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Bola3 And Nfu1 Link Mitoribosome Iron–Sulfur Cluster Assembly To Multiple Mitochondrial Dysfunctions Syndrome, Hui Zhong, Alexandre Janer, Oleh Khalimonchuk, Hana Antonicka, Eric A. Shoubridge, Antoni Barrientos

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The human mitochondrial ribosome contains three [2Fe–2S] clusters whose assembly pathway, role, and implications for mitochondrial and metabolic diseases are unknown. Here, structure-function correlation studies show that the clusters play a structural role during mitoribosome assembly. To uncover the assembly pathway, we have examined the effect of silencing the e xpression of Fe–S cluster biosynthetic and delivery factors on mitoribosome stability. We find that the mitoribosome receives its [²Fe–2S] clusters from the GLRX5-BOLA3 node. Additionally, the assembly of the small subunit depends on the mitoribosome biogenesis factor METTL17, recently reported containing a [⁴Fe–4S] cluster, which we …

Milk-Borne Small Extracellular Vesicles: Kinetics And Mechanisms Of Transport, Distribution, And Elimination, Alice Ngu, Javaria Munir, Janos Zempleni

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) in milk have the qualities desired for delivering therapeutics to diseased tissues. The production of bovine milk sEVs is scalable (10²¹ annually per cow), and they resist degradation in the gastrointestinal tract. Most cells studied to date internalize milk sEVs by a saturable process that follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The bioavailability of oral milk sEVs is approximately 50%. In addition to crossing the intestinal mucosa, milk sEVs also cross barriers such as the placenta and blood-brain barrier, thereby enabling the delivery of therapeutics to hard-to-reach tissues. In time course studies, levels of milk sEVs peaked in …

Dbapis: A Database Of Anti-Prokaryotic Immune System Genes, Yuchen Yan, Jinfang Zheng, Xinpeng Zhang, Yanbin Yin

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Anti-prokaryotic immune system (APIS) proteins, typically encoded b y phages, prophages, and plasmids, inhibit prokaryotic immune systems (e.g. restriction modification, to xin-antito xin, CRISPR-Cas). A growing number of APIS genes have been characterized and dispersed in the literature. Here we developed dbAPIS ( https:// bcb.unl.edu/ dbAPIS ), as the first literature curated data repository for experimentally verified APIS genes and their associated protein families. The key features of dbAPIS include: (i) experimentally verified APIS genes with their protein sequences, functional annotation, PDB or AlphaFold predicted structures, genomic context, sequence and structural homologs from different microbiome / virome databases; (ii) classification …

Assembly Of An Inexpensive Rat Jugular Catheter Button Based On A Split-Septum Needleless Intravenous System, Mauricio Suarez, Elizabeth J. Cantrell, Ken T. Wakabayashi, Caroline E. Bass

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Rat intravenous self-administration is a widely-used animal model in the study of substance use disorders. Rats are tethered to a drug delivery system usually through a port or button that inter- faces the drug delivery system with a chronic indwelling jugular vein catheter. These buttons can be purchased commercially but are costly, presenting a significant economic barrier for many researchers. Many researchers manufacture buttons in-house from a combination of individual custom made and commercially available components, resulting in large variation in terms of how the animals are handled and the longevity of catheter patency. We have developed a jugular catheter …

Evaluation Of Land Preparation Methods For Soil Stabilization, Revegetation, And Renewed Productivity In Semi-Arid Climates, Jarrett Lardy, North Dakota State University, Miranda Meehan, Aaron L. M. Daigh, James Staricka, Nathan Derby

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In the Williston Basin, land-preparation treatments have not been compared in side-by-side trials to evaluate performance for parameters such as runoff, erosion, and vegetation establishment. Thus, four treatments of wheat-straw crimping, land imprinting, wood-fiber hydromulch, and the combination of land imprinting and hydromulch were evaluated against a bare soil control in a replicated and randomized completed block field experiment near Williston, ND. Rainfall simulations were performed in September 2020 and June 2021 to examine the effectiveness of the treatments to reduce runoff and sediment losses. Vegetation establishment was also evaluated in August 2021. The wheat straw treatment reduced the equivalent …

Irrigation Increases On-Farm Soybean Yields In Water-Limited Environments Without A Trade-Off In Seed Protein Concentration, Walter D. Carciochi, Patricio Grassini, Seth Naeve, James E. Specht, Mitiku Mamo, Ron Seymour, Aaron Nygren, Nathan Mueller, Sarah Sivits, Christopher A. Proctor, Jenny Rees, Todd Whitney, N. Cafaro La Menza

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Context or problem: A trade-off between seed protein concentration (SPC) and yield has been reported for soybean. Therefore, assessing management practices that can nullify this trade-off is relevant to avoid further declines in SPC in the future as yield continues to increase. While the positive effect of irrigation on yield is well documented, only a few studies have assessed the impact of irrigation on SPC, showing conflicting results.

Objective or research question: The objective was to determine if the trade-off between seed yield and SPC persists when irrigation is applied and how management, soil, and weather factors influence the trade-off. …

Effects Of Large Mammal Exclusion On Seedling Communities Depend On Plant Species Traits And Landscape Protection In Human-Modified Costa Rican Forests, Nohemi Huanca-Nuñez, Robin L. Chazdon, Sabrina E. Russo

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

1. Large terrestrial herbivorous mammals (LTH-mammals) influence plant community structure by affecting seedling establishment in mature tropical forests. Many of these LTH-mammals frequent secondary forests, but their effects on seedling establishment in them are understudied, hindering our understanding of how LTH-mammals influence forest regeneration in human-modified landscapes.

2. We tested the hypothesis that the strength of LTH-mammals' effects on seedling establishment depends on landscape protection, forest successional stage and plant species' traits using a manipulative field experiment in six 1-ha sites with varying successional age and landscape protection. In each site, we established 40 seedling plot-pairs, with one plot excluding LTH-mammals and …

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Effects Of Large Mammal Exclusion On Seedling Communities Depend On Plant Species Traits And Landscape Protection In Human-Modified Costa Rican Forests, Nohemi Huanca-Nuñez, University Of Connecticut, University Of The Sunshine Coast, Sabrina E. Russo

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

1. Large terrestrial herbivorous mammals (LTH-mammals) influence plant community structure by affecting seedling establishment in mature tropical forests. Many of these LTH-mammals frequent secondary forests, but their effects on seedling establishment in them are understudied, hindering our understanding of how LTH-mammals influence forest regeneration in human-modified landscapes.
2. We tested the hypothesis that the strength of LTH-mammals' effects on seedling establishment depends on landscape protection, forest successional stage and plant species' traits using a manipulative field experiment in six 1-ha sites with varying successional age and landscape protection. In each site, we established 40 seedling plot-pairs, with one plot excluding LTH-mammals and …

Kluyveromyces Marxianus Prepared As A Ready To Use Supplemental Food (Rusf), Zachary Christman

Applied Science Program: Theses

Ready to Use Supplemental Food (RUSF) is a nutrient dense paste or compressed bar used to supplement a person’s nutritional needs because of malnutrition or due to food shortages. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate some methods of how the dairy organism Kluyveromyces marxianus can be used to enrich the protein value of bread or ferment a substrate such as wheat bran into a more digestible form.

Deleterious Mutations Predicted In The Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor) Maturity (Ma) And Dwarf (Dw) Genes From Whole‑Genome Resequencing, Nathan P. Grant, John J. Toy, Deanna L. Funnell, Scott E. Sattler

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] the Maturity (Ma1, Ma2, Ma3, Ma4, Ma5, Ma6) and Dwarf (Dw1, Dw2, Dw3, Dw4) loci, encode genes controlling flowering time and plant height, respectively, which are critical for designing sorghum ideotypes for a maturity timeframe and a harvest method. Publicly available whole-genome resequencing data from 860 sorghum accessions was analyzed in silico to identify genomic variants at 8 of these loci (Ma1, Ma2, Ma3, Ma5, Ma6, Dw1, Dw2, Dw3) to identify novel loss …

Multi-Factor Optimization Of Bio-Methanol Production Through Gasification Process Via Statistical Methodology Coupled With Genetic Algorithm, Amin Hedayati Moghaddam, Morteza Esfandyari, Dariush Jafari, Hossein Sakhaeinia

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

This work innovatively explores the bio-methanol production process, conducts comprehensive analyses, develops statistical models, and optimizes operational conditions, contributing valuable insights to the field of sustainable energy production from biomass. Accordingly, bio-methanol production from biomass through gasification route was investigated and simulated using Aspen Plus software. The effects of operational parameters on energy duty of gasification reactor and the methanol production rate in syngas to methanol reactor were investigated. The parameters affecting the process performance including temperature, pressure, and steam/feed ratio were examined using the response surface methodology (RSM) by central composite design (CCD) technique. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was …

Multi-Factor Optimization Of Bio-Methanol Production Through Gasification Process Via Statistical Methodology Coupled With Genetic Algorithm, Amin Hedayati Moghaddam, Morteza Esfandyari, Dariush Jafari, Hossein Sakhaeinia

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

This work innovatively explores the bio-methanol production process, conducts comprehensive analyses, develops statistical models, and optimizes operational conditions, contributing valuable insights to the field of sustainable energy production from biomass. Accordingly, bio-methanol production from biomass through gasification route was investigated and simulated using Aspen Plus software. The effects of operational parameters on energy duty of gasification reactor and the methanol production rate in syngas to methanol reactor were investigated. The parameters affecting the process performance including temperature, pressure, and steam/feed ratio were examined using the response surface methodology (RSM) by central composite design (CCD) technique. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was …

Butterfly Classification And Species Discovery Using Genomics, Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Leina Song, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Genomic sequencing of worldwide butterfly fauna followed by phylogenetic analysis of protein-coding genes informs butterfly classification throughout the taxonomic hierarchy, from families to species. As a rule, we attribute the same taxonomic rank to more prominent clades of comparable divergence (that is, at the same level in the tree). For species delimitation, we use criteria based on relative genetic differentiation and the extent of gene exchange between populations. We analyze the current taxonomic classification of butterflies in the light of genomic phylogenies and encounter clades that correspond to yet unnamed taxa. As a result, 11 tribes, 33 subtribes, 2 genera, …

The Silver Bullet That Wasn’T: Rapid Agronomic Weed Adaptations To Glyphosate In North America, Christopher Landau, Kevin Bradley, Erin Burns, Michael Flessner, Karla Gage, Aaron Hager, Joseph Ikley, Prashant Jha, Amit Jhala, Paul O. Johnson, William Johnson, Sarah Lancaster, Travis Legleiter, Dwight Lingenfelter, Mark Loux, Eric Miller, Jason Norsworthy, Micheal Owen, Scott Nolte, Debalin Sarangi, Peter Sikkema, Christy Sprague, Mark Vangessel, Rodrigo Werle, Bryan Young, Martin M. Williamsii

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The rapid adoption of glyphosate-resistant crops at the end of the 20th century caused a simplification of weed management that relied heavily on glyphosate for weed control. However, the effectiveness of glyphosate has diminished. A greater understanding of trends related to glyphosate use will shed new light on weed adaptation to a product that transformed global agriculture. Objectives were to (1) quantify the change in weed control efficacy from postemergence (POST) glyphosate use on troublesome weeds in corn and soybean and (2) determine the extent to which glyphosate preceded by a preemergence (PRE) improved the efficacy and consistency of weed …

Specialized Late Cingulo-Opercular Network Activation Elucidates The Mechanisms Underlying Decisions About Ambiguity, Jordan E. Pierce, Nathan M. Petro, Elizabeth Clancy, Caterina Gratton, Steven E. Petersen, Maital Neta

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Cortical task control networks, including the cingulo-opercular (CO) network play a key role in decision-making across a variety of functional domains. In particular, the CO network functions in a performance reporting capacity that supports successful task performance, especially in response to errors and ambiguity. In two studies testing the contribution of the CO network to ambiguity processing, we presented a valence bias task in which masked clearly and ambiguously valenced emotional expressions were slowly revealed over several seconds. This slow reveal task design provides a window into the decision-making mechanisms as they unfold over the course of a trial. In …

Les Pollinator Habitat, Chloe Herbert, Dillon Richert, Melissa Landis

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, fall 2023

A poster titled LES Pollinator Habitat for client Lincoln Electric System (C. Herbert and D. Richert with M. Landis).

Water Current, Volume 55, No. 3, Fall 2023

Water Current Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Future Of U.S. Agricultural Biotechnology And Trade: Summary Of A Roundtable Discussion

Yeutter Institute Publications

The United States is one of the largest and highest-yield agricultural producers and exporters in the world. But the world’s population is growing, and growing conditions themselves are changing. Farms face shifting weather patterns, more frequent and severe storms, floods, and drought, and changing pest and disease pressures. What farmers plant and how they plant it are evolving to keep pace with these changes. Future global food security, sustainability, and U.S. leadership in agriculture will depend on the domestic and international policy and regulatory landscapes for agricultural biotechnology innovation. The Clayton Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance at the …

Gsl Researcher (Fall 2023)

GSL Researcher

GSL Researcher (Fall 2023)

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Acmaeodera (Coleoptera: Buprestidae): A New Species Of Acmaeodera Eschscholtz, 1829 From The Southwestern United States, With Three New Synonymies, New State And Host Records, And A Key To Species Occurring East Of The Rocky Mountain States, Jason A. Hansen

Insecta Mundi

Acmaeodera natlovei new species (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is described from the southwestern United States. Details of phenology, geographic range, larval, flower and adult host plants, and similar spe­cies are discussed. Acmaeodera yuccavora Knull, 1962 is newly synonymized with Acmaeodera conoidea Fall, 1899. Acmaeodera thoracata Knull, 1974 and A. bryanti Van Dyke, 1953 are newly synonymized with Acmaeodera neoneglecta Fisher, 1949. New state and host records are reported for United States. A key to the 46 species of Acmaeodera occurring east of the Rocky Mountain states is provided.

Acmaeodera Eschscholtz, 1829 is one of the most speciose buprestid genera in America …

An Exploration Of Trauma-Inclusive Pedagogy And Students’ Perceptions Of Academic Success, R. Jason Lynch, Krista Wojdak

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

While trauma-inclusive approaches to student learning have been well documented in K–12 contexts, postsecondary education has done little to incorporate trauma-inclusive pedagogy into college classrooms. Using a sample (n = 529) of graduate and undergraduate students at a public rural-serving regional serving university, this study aims to explore differences in students’ perception of academic success in courses where trauma-inclusive practices were used and courses where these practices were not. Findings provide evidence that students felt more successful in courses where trauma-inclusive practices were used. Additionally, researchers were able to demonstrate that differences in perceptions of success were more pronounced …

Exploring The Impact Of Student-Faculty Partnership Program At A Hispanic Serving Institution, Alyssa Guadalupe Cavazos, Lesley Chapa, Javier Cavazos-Vela

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Guided by a strength-based framework and counter-storying lens, we use a qualitative case study approach (Cook-Sather, 2020; Cook-Sather and Motz-Storey, 2016; Lechuga-Peña and Lechuga, 2018) to explore students’ and instructors’ experiences with a students as learners and teachers (SaLT) partnership program at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). This study includes five students and five faculty members who participated in the student-faculty partnership program. Data collection involved student partners’ self-assessment reflections and faculty members’ pre- and post-program reflections on their experiences. Several themes were identified following a phenomenological analysis of students’ and faculty partners’ self-reflections. Themes emerging from student participants included …

Meanings Of Community: Educational Developers Experience Care, Satisfying Contributions, And Belonging In A Collaboration Across Institutions, Thomas M. Colclough, William J. Howitz, Daniel Mann, Katherine Kearns, Darren S. Hoffmann

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

We share insights from a mixed methods study to describe the experience of educational developers participating in a community of practice (CoP). This CoP consisted of 19 leaders at eight institutions, serving collectively as facilitators of a hybrid, across-institutional, seven-week workshop series on course design for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. From results of a survey examining the functional and sustaining features of the community, we illustrate that members experience the community aspect of our CoP primarily as a sense of satisfaction/personal fulfillment and, to an extent, in the effectiveness/productiveness of collaborations between members. Members of our CoP experience several …

Writing Communities To (Re-)Engage Faculty: The U See I Write Initiative, Ilona S. Yim, Nina Bandelj, Olga V. Razorenova, Peiyi Wang

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on university faculty, unduly those from underrepresented groups, causing many faculty to disengage. Writing communities represent a promising tool to (re-)engage faculty and build an inclusive climate. As part of U See I Write, a faculty development initiative at the University of California, Irvine, we convened a series of monthly writing retreats between March and June of 2021, with between-retreat weekly writing sessions in smaller groups and an expectation to write daily for at least 30 minutes. In a diverse cohort of 34 faculty writers, program participation resulted in a significant increase in …

Fish & Wildlife News: Fall 2023

Fish and Wildlife News

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Crop Budgets 2024, Robert N. Klein, Glennis Mcmclure

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

The 2024 Nebraska Crop budget projections were created using cropping practice norms for many producers in Nebraska. However, each individual farming operation is unique, and these budgets should be used only as a guide. The budgets for 2024 are available in the Agricultural Budget Calculator program at:https://agbudget.unl.edu/. To modify these budgets, you can download UNL budgets into your ABC program account or create your own. In addition, the reports for each of the 2024 crop budgets are saved as printable (PDF) files. See also the new budget calculator at https://cap.unl.edu/abc.

The following individuals contributed to these budgets …

Optimizing Crop Productivity And Fertility Practices In Intermediate Wheatgrass, Roberta Bianchin Rebesquini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The intensive management associated with many annual crops often includes recurring tillage, fertilization, and pesticide applications, which contribute to environmental concerns such as water pollution and soil erosion. Intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium), recognized under the trade name Kernza®, is a perennial grass that can be managed to produce grain and biomass while providing desired environmental benefits such as soil conservation and nutrient cycling. There has been limited research on best management practices and crop productivity for this alternative dual-use crop in Nebraska. A field experiment was conducted beginning in 2021 to assess nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium …

Limited Accumulation And Persistence Of An Influenza A Virus In Tadpole Snails (Physa Spp.), Paul T. Oesterle, J. Jeffrey Root, Darcy S.O. Mora, Heather Schneider, Alan B. Franklin, Kathryn P. Huyvaert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Waterfowl infected with avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) shed infectious virus into aquatic environments, providing a mechanism for transmission among waterfowl, while also exposing the entire aquatic ecosystem to the virus. Aquatic invertebrates such as freshwater snails are likely exposed to IAVs in the water column and sediment. Freshwater snails comprise a significant portion of some waterfowl species’ diets, so this trophic interaction may serve as a novel route of IAV transmission. In these experiments, tadpole snails (Physa spp.) were exposed to a low-pathogenicity IAV (H3N8) to determine whether snails can accumulate the virus and, if so, how long virus …

Factors Influencing Instructors’ Adoption And Continued Use Of Computing Science Technologies: A Case Study In The Context Of Cell Collective, Changsoo Song, Resa M. Helikar, Wendy Smith, Tomáš Helikar

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Acquiring computational modeling and simulation skills has become ever more critical for students in life sciences courses at the secondary and tertiary levels. Many modeling and simulation tools have been created to help instructors nurture those skills in their classrooms. Understanding the factors that may motivate instructors to use such tools is crucial to improve students’ learning, especially for having authentic modeling and simulation learning experiences. This study designed and tested a decomposed technology acceptance model in which the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use constructs are split between the teaching and learning sides of the technology to examine …

Upscaling Wetland Methane Emissions From The Fluxnet-Ch4 Eddy Covariance Network (Upch4 V1.0): Model Development, Network Assessment, And Budget Comparison, Gavin Mcnicol, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Zutao Ouyang, Sara Knox, Zhen Zhang, Tuula Aalto, Sheel Bansal, Kuang Yu Chang, Min Chen, Kyle Delwiche, Sarah Feron, Mathias Goeckede, Jinxun Liu, Avni Malhotra, Joe R. Melton, William Riley, Rodrigo Vargas, Kunxiaojia Yuan, Qing Ying, Qing Zhu, Pavel Alekseychik, Mika Aurela, David Billesbach, David I. Campbell, Jiquan Chen, Housen Chu, Ankur R. Desai, Eugenie Euskirchen, Jordan Goodrich, Timothy Griffis, Manuel Helbig, Takashi Hirano, Hiroki Iwata, Gerald Jurasinski, John King, Franziska Koebsch, Randall Kolka, Ken Krauss, Annalea Lohila, Ivan Mammarella

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Wetlands are responsible for 20%–31% of global methane (CH4) emissions and account for a large source of uncertainty in the global CH4 budget. Data-driven upscaling of CH4 fluxes from eddy covariance measurements can provide new and independent bottom-up estimates of wetland CH4 emissions. Here, we develop a six-predictor random forest upscaling model (UpCH4), trained on 119 site-years of eddy covariance CH4 flux data from 43 freshwater wetland sites in the FLUXNET-CH4 Community Product. Network patterns in site-level annual means and mean seasonal cycles of CH4 fluxes were reproduced accurately in tundra, boreal, and temperate regions (Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency ∼0.52–0.63 and 0.53). …