Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Risk Of Injury Analysis In Depth Jump And Squat Jump, Curtis L. Tomasevicz, Jeffrey C. Woldstad, David.Jones@Unl.Edu

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Introduction: The depth jump (DJ) and squat jump (SJ) are accepted ways to assess and train power producing ability but are not without risk of injury. Methods: Sixteen male participants (age = 21.7 ± 1.54 yrs., height = 177.7 ± 11.4 cm, mass = 77.7 ± 13.6 kg) were evaluated for power exertion capabilities while being assessed for risk of injury in the knee and low back through a range of resistances based on a percentage of participants’ heights in the DJ (0% through 50%) and bodyweights for the SJ (0% through 100%). Two variables were used to assess the …

Comparative Analyses Of Variable And Fixed Rate Irrigation And Nitrogen Management For Maize In Different Soil Types: Part I. Impact On Soil-Water Dynamics And Crop Evapotranspiration, Vasudha Sharma, Suat Irmak

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Understanding the soil-water dynamics and maize evapotranspiration (ETc) under variable rate irrigation (VRI) and variable rate fertigation (VRF) management with respect to soil spatial variability constitutes the basis for developing effective variable rate water and nitrogen management strategies. This long-term research was designed to quantify and compare the soil-water dynamics, including available water (AW), and ETc during vegetative and reproductive growth periods of VRI, fixed rate irrigation (FRI) and no-irrigation (NI) under fixed rate fertigation (FRF), VRF and pre-plant (PP) nitrogen management in three different soil types [Crete silt loam (S1); Hastings silty clay loam (S2) and Hastings silt loam …

Introduction To Special Issue Of Irrigation Science: Improving Irrigation Management Across The Ogallala Aquifer, Usa, Allan A. Andales, Daran Rudnick, José L. Chávez

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Groundwater stored in aquifers is a major source of irrigation water for many agricultural regions that receive insufficient precipitation for crop production. In the U.S.A., the High Plains aquifer (HPA) that underlies parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming supplies irrigation water for agricultural production. The HPA underlies around 450,658 km² (174,000 mi²) of which the Ogallala aquifer is the principal geologic formation underlying 347,059 km² (134,000 mi²) (Gutentag et al. 1984). The Ogallala aquifer is primarily a water table (unconfined) aquifer with saturated thickness ranging from 0 …

Engaging Farmers And The Agriculture Industry Through The Testing Agricultural Performance Solutions Program, Charles A. Burr, Daran Rudnick, Matt Stockton, Robert Tigner, Krystle Rhoades

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Testing Agricultural Performance Solutions (TAPS) program involves use of farm management competitions to increase engagement across producers, industry, and universities.Participants make several management decisions throughout the growing season in a controlled field trial held at the university research station. Results are analyzed, and awards are presented for most profitable farm, most efficient farm, and farm with the greatest grain yield. The TAPS program involves several techniques for facilitating participatory assistance, including two-way communication and transformational learning. It has resulted in participants' questioning their past management decisions and realizing that they need to improve their marketing skills …

Photovoltaic Systems On Dairy Farms: Financial And Renewable Multi-Objective Optimization (Farmoo) Analysis, Michael Breen, J. Upton, Michael D. Murphy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Object Detection And Patch-Based Classification Deep Learning Models On Mid- To Late-Seasonweed Detection In Uav Imagery, Arun Narenthiran Veeranampalayam Sivakumar, Jiating Li, Stephen Scott, Eric T. Psota, Amit J. Jhala, Joe D. Luck, Jiating Li

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Mid- to late-season weeds that escape from the routine early-season weed management threaten agricultural production by creating a large number of seeds for several future growing seasons. Rapid and accurate detection of weed patches in field is the first step of site-specific weed management. In this study, object detection-based convolutional neural network models were trained and evaluated over low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery for mid- to late-season weed detection in soybean fields. The performance of two object detection models, Faster RCNN and the Single Shot Detector (SSD), were evaluated and compared in terms of weed detection performance using mean …

Past, Present And Future Of Irrigation On The U.S. Great Plains, Steve R. Evett, Paul D. Colaizzi, Freddie R. Lamm, Susan A. O'Shaughnessy, Derek M. Heeren, Thomas J. Trout, William L. Kranz, Xiaomao Lin

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Motivated by the need for sustainable water management and technology for next-generation crop production, the future of irrigation on the U.S. Great Plains was examined through the lenses of past changes in water supply, historical changes in irrigated area, and innovations in irrigation technology, management, and agronomy. We analyzed the history of irrigated agriculture through the 1900s to the present day. We focused particularly on the efficiency and water productivity of irrigation systems (application efficiency, crop water productivity, and irrigation water use productivity) as a connection between water resource management and agricultural production. Technology innovations have greatly increased the efficiency …

Retention Of Swine Slurry Constituents In Soil And Crop Residue As Affected By Setback Distance, John E. Gilley, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Kent M. Eskridge, Xu Li, Amy M. Schmidt, Daniel D. Snow

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Setbacks are prescribed distances from surface waters within which manure application is not allowed. Little information is available concerning the retention of swine slurry constituents in soil and crop residue materials within setback areas. This study was conducted to measure the retention of selected constituents within a setback area following the upslope application of swine slurry and the introduction of simulated rainfall. The no-till cropland site had a slope gradient of 4.9% and a mean winter wheat residue cover of 7.73 Mg ha−1 . Soil and vegetative samples were collected on 3.7 m wide by 23.2 m long plots with …

Economic Comparisons Of Variable Rate Irrigation And Fertigation With Fixed (Uniform) Rate Irrigation And Fertigation And Pre-Plant Fertilizer Management For Maize In Three Soils, Vasudha Sharma, Suat Irmak

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Extensive field research for data collection to conduct economic comparisons of variable rate irrigation (VRI) with fixed (uniform) rate irrigation (FRI) and no irrigation (NI) in combination with three nitrogen application strategies of fixed (uniform) rate fertigation (FRF), variable rate fertigation (VRF) and pre-plant nitrogen (PP) management for maize (Zea mays L.) were conducted. Research was conducted in three soil types [(i) Crete silt loam (S1); (ii) Hastings silty clay loam (S2); and (iii) Hastings silt loam (S3)] for three growing seasons (2015, 2016 and 2017) in Nebraska, USA. For the economic analyses, the average initial investment of the …

Extracellular Matrix Disparities In An Nkx2-5 Mutant Mouse Model Of Congenital Heart Disease, Deanna Bousalis, Christopher S. Lacko, Nora Hlavac, Fariz Alkassis, Rebecca A. Wachs, Sahba Mobini, Christine E. Schmidt, Hideko Kasahara

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Congenital heart disease (CHD) affects almost one percent of all live births. Despite diagnostic and surgical reparative advances, the causes and mechanisms of CHD are still primarily unknown. The extracellular matrix plays a large role in cell communication, function, and differentiation, and therefore likely plays a role in disease development and pathophysiology. Cell adhesion and gap junction proteins, such as integrins and connexins, are also essential to cellular communication and behavior, and could interact directly (integrins) or indirectly (connexins) with the extracellular matrix. In this work, we explore disparities in the expression and spatial patterning of extracellular matrix, adhesion, and …

Development Of An In Vitro Intervertebral Disc Innervation Model To Screen Neuroinhibitory Biomaterials, Sarah M. Romereim, Caleb A. Johnston, Adan L. Redwine,, Rebecca A. Wachs

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Pain originating from an intervertebral disc (discogenic pain) is a major source of chronic low back pain. Pathological innervation of the disc by pain‐sensing nerve fibers is thought to be a key component of discogenic pain, so treatment with biomaterials that have the ability to inhibit neurite growth will greatly benefit novel disc therapeutics. Currently, disc therapeutic biomaterials are rarely screened for their ability to modulate nerve growth, mainly due to a lack of models to screen neuromodulation. To address this deficit, our lab has engineered a three dimensional in vitro disc innervation model that mimics the interface between primary …

Evaluation Of Low-Cost Depth Cameras For Agricultural Applications, Isabella C.F.S. Condotta, Tami M. Brown-Bandl, Santosh Pitla, John P. Stinn, Késia O. Silva-Miranda

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Low-cost depth-cameras have been used in many agricultural applications with reported advantages of low cost, reliability and speed of measurement. However, some problems were also reported and seem to be technology related, so understanding the limitations of each type of depth camera technology could provide a basis for technology selection and the development of research involving its use. The cameras use one or a combination of two of the three available technologies: structured light, time-of-flight (ToF), and stereoscopy. The objectives were to evaluate these different technologies for depth sensing, including measuring accuracy and repeatability of distance data and measurements at …

Sensitivity Analysis Of Data-Driven Groundwater Forecasts To Hydroclimatic Controls In Irrigated Croplands, Alessandro Amaranto, Francesca Pianosi, Dimitri Solomatine, Gerald Corzo-Perez, Francisco Munoz-Arriola

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

In the last decades, advancements in computational science have greatly expanded the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in hydrogeology, including applications on groundwater forecast, variable selection, extended lead-times, and regime-specific analysis. However, ANN-model performance often omits the sensitivity to ob- servational uncertainties in hydroclimate forcings. The goal of this paper is to implement a data-driven modeling framework for assessing the sensitivity of ANN-based groundwater forecasts to the uncertainties in observational inputs across space, time, and hydrological regimes. The objectives are two-folded. The first objective is to couple an ANN model with the PAWN sensitivity analysis (SA). The second objective …

Biological Systems Engineering, Asmaa Abdella, Fernando Segato, Mark R. Wilkins

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

The present work studied the optimization of aeration rate, agitation rate and oxygen transfer and the use of various batch fermentation strategies for xylanase production from a recombinant Aspergillus nidulans strain in a 3 L stirred tank reactor. Maximum xylanase production of 1250 U/mL with productivity of 313 U/mL/day was obtained under an aeration rate of 2 vvm and an agitation rate of 400 rpm using batch fermentation. The optimum volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (kLa) for efficient xylanase production was found to be 38.6 h1. Fed batch mode and repeated batch fermentation was also performed with kLa was 38.6 h1. …

Fish Farming Aerator, Kylie Johnson, Therese Rosalez, Jordan Hendricker, Ryan Froidcoeur

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Designing, building and installing a functional and efficient aerator prototype suitable for small pond intensive aquaculture use in El Faro, Guatemala. The project’s purpose is to provide a solution for farming tilapia. A successful project outcome will help impoverished families to raise tilapia for food and income The team will install the aeration system on-site in El Faro, Guatemala.

Investigating The Experimental Process For Partial Replacement Of Cement With Sugarcane Bagasse In The Construction Industry, Amany G. Micheal Prof., Rania Moussa, Nadin Dawoud

Centre for Advanced Materials

In the last few decades there has been speedily increasing in the agriculture and industrial wastes. This causes many environmental issues and raises the potential to contaminate the natural resources of living such as water, air and soil. Recently, the amount of organic waste produced daily has been rising, while it is poorly managed. It is either burned or disposed improperly, which effect negatively the environment and public health. On the other hand, during the cement production process many wastes, and pollutants are generated which have major negative impacts on the environment. Cement is considered as a substantial constituent of …

Fate And Transport Of Antibiotics And Antibiotic Resistance Genes In Runoff And Soil As Affected By The Timing Of Swine Manure Slurry Application, Renys Enrique Barrios, Himanshu Khuntia, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, John E. Gilley, Amy M. Schmidt Schmidt, Daniel D. Snow, Xu Li

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Land application of swine manure slurry is a common practice to supplement nutrients to soil for crop production. This practice can introduce antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) into the environment. Field testing is critical in identifying manure management practices effective in minimizing the environmental impacts of manure-borne antibiotic and ARGs. The objective of this study was to determine how the timing of swine manure application relative to rainfall events impacts the fate and transport of antibiotics and ARGs in surface runoff and manure-amended soil. Swine manure slurry was either broadcast or injected on test plots in the field. …

Capturing Spatial Variability In Maize And Soybean Using Stationary Sensor Nodes, Jasreman Singh, Derek M. Heeren, Yufeng Ge, Geng Bai

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

• Irrigation in agriculture maximizes crop yield and improves food security globally • Irrigation scheduling is strongly based on the ability to accurately estimate the appropriate amount and timing of water application • The timing of the irrigation can best be informed through the crop canopy stress, and the amount of irrigation is informed through soil moisture depletion

• Developing upper (non-water stressed) and lower (non-transpiring) baselines for irrigated and non-irrigated maize and soybean • Investigating the relationship between the canopy stress and the soil moisture stress

The canopy temperature stress and soil moisture depletion had stronger correlation for non-irrigated …

Evidence Of Arithmetical Uncertainty In Estimation Of Light And Water Use Efficiency, Meetpal S. Kukal, Suat Irmak Dr.

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

It was demonstrated that conventional resource use efficiency (RUE) estimation methodology is largely subject to arithmetic weakness. Extensive field research data on aboveground biomass (AGB), absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR), and crop evapotranspiration (ETc) in maize, soybean, sorghum, and winter wheat confirmed this methodological bias for light use efficiency (LUE) and water use efficiency (WUE) estimation. LUE and WUE were derived using cumulated (data aggregates across samplings) and independent (data increments across samplings) approaches. Use of cumulated data yielded strong-but-false correlation between AGB and APAR or Etc, being a statistical artefact. RUE values from an independent (data increments across samplings) …

Predicting Escherichia Coli Loads In Cascading Dams With Machine Learning: An Integration Of Hydrometeorology, Animal Density And Grazing Pattern, Olufemi P. Abimbola, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Tiffany Messer, Elaine D. Berry, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Samuel Hansen

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Accurate prediction of Escherichia coli contamination in surface waters is challenging due to considerable uncertainty in the physical, chemical and biological variables that control E. coli occurrence and sources in surface waters. This study proposes a novel approach by integrating hydro-climatic variables as well as animal density and grazing pattern in the feature selection modeling phase to increase E. coli prediction accuracy for two cascading dams at the USMeat Animal Research Center (USMARC), Nebraska. Predictive models were developed using regression techniques and an artificial neural network (ANN). Two adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) structures including subtractive clustering and fuzzy c-means …

Banning Carbon Nanotubes Would Be Scientifically Unjustified And Damaging To Innovation, Daniel A. Heller, Prakrit V. Jena, Matteo Pasquali, Kostas Kostarelos, Lucia G. Delogu, Rachel E. Meidl, Slava V. Rotkin, David A. Scheinberg, Robert E. Schwartz, Mauricio Terrones, Yu Huang Wang, Alberto Bianco, Ardemis A. Boghossian, Sofie Cambré, Laurent Cognet, Simon R. Corrie, Philip Demokritou, Silvia Giordani, Tobias Hertel, Tetyana Ignatova, Mohammad F. Islam, Nicole M. Iverson, Anand Jagota, Dawid Janas, Junichiro Kono, Sebastian Kruss, Markita P. Landry, Yan Li, Richard Martel, Shigeo Maruyama, Anton V. Naumov, Maurizio Prato, Susan J. Quinn, Daniel Roxbury, Michael S. Strano, James M. Tour, R. Bruce Weisman, Wim Wenseleers, Masako Yudasaka

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

In a recent correspondence, the Swedish non-profit organization ChemSec announced the addition of carbon nanotubes to the SIN (‘Substitute It Now’) list1. Carbon nanotubes were added as an entire material class that “should be restricted or banned in the EU.” We believe that this recommendation confuses researchers and the public as it is based on evidence from a very narrow subset of data. Such a designation will likely hinder innovations that could lead to safe and effective applications of carbon nanotubes. Furthermore, this line of reasoning could damage other fields of science and technology, if applied similarly. We have worked …

Soil Bulk Density Effects On Runoff Estimation, Colton Pugh

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Urbanization has long been a major factor in the hydrology of surrounding areas. Engineers are commonly tasked with mitigating the extra runoff that urbanization brings with it. The NRCS Curve Number (CN) method is a commonly-used approach to predicting the amount of runoff that will be experienced from a given area. However, this method is known to be highly simplified in model of the processes involved. This study focused on determining the relationships between soil bulk density, simulated rainfall events, hydrologic soil group (HSG) and runoff estimation (specifically via the NRCS CN method). It was determined that soil bulk density …

Quantifying Nitrogen Fate In Karst Agroecosystem Streams Of Central Kentucky: Development And Application Of Numerical Modeling And Insight From High-Resolution Sensors, Nolan Lewis Bunnell

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

In-stream fate of nutrients in karst agroecosystems remains poorly understood, despite the known impact of karst on water resources at local to global scales. In the Inner-Bluegrass region of central Kentucky, heterogeneity of karst maturity, flow pathways, and nutrient sources adds to the complexity of quantifying nutrient dynamics, thus requiring novel monitoring and modeling approaches. The significance of these streams is recognized given spring/surface water confluences have been identified as hotspots for biogeochemical transformations. In slow-moving streams high in dissolved inorganic nutrients (particularly dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP)), benthic and floating aquatic macrophytes are recognized to …

An Automated Seepage Meter For Streams And Lakes, D. Kip Solomon, Eric Humphrey, Troy E. Gilmore, David P. Genereux, Vitaly Zlotnik

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

We describe a new automatic seepage meter for use in soft bottom streams and lakes. The meter utilizes a thin‐walled tube that is inserted into the streambed or lakebed. A hole in the side of the tube is fitted with an electric valve. Prior to the test, the valve is open and the water level inside the tube is the same as the water level outside the tube. The test starts with closure of the valve, and the water level inside the tube changes as it moves toward the equilibrium hydraulic head that exists at the bottom of the tube. …

High-Throughput Screening Of Clinically Approved Drugs That Prime Nonviral Gene Delivery To Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Tyler Kozisek, Andrew Hamann, Albert Nguyen, Michael Miller, Sarah Plautz, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Background: Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are intensely researched for applications in cell therapeutics due to their unique properties, however, intrinsic therapeutic properties of hMSCs could be enhanced by genetic modification. Viral transduction is efficient, but suffers from safety issues. Conversely, nonviral gene delivery, while safer compared to viral, suffers from inefficiency and cytotoxicity, especially in hMSCs. To address the shortcomings of nonviral gene delivery to hMSCs, our lab has previously demonstrated that pharmacological ‘priming’ of hMSCs with the glucocorticoid dexamethasone can significantly increase transfection in hMSCs by modulating transfection-induced cytotoxicity. This work seeks to establish a library of transfection …

Swine Slurry Characteristics As Affected By Selected Additives And Disinfectants, Jon Duerschner, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Kent Eskridge, John E. Gilley, Xu Li, Amy M. Schmidt, Daniel D. Snow

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Current swine industry practice is to house animals in confinement facilities which capture and store feces and urine as slurry in pits below the production area. Additives and disinfectants may be introduced into the manure pits. This study was conducted to measure the effects of additives and disinfectants on temporal changes in swine slurry characteristics. Slurry from a commercial swine production facility in southeast Nebraska, USA was collected and transferred to 57 L reactors located within a greenhouse. Selected additives and disinfectants were added to the reactors and physical properties, chemical characteristics, and antibiotic concentrations were monitored for 40 days. …

Influence Of Setback Distance On Antibiotics And Antibiotic Resistance Genes In Runoff And Soil Following The Land Application Of Swine Manure Slurry, Maria C. Hall, Noelle Mware, John E. Gilley, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, Amy M. Schmidt Schmidt, Kent M. Eskridge, Xu Li

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

The environmental spread of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from the land application of livestock wastes can be a potential public health threat. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of setback distance, which determines how close manure may be applied in relation to surface water, on the transport of antibiotics and ARGs in runoff and soil following land application of swine manure slurry. Rainfall simulation tests were conducted on field plots covered with wheat residues, each of which contained an upslope manure region where slurry was applied and an adjacent downslope setback region that did …

Deep Learning Predicts Microbial Interactions From Self-Organized Spatiotemporal Patterns, Joon-Yong Lee, Natalie C. Sadler, Robert G. Egbert, Christopher R. Anderton, Kirsten S. Hofmockel, Janet K. Jansson, Hyun-Seob Song

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Microbial communities organize into spatial patterns that are largely governed by interspecies interactions. This phenomenon is an important metric for understanding community functional dynamics, yet the use of spatial patterns for predicting microbial interactions is currently lacking. Here we propose supervised deep learning as a new tool for network inference. An agent-based model was used to simulate the spatiotemporal evolution of two interacting organisms under diverse growth and interaction scenarios, the data of which was subsequently used to train deep neural networks. For small-size domains (100 mm x 100 mm) over which interaction coefficients are assumed to be invariant, we …

Geostatistical Features Of Streambed Vertical Hydraulic Conductivities In Frenchman Creek Watershed In Western Nebraska, Olufemi P. Abimbola, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Troy E. Gilmore

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

This study evaluated the spatial variability of streambed vertical hydraulic conductivity (K_v) in different stream morphologies in the Frenchman Creek Watershed, Western Nebraska, using different variogram models. Streambed K_v values were determined in situ using permeameter tests at 10 sites in Frenchman, Stinking Water and Spring Creeks during the dry season at baseflow conditions. Measurements were taken both in straight and meandering stream channels during a 5 day period at similar flow conditions. Each test site comprised of at least three transects and each transect comprised of at least three K_v measurements. Linear, Gaussian, exponential …

Predicting Escherichia Coli Loads In Cascading Dams With Machine Learning: An Integration Of Hydrometeorology, Animal Density And Grazing Pattern, Olufemi P. Abimbola, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Tiffany Messer, Elaine D. Berry, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Samuel Hansen

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Accurate prediction of Escherichia coli contamination in surface waters is challenging due to considerable uncertainty in the physical, chemical and biological variables that control E. coli occurrence and sources in surface waters. This study proposes a novel approach by integrating hydro-climatic variables as well as animal density and grazing pattern in the feature selection modeling phase to increase E. coli prediction accuracy for two cascading dams at the US Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC), Nebraska. Predictive models were developed using regression techniques and an artificial neural network (ANN). Two adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) structures including subtractive clustering and fuzzy …