The future of iron pnictide superconductors in technology is still undecided. While these materials are now known to possess high critical temperatures and critical magnetic fields processing methods for these materials are still in their infancy. Recently we have been investigating possible ways to speed up the synthetic process for...
This project is a series of handmade books, utilizing various binding methods and artistic mediums, exploring the subject of interpersonal relationships. The project’s purpose is twofold: first, to explore the utilitarian side of bookbinding as a craft, as well as the different mediums (including printmaking, drawing, painting, and stitching) that...
Information about social and economic attributes of fisheries, fishing communities, and fishery participants is important for marine resource management because the focuses of agency efforts are on managing society's impacts to the marine environment. This thesis addresses two questions. First, what are the perspectives of managers, scientists, and commercial and...
Athletic activities have always carried an inherent risk for injuries, and basketball is no
exception. Basketball is the second most popular team sport in the United States in
which 984,777 high school boys and girls participated during the 2010-2011 season.
Athletic trainers and strength and conditioning staff are pressured to...
Constant and reliable health monitoring can help doctors provide higher quality
health care to meet the growing needs of the medical industry. The advent of
cloud computing has enabled low-cost sensor devices that can process their data
in real-time without powerful onboard hardware. Using an Android smartphone,
medical data can...
The addition of a weather ballooning program at Western Oregon University creates research opportunities for the Science Department, allows for projects in professional development for in-service teachers, fosters a partnership with Oregon Space Grant, and creates another option for students participating in the Program for Undergraduate Research Experiences. As the...
Pollination is a critical ecosystem function for sustaining biodiversity. However, pollinators and the services they provide are threatened by landscape-altering anthropogenic activities across the globe. Habitat loss and fragmentation, introduction of invasive species, chemical use, and urbanization have been shown to impact pollination. Pollinator foraging behavior is thought to be...
Aging is a complex biological phenomenon that alters many different physiological processes. Although many age-related phenotypes, such as neurodegeneration, weakening circadian rhythms, and inflammaging, are well-studied, the links between them are not. To elucidate these links we created an inflammation-like state in Drosophila melanogaster by overexpressing Relish (Rel), an NFκB...
The purpose of this thesis was to determine if an underlying biological cause exists for the exuberant reproductive success in free-roaming unowned (FRU) cats. The hypothesis for this thesis was that FRU tom and queen cats have reproductively adapted to man-made sterilization efforts by lowering the age at which they...
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...
The Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (TFDD) is a multifaceted global database that began in 1996 and includes a collection of international freshwater treaties, a database of water conflict-cooperation events, and a spatial database. Delineations of transboundary international river basin boundaries are the focus of the spatial database of which population,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...