According to a 2017 Pew Research Study, 44% of adults in America say that they do not feel informed enough about science to understand news and new discoveries discussed on the media (Funk et al. 2019). This is concerning, because adults are not just passive consumers of media; among other...
The use of genetic algorithms to compose music and generate sounds is an area of interest in the artificial intelligence field. Music and instrument sounds have known rules and structures that can be followed which make them well-suited for genetic algorithms. However, genetic algorithms still struggle to generate sounds comparable...
Blackberry pomace (BBP), a byproduct from juice processing, is often disposed of in landfills. We propose BBP as an antioxidant-rich feed supplement for transition dairy cows. To explore the effects of BBP on antioxidant status, 24 multiparous dairy cows (5 Holstein and 19 Jersey) were assigned randomly to one of...
Objectives: Nitrate, found abundantly in green leafy vegetables, may improve exercise performance by increasing the availability and utilization of metabolic fuels that require less oxygen for energy production. However, it is not known if this performance effect occurs at the peak exercise intensity. We hypothesize that supplemental nitrate treatment will...
The Supreme Court Bar-the lawyers who argue before the US Supreme Court-has historically been an elite and exclusive group. This investigation examines the demographic make-up of the Supreme Court Bar in the Roberts Court and compares it to previous iterations of the Supreme Court Bar, as well as the national...
This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on the impacts of nuclear energy on the economy and energy security of select European countries. While previous literature has identified a connection between nuclear energy and economic growth, this study focuses on assessing the comparative effects of nuclear energy, measured by operable...
Currently available soil moisture sensors have intrinsic limitations that limit their adoption by industry. Depending on the technology, these limitations may include high costs, battery requirements, precice manual installation, high cost, and/or constrictive legislation that regulates their use. A passive soil moisture sensing system based around RFID technology would allay...
Few navigation-assistance technologies for vision impaired individuals are practical due to inhibiting factors such as cost, comfort, convenience, and overall usefulness of the assistance. This thesis will present the design and implementation of a navigation assistance system intended to address these concerns. The presented system improves on existing technologies by...
A long-term energy storage technology is necessary to utilize Oregon’s curtailed renewable energy, an issue the state faces, even with a low percentage of renewable energy in the energy mix. This report proposes a system design that details how hydrogen power-to-gas technology can be used in conjunction with the existing...
Bird and bat collisions with wind turbines are a problem that needs to be better quantified for its impact to be fully understood. This thesis documents portions of the design of a sensor patch module for use on wind turbines blades to detect impacts caused by birds and bats. This...
A Cell Phone Audio Controlled Point of Sale system was designed and built for an undergraduate electrical and computer engineering senior design project. The system was designed to enable a user to transfer data from any cell phone to a point of sale device using audio tones. The project involved...
Recent interest in nano aerial vehicles (NAVs) has sparked an increase in research on the mechanics of biological flapping flight. The ability of NAVs to fly in confined spaces and perform tight maneuvers make them a valuable technological asset. Researching the mechanisms behind small-scale flapping flight promises progress toward the...
Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone have each left their mark on popular culture. Charlie Brooker and Rod Serling created television shows with macabre and imaginative concepts and brought them to the small screen. “This is like something straight out of The Twilight Zone!” has become a common phrase since...
Vox comm is a digital wireless, voice-operated personal communicator developed as an electrical engineering Senior Design project. It is designed to provide a method for hassle-free, short-range communication. The product platform boasts of low power and small size for a host of usage models. This thesis details the product design...
Flavonoids are a large family of compounds synthesized by plants that have a common chemical structure. It is believed that the health effects of fruits and vegetables are primarily due to dietary flavonoids content. Current research indicates that dietary flavonoids show promise for mitigating and/or preventing chronic conditions associated with...
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...
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...
Black Friday is the biggest day of spending in the United States. In 2020, consumers spent $9 billion on Black Friday alone, a 21.6% increase from the previous year (Zaki). Extensive research has been done on the behalf of stores on what motivates consumers to spend large amounts of money...
This thesis describes the design and implementation of a motor controller that is a customizable and cost effective replacement for the motor controllers used by Edwards Robotics Company (ERC). Extensive research of comparable products available in the market was conducted. The research formed the basis for the design specifications of...
A wireless power transfer system using inductive coupling was designed and implemented as part of a three-member project team. The system uses coupled magnetic fields at a frequency of 606kHz to transfer electromagnetic energy from a charging base to the batteries of portable devices. It succeeded in transmitting power to...
Salmonella is a bacterium responsible for several illnesses, including typhoid fever,
paratyphoid fever, and salmonellosis. It is commonly found in animal products, including
poultry. Determination of potential reservoirs of Salmonella contamination is important
to mitigate the risk of transmission and possible outbreaks. Outbreaks can negatively
impact the livelihood of local...
Despite the prominence of LEDs in our society, we have limited knowledge pertaining to their long-term effects. These seemingly white LEDs have a large blue light component to them. Recent results have shown that Drosophila living in 12 hrs. of blue light and 12 hrs. of darkness live substantially shorter...
This project concerns the design, layout, assembly, debugging, and testing of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) that autonomously, reliably, and effectively conducts Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) measurements. CV is an electrochemical procedure done to analyze, quantize, and visualize reversible reduction-oxidation reactions, often used in medical devices to monitor the levels of...
An important goal of engineering educators is to prepare students to interact and communicate with other professionals, especially other engineers. Object and process scale is a crucial concept that engineers are required to communicate frequently and effectively. The goal of this study is to characterize how engineers communicate scale within...
Although it is the first drug approved for usage to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), riluzole’s mechanism of action is unknown and its therapeutic quality is hampered by its relatively short window of effectiveness. P2X7 is a purine receptor found in astrocytes and other cells, which increases calcium concentrations within...
Sepsis is a life-threatening blood infection which leads to an uncontrolled systemic inflammatory state. In North America alone, sepsis annually afflicts approximately 750,000 individuals and kills 38-50% of these (more than HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and colon cancer combined). Current treatment involves administration of IV fluids, antibiotics and hemoperfusion, requiring prolonged...
Significant challenges remain before lithium-ion batteries can support the decarbonization of the transportation and power sectors required to avert catastrophic climate change. The energy density of these batteries must be increased, while decreasing the price, and maintaining or increasing their lifespan. To improve the practical energy density of existing materials,...
Rear brake calipers are a critical component of the brake system within a vehicle. Brake calipers function by clamping against the brake rotor when the brake pedal is pressed by the driver and thus results in deceleration of the vehicle. This thesis aims to design and develop custom rear brake...
This undergraduate thesis provides an overview on analyzing and designing open-loop sampleand-
hold (S/H) circuits. It also describes a technique used to verify functions of an S/H circuit
known as beat frequency test, as well as an application of S/H circuit, a dual-slope integrating
analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. The first section...
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...
An estimated total of 30.3 million people have diabetes in the United States, a disease characterized by chronic elevation in blood glucose which over time, can lead to a host of health problems. Currently the most common types of diabetes are type 1, type 2, and gestational. The principal hormone...
Currently, there is no accurate, low-cost method to track divers. Watching bubbles can
give you an approximate xy-location, and expensive underwater radios utilizing ultrasonic waves can work if the diver knows where they are. Traditional radio waves do not work well in water due to the conductive nature of water....
Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. Most of the people live in villages below the poverty line, and do not have access to basic health care and a primary education. Living standards are very low, and surviving day to day is a lifetime struggle. Most villages...
Emotional intelligence is the ability of an individual to recognize, utilize, and regulate emotions, which are likely relevant to the perception of emotions in humans as well as in animals. The perception of emotions in companion animals enables an individual to improve the intensity of the bond between a human...
In the years from 1954 to 1956 Agnes Eriksen filled three fashion sketchbooks that contained ⅛ scale patterns, fabric swatches, and styling notations for eighteen garments. I plan to recreate and sew together Agnes Eriksen’s fashion designs into a small snapshot of these three years. The 1950s is a particularly...
The ring disclination is a topological defect that may be suitable for light polarization inside of a nematic liquid crystal. Due to its stability and chirality, the ring disclination could also allow for theoretical applications to quantum and classical field theories as a model for fundamental particles. In order to...
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...
This paper seeks to assess the merits of “Vote With Your Dollar” (VWYD) strategies for consumer and investor activism as a model for changing corporate behavior. A novel framework was constructed to group VWYD strategies and campaigns under shared attributes. To assess one such group, the boycott, the research gathered...