A comprehensive mental health care system for Native Americans in New Mexico. A report of the Native American Mental Health Planning Project.

This is a comprehensive report of a seven-month study contracted through the State Division of Mental Health to the University of New Mexico, Department of Psychiatry/Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions (CASAA). A select committee of representatives from New Mexico tribes, appropriate state and federal agencies, private entities, and consumers provided input for the project. The final plan is based on the collection and triangulation of a variety of sources. The primary sources utilized in this document included: 1) literature review; 2) indirect measure of the magnitude of alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health needs using selected measures from current census data; 3) extensive survey of current agencies providing services; 4) clinical programming survey to select from optional mental health care delivery system models and a prioritization of services needed; 5) ideas, visions, suggestions and recommendations of selected committees; and 6) private interviews and focus group discussions with tribal members, service workers, and tribal leaders. The plan provides information on: 1) epidemiology of mental health problems; 2) programmatic issues for mental health services; 3) needs assessment studies and findings; 4) system and program design; 5) program development and management; 6) physical plant requirements; 7) management information system; and 8) ten-year implementation process. Based on the findings of this planning effort, a system of comprehensive mental health care for American Indians was proposed. This continuum of care extends from the tribal communities, to regional centers of care, and to a centralized facility

Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the evolution of form and function in the amniote jaw.

The amniote jaw complex is a remarkable amalgamation of derivatives from distinct embryonic cell lineages. During development, the cells in these lineages experience concerted movements, migrations, and signaling interactions that take them from their initial origins to their final destinations and imbue their derivatives with aspects of form including their axial orientation, anatomical identity, size, and shape. Perturbations along the way can produce defects and disease, but also generate the variation necessary for jaw evolution and adaptation. We focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate form in the amniote jaw complex, and that enable structural and functional integration. Special emphasis is placed on the role of cranial neural crest mesenchyme (NCM) during the species-specific patterning of bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle, and other jaw tissues. We also address the effects of biomechanical forces during jaw development and discuss ways in which certain molecular and cellular responses add adaptive and evolutionary plasticity to jaw morphology. Overall, we highlight how variation in molecular and cellular programs can promote the phenomenal diversity and functional morphology achieved during amniote jaw evolution or lead to the range of jaw defects and disease that affect the human condition