Undergraduate Works

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Open Access
The 1903-1904 Typhoid Fever Epidemic in Butler, Pennsylvania
(University of Oregon, 2009) Donheffner, Kristen
Open Access
The 1960s NAACP Campaign to Integrate Public Housing in Portland
(University of Oregon, 2007) Matsumaru, Michael
Like many other cities in the U.S. during the 1960s, Portland, Oregon featured an undeniable black ghetto, located in the heart of its Albina district. The Portland branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) struggled throughout the 1960s to keep local government from perpetuating the existing ghetto. For years, the NAACP and other civil rights organizations protested plans from the Housing Authority of Portland (HAP) to build federally subsidized public housing units in the heart of Albina.
Open Access
2D conductive MOF electronic property study
(University of Oregon, 2021) Yang, Min Chieh; Hendon, Christopher
Due to metal organic framework (MOF) high surface area and crystal lattice architecture, electronic conductive MOF has arisen to become a promising candidate for energy store applications. However, as binding nature between metal and organic linker being ionic, electronically conductive MOFs required for energy related application remains unexplored and desirable while most MOFs are insulators. Among conductive MOFs, MX4 type MOF structure provided potential in-plane charge transfer pathway through d-pi interaction between the metal and organic linker with examples such as Ni3(HIB)2 and Cu3(HIB)2 providing conductivity of 800 S/cm and 1300S/cm, respectively. Ni3(HITP)2 (Ni3(2,3,6,7,10,11-hexaiminotriphenylene)2), MX4 type structural MOF, has shown conductivity of 40 S/cm through pi-stacking along the C-direction of its organic linker instead of through the conjugating pathway along the AB-plane. While Ni3(HITP)2 AB-plane shown to possess band gap within the semi-conductor level, , Ni3(HITP)2 derivative NiTAA-MOF (Ni(II) Tetraaza[14]annulene-Linked Metal Organic Framework) was synthesized to explore potential in-plane conduction pathway. Here, with computational technique, we examine the effect of the additional 3-carbon bridge motif towards Ni3(HITP)2 electronic structure. In addition, as NiTAA-MOF composed of unoxidized HITP linker, electronic structural examinations towards n-type doped Ni3(HITP)2 were performed to explore potential improvement of Ni3(HITP)2 charge transfer ability.
Open Access
3D GM Study of Effects of Age on Cranial Shape in Large-Bodied Papionins, Using Molar Wear as a Proxy for Age
(University of Oregon, 2020) Quintanilla, Andrea; Simons, Evan; Frost, Stephen; Simons, Evan
Primate cranial shape in relation to age, sex and taxonomy is a growing topic of research, with large-bodied Old World monkeys being among the most studied using geometric morphometrics (GM) and used as models for human cranial shape variation. Ontogenetic changes to skull shape from juveniles to adults are well studied, but those that occur during adulthood are less well known: a twenty-year old is still an adult, but their skull could differ in shape compared to that of a sixty-year old. In this project, we used GM and multivariate analyses to observe changes of cranial shape that occur with post-adult aging. Forty-five 3D landmarks were collected with a Microscribe 3DX digitizer on a sample of 347 wild-collected baboon (Genus Papio) crania, and subjected to generalized Procrustes analysis using the Geomorph package in Rstudio; this superimposes the data and standardizes geometric size, but leaves shape differences. The resulting Procrustes shape coordinates were adjusted for size and sex with multivariate regression analysis to mitigate the effects of allometry and dimorphism. These adjusted coordinates were then regressed against upper third molar wear stage as a proxy for age, using multivariate tests for significance. Principal components analysis was used to summarize the resulting shape space. Results demonstrated that there is a significant effect of molar wear stage on cranial shape, even after accounting for size and sex differences, but it is a subtle effect that accounts for approximately 1% of shape variance. In the future, we will investigate causes of this shape change.
Open Access
A Comparison of Ursula K. Le Guin and Ken Kesey's Response to the Counter Culture Movement of the Sixties
(University of Oregon, 2020) Balthazaar, Lyla; Lyla, Balthazaar; Max, Braker; Eleanor, Davis; Rust, Stephen
Research comparing two Oregonian authors (Ursula K. Le Guin and Ken Kesey) response to the counterculture movement of the sixties using the special archive collection from the Knight Library and outside resources.
Open Access
A Juvenile Aplodontid (Rodentia) Jaw From The John Day Formation of Oregon
(University of Oregon, 2021) Eleanor, Froehlich; Samantha, Hopkins
Family Aplodontidae is made of a number of extant and extinct species that include the modern mountain beaver and show a wide range of morphological diversity. I identified a fossil aplodontid jaw from the John Day Formation of Oregon for the final project of the ERTH 434: Vertebrate Paleontology course. The fossil, designated as JODA 2942, is a partial left mandible containing a broken incisor, a deciduous fourth premolar, and both the first and second molars. The specimen is from the Turtle Cove Member of the John Day Formation and comes from a locality north of Dayville, Oregon. This specimen dates to approximately 26 to 24 million years in age. Through comparisons to fossil rodents, I was able to determine that this specimen is a juvenile Rudiomys mcgrewi. This is significant as the type specimen of R. mcgrewi is very fragmentary and the only published occurrence of this genus, making each additional specimen valuable. Additionally, individuals from subfamily Meniscomyinae have wear patterns that change throughout the animal’s life. As this specimen is very young, we are able to see the practically unworn morphology. This identification increases the known diversity of aplodontids in the Turtle Cove Member and extends the known temporal range of R. mcgrewi.
Open Access
A Multi-Task Weak Supervision Framework for Internet Measurements
(University of Oregon, 2021) Knofczynski, Jared; Durairajan, Ram
The ability of machine learning (ML) systems to learn and identify patterns in data is of growing importance to researchers in all fields, especially in the domain of Internet measurements. As our reliance on the Internet continues to grow, ML solutions to networking problems continue to be invaluable in ensuring the sustained performance of networked systems around the globe. One key issue networking researchers face is a lack of labeled training data, particularly at scale. Traditional labeling strategies such as crowdsourcing or manual annotation by subject matter experts are less viable in networking domains, as labeling Internet measurement data often requires significant domain expertise that crowdsourced labeling resources do not possess, and the vast quantities of networking data make large-scale manual annotation infeasible. Additionally, many networking applications of ML require running multiple tasks concurrently, resulting in the multiplicative growth of training times as the number of tasks increases. This reliance on isolated models also means that potentially useful information may be discarded if a model deems it irrelevant for the task at hand when it could be useful to other models training on the same dataset. Given these challenges, we propose ARISE, a multi-task weak supervision framework for Internet measurements capable of leveraging weak supervision strategies in the form of labeling functions to label vast quantities of networking data, while also sharing information between tasks during the training process to decrease training times, improve classification accuracy, and reduce the influences of hidden biases potentially contained within sets of training data.
Open Access
A Mutant Microbial Species Alters Interspecies Interactions in the Zebrafish Gut
(University of Oregon, 2021) Kast, Jade; Sundarraman, Deepika; Parthasarathy, Raghuveer; Parthasarathy, Raghuveer
Gut bacterial communities are important for host development and health. Knowledge of bacterial species interactions will aid in understanding gut community composition and the factors that affect it. Previous work in the larval zebrafish gut has shown that strong competitive interactions between pairs of bacterial species are weakened in a community of five commensal species where higher-order interactions promote species coexistence. This raises the question of whether certain characteristics of the species present can affect higher-order interactions in multispecies communities to disrupt community stability. To address this, I replaced one bacterial species of the genus Aeromonas, which is native to zebrafish, from the previously studied group of five species with a mutant strain that aggregates less than the wild-type strain. Through dissection and plating experiments, I found the mutant Aeromonas has a stronger negative interaction compared to the wild-type Aeromonas in two-species experiments with Enterobacter— another native species. The mutant Aeromonas’ interaction also persisted in the five species community. The results suggest bacterial species characteristics influence higher-order interactions in multispecies communities, therefore influencing gut community composition.
Open Access
A Preliminary Analysis of Cambodian Spindle Whorls
(University of Oregon, 2020) LeRoux, Marie; Carter, Alison Kyra
A collection of 362 ceramic spindle whorls purchased in Cambodia has been donated to University of Oregon’s Anthropology Department. These artifacts likely date to between 500 BCE and 500 CE and are thought to have been looted from the site of Angkor Borei, although it is possible that other neighboring sites are represented as well. Few studies have been conducted on spindle whorls from Southeast Asia. As such, this project focused on conducting a preliminary analysis of this collection by categorizing, weighing, and measuring them. In this poster, I present my findings and a preliminary typology including four distinct types. Two of these types have each had multiple subtypes identified.
Open Access
A Qualitative Study of Accessibility, Quality, and Affordability of Healthy Foods Within a Rural Oregon Town
(University of Oregon, 2020) Fallon, Emma; Pedroza, Jonathan; Kelly, Nichole; Budd, Elizabeth; Budd, Elizabeth
Title: A Qualitative Study of Accessibility, Quality, and Affordability of Healthy Foods Within a Rural Oregon Town Authorship: Fallon, E.R., Pedroza, J.A, Kelly, N.R., Budd, E.L. Introduction: Rural communities have limited access to healthy foods, which hinders healthy eating and increases risk for chronic diseases. The objectives of this study were to qualitatively assess: 1) access to local, healthy foods, and 2) experiences while participating in a produce buying club among residents of a rural Oregon town. Method: Nine interviews and two focus groups were conducted, one focus group including members of the local produce buying club and one including non-members. All study participants were asked about prices of food within their town; accessibility and availability of fresh, healthy foods; eating and buying habits; and other food related questions. Buying club participants were asked questions about their experiences with the program and the food they receive. Interviews were transcribed and content analysis was conducted by two trained research assistants. Results: Prominent themes in both of the focus groups included a lack of food options, high quality produce, and affordable food prices. Residents expressed a desire to eat healthier foods, but cited access as a barrier. Buying club participants appreciated the service, but noted significant organizational challenges (e.g., non-user-friendly technology, lack of paid employees, not allowing SNAP benefits) that made broader participation more difficult. Conclusion: Study findings show there is a need for interventions that improve access to healthy foods in rural communities, especially among low income residents. These data can inform recommendations on how to improve and expand the produce buying club in rural communities.
Open Access
A Study of Parathyroid Hormone Secretion Patterns on Bone Density in Hibernating Black Bears (Ursus americanus)
(University of Oregon, 2020) Eggling, Ali; Kaplow, Sera
Black Bears (Ursus americanus) have the unique ability to preserve bone structure and strength over the course of hibernation. In other hibernating mammals, decreased load on the skeleton causes a loss of bone density. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is a regulatory hormone secreted by the parathyroid gland. PTH has been identified as an important regulator in bone metabolism, controlling the coupling of osteoblast and osteoclast production while also regulating blood calcium levels. Abnormal secretion of this hormone is linked to osteoporosis and Paget’s disease, both of which cause a weakening in bone density. Theoretical modeling of PTH secretion cycling suggests that this hormone allows bears to maintain bone strength during hibernation. Our objective is to identify PTH secretion cycles and analyze their correlation with predicted optimal interval release. We predict that Ursus americanus optimize PTH release cycles by closely adhering to a theorized six hour secretion cycle during hibernation. Additionally, we believe that their PTH secretion cycle during hibernation differs from non-hibernating months of the year. We intend to test this by collecting blood samples from hibernating and non-hibernating populations of American black bears and measuring their serum PTH levels over both a daily period and throughout hibernation. This research is closely linked to medical research surrounding disuse osteoporosis, as well as environmental research concerned with identifying a baseline for the biological function of these bears moving into climate driven environmental pressures.
Open Access
Abject by Gender and Rage: The Loss of Antoinette's Identity in Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea
(University of Oregon, 2012-05-14) Pollanen, Iida
Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) is a postcolonial novel that gives a voice to Antoinette, the Creole woman described as the “mad woman in the attic” in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847). Wide Sargasso Sea has been widely discussed by critics, especially in the fields of postcolonial, feminist and modernist literary theory, but while many critics have focused on how it rewrites race and gender as expressed in Jane Eyre, this work highlights the novel as an independent entity and introduces the notion of abjection to analyze Antoinette’s identity crisis. Thus, by examining the connections between race and gender in Rhys’ novel in the light of Ania Loomba’s ideas about colonialism and postcolonialism and linking it to psychoanalytic feminism with Julia Kristeva’s notion of the abject, it is possible to understand why Antoinette loses her identity and how madness actually operates in a colonial and patriarchal society. Race and gender are used to provide metaphors for one another and to abject ‘the other’ among us, driving it to insanity.
Open Access
Achieving Zero-Net Energy in Doha, Qatar
(University of Oregon, 2015) Bankston, Jericho
The Project for ASHRAE’s 2015 Integrated Sustainable Building Design is to design a Junior College building to meet zero-net energy located in the city of Doha, Qatar while promoting other sustainable design practices. The building site needs to be determined as well as systems to implement to meet zero-net energy, reduce site and building water use as well as maintain comfortable interior spaces relative to natural day lighting, humidity and air temperature. It is crucially important to implement RES in a manner that takes into consideration the life expectancy of the building and the maintenance that goes into the systems needed to attain zero-net energy.
Open Access
Acquisition of Second Language Vocabularly for Kindergartners with Speech Sound Disorders
(University of Oregon, 2011-10-18) Zapf, Tracy
Researchers and educators alike have raised concerns over the potential exclusion of children with speech and language disorders in immersion programs. The purpose of this pilot study is to determine whether children with speech sound disorders acquire Spanish vocabulary at a rate comparable to typical peers when learning in an immersion program, and if rates of acquisition differ for expressive versus receptive vocabulary. Five kindergartners attending a partial, early elementary immersion school were studied: one control participant and four participants with speech sound disorders. This investigation used expressive (spoken) and receptive (understood) vocabulary probes to test the number of Spanish vocabulary words children could produce and comprehend within an eight-week period. Results show that children with speech sound disorders acquire expressive Spanish vocabulary at a rate comparable to their typical peers but had lower levels of acquisition overall, while rates of receptive vocabulary acquisition varied across participants. The results of this pilot study, which are not yet comprehensive, suggest that children with speech sound disorders are able to acquire Spanish vocabulary and, as a result, should continue to be included in immersion programs in the future.
Open Access
Activation of Defense Mechanisms in the Nudibranchs Peltodoris nobilis and Hermissenda crassicornis
(University of Oregon, 2022-11) Joy, Siena
Nudibranchs are marine invertebrates that use various defenses to deter predators. Peltodoris nobilis is a member of the superfamily Doridoidea and uses de novo chemical synthesis for defense. Hermissenda crassicornis is a member of the superfamily Aeolidioidea and uses nematocyst sequestration for defense. Past research explains the function and evolution of defenses in nudibranchs; however, it is unknown whether these defenses are active or passive. The goal of this research was to determine if the defense mechanisms in P. nobilis and H. crassicornis are active or passive and if one method is more effective at preventing predation than the other. It was hypothesized that the activation of defense mechanisms in both nudibranch species was active and that the defenses were equally effective at preventing predation. This hypothesis was tested by comparing the contact times of a juvenile Glebocarcinus oregonensis crab— a predator of nudibranchs—with an anesthetized and non-anesthetized nudibranch. There was no statistical difference in crab contact times between the anesthetized and control P. nobilis nudibranchs; however, the anesthetized H. crassicornis contact times with the crabs were statistically higher than the control. This suggests that the release of chemicals produced de novo in P. nobilis is passive, while the firing of sequestered nematocyst by H. crassicornis is active. The results also indicated that the control H. crassicornis contact times with the crabs were statistically lower than those of P. nobilis; however, the crabs demonstrated little predatory behavior across all trials. Therefore, this study cannot conclusively determine which defense mechanism is more effective at preventing predation.
Open Access
Active Olfactomotor Responses in Head-Fixed-Mice
(University of Oregon, 2021) Cullen, Isabelle; Acosta-King, Jared; Yeh, Dorian; Singh Bala, Dr. Avinash; Findley, Dr. Teresa; Smear, Dr. Matt
Olfactomotor responses are respiratory, orofacial, and locomotive movements for sampling and reacting to odors (Rabell et al. 2017, Kurnikova, Deschênes, and Kleinfeld 2019, Findley et al. 2020, Johnson et al 2003, Wesson et al 2008, Jones and Urban 2018). Altered sensory sampling behaviors, such as eye movement, temperature insensitivity, and pain insensitivity, have been identified in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In addition, Rozenkrantz et al. (2015) showed that olfactomotor behavior is affected in children with ASD. These children did not modulate sniffing behavior to aversive odors despite correctly identifying odors as unpleasant, suggesting an altered unconscious motor response. To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying olfactomotor sampling, we investigated respiratory and orofacial responses to odor using wildtype mice. Wildtype mice are exposed to 2-phenylethanol (attractive odor), 2- methylbutyric acid (aversive odor), pinene (neutral odor), or clear air over the course of a behavioral session. We record respiration with an intranasal thermistor and track orofacial movements using DeepLabCut. Our preliminary results in wildtype mice suggest that mice alter their sniffing and nose movement in response to odor stimuli. This work will shed light on active olfaction and help us understand more about naturalistic olfactomotor behaviors.
Open Access
Adamov's Alienation Effect: Showing the Absurdist Slant of Epic Theatre Aesthetic
(University of Oregon, 2015) Maurer, Nicholas
Epic Theatre and Absurdism could not be further apart. Epic Theatre was constructed in order to teach audiences morality, while Absurdism asserts that the world is deprived of morality and meaning. The contrast between styles can be seen by comparing the work of Bertolt Brecht to Samuel Beckett, figureheads of these two movements. Although these styles seem to originate from two separate schools of thought, they actually exist under the umbrella of modernism, and their connection is exemplified by the works of Arthur Adamov, who used Brechtian theory for his absurdist plays. Most notably, Adamov borrowed Brecht’s alienation effect. In his plays Professor Taranne, Paolo Paoli, and Ping Pong, Adamov adapted Brecht’s alienation effect in order to allow the audience to remove themselves from the exaggerated, absurd plot of the play. Instead of showing morality, this effect allows the plays to be more humorous than if an audience was to become invested in the onstage plight.
Open Access
Adaptable Adolescent: the Wonder of Adolescent Brain Development
(2024) Gomez, Nina; Mills, Kate
A comic describing the elasticity of the adolescent brain. Gomez and Mills explain how the brain matures and why being an adolescent can be confusing and challenging. Created in collaboration between undergraduate cartoonist Nina Gomez and UO researcher Kate Mills as part of the Science and Comics Initiative, read the comic online here: https://opentext.uoregon.edu/science-comics/chapter/adaptable-adolescent-the-wonder-of-adolescent-brain-development/
Open Access
Advancing threespine stickleback fish as an outbred immunogenetics model by pinpointing the onset of adaptive immunity
Niebergall, Emily; Beck, Emily; Cresko, William
T-cell deficiencies cause cell-mediated immunodeficiencies including Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) and DiGeorge Syndrome. Understanding cell-mediated deficiency is complicated by the invasive nature of prenatal tests and by the large role genetic variation plays in etiologies of immune disease. Development of an outbred immunogenetics model system is therefore needed to understand how genetic variation impacts phenotypic variation of immune disease. Threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) provide just such a model, with divergent natural populations harboring high levels of genetic and phenotypic variation. Importantly, external fertilization and transparent development of large numbers of progeny facilitate the study of immune cell development in a less labor intensive manner to mammalian systems. However, the timing of onset of the adaptive immune system is currently unknown in stickleback. To identify onset of adaptive immunity, we will analyze gene expression of early activators of adaptive immunity in genetically divergent lines of stickleback. These include V(D)J recombination activating genes, rag1 and rag2, and T cell receptor progenitor genes, tcr-β and tcr-γ. To analyze when expression of these genes is initiated, we will perform rtPCR and in situ hybridization in a developmental time series. Knowing when adaptive immunity onset occurs advances threespine stickleback as an immunogenetics disease model, allowing manipulative studies of immunological phenotypes in the context of genetic variation.
Open Access
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Salivary Oxytocin in Mothers With a History of Substance Abuse
(University of Oregon, 2021) Ricci, Giovanni; Ablow, Jennifer
Oxytocin (OT) is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide that is produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland. Research has shown OT is involved in regulating social behaviors such as pair bonding as well as facilitating maternal-child attachment. Research has also shown early childhood trauma may impair OT production later in life through negative feedback mechanisms. However, the relationship between OT and trauma has rarely been examined using a combination of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questionnaire and salivary OT measures. The aim of this preliminary investigation was to explore the association between salivary OT and ACE scores using novel salivary measures to solidify previous findings on the relationship between OT and early childhood adversity. The study included a small sample of 10 mothers participating in a six-week infant parenting program for mothers of newborns with experiences with substance use disorders. Baseline maternal salivary OT was collected at the beginning of the program and ACE questionnaires were collected upon completion. Results showed a strong, significant negative correlation between baseline salivary OT and ACE scores (r = -0.81, p = 0.004). These results support prior research suggesting early childhood trauma reduces OT production later in life. Implications for understanding the role childhood adversity plays in reduced OT production as a potential pathway for the intergenerational impacts of trauma are discussed.