T cells are one of the key cells in the immune system. Although they are not the first line of defense against a pathogen, their functions can greatly enhance the phagocytosis and destruction of pathogens as well as the development of antibody responses. Furthermore, even when responding T cells have...
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and related compounds are well-recognized for their immunosuppressive activity, which is mediated through an intracellular receptor and transcription factor, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Laboratory animals exposed to TCDD are less resistant to infection and have severely impaired humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. This dissertation addressed the hypothesis that...
Although IL-4 is a well-characterized multi-functional cytokine, its role as a survival factor in T cells is not completely understood. In an attempt to uncover IL-4-mediated survival, we studied caspase activation in primary mouse T lymphocytes undergoing death by neglect, activation-induced or steroid-induced cell death. Here, we identify the executioner...
The immune toxicity of 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) has been studied for over 35 years, but only recently has the profound immune suppression associated with TCDD exposure been linked to induction of regulatory T cells (Tregs). The effects of TCDD are mediated through binding the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a ligand-activated transcription...
The search for the stand density that optimizes growth and hence generates the maximum amount of wood is one of the philosopher’s stone in modern forestry. Since scientific methods were applied to forestry, numerous generations of foresters have studied the relations between stocking density and growth, obtaining diverse results and...
My thesis explores the later work of author J.D. Salinger, including two narratives featured in Nine Stories, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," and "Teddy," and Franny and Zooey, "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters," and "Seymour: an Introduction." Through my analysis I argue that the religious nature of Salinger's fiction...
This study quantified the magnitude and timing of summer streamflow deficits in paired-watershed experiments in the Cascade Range of Oregon where mature and old-growth conifer forests were subjected to clearcutting, patch cutting, and overstory thinning treatments in the 1960s and 1970s. Hydrologic effects of clearcutting, small-patch cutting, and overstory thinning...
Maximal aerobic capacity (V̇O₂max) is the most widely used measure for assessing cardiorespiratory fitness. It is a strong contributor to performance in endurance sports, predicts functional capacity in older adults, and is related to overall disease risk. As such, it is important that testing methodologies for determining V̇O₂max provide valid...
Parasitic infections and immune challenges can affect host reproductive fitness and, ultimately, the evolution of host populations in a myriad of ways. The fitness implications of parasitic infections range from increased host mortality to subtle changes in reproductive investment. From alterations of behaviors, sexual signaling, and competitive ability to changes...
Strong tidal currents experienced at Keystone Harbor, WA, have caused navigational hazards and disrupted ferry service in the area. This thesis presents details of the design, construction and implementation of a large scale physical model of Keystone Harbor used to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed jetty design alternatives to improve...
The diffusion of divalent nickel (Ni²⁺) from wet silica gels was investigated.
Silica gel is gaining interest as an encapsulation matrix for biological components.
The transport of biologically relevant species within the gel is determined by the
structural characteristics of the gel, which are in turn governed by synthesis
parameters....
Small mountainous watersheds are disproportionate sources of land-derived particulate organic matter (POM) to long-term sinks like lake bottoms and the ocean. As such, these ecosystems are an essential component of the global carbon cycle. The burial of POM in lacustrine and marine sediments contributes to the drawdown of atmospheric CO2...
Thermochemical water splitting cycles have been conceptualized and researched for over half a century, yet to this day none are commercially viable. The heavily studied Sulfur-Iodine cycle has been stalled in the early development stage due to a difficult HI-H₂O separation step and material compatibility issues. In an effort to...
A simple Janus-type membrane-based wicking microfluidic device fabricated on a polycaprolactone-filled glass microfiber membrane enables separation and collection of blood plasma or serum from whole blood. This device bridges the wicking and cut-capillary-based solution transport mechanisms in a single membrane. The initial portion of the device is fabricated using selective...
This capstone project is presented for completion of Oregon State University’s (OSU) Master of Natural Resources Program. This project is an expansion of the author’s research completed as part of the Water Conflict Management and Transformation Certificate and as part of the overall Master of Natural Resources Program.
Located on...
With the increasing international focus on transboundary cooperation as a part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Framework, there is global recognition of transboundary water cooperation as a tool for improved governance and management of transboundary surface and groundwaters. Yet, there is not an agreed upon definition of transboundary water...
Molecular genetic and enzymological techniques have been employed to study antibiotic biosynthesis. In this thesis, we studied the formation and modification of the nonproteinogenic amino acid enduracididine (End), which exists in two important antibiotics, mannopeptimycins (MPPs) and enduracidin.
Sequence analysis of the MPP gene cluster revealed that the product of...
Sediment deposit ages inferred from radiocarbon dating of stream bank material were used to estimate residence times of valley-floor deposits in headwater valleys of the Oregon Coast Range, USA. Inherited ages of radiocarbon-dated material, i.e., time between carbon fixation in wood and its incorporation in a sediment deposit, can result...
:
_____________________________________________________________________
Stephen T. Lancaster
Sediment deposit ages inferred from radiocarbon dating of stream bank
Rainfall interception is a primary control over the moisture input to a forested ecosystem through the partitioning of precipitation into throughfall, stemflow, and an evaporated component (i.e. the interception loss). Rainfall interception is a spatially and temporally varying process at multiple scales, but heterogeneity in interception processes are poorly understood...
Compassion fatigue is a common struggle that helping professionals face; however, it is not yet well understood in early childhood teachers. Compassion fatigue results from caring for individuals who have had traumatic experiences, which can cause physical and emotional exhaustion, leading to a diminished ability to empathize with individuals in...
Analytical techniques are utilized in a wide variety of applications. Traditionally, analytical measurements are achieved by trained personnel in a laboratory setting using expensive scientific instruments, which limits their applicability in resource-limited areas and point-of-care applications. Therefore, the concept of enabling these laboratory-based qualitative and quantitative assays in microfluidic device...
Uveitis is a serious ophthalmological disorder characterized by intraocular infiltration of inflammatory cells. In most cases, uveitis is derived from the adaptive immune response. More specifically, CD4+ T lymphocytes play an important role in the pathogenesis of uveitis by recognizing uveitogenic antigen and orchestrating the immune response. While it is...
Luteinizing hormone (LH) is secreted in low-amplitude pulses in sexually intact dogs to stimulate synthesis of estrogen and testosterone in females and males, respectively. LH is mainly considered a reproductive hormone, but LH receptors (LHR) have been identified in non-reproductive tissues, including in canine lymphoma and isolated canine T-cell lymphoma...
Measuring resistivity as a method to calculate formation factor is becoming a popular way to evaluate transport properties of concrete. Resistivity measurements are dependent on multiple factors including the resistivity of the pore solution, leaching effects, the degree of saturation of the specimen, the age of the specimen (degree of...
Traditional robots have a long history in nuclear-related work because their integration decreases risk to humans in dangerous environments. Soft robotics is one promising new branch of traditional robotics with proposed applications in industry, medicine, and society. Collaborators from the Robotics mLab at Oregon State University (OSU) are currently working...
Nonthermal electrical plasmas can allow energy intensive reactions to occur without the use of high operating temperatures or pressures. This is because the collisions of electrons accelerated through an electric field with molecules is the cause of reactions as opposed to thermal collisions between molecules. In this study, the production...
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices are designed to enable individuals with limited communication abilities to communicate effectively with others. One of the most commonly used AAC devices converts a text input into a vocalized message for the user. These types of AAC devices can be difficult to use and...
Canopy gap formation is a major factor contributing to maintenance of overstory species diversity and stand structure in forests and may be integral to development of understory shrub and herb layers as well. Acknowledgement of gap formation as a fundamental feature of natural forests has led to consideration of gaps...
The geologic processes at work in American Samoa have long been a point of scientific debate. Of its numerous volcanic formations, few breach sea level, leaving an enormous proportion of their mass unavailable to traditional observation. This study aims to describe the deep sea geomorphology of American Samoa through compilation,...
Global energy needs are continuously increasing while fossil fuels remain an uncertain resource. With a growing population and demand for energy, alternative energy sources are being pursued to power the future. Fossil fuels are an unsustainable resource that brings along problems of climate change and atmospheric pollution. Concentrated solar power...
The lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) solid solution system is currently the workhorse of piezoelectric-based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) research. Among bulk materials it is known to be one of the strongest piezoelectrics, with extremely high piezoelectric coefficients and electro-mechanical coupling factors. Reproducing these exceptional qualities in thin film form, however, requires precise tuning...
Juniper is a native species to Oregon and confers ecological benefits to wildlife when it is at savannah and transitional densities. Its range and extent have fluctuated with climatic change, but the current range expansion is unprecedented in its extent. The range expansion has been associated with the degradation of...
Light-frame construction practices and materials have changed greatly
over the past 100 years. Contemporary research has focused on modern construction; thus, we know a great deal about the behavior of modern lightframe buildings under lateral forces. However, there are many light-frame buildings that were built prior to the introduction of...
The height of an algebraic number A is a measure of how arithmetically complicated A is. We say A is totally p-adic if the minimal polynomial of A splits completely over the field of p-adic numbers. In this paper, we investigate what can be said about the smallest nonzero height...
L-pipecolic acid (L-PA) is the higher homolog of proline. It occurs naturally in
many organisms, including primates, as an intermediate in lysine degradation. The
pathway by which lysine is converted into L-pipecolic acid employs the enzyme Lpipecolate
oxidase (L-PO), and appears to be tissue specific to the central nervous system...
Native populations of forest trees are specifically adapted to the climates they inhabit. The farther trees are moved from their local climates (i.e., as the climatic transfer distance increases), the more growth and survival tend to decrease. The transfer limit is the climatic transfer distance beyond which plantation performance is...
To derive ellipsoid heights on passive marks with cm-level accuracy, many current specifications require the collection and adjustment of long-duration, static Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sessions. To increase efficiency, a survey procedure that includes real-time kinematic vectors from a real-time GNSS network (RTN) was evaluated. Thirty different “hybrid” networks...
:
__________________________________________________________________
Daniel T. Gillins
To derive ellipsoid heights on passive marks with cm-level accuracy, many
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) prohibits the testing of nuclear weapons on the face of the earth. The detection of atmospheric radioxenon (131mXe, 133m/133Xe, and 135Xe) plays an important role in the identification of sub-surface clandestine nuclear weapon explosions. Since the radioxenon identified above decay via two radiation in coincidence,...
Lateral spread is a pervasive type of liquefaction-induced ground failure that occurs on gentle slopes or near free-faces, such as river channels. Resulting horizontal displacements can reach up to several meters, and can be considerably damaging to foundations, bridges, roadways, pipelines, etc. In the 1990s, Bartlett and Youd (1992a, 1995)...
The First Gulf War that took place in Kuwait in 1991 resulted in one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of mankind. Extreme pollution affected the soil, waters, and the air in Kuwait. In this research I try to look into how the Kuwaiti government reacted to those...
Alcohol is a widely consumed, nonessential, bioactive nutrient with end-organ effects on the skeleton. Moderate levels of alcohol consumption are generally associated with increased bone mineral density (BMD), whereas higher intake levels result in reduced bone formation, bone loss, and increased risk for osteoporotic fracture. Given the negative impact of...
The mechanisms governing short- and long-term belowground carbon dynamics need to be understood. As part of a larger project developed to assess the effect of quantity and quality of litter inputs on the rate of soil organic matter (SOM) formation, I examined SOM in the H. J. Andrews Detritus Input...
Bi-weekly sampling of zooplankton and environmental parameters was conducted along a cross-shelf transect off the coast of Newport, OR, USA (44.65°N) from 1996 to present. Results have demonstrated the feasibility of using copepod community structure as an early indicator of ecosystem response to seasonal and large scale environmental changes in...
There are over 130 million wood poles supporting electrical transmission and distribution lines in the U.S. The vast majority of these poles are preservative treated to prolong their useful life. In some cases, however, the depth of treatment is relatively shallow, leaving a deep zone of moderately durable, untreated heartwood....
The logarithmic-spiral (log-spiral) limit equilibrium procedure for slope stability analysis rigorously satisfies both force and moment equilibrium with a failure surface geometry formulated as a function of the soil’s angle of internal friction. Within the framework of limit equilibrium, this procedure has, in the past, been primarily limited to homogeneous...
Geotechnical engineers design and analyze the interface between the natural and built environments, often based on uncertain and inherently variable data due to the nature of the building material, soil. Engineers must estimate the subsurface conditions at a site using historical, in-situ, and laboratory testing data. However, only discrete representative...
The continued propagation of antibiotic resistance requires the development of new therapeutics. The lipopeptide antibiotic enduracidin has demonstrated high activity against Gram-positive pathogens including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. In addition to a lack of cross-resistance with existing antibiotic classes, enduracidin has no known transferrable resistance mechanism. The development of enduracidin as...
Small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) carrying consumer-grade nonmetric cameras are increasingly utilized to generate high-resolution 3D geospatial data. Low cost, ease of operation, widespread availability and low altitude maneuvering capabilities of UAS, as well as the rapid development of technology and methods, make UAS-based photogrammetry applicable to many civil engineering...
Intrinsic characteristics of Pacific sardines were determined. The lipid content
in sardines was initially low (6.79%) in the beginning ofthe season, increased to
22.95% in mid-August, and decreased slightly by the end of September. An inverse
correlation (R² = -0.90) was found between lipid and moisture content. Analysis
showed that...
West Nile Virus (WNV), a vector-borne disease continues to be a serious threat to public health in the United States, particularly in the Southwest region. While all the states in the U.S. experienced a decreasing trend of WNV disease in 2010, the state of Arizona experienced a sharp increase from...
Postcopulatory sexual selection—sperm competition and cryptic female choice—has become a major area of research over the past 40 years. Within this field there are many outstanding questions at every level of analysis, from proximate to ultimate. The fitness consequences for both sexes in the period after copulation and before fertilization...
Abstract Valleys of headwater channels in the Oregon Coast Range impound significant amounts of sediment, with the majority of deposits originating as debris flows. Headwater valleys function as transitional sedimentary reservoirs linking hillslope sources in active orogens to sinks in sedimentary basins, yet the residence time of deposits in the...
The fishing industry in the Pacific Northwest is a dynamic and highly competitive industry that must constantly respond to rapidly changing resource, regulatory and market forces. These forces have already had a significant impact on our fisheries and will continue to do so as we learn more about the biology...
Global surface water quality has been degrading with predictions of negative trends in meeting the Sustainable Development Goal ambient water quality targets (Mead, 2019; WWAP & UN Water, 2019). These water quality impacts can cross borders and impact populations in world’s 204 transboundary lake and reservoir basins (ILEC & UNEP,...
The pine butterfly (Neophasia menapia C. Felder & R. Felder) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) is a relatively host-specific defoliator of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws). From 2008 to 2012, the Malheur National Forest was subject to an outbreak of pine butterfly in ponderosa pine, peaking at ~100,000 ha of forest...
Many economically important Pacific salmon fisheries along the west coast of North America are mixed-stock, recreational systems, in which managers strive to account for interactions between fish, anglers, and management policy while balancing fishery access against conservation of vulnerable stocks. Specific challenges facing fisheries managers include limited control over angling...
BACKGROUND: The frequency of C-arm fluoroscopy procedures is increasing and it has become prudent to increase the awareness of patient radiation exposure to minimize patient risk. There is a strong potential for variability in patient exposure levels and a need for minimizing unnecessary exposure. The variability in C-arm fluoroscopy can...
Microtechnology was used to study the chemical reduction of dissolved carbon dioxide into useful products. A novel TiO₂ photocatalyst was used to activate the reaction under ultraviolet irradiation. CO₂ was dissolved in aqueous and 50% BMIM-BF₄ (ionic liquid) solutions. The introduction of an ionic liquid increased the solubility of CO₂...
Worldwide production of natural gas has surged in the last few decades leading to an economic windfall for many communities, but sometimes these new sources of natural gas are located in geographically isolated locations. These areas are so remote that it isn’t economically feasible to transport this stranded gas to...
Resilience-based management in rangelands implies maintaining desirable ecological states and avoiding thresholds to less desirable ones; however, the efficacy of resilience-based management depends upon several driving forces. These forces include management by those who depend upon rangelands for their livelihoods, the current state of ecological health of rangelands, and changing...
Nitrification is a critical step in the global nitrogen cycle involving the biological oxidation of ammonia (NH₃) to nitrite (NO₂⁻ ) and then to nitrate (NO₃⁻). The first step in nitrification is carried out by NH₃-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), and the second by NO₂⁻-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). In addition...
Real time networks (RTNs) have become popular for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) surveys because highly accurate positions can be derived in seconds to minutes compared to hours as required with static sessions. To evaluate the accuracy of these shorter-duration, RTN GNSS observations and their potential for use as a...
Earthquake engineering analyses are often performed using shallow, crustal earthquake motions (e.g., 1940 El Centro). However, large areas of the world are subject to subduction zone earthquake motions (e.g., the Pacific Northwest). A subduction zone earthquake motion is characterized by its long duration (e.g., strong shaking lasts for more than...
According to Wang and Repetti (2013), American adults are working more hours per week than in decades past. Additionally, more people in each family must work to support their families (Patten, 2015). This has led to an increase in stress levels due to the strain that is placed on balancing...
Due to the growing complexity, sophistication, and interconnectedness of present day engineered products and services, the use of ontologies in engineering design is becoming more widespread. An ontology provides a standardized way of describing concepts in a domain of interest and the relationships between these concepts to better understand the...
Understanding continental crust formation and modification is a fundamental and longstanding geologic problem. Influx of mantle-derived basaltic magma and partial melting of the crust are two ways to drive crustal differentiation. This process results in a low density upper crust and denser, more refractory lower crust, creating significant and vastly...
Working conditions in the international garment industry have long been a concern and a process to assess and certify fair trade practices was developed as a means by which to improve those conditions. Standards for fair trade apparel include safe working conditions, fair wages, compliance with laws, and reduced environmental...
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) encompasses a spectrum of lymphoid progenitors that have undergone malignant transformation and clonal proliferation at various stages of differentiation. Some cases of ALL have been documented to have prenatal origins and in particular neonatal exposure to various environmental pollutants is associated with increased disease risk, including...
“A Monument to Jim Crow’: Post-War Racial Liberalism and the Battle Over the Booker T. Washington Black Veterans Hospital” examines the proposed Congressional bill to build a segregated black veterans hospital as a memorial to Booker T. Washington in Franklin County, Virginia. This paper examines the developing ideology of racial...
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...
Previous observations of light levels and phytoplankton abundances along the Oregon coast demonstrated that phytoplankton attenuated light sufficiently to potentially limit the growth of intertidal macrophytes and therefore structure local intertidal communities. Inspired by this observation, in spring 2004, I initiated a study to quantify the direct and indirect benthic...
Falls in older adults are an important concern due to the potential injuries associated with falling. Decreases in muscle strength as a result of natural aging could impair the ability of older adults to prevent either a backward or forward fall. Two musculoskeletal models were used to predict the effect...
Angular correlations of gamma rays from excited states of ¹⁶⁶Er have been
measured following the β decays of ¹⁶⁶ Ho (Jπ =7-, t 1/2 =1200y, Q= 1854 ke V) and ¹⁶⁶Tm (Jπ = 2+, t 1/2, = 7.7h, Q=3040 keV).
Data was collected using the 8π
spectrometer, an array of...
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,...
Understanding the effects of climate variability on growth dynamics and timing of early life history events in marine fishes can provide insights into survival, recruitment and productivity. Field collections (2005, 2007, 2009-2011) were combined with otolith microstructural analysis to examine interannual variation in larval and juvenile growth rates, size at...
In many geotechnical design situations involving tight right-of-way constraints, Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) walls are often the most cost-effective and reliable earth retention technology among available alternatives. However, few well-documented case histories with detailed material testing, instrumentation programs and construction observation of performance are available in the literature. Despite the...
My dissertation concerns two separate issues. The first issue is examined in Essay One, and the second issue is examined in Essays Two and Three.
The first essay develops an economic model of the determination of the rental rate of leased farmland in the United States. Particular attention is placed...
In eastern boundary current upwelling ecosystems, mesoscale circulation features such as eddies and upwelling filaments play a prominent role in the transfer of water and the associated plankton from the productive nearshore to the oligotrophic deep sea. The relationship between mesoscale circulation, zooplankton distributions, and the across-shelf transport of coastal...
Grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV), the causal agent of red blotch disease (RBD) in grapevine, Vitis vinifera L., is an emerging pathogen of significance to the wine grape industry of Oregon, USA. To address knowledge gaps of GRBV epidemiology, spread of GRBV was evaluated in Oregon vineyards over four years....
The global demand for food is expected to double by 2050, presenting a need that is complicated by the many interrelated of pressures on the world’s natural resources from climate change, growing urban populations, and increasing development. As one of the fastest growing food production sectors, aquaculture is poised to...
The social aspects of older adults lives are strongly linked to well-being outcomes. Social relationships in older adulthood are rewarding, but also complex, and to maintain a positive social environment, older adults must reconcile long relationships histories, negotiate changing roles, and deal with increasing dependencies. Older adults are known to...
Despite years of research, females continue to have a higher incidence of non-contact ACL injuries. One of the major findings of this research is that males and females perform certain tasks, such as, cutting, landing, and single-leg squatting, differently. In particular, females tend to move the knee into a more...
The hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus) and the varied thrush (Ixoreus naevius) are focal species for conservation of forested habitats in Oregon. Although habitat associations have been defined for both species, their response to changes in vegetation following wildfire has not been well studied. To help fill this information gap, I...
The advances in the nuclear sciences over the past sixty years have yielded many beneficial technologies and applications, such as power generation, food irradiation, and medical diagnostic devices and techniques. However, these advances have also allowed the advent of nuclear and radiological weapons. This paper will focus on one type...
Introduction: For people with bleeding disorders pain is often a daily challenge. Despite many advancements to the standard of care in recent decades, including more effective treatments, and more effective medication schedules, pain remains highly prevalent in people with bleeding disorders: existing pain treatment practices have not adequately addressed pain...
A majority of eighteenth-century novels remain in regular print over two hundred years since their inception. Yet with the possible exception of Robinson Crusoe, they have largely fallen out of popularity, rarely appearing on "The Summer's Hottest Reading" lists or receiving celebrity endorsement. I consider Ian Watt's foundational study, The...
Engineering analysis of heavy timber structures under dynamic loads
is generally lacking. Some literature suggests that heavy timber structures
are stiffer than expected, but popular engineering opinion is to the contrary.
In addition, prior research has shown that passive friction dampers can be
used in timber structures for the intended...
Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common primary skeletal tumor in dogs accounting for 85% of bone tumors and nearly 6% of all canine neoplasms. They are highly aggressive tumors that carry a poor prognosis despite intensive treatment, highlighting the need for more effective diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Recent research in...
The capabilities of modern three-dimensional (3D) capture technology such as laser scanning and image-based 3D reconstruction are well suited to enhance the practice and research of civil engineering. However, given the often-overwhelming focus placed on the incredible capabilities of these tools and techniques, it is important to investigate the limitations...
Visualizing large movement datasets with flow maps is difficult because overlapping flows create significant graphical conflicts that make accurate interpretation difficult or impossible. Interactive flow mapping applications allow users to explore large movement datasets by automatically generating flow maps from subsets of the data in response to queries by the...
There has been a rapid increase in technological advances in the biological sciences that has contributed to an increase in societal issues that require attention from both scientists and citizens. Consequently, there is a need for the development of biologically literate citizens who have the ability to use their knowledge...
The advance of digital IC technology has been very fast, as shown by rapid development of DSP, digital communication and digital VLSI. Within electronic signal processing, analog-to-digital conversion is a key function, which converts the analog signal into digital form for further processing. Recently, low-voltage and low-power have become also...
Euphausia pacifica, the North Pacific krill, is a key grazer in the California Current System and an important prey item for consumers such as salmon, seabirds, and whales. As a crucial link between phytoplankton and higher trophic levels, it is essential to understand both the behavior and bioenergetics of this...
International recommendations provided by the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP), as well as national regulations, set by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), state that the exposure of skin to highly concentrated radioactive sources should be monitored at specified depths in skin and kept below specific dose equivalence levels....
The goal of my dissertation was to explore how scale influences stream restoration prioritization strategies for an anadromous species and identify influential uncertainties that exist at different scales. My objectives were to (1) produce a comprehensive review of the Chinook salmon management challenges in California’s Central Valley and identify the...
Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) rearing in lakes and reservoirs have been known to become heavily infected with an ectoparasitic copepod (Salmincola californiensis). Little is known about the factors that affect the parasite infection prevalence and intensity. However, previous research suggests that the parasite may negatively affect the fitness and survival...
Characterizing special nuclear material (SNM) is critical for nuclear security and non-proliferation. Temporal spectroscopy is a novel and efficient method for characterizing relative material content of special nuclear material. Fission products produced by SNM after being irradiated by a thermal neutron beam can have different half-lives, but can contribute to...
In the northwestern Gulf of Mexico there is a need for reliable water level forecasts to facilitate safe commercial navigation, marine construction, and emergency management. Though the low amplitude tides of the region can be predicted with conventional harmonic techniques, frequent strong storms make accurate forecasts of water levels difficult....
Reductive sulfate assimilation, the biological process by which sulfur-containing amino acids and key derivatives are synthesized from sulfate, is broadly shared among bacteria, fungi, and plants. It is the major, if not sole source of methionine and cysteine for Saccharomyces cerevisiae during wine fermentation. Two obligate intermediates formed in the...
Epidemiological studies have reported that postmenopausal women who consume moderate quantities of alcohol have higher bone mass than non-drinkers. However, the mechanism for the putative bone-sparing effect of alcohol is unknown. Postmenopausal bone loss is due, in part, to increased bone turnover. This study investigated the hypotheses that alcohol slows...