Engineering Commons^™

Sensitivity Analysis Of An Agent-Based Simulation Model Using Reconstructability Analysis, Andey M. Nunes, Martin Zwick, Wayne Wakeland

Systems Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reconstructability analysis, a methodology based on information theory and graph theory, was used to perform a sensitivity analysis of an agent-based model. The NetLogo BehaviorSpace tool was employed to do a full 2^k factorial parameter sweep on Uri Wilensky’s Wealth Distribution NetLogo model, to which a Gini-coefficient convergence condition was added. The analysis identified the most influential predictors (parameters and their interactions) of the Gini coefficient wealth inequality outcome. Implications of this type of analysis for building and testing agent-based simulation models are discussed.

Relationships Between In-Situ Tests And Soil Cyclic Strength For Earthquake Hazard Characterization In The Pacific Northwest, Tanner Scott Bryantt

Dissertations and Theses

Strong earthquake shaking is a natural hazard threat in the Pacific Northwest. Soil failure due to strong earthquake shaking -- known as cyclic soil failure or liquefaction -- is expected to cause large ground deformations and damage to roads, bridges, and other civil infrastructure. Cyclic soil strength (CRR) is often characterized with in-situ geotechnical tests including the cone penetration test (CPT). Relationships between CRR and in-situ test data are not well established for soils in the Pacific Northwest. Portland State University, in partnership with New Albion Geotechnical has compiled a database of cyclic lab tests for Pacific Northwest soils to …

Extending The Functional Subnetwork Approach To A Generalized Linear Integrate-And-Fire Neuron Model, Nicholas Szczecinski, Roger Quinn, Alexander J. Hunt

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Engineering neural networks to perform specific tasks often represents a monumental challenge in determining network architecture and parameter values. In this work, we extend our previously-developed method for tuning networks of non-spiking neurons, the “Functional subnetwork approach” (FSA), to the tuning of networks composed of spiking neurons. This extension enables the direct assembly and tuning of networks of spiking neurons and synapses based on the network’s intended function, without the use of global optimization ormachine learning. To extend the FSA, we show that the dynamics of a generalized linear integrate and fire (GLIF) neuronmodel have fundamental similarities to those of …

Indoor Air Quality Impacts Of A Woodstove Exchange Program In Washington County, Oregon, Matthew Forrest Survilo

Dissertations and Theses

More than six million people in the United States use wood stoves as their primary heat source. Wood stoves emit air pollutants that may impact health, e.g., wood combustion products are associated with premature death and aggravation of pulmonary and cardiovascular conditions. There are few studies investigating the efficacy of wood stove exchange programs (WSEPs) as a method to improve indoor air quality (IAQ). In partnership with Washington County Department of Health and Human Services we conducted an air quality study to measure the impact of a WSEP on indoor and neighborhood levels of wood combustion products. Twenty households engaged …

Ronald E. Mcnair Scholars Program Profiles And Abstracts 2020, Mcnair Scholars Program

McNair Symposium

This is the complete event program and provides presentation abstracts and biographies of McNair scholars and their mentors.

Synthesis And Assessment Of Radiotherapy-Enhancing Nanoparticles, Hayden Winter

Dissertations and Theses

Radiation Therapy (RT) is a common treatment for cancerous lesions that acts by ionizing matter in the affected tissue, causing cell death. The disadvantage of RT is that it is most often delivered via an external beam of radiation which must pass through healthy tissues to reach the target site, ionizing matter within healthy tissues as well. To address this drawback, techniques are being developed for increasing RT-induced cell death in a target tissue while minimizing cell death in surrounding tissues. This effect is known as radiation dose enhancement or RT enhancement.

The approach to RT enhancement studied in this …

Facilitating Mixed Self-Timed Circuits, Alexandra R. Hanson

University Honors Theses

Designers constrain the ordering of computation events in self-timed circuits to ensure the correct behavior of the circuits. Different circuit families utilize different constraints that, when families are combined, may be more difficult to guarantee in combination without inserting delay to postpone necessary events. By analyzing established constraints of different circuit families like Click and GasP, we are able to identify the small changes necessary to either 1) avoid constraints entirely; or 2) decrease the likelihood of necessary delay insertion. Because delay insertion can be tricky for novice designers and because the likelihood of its requirement increases when mixing different …

Optimized Xanthene-Based Probes For Pancreatic Cancer Imaging, Ian Ruramai Munhenzva

Dissertations and Theses

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest human malignancies with an extremely poor 5-year survival rate of below 5%. Surgical resection is the most effective treatment of choice because chemotherapy and radiation therapy do not improve life expectancy. Residual tumor after PDAC surgery is common due to a lack of PDAC targeted intraoperative contrast agents to confirm clear margins.

Fluorescence imaging has the potential to improve surgery outcome and PDAC patients' survival rate via the use of highly PDAC-specific molecular probes to facilitate tumor identification. This thesis describes the application of a focused library of benzoxanthene fluorophores for …

Scanning Electron Microscopy (Sem) Investigation Of Morphology Changes In The Reduction Of Silica Nanoparticles To Elemental Silicon, Allison M. Cairns

University Honors Theses

The application of silicon nanoparticles varies from energy storage materials, to drug-delivery, and molecular recognition. Various chemical and physical properties of the Si nanoparticles arise from their morphology. This paper aims to reveal the morphology of Si nanoparticles following magnesiothermic reduction of silica (SiO₂) nanoparticles. Two sets of SiO₂ nanoparticles were used, commercially available NanoXact nanoparticles and laboratory-synthesized Stöber nanoparticles. A Zeiss Sigma VP FEG SEM was used to examine the morphology. Following the magnesiothermic reduction, the nanoparticles were etched with HF. Ten sets of images were taken of both Stöber and NanoXact nanoparticles: 1,2: the SiO …

A Quantum Algorithm For Automata Encoding, Edison Tsai, Marek Perkowski

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Encoding of finite automata or state machines is critical to modern digital logic design methods for sequential circuits. Encoding is the process of assigning to every state, input value, and output value of a state machine a binary string, which is used to represent that state, input value, or output value in digital logic. Usually, one wishes to choose an encoding that, when the state machine is implemented as a digital logic circuit, will optimize some aspect of that circuit. For instance, one might wish to encode in such a way as to minimize power dissipation or silicon area. For …

Storm Tide Amplification And Habitat Changes Due To Urbanization Of A Lagoonal Estuary, Philip Orton, Eric W. Sanderson, Stefan Talke, Mario Giampieri, Kytt Macmanus

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In recent centuries, human activities have greatly modified the geomorphology of coastal regions. However, studies of historical and possible future changes in coastal flood extremes typically ignore the influence of geomorphic change. Here, we quantify the influence of 20th-century man-made changes to Jamaica Bay, New York City, on present-day storm tides. We develop and validate a hydrodynamic model for the 1870s based on detailed maps of bathymetry, seabed characteristics, topography, and tide observations for use alongside a present-day model. Predominantly through dredging, landfill, and inlet stabilization, the average water depth of the bay increased from 1.7 to 4.5 m, tidal …