Digital Commons Network^™

Realizing Molecular Machine Learning Through Communications For Biological Ai: Future Directions And Challenges, Sasitharan Balasubramaniam, Samitha Somathilaka, Sehee Sun, Adrian Ratwatte, Massimiliano Pierobon

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are weaving their way into the fabric of society, where they are playing a crucial role in numerous facets of our lives. As we witness the increased deployment of AI and ML in various types of devices, we benefit from their use into energy-efficient algorithms for low powered devices. In this paper, we investigate a scale and medium that is far smaller than conventional devices as we move towards molecular systems that can be utilized to perform machine learning functions, i.e., Molecular Machine Learning (MML). Fundamental to the operation of MML is the …

Incentivizing Electric Vehicle Adoption Through State And Federal Policies: Reviewing Influential Policies, Joshua Sabata, Subhaditya Shom, Ahmad Almaghrebi, Anne Mccollister, Mahmoud Alahmad

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

All-electric vehicles (EVs), battery-powered EVs (BEVs), and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVS) are gaining market share and increasing in popularity with the buying public because the battery range (longer) and cost (lower) have reached sweet spots, the charging infrastructure is more robust, and concern with global cli­mate change is high. In 2013, only 100,000 EVs were sold in the United States, but by 2022, approximately 800,000 have been purchased. A similar growth is seen in EV sup­ply equipment (EVSE), i.e., EV charging stations, with 19,742 documented EV charging station locations in the United States in 2013 to 50,054 documented EV charging …

Nebline, June/July 2023

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Introducing Nit Kits: Extension's New Program on Head Lice in Early Childhood Settings by Kait Chapman

Curiosity as a Tool for Health Access by Emily Gratopp

Recipe of the Month: Refreshing Watermelon Salad by Emily Gratopp

Nebraska Celebrates Wildflower Week, June 5–11 by Sarah Browning

Graden Guide: Things to Do This Month

Fescue Toxicosis by Connor Biehler

Graywater Use in Nebraska by Becky Schuerman

Aphids, Scales and Spider Mites, Oh My! by Kait Chapman

Challenging Behaviors: Using Positive Language by Hayley Jackson

Extension News: New 4-H Assistant

4-H’ers Qualify for State Presentations Contest

4-H Clubs Helped at Kiwanis Karnival

Nebraska …

Integration Of Environmental Sustainability And Decision Making: Case Studies Of Civil Infrastructure, Sussan Moussavi

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

Sustainable development is important in the planning and design of critical civil infrastructure systems. However, decision making related to these systems currently lacks meaningful sustainability considerations. To fill this gap, this research explores the life cycle impacts of wastewater and energy infrastructure using case studies, life cycle assessment methodologies, and stakeholder discussions. Environmental and economic impacts, which are more commonly quantified, as well as more difficult to quantify societal factors, are explored. The goal of this research is to help inform decision making and facilitate the consideration of the three pillars of sustainability (e.g., economic, environmental, and social) during the …

Evaluating Assessment Score Validity And Characterizing Undergraduate Biology Exam Content, Crystal Uminski

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The landscape of undergraduate biology education has been shaped by decades of reform efforts calling for instruction to integrate core concepts and scientific skills as a means of helping students become proficient in the discipline. Assessments can be used to make inferences about how these reform efforts have translated into changes in department curriculum and course practices. Such changes can be measured using student scores on researcher-developed programmatic and concept assessments. Scores on these assessments are often assumed to be accurate representations of student biology content knowledge, but my work indicates that the validity of these interpretations may be threatened …

The Open Access Journals Toolkit, Alex Mendonça, Andrea Chiarelli, Andy Byers, Andy Nobes, Chris Hartgerink, Clarissa França Dias Carneiro, Elle Malcolmson, Ivonne Lijano, Katie Foxall, Lucia Loffreda, Rebecca Wojturska, Solange Santos, Susan Murray, Tom Olijhoek, Wendy Patterson

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Contents: Getting Started 5 • Scope, aims and focus 5 • Choosing a title for your journal 6 • Types of content accepted 7 • Kick-off and ongoing funding 11 • Disciplinary considerations 16 • Journal setup checklist and timeline 18 • Running a journal 20 • Article selection criteria 20 • Publication frequency and journal issues 23 • Attracting authors 25 • Peer review and quality assurance 27 • The costs of running an online open access journal 31 • Running a journal in a local or regional language 34 • Flipping a journal to open access 36 • …

Developing Human Potential: A Personal Approach To Leadership, Gina S. Matkin, Jason Headrick, Hannah Sunderman

Zea E-Books Collection

This Online Educational Resource textbook is intended to provide an overview and introduction of leadership through the lens of how students can develop and maximize their own interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills are crucial to navigating the professional world and can help us to better understand ourselves. This textbook approaches interpersonal skills from a personal level and allows the reader to immerse themselves into activities and scholarship across topical areas. Through the text, learners can create their own Personal Leadership Philosophy and expand this into a Civic Leadership Philosophy to help them understand the impact leaders can have on their communities …

Portfolio For Geol 488/888: Groundwater Geology, Erin M.K. Haacker

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Groundwater Geology is a course that draws undergraduate and graduate students from multiple units, including the College of Arts and Sciences, Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. The course material focuses on groundwater as a resource, and includes the use of computer programming (Python programming language) to analyze groundwater data. Many students who enroll in the course are new to either geosciences or Python, despite the fact that it is an advanced course. The course has been redesigned recently to include materials suitable for a groundwater engineering course, because it is newly offered with sections …

First Course Portfolio For Bioc205: Scientific Analysis And Technical Writing, Lindsey B. Crawford

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

BIOC205: Scientific Analysis and Technical Writing is a core course for the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This course is geared for second year (sophomore students) with minimal prerequisites and as a foundation for future classes. Challenges include 1) teaching the needed scientific background and elements of scientific analysis and writing to a broad cohort of students with diverse backgrounds and interests, 2) building student skills towards analysis of primary peer-reviewed scientific literature, 3) developing students as writers of scientific information for different audiences. This course used Genetic Engineering as a broad topic choice to capture students …

Party First, Ask Questions Later: Interrogating The Privacy Implications Of First-Party Data Collection, Conor Kane

Nebraska Law Review

NGTC “How Technology Regulates” Writing Competition Winner

This Article examines Google’s stated and potentially unstated justifications for ending support for the third-party cookie and the ripple effects this move creates for data collection across the digital advertising ecosystem. It argues that Google’s allegedly pro-privacy move and marketers’ allegedly pro-privacy switch to first-party data ignore and create privacy harms. The only way to protect privacy in the era of first-party data (and protect against future shifts in collection techniques) is to reconceive the corporation-consumer data relationship. On a broader level, this Article aims to provide a warning about the nature of …

Guest Editorial: Special Issue On Green Iot For Future Space–Air–Ground–Ocean-Integrated Networks And Applications, Bo Rong, Mohamed Cheriet, Jon Montalban, Lei Shu, Yi Qian

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The Internet of Things (IoT) plays a critical role in enabling the seamless integration of disparate devices. Future IoT will rapidly expand its coverage to offer future worldwide omnipresent applications and services by merging communications in diverse spatial domains to build the space–air–ground–ocean-integrated network (SAGOI-Net). SAGOI-Net will include a significant number of battery-powered network nodes, such as satellites, unmanned vehicles, and underwater devices, due to the extremely vast geographic reach and dynamics in free space. Given the battery limitations, high-energy-efficiency communications and networking will be critical to the future system. Green SAGOI-Net seeks to not only bring ubiquitous connectivity to …

Synthesis And Study Of High-Spin Stable Organic Radicals For Electrical Conductors And Mannosamine Nitroxide For Mri Contrast Agents, Shuyang Zhang

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the first project, we describe the synthesis of an ambient stable high spin organic diradical 4 based on the Blatter moiety. The high-spin (S = 1) organic diradical 4, which consists of two Blatter radical moieties in a conjugated structure, exhibits a nearly exclusive population (88%) on triplet ground state at room temperature as a consequence of a large single-triplet energy gap (ΔEST = 0.5 kcal/mol). The target diradical molecule is synthesized over five steps with structural confirmation by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) shows the onset of decomposition at ~264 oC, indicating the diradical molecule has …

Drinking Water Contaminants: Lead, Bruce I. Dvorak, Becky M. Schuerman

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Any lead exposure, even low levels, can be a serious health concern, especially for infants, children, and developing fetuses. This NebGuide discusses how to safely manage lead in a domestic water supply (or often referred to as a private well). This NebGuide includes discussion related to topics such as lead services lines and changes in public water supply regulations related to lead in drinking water.

The Standards Will Never Be Enough: A Racial Justice Extension, Mya Poe, Maria Elena Oliveri, Norbert Elliot

Buros Center: Professional Staff Publications

Since 1952, the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing has provided criteria for developing and evaluating educational and psychological tests and testing practice. Yet, we argue that the foundations, operations, and applications in the Standards are no longer sufficient to meet the current U.S. testing demands for fairness for all test takers. We propose racial justice extensions as principled ways to extend the Standards, through intentional actions focused on race and targeted at educational policies, processes, and outcomes in specific settings. To inform these extensions, we focus on four social-justice concepts: intersectionality derived from Black Feminist Theory; responsibility derived …

Out-Of-Plane Flexural Behavior Of Insulatedwall Panels Constructed With Large Insulation Thicknesses, Jacob Luebke, Fray F. Pozo-Lora, Salam Al-Rubaye, Marc Maguire

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Insulated concrete sandwich wall panels (ICSWPs) are gaining popularity as energy regulations become stricter worldwide. ICSWPs are now being constructed with thinner wythes and thicker insulation to keep up with the changing market, which is reducing material costs and increasing thermal and structural efficiency. However, there is a need for adequate experimental testing to validate the current design methods for these new panels. This research aims to provide that validation by comparing the predictions of four different methods with experimental data obtained from six large-scale panels. The study found that while current design methods adequately predict the behavior of thin …

Engineering A Multicompartment In Vitro Model For Dorsal Root Ganglia Phenotypic Assessment, Sydney M. Caparaso, Adan Redwine, Rebecca A. Wachs

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Despite the significant global prevalence of chronic pain, current methods to identify pain therapeutics often fail translation to the clinic. Phenotypic screening platforms rely on modeling and assessing key pathologies relevant to chronic pain, improving predictive capability. Patients with chronic pain often present with sensitization of primary sensory neurons (that extend from dorsal root ganglia [DRG]). During neuronal sensitization, painful nociceptors display lowered stimulation thresholds. To model neuronal excitability, it is necessary to maintain three key anatomical features of DRGs to have a physiologically relevant platform: (1) isolation between DRG cell bodies and neurons, (2) 3D platform to preserve cell–cell …

Inventory, Operations, And Safety At Free Right-Turn Ramps, Aemal Khattak, Jonathon Camezind, Mm Shakui Haque

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This research focused on traffic safety and operational performance of rural, minor approach stop-controlled intersections with free right-turn (FRT) ramps. The objectives of the research were to:

• Create a statewide inventory of rural FRT ramp intersections and provide to the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT),
• Using NDOT 10-year crash data, conduct statistical safety analysis of rural FRT intersections extending ¼-mile in each direction from the intersection,
• Study vehicular operations at rural intersections with and without FRT ramps including a comparison of vehicular conflicts, and
• Develop guidelines for operations and safety tradeoffs to assist with NDOT projects on maintaining similar locations, …

Nebraska Balanced Mix Design – Phase I, Farzad Yazdipanah, Mahdieh Khedmati, Hamzeh Haghshenas

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Balanced mix design (BMD) is an alternative concept for designing asphalt mixtures that mainly focuses on performance of mixtures rather than only volumetric analysis. Using this concept, it would be possible to account for the incorporation of recycled asphalt mixtures, warm technology, polymers, rejuvenators, and other foreign additives, as well as external effective factors on the mix design such as environmental effects. This project sought to investigate performance-based methodologies for the asphalt mix design by taking a step to develop a preliminary Nebraska BMD framework. With that, selection of appropriate performance tests, finding a functional laboratory aging protocol, and defining …

Record High Room Temperature Resistance Switching In Ferroelectric-Gated Mott Transistors Unlocked By Interfacial Charge Engineering, Yifei Hao, Xuegang Chen, Le Zhang, Myung-Geun Han, Wei Wang, Yue-Wen Fang, Hanghui Chen, Yimei Zhu, Xia Hong

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

The superior size and power scaling potential of ferroelectric-gated Mott transistors makes them promising building blocks for developing energyefficientmemory and logic applications in the post-Moore’s Law era. The close to metallic carrier density in the Mott channel, however, imposes the bottleneck for achieving substantial field effect modulation via a solid-state gate. Previous studies have focused on optimizing the thickness, charge mobility, and carrier density of single-layer correlated channels, which have only led to moderate resistance switching at room temperature. Here, we report a record high nonvolatile resistance switching ratio of 38,440% at 300 K in a prototype Mott transistor consisting …

Post-Processed Data And Graphical Tools For A Conus-Wide Eddy Flux Evapotranspiration Dataset, J. M. Volk, J. L. Huntington, F. Melton, B. Minor, T. Wang, S. Anapalli, R. G. Anderson, S. Evett, A. French, R. Jasoni, N. Bambach, W. P. Kustas, J. Alfieri, J. Prueger, L. Hipps, L. Mckee, S. J. Castro, M. M. Alsina, A. J. Mcelrone, M. Reba, B. Runkle, M. Saber, C. Sanchez, E. Tajfar, R. Allen, M. Anderson

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Large sample datasets of in situ evapotranspiration (ET) measurements with well documented data provenance and quality assurance are critical for water management and many fields of earth science research. We present a post-processed ET oriented dataset at daily and monthly timesteps, from 161 stations, including 148 eddy covariance flux towers, that were chosen based on their data quality from nearly 350 stations across the contiguous United States. In addition to ET, the data includes energy and heat fluxes, meteorological measurements, and reference ET downloaded from grid- MET for each flux station. Data processing techniques were conducted in a reproducible manner …

Soybean Crop Coefficients Under Different Seeding Rates And Full And Limited Irrigation And Rainfed Management, Suat Irmak, Rupinder Sandhu

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The effects of soybean seeding rates on evapotranspiration (ET_c) and grassand alfalfa-reference crop coefficients (K_co and K_cr) were investigated under five seeding rates (185,250, 247,000, 308,750, 370,500 and 432,250 seeds ha^-1) (62, 82, 103, 124 and 144% of the recommended seeding rate of 300,000 seeds ha^-1 in the experimental region) and different irrigation strategies (i.e. full irrigation treatment [FIT], limited irrigation of 75% FIT and 50% FIT and rainfed treatment). K_co and K_cr values were developed for each soybean growth stage. The seasonal ET_c ranged from 460 mm for …

Bola3 And Nfu1 Link Mitoribosome Iron-Sulfur Cluster Assembly To Multiple Mitochondrial Dysfunctions Syndrome, Hui Zhong, Alexandre Janer, Oleh Khalimonchuk, Hana Antonicka, Eric 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 expression 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 propose is inserted via the …

Symmetry Control Of Unconventional Spin–Orbit Torques In Iro2, Michael Patton, Gautam Gurung, Ding-Fu Shao, Gahee Noh, Joseph A. Mittelstaedt, Marcel Mazur, Jong-Woo Kim, Philip J. Ryan, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, Si-Young Choi, Daniel C. Ralph, Mark S. Rzchowski, Tianxiang Nan, Chang-Beom Eom

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Spin–orbit torques generated by a spin current are key to magnetic switching in spintronic applications. The polarization of the spin current dictates the direction of switching required for energy-efficient devices. Conventionally, the polarizations of these spin currents are restricted to be along a certain direction due to the symmetry of the material allowing only for efficient in-plane magnetic switching. Unconventional spin–orbit torques arising from novel spin current polarizations, however, have the potential to switch other magnetization orientations such as perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which is desired for higher density spintronic-based memory devices. Here, it is demonstrated that low crystalline symmetry is …

Global Projections Of Flash Drought Show Increased Risk In A Warming Climate, Jordan I. Christian, Elinor R. Martin, Jeffrey B. Basara, Jason C. Furtado, Jason A. Otkin, Lauren E. L. Lowman, Eric D. Hunt, Vimal Mishra, Xiangming Xiao

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Flash drought, characterized by unusually rapid drying, can have substantial impact on many socioeconomic sectors, particularly agriculture. However, potential changes to flash drought risk in a warming climate remain unknown. In this study, projected changes in flash drought frequency and cropland risk from flash drought are quantified using global climate model simulations. We find that flash drought occurrence is expected to increase globally among all scenarios, with the sharpest increases seen in scenarios with higher radiative forcing and greater fossil fuel usage. Flash drought risk over cropland is expected to increase globally, with the largest increases projected across North America …

Toward Automated Irrigation Management With Integrated Crop Water Stress Index And Spatial Soil Water Balance, Sandeep Bhatti, Derek M. Heeren, Susan A. O’Shaughnessy, Christopher M. U. Neale, Jacob Larue, Steve Melvin, Eric Wilkening, Geng Bai

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Decision support systems intended for precision irrigation aim at reducing irrigation applications while optimizing crop yield to achieve maximum crop water productivity (CWP). These systems incorporate on-site sensor data, remote sensing inputs, and advanced algorithms with spatial and temporal characteristics to compute precise crop water needs. The availability of variable rate irrigation (VRI) systems enables irrigation applications at a sub-field scale. The combination of an appropriate VRI system along with a precise decision support system would be ideal for improved CWP. The objective of this study was to compare and evaluate two decision support systems in terms of seasonal applied …

Toward Automated Irrigation Management With Integrated Crop Water Stress Index And Spatial Soil Water Balance, Sandeep Bhatti, Derek M. Heeren, Susan A. O’Shaughnessy, Christopher M. U. Neale, Jacob Larue, Steve Melvin, Eric Wilkening, Geng Bai

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Decision support systems intended for precision irrigation aim at reducing irrigation applications while optimizing crop yield to achieve maximum crop water productivity (CWP). These systems incorporate on-site sensor data, remote sensing inputs, and advanced algorithms with spatial and temporal characteristics to compute precise crop water needs. The availability of variable rate irrigation (VRI) systems enables irrigation applications at a sub-field scale. The combination of an appropriate VRI system along with a precise decision support system would be ideal for improved CWP. The objective of this study was to compare and evaluate two decision support systems in terms of seasonal applied …

Streambank Erosion Phenomena And Understanding: Current Research And Future Directions, Celso Castro-Bolinaga, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Kyle Mankin

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Streams are in dynamic equilibrium with their environments, and as that environment is altered by human development and changing climate, streambank erosion is a common, but little understood, result. This article highlights the contributions of the special collection “Streambank Erosion, Sediment Dynamics, and Restoration (SER),” which assembled six studies that represent key advances in streambank erosion research, highlight current research in the field, and identify directions for future research. The studies in this special collection were grouped into three central themes: (1) streambank erosion monitoring, (2) streambank erodibility characterization, and (3) streambank erosion loading. In this article, key findings within …

Exploring The Intersection Of Biology And Design For Product Innovations, Ajay P. Malshe, Salil Bapat, Kamlakar Rajurkar, Ang Ang, Jean-Marc Linares

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Design, development, productization, and applications of advanced product concepts are pressing for higher multifunctionality, resilience, and maximization of available resources equitably to meet the growing and continuing demands of global customers. These demands have further accelerated during the recent COVID- 19 pandemic and are continuing to be a challenge. Engineering designs are one of the most effective ways to endow products with functions, resilience, and sustainability. Biology, through millions of years of evolution, has met these acute requirements under severe resource and environmental constraints. As the manufacturing of products is reaching the fundamental limits of raw materials, labor, and resource …

Néel Spin Currents In Antiferromagnets, Ding-Fu Shao, Yuan-Yuan Jiang, Jun Ding, Shu-Hui Zhang, Zi-An Wang, Rui-Chun Xiao, Gautam Gurung, W. J. Lu, Y. P. Sun, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Ferromagnets are known to support spin-polarized currents that control various spin-dependent transport phenomena useful for spintronics. On the contrary, fully compensated antiferromagnets are expected to support only globally spin-neutral currents. Here, we demonstrate that these globally spin-neutral currents can represent the Néel spin currents, i.e., staggered spin currents flowing through different magnetic sublattices. The Néel spin currents emerge in antiferromagnets with strong intrasublattice coupling (hopping) and drive the spin-dependent transport phenomena such as tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) and spin-transfer torque (STT) in antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions (AFMTJs). Using RuO₂ and Fe₄GeTe₂ as representative antiferromagnets, we predict that the …

Preservice Elementary Teachers Conceptions And Self-Efficacy For Integrated Stem, Deepika Menon, Deef A. A. Shorman, Derek Cox, Amanda Thomas

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Educational reform efforts have emphasized preparing highly competent and confident preservice teachers to deliver effective K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) instruction. Self-efficacy is a key variable that influences motivation and performance, and therefore it is necessary to support the development of preservice teachers’ integrated STEM teaching self-efficacy. This mixed-methods study investigates how preservice elementary teachers’ integrated STEM teaching self-efficacy is shaped during their participation in a newly redesigned STEM semester consisting of three concurrent methods courses (science and engineering, mathematics, and technology methods courses). The quantitative data sources included the Self-efficacy for Teaching Integrated STEM instrument administered as …