Southern United States Research Articles

New species of Argythamnia (Euphorbiaceae) restricted to Seasonal Forest of Brazil, with morphological and phylogenetic support

Argythamnia (Acalyphoideae, Euphorbiaceae) is a monophyletic genus with approximately 70 species exclusive to the New World, distributed from the southern United States to Patagonia. The greatest diversity of the genus occurs in southern North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The distribution of the genus is strongly related to seasonally dry vegetation, mainly in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests and Woodlands in the Neotropics. Based on morphological and phylogenetic data, here we describe the eleventh species of the genus for Brazil and the fourth for the state of Bahia, where the greatest diversity of the genus in the country is concentrated. We present a description, distribution map, illustration, table with the main diagnostic characters, preliminary conservation status, palynological data, as well as the phylogenetic position for the new species.

Isolates of Corynespora cassiicola, Causal Agent of Target Spot of Soybean, in Kentucky Contain the G143A Mutation Conferring Resistance to Quinone Outside Inhibitor Fungicides

Target spot, caused by Corynespora cassiicola, is a soybean disease of increasing importance in the southern United States. Recently, isolates of C. cassiicola with resistance to quinone outside inhibitor (QoI) fungicides have been confirmed with the G143A mutation in multiple southern states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. From 2017 to 2019, a total of 84 isolates of C. cassiicola were recovered from soybean field in 12 counties in Kentucky. DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene of these isolates revealed that 15.5% of the isolates had the G143A mutation that confers resistance to QoI fungicides and were in 50% of the counties in which isolates originated. This represents the first report of QoI fungicide resistance in C. cassiicola isolates from Kentucky soybean fields. Considering these findings, Kentucky soybean growers should adopt target spot management practices which include rotating to non-host crops, planting resistant soybean cultivars, and applying fungicides from different fungicide classes.

Book Review: Joseph C. Ewoodzie, Getting Something to Eat in Jackson: Race, Class, and Food in the American South

Book Review: Joseph C. Ewoodzie, Getting Something to Eat in Jackson: Race, Class, and Food in the American South

Retrospective study of laboratory-based surveillance of rabies in wild and domestic animals in the southern United States, 2010-2021.

We performed a retrospective study of all case submissions for the rabies virus (RABV) direct fluorescent antibody test (DFAT) requested of the Tifton Veterinary Diagnostic and Investigational Laboratory (Tifton, GA, USA) between July 2010 and June 2021. Submitted were 792 samples from 23 animal species from 89 counties in Georgia, and 4 neighboring counties in Florida, 1 in South Carolina, and 1 in Alabama. In 13 (1.6%) cases, the DFAT result was inconclusive; 779 (98.4%) cases had a conclusive (positive or negative) test result. Of these 779 cases, 79 (10.1%) tested positive across 10 species. The remaining 700 (89.9%) cases were negative. The main reason for submission for RABV testing was human exposure to a potentially rabid animal in 414 (52.3%) cases. Among the 79 positive cases, 74 (93.7%) involved wildlife; raccoons (51 cases; 68.9%) were the primary host confirmed with RABV infection, followed by skunk and fox (8 cases each; 10.8%), bobcat (5 cases; 6.8%), and bats (2 cases; 2.7%). Only 5 domestic animals (6.3% of the positive cases) tested positive during our study period; one from each of the bovine, canine, caprine, equine, and feline species. Hence, the sylvatic cycle plays the predominant role in circulating RABV infection in our study area.

Aging in climate change: Unpacking residential mobility and changes of social determinants of health in southern United States

The southern coastal states of the United States are susceptible to extreme weather and climate events. With growing move-in and -out older populations in the region, health implications of their residential mobility lack sufficient knowledge. Using 126,352 person-level records from 2012 to 2021, we examined geospatial and temporal patterns of older populations’ residential mobility, considering the changing social determinants of health and disparities. We found the moves of older populations with socioeconomic or health disadvantages were related to increased exposure to environmental hazards and reduced access to health resources. The findings inform targeted strategies for climate adaptation that address the needs of vulnerable aging populations.

Examining the Relation Between Early Violence Exposure and Firearm-Related Experiences in Emerging Adulthood: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Firearms are a leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults in the United States. Early exposure to violence, as a victim or witness, is associated with increased risk of firearm-related experiences, including carrying and threatening others with a gun. These experiences, in turn, increase the risk of both fatal and non-fatal firearm injuries. Using an ethnically diverse sample of emerging adults, we build on prior research by examining the link between early violence exposure at multiple contexts of the social-ecological model and multiple firearm-related experiences (i.e., firearm-threatening victimization, firearm-threatening perpetration, and firearm carriage). We analyzed data from a 10-year longitudinal study of 1042 youth in the Southern United States. Experiencing childhood physical abuse was associated with both firearm-threatening victimization and perpetration in emerging adulthood. Additionally, exposure to neighborhood and interparental violence were linked to threatening others with firearms and carrying firearms, respectively. Counter to expectations, bullying victimization did not emerge as a predictor of any firearm-related experiences. Findings highlight the importance of cross-cutting violence prevention efforts to prevent high-risk firearm-related behaviors among emerging adults. Programs for children and adolescents that address these types of violence exposure should highlight coping skills and sources of positive social support to bolster protective factors against firearm-related outcomes.

Chasing and surfing seasonal waves: Avian migration through the US tracks land surface phenology in fall, but not spring.

Climate change is altering the timing of seasonal events for many taxa. There is limited understanding of how northward/southward songbird migration follows or is limited by the latitudinal progression of seasonal transitions. Consistent environmental conditions that migrating birds encounter across latitudes likely represent or correlate with important resources or limiting factors for migration. We tested whether migratory passage-observed via radar-consistently tracked land surface variables and phenophases across latitudes in the US Central Flyway in both spring and fall. The daily temperatures, precipitation and vegetation greenness occurring on 10%, 50% and 90% cumulative passage dates changed substantially with latitude, indicating that most migrants experienced rapidly changing conditions as they headed north or south. Temperature did not limit the progression of migration in either season. Peak spring migration in the southern US occurred nearly 40 days after the spring green wave, the northward progression of vegetation growth, but nearly caught up to green-up at 48° N. Spring migration phenology may have evolved to prioritize earlier arrival for breeding. Across all latitudes, peak fall migration coincided with the same land surface phenophase, an interval of 26 days prior to dormancy onset. Migrants may rely on phenological events in vegetation during fall stopovers. Considering that (a) migratory passage tracked fall land surface phenology across latitudes at a continental scale, (b) previous studies at local scales have demonstrated the importance of fruit during fall migratory stopover and (c) fruiting phenology in North America is occurring later over time while fall migration is advancing, the potential for mismatch between fall fruiting and bird migration phenology urgently needs further investigation.

The impact of socio-environmental factors on doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis awareness in the US: a cross-sectional study

Background We investigated awareness and use of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxyPEP) in the US. DoxyPEP has preventative benefits for bacterial STIs among people assigned male at birth. We considered how individual, interpersonal and social determinants of health, such as state-level LGBTQ equality, impact doxyPEP awareness. Methods We conducted an online snapshot cross-sectional survey in June 2023. Survey questions included demographics, sexual and substance use behaviours, and socio-environmental factors, and provided a short explanation of doxyPEP, with questions regarding prior awareness and use. Results Among a racially diverse sample of 196 participants (median age 33 years), 94% identified as cisgender men, 26% were aware of doxyPEP, whereas only 14 (7%) had ever used it. Factors significantly associated with awareness included being college educated (OR 2.50, 95% CI 1.09–5.74), a past year bacterial STI (OR 4.20, 95% CI 1.97–8.89), having discussed HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis with a health care provider (OR 3.88, 95% CI 1.99–7.57) and having taken HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.11–4.70). Socio-environmental factors associated with doxyPEP awareness included living in a large urban city (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.12–4.10) and living in a state with higher levels of LGBTQ policy equality (OR 2.18, 95% CI 1.07–4.44). Conclusions Considering the disproportionate impact of bacterial STIs on men who have sex with men, especially those living in lower LGBTQ equality regions, such as the Southern US, our study emphasises how socio-environmental factors may limit awareness and uptake of novel biomedical approaches that have the potential to prevent morbidity and enhance sexual health.

Comparing the effectiveness of adulticide application interventions on mitigating local transmission of dengue virus

AbstractThe southern US has a large presence of mosquito vector species for dengue virus (DENV) and experiences thousands of DENV importations every year, which have led to several local outbreaks. Adulticide spraying targeting active mosquitoes is one of the most common insecticide strategies used as a response to an outbreak. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of adulticide spraying conducted at different times of the day to curb DENV transmission. Based on unique dataset of Aedes aegypti diel activity patterns in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and Brownsville, Texas, we developed a mechanistic model of DENV transmission, which simulates adulticide spraying interventions. We estimated that spraying adulticide for 14 consecutive days at 7am or 8 pm was highly effective in reducing DENV outbreak probability from 10% in the absence of interventions to 0.1% for Miami-Dade County, and from 7.8 to 0.1% for Brownsville. Moreover, in case of a local outbreak in Miami-Dade County, we estimated the median number of symptomatic infections after the identification of a local outbreak to be reduced from 67.0 (IQR: 25.5–103.0) in the absence of interventions to 1.0 (IQR: 0.0–2.0) when spraying adulticide for 14 consecutive days at 8 pm. In Brownsville, the same intervention is estimated to lead to a decrease from 15.0 (IQR: 7.0–33.0) cases to 1.0 (IQR: 0.0–2.0). Our study highlights the importance of considering diel activity patterns of vector mosquito species in arbovirus preparedness and response planning and provide quantitative evidence to guide the decision-making of mosquito control authorities.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Perceptions of Local Food Market Channels

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on food systems. Despite disrupting conventional markets—such as grocery stores—farmers that focused on short supply chains found new market opportunities. As consumers increasingly became concerned with the safety of in-person shopping, some turned to purchasing directly from farmers and markets that carried products marketed as local, organic, and/or sustainable. With these changes in mind, I ask how consumer perceptions of local food systems (LFSs) changed in the two years after COVID-19. If consumers are more aware of local markets, farmers might reorient production to focus on local supply chains and sustainable production methods. To evaluate consumer perceptions, I use survey responses from residents in five communities in the US South in 2019 and 2022. Using a treatment effects model with propensity score matching, I show that residents became more aware of most local market channels, such as specialty retail stores and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Some residents were also more likely to have a positive perception of markets that provide fresh vegetables to low-income residents. Finally, residents wanted more investment into markets that make fresh, local products more available, such as community-owned groceries and CSA.

Provocative findings from a transdiagnostic counseling intervention to improve psychiatric comorbidity and HIV care engagement among people with HIV: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress (PTS), and alcohol/substance use disorders are prevalent among people with HIV (PWH), commonly co-occur, and predict worse HIV care outcomes. Transdiagnostic counseling approaches simultaneously address multiple co-occurring mental health disorders. Methods: We conducted a pilot individually randomized trial of the Common Elements Treatment Approach adapted for people with HIV (CETA-PWH), a transdiagnostic counseling intervention, compared to usual care at a large academic medical center in the southern US. Participants were adults with HIV, at risk for HIV care disengagement, with elevated symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTS, and/or alcohol/substance use. Mental health and HIV care engagement were assessed at four and nine months. Results: Among participants (n=60), follow-up was high at four (92%) and nine (85%) months. Intervention engagement was challenging: 93% attended ≥1 session, 43% attended ≥6 sessions in three months (“moderate dose”), and 30% completed treatment. While not powered for effectiveness, mental health outcomes and HIV appointment attendance improved in CETA-PWH relative to usual care in intent-to-treat analyses; those receiving a moderate dose and completers showed progressively greater improvement. Viral load showed small differences between arms. The dose-response pattern was not explained by differences between those who did and did not complete treatment. Conclusions: This pilot trial provides preliminary evidence for the potential of CETA-PWH to simultaneously address co-occurring mental health co-morbidities and support HIV appointment attendance among PWH. Additional strategies may be an important part of ensuring that clients can engage in the full course of treatment and realize its full benefits.

Perceptions of Tree Risks and Benefits in a Historically African American Neighborhood

An expansive body of research demonstrates the social and ecological benefits of urban forests, although urban tree canopy density tends to be lower than average in areas occupied by marginalized populations. Non-profit organizations and local governments have initiated tree-planting programs; however, some of these programs have encountered local resistance. This study took place in a historically African American neighborhood in the Southern USA with a low tree canopy where residents expressed disinterest in replanting trees following a tree hazard removal campaign led by a local non-profit organization. Employing focus groups and interviews, we explored residents’ environmental attitudes and risk perceptions by asking about the risks and benefits of neighborhood trees and barriers to the enjoyment of them. The material and emotional bonds residents have with the neighborhood informed their preferences about trees and green space. Trees were often viewed as hazards and financial risks, although they were an integral part of residents’ identities for themselves and their community. The findings suggest that neglecting to look at diverse perceptions will challenge a city’s ability to communicate about the urban forest and, therefore, sustainably address disparities in tree benefits and problems.

Functional reorganization of North American wintering avifauna.

Wintering birds serve as vital climate sentinels, yet they are often overlooked in studies of avian diversity change. Here, we provide a continental-scale characterization of change in multifaceted wintering avifauna and examine the effects of climate change on these dynamics. We reveal a strong functional reorganization of wintering bird communities marked by a north-south gradient in functional diversity change, along with a superimposed mild east-west gradient in trait composition change. Assemblages in the northern United States saw contractions of the functional space and increases in functional evenness and originality, while the southern United States saw smaller contractions of the functional space and stasis in evenness and originality. Shifts in functional diversity were underlined by significant reshuffling in trait composition, particularly pronounced in the western and northern United States. Finally, we find strong contributions of climate change to this functional reorganization, underscoring the importance of wintering birds in tracking climate change impacts on biodiversity.

Life cycle emissions and unit production cost of sustainable aviation fuel from logging residues in Georgia, United States

Production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) has gained popularity for reducing carbon emissions from the aviation sector. To evaluate the environmental and economic tradeoffs related to SAF production and its potential use, this study estimates the life cycle carbon emissions and unit production cost of SAF produced from logging residues generated during harvest and thinning operations in Georgia, a major roundwood producing state in the Southern United States. We considered two production pathways, i.e., Ethanol-to-Jet (ETJ) and Iso-Butanol-to-Jet (Iso-BTJ), to compute the carbon savings and unit production costs. A sensitivity analysis was performed to identify significant factors contributing to the overall carbon savings and unit production costs for the selected pathways. After considering revenues generated from co-products, the minimum aviation fuel selling price (MASP) was $2.71 L-1 and $2.44 L-1 for ETJ and Iso-BTJ pathways, respectively. Capital investment cost at biorefinery accounted for most of the MASP, followed by the minimum haul rate for transporting biomass and variable cost for alcohol intermediate production. Finally, after considering tax credit from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and RIN (Renewable Identification Number) credit along with co-product revenue, the MASP ranged between $2.29 L-1 and 0.83 L-1 for the ETJ pathway and between $2.04 L-1 and $0.59 L-1 for the Iso-BTJ pathway. In addition, the carbon intensity of both the ETJ and Iso-BTJ pathways were 758 g CO2e L−1 and 976 g CO2e L−1, with relative carbon savings of 70.6 % and 62.1 % compared to conventional aviation fuel. The production cost suggests a minimum abatement cost of $59 t CO2e−1 for the ETJ and -$59.3 t CO2e−1 for the Iso-BTJ pathways in the presence of federal incentives. Our study shows that logging residues-based SAF could reduce the overall carbon footprint of the aviation sector; however, policy support is needed to support its production in light of higher production costs.

Rural-Urban Stroke Mortality Gaps in the United States

IntroductionDisparities in stroke outcomes, influenced by the use of systemic thrombolysis, endovascular therapies, and rehabilitation services, have been identified. Our study assesses these disparities in mortality after stroke between rural and urban areas across the United States (US). MethodsWe analyzed the CDC data on deaths attributed to cerebrovascular disease from 1999-2020. Data was categorized into rural and urban regions for comparative purposes. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) were computed using the direct method, allowing us to examine the ratios of rural to urban deaths for the cumulative population and among demographic subpopulations. Linear regression models were used to assess temporal changes in mortality ratios over the study period, yielding beta-coefficients (β). ResultsThere was a total of 628,309 stroke deaths in rural regions and 2,556,293 stroke deaths within urban regions. There were 1.13 rural deaths for each one urban death per 100,000 population in 1999 and 1.07 in 2020 (β=-0.001, ptrend=0.41). The rural-urban mortality ratio in Hispanic populations decreased from 1.32 rural deaths for each urban death per 100,000 population in 1999 to 0.85 in 2020 (β=-0.011, ptrend<0.001). For non-Hispanic populations, mortality remained stagnant with 1.12 rural deaths for each urban death per 100,000 population in 1999 and 1.07 in 2020 (β=-0.001, ptrend=0.543). Regionally, the Southern US exhibited the highest disparity with a urban-rural mortality ratio of 1.19, followed by the Northeast (1.13), Midwest (1.04), and West (1.01). ConclusionsOur findings depict marked disparities in stroke mortality between rural and urban regions, emphasizing the importance of targeted interventions to mitigate stroke-related disparities.

The Southern Way of Life: Meanings of Culture and Civilization in the American South by Charles Reagan Wilson (review)

The Southern Way of Life: Meanings of Culture and Civilization in the American South by Charles Reagan Wilson (review)

Fall prevention in a pediatric unit: a best practice implementation project.

Inpatient falls account for 6% to 24% of pediatric safety incidents and can lead to increased length of hospital stay, increased cost of care, and decreased satisfaction with care. A review of a pediatric hematology, oncology, neurology, and rehabilitation unit in a hospital in the southern United States revealed an average of one to two falls monthly. This project aimed to promote evidence-based practices (EBPs) regarding fall prevention in the pediatric unit. This project used the JBI Evidence Implementation Framework to promote EBPs regarding pediatric fall prevention. A baseline audit was conducted to identify gaps between evidence and current practice. Barriers to EBPs were identified, strategies were implemented to promote EBPs, and a follow-up audit was conducted to measure the effectiveness of the improvement strategies. The baseline audit revealed 100% compliance with all criteria except for Criterion 1 (using a validated assessment tool), which scored 0%, and Criterion 5 (communication between nurses at shift handover), which scored 69%. In the follow-up audit, Criterion 1 remained at 0%, but Criterion 5 rose to 82%. This project identified areas of non-compliance with best practice recommendations for the prevention and assessment of pediatric fall risk. Interventions were implemented, with positive results. Further investigation is needed to assess the long-term effectiveness of the interventions. http://links.lww.com/IJEBH/A196.

Apparent absence of Trypanosoma cruzi in Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) from Texas, USA

The Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) is one of the most abundant mammals in North America. Mexican free-tailed bats have a wide geographic range stretching from northern South America to the western United States. Bats are theorized to be the original hosts for Trypanosoma cruzi —the causative agent of Chagas disease— and can serve as a source of infection to triatomine insect vectors that feed upon them. Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease across the Americas where triatomines are present, including the southern United States, where Texas reports this highest number of locally-acquired human cases. To learn more about the role of bats in the ecology of Chagas disease in Texas, we surveyed a colony of Mexican free-tailed bats from Brazos County, Texas, for T. cruzi using carcasses salvaged after an extreme weather event. A total of 283 Mexican free-tailed bats collected in February 2021 were dissected and DNA from the hearts and kidneys was used for T. cruzi detection via qPCR. None of the bat hearts or kidneys tested positive for T. cruzi; this sample size affords 95% confidence that the true prevalence of T. cruzi in this population does not exceed 1%. Future sampling of multiple bat species as well as migrant and resident colonies of Mexican free-tailed bats across different times of the year over a broader geographic range would be useful in learning more about the role of bats in the ecology of Chagas disease in Texas.

Globalization, welfare, and inequality: Evidence from transoceanic market integration, 1815–1913

Abstract This article contributes to the growing historical literature on the ‘first globalization’ (1815–1913) and income inequality in countries that exported agricultural products. International market integration is expected to increase the demand for exports and therefore their prices. We estimate the effects of increased prices from international market integration on national welfare and income inequality between and within regions in three major exporters of agricultural products—British India, Colonial Indonesia, and the United States—using the prices of eleven key primary commodities. Market integration significantly increased aggregate welfare, but the gains were unevenly distributed. Producing regions gained up to nearly 6% of their GDP. Since the regions that made most welfare gains were also the poorest in their countries, market integration mitigated inequality between regions. Within the southern United States and Java, plantation owners obtained most gains, causing a substantial increase in inequality between persons.

Walker’s Appeal... is the main manifesto of radical African-American abolitionism

This work is about one of the key episodes of African-American history and the history of American abolitionism associated with the publication in September 1829 in Boston of Walker’s Appeal, in Four Articles; Together with a Preamble, to the Coloured Citizens of the World. The appearance of this “revolutionary appeal” undoubtedly marked a new milestone in the development of the anti-slavery movement and the actual emergence of such a trend as radical African-American abolitionism. The reaction to the release of this document by the authorities of the Southern States can be called unprecedented in its scale and consequences. It found expression in the adoption of a number of repressive laws, which, in turn, marked the beginning of a period of prolonged reaction in the American South, which would end only after the end of the Civil War of 1861–1865. The significance of this event is difficult to overestimate. After almost two centuries, the figure of David Walker and his Appeal still arouse increased interest from Western researchers and not only. However, no serious works on this topic have been published in Russian historiography up to the present moment. This study aims to identify and examine the causes and circumstances of the writing of the Walker’s Appeal…, to analyze the main provisions of this document and the consequences caused by its dissemination. In addition, the author pays special attention to the review of the historiography of this issue. The source base is newspaper publications, letters and bills of the period under review, as well as the text of the Appeal. The methodological basis of the research consists of causal, historical-descriptive, historical-genetic, historical-typological, retrospective, and comparative-historical methods. The materialistic dialectic plays the main role, showing the development of the abolitionist movement in dynamics and the influence of related factors. The author concludes that Walker’s Appeal… became an expression of the most important trend in the development of American abolitionism at the end of the first third of the nineteenth century. The appearance of this document clearly demonstrated the radicalization of the African-American community itself and its willingness to join the struggle for the abolition of slavery and its rights.