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Energy Metabolism In Jersey Cows: Improving Our Understanding Of Energy Requirements And Utilization, Dennis Morris

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

Energy is the most limiting nutrient for high producing lactating dairy cows and improving our understand of factors affecting energy supply should improve our ability to estimate net energy of lactation (NE_L), milk production, and tissue accretion. To achieve this object, firstly, three experiments were completed to determine 1) maintenance energy requirements; 2) factors affecting heat production; and 3) the relationship between urinary N and energy excretion. Three additional experiments using lactating Jersey cows were completed to evaluate energy utilization of diets varying in 1) supply of Lys and His; 2) fatty acids (FA) and …

Evaluation Of Zerofly® Hermetic Storage Bags For Protection Of Maize Against Insect Pests In Ghana, Augustine Bosomtwe, Enoch Adjei Osekre, Georgina Bingham, George Opit

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

High post-harvest loss of maize due to stored product insect pests remains a food security challenge in Ghana. This field study evaluated the effectiveness of a novel technology, ZeroFly® Hermetic storage bags with different inner liners, to protect maize against infestation by Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky and Prostephanus truncatus Horn. The study was carried out in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, during the period September 2017 to March 2018. Maize pre-fumigated with Phostoxin® was stored in 50-kg ZeroFly® Hermetic storage bags. Experimental treatments were 20-μm High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) inner liner …

Simulating Winter Rye Cover Crop Production Under Alternative Management In A Corn-Soybean Rotation, Nilovna Chatterjee, Sotirios V. Archontoulis, Angela M Bastidas, Christopher A. Proctor, Roger W. Elmore, Andrea Basche

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) was used to evaluate two alternative approaches for extending the cover crop growing window into corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) crop rotations in Nebraska, USA.We evaluated how: (i) shifting corn planting dates (mid-April to early-June) and (ii) altering comparative relative maturity (CRM) corn hybrids (80 to 115 days) influence cover crop biomass and corn yields over a 30-year period. The APSIM model was tested using experimental data and was then used to simulate a range of cover crop planting and termination scenarios. Our results showed no significant yield …

Research 4.0: Research In The Age Of Automation, Rob Procter, Ben Glover, Elliot Jones

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Executive Summary

There is a growing consensus that we are at the start of a fourth industrial revolution, driven by developments in Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, robotics, the Internet of Things, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, 5G, new forms of energy storage and quantum computing. This wave of technical innovations is already having a significant impact on how research is conducted, with dramatic change across research methods in recent years within some disciplines, as this project’s interim report set out.

Whilst there are a wide range of technologies associated with the fourth industrial revolution, this report primarily seeks to understand what …

Estimating Economic Minimums Of Mowing, Fertilizing, And Irrigating Turfgrass, Douglas J. Soldat, James T. Brosnan, Ambika Chandra, Roch E. Gaussoin, Alec Kowalewski, Bernd Leinauer, Frank S. Rossi, John C. Stier, J Bryan Unruh

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The public health crisis and economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced turfgrass industry professionals to re-evaluate standard practices. Minimum costs required to fertilize, irrigate, and mow turfgrasses can be roughly estimated using climate data, turfgrass physiology information, and resource costs. Although the actual minimum costs vary situationally and regionally, mowing golf putting greens optimally requires about US$34 per acre per month, whereas other turfgrass areas cost less than US$11 per acre per growing month. Fertilizer applications to turfgrass cost US$22 or less per acre per growing month. Irrigation costs (water and electricity for pumping) vary widely, with …

Resilience Characteristics Of The Urban Agriculture System In Lansing, Michigan: Importance Of Support Actors In Local Food Systems, Caitlin K. Kirby, Lissy Goralnik, Jennifer Hodbod, Zach Piso, Julie C. Libarkin

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Urban agriculture is a growing movement in cities across the United States, including the post-industrial Midwest. Maintaining a resilient local food system is a challenge given the environmental, resource, and institutional barriers facing urban farmers. In this descriptive correlational study, we take an in-depth look at the demographics, farm characteristics, motivations, barriers, and resilience indicators of individuals in the urban agriculture system in Lansing, Michigan, a city of the US Midwest with a growing urban agriculture system. Survey responses (n = 92) revealed that support actors, community gardeners, and farmers have descriptive differences in their motivations, with support actors (e.g. …

Evaluating Airsoft Electric Guns For Control Of Invasive Brown Treesnakes, Adam J. Knox, Björn Lardner, Amy Yackel Adams, Robert N. Reed

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Firearms are often used in lethal control of invasive vertebrates, but safety and regulatory aspects limit the circumstances under which they can be used. During August 2016 at the Brown Treesnake Project laboratory on Guam, we evaluated hobby‐grade Airsoft Electric Guns (AEGs; a lower powered, less‐hazardous, and less‐regulated alternative to firearms) for capture and control of small animals, with specific emphasis on invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis). Tests of AEGs differing in power with ammunition (plastic pellets) masses ranging from 0.20 to 0.39 g, fired at gelatin blocks from distances of 4, 8, and 12 m, showed that …

Vampire Bats: Preparing For Range Expansion Into The U.S., Michael J. Bodenchuk, David L. Bergman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The common vampire bat apparently is expanding its range northwards in Mexico and seems poised to enter the southern United States. Climate models predict suitable habitat in the U.S. in south Texas and parts of southern Arizona. While vampire bats’ northward range expansion is not unexpected, the fact that this species brings a strain of rabies that impacts livestock and people warrants a strategic response. Annual economic damages from bats are estimated between $7M and $9M, largely associated with deaths of livestock from rabies. To prepare for the emerging rabies issue, USDA Wildlife Services programs in Texas and Arizona have …

Challenging The Wallacean Shortfall: A Total Assessment Of Insect Diversity On Guadeloupe (French West Indies), A Checklist And Bibliography, François Meurgey, Thibault Ramage

Insecta Mundi

This work is the first attempt to integrate into one list and quantify all the known species of Guade­loupean insects. It includes all the species known to us to be reported for the island of Guadeloupe until the 31^st of December 2019. A total of 3097 valid species are listed, of which the largest component is the beetles (1447 species). Preliminarily, 632 species (20%) are considered to be strictly endemic to Guadeloupe, and 250 species are recognized as adventive or introduced. The bibliography complements the taxonomic information and includes over 350 titles. Brief annotations are also given on the …

The Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) Of Iowa: An Annotated Checklist, Edwin L. Freese, Doug A. Veal, Paul K. Lago

Insecta Mundi

An annotated checklist of 227 species of Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) known to occur in Iowa is presented, including seven families and 79 genera. This list was developed from information gleaned during literature review, from examination of specimens deposited in 22 regional and comprehensive collections, as well as from several years of active collecting conducted by the authors around the state. Thirty-six species included here represent new state records.

Characteristics Of A River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) Maternal Den In The Central Platte River Valley, Ne, Jenna M. Malzahn, Andrew J. Caven, Joshua D. Wiese

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

River otters (Lontra canadensis) encompass a broad geographic range including coastal, riverine, and lacustrine systems. However, knowledge of reproductive behavior and structural den characteristics remain relatively few in the literature, particularly in the Great Plains. Distinctions between the terms “den”, “den site”, “natal den”, and “maternal den” are often ambiguous, obscuring our understanding of river otter’s young-rearing behavior. We used observations and descriptions regarding a single maternal den site and a broad reading of the mustelid literature to propose a more standardized maternal den definition for river otters and specify hypotheses for future research. From 25 April to …

A List Of Zea Books, Published By University Of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Zea Books

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

94 published titles (2005-2020), plus 1 forthcoming this fall.

Zea Books are produced by the Office of Scholarly Communications, and published by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries.

With links to online pdf editions and Lulu.com print-on-demand online storefront.

Zea Books are online at https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/

Print-on-demand editions are available @ http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/unllib

University Of Nebraska Five-Year Strategy, Revised August 12, 2020, Ted Carter, Trev Alberts, Bob Bartee, Anne Bowen, Andrew Burival, Lori Byrne, Brenda Eschenbrenner, Doug Ewald, John Falconer, Laura Grams, Kevin Hanrahan, Ken Hansen, Abi Javier, Stancia Jenkins, Emily Johnson, Chris Kabourek, Mary Lagrange, Peter Longo, Martha Mamo, Richard Moberly, Ashley Mueller, Keith Ozanne, Lance Perez, Juliann Sebastian, Susan Sheridan, Will Thomas, Barb Weitz, Bob Wilhelm

University of Nebraska Board of Regents: Policies, Acts, and Other Materials

The University of Nebraska Five-Year Strategy: Trust, Predictability, and Positive Outcomes for Nebraskans

In February 2020, the newly named president of the University of Nebraska system, Ted Carter, gathered a diverse 28-member team of students, faculty, staff, and administrators to help chart the path forward for Nebraska’s public university. The team’s goal: At a time of great change in higher education, lay out a vision for what the future should look like for the University of Nebraska.

Broad themes quickly emerged, including student access and success, excellence in teaching and research, diversity and inclusion, partnerships, and fiscal effectiveness. Then COVID-19 …

Soybean Barcsoysnp6k: An Assay For Soybean Genetics And Breeding Research, Qijian Song, Long Yan, Charles Quigley, Edward Fickus, He Wei, Linfeng Chen, Faming Dong, Susan Araya, Jinlong Liu, David Hyten, Vincent R. Pantalone, Randall L. Nelson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The limited number of recombinant events in recombinant inbred lines suggests that for a biparental population with a limited number of recombinant inbred lines, it is unnecessary to genotype the lines with many markers. For genomic prediction and selection, previous studies have demonstrated that only 1000–2000 genome-wide common markers across all lines/accessions are needed to reach maximum efficiency of genomic prediction in populations. Evaluation of too many markers will not only increase the cost but also generate redundant information. We developed a soybean (Glycine max) assay, BARCSoySNP6K, containing 6000 markers, which were carefully chosen from the SoySNP50K assay based …

Development And Performance Assessment Of An Integrated Vermifiltration Based Treatment System For The Treatment Of Feedlot Runoff, Rajneesh Singh, Matteo D'Alessio, Yulie Meneses, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Brian Woodbury, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to treat feedlot runoff by developing an ecologically sustainable, affordable, and resilient treatment system having a relatively long life span. Three horizontal flow soil biofilters were utilized in this study: 1) without earthworms and plants (Biofilter (BF)), 2) with earthworms only (Vermifilter (VF)), and 3) with earthworms and plants (Macrophyte Assisted Vermifilter (MAVF)). The experiments were conducted with a hydraulic retention time of four days using Lumbricus terestrris earthworms and Carex frankii wetland plants. The average COD removal from the BF, VF, and MAVF were 23.2–30.4%, 61.4–69.1%, and 68.3–78.1%, respectively. Average TN removal efficiencies …

Functional Characterization Of Petiolule-Like Pulvinus (Plp) Gene In Abscission Zone Development In Medicago Truncatula And Its Application To Genetic Improvement Of Alfalfa, Juan Du, Shaoyun Lu, Maofeng Chai, Chuanen Zhou, Liang Sun, Yuhong Tang, Jaydeep Kolape, Zhaozhu Wen, Marjan Behzadirad, Tianxiu Zhong, Juan Sun, Yunwei Zhang, Zeng-Yu Wang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important forage crops throughout the world. Maximizing leaf retention during the haymaking process is critical for achieving superior hay quality and maintaining biomass yield. Leaf abscission process affects leaf retention. Previous studies have largely focused on the molecular mechanisms of floral organ, pedicel and seed abscission but scarcely touched on leaf and petiole abscission. This study focuses on leaf and petiole abscission in the model legume Medicago truncatula and its closely related commercial species alfalfa. By analysing the petiolule-like pulvinus (plp) mutant in M. truncatula at phenotypic level (breakstrength and shaking …

Functional Characterization Of Petiolule-Like Pulvinus (Plp) Gene In Abscission Zone Development In Medicago Truncatula And Its Application To Genetic Improvement Of Alfalfa, Juan Du, Shaoyun Lu, Maofeng Chai, Chuanen Zhou, Liang Sun, Yuhong Tang, Jin Nakashima, Jaydeep Kolape, Zhaozhu Wen, Marjan Behzadirad, Tianxiu Zhong, Juan Sun, Yunwei Zhang, Zeng-Yu Wang

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important forage crops throughout the world. Maximizing leaf retention during the haymaking process is critical for achieving superior hay quality and maintaining biomass yield. Leaf abscission process affects leaf retention. Previous studies have largely focused on the molecular mechanisms of floral organ, pedicel and seed abscission but scarcely touched on leaf and petiole abscission. This study focuses on leaf and petiole abscission in the model legume Medicago truncatula and its closely related commercial species alfalfa. By analysing the petiolule-like pulvinus (plp) mutant in M. truncatula at phenotypic level …

Using Climate To Explain And Predict West Nile Virus Risk In Nebraska, Kelly Helm Smith, Andrew J. Tyre, Jeff Hamik, Michael J. Hayes, Yuzhen Zhou, Li Dai

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

We used monthly precipitation and temperature data to give early warning of years with higher West Nile Virus (WNV) risk in Nebraska. We used generalized additive models with a negative binomial distribution and smoothing curves to identify combinations of extremes and timing that had the most influence, experimenting with all combinations of temperature and drought data, lagged by 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months. We fit models on data from 2002 through 2011, used Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) to select the best‐fitting model, and used 2012 as out‐of‐sample data for prediction, and repeated this process for each successive year, …

Food System And Water–Energy–Biodiversity Nexus In Nepal: A Review, Roshan Subedi, Madhav Karki, Dinesh Panday

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Water, energy, and biodiversity are essential components for building a sustainable food system in a developing country like Nepal. Green Revolution technologies and the package of practices largely ignored the role of ecosystem services, leaving a large population of small farmers’ food- and nutrition-insecure. Biodiversity, especially, agrobiodiversity is in decline and this vital cross-cutting element is less discussed and interlinked in nexus literature. The interlinking food system with water–energy–biodiversity nexus, therefore, is essential to achieve a resilient food system. It ensures the vital structures and functions of the ecosystem on which it is dependent are well protected in the face …

Differences In Soil Water Changes And Canopy Temperature Under Varying Water × Nitrogen Sufficiency For Maize, Tsz Him Lo, Daran Rudnick, Kendall C. Dejonge, Geng Bai, Hope Njuki Nakabuye, Abia Katimbo, Yufeng Ge, Trenton E. Franz, Xin Qiao, Derek M. Heeren

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

Crop nitrogen (N) status is known to affect crop water status and crop water use. To investigate further the N effects on soil water changes and on canopy temperature, three water levels × four N levels were imposed on two growing seasons of maize in west central Nebraska, USA. Soil water changes were measured using a neutron probe, whereas canopy temperature was measured using infrared thermometers on a ground-based mobile platform. At all water levels, soil water losses over monthlong intervals were generally greater as N levels increased. Given equal water levels, early afternoon canopy temperatures were usually lower with …

2019 (31st) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) are described in its bylaws (NOURC 2010). The committee’s purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. Species for which the NOURC seeks documentation (NOURC Review List) can be found at the NOU website www.NOUbirds.org. Starting in 2020, the NOURC will deal mainly with those species deemed as Accidental on the “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska”. Casual species and out-ofrange species will continue to be summarized in the “Seasonal Reports” of the …

Next-Generation Sequencing In Equine Genomics, Jessica L. Petersen, Stephen J. Coleman

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

• Next-generation sequencing of both DNA and RNA represents a second revolution in equine genetics following publication of the equine genome sequence.

• Technological advancements have resulted in a wide selection of next-generation sequencing platforms capable of completing small targeted experiments or resequencing complete genomes.

• DNA and RNA sequencing have applications in clinical and research environments.

• Standards for the validation and sharing of next-generation sequencing data are critical for the widespread application of the technology and applications discussed herein.

• As researchers and clinicians develop a better understanding of how genetic variation and phenotypic variation are linked, next-generation sequencing could help pave the …

Detection Of Food Proteins In Human Serum Using Mass Spectrometry Methods, Abigail S. Burrows

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

Allergenic peanut proteins are highly resistant to digestion and are detectable by immunoassays after gastrointestinal digestion. The application of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods for in vivo detection of peptides originating from allergenic food proteins has not been thoroughly studied. The aim of this work was to develop an in vivo detection method for peanut proteins in serum using LC-MS/MS. The method(s) were validated by analyzing subject serum collected after peanut consumption.

Three de-complexation strategies were evaluated including (1) MS acquisition settings (i.e. inclusion, exclusion lists), (2) commercial depletion kits, and (3) organic solvent fractionation by discovery LC-MS/MS. Overall, …

Characterization Of Human Pyrroline-5-Carboxylate Reductase Enzymes Responsible For L-Proline Biosynthesis, Sagar Patel

Department of Biochemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductases (EC 1.5.1.2) are important housekeeping enzymes of L-proline biosynthesis, which generate L-proline and influence redox cycling of NAD(P)H/NAD(P)⁺ to support cellular growth in all domains of life. Structural evidence from X-ray crystal structures of HsPYCR1 (PDB codes 5UAT, 5UAU, and 5UAV) shows both NADPH bound in the N-terminal Rao-Rossmann fold motif and an important hydrogen bond or proton donor role for Thr238 with L-P5C. The Thr238Ala mutation results in 10-fold loss in catalytic efficiency with varied L-P5C relative to the wild-type enzyme, thus indicating Thr238’s potential hydrogen bond and proton donation to L-P5C is critical for catalysis. …

Development Of Novel Catalysts For Hydrogen Gas Production From Biomass Compounds, Boanerges Bamaca

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

Hydrothermal biomass gasification technologies (sub- and supercritical water gasification and aqueous-phase reforming) have considerable economic, environmental, and technical advantages over other energy-extensive technologies (e.g. natural gas reforming) for hydrogen gas production. However, lack of economically feasible and highly active catalysts is a main challenge that impedes upscaling of these technologies for hydrogen gas production.

The goal of this study was to develop innovative, economically feasible and active heterogeneous supported metal catalysts for hydrothermal processes for producing hydrogen gas from biomass-derived compounds. Because of its stable structure and chemical inertness, graphene was used as catalyst support. Graphene supported metal catalysts were …

Feral Swine, Michael P. Glow, Nathan P. Snow, Kurt C. Vercauteren

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Feral swine (Sus scrofa; Figure 1), also known as feral hogs, feral pigs, wild pigs, wild boar, or other similar derivations, are a non-native species considered to be one of the most destructive invasive terrestrial vertebrates in North America. While feral swine populations remained relatively small and confined in the continental United States following initial introductions by European explorers during the 15th century, substantial range expansion has occurred across every geographical region of the United States (Figure 2). This expansion has primarily been attributed to human-mediated movements, predominately for the purpose of establishing populations for recreational hunting, and facilitated by …

An End-To-End Trainable Method For Generating And Detecting Fiducial Markers, J. Brennan Peace

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

Existing fiducial markers are designed for efficient detection and decoding. The methods are computationally efficient and capable of demonstrating impressive results, however, the markers are not explicitly designed to stand out in natural environments and their robustness is difficult to infer from relatively limited analysis. Worsening performance in challenging image capture scenarios - such as poorly exposed images, motion blur, and off-axis viewing - sheds light on their limitations. The method introduced in this work is an end-to-end trainable method for designing fiducial markers and a complimentary detector. By introducing back-propagatable marker augmentation and superimposition into training, the method learns …

Application Of Software Engineering Principles To Synthetic Biology And Emerging Regulatory Concerns, Justin Firestone

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As the science of synthetic biology matures, engineers have begun to deliver real-world applications which are the beginning of what could radically transform our lives. Recent progress indicates synthetic biology will produce transformative breakthroughs. Examples include: 1) synthesizing chemicals for medicines which are expensive and difficult to produce; 2) producing protein alternatives; 3) altering genomes to combat deadly diseases; 4) killing antibiotic-resistant pathogens; and 5) speeding up vaccine production.

Although synthetic biology promises great benefits, many stakeholders have expressed concerns over safety and security risks from creating biological behavior never seen before in nature. As with any emerging technology, there …

The Color Of Covid-19: Structural Racism And The Pandemic’S Disproportionate Impact On Older Racial And Ethnic Minorities, Marc A. Garcia, Patricia A. Homan, Catherine Garcia, Tyson H. Brown

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: The aim of this evidence-based theoretically informed essay is to provide an overview of how and why the COVID-19 outbreak is particularly detrimental for the health of older Black and Latinx adults.

Methods: We draw upon current events, academic literature, and numerous data sources to illustrate how biopsychosocial factors place older adults at higher risk for COVID-19 relative to younger adults, and how structural racism magnifies these risks for older Black and Latinx adults.

Results: We identify three proximate mechanisms through which structural racism operates as a fundamental cause of racial/ethnic inequalities in COVID-19 burden among older adults: (1) …

Taxonomy Of Echinostoma Revolutum And 37-Collar-Spined Echinostoma Spp.: A Historical Review, Jong-Yil Chai, Jaeeun Cho, Taehee Chang, Bong-Kwang Jung, Woon-Mok Sohn

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Echinostoma flukes armed with 37 collar spines on their head collar are called as 37-collar-spined Echinostoma spp. (group) or ‘Echinostoma revolutum group’. At least 56 nominal species have been described in this group. However, many of them were morphologically close to and difficult to distinguish from the other, thus synonymized with the others. However, some of the synonymies were disagreed by other researchers, and taxonomic debates have been continued. Fortunately, recent development of molecular techniques, in particular, sequencing of the mitochondrial (nad1 and cox1) and nuclear genes (ITS region; ITS1-5.8S-ITS2), has enabled us to obtain highly …