Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluation Of Select Sensors For Real-Time Monitoring Of Escherichia Coli In Water Distribution Systems, Syreeta L. Miles, Ryan G. Sinclair, Mark R. Riley, Ian L. Pepper

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This study evaluated real-time sensing of Escherichia coli as a microbial contaminant in water distribution systems. Most sensors responded to increased E. coli concentrations, showing that select sensors can detect microbial water quality changes and be utilized as part of a contaminant warning system.

Biological Approaches For Addressing The Grand Challenge Of Providing Access To Clean Drinking Water, Mark R. Riley, Charles P. Gerba, Menachem Elimelech

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) recently published a document presenting “Grand Challenges for Engineering”. This list was proposed by leading engineers and scientists from around the world at the request of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Fourteen topics were selected for these grand challenges, and at least seven can be addressed using the tools and methods of biological engineering. Here we describe how biological engineers can address the challenge of providing access to clean drinking water. This issue must be addressed in part by removing or inactivating microbial and chemical contaminants in order to properly deliver water …

Development Of An Angular Scanning System For Sensing Vertical Profiles Of Soil Electrical Conductivity, Viacheslav Adamchuk, Ahmad S. Mat Su, Roger A. Eigenberg, Richard B. Ferguson

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Apparent soil electrical conductivity (EC_a) is typically mapped to define soil spatial variability within an agricultural field. Knowledge of the vertical variability of EC_a is desired to define the site‐specific behavior of the soil profile. A pneumatic angular scanning system (PASS) was developed to sense horizontal and vertical changes of EC_a on‐the‐go with an electromagnetic induction (EMI) instrument using an angular scanning method. This sensor system consists of a sled with a rotating mechanism, an EMI sensor, an inclinometer, and a pneumatic actuator. The system was evaluated at the University of Nebraska‐Lincoln Agricultural Research and Development …

Improved Soil Mixing And Delivery System For A Storm Runoff Simulator, William C. Alms, Thomas G. Franti, David P. Shelton

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

An earlier version of a storm runoff simulator to test conservation buffers reproduced target hydrographs and sedigraphs using uniform, fine sand; however, it was unable to uniformly mix and deliver native sediment. The objectives of this work reported were to create a method to process native agricultural sediment, mix a uniform sediment slurry at a target concentration, and create a control system that will deliver the slurry in varying flow rates corresponding to a target sedigraph. Eroded silty clay (14% sand) was scraped, dried, and processed with a hammer mill. A sand (93% sand) and loam (44% sand) were dried …

Identification Of Holocarboxylase Synthetase Chromatin Binding Sites In Human Mammary Cell Lines Using The Damid Technology, Dipika Singh, Angela K. Pannier, Janos Zempleni

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Holocarboxylase synthetase (HCS) is a chromatin protein that is essential for mediating the covalent binding of biotin to histones. Biotinylation of histones plays crucial roles in the repression of genes and repeats in the human genome. We tested the feasibility of DNA adenine methyltransferase identification (DamID) technology to map HCS binding sites in human mammary cell lines. Full-length HCS was fused to Dam for subsequent transfection into breast cancer (MCF-7) and normal breast (MCF-10A) cells. HCS docking sites in chromatin were identified by using the unique adenine methylation sites established by Dam in the fusion construct; docking sites were unambiguously …

Flocculation Of Wall-Deficient Cells Of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii Mutant Cw15 By Calcium And Methanol, Matt Scholz, Takanori Hoshino, Mark R. Riley, Joel Cuello

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Flocculation is a common and inexpensive method for harvesting algae from solution. After nitrogen starvation, it was shown that 83 + 3% of the wall-deficient cells of the cw 15 mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii flocculated from 12 mL samples within 15 min after the addition of 15 mM calcium chloride at pH 8.4. Only 24 2% of the wildtype strain flocculated under these conditions, thus demonstrating how a simple mutation might facilitate process design. The data suggested that algae grown in waters with similar calcium concentrations (e.g. certain wastewaters) might be harvested through simple pH adjustment. It was also discovered …

Performance Of Extended Shuttleworth‐Wallace Model For Estimating And Partitioning Of Evapotranspiration In A Partial Residue‐Covered Subsurface Drip‐Irrigated Soybean Field, Lameck O. Odhiambo, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Estimation of actual evapotranspiration (ET), especially its partitioning into plant transpiration (T) and soil evaporation (E), in agricultural fields is important for effective soil water management and conservation and for understanding the interactions between ET, T, and E with the management practices. Direct field measurements of ET, T, and E rates are difficult and costly; hence, mathematical models are used for estimating them. The objective of this study was to evaluate the practical applicability of the Shuttleworth‐Wallace (S‐W) model to estimate and partition ET in a subsurface drip‐irrigated soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) field with partial residue cover. While its …

Irrigation Efficiency And Uniformity, And Crop Water Use Efficiency, Suat Irmak, Lameck O. Odhiambo, William L. Kranz, Dean E. Eisenhauer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This Extension Circular describes various irrigation efficiency, crop water use efficiency, and irrigation uniformity evaluation terms that are relevant to irrigation systems and management practices currently used in Nebraska, in other states, and around the world. The definitions and equations described can be used by crop consultants, irrigation district personnel, and university, state, and federal agency personnel to evaluate how efficiently irrigation water is applied and/or used by the crop, and can help to promote better or improved use of water resources in agriculture.

As available water resources become scarcer, more emphasis is given to efficient use of irrigation water …

A Case Study Concerning The Effects Of Controller Response And Turning Movements On Application Rate Uniformity With A Self-Propelled Sprayer, Joe D. Luck, A. Sharda, Santosh Pitla, J. P. Fulton, S. A. Shearer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The use of precision agriculture technologies such as automatic boom section control allows producers to reduce off-target application when applying herbicides. While automatic boom section control provides benefits, pressure differences across the spray boom resulting from boom section actuation may lead to off-rate application errors. Off-rate errors may also result from spray rate controller compensation for ground speed changes or velocity variation across the spray boom during turning movements. This project focused on characterizing application rate variation for three fields located in central Kentucky. GPS coordinates, boom control status, and nozzle pressure data (at 15 nozzle locations) were recorded as …

Using Thermally Coupled Reactive Distillation Columns In Biodiesel Production, Nghi Nguyen, Yaşar Demirel

Yaşar Demirel Publications

Production of ethyl dodecanoate (biodiesel) using lauric acid and methanol with a solid acid catalyst of sulfated zirconia is studied by using two distillation sequences. In the first sequence, the methanol recovery column follows the reactive distillation column. In the second sequence, the reactive distillation and methanol recovery columns are thermally coupled. Thermally coupled distillation sequences may consume less energy by allowing interconnecting vapor and liquid streams between the two columns to elminate reboiler or condenser or both. Here we study the thermally coupled side-stripper reactive distillation and eliminate the condenser of the reactive distillation column. Both the sequences are …

Glypican-3 Targeting Of Liver Cancer Cells Using Multifunctional Nanoparticles, James O. Park, Zachary Stephen, Conory Sun, Omid Veiseh, Forrest M. Kievit, Chen Fang, Matthew Leung, Hyejung Mok, Miqin Zhang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Imaging is essential in accurately detecting, staging, and treating primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC]), one of the most prevalent and lethal malignancies. We developed a novel multifunctional nanoparticle (NP) specifically targeting glypican-3 (GPC3), a proteoglycan implicated in promotion of cell growth that is overexpressed in most HCCs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to confirm the differential GPC3 expression in two human HCC cells, Hep G2 (high) and HLF (negligible). These cells were treated with biotin-conjugated GPC3 monoclonal antibody (aGPC3) and subsequently targeted using superparamagnetic iron oxide NPs conjugated to streptavidin and Alexa Fluor 647. Flow cytometry demonstrated …

Energy And Climate Implications For Agricultural Nutrient Use Efficiency, Adam J. Liska, Richard K. Perrin

Adam Liska Papers

Energy and climate change are beginning to dominate the global political agenda and will drive policy formation that will shape the future of agriculture. Energy issues threaten national security and economic stability, as well as access to low-cost nutrient inputs for agriculture. Climate change has the potential to cause serious disruption to agricultural productivity. Paradoxically, nutrient use in agriculture to increase crop yields has the potential to negatively impact climate. This chapter will discuss recent and future energy and climate trends, the relationships between agricultural nutrient use efficiency and biofuels, and how global land limitations will shape agriculture in the …

Effect Of Distillers Grains Moisture And Inclusion Level In Livestock Diets On Greenhouse Gas Emissions In The Corn-Ethanol-Livestock Life Cycle, Virgil R. Bremer, Andrea K. Watson, Adam J. Liska, Galen Erickson, Kenneth Cassman, Kathryn J. Hanford, Terry Klopfenstein

Adam Liska Papers

A model was previously developed (Biofuel Energy Systems Simulator; www. bess.unl.edu) to predict greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and net energy yield when ethanol is produced from corn. The model also predicts feedlot cattle, dairy cattle, and swine performance and feed replacement value of ethanol coproducts. Updated equations that predict performance of feedlot cattle fed 0 to 40% of dietary DM as corn wet (WDGS), modified (MDGS), or dry (DDGS) distillers grains plus solubles replacing dry-rolled and high-moisture corn were developed and incorporated into the model. Equations were derived from pen-level performance for 20 finishing studies evaluating WDGS, 4 evaluating MDGS, …

Fus Transgenic Rats Develop The Phenotypes Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis And Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration, Cao Huang, Hongxia Zhou, Jianbin Tong, Han Chen, Yong-Jian Liu, Dian Wang, Xiaotao Wei, Xugang Xia

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Fused in Sarcoma (FUS) proteinopathy is a feature of frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTLD), and mutation of the fus gene segregates with FTLD and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To study the consequences of mutation in the fus gene, we created transgenic rats expressing the human fus gene with or without mutation. Overexpression of a mutant (R521C substitution), but not normal, human FUS induced progressive paralysis resembling ALS. Mutant FUS transgenic rats developed progressive paralysis secondary to degeneration of motor axons and displayed a substantial loss of neurons in the cortex and hippocampus. This neuronal loss was accompanied by ubiquitin aggregation and …

Comparative Manufacture And Cell-Based Delivery Of Antiretroviral Nanoformulations, Shantanu Balkundi, Ari S. Nowacek, Ram S. Veerubhotla, Han Chen, Andrea Martinez-Skinner, Upal Roy, R. Lee Mosley, Georgette Kanmogne, Xinming Liu, Alexander V. Kabanov, Tatiana Bronich, Joellyn Mcmillan, Howard E. Gendelman

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Nanoformulations of crystalline indinavir, ritonavir, atazanavir, and efavirenz were manufactured by wet milling, homogenization or sonication with a variety of excipients. The chemical, biological, immune, virological, and toxicological properties of these formulations were compared using an established monocyte-derived macrophage scoring indicator system. Measurements of drug uptake, retention, release, and antiretroviral activity demonstrated differences amongst preparation methods. Interestingly, for drug cell targeting and antiretroviral responses the most significant difference among the particles was the drug itself. We posit that the choice of drug and formulation composition may ultimately affect clinical utility.

Nanomechanical Analysis Of Insulinoma Cells After Glucose And Capsaicin Stimulation Using Atomic Force Microscopy, Ruiguo Yang, Ning Xi, King Wai-Chu Lai, Bei-Hua Zhong, Carmen Kar-Man Fung, Chen-Geng Qu, Donna H. Wang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Aim: Glucose stimulates insulin secretion from pancreatic islet β cells by altering ion channel activity and membrane potential in the β cells. TRPV1 channel is expressed in the β cells and capsaicin induces insulin secretion similarly to glucose. This study aims to investigate the biophysical properties of the β cells upon stimulation of membrane channels using an atomic force microscopic (AFM) nanoindentation system.

Methods: ATCC insulinoma cell line was used. Cell stiffness, a marker of reorganization of cell membrane and cytoskeleton due to ion channel activation, was measured in real time using an integrated AFM nanoindentation system. Cell height that …

High Temperature Dilute Acid Pretreatment Of Coastal Bermuda Grass For Enzymatic Hydrolysis, Arthur P. Redding, Ziyu Wang, Deepak R. Keshwani, Jay J. Cheng

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Dilute sulfuric acid was used to pretreat coastal Bermuda grass at high temperature prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. After both pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis processes, the highest yield of total sugars (combined xylose and glucose) was 97% of the theoretical value. The prehydrolyzate liquor was analyzed for inhibitory compounds (furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)) in order to assess potential risk for inhibition during the following fermentation. Accounting for the formation of the inhibitory compounds, a pretreatment with 1.2% acid at 140 °C for 30 min with a total sugar yield of 94% of the theoretical value may be more favorable for fermentation. From …

Detection And Quantification Of Poliovirus Infection Using Ftir Spectroscopy And Cell Culture, Felipe T. Lee-Montiel, Kelly A. Reynolds, Mark R. Riley

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background: In a globalized word, prevention of infectious diseases is a major challenge. Rapid detection of viable virus particles in water and other environmental samples is essential to public health risk assessment, homeland security and environmental protection. Current virus detection methods, especially assessing viral infectivity, are complex and time-consuming, making point-of-care detection a challenge. Faster, more sensitive, highly specific methods are needed to quantify potentially hazardous viral pathogens and to determine if suspected materials contain viable viral particles. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy combined with cellular-based sensing, may offer a precise way to detect specific viruses. This approach utilizes infrared …

Cellular Arrays For Large-Scale Analysis Of Transcription Factor Activity, Abigail D. Bellis, Beatriz Peňalver-Bernabé, Michael S. Weiss, Michael E. Yarrington, Maria V. Barbolina, Angela K. Pannier, Jacqueline S. Jeruss, Linda J. Broadbelt, Lonnie D. Shea

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Identifying molecular mechanisms or therapeutic targets is typically based on large-scale cellular analysis that measures the abundance of mRNA or protein; however, abundance does not necessarily correlate with activity. We report a method for direct large-scale quantification of active pathways that employs a cellular array with parallel gene delivery of constructs that report pathway activity. The reporter constructs encode luciferase, whose expression is influenced by binding of transcription factors (TFs), which are the downstream targets of signaling pathways. Luciferase levels are quantified by bioluminescence imaging (BLI), which allows for rapid, noninvasive measurements. Activity profiles by BLI of 32 TFs were …

Microarray Analysis Of Gene Expression Profiles In Cells Transfected With Nonviral Vectors, Sarah A. Plautz, Gina Boanca, Jean-Jack M. Riethoven, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Inefficient gene delivery is a critical factor limiting the use of nonviral methods in therapeutic applications including gene therapy and tissue engineering. There have been few efforts to understand or engineer the molecular signaling pathways that dictate the efficacy of gene transfer. Microarray analysis was used to determine endogenous gene expression profiles modulated during nonviral gene transfer. Nonviral DNA lipoplexes were delivered to HEK 293T cells. Flow cytometry was used to isolate a population of transfected cells. Expression patterns were compared between transfected and nontransfected samples, which revealed three genes that were significantly upregulated in transfected cells, including RAP1A, …

A Comparison Of Two Engineering Outreach Programs For Adolescents, Louis S. Nadelson, Janet M. Callahan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is continued growth and development of outreach programs designed to increase pre-college students’ awareness and understanding of engineering as a profession and as a career. These outreach programs vary in format and in the groups targeted for participation but maintain the same fundamental goal of increasing participant knowledge of engineering. Many of these outreach programs also maintain the implicit goal of increasing the participants' knowledge and attitudes toward college. The additional resources and funding that are commonly allocated to support outreach programs frequently involve documenting accountability which motivates evaluation of program impact. Therefore, many outreach events include program evaluation …

Bone Tissue Quality Determination Of Mice Through A Novel Reference Point Indentation Technique, Matin Lendhey

Dissertations and Theses

"Bone strength deteriorates with age; which increases the susceptibility to fracture. Current clinical techniques for the estimation of bone strength are largely Bone Mineral Density (BMD) based. However, toughness, which is the ability to resist crack growth, plays a critical role in bones‟ fracture resistance. Traditionally, toughness measurements involve large samples, obviating their use clinically. Recent data suggest that a reference point indentation approach provides a novel, localized measure of toughness from whole bones. In the current research, we evaluated the sensitivity of this method to discriminate small known differences in fracture toughness that exist between inbred mouse strains with …

Development Of An Approach To Increase Drug Uptake To Bone Tumors Using Non-Invasive Mechanical Loading, Paolo E. Palacio

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis develops an approach to enhance drug delivery to bone tumors by implementing a non-invasive mechanical loading technique. An imaging protocol that characterizes the load-enhanced drug uptake is also presented. The long-term goal of this work is to develop a clinical protocol that enhances the delivery of therapeutic agents to bone tumors by utilizing load-bearing activity. This easy-to-implement approach could help increase drug uptake into the tumor interstitial fluid space as well as into tumor cells, thereby enhancing a drug's clinical effect while decreasing systemic drug dosage and unwanted side effects. This thesis details the process used to grow …

Evaluation Of A Novel Self-Assembled Nanocoating In Promoting Bone On-Growth And Apposition On Metal, Hani Ghazi

Dissertations and Theses

"Loosening of metal is the leading cause of clinical failures of orthopedic surgeries. A novel coating of self-assembled monolayer of phosphonate molecules (SAMP) that chemically enhances metallic surfaces by covalently bonding to their naturally occurring oxidized surfaces has been developed.1 The SAMP coating is chemically stable, and its in-vitro results showed that it promotes cell proliferation, osteoblast adhesion and enhances biological attachment to metal surfaces.1 The purpose of this study is to establish the efficacy of this novel chemical surface treatment in improving the fixation of metallic implants in both cortical and cancellous bone over a conventional untreated implant. We …

A Study On The Use Of Inverse Opals Composed Of Zinc Oxide Aggregate Popcorn Particles To Improve The Efficiency Of Dye- Sensitized Solar Cells, Roger Chang

Dissertations and Theses

"In this work, modifications applicable to the working electrode of a dye--‐sensitized solar cell (DSSC) are explored in order to enhance efficiency. Certain compositional and structural changes to the architecture of the electrode are examined. First, the ZnO nanoparticles that are commonly utilized in DSSCs are replaced with ZnO nanoparticle aggregates, also known as ZnO popcorn particles. Subsequently, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is used to assemble the popcorn particles into an inverse opal structure. This is a unique application of EPD, which has previously been used to infiltrate nanoparticles (d ≤20nm range) Into opal templates, demonstrating the applicability of the technique …

Proteomic Analysis Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Aging During Serial Sub-Culture, Pawan Kc

Dissertations and Theses

"Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) hold great potential for clinical applications in regenerative medicine. However, hMSCs occur at a very low frequency in bone marrow so the clinical use as cellular therapeutics requires suitable techniques for isolation and expansion. Furthermore, these cells can be expanded in vitro for only limited passage numbers before they reach a senescent state. Previous studies have shown that long term culture of hMSCs results in the decrease in proliferation rates, changes in genomic expressions, increase in cell sizes, and other morphological changes. Currently the mechanisms of hMSC aging and biomarkers associated with it have not …

Techno-Economic Analysis And Engineering Design Consideration Of Algal Biofuel In Southern Nevada, Jian Ma

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

As the biological and chemical technologies in algae biofuels production, engineering design, siting and resources are playing some dominant role in successfully developing and scaling locally. The southwest region in U.S. has been identified by DoE and the USDA as the most suitable area for developing algal biofuel production due to several merits like the high level of solar radiation, large arid land not good for food production. Among this region, Southern Nevada has unique advantage to grow microalgae biomass, which is the large amount of CO2 emission from about 16 power plants in Clark County to support the world …

Osteogenic Differentiation Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhanced By Bone Ecm Analogous Nanomatrix Composites, Jeremy Benton Vines

All ETDs from UAB

A growing trend in the area of bone tissue engineering is the development of materials that mimic the native bone extracellular matrix (ECM). This need is typically met through the creation of composites, which attempt to recapitulate both the organic and inorganic components of the native bone ECM. However, few composites have been created with organic ECM analogous components that are functionalized to direct cellular behaviors. Furthermore, a majority of these studies do not investigate how the ratio of the inorganic and organic components affects cellular behaviors. To address this issue, hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HANPs) were dispersed within peptide amphiphile (PA) …

Sustainable Urban Design Practices That Mitigate Urban Heat Islands And Reduce Energy Consumption, Candace Joy Watson

All ETDs from UAB

Urban cities are the largest consumers of energy. As global populations continue to increase in these areas, energy consumption is a growing concern for global leaders. Cities in developed countries are expanding beyond their central city-centers, resulting in increased natural resource consumption. This method of population management is referred to as urban sprawl and is the reason for increased consumption from expanding transportation networks, building materials, and fuel resources. In addition to increases in energy consumption, in recent years, built-up areas have experienced higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, these differences can be as …

Optimization And Characterization Of Multifunctional Polymeric-Nanodiamond Electrospun Scaffolds, Amanee Salaam

All ETDs from UAB

Due to the lack of treatment options available for patients suffering from bone abnormalities, current research focuses on developing novel biomaterials for bone tissue engineering. Since a tissue scaffold is implanted in vivo, it could also serve as a substrate for localized, systemic delivery of therapeutics. Particularly in primary bone cancer after removal of a cancerous lesion, there is a need for a system that can support the generation of new tissue while delivering localized chemotherapy. However, a complex molecule is needed to serve as a vehicle for delivering the drug and targeting only cancerous cells. Detonation nanodiamond (DND) is …