Infections in hospitals account for over 100,000 deaths per year. These infections occur at the
hospital from complications following bacterial adhesion to intravenous catheters, coronary
stents and other implanted devices. Another common problem is protein adsorption to the
surface of the device and subsequent blood clotting. Methods for combating these...
Genomic integrity is crucial for the viability and function of a cell. One key pathway that acts to
maintain genomic integrity is DNA mismatch repair (MMR). MMR acts to correct base pair
mismatches hat have escaped proofreading during DNA replication. The process of MMR is
dependent on the protein heterodimer...
The scope of this particular research delves into the psychological measurement of
alumni that graduated from the College of Business at Oregon State University. The goal for
this research is to refine the pool of alumni survey items, and to improve the measurement
properties for future use. This research proposes...
In the thrust to shift away from fossil fuels towards renewable options, Ecuador produces African palm-based biodiesel, which is currently imported by the Unites States. An analysis of this specific interaction was done via personal contact with the industry in Ecuador and extensive literature review of the topic. The results...
The purpose of this project was to isolate gabosines and other compounds through chemical screening of secondary metabolites of Streptomyces cellulosae subsp. griseorubiginoses strain S1096. Two different media were used to cultivate S. cellulosae. The first contained soybean and mannitol. The other contained oatmeal and trace element solution. After cultivation...
Soil organic matter (SOM) is the result of the balance between decomposition and incorporation of detritus from both above and below ground sources into the soil. It composes only a fraction of the soil by mass but it is one of the most critical components. The Detritus Input and Removal...
A primary target of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the human alveolar macrophage.
Infection by this bacterium can lead to a variety of responses, such as apoptosis,
autophagy, and necrosis, which may be involved in controlling the infection. M.
tuberculosis has evolved mechanisms to evade or use the host-mediated processes to its...
Oregon has a growing artisan cheese industry and is developing a reputation as one of the country’s leading regions for many varieties of cheeses. This thesis is an exploration of four of Oregon’s premier artisan creameries. The primary research for this project included visiting the farms and cheesemakers, tasting the...
The rapid development of computing technologies in recent decades has allowed for data to be generated at unprecedented rates. As a result, users are challenged with the task of finding the precise information that they are looking for. Visualization techniques provide the ability to view and analyze data in different...
Variability in the depth and duration of anesthesia in individuals within a species is
frequently observed, yet few studies have investigated its causes in reptiles. To evaluate
the potential causes of variability in reptile anesthesia, I conducted experiments to test for
effects of body temperature, body composition and time post-feeding...
Marine reserves are known to directly replenish overfished species. However, the
community-wide effects of reserves are less clear. I examined the community of coralreef
fishes in a large, fully protected marine reserve in The Bahamas: the Exuma Cays
Land and Sea Park. Visual-transect surveys provided estimates and comparisons of the...
In contemporary art, some artists enter into working relationships with other
groups or institutions to create a final piece. For example, an artist may be invited by a
museum to take part in an exhibition, or an artist may work with a city council to create a
public artwork. However,...
Myxozoa have been found worldwide; these parasites infect a wide variety of hosts, but have been found most often in fish. Carassius auratus (goldfish), a popular aquarium fish and a widespread invasive species, have been identified as an intermediate host for several myxozoan species. Some myxozoan parasites are pathogenic and...
The doctor-patient relationship is one of the most unique and privileged relations a person can have with another human being, and having access to a well-developed and effective association is important for the experienced and objective quality of health care. Yet, over the past few decades a number of cultural...
Previous studies have revealed distinctive ecotypic differences between garter snakes living in the meadow and lakeshore environments around Eagle Lake in California. Snakes from these contrasting environments have significantly different growth rates, litter sizes, adult body size, annual survival, and coloration. To try and explain these differences, bird predation was...
The doctor-patient relationship is one of the most unique and privileged relations
a person can have with another human being, and having access to a well-developed and
effective association is important for the experienced and objective quality of health care.
Yet, over the past few decades a number of cultural...
Inner shelf hypoxia has occurred along the Oregon coast between the latitudes 44ºN
and 45ºN since 2002 with increasing duration and intensity, posing a threat to marine
life. The objective of this research was to determine whether variation in respiration
rate explains spatial and temporal variation in hypoxia. Dissolved oxygen...
Two policies for allocating individual assets from a pool of assets to incoming requests were contrasted within the context of replacement analysis. Assets within a pool are considered similar in the service they provide, but may differ in age and cumulative usage. The two policies considered for allocating assets to...
Maintenance of optimal nutrient supplies is fundamental to the functioning of
vertebrate, invertebrate, bacterial and plant physiology. Organisms on this planet compete
with each other primarily to fulfill nutritional needs in order to maximize their health,
wellbeing, and reproductive success. Here we examine nutrient concentrations in several
different grass species...
Phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMOs) are novel antisense drugs in the early stages
of development. These synthetic DNA mimics contain the same bases found in DNA and anneal
to RNA in a complementary fashion. PMOs have been designed that target genes responsible for
producing essential proteins in organisms such as Escherichia...
Sperm competition is the post-copulatory analog of male-male combat, wherein sperm
from more than one male coincide in a female’s reproductive tract and compete with one
another for fertilization of a limited number of ova. Post-copulatory sexual selection,
such as sperm competition, can be a powerful driving force for the...
Methane hydrates and biohydrogen are two disparate subjects that are of interest in the growing field of alternative energy research. However, before commercial use becomes a viable option, each has challenges that need to be overcome. Methane hydrates require large investments of time and capital to locate. In this thesis,...
Designing and building a home Media Center can be a daunting task given the multitude of available options and configurations. The goal of this project is to build a home Media Center, and in the process, create a guide that a less technically knowledgeable person could use to build their...
The push towards higher performing and more sensitive mixed signal circuitry has required the parallel development of increasingly more complex and sensitive test and calibration harnesses. Current off-chip methods of test and calibration may require higher pin counts or induce unwanted parasitic interference.
In this thesis, the design of a...
Microbial activity within elevated CO2 and oxygen depleted environments changes with
density driven stratification overturn in the seasonally anoxic region of Devil’s Hole,
Bermuda. The temperature gradient developed during the summer months creates a
natural laboratory to study bacterial and virus population density and microbial
community dynamics in the anoxic...
Regression testing is a common and necessary task carried out by software practitioners to validate the quality of evolving software systems. Unfortunately, regression testing is often an expensive, time-consuming process, particularly when applied to large software systems. Consequently, practitioners may wish to prioritize the test cases in their regression test...
Pesticides can often be toxic and for this reason their methods and quantities of application are extremely regulated. Pesticide applicators are at risk of permanently damaging their health from exposure to pesticides. In order to ensure that these employees have the proper information to protect themselves, they are required to...
It is hypothesized that extracting the vapor from two-phase flow in a microchannel will result in a lowered pressure drop required to drive the flow. The goal of this thesis is to construct an experimental device that will test this hypothesis by comparing a number of phase separating test conditions...
An Automated Star Tracking System was designed and built for an undergraduate senior design project. The system was designed as a portable and easy to use means of tracking celestial objects, and is usable for a variety of both personal and professional purposes. The project was built around exploring the...
Ammonia oxidizing bacteria, including Nitrosomonas europaea, are inhibited by aromatic hydrocarbons which can be found in wastewater treatment plants. In recent studies, changes have been observed in N. europaea cell size upon exposure to benzene, but not toluene. Additionally, NE 1545, a gene proposed to be involved in fatty acid...
Creating an untraditional more personalized thesis allowed me to combine my
passion for children, travel, language, and books all into one. Hans the Adventurer is
a children’s book about a young German boy who loves to go on adventures.
However Han’s has to go on the adventure alone when his...
In order to improve photosynthetic hydrogen production, initial work has begun on a flux balance analysis of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803, a model H2-producing organism. The mathematical model developed includes reactions relevant to photoautotrophic growth: glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, the Calvin cycle, the photosynthetic electron transport chain, the...
The method of gas-phase electron diffraction is a very useful tool for determining
the geometry of a molecule in the gas-phase to a high degree of accuracy. In this thesis,
the structures of tropone and tropolone, which are similar molecules that are both based
on a 7-carbon ring, were investigated...
Microbial activity within elevated CO2 and oxygen depleted environments changes with
density driven stratification overturn in the seasonally anoxic region of Devil’s Hole,
Bermuda. The temperature gradient developed during the summer months creates a
natural laboratory to study bacterial and virus population density and microbial
community dynamics in the anoxic...
Thin films of the p-type semiconductor, barium copper sulfide fluoride (BaCuSF) were deposited using pulsed laser deposition. Similar p-type conductivity in Cu2O is caused by copper vacancies. Addition of copper dopant is proposed as a method for filling the copper vacancies in BaCuSF. The films are characterized to determine quality...
Lanthanum sulfide film was deposited on silicon dioxide substrate by pumping aqueous
LaCl3∙7H2O and Na2S∙9H2O solutions into a T-mixer. After mixing, residence time was
manipulated to adjust lanthanum sulfide deposition rate. Lanthanum sulfide films were
created on silicon dioxide substrate at room temperature, 60 °C, and at 100 °C.
Lanthanum...
In recent years off the United States Oregon coast severe hypoxic events have resulted in areas of mass vertebrate and invertebrate species mortality known as dead zones. Creation of dead zones and alteration of community species composition in response to inner shelf hypoxic conditions have been observed annually from 2002...
Aesthetics should be emphasized as much as possible in a design project without
exceeding scope, budget, or schedule to satisfy the stakeholders involved. There
is a rising trend of increased emphasis on aesthetics. This trend of using various
techniques to help structures blend in or contribute to the surrounding
environment...
In an increasing sedentary society, it is becoming even more important to
encourage adolescent girls to participate and value physical activity. This
document provides a study grounded in scholarly research exploring issues of
importance to the promotion and implementation of programs relevant to
motivating girls to be physically active, specifically...
The strained carbon ring, bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane, was synthesized by a reaction between
1-(phenylsulfanyl)bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane, prepared from propellane, and Raney nickel.
Infrared spectra were recorded at a resolution of 0.0015 cm-1, a resolution significantly
better than previous measurements, 0.06 cm-1. A single fundamental band was analyzed
to determine the ground state and excited...
The current generation of youth, sometimes called Millennials, has had a
reputation of political apathy. However, in recent years, youth voter numbers have gone
up. If an individual or organization wanted to continue this trend of increased youth
political participation, I wanted to explore the areas that could support or...
The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents continues to rise
and is considered a major public health problem. The aim of this investigation was to
evaluate the contributions of sport participation, and calcium intake (controlling for mean
energy intake, sex, and maturation status) on the development of...
The primary goal was to characterize the adsorption of a recombinant therapeutic protein
in the presence of selected surfactant species at the air-water interface. For this purpose,
dynamic interfacial tensiometry was used to determine the surface tension kinetics
exhibited by protein solutions containing either Tween 80 or the poly[ethylene oxide]-...
Aural Experiences in Ecuador – An Intercultural Dialogue Through Sound takes the listener on a unique auditory journey through Ecuador, exploring its diverse sound environment while examining how one’s cultural perspective influences how those sounds are perceived. The process of listening occurs as a mutual dialogue between the listener and...
This project is a short novelette told from the points of view of several different characters. The story is set in an airport and follows these characters as they wait for their flight to arrive. Each of the characters is observing the others, much like people do everyday without realizing...
Eukaryotic cells have developed elaborate biochemical processes to counteract oxidative stress, electrophiles, or carcinogens due to environmental insults. One of these important cellular defense mechanisms is mediated by the transcription factor Nrf2 that have been shown to have decrease activity with age. While the process of which Nrf2 is involved...
Pyrenophora tritici-repentis (Ptr) is the fungal causal agent of the disease tan spot in wheat and causes necrosis and chlorosis in infected leaves. These symptoms are caused by host-selective toxins (HSTs), molecules that serve as the sole determinants of pathogenicity. Ptr has three known HSTs, the proteinaceous Ptr ToxA and...
BACKGROUND: The association of vitamin D with heart attack and stroke remains unclear.
METHOD: Using data from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (MrOS), we collected
dietary vitamin D data from 5,995 participants and serum (25)OH vitamin D from 1,606
participants. The association of vitamin D with prevalent heart attack...
This study examines the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on merger and
acquisitions (M&A). Using data from Kinder, Lyndeberg, and Domini (KLD) Research
Analytics and Thomson’s Securities Data Corporation’s (SDC) Platinum Database, we
empirically test if CSR scores effect a firm’s propensity to pursue M&A activity.
Specifically, I examine...
Studying human’s ability to estimate temporal durations could lead to a greater
understanding of our cognitive abilities as well as the processes that underlie temporal
estimation. It has been shown through previous research that time and number may be
interconnected cognitively and that the magnitude of one may alter the...