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Cerebral Palsy and Whole Body Vibration - An Evidence Based Analysis
No full textPurpose: The following paper presents a case of a young boy who was diagnosed with hypotonic quadriplegic cerebral palsy (CP) and it answers the following PICO question via an evidence-based analysis: Would whole body vibration be an effective intervention to improve spasticity, bone mineral density, muscle strength and functional abilities in a 4-year-old boy with hypotonic quadriplegic cerebral palsy? Background: Cerebral palsy is the most common childhood disability that affects the neuromuscular system. CP occurs in 2 of every 1,000 live born neonates. The motor changes seen in children with CP are caused by injury to the brain, which can be an outcome from numerous possible mechanisms, mainly hypoxic events. This neuromuscular dysfunction leads to muscle weakness and decreased functional ability because the children are unable to voluntarily control their muscles. This can make it difficult for these children to hit developmental milestones and participate in age appropriate play. Due to their motor impairments these children have an increased risk of fractures, bony malformations, contractures, joint subluxations, and other secondary impairments. They also have decreased endurance and bone mineral density (BMD), gastrointestinal problems, and reduced balance and postural control. The injury to the brain can also cause multiple other impairments including but not limited to sensory deficits, seizures and deficits in cognitive abilities. Whole body vibration (WBV) has been utilized in many patient populations and has demonstrated positive results in multiple outcome measures. There are three components that make up WBV including frequency (measured in Hertz), amplitude (measured in millimeters) and direction (vertical displacement or side to side alternating displacement). There is evidence that WBV could produce desirable outcomes in children with CP. Case Description: The patient was a 4-year-old boy who was diagnosed with hypotonic quadriplegic cerebral palsy with oral motor dysfunction. Using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) the patient was classified as a Level V (detailed explanation of classification system in appendix). Outcomes: A thorough review of the current available evidence demonstrates that WBV provides numerous desirable effects in children with CP. Although the evidence is limited research was found that demonstrated that WBV used in the CP population could have positive outcomes on BMD, spasticity, muscle thickness, muscle strength, and functional ability. Discussion: The goal of this evidence based data search was to determine the beneficial outcomes that WBV could have on the CP population. The research that is available and current on this intervention in children with CP is limited and hard to compare due to the heterogeneous nature of the WBV protocols and the multiple outcome measures employed in the evidence
Increasing Sexual Offenders’ Motivation to Engage in Mandated Substance Abuse Treatment: A Brief Motivational Intervention
No full textBackground and Aims Previous research has shown that the rate of recidivism for sexual offenders is related to their substance use. Other research has shown that motivation to engage in treatment and motivation to decrease substance use are related to substance use treatment outcome. Thus, the overall goal of the current study was to increase sexual offenders’ motivation to engage in mandated substance abuse treatment and decrease their future substance use. There were five aims: (1)Test the feasibility of a brief motivation intervention with a population of sexual offenders who were court mandated to substance abuse treatment. (2) Examine change trajectories in motivation over the four weeks of study participation as well as to test whether the brief motivational intervention lead to differential changes in motivation. (3) Test whether there was a main effect of treatment assignment on follow up measures. (4) Test whether changes in motivation accounted for changes in the behavioral differences that were found. Due to a number of reasons, aim four was not implemented. (5) Conduct exploratory analyses. Method Twenty-two adult males who committed a sexual offense and were receiving treatment in Albuquerque, New Mexico were consented into the study and randomized into a brief motivational intervention condition or educational control condition. Approximately four weeks later, they participated in a follow up assessment. Assessments included measures of motivation, engagement in treatment and utilization of community resources that supported abstinence and substance abuse treatment. Findings and Conclusions Results showed that the brief motivational intervention was feasible and well-liked by the participants. Additionally, results showed there was no differential change in motivation by group over time but that participants who received the brief motivational intervention were perceived by their therapist as more engaged in treatment than those in the control condition X2 (1,18) = 3.99, p<..04. Finally, this study has helped to fill the gap in statistics regarding the offender population and offender treatment in the state of New Mexico. Future studies should replicate this study using larger sample sizes and female offender populations. Additionally, future studies should include longer follow-up periods and track recidivism rates and reasons.PsychologyDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of PsychologyMcCrady, BarbaraTonigan, J. ScottVenner, KamillaMullen, Davi
CRITICAL INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE: DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF CONTEXT, INTERSECTIONALITY, AND REFLEXIVITY IN UNDERGRADUATE CONVERSATIONS
No full textIntercultural conflicts continue to persist for numerous reasons. The groups involved remain polarized, individuals tend to primarily concentrate on defending their own point of view, or solutions concentrate on individual actions instead of the consequences perpetuated by complex social systems. The communicative behaviors that often accompany intercultural conflicts also frequently work to sustain them, helping those who are involved to perpetuate dominant narratives and marginalizing social systems in ways in which they are both active and complicit. In this study Critical Discourse Analysis was used to examine the ways that undergraduate students discussed and conceptualized intercultural conflicts during their involvement in an Intercultural Communication course. The pedagogical goal was to encourage critical approaches from the students. Key critical concepts of context, intersectionality, and critical reflexivity were incorporated as part of intercultural dialogue into the course activities and assignments.
Analysis was conducted on written reflections that the students completed for class, and an audio recorded conversation that the students had with a partner who was not a part of the class about cultural identities and conflicts. Discursive tools such as equivocation, disclaimers, positive-self versus negative-other, and making broad generalizations based on individual experiences were used to both constitute and challenge broader ideologies such as individualism, whiteness, classism, and nationalism.
Across all of the writings and exchanges there was a strong tendency to position the intercultural conflicts as the result of individual choices or deficiencies. Overall, the frequency of dominant ideologies that were reinforced demonstrates the strength of these ideologies throughout US American social practice. That the dominant ideologies were reproduced by individuals who have marginalized racial, gender, and sexual identities as well as those who had more privileged identities, is evidence of the strength of dominant ideologies. The prominence of color-blind, post-racial discourse showed the persistence of ideologies of individual meritocracy and the continuing need for critical pedagogies and discourse.CommunicationDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Communication and JournalismCollier, Mary JaneEguchi, ShinsukeWashington, MyraMarsh, Tyso
EFFECT OF BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENTATION ON RECOVERY OF PERFORMANCE AND MUSCLE DAMAGE, & AUTOPHAGY AND HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN RESPONSE
No full textPurpose: To investigate: 1) if branched-chain amino acid supplementation (BCAA) enhances recovery from acute, eccentric resistance exercise as measured by indirect markers of muscle damage, and 2) the impact of acute, eccentric resistance exercise on markers of autophagy and heat shock protein during recovery. Methods: Twenty resistance-trained males were randomly assigned to eight days of BCAA or PLCB and adhered to a diet consisting of 1.2 g/kg/d protein. On day five, all subjects completed 10x8 eccentric squats at 70% one repetition maximum (1RM), followed by 5x20 split jumps. Plasma creatine kinase (CK), erythrocyte glutathione, vertical jump (VJ), maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), jump squat (JS), perceived soreness were measured as indirect markers of muscle damage. Autophagy (LC3-I, LC3-II, p62) and heat shock protein (HSP70) responses were assessed via peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Variables were measured immediately before, immediately post (IPE), as well as 1, 2, 4, 24, 48, and 72 hours (hr) post-exercise. Results: Plasma CK levels were significantly lower for the BCAA group at 48 hr post-exercise; however, no significant group-by-time effect was detected. Erythrocyte glutathione (GSSG/tGSH) was significantly elevated 1, 2, and 4 hr in both BCAA and PLCB groups compared to pre-exercise; however, no significant group-by-time effect was detected at any time-point. The BCAA group reported significantly less soreness compared to PLCB at 48 and 72 hr post-exercise. MVIC was significantly higher for the BCAA group at 24 hr post-exercise, but no significant group-by-time effect was observed. No significant difference between groups was detected for VJ or JS. No differences between groups were detected for protein expression of LC3-II, LC3 II/ I, p62, or HSP70 at any time-point. When combining groups, LC3-II decreased significantly 2 and 4 hr post-exercise. p62 decreased significantly IPE, 2, and 4 hr post-exercise and significantly increased 24 hr post-exercise. HSP70 significantly increased 48 and 72 hr post-exercise. Conclusions: BCAA may mitigate soreness following muscle damaging exercise; however, when consumed with a diet adequate in protein, the attenuation of performance decrements or corresponding CK levels are modest. These data support previous work suggesting that the heat shock response exerts regulatory control over autophagy.Physical Education, Sports and Exercise ScienceDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Division of Physical Performance and DevelopmentMermier, ChristineKravitz, LenDokladny, KarolKerksick, ChadVaughan, Roge
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENT THERMOELECTRIC CHARACTERIZATION OF ORGANIC MATERIALS
No full textThermoelectric energy conversion represents a solid-state technology based on the “Seebeck phenomenon”, where a temperature gradient generates an electrical voltage difference across semiconductors. Conversely, cooling (refrigeration) can be achieved by applying an electric voltage across the material. One can imagine countless opportunities where thermoelectrics could be used for cooling or harvesting heat to produce energy. Recently, thermoelectric energy conversion has received a great deal of attention as a promising technology to generate electricity from waste heat. Much effort has been put into the improvement and/or development of thermoelectric materials, both inorganic and organic, with higher power conversion efficiency. Organic materials and specifically carbon nanotube (CNT) based thermoelectrics have recently shown great promise for thermoelectric applications. The most efficient organic thermoelectric materials reported to date have efficiencies that are comparable to that of bismuth telluride at room temperature, which has the highest reported ZT for a bulk inorganic material at room temperature (ZT~1). Although the potential of organic thermoelectrics is clear, there is insufficient fundamental information to provide a clear path to the optimization of their performance. Thermoelectric conversion efficiency is accompanied by a high electrical conductivity, high Seebeck coefficient and a low thermal conductivity. Organic thermoelectric materials have an inherent low thermal conductivity. Researchers have therefore focused on the improvement of the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of these materials. On the experimental front, it is crucial to establish processing-thermoelectric properties-structure relationships for organic materials. There are no set standards, methods or setups for measuring the characteristic properties of thermoelectrics, i.e., Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity. In this thesis, the design and development of a novel apparatus for the simultaneous measurement of electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient of films is reported. Sample mount, where the sample is placed with all connections for measurement and data acquisition, is integrated inside a cryostat chamber enabling measurements over the 10-400 K temperature range. This temperature range is suitable for organic thermoelectrics in that it captures their performance in their intended application environment (i.e., 200-400 K) and provides insight on their structure and transport mechanisms (10-300 K). The whole setup is automated and computer controlled via LabVIEW, for measurement and data acquisition. The program executes all the steps to run the experiment, acquires the measured values, and executes calculations to provide Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity as a function of temperature. The sample holder is plug and play type that can be easily mounted or dismounted from the sample stage or sample mount inside the cryostat chamber. Finite element method was used to analyze the thermo-mechanical response of the sample holder in the 10-400 K range. The apparatus was calibrated against high purity Nickel film and a very good agreement was found. Lastly, spray coated polymer and carbon nanotube-based films were characterized using this device. The analysis of these results revealed the different transport mechanisms in these systems.Mechanical EngineeringMastersUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Mechanical EngineeringTehrani, MehranShen, Yu-LinLeseman, Zay
LATINO IDEOLOGY, CONGRESSIONAL POLARIZATION, AND RACIAL THREAT: AN ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF LATINOS ON CONGRESSIONAL POLITICS
No full textThis dissertation examines the relationship between changes in demographics and
changes in congressional polarization. It comes out of two important trends in American
politics in the last several decades: (1) Rising Latino Population and (2) Rise in Party
polarization in Congress. Latinos are the primary source of immigration to the United
States and high fertility rates among this population are contributing to a record number
of Latinos becoming eligible to vote. According to Pew every 30 seconds, a Latino
becomes eligible to vote totaling 66,000 every month. In terms of the polarization trend,
Congressional polarization is at its highest point since reconstruction. Since the mid-
1970s it has continued to steadily rise with Republicans pulling away from Democrats at
a faster rate than Democrats are pulling away from Republicans. Looking at these two
trends leads me to ask: to what extent are the two trends related? My dissertation finds
that there are several reasons to believe that they are related, chief among them the lower
levels of ideological extremity exhibited by U.S. Latinos. Using a combination of data
from the American National Election Survey (ANES) and data from the Almanac of
American Politics between 1972 and 2014, I find that a rise in Latino population leads to
important changes in the ideology of whites and Latinos residing in Congressional
districts, as well as moderation of their member of Congress.Political ScienceDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Political ScienceRocca, MichaelSanchez, GabrielKrebs, TimothyBarreto, Mat
THE INFLUENCE OF BEAVER ACTIVITY ON MODERN AND HOLOCENE FLUVIAL LANDSCAPE DYNAMICS IN SOUTHWESTERN MONTANA
No full textABSTRACT
Beaver dams effectively trap sediment in stream channels, leading to the hypothesis that persistent beaver damming on millennial timescales causes valley floor aggradation. The available field data, however, are inconclusive. I investigated modern and Holocene beaver-related deposition to understand beaver contributions to fluvial dynamics on multiple timescales in one stream system. Field investigations were conducted on Red Rock and Odell Creeks at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Montana, documenting patterns of sediment storage at 4 stages of beaver damming in the modern channel (1) active; (2) transition from active to breached; (3) breached within the last decade; and (4) undammed. Ground surveys, airborne Lidar, stratigraphic analysis, soil surveys and 64 carbon-14 (14C) ages, were used to investigate beaver impacts from the Early Holocene to present.
Upstream of active dams, fine (≤ 2 mm) sediment storage volumes ranged from 48 – 182 m3 with additional storage on the floodplain from dam-induced overbank flows. In-channel persistence of dam-induced sedimentation is limited by frequent breaching (<1 – 5 years). Dam breaching and subsequent downstream transport of willow cuttings from dams and beaver herbivory, however, extend beaver impacts beyond active dam sites, aiding colonization of willow, and adding roughness that promotes additional sedimentation. Major quantities of willow cuttings from beaver herbivory were observed on three streams in southwest Montana. Accumulations of beaver cuttings are also common in Holocene floodplain sediments on Odell Creek, with the majority of beaver-related deposits consistent with beaver-generated willow cutting accumulations on upper point bars and frequent dam breaching. Beaver-pond deposits exist, but rarely. Beaver-related deposition exists through most of the late Holocene when channel activity was dominated by lateral migration. Only ± 2 m of aggradation and incision occurred. The ages of beaver-related deposits overlap the severe droughts of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly, implying persistence of perennial flows in the large, north-facing basins of the studied drainages. Collectively, the modern and Holocene data show that basin attributes play important roles in how beaver influence fluvial systems, and that beaver contribute to both lateral and vertical deposition in the context of larger scale fluvial processes.The National Science Foundation, The Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at The University of New Mexico, The Geological Society of America, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, The University of Montana Western and The AMS lab and staff at The University of Arizona.Earth and Planetary SciencesDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Earth and Planetary SciencesMeyer, GrantStone, MarkMcFadden, LeslieFawcett, Pete
Minority Adolescent Health: A Factor Analytic Approach towards Conceptualizing Health Behaviors and Resilience Constructs from the New Mexico Youth Risk Resiliency Survey
No full textCurrent researchers in the adolescent health field are beginning to argue that the descriptive knowledge base of adolescent health lacks a strong conceptual base and may be inadequate to sufficiently inform a comprehensive assessment of adolescent health behaviors. This study aimed to build upon the conceptual base by integrating a descriptive epidemiologic study (2013 New Mexico Youth Risk Resilience Survey) with psychological theory and factor analytic methodologies to better understand the relationship between health behaviors and resilience factors. This study replicated a previously identified four-factor health behavior structure and an expanded six-factor health behavior structure across a racially/ethnically diverse sample. All substance use factors were highly correlated with sexual activity and physical activity risk being correlated with eating behavior risk. This study also confirmed a unidimensional resilience factor structure that positively correlated with all six behaviors, with resilience risk being mostly highly correlated with physical activity risk. Measurement invariance was achieved between males and females only on alcohol use, sexual activity, physical activity, and resilience. The results have significant implications for targeting multiple behaviors through prevention and intervention initiatives. An important strength of this study is the inclusion of a large and ethnically diverse sample. The results of this study aim to influence the creation of interventions that move beyond targeting individual or isolated risk behaviors and towards interventions that target sets of behaviors that are specific to youth in New Mexico.PsychologyMastersUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of PsychologySmith, Jane EllenErickson, SarahWarner, Tedd
Place, Imaginary, Identity: Place Ethnography in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
No full text“Place for me is the locus of desire,” writes Lucy Lippard in the opening to Lure of the Local (1997). This research project is about place. Two distinct sets of scholarship on place emerged in the 1970s and the 1990s. A third wave of place scholarship is evident today. Coming initially from geography and anthropology, the study of place is now ubiquitous across fields—in history, cultural studies, architecture, planning, health sciences, art and other disciplines. Despite the sustained interest in the study of place, one of the hallmarks of place is the ranging and contested contours of what place means. Place is defined, for the purposes of this study, as a describable location characterized by a shifting confluence of historical, material, political, cultural, economic, built, sensed and imagined qualities.
There are three distinct goals in this research project. First, this research project seeks to explore how place has been theorized, imagined, and understood. Second, this research project is an inquiry into how place can be studied. To these ends, I name, define, and refine a method I call place ethnography. Place ethnography is a methodological framework that blends ethnographic and historic research with a range of disciplinary techniques in order to study place. I develop several concepts in this project. These include the idea of a place imaginary, defined as a dominant place perception, the concept of an historical vacancy, the perception of an emptiness in the historical fabric and settlement of a place or region—a particular kind of place imaginary—and topofabulas, a concept that describes a historically untenable place narratives that are accepted as historical truth and are place defining. The third goal of this research project is to apply place ethnographic methods to a specific place. To these ends, this research project recounts a place ethnographic study of a small town named Truth or Consequences, New Mexico undertaken from July 2012- August 2014.Doctorate of PhilosophyDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of American StudiesMeléndez, A. GabrielWilson, Christopher MontgomeryGandert, MiguelTrujillo, Michae
23 August 1939 QUAY County Specimen Collection Data
No full textSpecimen collected 23 August 1939. Original Locality: Tucumcari Creek 23 miles south of Logan. Elev. 1100-1200m. Locality: Revuelto Creek, ca. 2.0 to 3.0 miles south of Logan.Catalog number: MSB537; Taxa: Fundulus zebrinus; Common name: plains killifish; Count of specimens: 3; Standard length:Catalog number: MSB1114; Taxa: Hybognathus placitus; Common name: plains minnow; Count of specimens: 17; Standard length:Catalog number: MSB1116; Taxa: Hybognathus placitus; Common name: plains minnow; Count of specimens: 128; Standard length:Catalog number: MSB1126; Taxa: Hybognathus placitus; Common name: plains minnow; Count of specimens: 782; Standard length:Catalog number: MSB1268; Taxa: Notropis girardi; Common name: Arkansas River shiner; Count of specimens: 94; Standard length:Catalog number: MSB1272; Taxa: Notropis girardi; Common name: Arkansas River shiner; Count of specimens: 362; Standard length:Catalog number: MSB1798; Taxa: Platygobio gracilis; Common name: flathead chub; Count of specimens: 7; Standard length:Catalog number: MSB1836; Taxa: Platygobio gracilis; Common name: flathead chub; Count of specimens: 190; Standard length:Catalog number: MSB1842; Taxa: Macrhybopsis tetranema; Common name: peppered chub; Count of specimens: 60; Standard length:Catalog number: MSB1874; Taxa: Macrhybopsis tetranema; Common name: peppered chub; Count of specimens: 138; Standard length:Catalog number: MSB2690; Taxa: Fundulus zebrinus; Common name: plains killifish; Count of specimens: 3; Standard length:Catalog number: MSB86061; Taxa: Platygobio gracilis; Common name: flathead chub; Count of specimens: 15; Standard length