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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (7 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UC Santa Barbara Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2020)

This study interrogates the ritual function of Aztec agricultural deities across various media to discover how material objects were perceived as animate and sacred. In addition, it addresses the following themes as they relate to the objects themselves: the instantiation of sacred essence in ritual performance, consumption as metaphor for sacrifice, and the reach of imperial power in provincial regions or the relationship of center and periphery. To do so, I examine a corpus of Aztec sculptures of female agricultural deities, made out of stone and paper, dough, and polychrome ceramic primarily, from provincial sites of central Mesoamerica (ca. 1325-1521). In both the capital of Tenochtitlan and the provinces, public rituals involving female agricultural deities solidified the interconnectedness between the material and spiritual realms; however, their prevalence in the provinces likely emphasizes their association with the agrarian economy. Whereas previous studies of Aztec ritual have privileged textual and pictorial accounts, I concentrate my analysis on extant concrete evidence (from museum collections and archaeological sites) and its relationship to Aztec ritual practices outside of Tenochtitlan.

This study contributes to a broader understanding of Aztec ritual and sacrality, particularly as it relates to the nature of sacred imagery within the ceremonial life of provincial peoples. In this dissertation, I move beyond the simplistic categorization of Aztec female agricultural deities identifiable by diagnostic traits, to understand how they functioned in a ritual context. I focus on their materiality as it relates to an animate Mesoamerican universe in order to understand the interconnectedness of the physical environment and ritual activity. By examining the complex histories of objects related to ritual activity, I hope to further our understanding of the engagement of Aztec social communities with the material essence of sacred objects and, more broadly, explore the religious and political relationship between Aztec provinces and the state.

    Cover page: The Materiality of Aztec Agricultural Deities: From Tenochtitlan to the Provinces
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, Volume 15, Issue 4 (2014)

    Introduction: The incidence of respiratory depression in patients who are chemically sedated in the emergency department (ED) is not well understood. As the drugs used for chemical restraint are respiratory depressants, improving respiratory monitoring practice in the ED may be warranted. The objective of this study is to describe the incidence of respiratory depression in patients chemically sedated for violent behavior and psychomotor agitation in the ED.

    Methods: Adult patients who met eligibility criteria with psychomotor agitation and violent behavior who were chemically sedated were eligible. SpO2 and ETCO2 (end-tidal CO2) was recorded and saved every 5 seconds. Demographic data, history of drug or alcohol abuse, medical and psychiatric history, HR and BP every 5 minutes, any physician intervention for hypoxia or respiratory depression, or adverse events were also recorded. We defined respiratory depression as an ETCO2 of >50 mmHg, a change of 10% above or below baseline, or a loss of waveform for >15 seconds. Hypoxia was defined as a SpO2 of <93% for >15 seconds.

    Results: We enrolled 59 patients, and excluded 9 because of >35% data loss. Twenty-eight (28/50) patients developed respiratory depression at least once during their chemical restraint (56%, 95% CI 42-69%); the median number of events was 2 (range 1-6).  Twenty-one (21/50) patients had at least one hypoxic event during their chemical restraint (42%, 95% CI 29-55%); the median number of events was 2 (range 1-5). Nineteen (19/21) (90%, 95% CI 71-97%) of the patients that developed hypoxia had a corresponding ETCO2 change. Fifteen (15/19) (79%, 95% CI 56-91%) patients who became hypoxic met criteria for respiratory depression before the onset of hypoxia. The sensitivity of ETCO2 to predict the onset of a hypoxic event was 90.48% (95% CI: 68-98%) and specificity 69% (95% CI: 49-84%).  Five patients received respiratory interventions from the healthcare team to improve respiration [Airway repositioning: (2), Verbal stimulation: (3)]. Thirty-seven patients had a history of concurrent drug or alcohol abuse and 24  had a concurrent psychiatric history.  None of these patients had a major adverse event.

    Conclusion:  About half of the patients in this study exhibited respiratory depression. Many of these patients went on to have a hypoxic event, and most of the incidences of hypoxia were preceded by respiratory depression. Few of these events were recognized by their treating physicians. [West J Emerg Med. 2014;15(4):430-437.]

      Cover page: Unrecognized Hypoxia and Respiratory Depression in Emergency Department Patients Sedated for Psychomotor Agitation: A Pilot StudyCreative Commons 'BY-NC' version 4.0 license
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC Davis Previously Published Works (2017)
      We discuss two ethical issues raised by Camino Verde, a 2011-2012 cluster-randomised controlled trial in Mexico and Nicaragua, that reduced dengue risk though community mobilisation. The issues arise from the approach adopted by the intervention, one called Socialisation of Evidence for Participatory Action. Community volunteer teams informed householders of evidence about dengue, its costs and the life-cycle of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, while showing them the mosquito larvae in their own water receptacles, without prescribing solutions. Each community responded in an informed manner but on its own terms. The approach involves partnerships with communities, presenting evidence in a way that brings conflicting views and interests to the surface and encourages communities themselves to deal with the resulting tensions.One such tension is that between individual and community rights. This tension can be resolved creatively in concrete day-to-day circumstances provided those seeking to persuade their neighbours to join in efforts to benefit community health do so in an atmosphere of dialogue and with respect for personal autonomy.A second tension arises between researchers' responsibilities for ethical conduct of research and community autonomy in the conduct of an intervention. An ethic of respect for individual and community autonomy must infuse community intervention research from its inception, because as researchers succeed in fostering community self-determination their direct influence in ethical matters diminishes.

      Trial registration

      ISRCTN 27581154.
        Cover page: When communities are really in control: ethical issues surrounding community mobilisation for dengue prevention in Mexico and Nicaragua
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Davis Previously Published Works (2017)
        We discuss two ethical issues raised by Camino Verde, a 2011-2012 cluster-randomised controlled trial in Mexico and Nicaragua, that reduced dengue risk though community mobilisation. The issues arise from the approach adopted by the intervention, one called Socialisation of Evidence for Participatory Action. Community volunteer teams informed householders of evidence about dengue, its costs and the life-cycle of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, while showing them the mosquito larvae in their own water receptacles, without prescribing solutions. Each community responded in an informed manner but on its own terms. The approach involves partnerships with communities, presenting evidence in a way that brings conflicting views and interests to the surface and encourages communities themselves to deal with the resulting tensions.One such tension is that between individual and community rights. This tension can be resolved creatively in concrete day-to-day circumstances provided those seeking to persuade their neighbours to join in efforts to benefit community health do so in an atmosphere of dialogue and with respect for personal autonomy.A second tension arises between researchers' responsibilities for ethical conduct of research and community autonomy in the conduct of an intervention. An ethic of respect for individual and community autonomy must infuse community intervention research from its inception, because as researchers succeed in fostering community self-determination their direct influence in ethical matters diminishes.

        Trial registration

        ISRCTN 27581154.
          Cover page: When communities are really in control: ethical issues surrounding community mobilisation for dengue prevention in Mexico and Nicaragua.
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2020)
          Dengue vector entomological indices are widely used to monitor vector density and disease control activities. But the value of these indices as predictors of dengue infection is not established. We used data from the impact assessment of a trial of community mobilization for dengue prevention (Camino Verde) to examine the associations between vector indices and evidence of dengue infection and their value for predicting dengue infection levels. In 150 clusters in Mexico and Nicaragua, two entomological surveys, three months apart, allowed calculation of the mean Container Index, Breteau index, Pupae per Household Index, and Pupae per Container Index across the two surveys. We measured recent dengue virus infection in children, indicated by a doubling of dengue antibodies in paired saliva samples over the three-month period. We examined the associations between each of the vector indices and evidence of dengue infection at household level and at cluster level, accounting for trial intervention status. To examine the predictive value for dengue infection, we constructed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves at household and cluster level, considering the four vector indices as continuous variables, and calculated the positive and negative likelihood ratios for different levels of the indices. None of the vector indices was associated with recent dengue infection at household level. The Breteau Index was associated with recent infection at cluster level (Odds ratio 1.36, 95% confidence interval 1.14-1.61). The ROC curve confirmed the weak predictive value for dengue infection of the Breteau Index at cluster level. Other indices showed no predictive value. Conventional vector indices were not useful in predicting dengue infection in Mexico and Nicaragua. The findings are compatible with the idea of sources of infection outside the household which were tackled by community action in the Camino Verde trial.
            Cover page: Utility of entomological indices for predicting transmission of dengue virus: secondary analysis of data from the Camino Verde trial in Mexico and Nicaragua
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2017)
            UNLABELLED: Camino Verde (the Green Way) is an evidence-based community mobilisation tool for prevention of dengue and other mosquito-borne viral diseases. Its effectiveness was demonstrated in a cluster-randomised controlled trial conducted in 2010-2013 in Nicaragua and Mexico. The common approach that brought functional consistency to the Camino Verde intervention in both Mexico and Nicaragua is Socialisation of Evidence for Participatory Action (SEPA). In this article, we explain the SEPA concept and its theoretical origins, giving examples of its previous application in different countries and contexts. We describe how the approach was used in the Camino Verde intervention, with details that show commonalities and differences in the application of the approach in Mexico and Nicaragua. We discuss issues of cost, replicability and sustainability, and comment on which components of the intervention were most important to its success. In complex interventions, multiple components act in synergy to produce change. Among key factors in the success of Camino Verde were the use of community volunteers called brigadistas, the house-to-house visits they conducted, the use of evidence derived from the communities themselves, and community ownership of the undertaking. Communities received the intervention by random assignment; dengue was not necessarily their greatest concern. The very nature of the dengue threat dictated many of the actions that needed to be taken at household and neighbourhood levels to control it. But within these parameters, communities exercised a large degree of control over the intervention and displayed considerable ingenuity in the process. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN27581154 .
              Cover page: Mobilising communities for Aedes aegypti control: the SEPA approach.
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2017)
              BACKGROUND: The Mexican arm of the Camino Verde trial of community mobilisation for dengue prevention covered three coastal regions of Guerrero state: Acapulco, Costa Grande and Costa Chica. A baseline cross-sectional survey provided data for community mobilisation and for adapting the intervention design to concrete conditions in the intervention areas. METHODS: Trained field teams constructed community profiles in randomly selected clusters, based on observation and key informant interviews. In each household they carried out an entomological inspection of water containers, collected information on socio-demographic variables and cases of dengue illness among household members in the last year, and gathered paired saliva samples from children aged 3-9 years, which were subjected to ELISA testing to detect recent dengue infection. We examined associations with dengue illness and recent dengue infection in bivariate and then multivariate analysis. RESULTS: In 70/90 clusters, key informants were unable to identify any organized community groups. Some 1.9% (1029/55,723) of the household population reported dengue illness in the past year, with a higher rate in Acapulco region. Among children 3-9 years old, 6.1% (392/6382) had serological evidence of recent dengue infection. In all three regions, household use of anti-mosquito products, household heads working, and households having less than 5 members were associated with self-reported dengue illness. In Acapulco region, people aged less than 25 years, those with a more educated household head and those from urban sites were also more likely to report dengue illness, while in Costa Chica and Costa Grande, females were more likely to report dengue illness. Among children aged 3-9 years, those aged 3-4 years and those living in Acapulco were more likely to have evidence of recent dengue infection. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence from the baseline survey provided important support for the design and implementation of the trial intervention. The weakness of community leadership and the relatively low rates of self-reported dengue illness were challenges that the Mexican intervention team had to overcome. The higher dengue illness occurrence among women in Costa Grande and Costa Chica may help explain why women participated more than men in activities during the Camino Verde trial.
                Cover page: Dengue occurrence relations and serology: cross-sectional analysis of results from the Guerrero State, Mexico, baseline for a cluster-randomised controlled trial of community mobilisation for dengue prevention.
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