Digital Commons Network^™

Ontogenetic Niche Shift As A Driver Of Community Structure And Diversity In Non-Avian Dinosaurs, Katlin M. Schroeder

Biology ETDs

As some of the most charismatic megafauna to ever walk the earth, the physiology, morphology, growth and evolution of non-avian theropods has been studied exhaustively, yet little is understood about their roles in ecosystems as juveniles. For carnivorous megatheropods, which exceed 1,000kg in mass yet hatched from eggs of limited size, the likelihood of utilizing different prey through ontogeny was high, simply by proxy of the immense difference in size between adults and juveniles. We found these ontogenetic niche shifts, evidenced by significantly different dental microwear in Tyrannosaurids, to have excluded dinosaurian mesocarnivores from Mesozoic communities. The few dinosaurian mesocarnivores …

Nurse Job Satisfaction In The Midst Of A Pandemic, Reynaldo Gonzales

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Strategies and intervention for nursing recruitment and retention are critical needs at the hospital unit management level especially during this time of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Research Question: What are the unit-levels of nurse job satisfaction among eight satisfaction dimensions (i.e., satisfaction with extrinsic rewards, scheduling, family/work balance, co-workers, interaction, professional opportunities, praise/recognition, and control/responsibility) in an acute medical-surgical unit?

Objectives The objective of this project is to systematically obtain unit-level input to explore nurses’ views and experiences as it relates to job satisfaction.

Methodology: This is a descriptive cross-sectional convenience study measuring job satisfaction among Registered Nurses …

Early Outpatient Treatment For Covid-19 With Convalescent Plasma., David J. Sullivan, Kelly A. Gebo, Shmuel Shoham, Evan M. Bloch, Bryan Lau, Aarthi G. Shenoy, Giselle S. Mosnaim, Thomas J. Gniadek, Yuriko Fukuta, Bela Patel, Sonya L. Heath, Adam C. Levine, Barry R. Meisenberg, Emily S. Spivak, Shweta Anjan, Moises A. Huaman, Janis E. Blair, Judith S. Currier, James H. Paxton, Jonathan M. Gerber, Joann R. Petrini, Patrick B. Broderick, William Rausch, Marie-Elena Cordisco, Jean Hammel, Benjamin Greenblatt, Valerie C. Cluzet, Daniel Cruser, Kevin Oei, Matthew Abinante, Laura L Hammitt, Catherine G. Sutcliffe, Donald N. Forthal, Martin S. Zand, Edward R. Cachay, Jay S Raval, Seble G. Kassaye, E Colin Foster, Michael Roth, Christi E. Marshall, Anusha Yarava, Karen Lane, Nichol A. Mcbee, Amy L. Gawad, Nicky Karlen, Atika Singh, Daniel E. Ford, Douglas A. Jabs, Lawrence J. Appel, David M. Shade, Stephan Ehrhardt, Sheriza N. Baksh, Oliver Laeyendecker, Andrew Pekosz, Sabra L. Klein, Arturo Casadevall, Aaron A R Tobian, Daniel F. Hanley

Pathology Research and Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Polyclonal convalescent plasma may be obtained from donors who have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). The efficacy of this plasma in preventing serious complications in outpatients with recent-onset Covid-19 is uncertain.

METHODS: In this multicenter, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of Covid-19 convalescent plasma, as compared with control plasma, in symptomatic adults (≥18 years of age) who had tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, regardless of their risk factors for disease progression or vaccination status. Participants were enrolled within 8 days after symptom onset and received a transfusion within 1 …

Antagonizing Serotonin 2a (5-Ht2a) Receptors Does Not Attenuate Methamphetamine-Induced Expression Of Conditioned Place Preference In Female And Male Rats, Nicole C. Reyna

Psychology ETDs

Despite the need, there are currently no FDA-approved pharmacological treatments for methamphetamine use disorders. Cue-induced craving during drug withdrawal remains a significant contributor to high relapse rates. Thus, understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of cue-induced drug-seeking behavior is critical. Previous research indicates that the selective 5-HT_2A antagonist M100907 attenuates the acquisition of methamphetamine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) in male and female adult rats. The present study examines the effects of M100907 on expression of methamphetamine-induced drug-seeking behavior using a biased CPP design in adult male and female Long Evans rats (PND 95-112). During conditioning, rats were administered either saline or …

Optimizing Intrapartum Outcomes For Midwifery Patients With Obesity, Anna Shields

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Existing literature has established that laboring people with obesity have poorer intrapartum outcomes compared to their lower weight counterparts, including elevated c-section rates which increase with increasing BMI. People with obesity are at increased risk for complications related to surgical birth so optimizing chances for vaginal delivery is of utmost importance yet professional guidelines about labor management are lacking. Research has established that people with obesity have longer times in labor especially early labor, need more labor stimulating medications and have physiologic changes that alter the labor process compared to lower weight people. Literature on the impact of midwifery care …

How Do I Implement An Outpatient Program For The Administration Of Convalescent Plasma For Covid-19, Evan M. Bloch, Aaron A R Tobian, Shmuel Shoham, Daniel F. Hanley, Thomas J. Gniadek, Edward R. Cachay, Barry R. Meisenberg, Kimberly Kafka, Christi Marshall, Sonya L. Heath, Aarthi Shenoy, James H. Paxton, Adam Levine, Donald Forthal, Yuriko Fukuta, Moises A. Huaman, Alyssa Ziman, Jill Adamski, Jonathan Gerber, Daniel Cruser, Seble G. Kassaye, Giselle S. Mosnaim, Bela Patel, Ryan A. Metcalf, Shweta Anjan, Ronald B. Reisler, Anusha Yarava, Karen Lane, Nichol Mcbee, Amy Gawad, Jay S. Raval, Martin Zand, Matthew Abinante, Patrick B. Broderick, Arturo Casadevall, David Sullivan, Kelly A. Gebo

Pathology Research and Scholarship

Convalescent plasma, collected from donors who have recovered from a pathogen of interest, has been used to treat infectious diseases, particularly in times of outbreak, when alternative therapies were unavailable. The COVID-19 pandemic revived interest in the use of convalescent plasma. Large observational studies and clinical trials that were executed during the pandemic provided insight into how to use convalescent plasma, whereby high levels of antibodies against the pathogen of interest and administration early within the time course of the disease are critical for optimal therapeutic effect. Several studies have shown outpatient administration of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) to be …

Molecular Pathology Education: A Suggested Framework For Primary Care Resident Training In Genomic Medicine: A Report Of The Association For Molecular Pathology Training And Education Committee, Maria E. Arcila, Anthony N. Snow, Yassmine M N Akkari, Devon Chabot-Richards, Preeti Pancholi, Laura J. Tafe

Pathology Research and Scholarship

Developments in genomics are profoundly influencing medical practice. With increasing use of genetic and genomic testing across every aspect of the health care continuum, patients and their families are increasingly turning to primary care physicians (PCPs) for discussion and advice regarding tests, implications, and results. Yet, with the rapid growth of information, technology, and applications, PCPs are finding it challenging to fill the gaps in knowledge and support the growing needs of their patients. A critical component in expanding PCP genomic literacy lies in the education of physicians in training and in practice. Although a framework for developing physician competencies …

An Empirical And Theoretical Analysis Of Leadership In Two Egalitarian Horticultural Societies, Edmond Seabright

Anthropology ETDs

Leadership is a central subject of interest in anthropology and the evolutionary social sciences more generally because of its ubiquity in human societies as well as its role in the evolution of cooperation, social complexity, and social hierarchy. Explaining the variation in the form and functions of leadership across different societies and settings remains a major challenge for social scientists. Although it is often associated with social hierarchy, here I argue that leadership can and does evolve even in egalitarian settings where leaders cannot hope to fully make up the burdens and expenses associated with their service. I further show …

Keeping Your Cool: Thermoregulatory Performance And Plasticity In Desert Cricetid Rodents, Richard W. Ramirez, Eric A. Riddell, Steven R. Beissinger, Blair O. Wolf

Biology ETDs

Small mammals in hot deserts often avoid heat via nocturnality and fossoriality and are thought to have a limited capacity to dissipate heat using evaporative cooling. Research to date has focused on thermoregulatory responses to air temperatures (T_a) below body temperature (T_b). Consequently, the thermoregulatory performance of small mammals exposed to high air temperatures is poorly understood, particularly responses across geographic and seasonal scales. We quantified the seasonal thermoregulatory performance of four cricetid rodents (Neotoma albigula, N. lepida, Peromyscus eremicus, P. crinitus) exposed to high T_a, at four sites …

"When The Tide Is Out, The Table Is Set": Shellfish Harvesting Throughout The Holocene At Labouchere Bay, Southeast Alaska, Mark R. Williams

Anthropology ETDs

“When the tide is out, the table is set” is a familiar saying among Native communities on the Northwest Coast of North America. This phrase encapsulates traditional ecological knowledge passed down for generations concerning intertidal marine resources. Recent archaeological excavations of shellfish gathering camps at Labouchere Bay confirm that ancient people may have followed similar principles throughout the Holocene (c.9,500 -2,500 years ago). For millennia, shellfish have been a highly reliable food source that helped support sedentary fisher-hunter-gatherer settlements. Although shellfish habitats represent highly predictable foraging opportunities, optimal foraging strategies must be carefully managed to avoid overharvesting. Collecting just enough …

Unm Hsc Education Day Agenda 2022, Gary A. Smith

HSC Education Days

No abstract provided.

Pilot Study: Heterogeneous Grouping And Reciprocal Peer Teaching In Anatomy Medical Education, Julia Jordan, Rebecca Hartley

HSC Education Days

Goals of the 2019 UNM SOM curriculum revision include reducing the students repeating Phase I for academic reasons to less than 5% and those delaying Step I to less than 10%. To address these, we introduced two interventions into Clinical Morphology (CM), the foundational anatomy course taken by first year UNM medical students. Interventions included competence-based heterogeneous (CBH) student group formation and reciprocal peer teaching (RPT). These interventions applied independently have been shown to elevate the lowest performing students without negatively impacting higher performing students (Donovan, 2018 & Pizzimenti, 2016). CM is designed around classroom and lab-based active learning sessions …

Electroconvulsive Therapy Safety Biomarkers, Jeremy Duvall Miller

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Objective: The two studies presented utilize neuroimaging data to evaluate potential therapeutic and safety biomarkers in depressed patients receiving Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT).

Method: The first study enrolled 41 depressed subjects receiving ECT from two independent sites and evaluated gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA+) in the anterior cingulate cortex with proton-spectroscopy contrasted with healthy controls and therapeutic and cognitive outcomes. The second study investigated 17 subjects receiving ECT and evaluated ictal theta power during ECT to electric dose measured by E-field modeling, therapeutic and cognitive outcomes.

Results: No significant difference was seen in GABA+ in depressed subjects receiving ECT compared to healthy …

Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis As An Acute Febrile Illness In A Child With Congenital Hiv: Acase Report, Morgan Day, Lorena Galvan, Christal Chow

2022 Pediatric Research Forum Session

We report the complex case of a nine-year-old male who was adopted from Ghana approximately four years ago with a past medical history significant for congenital HIV on combination antiretroviral therapy and treated latent tuberculosis who presented with persistent fevers of unknown origin and who was ultimately diagnosed with multisystem hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). As seen with our patient, the variable clinical presentations of HLH make obtaining a diagnosis challenging.1 Hemophagocytosis is a multisystem inflammatory syndrome that occurs when regulatory pathways responsible for the natural termination of immune and inflammatory responses are disrupted or overwhelmed.2 This regulatory failure results in excessive …

Degradation Of Vitamin E Acetate Through Vaping Produces Byproducts Cytotoxic To Thp-1 Monocytic Cells, Joshua Alcon

Pharmaceutical Sciences ETDs

Electronic cigarette or vaping use associated lung injury (EVALI) is a pulmonary disease among those who vaped illicit tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cartridges that resulted in hospitalization or death. Vitamin E acetate (VEA) was a common additive present in the bronchioalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of patients who were hospitalized with EVALI. However, little is known about pulmonary exposure to vitamin E acetate (VEA) when inhaled through vaping. The hypothesis of this study is the cytotoxicity of vaped VEA is due, at least in part, to the pyrolytic breakdown products of VEA produced by vaping, as opposed to VEA itself. From this study, …

Eccentric: Writing Through The Lens Of Empathy, Steven M. Blacksmith

Theatre & Dance ETDs

In this essay, I detail my growth as a writer through different periods of empathic learning. I examine my childhood struggle to understand many common emotions and the ways in which I began to logically dissect and replicate them in life and in art. I further delve into this examination through my discovery of comedy and the lifelong process of understand the deep connections humans make with humor. I then discuss how my understanding of empathy allowed me to write my dissertation play, The Eccentrics, and create a world in which empathy among the characters can be a catalyst …

Spin Interactions In New Donor-Acceptor Complexes, Ju Chen

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Transition metal complexes ligated by Donor-Acceptor (D-A) biradicals are of interest for probing the degree of electronic coupling between chemically biased radical fragments. The unique nature of their electronic coupling has allowed these systems to serve as ground state analogues of charge separated excited states generated by photoexcitation. We have been interested in how the nature of the acceptor radical affects the magnitude of the electronic coupling matrix element in these biradicals. As such, we have synthesized a new series of D-A semiquinone-verdazyl (SQ-VD) biradical ligands and their transition metal complexes. We have characterized these new complexes by x-ray crystallography, …

The Consequences Of Climate Change For Native Bee Assemblages, Melanie R. Kazenel

Biology ETDs

Recent declines in terrestrial arthropod biodiversity highlight the need to pinpoint which taxa and ecosystem services are most threatened, and why. But, for most of the world’s ~20,000 bee species, we lack robust evidence of population trends, and the role of climate change remains surprisingly little studied. I used long-term bee monitoring data from the Sevilleta Long-Term Ecological Research Program (Socorro, NM, USA), along with complementary experimental and observational data, to examine how climate relates to bee abundance and diversity patterns over time and space, and to identify the traits that govern bees’ climate sensitivities. Under climate change, drylands worldwide …

Melancolía X A Projection Of Queer Of Color Ambivalence In The 21st Century New Mexico, Anthony Rosendo Zarinana

Communication ETDs

This dissertation seeks to elucidate a form of investigation, derived from Jose Esteban Muñoz’s (2006) considerations of brown feelings. By triangulating a base across Queer of Color embodied critiques, I locate a research site in the field of Queer Intercultural Communication to ground the capacity of this project. In this, I work with Queer of Color men in New Mexico, focusing on their feelings about identity and desire as it relates to relational thresholds. By mapping an analytical structure across my own experiences and theirs, I determine to craft a more complicated vantage across our experiences, outlining the socio-cultural pressures …

Limiting Potentially Inappropriate Medications In Long-Term Care, Clare M. Ironside

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Aim: This project aimed to assess the effectiveness of the STOPP/START tool in identifying and reducing potentially inappropriate medications among multi-morbid, older, long-term care residents in a metropolitan area of a Southwestern state.

Design: In this quality improvement project, seven prescribers working within four long-term care facilities were trained to assess for potentially inappropriate medications using the STOPP/START tool. The medication lists for long-term care residents (n =45) over age 65 were collected at baseline and again at three months post-intervention and assessed for overall medication use, psychotropics, and proton pump inhibitors. The project also assessed prescribers’ comfort and …

Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Alters The Expression Of Mir-150-5p And Its Vascular Targets In Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells And Disrupts The Structure And Integrity Of The Developing Brain Vasculature, Gabriela Perales

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can result in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) causing developmental disabilities and neurocognitive deficits. The effects of PAE on neuronal-specific alterations during brain development have been studied extensively but the contribution of the brain vascular system is limited. Recent studies have determined that there are alterations to the cortical microvasculature during PAE, posing new questions about the role of the vasculature and the development of PAE-mediated neurocognitive deficits. Even less studied are the molecular mechanisms that contribute to changes in the vasculature during PAE. As microRNAs (miRNAs) are master post-transcriptional regulators capable of regulating many mRNA …

Approaches In Molecular Engineering To Optimize The Desired Properties Of Photoactive Molecules, Douglas Joseph Breen

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Within this dissertation, photochemical systems that bear significance to next-generation photonic materials and devices are explored. Notable advances in the design, synthesis, and characterization of three distinct groups of photoactive molecules are achieved through molecular design and spectroscopic analysis. First, novel ruthenium sulfoxide complexes bearing substituted phosphine ligands are found to provide extraordinary control over photoisomerization quantum yields. A comparison of these complexes reveals ground-state characteristics that are instrumental in this reactivity, while a novel spectroscopic technique provides rare structural evidence for an O-bonded metastable isomer. Ruthenium complexes bearing chelating carbene-sulfoxide ligands rapidly thermally revert from the O-bonded metastable isomer …

Whose Body Is Deserving: Discourse, Power, And Ideologies Concerning Non-Normative Bodies On Instagram, Misty Thomas

English Language and Literature ETDs

This dissertation uses FCDA to investigate the construction and control of the boundaries of normativity as they relate to the body. Data in the form of comments was collected from three different Instagram accounts run by individuals with non-normative bodies. From the data, I argue that not only are non-normative bodies controlled through the coded language of health, but through racialized dehumanization. Even alleged demonstrations of support are problematized through what is being supported. The Instagram comments left on the accounts of non-normative bodies demonstrates that these bodies are suppressed as a way to maintain normative ideologies.

The Role Of Affect And The Autonomic Nervous System (Ans) In Visuospatial Learning And Set-Shifting: Modulating Cardiac Vagal Tone Through Heart Rate Variability (Hrv) Biofeedback To Improve Cognitive Performance, Breannan C. Howell

Psychology ETDs

The fields of psychology and neuroscience have found an interconnection between the autonomic nervous system (ANS), affect, and cognitive performance. Heart rate variability (HRV) may be a useful index of this relationship, representing the regulatory processes that facilitate adapting to emotions and environments to modulate mood and executive function. The current project consists of a series of experiments to investigate the relationship between trait affect, HRV, learning, and set-shifting performance. In the first experiment associations are found between negative affectivity, HRV, and set-shifting performance during an attentional set-shifting variant of the Virtual Morris Water Task (VMWT). Participants that exhibited both …

Reliability Of Quantum Simulation On Nisq-Era Devices, Karthik R. Chinni

Physics & Astronomy ETDs

We study the reliability of quantum simulation on Noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ)-era devices in the presence of errors and imperfections, with a focus on exploring the relationship between the properties of the system being simulated and the errors in the output of the simulator. We first consider simulation of the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick (LMG) model, which becomes chaotic in the presence of a background time-dependent perturbation. Here we show that the quantities that depend on the global structure of the phase space are robust, while other quantities that depend on the local trajectories are fragile and cannot be reliably extracted from the …

Improving Photosynthetic Efficiency In Microalgae Through The Genetic Engineering Of Energy Sensors And Photoreceptors, Taylor L. Britton

Biology ETDs

Through photosynthesis microalgae can convert sunlight, water, and CO₂ into chemical energy that can be used to generate carbon neutral biofuels and biomass. With an ever-increasing demand and need for petroleum substitutes it is imperative that we improve the output of industrial-relevant crops such as microalgae. One important way of improving output in algae is by understanding the roles that stress and energy conversion is regulated in these organisms. Photosynthetic organisms fundamentally depend on light- and sugar-driven metabolic and signaling networks, which integrate environmental cues to govern and sustain growth and survival. SnRKs (SNF1-related protein kinases) and the photoreceptor …

Fumarate-Based Polymers: Oligo(Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Fumarate) And Poly(Butylene Fumarate) For Tissue Engineering Heart Valve And Bone Tissue, Christian T. Denny

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Tissue engineering is an emerging field that came from the fields of medicine, materials science, and engineering. The foundation of tissue engineering uses a paradigm that incorporates cells, biomaterials, and exogenous factors to create living tissues for medical, pharmaceutical, and research purposes. Within the last 100 years, biomaterials have been developed to solve many medical and research problems. As biomaterials have developed throughout the years new materials have been developed to have specific properties appropriate for medical applications. Fumarate is a naturally derived molecule in the body and has been found useful for developing polyesters that can be crosslinked into …

A Diverse Flea (Shiponaptera) Assemblage From The Small Mammals Of Central New Mexico, Dianne Esther Peterson

Biology ETDs

The geographical ranges of many mammals and their associated parasites are dynamic. Comprehensive documentation of these communities over time provides a foundation for interpreting how changing environmental conditions, driven by accelerating climate change, other anthropogenic disturbances, and natural events may influence host-parasite interactions. Fleas (Order Siphonaptera) are obligate, hematophagous parasites of birds and mammals with medical interest due to their role in transmitting pathogens. From 2016 to 2019, we sampled the small mammal and associated flea communities in El Malpais National Conservation Area (El Malpais) in Cibola County, New Mexico. Among 898 mammalian specimens, 925 fleas representing 29 species were …

Attribute Based Double Bounded Rough Neutrosophic Sets In Facial Expression Detection, Praba B, Pooja S S, Nethraa Sivakumar

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Ensemble Classifiers For Acute Leukemia Classification Using Microarray Gene Expression Data Under Uncertainty, Mona Gamal, Abdel Nasser H. Zaied, Ehab Rushdy

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.