Global Trade Impacts: Addressing the Health, Social and Environmental Consequences of Moving International Freight Through Our Communities

Examines freight transportation industry trends; the impact of global trade on workers, the environment, and health in both exporting and importing countries; and organizing strategies and policy innovations for minimizing the damage and ensuring health

Support for Integrated Ecosystem Assessments of NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserves System (NERRS), Volume I: The Impacts of Coastal Development on the Ecology and Human Well-being of Tidal Creek Ecosystems of the US Southeast

A study was conducted, in association with the Sapelo Island and North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs), to evaluate the impacts of coastal development on sentinel habitats (e.g., tidal creek ecosystems), including potential impacts to human health and well-being. Uplands associated with southeastern tidal creeks and the salt marshes they drain are popular locations for building homes, resorts, and recreational facilities because of the high quality of life and mild climate associated with these environments. Tidal creeks form part of the estuarine ecosystem characterized by high biological productivity, great ecological value, complex environmental gradients, and numerous interconnected processes. This research combined a watershed-level study integrating ecological, public health and human dimension attributes with watershed-level land use data. The approach used for this research was based upon a comparative watershed and ecosystem approach that sampled tidal creek networks draining developed watersheds (e.g., suburban, urban, and industrial) as well as undeveloped sites. The primary objective of this work was to clearly define the relationships between coastal development with its concomitant land use changes and non-point source pollution loading and the ecological and human health and well-being status of tidal creek ecosystems. Nineteen tidal creek systems, located along the southeastern United States coast from southern North Carolina to southern Georgia, were sampled during summer (June-August), 2005 and 2006. Within each system, creeks were divided into two primary segments based upon tidal zoning: intertidal (i.e., shallow, narrow headwater sections) and subtidal (i.e., deeper and wider sections), and watersheds were delineated for each segment. In total, we report findings on 24 intertidal and 19 subtidal creeks. Indicators sampled throughout each creek included water quality (e.g., dissolved oxygen concentration, salinity, nutrients, chlorophyll-a levels), sediment quality (e.g., characteristics, contaminants levels including emerging contaminants), pathogen and viral indicators, and abundance and genetic responses of biological resources (e.g., macrobenthic and nektonic communities, shellfish tissue contaminants, oyster microarray responses). For many indicators, the intertidally-dominated or headwater portions of tidal creeks were found to respond differently than the subtidally-dominated or larger and deeper portions of tidal creeks. Study results indicate that the integrity and productivity of headwater tidal creeks were impaired by land use changes and associated non-point source pollution, suggesting these habitats are valuable early warning sentinels of ensuing ecological impacts and potential public health threats. For these headwater creeks, this research has assisted the validation of a previously developed conceptual model for the southeastern US region. This conceptual model identified adverse changes that generally occurred in the physical and chemical environment (e.g., water quality indicators such as indicator bacteria for sewage pollution or sediment chemical contamination) when impervious cover levels in the watershed reach 10-20%. Ecological characteristics responded and were generally impaired when impervious cover levels exceed 20-30%. Estimates of impervious cover levels defining where human uses are impaired are currently being determined, but it appears that shellfish bed closures and the flooding vulnerability of headwater regions become a concern when impervious cover values exceed 10-30%. This information can be used to forecast the impacts of changing land use patterns on tidal creek environmental quality as well as associated human health and well-being. In addition, this study applied tools and technologies that are adaptable, transferable, and repeatable among the high quality NERRS sites as comparable reference entities to other nearby developed coastal watersheds. The findings herein will be of value in addressing local, regional and national needs for understanding multiple stressor (anthropogenic and human impacts) effects upon estuarine ecosystems and response trends in ecosystem condition with changing coastal impacts (i.e., development, climate change). (PDF contaions 88 pages

EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT CONTRA-FLOW STRATEGIES FOR HURRICANE EVACUATION IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

The number of category four and five hurricanes has nearly doubled over the past decade. Charleston, the second most populous city in South Carolina, is located on a very low peninsula, making it susceptible to floods during hurricanes and storm surges. In the event of a hurricane, the population at-risk must be evacuated to safety as quickly as possible. The Interstate system is the primary mode to evacuate at-risk population out of Charleston. Effective traffic management strategies are needed to manage the significant increase in demand on highways during the evacuation and contra-flowing traffic has been applied as a strategy to meet this need. This study evaluated the reduction in delay by proposing a new ramp and implementing different contra-flow strategies, such as contra-flowing one-lane, two-lanes and all lanes for traffic demand management during evacuation along the I-26 corridor out of Charleston using a microscopic simulation tool called PARAMICS

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources Volume 4, Issue 1

For the better part of 2017, South Carolina saw an improvement in drought status for many of the state’s 55 counties, with the SC Drought Response Committee reporting 28 of those in ‘incipient’ (first stage of drought) status and the remaining 17 in ‘normal’ status on November 27. With regard to major rain events, Tropical Storm Irma brought noteworthy levels of rainfall to much of the state in mid-September, as well as coastal flooding. Because of the ongoing significant weather events that continue to threaten water resources and related infrastructure, Clemson’s SC Water Resources Center held its first Summit Series event entitled “Back to the Future of Drought” in April to begin bringing statewide water professionals together for issue specific forums during the ‘off ’ years of the biennial SC Water Resources Conference (SCWRC). The presentations and discussions during the summit fostered new collaborations and shortly after, the SC State Climatology Office took the lead in coordinating a Drought and Water Shortage Tabletop Exercise in September at the SC Emergency Operations Center, drawing 80 participants from across the state. Included in this issue of the journal is a short communication paper about the exercise. Continuing to build on the benefits of statewide networking and collaboration, the SC State Climatology Office has also developed a 2017-18 Climate Connection Workshop series in collaboration with the Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments (CISA) and the Clemson SC Water Resources Center. The first workshop was held in Greenville in December, and workshops are to be scheduled in Columbia and Charleston in early 2018. In addition, SCDNR in partnership with SCDHEC, USGS, Clemson SC Water Resources Center and USACE, held stakeholder meetings during the fall focused on the state’s groundwater assessment. Events such as these, are filling the growing need to initiate collaborative efforts to positively impact water resources management, which in turn continue to grow the network of outreach

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

The Journal of South Carolina Water Resources (JSCWR) is dedicated to scientific research and policy to meet the growing challenge of providing water resources for the sustainable growth of South Carolina’s economy while preserving its natural resources. This special issue focuses on Water Quality and Public Health and is sponsored by the federally funded Center for Oceans and Human Health and Climate Change Interactions (COHHC2 I) at the University of South Carolina (UofSC). In addition to UofSC researchers, the COHHC2 I involves researchers, students, and other participants from Baylor University, The Citadel, College of Charleston, Rutgers University, University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science, and the Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities and Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference

Effectiveness of technology-assisted case management in low income adults with type 2 diabetes (TACM-DM): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An estimated 1 in 3 American adults will have diabetes by the year 2050. Nationally, South Carolina ranks 10^thin cases of diagnosed diabetes compared to other states. In adults, type 2 diabetes (T2DM) accounts for approximately 90-95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Clinically, provider and health system factors account for < 10% of the variance in major diabetes outcomes including hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), lipid control, and resource use. Use of telemonitoring systems offer new opportunities to support patients with T2DM while waiting to be seen by their health care providers at actual office visits. A variety of interventions testing the efficacy of telemedicine interventions have been conducted, but the outcomes have yielded equivocal results, emphasizing the shortage of controlled, randomized trials in this area. This study provides a unique opportunity to address this gap in the literature by optimizing two strategies that have been shown to improve glycemic control, while simultaneously implementing clinical outcomes measures, using a sufficient sample size, and offering health care delivery to rural, underserved and low income communities with T2DM who are seen at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in coastal South Carolina.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We describe a four-year prospective, randomized clinical trial, which will test the effectiveness of technology-assisted case management in low income rural adults with T2DM. Two-hundred (200) male and female participants, 18 years of age or older and with an HbA1c ≥ 8%, will be randomized into one of two groups: (1) an intervention arm employing the innovative FORA system coupled with nurse case management or (2) a usual care group. Participants will be followed for 6-months to ascertain the effect of the interventions on glycemic control. Our primary hypothesis is that among indigent, rural adult patients with T2DM treated in FQHC's, participants randomized to the technology-assisted case management intervention will have significantly greater reduction in HbA1c at 6 months of follow-up compared to usual care.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Results from this study will provide important insight into the effectiveness of technology-assisted case management intervention (TACM) for optimizing diabetes care in indigent, rural adult patients with T2DM treated in FQHC's.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>National Institutes of Health Clinical Trials Registry (<url>http://ClinicalTrials.gov</url> identifier# <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01373489">NCT01373489</a></p

Full Issue - Volume 9, Issue 1

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