In 2020, Oregon suffered one of the worst wildfire seasons on record, with a higher percent of forest area burn, the destruction of residential areas, and the risk to human health. The level of intensity of these wildfires were due to the effects of climate change and Oregon wildfire seasons...
Vitamin D sufficiency supports cardiovascular health and lower cancer risk. Rates of vitamin D insufficiency vary by racial/ethnic group, in part because skin pigment limits sunlight penetration. However race/ethnicity is an unreliable marker of vitamin D deficiency, given individual differences in skin pigment, or phototype, and other characteristics. Clarifying associations...
BACKGROUND: The association of vitamin D with heart attack and stroke remains unclear.
METHOD: Using data from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (MrOS), we collected
dietary vitamin D data from 5,995 participants and serum (25)OH vitamin D from 1,606
participants. The association of vitamin D with prevalent heart attack...
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most colleges and universities around the world were forced to switch to remote learning. Many instructors were provided little guidance regarding how to restructure their courses for the remote classroom. The purpose of this study was to understand how the shift from in-person...
Forest harvest practices can impact nutrient concentrations and stream temperatures, altering aquatic ecosystems. To better inform future sustainable forest resource management practices, quantifying the impact of current practices on water quality, particularly in headwater streams is important. In this study, I quantified monthly nitrate-nitrite (N) and orthophosphate (P) concentrations, 7-day...
Un Paseo Encantado, an enchanted walk, is a collection of my observations and experiences in a study abroad program in Oviedo, Spain. My commentary on Spanish culture is based on reading I did prior my departure, in combination with my observations while in Spain. In six chapters, I explore the...
This study was conducted to determine if a time-integrated Phillips sampler was able to estimate sediment yield when compared to a reference produced by an automated sampler. Time-integrated samplers are easier to use, more cost effective, and can withstand storm events better than automated samplers, but are not designed to...
Coastal dunes provide many functions and services including coastal protection, recreation, and habitat. Vegetation contributes to dune growth and stability, thereby increasing the coastal protection value of dunes. On the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast, the dominant dune grasses are the introduced non-native American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) and the native American...
Background: 250,000+ individuals injure an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the United States annually. Individuals post-ACL surgical reconstruction (ACLR) are at elevated risk for ACL re-injury, potentially from kinematic and kinetic asymmetries. While studies have examined asymmetries at the hip and knee post-ACLR during landing, less is known about asymmetries...
In the face of increasing demand for and reduced supplies of water, methods to augment water supply and storage capacity are becoming increasingly important. In some areas, this has taken the form of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR), which involves injecting water into a well during a time of water...
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are grown using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). A modified radio frequency (RF) parallel-plate plasma etching system serves as the growth reactor. The effects of process parameters, including temperature, pressure, and C2H2:NH3 ratio, are studied. CNTs are grown on glass substrates with Al underlayers and Ni...
This study evaluated the memory and visual discrimination capabilities of Enteroctopus dofleini, the Giant Pacific Octopus. Octopuses have been known to have advance sensory capabilities and through this study we challenged our specimen to remember and actively choose a specific patterned jar based on a visual pattern and positive reinforcement....
Myxozoans are microscopic parasites, related to corals and jellyfish. Most Myxozoa probably have two-host lifecycles that require a vertebrate (typically fish) and invertebrate (annelid or bryozoan). However no life cycle is known from the Sphaerospora lineage.
I hypothesized that the life cycle of Sphaerospora elegans, a myxozoan parasite of three-spined...
Wildfires can affect soil physical properties, resulting in changes in infiltration, hillslope runoff, groundwater recharge, and sediment and dissolved nutrients to streams. In November 2016, the Chimney Tops 2 Fire burned 4,617 ha of Appalachian hardwood forest in eastern Tennessee. A portion of the fire burned through a National Ecological...
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...
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Appendix D – Matlab Server Interface
The goal of my thesis is to (a) help reveal to the Corvallis community who comprises this local population and (b) to share with local resource agencies what potential gaps are present from the perspectives of the homeless individuals who call Corvallis home. We interviewed eight (8) individuals who have...
Ceratonova shasta is a myxozoan fish parasite that impacts hatchery and wild populations of salmon and trout in the Pacific Northwest. Levels of the parasite in river water can be effectively monitored through direct filtration of parasite spores from water, extraction of total "environmental DNA" (eDNA), then quantitative polymerase chain...
In recent decades, the occurrence of large, high severity wildfires has increased substantially in many parts of the world, including the western United States. These fires have the potential to impact water quality, aquatic ecosystems, and downstream communities for many decades. As such, it is increasingly important to understand the...
Recently, there has been an expansion of large-scale studies looking at strain variation of Brettanomyces. These studies have found variation between strains in terms of utilization of maltose and production of volatile phenols. While there is research going into this subject, there is a gap in knowledge regarding the differences...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of wildfire on soil hydraulic properties of forested hillslopes. The study site was located within the Stouts Creek wildfire, which burned approximately 10,705 ha of forest in southwestern Oregon in summer 2015. Three soil hydraulic properties (soil moisture, unsaturated hydraulic...
This analysis seeks to (1) establish a typology of the post-medieval ceramics from the Malkin Tower site, (2) determine vessel forms and extrapolate site function, and (3) establish a tentative chronology for the site. Over four hundred post-medieval ceramic artifacts from the Malkin Tower site were analysed via descriptive and...
This study investigated learning in three engineering student clubs at a large public university. This included a small-sized chemical reaction car competition, a large-sized formula racing team, and an international humanitarian engineering club. Research methods included observations of work sessions (N=27) and semi-structured interviews (N=19). Using Cultural Historical Activity Theory...
The Interactive Virtual Laboratories (IVLs) are a series of two-dimensional simulations designed to help students conceptually learn difficult concepts in thermodynamics. Three studies were performed to help elucidate how the IVLs affect student learning. In the first study, eight students were observed while completing one of the IVLs. The students...
In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of English Language Learners (ELL) in the United States. According to the Education Commission of the States, ELLs have significantly lower achievement levels than their non-ELL peers. Further, numerous research studies report that teacher education programs lack ELL...
Thomas Stearns Eliot’s 1922 modernist poem The Waste Land presents itself as an alternative to the decaying society Eliot found himself inhabiting. It begins as a personal means of pulling together one’s fragmented consciousness, but in doing so Eliot manages to present a solution to a world of selfishness—looking beyond...
As genetically modified products come under greater production, tensions surrounding the potential benefits and harms of the technology have appeared in divergent policy between the European Union (EU) and certain member states. The purpose of this thesis is to consider whether some type of international law, also called an environmental...
An important by-product of the kraft pulping process, black liquor is currently used in most pulp mills to produce steam in a recovery boiler. Two important black liquor characteristics are viscosity and burning (firing) characteristics, which determine the operating efficiency of the recovery boiler. Kraft black liquor is a complicated...
A combined experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study of single-phase liquid nitrogen flow through a microscale pin-fin heat sink is presented. Such cryogenic heat sinks could find use in applications such as high performance computing, spacecraft thermal management, and hydrogen storage thermal management. A circular pin fin heat sink...
Falls in older adults are a significant issue in the United States. Many older adults are advised to participate in fall prevention exercise programs in an attempt to increase strength and stability, but it is unclear what role limb dominance and potential limb asymmetry has in exercise performance. The purpose...
The present study examined whether attention capture is driven by object saliency or contingent on top-down control setting using a go/no-go paradigm. Specifically, we investigated whether salient color singletons capture attention only when the target itself is also a singleton. We used a go/no-go task. Participants were told to search...
Water-soluble quantum dots obtained through ligand exchange are widely applicable for biological imaging and marking, LEDs, and photovoltaics. Lipoic acid (LA) was reduced to dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA) using 365-nm soft UV light in a process known as photoligation, and ligand exchange with dodecanethiol-capped CuInS₂-ZnS core-shell quantum dots occurred. The reaction...
This study used a factorial mesocosm design to quantify American bullfrog (Lithobates castebeianus) eDNA to assess the relationship between body size, density, and eDNA shedding rates.
Juniper (Juniperus spp.) encroachment into the sagebrush steppe ecoregion is one of the main causes of sagebrush degradation and can alter the understory vegetative community by outcompeting native shrubs and grasses, which reduces the available forage and cover for small mammals. Coyotes (Canis latrans) are generalist, omnivorous predators in the...
The objective of this study was to identify the varying effects of altering the rumen fluid: substrate ratio on the outcomes of in vitro rumen fermentation. In vitro fermentation is a useful tool for evaluating the energy value of feedstuffs and the effect of feed additives on Volatile Fatty Acid...
Demanding task environments (e.g., supervising a remotely piloted aircraft) require performing tasks quickly and accurately; however, periods of low and high operator workload can decrease task performance. Intelligent modulation of the system’s demands and interaction modality in response to changes in operator workload state may increase performance by avoiding undesirable...
The primary goal was to characterize the adsorption of a recombinant therapeutic protein
in the presence of selected surfactant species at the air-water interface. For this purpose,
dynamic interfacial tensiometry was used to determine the surface tension kinetics
exhibited by protein solutions containing either Tween 80 or the poly[ethylene oxide]-...
There is a considerable body of research on the effect of land use regulations on property values. However, less work has been done on the relationships surrounding tax revenue, small zoning changes, and the fiscal outlook of cities and counties. As a result, the purpose of this study is to...
Gold nanostars are a relative newcomer to the nanoparticle scene, and their unique properties make them very desirable for spectroscopic applications. These nanoparticles, with their sharp tips, create electric field enhancements that interact with light in an advantageous way. This Thesis outlines our in-depth study of gold nanostar synthesis, the...
An experimental setup has been partially developed to investigate the impact of an actively controlled trailing edge component upon the energy harvesting performance of an oscillating airfoil in a pitching and heaving regime. While previous and current efforts have and continue to
function to characterize the performance of such a...
A long running problem in mathematical biology is the prediction of extinction events, a specialized case of the larger global stability problem found in differential equations and dynamical systems theory. A central technical question is how to introduce the randomness observed in real ecological systems not accounted for in deterministic...
Ocean acidification has led to many issues regarding the decline of calcifying organisms, such as
coralline algae. Acidified sea water inhibits precipitation of CaCO3 that affects the structure and
growth of coralline algae. Therefore, non-calcifying algae may outcompete calcifying algae in the
intertidal systems with future acidic ocean condition. Variety...
Methane hydrates and biohydrogen are two disparate subjects that are of interest in the growing field of alternative energy research. However, before commercial use becomes a viable option, each has challenges that need to be overcome. Methane hydrates require large investments of time and capital to locate. In this thesis,...
Background: Breastfeeding has many benefits but many new mothers find difficulties when
trying to breastfeed. This is a program evaluation of Baby Connection a feeding program for the
first year. Baby Connection is a volunteer program in Lane County, Oregon. Methods: Records
were analyzed during the first 15 months of...
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a foreign country? You perhaps
will experience a roller coaster of emotions in what is termed “culture shock.” This
thesis will investigate the theory of culture shock and explore cultural dimensions that
affect it. These theories will be...
Every year, hundreds of low-income families on the Oregon Coast are forced to choose between putting food on the table and paying the bills. A local, non-profit agency on the Oregon Coast is working to alleviate the level of crisis that many families face, by offering a holistic approach to...
Understanding ecological interaction strengths is one of the main objectives of ecology. Recently, two methods for estimating interaction strengths of predator-prey interactions in nature have been proposed: a field observation approach proposed by Novak and Wootton (2008) and stable isotope analysis. The field observation method estimates feeding rates based on...
Recent studies have shown that novel continuous dropout methods can be viewed as a Bayesian interpretation of model parameters, though most such studies have shown results using normal distributions. As the posterior distributions over neural network nodes and parameters are intractable, given that they are a result of artificial construction...
A new thermal management method for hotspots on microprocessors is under development that employs confined pool boiling with vapor extraction at pre-determined nucleation sites. Extraction is accomplished by locating a vacuum chamber constructed out of a glass tube and a hydrophobic membrane directly above a nucleation site. In order to...
Presented here is an investigation and comparison of two entrapment methods of algae. Conventional calcium alginate bead entrapment is compared to a recently described modified bead entrapment method, utilizing poly(ethylene glycol) and calcium alginate, which results in void or capillary formation within the beads. It is shown that algal growth...
This study seeks to examine the participation and representation of stakeholders involved in the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force during their first year, culminating in the publishing of their Year One Report and Recommendations for actions with the goal of moving the Southern Resident killer whales toward recovery. This...
This thesis examines the dielectric properties of two systems based on the perovskite materials
barium titanate and strontium titanate. A solid solution was created starting with these base
materials and then adding varying amounts of bismuth-zinc titanate and sodium niobate. These
compositions were calcined and sintered at temperatures determined to...
Previous research on WWII veterans in their 70’s and 80’s has shown that positive and negative appraisals of military service mediate between combat exposure and PTSD symptoms in late life. This thesis extends this research in two ways, first by determining how these variables relate to functional health in later...
Sex education plays a critical role in the development of youth sexual health and wellbeing. An ideal program is taught with honesty in an inclusive and respectful environment where students learn strategies to lower their risk of unwanted sexual outcomes, communication skills to build and navigate relationships, and necessary knowledge...
When the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, eligibility for Medicaid was expanded to include people whose income was less than 138% of the federal poverty level. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that states could choose whether to expand their Medicaid programs or not. The objective of this...
Pollen, the male product of the flower, is a crucial component in plant reproduction, as it transmits the sperm cells to the female structures, enabling fertilization and subsequent seed production. A major transition of the pollen life cycle, triggered upon pollination of female floral tissue, is from a dormant pollen...
This study focuses specifically on the investigation of a new, inexpensive geophone system and its application to monitor wave activity. Studies of seismic observations of coastal cliffs suggest that ground motions generated from local ocean waves may provide a surrogate to limited wave buoy data to quantify the wave contact...
Anime and manga’s general lack of brown and black characters may not seem unusual at first considering that the medium is produced in Japan by Japanese creators for Japanese audiences, and thus chiefly features Japanese characters. However, its significant proportion of white characters necessitates a more critical investigation of racial...
Dry-hopping has grown from a novel to widespread technique in commercial craft beer production. It yields large returns in aroma that cannot be emulated with kettle hopping. However, it also leads to beer refermentation post-dry-hopping, a phenomenon colloquially referred to by U.S brewers as “hop creep.” This is a result...
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Christopher D. Curtin, Committee Member, representing the Department of Food Science
and
Rapid changes in global climate have put many species at risk, particularly niche
specialists. The Chisel-toothed kangaroo rat, Dipodomys microps, is thought to specialize on the desert shrub Atriplex confertifolia. Because of this close relationship, D. microps was presumed to have tracked the shrub as its distribution shifted south during...
Pseudocapillaria tomentosa is a nematode that parasitizes Danio rerio, causing major disease that affects the economic commodities of fish industries and destroys experimental results at research facilities. There is a critical need for a rapid and sensitive diagnostic assay to test for P. tomentosa in D. rerio populations. PCR primers...
Knowledge of Drosophila suzukii's preference for an attractive trap design and bait can be used to improve detection and management of this new invasive fruit pest. Desired trap and bait attributes include: high D. suzukii capture and species specificity; early-season detection prior to significant crop damage; higher capture of females...
Drosophila suzukii was a known pest of berries, grapes, and stone fruits in East Asia for almost a century. Yet in recent years it has successfully migrated throughout the United States, Mexico, and Europe due to globalized fruit trade. The invasive success of D. suzukii is causing unrest for fruit...
Background: Chronic heavy alcohol consumption is a risk factor for bone fracture.
Using a non-human primate model of voluntary alcohol self-administration, we have recently shown that alcohol consumption suppresses intracortical bone remodeling. The current study extends this investigation to asses the effect of alcohol consumption on cancellous bone mass, architecture,...
Grasslands and croplands located in temperate agro-ecologies are ranked to be the best places to install solar panels for maximum energy production. Therefore, agrivoltaic systems (agricultural production under solar panels) are designed to mutually benefit solar energy and agricultural production in the same location for dual-use of land. However, both...
We construct the contact value approximation (CVA) for the pair distribution function,
g(²)(r₁, r₂), for an inhomogeneous hard sphere fluid. The CVA is an average of two radial
distribution functions, which each take as input the distance between the particles, |r₂ −r₁|,
and the average value of the radial distribution...
One of the first cognitive dysfunctions to arise with aging is memory loss, affecting an estimated 85% of elderly in the U.S. over the age of 80 with Age Associated Memory Impairment. A common feature in humans and animals experiencing memory loss with aging is the decline in N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)...
Abstract
Haptoglobin is an acute phase protein that is elevated in response to tissue damage and infections in dairy cows. The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether serum haptoglobin concentrations in the first week after calving can indicate disease status and severity, and whether haptoglobin concentrations are elevated...
This paper is a literature review and analysis of the housing policy known as Housing First. Under said policy, homeless individuals are housed prior to requisite addiction and mental health services. The literature encompasses multiple randomized controlled trials, as well as broader observational studies on Permanent Supportive Housing. The studies...
This research aims to identify ways to motivate Fraternity members to contribute towards the
progress of a Fraternity. Motivation theories were explored to guide the process, which led to the question: can the implementation of an effectively crafted vision and mission statement generate positive change within a Fraternity? Several steps...
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...
Trichloroethene (TCE) is a common groundwater contaminant. Bioremediation, or the enhancement of natural microbial processes for the transformation of toxic compounds in soil and groundwater, is an effective solution to this widespread problem. The organisms that transform TCE in the subsurface are sensitive to environmental conditions, especially to the presence...
Temperature data from above and below the Cougar Dam collected by the U.S. Geological Survey prior to the construction of the temperature control structure was analyzed to determine how the di®ering temperature regimes a®ect the growth and survival of threatened spring- run Chinook salmon. An ARIMA time-series model was used...
The canine estrous cycle is unique compared to other domestic animal species. During estrus, serum progesterone concentrations ([P4]) rise two days prior to ovulation. In fact, the luteinization of pre-ovulatory follicles resulting in this initial increase in [P4] (1.5-2.5 ng/ml) cannot be temporally dissociated from the onset of the surge...
Inclusive design is important in today's software industry, but there is little research about how to teach it. In collaboration with 9 teacher-researchers across 8 U.S. universities and more than 400 computer and information science students, we embarked upon an Action Research investigation to gather insights into the pedagogical content...
Prior to World War One, plastic surgery, as in its present form, was yet unfounded and not recognized as a genuine medical specialty. The carnage of the war prompted Britain to establish a specialized treatment center for plastic surgery, first at Aldershot and then at Sidcup, under the leadership of...
Today, with countless study abroad programs available, students have the opportunity to travel and study all over the world. Those who are lucky enough to study abroad are able to embark on an international journey that will change their life forever. This thesis expands on what happens after returning home...
The objective of this research was to determine if acupuncture can reduce bovine mammary inflammation. Lactating cows at the Oregon State University Dairy Research Center were selected based on Dairy Herd Improvement Association reports indicating a SCC >500,000 cells/mL. A California Mastitis Test (CMT) score of greater than one was...
This study aimed to determine the efficacy of baking to reduce bacterial populations (an unknown contaminant or Salmonella) in cookie dough. Baking conditions (time and temperature parameters) were selected based on conditions commonly used in industry. The first study (Chapter 2), “Baking as Validation for Control of Coliform Counts in...
This thesis describes an automated method to estimate tree trunk width in a commer-cial apple orchard. Trunk cross sectional area, which is an important consideration with regards to nutrient uptake, is a feature being integrated in a decision support system for precision Nitrogen management. The data used to generate the...
Plastic pollution is an ever-increasing environmental threat. As large-scale plastics break down to form nanoscale plastics, it is essential to investigate their effects on freshwater ecosystems. With many plastic nanoparticle (NP) studies favoring the effects of common polystyrene (PS) plastics, a gap is formed for other common plastic types like...
Looking to the natural world for insight into medical innovations is currently understudied and possibly underappreciated in the field of medicine. Natural environmental adaptations seen in wild animals can provide both inspiration and scientific realization for the future of human medicine. As humanity faces a global organ shortage crisis, research...
Adverse effects of anti-epileptic (AED) medications on bone density have been reported since the 1960s. Phenytoin and carbamazepine, two commonly prescribed AED, are frequently associated with osteomalacia including fractures and reduced bone formation. The mechanism by which AED induces bone loss is not fully explained. We sought to determine the...
The United States is a global leader in agricultural productivity. Much of its productivity growth can be attributed to public investments in agricultural research and development, starting in the 19th century and continuing until today. Past studies have shown high returns to agricultural research investments, but publicly funded agricultural research...
With Alzheimer’s disease being the most prominent form of dementia, finding potential treatments for the disease is imperative. This study explored the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen as a potential treatment to normalize the hyperactive N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) within the 5xFAD mice early in the disease pathology before cognitive decline. Female...
Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) technology is a rapidly developing technological marketspace. This thesis focuses on micro, tethered, coaxial UASs and the development of an electrically-tethered observation platform (ETOP). The thesis details the current status of the technology as well as current products on the market. Stability considerations, critical when adding...
Midwives in the Unites States frequently prescribe herbs and other complementary and alternative therapies for the common complaints of pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period. Although many studies have reported quantitative data on midwives utilization of herbs, this research aims to convey ethnographic information on midwives use, beliefs, and perceptions...
With the rise of resistant bacterial pathogens, currently prescribed antibiotics are rendered useless. In recent years, marine natural products (MNPs) have emerged as novel sources for drug leads. The ocean is a complex environment where marine animals cohabitate with many, and sometimes harmful microorganisms and viruses, but resist infections. Developed...
This research paper describes the impacts of a new programming class on first-year, non-CS engineering students. In the spring of 2021, the College of Engineering at Oregon State University piloted a new programming course that will be required of all engineering majors in the following academic years. We used the...
The purpose of this project was to isolate gabosines and other compounds through chemical screening of secondary metabolites of Streptomyces cellulosae subsp. griseorubiginoses strain S1096. Two different media were used to cultivate S. cellulosae. The first contained soybean and mannitol. The other contained oatmeal and trace element solution. After cultivation...
Solutions to Einstein's equations are usually found by considering ideal, simplified models. However, if the real world always matched ideal physics models, then farmers would milk black and white spheres. To combat this, Regge calculus was developed as a numerical approximation scheme for general relativity. In Regge calculus curved manifolds...
Scytalidium ganodermophthorum (Xylogone ganodermophthora) is known as a yellow-pigmenting spalting fungus. However, recent observations have indicated that the dichloromethane-extracted pigment produced by S. ganodermophthorum can vary in color from yellow to green to red to purple, depending on the age of the fungus at harvesting. The timeline and mechanisms behind...
Background: Certain knee movements place the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at risk of injury. These injuries commonly affect athletes especially at the end of events. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of exhaustive exercise on frontal plane hip and knee mechanics during two tasks in order...
Users curate music playlists based on emotion to focus or relax, so streaming services often create playlists of songs to aid this process. Prior research focuses on generating playlists of a single mood or genre, although a few studies work to construct automatic playlists that transition between the genres of...