This thesis is comprised of a manuscript based on a laboratory experiment run in the Tsunami Wave Basin as part of a research project funded by the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation called Housesmash. The purpose of the experiment was to better understand the role of the urban environment, represented...
The bacterium Pseudomonas syringae affects different crops worldwide. In the
Willamette Valley of Oregon, P. syringae causes bacterial canker in sweet cherry,
severely limiting its production. High grafting of susceptible sweet cherry cultivars to
resistant rootstocks is practiced in the Willamette Valley to reduce incidence of this
disease. The research...
The effects of temperature, temperature fluctuation, and fish size on the growth of juvenile steelhead trout (Salmo gairdneri) were studied in experiments which lasted 10 to 25 days. Groups of fish were fed at ration levels varying from near-starvation to repletion. Decelerating, curvilinear relationships between rates of food consumption and...
Myosins are actin-based molecular motors that may have specialized trafficking and contractile functions in cytoskeletal compartments that lack microtubules. The postsynaptic excitatory synapse is one such specialization, yet little is known about the spatial organization of myosin motor proteins in the mature brain. We used a proteomics approach to determine...
Fire suppression in the last several decades has resulted in unprecedented accumulations of organic matter on the landscape, leading to an increase in large, intense wildfires. This study investigated the soil microbial community (using phospholipid fatty acid analysis) across recently burned forests on the eastern slope of the Cascade Range...
This thesis presents a model for simulating individual pedestrian motion based on empirical data. The model keeps track of a pedestrian’s position, orientation, and body configuration and leverages motion capture data to generate plausible motion. Our model can automatically incorporate a pedestrian’s physical limitations when making movement decisions, since it...
Montane meadows in the western Cascades of Oregon occupy approximately 5% of the landscape, but contribute greatly to the region's biodiversity. Western Cascades meadows are dynamic parts of the landscape and have contracted by over 50% in the past two hundred years in the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest (hereafter Andrews...
This research examines the response from the National Rifle Association (NRA) to the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. Specifically, the research seeks to conclude whether the NRA engaged in propaganda, and if so, what the ethical implications of such use are. Using literature from...
Riparian communities in the southern portion of Malheur National
Forest were intensively studied with the objective of designing an approach for
classifying disturbed riparian areas into units of similar potential. Not all
riparian community types in this portion of the Blue Mountains were sampled
due to time limitations. Some of...