Digital Commons Network^™

An Automated Zoom Class Session Analysis Tool To Improve Education, Jack Arlo Cannon Ii

Dissertations and Theses

The recent shift towards remote education has presented new challenges for instructors with respect to teaching evaluation. Students in traditional classrooms send signals to instructors which provide feedback for the effectiveness of a given lecture. Virtual learning environments lack some of these communication channels and require new ways of collecting feedback. This work presents a suite of analysis tools for the virtual instructor. Given the transcript and video files for a Zoom meeting, this tool summarizes student sentiment and speaking characteristics. Sentiment scores are derived using state of the art Natural Language Processing (NLP) models. The video file is used …

Linear Nearest Neighbor Flocks With All Distinct Agents, Robert G. Lyons

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation analyzes the global dynamics of 1-dimensional agent arrays with nearest neighbor linear couplings. The equations of motion are second order linear ODE's with constant coefficients. The novel part of this research is that the couplings are different for each agent. We allow the forces to depend on the relative position and relative velocity (damping terms) of the agents, and the coupling magnitudes differ for each agent. Further, we do not assume that the forces are "Newtonian'" (i.e., the force due to A on B equals minus the force of B on A) as this assumption does not apply …

A Biomimetic Model For Oxidative Metabolism Of Thiopurine Drugs, Oluyemi Oludare Alo

Dissertations and Theses

Type B hepatotoxicity has been reported for thiopurines, and this has limited their clinical uses. Although a lot of research has been done on thiopurines, the precise mechanism of their hepatotoxicity is still unclear. The results of the in vitro and in vivo experiments aimed at assessing the products of their CYP450-mediated bioactivation have been contradictory. Although it has been theorized that the hepatic toxicity of this class of drug is caused by their bioactivation to electrophilic reactive metabolite (RM) and concomitant protein binding to form immunogenic adducts, resulting in direct cellular dysfunction or an immune response via the formation …

Quadrature For Implicitly-Defined Finite Element Functions On Curvilinear Polygons, Jeffrey S. Ovall, Samuel E. Reynolds

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Abstract

H¹" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: normal; font-size: 16.2px; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;">H1-conforming Galerkin methods on polygonal meshes such as VEM, BEM-FEM and Trefftz-FEM employ local finite element functions that are implicitly defined as solutions of Poisson problems having polynomial source and boundary data. Recently, such methods have been extended to allow for mesh cells that are curvilinear polygons. Such extensions present new challenges for determining suitable quadratures. We describe an approach …

Adverse Reactions In A Phase 1 Trial Of The Anti-Malarial Dm1157: An Example Of Pharmacokinetic Modeling And Simulation Guiding Clinical Trial Decisions, Stephen J. Balevic, Shruti M. Raja, Rachel Randall, Gregory A. Deye, Thomas Conrad, Aya Nakamura, David H. Peyton, Sandra Shotwell, Katherine May Liebman, Multiple Additional Authors

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: There is an urgent need to develop new drugs to treat malaria due to increasing resistance to first-line therapeutics targeting the causative organism, Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum). One drug candidate is DM1157, a small molecule that inhibits the formation of hemozoin, which protects P. falciparum from heme toxicity. We describe a first-in-human, phase 1 trial of DM1157 in healthy adult volunteers that was halted early because of significant toxicity.

Methods: Adverse events were summarized using descriptive statistics. We used pharmacokinetic modeling to quantitatively assess whether the DM1157 exposure needed for P. falciparum inhibition was achievable at safe doses.

Results: …

Optimizing Housing And Service Locations To Provide Mobility To Meet The Mandated Obligations For Former Offenders To Improve Community Health And Safety, Anne Nordberg, Jaya Davis, Stephen Mattingly, Sarah R. Leat, Mansi Patel, Michael Mitchell, Santhosh Medeti, Craig Keaton, Jobaidul Boni, Jhanvi Manishkum, Alireza Fallahi, Sheida Khademi

TREC Final Reports

Roughly 2,000 inmates return to communities each day in the U.S. Unsuccessful reentry jeopardizes community safety, promotes re-incarceration, and increases costs to taxpayers to support the criminal justice apparatus. Research indicates that strong networks of support reduce recidivism, but most communities remain ill-equipped to successfully support former offenders. Our community partner, Unlocking DOORS in Dallas, TX, is a reentry brokerage firm that coordinates services including housing, mental and physical health services, job retraining, transportation, and parole or probation obligations. This, like most reentry service providers, assists former offenders navigating a patchwork of logistical hurdles including individual offender obligations, scarce offender …

Phosphorylation Of The Aggregate-Forming Protein Alpha-Synuclein On Serine-129 Inhibits Its Dna-Bending Properties, Sydney E. Dent, Dennisha P. King, Valerie R. Osterberg, Eleanor K. Adams, Marilyn R. Mackiewicz, Tamily A. Weissman, Vivek K. Unni

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Alpha-synuclein (aSyn) is a vertebrate protein, normally found within the presynaptic nerve terminal and nucleus, which is known to form somatic and neuritic aggregates in certain neurodegenerative diseases. Disease-associated aggregates of aSyn are heavily phosphorylated at serine-129 (pSyn), while normal aSyn protein is not. Within the nucleus, aSyn can directly bind DNA, but the mechanism of binding and the potential modulatory roles of phosphorylation are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate using a combination of electrophoretic mobility shift assay and atomic force microscopy approaches that both aSyn and pSyn can bind DNA within the major groove, in a DNA length-dependent manner …

Rate Maximization In A Uav Based Full-Duplex Multi-User Communication Network Using Multi-Objective Optimization, Syed Muhammad Hashir, Sabyasachi Gupta, Gavin Megson, Ehsan Aryafar, Joseph Camp

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we study an unmanned-aerial-vehicle (UAV) based full-duplex (FD) multi-user communication network, where a UAV is deployed as a multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) FD base station (BS) to serve multiple FD users on the ground. We propose a multi-objective optimization framework which considers two desirable objective functions, namely sum uplink (UL) rate maximization and sum downlink (DL) rate maximization while providing quality-of-service to all the users in the communication network. A novel resource allocation multi-objective-optimization-problem (MOOP) is designed which optimizes the downlink beamformer, the beamwidth angle, and the 3D position of the UAV, and also the UL power of the …

Temperature And Predator Effects On Green Crabs (Carcinus Maenas) And Their Distribution In South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Elissa Connolly-Randazzo

Dissertations and Theses

The invasive green crab (Carcinus maenas) has increased in abundance and distribution among Oregon's estuaries. Its global success in establishing in new environments and tolerance for abiotic stressors, such as temperature, raises concern for C. maenas to negatively influence native crab species, especially given global climate change. To improve in predicting invasion impacts, this work analyzed the results from a controlled tank experiment at Portland State University and the field data on a population of C. maenas in South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (SSNERR). The aquarium experiment documented predation pressure on C. maenas across a range of …

Spatial And Seasonal Variations Of Microplastic Concentrations In Portland's Freshwater Ecosystems, Rebecca Talbot

Dissertations and Theses

Microplastics are a pollutant of growing concern and are ubiquitous in a variety of environmental compartments. The majority of microplastics research to date has been conducted in marine waters, and less is known regarding the sources and delivery pathways of microplastics in urban rivers. The first chapter is comprised of a review of the scientific literature regarding the spatial and temporal factors affecting global freshwater microplastic distributions and abundances. Microplastic spatial distributions are heavily influenced by anthropogenic factors, with higher concentrations reported in regions characterized by urban land cover, high population density, and wastewater treatment plant effluent. Temporal variables of …

Effects Of Green Crab (Carcinus Maenas) Across Variable Densities Of Eelgrass (Zostera Marina), Kimberly Alexis Brown

Dissertations and Theses

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) plays a critical role in estuarine ecosystem function by sustaining a variety of marine and freshwater species, but it's increasingly threatened by the aggressive non-native green crab (Carcinus maenas). The abundance of C. maenas is on the rise within the coastal environment of Oregon and it is imperative to know how these populations will affect the long-term health of Z. marina. C. maenas have been linked to declines in Z. marina coverage and shellfish abundance, but there has been no research on to what extent the density of Z. marina affects its …

Analyzing Modeled Torque Profiles To Understand Scale-Dependent Active Muscle Responses In The Hip Joint, Fletcher Young, Hillel J. Chiel, Matthew Tresch, Charles Heckman, Alexander J. Hunt, Roger Quinn

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Animal locomotion is influenced by a combination of constituent joint torques (e.g., due to limb inertia and passive viscoelasticity), which determine the necessary muscular response to move the limb. Across animal size-scales, the relative contributions of these constituent joint torques affect the muscular response in different ways. We used a multi-muscle biomechanical model to analyze how passive torque components change due to an animal’s size-scale during locomotion. By changing the size-scale of the model, we characterized emergent muscular responses at the hip as a result of the changing constituent torque profile. Specifically, we found that activation phases between extensor and …

Materials And Methodologies For Spectroscopic And Optical Analytical Applications In Cultural Heritage Conservation Science, Lyndsay Nichole Kissell

Dissertations and Theses

The field of conservation science falls in the intersection of science and art. The work of conservation scientists may include any single subdiscipline of chemistry, though it is most commonly a highly interdisciplinary field taking skills from analytical, organic, and inorganic chemistry, as well as surface and materials science. The aims of conservation scientists are to answer questions about the production and aging of material cultural heritage. Knowing the materials used by an artist can lead to insight about the intentions of the object and knowing how those materials degrade will enable the use of preventative measures to ensure the …

The New Shiny Penny? Regenerative Agriculture Beliefs And Practices Among Portland's Urban Agriculturalists, Melia Ann Chase

Dissertations and Theses

Regenerative agriculture (RA) is a set of farming and land management practices intended to support or enhance soil health and carbon sequestration potential of soils while producing food, fiber, or other agricultural products. It has received broad acclaim from scholars, corporations, and governmental bodies as a potential means of sequestering carbon and mitigating climate change impacts. It has also received critique and pushback for its vague definition, shifting metrics, and lack of acknowledgement of the Indigenous practices underlying the modern suite of regenerative practices. The purpose of this research is to investigate the beliefs Portland, Oregon urban agricultural practitioners hold …

Inverse Modeling Of Atmospheric Ch4 And Δ13C-Ch4 Measurements From Surface Observation Sites To Understand Trends In Global Methane Emissions Over More Than Three Decades, Sayantani Karmakar

Dissertations and Theses

Methane (CH₄) is the second most important greenhouse gas with a radiative forcing of 0.97 W/m² including both direct and indirect effects and a global warming potential of 28 over a 100-year time horizon. Unlike CO₂ whose rate of growth in the atmosphere has remained positive and increased in recent decades, the behavior of atmospheric methane is considerably more complex and is much less understood on account of the spatiotemporal variability of its emissions which include biogenic (e.g., wetlands, ruminants, rice agriculture), thermogenic (fossil fuels), and pyrogenic (i.e., biomass burning) sources. After sustained growth during most …

Heat, Wildfire And Energy Demand: An Examination Of Residential Buildings And Community Equity, Chrissi Argyro Antonopoulos

Dissertations and Theses

Extreme heat and wildfire events are becoming more prolific and exacerbated by climate change, carrying significant implications for environmental and social systems. Residential buildings play a central role in protecting people from heat and pollutant exposure during extreme weather events, but the level of protection varies dramatically depending on building energy efficiency and technology availability. Low-income and communities of color have higher energy burdens compared to affluent populations, and underserved communities often do not have financial resources for, or access to, advanced building technologies. This dissertation explores the impacts of extreme heat and wildfire on residential buildings, focused specifically on …

More Than Words: Articulating The Multisensory Experiences Of Protected Area Visitors In Southern Nevada, Sara Nicole Temme

Dissertations and Theses

The complex sensory experiences of visitors to U.S. protected areas are not well understood. Previous research investigates visitor activities, motivations, and the ways place attachment cultivates support for conservation activities and other pro-environmental behavior. However, it is unclear how protected area visitor sensory experiences contribute to these behaviors. This study aims to articulate the multisensory experiences of visitors to the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex and the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area in southern Nevada, U.S.A. Specifically, it demonstrates the complexity of these experiences as present, intertwined, and embodied in all visit phases: before, during, and after. Utilizing a mixed-method …

Measuring Morality In The 2020 Us Presidential Election, Scott Edward Atkins

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores the moral content evident in speeches by 2020 US Presidential Candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Drawing on Moral Foundations Theory (Haidt, 2013), I test the hypotheses that each candidate's moral content, as measured by the use of certain morally salient keywords, will fall along patterns based on their political affiliation. In testing these hypotheses, I also present a comparison of keyword analysis methods. The first uses a simple word count procedure alongside the Moral Foundations Dictionary 2.0, developed by Frimer et al. (2017), which scores a document based on the presence of words from each of …

Entrainment, Diffusion And Effective Compressibility In A Self-Similar Turbulent Jet, Thomas Basset, Bianca Viggiano, Thomas Barois, Mathieu Gibert, Nicolas Mordant, Raúl Bayoán Cal, Romain Volk, Mickael Bourgoin

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

An experimental Lagrangian study based on particle tracking velocimetry has been completed in an incompressible turbulent round water jet freely spreading into water. The jet is seeded with tracers only through the nozzle: inhomogeneous seeding called nozzle seeding. The Lagrangian flow tagged by these tracers therefore does not contain any contribution from particles entrained into the jet from the quiescent surrounding fluid. The mean velocity field of the nozzle seeded flow, ⟨Uφ⟩, is found to be essentially indistinguishable from the global mean velocity field of the jet, ⟨U⟩, for the axial velocity while significant deviations are found for the radial …

You Will Be Loved: A Mixtape, Ariana M. Rosales

Dissertations and Theses

The following mix-genre portfolio represents my work in literary translation, nonfiction, and fiction writing. These poems, essays, and stories explore the role of gender and sexuality in familial and interpersonal relationships in the social, historical, and political context of contemporary Bolivian and American cultures. The characters inhabiting this collection experience alienation while seeking belonging and meaningful connections in the face of an uncertain political future. These pieces explore themes such as marginalization of queer people, the subjugation and closeting of the indigenous in the face of mestizaje, and the colonial legacy shared by Bolivia and the United States.

Identifying And Prioritizing Urban And Commercial Stormwater Concerns: City Of Grants Pass, Oregon, Amie Nicole Siedlecki

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

For many communities, drinking water comes from surface water sources, or source water, such as rivers and creeks. Within the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, this is the case. The Rogue River, which spans 215 miles, beginning near Crater Lake and emptying into the ocean at Gold Beach, is Grants Pass' Rogue River, in relation to drinking water, is rarely an issue for the City of Grants Pass' Public Works Department, the potential contaminant sources (PCS) from the urban, commercial, and industrial geographical areas of Grants Pass is a concern. In order to deploy treatment processes that are capable of …

Estimating Transport Of Diesel Particulate Emissions In The Portland Metro Using Lagrangian-Based Dispersion Modeling, Andrew Mckinley Rogers

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Air pollution from diesel combustion is a well-known and serious problem which adversely impacts human and environmental health throughout the world. One of the primary pollutants of concern from diesel combustion are the solid particles formed as a byproduct of the incomplete combustion of the diesel, also known as diesel particulate matter. As a result of the ubiquitous use of diesel-fired engines in urban environments, understanding the transport of diesel particulate matter from the exhaust is paramount in assessing human exposure to this toxic pollutant. Air dispersion modeling is one method to study how diesel particulate matter is transported and …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of Microplastics Management In Oregon, Maya Hurst-Mayr

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

There is currently no federal policy in the United States that specifically addresses microplastics (MPs) pollution. However, states are beginning to act on this issue; California's SB 1422 initiates measurement of MPs in drinking water resources and Senate Bill 1263 requires the state to adopt a strategy to reduce the ecological impact of MPs in marine ecosystems. Other West Coast states like Oregon and Washington are expected to follow California's example. It is important to know what the actors who are a part of shaping MPs policy in Oregon would see as barriers and opportunities to doing so. We conducted …

Quality Control And Management In Digital Learning Platforms, Saumya Saxena

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of education forever. Though the educational system has seamlessly transitioned from the traditional physical classroom teaching to the digital teaching setup, there are certain barriers faced by students and faculty that affect the quality of digital learning. The aim of this paper is to identify key quality issues in the digital learning platforms used in current online education system from the perspective of students. The research is based on literature review, and responses to a structured questionnaire along with semi-structured interviews. The research shows that majority of the students are satisfied with their …

How Relevant Is The Basic Reproductive Number Computed During Covid-19, Especially During Lockdowns?, Arni S.R. Srinivasa Rao, Steven G. Krantz, Thomas Kurien, David Swanson, Multiple Additional Authors

Publications, Reports and Presentations

Basic reproductive numbers during COVID-19, either through standard approaches or through time-varying approaches, are key for understanding the pandemic growth. However, improper usage and interpretations and computational difficulties during lockdowns could be misleading for planning and mitigation.

Healthcare Information Security Maturity Model Grande Ronde Hospital, Pallavi Agrawal, Riad Alharithi, Karthik Manjunath, Kamal Thapa, Eric Ingersoll, Sujitha Rajagopal

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Technology offers significant advantages in improving the delivery of healthcare to patients. The technology creates electronic data associated with each patient. The data journey starts from the collection point, through the data warehouses that store the data, the application that processes the data, and the medium that transfers the data throughout the patient's life. Data collection starts with patients filling out web forms on a provider's website. This information is stored for the Healthcare organization in remote servers managed by developers and is shared with healthcare specialists, hospitals, labs, pharmacists, insurance providers, and billing software among many other healthcare workers. …

A One-Dimensional Field Dislocation Mechanics Model Using Discontinuous Galerkin Method, Ja'nya Breeden, Dow Drake, Jay Gopalakrishnan, Saurabh Puri

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

A numerical solution strategy for a one-dimensional field dislocation mechanics (FDM) model using the Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method is developed. The FDM model is capable of simulating the dynamics of discrete, nonsingular dislocations using a partial differential equation involving a conservation law for the Burgers vector content with constitutive input for nucleation and velocity. Modeling of individual dislocation lines with an equilibrium compact core structure in the context of this continuum elastoplastic framework requires a non-convex stored energy density. Permanent deformation and stress redistribution caused by the dissipative transport of dislocations is modeled using thermodynamics-based constitutive laws. A DG method …

Equivalence Of The Transition Heat Capacities Of Proteins And Dna, Matthew W. Eskew, Albert S. Benight

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

It has been reported for many globular proteins that the native heat capacity at 25°C, per gram, is the same. This has been interpreted to indicate that heat capacity is a fundamental property of native proteins that provides important information on molecular structure and stability. Heat capacities for both proteins and DNA has been suggested to be related to universal effects of hydration/solvation on native structures. Here we report on results from thermal denaturation analysis of two well-known proteins, human serum albumin and lysozyme, and a short DNA hairpin. The transition heat capacities at the Tm for the three molecules …

Compound Flooding In Convergent Estuaries: Insights From An Analytical Model, Ramin Familkhalili, Stefan A. Talke, David A. Jay

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We investigate here the effects of geometric properties (channel depth and cross-sectional convergence length), storm surge characteristics, friction, and river flow on the spatial and temporal variability of compound flooding along an idealized, meso-tidal coastal-plain estuary. An analytical model is developed that includes exponentially convergent geometry, tidal forcing, constant river flow, and a representation of storm surge as a combination of two sinusoidal waves. Nonlinear bed friction is treated using Chebyshev polynomials and trigonometric functions, and a multisegment approach is used to increase accuracy. Model results show that river discharge increases the damping of surge amplitudes in an estuary, while …

Bulletin: General Catalog Issue 2022-2023, Portland State University

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

No abstract provided.