Physicians and veterinarians arguably uphold the same ethical principles and responsibilities for their patients in general practice. Both professionals swear to, and practice their respective oaths of non-malfeasance (to do no harm) and beneficence (to alleviate patient from suffering and promote patient welfare). Despite these similar practices, different outcomes are...
Past healthcare reform has been blinded by the presence of competing philosophies and
ideologies that ultimately yielded ineffective compromises or short-terms solutions. With
the ever-shifting political and economic landscapes, the future of our nation’s healthcare
is in great peril. This paper is a meta-analysis on obstructions to healthcare reform that...
SMEs with high-mix and low-volume (HMLV) operations face special challenges when implementing lean manufacturing practices due to scarcity of resources and ever changing market conditions. This is especially critical for manufacturers that need to deliver orders to a high variety of customers with varying time response requirements. The objective of...
As a metafictional work of science fiction literature, A Novel Elysium explores the timelessness of
both the human mind and its literary surroundings, comparing the self-awareness of its characters to
the sometimes tragic or empowering metaphysical realizations of human beings. Within this
framework, any concrete place or time is unimportant;...
The Oregon chub (Oregonichthys crameri) is a small minnow (Family: Cyprinidae) endemic to Oregon’s Willamette Valley. In 1993, the Oregon chub was listed as endangered because of habitat loss and predation and competition by nonnative fishes. Conservation efforts by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and other agencies...
For the past 50 years, open-field burning has served as the main method to manage postharvest residue in grass seed fields within the Willamette Valley. Recently, farmers have implemented the full straw load and clean-nonthermal methods to remove straw after harvest. We hypothesized that these two alternative methods have caused...
HIV testing among high risk adolescents in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania is challenging due to poor access to test sites and AIDS-related social stigma. We adapted the OraQuick HIV Test, a self-implemented test (SIT), for low literacy youth with no internet access. To compensate for poor literacy, a picture instruction...
As pre-spawning mortality (PSM) in Chinook salmon in the Willamette River Valley becomes a more defined and examined area of study, more focus is granted to not only preserving the health of these fish, but also expanding knowledge concerning various pathogens that utilize the salmon as hosts and may be...
This undergraduate honors thesis was designed to investigate the relationship between students’ appearances and their college exam performance. The hypothesis was that if a student wears clothing that causes him or her to feel fashionable, professional, attractive, or otherwise well put together, then that student will earn higher marks on...
This creative nonfiction thesis is an attempt to create a conversation between personal and collective truths. All four of the essays share the subject of music: one focusing on a band’s strange performance, another on an artist and his album, another on a cover band’s live show, and the last...
This study is a preassessment of the ecological status of habitats and species potentially affected by wave energy device installation, focusing on five flatfish species. Butter sole (Isopsetta isolepis), English sole (Parophrys vetulus), Sand sole (Psettichthys melanostictus), Pacific sanddab (Citharichthys sordidus), and Speckled sanddab (Citharichthys stigmaeus) were collected bimonthly from...
Oregon high schools are required to provide comprehensive sex education to students, but there is anecdotal evidence that this is not consistently being carried out across all schools. Despite the significant amount of literature that exists on the topic of sex education, there is a gap in regards to what...
This study examines the relationships between player salaries and performance in the
National Basketball Association, by analyzing team salaries and statistics for the five seasons between 2008 and 2013. We find that the teams are able to achieve more wins by
outspending their competitors, even if that means incurring a...
Particleboard is a commodity composite panel made from the residual materials of other wood products manufacturing companies. The industry operates on low profit margins and thus produces high volumes of differing panel grades. Slight inefficiencies over the course of a year can mean a significant loss in profit. Previous calculations...
Glioblastoma is a malignant brain tumor that has extremely poor prognoses with a 5 year survival rate of less than 5%. The low survival rates of glioblastoma patients is attributed to glioblastoma cells being extremely resistant to radiotherapy and chemotherapy as well as being very invasive. We previously identified calpain...
Since the Altman Z-score was published in 1968, the Z-score has been a common way that investors predict bankruptcy and value risk. However, corporate structure has evolved since 1968 due to changes in economic factors and financial reporting standards. In 1976, the FASB created the first bright-line rules to distinguish...
The purpose of this project is to examine the effect of the slot gap spacing on a multi element rear
wing. A three element rear wing is used in order to produce maximum downforce at the relatively
low speed of Formula SAE competitions. These high lift configurations serve to increase...
Vibrio cholerae, a Gram-negative bacterium, is the etiological agent of cholera. V.
cholerae shuttles between the human host and the aquatic reservoir, where it associates
with marine organisms such as copepods and vertebrate fish. The bacteria use the Type II
Secretion System (T2SS) to release proteins that facilitate V. cholerae...
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Toxic
cyanobacterial
blooms
in
freshwater
sources
are
of
increasing
concern
due
to
the
production
of
toxins
that
pose
a
threat
to
human
health.
Both
toxic
and
non-toxic
strains
of
Microcystis
aeruginosa
cohabitate
with
one-another,
in
vivo.
However,
environmental
conditions
play
a
large
role
in
determining
the
dominance
of
toxic
or...
Dendrimers are well-defined, polymeric nanomaterials currently being investigated for their biomedical applications. Initially, higher generation (size) dendrimers were of interest because of their drug carrying capacity. However, increased generation was associated with increased toxicity. The objective of the present study was to investigate the role of surface charge and generation...
Transcriptome gene expression studies of sperm RNA have been utilized in a variety of different species to investigate causes of male infertility. Previous research investigators have optimized cell separation and RNA isolation techniques for each species of interest. To date, no study has been completed for dogs. The objective of...
The purpose of this study is to explore kernel machine learning methods for species distribution modeling. Previous studies have shown the success of Generalized Boosted Regression Models, however kernel methods have been unexplored for species distribution modeling. Using the eBird dataset, four machine learning methods were tested for accuracy and...
Natural circulation is actively being pursued as a cooling system for most new nuclear reactor designs and spent fuel pools. To have a better and comprehensive understanding of natural circulation, an experimental facility was constructed to conduct experiments in natural circulation. The facility, designated as the Laser-Imaged Natural Circulation (LINC)...
The 1920’s was a period of immense growth of consumer and celebrity culture, that brought changes in film, art and the creation and presentation of identity. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night reflects these changes, particularly with respect to how cultural shifts challenge prevailing views about individual autonomy and...
Every Spring and Summer, thousands of climbers attempt to summit Mt. Rainier. Many of them stop at Camp Muir, a base camp at 10,000 feet, where they can use restrooms, camp overnight, or refill water bottles before continuing their climb. Camp Muir currently uses a gas system to melt snow...
Formula Student challenges collegiate teams around the world to compete against one another in global racing competitions. Global Formula Racing (GFR) is a collaboration between Oregon State University and German at Duale Hochshule Baden- Wurttemberg Ravensburg students to build a racecar. The task assigned was to create a pedal assembly...
In recent years, simulated laboratory experiences have become more prevalent in educational curricula. These simulations, called virtual labs, can enable learning in ways that are not limited by physical constraints. The development of virtual labs is often ad hoc, resulting in unnecessary, repetitive work. The purpose of this thesis is...
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a pervasive focus of organizations and is regarded, alongside sustainability and financial profit, as a key element of a triple bottom-line approach. Corporations are realizing that CSR cannot be approached compartmentally but instead must be ubiquitous across departments and operations. Therefore, it is in...
An experimental framework for investigation of the effects of Micro Pin Fin Arrays (MPFA) on the fuel oxidation efficiency of catalytic combustion is presented in this thesis. Complete combustion of the fuel is essential for operation at maximum efficiency and high standards of environmental cleanliness desired in existing microscale combustion...
The ability to develop mobile applications for smartphones and tablets is an increasingly valuable skill in today’s labor market. This thesis details the development of the mobile application Drone Drop from beginning to finish. I first describe the background research conducted to learn about programming languages and other tools used...
Modern electronics have created increased demand for innovative cooling solutions. Typical forced convective cooling systems consist of pumps that circulate cooling fluid. However pumps can be unwieldy for many applications. This research is a continuation of work done at Oregon State University and Auburn University on the passive pumping of...
Mangroves provide numerous ecosystem services, including biodiversity values such as nesting sites for piscivorous waterbirds. High concentrations of pisicivoirous birds are hypothesized to affect ecosystem dynamics, yet few studies have examined their effects in mangroves. We examined the effects of nutrient enrichment by colonial waterbirds at a mangrove rookery in...
The Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) has provided a platform
for teams like Oregon State’s own Global Formula Racing Team (GFR) to produce a
formula style race car and compete with other schools across the world. The GFR team
has used the same carbon fiber monocoque chassis since the...
It is no doubt that the face of Ernesto "Che" Guevara is recognized
globally as it appears on currency, merchandise, at protest marches, and in art.
However, there is little agreement on what this handsome face represents or what
the Argentine revolutionary fought for. Some view Guevara as a humanitarian...
Transgenic biotechnology holds enormous potential as a tool to address global food insecurity. Transgenic food crops have been shown to increase food availability and food system security by incorporating disease, pesticide and drought resistance. Production costs of transgenic crops are lower due to the reduced need for costly pesticides and...
Purpose: Increasing enrollment numbers of multicultural students, and growing research between the relationship between student engagement and student success and retention heighten the importance of addressing student engagement in campus recreation. This study was conducted to explore the facilitators and barriers to underserved students participating in physical activity through campus...
Flame retardants are in many home products including couches, chairs, and electronics. The most commonly used flame retardants contained polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) until 2004, when the majority of these chemicals were phased out. PBDEs were found to be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic to both humans and the environment. Organophosphate...
Coastal dunes are dynamic and unique ecosystems. On the Pacific coast, dunes are generally dominated by the beach grasses, Ammophila breviligulata and Ammophila arenaria, two invasive species introduced in the early 1900’s to stabilize sand and create foredunes that serve to protect people who live behind them. Recently, a novel...
One source of di culty for students in Thermodynamics courses is their unfamiliarity with partial derivatives and the associated mathematical procedures. At Oregon State University, a mechanical analogue of thermodynamic systems, called the Partial Derivative Machine (PDM), has been designed. The PDM represents an attempt to make the mathematics of...
DNA segments in the fungus Fusarium graminearum were identified as possible genes encoding for chromodomain proteins (CDPs), and targeted for genetic manipulation. Targeted single-gene deletion strains, as wells as GFP-S tag fusion strains, were generated from wildtype F. graminearum protoplasts, and verified strains were screened for phenotypic differences, such as...
Circadian rhythms are the daily oscillations in multiple organism functions, from clock gene expression to behavior. Lost or irregular rhythms lead to health problems later in life including nervous system disorders, abnormal sleep/activity cycles, diabetes and obesity. However, it is not known whether strengthening the expression of clock genes throughout...
For each of the 5 needs in Maslow’s motivational hierarchy (physiological, safety–security, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization), measures of satisfaction were gathered from the German Socio-Economic Panel to assess their correlations with each other in order to test the validity of the structure of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. While other studies...
Affecting an estimated 1.7 million people annually, traumatic brain injury has been labeled a major public health threat. As the leading cause of death and disability in young people, and the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the issue is drawing increased media attention. Analyses begin by...
The preconditioning agent poly-ICLC has recently been shown to protect against cerebral injury in the mouse model, when administered systemically prior to ischemic insult. However, the mechanism by which poly-ICLC provides neuroprotection is currently unknown, but it has been shown to protect against ischemia-induced bloodbrain barrier (BBB) disruption. Inflammation contributes...
This study explored factors that affect acquisition and proper use of contraception among the college-age Latina population at Oregon State University. Interviews were conducted with eleven health care providers at OSU’s Student Health Services during the spring of 2014. Using content analysis we identified individual-level barriers including lack of knowledge...
Large equine facilities are comprised of many different departments (areas) that are necessary for the proper care and maintenance of horses. The placement of departments is often inefficient due to the slow growth of equine facilities. As a result, facility layout becomes a crucial aspect requiring explicit consideration because mandatory...
This thesis examines food insecurity in Oregon among food bank users over the course of The Great Recession. Analyzing data from the Oregon Food Bank, this thesis tells the story of the change that the recession brought upon low-income families. In examining the regional differences in food insecurity, the local...