Digital Commons Network^™

Feasibility And Acceptability Of An Online Empathy Skills Training For Substance Use Providers, Emily L. Starratt

Psychology ETDs

The ability to train counselors to convey empathy is critical, given the importance of therapist empathic skill level in substance use disorder treatment outcomes (Moyers & Miller, 2013). To date, no studies have examined the efficacy of an online empathy skills training for clinicians, where competency is evaluated using objectively rated standardized client sessions. This study evaluated the acceptability, feasibility, and fit of an online empathy skills training for substance use disorder providers. METHOD: Therapist empathy was measured pre-post training using standardized client actor interviews and evaluated with a global rating yielded by the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity Code 4.2 …

Big Data Policing Capacity Measurement, Ronald J. Coleman

New Mexico Law Review

Big data, algorithms, and computing technologies are revolutionizing policing. Cell phone data. Transportation data. Purchasing data. Social media and internet data. Facial recognition and biometric data. Use of these and other forms of data to investigate, and even predict, criminal activity is law enforcement’s presumptive future. Indeed, law enforcement in several major cities have already begun to develop a big data policing mindset, and new forms of data have played a central role in high-profile matters featured in the Serial and To Live and Die in LA podcasts, as well as in the Supreme Court’s leading privacy and criminal procedure …

The Mindful First Amendment, Gary Myers

New Mexico Law Review

The mindfulness movement has begun to play an expanding role in personal well-being and in society more generally. Although there is an active push for mindfulness in law, its primary focus is on ways in which mindfulness techniques can help lawyers in their personal and professional lives. This article explores the possible contributions of mindfulness to the widely recognized challenges facing freedom of speech and freedom of the press in an era of severe cultural and political polarization. This article focuses on the external aspects of mindfulness—the interaction with others and with society—to assess whether its techniques might assist in …

Reaping The Rewards Of Hard Work: Eliminating The New Mexico Minimum Wage Act’S Exemption For Workers Paid On A Piecework, Flat Rate, And Commission Basis, Jackie Munro-Vahey

New Mexico Law Review

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) of 1938 created minimum wage, maximum hours, and overtime protections for the first time in United States history. One of the core principles of the FLSA was that states could also pass their own wage and hour laws, provided they were more protective of workers than the federal Act. In 2023, however, New Mexico is the only state where workers paid on a piecework, flat rate, and commission basis are exempt from the basic wage and hour protections of the federal Act because of a less protective state law. So, for example, medical …

The Outer Limits: Jury Discretion, District Court Deference, & Excessive Damages In Morga V. Fedex Ground Package Sys., Inc., Aaron Sharratt

New Mexico Law Review

What is the value of life? Courts and commentators have long debated the question of the inherent value of life in relation to the awarding of compensatory damages. The New Mexico Supreme Court’s recent decision affirming a record $165 million civil award in Morga v. FedEx again brings this debate into public view. The decision effectively shuts the door to the prospect of higher State courts overturning a jury’s noneconomic compensatory damages award based on an excessive verdict claim. The case highlights the district court’s power and discretion in awarding monetary damages for nonmonetary injuries and the implications of defense …

Wirelessly Powering A Sea Of Sensors For Perimeter Security Applications, Ian River Chavez

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

his thesis presents an innovative application of Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) technology for perimeter security systems. The approach leverages the physical properties of IPT to detect intrusions by monitoring voltage changes in wirelessly powered sensor nodes, which can double as components of an intrusion detection system. Disturbances in node orientation, indicative of potential intrusions, alter the sensor node’s resonant frequency and create measurable voltage shifts. This study explores the concept in-depth, from the analysis of resonant inductive coupling in various resonant inductive modes, to the design of transmit loops, sensor nodes, and the techniques required to ensure optimum power transfer. …

Myeloid Fth1 Deficiency Protects Mice From Colitis And Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer Via Reducing Dmt1-Imported Iron And Stat3 Activation, Zhaoli Liu, Mariella Arcos, David R. Martin, Xiang Xue

Pathology Research and Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Myeloid cells are critical for iron and immune homeostasis. Ferritin heavy chain (FTH1) is essential for intracellular iron storage. Myeloid FTH1 is important in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases. However, the role of myeloid FTH1 in colitis and colitis-associated cancer has not been determined.

METHODS: Myeloid FTH1 deficient and wild-type mice were treated with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) or azoxymethane (AOM)-DSS to compare their susceptibility to acute colitis or colitis-associated cancer.

RESULTS: Myeloid FTH1-deficient mice fed with a high-iron diet were less susceptible to DSS-induced acute colitis than wild type mice. Mechanistic studies showed that myeloid FTH1 deficiency …

The Antiviral Effects Of A Mek1/2 Inhibitor Promote Tumor Regression In A Preclinical Model Of Human Papillomavirus Infection-Induced Tumorigenesis, Adrian J. Luna, Jesse M. Young, Rosa T. Sterk, Virginie Bondu, Fred A. Schultz, Donna F. Kusewitt, Huining Kang, Michelle A. Ozbun

Pathology Research and Scholarship

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a significant public health concern due to their widespread transmission, morbidity, and oncogenic potential. Despite efficacious vaccines, millions of unvaccinated individuals and those with existing infections will develop HPV-related diseases for the next two decades and beyond. The continuing burden of HPV-related diseases is exacerbated by the lack of effective therapies or cures for infections, highlighting the need to identify and develop antivirals. The experimental murine papillomavirus type 1 (MmuPV1) model provides opportunities to study papillomavirus pathogenesis in cutaneous epithelium, the oral cavity, and the anogenital tract. However, to date the MmuPV1 infection model has not …

The Economic Impact Of Oil And Gas Production In The Permian Basin, Aditi Sarkar

Economics ETDs

The dissertation aims to analyze the economic and social consequences of unconventional oil and gas (UO&G) production in the Permian Basin, located in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. The first paper focuses on the effect of methane reduction regulations imposed by the United States (US) government on the production of natural gas and the drilling of new wells. Specifically, the question asked is “what is the impact of methane reduction regulations on the drilling of new wells and the production of natural gas over a 40-year time horizon?” I develop dynamic optimization in a system dynamic setting to assess …

Essays On Human Capital, Labor, And Gender, Kritika Sen Chakraborty

Economics ETDs

This dissertation is a collection of chapters that demonstrate the factors affecting human capital and labor market outcomes of adolescents and the gender differences in the quality of employment of adults in South Africa.

The second chapter evaluates the impact of South Africa’s Child Support Grant, an unconditional means-tested grant provided to age-eligible children, on adolescent nutrition outcomes. The findings suggest that welfare programs can alleviate extreme undernutrition and overnutrition among females during the critical growth period of adolescence.

In the third chapter, I use longitudinal data from rural South Africa linked with geospatial climate indicators to examine the effect …

Three Essays On The Economics Of Children’S Health And Education In Nepal, Khusiman Pun

Economics ETDs

First essay: This paper studies the impact of Nepal’s 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency on the nutritional status of children. We employ the difference-in-difference (DID) model. The proxy for conflict intensity is killings per thousand population (KPT). The finding of our study is that a marginal increase in KPT decreases the height-for-age (HAZ) of the children by 0.0844. The loss in child health was statistically not significant in both non-poor and poor households. Therefore, the impact of the insurgency on child health is largely driven by the negative effect of the insurgency on Janajaties, irrespective of their economic status.

Second essay: This …

Examining The Effects Of Iron-Oxide Nanoparticles On Primary Gingival Keratinocytes For The Prevention Of Oral Disease, Jennifer C. Carranza

Dental Hygiene ETDs

Oral plaque biofilm has been identified as the primary contributor to dental conditions such as dental caries and periodontal disease that promotes a diverse and pervasive collection of microbial species to inhabit the oral cavity. Disrupting the plaque matrix early could help combat this global disease burden. This study evaluated the effect of IONPs on primary gingival keratinocytes.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine existing research regarding nanoparticles and determine if IONPs affect the PGK cell membranes with preliminary research to find the maximum lysis possible with PGK cells.

Methods: IONP core/shell syntheses were performed. Considering keratinocyte characteristics, examining data …

Postwar Cooperative Housing: On The Historical And Community Significance Of South Dahlia Lane, John Boydstun

Architecture and Planning ETDs

American cities after WWII including Denver experienced a boom in population resulting in a shortage of affordable housing. One innovative response to the demand for affordable housing was the formation of the Mile High Housing Association (MHHA), a Colorado non-profit organization founded in 1948 by four University of Denver professors. The MHHA was Colorado’s first housing cooperative and founded on the ideals of a supportive and collaborative community. MHHA’s goals included providing affordable single-family homes with a new modernist design and a neighborhood site plan that supported a cooperative lifestyle. Backed by new legislation in 1948 for FHA financing, the …

An Investigation Of Freshwater Turtle Ecology Using Stable Isotopes, Jonathan Duran

Biology ETDs

In 2022 I investigated niche partitioning among native and invasive freshwater turtles across three sites in the Middle Rio Grande using bulk stable isotope analysis. I found high degrees of niche partitioning at sites in which Red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta) have yet to establish. However, at sites in which red-eared sliders are now the most abundant species they overlapped greatly in isotopic niche with all native turtles, in particular the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta). Using these same techniques, I then examined the trophic interactions between red-eared sliders and their acanthocephalan parasites. My results suggest that acanthocephalans …

Post-Fire Plant Community Response In Subalpine Mixed Conifer Forest, Sasha Escamilla

Biology ETDs

Increased wildfire activity may lead to significant shifts in vegetation dynamics in high elevation mixed conifer forests. These changes raise concerns about the resilience of forests following wildfire, prompting the need for a deeper understanding of post-fire plant community response. We analyzed up to 11 years of post-fire vegetation data from Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico to determine how burned vegetation sites were recovering following high severity wildfire, and whether or not plant communities were transitioning to montane grassland. We found burned understory herbaceous communities were not transitioning into distinctive montane grasslands and were instead recovering to …

Evidence Of Competitive Release Following Overstory Mortality In A Semi-Arid Piñon-Juniper Woodland, Corrie D. Gonzalez

Biology ETDs

Extreme temperatures and severe drought events have led to widespread tree mortality worldwide. In semi-arid regions of the Southwest United States, these events pose a significant threat to piñon-juniper (PJ) woodlands. We studied the effects of piñon and juniper mortality on the growth and physiology of existing saplings in PJ woodlands by analyzing water status, photosynthetic activity, and tissue chemistry to gain insights into these impacts. Juniper saplings exhibited improved water status and water use efficiency in response to overstory mortality, whereas piñon saplings did not. Additionally, both piñon and juniper saplings exhibited increased photosynthetic rates, increased photosynthetic capacity, and …

Investigation Of Orthohantavirus Genetics In Rodent Reservoirs And Clinical Samples, Samuel Melvin Goodfellow

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Orthohantaviruses are negative-sense, single stranded RNA viruses with trisegmented genomes that can cause severe disease in humans and are carried by several host reservoirs throughout the world. In the United States, Sin Nombre orthohantavirus (SNV) is the primary cause of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) with a fatality rate of ~36% and the highest cases occuring in the southwest region. The primary SNV host reservoir is thought to be the western deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, however it has been shown that other rodents can carry different orthohantaviruses. We designed a pan-orthohantavirus detection tool to survey several small mammal populations throughout New …

Examining The Measurement Invariance Of The Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory Among Hispanic And Non-Hispanic White College Women, Christina Nicole Gillezeau

Psychology ETDs

I examined whether the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R) was invariant between Hispanic/Latina and Non-Hispanic White (NHW) undergraduate women. I performed confirmatory factor analysis to assess model fit and used increasingly restrictive models to test invariance. I included 208 Hispanic/Latina women and 190 NHW women. The CFI and RMSEA model fit statistics (CFI=0.98, RMSEA=0.06 (90% confidence interval=0.04-0.08, p-value=0.16) showed that the model fit well. I constrained factor loadings to be equal in both groups to test metric invariance. I observed non-significant differences in model fit (deltaX² (9)=88.67, p>0.95, deltaCFI=0.003, deltaRMSEA=-0.011). I also constrained intercepts to be equal to …

Projecting Vegetation Condition And Fire Risk In Southern California, Westin K. Guthrie

Geography ETDs

In the western US, relationships between fire, vegetation, climate, and urban areas are dynamic and evolving. This work used a forest landscape model, LANDIS-II, informed by future climate scenarios and projections of urban expansion to understand wildfire interactions within projected Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas. This simulation showed that in both 2050 and 2100 +93% of the WUI in southern California experienced fire. Future work needs to be done in parametrizing forest biomass to ensure the validity of projections. Additionally, increasing each climate scenario model's replicates will create more accurate projections.

An Investigation Into How The Intense Nature Of Youth Sport Participation Influences Women’S Collegiate Basketball Player’S Experiences Of Burnout, Hana M. Adent

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

One area of athlete well-being garnering increasing attention is athletes’ experience of burnout (Gould & Whitley, 2009). According to Coakley (1992), burnout is a social phenomenon grounded in a set of social relations through which young athletes become disempowered in their sport participation that can lead to fatigue and dropout. Therefore, efforts to reduce athletes’ likelihood of experiencing burnout are important. Often overlooked in the college athlete literature are the experiences of college athletes in youth sport. Yet almost all college athletes participate in competitive youth sport. Therefore, in seeking to further our understanding of college athletes’ burnout experience, it …

High Altitude Exercise, Autophagy, And Angiogenesis, Quint Nikolas Berkemeier

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Environmental hypoxia, as a result of decreased barometric pressure upon ascent to high altitudes (>2500m) presents increased physiological demands compared to low altitudes. Competitive athletes, mountaineers, wildland firefighters, military personnel, miners, and outdoor enthusiasts commonly participate in, or are exposed to, forms of exercise or physical labor at moderate to high altitudes. Interestingly, however, the majority of research on intermittent hypoxic exposure is centered around hematological markers and the skeletal muscle cellular responses to exercise in hypoxic environments remain largely unknown. Two processes that are integral for maintenance of cellular health in skeletal muscle include autophagy and angiogenesis. We …

An Intersectional Grounded Theory Study Examining Identity Exploration For Former Student-Athletes Against The Backdrop Of 2020, Crystle M. Dorsey

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

The purpose of this study was to understand how student-athletes explored and made meaning of their intersecting identities through identity-focused curriculum against the backdrop of 2020. With intersectionality as a theoretical framework, this study examines how axes of oppression influenced the process of identity exploration for student-athletes. Guided by constructivism and critical theory as its epistemological foundations, this constructivist grounded theory study included three guiding research questions alluding to the how, what and why student-athletes explored their identities in 2020. The outcome of this study was an intersectional grounded theory detailing how student-athletes explore and make meaning of their intersecting …

The Influence Of Custodial Grandparental Figures’ Cultural Backgrounds On Their Grandchildren’S Educational Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Gabriela B. Gonzalez

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Researchers have continuously explored the multiple ways in which grandparents affect their grandchildren’s environments, inside and outside of their homes. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in literature that regards custodial relationships between grandparents and grandchildren, pathways to custodial relationships and how these affect the grandparent’s methods of raising their grandchildren. Multiple researchers have analyzed educational attainment and progress of custodial grandchildren. This analysis focused on exploring existing data that considered how individuals with the mentioned custodial arrangements also possess diverse cultural backgrounds as their circumstance, and how both of these factors might affect children’s educational outcomes.

Throughout this …

Si Solo Nos Dan Esta Oportunidad: Stories Of Transnational Students In An Intercultural Secondary Program In Santa Fe De La Laguna, Michoacán, México., Minea Armijo, Minea Armijo Romero

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The research aimed to explore the long-term effects of intercultural bilingual programs on Indigenous bilingual students residing in transnational communities. Employing a phenomenological research design, this qualitative study incorporated interviews, focus groups, classroom observations, and artifact analysis. Specifically, it investigated an intercultural education program at the secondary level and its influence on transnational students, their families, and the teachers at the Preparatoria Indígena Intercultural de Santa Fe de la Laguna in Michoacán, México. This research contributes to the growing field of bilingual education research in México by examining the interconnections between transnationalism and Bilingual Intercultural models of education, thus proposing …

“That Felt Weird”: International Graduate Students’ Emerging Critical Awareness Of Their Experiences With Microaggression, Romaisha Rahman

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to uncover and understand international graduate students’ experiences with microaggressions that stem from native speaker fallacy; microaggressions are the subtle discriminatory behaviors executed toward marginalized groups and native speaker fallacy is the false belief that only some “native” English speakers are effective teachers and users of the language. Put simply, this research aimed at unveiling the subtle language-based discriminations that international graduate students experience in their day-to-day lives in U.S. educational settings. To collect data for the study, the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) was utilized. CIT is a method that allows the …

Long In The Tooth: The Commodification Of Teeth, Land, And Character; Resistance To British Oral Culture In Nineteenth-Century Britain, Ireland, And The Americas 1770-1900, Emma B. Mincks

English Language and Literature ETDs

This dissertation is about teeth- rather, how they are portrayed in British colonial discourses of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century and their development as a commodified material object associated with purity, lands, and visceral emotionality. What do teeth specifically, and orality more generally, mean to eighteenth and nineteenth-century readers in relation to the logics of white possession? How did objectified subjects react to and respond to the affective tension created by this objectification? Teeth are represented in relation to feminine purity throughout British writing from at least the 1600’s. However, between 1770-1900, teeth gain additional cultural meanings, most …

Synthetic Biology Enabled Modification Of Bone Cells And Impact On Bone Mineral Resorption, Dulce C. Hayes

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Development of a cell culture based bone model can contribute to biomedical research by producing a reproducible model system that mimics a bone remodeling disorder and reduces the use of animals in research studies. Synthetic biology was used to engineer osteoblast cell lines to alter a key protein in the RANKL pathway in efforts to control the bone remodeling process. Osteoblast cell lines, K7M2 and MC3T3-E1 Subclone 4 were engineered to express osteoprotegerin (OPG) and inhibit OPG expression, respectively. The upregulation of OPG expression was confirmed with Real Time PCR and Quantikine® Immunoassay. To identify the functionality of the engineered …

Cholesterol Regulation Of Egfr-Dependent Vasoconstriction In Chronic Hypoxia-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension, Rosstin Ahmadian

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Pulmonary arterial constriction and remodeling resulting from chronic hypoxia (CH) lead to increased pulmonary vascular resistance and resultant pulmonary hypertension in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, sleep apnea, or in residents at high altitude. Recent studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that CH augments vasoconstrictor reactivity to a variety of stimuli, including pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell (PASMC) stretch, membrane depolarization, and stimulation of G protein-coupled receptors. This effect of CH is mediated by a switch in PASMC signaling from Ca2+-dependent mechanisms towards a novel epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2)-Rho kinase Ca2+ sensitization pathway that occurs …

Determining The Existence And Regulation Of Microlipophagy In Primary Brown And White Adipocytes, Sara C. Arenas De Leon

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Lipids are one of life’s four main macromolecules and provide essential functions to cells.

The degradation of lipid droplets and mobilization of lipids occurs through lipolysis. Emerging evidence demonstrates evidence of a selective form of autophagy in lipolysis. The process of microlipophagy has only recently been described, and many features of its regulation are still poorly understood. Our recent study showed that inhibiting mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway by depletion of Raptor in adipocytes led to an influx of lysosomes and accumulation of lipid droplets within lysosome. Here, we expand on these previous findings. We were able …

Sociolinguistics Of Saudi Vision 2030: Paradigm Shift Through English Faculty’S Perspectives Of Translanguaging At A Saudi University., Naif Masrahi

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Many educational systems around the world insist on applying an English Only Policy (EOP) when teaching the English language at universities without addressing their contextual needs. In Saudi Arabia, this problem leads to reduced satisfaction among faculty regarding students’ English level (Alharbi & Alqefari, 2022; Alkhairy, 2013; Alqahtani, 2020; Alsaawi, 2019; Alshammari, 2022; Altale & Alta’ani, 2019; Alzahrani, 2019; Elyas & Picard, 2010). However, the new educational transformation promised by Saudi Vision 2030 (2016) supports the Arabic language as a mother tongue for Saudis, English as an important language, and the teaching of critical thinking to respond to current global …