Distribution of Meloidogyne enterolobii in Eastern North Carolina and Comparison of Four Isolates

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanner Schwarz ◽  
Chunying Li ◽  
Weimin Ye ◽  
Eric Davis
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Pcr Primers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Root Knot Nematode ◽  
North Carolina Department ◽  
The North ◽  
Meloidogyne Enterolobii ◽  
Consumer Services ◽  
Eastern Half

The guava root-knot nematode (RKN), Meloidogyne enterolobii, is a particularly aggressive pathogen with limited known distribution in the United States. In 2011, M. enterolobii was identified on field crops in North Carolina for the first time. In collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nematode Assay Laboratory, RKN-positive samples from the eastern half of North Carolina submitted to the laboratory were analyzed for Meloidogyne species identification using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of individual nematodes. PCR primers specific for Meloidogyne incognita, M. javanica, M. arenaria, M. hapla, and M. enterolobii were used to analyze DNA from 203 RKN-positive samples representing a variety of field and vegetable crops grown in counties in the eastern half of North Carolina. M. incognita was the predominant species identified (32% of samples), and M. enterolobii was identified in 6% of samples including ones from sweetpotato, tobacco, and soybean crops. New detections of M. enterolobii were found in Nash, Greene, Sampson, and Harnett counties in addition to the previously identified locations in Johnston, Wayne, Columbus, and Wilson counties. Four isolates of M. enterolobii populations were collected from soybean and sweetpotato crops in Johnston, Greene, and Wilson counties and reared on ‘Rutgers’ tomato plants in the greenhouse. Potential differences in virulence among the four M. enterolobii populations were not detected in greenhouse infection assays on six selected resistant and susceptible sweetpotato genotypes in two independent tests.

Surveying for Potential Diseases and Abiotic Disorders of Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa) Production

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 321-332
Author(s):  
Lindsey D. Thiessen ◽  
Tyler Schappe ◽  
Sarah Cochran ◽  
Kristin Hicks ◽  
Angela R. Post
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North Carolina ◽  
Cannabis Sativa ◽  
The United States ◽  
Agricultural Commodity ◽  
Record Keeping ◽  
North Carolina Department ◽  
The North ◽  
Consumer Services ◽  
Industrial Hemp

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) has recently been reintroduced as an agricultural commodity in the United States, and, through state-led pilot programs, growers and researchers have been investigating production strategies. Diseases and disorders of industrial hemp in the United States are largely unknowns because record-keeping and taxonomy have improved dramatically in the last several decades. In 2016, North Carolina launched a pilot program to investigate industrial hemp, and diseases and abiotic disorders were surveyed in 2017 and 2018. Producers, consultants, and agricultural extension agents submitted samples to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Agronomic Services Division (n = 572) and the North Carolina Plant Disease and Insect Clinic (n = 117). Common field diseases found included Fusarium foliar and flower blights (Fusarium graminearum), Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum), and Helminthosporium leaf spot (Exserohilum rostratum). Greenhouse diseases were primarily caused by Pythium spp. and Botrytis cinerea. Common environmental disorders were attributed to excessive rainfall flooding roots and poor root development of transplanted clones.

Relating Public Opinions of Roadway Assets to Field Data with Survey and Focus Groups

2017 ◽  
Vol 2613 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-28
Author(s):  
Joy Davis ◽  
Chris Cunningham ◽  
Daniel Findley ◽  
Sarah Searcy ◽  
James Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Transportation Policy ◽  
North Carolina Department ◽  
The North

In recent years, transportation policy in the United States has increasingly focused on measuring and tracking performance outcomes. However, identifying how quantifiable outcomes—such as international roughness index ratings—influence less tangible outcomes—such as user satisfaction with a roadway—can be challenging. This paper outlines a method that enables researchers to compare stakeholder perceptions of assets with actual field-measured data for roadways. More than 350 residents in six locations in the state of North Carolina were surveyed about how those residents perceived and prioritized the roadway assets managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Using a method termed “roadway reviews,” researchers asked participants about state-maintained roads as the participants were driven on those roads in real time; these surveys were supplemented with focus groups. In addition to identifying how well asset conditions on roadway segments aligned with the basic expectations of roadway users, researchers determined how these ratings compared with field measurements for the segments and captured how participants ranked the importance of specific roadway assets for overall condition, safety, and appearance. The findings will be used to improve asset management practice and will be integrated into the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s annual Highway Performance Monitoring System reports.

Molecular characterization of an emerging root-knot nematode Meloidogyne enterolobii in North Carolina, USA

Plant Disease ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weimin Ye ◽  
Stephen Koenning ◽  
Yongsan Zeng ◽  
Zhuo Kan ◽  
Liao Jinling
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Molecular Characterization ◽  
Dna Analysis ◽  
Ornamental Plants ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Root Knot Nematode ◽  
The North ◽  
Meloidogyne Enterolobii ◽  
The Usa

An emerging threat to agriculture, Meloidogyne enterolobii Yang & Eisenback, 1983 is a tropical species and considered to be the most damaging root-knot nematode (RKN) in the world because of its wide host range, aggressiveness, and ability to overcome resistance to RKN in many crops. It was first detected in the USA on ornamental plants in Florida in 2001, but has since been identified in North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana. Several thousand RKN populations were collected from North Carolina field crops, ornamental plants and turfgrasses for species identification in the Nematode Assay Laboratory in the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDA&CS). From 2006 to 2019, root systems showing galling symptoms were dissected under the microscope and females were obtained for DNA analysis. When only soil samples were submitted, the second-stage juveniles or males were used instead. Molecular characterization was performed by PCR using species-specific primers and DNA sequencing on the ribosomal DNA 18S-ITS1-5.8S and 28S D2/D3, and mitochondrial DNA CoxII-16S. One hundred and thirty-five representative RKN populations from North Carolina were characterized and identified as M. enterolobii. Six populations from China where the species was originally described were included in this study for identity confirmation and comparison. As of December 2019, M. enterolobii was confirmed from a limited number of fields in 11 North Carolina counties, including Columbus, Craven, Greene, Harnett, Johnston, Lenoir, Nash, Pitt, Sampson, Wayne and Wilson. Currently, M. enterolobii is the most important emerging RKN species in the USA and causes severe damage to agronomic and horticultural crops, especially sweetpotato in North Carolina.

scholarly journals A Lean Quality Improvement Initiative to Enhance Tobacco Use Treatment in a Cancer Hospital

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 2165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen Meyer ◽  
Sara Mitra ◽  
Ellen Ruebush ◽  
Laurel Sisler ◽  
Kyle Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Tobacco Use ◽  
Treatment Effectiveness ◽  
Cancer Recurrence ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Quality Improvement Initiative ◽  
The North ◽  
Cancer Hospital

Sustained tobacco use after cancer diagnosis decreases treatment effectiveness while increasing treatment side effects, primary cancer recurrence, and the occurrence of secondary cancers. Delivering tobacco use treatment to fewer patients due to inefficient workflow represents missed opportunities to deliver life-saving care. In 2017, the National Cancer Institute initiated the Cancer Cessation Initiative (C3I) to push new tobacco cessation resources into cancer centers across the United States. This grant allowed the University of North Carolina Tobacco Treatment Program (UNC TTP) to dramatically expand tobacco use treatment (TUT) services to patients at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital (NCCH). With this push, the team saw an opportunity to utilize Lean Six Sigma, a set of quality improvement (QI) tools, to streamline their processes and uncover the root causes of program inefficiencies. A 12-month QI project using the Lean A3 problem-solving tool was implemented to examine the team’s workflow. The study team mapped out the processes and, as a result, developed multiple “experiments” to test within the NCCH to address workflow efficiency and clinical reach. Outcome measures from the baseline to follow-up included: (1) the number of new patient referrals per month, and (2) the number of counseling sessions delivered per month. From the baseline to final state, the team’s referrals increased from a mean of 10 to 24 per month, and counseling sessions increased from a mean of 74 to 84 per month. This project provided a deeper understanding of how workflow inefficiencies can be eliminated in the clinical setting, how technology can be harnessed to increase reach, and finally, that soliciting and using feedback from NCCH leadership can remove barriers and improve patient care.

An Analysis of Success Plans and Performance Measures for Rural Transit Systems in North Carolina

2019 ◽  
Vol 2673 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Monast ◽  
Charlie Stanfield
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Transit Systems ◽  
North Carolina Department ◽  
The North

Performance measurement and funding allocation based on these measurements are becoming increasingly popular in public transportation. Understanding what is important to transit systems is critical to properly assess them on their operational and administrative performance. The research goals were to determine how rural transit systems in North Carolina define success, what performance metrics the systems select for themselves, and why they selected those metrics. Each transit system was required by the North Carolina Department of Transportation to create a Success Plan for themselves that consisted of a mission statement, vision statement, values, and a scorecard that contained performance metrics. The analysis of these Success Plans shows that rural transit systems broadly define their values based on customer service, safety, and reliability. However, aside from safety, the specific metrics that the systems use for evaluating their performance are not well connected to these values. This lack of internal consistency within the Success Plans means that rural transit systems are not selecting performance metrics that complement their stated goals. This lack of internal consistency could have many causes and interviews were conducted with public transit administrators in North Carolina to try and understand the causes. From these interviews, it was determined that the lack of internal consistency in the plans could be partially attributed to the following: (1) system administrators were not aware of the importance of internally consistent plans; (2) system administrators had difficulty creating metrics; and (3) system administrators included metrics that they felt the state wanted to see.

Context-Sensitive Solutions in the Planning Process

2005 ◽  
Vol 1904 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-83
Author(s):  
Janet D'Ignazio ◽  
Julie Hunkins
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Project Planning ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
North Carolina Department ◽  
The North ◽  
Long Range Planning ◽  
Institutional Challenges

During the past 5 years, there has been a national movement to integrate context-sensitive solutions (CSS) into transportation project planning and design. Applying CSS principles in the long-range planning process would help ensure that projects were CSS friendly from their earliest conception. This possibility has prompted CSS experts to discuss how CSS can be integrated into long-range planning. Two environmental stewardship initiatives under way at the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) provide a unique opportunity to explore this area. In the first initiative, NCDOT has a substantial CSS training program in place. To date, nearly 800 staff members and consultants have attended 3-day CSS training courses. In a separate stewardship initiative, NCDOT is redesigning the traditional thoroughfare plan process to create a new comprehensive transportation plan (CTP) process. Although these two initiatives have not been explicitly connected, this discussion examines how CSS principles are embedded in the proposed CTP process. However, substantial technical and institutional challenges must be dealt with before the CSS-based CTP process can be implemented fully. The conclusion of this discussion is that a state-of-the-practice, long-range transportation planning process should incorporate the CSS principles and decision-making characteristics that have been adopted in North Carolina.

Economic Impact of Investments in Bicycle Facilities

2005 ◽  
Vol 1939 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Paul Meletiou ◽  
Judson J. Lawrie ◽  
Thomas J. Cook ◽  
Sarah W. O'Brien ◽  
John Guenther
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Outer Banks ◽  
North Carolina Department ◽  
Economic Impact Analysis ◽  
The North ◽  
Spending Patterns ◽  
The One

The northern Outer Banks coastal area in North Carolina is well suited to drawing bicycle tourism because of its geography, climate, and attractions. In 2003, the North Carolina Department of Transportation commissioned a study to examine the value of public investment in bicycle facilities that have been constructed in this area over the past 10 years at a cost of approximately $6.7 million. A particular challenge in conducting this study was that tourists visited the Outer Banks for a variety of reasons, not just for cycling. Thus, the collection of information on the amount and nature of bicycling activity and on the spending patterns of bicyclists in the area was critical for the development of an economic impact analysis. Researchers surveyed cyclists using the bicycle facilities (shared-use paths and wide paved shoulders) and obtained data from self-administered surveys of tourists at visitor centers during the primary tourist season. The data collected were then used to determine the economic impact of bicycling visitors to the area. Seventeen percent of tourists to the area reported that they bicycled while there; this translates to 680,000 people annually. The economic impact of bicycling visitors is significant: a conservative annual estimate is $60 million, with 1,407 jobs created or supported per year. This is almost nine times greater than the one-time expenditure required to construct the facilities. Continued investment in bicycle facilities is expected to increase this favorable economic impact and is therefore recommended.

North Carolina's Ecosystem Enhancement Program

2005 ◽  
Vol 1941 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet D'Ignazio ◽  
Kathryn McDermott ◽  
Bill Gilmore ◽  
Chris Russo
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Cumulative Impacts ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Compensatory Mitigation ◽  
Implementation Processes ◽  
North Carolina Department ◽  
The North

Even before FHWA's focus on ecosystem conservation as part of its vital goals, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) had begun to examine how and where compensatory mitigation was being implemented in the state. Over the past 4 years, NCDOT, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers–Wilmington District have partnered to redesign the mitigation process with one goal in mind: to create a compensatory mitigation program that delivers guaranteed environmental benefits. The result of these efforts is the Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP). Instead of focusing on individual highway project impacts, the EEP concept revolves around watershed plans and considers cumulative impacts associated with a given watershed. Accordingly, EEP provides cumulative mitigation for cumulative impacts. It was clear from the start that EEP was going to change fundamentally the goals, approach, and structure of providing mitigation in North Carolina. Although the mitigation experts knew how the mitigation process needed to change, they lacked expertise in how to manage that change. Not surprisingly, this has presented several hurdles that the sponsoring agencies are still trying to scale today. As implementation moves forward, many valuable lessons are being learned, which are laying the groundwork for successful change. This paper describes the origins of the EEP concept, outlines the implementation processes, discusses “change barriers” experienced and lessons learned, and provides an EEP progress report 2 years into the program's implementation.

scholarly journals Diverse school community engagement with the North Carolina active routes to school project: a diffusion study

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth LaJeunesse ◽  
Sam Thompson ◽  
Nancy Pullen-Seufert ◽  
Mary Bea Kolbe ◽  
Stephen Heiny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Level ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Safe Routes To School ◽  
The North ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Lower Socioeconomic ◽  
City Schools ◽  
Elementary And Middle School

Abstract Background Schools located in rural parts of the United States and North Carolina have benefited proportionally less from the federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program than their more urban counterparts. We investigated whether and how diverse elementary and middle school communities throughout North Carolina have engaged in a SRTS-inspired, multi-sectoral initiative called the Active Routes to School (ARTS) project over the course of 5 years (2013 through 2017). Methods Analyses included a study sample of 2602 elementary and middle schools in North Carolina, 853 that participated in the ARTS project over the five-year study period and 1749 that had not. Statistical models controlling for county- and school-level confounders predicted schools’ involvement in walking and bicycling-promotive events, programs, and policies over time. Results Schools’ engagement with ARTS Project programming increased significantly over the study period, with 33% of eligible schools participating with the project by the end of 2017. Participation was most common in promotional events. Such event participation predicted engagement with regularly recurring programming and school- and district-level establishment of biking- and walking-facilitative policies. Lower income schools were more likely to establish recurring bike and walk programs than wealthier schools, whereas rural schools were less likely than city schools to participate in promotional events, yet equally as likely as other schools to participate in recurring bike and walk programs. Conclusions Schools’ engagement with the North Carolina ARTS Project diffused despite many schools’ rural geographies and lower socioeconomic status. Further, participation in one-time promotional events can portend schools’ establishment of recurring walking and biking programs and supportive policies.

Reconciling Transportation Corridor Preservation and National Environmental Policy Act Process: Evaluation of North Carolina Phased Environmental Approach

1997 ◽  
Vol 1601 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann E. Lackey
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
National Environmental Policy Act ◽  
North Carolina Department ◽  
The North ◽  
Transportation Projects ◽  
Transportation Corridor ◽  
National Environmental ◽  
National Environmental Policy

In recent years, transportation agencies have become increasingly interested in using corridor preservation to protect future highway locations from development. However, the preparation of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents in the late stages of the transportation planning process makes uses of these measures difficult. In an attempt to make the corridor preservation and NEPA processes more compatible, the North Carolina Department of Transportation and FHWA have developed the phased environmental approach, an environmental review process that allows early selection of highway location and makes the use of protection techniques feasible and effective. Although the phased approach has been used in several pilot projects and is intended to become a part of the state’s standard planning process, the procedure’s compliance with the requirements of NEPA has not been evaluated. The compliance of the phased environmental approach with NEPA is examined. Several disparities are identified that place the new procedure in violation of the statute. Considering these problems, three options for modifying the phased approach to provide for compliance with NEPA are identified. These options are compared on the basis of their capacity to provide those benefits offered by the phased approach. A tiered environmental impact statement (EIS) is determined to be the best alternative to the phased environmental approach. This option provides the same benefits as the phased approach while remaining consistent with NEPA. Although several potential problems have been cited regarding the practicality of using a tiered EIS in transportation projects, these concerns may not apply in many cases.

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