How Much Heirs’ Property Is There? Using LightBox Data to Estimate Heirs’ Property Extent in the U.S.

The ramifications of a tenancy in common or heirs’ property ownership are extensive. This kind of tenuous ownership affects not only individual families but also the economic health of the typically minority and lower-wealth communities where these properties tend to cluster. Very little research has identified heirs’ property extent at a broad scale, however. We present results of our approach to identifying heirs’ parcels for every county and census tract in the U.S., using geospatial methodologies and aggregated parcel records acquired from LightBox. The method estimated 444,172 heirs’ parcels for the U.S., not including territories. The combined acreage is 9,247,452 worth $41,324,318 billion. We discuss shortcomings of secondary parcel data and the problems this presents for accurately assessing heirs’ property extent, while the spatial location aspect allows us to analyze for spatial patterns such as clustering, which supports new analyses of issues associated with heirs’ property

The Indian trading path and colonial settlement development in the North Carolina Piedmont

This is a work of historical geography examining the role of an Indian-origin transportation route in the development of the colonial settlement system that emerged in the North Carolina Piedmont during the mid 18th century. This system has evolved in modern times into an important polycentric urban region, and the area's current inhabitants attribute this pattern to the Indian route, the Indian Trading Path. The relationship between the route and settlement development has not previously been tested, however. Previous work in settlement development geography has in fact treated the North American colonial landscape as a blank slate and failed to take account of landscape features left by an area's earlier occupants. This work comprised a process of transforming archival data-several thousand records from the earliest documented European settlement of the area-to geographic information in a GIS (geographic information system) and then to geographic knowledge through analysis of spatial and temporal pattern in the GIS. A two-scale model was used to explain the process by which the Indian Trading Path could affect emerging settlement patterns at the level of both town and regional system. While the model and results are geographically specific and not meant to apply to backcountry settlement in a general sense, the overall approach used can profitably be applied to other locations, both in terms of technical methodology and in terms of realistically assessing the role of indigenous landscape features in colonial outcomes

Heirs’ Property: Where, How Much, and Why Does It Matter?

Heirs’ property comes into being when the owner of real property (usually a house and/or land) dies without a will. All heirs (e.g., spouse and children) become owners of an undivided interest in the property, with the division determined by state law. Heirs’ property is significant as a social and historical phenomenon because property has been passed down without wills across multiple generations of Blacks in the South and whites in Appalachia because limited educational opportunities and patterns of exploitation led them to distrust the legal system. Heirs can number in the hundreds, presenting obstacles and vulnerabilities and limiting property ownership as a means of building intergenerational wealth. Quantifying the extent and value of heirs’ property is necessary to inform legislation and policy, and to guide future research. We summarize the findings of two peer-reviewed studies designed to meet these needs

A reasoned action approach to pregnant smokers’ intention to switch to e-cigarettes: Does educational attainment influence theory application?

Social determinant research has noted educational attainment to be among the strongest influencing factors for tobacco use during pregnancy. Concurrently, maternal e-cigarette use has doubled in recent years, with some citing it as a safer alternative to combustible cigarettes. To better understand the decision-making practices of pregnant persons based on educational attainment, the reasoned action approach (RAA) was used to evaluate factors that may be associated with the intention to switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes. A sample of U.S. pregnant persons (n = 267) between 18-40 years of age, who smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days, completed an online survey about switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes. RAA constructs (e.g., intentions, instrumental attitudes, etc.) were measured using a pre-validated scale. Using structural equation modeling, the variability of latent variables (i.e., RAA constructs) and their interaction with one another were analyzed by educational attainment via two regression models: one for those who had college experience or had completed a college degree and another for those who had not attended college. Instrumental attitudes, experiential attitudes, and descriptive norms were significantly associated with intention to switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes among both groups; however, autonomy was only significantly associated with intention among those who had not attended college. The RAA offers a valuable framework for understanding pregnant persons’ decision to switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes during pregnancy; however, the RAA constructs may be related to intentions differently based on upstream factors, such as educational attainment

The Mississippi delta health collaborative medication therapy management model: Public health and pharmacy working together to improve population health in the Mississippi delta

© 2020. Introduction The Mississippi Delta has high rates of chronic disease and is known for its poor health outcomes and health disparities. University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) and the Mississippi State Department of Health partnered in 2009 through the Mississippi Delta Health Collaborative to reduce health disparities and improve clinical outcomes by expanding the UMSOP\u27s evidence-based medication therapy management (MTM) initiative, focused in Mississippi\u27s 18-county Delta region, to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in 4 of those counties. Methods Between January 2009 and August 2018, the MTM initiative targeted FQHC patients aged 18 years or older with a diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension, and/or dyslipidemia. Pharmacists initially met face-to-face with patients to review all medications, provide education about chronic diseases, identify and resolve drug therapy problems, and take appropriate actions to help improve the effectiveness of medication therapies. Clinical parameters evaluated were systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Results The analysis included 335 patients with hypertension (n = 287), dyslipidemia (n = 131), and/or diabetes (n = 331). Significant mean reductions occurred in the following metrics: SBP (7.1 mm Hg), DBP (6.3 mm Hg), LDL cholesterol (24.9 mg/dL), triglycerides (45.5 mg/dL), total cholesterol (37.7 mg/dL), and HbA1c (1.6% [baseline ≥6%] and 1.9% [baseline ≥9%]). Conclusion Despite the cultural and environmental disadvantages present in the Mississippi Delta, the integrated MTM treatment program demonstrated significant health improvements across 3 chronic diseases: hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. This model demonstrates that a partnership between public health and pharmacy is a successful and innovative approach to care

Src Inhibition Blocks c-Myc Translation and Glucose Metabolism to Prevent the Development of Breast Cancer

Preventing breast cancer will require the development of targeted strategies that can effectively block disease progression. Tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors are effective in addressing estrogen receptor–positive (ER+) breast cancer development, but estrogen receptor–negative (ER−) breast cancer remains an unmet challenge due to gaps in pathobiologic understanding. In this study, we used reverse-phase protein array to identify activation of Src kinase as an early signaling alteration in premalignant breast lesions of women who did not respond to tamoxifen, a widely used ER antagonist for hormonal therapy of breast cancer. Src kinase blockade with the small-molecule inhibitor saracatinib prevented the disorganized three-dimensional growth of ER− mammary epithelial cells in vitro and delayed the development of premalignant lesions and tumors in vivo in mouse models developing HER2+ and ER− mammary tumors, extending tumor-free and overall survival. Mechanistic investigations revealed that Src blockade reduced glucose metabolism as a result of an inhibition in ERK1/2–MNK1–eIF4E–mediated cap-dependent translation of c-Myc and transcription of the glucose transporter GLUT1, thereby limiting energy available for cell growth. Taken together, our results provide a sound rationale to target Src pathways in premalignant breast lesions to limit the development of breast cancers