The omnivorous ground beetle, Pterostichus melanarius Illager (Coleoptera: Carabidae), is a ubiquitous inhabitant of western Oregon crop land. Because it is often the most abundant ground beetle, and attains densities that could lead to serious impacts on its prey sources, I sought to understand the overall diet composition, and specifically...
Antisense morpholino oligomers are synthetic macromolecules can modify gene expression. While these compounds have great potential to treat a broad range of human diseases, they suffer from poor cellular delivery. Conjugating cell-penetrating peptides onto these morpholinos is one option of addressing delivery, however development remains slow due to the cost...
The SAVE project, a three arm randomized-controlled study, utilized evidence-based health and safety training to teach brick masonry apprentices ergonomics, problem solving, and communication skills to reduce occupational musculoskeletal injury risk. Apprentices enrolled in the SAVE study were assigned at random to one of three groups receiving: 1) ergonomics training,...
Climate change is causing people around the world to experience extreme temperature and air pollution events such as wildfires more frequently, and for longer periods of time. Extreme heat events have been widely associated with an increased risk of emergency room visits, occupational heat-related injuries and illnesses, and mortality overall...
The Fishermen Led Injury Prevention Program is the first and only research focused on non-fatal injury prevention among commercial fishermen.
• No fishermen reported that they had zero chance of injury, regardless of injuries sustained in career and/or in the past year.
• Fishermen who have sustained an injury...
Vessel disasters (e.g., vessels capsizing, sinking, grounding, burning) are the leading contributor to occupational fatalities in the U.S. commercial fishing industry. Vessel disasters are a vital area to target prevention efforts, yet it has been suggested that results produced in scientific studies are not efficiently exchanged between researchers, regulatory bodies...
Work-related hazards and exposures affect human health and well-being. Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) surveillance is fundamental to the public health approach. OSH surveillance provides important data on the occurrence and magnitude of the problem and risk/protective factors. A wide variety of OSH surveillance programs and systems have been established...
Although the seafood processing industry is vital to Alaska’s economy, limited research has addressed workers’ safety and health. Federal and state regulators have classified both offshore and onshore seafood processing worksites in Alaska as high-hazard environments; however, there is a dearth of published information on safety and health outcomes in...
Foundation species are important components of ecosystems because they provide habitat and ameliorate stressful conditions for residents. This thesis considers the role of surfgrasses (Phyllospadix spp.) as dynamic foundation species on the coast of Oregon in two studies. Chapter 2, which presents an observational survey of two Phyllospadix congeners, investigates...