Digital Commons Network^™

Role Of The Acid Sensing Ion Channel 1a In The Systemic Circulation, Selina M. Garcia

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a) is a non-selective cation channel that is expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells. However, little is known about the contribution of ASIC1a to vascular reactivity and cardiovascular homeostasis. We have previously shown that ASIC1a contributes to pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) Ca²⁺ entry and vasoconstriction as well as chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. However, a role of ASIC1a in the systemic circulation is unclear. Previous reports have shown that ASIC1a is expressed in femoral and cerebral arteries, however, these studies suggest that ASIC1a contributes to vascular reactivity through neuronal regulation rather than vascular. Therefore, …

Mesh Networking And Security Applications In Lora Ad-Hoc Networks, Derek Heeger

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The Internet of Things (IoT) has rapidly expanded into consumer and industrial applications driving the need for secure and energy efficient communications suitable for battery powered devices. Common IoT protocols developed for these applications include SigFox, Narrow-Band IoT, and Long Range (LoRa). LoRa is an energy efficient long-range communication method enabled by advanced modulation schemes. This research enables new capabilities in LoRa ad-hoc networks allowing for innovative IoT sensors that were previously infeasible due to energy constraints. This is achieved by investigating adaptive data rate (ADR) techniques, enabling reliable and secure remote firmware updates, improving LoRa authentication, and implementing a …

Towards Understanding Power Grid Resilience To Early-Time (E1) High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulses, Rodrigo Elias Llanes

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Fast transient electromagnetic disturbances can occur in the atmosphere from natural occurrences such as lightning and solar flares as well as those from manmade events such as that associated with a nuclear bomb detonation. These radiated signals couple into the transmission lines and components within the electric power grid. This has prompted an increased interest in grid resilience to the Early-Time (E1) High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP). Three activities were conducted which further grid resilience research. First, power substations in the United States were assessed to develop accurate layouts to be used in radiated transmission line coupling studies. Second, three pre-existing …

Numerical Evaluation Of Effective Thermal Response Of Heterogeneous Materials, Kevin W. Irick

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Heterogeneity in materials leads to increased complication of physics, at the level or scale where heterogeneity exists, making analysis and material behavior predictions more difficult. As a result of the intricate descriptions or understanding of the physics required to determine the behavior of a heterogenous material or system, practitioners frequently prefer the use of effective properties or responses. This body of work is dedicated to performing computational analyses on the thermal behavior of heterogeneous materials and evaluating the corresponding analyses using formal verification approaches. Custom finite element method code was used for solving the heat equation in a variety of …

Solar Insolation Micro-Forecasts Using Longwave Infrared Sensors And Artificial Intelligence, Anthony R. Menicucci

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Solar Insolation Micro-Forecasts (SIMF) are used by Independent Service Operators (ISOs) and other grid operators to maintain constant and stable electrical grid frequency, voltage, power factor and waveform across their transmission infrastructure. Intermittent, thick, dense and typically cumulus clouds negatively impact the electrical grid by quickly turning on and off power production from large solar photovoltaic (PV) fields, causing grid stability problems between generation and load. Forecasting insolation values over large PV fields allows operators the chance to anticipate and proactively implement mitigation strategies like engaging spinning reserve from gas turbines, deploying generators, buying power in the spot market, and …

Dissecting Regulation Mechanism Of Interdomain Electron Transfer In Nitric Oxide Synthases, Huayu Zheng

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Nitric oxide (NO) is generated by one of the three isoforms of mammalian NO synthases (NOSs), neuronal, endothelial and inducible NOS (nNOS, eNOS, and iNOS, respectively). Dysregulated NOS is implicated in pathologies of numerous severe diseases including Alzheimer and Parkinson’s diseases. Molecular mechanisms of NOS regulation, once fully understood, are potentially key targets for development of selective new pharmaceuticals for treating these diseases that currently lack effective treatments.

Despite recent developments, there are significant gaps in current understanding of the regulation mechanism of the FMN-heme interdomain electron transfer (IET), an essential step in NOS, by its key regulators such as …

The First-Year Experiences Of Students In Remedial Classes At A Research University: Implications For Retention And Support, Therese Baca-Radler

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

As more institutions of higher education adopt non-selective admissions processes, an increasing number of students from underrepresented populations are placed into developmental intervention courses as an added requirement to their educational paths based on standardized test scores alone. This study interviewed students who had these requirements imposed upon them and sought to understand their thoughts and feelings about that placement and how it impacted their transition from high school to college and their first-year college success. As students described their prior experiences in formal academic settings, they emphasized the benefits of family support in building their self-directed learning skills and …

Hepatitis C Virus Care Cascade In Persons Experiencing Homelessness In The United States In The Era Of Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents: A Scoping Review, Aubrey Del Rosario

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Background: The Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) care cascade has been well characterized in the general United States population and other subpopulations. However, information is limited on care cascade outcomes in persons experiencing homelessness now that highly effective medications offer the potential for cure.

Objectives: The main objective of this study is to map the available evidence on HCV care cascade outcomes in homeless and marginally housed cohorts in the United States in the era of direct-acting antiviral agents. Primary and secondary outcomes of interest include linkage to care and sustained virologic response. Exploratory outcomes include other care cascade …

The Role Of Anti-Inflammatory Cytokine Interleukin-10 (Il-10) In Tauopathies, Lea L. Weston

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Tauopathies are neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, that are associated with pathological accumulation of the microtubule associated protein tau (MAPT, or tau) (Lee et al., 2001). Abnormal hyperphosphorylated tau (pTau) strongly correlate with cognitive impairment (Nelson et al., 2012). Neuroinflammation is also associated with tauopathies (Gerhard et al., 2006b; Edison et al., 2008) and is implicated in driving tau pathology (Yoshiyama et al., 2007, Maphis et al., 2015b). Therefore, it is compelling to understand the role of anti-inflammatory cytokines in limiting neuroinflammation and tau pathology. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a well-established anti-inflammatory cytokine with roles in limiting inflammation in the central …

Circuit Topology Estimation In An Adaptive Protection Platform, Daniel Ruiz

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Modern electric power systems, power system protections and controls have experienced a significant change, thanks to the introduction of new technologies, such as microprocessors, GPS, communication, etc. These technologies brought an increased amount of measured-data and information flow on power grids. Adaptive protection systems have been introduced to increase the reliability, selectivity, and sensitivity of the traditional protection systems. An adaptive protection system highly relies on the communication system infrastructure to identify the latest status of power grid (e.g., circuit topology or generation level of distributed energy resources). However, when the communication links to some of the equipment are outaged …

Cognitive Radios For Self-Aware And Spectrum-Agile Communications Over Wideband Spectrum, Mohamed A. Aref

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

In this dissertation, we introduce a novel cognitive engine design for intelligent, self-aware and spectrum-agile communications. The targeted cognitive radio (CR) has sensing and learning abilities that incorporate advanced signal processing and machine/deep learning (ML/DL) techniques. It can operate over a heterogeneous wideband spectrum that is much wider than the ones proposed in the literature, most likely covering several hundreds of MHz. It has the ability to detect existing signals in the surrounding RF environment and identify their origins. Furthermore, it cognitively uses channel selection, transmit power control and interference cancellation to adapt its communications mode in response to observed …

Impact Of Cd82 Expression On Acute Myeloid Leukemia Chemosensitivity And Quiescence, Muskan Floren

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients respond favorably to induction chemotherapy, however, long-term outcomes remain poor due to a high rate of chemoresistance and bone marrow minimal residual disease. To improve long-term patient outcomes, it’s critical to identify regulators of chemotherapy resistance in AML and develop therapies that are directed towards bone marrow resident AML cells. In Chapter 2, we uncover the impact of CD82 expression in AML response to chemotherapeutic treatment and the contribution of Protein Kinase C α (PKCα) and β1 integrin signaling in promoting p38 MAPK activation to support CD82-mediated AML cell survival. In Chapter 3, we …

Niche Dynamics Of The Felid Guild Following The Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction, Nicholas A. Freymueller

Biology ETDs

The loss of large carnivores is fundamentally restructuring modern mammal communities. However, large carnivore removal is not exclusively a modern trend. The Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction (PME) resulted in a near-eradication of hyper-carnivorous felids such as saber-toothed cats. However, it is unclear if smaller surviving meso-felids began to infill this ecological vacuum post-PME. I apply Ecological Niche Modeling (ENM) to test evaluate whether surviving felids filled in vacant niches post-extinction, and hypothesize that they ought to have shown increased niche-overlap patterns with mega-felids post-extinction. I model species’ fundamental niches using a multi-temporal approach, and develop a novel test to model realized …

New Mexico In Depth Interviews Vinay Harpalani: Complexity Of Colorism, Vinay Harpalani, Claudia Silva

Faculty Scholarship

“Our discourse on race in this country has largely been framed around black or white,” said University of New Mexico civil rights law professor Vinay Harpalani.

But assumptions about varying shades of skin color can, for example, lead someone who is Indian, like himself, to be mistaken as Hispanic, he said.

Academics who’ve studied racial discrimination say discrimination based on a person’s skin-tone exists across many racial and ethnic groups and generally manifests as a systematic preference for lighter skin over darker skin.

Harpalani explains it can be the other way around in some instances, such as the bullying Clark …

Understanding The Role Of Atom Trapping In The Evolution Of Hydrocarbon Transformation Catalyst Morphology, Griffin Alexander Canning

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Converting alkanes to other, more chemically and economically valuable molecules requires catalysts that can survive elevated temperatures and highly reducing environments. These environments can cause many metal-nanoparticle based catalysts to sinter rapidly, causing a loss of activity. They must also tolerate the coke formation, as well, since coke can restrict access to active sites by gas phase molecules, thus lowering catalytic activity. While there are routes to improve both the sinter and coke resistance of catalysts, an alternative strategy is to develop a protocol for regenerating the activity of the catalyst in question when coke formation or sintering becomes problematic. …

Charter School Autonomy In An Era Of Standards-Based Reforms, Karen M. Phillips

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This study examined the impact of standards-based prescribed reforms on the capacity of charter schools to maintain autonomy needed for innovation and to meet school-specific goals and missions. Charter schools are constructed on the concept of autonomy and innovation while standards-based reform initiatives are based on concepts of prescriptive accountability and standardization.

Utilizing qualitative research case study methodology, I selected three case study charter schools located in northern New Mexico and conducted semi-structured interviews with leaders and teachers from the schools in addition to reviewing document artifacts. I developed a conceptual framework of three interconnected elements of autonomy – Regulation, …

Unm Newsroom Interviews Nathalie Martin: Unm Law Professor Practices Yoga And Meditation In Stressful Times, Nathalie Martin, Maggie Branch

Faculty Scholarship

A professor at The University of New Mexico School of Law has become a very accomplished Yogi – someone who studies and is proficient in yoga. Nathalie Martin, who has been a part of the UNM law faculty since 1998, was featured in a magazine put together by the Property Brothers and HGTV regarding her Yogi status.

Performance Improvements For Next Generation Falling Particle Receiver Systems, Nathan R. Schroeder

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Falling particle receiver (FPR) systems are a rapidly developing technology for concentrating solar power applications. Solid particles are used as both the heat transfer fluid and thermal energy storage media. Through the direct solar irradiation of the solid particles, flux and temperature limitations of tube-bundle receives can be overcome leading to higher operating temperatures and energy conversion efficiencies. Particle residence time, curtain opacity, and curtain stability affect the performance of FPR designs. As the particles fall through the receiver the curtain accelerates, increasing its transmissivity thus decreasing the amount of energy absorbed. Multistage release trough structures catch and release the …

Farmers’ Place-Based Discourse About Water Relations: Ways Of Knowing Water And Multispecies Survival, Jeffrey Alan Hoffmann

Communication ETDs

The present study looks at farmers’ discourse about water and water relations. Through qualitative interviews using the method of cultural discourse analysis (CuDA), and the framework of ecocultural dialectics, the study reveals how, as farmers talk about water, they also make explicit and implicit arguments about specific cultural relations with the biosphere, as well as the role of identity, place, and power in designing and implementing agricultural solutions to ecological and social problems. I argue that the contradictions in how farmers discursively envision the problems of water pollution and scarcity, as well as solutions to those problems in their farming …

Theoretical And Experimental Studies Of The Emission Of Electromagnetic Radiation By Superluminal Polarization Currents, Andrea Caroline Schmidt-Zweifel

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Maxwell’s equations establish that patterns of electric charges and currents can be animated to travel faster than the speed of light in vacuo, c, and that these superluminal distribution patterns emit tightly focused packets of electromagnetic radiation that are fundamentally different from the emissions by previously known sources -- on Earth and in the Universe. This dissertation introduces a practical faster-than-light emitter: The superluminal polarization current antenna. Such devices use a polarization current that travels faster than c to give rise to electromagnetic radiation, a technique known as the vacuum Čerenkov effect. In what is to follow, the theoretical and …

Mothers’ Satisfaction With Childcare Choices And Its Links To Family Involvement And Community Support, Hadeel Shamlan Al-Essa

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

This study examined mothers ’reports on types of childcare arrangement for a preschool-age child, levels of mothers’, fathers’, and relatives’ involvement in childcare at home, maternal satisfaction with childcare arrangement, the influence of socioeconomic status and social support on mothers ’satisfaction with childcare arrangement, and the nature of mothers ’affection, responsiveness, encouragement, and teaching behaviors during mother-child play sessions. The sample consisted of 130 New Mexico mothers from two-parent families with a preschool child. A subsample of four mothers was selected for collecting data on mother-child play interactions through a 10-minute observation session. Analyses suggested that mothers were the primary …

The Effects Of Glycosylation On Immunogenicity And Replication Of Emerging Viral Pathogens, Elizabeth Carvosso Clarke

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

For filoviruses, a family of hemorrhagic fever viruses, the main antigen for vaccines in development is the glycosylated glycoprotein GP1,2. How the glycosylation of GP1,2 differs when the protein is produced in different cell lines is unclear. We showed significant differences in the types of glycans conferred onto filovirus GP1,2s in produced in mammalian-origin and insect-origin cell lines. Mammalian-derived filovirus GP1,2s have diverse N-linked glycans and extensive O-linked glycans, whereas insect-derived filovirus GP1,2s have N-linked glycans that are primarily paucimannose type and have no observable O-linked glycans. We then showed that differences in glycosylation impacted how immunogenic the proteins were …

Full Issue (Fall 2020)

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

No abstract provided.

English Proficiency Or Post-School Success? The Miseducation Of English Learners, Jatnna Acosta

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

English learners in the U.S. are academically unprepared at the secondary level, ad such systemic barriers lead to limited opportunities for post-school success (Umansky, 2016). Additional research is necessary to examine the correlation between the impact of a school’s ethnic diversity on the academic achievement of students identified as ELs. The purpose of this study is to investigate the educational outcomes of ELs at the high school level as a result of the school’s ethnic diversity. This study provides quantitative data from the Ed-Data Education Data Partnership. The data is disaggregated by the ethnic diversity index, percentage of enrolled ELs …

A Theory/Practice Divide: Exploring Perceptions Of Inclusion In Schools, Christine L. Cho

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

This article explores the theory-practice divide with respect to actualizing how diversity and inclusion can be explicitly addressed in schools. This paper contributes important insights for teacher educators in terms of recognizing and challenging problematic assumptions teacher candidates (TCs) may hold. This research presses TCs to examine the structure of schools through a critical lens, as teachers, particularly those from the dominant group, tend to act in surface ways, avoiding conflict by using seemingly inclusive language and ideas, and either ignoring or not seeing the real challenges many historically marginalized students face. The assignment upon which this study was based …

Table Of Contents

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

No abstract provided.

Through The Funnel: A Critical Policy Analysis Of Educational Policy Relating To The School-To-Prison Pipeline., Jesse V. Hall

Special Education ETDs

The purpose of the present study involved analyzing the policies of the Trump administration to determine the ways it impacted the school-to-prison pipeline. The focus of the study included the Departments of Education and Justice. The findings revealed educational policies and deregulatory practices that maintained and intensified the school-to-prison pipeline.

Role Of Β-Glucan Structure In Dectin-1 Homo- And Hetero-Oligomerization In Innate Anti-Fungal Immunity, Eduardo U. Anaya

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Dectin-1A is a C-type Lectin innate immunoreceptor that recognizes β-(1,3)-glucan, a structural component of Candida species cell walls. Dectin-1 has eight alternative splice isoforms including, A and B. Innate immunocytes can express one or both isoforms, but neither their relative responsiveness to β-glucan nor the potential for inter-isoform signaling cross-talk is well understood. In this study, we determine how the different structures of soluble β-glucans affect both isoforms and unravel how differences in glucan structure impact the earliest events in Dectin-1 signaling. Using quantitative microscopy techniques, we explored the role of glucan structure on Dectin-1A oligomerization, which is thought to …

Bystanders’ Perspectives On The Provision Of Informal, Hospital-Based Care To Bedridden Patients With Cancer In Sri Lanka, B. Sunil S. De Silva

Nursing ETDs

Due to the nursing shortage in Sri Lanka, patients need informal caregivers, known as bystanders, to help provide patient care. This study described bystanders’ perspectives on informal, hospital-based care to bedridden patients with cancer in Sri Lanka. In this qualitative descriptive study, 17 bystanders at Apeksa/Cancer Hospital, Sri Lanka, were recruited using snowballing sampling. Data were collected through telephone interviews and analyzed using content and thematic analyses. Findings showed that paid and unpaid bystanders cover all caregiving tasks with minimum interaction with nurses. Unpaid bystanders described the need for same-sex bystanders and additional help with patients’ mobilization and specialized care. …

Structure, Neutrostructure, And Antistructure In Science, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In any science, a classical Theorem, defined on a given space, is a statement that is 100% true (i.e. true for all elements of the space). To prove that a classical theorem is false, it is sufficient to get a single counter-example where the statement is false. Therefore, the classical sciences do not leave room for partial truth of a theorem (or a statement). But, in our world and in our everyday life, we have many more examples of statements that are only partially true, than statements that are totally true. The NeutroTheorem and AntiTheorem are generalizations and alternatives of …