. The field-moist intact scan proved best for predicting TPH content with a validation r2 of 0.64 and relative percent difference (RPD) of 1.70. Because VisNIR DRS was promising for rapidly predicting soil petroleum hydrocarbon content, future research is warranted to evaluate the methodology for identifying petroleum contaminated soils.