Vincetoxicum rossicum (European swallowwort).

Author(s):  
André Gassmann

Abstract V. rossicum is a herbaceous perennial climbing vine native to Ukraine and southwestern European Russia. It was introduced into North America for ornamental purposes and has spread extensively throughout the lower Great Lakes Basin, particularly Lake Ontario, including New York State, USA and Ontario, Canada. Self-fertility and large numbers of wind-borne seeds ensure rapid dispersal of V. rossicum to new sites. Small patches of V. rossicum can coalesce to form very large, monospecific stands which can outcompete native vegetation resulting in a change in habitats and a decrease in biodiversity. V. rossicum is allelopathic and can alter the microbial composition in the rhizosphere preventing the growth of sensitive plant species. In the USA, competition from V. rossicum is putting pressure on the rare and endangered species Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum. In addition to this, V. rossicum has been shown to decrease insect biodiversity and may have negative impact on the reproduction of the Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus.

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-450
Author(s):  
Wil Lieberman-Cribbin ◽  
Naomi Alpert ◽  
Adam Gonzalez ◽  
Rebecca M Schwartz ◽  
Emanuela Taioli

Abstract In the midst of widespread community transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in New York, residents have sought information about COVID-19. We analyzed trends in New York State (NYS) and New York City (NYC) data to quantify the extent of COVID-19-related queries. Data on the number of 311 calls in NYC, Google Trend data on the search term ‘Coronavirus’ and information about trends in COVID-19 cases in NYS and the USA were compiled from multiple sources. There were 1228 994 total calls to 311 between 22 January 2020 and 22 April 2020, with 50 845 calls specific to COVID-19 in the study period. The proportion of 311 calls related to COVID-19 increased over time, while the ‘interest over time’ of the search term ‘Coronavirus’ has exponentially increased since the end of February 2020. It is vital that public health officials provide clear and up-to-date information about protective measures and crucial communications to respond to information-seeking behavior across NYC.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant L. Thompson ◽  
Terrence H. Bell ◽  
Jenny Kao-Kniffin

AbstractEuropean swallowwort [Vincetoxicum rossicum (Kleopow) Barbarich] is found in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. It forms dense growth patterns that reduce plant and insect biodiversity, and lab assays show that it produces allelopathic compounds that affect microbial activity. Consequently, we hypothesized that V. rossicum alters soil microbiome composition and activity in invaded habitats, which may impact ecosystem properties and processes. We sampled soil from a similar time point within a growing season at each of five sites in New York State where V. rossicum was both present and absent. We measured bacterial and fungal microbiome composition, available soil nitrogen (N), soil respiration (CO2 flux), and soil extracellular enzyme activities. Microbial composition varied across field sites, but only fungal composition was affected by invasion. No significant differences were found between the invaded and uninvaded plots at any of the sites for available soil ammonium, nitrate, or respiration, though extractable N varied greatly between sites. Microbial hydrolytic extracellular enzyme activities suggest decreased protein degradation and increased oxidative enzyme activity with V. rossicum invasion, which is relevant to soil N and carbon cycling processes. Although V. rossicum impacted rhizosphere microbial composition and activity, it was not associated with large perturbations in ecosystem function when examined across multiple invasion sites during this short-term study.


Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya Singh ◽  
Renae L. Smith-Ray ◽  
Michael Taitel

The 2019 measles outbreak was the worst since the USA eliminated measles in 2000. This paper presents the vaccination trends for a large chain-pharmacy, Walgreens, and examines the estimated vaccination capacity and impact of pharmacist privilege policies across states. Specifically, we estimated the number of people who could have been vaccinated in eight states with reduced or no measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination privilege during the study period January–June, 2019. During the study period, Walgreens pharmacists administered MMR vaccines to 62,526 patients, a 231.9% increase. If pharmacists had been permitted to vaccinate against measles in the eight states investigated, Walgreens pharmacies would have administered between 12,404 and 36,551 additional vaccinations during that time. We also estimated all chain pharmacies’ capacity to vaccinate in one state that was severely impacted by the measles outbreak, New York, using a range from normal pharmacy operating conditions to maximum capacity. Assuming sufficient demand, it was estimated that chain pharmacies in New York State would have the capacity to vaccinate between 47,688 and 174,856 patients daily, achieving MMR vaccination (first dose) of the measles-susceptible population within 8–28 days. Overall, this study demonstrates the public health value of pharmacist vaccination privilege during a nation-wide outbreak of measles.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Maximilian Fels ◽  
Saad Khan ◽  
Ryan Forster ◽  
Karin A. Skalina ◽  
Surksha Sirichand ◽  
...  

AbstractThe Bronx was an early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA. We conducted temporal genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 genomes across the Bronx from March-October 2020. Although the local structure of SARS-CoV-2 lineages mirrored those of New York City and New York State, temporal sampling revealed a dynamic and changing landscape of SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity. Mapping the trajectories of variants, we found that while some have become ‘endemic’ to the Bronx, other, novel variants rose in prevalence in the late summer/early fall. Geographically resolved genomes enabled us to distinguish between a case of reinfection and a case of persistent infection. We propose that limited, targeted, temporal genomic surveillance has clinical and epidemiological utility in managing the ongoing COVID pandemic.SignificanceThe ongoing emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants has highlighted the need for continual genomic surveillance in order to track their spread and limit introductions into new areas. An understanding of circulating viral strains also provides a powerful tool that can be used to make clinical inferences. Here, we employ temporally and geographically resolved sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 samples in order to describe the local landscape of viral variants in the Bronx and to differentiate between cases of re-infection and persistent infection. We propose that local and targeted sequencing of viral isolates is an underutilized approach for managing the COVID pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Rossiter ◽  
Laura Poggio ◽  
Dylan Beaudette ◽  
Zamir Libohova

Abstract. We present methods to evaluate the spatial patterns of the geographic distribution of soil properties in the USA, as shown in gridded maps produced by Predictive Soil Mapping (PSM) at global (SoilGrids v2), national (Soil Properties and Class 100 m Grids of the USA), and regional (POLARIS soil properties) scales, and compare them to spatial patterns known from detailed field surveys (gSSURGO). The methods are illustrated with an example: topsoil pH for an area in central New York State. A companion report examines other areas, soil properties, and depth slices. A set of R Markdown scripts is referenced so that readers can apply the analysis for areas of their interest. For the test case we discover and discuss substan- tial discrepancies between PSM products, as well as large differences between the PSM products and legacy field surveys. These differences are in whole-map statistics, visually-identifiable landscape features, level of detail, range and strength of spatial autocorrelation, landscape metrics (Shannon diversity and evenness, shape, aggregation, mean fractal dimension, co-occurence vectors), and spatial patterns of property maps classified by histogram equalization. Histograms and variogram analysis revealed the smoothing effect of machine-learning models. Property class maps made by histogram equalization were substantially different, but there was no consistent trend in their landscape metrics. The model using only national points and covariates was not better than the global model, and in some cases introduced artefacts from a lithology covariate. Uncertainty (5–95% confidence intervals) provided by SoilGrids and POLARIS were unrealistically wide compared to gSSURGO low and high estimated values and show substantially different spatial patterns. We discuss the potential use of the PSM products as a (partial) replacement for field-based soil surveys.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian Eastwood ◽  
John J. Shepard ◽  
Michael J. Misencik ◽  
Theodore G. Andreadis ◽  
Philip M. Armstrong

Abstract Background La Crosse virus (LACV) (genus Orthobunyavirus, family Peribunyaviridae) is a mosquito-borne virus that causes pediatric encephalitis and accounts for 50–150 human cases annually in the USA. Human cases occur primarily in the Midwest and Appalachian regions whereas documented human cases occur very rarely in the northeastern USA. Methods Following detection of a LACV isolate from a field-collected mosquito in Connecticut during 2005, we evaluated the prevalence of LACV infection in local mosquito populations and genetically characterized virus isolates to determine whether the virus is maintained focally in this region. Results During 2018, we detected LACV in multiple species of mosquitoes, including those not previously associated with the virus. We also evaluated the phylogenetic relationship of LACV strains isolated from 2005–2018 in Connecticut and found that they formed a genetically homogeneous clade that was most similar to strains from New York State. Conclusion Our analysis argues for local isolation and long-term persistence of a genetically distinct lineage of LACV within this region. We highlight the need to determine more about the phenotypic behavior of these isolates, and whether this virus lineage poses a threat to public health.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 487-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick Welsh ◽  
Michaele E. Webb ◽  
Stefan Grimberg ◽  
Shane Rogers

AbstractIt is accepted generally that anaerobic digesters (AD) are efficacious technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from livestock operations (Pronto and Gooch, 2009). In addition, AD technology has a number of other potential benefits including: energy production for use on the farm and for sale, separation of manure solids for ease of use or export off-farm, pathogen reduction leading to healthier labor and herd outcomes and odor control. It is also clear that in the USA, research and extension efforts, including public financing of AD technology installations, have disproportionally been focused on larger farms- e.g., dairy farms with at least 500 milking cows. The latter has begun to change as more resources are being invested in AD technology for smaller livestock farms. We present the results of a pre and post survey implemented at four workshops on small-scale AD technology for livestock farmers in northeastern New York State. Results indicate that information presented shifted farmers’ attitudes such that they viewed AD technology as not overly complex; and, they became less interested in selling generated surplus power off-farm.


2015 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-139
Author(s):  
A Edward Staehr

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the benefits of utilizing teams of personal and financial consultants to work with farm families in New York State on issues affecting farm business performance. Design/methodology/approach – Program experience in implementing an integrated consulting model provides a framework for illustrating how such a model may be utilized on farms and other family businesses for succession planning. Findings – An integrated personal and financial consulting model is effective in producing lasting business results such as business growth, improved profitability, and reduced interpersonal conflict on farms in New York State. Originality/value – Farmers employ a multitude of risk management tools, such as crop insurance, to reduce various types of risk affecting their farm businesses in New York State, but an area often overlooked by farmers is managing human resource risk, namely succession risk. As the average age of farmers in the USA continues to increase, employing new tools and strategies is critical when developing an effective business succession plan for farmers.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Gassmann

Abstract V. nigrum is a herbaceous climbing vine native to south-western Europe (Italy, France, Portugal and Spain). It has spread extensively throughout New England, the lower Hudson River basin and south-eastern Pennsylvania, USA. V. nigrum produces a large number of wind-borne, self-fertile seeds which readily disperse to new sites. Small patches of V. nigrum can coalesce to form large, monospecific stands that outcompete with native vegetation and alter habitats. In Vermont and New Hampshire, USA, the endemic and endangered species, Astragalus robbinsii var. jesupii, is under pressure by an expanding population of V. nigrum. In addition to this V. nigrum may have negative impact on the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus.


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