Discovery of a non-native parasitoid, Marlattiella prima Howard (Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae) and its non-native host, Lopholeucaspis japonica Cockerell (Hemiptera, Diaspididae) in Central Texas

Sampling of crapemyrtle trees (Lagerstroemia L.) in central Texas yielded the discovery of an invasive scale pest, Lopholeucaspis japonica Cockerell, and its parasitoid natural enemy, Marlattiella prima Howard. These discoveries expand the known range of both the scale insect and the parasitoid wasp in the United States. Marlattiella prima was not recovered in the absence of L. japonica. Of the two counties sampled, Brazos County yielded 26 M. prima individuals and Tarrant County yielded neither M. prima nor L. japonica.

Cultural Resources Survey of the DPS Outdoor Bomb and Gun Range Project, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Tarrant County, Texas

This report documents the substantive findings and management recommendations of a cultural resources survey conducted by Integrated Environmental Solutions, LLC (IES) for the DPS Outdoor Bomb and Gun Range project located within the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) property in Tarrant County, Texas. The proposed project pertains to improvements of the current facility within approximately 71.8 acres located between Texas State Highway (SH) 360 and West Airfield Drive. Approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be required to modify the Airport Layout Plan (ALP) to reflect the permanent alterations on the DFW property. Since the ALP is considered a federal action, the project will require compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Additionally, as the DFW is a political subdivision of the State of Texas, the project will be subjected to the provisions of the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). The goal of the survey was to locate, identify, and assess any cultural resources that could be adversely affected by the proposed development, and to evaluate such resources for their potential eligibility for listing as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) and eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The cultural resources inventory survey was conducted on 16 December 2019 and 08 January 2020 by Project Archeologists Anne Gibson and Thomas Chapman, and Staff Archeologist Josh McCormick. All work conformed to 13 Texas Administrative Code 26, which outlines the regulations for implementing the ACT, and was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 9161. During the survey, one previously recorded historic-age archeological site (41TR87) was revisited within the APE. Based on the lack of association with historically important individuals or events, absence of significant architectural features, the degree of prior disturbance, and lack of contextual integrity, site 41TR87 is recommended to remain not eligible for listing in the NRHP or designation as a SAL. Although multi-component site 41TR18 was partially located within the APE, the site was not evaluated during the survey. However, the results from a previous IES investigation in 2015 indicate the site should remain ineligible for NRHP listing. Project records will be permanently curated at the Center for Archeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). It is the recommendation of IES that the DPS Outdoor Bomb and Gun Range Project be permitted to continue without the need for further cultural resources investigations. However, if any cultural resources, other than those discussed in this report, are encountered during construction, the operators should stop construction activities in the vicinity of the inadvertent discovery, and immediately contact the project cultural resources representative to initiate coordination with the Texas Historical Commission (THC) prior to resuming construction activities.

Sociodemographic and Health-Related Characteristics of a Safety-Net Patient Population

Background Safety-net health systems are an important source of healthcare for underserved or vulnerable individuals, but definitions of safety-net institutions are largely based on patient characteristics. Some definitions may not accurately identify such institutions. Therefore, we aimed to describe the characteristics of urban safety-net patients in Texas and compare the distribution of morbidities between safety-net and general population patients. Methods We used hospital claims data from the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation to create a cross-sectional cohort. Eligible patients were aged ≥18 years and Tarrant County residents in 2018. Patients were divided into two groups for comparison. The first group represented patients with hospital claims from JPS Health Network (i.e. safety-net population). The second group represented all patients with hospital claims in Tarrant County (i.e. general population). We estimated frequencies of patient characteristics. In addition, we estimated overall and payor-stratified standardized morbidity ratios (SMRs) adjusted for age, gender, and race/ethnicity to compare the prevalence of common chronic diseases between safety-net patients and patients in the general population. Results Our study population comprised 459,827 patients, of whom 74,323 (16%) were safety-net patients. Patients aged ≥65 years comprised 23% of the general population and 11% of the safety-net population. Non-Hispanic Whites comprised 52% of the general population and 29% of safety-net patients. A larger proportion of safety-net patients were uninsured compared with general population patients (safety-net: 54%; general population: 25%), but Medicaid distribution was less discrepant (safety-net: 9%; general population: 7%). Medicare was the primary payor for 24% of general population patients and 14% of safety-net patients. Safety-net patients had relative excesses of mental health and chronic conditions ranging between 5% and 230% for all selected conditions except dementia/Alzheimer’s. The patterns for payor-stratified SMRs were consistent with the overall results. Conclusions We observed considerable sociodemographic diversity and a high burden of mental health and chronic conditions among safety-net patients, which may support understanding the healthcare needs of safety-net populations. Our findings raise questions about definitions of safety-net institutions based on Medicaid distribution alone and the transportability of findings from studies in which safety-net populations are unrepresented.

Sociodemographic and Health-Related Characteristics of a Safety-Net Patient Population

ABSTRACT Background Safety-net health systems are an important source of healthcare for underserved or vulnerable individuals, but definitions of safety-net institutions are largely based on patient characteristics. Some definitions may not accurately identify such institutions. Therefore, we aimed to describe the characteristics of urban safety-net patients in Texas and compare the distribution of morbidities between safety-net and general population patients. Methods We used hospital claims data from the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation to create a cross-sectional cohort. Eligible patients were aged ≥18 years and Tarrant County residents in 2018. Patients were divided into two groups for comparison. The first group represented patients with hospital claims from JPS Health Network (i.e. safety-net population). The second group represented all patients with hospital claims in Tarrant County (i.e. general population). We estimated frequencies of patient characteristics. In addition, we estimated overall and payor-stratified standardized morbidity ratios (SMRs) adjusted for age, gender, and race/ethnicity to compare the prevalence of common chronic diseases between safety-net patients and patients in the general population. Results Our study population comprised 459,827 patients, of whom 74,323 (16%) were safety-net patients. Patients aged ≥65 years comprised 23% of the general population and 11% of the safety-net population. Non-Hispanic Whites comprised 52% of the general population and 29% of safety-net patients. A larger proportion of safety-net patients were uninsured compared with general population patients (safety-net: 54%; general population: 25%), but Medicaid distribution was less discrepant (safety-net: 9%; general population: 7%). Medicare was the primary payor for 24% of general population patients and 14% of safety-net patients. Safety-net patients had relative excesses of mental health and chronic conditions ranging between 5% and 230% for all selected conditions except dementia/Alzheimer’s. The patterns for payor-stratified SMRs were consistent with the overall results. Conclusions We observed considerable sociodemographic diversity and a high burden of mental health and chronic conditions among safety-net patients, which may support understanding the healthcare needs of safety-net populations. Our findings raise questions about definitions of safety-net institutions based on Medicaid distribution alone and the transportability of findings from studies in which safety-net populations are unrepresented.

Sociodemographic and Health-Related Characteristics of a Safety-Net Patient Population

Background Safety-net health systems are an important source of healthcare for underserved or vulnerable individuals, but definitions of safety-net institutions are largely based on patient characteristics. Some definitions may not accurately identify such institutions. Therefore, we aimed to describe the characteristics of urban safety-net patients in Texas and compare the distribution of morbidities between safety-net and general population patients. Methods We used hospital claims data from the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation to create a cross-sectional cohort. Eligible patients were aged ≥18 years and Tarrant County residents in 2018. Patients were divided into two groups for comparison. The first group represented patients with hospital claims from JPS Health Network (i.e. safety-net population). The second group represented all patients with hospital claims in Tarrant County (i.e. general population). We estimated frequencies of patient characteristics. In addition, we estimated overall and payor-stratified standardized morbidity ratios (SMRs) adjusted for age, gender, and race/ethnicity to compare the prevalence of common chronic diseases between safety-net patients and patients in the general population.Results Our study population comprised 459,827 patients, of whom 74,323 (16%) were safety-net patients. Patients aged ≥65 years comprised 23% of the general population and 11% of the safety-net population. Non-Hispanic Whites comprised 52% of the general population and 29% of safety-net patients. A larger proportion of safety-net patients were uninsured compared with general population patients (safety-net: 54%; general population: 25%), but Medicaid distribution was less discrepant (safety-net: 9%; general population: 7%). Medicare was the primary payor for 24% of general population patients and 14% of safety-net patients. Safety-net patients had relative excesses of mental health and chronic conditions ranging between 5% and 230% for all selected conditions except dementia/Alzheimer’s. The patterns for payor-stratified SMRs were consistent with the overall results.Conclusions We observed considerable sociodemographic diversity and a high burden of mental health and chronic conditions among safety-net patients, which may support understanding the healthcare needs of safety-net populations. Our findings raise questions about definitions of safety-net institutions based on Medicaid distribution alone and the transportability of findings from studies in which safety-net populations are unrepresented.

Prioritization of a Bridge Inventory for Historic Preservation: A Case Study for Tarrant County, Texas

Funding is currently limited for transportation projects in general and even more so for historic bridge preservation. Because of this limitation on resources, it is important that bridge-owning agencies use proper planning and management strategies to make the best use of available funding. One important element of bridge inventory management is the prioritization of bridges for historic preservation. This article presents a framework that begins with a selection matrix for a first-level review of a bridge inventory. The selection matrix considers both the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) historical significance rating and sufficiency rating. Further refinements are necessary to prioritize a number of bridges for historic preservation, and so a quantitative rating system is proposed to reflect the characteristics of the Tarrant County, Texas, bridge inventory considered in this study. The developed methodology is applied to the bridge inventory in Tarrant County, and two notable bridges are described.