Validity Of Plasma Collection Cards For Ferritin Assessment—A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Karsten Koehler, Eileen Marks-Nelson, Camila Pereira Braga, Safiya E. Beckford, Jiri Adamec

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Objectives: Iron depletion is common around the world and among certain risk groups in developed countries. The overall purpose was to test the suitability of a novel plasma collection card for minimally invasive iron status assessment.

Methods: Twenty participants (10 f/10 m) participated in this cross-sectional study. Ferritin and hemoglobin were measured from blood collected from a forearm vein, serving as reference method. Blood was also collected from the fingertip using the NoviplexTM Plasma Prep Card as well as capillary collection tubes.

Results: There was substantial concordance between ferritin measured from samples collected via NoviplexTM and venous ferritin (concordance correlation …

Rod-Shape Theranostic Nanoparticles Facilitate Antiretroviral Drug Biodistribution And Activity In Human Immunodeficiency Virus Susceptible Cells And Tissues, Bhavesh D. Kevadiya, Brendan Ottemann, Insiya Z. Mukadam, Laura Castellanos, Kristen Sikora, James R. Hilaire, Jatin Machhi, Jonathan Herskovitz, Dhruvkumar Soni, Mahmudul Hasan, Wenting Zhang, Anandakumar Sarella, Jered Garrison, Joellyn Mcmillan, Benson Edagwa, R. Lee Mosley, Richard W. Vachet, Howard E. Gendelman

Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience: Faculty Publications

Human immunodeficiency virus theranostics facilitates the development of long acting (LA) antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) by defining drug-particle cell depots. Optimal drug formulations are made possible based on precise particle composition, structure, shape and size. Through the creation of rod-shaped particles of defined sizes reflective of native LA drugs, theranostic probes can be deployed to measure particle-cell and tissue biodistribution, antiretroviral activities and drug retention.

Methods: Herein, we created multimodal rilpivirine (RPV) ¹⁷⁷lutetium labeled bismuth sulfide nanorods (¹⁷⁷LuBSNRs) then evaluated their structure, morphology, configuration, chemical composition, biological responses and adverse reactions. Particle biodistribution was analyzed by single …

Multi-Well Plate Channel Device With Reversible Seals, Haipeng Zhang, Timothy Wei, Sangjin Ryu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Atherosclerosis is a cardiovascular disease which causes over 26,000 yearly deaths in the United States. This disease involves accumulation of substances in arterial walls (or plaques) that occurs frequently to arterial regions experiencing low shear stress, such as bends and bifurcations. A possible reason of plaque growth in arterial walls is the change of endothelial cell (EC)’s shape, which is related to fluid shear stresses tangentially acting on intimal layer (the EC surface) of the arterial wall. Lambert et al. studied the relationship between EC shape and shear stress (Lambert et al., 2019) using a BioFlux system (Fluxion Bioscienes) and …

Sestrin2 Phosphorylation By Ulk1 Induces Autophagic Degradation Of Mitochondria Damaged By Copper-Induced Oxidative Stress, Heejeong Kim, Byeong Tak Jeon, Isaac M. Kim, Sydney Townsend, Carolyn M. Lorch, Martonio Viana, Jacob F. Myers, Caroline J. Trupp, Zachary T. Whipps, Mondira Kundu, Soonkyu Chung, Xinghui Sun, Oleh Khalimonchuk, Jaekwon Lee, Seung-Hyun Ro

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Selective autolysosomal degradation of damaged mitochondria, also called mitophagy, is an indispensable process for maintaining integrity and homeostasis of mitochondria. One well-established mechanism mediating selective removal of mitochondria under relatively mild mitochondria-depolarizing stress is PINK1-Parkin-mediated or ubiquitin-dependent mitophagy. However, additional mechanisms such as LC3-mediated or ubiquitin-independent mitophagy induction by heavy environmental stress exist and remain poorly understood. The present study unravels a novel role of stress-inducible protein Sestrin2 in degradation of mitochondria damaged by transition metal stress. By utilizing proteomic methods and studies in cell culture and rodent models, we identify autophagy kinase ULK1-mediated phosphorylation sites of Sestrin2 and demonstrate …

Insights From The Inclusive Environments And Metrics In Biology Education And Research Network: Our Experience Organizing Inclusive Biology Education Research Events, Rebecca A. Campbell-Montalvo, Natalia Caporale, Gary S. Mcdowell, Candice Idlebird, Katie M. Wiens, Kimberly M. Jackson, Jana D. Marcette, Michael E. Moore

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

In contrast to efforts focusing on improving inclusion in STEM classrooms from kindergarten through un-dergraduate (K–16), efforts to improve inclusion in scientific meetings and conferences, important hubs of STEM culture, are more recent. Markers of inclusion that are sometimes overlooked at these events can include the composition of panels, how workshops are run, the affordability of conferences, and various other mechanisms that maintain pre-existing hierarchies and norms that limit the participation of early-career researchers and individuals of minoritized cultural, linguistic, and economic backgrounds. The Inclusive Environments and Metrics in Biology Education and Research (iEMBER) network coordinates efforts of researchers from …

A Global Database Of Soil Nematode Abundance And Functional Group Composition, Johan Van Den Hoogen, Stefan Geisen, Thomas W. Crowther, Peter Mullin, Many Co-Authors

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

As the most abundant animals on earth, nematodes are a dominant component of the soil community. They play critical roles in regulating biogeochemical cycles and vegetation dynamics within and across landscapes and are an indicator of soil biological activity. Here, we present a comprehensive global dataset of soil nematode abundance and functional group composition. This dataset includes 6,825 georeferenced soil samples from all continents and biomes. For geospatial mapping purposes these samples are aggregated into 1,933 unique 1-km pixels, each of which is linked to 73 global environmental covariate data layers. Altogether, this dataset can help to gain insight into …

Phenotypic Divergence In Two Sibling Species Of Shorebird: Common Snipe And Wilson’S Snipe (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae), Tiago M. Rodrigues, Edward H. Miller, Sergei V. Drovetski, Robert M. Zink, Jon Fjeldså, David Gonçalves

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Natural and social selection are among the main shapers of biological diversity but their relative importance in divergence remains understudied. Additionally, although neutral evolutionary processes may promote phenotypic divergence, their potential contribution in speciation is often overlooked in studies of comparative morphology. In this study, we investigated phenotypic differentiation in two allopatric shorebirds: the Palaearctic Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago and the Nearctic Wilson’s Snipe Gallinago delicata. Specimens of Common Snipe (n = 355 skins, n = 163 skeletons) and Wilson’s Snipe (n = 403 skins, n = 141 skeletons) in natural history collections were examined to quantify differences in skeletal …

Comparative Genome Analysis Of Bifidobacterium Longum Subsp. Infantis Strains Reveals Variation In Human Milk Oligosaccharide Utilization Genes Among Commercial Probiotics, Rebbeca M. Duar, Giorgio Casaburi, Ryan D. Mitchell, Lindsey N.C. Scofield, Camila A. Ortega Ramirez, Daniela Barile, Bethany M. Henrick, Steven A. Frese

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Dysbiosis is associated with acute and long-term consequences for neonates. Probiotics can be effective in limiting the growth of bacteria associated with dysbiosis and promoting the healthy development of the infant microbiome. Given its adaptation to the infant gut, and promising data from animal and in vitro models, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis is an attractive candidate for use in infant probiotics. However, strain-level differences in the ability of commercialized strains to utilize human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) may have implications in the performance of strains in the infant gut. In this study, we characterized twelve B. infantis probiotic strains and identified …

Seed Production, Jeffrey J. Steiner, Tim L. Springer

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

No abstract provided.

Larkspur Poisoning Of Cattle: Plant And Animal Factors That Influence Plant Toxicity, Benedict T. Green, Dale R. Gardner, Clint A. Stonecipher, Stephen T. Lee, James A. Pfister, Kevin D. Welch, Daniel Cook, T. Zane Davis, Bryan L. Strgelmeier

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

Toxic larkspurs (Delphinium species) poison and kill cattle in western North America, and cattle deaths from larkspur poisoning can be as high as 15%.¹ Millions of dollars are lost from ranching communities due to animal deaths, increased management costs, and the underutilization of nutritious rangelands. Economic costs of larkspur poisoning to ranchers is not only associated with cow deaths, but, for example, other costs include loss of that cow nursing a healthy calf. The rancher must keep the calf alive, and if it survives there is lost income from marketing an early weaned, poor-performing calf. Ranchers must also replace …

Genetic Diversity Among Mycobacterium Avium Subspecies Revealed By Analysis Of Complete Genome Sequences, John Bannantine, Cyril Conde, Darrell O. Bayles, Maxime Branger, Franck Biet

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

Mycobacterium avium comprises four subspecies that contain both human and veterinary pathogens. At the inception of this study, twenty-eight M. avium genomes had been annotated as RefSeq genomes, facilitating direct comparisons. These genomes represent strains from around the world and provided a unique opportunity to examine genome dynamics in this species. Each genome was confirmed to be classified correctly based on SNP genotyping, nucleotide identity and presence/absence of repetitive elements or other typing methods. The Mycobacterium avium subspeciesparatuberculosis (Map) genome size and organization was remarkably consistent, averaging 4.8 Mb with a variance of only 29.6 kb among the 13 strains. …

Leidenfrost Droplet Microfluidics, Sidy Ndao, George Gogos, Dennis Alexander, Troy Anderson, Craig Zuhlke

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Systems and methods are described for propelling a liquid droplet in a Leidenforst state. A microfluidic device embodiment includes, but is not limited to, a solid structure having a patterned surface, the patterned surface including at least a first patterned region having a first Leidenfrost temperature with respect to a fluid, the first patterned region adjacent to the second patterned region, the first patterned region defining a path over which a droplet of the fluid is configured to travel in a Leidenfrost state.

Plin-Amir, A Pre-Microrna-Based Technology For Controlling Herbivorous Insect Pests, Julia Bally, Elane Fishilevich, Rachel L. Doran, Karen Lee, Samanta Bolzan De Campos, Marcelo A. German, Kenneth E. Narva, Peter M. Waterhouse

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, is a major insect pest for a wide range of agricultural crops. It causes significant yield loss through feeding damage and by increasing the crop’s vulnerability to bacterial and fungal infections. Although expression of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins in transgenic crops has been very successful in protecting against insect pests, including H. armigera, field-evolved resistance has occurred in multiple species. To manage resistant populations, new protection strategies must be continuously developed. Trans-kingdom RNA interference (TK-RNAi) is a promising method for controlling herbivorous pests. TK-RNAi is based on delivering dsRNA or hairpin RNA containing essential insect …

Parasitism Of Adult Pentatomidae By Tachinidae In Soybean In The North Central Region Of The United Statespheylan, Pheylan A. Anderson, Daniela T. Pezzini, Nádia M. Bueno, Christina D. Difonzo, Deborah L. Deborah, Thomas E. Hunt, Janet J. Knodel, Christian H. Krupke, Brian P. Mccornack, Christopher R. Philips, Adam J. Varenhorst, Robert J. Wright, Robert L. Koch

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are agricultural pests of increasing significance in the North Central Region of the United States, posing a threat to major crops such as soybean. Biological control can reduce the need for insecticides to manage these pests, but the parasitism of stink bugs byTachinidae (Diptera) is poorly characterized in this region. The objective of this study was to evaluate the rate of parasitism of stink bugs by tachinids over 2 yr from nine states across the North Central Region. Parasitism was assessed by quantifying tachinid eggs on the integument of stink bug adults. Parasitism rates (i.e., percent …

Aphid-Responsive Defense Networks In Hybrid Switchgrass, Kyle G. Koch, Nathan A. Palmer, Teresa Donze-Reiner, Erin D. Scully, Javier Seravalli, Keenan Amundsen, Paul Twigg, Joe Louis, Jeffrey D. Bradshaw, Tiffany Marie Heng-Moss, Gautam Sarath

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Aphid herbivory elicits plant defense-related networks that are influenced by host genetics. Plants of the upland switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) cultivar Summer can be a suitable host for greenbug aphids (Schizaphis graminum; GB), and yellow sugarcane aphids (Sipha flava, YSA), whereas the lowland cultivar Kanlow exhibited multi-species resistance that curtails aphid reproduction. However, stabilized hybrids of Summer (♀) x Kanlow (♂) (SxK) with improved agronomics can be damaged by both aphids. Here, hormone and metabolite analyses, coupled with RNA-Seq analysis of plant transcriptomes, were utilized to delineate defense networks induced by aphid feeding in SxK switchgrass and pinpoint plant transcription factors …

Forage And Habitat For Pollinators In The Northern Great Plains—Implications For U.S. Department Of Agriculture Conservation Programs, Clint R.V. Otto, Autumn Smart, Robert S. Cornman, Michael Simanonok, Deborah D. Iwanowicz

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Managed and wild pollinators are critical components of agricultural and natural systems. Despite the well-known value of insect pollinators to U.S. agriculture, Apis mellifera (Linnaeus, 1758; honey bees) and wild bees currently face numerous stressors that have resulted in declining health. These declines have engendered support for pollinatorconservation efforts across all levels of government, private businesses, and nongovernmental organizations. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Geological Survey initiated an interagency agreement to evaluate honey bee forage across multiple States in the northern Great Plains and upper Midwest. The long-term goal of this study was to …

Metabolic Changes Associated With Adaptive Resistance To Daptomycin In Streptococcus Mitis-Oralis, Allison Parrett, Joseph M. Reed, Stewart G. Gardner, Nagendra N. Mishra, Arnold S. Bayer, Robert Powers, Greg A. Somerville

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Background: Viridans group streptococci of the Streptococcus mitis-oralis subgroup are important endovascular pathogens. They can rapidly develop high-level and durable non-susceptibility to daptomycin both in vitro and in vivo upon exposure to daptomycin. Two consistent genetic adaptations associated with this phenotype (i.e., mutations in cdsA and pgsA) lead to the depletion of the phospholipids, phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin, from the bacterial membrane. Such alterations in phospholipid biosynthesis will modify carbon flow and change the bacterial metabolic status. To determine the metabolic differences between daptomycin-susceptible and non- susceptible bacteria, the physiology and metabolomes of S. mitis-oralis strains 351 (daptomycin-susceptible) and 351-D10 (daptomycin …

Agro 153 - Soil Resources Online - A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Rebecca Young

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Soil Resources (AGRO 153) is a high enrollment, introductory-level course taken by a diverse range of student majors at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), predominantly from the College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources (CASNR). Students that enroll in this course typically span all undergraduate class levels, and a small number of graduate students fulfilling degree requirements or prerequisites. AGRO 153 online is a smaller enrollment section of the course that is often taken by students when (a) the resident sections have closed due meeting maximum capacity, (b) there is a timing conflict within their course schedule, or (c) the …

Effect Of Pacifier Design On Nonnutritive Suck Maturation And Weight Gain In Preterm Infants: A Pilot Study, Alexander Ziegler, Jill L. Maron, Steven M. Barlow, Jonathan M. Davis

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Background: Pacifiers are effective in promoting oral feeding by increasing the maturation of nonnutritive sucking to nutritive suck in preterm neonates. It is unclear whether pacifier design can influence suck dynamics and weight loss during the first week of life. Objectives: This pilot study examined the feasibility of studying the effect of pacifier design on suck maturation and weight loss in preterm neonates. Methods: Twenty-five preterm neonates (mean [SD] birth weight 1791 [344.9] grams, mean [SD] gestational age 33.1 [1.2] weeks) were studied in a single newborn intensive care unit. Neonates were assigned to either an orthodontic pacifier (n = …

Agri-Combs: Open-Path Dual-Comb Spectroscopy Of Livestock Emissions, D. I. Herman, L. C. Hutcherson, C. Weerasekara Et Al.

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.

The Pollution Crisis, Kelly Contreras

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Environmental pollution can be categorized into three main types: air, water, and land, all of which have effects on human health. Although human pollution happens continuously, most people give little thought to the negative effects it has. Pollutants destroy the air organisms, the land walked on, the water swam in, and the bodies they live on. The focus of this research is to explore how we can save our air, land, and ocean before it is too late.

Mitogenome Of Northern Long-Eared Bat, Sarah Gaughan, Kevin L. Pope, Jeremy A. White, Cliff Lemen, Patricia Freeman

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The complete mitogenome of the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) was determined to be 17,362 bp and contained 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and one control region. The whole genome base composition was 33.8% GC. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that M. septentrionalis be positioned next to M. auriculus in the Nearctic subclade of the Myotis genus. This complete mitochondrial genome provides essential molecular markers for resolving phylogeny and future conservation efforts.

Exit Here: Strategies For Dealing With Aging Dams And Reservoirs, Henry H. Hansen, Emily Forzono, Alisha Grams, Lindsay Ohlman, Christine Ruskamp, Mark A. Pegg, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Aging infrastructure is prevalent throughout the world, but water control management structures, specifically dams, are of growing concern. Dams and their corresponding reservoirs have inherent, but separate, lifespans. The proportion of dams around the world that continue operation beyond their intended lifespans is growing at an alarming rate. Society will not only have to navigate the tradeoffs associated with the deterioration of services provided by reservoirs and dams, but also impending structural failures. Society is nearing a critical pinch point where we will have to decide how to deal with dams and reservoirs at scales that range from a single …

Timber Talk, Vol. 58, No. 4, December 2020

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Timber Talk, Vol. 58, No. 4, December 2020

Chapter 5: Exploring The Mind Of The Interviewer: Findings From Research With Interviewers To Improve The Survey Process Appendix 5, Robin Kaplan, Erica Yu

Interviewer Workshop, 2019: Interviewers and Their Effects from a Total Survey Error Perspective

Appendix 5A Interview Protocol

Appendix 5B Vignettes

Chapter 17: Exploring The Antecedents And Consequences Of Interviewer Reading Speed (Irs) At The Question Level. Appendix 17, Allyson L. Holbrook, Timothy P. Johnson, Evgenia Kapousouz, Young Ik Cho

Interviewer Workshop, 2019: Interviewers and Their Effects from a Total Survey Error Perspective

Figure A17.A.1: Manipulation of Question Characteristics (Example Questions Shown)

Figure A17.A.2: Response Latency Validity Options Provided to Interviewers after Each Question where Response Latencies were Measured

Figure A17.A.3: Interviewer Behavior Codes Used to Identify Question Latency Problems

Appendix 17.B: Measurement of Response and Question Latencies Table A17.B.1: Validity of Response Latency Measurement
Table A17.B.2: Validity of Question Latency Measurement
References
Appendix 17.C: Questions in CAPI Survey for which Response Latencies were Measured

Chapter 16: Investigating The Use Of Nurse Paradata In Understanding Nonresponse To Biological Data Collection. Appendix 16, Fiona Pashazadeh, Alexandru Cernat, Joseph W. Sakshaug

Interviewer Workshop, 2019: Interviewers and Their Effects from a Total Survey Error Perspective

Appendix 16A: Descriptive statistics for available call records

Figure A16A.1 Histograms of wave 2 nurse visit call length by call status with outlier of 691 minutes removed from the ‘any interviewing done’ category

Figure A16A.2 Histograms of wave 3 nurse visit call length by call status with outlier of 464 minutes removed from the ‘any interviewing done’ category

Figure A16A.3 Bar chart of total number of calls per household at UKHLS wave 2 nurse visit

Figure A16A.4 Bar chart of total number of calls per household at UKHLS wave 3 nurse visit

Figure A16A.5 Histogram of total nurse visit time …

Dental Health Factors Among Primary School Children In Southern Regions Of Ethiopia And Zambia, Gisselle Hernandez

NUTR/GLST 498b: Global Research Experiences in Nutrition and Health

Purpose: Assess oral health status, and factors affecting oral health, among primary schoolchildren in southern Ethiopia and Zambia. Methods: Visual dental assessments, anthropometric measurements, and questionnaires used to collect data among 6th and 7th grade students. Results: Although stunting rates were nearly equal, decay rates were not; 17.51% of Zambian students and 47.27% of Ethiopian students had one or more decayed teeth. Ethiopian students with dental fluorosis (74.55%) had higher rates of decay than those without the condition (p < .05). There were also significant differences between Ethiopians and Zambians regarding use of dental hygiene tools: Ethiopians were more likely to use dental sticks, while Zambians employed toothbrushes for cleaning. Conclusions: Dental health and hygiene education, focused on unique socioecological settings, could improve the oral health status of Ethiopian and Zambian children.

PowerPoint file attached below

Threatened And Endangered Species Listing/Delisting Recommendations

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has the statutory responsibility of administering Nebraska’s Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act. One of the Commission’s duties under the Act is to determine which species are endangered or threatened in the state. According to Nebraska Revised Statute § 37-806, determinations regarding endangered and threatened species shall be made on the basis of the best scientific, commercial, and other data available to the Commission. Revisions to the list of endangered and threatened species were last completed in 2000, and since then much new information was gained regarding the abundance, distribution, and imperilment status of …

Sharp‐Tailed Grouse In The Nebraska Sandhills Select Residual Cover Patches For Nest Sites, William L. Vodehnal, Gregory L. Schenbeck, Daniel W, Uresk

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Staff Research Publications

We evaluated selection and availability of residual cover (dead standing herbage) by sharptailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) at time of nest‐site selection in an intact and annually grazed grassland. We used radiotelemetry in 1988–1990 to locate 147 nests in the sandhills of Nebraska, USA, and classified 121 as initial nests and 26 as renests. We used visual obstruction readings (VOR) to measure the height and density of residual cover at nests and 373 landscape‐scale transects around leks (trap sites). We excluded 77 nests from vegetation analysis because green herbage or early livestock grazing compromised residual cover measurements. Most females …