This dissertation examined the association between HAP and respiratory health, both using simple proxy metrics, such as cooking fuel types, and actual measurements, such as household and personal measures of PM2.5 and BC. We found that simple proxy metrics can predict a portion of HAP levels, and associations with respiratory...
Increased global competition is forcing organizations to increase their use of group decision making today. Computerized group decision support aids (CGDSAs) are being developed to improve the efficiency of these groups and to improve decision quality. Even though the use of CGDSAs has increased, very little research has been done...
Interest has increased in developing renewable energy sources to reduce U. S. dependence on oil. Policy makers and resource managers now are considering power generation technologies proposed for development along the Continental Shelf of the U. S. Pacific coast beyond state waters. This region supports abundant populations of seabirds and...
About 7,000 years ago two major tephra-falls blanketed the
Pacific Northwest in volcanic ash. These two tephra-falls, identified
as the Llao and climatic tephra-falls, were a part of the eruptive
events that led up to the collapse of Mount Mazama to form Crater Lake
in the southern Oregon Cascades.
The...
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) possesses a large and highly repetitive genome of 5.1 Gb that has hindered the development of a complete sequence. In 2012, the International Barley Sequencing Consortium released a resource integrating whole-genome shotgun sequences with a physical and genetic framework. However, because only 6278 bacterial artificial chromosome...
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are complex mixtures that form when organic matter is burned. Humans are primarily exposed to PAHs via air pollution from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass, such a motor vehicle exhaust, cigarette smoke, wood smoke, or industrial emissions; or via ingestion of PAHs bound to...
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 El Salvador porphyry copper deposit in the Indio Muerto district of northern Chile has been geologically investigated for more than 60 years and provides one of the best bases for understanding similar environments of ore formation elsewhere in the world. Fourteen new zircon U/Pb isotopic ages obtained via in...
Perennial woody plants have a complex annual cycle keyed to the environment. Temperate plants have an annual dormant period commonly broken by exposure to low temperatures, although daily photoperiods of 16 hours or longer may partially substitute for the chilling. Shoot growth in the spring is normally stimulated by rising...
Complex systems science provides a transdisciplinary framework to study systems characterized by (1) heterogeneity, (2) hierarchy, (3) self‐organization, (4) openness, (5) adaptation, (6) memory, (7) non‐linearity, and (8) uncertainty. Complex systems thinking has inspired both theory and applied strategies for improving ecosystem resilience and adaptability, but applications in forest ecology...