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A Clustering-based Microgrid Planning for Resilient Restoration in Power Distribution System

A Clustering-based Microgrid Planning for Resilient Restoration in Power Distribution System

Primary author: Hongda Ren
Co-author(s): Noel Schulz
Faculty sponsor: Dr. Noel Schulz

Primary college/unit: Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Principal topic
With frequent natural disasters, like hurricanes, storms, and earthquakes, it is critical to improve the power distribution systems’ resiliency to deal with them. One potential solution is the utilization of to increase the probability of critical loads restoration. Critical loads restoration refers to swiftly restore electricity supply to important loads, like hospitals, emergency lights services, central control room, and communication network, after the electric power outage from the local utility.
Method
A weighted load-impedance density-based clustering method utilizes network topology and DERs to form multiple microgrids to restore critical loads based on load density and priority. The method has two objectives 1) to find restoration network and maximize its availability by DER location selection; 2) to identify areas with high load density with low impedance distance connections, to ensure high priority loads to recover.
Results
The proposed method is tested in IEEE 37-node feeder with three DERs to restore eight critical loads. The results show:
1.the proposed method effectively identifies the optimal restoration paths to form microgrids.
2.Multiple solutions are provided when parameter adjustment while other methods only offer one solution. Compared to apply fewer large size DERs, using more small sizes DERs to form more microgrids have better performance in critical loads restoration and power loss reduction.
3.Compared with the result of benchmark optimization, the result of proposed method is close to the optimal solution in term of power loss. The power loss of the method is only 10% of the original case.

The Sea as a Source of Novel Antiparasitic Compounds

The Sea as a Source of Novel Antiparasitic Compounds

Primary author: Rachel Relat
Faculty sponsor: Roberta O’Connor

Primary college/unit: College of Veterinary Medicine
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Cryptosporidium, an intracellular parasite that causes severe diarrhea, is now recognized as a leading cause of waterborne disease worldwide, infecting both humans and valuable livestock. Cryptosporidium infection is particularly devastating in children as it causes life-threatening diarrhea, along with developmental delays including growth stunting and cognitive impairment. Cryptosporidium is an especially important disease of immunocompromised individuals of all ages, leading to chronic, potentially fatal diarrhea. No effective treatment exists for many human or veterinary patients diagnosed with Cryptosporidium.

To address this medical imperative, we designed a high throughput screen to test thousands of unique compounds, with the goal of discovering new, potent, anti-Cryptosporidium drugs and drug scaffolds. Our collaborators at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) have amassed a library of over 125 natural compounds, and 6500 highly enriched fractions from extracts of marine organisms. We began screening this library as it contains compounds and fractions produced by sessile oceanic animals which frequently use chemical defenses. Additionally, numerous sessile oceanic organisms are known to have endosymbionts that are likely to produce additional bioactive metabolites.

We screened greater than 3,600 partially purified extracts from the HBOI library and identified 10 extracts that effectively inhibit Cryptosporidium growth without damaging the host cells in which these parasites live. Ongoing studies indicate that some of the identified fractions may also inhibit the growth of Toxoplasma gondii, a closely related parasite. This work will significantly contribute to the goal of discovering effective treatments against Cryptosporidium specifically, and further the search for novel antiparasitic drugs.

Board Demographics, Governance, Independence or Embeddedness: What is more important for reducing Top Management Team’s gender based pay gap in organizations?

Board Demographics, Governance, Independence or Embeddedness: What is more important for reducing Top Management Team’s gender based pay gap in organizations?

Primary author: Gurdeep Singh Raina
Faculty sponsor: Dr. Arvin Sahaym

Primary college/unit: Carson College of Business
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

This study advances the research on the relationship between Upper Echelon demographics and the gender based pay gap in the TMT. Specifically, I investigated the relationships between Board demographics, Top Management Team (TMT) demographics and the gender diversity in the Compensation Committees, and gender based pay gap in the TMT. I also assessed the influence of gender diversity in the TMT on these relationships. I used Agency, Social Identity theory, and Demographic similarity to conceptually establish the main relationships as well as the moderated relationships. The study indicated that there seems to be a significant relationship between Board Size, Board Independence, and Independent Director Tenure on the focal board, with all the three variables negatively impacting the gender based pay gap in the TMT at various levels of significance. It also concluded that the gender diversity in the TMT significantly moderates the main relationships. Additionally, the results show that gender and national diversity in the focal board, TMT size, and gender diversity in the Compensation Committee do not impact the gender based TMT pay gap significantly. The moderation is also non-significant in these cases.

Frank Lloyd Wright and Ralph Waldo Emerson: Truth Against the World

Frank Lloyd Wright and Ralph Waldo Emerson: Truth Against the World

Primary author: Ayad Rahmani

Primary college/unit: Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Ask Frank Lloyd Wright scholars about the role that Ralph Waldo Emerson played in the intellectual development of the iconic architect and all will recognize it. But very few will know what to do it. Some might even go so far as to question the merit of pairing the two in one study, arguing that beside a passing mention of the sage by the architect the two moved in two different circles, the first literary, the second architectural. And yet this proposal insists otherwise, namely that it would be difficult to fully grasp Wright’s architectural range and ideas without also studying him through the lens of Emerson. He may not have devoted an essay long explanation to the sage but he did reference him when talking about issues as related to nature, self-reliance and the poetic. The two shared a concern for the direction America was taking, now well into the 19th century, largely divided along economic and political lines. What America they thought they had signed up for was no longer the one that they were currently experiencing. America was drifting father and father from its original project and something had to happen to steer the ship back on course. Nothing short of changing the American mind was at stake, Emerson advocating for it through words, Wright through architecture. How the former informed the making of the latter is the aim of this proposal, covering the span of a book-length project of six chapters and one introduction.

Sleep improves when hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) administered before and after methadone dose reduction for adults with opioid use disorder

Sleep improves when hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) administered before and after methadone dose reduction for adults with opioid use disorder

Primary author: Raymond Quock
Co-author(s): Marian Wilson; Lillian Skeiky; Karen Stanek; Tamara Odom-Maryon; Devon Hansen; Matthew Layton

Primary college/unit: Arts and Sciences
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Up to 80% of adults undergoing medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder report reduced sleep quality and quantity [Sharkey et al., Drug Alcohol Depend 113:245-248, 2011]. Earlier we reported that HBOT—100% oxygen at greater-than-atmospheric pressure—reduced signs of naloxone-precipitated withdrawal in morphine-dependent mice [Nicoara et al., Brain Res 1648:434-437, 2016]. To study the effects of HBOT on self-reported and objective measures of sleep in adults with opioid use disorder, 31 participants (11 males, 20 females) were randomized into HBOT (n=17) or control (n=14) arms. HBOT was administered for five consecutive days in 90-min sessions at 2.0 atmospheres absolute in a 12-seat sealed, pressurized chamber. Participants agreed to a 10% reduction in their daily methadone dose or 5 mg, whichever was smaller, on Day 2 after HBOT on Day 1. The PROMIS Sleep Disturbance short form, an assessment of self-reported sleep quality, was the primary sleep measure collected at baseline, and post-HBOT at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months. For a sub-sample (n=7) of those in the HBOT arm, objective sleep measures were captured one week pre- and post-HBOT via wrist-worn actigraphy. PROMIS results showed that the mean sleep disturbance for the control group increased over time but decreased for the HBOT group. Actigraphy results from the HBOT group showed a ~30-min increase in total sleep time and a 16-min reduction in sleep onset latency post-HBOT. These findings support the hypothesis that sleep quality and quantity can improve when HBOT is administered before and after opioid dose reduction.

Marijuana Use and American Indian/Alaska Native Youth in Washington State

Marijuana Use and American Indian/Alaska Native Youth in Washington State

Primary author: Faith Price
Faculty sponsor: Elizabeth Weybright

Primary college/unit: Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth have higher rates of marijuana use than their peers nationally. However, substance use trends differ by region and there is immense diversity amongst Tribes. In addition, many AI/AN youth are from multicultural heritages, a group typically ignored by research.

This study used data from tenth grade respondents to the Washington Healthy Youth Survey from 2006-2018 to explore marijuana use prevalence rates amongst AI/AN-only and multicultural AI/AN youth in Washington state and the risk and protective factors influencing their substance use. Statistical analyses revealed both AI/AN-only and multicultural AI/AN HYS respondents had significantly higher marijuana use prevalence rates than their non-Native peers. Both groups of AI/AN youth were also initiating marijuana use at significantly younger ages than their non-Native peers. In addition, AI/AN-only and multicultural AI/AN tenth graders reported significantly higher means of risk factors and lower means of protective factors than non-Native youth. However, many of the risk and protective factors associated with marijuana use for non-Native youth were not significantly predictive of marijuana use for AI/AN-only youth, nor, to a lesser extent, multicultural AI/AN youth.

This study’s findings suggest that research needs to be inclusive of multicultural AI/AN health, a substantial segment of the AI/AN population that is at high risk and generally overlooked. In addition, both AI/AN-only and multicultural AI/AN youth have unique risk and protective factors from the general population which may better explain marijuana use patterns. Prevention programs must address these unique needs if they are to effectively serve AI/AN populations.

Field Recordings of Nez Perce Native Singers, 2019-2020

Field Recordings of Nez Perce Native Singers, 2019-2020

Primary author: Melissa Parkhurst

Primary college/unit: WSU Center for Arts and Humanities; WSU School of Music; NW Public Broadcasting
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

WSU’s Pullman campus is located on the traditional lands of the Nimiipuu, known also as the Nez Perce. Song has long permeated all aspects of life for the Nez Perce people, giving power, protection, and healing, and transmitting knowledge that solidifies community bonds.

Since the time of contact, the intense pressures of colonialism, missionization, land dispersal, boarding schools, and acculturation have changed and augmented the Nez Perce body of song. New religions (e.g., the Feather Religion and Washat / Seven Drum) emerged on the Plateau. Nez Perce musicians returned home from boarding schools to start jazz combos and swing bands such as The Nez Percians. More recently, Nez Perce youth have spearheaded community and campus powwows, drum groups, and dance competitions.

Since June 2019, our project team has recorded singers at Talmaks, Idaho; Lapwai, Idaho; and here in the recording studio at the WSU School of Music. In spring 2020, we will record culture bearers in Pendleton, Oregon. Singers choose which songs they wish to record, how their recordings will be used, and where the recordings will be archived.

Many of the singers are older and the bodies of songs they know constitute inestimable cultural treasures. The songs contain extensive history, teachings, and traditional knowledge. Young people can hear the voices of their grandparents and know that their culture is alive and thriving today within the Nez Perce Reservation and beyond.

The Next Urban Giants: Building Resilience and Equity into Growing Megapolitan Regions by Greening the Urban Human-Natural System

The Next Urban Giants: Building Resilience and Equity into Growing Megapolitan Regions by Greening the Urban Human-Natural System

Primary author: Julie Padowski
Co-author(s): Patricia Townsend; Brad Gaolach; Anand Jayakaran; Martha Aitken; Maggie Anderson Fasy; Kevan Moffett; Kim Zentz

Primary college/unit: Center for Environmental Research, Education & Outreach
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:
Urbanization has played a profound role in shaping human society over the past century leading now to the rise of Megapolitan regions (defined as having >10 million people by 2040). Understanding the economic, social, and environmental challenges associated with megapolitan development would benefit from robust and coordinated urban sustainability initiatives and will be critical for helping to shape a sustainable future.

In July of 2019, the WSU Metropolitan Center hosted a workshop funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Sustainable Urban Systems Conference and Workshop Awards. The workshop brought together a select and diverse group of 40 experts responsible for implementing sustainability initiatives across academia, industry, local governments and non-profits to: 1) identify the key challenges megapolitan regions and their adjacent communities and natural spaces face as urbanization continues, 2) explore the myriad approaches used in megapolitan regions to address these challenges, and 3) synthesize this information to identify priority research areas that a research network could promote for improving urban systems sustainability.

Group perspective, knowledge, experience, connections, and collaborative and big-thinking mindset were the greatest asset for thinking about those most critical megapolitan challenges and opportunities. The workshop produced three products that were shared across participants’ networks a (1) white paper to NSF, (2) “Green Print” for work managers and practitioners to help them transition material from the conference into their daily work, and (3) scope of work for informing future education and outreach products. A peer-reviewed synthesis journal article is currently in progress.

Identification of two noncanonical members to the CCp gene family of Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina

Identification of two noncanonical members to the CCp gene family of Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina

Primary author: Sezayi OZUBEK
Co-author(s): Heba F. Alzan; Reginaldo G. Bastos; Carlos E. Suarez
Faculty sponsor: Carlos Suarrez; Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey(TUBITAK)

Primary college/unit: College of Veterinary Medicine
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Babesia bovis and B. bigemina are responsible for bovine babesiosis, a tick borne disease that causes important economic losses in many tropical and semi-tropical regions worldwide. The CCp protein family, containing LCCL motifs, is differentially expressed on gametocytes of apicomplexans, including Plasmodium and Babesia. Knocking out Plasmodium CCp genes blocks development of the parasite in the mosquito vector, making the CCp proteins potential targets for transmission-blocking vaccines. Although six LCCL protein family members (CCp1-5 and FNPA) have been identified in Plasmodium falciparum, only genes encoding for homologous of the CCp1-3 proteins have so far been reported in B. bovis and B. bigemina. In this study, we describe the presence of two additional CCp-related genes (CCp5 and FNPA) in the genomes of B. bovis and B. bigemina. Similar to other apicomplexan CCp proteins, the newly identified CCp proteins also have a signal peptide (B. bigemina CCp5 and FNPA) and a transmembrane domain (B. bovis FNPA), consistent with surface expression. Consistent with their putative role during sexual reproduction of the parasite in the tick gut, RNAseq analysis sugests that none of the CCp genes are highly expressed in the blood stage, and at negligible levels in kinete stages. The pattern of expression of the new CCp members during distinct developmental stages of B. bovis and B. bigemina will be explored in further studies.

Effect of College Readiness Program on Student Motivation for College

Effect of College Readiness Program on Student Motivation for College

Primary author: Oluwasola Oni
Faculty sponsor: Olusola Adesope

Primary college/unit: College of Education
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Previous studies have indicated disparity between first-generation students and students of parents with higher educational attainment (Horn and Nunez, 2000). Consequently, programs have emerged demonstrating success in bridging the gap in increasing college enrollment among first-generation and low-income students. This research explored the effect of the Coug Rise College Readiness Program on students’ motivation to pursue college. This study examined disparity in educational attainment, race, and gender as independent variables influencing student motivation. The two groups of students were assessed (1) continuing high school students (track 3) and (2) prospective college freshmen (track 2). This non-randomized purposive sampling study comprised of 28 first-generation and low-income students (males and females) across 7 racial identities; ten (10) Hispanic/Latinx, six (6) white, three (3) American Indian or Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, one (1) Black or African American, one (1) was Asian and the remain seven (7) were Multi-racial. We performed a test of independence chi-square on SPSS because variables were ordinal and categorical. Findings from this study showed that there was no difference in student motivation based on the level of educational attainment, race, and gender. However, across the different races in the study, all the students confirmed that they were motivated to enroll in college after the summer program. These findings have eliminated the level of educational attainment, race, and gender as factors influencing students’ perception. Hence, it enhanced the influence of the program on student motivation. In conclusion, the study contributes to the growing literature on college readiness programs.