Digital Commons Network^™

Within‑Marsh And Landscape Features Structure Ribbed Mussel Distribution In Georgia, Usa, Marshes, William K. Annis, Elizabeth A. Hunter, John M. Carroll

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Ribbed mussels, Geukensia demissa, are marsh fauna that are used in coastal management and restoration due to the ecosystem services they provide. Ribbed mussel restoration efforts may be improved with a greater understanding of the environmental drivers of ribbed mussel distribution at multiple spatial scales to predict areas where restoration could be successful. This study sought to estimate the effects of within-marsh (4 m) and landscape (500 m) factors on ribbed mussel distribution. Ribbed mussel densities were surveyed at 11 sites along the coast of Georgia, USA, and overlaid with spatial data for within-marsh factors (elevation, distance to marsh …

Our Past Creates Our Present: A Brief Overview Of Racism And Colonialism In Western Paleontology, Pedro M. Monarrez, Joshua B. Zimmt, Annaka M. Clement, William Gearty, John J. Jacisin, Kelsey M. Jenkins, Kristopher M. Kusnerik, Ashley W. Poust, Selina V. Robson, Judith A. Sclafani, Kelsey T. Stilson, Shamindri D. Tennakoon, Carmi Milagros Thompson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

As practitioners of a historical science, paleontologists and geoscientists are well versed in the idea that the ability to understand and to anticipate the future relies upon our collective knowledge of the past. Despite this understanding, the fundamental role that the history of paleontology and the geosciences plays in shaping the structure and culture of our disciplines is seldom recognized and therefore not acted upon sufficiently. Here, we present a brief review of the history of paleontology and geology in Western countries, with a particular focus on North America since the 1800s. Western paleontology and geology are intertwined with systematic …

A Critical Review Of Bioaccumulation And Biotransformation Of Organic Chemicals In Birds, Dave T. F. Kuo, Barnett A. Rattner, Sarah C. Marteinson, Robert Letcher, Kim J. Fernie, Gabriele Treu, Markus Deutsch, Mark S. Johnson, Sandrine Deglin, Michelle Embry

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A literature review of bioaccumulation and biotransformation of organic chemicals in birds was undertaken, aiming to support scoping and prioritization of future research. The objectives were to characterize available bioaccumulation/ biotransformation data, identify knowledge gaps, determine how extant data can be used, and explore the strategy and steps forward. An intermediate approach balanced between expediency and rigor was taken given the vastness of the literature. Following a critical review of >500 peer-reviewed studies, >25,000 data entries and 2 million information bytes were compiled on >700 organic compounds for ~ 320 wild species and 60 domestic breeds of birds. These data …

A Segmentation-Guided Deep Learning Framework For Leaf Counting, Xijian Fan, Rui Zhou, Tardi Tjahjadi, Sruti Das Choudhury, Qiaolin Ye

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Deep learning-based methods have recently provided a means to rapidly and effectively extract various plant traits due to their powerful ability to depict a plant image across a variety of species and growth conditions. In this study, we focus on dealing with two fundamental tasks in plant phenotyping, i.e., plant segmentation and leaf counting, and propose a two-steam deep learning framework for segmenting plants and counting leaves with various size and shape from two-dimensional plant images. In the first stream, a multi-scale segmentation model using spatial pyramid is developed to extract leaves with different size and shape, where the fine-grained …

Guard-Cell-Targeted Overexpression Of Arabidopsis Hexokinase 1 Can Improve Water Use Efficiency In Field-Grown Tobacco Plants, Liana G. Acevedo-Siaca, Katarzyna Glowacka, Steven M. Driever, Coralie E. Salesse-Smith, Nitsan Lugassi, David Granot, Stephen P. Long, Johannes Kromdijk

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Water deficit currently acts as one of the largest limiting factors for agricultural productivity worldwide. Additionally, limitation by water scarcity is projected to continue in the future with the further onset of effects of global climate change. As a result, it is critical to develop or breed for crops that have increased water use efficiency and that are more capable of coping with water scarce conditions. However, increased intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) typically brings a trade-off with CO₂ assimilation as all gas exchange is mediated by stomata, through which CO₂ enters the leaf while water vapor exits. …

Large-Scale Analyses Of Heat Shock Transcription Factors And Database Construction Based On Whole-Genome Genes In Horticultural And Representative Plants, Tong Yu, Yun Bai, Zhuo Liu, Zhiyuan Wang, Qihang Yang, Tong Wu, Shuyan Feng, Yu Zhang, Shaoqin Shen, Qiang Li, Liqiang Gu, Xiaoming Song

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Heat shock transcription factor (Hsf) plays a critical role in regulating heat resistance. Here, 2950 Hsf family genes were identified from 111 horticultural and representative plants. More Hsf genes were detected in higher plants than in lower plants. Based on all Hsf genes, we constructed a phylogenetic tree, which indicated that Hsf genes of each branch evolved independently after species differentiation. Furthermore, we uncovered the evolutionary trajectories of Hsf genes by motif analysis. There were only six motifs (M1–M6) in lower plants, and then four novel motifs (M7–M10) appeared in higher plants. However, the motifs of some Hsf …

Comparing Artificial-Intelligence Techniques With State-Of-The-Art Parametric Prediction Models For Predicting Soybean Traits, Susweta Ray, Diego Jarquin, Reka Howard

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is a significant source of protein and oil and is also widely used as animal feed. Thus, developing lines that are superior in terms of yield, protein, and oil content is important to feed the ever-growing population. As opposed to high-cost phenotyping, genotyping is both cost and time efficient for breeders because evaluating new lines in different environments (location–year combinations) can be costly. Several genomic prediction (GP) methods have been developed to use the marker and environment data effectively to predict the yield or other relevant phenotypic traits of crops. Our study compares a conventional …

Digital Hydrography Underestimates Stream Length And Leads To Underestimates Of Trout Population Size, Daniel C. Dauwalter, Tim Gatewood, Zachary J. Jackson, Jean Barney, Zachary S. Beard

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Stream length is measured for many fisheries management applications. Characteristics of populations and habitats measured at field sites are commonly generalized to unsampled areas using estimates of stream length or stream network length. There are many ways to measure stream length, but map-based stream length measurements are commonly used in fisheries applications even though they are known to be biased. We evaluated how length of headwater streams in Arizona may be underestimated by the National Hydrography Dataset and how that bias influences streamwide abundance estimates for adult Apache Trout Oncorhynchus apache. As expected, stream lengths measured using National Hydrography …

Intelligent Work Zone Using Automatic Queue Detection Systems, Li Zhao, Laurence Rilett, Ernest Tufuor

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This report documents the the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Advanced Queue Detection (AQD) systems installed on Interstate work zones in Nebraska. Specifically, (1) the system performance was verified by examining whether the messages displayed on the portable dynamic message signs (PDMS) were consistent with the underlying AQD logic; (2) the system efficacy was measured by determining whether driver speeds were reduced when warning messages were provided on the PDMS; and (3) the system safety impact was modeled using statistical models. It was found that overall, the AQD systems had an error rate of 0.7% – 2.3%. Drivers reduced …

Sprouting Systems, Abaigeal Aydt, Cassidy Smith

Honors Program: Expanded Learning Clubs

After taking a class at UNL about environmental awareness, two honors students paired up to start a hydroponics club at a local Lincoln school. In reaching out to the LPS director of sustainability, they were paired up with Prescott Elementary School. Over the course of a semester, they developed a club that got a hydroponic grow tower functioning for the school and taught students about nutrition and sustainability. This club is only in its beginning stages, but the impacts that it is making around the school can already be seen.

Training Packages For The Use Of Child Development Tools In Low/Middle-Income Countries: A Review, Maria Neocleous, Katelyn Hepworth, Vanessa Cavallera, Melissa Gladstone

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

Background We are now moving beyond the focus of ’child survival’ to an era which promotes children thriving and developing rather than simply ’surviving’. In doing so, we are becoming more aware of the large variation of child development screening tools available globally, but in particular, those in low/middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods This narrative review identifies 24 child development tools used in LMICs. We aimed to identify information on training accessibility and training design, assessment methods and cost of training. For those tools with no training information identified or for any tools identified as providing online training, the tool author …

Real Time Audio Processing Using A Low-Power Digital Signal Processor, Aaron Norlinger

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This project focused on the creation of a series of audio processing functions that could run in real time on the ezDSP5502 processor. The Digital Signal Processor (DSP) being used for this project is an industry standard for lowpower signal processing applications. The overall goal was to have a code base that could sample audio in real time from any source, filter it in a variety of ways, run a Fast Fourier Transform on the audio, display the resulting frequency data to an LCD screen, and then output the filtered audio to an external speaker. This general process is used …

Development And Validation Of High-Resolution Melting Assays For The Detection Of Potentially Virulent Strains Of Escherichia Coli O103 And O121, Frank J. Velez, Joseph M. Bosilevac, Sabine Delannoy, Patrick Fach, Ravinder Nagpal, Prashant Singh

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

Virulent strains of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serogroups O103 and O121 are considered adulterants in beef. Two high-resolution melting (HRM) real-time PCR assays were standardized for the specific detection and discrimination of potentially virulent and avirulent strains of E. coli O103 and O121. The O103 HRM assay offered the possibility to distinguish clearly STEC O103:H2 from STEC O103:H25. The two standardized assays were extensively validated using 215 pure culture strains, laboratory inoculated food samples, and naturally contaminated beef (n = 84) and pork (n = 84) enrichments collected from the red meat surveillance program. Both HRM assays showed 100% …

Development Of A Data-Assimilation System To Forecast Agricultural Systems: A Case Study Of Constraining Soil Water And Soil Nitrogen Dynamics In The Apsim Model, Marissa S. Kivi, Bethany Blakely, Michael Masters, Carl J. Bernacchi, Fernando E. Miguez, Hamze Dokoohaki

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

As we face today's large-scale agricultural issues, the need for robust methods of agricultural forecasting has never been clearer. Yet, the accuracy and precision of our forecasts remains limited by current tools and methods. To overcome the limitations of process-based models and observed data, we iteratively designed and tested a generalizable and robust data-assimilation system that systematically constrains state variables in the APSIM model to improve forecast accuracy and precision. Our final novel system utilizes the Ensemble Kalman Filter to constrain model states and update model parameters at observed time steps and incorporates an algorithm that improves system performance through …

A Strategic Audit Of Seaworld, Thomas Wolfe

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

A strategic audit of SeaWorld

Seasonal Variation And Tracking Of Climate Niche Of A Migratory Bird, Javier Gutiérrez Illán, Guiming Wang, D. Tommy King, Fred L. Cunningham

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Migratory birds inhabit different areas during breeding and non-breeding seasons. Depending on the time of the year, they may utilize different resources available in seasonal habitats, but also are subjected to changing climate regimes during their annual life cycle. Migratory birds may adopt ecological niche tracking to cope with different environmental conditions between breeding and non-breeding grounds. The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, hereafter ‘AWPE’) is a short-distance migrant between the Gulf of Mexico coastal regions (nonbreeding grounds) and the Northern Great Plains (breeding grounds) of Canada and the US. The American White Pelican is a piscivore, feeding …

Age And Water-Quality Characteristics Of Groundwater Discharge To The South Loup River, Nebraska, 2019, Christopher M. Hobza, John E. Solder

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Streams in the Loup River Basin are sensitive to groundwater withdrawals because of the close hydrologic connection between groundwater and surface water. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Loup and Lower Loup Natural Resources Districts, and the Nebraska Environmental Trust, studied the age and water-quality characteristics of groundwater near the South Loup River to assess the possible effects of a multiyear drought on streamflow.

Groundwater sampled in wells screened in Quaternary-age deposits displayed a wide range of mean ages (27 to 2,100 years), fraction modern, and susceptibility index values. Groundwater with higher concentrations of chloride and higher …

A Strategic Audit Of Seaworld, Jaden Capaldi, Rachel Jendro, Jacob Mir, Sophie Newman, Tommy Wolfe

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

No abstract provided.

Time Course Of Changes In Torque And Neuromuscular Parameters During A Sustained Isometric Forearm Flexion Task To Fatigue Anchored To A Constant Rating Of Perceived Exertion, Robert W. Smith, Terry J. Housh, John Paul V. Anders, Tyler J. Neltner, Jocelyn E. Arnett, Richard Schmidt, Glen O. Johnson

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objective: This study examined the time course of changes in torque and electromyographic (EMG) and mechanomyographic (MMG) responses during a sustained isometric task anchored to a constant perception of exertion (RPE). Methods: Twelve college-aged men performed an isometric forearm flexion task to failure anchored to RPE=7 (OMNI-RES scale). The amplitude (AMP) and frequency (MPF) of the EMG and MMG signals from the biceps brachii were recorded. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to examine differences for the normalized (%MVIC) torque and neuromuscular parameters. Results: The time to task failure (TTF) was 678.0±468.1s. Torque decreased significantly (p<0.001, η_p ²=0.774) …

Examination Of Eviction Filings In Lancaster County, Nebraska, 2019–2021, Ryan Sullivan

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

The study examined and analyzed eviction filings and proceedings in Nebraska, with a specific focus on Lancaster County—the home to the State’s capital, Lincoln. The primary objective of this study is to place eviction proceedings under a microscope to gain a better understanding of the volume of evictions in Nebraska, and whether the statutorily mandated processes are being followed. The study also attempts to capture the impact of certain external factors present during the period examined. Such factors include the COVID-19 pandemic and various eviction moratoria in place during 2020 and 2021, as well as the increased availability of legal …

Search For Higgsinos Decaying To Two Higgs Bosons And Missing Transverse Momentum In Proton-Proton Collisions At √S = 13 Tev, A. Tumasyan

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Results are presented from a search for physics beyond the standard model in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13TeV in channels with two Higgs bosons, each decaying via the process H ⟶ b[], and large missing transverse momentum. The search uses a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb⁻¹ collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC. The search is motivated by models of supersymmetry that predict the production of neutralinos, the neutral partners of the electroweak gauge and Higgs bosons. The observed event yields in the signal regions are found to be consistent with …

Search For Heavy Resonances Decaying To A Pair Of Lorentz-Boosted Higgs Bosons In Final States With Leptons And A Bottom Quark Pair At √S = 13 Tev, A. Tumasyan

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

A search for new heavy resonances decaying to a pair of Higgs bosons (HH) in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV is presented. Data were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016–2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹. Resonances with a mass between 0.8 and 4.5TeV are considered using events in which one Higgs boson decays into a bottom quark pair and the other into final states with either one or two charged leptons. Specifically, the single-lepton decay channel HH ⟶ b[]WW* ⟶ b[]ℓvq[]' and the dilepton decay channels HH ⟶ …

Brick Collage, Dehmie Dehmlow

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

bricolage: construction or creation from a diverse range of available things

I create abstracted modular sculptures, assemblages, and collages that playfully reference utility, using salvaged materials and carefully fabricated objects. My sculptures are considerately composed, elevating the materials with a determined focus on how each disparate part connects to the next to become a meaningful whole. I have a reverence for all of the objects and materials I use, no matter their origin, and thoroughly consider how each of their forms, textures, colors, weights and other formal and physical qualities integrate into a whole. With the use of recognizable utilitarian …

Nebline, May 2022

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Insect and Disease Control for Organic Vegetable Gardeners by Sarah Browning

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month

An Egg-cellent Choice!

Recipe of the Month: Sweet Potatoes and Black Bean Hash by Alyssa Havlovic

It’s Time for Private Well Maintenance by Becky Scheurman

Cash Rent Survey

Composting Demonstrations

Monarchs, Migration & Milkweed by Kait Chapman

Getting Outside to Play by Hayley Jackson

4th Graders Learn About “Farm to Fork” at Ag Festival

4-H Clubs Helped at Kiwanis Karnival

Support Local 4-H Youth During “Give to Lincoln Day”

4-H Achievement Celebration

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Rick Waldron

3 Lancaster County …

Checking The Checkered Taxonomy Of Plötz's Checkered Skippers (Hesperiidae: Pyrgini), Jing Zhang, Qing Cong, John M. Burns, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

We present an analysis of the names proposed by Carl Plötz in 1884 for the New World species in the genus Pyrgus Hübner, [1819] facilitated by the genomic sequencing of extant primary type specimens comparatively with a larger sample of more recently collected specimens of these species and their relatives. The changes to nomenclature suggested here are only caused by the identity of primary type specimens as revealed by their phenotypes or though genomic sequencing. All neotypes are designated to stabilize nomenclature in agreement with the current usage of these names, which in unison agrees best with the information available …

Genomic Dna Sequencing Reveals Two New North American Species Of Staphylus (Hesperiidae: Pyrginae: Carcharodini), Jing Zhang

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Two new skipper butterfly (Hesperiidae) species are described from the United States: Staphylus floridus Grishin, sp. n. (type locality in Florida, Volusia County) and Staphylus ecos Grishin, sp. n. (type locality in Texas, Brewster County). They are cryptic and hence escaped recognition. They differ from their sister species by the relative size and morphology of genitalia and by genotype—including and beyond the COI barcode—thus, suggesting genetic isolation that argues for their species-level status. A lectotype is designated for Helias ascalaphus Staudinger, 1876. Staphylus opites (Godman & Salvin, 1896), stat. rest. is a species-level taxon and not a synonym of Staphylus …

Dontrell, Who Kissed The Sea: An Expedition Into Technical Direction, Joseph J. Shelly Jr

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

The Nebraska Repertory Theatre, in partnership with the Johnny Carson School of Theater, Film, and Emerging Media Arts at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, chose to produce Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea in March of 2021. Playwright Nathan Alan Davis completed the play in 2017. He is originally from Rockford, Illinois, and a graduate of Indiana University. Dontrell was his second produced play, premiering in June 2014 at the Source Festival in Washington, DC. Several theatres since 2014 have produced the play, and ours was the third show of the 2021-2022 season. The director was Ron Himes, the Founder …

Design Of Path Correction For Improved Gait Rehabilitation, Zvonimir Pusnik

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Following a serious neurological injury or disease, such as a spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis, many patients develop impaired gait (the ability to walk). There are many different pieces of equipment to help rehabilitate people with impaired gait, ranging from over ground walking with exoskeletons to treadmills with partial bodyweight support. Since the 1990s and 2000s, elliptical trainers have entered the rehabilitative field as a machine with low impact forces and gait-like motion. This led researchers at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals to collaborate with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to create the Intelligently Controlled Assistive Rehabilitation Elliptical (ICARE).

While the ICARE …

Symbolic Ns-3 For Efficient Exhaustive Testing, Jianfei Shao

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Exhaustive testing is an important type of simulation, where a user exhaustively simulates a protocol for all possible cases with respect to some uncertain factors, such as all possible packet delays or packet headers. It is useful for completely evaluating the protocol performance, finding the worst-case performance, and detecting possible design or implementation bugs of a protocol. It is, however, time consuming to use the brute force method with current NS-3, a widely used network simulator, for exhaustive testing. In this paper, we present our work on Sym-NS-3 for more efficient exhaustive testing, which leverages a powerful program analysis technique …

Comparative Analyses Of De Novo Transcriptome Assembly Pipelines For Diploid Wheat, Natasha Pavlovikj

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Gene expression and transcriptome analysis are currently one of the main focuses of research for a great number of scientists. However, the assembly of raw sequence data to obtain a draft transcriptome of an organism is a complex multi-stage process usually composed of pre-processing, assembling, and post-processing. Each of these stages includes multiple steps such as data cleaning, error correction and assembly validation. Different combinations of steps, as well as different computational methods for the same step, generate transcriptome assemblies with different accuracy. Thus, using a combination that generates more accurate assemblies is crucial for any novel biological discoveries. Implementing …