Digital Commons Network^™

Compliance With Hand Sanitizer Quality During The Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic: Assessing The Impurities In An Ethanol Plant, Gabriel Cohen, Nathan Kreutzer, Katie M. Mowat, Ashraf Aly Hassan, Bruce I. Dvorak

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Using alcohol-based disinfectants is an effective method for preventing the spread of COVID-19. However, non-traditional manufacturers of alcohol-based disinfectants, such as ethanol plants, need to undergo additional treatment to curb their impurities to limits set by the Food and Drug Association (FDA) to produce alcohol-based disinfectants. To transform them to disinfectant-grade alcohol, 17 process streams in a dry-mill ethanol plant were analyzed to determine the quality parameters for acetaldehyde, acetal, propanol, methanol, and water, including chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and nutrients. Results suggest that the process stream generated by the distillation column requires further treatment because the acetaldehyde …

Thermal And Mechanical Analysis Of Bombyx Mori Silk Nanofibers, Justin Busnot

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

This thesis presents a study on the thermomechanical properties of Bombyx Mori silk nanofibers. These nanofibers were obtained from silkworm cocoons which were degummed to separate the fibroin and the sericin, the two proteins that make up silk. The fibroin was then centrifuged to remove insoluble particles and stored and 4°C before the electrospinning process. A parametric study of the electrospinning process was carried out in order to identify the factors allowing to obtain optimal mechanical properties. The current as well as the flow rate applied, the diameter of the syringe, the distance separating the syringe from collector or even …

Soil Greenhouse Gas Responses To Biomass Removal In The Annual And Perennial Cropping Phases Of An Integrated Crop Livestock System, Elizabeth Christenson, Virginia L. Jin, Marty R. Schmer, Robert B. Mitchell, Daren D. Redfearn

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

Diversifying agronomic production systems by combining crops and livestock (i.e., Integrated Crop Livestock systems; ICL) may help mitigate the environmental impacts of intensive single-commodity production. In addition, harvesting row-crop residues and/or perennial biomass could increase the multi-functionality of ICL systems as a potential source for second-generation bioenergy feedstock. Here, we evaluated non-CO2 soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from both row-crop and perennial grass phases of a field-scale model ICL system established on marginally productive, poorly drained cropland in the western US Corn Belt. Soil emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4 ) were measured during the 2017–2019 growing seasons …

Aromatic Substitution: Another View, Charles A. Kingsbury

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Electrophilic substitution on substituted benzenes is reviewed in terms of molecular orbitals. The HOMO falls into two classes. For all meta director C-X groups, a node passes through the ring and through the substituent C-X bond. With ortho/para director C-X groups, a node perpendicular to the one described above, passes through the ortho-meta bonds.

Downscaling Of Far-Red Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence Of Different Crops From Canopy To Leaf Level Using A Diurnal Data Set Acquired By The Airborne Imaging Spectrometer Hyplant, Bastian Siegmann, Maria Pilar Cendrero-Mateo, Sergio Cogliati, Alexander Damm, John Gamon, David Herrera, Christopehr Jedmowski, Laura Verena Junker-Frohn, Thorsten Kraska, Onno Muller, Patrick Rademske, Christiaan Van Der Tol, Juan Quiros-Vargas, Peiqi Yang, Uwe Rascher

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Remote sensing-based measurements of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) are useful for assessing plant functioning at different spatial and temporal scales. SIF is the most direct measure of photosynthesis and is therefore considered important to advance capacity for the monitoring of gross primary production (GPP) while it has also been suggested that its yield facilitates the early detection of vegetation stress. However, due to the influence of different confounding effects, the apparent SIF signal measured at canopy level differs from the fluorescence emitted at leaf level, which makes its physiological interpretation challenging. One of these effects is the scattering of SIF …

Performance Evaluation Of A Prestressed Belitic Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement (Bcsa) Concrete Bridge Girder, Nick Markosian, Raed Tawadrous, Mohammad Mastali, Robert J. Thomas, Marc Maguire

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Belitic calcium sulfoaluminate (BCSA) cement is a sustainable alternative to Portland cement that offers rapid setting characteristics that could accelerate throughput in precast concrete operations. BCSA cements have lower carbon footprint, embodied energy, and natural resource consumption than Portland cement. However, these benefits are not often utilized in structural members due to lack of specifications and perceived logistical challenges. This paper evaluates the performance of a full-scale precast, prestressed voided deck slab bridge girder made with BCSA cement concrete. The rapid-set properties of BCSA cement allowed the initial concrete compressive strength to reach the required 4300 psi release strength at …

Discrete Rigid Block Analysis To Assess Settlement Induced Damage In Unreinforced Masonry Façades, Ryan Ehresman, Nathan Taylor, Bora Pulatsu, Ece Erdogmus

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

In this study, a system of discontinuous rigid blocks is employed to simulate the possible damage mechanisms in unreinforced masonry (URM) façades and load-bearing frame systems subjected to settlement using the discrete element method (DEM). First, the employed modeling strategy is validated utilizing the available experimental results presented in the literature. Once there is a good agreement between the computational models and experimental findings, a sensitivity analysis is performed to quantify the influence of the input parameters defined in the DEM-based numerical model. Finally, the proposed modeling strategy is further utilized to assess the damage pattern that may develop in …

Performance Evaluation And Comparison Of Satellite-Derived Rainfall Datasets Over The Ziway Lake Basin, Ethiopia, Aster Tesfaye Hordofa, Olkeba Tolessa Leta, Tena Alamirew, Nafyad Serre Kawo, Abebe Demissie Chukalla

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Consistent time series rainfall datasets are important in performing climate trend analyses and agro-hydrological modeling. However, temporally consistent ground-based and long-term observed rainfall data are usually lacking for such analyses, especially in mountainous and developing countries. In the absence of such data, satellite-derived rainfall products, such as the Climate Hazard Infrared Precipitations with Stations (CHIRPS) and Global Precipitation Measurement Integrated Multi-SatellitE Retrieval (GPM-IMERG) can be used. However, as their performance varies from region to region, it is of interest to evaluate the accuracy of satellite-derived rainfall products at the basin scale using ground-based observations. In this study, we evaluated and …

Nitrogen Fertilization And Native C4 Grass Species Alter Abundance, Activity, And Diversity Of Soil Diazotrophic Communities, Jialin Hu, Jonathan D. Richwine, Patrick D. Keyser, Lidong Li, Fei Yao, Sindhu Jagadamma, Jennifer M. Debruyn

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

Native C₄ grasses have become the preferred species for native perennial pastures and bioenergy production due to their high productivity under low soil nitrogen (N) status. One reason for their low N requirement is that C4 grasses may benefit from soil diazotrophs and promote biological N fixation. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of N fertilization rates (0, 67, and 202 kg N ha⁻¹ ) and grass species (switchgrass [Panicum virgatum] and big bluestem [Andropogon gerardii]) on the abundance, activity, diversity, and community composition of soil diazotrophs over three agricultural seasons (grass green-up, initial harvest, and second …

Privacy, Confidentiality And Anonymity: Understandings From People Who Inject Drugs Enrolled In A Study Of Social Networks And Hiv Risk., Roberto Abadie, Celia Fisher, Kirk Dombrowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Complete Closed Genome Sequence Of The Extremely Heat- Resistant Strain Escherichia Coli Aw1.7, Manita Guragain, James L. Bono, Joseph M. Bosilevac

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

Escherichia coli isolate AW1.7 is an extremely heat-resistant bacterium and has been widely used as a reference strain in extreme heat resistance studies for almost a decade. Here, we report its complete closed genome sequence.

The Nebraska Criminal Law Practitioner's Guide To Representing Non-Citizens In State Court Proceedings: July 2021, Kevin Ruser

The Nebraska Criminal Law Practitioner's Guide to Representing Non-Citizens in State Court Proceedings

The goals of this Guide are to give Nebraska criminal law practitioners and judges an overview of the federal immigration system, acquaint them with immigration issues that may arise as the result of state criminal proceedings, and analyze various Nebraska criminal statutes in terms of their potential immigration consequences.

This Guide was last significantly updated in 2012 – nine years ago. In 2012, I wrote about how many developments there had been in the “crimmigration” field since the 2010 update to this Guide. Those developments pale in comparison to the developments that have occurred since 2012, however, both in terms …

Diverse University Students Across The United States Reveal Promising Pathways To Hunter Recruitment And Retention, Victoria R. Vayer, Lincoln R. Larson, M. Nils Peterson, Kangjae Jerry Lee, Richard Von Furstenberg, Daniel Y. Choi, Kathryn Stevenson, Adam A. Ahlers, Christine Anhalt-Depies, Taniya Bethke, Jeremy Bruskotter, Christopher J. Chizinski, Brian Clark, Ashley A. Dayer, Benjamin Ghasemi, Larry Gigliotti, Alan Graefe, Kris Irwin, Samuel J. Keith, Matt Kelly, Gerard Kyle, Elizabeth Metcalf, Wayde Morse, Mark D. Needham, Neelam Poudyal, Michael Quartuch, Shari Rodriguez, Chelsie Romulo, Ryan L. Sharp, William Siemer, Matt Springer, Richard Stedman, Taylor Stein, Tim Van Deelen, Jason Whiting, Richelle L. Winkler, Kyle Maurice Woosnam

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Declining participation in hunting, especially among young adult hunters, affects the ability of state and federal agencies to achieve goals for wildlife management and decreases revenue for conservation. For wildlife agencies hoping to engage diverse audiences in hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) efforts, university settings provide unique advantages: they contain millions of young adults who are developmentally primed to explore new activities, and they cultivate a social atmosphere where new identities can flourish. From 2018 to 2020, we surveyed 17,203 undergraduate students at public universities across 22 states in the United States to explore R3 potential on college campuses …

Nebraska Wildlife Club, Jacob Spooner

Honors Program: Expanded Learning Clubs

The goal of this club was for students to expand their knowledge on wildlife that exists both in and outside of Nebraska and for them to get a better idea the types of wildlife they might be able to find within the state. In addition, an objective of this club was to spark curiosity so that the kids might try to further explore aspects of wildlife on their own.

The Usda-Ars Ag100pest Initiative: High-Quality Genome Assemblies For Agricultural Pest Arthropod Research, Anna K. Childers, Scott M. Geib, Sheina B. Sim, Monica F. Poelchau, Brad S. Coates, Tyler J. Simmonds, Erin D. Scully, Timothy P. L. Smith, Christopher P. Childers, Renee L. Corpuz, Kevin Hackett, Brian Scheffler

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

The phylum Arthropoda includes species crucial for ecosystem stability, soil health, crop production, and others that present obstacles to crop and animal agriculture. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service initiated the Ag100Pest Initiative to generate reference genome assemblies of arthropods that are (or may become) pests to agricultural production and global food security. We describe the project goals, process, status, and future. The first three years of the project were focused on species selection, specimen collection, and the construction of lab and bioinformatics pipelines for the efficient production of assemblies at scale. Contig-level assemblies of 47 species …

Nebline, July 2021

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Smart Techniques Conserve Water in Your Yard

Building a Healthy Community: What Lincolnites Say

Recipe of the Month

Saving and Sing and Storing Garden Seeds

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month

Naturally Occurring Elements in Groundwater: Last in a Series - Uranium

UNL East Campus Discovery Days

Nebraska 4rs Nutrient Stewardship Field Day

Ants in the Home & Landscape

Lawn Care and Young Children: Creating a Safe and Fun Place to Play

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Marti Thomson

Summer Programming 4-H Interns

4-H Announcements for 4H'ers and Volunteers

Extension News

Extension Calendar

Weather Impacts The Agricultural Production Efficiency Of Wheat: The Importance Of Precipitation Shocks, Bowen Chen, Elliott James Dennis, Allen M. Featherstone

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Many studies have explored the determinants of technical efficiency in crop production, but fewer have examined how weather might change technical efficiency over time. We estimate weather effects on technical efficiency using data from 540 Kansas winter wheat farms from 2007/08 to 2016/17 using a panel stochastic frontier model that controls for farm-specific heterogeneity with farm fixed effects. Results show that precipitation is nonlinearly related to technical efficiency and that extreme temperature is associated with lower technical efficiency. Improving resilience to precipitation shocks is key to sustained efficient wheat production in Kansas.

Wpa News 115 (2021), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Summer 2021), number 115

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Understanding The Roles Of Nutrient-Niche Dynamics In Clostridioides Difficile Colonization In Human Microbiome Colonized Minibioreactors, Xiaoyun Huang

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

Clostridioides difficile is a Gram-positive pathogen that is one of the most common causes of health care-associated infections in the U.S. Because of its importance to human health, researchers are trying to understand risk factors for infection and identify new therapies to treat disease. A “healthy” gut microbiome has the ability to protect the host against colonization of C. difficile or other pathogens by providing colonization resistance. One proposed mechanism for colonization resistance is through competition for nutrients with pathogens by the members of the healthy microbiome. We tested whether competition for nutrients was important for colonization resistance in human …

The Differences Of Prokaryotic Pan-Genome Analysis On Complete Genomes And Simulated Metagenome-Assembled Genomes, Tang Li

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

Metagenomic assembly is often used in microbiome research. In metagenomic assembly, contigs are binned based on the shared nucleotide composition. These contig bins are called metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), each representing a unique bacterial genome recovered from metagenome sequencing. Hundreds of thousands of high-quality MAGs of various ecological environments have been published since 2017, and increasingly more MAGs are being used in pan-genome analyses where unculturable species or species without reference genomes are studied in microbiome research. However, compared to the traditional pan-genome analysis that uses isolate genomes (from a pure strain isolated from a mixed bacterial population), it is not …

Investigating The Prevalence And Control Of Listeria Monocytogenes In Food Facilities, Cyril Nsom Ayuk Etaka

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

Small and very small food facilities in the ready-to-eat food industry face difficulties complying with the Food Safety Modernization Act-Preventive Controls for Human Food rule (FSMA-PCHF). This regulation highlights the need for sanitation to control environmental pathogens like Listeria monocytogenes. The main goal of this project was to investigate the prevalence and control of Listeria monocytogenes in food facilities. This study provides technical assistance to facilities to comply with the PCHF rule and addresses sanitation alternatives for food contact surfaces like aqueous ozone.

First, the prevalence of Listeria spp and L. monocytogenes in small and very small food manufacturing …

Frontline Job Redesign Louisiana - Site Intervention Logic Model, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Each QIC-WD site developed a logic model to serve as a visual representation of their selected intervention. All logic models included four main components: inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. Collectively, these demonstrate the resources and actions required to implement the program, as well as the associated result of changes anticipated through implementation of the program. The hypothesized relationships are represented by the pathways connecting the listed activities and anticipated outcomes.

Determinants Of Water System Management, Caleb White

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Water system management is complex, involving state, local, and federal regulations and impacting people from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Systems in the developing and industrialized worlds both face challenges in managing water systems. Much research has been completed regarding associations of water system violations and system factors, and there has been an increased attention to issues of environmental justice – how water system violations affect communities of color, impoverished communities, and rural communities. Currently no studies have focused on the associations between socioeconomic factors and water system management violations. The goal of this research was to ascertain the …

Blanket Statements, Issue 149, Summer 2021

Blanket Statements: News Publication of the American Quilt Study Group

Blanket Statements, Issue 149, Summer 2021

Geological Structures And Crustal Architecture Of The Cascadia Subduction Zone From The Integration Of Multiple Geophysical Datasets, Asif Ashraf

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

The Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) has a high potential for an inevitable and devastating megathrust earthquake. This margin is characterized by a complex seismicity pattern. Particularly in Oregon, there is a seismically quiescent zone bounded by high seismicity regions to the north and south. To comprehend these variations in seismicity, it is important to study the differences in crustal architectures and physical properties (densities and magnetic susceptibilities) along the CSZ. The primary objectives are to develop two plate-scale 2D integrated models through different seismicity zones and to map major tectonic structures from filtered potential fields. The Juan de Fuca oceanic …

Belonging: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Communication Coaching Workshops On Participation And Self-Esteem For International Students With Non-Native Accents At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Michaela Reddel

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current study explored survey results of 17 participants who were international students with accents at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. These participants participated in a communication workshop hosted by the researcher who is a Speech-Language Pathology graduate student. The Acculturation Model (Berry, 1997), the work by Dai and Chen (2014) in Intercultural Communication Competence, and evidence-based practices from the field of Speech-Language Pathology informed the creation of this study and the workshops. The workshops were designed for participants to learn various communication strategies with the purpose of increasing communication participation and self-esteem. The goal of increasing these two constructs was …

Investigating The Fit Of The Generalized Graded Unfolding Model (Ggum) When Calibrated To Irt Generated Data From Dominance And Ideal Point Models, Abdulla Alzarouni

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The assessment of model fit in latent trait modelling, better known as item response theory (IRT), is an integral part of model testing if one is to make valid inferences about the estimated parameters and their properties based on the selected IRT model. Though important, the assessment of model fit has been less utilized in IRT research than it should. For example, there have been less research investigating fit for polytomous dominance models such the Graded Response Model (GRM), and to a lesser extent ideal point models such as the Generalized Graded Unfolding Models (GGUM), both in its dichotomous and …

Understanding The Needs And Knowledge Base Of Developing Speech-Language Pathology Programs: A Preliminary Mixed Methods Survey In The United States, Elaine Williams

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The field of speech-language pathology provides important rehabilitation services for communication and swallowing disorders. Unfortunately, these services are lacking around the world, specifically in Majority countries, formally known as third world countries. This is significant given the high proportion of people with disabilities in Majority countries. While speech-language pathology services are actively being introduced to these areas, it is often with the inappropriate transfer of Minority world values. In an effort to provide a less biased and more formal approach to collaborating with countries requesting help to establish speech-language pathology services, the author of this thesis is proposing a process …

Examining The Effects Of The Write Sounds Intervention With First Grade Students, Brittany Wambold

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Students who have difficulty with reading and writing are at risk to continue having difficulty throughout their schooling. Lack of time and resources may be a contributing factor for students not receiving additional instruction for both skills. However, there is evidence that balanced reading and writing programs can be effective. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Write Sounds intervention for students who had deficits in reading and writing. This study was a multiple baseline across participants design with three first-grade students who showed difficulty with reading, spelling, and phonemic awareness. Students received 40 minutes …

The Importance Of Communication Skills To Independent Crop Consultants, Lindsay Overmyer

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Independent crop consulting companies provide services to farmers by scouting (i.e., collecting field observations of plants and pests) and developing management recommendations for individual fields. In production agriculture, independent crop consultants (ICCs) are professionals who are independent of product sales. They are knowledgeable in many disciplines including plant pathology, entomology, weed science, plant science, economics, water management, and soil science. However, ICCs must also have extensive communication skills to communicate to their audience of field scout(s), farmers, industry professionals, and government officials. The goal of this document is to examine how ICCs use their communication skills and how they can …