Asthma prevalence in children under age 18 has risen steadily in the U.S. since the mid-1970s. Most researchers attribute this increase to air pollutants, socioeconomic status or urban residence. This study examined asthma prevalence in Lane County, Oregon, using children's asthma hospital discharges (1990-1995), and data from 10 of 16...
This dissertation presents an analysis of transportable biomass conversion facility design to evaluate the conceptual and economic viability of a mobile and modular biomass conversion supply chain in the Pacific Northwest, USA. The main goal of this work is to develop a decision support system to more effectively and sustainably...
Interbody fusion cages are increasingly used in the treatment of spinal disease and injury in order to stabilize movement and promote arthrodesis of the vertebral bodies, but the micro-mechanics of the interaction between the cage and the adjacent host bone is not fully understood. This information has bearing on post-surgical...
The purpose of this study is to explore, through their own voices, the higher
education experiences of selected urban American Indian females in California
community colleges. This study is an attempt to identify pathways to academic
success by teasing out college practices and support systems that help Native
women navigate...
An important inoculum source of Leptosphaeria maculans and L. biglobosa (syn Plenodomus spp.), the pathogens that cause black leg in Brassicaceae crops, is infected plant residues. The general acceptance of conservation tillage in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA, has enabled a build-up in the amount of residue on or near...
The "style metric" of Berry and Meekings is purported to quantify the lucidity of software written in the C programming language. We used a modification of this metric to try and identify error-prone software. Our results indicate that this metric seems to bear little relationship to the density of errors...
Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi pseudosclerotia overwinter on the soil surface and produce apothecia in early spring, providing primary inoculum for Mummy Berry Disease of blueberry. Burial under 2.5 cm of soil or the absence of light have previously been identified as critical factors preventing the development of apothecia. Mulches were applied to...
This novel-in-progress is an attempt to struggle with the complicated process of forging one’s identity in the murk of urban Northwest life. The protagonist of this piece is confused, to put it lightly: bi-racial, torn between the affections of divorced parents, unsure about his religious views, and baffled by his...