“Confederate Soldiers in the Siege of Petersburg and Postwar: An Intensified War and Coping Mechanisms Utilized, 1864- ca. 1895”

This thesis crafts a narrative about how Confederate soldiers during the siege of Petersburg experienced an intensified war that caused them to refine soldierly coping mechanisms in order to endure. They faced increasing deprivations, new forms of death, fewer restrictions on killing, dwindling fortunes, and increased racial acrimony by facing African American soldiers. In order to adjust, they relied on soldierly camaraderie, Southern notions of honor, letter writing, and an increasingly firm reliance on Protestant Christianity to cope with their situation. Postwar, these veterans repurposed soldierly coping mechanisms and eventually used institutional support from their states. Camaraderie, honor, literary endeavors, and Christianity remained prevalent postwar, such as through the various emerging veterans’ organizations. However, institutional support took considerable time to appear, such as disability, pension, and soldiers’ home benefits. This required the veterans to fall back onto earlier learned mechanisms, illustrating that the status of veteran began during the conflict

Massage Therapy for Anxiety and Depression

Abstract Background: Massage therapy is a proven method for reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression as evidenced through literature review. However, the practice of complementary and integrative modalities (CIM), such as massage, is uncommon within psychiatric care. This leaves a gap in practice in the psychiatric setting. Purpose: The capstone quality improvement project addressed the identified gap by providing education on massage therapy to mental health providers and clients, and by increasing massage accessibility and use in the outpatient psychiatric setting by providing education on performing self-massage. Methods: The education was provided via pre-recorded video. Clients/providers completed pre and post-assessments addressing beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes regarding massage therapy; its use for symptom management; and the practice of self-massage. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the pre and post-data to provide average scores and percent change in values. Results: Sixteen clients and three providers participated, with a 50% and 100% return rate, respectively. There was an increase in beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes regarding massage therapy in all areas measured. The most improvement in scores was noted for items assessing client knowledge of massage contraindications (109.5% change), confidence in ability to perform massage (45.5% change), and knowledge of the benefits of massage (42.1% change). Both clients and providers were motivated regarding the use of massage as a treatment modality as indicated by high pre and post-assessment scores for this item. Conclusion: The findings are favorable in terms of effectiveness of provided education, and also align with the prior understanding of positive receptivity to CIM. Further exploration and implementation of themes incorporating CIM into psychiatric treatment are warranted. Keywords: psychiatry, massage therapy, depression, anxiety, stress, CIM, mental healt

Recovery of Forest Floor Diversity After Removal of the Nonnative, Invasive Plant Euonymus fortunei

The vine Euonymus fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Mazz. is invading forests of the eastern United States; as a result, removal of E. fortunei has become a priority of resource managers. This study examined the effectiveness of five techniques for eliminating E. fortunei, restoring plant species richness, and enhancing recolonization by woody species. In 2003, the following five treatments were applied: burn with a propane torch, light exclusion by plastic tarp, burn and glyphosate application, cut (simulated grazing) and glyphosate application, mow and glyphosate application, plus an untreated control. Each treatment was replicated four times in a randomized block design located in a heavily E. fortunei–invaded forest remnant in Lexington, KY. Vegetation was surveyed in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2013. Across years, most treatments were associated with reduced E. fortunei cover and increased total species richness. Over time, E. fortunei cover increased across treatments, such that by 2013, no difference in E. fortunei cover was detectible among treatments. Some differences in total and native species richness among treatments were still perceptible by 2013. Increased E. fortunei cover was correlated with decreased ground-layer species richness, native species richness, sapling richness, and sapling density. Light exclusion by plastic tarp, a method absent from many management recommendations, was unique in its long-term reduction of E. fortunei cover and its association with increased total species richness, but use of plastic tarps may have drawbacks. This study quantified the long-term community effects of removing an established invasive species from a mature, urban forest. Removal allowed native plants, notably woody species, to reestablish. Because richness continues to decline as E. fortunei reinhabits plots, land managers seeking to conserve biodiversity under conditions similar to those within our study site should maintain proactive E. fortunei removal plans

Book Reviews

Book reviews of: Behind the Big House: Reconciling Slavery, Race, and Heritage in the U.S. South. By Jodi Skipper (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2022. Foreword, Acknowledgements, Introduction, Epilogue, Appendix A, Appendix B, Notes, Bibliography, Index. Pp. ix, 218. 27.50 paper. ISBN: 9781609388171.) Gin, Jesus, & Jim Crow: Prohibition and the Transformation of Racial and Religious Politics in the South. By Brendan J. J. Payne. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2022. Pp. 304. 45 hardcover. ISBN: 0807171486.) The Women’s Fight: The Civil War’s Battles for Home, Freedom, and Nation. By Thavolia Glymph. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2020. Acknowledgments, figures, notes, bibliography, index of names, index of subjects. Pp. 379. $37.50 cloth,$27.95 paper. ISBN: 9781469653631.) Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America. By Keisha N. Blain. (Boston: Beacon Press, 2021, Acknowledgements, notes, index, image credits, about the author. Pp ix, 181. $12.97 cloth,$24.95 paper. ISBN-13:9780807061503 Land of Milk and Money: The Creation of the Southern Dairy Industry. By Alan I. Marcus. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2021. Acknowledgements, illustrations, notes, index. Pp. ix, 317. $50 cloth. ISBN: 0807176052.) Black Bodies in the River: Searching for Freedom Summer. By Davis W. Houck. (University Press of Mississippi, 2022. Preface, notes, index. Pp. ix, 153.$99 cloth, $25.00 paper. ISBN: 9781496840790.) Mississippi Zion: The Struggle for Liberation in Attala County, 1865–1915. By Evan Howard Ashford. (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2022. Acknowledgements, illustrations, notes, index. Pp. ix, 233.$99 cloth, $25 paper. ISBN: 9781496839732

Examining racial and ethnic disparities in adult emergency department patient visits for concussion in the United States

Background Racial and ethnic differences in emergency department (ED) visits have been reported among adolescent patients but are unsubstantiated among adults. Therefore, our purpose in this study was to examine the relationship between race/ethnicity and adult ED visits for concussions, their injury mechanisms, and computed tomography (CT) scan use among a nationally representative sample. Methods We used the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey database from 2010–2015 to examine 63,725 adult (20–45 years old) patient visits, representing an estimated 310.6 million visits presented to EDs. Of these visits, 884 (4.5 million national estimate) were diagnosed with a concussion. Visit records detailed patient information (age, sex, race/ethnicity, geographic region, primary payment type), ED visit diagnoses, injury mechanism (sport, motor vehicle, fall, struck by or against, “other”), and head CT scan use. The primary independent variable was race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic Black or African American, Hispanic/Latinx, non-Hispanic multiracial or another, and non-Hispanic White). We used multivariable logistic and multinomial regression models with complex survey sampling design weighting to examine the relationship between concussion ED visits, injury mechanisms, and CT scan use separately by race/ethnicity while accounting for covariates. Results There were no associations between race/ethnicity and concussion diagnosis among adult ED visits after accounting for covariates. Relative to sports-related injuries, non-Hispanic Black or African American patient visits were associated with a motor vehicle (OR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.06–6.86) and “other” injury mechanism (OR = 4.58, 95% CI: 1.34–15.69) compared to non-Hispanic White patients. Relative to sports-related injuries, non-Hispanic Asian, multiracial, or patients of another race had decreased odds of falls (OR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.04–0.91) and “other” injuries (OR = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.01–0.55) compared to non-Hispanic White patients. The odds of a CT scan being performed were significantly lower among Hispanic/Latinx patient visits relative to non-Hispanic White patients (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.30–0.91), while no other race/ethnicity comparisons differed. Conclusion Our findings indicate that the overarching concussion ED visit likelihood may not differ by race/ethnicity in adults, but the underlying mechanism causing the concussion and receiving a CT scan demonstrates considerable differences. Prospective future research is warranted to comprehensively understand and intervene in the complex, multi-level race/ethnicity relationships related to concussion health care to ensure equitable patient treatment