This report highlights the development of an online science communication platform called “SQUID INK”. The project seeks to create: 1) A Creative Portfolio: the author assembles her own Creative Portfolio of creatively written conservation expressions 2) Supportive Community: establishes a supportive online forum in which other aspiring or professional writers and artists may creatively express their own conservation concerns and experiences within the field and 3) Broad Environmental Impacts: to allow open and creative discussion of conservation topics to filter across a broader audience than perhaps mere scientific or political journal articles may reach otherwise. Project includes short writing samples and tentative business plan for the development of SQUID INK.

This paper explores the emerging popularity of Native American inspired goods within the context of URBN retail stores. Using American Indian stereotypes and symbols these products speak to the western desire to mimic the perceived ideals of Indians, including spirituality and environmentalism thus allowing Americans to assuage technological anxieties with the consumption of a contrived naturalistic lifestyle. It is argued that the production of such “native” goods has further restricted the self-determination of American Indians and perpetuated intolerance by limiting the scope of modern Native American life to once again fit within the definition of a western world. This cycle is additionally harmful in the recreation of the good and bad Indian narrative, popular in the seventeenth century. The good Indian has become a passive naturalist, whose culture is available for consumption while the bad Indian remains the enemy, he continues to lie and cheat and is exemplified by portrayals of modern American Indian entrepreneurs. As an international retailer, URBN is indicative of a global trend in the western perception and treatment of modern native peoples. It is suggested that the global marketing of a trend detrimental to the agency of Native Americans has become an international issue for all indigenous people and stands to perpetuate prejudices around the world simultaneously hindering progress on issues surrounding indigenous rights.

Safe injection self-efficacy (SISE) is negatively associated with injection risk behaviors among people who inject drugs (PWID) but has not been examined in differing risk environments. We compared responses to a validated SISE scale between PWID in San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico, and examine correlates of SISE among PWID in Tijuana. PWID were recruited via street outreach for a longitudinal cohort study from October 2020 – September 2021. We compared SISE scale items by city. Due to low variability in SISE scores among San Diego residents, we restricted analysis of factors associated with SISE to Tijuana residents and identified correlates of SISE score levels (low, medium, high) using ordinal logistic regression. Of 474 participants, mostwere male (74%), Latinx (78%) and Tijuana residents (73%). Mean age was 44. MeanSISE scores among San Diego residents were high (3.46 of 4 maximum) relative toTijuana residents (mean: 1.93). Among Tijuana residents, White race and havingpreviously resided in San Diego were associated with higher SISE scores. HCV andHIV seropositivity, homelessness, fentanyl use, polysubstance co-injection, and greaterinjection frequency were associated with lower SISE scores. We found profoundinequalities between Tijuana and San Diego SISE, likely attributable to differential riskenvironments. Associations with fentanyl and polysubstance co-injection, injectionfrequency, and both HIV and HCV seropositivity suggest that SISE contribute to bloodborne infection transmission risks in Tijuana. SISE reflects an actionable intervention target to reduce injection risk behaviors, but structural interventions are required to change the risk environment.

Maladaptive stress-related behaviors are integral to multiple complex psychiatric disorders, and it has been well established that serotonergic signaling mediates various aspects of these maladaptive states. In these studies, we sought to uncover the function of a previously undefined serotonergic pathway, which projects from the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) to the ventral hippocampus (vHipp). Intersectional retrograde and chemogenetic viral manipulation strategies were employed to manipulate the function of the IPN-vHipp pathway during a variety of behavioral measures in male mice. We found a significant effect of circuit inhibition on behaviors associated with coping strategies and natural reward. Specifically, inhibition of the IPN-vHipp pathway dramatically increased active stress-induced escape behaviors, in addition to moderately affecting sucrose consumption and food self-administration. During inhibition of this pathway, agonist activation of serotonergic 5-HT_2A/2C receptors in the vHipp reversed the effects of IPN-vHipp circuit inhibition on active escape behaviors, thereby supporting the synaptic mechanism underlying the behavioral effects evidenced. IPN-vHipp inhibition did not induce differences in generalized locomotion, anxiety-associated behavior, and intravenous nicotine self-administration. Importantly, these findings are in opposition to the canonical understanding of serotonin in such escape behaviors, indicating that serotonin exerts opposing effects on behavior in a pathway-specific manner in the brain. Taken together, these findings thereby have important implications for our understanding of serotonergic signaling and associated therapeutic approaches for the treatment of disease symptomology.