Crystallographic studies of ligands bound to biological macromolecules (proteins and nucleic acids) represent an important source of information concerning drug-target interactions, providing atomic level insights into the physical chemistry of complex formation between macromolecules and ligands. Of the more than 115,000 entries extant in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) archive,...
Findings from nearly two decades of research focused on the Columbia River littoral cell (CRLC), a set of rapidly prograding coastal barriers and strand-plains in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, are synthesized to investigate the morphodynamics associated with prograding beaches. Due to a large sediment supply from the Columbia River, the...
Recent scientific studies show that framing climate change as a health issue rather than an environmental issue were more persuasive with American audience members (Maibach et. al., 2010; Maibach et. al. 2014). Also in 2014, a survey on respiratory healthcare providers and found that a large percentage believed that climate...
Spalting fungi show strong potential as natural colorants on a variety of materials, specifically textiles and wood. Four species of spalting fungi are currently utilized in this manner: Scytalidium cuboideum, which produces a red pigment called draconin red, Scytalidium ganodermophthorum, that produces an unknown yellow pigment, and Chlorociboria aeruginosa and...
The aerodynamic performance of an oscillating pitching and plunging foil operating in the energy harvesting mode is investigated. Experiments are conducted in a closed-loop recirculating wind tunnel at Reynolds numbers of 24,000 to 48,000, and reduced frequencies (k = fc/u) of 0.042 to 0.083. Foil kinematics are varied through the...
Nonprofit organizations are feeling increased pressure to demonstrate their service’s impacts to their investors. Social return on investment is a tool that measures the social efficiency, or social return, of services by calculating a social return ratio. While social return on investment has seen increasing use by nonprofit organizations, a...
The Toba Caldera Complex is the youngest resurgent caldera in the last 100 kyrs, formed from four overlapping eruptions starting 1.2 Myrs ago. The last caldera-forming eruption, the Youngest Toba Tuff eruption, occurred ~74 kyrs ago, emitting 2800 km3 of ash and pumice into the atmosphere and forming the caldera...
The eruptive history of the Quaternary Cascades arc has been relatively well characterized. However, much less is known about the frequency and sizes of explosive eruptions produced by earlier stages of the arc. The Late Neogene Deschutes Formation of Central Oregon preserves a remarkable record of heightened pyroclastic activity during...
Over the past century, life expectancy in the United States has dramatically increased leading to an increasingly aging population with people reaching, and spending more years in ‘old age’. While this unprecedented shift in population demographics represents great strides for humanity, it is not without cost. One consequence of longer...
Coastal flooding and erosion are major concerns for low lying coastal communities -- particularly in light of accelerated sea level rise and climate change. To improve quantitative understanding of the physical drivers of both flooding and coastal landscape change, this dissertation explores coastal morphodynamics bridging the land-sea interface on modally...