Digital Commons Network^™

Live Imaging Of Brain Network Dynamics In An Acute Threat Response By Memri: Effects Of Early Life Adversity On Noradrenergic System Anatomy, Taylor W. Uselman, Russell E. Jacobs, Elaine L. Bearer

Brain & Behavioral Health Research Day

Monoaminergic signaling in cortical-limbic circuits regulate both normal physiology and responses to stress. Indeed, monoaminergic reuptake transporters, located on the pre-synaptic terminals of distal projections, are common pharmacological targets for mental disorders, like anxiety and depression. Early life adversity (ELA), which has an interaction with monoaminergic systems, increases vulnerability to mental disorders later in life. Despite this, we are yet to understand how ELA alters brain-wide patterns of neural activity. Here, we combine Manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) with behavioral tracking and immunohistochemistry to investigate the effects of ELA on the modular neuroarchitecture and behavioral response to acute threat. ELA was administered …

Alcohol Use, Psychological Stress, And Mental Health In U.S. Spanish - And English-Speaking Pregnant Women, L Enriquez-Marquez, D Rodriguez, X Ma, M H. Roberts, S Ruyak, S W. Jacobson, L N. Bakhireva

Brain & Behavioral Health Research Day

Purpose: The “Latina paradox” and mitigating cultural/social-support factors have been extensively studied. However, further investigation is warranted comparing the complex interplay among substance use, psychosocial stress, mental health, and socioeconomic factors between Spanish-speaking and English-speaking pregnant women.

Methods: Data were collected from 311 pregnant women (275 English-speaking, 36 Spanish- speaking), screened for eligibility into the ENRICH-2 prospective cohort study, and 98 enrolled. Screening questionnaires included questions about demographics, AUDIT-C, and binge (≥4 drinks/occasion) and heavy drinking (≥14 drinks) around last menstrual period (LMP).

Following enrollment, perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale, PSS), symptoms of anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, GAD-7) and depression …

Mental Illness And Human Dignity In Jane Eyre, Haley G. Hughes

2022 Award Winners

No abstract provided.

Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women (And Children) – A Global Problem, Hevyn L. Heckes

2022 Award Winners

No abstract provided.

An Impact Evaluation Of Covid-19 Training Program: Knowledge And Awareness Of Public Health Professionals Of Province Five, Nepal, Alok K. Bohara, Swati Thapa, Siobhan K. Yilmaz, Spencer H. Mcbee

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

With the declaration of a worldwide pandemic in March 2020 (World Health Organization 2020), COVID-19 has become a primary focus of governments and public health systems across the world with increases in infection and death rates. By mid-April 2020, more than 80% of countries had imposed containment and mitigation measures. But for developing nations, the threats of this global pandemic are more acute given the lack of resources and the capacity to deal with a shock of this magnitude (Loayza 2020). Despite calling for a lockdown on March 24th, 2020 (Pradhan 2020), Nepal faces several public health challenges including limited …

Preserving Due Process: Require The Frye And Daubert Expert Standards In State Gang Cases, Fareed Nassor Hayat

New Mexico Law Review

Police officers are almost universally offered and admitted as experts in gang prosecutions. Without being subjected to the stringent requirements of Frye and Daubert expert standards, criminal Defendants’ due process rights are violated. Once admitted, police officers are permitted to testify to the psychology, customs, motivations, social structures and subjective mental states of individual gang members and gang organizations. Police gang expert testimony should only be admitted after the underlying criminal matter has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and even then, only if the police gang expert testimony abides by clearly defined rules of evidence. This article advocates for …

Aging And Gender In The Tsimane’: Differences In Energy Expenditure, Physical Activity, And Horticultural Work, Daniel Kruse Cummings

Anthropology ETDs

The purpose of this dissertation is to measure and explain age- and sex-related differences in energy expenditure, physical activity, and patterns of horticultural work, in the Tsimane’, a subsistence forager-horticulturalist population from the Bolivian Amazon. Changes in the way energy is used with advancing age has important implications for the tradeoffs negotiated within the aging body as it partitions increasingly limited energy among competing life functions. It is guided by a theoretical framework which posits the co-evolution of the unique suite of fast and slow human life history traits, cooperative production of resources, and ageand sex-specific schedules of growth, production, …

Reversal Of Prenatal Alcohol-Induced Deficits In Long-Term Potentiation By The Histamine H3 Inverse Agonist Sar153954, Monica Goncalves-Garcia, Suzy Davies, Daniel D. Savage, Derek A. Hamilton

Brain & Behavioral Health Research Day

Cognitive impairments are common consequences of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The hippocampus is susceptible to the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) which persist throughout an individual’s life. Previous studies have identified deficits in long-term potentiation (LTP) in perforant pathway to dentate gyrus synapses as an adverse consequence of PAE. Although there have been numerous investigations, PAE-induced deficits in synaptic plasticity remain poorly understood. Currently, there are no known, clinically effective pharmacotherapeutic interventions for these deficits. This study investigated the effects of PAE on LTP in the dentate gyrus and the H3 receptor inverse agonist, SAR152954, as a candidate …

Latina And Latino Critical Legal Theory: Latcrit Theory, Praxis And Community, Marc-Tizoc Gonzaléz, Sarudzayi Matambanadzo, Sheila I. Vélez Martínez

Faculty Scholarship

LatCrit theory is a relatively recent genre of critical “outsider jurisprudence” – a category of contemporary scholarship including critical legal studies, feminist legal theory, critical race theory, critical race feminism, Asian American legal scholarship and queer theory. This paper overviews LatCrit’s foundational propositions, key contributions, and ongoing efforts to cultivate new generations of ethical advocates who can systemically analyze the sociolegal conditions that engender injustice and intervene strategically to help create enduring sociolegal, and cultural, change. The paper organizes this conversation highlighting Latcrit’s theory, community and praxis.

A teoria LatCrit é um gênero relativamente recente de teoria do direito “outsider” …

More Than Idle Talk: Examining The Effects Of Positive And Negative Team Gossip, Trevor Spoelma, Andrea Hetrick

Faculty and Staff Publications

Gossip is a behavior that has been traditionally viewed as harmful in organizations. However, a more balanced perspective has emerged in recent years that suggests gossip can have important benefits. We propose that one way to uncover potential benefits of gossip in teams is to focus on the valence (positive or negative nature) of the gossip. Drawing on expectancy theory, we propose team gossip indirectly influences team performance through social loafing because it plays a key role in shaping beliefs about effort in team contexts; effects determined by team gossip valence. We hypothesize that positive team gossip decreases social loafing, …

Racial Triangulation, Interest-Convergence, And The Double-Consciousness Of Asian Americans, Vinay Harpalani

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay integrates Professor Claire Jean Kim’s racial triangulation framework, Professor Derrick Bell’s interest-convergence theory, and W.E.B. Du Bois’s notion of double-consciousness, all to examine the racial positioning of Asian Americans and the dilemmas we face as a result. To do so, this Essay considers the history of Asian immigration to the United States, the model minority and perpetual foreigner stereotypes, Asian Americans’ positioning in the affirmative action debate, COVID-19-related hate and bias incidents, and Andrew Yang’s 2020 Democratic presidential candidacy. The Essay examines how racial stereotypes of Asian Americans have emerged through historical cycles of valorization and ostracism, as …

Center For Brain Recovery And Repair-Clinical Core, Rick Campbell, Michel Torbey, Darbi Gill, Davin Quinn, Jessica Richardson, Jeremy Hogeveen, Cndrew Carlson, Kevin Wilson, Nick Mertens, Marcus Sterling, Saul Fernandez

Brain & Behavioral Health Research Day

Survivors of brain injuries such as stroke and trauma often endure life-long disabilities, which span a spectrum of deficits and are associated with enormous individual and societal costs. There is an urgent need to develop effective interventions that can improve cognitive and motor outcomes, especially individualized approaches that target specific disruptions of brain physiology or circuits. The Center for Brain Recovery and Repair (CBRR) is a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (NIH/NIGMS P20 GM109089; PI: Shuttleworth) established as an interdisciplinary community of clinical and preclinical investigators to address these issues. The Clinical Core is an ideally-situated brain injury research hub, …

Move From Surviving To Thriving: The Positive Psychology Workbook For Challenging Times, Bruce W. Smith

Psychology Faculty and Staff Publications

This workbook is freely offered to anyone who wants to use it to create a life of greater joy, happiness, meaning, and fulfillment in spite of the challenges we often face.

You have my permission to use anything in this workbook as long as you use it for increasing human happiness and well-being and make it as freely available as you can.

A Call To Action For Librarians: Countering Conspiracy Theories In The Age Of Qanon, Stephanie Beene, Katie Greer

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Librarians empower learners to become discerning citizens through a set of diverse skills and literacies. To cultivate critical thinkers, librarians continue to build innovative practices, even as technology rapidly evolves. However, the pervasiveness of misinformation and disinformation, most recently seen in the conspiratorial worldviews of QAnon, challenges librarians to center critical thinking in their information literacy praxis. In this article, we provide a concise overview of QAnon and the problems that contemporary internet conspiracy theories like it pose. We offer an epistemological shift for information literacy, from heuristics to mindsets and behaviors, drawing on disciplines external to librarianship. Finally, we …

School "Safety" Measures Jump Constitutional Guardrails, Maryam Ahranjani

Faculty Scholarship

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and efforts to achieve racial justice through systemic reform, this Article argues that widespread “security” measures in public schools, including embedded law enforcement officers, jump constitutional guardrails. These measures must be rethought in light of their negative impact on all children and in favor of more effective—and constitutionally compliant—alternatives to promote school safety. The Black Lives Matter, #DefundthePolice, #abolishthepolice, and #DefundSchoolPolice movements shine a timely and bright spotlight on how the prisonization of public schools leads to the mistreatment of children, particularly children with disabilities, boys, Black and brown children, and low-income children. …

The Relationship Between Narrative Informativeness And Psychosocial Outcomes In Chronic Stroke-Induced Aphasia, Eileen Armes, Jessica Richardson, Rick Arenas, Lori Nelson

Speech and Hearing Sciences ETDs

Currently there is a gap in the literature in understanding the relationship between the newly categorized primary outcome measure of discourse and secondary outcomes related to psychosocial impact, such as participation, psychological impact, social well-being, or mood. In a large sample of persons with stroke-induced aphasia (N=115), this study analyzed discourse samples using main concept analysis to determine how discourse performance correlates with the secondary outcome measures ALA, CCRSA, GDS, and CIQ. As a secondary research question, the differences in these relationships dependent on severity was also explored. Results showed statistically significant positive correlations between main concepts (MCs) and ALA …

Eureka Moment As Divine Spark In The Light Of Direct Experience With The Spirit And Nature, Victor Christianto, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In the ancient world, the Greeks believed that all great insights came from one of nine muses, divine sisters who brought inspiration to mere mortals. In the modern world, few people still believe in the muses, but we all still love to hear stories of sudden inspiration. Like Newton and the apple, or Archimedes and the bathtub (both another type of myth), we’re eager to hear and to share stories about flashes of insight. But what does it take to be actually creative? How to have such a flash insight? Turns out, there is real science behind "aha moments." We …

From A Conventional To An Inclusive Teaching Classroom, David Tadeo Martinez Guido, Gerardo Torres Gutiérrez, Roberto Bernardo Ortiz Gonzalez, Dulce Marisol Arteaga Godoy, Jorge A. Garcia

Research and Development Supported by El Centro

Inclusive education constitutes a point of inclination in policy development and care practices to student populations and social diversity. There are goals and strategies in the Mexican educational system which demonstrate the government’s interest to promote equity and equality opportunities for the entire vulnerable population. These policies are based on the need to recognize the right of people with special educational needs to quality education. Consequently, one of the goals of Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2019-2024, it is a social policy which has actions to offer education for the entire population and sustainable development.

Therefore, El Tecnológico Nacional de México …

Effects Of Chronic Stress On Anxiety-Like Behavior And Fear Learning In The Tgf344-Ad Rat Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Samuel James Bouquin

Psychology ETDs

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder that leads to severe cognitive and functional impairments. Many AD patients also exhibit neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) such as anxiety and prior to the clinical diagnosis of dementia. The prodromal manifestation of NPS is highly prevalent among patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and the co-occurrence of preclinical NPS and MCI is associated with an increased risk of developing AD. Prolonged or repeated exposure to stress can result in behavioral disturbances (e.g., anxiety) and accelerated global cognitive decline. Importantly, AD patients exhibit altered stress systems and AD-related neuropathology has been linked to …

Mexican Americans' Perspectives On "Borderline Diabetes" In Amarillo, Texas, Priscella Pena-Correa

Nursing ETDs

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of and experiences living with “borderline diabetes” among Mexican American adults residing in or around Amarillo, Texas. Sixteen Mexican Americans who self-identified as having “borderline diabetes” participated. Research questions focused on how participants understood the condition, self-care practices, and recommendations for improving prediabetes healthcare and education. An interpretive description approach was used to analyze data from phone interviews. Principal findings revolved around issues of disclosure vs. secrecy, information seeking, and challenges or “struggle” to change lifestyle, particularly diet. Self-care was managed in a relational way with support of family, friends, …

Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Alters Transcriptional Expression Of Stress And Tlr4-Related Immune Signaling Factors In The Brain Following Early Life Stress, Chaselyn D. Ruffaner-Hanson

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Background: Depression and anxiety disorders, believed to be caused by stress-related neuropeptides and pro-inflammatory molecules in the brain, are prevalent comorbidities of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

Methods: Brain tissue was collected following a 4-hour maternal separation stress during the early postnatal period, postnatal days 10 and 12, from mice subjected to 1^st and 2^nd trimester prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE).

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that PAE leads to glucocorticoid receptor insensitivity, stress molecule overexpression, and potentiated toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) pathway inflammatory responses in the brain following early life stress.

Results: PAE and stress increased mRNA expression of TLR4 …

Parental Choice Of Charter Schools For Middle School Students With Disabilities, Oluwole Ilesanmi

Special Education ETDs

For many decades, traditional public schools were the dominant public schools available for educating students, including those with disabilities. However, in the current climate of school choice, parents can now choose from a variety of educational options for their children. This study sought to explore the reasons parents of students with disabilities enrolled their children in charter schools. Research questions addressed the reasons parents considered when enrolling their children with disabilities in charter schools, as well as their degree of satisfaction and experiences after enrollment in charter schools. A total of 108 parents of sixth-eighth grade middle school students with …

Drought, Farmers, And Mental Health, Elizabeth Mckitrick

Climate Change and Public Health Preparedness

No abstract provided.

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, …

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 …

Full Issue (Fall 2020)

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

No abstract provided.

Ibram X. Kendi's How To Be An Antiracist, Quatez Scott

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

This book review of Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist (2019) addresses the importance of exploring race relations in the U.S. from a framework that focuses on racial policies. Commonly referred to as “systemic racism” and “institutional racism”, racist policies maintain racial inequities. Antiracists aim to eliminate those racial policies. Kendi’s ability to address these issues head on with deeply researched historical narratives brings light to the ways racial policies are reinforced, which reproduce racist ideas. This book drives straight to the heart of racial challenges and takes a new approach at examining how and why humans should …

Isaac Gottesman's The Critical Turn In Education: From Marxist Critique To Poststructuralist Feminism To Critical Theories Of Race, Aaron A. Baker

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

Isaac Gottesman's historiography, The Critical Turn in Education: From Marxist Critique to Poststructuralist Feminism to Critical Theories of Race, aspires to Illuminate the historical context in which critical educational theory evolved. To his credit, he seems to achieve that goal, and more: he establishes that the relationship between the history of critical educational theory and society’s reliance on education is a key to social justice. This book review, describes and evaluates each chapter of Gottesman's text, focusing on his successes and challenges.

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 …

Between The Visceral And The Lie : Lessons On Teaching Violence, Brian Gibbs

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

Drawing from two qualitative case studies, one researching how teachers teach about war to the children of soldiers and the other examining how teachers teach lynching near historic lynching sites, this critical phenomenological study weighs how much horror and how much hope should be taught if the aim of the instruction is a liberating education. The author argues that a balance of both is necessary. Students cannot be left in the hopelessness of knowledge alone but must be taught how to engage their world with the possibility of making change.