Virginia Research Articles

Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) from Essex Co., Virginia: monthly changes in abundance and richness

We analyzed the abundance and richness of velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) in Essex County, Virginia, USA. Also, to compare the species list in this study with the known diversity in the state of Virginia, we examined literature searches and collection inventories. Mutillidae specimens in Essex were sampled from March 26 to November 5, 1991, using 13 Malaise traps. The monthly abundance of each genus was then compared using Rayleigh and Mardia-Watson-Wheeler tests. Fieldwork yielded a total of 3302 specimens, distributed in 25 species, eight genera (Dasymutilla Ashmead, Ephuta Say, Lomachaeta Mickel, Myrmosa Latreille, Photomorphus Viereck, Pseudomethoca Ashmead, Sphaeropthalma Blake, and Timulla Ashmead), and three subfamilies (Myrmosinae, Mutillinae, and Sphaeropthalminae). The four most abundant genera were Pseudomethoca (789 specimens, four species), Myrmosa (778 specimens, one species), Ephuta (774 specimens, five species), Sphaeropthalma (662 specimens, one species). Myrmosa unicolor Say and Sphaeropthalma pensylvanica (Lepeletier) were the most abundant species, representing 44% of the collected specimens. The genera analyzed presented significant monthly abundance values, with maximum abundance values in June for Sphaeropthalma, July for Timulla, Dasymutilla, Myrmosa, and Photomorphus; August for Ephuta; and September for Pseudomethoca. Genera with similar patterns are Timulla-Dasymutilla, Timulla-Photomorphus, and Dasymutilla-Photomorphus. The 25 species recorded from Essex County in this study constitute 78.1% of the 32 species recorded from the state of Virginia. We concluded that the Mutillidae from Essex Co. displays large variations in abundance, with peaks of activity occurring from June to September. Although our study did not sample environmental variables, the monthly activity patterns observed are correlated with temperature patterns observed for Essex Co. in 1991. Finally, Sphaerophthalma (sic!) (Photomorphus) rubroscutellatus Bradley was recognized to be a junior synonym of Photomorphus impar (Melander).

«Точка сборки»: «Хижина дяди Тома» и американская культурная модель черной расы

Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly (1852) being the most powerful statement on the racial issue in the 19th century American literature, succeeded to incorporate and rethink everything that the national tradition had in stock on the problem of slavery and race relations. The Black racial / cultural identity model that was taking shape in the 18th century Anglo-American literature, later was being enriched and transformed throughout American (and African-American) literary history. Uncle Tom's Cabin became another crucial text (the next one after Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia) that provided the emerging Black cultural / racial identity model with a new quality: it became universal, nationally recognized — and at the same time a point of controversy provoking endless debates and open for dynamic change and transformations, as was the case with anti-Tom literature and the ambivalent reception of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in African American literary tradition. The analysis of The Planter’s Northern Bride (1854) by Caroline Lee Hentz, a typical example of anti-Tom novels, gives an idea of the pro-slavery response to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The final part of the paper is a survey of the main stages in African American response since the 1853 argument between Martin Delany and Frederick Douglass that became a matrix for the further polemic, and up to Henry Louis Gates’s subversive “double-voiced” interpretation of the novel which is in full agreement with the tendency to revise the role of white Abolitionists in the antislavery movement and African American history, typical for African American studies in the 1990s–2000s.

Rebels in the Making: The Secession Crisis and the Birth of the Confederacy by William L. Barney

Reviewed by: Rebels in the Making: The Secession Crisis and the Birth of the Confederacy by William L. Barney Michael D. Robinson (bio) Rebels in the Making: The Secession Crisis and the Birth of the Confederacy. By William L. Barney. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020. Pp. 392. Cloth, $34.95.) Over the past five decades, William L. Barney has written extensively on secession, the Old South, and the Confederate experience, richly enhancing our understanding of how and why the nation plunged headlong into civil war in 1861. Barney's unparalleled expertise in the movement for disunion in the fifteen slaveholding states sparkles throughout Rebels in the Making. Primarily focusing on the period between the presidential campaign of 1860 and the summer of 1861, when the Middle South states of Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee exited the Union and joined the seven Lower South states in the nascent Confederacy, Rebels in the Making offers a fast-paced yet carefully argued narrative of the secession crisis. Familiar themes from Barney's earlier scholarship resonate in this book. Categorizing the push for secession as "a slaveholder-driven movement from the top" (4), the author emphasizes the anxieties, fears, and suspicions that increasingly worried white southerners in the 1850s and allowed an often-marginalized cadre of fire-eaters to make inroads in several slaveholding states after the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860. Economic strains drove white southern angst: the price of land and enslaved persons steadily increased over the decade, distressing aspiring planters and limiting the opportunities for the South's landless population to achieve economic independence through the acquisition of real property. The frustrations of white workers in southern cities grew during the 1850s as free Black people and European immigrants offered business owners alternative labor options. Elites worried that the bubbling economic discontent from the lower classes in towns and cities might upset their carefully ordered society and used the pulpit, the press, and their own political power to channel the ire of the white populace toward meddling outsiders, such as abolitionists and Republicans. Barney scrupulously delineates the various opinions in the South about how to respond to these growing anxieties. Older, established planters who enjoyed greater economic stability normally stressed moderation, praised the safeguards for slavery within the Union, and, after Lincoln's election, preferred cooperation among the southern states to rectify the South's grievances. Outside of South Carolina—where depleted soil and soaring out-migration had produced nearly unanimous support for disunion among white elites—younger, aspiring slaveholders who came of age during the 1850s and confronted dwindling economic opportunities provided the vanguard for immediate, separate state secession. The younger [End Page 118] radicals calling for immediate secession may have been stymied were it not for a major drought that ravaged the South during the campaign of 1860. The failure of much of the South's corn crop caused food prices to soar and, along with the caustic presidential contest, placed the white southern populace on edge. Paranoia prevailed by the end of 1860: rumors of slave insurrections abounded, unknown strangers were branded as dangerous abolitionists, and pro-secession militias mobilized. "With the economy at a standstill, food shortages, unprecedented unemployment, insurrection scares, and continued reports of slave resistance," Barney writes, "conditions could not have been more favorable for secession" (135). With these circumstances converging toward the end of 1860, secessionists still had their work cut out for them, even in the Lower South. Barney chronicles how fire-eaters utilized propaganda, spectacle, and coercion to push the seven states of the Cotton South out of the Union between December 1860 and February 1861. The author credits South Carolinians Robert and Henry Gourdin, rather than such firebrands as Robert Barnwell Rhett, with charting a path forward for the disunion movement in the heady days following Lincoln's election. Through their 1860 Association, the Gourdins mobilized public support for secession and eased the concerns of southerners who dreaded following the South Carolina agitators who had led their state to disunionist dead-ends in 1833 and 1850. "The whole approach of the 1860 Association centered on structuring secession as a peaceful, law-abiding movement that would regain the...

The Power of Teaching Discourse: A Case Study of the Students at West Virginia State University

Language, which reflects a civilization, is unique for human beings. Teaching discourse also plays an important role in the classroom. This paper intends to answer this research question through analysis of a questionnaire survey and three video clips: How does English function in university classes? With the assistance of Professor Barbara Ladner for her questionnaire distribution at West Virginia State University, the questionnaire was designed to survey the students at West Virginia State University. The result shows that English used in a class does the same function as a kind of teaching discourse. Teachers are suggested to employ proper strategies in vocabulary and expression to make the class effective and efficient. Additionally, three teaching video clips were explored for the investigation of teaching discourse, which shows that a well-structured teaching discourse can help a teacher conduct a successful class.

Assessment and Analysis of Undergraduate Fall Enrollment Trends of The Selected College of Agriculture at the 1890 Land-Grant Universities: 1996 To 2018

Background: The 1890 land-grant universities consisted of 19 universities, and these networks of schools and colleges were established under the Second Morrill Act of 1890. These universities aim to strengthen research, extension, and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences and work on funding for scholarships and employment, quality advisement, and a network system with mentors for African American students. Besides food and agricultural sciences,1890 Land-Grant universities create opportunities for African Americans to educate and build careers in agriculture, food, natural resources, and human sciences. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess and analyze the college of agriculture’s undergraduate fall enrollment trends of all the 1890 land-grant universities from 1996 to 2018. Methods: Time series data were collected on undergraduate fall enrollment of the college of agriculture for 18 land-grant universities (one unavailable) and examined the general fall enrollment trend of all universities through the analysis of line chart. Result: The most significant output result of the study is that among the 18 universities, eight universities are highly expected to increase the enrollment number of students, two universities are highly potential for losing students in the future, and others have relatively inconsistent growth rate. Conclusions: The paper concludes that most of the College of Agriculture at the 1890 Land Grant universities have a high potential for enriching its departments in the future. Colleges of Agriculture at the Land Grant Universities were established to improve higher agricultural education for the minorities, especially African Americans. These universities continuously play a vital role in educating African American students. Furthermore, 1890 universities are extremely important to keep the diversities in the professions in the field of agriculture. It can be concluded that particularly the potential declining colleges (West Virginia State University, Tennessee State University, Kentucky State University, South Carolina State University, and Tuskegee University) should be given special attention.

Social and Economic Costs of Inequality in the State of Virginia

This study examined selected social and economic costs of inequality in the state of Virginia. We explored the extent of inequality of place across the state, finding significant inequalities between counties on measures such as household income, poverty, college completion, single parenthood, and racial segregation. These inequalities of place were strongly associated with inequalities in the adult outcomes of children raised in different areas of the state, including unequal household income and unequal rates of upward mobility, college completion, incarceration, and marriage in adulthood. When examining the association between homicides and concentrated disadvantage in the capital city of Richmond, our mapping techniques demonstrated a strong association. Finally, we estimated that child poverty results in billions of dollars of economic costs to the state each year.

Siricid Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) From Eastern White Pine and Associated Pine Species in Southern Appalachia

Siricid Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) From Eastern White Pine and Associated Pine Species in Southern Appalachia

Outbreak of Measles Amongst USA-Bound Afghan Evacuees

This Watching Brief describes an outbreak of measles in the context of the mass evacuation of 124,000 people from Afghanistan to the USA. Cases were identified in the States of Wisconsin and Virginia, as well as in a military base in Germany. The outbreak affected children and young people aged 0 - 26 years, with publicly available data indicating a roughly even gender divide. As in previous measles outbreaks amongst displaced populations, a mass vaccination campaign played a foundational role in curbing the described outbreak.

Explainable Boosting Machines for Slope Failure Spatial Predictive Modeling

Machine learning (ML) methods, such as artificial neural networks (ANN), k-nearest neighbors (kNN), random forests (RF), support vector machines (SVM), and boosted decision trees (DTs), may offer stronger predictive performance than more traditional, parametric methods, such as linear regression, multiple linear regression, and logistic regression (LR), for specific mapping and modeling tasks. However, this increased performance is often accompanied by increased model complexity and decreased interpretability, resulting in critiques of their “black box” nature, which highlights the need for algorithms that can offer both strong predictive performance and interpretability. This is especially true when the global model and predictions for specific data points need to be explainable in order for the model to be of use. Explainable boosting machines (EBM), an augmentation and refinement of generalize additive models (GAMs), has been proposed as an empirical modeling method that offers both interpretable results and strong predictive performance. The trained model can be graphically summarized as a set of functions relating each predictor variable to the dependent variable along with heat maps representing interactions between selected pairs of predictor variables. In this study, we assess EBMs for predicting the likelihood or probability of slope failure occurrence based on digital terrain characteristics in four separate Major Land Resource Areas (MLRAs) in the state of West Virginia, USA and compare the results to those obtained with LR, kNN, RF, and SVM. EBM provided predictive accuracies comparable to RF and SVM and better than LR and kNN. The generated functions and visualizations for each predictor variable and included interactions between pairs of predictor variables, estimation of variable importance based on average mean absolute scores, and provided scores for each predictor variable for new predictions add interpretability, but additional work is needed to quantify how these outputs may be impacted by variable correlation, inclusion of interaction terms, and large feature spaces. Further exploration of EBM is merited for geohazard mapping and modeling in particular and spatial predictive mapping and modeling in general, especially when the value or use of the resulting predictions would be greatly enhanced by improved interpretability globally and availability of prediction explanations at each cell or aggregating unit within the mapped or modeled extent.

Marriage on the Border: Love, Mutuality, and Divorce in the Upper South during the Civil War by Allison Dorothy Fredette

Reviewed by: Marriage on the Border: Love, Mutuality, and Divorce in the Upper South during the Civil War by Allison Dorothy Fredette Angela Esco Elder (bio) Marriage on the Border: Love, Mutuality, and Divorce in the Upper South during the Civil War. By Allison Dorothy Fredette. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2020. Pp. 298. $40.00 cloth) Telling a sister-in-law that one loves another woman's "little finger better than he did his wife's whole body" is typically not a smart decision, if one desires a happy marriage (p. 2). Unfortunately for Amanda Trimble, happiness would prove elusive after she wed Ephraim, leading her to file for divorce in 1867. Dozens of neighbors testified to Ephraim's adultery, broadcasting intimate details of their [End Page 88] relationship before the court. Ultimately, Amanda received her divorce. Marriage on the Border offers an analysis of white marriages in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Appalachian Virginia, from the late antebellum era through early Reconstruction. Allison Dorothy Fredette argues that "ultimately, their hybrid border culture allowed citizens of this region to establish and maintain relationships built on mutuality, contractualism, and individualism, alongside a hierarchical slave system" (p. 7). The unique culture of the nineteenth century border region, characterized by adaptability, shines in this story. The study is supported by divorce records, diaries, correspondence, prescriptive literature, and speeches. Fredette divides her book into seven chapters, organizing those into two parts. The first, "Before the Storm," explores the making and breaking of marriages in the antebellum era. Her research reveals that four counties, "with weaker ties to slavery," granted more divorces than other counties with higher enslaved populations (p. 82). Two counties in eastern Virginia, by contrast, leaned into the idea that mastery, both in marriage and in slavery, "remained vital to the structure of society" (p. 82). If women could break the marriage contract what other social ties might be broken? Fredette argues that "in eastern Virginia, residents rejected many aspects of the mutuality and contractualism so sought after by their border neighbors in Kentucky and western Virginia" (p. 100). Instead of being more likely to see a marriage as a relationship built on mutual needs and interests, Fredette contends that many in eastern Virginia defined it as an arrangement in which women received support from their husbands, in exchange for obedience. The second section, "Weathering the Storm," carries readers through the Civil War and Reconstruction. The antebellum idea of marriage as a contract, between two consenting equals, made postwar divorces increasingly possible in the border region. Ohio County, West Virginia, for example, saw a rise of 300 percent in divorce petitions, while "eastern Virginians decried the breakdown of racial [End Page 89] mastery, connected it with potential disruptions to their hierarchical households, and demanded obedience and loyalty from both formerly enslaved people and spouses" (p. 151). Even as courtships aspired to love, respect, and mutuality, patriarchal authority remained firmly rooted in most white southern homes. Fredette's use of local records is particularly strong, exemplified by her thorough examination of the circuit courts of six counties (two in Kentucky, one in West Virginia, and three in Virginia). This leaves ample ground for future study, though, as scholars turn to additional counties to see if the patterns Fredette's research unearthed hold true. Analyzing divorce reveals the expectations of spouses for a marriage, as well as the values of their communities. The result is a book that will be of interest to scholars of the border region as well as those in gender studies. Scholars have explored how the Civil War, and emancipation, affected marriages. Fredette's addition of divorce in the border region is a much-appreciated advancement to the conversation. Angela Esco Elder ANGELA ESCO ELDER is assistant profesor of history at Converse College. She is the author of Love and Duty: Confederate Widows and the Emotional Politics of Loss (forthcoming). Copyright © 2021 Kentucky Historical Society

“History is Illuminating”: Public memory crises and collectives in Richmond, Virginia

Amid the Black Lives Matter protests and calls to remove Confederate statuary in Richmond, Virginia, during the summer of 2020, the History Is Illuminating project constructed public signs that replicated the traditional historical markers used throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. The signs were placed along Richmond’s historic Monument Avenue in conversation with the still-standing Confederate monuments. They challenged the monuments’ representation of public memory by re-introducing narratives about prominent Black Richmonders and informing readers of the Jim Crow legislation that enabled the monuments to be constructed and venerated. This edited and condensed interview with organizers from the project describes the multiple crises of collective memory that public historians confront in the American South, as well as the strategies the History Is Illuminating project used to counter dominant narratives about public memory. Finally, the interview highlights the importance of community action and a multiplicity of public memory projects in order to ensure a democratic approach to collective memory.

Relationships Among Band Festival Ratings, Director Gender, and Other Selected Factors

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among high school band festival ratings and director gender as well as school locale, school size, student socioeconomic status (SES), student race, repertoire difficulty, and ensemble name. Data included overall ratings of bands ( N = 257) that performed at District Concert Assessments held across the state of Virginia during 2019 as well as demographic information from the National Center for Education Statistics. Statistical analysis of a subset of these performances ( n = 151) revealed a statistically significant association between ratings and director gender, with male-directed ensembles more likely to receive a “I” rating than female-directed ensembles. However, hierarchical logistic regression revealed that repertoire difficulty and ensemble name were the best predictors of whether an ensemble would receive a “I” rating. Implications include the need to examine why female band directors may choose less difficult repertoire than male directors and to explore strategies for making the secondary band teaching profession more equitable and inclusive.

Culex nigripalpus Distribution Expansion: First Record in Virginia, New County Records in North Carolina, and Revised United States Map.

Theobald first described Culex nigripalpus in 1901 from St. Lucia Island of the Lesser Antilles. It is a Neotropical mosquito species that is documented throughout Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the southeastern USA. Reports within the last 3 decades show the species has expanded its range farther into North America and is not only being discovered sporadically but appears to be establishing itself in several states, of which data are underreported and difficult to find. Five female specimens were collected-4 on October 13 and 1 on December 6, 2017-at 3 separate sites in the city of Suffolk, VA-2 in a BG-Sentinel 2® trap, 3 in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention light traps-during routine mosquito surveillance; subsequent collections were made in 2019 and 2020. These findings represent the 1st record of Cx. nigripalpus in the state of Virginia and the most northeastern records in the USA. An updated mosquito species checklist for the state of Virginia is provided. Additionally, this report serves to update the records of North Carolina to 28 total counties reporting Cx. nigripalpus. These new records, along with other reports and published studies, show this species now documented in 201 jurisdictions in 16 states of the USA. As recent literature on this species is scarce, we provide a review of the bionomics, defining morphological characters, and an updated US distribution map.

Geographic Distribution of Ophiosphaerella Species in the Mid-Atlantic United States

Spring dead spot (SDS) of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) is primarily caused by Ophiosphaerella herpotricha and Ophiosphaerella korrae in North America. These two species respond differently to numerous management practices, grow optimally at different soil pH ranges, and differ in aggressiveness. Understanding the Ophiosphaerella species distribution in regions where SDS occurs will allow turfgrass managers to tailor their management practices toward the predominant species present. A survey was conducted in the Mid-Atlantic United States in which 1 to 14 samples of bermudagrass expressing SDS symptoms were taken from 51 athletic fields, golf courses, or sod farms across Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. DNA was isolated from necrotic root and stolon tissue, amplified using species-specific primers, and detected in a real-time PCR assay. At least one isolate of O. herpotricha was recovered from 76% of the locations, and O. korrae was recovered from 73% of the locations. O. herpotricha was amplified from 55% of the samples, whereas O. korrae was amplified from 37% of the samples. There were distinct regions in the Mid-Atlantic in which either O. herpotricha or O. korrae was predominant. O. herpotricha was predominant in western Virginia, central North Carolina, Delaware, and eastern Maryland. However, O. korrae was predominant in central Maryland and Virginia as well as eastern Virginia and North Carolina. O. herpotricha was isolated from certain cultivars more frequently than O. korrae and vice versa. These survey results elucidate the geographic distribution of O. herpotricha and O. korrae throughout the Mid-Atlantic United States.

First Report of Spot Blotch Caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana on Winter Rye in Kentucky.

The Kentucky distilling industry ranks as one of the state's largest industries and continues to expand. In 2017, the Kentucky distilling industry was responsible for approximately $235 million in state and local tax revenues (Coomes and Kornstein, 2019). Rye (Secale cereale L.) grains are a vital component for production of some distilled spirits. Although winter rye is produced on relatively few hectares in Kentucky currently, a recent initiative has supported expanding production to help meet the growing demand of local distilleries. University of Kentucky winter rye research field trials were visited in Caldwell and Logan Counties, KY in May 2018, and in Fayette County, KY in May 2019. Leaves were collected that had dark brown, oval to irregular-shaped lesions with definite margins and yellow halos. Symptoms were present on approximately 50% to 80% of the flag leaves, with severity ranging from 5% to 30% of the flag leaf area affected. Leaves were surface-disinfested by soaking in a 2% NaOCl solution for 1 min and rinsed twice in sterilized water and then placed in a humidity chamber (plastic bag with moist paper towels) at room temperature (approximately 24°C) to induce fungal sporulation. Seventeen single-spore isolates were obtained and stored at -80°C in 15% glycerol solution. Isolates were grown on potato dextrose agar under 12 h cycles of white light/darkness for 5 days. Colonies were gray to black. Conidia that formed were mostly straight or slightly curved, dark olivaceous brown, 3-7 septate, and 41.0-90.4 × 15.2-29.3 µm. Based on the symptoms observed on the collected leaves and these morphological characteristics similar to those described by Chang and Hwang (2000) and Manamgoda et al. (2014), the fungus was tentatively identified as Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sorokin) Shoemaker. The sequence of internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS) and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) were used to identify three isolates (18Bs004, 18Bs111 and 19Bs064) using primer ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990) and GPD1/GPD2 (Berbee et al. 1999), respectively. The sequences were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers MT457817, MT457818 and MZ066635 for ITS sequences and MZ073644 to MZ073646 for GAPDH sequences. BLAST searches with ITS and GAPDH sequences matched 100% identity (344/344 bp and 515/515 bp for ITS and GAPDH sequences, respectively) to B. sorokiniana (GenBank accession No. MT254731 and MH844813, respectively). To prove pathogenicity, a conidial suspension (1 × 105 conidia/ml) was used to inoculate 15-day-old cultivar 'Serafino' winter rye plants in the greenhouse. Leaves of 8 plants were inoculated with 50 ml of the conidial suspension using a spray bottle. Plants were covered with a transparent plastic bag for 48 h, and symptoms were observed 10 days after inoculation. Leaf lesions, similar to those described above, were present on all inoculated plants, but no symptoms were observed on non-inoculated control plants. Bipolaris sorokiniana was reisolated from symptomatic leaves and the identity of the pathogen was confirmed based on the morphology previously described. To our knowledge, this is the first report of spot blotch caused by B. sorokiniana on winter rye in Kentucky, but B. sorokiniana has been reported on rye in the neighboring state of Virginia (Roane 2009). Kentucky produces approximately 150,000 and 4,000 ha of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) and winter barley (Hordeum vulgare) annually, respectively, which are both known hosts of B. sorokiniana (Kumar et al. 2002). An isolate of B. sorokiniana from rye was reported by Ghazvini and Tekauz (2007) to be less virulent on barley differential lines. Further research is needed to better understand spot blotch distribution, susceptibility in winter rye cultivars, and potential yield and quality loss implications in winter rye production and end use. It is unknown how susceptible various winter rye cultivars grown in Kentucky are to spot blotch.

Abolitionist John Brown's Treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia: A Lesson for State Governments about the Culpability of Non-Residents for Treason against the State

Abstract This article analyzes the specific issue of whether an individual could be tried for treason by a State government if that individual is not a resident or citizen of that State. This issue is analyzed through the prism of the landmark case of John Brown v. Commonwealth of Virginia, a criminal prosecution which occurred in October 1859. Brown, a resident of New York, was convicted of treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, insurrection, and murder after he attempted to overthrow the institution of slavery by force on October 16–18, 1859. After a prosecution and trial which occurred within a matter of weeks following Brown's crimes, Brown was executed on December 2, 1859. To this day, John Brown's trial and execution remains one of the leading examples of a State government exercising its power to enforce treason law on the State level and to execute an individual for that offense. Of course, the John Brown case had a major impact on American history, including being a significant factor in the presidential election of 1860 and an often-cited spark to the powder keg of tensions between the Northern and Southern States, which would erupt into a raging conflagration between the North and South in the American Civil War a short eighteen months later. However, in the legal realm, the Brown case is one of the leading and best-known examples of a state government exercising its authority to enforce its laws prohibiting treason against the State. The purpose of this article is not to discuss treason laws generally or even all the issues applicable to John Brown's trial in 1859. Rather, this article focuses only on the very specific issue of the culpability of a non-resident/non-citizen for treason against a State government. With the increased array of hostile actions against State governments in recent years, and criminal actors crossing state lines to commit these hostile acts, this article discusses an issue of importance to contemporary society, namely whether an individual can be prosecuted and convicted for treason by a State of which the defendant is not a citizen or resident.

Performance of Different-Use Type Industrial Hemp Cultivars under Mid-Atlantic Region Conditions

Due to recent classification as a commodity crop in North America, producer interest in industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) has increased. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is a need to evaluate foreign-developed industrial hemp for its adaptability and to develop new cultivars suited to local climatic conditions. Eight cultivars (‘Bialobrzeskie’, ‘Canda’, ‘Fedora 17’, ‘Felina 32’, ‘Joey’, ‘Tygra’, ‘USO 31’, and ‘Wojko’) were evaluated for grain and five (‘Bialobrzeskie’, ‘Carmagnola’, ‘Fedora 17’, ‘Futura 75’, and ‘Wojko’) for vegetative biomass. An experiment carried out at the Virginia State Research and Demonstration (Randolph) farm was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results show that cultivars differed in the cumulative growing degree days (CGDD) needed for growth phase transitions, with ‘USO 31’ having an early transition to the reproductive phase. In addition, ‘Fedora 17’ produced greater grain yield and may have the potential for greater performance with better management to improve its adaptability to local conditions. Across cultivars and years, the grain protein content averaged 241 g kg−1 and the mineral elements were at sufficient levels for animal and human nutrition. ‘Carmagnola’ produced greater biomass yield and has the potential for adoption as local fiber cultivar.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

As Regina LaBelle leaves the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Rahul Gupta, M.D., takes over in the wake of his confirmation last month, there are still questions about how the staff will react. This is a new deal for the office. Gupta, the first medical doctor to ever lead the ONDCP, was West Virginia's state health officer from 2015–18, and then went on to work at the March of Dimes. He was leader of the Kanawha‐Charleston Health Department from 2009 until 2014. “As a practicing physician and former health official who has served in rural communities, I have seen firsthand the heartbreaking toll of addiction and overdose in our communities, but I have also seen how we can save lives if we understand the individuals behind the statistics and meet them where they are,” said Gupta in taking office. “President Biden has made clear that addressing addiction and the overdose epidemic is an urgent priority. As Director, I will diligently work to advance high‐quality, data‐driven strategies to make our communities healthier and safer.” It was widely believed that Biden chose Gupta to nominate to win West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin's vote on the infrastructure bill.

Spatial analysis of colorectal cancer outcomes and socioeconomic factors in Virginia

BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) disparities vary by country and population group, but often have spatial features. This study of the United States state of Virginia assessed CRC outcomes, and identified demographic, socioeconomic and healthcare access contributors to CRC disparities.MethodsCounty- and city-level cross-sectional data for 2011–2015 CRC incidence, mortality, and mortality-incidence ratio (MIR) were analyzed for geographically determined clusters (hotspots and cold spots) and their correlates. Spatial regression examined predictors including proportion of African American (AA) residents, rural-urban status, socioeconomic (SES) index, CRC screening rate, and densities of primary care providers (PCP) and gastroenterologists. Stationarity, which assesses spatial equality, was examined with geographically weighted regression.ResultsFor incidence, one CRC hotspot and two cold spots were identified, including one large hotspot for MIR in southwest Virginia. In the spatial distribution of mortality, no clusters were found. Rurality and AA population were most associated with incidence. SES index, rurality, and PCP density were associated with spatial distribution of mortality. SES index and rurality were associated with MIR. Local coefficients indicated stronger associations of predictor variables in the southwestern region.ConclusionsRurality, low SES, and racial distribution were important predictors of CRC incidence, mortality, and MIR. Regions with concentrations of one or more factors of disparities face additional hurdles to improving CRC outcomes. A large cluster of high MIR in southwest Virginia region requires further investigation to improve early cancer detection and support survivorship. Spatial analysis can identify high-disparity populations and be used to inform targeted cancer control programming.

Effect of State Legislation on Opioid Prescribing Practices After Surgery at a Pediatric Hospital

ObjectiveAs abuse of prescription narcotics continues to create a growing healthcare crisis throughout the United States, states have passed legislation designed to alter narcotic prescribing habits. West Virginia State Bill 273 limited the quantity of narcotics practitioners were able to prescribe. Our objective was to determine the effect of this bill on narcotic prescribing practices for pediatric surgical patients. MethodsA hospital-wide database at a pediatric trauma center was queried to identify all pediatric patients undergoing surgery between January 1, 2017 and December 9, 2019 and all medications prescribed to this cohort. Narcotic prescriptions written for these patients in the 2 months following surgery were isolated. The percent of patients receiving a postoperative narcotic prescription and the morphine milligram equivalents (MME) per prescription were compared before and after the law's implementation. ResultsThe number of pediatric patients identified as having surgery in the study period was 10,176; 6069 were before the law passed and 4107 were after. The percentage of patients receiving a narcotic prescription was 46.0% before the law was passed, decreasing to 36.8% after the law (P < .0001). Adjusted for age, the average MME of each prescription before the law's implementation was 104.0, which decreased to 79.2 after the law (P < .0001). ConclusionsThe amount of narcotic per prescription written for pediatric patients after surgery and the percentage of patients receiving a prescription decreased after West Virginia State Bill 273 was implemented. This law was associated with decreased narcotics written by providers, providing an example for future legislation targeting opioid prescribing and abuse.