The effects of fire on above-ground forest systems have been extensively studied. However, research on fire effects on belowground processes is lacking. While the soil microbiome is understood to be vital to conifer growth and regeneration, the complexity of soils means that research on the topic has largely been accomplished...
The effects of priming complex schemas within the context of one’s social group are understudied, and it is unknown whether activating these schemas can have temporary impacts on how we identify within our social group. I investigated how a set of dynamic primes intended to activate complex schemas (i.e., academic...
In recent years, monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) populations have declined at an alarming rate resulting in an extensive conservation effort across the species’ migratory range. One hypothesis for declining populations is decreased reproductive success during spring migration. The eastern monarch population’s first annual generation occurs in the early spring when...
CisCis-Dichloroethylene (ciscis-DCE), 1,1,1-Trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA), and 1,4-Dioxane (1,4-D) are chlorinated solvents used as solvents and degreasers in industrial cleaning agents that have become common groundwater contaminants. To develop an effective treatment method for these compounds, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate (SA) hydrogel beads were co-entrappcapsulated with Rhodococcus rhodochrous Strain ATCC...
My thesis is an exploration of xánthiip (Karuk for black oak, Quercus kelloggii) restoration within the Karuk Tribe’s Ancestral Territory in present-day northwestern California. Black oak is a cultural keystone species for the Karuk and has been chosen as one of the species to guide Tribally led forest restoration work...
Small hydrocarbon particles such as soot and soot precursors pose a serious threat to human health and Earth's climate. Understanding the mechanisms by which soot particles form and grow is the first step to reducing the prevalence of these particles. Computational simulations are used to investigate combusting systems which are...
Global annual average temperatures are rising, creating extreme heat events or heatwaves that are increasing in frequency, length, and severity. The world will endure more of these events as climate change worsens and heat-related mortality and morbidity will increase due to warming conditions. At the center of heatwaves are urban...
Metabolic defects within the different tissues and cell types of the eye give rise to many human ocular diseases. Polymorphisms in the Cytochrome P450 (CYP) family have been associated with many ocular disorders, particularly Cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1). Mutations in CYP1B1 have been linked to ocular diseases such as Primary...
Cannabis sativa L. is emerging as an economically important crop, particularly for its high levels of cannabinoid production. One of these cannabinoids, cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), is the precursor to many well-researched cannabinoids such as the psychotropic delta-9-trans-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (Δ9-THCA i.e., THCA) and the medically relevant cannabidiolic acid (CBDA). CBGA has...
Creating schedules for the job shop manufacturing system is an extremely difficult task. Although researchers have devoted a lot of attention to generating optimal solutions, these solutions are static, thus they do not update as random events occur that disrupt the system. As smart manufacturing has grown, researchers have been...
The understanding of Discipline-Specific Language is an important competency for students of any field to begin mastering early in their studies, since it serves as a prerequisite for both the analysis of expert text and precise communication. Therefore, an introductory curriculum should pay careful attention to how it incorporates, defines,...
Research has shown that emotional connections during lab activities increase learning in chemistry and physics courses. However, little research has examined the effects of emotion in engineering courses, and these studies have recognized a dearth of research examining the ability of students to apply engineering concepts in real-world applications based...
Basin-scale superinertial oceanic tides have been observed globally to resonate with the continental shelf (e.g., the Patagonian Shelf) with a clear theoretical framework. However, the response of the shelf to atmospheric tides – another basin-scale forcing – has not been discussed. This study explores this response using a prominent S2...
Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to the high reliance on sea ice for safety, transport, and social behaviors. Additionally, the walrus diet consists of predominantly bivalves, whose populations are in decline as a result of ocean acidification. We first determined the...
High early strength concrete (HESC) allows for faster construction with less impact on traffic, thus reducing the indirect costs associated with a project. There are multiple methods for achieving early strength, such as alternative cements like calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) or chemically accelerated portland cements. The standard criteria for an HESC...
This study investigates the microstructure and mechanical properties of an austenitic Oxide Dispersion Strengthened (ODS) steel produced by the Laser Directed Energy Deposition (LDED) process using powder feedstock atomized with elemental yttrium. The Microstructure of the samples was characterized by electron microscopy, and mechanical properties were measured using a tensile...
Voltage fault injection is a technique to disrupt power supply, such that the data or instruction flow in a microcontroller can be modified. Recently, a new class of voltage glitches was introduced termed arbitrary wave voltage glitches. Despite its demonstrated success in practical studies it comes with additional challenges, such...
Tropical fruit aromas are prominent in wines like Sauvignon Blanc, one of the most abundant white wines in the United States. With high consumer interest for these aromas, it has become increasingly important to understand the factors that influence the desired tropical fruit aromas in white wines. Understanding the causes...
Molten salts have been targeted as a promising coolant for next generation reactors due to their high boiling point, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity. Despite these benefits, molten salt systems present unique materials compatibility issues, highlighted by the aggressive corrosion attack and dealloying typically seen on materials in these environments....
Successful pruning relies on accurately identifying the 3D structure of tree branches and leaders. However, this task is arduous in an agricultural setting due to the complexity of scenes, the presence of clutter, and variable weather conditions. This project addresses these challenges by leveraging advancements in 2D image segmentation and...
Cabbage maggot, Delia radicum (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) impacts the production of Brassicaceae crops worldwide. The larva feed on the roots of crops causing reductions in yields due to impaired root function and unmarketability of crops. Chemical and cultural management programs are commonly used to control cabbage maggot with varying rates of...
Just off the coast of the Pacific Northwest lies the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ); odds of a very large CSZ earthquake occurring in the next 50 years is estimated to be about 37%. A CSZ seismic event has the potential to cause wide scale damage not just to the power...
Non-native ecosystem engineers, which modify the structure and function of their ecosystems, are often a particularly concerning and costly group of invasive species. Such organisms may have substantial impacts on ecosystem services, or the benefits that humans derive from their ecosystems. Many factors play a role in the invasion success...
This thesis examines the origins and outcomes of Operation Paperclip, a program the U.S. government operated in the years immediately following WWII to recruit former Nazi doctors, scientists, and technicians, and capitalize on their research experience. As part of this operation, the U.S. welcomed two doctors who had conducted medical...
Compactness in deep learning can be critical to a model’s viability in low-resource applications, and a common approach to extreme model compression is quantization. We consider Iterative Product Quantization (iPQ) with Quant-Noise [Fan et al., 2020] to be state-of-the-art in this area, but this quantization framework suffers from preventable inference...
Our understanding of seasonally disconnected floodplains and how they function to support rearing salmonids in the Pacific Northwest is limited. Past studies have found that these dynamic habitats may provide high-risk, high-reward trade-offs for rearing fish. High prey densities and optimal temperatures allow for accelerated growth, but low water levels...
Emerging data showing the presence of atmospheric microplastics (MPs) has recently raised awareness surrounding the potential of human nanoplastics (NPs) exposure. Due to factors such as weathering, UV exposure, and other biodegradation processes, plastic pollution in the environment breaks down over time into micro (<5 micrometers) and nanoscale (<1000nm) particles....
Hemp is a dioecious, annual, flowering plant in the Cannabaceae family. It has been used for thousands of years to produce textiles, essential oils, and medicines. The overall purpose of these experiments was to propagate the cannabinoid-free cultivar, ‘I3’, and follow up by inducing polyploidy in the ‘I3’ hemp via...
This thesis describes calculations done to determine the radiation hazard of the current Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) scattering chamber at the Oregon State TRIGA Reactor (OSTR) and compare it to the amount that would be given off by a new thin-walled chamber design. These calculations were completed with...
Changes in the stable carbon isotope composition of carbonate rocks (𝛿13Ccarb) are used to establish the relative temporal framework for geological events, such as evolutionary extinction or radiation, between two or more locations. As every local stratigraphic record is intermittent, aligning 𝛿13Ccarb records from two or more locations, a process...
Various natural language processing (NLP) tasks necessitate deep models that are fast, efficient, and small based on their ultimate application at the edge or elsewhere. While significant investigation has furthered the efficiency and reduced the size of these models, reducing their downstream latency without significant trade-offs remains a difficult task....
Water and climate change are interconnected with each other. Water is a medium through which the climate change manifests its far-reaching consequences on society. Sustainable water management practices are fundamental in implementing effective climate change adaptation. Given an influential position as global water actors, international water organizations (IWOs) play a...
Bitterness is a common flavor attribute of aged cheese, but excessive levels are a flaw leading to consumer rejection. Bitterness in cheese has been primarily associated with milk casein-derived peptides of medium size (500–3,000 Da) and relative hydrophobicity. Herein, we demonstrate a novel approach for the identification of bitter peptides...
In biological models, advection is inherently a non-local process. Coupled with diffusion, it typically models chemotaxis, which is the response of bacteria to the presence of some chemo attractant. For example, E. coli cells use their flagella to probe their surroundings to determine where they should move. The advection-diffusion equation...
Suicide is a leading cause of death amongst adolescents, and transgender and gender diverse youth are at especially high risk for suicidal ideation and attempt compared with cisgender peers. Using established ideation-to-action models of suicide and the Minority Stress Model, this project used the 2019 results of the Oregon Healthy...
Vineyards in Oregon’s Willamette Valley are predominately planted to perennial grass cover in the alleyways of vineyards. This grass cover is grown to increase worker and equipment traction, as well as reduce erosion and manage vine vegetative vigor. However, with increasing frequencies of drought and warming temperatures, the use of...
Despite being internationally recognized as basic human rights, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) insecurity continues to exist throughout the United States, particularly among low-income and unhoused portions of the population. Previous investigations into the intersection of WASH and people experiencing homelessness (PEH) in the US have primarily taken place in...
Introduction: Potential public health impacts of recreational cannabis legalization (RCL) are a growing concern, particularly for young adults. Some evidence suggests that following RCL, cannabis use increased, whereas alcohol use decreased among young adults. Co-use patterns have not been found to change following RCL in this age group. However, RCLs...
Production of fresh produce takes place outdoors, and therefore, is exposed to many routes of contamination (e.g., soil, contaminated water, manure, etc.) by human pathogens. Although precautions are taken to reduce this risk, pathogens can be regularly introduced to produce handling facilities. To manage the risk of cross-contamination from potentially...
The thyroid is an organ at risk during a radiological release involving a nuclear power plant due to the radioactive iodine released into the atmosphere. Potassium iodide tablets are commonly used to protect the thyroid during radioactive iodine exposure. Seventeen states currently provide potassium iodide to the public before an...
In a scenario where multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) run by different operators are conducting their independent missions in an urban environment, it is important that the limited airspace is shared in a fair manner. Clarity and uniformity in communicating mission specifications to a central controller is also crucial. This...
Immune-mediated diseases are a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in canine patients. Treatments currently involve generalized suppression of the immune system, and corticosteroids are often used as a first-line agent. While often effective, corticosteroids are unlikely to induce remission without substantial side effects. Second-line immunosuppressive agents may be effective...
Little is known about the fall and winter ecology of hibernating bats in western North America. Filling knowledge gaps for these populations has become more urgent with the westward spread of the white-nose syndrome, a disease that infects bats during hibernation. Due to the thermal requirements of the fungal pathogen...
Currently, little work has been performed studying energy consumption in hop kilning. This thesis explores drying with an alternative drying schedule that extends the initially elevated drying temperature currently used by growers and examines its impact on drying time and energy use. Extending the time of the initially elevated drying...
Natural products (a.k.a. secondary metabolites) are produced by living organisms that are not essential for their growth, development, or reproduction, but may play a role in their survival or adaptability in nature. Many secondary metabolites isolated from plants and microbes have found use as molecular probes, drug leads, or medicine...
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a versatile crop with a wide range of pharmaceutical, commercial, and industrial uses. There is a lack of research and published studies on the ideal storage conditions and their effects on seed quality for hemp. Understanding ideal hemp seed storage conditions would reduce unnecessary seed...
Oregon’s foredunes are part of a dynamic coastal environment that constantly evolves in response to both ecological and physical forces. Invasive beachgrasses have outcompeted native dune grass in the region and have influenced the shape of Oregon’s foredunes via species-specific biophysical feedback mechanisms. As climate change induced sea-level rise will...
Materials with a strong spin Hall effect and Rashba-Edelstein effect have the potential to improve the efficiency of solid-state magnetic memory technologies and other magnetic logic devices. Heavy metals have been identified as having these properties, including the beta crystal phase of tungsten. In this work, we determine the strength...
A model of the Oregon State TRIGA reactor was developed in Serpent 2 by translating a previously accepted MCNP model. Both models were verified and validated via comparison of each model and data gathered from the core start-up. Reactivity bias in each code was determined. Using the rod drop method,...