Digital Commons Network^™

Avian Influenza And The Approach To Designing An H5n1 Vaccine, Lauren N. Hickey

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The Avian influenza virus (AIV) H5N1 has been responsible for the culling and deaths of millions of birds since 2022 with concern for wildlife, livestock, and human infections occurring as well. With eggs flying off the shelves in grocery stores, even individuals not involved in the agricultural industry have seen the drastic effects of this disease first-hand. For chickens, this virus works quickly and overpowers the innate immune system before the adaptive immune system has time to properly respond. Therefore, a safe and effective vaccine could reduce the number of poultry deaths and prevent the continuous spread of the infection. …

Oh No, Don't Let The Rain Come Down..., Mervyn Bennun

Nebraska Journal on Advancing Justice

No abstract provided.

The Failure Of Law Reform: Housing Codes, Bans On Retaliatory Eviction, And The Implied Warranty Of Habitability, David Ray Papke

Nebraska Journal on Advancing Justice

No abstract provided.

Humanity, Ai, And The Pedagogy Of Vince Gilligan’S Pluribus, J. Scarlett Kingsley

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This review discusses the tv show Pluribus as a contemporary television narrative that functions as an allegory for artificial intelligence and its implications for human meaning-making. Centering on Carol Sturka, one of thirteen individuals immune to a alien global virus that merges humanity into a cooperative “Hive Mind”, the series explores tensions between autonomy and collective well-being in a “peaceful apocalypse.” The analysis argues that the Hive Mind reflects key concerns surrounding AI, including the production of knowledge without understanding, personalization without discernment, and efficiency that bypasses the struggle through which meaning is formed. Drawing on John Searle’s distinction between …

Sang M. Lee, Unl Business Management; Goal Programming, Mark Griep, Sang M. Lee

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Dr. Sang Lee was awarded the ORCA in 1980. Sang was born in 1939 in South Korea and grew up in Seoul. He earned his bachelor’s in 1961 at Seoul National University. Next, he traveled over 7000 miles to the US to earn a master’s from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and then a somewhat shorter move to the University of Georgia in Athens, where he earned a doctorate in Business Administration and Management. From 1968 to 1976, he rose through the ranks at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg while making a splash for his “goal programming” ideas. In 1976, …

Genomic Analysis Reveals New Subspecies Of Cercyonis Scudder, 1875 (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae: Satyrini), Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Leina Song, Todd L. Stout, Michael S. Fisher, Robb Hannawacker, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Genomic analysis of Cercyonis (Cercyonis) Scudder, 1875 (Nymphalidae Rafinesque, 1815) partitions the subgenus into three species groups and reveals five new subspecies from the USA (type localities in parentheses): Cercyonis (Cercyonis) pegala koosharem Stout and Grishin, ssp. n. (Utah, Sevier Co.), Cercyonis (Cercyonis) pegala lasala Grishin, M. Fisher, and Hannawacker ssp. n. (Utah, Grand Co.), Cercyonis (Cercyonis) pegala hortoni Grishin, ssp. n. (Arizona, Gila Co.), Cercyonis (Cercyonis) meadii maculana Grishin, ssp. n. (Colorado, Montezuma Co.), and Cercyonis (Cercyonis) meadii rimana Grishin, ssp. n. (Arizona, Yavapai Co.). A neotype is designated for Satyrus boopis Behr, 1864 (USA, California, Contra Costa Co.). …

Norman H. Cromwell, Unl Chemistry; Nu System Dean; Eppley Cancer Center Director, Norman H. Cromwell, Pete Boughn, Mark A. Griep

UNL ORCA Interview Series

This 1980 interview of Normal Cromwell was done by Pete Boughn at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He asked about Cromwell’s history but mostly about his time as director of the Eppley Cancer Center. The interview is reproduced with permission from the UNMC McGoogan Library.

Cromwell was born in 1913 in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1935, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in his hometown. In 1939, three things happened: he earned a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Minnesota, he got married, and he was hired …

Age Reassignment Using Luminescence Dating For The Mammoth Site, Black Hills, South Dakota, Usa, Shannon A. Mahan, Jim I. Mead, P.R. Hanson, Emma T. Krolczyk, Christopher N. Jass

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Mammoth Site (MS) at Hot Springs, South Dakota, provides a unique opportunity to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions on the Northern Great Plains of the United States. Previous radiocarbon analyses of mammoth bone apatite suggested the MS sinkhole was deposited ∼42–23 cal ka BP. However, two U-series ages and one thermoluminescence (TL) age ranged between 150 and 101 ka, suggesting the bones were considerably older. We analyzed six samples from the bone bed using infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL) on feldspars, because the quartz luminescence was saturated; the ages ranged from approximately 232 to 160 ka, showing better agreement with previous U-series and …

Evaluating The Motivations Of Participants In Online Equine Extension Courses, Sarah Vos

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Traditional program evaluations emphasize participant demographics, knowledge gain, behavior change, and program impact. However, evaluating participant motivation can provide addition insight into why participants enroll in extension programs and help explain participant engagement and persistence throughout a program. The purpose of this study was to evaluate participant motivation in two online equine extension courses and examine potential relationships between motivation, demographics, and course delivery method, and describe participant engagement in Virtual Horse Judging Camp (VHJC). This cross-sectional study utilized convenience sampling of participants in two online equine extension courses, Horse Adult Leader Training and Educational Resource (HALTER) and VHJC. The …

Eschatological Echoes: Reading The Bible And The Harry Potter Series, Athira Mohan Dr

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Death has been a major topic in children’s and adolescent literature , which has invited scholarly discourse over different ages. While death was very commonly featured in the puritanical texts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was also deemed to be a subject too sensitive for the genre of children’s literature in the early twentieth century(Aries 1975), due to a combination of factors such as lowered child mortality rate and heightened concern for childhood as a special social category. However, contemporary children’s and adolescent literature focuses on death as an important part of human life, and invites discussions on …

Investigating The Links Between Parent Math Anxiety, Parenting Behaviors, And Child Math Achievement And Math Anxiety In Middle Childhood, Kimia Akhavein

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Existing research indicates that parents’ math anxiety is a robust predictor of children’s math achievement and math anxiety. The current dissertation study moved the literature forward by examining the transmission of parents’ math anxiety to children’s math achievement and math anxiety via autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting behaviors using an observational coding scheme during a homework help task when children were in second grade. The first research aim examined if parents’ autonomy supportive and controlling behaviors mediated the link between parents’ math anxiety and children’s math achievement and math anxiety one year later. The second research aim examined whether parents’ emotion …

Fred Luthans, Unl Business Management, Positive Organizational Behavior, Mark Griep, Fred Luthans

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Fred Luthans was awarded the ORCA in 2008. He was born in Clinton, Iowa in 1939. He earned three degrees from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, located only a few miles from Clinton. His bachelor's was in mathematics in 1961, a Master’s of Business Administration in ‘62, PhD in Management and Psychology in 1965. After serving two years as a captain in the Army at West Point, where he taught psychology and leadership, he joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as an Associate Professor of Management. He's had a remarkable career, but I'll only mention three major distinctions. His …

Crustal Structure Of The Vøring Plateau And Vøring Spur From Joint Refraction And Reflection Travel-Time Tomography, Anika Nawar Mayeesha

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Crustal architecture of the Vøring Plateau and Vøring Spur in the mid-Norwegian continental margin remains debated because the geophysical data in the area do not uniquely constrain whether the crust is continental, oceanic, or transitional. This study reanalyzes wide-angle ocean-bottom seismometer data from Profile 11-03 across the Vøring passive continental margin using joint travel-time tomography of crustal refractions and Moho reflections. A total of 6,760 first-arrival picks and 542 PmP picks from sixteen instruments were inverted for P-wave velocity and reflector depth. Three starting models were inverted independently to test sensitivity to the initial crustal configuration. The first two used …

Observing System Simulation Experiments To Investigate Impacts Of Deep-Tropospheric Uas Flights On Forecasts, Kenneth Alexander Swan

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Uncrewed aircraft systems have emerged as a promising option to address meteorological gaps in observations in the lower troposphere. With recent advancements, UAS may be able to address gaps aloft in areas that lack coverage from radiosondes and commercial aircraft. UAS have shown the potential to significantly benefit NWP forecasts from profiles in the lowest 2 km AGL, but the impact of UAS profiles to the tropopause has yet to be quantified. Additionally, the impacts of hazardous flying conditions that UAS would encounter need to be addressed to guide future UAS capabilities. To address these questions, we designed an observing …

Social Media Adoption In Urban And Rural Flood Risk Management: Evidence From Nebraska’S 2019 Flood-Affected Regions, Anisha Khandokar

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Flooding is one of the most devastating natural hazards, causing significant economic losses and threatening public safety. While social media has emerged as a powerful tool for disaster communication, its effectiveness in rural flood risk management remains underexplored. This study evaluates the role of social media in disseminating flood-related information and engaging communities during and after 2019 Nebraska floods. This study incorporates SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis method to examine how the seven core communication functions were utilized for flood risk management at the state, regional, and local levels. The findings reveal that while state agencies dominated social …

Nebraska And The Midwest Agtech Ecosystem: Benchmarking Innovation Investment And Translation Gaps, Ankit Chandra, Ishani Lal, Brennan Costello

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

Agricultural innovation is central to the sustainable transformation of food systems, yet the capital that finances it is unevenly distributed relative to where food is produced. This paper develops a diagnostic framework for measuring this mismatch and applies it across the U.S. Midwest from 2021 to 2025, with particular emphasis on Nebraska's structural position within this landscape. Drawing on venture capital deal-flow data, 17 stakeholder interviews, and a novel strength-weakness-opportunity-gap (SWOG) ecosystem mapping methodology, we document $736 million in tracked Midwest AgTech funding across eight states (Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota). We introduce three …

Evaluating Variety- And Market-Class-Specific Effects Of Dietary Pulses On Human Health, Jiayu Tang

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While pulses are globally recognized for their high levels of dietary fibers, protein, and polyphenols, research often focuses on characterizing the physiological effects of a single variety. This approach overlooks the substantial genetic and compositional diversity that exists across pulse varieties and individual market classes, which can differ extensively in nutrient content and structure. These compositional differences have the potential to produce distinct physiological and microbial responses in humans, yet variety- and market-class-specific effects remain poorly characterized.

This thesis uses two complementary research methodologies to investigate the health-relevant effects of different pulse varieties and market classes, providing foundational knowledge to …

Evaluating Relationships Between Immunometabolism And Excess Adiposity Using Anthropometric And Body Composition Measurements, Corina Grimaldo

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Metabolic dysfunction is a key contributor to the development of chronic disease and is associated with excessive adiposity. Though body mass index (BMI) is a common screening tool used to identify possible metabolic dysfunction, it does not consider fat distribution. Other tools are needed to assess body composition and determine fat distribution. In recent studies, it has been suggested that alterations in metabolic processes may occur prior to a clinical diagnosis, and the combination of body composition and blood-based markers can help identify those early changes. The overall objective of this study is to identify low-cost indicators of metabolic dysregulation …

Tales Of The Empathic Support Provider: How Emerging Adult Women Make Sense Of Providing Empathic Support To Female Friends, Emma R. Eslinger

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current study explored the stories and reflections of 33 emerging adult women who made sense of their empathic support provider (ESP) identity in the context of female friendships. From the standpoint of the retrospective storytelling heuristic, within communicated narrative sense-making theory, participants told stories about their ESP identity, including how they provide support to others and reflect on the benefits of drawbacks of serving in this role (CNSM, Koenig Kellas, 2022). Under Proposition 1 of CNSM theory, meanings, values, and beliefs (MVBs) that ESP women expressed in this role were depicted as key takeaways gathered. Findings illuminated how ESP …

Personalizable Metabolic Models To Enable Immune Characterization And Drug Discovery, Joshua Loecker

Department of Biochemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cellular metabolism is reshaped by disease and physiological state, and genome-scale metabolic networks (GSMNs) offer a systematic way to interrogate this biology and identify therapeutic targets. Building a GSMN from expression data, however, requires a sequence of stages including read processing, normalization and gene-activity classification, multi-omic integration, model reconstruction, simulation, and biological interpretation. These are typically handled by disconnected tools spanning multiple programming languages, file formats, and databases. The resulting reliance on heterogeneous interfaces and manual steps threatens reproducibility. This work develops an ecosystem of computational tools that carry an analysis from raw sequencing reads to mechanistic biological interpretation. First, …

Ethos: A Computational Framework For Material Culture Research, Chelsea L. Grafe

Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Museum catalog records make large collections searchable, but they do not always preserve the reasoning behind the claims they contain. A record may present a quilt's identity as settled while leaving the reasoning behind that claim invisible, making it difficult for later researchers to check, question, or reuse. This project asks whether museum catalog data can be analyzed in a way that keeps each analytical claim connected to the evidence that supports it. To test this question, the project applies a material-first computational framework named Ethos. Ethos formalizes an object-centered inquiry sequence in which material dependencies establish where analysis begins …

Evaluation Of A Vortex Flow Device On A Center Pivot Irrigation System, Ankit Chandra, Derek M. Heeren, Tyler Smith

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

This study presents the first independent field evaluation of a passive vortex flow device designed to reduce hydraulic friction in pressurized irrigation systems. Experiments were conducted on a full-scale, groundwater-fed center pivot irrigation system at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension, and Education Center (ENREEC). A paired comparison approach was used to quantify differences in flow rate, energy consumption, and pressure distribution along the pivot lateral under baseline (no device) and treatment (device installed) conditions. Results showed negligible change in system flow rate (621 vs. 618 gpm) and energy consumption (~1.2% difference), consistent with expectations for pressure-regulated irrigation systems. However, the …

The Process Of Alcohol-Involved Sexual Assault Disclosure: Examining Disclosure Content And Reactions From Informal Supports, Madison Elle Edwards

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Alcohol-involved sexual violence (SV), in which unwanted sexual contact is attempted or obtained without consent during or after the victim’s alcohol use is a major public health issue among young women. Research consistently shows that alcohol-involved SV can have particularly harmful mental and physical health consequences. Moreover, survivors who were drinking are more likely to receive negative reactions (e.g., blame, minimization) when they disclose their SV experiences to informal supports (e.g., friends, family). These negative reactions are consistently linked to negative psychosocial outcomes. However, little research on negative disclosure reactions has examined the content of survivors’ disclosures. The present study …

Effects Of Anchor Scheme On Torque And Neuromuscular Responses During And Following Fatiguing Isokinetic Forearm Flexion Tasks: Insights From High-Density Electromyography And Wavelet Analysis, Dolores Guadalupe Ortega

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This study examined the effects of anchor scheme on torque and neuromuscular responses during and following fatiguing isokinetic forearm flexion tasks. Thirteen men (mean ± SD; age: 22.0 ± 1.9 yr; height: 183.0 ± 6.4 cm; body mass: 90.2 ± 18.1 kg) completed pretest and posttest maximal, concentric, isokinetic forearm flexion muscle actions at 30°∙s-1 before and after continual, concentric, isokinetic forearm flexion tasks at 30°∙s-1 at an RPE of 6 (RPE6T) and the torque (TRQ6T) produced during the first repetition of the RPE6T. Monopolar electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded from the biceps brachii using a high-density EMG sensor. A …

Lost In The Weeds No More! Revision Of The Robust Herb Gall Wasps (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae, Aulacideini) In North America, Louis F. Nastasi, Charles K. Davis, José Luis Nieves-Aldrey, Cecil N. Smith, Simon Van Noort, Ebony G. Murrell, Timothy S. Frey, Chris Friesen, M. J. Hatfield, Heather M. Hines, John F. Tooker, Andrew R. Deans

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

We revise the North American fauna of Aulacideini (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) using morphological, ecological, and genetic (DNA barcode) data, incorporating observations from over 5,000 adult specimens and galls. Prior to revision, the fauna included 24 species in four genera. Six new genera and 25 new species are described, all authored by Nastasi: Argyrix gen. nov., Barathria gen. nov., Cosmita gen. nov., and Ketsia gen. nov., for species previously placed in Antistrophus Walsh; Prixima gen. nov., for a new species inducing galls on Pyrrhopappus DC.; and Tookeria gen. nov., for a new species inducing galls on Silphium L.; Antistrophus frieseni sp. nov., …

Butterfly Taxa Discovery Via Genomic Analysis, Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Leina Song, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Expanding a genomics-guided assessment of butterfly taxonomy, we integrate phylogenetic evidence from all protein-coding genes with morphological considerations to refine our understanding of butterfly systematics and discover new taxa. As a result, 2 subgenera, 39 species, and 5 subspecies are proposed as new (type species in original combinations or type localities are listed in parentheses): Erebia (Magda) magdalena uintana Grishin, ssp. n. (USA: Utah, Uintah Co.) in Nymphalidae Rafinesque, 1815; Myselasia rondea Grishin, sp. n. (Brazil: Rondônia), Myselasia pseudocrinon Grishin, sp. n. (Ecuador: Pastaza), Myselasia paramatuta Grishin, sp. n. (Ecuador: Morona-Santiago), Euselasia anapellos Grishin, sp. n. (Peru: Loreto), …

The Examination Of Additional Creative Applications To Drum Set Method Books, Nathan Bjoin

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The purpose of this document is to analyze how the concept of additional creative applications is approached and utilized by authors of drum set method books and how it can be practically applied for different skill and educational levels. This document will begin with an examination of a variety of drum set method books, outlining the technical (syncopation patterns, drum grooves, and four-limb independence) and musical improvements (personal musical exploration or repertoire) they aim to provide for the reader. Included within the examination is how creative additional applications are employed from each author in a variety of ways, including through …

Interview With Orca Winner Xiao Cheng Zeng; Unl Chemistry; Computational/Theoretical; Nebraska Ice & Gold Nanocages, Mark Griep, Xiao Cheng Zeng

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Xiao Cheng Zeng became a chemistry professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993, quickly rose through the ranks, and was in the department for 29 years. In 2022, he left to become head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the City University of Hong Kong. Xiao was born in Beijing and earned a bachelor’s in physics at the University of Beijing in 1984. Next, he traveled 6800 miles east to Ohio State University in Columbus where he earned his doctorate in condensed matter physics. He followed that up with two postdoctoral experiences, first at the University …

First Course Portfolio For Plpt 803 Fundamentals Of Scientific Discovery, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

PLPT 803 Fundamentals of Scientific discovery is a new curse in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I designed and developed this course from the ground up. Initially, it was offered as a special topic (PLPT 892-014) for four years. PLPT 803 was approved by the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources curriculum committee in September of 2025. PLPT 803 is unique within the University of Nebraska system and will be offered for the first time in the fall of 2027. The course is designed for students to learn fundamental scientific skills such as scrutinize, …

Thermodynamic Modeling Of Ph Impacts On Subsurface Microbial Consortia, Jackfin K C

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

Underground hydrogen storage is affected by microbial consumption, and the different minerals present in the subsurface. However, most studies consider either biotic or abiotic factors in isolation and hence, the conditions that drive a self-sustaining storage remain poorly understood. This thesis uses a genome-informed thermodynamic model developed by Kharel et al. (2026) in which pH is the central variable coupling hydrogenotrophic microbial metabolism, inter-species competition, and carbonate mineral buffering. The model includes four hydrogen-consuming species: methanogen (Methanobacterium), acetogen (Acetoanaerobium), aerobic acetate oxidizer (Pseudomonas stutzeri), and sulfate reducer (Nitratidesulfovibrio) by conditioning each organism's …