Digital Commons Network^™

Production, Oxidation, And Emissions Of Methane From Rice Fields In China, M. A. K. Khalil, Martha J. Shearer, R. A. Rasmussen, Chang-Lin Duan, Lixin Ren

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Detailed field studies of methane emissions from rice fields show that when nitrogen fertilizers are used with intermittent irrigation the seasonal average flux is about 3 mg/m²/hr. When continuous flooding and organic material is added to the same fields, the emissions rise to nearly 30 mg/m²/hr. Production rates measured during the two years when both organic material and water were applied to these fields were found to be 60 and 90 mg/m²/hr in consecutive years. The fraction oxidized is calculated to be about 80% one year and 43% the next year. The results suggest that high organic fertilizer increases production, …

Methane And Nitrous Oxide Emissions From Subtropical Rice Agriculture In China, M. A. K. Khalil, Martha J. Shearer, R. A. Rasmussen, Li Xu, Jin-Luan Liu

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, two significant greenhouse gases, were measured from rice fields at Qingyuan in Guangdong Province, China. The region has a subtropical climate which allows two crops of rice to be grown every year. The prevailing agricultural practices create a complex interaction between factors known to have a major effect on methane and nitrous oxide emissions from rice fields, namely, intermittent flooding and use of organic fertilizers. In this region, the farmers depend on nitrogen fertilizers and, at least in recent years, have only intermittently flooded their fields during the growing seasons. These factors tend to …

Seminaphthofluorones Are A Family Of Water-Soluble, Low Molecular Weight, Nir-Emitting Fluorophores, Youjun Yang, Mark Lowry, Xiangyang Xu, Jorge O. Escobedo, Martha Sibrian-Vazquez, Lisa Wong, Corin M. Schowalter, Timothy J. Jensen, Frank R. Fronczek, Isiah M. Warner, Robert M. Strongin

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

A readily accessible new class of near infrared (NIR) molecular probes has been synthesized and evaluated. Specific fluorophores in this unique xanthene based regioisomeric seminaphthofluorone dye series exhibit a combination of desirable characteristics including (i) low molecular weight (339 amu), (ii) aqueous solubility, and (iii) dual excitation and emission from their fluorescent neutral and anionic forms. Importantly, systematic changes in the regiochemistry of benzannulation and the ionizable moieties afford (iv) tunable deep-red to NIR emission from anionic species and (v) enhanced Stokes shifts. Anionic SNAFR-6, exhibiting an unusually large Stokes …

Peroxynitrite Chemistry: Formation, Decomposition And Possible Deactivation Mechanisms By Thiols, Olufunke Modupe Olagunju

Dissertations and Theses

Kinetics of formation and decomposition of peroxynitrite was studied in acidic and buffer solutions. Peroxynitrous acid was formed in acidic media by the reaction of H₂O₂ with HNO^₂ and NO +. Bimolecular rate constant for reaction of H²O² with HNO^₂ at 25°C was determined to be 3.7 × 10 3 M-¹ s-¹. Peroxynitrous acid formed is highly unstable with half life of approximately 1 second. Decomposition of peroxynitrite is highly pH-dependent. In acidic media, peroxynitrous acid decomposes to nitrate while at neutral to slightly basic media, products of decomposition …

Financial Engineering For Energy System Capital Budgeting, Chin-Chuen Teoh

Dissertations and Theses

The United State energy industry is experiencing a major paradigm shift. This conventional vertically integrated energy industry is gradually transformed to a competitive market environment—a deregulated energy market. The market and regulatory frameworks are expected to continue to evolve in the future. Market participants are emphasizing more on profit maximization as returns on investment are no longer guaranteed. Therefore, risk management and capital budgeting play critical roles in energy system planning. Planning always involves uncertainties. When there are uncertainties, there are risks involve. This dissertation concentrates on the application of Real Options Analysis, ROA, especially lattice method, to energy system …

2008 Commencement Program, Richard Pimentel

Commencement Archives 2000-09

The program for the PSU Commencement ceremony on June 14, 2008.

Richard Pimentel, author, trainer, speaker, and disability rights advocate, delivered the commencement address and was awarded an honorary doctorate by PSU Interim President Michael Reardon. Tamam W. Waritu, Class of 2008, delivered the student address.

The Impact Of The Swingshift Options School Alternative Educational Pathway On At-Risk Middle School Students' Transition To High School, Carol Rutan Smith

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this qualitative and quantitative study was to understand the perspectives of so-called at-risk middle school students who participated in an alternative mid-level program and the support that program might have provided in their transition into high school. The study gives voice to such students and sheds light on the type of programs and practices that reduce their risk for dropping out of school. Dynarski and Gleason (2002) reported that early adolescence is a period of both enormous opportunity and enormous risk for dropping out of school.

Participants were former students in the Swingshift Options School (SOS) program …

Theoretical Investigations And Microarray Applications Of Dna Multiplex Hybridization Reactions, Michael Todd Horne

Dissertations and Theses

General equilibrium and kinetic models with numerical solutions describing DNA multiplex hybridization reactions are developed and presented. Theoretical investigations on example multiplex systems were carried out in order to test the sensitivity of the model system to a variety of experimental and model parameters. A spotted microarray platform was calibrated to yield quantitative results, and the theoretical model motivated the design of an effective kinetic assay to discriminate SNPs in a multiplex fashion. Effects of duplex length, %G+C and relative position of the SNP on duplex hybridization and SNP resolution were determined. The theoretical model of multiplex hybridization accurately predicted …

Interview With Michael Menzies, Braeside Farms, 2008 (Audio), Michael Menzies

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Michael Menzies by Joel DaMetz at Braeside Farms in Estacada, Oregon on June 6th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Development And Investigation Of Unique Organic Materials To Detect Disease Biomarkers, George Kiplimo Samoei

Dissertations and Theses

Chemomechanical polymer gels with the capability of recognizing specific biological molecules are promising materials for many biomedical applications. Glucose-selective hydrogels have potential utility in the continuous monitoring of glucose and glucose-triggered insulin delivery for the management of diabetes. Herein, the development and study of the first material which detects glucose via significant volume changes in the challenging matrix human blood plasma is described. The material was created via the modification of PMMA with supramolecular binding sites. The polymer exhibits excellent selectivity and reversibility including continuous expansion-contraction cycles.

Interview With David Shonk, Bumblebee Farm, 2008 (Audio), David Shonk

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of David Shonk by Brian Francetich at Troutdale, Oregon on June 4th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

The Oregon University System's Proficiency-Admission Standards System As A Predictor Of College Student Persistence-Related Outcomes, Tanya Leigh Ostrogorsky

Dissertations and Theses

We live in a society driven by a knowledge-based economy where the need for a college degree is at its highest historical level. To meet these needs, it is critical that educational systems increase students' preparation for higher education, universities receive appropriate and adequate indicators of student preparedness, and students select the college that fits their needs and ambitions and support them in their persistence towards a college degree.

The admission standards of an institution guide this process but are only one part of what is required for a student to successfully transition from high school to college to the …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet June 2008, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The June 2008 Monthly packet includes the June agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held May 2008

Dynamical Evolution Of Volume Fractions In Multipressure Multiphase Flow Models, C. H. Chang, John D. Ramshaw

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Compared to single-pressure models, multipressure multiphase flow models require additional closure relations to determine the individual pressures of the different phases. These relations are often taken to be evolution equations for the volume fractions. We present a rigorous theoretical framework for constructing such equations for compressible multiphase mixtures in terms of submodels for the relative volumetric expansion rates ∆Ei of the phases. These quantities are essentially the rates at which the phases dynamically expand or contract in response to pressure differences, and represent the general tendency of the volume fractions to relax toward values that produce local pressure equilibrium. We …

How Students Use Mathematical Resources In An Electrostatics Context, Dawn C. Meredith, Karen A. Marrongelle

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present evidence that although students’ mathematical skills in introductory calculus-based physics classes may not be readily applied in physics contexts, these students have strong mathematical resources on which to build effective instruction. Our evidence is based on clinical interviews of problem solving in electrostatics, which are analyzed using the framework of Sherin’s symbolic forms. We find that students use notions of “dependence” and “parts-of-a-whole” to successfully guide their work, even in novel situations. We also present evidence that students’ naive conceptions of the limit may prevent them from viewing integrals as sums.

Physicians Providing Alternative Medicine: Boundary Crossing And The Emergence Of Integrative Medicine, Richard Scott Lockwood

Dissertations and Theses

Integrative medicine (IM) has organized as a new area of specialization in mainstream healthcare. The development of IM is widely attributed to popular demand for the range of therapies known collectively as Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). During the 1990's the rate of acceptance of CAM accelerated among consumers, professions, financing and education. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) measured CAM utilization and professional service provision during the years 1996 and 1998, but never since. These surveys were unique because they specifically inquired as to whether CAM was provided by a physician, among other types of professionals. This dissertation defines …

Interview With Jill And Michael J. Paine, Gaining Ground Farm, 2008 (Audio), Jill Paine, Michael J. Paine

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Jill and Michael J. Pain by James Pritchett in Yamhill, Oregon on May 28th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Shari Sirkin, Dancing Roots Farm, 2008 (Audio), Shari Sirkin

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Shari Sirkin by Brian Francetich at Troutdale, Oregon on May 28th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Pre-Service Science Teacher Sense Of Self In Developing Multicultural Practice, Yuki Marie Monteith

Dissertations and Theses

The development of multicultural science teaching practices is becoming more crucial as the student population in public schools becomes more diverse. Multicultural teaching practices are even more important when disparities in science achievement can be delimited by racial, ethnic or cultural affiliation. Using a phenomenological perspective, this study explored science pre-service teachers' sense of self after a year of teacher education. Content analysis of themes arising from the study identified three areas specific to their sense of self: (a) the unconscious influence of beliefs about science culture, (b) the fundamental beliefs of the U.S. middle class, and (c) superficial beliefs …

Interview With Melanie Plies, Backyard Bounty, 2008 (Audio), Melanie Plies

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Melanie Plies by Stephenie Bitz on May 21st, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Louisa Depaiva, Purple Rain Vineyard, 2008 (Audio), Louisa Depaiva

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Louisa DePaiva by Stephenie Bitz at Brush Prairie, Washington on May 10th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With John Martinson Jr., Birds & Bees Community Farm, 2008 (Audio), John Martinson Jr.

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of John Martinson Jr. by Clint Anderson in Oregon City, Oregon on May 8th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Advanced Algorithms For Vlsi: Statistical Circuit Optimization And Cyclic Circuit Analysis, Osama Neiroukh

Dissertations and Theses

This work focuses on two emerging fields in VLSI. The first is use of statistical formulations to tackle one of the classical problems in VLSI design and analysis domains, namely gate sizing. The second is on analysis of nontraditional digital systems in the form of cyclic combinational circuits.

In the first part, a new approach for enhancing the process-variation tolerance of digital circuits is described. We extend recent advances in statistical timing analysis into an optimization framework. Our objective is to reduce the performance variance of a technology-mapped circuit where delays across elements are represented by random variables which capture …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet May 2008, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The May 2008 Monthly packet includes the May agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held April 2008

Emerging Governance At The Edge Of Constrained Federalism : Public Administrators At The Frontier Of Democracy, Gary Lloyd Larsen

Dissertations and Theses

President Reagan and each succeeding President exerted significant effort to scale back the size and scope of federal executive branch agencies, a pressure that can be characterized as constrained federalism. This phenomenon is described by Kettl (2000) as the theory of New Public Management. I observe and theorize that a new form of governance is emerging as an unintended consequence of constrained federalism's attempt to replace governance with management in the name of efficiency.

This new form of governance arises when federal public administrators and citizens work together in partnerships to mitigate the immediate and more subtle adverse effects …

An Iterative Route Construction And Improvement Algorithm For The Vehicle Routing Problem With Soft And Hard Time Windows, Miguel A. Figliozzi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The joint solution of routing problems with soft and hard time windows has valuable practical applications. Simultaneous solution approaches to both types of problems are needed when: (a) the number of routes needed for hard time windows exceeds the number of available vehicles, (b) a study of cost-service tradeoffs is required or the dispatcher has qualitative information regarding the relative importance of hard time window constraints across customers. A new Iterative Route Construction and Improvement (IRCI) algorithm of average run time performance O(n2 ) is proposed to sequentially solve Vehicle Routing Problems with Soft Time Windows (VRPSTW) and Hard Time …

Unipolar Transport And Interface Charge Transfer In Nanostructured Cdte/Polymer Hybrid Films, Rolf Kӧnenkamp, Robert Meier, Robert Campbell Word, Athavan Nadarajah

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report detailed photoconductance measurements on hybrid semiconductor films consisting of CdTe nanoparticles in a poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene (MEH-PPV) matrix. Our results show that a staggered band alignment between organic and inorganic semiconductors produces an efficient separation of photoexcited electron-hole pairs and promotes a unipolar transport in each of the semiconductors. Hole drift mobilities in the MEH-PPV film and electron drift mobilities in the CdTe nanoparticle network are determined. We find clear evidence for the transport in the two phases of the hybrid film to be electrically uncoupled, and we conclude that these properties can lead to improved electron transport properties.

Simpol.1: A Simple Group Contribution Method For Predicting Vapor Pressures And Enthalpies Of Vaporization Of Multifunctional Organic Compounds, James F. Pankow, William E. Asher

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The SIMPOL.1 group contribution method is developed for predicting the liquid vapor pressure p^o_L (atm) and enthalpy of vaporization Δ H_vap (kJ mol^-1) of organic compounds as functions of temperature (T). For each compound i, the method assumes log₁₀p^o_L,i (T)=∑_kν_k,ib_k(T) where ν_k,i is the number of groups of type k, and b_k (T) is the contribution to log₁₀p^o_L,i (T) by each group of type k. A …

Hydrologic Remote Sensing And Land Surface Data Assimilation, Hamid Moradkhani

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Accurate, reliable and skillful forecasting of key environmental variables such as soil moisture and snow are of paramount importance due to their strong influence on many water resources applications including flood control, agricultural production and effective water resources management which collectively control the behavior of the climate system. Soil moisture is a key state variable in land surface?atmosphere interactions affecting surface energy fluxes, runoff and the radiation balance. Snow processes also have a large influence on land-atmosphere energy exchanges due to snow high albedo, low thermal conductivity and considerable spatial and temporal variability resulting in the dramatic change on surface …

Iron(Iii)-Salophene: An Organometallic Compound With Selective Cytotoxic And Anti-Proliferative Properties In Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer Cells, Thilo S. Lange, Kyu Kwang Kim, Rakesh K. Singh, Robert M. Strongin, Carolyn Mccourt, Laurent Brard

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: In this pioneer study to the biological activity of organometallic compound Iron(III)-salophene (Fe-SP) the specific effects of Fe-SP on viability, morphology, proliferation, and cell-cycle progression on platinum-resistant ovariancancer cell lines were investigated.

Methodology/Principal Findings: Fe-SP displayed selective cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 and OVCAR-3 (ovarian epithelial adenocarcinoma) cell lines at concentrations between 100 nM and 1 μM, while the viability of HeLa cells (epithelial cervix adenocarcinoma) or primary lung or skin fibroblasts was not affected. SKOV-3 cells in contrast to fibroblasts after treatment with Fe-SP revealed apparent hallmarks of apoptosis including densely stained nuclear granular bodies within fragmented nuclei, highly condensed …