Lone Star College

This volume showcases the research, teaching, and community engagement of fellows from the Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty Fellowship program, which from 2018 to 2025 supported 110 faculty across 61 institutions. Edited by Carmen Carrasquillo (San Diego Miramar College) and Brian Stipelman (Frederick Community College), the collection highlights the challenges and opportunities faced by two-year-college scholars, documenting how they integrate research into the classroom and serve diverse student communities. More than a record of individual projects, the publication celebrates the vital role of community college faculty as teacher-scholars whose contributions enrich the humanities and higher education at large.

At crime scenes, apart from the detection of blood, it may be important to determine whether a person was alive at the time of blood deposition. Based on the rapid onset of fibrinolysis after death, this pathway could be considered to identify potential biomarkers for postmortem blood. Fibrinolysis is the natural process that breaks down blood clots after healing a vascular injury. One of its products, D-dimer, could be a potential biomarker for postmortem blood. SERATEC® (SERATEC® GmbH, Göttingen, Germany) has developed the PMB immunochromatographic assay to simultaneously detect human hemoglobin and D-dimer. The main goals of this study were to assess the possibility of using this test to detect postmortem blood, evaluate D-dimer levels in antemortem, menstrual, and postmortem blood, and assess the ability to obtain STR profiles from postmortem blood. Except for one degraded sample, all postmortem blood samples reacted positively for the presence of D-dimer using the SERATEC® PMB test. All antemortem blood samples from living individuals showed negative results for D-dimer detection, except for one liquid sample with a weak positive result, probably due to pre-existing health conditions. Menstrual blood samples gave variable results for D-dimer. The DIMERTEST® Latex assay was used for semi-quantitative measurement of D-dimer concentrations, with postmortem and menstrual blood yielding higher D-dimer concentrations compared to antemortem blood. Full STR profiles were developed for all postmortem samples tested except for one degraded sample, pointing to the possibility of not only detecting postmortem blood at the crime scene but also the potential identification of the victim.

Diabetes is associated with emotional distress and poor mental health, especially for individuals with low income, hindering patients' ability to manage their condition. The health care system's workforce constraints limit its capacity to holistically support patients. To assess the effectiveness of layperson-delivered empathetic engagement over the telephone in helping improve glycemic management for patients with diabetes. This parallel-arm randomized clinical trial with blinded outcome assessment was conducted from February 12, 2022, to April 15, 2023, with final measurements on November 18, 2023, among 260 patients with uncontrolled diabetes from a federally qualified health center in Austin, Texas, engaging telephonically from home. Patients assigned to the intervention group received empathy-oriented telephone calls by community-hired laypeople for 6 months, while those assigned to the control group received usual care. Patients were stratified by baseline score (≥5 vs <5) on the depressive symptom scale of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The primary outcome was hemoglobin A1c level at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months, assessed for interaction between time and trial arm. Secondary outcomes were self-perceptions of managing diabetes, diabetes-related behaviors and distress, and mental health symptoms (measured via surveys). Analysis was performed on an intention-to-treat basis. Of 260 participants (mean [SD] age, 49.5 [10.1] years; 163 of 259 women [62.9%]; 176 of 203 [86.7%] with annual income <$40 000) enrolled, 6 withdrew. At 6 months, 204 of 254 (80.3%; intervention, 109 of 127 [85.8%] and control, 95 of 127 [74.8%]) returned for measurements. Participants in the intervention group had statistically significant mean (SD) decreases in hemoglobin A1c level at 6 months (from 10.0% [1.9%] to 9.3% [2.0%]) compared with those in the control group (from 9.8% [1.6%] to 9.7% [2.3%]) (P = .004). The within-person change in hemoglobin A1c level was -0.7% (95% CI, -1.0% to -0.4%) for the intervention group and 0.02% (95% CI, -0.4% to 0.4%) for the control group. For the subgroup with a PHQ-9 score of 5 or more at baseline (38.1% [99 of 260]), the within-person change in hemoglobin A1c was -1.1% (95% CI, -1.8% to -0.5%) for the intervention group and 0.1% (95% CI, -0.7% to 0.8%; P = .004) for the control group. For the subgroup with a PHQ-9 score less than 5, the within-person change in hemoglobin A1c was -0.4% (95% CI, -0.8% to -0.1%) for the intervention group and -0.02% (95% CI, -0.5% to 0.5%; P = .21) for the control group. At 6 months, 91.7% of the participants (99 of 108) responded that the program was very or extremely beneficial. In this randomized clinical trial of telephone-based layperson-delivered empathetic engagement, patients with diabetes and low income achieved clinically meaningful improvements in glycemic control. With workforce constraints, layperson-delivered programs for diabetes show promise. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05173675.

To define the Oncology Nursing Society Research Agenda for 2024-2027. An iterative, multiple data sources consolidation through the Research Agenda Project Team. Previous research priorities, literature review, stakeholder survey, and research priorities from other cancer care organizations and funding agencies. 10 evergreen statements articulated foundational values for oncology nurse scientists, and 5 topics emerged as research priorities for the upcoming three years: Advance patient-centric, precision symptom science; provide evidence for safe and effective cancer care delivery models and support of the oncology nursing workforce; describe the impact of the environment on cancer care outcomes; integrate patient navigation into cancer care across the trajectory; and advance the use of innovative methodologies in oncology nursing research. The Oncology Nursing Society Research Agenda is an effective resource for directing the organization's research vision. This foundational document directs funding awards and requests, mentorship, and policy initiatives.

This study aimed to characterize the network structure of pandemic grief symptoms and suicidal ideation in 2174 people from eight Latin American countries. Pandemic grief and suicidal ideation were measured using the Pandemic Grief Scale and a single item, respectively. Network analysis provides an in-depth characterization of symptom-symptom interactions within mental disorders. The results indicated that, "desire to die," "apathy" and "absence of sense of life" are the most central symptoms in a pandemic grief symptom network; therefore, these symptoms could be focal elements for preventive and treatment efforts. Suicidal ideation, the wish to die, and the absence of meaning in life had the strongest relationship. In general, the network structure did not differ among the participating countries. It identifies specific symptoms within the network that may increase the likelihood of their co-occurrence and is useful at the therapeutic level.

The Æsir, the gods of the Norse myths, are not a cis-heterosexual monolith, despite the traditional interpretations of the myths. Over the past thirty years scholars have exposed or teased out the queerness within the pantheon and the myths. I use a queer theoretical framework to interpret the gods’ actions and characters and to locate them within a queer context. I then show how their transgender elements belong to a tradition of transgender deities which began among the people of the Corded Ware Culture (ca. 2,800 B.C.E.). I turn to the specific cultural influences of the Germanic tribes which influenced Norse society in their regard of queer and transgender behavior and individuals. After discussing some of the anticipated objections to my arguments, I then demonstrate how several of the major gods of the Norse pantheon are either queer, transgender, or both.

53-year-old female, with CPC and PTEN mutation by NGS, was successfully treated with everolimus and brain radiation

The present study explored the predictive capacity of fear of COVID-19 on the intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and the influence in this relationship of conspiracy beliefs as a possible mediating psychological variable, in 13 Latin American countries. A total of 5779 people recruited through non-probabilistic convenience sampling participated. To collect information, we used the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Vaccine conspiracy beliefs Scale-COVID-19 and a single item of intention to vaccinate. A full a priori Structural Equation Model was used; whereas, cross-country invariance was performed from increasingly restricted structural models. The results indicated that, fear of COVID-19 positively predicts intention to vaccinate and the presence of conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines. The latter negatively predicted intention to vaccinate against COVID-19. Besides, conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines had an indirect effect on the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19 in the 13 countries assessed. Finally, the cross-national similarities of the mediational model among the 13 participating countries are strongly supported. The study is the first to test a cross-national mediational model across variables in a large number of Latin American countries. However, further studies with other countries in other regions of the world are needed.

This chapter uses the analytical results with spectral simulations to illustrate how quantum theory fully explains the four failures of classical physics commonly presented in physical chemistry textbooks. The Blackbody radiation profile and the UV Catastrophe are evident from the simulated spectrum because the Boltzmann distribution limits the population in the higher quantum states at moderate temperatures. The line spectra are obvious phenomena from the selection rules and stick spectra. The photoelectric effect is shown to be consistent with a “standing wave” view of quantized energy levels and a confirmation of the Planck equation (E = hν). The models in this chapter use the Boltzmann distribution to produce the temperature-dependent intensities and the Gaussian line shape function to provide realistic spectral profiles. The line shape effect is demonstrated using instrumental resolution (Δλ). Increasing resolution, which is a reduction of Δλ, is shown to transform a continuum spectrum into a discrete line spectrum.

This chapter will describe the usefulness of symmetry selection rules to determine allowed and forbidden transitions in a real 3D system. Two different models of selection rules will be compared for the rovibrational spectrum of hydrogen chloride. The unrestricted selection rule model shows all the potential transitions, and the symmetry selection rule model shows the allowed transitions. The comparison with the HCl spectrum confirms that the symmetry selection rules match the experimental spectrum. The models in this chapter use the Boltzmann distribution to produce the temperature-dependent intensities. The actual values of the transition dipole moment integrals are not available from a symmetry analysis. However, symmetry selection rules are still useful, primarily for assigning quantum states to specific spectral transitions. This will be shown in this chapter.