Maternal Gambling, Parenting in the Home Environment, and Child Outcomes in Native American Families.

This mixed method study examined the relations between and among women's casino gambling,parenting in the home environment, parenting self-efficacy beliefs, social supports, and childbehavior problems in a sample of 150 Native American mothers with a child between 6 and 15 years of age. Respondents were recruited from a tribal casino on a Great Lakes Indian Reservation. Hypotheses were: 1) higher scores on measures of gambling frequency among Native American mothers will be associated with more behavior problems in their children; 2) greater access to emotional and instrumental support, higher parenting self-efficacy, and more adequate parenting in the home environment among Native American mothers will be associated with fewer behavior problems in their children; and 3) greater access to social support, higher parenting self-efficacy, and more adequate parenting in the home environment among Native American mothers will moderate the relationship between maternal gambling and child behavior problems. As expected, correlational analyses indicated that pathological gambling was associated positively and significantly with child behavior problems, while greater access to instrumental support, higher parenting self-efficacy, and more adequate parenting in the home environment were each associated significantly with fewer child behavior problems. Multiple regression analyses revealed that greater maternal financial strain and less adequate parenting in the home environment together explained 9 percent of the variance in child behavior problems and that access to social support from family moderated the relationship between maternal gambling frequency and child behavior problems. Social support from family explained an additional 5 percent of the variance in child behavior problems. Boys were more negatively affected by their mothers' frequent gambling than girls in this study. Qualitative themes were: Mothers' concerns regarding spending money and time at the casino, and guilt and remorse over how these affect their children and families; mothers' reports of the positive economic benefits of the jobs and educational opportunities now available to them; mothers' concerns that while there are increased opportunities to socialize and reduce their stress while gambling, that there is no culturally appropriate gambling treatment program on the reservation

The association of at-risk, problem, and pathological gambling with substance use, depression, and arrest history

We examined at-risk, problem, or pathological gambling co-occurrence with frequency of past-year alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use; depressive symptoms; and arrest history. Data included the responses of over 3,000 individuals who participated in a 2006 telephone survey designed to understand the extent of at-risk, problem, and pathological gambling; comorbidity levels with substance use; mental health; and social problems among Southwestern U.S. residents. Data were analyzed with multinomial and bivariate logistic regression. Respondents at risk for problem gambling were more likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana than those respondents not at risk. Pathological gamblers were no more or less likely to consume alcohol or tobacco than were non-gamblers or those not at risk. A dose-response relationship existed between degree of gambling problems and depressive symptoms and arrest history. Interventions for at-risk or problem gamblers need to include substance use treatment, and the phenomenon of low levels of substance use among pathological gamblers needs further exploration

Urban American Indian Community Perspectives on Resources and Challenges for Youth Suicide Prevention

American Indian (AI) youth have some of the highest rates of suicide of any group in the United States, and the majority of AI youth live in urban areas away from tribal communities. As such, understanding the resources available for suicide prevention among urban AI youth is critical, as is understanding the challenges involved in accessing such resources. Pre‐existing interview data from 15 self‐identified AI community members and staff from an Urban Indian Health Organization were examined to understand existing resources for urban AI youth suicide prevention, as well as related challenges. A thematic analysis was undertaken, resulting in three principal themes around suicide prevention: formal resources, informal resources, and community values and beliefs. Formal resources that meet the needs of AI youth were viewed as largely inaccessible or nonexistent, and youth were seen as more likely to seek help from informal sources. Community values of mutual support were thought to reinforce available informal supports. However, challenges arose in terms of the community’s knowledge of and views on discussing suicide, as well as the perceived fit between community values and beliefs and formal prevention models.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134173/1/ajcp12080.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134173/2/ajcp12080_am.pd

Service Provider Views of Oxycontin Use on an Indian Reservation: Traumatic Effects on the Tribal Community

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://alliance1.metapress.com/home/main.mpx.This qualitative research study on a Great Lakes Indian reservation used semistructured interviews of American Indian (n = 8) and non-American Indian (n = 2) providers of behavioral and physical health services to elicit views of Oxycontin use. We gathered data on existing substance abuse services including accessibility, cultural appropriateness, service strengths and weaknesses, barriers to treatment, and treatment needs. Results indicated a high prevalence of the use of Oxycontin, with traumatic effects on families and the tribal community such that the providers were overburdened with their dual role as service providers and caretakers in their own community. Implications for social work practice are discussed

Advancing Community‐Based Research with Urban American Indian Populations: Multidisciplinary Perspectives

The US has witnessed significant growth among urban American Indian (AI) populations in recent decades, and concerns have been raised that these populations face equal or greater degrees of disadvantage than their reservation counterparts. Surprisingly little urban AI research or community work has been documented in the literature, and even less has been written about the influences of urban settings on community‐based work with these populations. Given the deep commitments of community psychology to empowering disadvantaged groups and understanding the impact of contextual factors on the lives of individuals and groups, community psychologists are well suited to fill these gaps in the literature. Toward informing such efforts, this work offers multidisciplinary insights from distinct idiographic accounts of community‐based behavioral health research with urban AI populations. Accounts are offered by three researchers and one urban AI community organization staff member, and particular attention is given to issues of community heterogeneity, geography, membership, and collaboration. Each first‐person account provides “lessons learned” from the urban context in which the research occurred. Together, these accounts suggest several important areas of consideration in research with urban AIs, some of which also seem relevant to reservation‐based work. Finally, the potential role of research as a tool of empowerment for urban AI populations is emphasized, suggesting future research attend to the intersections of identity, sense of community, and empowerment in urban AI populations.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117185/1/ajcp9643.pd

Plasmonic and semiconductor nanoparticles interfere with stereolithographic 3D printing

Two-photon polymerization stereolithographic three-dimensional (3D) printing is used for manufacturing a variety of structures ranging from microdevices to refractive optics. Incorporation of nanoparticles in 3D printing offers huge potential to create even more functional nanocomposite structures. However, this is difficult to achieve since the agglomeration of the nanoparticles can occur. Agglomeration not only leads to an uneven distribution of nanoparticles in the photoresin but also induces scattering of the excitation beam and altered absorption profiles due to interparticle coupling. Thus, it is crucial to ensure that the nanoparticles do not agglomerate during any stage of the process. To achieve noninteracting and well-dispersed nanoparticles on the 3D printing process, first, the stabilization of nanoparticles in the 3D printing resin is indispensable. We achieve this by functionalizing the nanoparticles with surface-bound ligands that are chemically similar to the photoresin that allows increased nanoparticle loadings without inducing agglomeration. By systematically studying the effect of different nanomaterials (Au nanoparticles, Ag nanoparticles, and CdSe/CdZnS nanoplatelets) in the resin on the 3D printing process, we observe that both, material-specific (absorption profiles) and unspecific (radical quenching at nanoparticle surfaces) pathways co-exist by which the photopolymerization procedure is altered. This can be exploited to increase the printing resolution leading to a reduction of the minimum feature size

Household Density among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants in New York City

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61278/1/Standish.et.al.HouseholdDensityamongUndocumentedMexicanImmigrantsinNewYorkCity.pd

The Prevalence and Types of Gambling Among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants in New York City

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61290/1/momper sl, nandi v, ompad dc, delva j, galea s, prevalence and types of gambling among undocumented mexican immigrants in nyc.pd

Blocking Zika virus vertical transmission.

The outbreak of the Zika virus (ZIKV) has been associated with increased incidence of congenital malformations. Although recent efforts have focused on vaccine development, treatments for infected individuals are needed urgently. Sofosbuvir (SOF), an FDA-approved nucleotide analog inhibitor of the Hepatitis C (HCV) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) was recently shown to be protective against ZIKV both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we show that SOF protected human neural progenitor cells (NPC) and 3D neurospheres from ZIKV infection-mediated cell death and importantly restored the antiviral immune response in NPCs. In vivo, SOF treatment post-infection (p.i.) decreased viral burden in an immunodeficient mouse model. Finally, we show for the first time that acute SOF treatment of pregnant dams p.i. was well-tolerated and prevented vertical transmission of the virus to the fetus. Taken together, our data confirmed SOF-mediated sparing of human neural cell types from ZIKV-mediated cell death in vitro and reduced viral burden in vivo in animal models of chronic infection and vertical transmission, strengthening the growing body of evidence for SOF anti-ZIKV activity

Lead Optimization of 3,5-Disubstituted-7-Azaindoles for the Treatment of Human African Trypanosomiasis

Neglected tropical diseases such as human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) are prevalent primarily in tropical climates and among populations living in poverty. Historically, the lack of economic incentive to develop new treatments for these diseases has meant that existing therapeutics have serious shortcomings in terms of safety, efficacy, and administration, and better therapeutics are needed. We now report a series of 3,5-disubstituted-7-azaindoles identified as growth inhibitors of Trypanosoma brucei, the parasite that causes HAT, through a high-throughput screen. We describe the hit-to-lead optimization of this series and the development and preclinical investigation of 29d, a potent antitrypanosomal compound with promising pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters. This compound was ultimately not progressed beyond in vivo PK studies due to its inability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), critical for stage 2 HAT treatments