Digital Commons Network^™

Evolution Of Brain-Wide Activity In The Awake Behaving Mouse After Acute Fear By Longitudinal Manganese-Enhanced Mri, Taylor W. Uselman, Daniel R. Barto, Russell E. Jacobs, Elaine L. Bearer

Pathology Research and Scholarship

Life threatening fear after a single exposure evolves in a subset of vulnerable individuals to anxiety, which may persist for their lifetime. Yet neither the whole brain's response to innate acute fear nor how brain activity evolves over time is known. Sustained neuronal activity may be a factor in the development of a persistent fear response. We couple two experimental protocols to provoke acute fear leading to prolonged fear: Predator stress (PS), a naturalistic approach to induce fear in rodents; and Serotonin transporter knockout mouse (SERT-KO) that responds to PS with sustained defensive behavior. Behavior was monitored before, during and …

Chad: Human Fertility, Crop Production And Changing Weather Patterns, Jake Organ

Economics ETDs

The subject of this dissertation is the effect of changing weather patterns on human fertility in Chad, Sahelian Africa. There is a body of literature on the effect of extreme weather events-usually associated with large-scale mortality-and human fertility. However, there is less of a body of literature on the effects of less extreme changing weather patterns and human fertility. Chad has known substantial warming since the late 1960s, hence I use rising heat as a proxy for changing weather patterns. Using GIS-coded fertility and weather data, I look for correlations between the birth rate and the number of days in …

A Bayesian Network Analysis Of The Human Exposure To Escherichia Coli Bacteria In The Environment, Brandon G. De Flon

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Diarrhea is a leading cause of death worldwide because a lack thereof in household sanitization exposes humans to high concentrations of pathogenic Escherichia coli. In 2016, the University of New Mexico’s Nepal Study Center collected cross-sectional survey data using proportional random sampling on three communities in Western Nepal. Structural and parameter learning estimation and approximate inference of Bayesian networks studied diarrheagenic E. coli exposure while incorporating participation in sanitary behaviors, access to sanitary built-in environments, and other human characteristics. Of the reported sickness, hand washing resulted in a 20 percent decrease, water treatment 8 percent, and both 28 percent. Of …

Referring Patients With Type 2 Diabetes To A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist In New Mexico, Rebecca A. Lamoreux

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) in New Mexico (NM) has steadily increased to 12.5% in 2019.¹Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) play a critical role in the T2DM healthcare team. A web-based survey was distributed to NM clinicians [Medical Doctors (MD), Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Certified Nurse Practitioners (CNP), and Certified Physician Assistants (PA-C)] investigating barriers preventing referral of patients with T2DM to an RDN.

In total, 132 clinicians completed the survey (average age=52 years; 54.5% CNPs, 32.6% MDs, 9.1% PA-Cs, 3.9% DOs; 44% female). Most (67.4%) did not have an RDN employed in their practice. The majority …

Integrating Deep Learning And Augmented Reality To Enhance Situational Awareness In Firefighting Environments, Manish Bhattarai

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

We present a new four-pronged approach to build firefighter's situational awareness for the first time in the literature. We construct a series of deep learning frameworks built on top of one another to enhance the safety, efficiency, and successful completion of rescue missions conducted by firefighters in emergency first response settings. First, we used a deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) system to classify and identify objects of interest from thermal imagery in real-time. Next, we extended this CNN framework for object detection, tracking, segmentation with a Mask RCNN framework, and scene description with a multimodal natural language processing(NLP) framework. Third, …

The Impact Of Federal, State, And Local Policy On The Pedagogy Of Ell Assessment In New Mexico Public Schools, Cheryl Anne Ford Ed.D.

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

ABSTRACT

The impetus for this study came from the understanding that bilingualism and multilingualism are innate components of America’s immigrant and Native American cultural fabric. With issues ranging from writing ELL policy to developing English as a second language (ESL), pedagogical support, to identifying the non-static, cultural, and linguistic needs of ELLs, their intersection and impact on bilingual education in New Mexico’s public schools was the focus of this study. To ensure a nonbiased focus on that narrow intersection, a qualitative methodology with a grounded-theory genre and an emic approach was used to address the research question: How do cumulative …

Exploring Hidden Structure Of The Nearby Universe And The Limits And Capabilities Of Two Neutral Hydrogen Surveys, Monica Sanchez Barrantes

Physics & Astronomy ETDs

We can use the 21 cm neutral hydrogen (HI) emission line to detect galaxies in optically obscured regions, but it is also a faint line that is difficult to detect at higher redshifts. This work presents two HI surveys. The ALFAZOA Survey maps new and predicted large-scale structure across the Galactic plane, and finds a total of 217 completely new galaxies across both of the survey phases. The completeness limits for ALFAZOA Shallow and Deep are presented. Follow-up observations of confused galaxies in ALFAZOA using the VLA determine that confusion in this survey will not cause significant deviations for the …

Social Network Centrality, Social Construction Of Knowledge, And Nurse Practitioner Competency In Asynchronous Online Discussions Among Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Students, Sharon Schaaf

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

The relationships between social network centrality, social construction of knowledge, and nurse practitioner competency among adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner students participating in asynchronous online discussions were explored. Social network centralities (betweenness, in-degree, out-degree, closeness, and eigenvector) were determined through social network analysis. Social construction of knowledge was assessed by the Interaction Analysis Model (IAM). Nurse practitioner competency was evaluated using the Novice to Expert model. A retrospective exploration of an online discussion board from the College of Nursing at the University of New Mexico was conducted. The centralities of betweenness, closeness, and eigenvector demonstrated a significant relationship with …

The Combined Effects Of Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage And Heat Stress On Acute Kidney Stress And Heat Strain During Subsequent Endurance Exercise, Zidong Li

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined effect of downhill running and heat stress on muscle damage, as well as on heat strain and kidney stress during subsequent endurance exercise in the heat. Methods: Using a crossover design and randomized order, ten non-heat-acclimated, physically active males completed downhill running in a cool (EIMD in Cool) and hot (EIMD in Hot) environment followed by an exercise-heat stress (HS) test after 3-hour seated rest. Core temperature, heart rate, thermal sensation and ratings of perceived exertion were recorded throughout each exercise session. Blood and urine samples were collected at …

Evaluating Public Transit Accessibility In Albuquerque, New Mexico: A Fixed-Route Bus Service Analysis, Risa E. Gutierrez

Civil Engineering ETDs

This research analyzed how residential accessibility to fixed-route bus service in Albuquerque, New Mexico varies by distance, income level, and headway. A literature review investigated components of travel that might deter people from using public transit such as travel distance, sidewalk condition or availability, bus headway, lack of active travel in today’s society, personal and traffic safety, and access equity. Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping was used to determine if low-income neighborhoods have better or worse access to ABQ Ride bus stops relative to medium- or high-income neighborhoods. Residential land use was divided into three economic classes based on 2018 …

Vaccine Delivery To Remote Regions Of The World Using A Novel Delivery Platform, Amelia Bierle

Shared Knowledge Conference

Vaccination has been the most impactful medical intervention ever devised to prevent the global spread of infectious disease. In the past 200 years, vaccination has been credited to have saved more lives from a human intervention only after clean water and improved sanitary conditions. Society has seen this through the eradication of Polio and Smallpox. The current pandemic underscores the need for an effective vaccine ever so. In the last ten months, life has changed drastically around the world. With the pandemic raging on and no cure in sight, it is clear that vaccines are a critical component of public …

Spanish In New Mexico: A Study Of Nuevomexicano Words, Mario Del Ángel

Shared Knowledge Conference

New Mexican traditional Spanish is changing, evolving from what has been reported since the earlier pioneering studies in the Spanish language of New Mexico more than 100 years ago by professor Aurelio Espinoza . According to Travis and Villa (2011), a key factor has been the contact with Mexican Spanish from immigrants in New Mexico. Another factor is the repressive language policies and constitutional rights regarding language in the state of New Mexico (Gonzales-Berry, 2000). Bills (1997), foresees the eventual demise of the local traditional Spanish variety of New Mexico while other authors, Waltermire (2015), propose a possible mixture between …

The Sociolinguistics Of Mixtecos In Rural Northwestern Oregon, Carlos Enrique Ibarra

Shared Knowledge Conference

Millions born and raised in Mexico do not have Spanish as their first language. Vast pockets of the country are populated by speakers of an indigenous language, for whom Spanish is as foreign as English. One of the states with the highest number of indigenous peoples and languages is Oaxaca, in southwestern Mexico. There, the Mixteco peoples constitute one of the largest groups who have kept their own languages as their primary vehicle of communication, over Spanish for 500 years. For over a century, the Mixtecos have traveled along the west coasts of Mexico and the United States, following agricultural …

How Do You Know If Uranium (U) And Arsenic (As) Are In Your Glass Of Water?, Isabel Meza

Shared Knowledge Conference

My research aims to determine physical and chemical properties of sodium and potassium uranyl arsenate minerals (NaUAs and KUAs) integrating chemistry, spectroscopy, and modeling. To know when a uranyl arsenate is in its solid or liquid state in water needs to be further investigated, along with the processes for its origin: natural or human. This understanding can help to predict if uranium (U) and arsenic (As) concentrations are below the legally controlled levels. To obtain these properties, we followed three steps. First, we synthesized pure uranyl arsenate minerals. Second, we performed solubility experiments under controlled laboratory conditions. Finally, we did …

The Climatology Of Windblown Dust Over The Millennia In The American Southwest, Spencer Staley

Shared Knowledge Conference

Our planet has experienced roughly 14 glacial-interglacial cycles over its last one million years, undergoing fluctuations between cold ice ages and warm periods much like today. Archives of this paleoenvironmental change can be found in sediment cores and provide a means to observe environmental responses to various climate states and transitions. Here in the southwestern US, terrestrial climate records from ancient lakes are interrupted by desiccation during warm and dry interglacials. This has limited our knowledge of how past warm and dry periods have affected our land and therefore stymied more precise predictions of environmental conditions in a warmer and …

Who Wants To Live Forever?, Blaise Mariner

Shared Knowledge Conference

When humans get older, organs fail, disease ensues, and the inevitability of death follows. Aging increases the likelihood of the onset of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and cancer. Aging is commonly not seen as a disease, but as an untreatable, natural process. However, aging has recognizable causes on the molecular level, and many argue for its classification as a disease. Utilizing these known molecular pathways of lifespan extension, we have found drugs that significantly increase the lifespan of single-celled yeast and tiny roundworms. These drugs act in the way of increasing the expression of a protein whose …

A New Look Into An Old Problem: Implications Of The Locus Coeruleus In Alzheimer’S Disease, Tia Donaldson

Shared Knowledge Conference

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disease, is one of the most common forms of dementia among the elderly. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, approximately 5.7 million people within the United States are living with AD and this number is expected to rise to about 14 million by 2050. As the prevalence continues to rise, it is critical to understand how AD affects the brain. AD is identified by pathology in the brain which includes the formation of plaques and tangles. Most research focuses on mid-to-late stage AD when pathology and cognitive symptoms (e.g., memory decline) are at their peak. …

From Wave Propagation To Spin Dynamics: Mathematical And Computational Aspects, Oleksii Beznosov

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

In this work we concentrate on two separate topics which pose certain numerical challenges. The first topic is the spin dynamics of electrons in high-energy circular accelerators. We introduce a stochastic differential equation framework to study spin depolarization and spin equilibrium. This framework allows the mathematical study of known equations and new equations modelling the spin distribution of an electron bunch. A spin distribution is governed by a so-called Bloch equation, which is a linear Fokker-Planck type PDE, in general posed in six dimensions. We propose three approaches to approximate solutions, using analytical and modern numerical techniques. We also present …

Numerical Simulations Of Nonlinear Waves And Their Stability: Stokes Waves And Nonlinear Schroedinger Equation, Anastassiya Semenova

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

The present work offers an investigation of dynamics and stability of nonlinear waves in Hamiltonian systems. The first part of the manuscript discusses the classical problem of water waves on the surface of an ideal fluid in 2D. We demonstrate how to construct the Stokes waves, and how to apply a continuation method to find waves in close vicinity to the limiting Stokes wave. We provide new insight into the stability of the Stokes waves by identifying previously inaccessible branches of instability in the equations of motion for the fluid. We provide numerical evidence that pairs of unstable eigenvalues of …

Inoculum Potential Of Pinus Edulis-Associated Ectomycorrhizal Fungi Across A Forest Extirpation Chronosequence, Annie M. Montes

Biology ETDs

Few studies have examined inoculum potential of ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) in the absence of plant hosts, yet persistence of these fungi may be paramount to resilience of Pinus edulis and other mycorrhizal plant species. We conducted a study in which seven sites were selected in northwestern New Mexico with known dates of P. edulis extirpation and a lack of regeneration. Age classes included: two sites extirpated 10-20 years ago, two extirpated 55-65 years ago, two extirpated 500+ years ago, and one extirpated 11,000+ years ago. At each site, two plots were paired: an extirpated plot and the nearest live adult …

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics Of Fungal Communities And Their Effects On Plants, Kel Cook

Biology ETDs

Fungi perform several critical functions in the environment. Spatiotemporal distributions of fungal communities will mediate when and where these functions happen and how they vary across the landscape. I first explored tropical tree canopy fungal community variation at small spatial scales and documented near total turnover of fungi across sub-meter distances and among adjacent substrates. The second chapter analyzed fungal turnover over the course of three years, where community stability was driven primarily by abundant fungi. In the third chapter, I tested effects of the environment, including host plant and habitat, on canopy fungal communities and found only small effects, …

The Experience Of Being Gender Nonbinary: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Gene Crofts

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

The call for research on the growing population of persons who identify as gender nonbinary includes the need for in-depth explorations of lived experience, especially among Persons of Color. This study focuses on four individuals, 27 to 32 years of age, who identify as gender nonbinary as well as Hispanic/Latinx and reside in the unique minority-majority, conservative/progressive state of New Mexico. Interpretative phenomenological analysis, with its idiographic approach, was used to gather data through interviews and present the findings in both descriptive and interpreted terms. Results focus on three themes: realization required a unique journey, allowances are made for mothers …

Blockchain Based Communication Architectures With Applications To Private Security Networks, Ashley N. Mayle

Computer Science ETDs

Existing communication protocols in security networks are highly centralized. While this naively makes the controls easier to physically secure, external actors require fewer resources to disrupt the system because there are fewer points in the system can be interrupted without the entire system failing. We present a solution to this problem using a proof-of-work-based blockchain implementation built on MultiChain. We construct a test-bed network containing visual imagers and microwave sensor information. These data types are ubiquitous in perimeter security systems and allow a realistic representation of a real-world network architecture. The cameras in this system use an object detection algorithm …

Gan Nanowire Laser For A Universal Atomic Force Microscope Probe: A Computational And Feasibility Study, Neal Wostbrock

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

This thesis attempts to establish the groundwork for integrating a GaN nanowire into an AFM probe resulting in a universal atomic force microscope probe. Previous studies have shown GaN nanowires have stable mechanical properties, can be fabricated at scale with high aspect ratios and very smooth side walls, and have intrinsic lasing capabilities; however, mechanical and lasing capabilities have not yet been integrated into a single AFM probe. Here, we develop and analyze a suspended waveguide optical pumping concept that can be fabricated and applied to an AFM probe cantilever, unlocking full potential of GaN’s optical and mechanical properties as …

Parental Perspectives Of Their Involvement In Special Education Among English-Speaking Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Families, Yi-Ling Lin

Special Education ETDs

This study aimed to examine (1) levels of parental involvement among parents from different ethnic groups, and (2) factors predicting parental involvement in their children’s special education. A total of 112 parents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds participated in the study. A survey study was conducted to investigate how marital status, parental education levels, income, perception about school climate, their belief of roles in parental involvement, and parental perception of self-efficacy for helping the child succeed in school impacted the level of parental involvement in their children’s home-based and school-based activities. The survey was sent out to the center …

Thermal Mapping And Evaporation Estimation Of Cochiti Lake Using Landsat 8 Imagery, Claudia Jimenez Arellano

Civil Engineering ETDs

Satellite remote sensing (RS) techniques have revolutionized the study of spatial and temporal processes in environmental science and water resources engineering. This study was focused on advancing the understanding of RS techniques to provide estimates of spatial variability of surface water temperature and corresponding evaporation rates for open water.

Evaporation plays a crucial role in water budgets, which is critical knowledge for water management, especially in arid environments. However, there are few methods to estimate its spatial variability, which is relevant because water does not evaporate equally everywhere on a large waterbody. Hence, we cannot assume the calculations of evaporations …

Health Monitoring Using Deep Learning Of Acoustic And Speech Signals, Eric E. Hamke

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The focus of the research is to identify stress markers in a firefighter's speech. These markers include changes in breathing patterns and changes in the fundamental frequency of an individual’s voice. The breathing patterns are characterized using the number of breaths taken in a minute and the time spent inhaling. These measures are estimated using a Restricted Boltzmann Machine to process a firefighters’ SCBA regulator sounds, as open and closed. The classifications are then combined into continuous intervals. Observing the length of the intervals and the number of interval-starts represents time spent inhaling and the breathing rates (breaths per minute). …

Incentivization In Mobile Edge Computing Using A Full Bayesian Approach, Sean Lebien

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The advances of multi-access edge computing (MEC) have paved the way for the integration of the MEC servers, as intelligent entities into the Internet of Things (IoT) environment as well as into the 5G radio access networks. In this thesis, a novel artificial intelligence-based MEC servers’ activation mechanism is proposed, by adopting the principles of Reinforcement Learning (RL) and Bayesian Reasoning. The considered problem enables the MEC servers’ activation decision-making, aiming at enhancing the reputation of the overall MEC system, as well as considering the total computing costs to serve efficiently the users’ computing demands, guaranteeing at the same time …

Caregivers' Perceptions Towards Medical Nutritional Supplements, Nancy Perez, Kathryn E Coakley, Diana Gonzales-Pacheco, Deborah Luffey, Deborah Cohen

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Children 2-5 years of age can be vulnerable to being underweight due to characteristics like selective eating. As a result, children may not be consuming essential nutrients from balanced meals and may have a reduction in the variety of foods they eat. Medical nutritional supplements are often recommended by healthcare professionals including physicians and registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs). Parents/caregivers may not research how the medical nutritional supplement benefits their child’s health and may not comprehend the meaning of the words “healthy growth”. This study investigated the attitudes and the perceptions of caregivers of children 2-5 years of age toward liquid …

Fishing Without A Pole: Experiences And Insights Of Adults Working To Prevent Youth Suicide In A Low-Income, High-Rate State, Victoria L. Waugh-Reed

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This study explores the underrepresented perspective of suicide preventionists in the state of New Mexico, their experiences and insights surrounding the prevention of youth suicide. I present these in narrative form; the primary method of investigation was purposeful, individual interviews with an initial and follow-up interviews. Preventionists in New Mexico face the enormous task of reducing historically high youth suicide rates when compared with the rest of the nation; additionally, New Mexico is a rural state that exhibits a complex mix of risk and resiliency factors. I invited participants to discuss their experiences, share barriers to their work, offer success …