Digital Commons Network^™

Securing The Internet Of Things At Scale, Steven L. Willoughby

Student Research Symposium

The world of the connected “Internet of Things” (IoT), including the "Industrial Internet of Things" (IIoT) is expanding to include more devices which observe and influence our daily lives, routines, locations, and even our state of health. But have the underlying protocols by which they communicate this data kept pace with the need to protect our privacy and security?

My talk will introduce my research into an approach to better secure this information flow using appropriate access controls without sacrificing performance. I will assess the historical challenges and simple access controls applied to IoT networking protocols and how they can …

Impact Of Testosterone Therapy On Voices In Trans-Masculine People: A Scoping Review, Samuel E. Hedine, Jeff Conn, Deanna Britton

Student Research Symposium

Treatment of trans people by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) dates back to at least the 1980s. However, the majority of early research on the voices of trans people focused on trans-women. More recently, the field of speech-language pathology has garnered more interest in the effects of testosterone therapy in trans-masculine individuals. The goal of this project is to review current research, and compile the known effects of testosterone therapy in the trans-masculine population on common acoustic indices of voice production, including fundamental frequency (pitch), decibels/sound pressure level (dB SPL; loudness) and cepstral peak prominence (voice quality). A scoping literature search was …

Multiscale Variability Of Heavy Metals In A Western U.S. Snowpack, Kelsey Hefner

Student Research Symposium

Natural and anthropogenically sourced particulates are deposited from the atmosphere to landscapes via dry and wet deposition, making frozen winter snowpack a natural archive of atmospheric elemental composition. Wildfires in the Western United States are increasing in extent, duration, and severity, especially in alpine regions. Severe fires remove forest canopy and can impact how atmospheric elements are dispersed and stored across snow-dominated watersheds. We evaluated Al, V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, As, Zn, Se, Mo, Cd, and Pb concentrations in 394 winter snow core samples. We collected samples in 2019 and 2020 from a chronosequence of eight forests that burned …

Impact Of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement On Pain And Disability In Patients With Chronic Lumbosacral Radiculopathy: Results From An Rct, Danielle Zuzero

Student Research Symposium

Lumbosacral Radiculopathy (LR), also known as sciatica, is a common type of radiating neurologic pain in the lower extremities with an estimated lifetime prevalence as high as 43%. The goal of this randomized control trial was to determine the impact of virtually delivered Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) on patients with LR. Participants were randomized to MORE sessions or treatment-as-usual (TAU) for 8 consecutive weeks, pain intensity was collected daily via email. At baseline and follow-up visits, participants completed questionnaires of disability, quality of life, depression, mindful interpretation of pain, and train mindfulness. Patients undergoing MORE sessions had greater improvement in …

Impact Of Intersecting Vulnerabilities On Functional Outcome And Health-Related Quality Of Life After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Prospective Cohort Study, Rekesh Subedi, Tatiana Hoyos-Gomez, Luis Tinoco-Garcia, John Cervantes Cervantes

Student Research Symposium

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a critical public health issue that disproportionately affects select vulnerable populations, including race/ethnic minorities, low-income individuals, and those without health insurance. Despite high incidences of TBI and its considerable impact on morbidity and mortality, research is limited in addressing how the intersectionality of vulnerabilities contributes to outcomes post-TBI. This literature review aims to synthesize existing knowledge regarding Social determinants of health (SDH) on TBI outcomes, focusing on functional recovery and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). This study will use a prospective cohort research design where TBI patients at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) will …

Analyzing Intensifying Storm Events Correlation To Landslide Frequency In Portland’S West Hills, Aurora Villa Juan

Student Research Symposium

As the Pacific Northwest climate changes, extreme weather, such as intensifying storms, and a shift in the type of precipitation experienced with warmer winters causing more precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow, may lead to an increased frequency of landslides. There have been several recent landslides in Portland, noticeable to the public, particularly in areas of high elevation such as Council Crest, which stands at 1,073 feet. Additionally, residents of neighboring homes have observed changes in the landscape, including those on private properties. To better safeguard both public and private property, comprehensive research and mitigation efforts are required. …

Selection During Reproduction In Mimulus Guttatus, Desmond C. Willson, Karla De Lima Berg, Mitch Cruzan

Student Research Symposium

A lack of genomic studies examining gametophytic selection and selective embryo abortion—which occur during the reproduction of angiosperms—leaves questions regarding the adaptive and evolutionary effects of these processes. Analyzing deviations from Mendelian segregation offers an avenue for identifying loci targeted by GS and SEA, and their contributions to purging of genetic load. However, other selective processes such as meiotic drive and cytonuclear interactions, as well as pollen and ovule abortion, can cause distortion. To distinguish the effects of GS and SEA from other causes of distortion, we will perform reciprocal crosses between highly homozygous and highly heterozygous individuals of Mimulus …

Self-Balancing Robot Leg, Ben Bolen

Student Research Symposium

Research in the Agile and Adaptive Robotics Lab involves the creation of biomimetic robots. To this end, we developed a self-balancing robot leg actuated with braided pneumatic actuators (BPAs)—a type of pneumatic artificial muscle. These BPAs, akin to human muscles, exhibit properties such as high strength-to-weight ratio and tunable passive stiffness. An Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) was placed on top of the tibia for feedback and the tibia and foot were connected with a hinge joint. The orientation of the ankle joint was controlled with an Arduino microcontroller sending commands to the proportional pressure valves supplying the BPAs. Leg balance …

Hide & Cru-Seq: Investigating Potential Crucivirus Hosts With Fluorescently Labeled Protein, Marcell Devaune Richard, Nacho De La Higuera, Jono Abshier, Ken Stedman

Student Research Symposium

Cruciviruses are DNA viruses that contain a capsid protein that shares striking similarities to capsid proteins from RNA viruses. Formerly known as “RNA-DNA hybrid viruses”, this novel type of viruses suggest gene exchange between unrelated RNA and DNA viruses. However, the hosts of cruciviruses remain unknown. To investigate this groundbreaking virus genome further, utilization of the predicted viral host recognition domain (P-domain) fused to a thermal green protein and a histidine tag, allows investigation of crucivirus hosts in environments where these viruses have been discovered. Using cruciviruses that have been found in soil samples on the PSU campus, along with …

Birkhoff Summation Of Irrational Rotation: A Surprising Result For The Golden Mean, Heather L. Moore

Student Research Symposium

This research lies at the intersection of number theory and dynamical systems. We study the statistics of constant rotations by irrational numbers and investigate the relations between those statistics and the continued fraction approximates of a given irrational number.

This poster, which accompanies a written thesis, presents a surprising result that the difference in a certain sums of constant rotations by the golden mean approaches exactly 1/5. Specifically, we focus on the Birkhoff sums of these rotations, with the number of terms equal to squared Fibonacci numbers. The proof relies on the properties of continued fraction approximants, Vajda's identity and …

Neutron Time Of Flight Spectrometry As A Diagnostic Tool For Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion Plasmas, Andrew H. Dempsey, Erik J. Sanchez

Student Research Symposium

Inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) is a method for achieving fusion of light nuclei wherein ions are injected into a spherically symmetric system of concentric electrodes. When the innermost electrode is held at negative high voltage with respect to the outer electrode, ions injected into the reactor at cathode (ground) potential accelerate toward the anode where they may undergo collisions with sufficient energy to overcome Coulomb repulsion and achieve nuclear fusion. The most commonly used IEC fusion fuels are deuterium-deuterium (D-D) and deuterium-tritium (D-T). Both fuels undergo fusion reactions that result in production of fast neutrons with distinct energies. Neutron production …

Systematic Comparison Of Reservoir Computing Frameworks, Nihar S. Koppolu, Christof Teuscher

Student Research Symposium

In this poster, we present a systematic evaluation and comparison of five Reservoir computing (RC) software simulation frameworks, namely reservoirpy, RcTorch, pyRCN, pytorch-esn, and ReservoirComputing.jl. RC is a specific machine learning approach that leverages fixed, nonlinear systems to map signals into higher dimensions. Its unique strength lies in training only the readout layer, which reduces the training complexity. RC excels in temporal signal processing and is also well suited for various physical implementations. The increasing interest in RC has led to the proliferation of various RC simulation frameworks. Our RC simulation framework evaluation focuses on a feature comparison, documentation quality, …

Reed Research Reactor Neutron Beam Characterization And Analysis, Vee Bartko, Jerry Newhouse

Student Research Symposium

Using neutron activation analysis of 99% pure gold foils, the authors characterize the neutron dose and shape of the neutron beam at the Reed Research Reactor (RRR). The experimental procedure followed extensive modeling in Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) and Tool for Particle Simulation (TOPAS) simulations, in which the beam was projected to be roughly collimated. The shape, defined in terms of neutron flux, was measured by placing the foils directly on top of the neutron beam cap at powers of 1, 5, and 10 kilowatts. The flux was then converted to neutron dose via the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's neutron fluence …

Computationally Assisted Mechanistic Analysis Of The Protonolysis Of A Pt–Me Bond, Clement Dasilva

Student Research Symposium

Mechanistic study of the protonolysis of (cod)PtMe2 could give insight into the activation of C-H bonds by platinum because it is the microscopic reverse reaction. Two possible mechanisms for the protonolysis of dimethyl platinum complexes have been proposed, with experimental and computational data supporting the single step, SE2, over the multistep, SE(ox) mechanism. New experimental work from our group supports a multi-step mechanism with multiple acid molecules. In this work, the SE2 mechanism as well as a proposed SE(ox) mechanism were computationally modeled with a single equivalent of acid, TFAH, and two equivalents using density functional theory. The modeled pathways …

Reducing Switching Noise And Losses In Two-Stage Electric Power Converters, Abhijeet Prem

Student Research Symposium

Advancements in semiconductor devices are enabling the design of better electrical power converter systems. Wide Bandgap (WBG) switching devices from Silicon Carbide and Gallium Nitride can operate at high temperatures, voltages, and frequencies with faster turn-on/off periods, improving converter performance over silicon devices. However, WBG technology is still new, and the rapid switching transitions of these devices lead to issues such as voltage overshoots, ringing, and electromagnetic interference, which need to be addressed for widespread adoption. This work introduces a new control method for reshaping the switching voltages, which overcomes the disadvantages of fast transition time without increasing the system's …

Exploring Speech Experiences, Cpib Scores, And Aac Assessment Experiences Of Autistic Aac Users With Intermittent, Unreliable, Insufficient, And/Or Expensive Speech, Karina Rayl, Pang Lee Herr, Brandon Eddy, Amy Donaldson, Stephanie Fuller, Alyssa Zisk

Student Research Symposium

There is growing evidence from the perspectives of speaking autistic people that augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) supports their self-expression and communicative agency. Despite the evidence supporting the communication effectiveness of AAC, autistic adults have reported that professionals often prioritized speech as the ideal communicative method rather than offering AAC as a communication option. This study will investigate autistic adults’ AAC assessment experiences and explore whether a modified version of the Communication Participation Item Bank (CPIB) self-rating questionnaire could be an effective tool to document the internal states of intermittent, unreliable, insufficient, and/or expensive speech. Surveys will be distributed to …

Exploring Factors That Contribute To Stem Transfer Student Sense Of Belonging, Brittney R. Gallant, Cate Pocitari

Student Research Symposium

There is an ongoing disconnect between the number of students who enter college intending to earn a STEM degree and the number of students who persist to degree, this is particularly true for transfer students. Sense of belonging has been named as a STEM persistence factor, yet how that belonging develops for transfer students is largely unknown. Here we used a mixed-methods design to explore the experiences of STEM transfer students at PSU (n=38). Participants completed a survey prior to participating in an interview. The survey and interviews explored their science identity, sense of belonging, and involvement in STEM-related activities. …

Histone Changes As A Response To Lactic Acid Selection In Cells Of Austrofundulus Limnaeus, Lori Tran, Jason Podrabsky, Chelsea Hughes

Student Research Symposium

The killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus is an extremophile native to small temporary ponds of Venezuela. Normal embryonic development of A. limnaeus is segmented into up to three stages of metabolic depression (diapause), and both developing and diapausing embryos can survive long bouts of the complete absence of oxygen (anoxia) by using anaerobic metabolic pathways. While there has been much focus on how mutations in DNA drive evolution, environmental stress can cause heritable changes to histone post-translational modifications (hPTMs) in multiple species. However, this evolutionary role of hPTMs has never been studied in A. limnaeus. Additionally, the possible evolutionary role of extracellular …

Textural Investigation Into Rapid Welding Transitions In The Tuff Of Leslie Gulch Along Succor Creek At The Mahogany Mountain-Three Fingers Rhyolite Field, Southeastern Oregon, Alicia J. Martinez-Garling, Martin J. Streck

Student Research Symposium

The Mahogany Mountain-Three Fingers Rhyolite Field (MM-TFrf) in southeastern Oregon, associated with mid-Miocene rhyolite activity and Columbia River flood basalts, has been the subject of geological scrutiny. Previous studies proposed separate origins for the tuff of Leslie Gulch (LGT) and Spring Creek, but Benson and Mahood (2006) suggested a single ignimbrite event at 15.8 Ma, prompting a reassessment of MM-TFrf's history. This research focuses on LGT, investigating textural disparities between welded and non-welded tuff formations. Petrographic examinations delve into the transformation stages of pyroclastic tuff deposition, revealing the dynamic influences of volcanological and magmatic processes on welded and non-welded tuff …

Observing Orobanche Uniflora Parasitism Of Four Sedum Species In Relation To Soil Composition, Devin J. Forest-Hines, Sophie Wille, Noah Flick, Maxxie Barr

Student Research Symposium

Sedums are commonly selected for green roof applications due to their horizontal growth, heat and drought tolerance, water-storage capacity, and heat absorption. A potential threat to sedum health is the presence of parasitic Orobanche. Orobanche are a genus of parasitic plants that extract nutrients, water and carbohydrates from its host via root attachments. This study seeks to investigate Orobanche parasitism on the four most abundant sedum species on a Portland State University green roof in relation to soil composition. Four sedum species were propagated in clear plastic compact-disc (CD) cases containing either mineral substrate, Miracle Gro, or a seedling mix, …

Feesability Of Laryngeal Endoscopy Simulation Labs In Student Training: A Scoping Review, Anna Thut

Student Research Symposium

Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) involves passing a flexible endoscope through the nose and down the throat to provide a detailed view of the throat, airway, and vocal folds. With the scope in place, people can eat and drink, allowing the clinician to evaluate for safe swallowing. Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) use FEES for diagnostic evaluation and to gauge therapy progress and effectiveness. Simulation training on a low or high-fidelity model may provide a bridge for SLP graduate students to gain competency before being introduced to FEES in a clinical setting. This review aims to gather evidence on the use …

Wildland Urban Interface Growth And Development Potentials In Deschutes County, Samantha Hall

Student Research Symposium

Policy can and has been used as a tool to reduce the risk communities experience from natural hazards by limiting development in areas most vulnerable. How and where development occurs directly influences the amount of risk a community experiences from natural hazards like hurricanes, earthquakes, flash floods, and wildfire among others. Development patterns that contribute to increased wildfire risk mostly occur within the wildland urban interface, a land use type where development is at the fringes or intercept of wildland areas and is more flammable due to surrounding vegetation, slope, local climate, and other factors. For this research, Deschutes County …

Plasma Ion Source, Nathan K. Davis

Student Research Symposium

It is well known that a plasma can be created with both high input power and ultra low pressure. The challenge is in creating these same plasma characteristics with both lower power while maintaining a higher pressure. We have developed an ion beam by careful manipulation of magnetic and electric fields. Magnetic fields are used to accelerate ambient electrons to ionize the low pressure gas into a plasma. Electric fields are used to extract the ions into a focused beam. To achieve these initial ionizations, an artificial vacuum is created to reach low enough pressures to ionize the gas. A …

Method Validation Of Metals In Environmental Soil Samples, Sofia Deangelis, Nana Nguyen

Student Research Symposium

Vehicles are a major source of metal accumulation in terrestrial environments. Green infrastructure, such as bioswales, has been implemented as a way to mitigate this damage. However, there is a limited understanding of the processes that occur in these bioswales as few go back after implementation to identify areas in the bioswale with accumulation of pollutants. Inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has the potential to be used in this type of study due to the machine’s high sensitivity and selectivity. However complications can arise while using the ICP-MS to characterize complex environmental samples. This study seeks to optimize microwave assisted …

Going Down An Incline With Chatgpt, Corey R. Sissons

Student Research Symposium

In our Large Language Model (LLM) research, examining ChatGPT 4, we devised a physics problem involving an object descending an inclined plane. Through variations in terminology such as "rolling," "sliding," "solid sphere," "hollow sphere," "wooden ramp," "no-slip ramp," and more, we sought to evaluate LLM responses for different scenarios. Our analysis aimed to discern whether the LLM’s answers exhibited expertise in the field of physics. This experiment sheds light on LLM’s ability to give accurate and precise physics answers as well as variation in responses to nuanced changes in problem formulation. This provides valuable insights into its proficiency and potential …

Competing Supramolecular Forces: Boron Coordination Vs Π-Π Stacking, Sidhaesh A. Agarwal, Gonzalo Campillo-Alvarado, Nicholas Lutz, Jesus Daniel Loya, Eric W. Reinheimer

Student Research Symposium

This study explores the impact of fluorination levels in azopyridine Lewis bases on their ability to direct the formation of B←N coordination adducts or cocrystals with phenylboronic ester. We hypothesize that the degree of fluorination can be used as a tool to control the outcome of supramolecular bonding competition, thus influencing complex self-assembly.

A series of azopyridines with varying degrees of fluorination were synthesized and reacted with phenylboronic ester. Their structures were analyzed using Hartree-Fock calculations, Hirshfeld surface analyses, and single crystal X-ray diffraction to assess the impact of fluorination on supramolecular interactions.

The study reveals that azopyridines with up …

Development Of A Two-Photon Laser Scanning Microscope, Jess Hollenbaugh

Student Research Symposium

The objective of this project was to convert a Sarastro 2000 confocal laser scanning microscope into a system capable of imaging using two-photon excitation (TPE) fluorescence for the use of the PSU biology department. TPE microscopy operates on the ability of fluorophores to accept two photons each with half the energy of a desired transition in a single quantum event via a virtual energy state and then emit a higher energy photon upon relaxation. This is preferable to single-photon excitation (SPE) due to the lower energy photons causing less damage to delicate biological samples. The adaptation process included physically altering …

Respiratory-Swallowing Coordination In Motor Neuron Disease: A Scoping Review, Mariam Z. Mansoor

Student Research Symposium

Respiratory-swallowing coordination (RSC) is essential for providing efficient breathing and optimal swallowing function. Most commonly used methods of measuring RSC include nasal thermistry, and respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) to determine direction and durations of airflow. Outcome measures include swallow apnea duration (SAD) and respiratory phase pattern (RPP), i.e., direction of airflow pre- and post-SAD. The goal of the current project was to conduct a scoping literature review of RSC, focusing on the motor neuron disease (MND) population, including people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A multi-engine literature search was conducted in 2023-24 via PubMed and Google Scholar. No limitations were …

Characterization Of Chopped Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites Produced Using Fused Deposition Modeling, Jonathon Tran, Rachel Shubella

Student Research Symposium

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process which can create parts with complex geometries in their final shape without need for additional specialized tools or devices. The FDM process builds parts by adding material layer by layer only where it is needed, saving energy, costs, production time for complex parts, and minimizing waste. Fiber reinforcement can significantly enhance the mechanical properties of a polymer material and depends significantly on the fiber length distribution and fiber orientation distribution of the final part. In this research, we investigated the various infill patterns of FDM printed Markforged onyx which is …

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Recycling Processes For Perovskite Solar Cells, Juan P. Herrera, Jules Freeman, Achyuth Ravilla, Ilke Celik

Student Research Symposium

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a promising option for solar energy generation. However, it is essential to consider the environmental impact of these innovative photovoltaic (PV) technologies as the industry moves towards commercialization. Researchers are currently exploring ways to recycle PSCs to recover valuable materials and reduce their environmental impact at the end of their life. To ensure the sustainability of PSCs, this study evaluates and compares the environmental impacts of five recently developed recycling approaches. The Tool for Reduction and Assessment of Chemicals (TRACI) method was utilized to measure environmental impacts in categories such as acidification (kg …