In the Pacific Northwest (PNW), concern about the impacts of climate and land cover change on water resources, flood-generating processes, and ecosystem dynamics emphasize the need for a mechanistic understanding of the interactions between forest canopies and hydrological processes. A detailed measurement and modeling program during the 1999 and 2000...
A number of bacterial species are capable of degrading the widespread environmental pollutant trichloroethylene (TCE) via aerobic cometabolism, but cytotoxic effects that can debilitate the microorganism often accompany this transformation. In this dissertation the effects of TCE degradation on the well-studied, toluene-oxidizing bacterium Burkholderia cepacia G4 were investigated at the...
Cavitation instabilities in elastic-plastic solids under spherically-symmetric and axisymmetric loadings were investigated using the finite element method. Both quasi-static and dynamic analyses were used to solve these problems. In the quasi-static analyses, we investigated a cavitation instability in elastic/perfectly-plastic, linear hardening elastic-plastic, power hardening elasticplastic, and constrained silver materials. Here,...
Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), a member of the thioredoxin superfamily, contains two domains with significant sequence homology to the active sites in thioredoxin. PDI facilitates the folding of nascent proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), binds hormones and Ca²⁺, catalyzes the glutathione dependent reduction of dehydroascorbate, serves as a major...
The biochemical composition of ten species of estuarine phytoplankton
was determined. Studies were made of their growth in
various culture media and of their relative value as food for oyster
larvae. Nine of the species were isolated from Yaquina Bay, Oregon.
An attempt was made to select species which commonly...
In June 1999, I was a volunteer for a United States non-governmental organization, Crossroads Africa. I joined six other American women traveling to Ghana, West Africa to participate in a collaborative program designed by the Ghana Red Cross Society and Crossroads Africa. Specifically our group was assigned to work on...
Phage-insensitive Streptococcus cremoris starter strains were
selected by assaying cheese whey against potential starter
strains. Six strains were selected and characterized for continual
use in cheesemaking. Upon phage-infection, strains were removed
from the blend. Cheesemaking continued with remaining strains. A
phage-insensitive, fast-acid-producing mutant of the infected
strain was isolated and...
The purposeful induction of malolactic fermentation (MLF) in wines such as Pinot Noir
and Chardonnay is an established commercial wine making practice in Oregon. This induction
is not always successful, especially with white wines, such as Chardonnay. A study was
initiated to examine the compatibility of yeasts commonly used in...