The Environment Constrains Successful Search Strategies in Natural Distributed Systems

This dissertation investigates two natural systems that use distributed search algorithms and tests the hypothesis that the searchers' environment is a key constraint on an optimal algorithm. Natural instances of distributed autonomous systems of simple components exist in both biology and social systems. These systems have been honed through eons of evolution by natural selection to perform well in their environment. I examine two specific systems that use distributed methods to search and recruit individuals to locations of interest: T cells' search for pathogens in the human body and ants searching for food. Both systems are examples of time-constrained processes that require the distributed coordination of simple autonomous agents and interaction with their environment. Taking common principles from both domains, the dissertation examines three distributed search strategies: uninformed random search, origin-based local recruitment, and chemical-based pheromone recruitment. Using both numerical and agent-based models, it evaluates the effectiveness of these strategies across two environmental factors: the spatial clustering and temporal volatility of resources. The results demonstrate that both recruitment-based strategies (origin-based and chemical-based) suffer in environments of high resources dispersion and volatility. Conversely, uninformed random search performs better in these environments. The results are relevant to certain algorithmic issues in swarm robotics. For example, it is expensive to implement chemical trails in a distributed physical system, and the dissertation shows that strategies using only local recruitment perform similarly in all environments. Also, origin-only algorithms are much easier to implement in a robotics context. Further, because each strategy examined in this dissertation performs best at one extreme of resource spatial distribution, the results establish that the most difficult environments for search are likely those with intermediate levels of clustering. Finally, the dissertation classifies the exact nature of the environmental trade-offs and presents methods to determine the best search strategy given knowledge of the environment.National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Program in Interdisciplinary Biological and Biomedical Sciences at UNM, Air Force Research Laboratory, Santa Fe Institute, James S. McDonnell FoundationComputer ScienceDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Computer ScienceForrest, StephanieMoses, MelanieTapia, LydiaCannon, Jud

WHICH POLICIES ARE REWARDED: EXPLAINING THE DISTRIBUTION OF U.S. FOREIGN AID AFTER THE END OF THE COLD WAR

The goal of this study is to elucidate what drives the distribution of U.S. foreign assistance. Why do some states receive more than others? Does the U.S. use aid to reward certain “good” policies? Can a regime pursue such policies to secure more U.S. funding? I answer these questions by examining patterns of aid distribution of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. I find that USAID assistance is driven primarily by strategic interests, while the MCC is more oriented towards the recipient needs. To assess the effects of various democratic policies on the distribution of U.S. foreign aid, I disaggregate democracy into four elements: Quality of Elections, Human Rights Climate, Governance and Rule of Law, and Civil Society. In both USAID and MCC models, Quality of Elections appears to be a strong predictor of aid. This study opens a new line of research, which builds on closer integration between foreign aid and democracy research. The growing role of recipient regime policies in aid decisions, inclusion of democratization in U.S. strategic interests, and the tendency to reward elections before other democratic practices are all essential characteristics of U.S. foreign aid since the end of the Cold War. During this time, autocratic leaders have become increasingly adept at manipulating democratic forms, especially elections, to maintain their authoritarian regimes while still retaining the support of international sponsors. Therefore, the link between elections and foreign aid decisions is the key to understanding the complex relationships between “elected” autocrats, international donors and democracy promoters.International Foundation for Electoral Systems George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies Open Society Institute.Political ScienceDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Political ScienceStanley, WilliamStanley, WilliamPeceny, MarkHansen, WendyHook, Steve

Spring 2016 Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies APR Self-Study Report

APR self-study fulfills requirements of the Higher Learning Commission, UNM's accrediting bod

Unique Senior Radiology Resident Selectives (Areas of Concentration) Integrating Clinical Experiences with Radiology Rotations

Presented at the AUR 64th Annual Meeting 2016 Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Competency in Academic Radiology March 29 - April 1, 2016 San Diego, CaliforniaWith the restructuring of the ABR examinations to test core knowledge at the end of the PGY4 year, radiology residencies have increased flexibility in designing targeted educational experiences for senior residents. We have innovated the educational program for our senior residents by incorporating related clinical months alongside subspecialty-focused radiology rotations to create Areas of Concentration within select modalities. We now offer Areas of Concentration for up to 6 months to all PGY5 residents in our integrated (categorical) residency program. Residents may choose the clinical months from among those previously chosen by our residents, or may identify a faculty member in another specialty to serve as a mentor and evaluator. Residents utilize these Areas of Concentration to prepare themselves for fellowship and practice opportunities, combining related/ useful clinical rotations such as a Cardiology stress lab rotation with Nuclear Medicine, or an ICU/Critical Care rotation with Interventional Radiology. During these clinical-radiologic selectives, senior residents hold responsibilities similar to fellows, including teaching and multidisciplinary board presentations. Challenges faced include shortages of senior residents available to staff other radiology rotations and scheduling logistics to ensure all residents can chose Areas of Concentration within their desired fields

Investigation of Interfacial Interaction of Manganese Oxides with Organic Micropollutants

Water reuse has become a necessary practice in arid and semi-arid regions like the Southwestern USA. However, a new generation of emerging organic micropollutants has been increasingly scrutinized in water sources. The aim of this study is to determine the changes in chemical composition occurring on the MnOx(s) surface after reaction with organic micropollutants using X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy and solution chemistry analyses. Laboratory batch experiments were conducted to assess the reactivity of MnOx(s) with aniline, triclosan, phenol and bisphenol A. Analyses of XPS high resolution scans through the determination of the shape and position of Mn 3p spectra and Mn 3s multiplet splitting suggest that Mn(III) and Mn(II) increase in the surface of MnOx(s) reacted with organics, indicating that organic oxidation causes the reduction of MnOx(s). Impurities on MnOx(s) surface (eg. other metal oxides) decrease the micropollutant removal efficiency. After the rapid initial oxidation of micropollutants, the availability of surface sites was found to be a major factor influencing the long-term reaction rates. Aniline and Bisphenol A were still detectable after reaction completion due to surface sites being irreversibly occupied by reaction products or impurities. The results from this research are applicable for the mechanistic comprehension of interactions between MnOx(s) and organic micropollutants, which is necessary for understanding the MnOx(s)-micropollutant geochemical processes and development of water treatment technologies that use MnOx(s) to remove organic micropollutants.Civil EngineeringMastersUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Civil EngineeringCerrato, JoseAli, Abdul-MehdiHowe, Kerr

Analysis of Performance and Power Aspects of Hypervisors in Soft Real-Time Embedded Systems

The exponential growth of malware designed to attack soft real-time embedded systems has necessitated solutions to secure these systems. Hypervisors are a solution, but the overhead imposed by them needs to be quantitatively understood. Experiments were conducted to quantify the overhead hypervisors impose on soft real-time embedded systems. A soft real-time computer vision algorithm was executed, with average and worst-case execution times measured as well as the average power consumption. These experiments were conducted with two hypervisors and a control configuration. The experiments showed that each hypervisor imposed differing amounts of overhead, with one achieving near native performance and the other noticeably impacting the performance of the system.Air Force Research LaboratoryComputer ENgineeringMastersUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Electrical and Computer EngineeringHeileman, GregoryLamb, ChrisShu, Wenni

A Randomized Clinical Trial of a Brief Motivational Intervention for Incarcerated Drinkers

Almost half of convicted jail inmates have an alcohol use disorder and many are released to environments that put them in contact with network members and cues that make them more likely to relapse on alcohol or drugs. Given the high-risk period immediately following release, the purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a brief motivational intervention administered just prior to release to increase substance use treatment entry and attendance, decrease alcohol and drug use, and change social networks for inmates with alcohol use disorders. Forty adult male inmates were consented into the study and randomized to a motivational intervention or the control condition (an educational intervention), and then they were contacted to do a one-month follow-up interview (62.5% completed this interview). Results indicated that conducting these interventions was feasible and considered extremely helpful by participants. Although there were no significant group differences, effect sizes suggest possible benefits from the motivational intervention in decreasing days of alcohol and drug use and increasing abstinence, and reducing the proportion of heavy drug users or users of any kind in the social network. Future studies should replicate these findings in larger sample sizes and over longer follow-up time periods, which may have implications for programming at jails for this population.National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; University of New Mexico Graduate Professional and Student AssociationPsychologyDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of PsychologyMcCrady, BarbaraBogenschutz, MichaelMoyers, TheresaTonigan, J. ScottWitkiewitz, Kati

Is Active or Passive Treatment Better at Reducing Pain and Increasing Activity Participation in a Female Diagnosed with Chronic Osteitis Pubis?

Background/Purpose: Chronic groin pain is common in athletes and it can be difficult to determine the exact cause of pain and dysfunction. Osteitis pubis is a diagnosis that shares clinical finding with other causes of groin pain such as adductor strain and sportsman's hernia. Osteitis pubis is characterized as a painful overuse injury which involving non infectious inflammation of the pubic symphysis and its surrounding structures. The purpose of this paper is to determine if active treatment is better than passive treatment at reducing pain and increasing activity participation in a female diagnosed with chronic osteitis pubis. Case Description: The patient is a 33 year old female runner with chronic osteitis pubis. Her symptoms started toward the end of her pregnancy in 2012. During her initial physical therapy examination, she complained of pain in her left groin near the attachments of the adductors, a dull achy pain in her mid thoracic spine, and the inability to participate in sporting activities which involved the use of her legs due to exacerbation of symptoms. Outcomes: Interventions such as dry needling were used to reduce muscle dysfunction around the pelvis as well as lower extremity and abdominal stabilization exercises. After five treatments, the patient was still not able to return to running and had some discomfort while performing exercise. However, she did report reduced pain while performing daily activities. Discussion: There is currently no literature which provides an effective rehabilitation program for a female patient with chronic osteitis pubis. Conservative treatment is always tried before surgery is considered. It is important to figure out what mechanism was the cause of osteitis pubis initially. Therefore, it is important to provide an individualized examination and treatment program for each patient with osteitis pubis in order to address their specific dysfunctions

Is Perturbation-based Balance Training an Effective Treatment for Patients with Alcoholic Neuropathy?

Background/Purpose: Patients can develop peripheral neuropathies from a variety of causes: diabetes, poor circulation, cancer treatment, and in this case alcoholism. Peripheral neuropathy is a condition, and a risk factor for increased risk of falls, poor balance, movement disorders, and subsequently sedentary behavior lending to a cascade of problems. It is not clear whether perturbation balance training is effective in reducing fall risk of individuals in the acute care setting with neuropathies due to alcoholism. Case Discussion: A 47 year old homeless male was admitted to the hospital on 11/02/15 with symptoms of end stage liver disease, malnutrition, and alcohol dependence. The patient presented to Physical Therapy (PT) with impaired balance, sensory loss, decreased strength and poor endurance. Outcomes: Over the course of his stay at the hospital the patient demonstrated substantial improvement in his endurance, balance, and functional abilities as compared to his condition upon admission. All goals set by the Student Physical Therapist (SPT) were achieved by discharge on 11/08/15. Discussion: Balance training was more effective than other treatments in all of the articles analyzed. An extensive literature search found six of eight studies examined perturbation exercises compared to other exercise or no exercise. Perturbation balance training was shown to be effective in reducing fall risk and is recommended over other types of exercise in subjects with peripheral neuropathy