Ion therapy has long been investigated as a potential modality to improve cancer treatments beyond what is currently feasible with photon irradiations. Ions offer both a physical and biological advantage over photons. The physical advantages are well understood, ions deposit their maximum dose at defined penetration depths, allowing for minimal...
Transcriptomics and gene expression profiling enables the elucidation of the genetic response of an organism to various environmental cues. Transcriptomics enables the deciphering of differences between two closely related organisms to the same environment and in contrast, enables the elucidation of genetic responses of the same organism to different environmental...
If P is an integer polynomial denote the degree of P by ∂(P) and let H(P) be the maximum of the absolute value of the coefficients of P. Define Λ(P)=2[superscript ∂(P)]H(P) and for a fixed prime p let C[subscript p] denote the completion of the algebraic closure of the p-adic...
The primary goal of this dissertation is to improve the quality of nuclear data available to the nuclear science community. We propose to accomplish this by applying machine learning algorithms to the large number of available benchmark experiments and simulations, with the goal of determining which nuclear data have strong...
In eukaryotes, the defined loci on each chromosome, the centromeres, accomplish
the critical task of correct cell division. In some organisms, centromeres are
composed of a euchromatic central core region embedded in a stretch of
heterochromatin and the inheritance and maintenance of centromeres are controlled
by dynamic epigenetic phenomena. Although...
Mutation of repetitive DNA by repeat-induced point mutation (RIP) is a process that occurs in many filamentous fungi of the Ascomycota during the sexual cycle. Concurrently, direct DNA repeats are often deleted by homologous recombination at high frequency during the sexual cycle. Thus, the processes of RIP and deletion compete...
In this dissertation, we use Fourier-analytic methods to study questions of equidistribution on the compact abelian group Zp of p-adic integers. In particu- lar, we prove a LeVeque-type Fourier analytic upper bound on the discrepancy of sequences. We establish p-adic analogues of the classical Dirichlet and Fejér kernels on R/Z,...
Two perovskite materials (Bi0.5(A)0.5)(Sc0.5Nb0.5)O3, where A = K+ and Na+ were synthesized phase pure for the first time. Their structures were determined by indexing synchrotron X-ray diffraction data and subsequent combined Rietveld refinement on neutron and synchrotron X-ray diffraction data revealing significant disorder on the A-sites of these materials. A...
We spatially discretize the Sn transport equation using the high-order (HO) discontinuous finite element method (DFEM) on HO meshes. Previous work provided a proof-of-concept for this spatial discretization method in X-Y geometry. Included in the present work, we derive a spatial discretization for the Sn transport equation in both X-Y...
European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is an important crop Oregon's Willamette Valley, producing 99% of the hazelnuts grown in North America and brings over US $60 million dollars to the region annually. Hazelnuts are rich in fiber and vitamins, as well in demand by consumers due to their popularity as...
We present a novel multi-objective optimization methodology built upon a multi-agent blackboard framework. This multi-agent blackboard system (MABS) synthesizes blackboard architectures, multi-agent environments, and optimization theory. The blackboard architecture creates the framework for initializing, storing, and solving a multi-objective optimization problem. Multiple agents allow for an optimization problem to be...
In order to address the energy needs of developing countries and remote communities, Oregon State University has proposed the Multi-Application Small Light Water Reactor (MASLWR) design. In order to achieve five years of operation without refueling, use of 8% enriched fuel is necessary.
This dissertation is focused on core design...
Substantial scientific investment has been directed towards understanding factors that influence distribution patterns and animals' remarkable ability for precise orientation and navigation, yet fundamental gaps in our knowledge remain. In my dissertation, I applied emerging genetic technologies to conduct a top-down and bottom-up investigation of animal movement and cue perception....
Although surface water constitutes less than 1.5% of freshwater supply, historical development of surface water sources continues to mark the landscape. However, over- exploitation of groundwater is now at its highest, and 25% of the world’s 1.7 billion population live in water scare regions. As glaciers and snowpack disappear due...
How can end users efficiently influence the predictions that machine learning systems make on their behalf? Traditional systems rely on users to provide examples of how they want the learning system to behave, but this is not always practical for the user, nor efficient for the learning system. This dissertation...
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a critical component of the carbon cycle linking terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Although many factors influence DOM fluxes and quality in rivers, controls on DOM compositions in catchments of the western U.S. are poorly understood. UV and fluorescent spectroscopy is a simpler, faster, and less...
Within the past several years the technology of high-throughput sequencing has transformed the study of biology by offering unprecedented access to life's fundamental building block, DNA. With this transformation's potential a host of brand-new challenges have emerged, many of which lend themselves to being solved through computational methods. From de...
A bad software development process leads to wasted effort and inferior products. In order to improve a software process, it must be first understood. In this work I focus on understanding software processes.
The first process we seek to understand is Continuous Integration (CI). CI systems automate the compilation, building,...
We investigate several aspects of the numerical solution of the radiative transfer
equation in the context of coal combustion: the parallel efficiency of two commonly used
opacity models, the sensitivity of turbulent radiation interaction (TRI) effects
to the presence of coal particulate, and an improvement of the order of temporal...