The present study explores the topic of Multiracial Identity Development and how parents play an important role in the identity development of children. The role of parents becomes crucial for parents of Multiracial children as they transmit cultural values, beliefs, language, and practices. Although models of racial identity development exist,...
Scientists have long recognized that bees and other insects respond to floral color, including ultraviolet (UV) floral patterns that are invisible to the human eye. While previous research has focused on isolating and capturing these UV markings in laboratory settings, methods that could be used in natural settings needed to...
Objective: In 2018, suicide was the leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of 10-24 in Oregon (OHA, 2019) and was the second leading cause of death for this age range in 2020 (OHA, 2021). In 2019, 12% of Black high school students reported a suicide attempt in...
Objective: Alcohol and cannabis use and co-use among college students is prevalent in the United States (Bravo et al., 2021). These substances have been linked to poor collegiate academic performance in past research. The present study examines varying levels of single-substance alcohol use and alcohol and cannabis co-use in their...
Giardia and Cryptosporidium protozoans are resilient, zoonotic waterborne pathogens that can bypass water treatment and kill millions of people and animals annually. Giardia and Cryptosporidium cysts and oocysts, respectively, can spread through feces; poor sanitation and poverty can increase the risk for giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis diarrheal diseases. We are currently...
Estradiol (E2) plays a role in positive and negative feedback mechanisms of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis in female mammals. These mechanisms are regulated by two different populations of kisspeptin (KP)-producing neurons: anteroventral periventricular (AVPV) neurons, which are stimulated by E2, and arcuate (arc) neurons, which are inhibited by E2. AVPV...
There are over two million pet rabbits in the United States. Many rabbits are obtained as adults from pet stores and humane societies. Pet rabbit owners may elect to perform ovariohysterectomy (spay) surgeries on female rabbits to prevent unwanted pregnancies as well as to eliminate the possibility of reproductive disorders...
This report provides an overview of selected findings from the 2019 NSSE survey completed at OSU. It focuses on two particular subsets of the survey results: Engagement Indicators and High-Impact Practices. The report outlines the insights drawn from the survey to look at the undergraduate student experience at OSU.
STEM education is delivered to K12 audiences by Pre-college Programs across the nation, many of which serve underrepresented and underserved students as part of their core missions. While there is robust attention to STEM curriculum development and college connection events in such programs, few have social-cultural aspects of learning as...
STEM education is delivered to K12 audiences by Pre-college Programs across the nation, many of which serve underrepresented and underserved students as part of their core missions. While there is robust attention to STEM curriculum development and college connection events in such programs, few have social-cultural aspects of learning as...
The safety of the chemical glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide RoundUpTM, has been questioned on numerous occasions. Previous studies suggest that glyphosate-containing herbicides have deleterious effects on a variety of organisms; other studies suggest that these effects may be minor, transient, or non-existent altogether. Proper maintenance of microbial...
We are constantly updating our research in the growing field of Environmental Health, yet we do not always translate this information in a way which is understood by the general public. This has resulted in tools which gauge the public’s understanding of health information, such as the eHEALS tool. This...
Nutrients play a large role in sustaining the symbiotic relationship between the algae and host sea anemone. The endosymbiotic algae provides the host with fixed nitrogen, sugars, and inorganic food sources, while the host provides the algae with shelter and nitrogenous waste. If the anemone does not receive the proper...
We live in a world today where it doesn’t come as a surprise to hear about another girl being roofied at a college party, nor is it shocking to find out about how your friend was sexually harassed by an older man at work. Women are taught how to avoid...
The rocky shores of the US West Coast are home to diverse ecological communities made up of species that are uniquely adapted for survival at the harsh boundary between land and sea. Even so, physical or environmental stressors regularly kill swaths of animals on the rocks. This is called disturbance....
My work in the Harper Nanotoxicology Lab focuses on science communication. The Harper Lab conducts research to address data gaps regarding the toxicity of micro and nanoplastic in the environment, specifically in aquatic habitats. It is important for the public to understand what the lab does, and how they can...
Native bees are critically important organisms that support biodiversity and crop production via their pollination services. Wildfires in temperate conifer forests can increase bee abundance and flowering plant density due to increased light exposure, but little information is available regarding how wildfire severity influences provisioning to bee offspring, which is...
Widespread mercury contamination threatens aquatic ecosystem functions due to its capacity to bioaccumulate, biomagnify, and induce toxicity in food webs. Methylmercury (MeHg), the organic form of mercury, bioaccumulates more efficiently and tends to be more toxic than the inorganic form. One important impact of mercury exposure is inhibition of effective...
The symbiotic relationship between cnidarians and algae is important to the marine ecosystem due to the photosynthesis produced by the algae and the coral reefs that cnidarians provide. Corals provide their algal partner with a safe home and the algae supply the cnidarians with inorganic materials as a food source....
Feline upper respiratory tract disease (FURTD) is a complex syndrome that affects domestic cats, with clinical signs including general malaise, ocular and nasal discharge, and oral pathology. Our study compared the presence or absence of five common FURTD pathogens and routine blood parameters between 18 participating cats. Owners tended to...
A research project looking into the feasibility and impact of adding a mentorship program to improve the academic and professional success of international students in the Oregon State University College of Business.
Students who engage in undergraduate research benefit from a wide rage of personal and professional gains, including an increased ability to think analytically (Ishiyama, 2002), defining/refining research, and career interests, and enhanced confidence (Ishiyama, 2002). Promoting undergraduate participation in research also benefits faculty members (i.e. by enhancing research productivity; Hall...
My project was to determine the possibility of using the current existing road design free software to model and design a mountain bike trail. Thus, I collected the traverse data a given section trail with my Mentor. I entered all the data points into a program of RoadEng where it...
Accurately modeling the chemistry of conventional and alternative liquid transportation fuels in combustion technology is vital to predicting important quantities such as the burning rate, heat release, and pollutant emissions. However, incorporating detailed chemical kinetic models into reactive-flow simulations poses a significant challenge due to the associated high computational expense...
Literature-based review on designing an experimental project regarding placement and orientation of artificial nest boxes related to successful nest box adoption and chick survival in Barn owls within the Willamette Valley.
A literature review for a research project being done in partnership with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, which will look at non-breeding California sea lion males in the Columbia River Basin that have been preying on migratory salmon. This will be...
If we are conscious beings, what ethical implications might that have? Are there inherent ethical responsibilities in consciousness? If so, what are they? Here we explore the possibility of experience within artificial general intelligence as it relates directly to the essential question of ethical responsibilities implied by human consciousness. By...
Skin condition assessment of wildlife can provide insight into individual and population health. Yet, logistics can limit skin condition assessment of large whales. We developed a standardized, quantitative protocol using photographs to assess skin condition of blue whales in New Zealand, and demonstrate the value gained by testing hypotheses, documenting...
Research poster for Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium 2019. Research was conducted with CURE funding in the Perez lab studying cellular senescence in the PS19 mouse model.
A 3-minute lightning talk was given by Victoria Keenan at the 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium on her role as a researcher for the Community Doula Project in Linn, Benton, and Lincoln counties. The presentation provided an insight into the emergent themes identified from the ongoing semi-structured, open-ended qualitative interviews...
As one of database types, CSV type database is widely used by many people because the type serves various useful purposes for business, engineering, and environment. However, the CSV type database could be complicated to understand because it is usually written on spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel format. Therefore, data visualization...
Phytochemicals from the genus, Fagonia, have been attracting increasing attention due to their potential beneficial effects on human health, particularly, anti-cancer properties. Certain Fagonia species contain various types of phytochemicals such as saponins, alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, terpenoids, and tannins. In this study, we investigated the phytochemical composition of a...
The current American free-roaming horse (Equus caballus) population far exceeds the appropriate population limit set by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to preserve resources on public lands. Several techniques have been tested to assist in decreasing repopulation rates. The purpose of the present study was to analyze two contraceptive...
Ubiquitous fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposures significantly impact global public health, yet little is known about the mechanisms causing these known adverse health effects. Oxidative stress due to PM2.5 associated chemical constituents, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is a proposed possible mechanism for PM2.5 mediated health effects. Variations in...
In order to reduce the cost of lignocellulosic ethanol production, a model was previously developed to predict the amount of fermentable sugar released based on parameters concerning both biomass and enzymes. To validate this model, enzymatic hydrolysis must be carried out using individual purified cellulase enzymes. Endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase I (EG I),...
There are clues that suggest human breast cancer cells use collagen fibers to migrate, and vinculin is a transmembrane protein associated with how cells attach to their environment. Therefore, immunostaining for the vinculin will shed some light in how human breast cancer cells are attaching to their environment. Immunostaining for...
Cascadia’s 1700 earthquake generated a tsunami and widespread subsidence along Pacific Northwest coastline. The tsunami deposited sandy sediments in many Oregon coastal estuaries, such as Alsea Bay. Although the recurrence of subduction-generated megathrust earthquakes and tsunami events in this region are recorded in the stratigraphy, knowledge of the full inland...
Since the 1960s, Vietnamese scholars have written autobiographical literature catered to the American public though they have not gotten as much recognition as soldier accounts and anti-war literature. These Vietnamese literatures shifted in scope and form with the succeeding waves of refugee resulted from the war in Việt Nam. As...
Coral reefs have become extremely vulnerable to rising ocean temperatures, with mass bleaching events increasing in frequency and severity. If bleaching events persist annually, models predict that more than 90% of reef species will face long-term degradation. However, recent evidence has shown that corals may be able to thermally acclimate...
This is the presentation for a larger comparative study on the trials of Henry Wirz and John Gee. The study compares the role of the Judge Advocate, media representation, as well as socioeconomic status in the outcome of two war crime trials.
The details of the 1700 Cascadia Subdction Zone earthquake and tsunami can be better constrained using data from tsunami sand sheets, provided knowledge of the waveform, estuary geometry and bed roughness controls on the deposition pattern of the sand sheet. In this study, we use the hydrodynamic and sediment transport...
Ferlins are a family of calcium-sensitive proteins involved in fusion and fission membrane trafficking events. There are six ferlin members: dysferlin, otoferlin, myoferlin, Fer1L4, Fer1L5, and Fer1L6. Previous research shows the first three ferlins play a pathophysiological role in humans, while the other three remain uncharacterized. Fer1L6 is one of...
Nanostars have many potential applications, particularly in biomedicine, such as drug delivery, detection assays, and even cancer treatment. Seeing how their plasmon changes in response to changes to the environment of the nanostars can give us an insight to the stability of the nanostars. Our current studies involve the effect...
In order to reduce the cost of lignocellulosic ethanol production, a model was previously developed to predict the amount of fermentable sugar released based on parameters concerning both biomass and enzymes. To validate this model, enzymatic hydrolysis must be carried out using individual purified cellulase enzymes. Endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase I (EG I),...
Symbioses are intimate interactions between two different organisms. In a pathogenic interaction, one organism benefits and the other is generally harmed; whereas in a mutualistic interaction, the members reciprocally benefit. Rhodococcus is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria that persist in a variety of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Although better known...