Digital Commons Network^™

Renewal Of The Mind: Forgiveness Through The Lens Of Christian Faith And Neuroscience, Khelen Walsh

University Honors Theses

Within Christian theology, forgiveness is a foundational concept that is often understood as a divine command, a spiritual practice, and a path toward reconciliation and personal growth. Recent neuroscientific research further supports this viewpoint, providing data that shows forgiveness engages neural systems responsible for emotional regulation, empathy, moral reasoning, and perspective-taking. Through neuroplasticity, repeated acts of forgiveness reshape the brain, strengthen connections between prefrontal and limbic regions, reduce amygdala reactivity, and enhance emotional stability and cognitive flexibility. Although forgiveness offers many benefits, modern culture frequently distorts its meaning, framing it as a sign of weakness, gullibility, or a form of …

Field Canals Improvement Projects Duration Prediction: A Comparative Analysis Of Machine Learning Models, Hania Ghouse, Ukaegbu Chinonso Ishmael, Edgar Dario Obando-Paredes, Hashem Shafik Shakir, Ali Al-Bayaty

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

There are several essential elements in project construction management to be studied appropriately, and priority to these elements, such as cost and duration, is predominantly interesting to be investigated. In this research, the duration of field canal improvement projects (DFCIP) was predicted using two relatively new machine learning (ML) models - the Multivariate Adaptive Regression Spline (MARS) and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM). The targeted DFCIP was calculated using other dependent parameters, such as the length of the pipe, years of construction, the geographical zone of the network, the supplied area with water, and finally the actual cost of the field …

An Examination Of Disparities In Adhd Diagnosis Between Men And Women, Julia Holloway

University Honors Theses

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has become an increasingly popular area of study over the last decade. The rise in cases over the same period likely explains this trend, as does ADHD’s status as one of the most commonly encountered neurodevelopmental disorders. While much of this research has served as an invaluable asset to both practitioners and patients there are still blind spots which have yet to be addressed by the existing body of research. This progress in our understanding of ADHD has gone far in illuminating the biases which have set the precedent for treatment and diagnosis, however, widespread understanding …

Art And Critical Thinking, Audrey Nixon

University Honors Theses

The voice of art molds and dictates norms and behaviors of society. Art eases people into sitting with discomfort or alternate ideas of the world. I work with mixed-media collage to respond and react to culture and the current American political climate. Through the act of expressing and working through thoughts and emotions, art teaches people how to process, it teaches histories of resistance, and empathy. Artists have the ability to engage their audience to critically think about what is happening in our world. By channeling expression and passion, art can help people make necessary connections about concepts that lead …

Understanding The U.S. Maternal Healthcare System At The Intersection Of Asian American Birth Outcomes And The Model Minority Stereotype: A Literature Review, Sophia Hevel

University Honors Theses

This thesis aims to explore the maternal healthcare system in the United States as it pertains to Asian American birthing people, the ways in which their racial, ethnic, and cultural identities are interacted with within the U.S. Healthcare system, and subsequently the detrimental effects of the medical system's devaluation of culturally specific birthing and postpartum practices have on Asian American birthing experiences. This will be accomplished through an exploration of the United States' maternal healthcare system, or rather, its crisis; how Asian Americans navigate a system that has not been structured to support their specific needs; and lastly, a discussion …

Future Vision And Action Recommendations, Sondoss Elsawah, Melissa Haeffner, Anthony Jakeman

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Let us imagine a future world where water management is more fully integrated and supported by the science of sociohydrology and related metadisciplines. This is a vision for the future where the social, cultural, environmental, and economic values of water are explicitly considered through the lens of the science–water policy interface. The ultimate value of research will be measured by how much it supports improvements in water resources and hazards management and, in particular, completes and enriches the science–water policy interface.

Human-Drought Systems, Margaret Garcia, Elizabeth Koebele, Melissa Haeffner, Anne F. Van Loon, Newsha Ajami, Claudia Teutschbein, Marjolein Mens, Sylvain Massuel, Christopher White, Burcu Tezcan

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Advancing our understanding of the processes linking social and hydrological systems is an essential step toward managing drought risk and increasing drought resilience. Over the past decade, numerous studies have advanced our understanding of human influences on drought propagation, drought responses and their immediate and long-term consequences, and decisions and conditions leading to drought resilience. These advances have been achieved through: (1) the development of datasets that document drought progression, hazards, risk, vulnerability, and adaptation capacity; (2) creation of new modeling methods and application of models to build and test theory; and (3) empirical analyses from in depth case studies …

Comparison Of Depression Risk And Depression-Related Ambulatory Care Utilization In Sarcopenia Patients With And Without Chinese Herbal Medicine., Hang-Che Li, Hanoch Livneh, Wei-Chiao Chang, Yu-Han Wang, Ming-Hsien Yeh, Bo-Chyuan Chen, Ming-Chi Lu, Wei-Jen Chen, Tzung-Yi Tsai

Leadership, Learning and Counseling Faculty Publications and Presentations

The impact of psychiatric disorder, especially depression, on the prognosis of sarcopenic patients is gaining prominence. Yet, there have been very few studies focusing on this issue, let alone the related targeted mental health prevention. This cohort-based nested case-control study is geared to compare risk of depression and the depression-related ambulatory care utilization for sarcopenia persons with and without receiving add-on Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) treatment.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Highly Stable Fisetin Encapsulated In Lecithin-Chitosan-Savie Nanoparticles, Hart Monyatovsky, Travis Anderson, Jay Nadeau

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Senolytic drugs, of the class of polyphenolic flavonoids, have attracted attention for a wide variety of medical applications for which they may be delivered topically, orally, and/or intravenously. However, due to their hydrophobicity and sensitivity to light and oxygen, they have been proven difficult to package and deliver. Here we report a synthesis method for encapsulated fisetin using lecithin-chitosan ionic gelation with a recently reported surfactant that is an alternative to polyethylene glycol (PEG)-containing compounds. Called “Savie” for a contraction of its components, sarcosine-Vitamin E, this surfactant allows for production of sub-100 nm nanoparticles that are bench stable for at …

Interfacial Gap Prediction In Laser Welding Of Pure Copper Overlap Joints Using Multiple Sensors., Hyeonhee Kim, Cheolhee Kim, Minjung Kang

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study, a novel approach was proposed for predicting the interfacial gap in copper overlap joints by using deep learning and multi-sensor fusion. In this method, an image sensor, a spectrometer, and optical sensors tomography (OCT) sensors were used to develop and validate deep learning models under various gap conditions. The results revealed that the variation in melt pool dimensions, changes in keyhole behavior, intensity variations at specific wavelengths, and keyhole depth derived from the OCT data could be used to accurately predict the interfacial gap. Among the proposed models, a binary gap classification model achieved the highest accuracy …

A Credibility-Driven Evaluation Of A Community-Based Perinatal Substance Use Disorder Collaborative Care Model, Christina M. Jäderholm, Teshanee T. Williams, Brad M. Wipfli, Lynne C. Messer, Liana B. Winett

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction:

Effectively treating substance use disorder (SUD) during pregnancy is critical to preventing adverse health outcomes for both parents and children, including overdose death and family separation. Although evidence supports investing in parental recovery through comprehensive care and support, these approaches remain under-examined, with community perspectives often marginalized due to evaluation challenges. This study evaluated the Substance Use Network (SUN) program, a community-based perinatal SUD recovery model in North Carolina.MethodsWe used a patient-focused journey mapping approach to assess participant engagement, health outcomes, and alignment between participant and provider experiences. The evaluation used a mixed-methods approach, incorporating participant medical record review …

First-Principles Theory Of Five-And Six-Phonon Scattering, Yi Xia

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

igher-order phonon scatterings beyond fourth order remain largely unexplored despite their potential importance in strongly anharmonic materials at elevated temperatures. We develop a theoretical formalism for first-principles calculation of five- and six-phonon scatterings using Green’s function techniques based on a diagrammatic formalism, and systematically investigate multi-phonon interactions in Si, MgO, and BaO from room temperature to near melting points. Our calculations reveal dramatically different material-dependent behaviors: while five- and six-phonon processes remain negligible in Si even at high temperatures, they become increasingly important in MgO near its melting point (3100 K) and in BaO at intermediate temperatures (1200 K). Most …

Building Oregon's Statewide Multimodal Transportation Inventory With Ai And Interagency Collaboration, Ben Stabler, Theresa Conley

PSU Transportation Seminars

ODOT and 48+ local agencies are collaborating on the development of a multimodal data set for transportation planning within metropolitan areas. Revisions to Oregon's Transportation Planning Rules (TPR) set in motion the need for more multimodal data and analysis in local plans. The multimodal data inventory includes vehicle and freight facilities, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, transit facilities, and other relevant data such as key destinations and crashes. Starting from the local agency GIS systems and supplemented with real world use of AI for developing bicycle and pedestrian facilities, the team is defining and constructing a shared statewide multimodal data set. …

A Generalized Lehmer Conjecture For The Trace Of T ₃, Liubomir Chiriac, Erin Williams

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The expectation that Ramanujan’s tau function does not vanish, commonly known as Lehmer’s Conjecture, has inspired several extensions to broader settings. In this paper, we focus on one such direction, proposed by Rouse, concerning the non-vanishing of traces of Hecke operators Tn. We refine an algorithm originally introduced by Rouse to resolve the case n = 2, and, together with tools from our earlier work on the case n = 3 in level one, we settle the conjecture for T₃ in full generality. We also discuss an implication of our result for the non-vanishing of all coefficients of the …

2025 Point In Time Count Findings -- Summary Report: Count Of People Experiencing Homelessness In Clackamas, Multnomah, And Washington Counties, Oregon, Marisa Zapata, Carolyn Niehaus, Franklin H. Spurbeck, Minji Cho

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires continuums of care (CoC) across the country to routinely count people experiencing homelessness. This count, called the Point in Time Count (PITC), enumerates the number and characteristics of people who are experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. As a result, the count provides a snapshot of homelessness within a CoC. In the Portland metropolitan region, Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties administer their respective CoCs. These, referred to as the tri-counties in this report, are responsible for submitting PITC data every year.

The PITC is a survey of people …

Climatic Controls On Soil Production, Transport And Chemical Erosion: Insights From Modelling Topography, Soils And Cosmogenic Nuclides At Little Lake, Oregon, Miles M. Reed, Ken L. Ferrier, Jill A. Marshall, Josh J. Roering, J. Taylor Perron

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Predicting physical and chemical erosion rate responses to climate change are an ongoing challenge in geomorphology. A promising approach for investigating this is by measuring transient variations in physical and chemical erosion rates during climatically variable time periods, which can be accomplished by measuring cosmogenic nuclide concentrations and chemical depletion in sedimentary deposits. Interpreting such measurements warrants applying landscape evolution models that track variations in topography, cosmogenic nuclide concentrations and chemical depletion in soils. We applied a recently developed model that tracks these quantities at Little Lake, Oregon. Previous studies documented variations in cosmogenic nuclide concentrations and chemical depletion in …

Guided Modes Of Helical Waveguides, Jay Gopalakrishnan, Michael Neunteufel

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper studies guided transverse scalar modes propagating through helically coiled waveguides. Modeling the modes as solutions of the Helmholtz equation within the three-dimensional (3D) waveguide geometry, a propagation ansatz transforms the mode-finding problem into a 3D quadratic eigenproblem. Through an untwisting map, the problem is shown to be equivalent to a 3D quadratic eigenproblem on a straightened configuration. Next, exploiting the constant torsion and curvature of the Frenet frame of a circular helix, the 3D eigenproblem is further reduced to a two-dimensional (2D) eigenproblem on the waveguide cross section. All three eigenproblems are numerically treated. As expected, significant computational …

Model-Based Assessment Of Ocean Monitoring Temporal And Spatial Resolution Requirements For Acoustic Operations, William K. Stevens, Martin Siderius

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding present and future ocean conditions is essential for the effective planning and execution of a wide range of naval and commercial acoustic operations. The four-dimensional structure of temperature and salinity}from the ocean surface to the seabed}is a critical factor influencing acoustic transmission properties. Modern numerical ocean modeling systems consist of three primary components: ocean observations, a numerical forecasting model, and a data assimilation system. Of the tens of millions of global ocean observations assimilated daily, the majority derive from satellite-based surface measurements. In stark contrast, subsurface water column measurements number only in the thousands per day. This disparity highlights …

Obesity Vs. Overweight Status: Differential Predictions To Poly-Substance Use In Young Adulthood, H. Isabella Lanza, Kailey Waller, Lalaine Sevillano

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background:

Though past research has identified links between higher weight status and substance use in young adulthood, prospective studies are scarce and mixed, the role of higher weight status on vaping is less clear, and little empirical work has examined differences between obesity vs. overweight on poly-substance use. The current study assessed the role of weight status on poly-substance use trajectories across young adulthood.Methods1,303 young adults (20.5 ± 2.3 years; 63% female; 41% Latina/o/x, 30% Asian-American/Asian, 18% Caucasian/White) from a public, urban university were surveyed at six-month intervals from spring 2021 (W1) to spring 2023 (W5). Weight status was measured …

Friends In Our Lives: Perspectives Of Young People Who Participated In A Professional Mentoring Program, Kristian Jones, Karryn Satchell, Lakindra Mitchell Dove, Julissa Muñiz, Erik Hulman, J Mark Eddy, Kevin Haggerty, Deborah Cohen, Martie Skinner, Koren Hanson

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mentoring programs are popular interventions to support holistic development for young people. One specific model of mentoring that has emerged over the past few decades in the United States is professional mentoring. Research has illustrated that this model of mentoring may be particularly helpful for young people who could benefit from extra support in their lives that a volunteer mentoring program does not have the capacity to provide. Despite the emerging utilization of professional mentoring programs, little is known about the ideal characteristics of a professional mentor and young people's experiences in these professional mentoring programs. This study interviewed 12 …

Al-Driven Interfacial Gap Prediction In Overlapped Al/Cu Laser Weld Joint For Battery Applications, Hyeonhee Kim, Sanghoon Kang, Cheolhee Kim, Yong Hoon Jang, Minjung Kang

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The battery tab-to-busbar welding process forms the primary electrical path in battery packs and is directly linked to both performance and safety. Variations in jig alignment, material tolerance, and forming quality can cause small interfacial gaps that lead to weak welds. An artificial intelligence (AI)-driven method was proposed in this study for predicting interfacial gaps in aluminum-copper overlap joints by integrating deep learning with multi-sensor data. A charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, spectrometer, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) sensors were employed to develop and validate deep learning models under varying gap conditions. The results revealed that the variation in melt-pool dimensions, …

Just-In-Time Adaptive Intervention To Improve Hiv Prevention And Substance Use In Youth Experiencing Homelessness (My-Ride): Protocol Fora Randomized Controlled Trial, Diane Santa Maria, Nikhil Padhye, Michael Businelle, Natasha Slesnick, Stefani Ricondo, Marguerita Lightfoot

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Youth who are experiencing homelessness face a higher risk of HIV infection compared to their housed peers, and suicide and overdose remain the leading causes of death among homeless youth. Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAIs) are gaining momentum for HIV prevention and substance use research. Yet, most interventions for homeless youth have not addressed modifiable real-time factors. Objective: This paper describes the development and implementation of a randomized attention-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of motivating youth to reduce infections, disconnections, and emotional dysregulation (MY-RIDE), a JITAI to improve HIV prevention and substance use in homeless youth. Methods: This study …

What Influences Changes In Gait Spatiotemporal Parameters In Boys With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy? Focusing On Contractures, Muscle Strength, And Gait Deviations, Anita Bagley, Susan Sienko, Cathleen E. Buckon, Kent Heberer, Loretta Staudt, Eileen Fowler, Jason Newsom, Craig Mcdonald, Michael D. Sussman

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Aim: The absence of dystrophin in patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) causes muscle fiber necrosis and fibrosis and eventually muscle weakness and contractures. This study aimed to investigate the timing and extent of lower limb contracture development and to examine how contractures, muscle strength, and kinematic (e.g., limb position or joint movement) deviations relate to longitudinal changes in gait spatiotemporal parameters.

Methods: Seventy-five ambulatory boys with DMD participated in this prospective longitudinal study of contractures, isometric muscle strength, and gait analysis. Nonlinear mixed modeling (NLMIXED) exponential growth curve models were developed to investigate the effects of contractures, muscle strength, …

Coupling The Parflow Integrated Hydrology Model Within The Nasa Land Information System: A Case Study Over The Upper Colorado River Basin, P.Eyman Abbaszadeh, Fadji Zaouna Maina, Chen Yang, Dan Rosen, Sujay Kumar, Matthew Rodell, Reed Maxwell

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding, observing, and simulating Earth's water cycle is imperative for effective water resource management in the face of a changing climate. While NASA's Land Information System (LIS)/Noah-MP is widely used for land surface modeling, its ability to represent groundwater processes is limited. In contrast, the ParFlow hydrologic model explicitly simulates subsurface water movement. This study explores the effectiveness and usefulness of the newly coupled modeling framework, ParFlow-LIS/Noah-MP (PF-LIS/Noah-MP) over the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB). The framework integrates the strengths of both models to provide a physically based representation of surface and subsurface processes and their interactions. Unlike standalone LIS/Noah-MP, …

Understanding The Role Of Sentiment And Emotion For Predicting Forced Displacement, Helge Marahrens, Ameeta Agrawal, Ali Arab, Katharine Donato, Yaguang Liu, Nathan Wycoff, Mohamed Ahmed, Colin Hwang, Lina Laghzaoui, Kate Liggio, Multiple Additional Authors

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Digital trace data play an important role determining where and when people will move during migration crises because of their detailed temporal and spatial granularity. Yet, identifying variables that reliably serve as early indicators of movement remains a challenging task. Within this context, we conduct an in-depth analysis of two types of variables that can be constructed from social media data – sentiment and emotion. Sentiment is conceptually broad and easier to detect from social media posts, while emotion is conceptually nuanced and more difficult to determine. We investigate the potential of both sentiment and emotion of Twitter/X posts as …

Transit-Oriented Development And Affordable Housing: Lessons From Portland, Nathan Mcneil

PSU Transportation Seminars

The seminar will cover surveys of residents at recently built Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs) focused on affordable housing sites. This study builds off of an ongoing partnership between Portland State University and the Portland Metro regional government to understand the travel choices of people who move to recently constructed Metro supported TODs. Since 2018, Metro has focused their TOD investment on affordable housing; this survey, conducted in 2024, offers a lens into how TOD works for these low-income Portlanders, how their travel differs from prior TOD residents, and what opportunities exist to improve the TOD - affordable housing combination.

Rare, Threatened And Endangered Zoology Species Of Oregon (2025), Jesse Laney, Eleanor P. Gaines, Lindsey K. Wise, Misty Nelson

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

This publication provides a 2025 update to the rare, threatened, and endangered zoology species of Oregon. Species lists are also provided in Excel format.

The Oregon Biodiversity Information Center (ORBIC) is part of the Institute for Natural Resources (INR) located at Portland State University (PSU). ORBIC maintains extensive databases of Oregon biodiversity, concentrating on rare and endangered plants, animals and ecosystems. Since its creation in 1979 as the Oregon Natural Heritage Program, ORBIC has been part of the Natural Heritage network. ORBIC is a constituent member of NatureServe, a non-profit organization with a mission to provide the scientific basis for …

Justice Impacted Mothers: An Autoethnographic Study Exploring The Impacts Of Quality Prison Visitation With Children, Sarah E. Gore

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

This study explores the impacts of in-person visitation at correctional facilities and how the quality of this contact affects relationships between justice impacted mothers and their children. Little is known about these nuanced lived experiences as revealed by qualitative data and from someone who is mothering during incarceration. The literature on maternal incarceration is vast, but relies heavily on quantitative data. Existing research indicates facility visits, particularly those of high quality, offer constructive benefits such as reductions in maternal recidivism rates. However, separation during incarceration has shown higher risks for adolescent substance abuse, behavioral, and academic struggles. This study expands …

Calving As A Source Of Acute And Persistent Kinetic Energy To Enhance Submarine Melting Of Tidewater Glaciers, M. F. Shaya, J. D. Nash, E. C. Pettit, J. M. Amundson, R. H. Jackson, D. A. Sutherland, Dylan Winters

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Calving icebergs at tidewater glaciers release large amounts of potential energy. This energy—in principle—could be a source for submarine melting, which scales with near‐terminus water temperature and velocity. Because near‐terminus currents are challenging to observe or predict, submarine melt remains a key uncertainty in projecting tidewater glacier retreat and sea level rise. Here, we study one submarine calving event at Xeitl Sít’ (LeConte Glacier), Alaska, to explore the effect of calving on ice melt, using a suite of autonomously deployed instruments beneath, around, and downstream of the calving iceberg. Our measurements captured flows exceeding 5 m/s and demonstrate how potential …

A Case Study On The Effectiveness Of Llms In Verification With Proof Assistants, Barış Bayazıt, Yao Li, Xujie Si

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Large language models (LLMs) can potentially help with verification using proof assistants by automating proofs. However, it is unclear how effective LLMs are in this task. In this paper, we perform a case study based on two mature Rocq projects: the hs-to-coq tool and Verdi. We evaluate the effectiveness of LLMs in generating proofs by both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Our study finds that: (1) external dependencies and context in the same source file can significantly help proof generation; (2) LLMs perform great on small proofs but can also generate large proofs; (3) LLMs perform differently on different verification projects; …