Digital Commons Network^™

Design Of A Week-Long Introduction To Engineering Summer Camp To Increase Interest And Eagerness Of Stem In Young Children, Beth Cannon

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

For this creative project, a one-week camp curriculum was designed for elementary students (Grades 3-5) to introduce engineering. This work includes a rationale and camp curriculum. The rationale describes the research-based design of the curriculum. It outlines engineering basics and why and how to teach engineering to young students. The curriculum intends to introduce engineering to young children and excite the possibility of a future career. The following engineering disciplines are presented throughout the week of camp: mechanical, environmental, civil, electrical, and chemical. The first day of camp focuses on the basics of engineering. Following that, each day of camp …

Disruption Of Claudin-Made Tight Junction Barriers By Clostridium Perfringens Enterotoxin: Insights From Structural Biology, Chinemerem P. Ogbu, Sourav Roy, Alex J. Vecchio

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Claudins are a family of integral membrane proteins that enable epithelial cell/cell interactions by localizing to and driving the formation of tight junctions. Via claudin self-assembly within the membranes of adjoining cells, their extracellular domains interact, forming barriers to the paracellular transport of small molecules and ions. The bacterium Clostridium perfringens causes prevalent gastrointestinal disorders in mammals by employing an enterotoxin (CpE) that targets claudins. CpE binds to claudins at or near tight junctions in the gut and disrupts their barrier function, potentially by disabling their assembly or via cell signaling means—the mechanism(s) remain unclear. CpE ultimately destroys claudin-expressing cells …

Sesamum Indicum Diet Prevents Hyperlipidemia In Experimental Rats, Muinat M. Adeyanju, Idris A. Saheed, Oluwaseun I. Oyelekan, Taiwo A. Dele-Osibanjo, Ayodeji A. Adelegan, Adekunle J. Raimi, Samuel O. Olalekan, Olugbenga S. Alabi, Khadijat M. Alli

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Cardiovascular diseases and metabolic complications caused by hyperlipidemia are the leading cause of death globally. In this study, the hypolipidemic potency of Sesamum indicum (SI) seeds was investigated. Of the thirty-five (35) male rats used in the study, five (5) were randomly selected for baseline measurements and thirty (30) were fed high fat diet (HFD) for four (4) weeks before random assignment into three (3) groups. The experimental group was treated with 50% SI seed, the positive control group was given a hypolipidemic drug, atorvastatin (5 mg/kg/day) while the untreated group served as the negative control. With SI administration, the …

Proteomic Analyses Identify Differences Between Bovine Epididymal And Ejaculated Spermatozoa That Contribute To Longevity, Saulo Menegatti Zoca, Emmalee J. Northrop-Albrecht, Julie A. Walker, Robert A. Cushman, George A. Perry

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center: Reports

Sperm are stored for extended periods of time in the epididymis, but upon ejaculation motility is increased and lifespan is decreased. The objective of this study was to identify differences in proteins between epididymis and ejaculated samples that are associated with longevity. Ejaculated semen was collected from mature Angus bulls (n = 9); bulls were slaughtered and epididymal semen was collected. Epididymal and ejaculated semen were centrifuged to separate sperm and fluid. Fluids were removed and sperm pellets were resuspended in a high ionic solution and vortexed to remove loosely attached proteins. Sperm samples were centrifuged, and the supernatant was …

A Daughter Of The Samurai, Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto

Zea E-Books Collection

Born in 1874 the youngest daughter of a samurai and former daimyo—a feudal prince under the Takugawa shogunate—Etsu Inagaki grew up surrounded by ghosts of an aristocratic military lineage. Having fought on the losing side in the wars that installed the Meiji emperor, the ­Inagaki family was reduced in power, status, and wealth but not in pride or ­devotion to its traditional roles and customs. Etsu’s upbringing and education were conservative and old-fashioned, guided by the Shinto and Buddhist beliefs her family held. The samurai virtues of honor, ­stoicism, and sacrifice applied to daughters and wives as well as sons …

The Nebraska Ranch Practicum, Jay Parsons, Travis Mulliniks, Troy Walz

Cornhusker Economics

The Nebraska Ranch Practicum is a multi-disciplinary, hands-on educational program designed to give participants the skills and education needed to succeed in today's ranching industry. The Practicum was established in 1999 as a “three-season” program designed to integrate information producers encounter throughout the beef production year into a framework for decision making. The Practicum seeks to improve decision-making skills, enhance stewardship of natural resources, improve skills critical for evaluation of ranching enterprises, and enhance ranch sustainability.

Center For Grassland Studies, March 2022

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents

New Course: Research Experiences in Grasslands by Dan Uden

Center for Grassland Studies Policy Advisory Committee

Director’s Column by Jerry Volesky (Interim Director)

Educational Trunk to Focus on Grasslands by Cheryl Dunn

Form a Team and Grab Your Clubs by Scott Holly

Collaborative Adaptive Management for the Barta Brothers Ranch by Craig Allen

Nebraska Range Short Course, June 20-23

Registration Opens for 2022 Nebraska Ranch Practicum by Troy Walz

Nebraska Sandhills Rates as World’s Most Intact Prairie by Scott Schrage

Nebraska Youth Range Camp, June 6-9, Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, Curtis, Nebraska

The Casnr L.I.N.K.S. Newsletter: Learning Innovation Network For K-12 Schools, Edition 3, March 2022, Bailey Feit, Tammy Mittelstet

CASNR L.I.N.K.S. Newsletter

The purpose of this L.I.N.K.S. newsletter is to provide a monthly update of opportunities and resources for K-12 schools to connect with the University of Nebraska's CASNR Food, Energy, Water, and Societal Systems (FEWS²) programs and partners.

Included in this edition:

Classroom resources for all levels

Eye on curriculum and resources

Teacher opportunities

List of new partnerships

Ask an expert

Eye on CASNR research: Trenton Franz

Send your students to campus

Success stories

Nebline, March/April 2022

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Become a Groundwater Steward

4 Ways to Celebrate National Nutrition Month

Recipe of the Month

Selecting Fruit Trees for Eastern Nebraska

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month

2022 Chemigation Trainings

Lancaster County Ag VIP Awards

Upcoming Early Childhood Trainings

Aleyna Cuttlers Participated in National 4-H Congress

4-H Horse Judging Team at Nationals

Meet 2021–22 4-H Council

Meet 2021–22 4-H Teen Council

Hear of 4-H Volunteer Award: Sherry Kubicek

Hear of 4-H Volunteer Award: Angie Root

4th & 5th Grade Fun Night, March 4

Rabbit Show, March 19

UNL Chick Days, March 26

Bucket Calf Workshop, March 27

Dressage Schooling …

The Spatial Organization Of Pre-Colonial African Kingdoms: The Empires Of Ethiopia & Mali, Victoria O. Alapo

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pre-Colonial kingdoms in Sub-Saharan Africa were many, and were organized in unique ways. The old Empires of Ethiopia and Mali were selected for this research because of their antiquity and for their contrasts: Ethiopia was an official Christian Empire for about two millennia, while Mali was the quintessential Sub-Saharan Islamic kingdom. Also, both empires possessed documentation written by traditional Africans, in the form of ancient indigenous manuscripts, which predate the colonial period (i.e., the coming of Europeans) by several centuries. In addition, the research analyzes work that has been done by historians and other academics, and incorporates the reports of …

Untangling The Placentome Gene Network Of Beef Heifers In Early Gestation, Wellison J.S. Diniz, Lawrence P. Reynolds, Alison K. Ward, Pawel P. Borowicz, Kevin K. Sedivec, Kacie L. Mccarthy, Cierrah J. Kassetas, Friederike Baumgaertner, James D. Kirsch, Sheri T. Dorsam, Tammi L. Neville, J. Chris Forcherio, Ronald R. Scott, Joel S. Caton, Carl R. Dahlen

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The cotyledon and caruncle tissues provide a functional bridge between the fetus and the dam. However, the relationship between these tissues and the transcriptomic profile that underlies the tissue functions remains elusive. Herein we investigate the expression profile of cotyledon and caruncle from nulliparous beef heifers carrying female fetuses at day 83 of pregnancy to identify changes occurring across tissues that contribute to placental function and their tissue-specific roles. We identified 2654 differentially expressed genes [padj ≤ 0.05, abs(log2FC) ≥ 1], including nutrient transporters and paternally imprinted genes. We found key regulators of tissue function and differentiation, including FOXO4, GATA2, …

Annual Color Photo Section

Nebraska Bird Review

The next seven pages show examples of this year's theme: cavity nesting birds. A cavity nest can be in a birdhouse, a hole in a tree, a hole in a stream bank, a burrow in the ground, or even a mud nest the birds construct themselves.

Female Yellowbellied Sapsucker, photographer's residence, Garfield Co., 5 Jan 2022. Photo by Bob Gerten.

Louisiana Waterthrush with young at nest under bank overhang, Rock Creek Station State Historical Park, Jefferson Co., 18 May 2016. Photo by John Carlini.

Pygmy Nuthatch, GilbertBaker WMA, Sioux Co., 11 July 2021. Photo by Colleen Childers.

Winter Wren, Platte …

The Nebraska Bird Review Volume 90 Number 1, March 2022

Nebraska Bird Review

Winter Field Report, Dec. 2021 - Feb. 2022 by W. Ross Silcock

2021-2022 Christmas Bird Counts by Don Paseka

Annual Color Photo Section

Annual Treasurer's Report for 2021 by Jan Johnson

Subscription and Organization Information

2021-2022 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

With the addition of the new Fort Niobrara circle, 19 counts were run during the 2021-2022 CBC season. Thirteen of them were run from December 14 through December 21 and the other six were done December 27 or later. The weather was mild to start the count period with almost all water open. As the count period progressed, the weather became more seasonable and much of the standing water froze, but conditions remained fairly benign with the exception of the Lake McConaughy count on January 2. Though it was cold but sunny on that day, the previous day’s snow and …

Winter Field Report, December 2021-February 2022, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

After compiling and reviewing the observations reported to NEBIRDS, various Facebook groups, and eBird, I reiterate my leadoff comments from last winter: the increasing numbers of observers taking time to report turned up some fascinating trends. Those cited as well as those not cited, all contributed to the firmness of the database that allows better-supported conclusions to be drawn than from our past reliance all too often on anecdotal supposition. Continuing a trend pointed out last winter were the many records of species north and west of their expected winter ranges. As I suggested last winter, “it is tempting to …

Impacts Of Temperature And Carbon Dioxide On Boro Rice Production, Sabiha Ferdous

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There are different anticipated impacts of climate change (CC) on agriculture all over the world. Bangladesh as a developing country has potential vulnerability and negative impacts on CC. This change in meteorological parameters creates negative impacts on agricultural production which is a threat to food security and economic development. The country has recently achieved food security in rice which is mainly due to increased yields and area coverage of irrigated dry season (Boro) rice over the last decades. It is necessary to predict the future Boro rice production in accordance with CC as well as take supplementary actions to ensure …

Clash And Cooperation Of Ecofeminism And Postmodern Feminism: The Intersection Of Two Theories In Dystopic Literature, Ashton Koch

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Ecofeminism and postmodern feminism are regarded as opposite theories in their attempts to solve for ecological and patriarchal oppression. This thesis argues that these two theories are not mutually exclusive, and must work together to effectively combat oppression faced by the environment and by women. It uses two works of literature, Our Life in the Forest by Marie Darrieussecq and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood to argue for the combination of ecofeminist and postmodern feminist strategies. Both works are dystopic in nature, portraying the destruction of the environment and patriarchal discourse against women. Ultimately, this thesis analyzes the strategies …

Existence And Uniqueness Of Minimizers For A Nonlocal Variational Problem, Michael Pieper

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Nonlocal modeling is a rapidly growing field, with a vast array of applications and connections to questions in pure math. One goal of this work is to present an approachable introduction to the field and an invitation to the reader to explore it more deeply. In particular, we explore connections between nonlocal operators and classical problems in the calculus of variations. Using a well-known approach, known simply as The Direct Method, we establish well-posedness for a class of variational problems involving a nonlocal first-order differential operator. Some simple numerical experiments demonstrate the behavior of these problems for specific choices of …

Biogeosciences Perspectives On Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked (Icon) Science, D. Dwivedi, A. L.D. Santos, M. A. Barnard, T. M. Crimmins, A. Malhotra, K. A. Rod, K. S. Aho, S. M. Bell, B. Bomfim, F. Q. Brearley, H. Cadillo-Quiroz, J. Chen, C. M. Gough, E. B. Graham, C. R. Hakkenberg, L. Haygood, G. Koren, E. A. Lilleskov, L. K. Meredith, S. Naeher, Z. L. Nickerson, O. Pourret, H. S. Song, M. Stahl, N. Taş, R. Vargas, S. Weintraub-Leff

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This article is composed of three independent commentaries about the state of Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked (ICON) principles in the American Geophysical Union Biogeosciences section, and discussion on the opportunities and challenges of adopting them. Each commentary focuses on a different topic: (a) Global collaboration, technology transfer, and application (Section 2), (b) Community engagement, community science, education, and stakeholder involvement (Section 3), and (c) Field, experimental, remote sensing, and real-time data research and application (Section 4). We discuss needs and strategies for implementing ICON and outline short- and long-term goals. The inclusion of global data and international community engagement are …

Assessing Pre-Literacy Behaviors In Infants And Toddlers: Psychometric Evaluation Of The Infant Toddler Literacy Assessment (Itla-3), Barbara J. Jackson, Christine Marvin, Amy J. Encinger, Nicole Buchholz, Becky Zessin

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Assessment of emerging literacy in young children is generally limited to either skill development in children over 3 years of age or the quality and context of young children’s early literacy experiences. Although there has been promotion of their early literacy experiences, assessment of emerging pre-literacy behaviors in children younger than 3 years has yet to be organized into a single tool.

Preliminary work on the Infant Toddler Literacy Assessment (ITLA) has progressed through initial steps of scale development and shown promise as a criterionbased, standardized assessment for tracking children’s pre-literacy behaviors and guiding practitioners in supporting development of those …

Challenges In Gluten Analysis: A Comparison Of Four Commercial Sandwich Elisa Kits, Plaimein Amnuaycheewa, Lynn Niemann, Richard E. Goodman, Joseph L. Baumert, Steve L. Taylor

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Gluten is composed of prolamin and glutelin proteins from several related grains. Because these proteins are not present in identical ratios in the various grains and because they have some differences in sequence, the ability to accurately quantify the overall amount of gluten in various food matrices to support gluten-free labeling is difficult. Four sandwich ELISAs (the R-Biopharm AG R5 RIDASCREEN®, the Neogen Veratox® R5, the Romer Labs AgraQuant® G12, and the Morinaga Wheat kits) were evaluated for their performance to quantify gluten concentrations in various foods and ingredients. The Morinaga and AgraQuant® G12 tests yielded results comparable to the …

Enhancing The Bioaccessibility Of Lycopene From Tomato Processing Byproducts Via Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction, Ali Ubeyitogullari, Ozan N. Ciftci

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Tomato peel and seed from tomato processing industry are treated as waste; however, they contain lycopene, a high-value bioactive compound. In this study, lycopene was extracted from tomato peel and seed using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC–CO₂) and hexane, and the bioaccessibilities of lycopene in the SC-CO₂- and hexaneextracted oleoresins were investigated for the first time. The (Z)-lycopene content of the SC-CO₂-extracted oleoresin (69%) was higher than that of hexane-extracted oleoresin (45%). Separation of the insoluble fraction from the oleoresins increased the (Z)-lycopene contents of the SC-CO₂- and hexane-extracted oil fractions to 80% …

Revision Of The Checkered Beetle Genus Onychotillus Chapin (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Tillinae), Weston Opitz

Insecta Mundi

The West Indian genus Onychotillus Chapin (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Tillinae) is revised and includes O. androwi Opitz, new species, O. apiculus Opitz, new species, O. cinctipennis (Chevrolat,1874), O. cubana de Zayas,1988, O. dimidiatus de Zayas,1988, O. lineatus Opitz, new species, O. minutus de Zayas,1988, O. trinitatis de Zayas,1988, O. woodruffi Opitz, new species, and O. vittatus Chapin,1945.

Robert E. Woodruff was a consummate collector of insects, gems, and items of art. He was a superb taxonomist with a specialty in the beetle family Scarabaeidae. This contribution is dedicated …

In Memoriam: Robert E. Woodruff, July 20, 1933–July 8, 2021, Paul E. Skelley, Oliver Keller

Insecta Mundi

This and the following set of papers published in Insecta Mundi are dedicated to Robert E. Woodruff, as tribute and thanks from those he mentored or assisted throughout his life. Bob’s many contributions to the study of beetles, being a founding member and first president of the Center for Systematic Entomology (CSE), co-creating Insecta Mundi with Ross H. Arnett, Jr., and having served in various capacities for 30 years on the CSE board of directors and the editorial board of Insecta Mundi, were deemed significant enough to allow this paper outside our normal guidelines. The following pages highlight the life …

The First Report Of Lissomus Dalman (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Lissominae) From The Greater Antilles, With Two New Species From The Dominican Republic, Paul J. Johnson

Insecta Mundi

Lissomus quisqueya new species and L. woodruffi new species are described. Both species are reported from the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola. These are the first species of Lissomus Dalman reported from the Greater Antilles. Lissomus quisqueya is recorded from montane mesic forests in the Cordillera Central from Dajadon and La Vega provinces. Lissomus woodruffi is recorded from Barahona, Independencia and Pedernales provinces from montane mesic forest in the Sierra de Bahoruco. Morphologically, these species are most similar to members of the L. discedens Bonvouloir species group from Mesoamerica and South America. Known sites of occurrence of L. …

Dichotomius Woodruffi, A New Dichotomius Species Of The Agenor Group From Costa Rica And Nicaragua (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), Ángel Solis, Burt Kohlmann

Insecta Mundi

We describe a new species of Dichotomius Hope, 1838, from the D. agenor species-group from Costa Rica and Nicaragua: D. woodruffi Solís and Kohlmann, new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scara­baeinae). Based on this discovery, we confirm that Dichotomius enioi Montoya-Molina and Vaz-de-Mello, 2021 and D. agenor (Harold, 1869) are not currently distributed in Costa Rica. Instead, the only species of Dichotomius that are currently distributed in Costa Rica from the D. agenor species-group are D. centralis (Harold, 1869) and D. woodruffi. We discuss the distribution of the Dichotomius agenor species-group in Central America.

In …

What Knowledge Do Early Childhood Teachers Use During Literacy Instruction? Using Stimulated Recall To Investigate An Unexplored Phenomenon, Rachel E. Schachter

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study utilized a novel phenomenological approach with a stimulated recall procedure to understand the pedagogical reasoning of eight early child teachers during the enactment of literacy instruction in whole-group meeting and language arts activities. This approach to investigating knowledge—in contrast to more tra­ditional conceptualizations of knowledge—focused on knowledge use as a process and prioritized teachers’ perspectives on knowledge used to enact literacy instruc­tion in their own classrooms. Additionally, it allowed for a more nuanced investi­gation of the role of setting and teacher characteristics that are often examined in association with literacy instruction (e.g., degree attainment, years of experience, curriculum, …

Paradigm Versus Paradox On The Prairie: Testing Competing Stream Fish Movement Frameworks Using An Imperiled Great Plains Minnow, Zachary D. Steffensmeier, Maeghen Wedgeworth, Lauren Yancy, Noah Santee, Shannon K. Brewer, Joshuah S. Perkin

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Background: Movement information can improve conservation of imperiled species, yet movement is not quantified for many organisms in need of conservation. Prairie chub (Macrhybopsis australis) is a regionally endemic freshwater fish with unquantified movement ecology and currently considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The purpose of this study was to test competing ecological theories for prairie chub movement, including the colonization cycle hypothesis (CCH) that posits adults must make upstream movements to compensate for downstream drift at early life stages, and the restricted movement paradigm (RMP) that describes populations as heterogeneous mixes of mostly stationary …

A Review Of The Impacts Of Invasive Wild Pigs On Native Vertebrates, Matthew T. Mcdonough, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Mark D. Smith, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The wild pig (Sus scrofa) is a successful invasive species that has become well established outside of its native range in Eurasia. The invasive wild pig is the result of released or escaped domesticated livestock becoming feral, or Eurasian boar introduced for hunting purposes. The global spread of wild pigs has recently been exacerbated in some areas, such as the USA, by anthropogenically assisted dispersal. Once established in novel ecosystems, wild pigs have the potential to have significant negative impacts on the ecosystem, and the scientific literature is replete with examples. It is generally accepted that wild pigs …

Mobility Of Phosphine-Susceptible And -Resistant Rhyzopertha Dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) And Tribolium Castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) After Exposure To Controlled Release Materials With Existing And Novel Active Ingredients, Sabita Ranabhat, Kun Yan Zhu, Georgina Bingham, William R., Morrison Iii

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

There is interest in developing controlled release materials (CRMs) with novel modes of action to improve resistance management. Long-lasting insecticide-incorporated netting (LLIN) with deltamethrin has been effectively used against stored-product pests. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of different CRMs (LLIN or packaging) with each of four active ingredients (AI) (deltamethrin, permethrin, indoxacarb, and dinotefuran) and compared them to control CRMs in reducing movement and increasing mortality of phosphine-susceptible and -resistant Rhyzopertha dominica and Tribolium castaneum. Adults were exposed for 0.5, 2, or 60 min, and movement was assessed immediately or after 24, or 168 h using video-tracking and Ethovision …