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Operating from intersecting theories of validation, marginality, and mattering, this phenomenological study investigated undocumented student support services from the perspective of 49 Undocumented Student Resource Center (USRC) practitioners. In-depth interviews highlighted the ways that USRC practitioners served as validating agents, directly transmitting or negotiating the transmission of institutional resources and services for undocumented students. USRC practitioners engaged in complex multisector work; relatability, validation, and empowerment strategies; and holistic approaches toward student support. Their narratives evidence best practices in undocumented student support services and contribute to the generation of practice-related opportunities across higher education institutions. This study raises implications for higher education research and practice.

In 2020, Texas was overrepresented in food insecure households. One avenue many food insecure households take to subsidize their food intake is the use of food pantries. Previous literature has identified many efforts to incorporate nutritional information and foods at pantry sites. However, few have considered how religious affiliation can impact organizational structure and agents in regards to nutritional focus. The purpose of this paper is to investigate perceptions of nutritional information, behaviors, and policies of the volunteers at our research sites and the how pantry operations impact the deployment of that information to clients. Our research question asks how do the religious elements of our research sites impact nutritional policy and concerns of food pantries? Using analysis of field notes generated from participant observation at 5 of the religiously-affiliated food pantries in Brazos County, TX, and a verbal survey on organizational nutrition policy administered to food pantry volunteers, we find that religious cultures at these food pantries create barriers to nutrition complementary to hegemonic nutrition. Our findings suggest that interventions targeting the improvement of organizational nutrition policy at local food pantries must consider organizational culture more critically, particularly religious elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This critical community-engaged mixed methods study quantifies worker mistreatment on day labor corners in Bryan, Texas, and examines how day laborers resist labor exploitation. Day laborers seek work in open air spot markets. The work is precarious, with temporary and unregulated employment relations, weak enforcement, and poor working conditions. In this weak penalty and labor enforcement regime, labor violations are not surprising. Contrary to dominant theories, however, we argue that demand-side (industry) characteristics are more important for explaining the prevalence of labor violation than supply-side (worker characteristics). We use the Central Texas Day Labor Survey (2012–2021), 210 ethnosurveys consisting of 55% unauthorized workers, 24% authorized workers, and 20% Latinx, Black, and White citizens. We find that higher indices of labor violations and work abuse are not associated with lower-status workers; all workers, irrespective of legal status or citizenship, experienced abuse by employers. Demand-side characteristics were partially associated with higher levels of wage theft and mistreatment. In terms of wages, we found a gradation of wages with the lowest for unauthorized immigrants, then authorized immigrants, Latinx citizens, Black citizens, and lastly White citizens. Finally, workers collectively fight back against injustice by warning each other about unscrupulous employers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of the National Environmental Health Association 2016 Annual Educational Conference and Exhbition, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Healthy Homes Conference that was held in San Antonio, Texas on June 13-16, 2016. Topics include the significance of smoke-free environment in public places, management of the Zika virus, and the drinking water contamination incident in Flint, Michigan.

Examines the idea of binational cooperation in the management of the Big Bend region. History of the United States-Mexico border; History of the Big Bend State Park in western Texas; Creation of an international park with Mexico; Obstacle to binational park status.

Heart transplant remains the gold standard treatment for patients with advanced heart failure. However, the list of patients waiting for a heart transplant continues to increase. We have developed a portable hypothermic oxygenated machine perfusion device, the VP.S ENCORETM, to extend the allowable preservation time. After demonstrating successful preservation of cardiac grafts in preclinical animal models, the purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of the VP.S. ENCORETM using deceased donors derived hearts. Hearts from brain dead donors rejected for transplant (n = 6) were offered for research from the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance (TOSA), South and Central Texas' Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) and were preserved in the VP.S ENCORE™ for 4 (n =1) and 8 (n =3) hours or were kept in static cold storage (SCS) (n = 2). Hourly flow, pressure, temperature, and blood gas measurements were recorded. After preservation, the hearts were placed in an isolated heart Langendorff model for reperfusion and evaluated for cardiac function. Biopsy samples were taken before and at the end of each preservation method for histological and gene expression analyses. The mean donor age was 41.17 ± 14.96 with the youngest donor being 19 and the oldest donor being 58 years old. Most donors (80 %) were females. SCS hearts weight gain (%) was -2.925 ± 0.99, while perfused at 4 hours was 9.88, and at 8 hours was 7.23 ± 10.76. Venous and arterial lactate concentrations were less than 2.0 mmol/L across all perfused hearts. Left ventricular contractility (+dPdT, mmHg/s) for 8 hours (1409.47 ± 514.23) and 4 hours (1865.7) were within the range of healthy human heart function. Gene expression analysis of endothelial and inflammation markers (EDN1, IL-6, TNFα, CKM, IFNγ) showed no significant differences between SCS and perfused hearts. However, there was a significant up-regulation (p<0.01) of these genes in older donors when compared to younger donors. Our results show that preserving hearts rejected for transplantation using the VP.S ENCORE™ cardiac perfusion device enhances cardiac viability and demonstrates similar cardiac function to a healthy heart. Our findings imply that the VP.S ENCORE™ device may provide a new paradigm in organ preservation for both standard and extended criteria hearts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]