Digital Commons Network^™

The Efficacy Of Conservation Practices In Reducing Floods And Improving Water Quality, Shivendra Srivastava, Andrea D. Basche, Elbert Traylor, Tirthankar Roy

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Conservation practices such as crop rotation, filter strips, and constructed wetlands are nature-based approaches intended to safeguard natural resources in agricultural landscapes. In this study, we reviewed the literature on how conservation practices, both at watershed and field scales, have been proven to subdue flood peaks, surface runoff, soil erosion, sediment transport, and nutrient loss. We classified different conservation practices based on the mode of their application (i.e., in-field, edge-of-field, and structural practices) and described what prior research efforts have concluded about the efficacy of different practices. At the field scale, practices such as reduced or no-till farming, grassed waterways, …

Effectiveness Of Tadreb-B1 And 1-Feh W3 Kasp Markers In Spring And Winter Wheat Populations For Marker-Assisted Selection To Improve Drought Tolerance, Shamseldeen Eltaher, Mostafa Hashem, Asmaa A. M. Ahmed, P. Stephen Baenziger, Andreas Börner, Ahmed Sallam

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Due to the advances in DNA markers, kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers could accelerate breeding programs and genetically improve drought tolerance. Two previously reported KASP markers, TaDreb-B1 and 1-FEH w3, were investigated in this study for the markerassisted selection (MAS) of drought tolerance. Two highly diverse spring and winter wheat populations were genotyped using these two KASP markers. The same populations were evaluated for drought tolerance at seedling (drought stress) and reproductive (normal and drought stress) growth stages. The single-marker analysis revealed a high significant association between the target allele of 1-FEH w3 and drought susceptibility in the spring …

Meta-Analysis Of Driving Behavior Studies And Assessment Of Factors Using Structural Equation Modeling, Duong Ngoc Hai, Chu Cong Minh, Nathan Huynh

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The aim of this paper is to understand the factors that influence unsafe driving practices by examining published studies that utilized the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict driving behavior. To this end, it reviews 42 studies published up to the end of 2021 to evaluate the predictive utility of TPB by employing a meta-analysis and structural equation model. The results indicate that these studies sought to predict 20 distinct driving behaviors (e.g., drink-driving, use of cellphone while driving, aggressive driving) using the original TPB constructs and 43 additional variables. The TPB model with the three original constructs is …

Tectonics Of Reuse: A Material Exploration Of Deconstruction And Reconstruction In Architecture, Scott Lafferty

Masters in Architecture Program: Theses

This thesis explores the tectonics and poetics of reusing deconstructed building components. To challenge the current unitized method of deconstruction, a series of machines were designed to extract large-scale building chunks. These chunks were then reassembled using a range of details and connections that celebrate material textures and cultural memories of each architectural fragment. By developing methods and strategies for material reuse, the thesis demonstrates the potential for design to address the environmental impacts of the building industry and the architectural representation of cultural memory through tectonics.

Advisor: Zachary Tate Porter

Dynamic Resource Optimization For Energy-Efficient 6g-Iot Ecosystems, James Adu Ansere, Mohsin Kamal, Izaz Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Naveed Aman

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

The problem of energy optimization for Internet of Things (IoT) devices is crucial for two reasons. Firstly, IoT devices powered by renewable energy sources have limited energy resources. Secondly, the aggregate energy requirement for these small and low-powered devices is translated into significant energy consumption. Existing works show that a significant portion of an IoT device’s energy is consumed by the radio sub-system. With the emerging sixth generation (6G), energy efficiency is a major design criterion for significantly increasing the IoT network’s performance. To solve this issue, this paper focuses on maximizing the energy efficiency of the radio sub-system. In …

Design Of University Small-Scale Dairy Processing Facility, Philip J. Hildebrand, Joshua Arejola, Alicia Andersen, Terry Howell Jr, Tami M. Brown-Brandl

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This project was assigned to research the feasibility and value of implementing a dairy processing facility on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The facility would process milk produced from cows under the same roof and will serve as an educational experience for Nebraska dairy farmers, UNL students, and K-12 students in the Lincoln-Lancaster County area. If the project is successful and replicated across the state, this facility could have a significant impact on the reduction of milk transportation costs in the Nebraska dairy industry.

The project began with researching milk processing methods and steps from production to consumption. …

Home-Site Advantage For Host Species–Specific Gut Microbiota, Daniel D. Sprockett, Jeff Price, Anthony Juritsch, Robert J. Schmaltz, Madalena V. F. Real, Samantha L. Goldman, Michael Sheehan, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Andrew H. Moeller

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Mammalian species harbor compositionally distinct gut microbial communities, but the mechanisms that maintain specificity of symbionts to host species remain unclear. Here, we show that natural selection within house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) drives deterministic assembly of the house-mouse gut microbiota from mixtures of native and non-native microbiotas. Competing microbiotas from wild-derived lines of house mice and other mouse species (Mus and Peromyscus spp.) within germ-free wild-type (WT) and Rag1-knockout (Rag1^−/−) house mice revealed widespread fitness advantages for native gut bacteria. Native bacterial lineages significantly outcompeted non-native lineages in both WT and Rag1 …

Pathways From Individual Characteristics To Subjective Consequences Of Sex: The Mediating Role Of Risky Sexual Encounters, Lisa Crockett, Kristin L. Moilanen, Meredith L. Cartwright

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study examined associations between young adults’ psychological characteristics and psychosocial consequences of sex, and whether risky sexual encounters mediated these associations.

Methods: College students (N=265; M_age=19.49) completed questionnaires concerning risky sexual relationships, behaviors, situations, and psychosocial consequences during their most recent encounter and over the last year.

Results: Sexual restraint indirectly predicted positive consequences of the most recent encounter via risky sexual behaviors. Sexual restraint and permissiveness predicted positive and negative consequences over the past year via risky relationships.

Conclusions: Psychological characteristics may influence the likelihood of risky sexual encounters, thereby influencing consequences.

Includes supplemental Table …

Long-Term Conservation And Conventional Tillage Systems Impact Physical And Biochemical Soil Health Indicators In A Corn–Soybean Rotation, Anuoluwa O. Sangotayo, Jemila Chellappa, Udayakumar Sekaran, Sangeeta Bansal, Padma Angmo, Paul J. Jasa, Sandeep Kumar, Javed Iqbal

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Agricultural management practices tend to influence soil structure stabilization, mediating many physical, chemical, and biological processes in soils. Therefore, understanding the long-term effects of management practices on various soil health indicators is crucial to develop sustainable agricultural practices. This study aimed to assess the long-term conventional and conservation tillage effects on soil physical (aggregates) and biochemical (soil organic carbon [SOC], enzymes, and microbial biomass) parameters under a range of tillage practices in a corn–soybean rotation in Nebraska. The experiment was conducted at two locations as follows: (1) Concord site (36 years) with the three treatments: no-till (NT), disk, and moldboard …

Helminth Parasites Of The Giant Toad, Rhinella Horribilis (Wiegmann, 1833) (Anura: Bufonidae) From Central Mexico, Jorge Falcón-Ordaz, Cristian Raúl Olvera-Olvera, Marisol Moreno-Chávez, Griselda Pulido-Flores, Scott Monks, Luis García-Prieto

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

As part of an ongoing project to inventory the helminth parasites of amphibians from the state of Hidalgo, Central Mexico, specimens of Rhinella horribilis were collected from three municipalities: Eloxochitlán, Huehuetla, and San Felipe Orizatlán. A total of eight taxa of helminths were found: three digeneans (Haematoloechus sp., Langeronia macrocirra, and Mesocoelium danforthi) and five nematodes (Cosmocerca sp., Cruzia morleyi, Ochoterenella chiapensis, Oswaldocruzia subauricularis, and Rhabdias sp.). The highest species richness was recorded in Huehuetla. All reports of these species of helminths represent new locality records for Mexico.

Genome Mining For Anti-Crispr Operons Using Machine Learning, Bowen Yang, Minal Khatri, Jinfang Zheng, Jitender S. Deogun, Yanbin Yin

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Motivation: Encoded by (pro-)viruses, anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins inhibit the CRISPR-Cas immune system of their prokaryotic hosts. As a result, Acr proteins can be employed to develop more controllable CRISPR-Cas genome editing tools. Recent studies revealed that known acr genes often coexist with other acr genes and with phage structural genes within the same operon. For example, we found that 47 of 98 known acr genes (or their homologs) co-exist in the same operons. None of the current Acr prediction tools have considered this important genomic context feature. We have developed a new software tool AOminer to facilitate the improved …

Utilizing NuTrack To Access The Activity Levels In Pigs With Varying Degrees Of Genetic Potential For Growth And Feed Intake, Dalton Obermier, Melanie Trenahile-Grannemann, Ty B. Schmidt, Tom Rathje, Benny Mote

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Feed cost accounts for over two-thirds of the variable cost of production. In order to reduce feed costs without sacrificing production numbers, feed efficiency must be improved. Calorie expenditure has been difficult to quantify in the past but is understood to impact residual feed intake (RFI) greatly. The objective of this work was to utilize an advanced computer vision system to evaluate activity levels across sex and sire groups with different expected breeding value combinations for growth and feed intake. A total of 199 pigs from four different sire groups (DNA Genetics Line 600) High Feed Intake/High Growth (HIHG), Low …

Early Executive Control Buffers Risk For Adolescent Psychopathology During The Covid‐19 Pandemic, Lauren M. Laifer, Cara C. Tomaso, Olivia D. Chang, Eric Phillips, Tiffany D. James, Jennifer Nelson, Kimberly Andrews Espy, W. Alex Mason, Timothy D. Nelson

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has had a global impact on youth mental health, and there is a critical need for research examining individual factors that contribute to increased psychopathology during the pandemic. The current study explored whether executive control (EC) abilities in early childhood interact with COVID‐related stress to attenuate risk for adolescent psychopathology during the first 6 months of the pandemic.

Methods: Participants were 337 youth (49% female) living in a small midwestern city in the United States. Participants completed EC tasks when they were approximately 4.5 years old as part of a longitudinal …

Airbnb Strategic Audit Overview, Andrea Curnes, Audrey Kreun, Tyler Royal, Jacob Zadalis, Cody Hohn, Jason Dirks

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This study provides an overview of Airbnb, an online marketplace for short-term rentals and experiences. It highlights the company's history, business strategies, value chain, acquisitions, code of ethical conduct, and organizational structure. With a Blue Ocean strategy combining differentiation and cost leadership, Airbnb has achieved remarkable success, boasting a valuation of over $67B and generating annual revenue exceeding $1.5B. The company's unique business model involves participating in all parts of the value chain, and it has expanded geographically through acquisitions and product market expansion. Airbnb's code of ethics reflects its core values, and its organizational structure fosters flexibility and remote …

Vanmoof Strategic Audit, Chi-Chun Chang

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

VanMoof is an e-bike brand originated in Amsterdam that has expanded to Western Europe, Eastern Asia, and North America. This paper will analyze the e-bike industry using PESTEL analysis. It will also analyze the industry’s competitive environment using the framework of Porter’s Five Forces, followed by an analysis of the strategy VanMoof’s currently employing. Based on the results, the paper will end with a recommendation for future strategies.

Spontaneous Allelic Variant In Deafness–Blindness Gene Ush1g Resulting In An Expanded Phenotype, Vladimir Vartanian, Jocelyn F. Krey, Paroma Chatterjee, Allison Curtis, Makayla Six, Sean P. M. Rice, Sherri M. Jones, Harini Sampath, Charles N. Allen, Renee C. Ryals, R. Stephen Lloyd, Peter G. Barr-Gillespie

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Relationships between novel phenotypic behaviors and specific genetic alterations are often discovered using target-specific, directed mutagenesis or phenotypic selection following chemical mutagenesis. An alternative approach is to exploit deficiencies in DNA repair pathways that maintain genetic integrity in response to spontaneously induced damage. Mice deficient in the DNA glycosylase NEIL1 show elevated spontaneous mutations, which arise from translesion DNA synthesis past oxidatively induced base damage. Several litters of Neil1 knockout mice included animals that were distinguished by their backwards-walking behavior in open-field environments, while maintaining frantic forward movements in their home cage environment. Other phenotypic manifestations included swim test failures, …

Midweed: A Comparison Between Marijuana Laws, Regulations, And Social Attitudes In Cannabis-Legal Vs. Cannabis-Illegal Midwest States, Abagail Lim

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Professional Projects

This professional project is a series of three journalistic articles. Each article focuses on laws, regulations and social attitudes surrounding marijuana in the United States. These topics are explored primarily through the lenses of two Midwest states (Illinois & Nebraska), which have highly contrasting laws and regulations regarding marijuana. The state of Illinois legalized medical marijuana in January 2014 and recreational marijuana in January 2020, while in Nebraska, both medical and recreational use still remains illegal, though possession of up to one ounce has been decriminalized.

The purpose of choosing these two states is to show how stark a contrast …

Revitalizing Main Street, Usa: Recovering From The American Dream And The Destruction Of The Rural Main Street, Rebecca Virgl

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

The American Dream is a national ethos that states any person, with enough hard work, can succeed in the United States; it is both critique of the pitfalls of capitalism and advocacy of the potentials the system offers. Over time, suburbia has come to represent the physical manifestation of the American Dream. In the world of planning and architecture, much discussion is given to the suburbanization of the United States. The relationship between the city and the suburb is well documented, and many plans for suburban improvements focus on making suburbs more like cities, where they are more walkable, dense, …

The Impacts Of Local Property Taxes On Nebraska's State Legislator Elections And State Legislator Voting, Taylor Gold

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

Throughout Nebraska’s history, concerns about the state’s property tax policy are one of, if not the most, discussed policy issues. Despite Nebraska’s emphasis on local fiscal control, state-level policy reforms shape the state’s property tax landscape. This seemingly contradictory emphasis on providing a state-level solution to a local policy problem leads this study to ask whether state legislative officials are held electorally accountable for legislative actions on local property tax and whether they are directly held accountable for changes in local property taxes. This study investigates this potential relationship through novel data collection on Nebraska’s state legislator elections, legislative actions, …

Unobtrusive Data Collection In Clinical Settings For Advanced Patient Monitoring And Machine Learning, Walker Arce

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

When applying machine learning to clinical practice, a major hurdle that will be encountered is the lack of available data. While the data collected in clinical therapies is suitable for the types of analysis that are needed to measure and track clinical outcomes, it may not be suitable for other types of analysis. For instance, video data may have poor alignment with behavioral data, making it impossible to extract the videos frames that directly correlate with the observed behavior. Alternatively, clinicians may be exploring new data modalities, such as physiological signal collection, to research methods of improving clinical outcomes that …

Downstream Hydrochemistry And Irrigation Water Quality Of The Syr Darya, Aral Sea Basin, South Kazakhstan, Bagdat Satybaldiyev, Baimurat Ismailov, Nurbek Nurpeisov, Kairat Kenges, Daniel D. Snow, Arindam Malakar, Omirzhan Taukebayev, Bolat Uralbekov

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

New hydrochemical measurements from the Syr Darya provide insights into factors affecting the composition and quality of a major freshwater source replenishing the Aral Sea. This river is heavily used for power and irrigation and crosses territories of four Central Asia republics. It is intensely managed, draining several major tributaries, many reservoirs, and numerous irrigation distribution systems and canals. Analysis of seasonal changes in dissolved ion concentrations using geochemical diagrams, elemental ratios, statistical correlation, and equilibrium modeling allowed the characterization of mineral formation processes that control the dissolved chemical composition. Measured water hydrochemistry and composition type differs substantially from previous …

Assessment Of Rural Behavioral Characteristics In Nebraska Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas, Ruhma Khan

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Since the issue of substance abuse is a concern in the United states and many of the states face the shortage of behavioural healthcare workforce, the purpose of the study is to identify how severe the issue of substance abuse is in Nebraska’s Mental Health Professional Shortage Area Counties. The research further analyses the various environmental, and family and household stresses that contribute to aggravating the issue. The objective is to categorize the counties to prioritize the areas for treatment and prevention measures. The study includes determinants associated with availability of services and facilities as well as family and household …

Appearance Of Choline Metabolites In Plasma And Milk When Choline Is Infused Into The Abomasum With Or Without Methionine, C. J.R. Jenkins, Paul J. Kononoff

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Four lactating, ruminally cannulated Jersey cows, (mean ± standard deviation) 264 ± 54.2 d in milk and 484 ± 24.1 kg of body weight, were arranged in a 4 × 4 Latin square design to measure the effects of abomasal infusion of choline chloride with or without dl-Met on milk and plasma choline metabolites and plasma AA in cows fed a Met-deficient diet. Cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental treatments: (1) control; no supplemental Met or choline (CON), (2) 13 g/d of choline ion delivered via abomasal infusion (CHO), (3) 13 g/d of Met delivered via abomasal …

The Effects Of Inaccurate And Missing Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Inventory Data On Crash And Severity Model Estimation And Prediction, Muhammad Umer Farooq

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

Highway-Rail Grade Crossings (HRGCs) present a significant safety risk to motorists, pedestrians, and train passengers as they are intersections where roads and railways intersect. Every year, HRGCs in the US experience a high number of crashes leading to injuries and fatalities. Estimations of crash and severity models for HRGCs provide insights into safety and mitigation of the risk posed by such incidents. The accuracy of these models plays a vital role in predicting future crashes at these crossings, enabling necessary safety measures to be taken proactively.

In the United States, most of these models rely on the Federal Railroad Administration's …

"Don't Put Restrictions On Us": The Dangers Of Conservative And Populist Appeals For Abortion Access In Post-Roe America, Kayla Schmitz

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

This thesis critically analyzes Kansans for Constitutional Freedom’s campaign ads for their campaign against the Value Them Both Amendment in Kansas in 2022. Value Them Both would have stripped the Kansas constitution of its protection of personal autonomy and therefore abortion rights. Kansans for Constitutional Freedom used populist and otherwise conservative appeals in their ads to reach audiences across the political “spectrum” to gain their votes against Value Them Both. While the campaign was widely successful, there are many things it did not do for the broader concern of reproductive healthcare access in the United States, particularly for those living …

Occurrence Of Radionuclides And Hazardous Elements In The Transboundary River Basin Kyrgyzstan–Kazakhstan, Mariya A. Severinenko, Vladimir P. Solodukhin, Bekmamat M. Djenbaev, The National Academy Of Science Of The Kyrgyz Republic G. Lennik, Baktiyar T. Zholboldiev, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Important for irrigation, the transboundary river basin between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan is vulnerable to geochemical and anthropogenic sources of pollution. The use of water use indices, together with measurements of the elemental and radionuclide composition of the water and bottom sediments, provides a means for evaluating the continued use of the water from this region. Recent monitoring shows the highest concentrations of hazardous contaminants include lead and thorium contained in the bottom and banks of the Kichi-Kemin River. These contaminants are likely remnants of an accidental spill at the Aktyuz tailing dump in 1964. The specific activity of the Th-232 …

Application Of Screening In Rangeland Monitoring: Quantifying Early-Warning Signals Of State Transitions In Nebraska, Daniel S. Bauloye

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Woody encroachment, desertification, and exotic annual grass invasion are regime shifts (i.e., state-transitions) with detrimental effects on ecosystem health and services in grasslands of the North American Great Plains. Traditional approaches to rangeland monitoring are capable of detecting regime shifts after they have already occurred (i.e., diagnosing them); however, proactive management requires earlier warning. Regime shift screening is a new approach to rangeland monitoring capable of providing earlier warning of regime shifts. Regime shift screening proposes assessing the presence, persistence, and non-stationarity of regime shift signals; however, no studies have systematically evaluated these characteristics in real-world landscapes. In this thesis, …

Strategic Audit Report Pfizer – Brand-Name Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (U.S.), Madeleine Grimm, Meghan Schuette, Trent Lockard, Connor Boudreau, Kollin Goff

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The purpose of this strategic audit report is to provide an in-depth analysis of different aspects of Pfizer Inc.’s business operations and an overview of the different types of strategies that Pfizer employs within the Brand-Name Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Industry. The audit contains analyses of the company’s history and strategic leadership strategies, external environment, internal environment, performance, and competitive dynamics. These aspects are examined to provide a foundation for further analysis of Pfizer’s strategies in the context of the environment. This report also analyzes the company’s business and corporate-level strategies, the impact of recent mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance practices, and …

Self‑Objectification During The Perinatal Period: The Role Of Body Surveillance In Maternal And Infant Wellbeing, Lauren M. Laifer, Olivia R. Maras, Gemma Sáez, Sarah Gervais, Rebecca L. Brock

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Pregnancy represents a unique time during which women’s bodies undergo significant physical changes (e.g., expanding belly, larger breasts, weight gain) that can elicit increased objectification. Experiences of objectification set the stage for women to view themselves as sexual objects (i.e., self-objectification) and are associated with adverse mental health outcomes. Although women may experience heightened self-objectification and behavioral consequences (such as body surveillance) due to the objectification of pregnant bodies in Western cultures, there are remarkably few studies examining objectification theory among women during the perinatal period. The present study investigated the impact of body surveillance, a consequence of self-objectification, on …

A Strategic Audit Of Tesla Inc., Jayden Boesch

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This research paper examines Tesla's competitive advantages and challenges, as well as its strategy and objectives in the electric vehicle industry. The paper begins by providing an overview of the electric vehicle market and Tesla's position within it. It then discusses Tesla's business model, strategy, and objectives, as well as its competitive advantages over other firms in the industry. The paper also highlights key resources that Tesla needs to maintain its sustainable competitive advantage in the future, such as research and development, charging infrastructure, and top engineering talent. Finally, the paper identifies challenges that Tesla may face in the future, …