In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began. This prompted quarantines, mask mandates, and stopped many businesses and services. This study asked the question of what people decided to do in terms of their recreation habits in response to the pandemic. We took a sample of Oregon State University...
North American bird populations have declined throughout the past half century. The majority of studies quantifying these declines have focused on spring and summer breeding birds; not the season of scarcity, winter. We re-surveyed 7 large study plots in Douglas fir forests initially surveyed in winter during the late 1960s...
The experiments explained in this Honors thesis are focused on finding a cellular model for analyzing Bcl11b, a transcription factor dysregulated in 20% of cases of T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL). Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer. Because T-ALL is a result of incorrect thymocyte development, research...
Simulation has provided much design inspiration for the field of robotics. While many astute ideas can be computationally formulated, there are some good structures in animals that people call “biologically-inspired”. Many robots are designed based on natural creatures such as crabs, spiders, etc. Before we can take full advantage of...
Wearable electronic devices are becoming increasingly widespread and are being used to fulfill a variety of needs. These devices range from purely infotainment type systems such as smartwatches and fitness oriented devices to specialized medical devices such as insulin pumps and heart-rate monitors. A challenge faced with all of these...
A long-term energy storage technology is necessary to utilize Oregon’s curtailed renewable energy, an issue the state faces, even with a low percentage of renewable energy in the energy mix. This report proposes a system design that details how hydrogen power-to-gas technology can be used in conjunction with the existing...
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been studied for their carcinogenic toxicity. PAHs are formed by incomplete carbon combustion. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is an IARC classified Class 1 Human carcinogenic PAH. New studies are conducted to gain a better understanding of PAHs and how to reduce exposure. Glutathione S-transferase M 1 (GSTM1...
Genetic code expansion (GCE) is a technology that allows us to incorporate noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) site-specifically into recombinant proteins using engineered translational machinery. Typically, an orthogonal aaRS/tRNA pair is engineered by directed evolution to recognize the ncAA and incorporate it at a reassigned codon while not interacting with the...
The purpose of this project was to optimize the biomass growth of Schizochytrium limacinum SR21. This was achieved by studying the effect of various concentrations of glucose, use of pure glycerol and purified crude glycerol as alternative carbon sources, and inhibition of cell growth with the presence of copper. The...
The purpose of this project was to optimize the biomass growth of Schizochytrium limacinum SR21. This was achieved by studying the effect of various concentrations of glucose, use of pure glycerol and purified crude glycerol as alternative carbon sources, and inhibition of cell growth with the presence of copper. The...