The COVID-19 pandemic decreased the in-person outpatient visits and accelerated the use of telehealth services among mental health patients. Our study investigated the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of the intensity of telehealth use among mental health patients residing in rural Louisiana, United States. The study sample included 7069 telehealth visits by 1115 unique patients encountered from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 at six mental health outpatient clinics managed by the Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA). We performed a negative binomial regression analysis with the intensity of service use as the outcome variable. Being younger, female, and more educated were associated with a higher number of telehealth visits. The prevalence of other chronic conditions increased telehealth visits by 10%. The telehealth service intensity varied across the nature of mental health diagnoses, with patients diagnosed with the schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders utilizing 15% fewer telehealth visits than patients diagnosed with depressive disorders. The promotion of telehealth services among mental health patients in the rural setting might require the elimination of the digital divide with a particular focus on the elderly, less educated, and those with serious mental health illnesses such as schizophrenia and psychotic disorders.

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Termites were the first animal to form societies. Two hundred million years of evolution provide for a multitude of innate social behaviors that can be experimentally dissected. These fine-tuned patterns of behavior are especially interesting when observing group decision making in the panic mode. In this study, we examined behavioral patterns of termites under panic conditions to gain insight into how an escape flow self-organizes. One hundred worker and 10 soldier Coptotermes formosanus were released into agar plates. After a disturbance was created most workers followed each other and ran along the wall of dishes, thus forming a unidirectional escape flow, whereas soldiers showed a significantly higher frequency of moving to the center of the arena or on periphery of the escape flow as compared to workers. Agonistic behavior was usually observed as soldiers moved to center or periphery. This is the first report on the behavioral repertoire of termites when panicked, with details on the behavioral polymorphism of workers and soldiers during an escape.

Spinosyn products, spinosad and spinetoram, are widely used to control various agricultural pests. Spinosad has been tested on Kalotermitidae and Termitidae but not on Rhinotermitidae, the most destructive of termite families. In this study, we tested the effect of spinosad and spinetoram on Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. Both no-choice and choice tests were conducted using three concentrations, 1 ppm, 25 ppm, and 50 ppm, of the spinosyn products Entrust, Tracer, and Radiant on three substrates, sand, soil, and filter paper. In the no-choice test in sand, >85% mortality was observed at 25 and 50 ppm after 1 d of exposure followed by 100% mortality at 7 d. Similarly, after 7 d at 25 and 50 ppm in soil and filter paper, 100% mortality was observed, but compared to sand at 1 d, mortality was low. In the two-choice test, observations before the onset of termite mortality showed that none of the products or concentrations was repellent. Likewise, in the multiple-choice test, there was no repellency or preference of termites among 1 ppm, 25 ppm, 50 ppm, control, and release chamber at all three concentrations, and the tunnel area in the control and treated choices were not significantly different. These findings support the nonrepellent attribute of spinosyns on C. formosanus.

Slow-acting and nonrepellent termiticides are possible candidates for nestmate to nestmate transfer called horizontal transfer. For the horizontal transfer study of spinosad, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki was released in sand and soil at 1, 25, and 50 ppm Entrust(®) for 1 h and then mixed with healthy untreated termites for 21 d at the ratio of 1:1. Donor and recipient termites began to contact and groom each other immediately after release. Mortality of termites was recorded at 1, 3, 7, and 14 d after treatment. Spinosad was more effectively transferred in sand than in soil. In sand at 25 and 50 ppm, significantly high mortality of donors and recipients was observed after 7 d. When termites were exposed to treated soil at day 21, all three concentrations resulted in significantly higher mortality compared to the control. In our laboratory study, spinosad was effectively transferred by donor termites. Transfer of spinosad depended on its bioavailability and concentration. Further study is needed to address its effects against C. formosanus under field conditions.