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Characterizing Meteorological Patterns for Oregon\u27s Winter Elevated PM\u3csub\u3e2.5\u3c/sub\u3e Concentrations from 2000-2023
No full textValleys and basins are uniquely susceptible to the buildup of air pollution during the wintertime due to cool, dense air pooling under favorable meteorological conditions, a common occurrence in the Intermountain West. In Oregon, wintertime anthropogenic air pollution is primarily from woodburning stoves and heaters and although efforts have been made to reduce wintertime pollution, stagnation events continue to result in decreased air quality. This analysis aims to understand the relationship between air pollution in six Oregon counties and the associated meteorology in the cool season (November-March) using a 2000-2023 climatology.
This is completed through a composite analysis using key meteorological variables of days below the 10th and above the 80th, 90th and 99th percentile of PM2.5 concentrations in six counties, and a regression analysis between each county\u27s PM2.5 concentrations and these key meteorological variables. Both analyses reveal that 500-hPa geopotential height anomalies, indicative of ridge amplification over the western U.S., along with positive sea level pressure anomalies over and to the northwest of Oregon, are commonly associated with high concentrations of PM2.5. Temperature anomalies are characterized by negative values in the basin/valley recording the high PM2.5, with positive values in the surrounding higher terrain reflecting a low-level temperature inversion. Precipitation anomalies are negative across Oregon, associated with the upper-level ridging and atmospheric stability. The methodology of this analysis could be expanded to a larger geographic area to further diagnose the interactions between meteorological patterns and orography in modulating PM2.5 concentrations with the potential inform forecasts of unhealthy air quality during air stagnation events
Cul3 Postnatal Homozygous Deletion in Forebrain Results in Behavioral Differences
No full textLarge-scale human genetic studies implicate multiple genes that regulate protein ubiquitination in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). De novo loss-of-function mutations in the gene CULLIN3 (CUL3) are implicated in autism and intellectual disability (ID). CUL3 is an essential component of an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex required for ubiquitination of substrates, often a signal for proteasomal degradation. Homozygous deletion of Cul3 is embryonically lethal. Recent studies show heterozygous deletion of Cul3 results in phenotypes with some face validity for autism in constitutive and conditional Cul3 heterozygotes. To understand the function of Cul3 in late postnatal development and function in the brain, we crossed mice expressing Cre-recombinase under the control of the CaMKIIα promoter with conditional (floxed) Cul3 mice that resulted in viable homozygotes. In this study, we demonstrate that delayed postnatal deletion of Cul3 in predominantly forebrain excitatory neurons leads to robust behavioral differences across multiple behaviors. Cul3 conditional homozygotes show repetitive jumping, reduced marble burying, increased locomotion, impaired motor coordination, and increased hindlimb clasping. We were successfully able to replicate most of these findings in an independent cohort. Our future studies are aimed at gaining mechanistic insights into Cul3 function in the adult brain
CLEA Labs for Planetary, Stellar, and Cosmological Astronomy Configured for 64-bit Windows 11+ Machines
No full textProject CLEA -- CONTEMPORARY LABORATORY EXPERIENCES IN ASTRONOMY -- develops laboratory exercises that illustrate modern astronomical techniques using digital data and color images.
These Labs were developed for 32-bit Windows machines but PSU student Itan Altamirano reconfigured installation programs to bypass steps that ask for DVDs and allowing these 32-bit programs to work on 64-bit Windows 11+ computers
Recovering Population of the Southern Sea Otter Suppresses a Global Marine Invader
Get PDFUnderstanding the role of apex predators on ecosystems is essential for designing effective conservation strategies. Supporting recovery of apex predators can have many benefits; one that has been rarely examined is control of invasive prey. We investigated whether a recovering apex predator, the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis), can exert local control over a global marine invader, the green crab (Carcinus maenas). We determined that southern sea otters in Elkhorn Slough estuary in California can consume large numbers of invasive green crabs and found strong negative relationships in space and time between otter and green crab abundance. Green crabs persisted at highest abundance in this estuary at sites with artificial tidal restriction that were not accessible to otters. Green crab abundance remained lower in this estuary than in all other estuaries in the region, which lack resident sea otters. Conservation organizations and agencies have invested heavily in recovery of southern sea otters, increasing their numbers in this estuary. Restoration of natural tidal exchange, lost marshes, and seagrass beds further support sea otter populations. We have demonstrated that these investments in top predator recovery and habitat restoration have reduced the impacts of a global invader. Our investigation highlights that investment in recovery of top predators can increase beneficial food web interactions and resilience of the entire ecosystem
“Tikkun” Viewed from the Perspective of Systems Philosophy
Get PDFUnderstanding the idea of tikkun, as it appears in tikkun olam and tikkun ha’yetser, can be enriched by ideas from systems philosophy. From a systems perspective, “moral evil“ – the flaws of individual human beings, which create the need for tikkun ha’yetser – is a special case of “natural evil” – the dangers to life and especially to humanity from the natural world and from societal moral evil, which create the need for tikkun olam. Natural evil is in turn a special case of “metaphysical evil” – flaws in olam (which include those of yetser) that are ubiquitous, which may be viewed from the religious perspective of Creation or from the secular perspective of scientific abstraction. Systems theory and philosophy offer an account of metaphysical evil: The fundamental flaw of everything in olam is finitude, the consequence of which is incompleteness and/or inconsistency. From a religious perspective this account is a “secular theodicy” which implies the need for tikkun in the Kabbalistic sense.
kEYWORDS: tikkun, tikkun olam, tikkun ha’yetser, systems theory, systems philosophy, systems analysis, theodicy, Lurianic Kabbalah, ontology of problems, incompletenes
Risk Factors for Substance Use Among Serious and Violent Offenders Undergoing Reentry
Get PDFFormerly incarcerated individuals often experience an intensely chaotic and stressful reentry environment, riddled with barriers and challenges that make them more susceptible to substance use and other risky behaviors. This literature review focuses on the most prevalent and pervasive risk factors for substance use among serious and violent offenders undergoing reentry. By examining research published within the last decade on serious and violent offenders in the United States, several major themes were identified: social bonds, housing and employment, mental health, and surveillance and addiction treatment. The results showed that risk factors for substance use are deeply embedded in ex-offenders\u27 social environments, the support and types of support they receive, the debilitating stigmatization from society, and the intense stress and strain associated with reentry. In order to promote successful reentry and remove risk factors for substance use, significant structural changes and altering how society views incarceration and addiction are needed
Counting Crows: Documenting Portland\u27s Urban Roost
No full textCommunal roosting by American Crows has been documented since the early 1800s with naturalists of the day describing winter roosts numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Roosts large enough to draw the attention of urban residents were rarely described until the 1970s but are now common across North America. The natural history of Portland’s urban crow roost began in early 2013 with the first eBird and media reports. We began documenting Portland\u27s winter roost in November 2017. Since that time we have recorded over 120 detailed censuses and documented a four-fold increase in the number of roosting crows peaking at over 22,000 in January 2024. A paper documenting our methods, data, and findings was published in the Oregon Birding Association\u27s Fall 2023 journal.
Since the beginning of the roost in Portland there have been perceived conflicts between crows and some residents and businesses, with the primary concern being the quantity of droppings produced. To date the human response has been to attempt to force roosting crows away from high conflict areas, but our data indicates that these efforts have only short term localized impacts. Understanding why crows prefer specific areas could inform strategies for attracting crows to lower conflict areas. The arrival of crows in downtown Portland each winter night is arguably the single largest urban wildlife phenomenon in the city. Our goal is to prompt a broader research effort to eventually shift from a strategy of blunt force to one of informed enticement
To What Degree is This Water an Issue? Using Environmental DNA to Assess a Thermal Passage Barrier on the Tualatin River
No full textClean Water Services (CWS), a special-use district, helps jointly manage and maintain flow and water quality in the Tualatin River in part through discharges into the river from four water resource and recovery facilities (WRRFs). While water inputs from WRRFs are critical to flow management of the Tualatin River, treated water is warm in nature, leading to on-going questions on whether water temperatures downstream of treated water inputs block Coho migration. To address this, we designed a multiyear environmental DNA study with the goals of better understanding Coho migration timing, environmental cues, and the potential for thermal discharge to prevent upstream migration. First, a time series was constructed from water samples collected at regular intervals from July 2023 - June 2024. We found Coho DNA concentration was low year-round, increasing from September – January, which correlates with timing of migration and spawning activity. Additionally, we found increases in DNA concentration lagged Willamette Falls fish counts by roughly a week, and positive DNA detections began only after river temperature fell below 20°C. Using this information, two sites were sampled concurrently from August 2024 - February 2025 to determine whether DNA concentration differed upstream versus downstream of thermal inputs. Initial results show similar DNA concentrations at both sites and confirm the lag time between fish counts and presence of Coho in the Tualatin River. This study provides novel insight into Coho migration in the Tualatin River, helping better plan for future climate scenarios
Investigating Water Temperature Dynamics and Hydrologic Interactions in an Urban Stream-Lake System near Portland OR
No full textThis study investigated the factors controlling stream temperature and thermal stratification in Rock Creek and Bethany Lake, an urbanized watershed featuring an in-line irrigation pond and buried wastewater infrastructure. Previous research suggested that subsurface water flow facilitated by buried infrastructure (urban karst) might drive temperature shifts in Rock Creek during summer periods when flow from Bethany Lake ceases. From 2023 to 2024, continuous temperature and stage monitoring, combined with statistical methods, were used to evaluate seasonal temperature dynamics and their controlling factors. Results confirmed that seasonal reversals in temperature trends occurred within Rock Creek, though these may have been strongly influenced by monitoring techniques and thermal stratification. During summer periods, Bethany Lake did not flow into Rock Creek, and streamflow within Rock Creek was negligible. Solar irradiance emerged as the most influential parameter for stream warming during these periods. Unexpectedly, lake elevation had a measurable influence on Upper Rock Creek stage, suggesting hydrologic interactions that are not yet fully understood. Piezometer data indicated that variability in subsurface water elevation was correlated with fluctuations in Bethany Lake elevation, but only within the middle of the study reach. Despite this, there was no measurable fluctuation of stream temperature in relation to subsurface water elevation. This study underscores the importance of understanding interactions among anthropogenic modifications, hydrologic connectivity, and environmental controls on stream temperature, with implications for urban stream restoration and management
Collaboration Through Trust Building: Building Trust Among Racialized and Stigmatized Nonprofits
Get PDFNonprofits collaborate to resolve common issues while improving program effectiveness and reducing replication. These collaborations can be critical for minority nonprofits in resolving their common problems. However, while literature often looks at nonprofit organizations working with the government or other organizations, it does not focus on how minority nonprofits can collaborate better with other minority organizations. Using Muslim American nonprofits as a case study, we understand better how trust can be built between nonprofits belonging to marginalized communities. We focus on the Community Collaboration Initiative, a three-year third-party-facilitated collaboration effort among Muslim-American nonprofits. Overall, Interpersonal relationships, organizational learning, and positive collaboration governance can help build trust between organizations