Digital Commons Network^™

2011 Across-Breed Epd Table, Larry Kuehn, Mark Thallman

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

The table of adjustment factors to be used to estimate across-breed expected progeny differences (AB-EPDs) for eighteen breeds was presented at the Beef Improvement Federation Annual Meeting in Bozeman, MT, on June 2 (see Table 1). Across-breed adjustment factors have been calculated for growth traits and maternal milk since 1993. Adjustment factors for carcass traits have been calculated since 2009; to be included, breeds must have carcass data in the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) database and report their carcass EPDs on an actual carcass basis using an age-adjusted endpoint. Bulls of different breeds can be compared on the …

Patterns Of Widespread Decline In North American Bumble Bees, Sidney A. Cameron, Jeffrey D. Lozier, James P. Strange, Jonathan B. Koch, Nils Cordes, Leellen F. Solter, Terry L. Griswold

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

Bumble bees (Bombus) are vitally important pollinators of wild plants and agricultural crops worldwide. Fragmentary observations, however, have suggested population declines in several North American species. Despite rising concern over these observations in the United States, highlighted in a recent National Academy of Sciences report, a national assessment of the geographic scope and possible causal factors of bumble bee decline is lacking. Here, we report results of a 3-y interdisciplinary study of changing distributions, population genetic structure, and levels of pathogen infection in bumble bee populations across the United States. We compare current and historical distributions of eight species, compiling …

Comparative Cryopreservation Of Avian Spermatozoa: Benefits Of Non-Permeating Osmoprotectants And Atp On Turkey And Crane Sperm Cryosurvival, Juan M. Blanco, Julie A. Long, George Gee, David E. Wildt, Ann M. Donoghue

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

A comparative approach was used to evaluate the cryosurvival of turkey and crane sperm frozen in a dimethylacetamide (DMA) cryodiluent supplemented with osmoprotectants and ATP. A range (6–26%) of DMA concentrations was used alone or in combination with ATP (30, 60 or 118mM) or one of the following osmoprotectants: (1) sucrose (turkey, 8.0%; crane, 5.0%); (2) 5.0% sucrose and 5.0% trehalose; or (3) betaine hydrochloride (0.1, 0.2 or 0.4 mM). The viability of thawed sperm was assessed using the nigrosin–eosin stain and sperm motility was determined using the hanging-drop technique. For semen frozen only with DMA, post-thaw sperm motility was …

Carbon Exchange By Establishing Biofuel Crops In Central Illinois, Marcelo Zeri, Kristina Anderson-Teixeira, George Hickman, Michael Masters, Evan Delucia, Carl J. Bernacchi

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

Perennial grass bio-fuels may contribute to long-term carbon sequestration in soils, thereby providing a broad range of environmental benefits. To quantify those benefits, the carbon balance was investigated over three perennial grass bio-fuel crops – miscanthus (Miscanthus×giganteus), switch-grass (Panicum virgatum) and a mixture of native prairie plants – and a row crop control (maize–maize–soy) in Central Illinois, USA, during the establishment phase of the perennial grasses (2008–2011). The eddy covariance technique was used to calculate fluxes of carbon dioxide and energy balance components, such as latent and sensible heat fluxes. Whereas maize attained the highest maximal …

Saving The Sagebrush Sea: An Ecosystem Conservation Plan For Big Sagebrush Plant Communities, Kirk W. Davies, Chad S. Boyd, Jeffrey L. Beck, Jon D. Bates, Tony J. Svejcar, Michael A. Gregg

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

Vegetation change and anthropogenic development are altering ecosystems and decreasing biodiversity. Successful management of ecosystems threatened by multiple stressors requires development of ecosystem conservation plans rather than single species plans. We selected the big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) ecosystem to demonstrate this approach. The area occupied by the sagebrush ecosystem is declining and becoming increasingly fragmented at an alarming rate because of conifer encroachment, exotic annual grass invasion, and anthropogenic development. This is causing rangewide declines and localized extirpations of sagebrush associated fauna and flora. To develop an ecosystem conservation plan, a synthesis of existing knowledge is …

Effects Of Transmission Gear Selection On Tractor Performance And Fuel Costs During Deep Tillage Operations, C.M. Kichler, J.P. Fulton, R.L. Raper, T.P. Mcdonald, W.C. Zech

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

Deep tillage operations required to alleviate soil compaction common in the Southeastern US remain energy intensive and expensive. Equipment performance and in-field efficiency are two variables that can be improved to minimize fuel consumption and ultimately reduce input costs for crop production. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of transmission gear selection on fuel costs, draft, and other equipment performance variables using two deep tillage implements. Three different transmission gears were selected which represented slow, normal, and fast operating speeds for two typical in-row, integral subsoilers (KMC generation I rip-strip and Bigham Brothers Paratill^TM). …

Differentially Expressed Genes In Populus Simonii×Populus Nigra In Response To Nacl Stress Using Cdna-Aflp, Lei Wang, Boru Zhou, Lili Wu, Baozhu Guo, Tingbo Jiang

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

Salinity is an important environmental factor limiting growth and productivity of plants, and affects almost every aspect of the plant physiology and biochemistry. The objective of this study was to apply cDNA-AFLP and to identify differentially expressed genes in response to NaCl stress vs. no-stress in Populus simonii × Populus nigra in order to develop genetic resources for genetic improvement. Selective amplification with 64 primer combinations allowed the visualization of 4407 transcript-derived fragments (TDFs), and 2027 were differentially expressed. Overall, 107 TDFs were re-sequenced successfully, and 86 unique sequences were identified in 10 functional categories based on their putative functions. …

Methodologies For Simulating Impacts Of Climate Change On Crop Production, Jeffrey W. White, Gerrit Hoogenboom, Bruce A. Kimball, Gerard W. Wall

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

Ecophysiological models are widely used to forecast potential impacts of climate change on future agricultural productivity and to examine options for adaptation by local stakeholders and policy makers. However, protocols followed in such assessments vary to such an extent that they constrain cross-study syntheses and increase the potential for bias in projected impacts. We reviewed 221 peer-reviewed papers that used crop simulation models to examine diverse aspects of how climate change might affect agricultural systems. Six subject areas were examined: target crops and regions; the crop model(s) used and their characteristics; sources and application of data on [CO₂] …

Evaluation Of Waxy Grain Sorghum For Ethanol Production, Shuping Yan, Xiaorong Wu, Scott R. Bean, Jeffery F. Pedersen, Tesfaye Tesso, Yuanhong Chen, Donghai Wang

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

The objective of this research was to investigate the fermentation performance of waxy grain sorghum for ethanol production. Twenty-five waxy grain sorghum varieties were evaluated with a laboratory dry-grind procedure. Total starch and amylose contents were measured following colorimetric procedures. Total starch and amylose contents ranged from 65.4 to 76.3% and from 5.5 to 7.3%, respectively. Fermentation efficiencies were in the range of 86.0-92.2%, corresponding to ethanol yields of 2.61-3.03 gallons/bushel. The advantages of using waxy sorghums for ethanol production include easier gelatinization and low viscosity during liquefaction, higher starch and protein digestibility, higher free amino nitrogen (FAN) content, and …

Anointing Chemicals And Hematophagous Arthropods: Responses By Ticks And Mosquitoes To Citrus (Rutaceae) Peel Exudates And Monoterpene Components, Paul J. Weldon, John F. Carroll, Matthew H. Kramer, Robert H. Bedoukian, Russell E. Coleman, Ulrich R. Bernier

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

Some birds and mammals roll on or wipe themselves with the fruits or leaves of Citrus spp. or other Rutaceae. These anointing behaviors, as with anointing in general, are thought to function in the topical acquisition of chemicals that deter consumers, including hematophagous arthropods. We measured avoidance and other responses by nymphal lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) and adult female yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) to lemon peel exudate and to 24 volatile monoterpenes (racemates and isomers), including hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, acetates, ketones, and oxides, present in citrus fruits and leaves in order to examine their …

Reflectance-Based Nitrogen Fertilizer Management For Irrigated Cotton, Kevin F. Bronson

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

Water and nitrogen are the first and second constraints to cotton production in the arid southwestern U.S, respectively (Morrow and Krieg, 1990). Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) area in cottonland is currently estimated at 300,000 ac, and is growing (Jim Bordovsky, personal communication). Efficiency of water application to cotton in SDI systems is about 90% (Bordovsky and Lyle, 1998). However, N management research for cotton in SDI has not kept up with the water management research. Improving N fertilizer use efficiency would allow lower rates of N fertilizer to be used by producers without hurting lint yields. The reduced costs of …

Nitrous Oxide Emissions From Several Nitrogen Sources Applied To A Strip-Tilled Corn Field, Ardell Halvorson, Stephen J. Del Grosso, Claudia Pozzi Jantalia

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

We evaluated the effects of nitrogen (N) source on nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from a clay loam soil that was in strip-tilled (ST), irrigated continuous corn production in 2010 near Fort Collins, CO. Emissions were monitored from six different inorganic N fertilizer sources (urea, ESN¹, SuperU, UAN, UAN+AgrotainPlus, UAN+Nfusion). Each N source was applied at a rate of 202 kg N/ha, surface band applied near the corn row and watered into the soil the day after application including a subsurface band application of ESN (ESNssb). A check treatment (no N applied since 2000) located in separate …

The Importance Of Effective Listening Skills: Implications For The Workplace And Dealing With Difficult People, Amy Ogrodnik Sullivan Ma

All Student Scholarship

A survey of University of Southern Maine (USM) employees was conducted to identify the importance of the leadership skill, effective listening, in supervisors and supervisees, and to evaluate its implications in the workplace, specifically when dealing with difficult people in everyday interactions. USM employees were asked their opinions about the importance of effective listening skills, their perceptions of their own effective listening skills as well as those of their coworkers, experiences of dealing with difficult people in the workplace, and the importance of training regarding these skills for leadership and general work performance. Results of the qualitative and quantitative survey …

Notice And Takedown, Here And Abroad, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act has been around for more than a dozen years now. Some of its provisions were just weird, such as the one that established sui generis protection for boat hull designs. Others have had a skeptical reception in the courts, like the anti-circumvention provisions that forbid certain forms of hacking through technological protections for copyrighted works.

But one DMCA provision that has proved popular in both the copyright community and the courts is the notice-and-takedown procedure codified at 17 U.S.C. § 512(c). When a copyright owner finds that some Internet user has illegally posted its copyrighted …

Identity Negotiating: Redefining Stigmatized Identities Through Adaptive Sports And Recreation Participation Among Individuals With A Disability, Neil R. Lundberg, Stacy Taniguchi, Bryan P. Mccormick, Catherine Tibbs

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate the meanings and outcomes of adaptive sport and recreation participation among individuals with disabilities. In-depth open-ended interviews were conducted with 17 individuals. Analysis of the data followed qualitative data analysis and classical grounded theory utilizing line by line coding, identification of emergent themes, and identification of a core category grounded in the data. Results indicated that participants felt stigmatized and stereotyped, but their adaptive sports and recreation participation provided them with opportunities to build social networks, experience freedom and success, positively compare themselves with others without disabilities, and feel a sense of …

Spectrum 2011, Saint Mary's College Of California

The Undergraduate Spectrum

No abstract provided.

Polygamy, Publicity, And Locality: The Place Of The Public In Marriage Practice, Allison Anna Tait

Law Faculty Publications

This Article offers a reading of State v. Holm that highlights the Utah court's struggle to define marriage and presents the court's eventual definition of marriage as one that is based on visual indicators.

Faculty Salary Scale 2011-2012, Saint Mary's College Of California

SMC Salary Scale

No abstract provided.

The Recent Amendments To Ucc Article 9: Problems And Solutions, David Frisch

Law Faculty Publications

This article examines three of the forthcoming amendments to Article 9 in some detail: (1) the required name of an individual on a financing statement; (2) the perfection of collateral following the debtor's relocation to a new jurisdiction; and (3) collateral acquired by a new debtor. In the interest of brevity, the discussion of other, less noteworthy, amendments of the statutory text and Official Comments is not as complete. The primary purpose of this article is to off er guidance to legal professionals confronting particular issues under current and future Article 9.

Cost And Sentencing: Some Pragmatic And Institutional Doubts, Chad Flanders

All Faculty Scholarship

In 2010, the Missouri Sentencing Commission recommended that, in addition to offense and offender characteristics, the pre-sentencing reports prepared for the sentencing judges should also include the costs of various possible sentences. In this brief essay, I focus mainly the pragmatic case for considering cost as a factor in judicial sentencing, asking about what goals adding cost is supposed to achieve, and whether it will in fact achieve those goals. I ask three questions in particular: (1) Will including cost in the Missouri Sentencing Assessment Reports (SARs) actually change judicial behavior in the ways supporters of the reform favor? (2) …

How Do You Spell M-U-R-K-O-W-S-K-I? Part I: The Question Of Assistance To The Voter, Chad Flanders

All Faculty Scholarship

The 2010 race for the Alaska Senate now seems to be over. After losing in the Republican Party Primary to Tea Party-backed candidate Joe Miller, Senator Lisa Murkowski staged a write-in candidacy and, bucking both U.S. and Alaska history, won the general election. Although much attention has been paid to Miller’s post-election challenges to Murkowski write-in ballots, a major election law question was at issue prior to the election: to what extent can poll workers assist voters who need help in voting for a write-in candidate?

After Murkowski declared her write-in candidacy, the Alaska Division of Elections distributed a list …

Downstream Copyright Infringers, Yvette Joy Liebesman

All Faculty Scholarship

The advent of on-line music sales has been a boon to the recording industry as well as for musicians and the general public. Previously unknown artists have found new avenues to showcase their work, and consumers have easy access to an enormous variety of musical genres.

Yet an unintended consequence of the ability to sell songs through internet downloads is a novel, and until now, unnoticed way to infringe on copyrights - which, unless remedied, could lead to new classes of defendants never contemplated or desired to be ensnared in the Copyright Act’s protections for artists, musicians and authors. Unlike …

Report To Parliament - On The Readiness Of First Nations Communities And Organizations To Comply With The Canadian Human Rights Act, Naiomi Metallic

Reports & Public Policy Documents

Enacted in 1977, the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) aims to ensure equality of opportunity and freedom from discrimination in federal jurisdiction. At the time that the CHRA was passed, however, it was understood that adjustments would have to be made before the federal government and First Nations operating under the Indian Act could be fully compliant with the new law. As a result, section 67 of the CHRA explicitly shielded the federal government and First Nations community governments from complaints of discrimination relating to actions arising from or pursuant to the Indian Act. This was intended to be a …

In Search Of Satanists Examining The Accounts Of Deviant Religious Practitioners, Chris P. Mcdaniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the glut of literature focusing on numerous aspects of mainline American religious life, there is a surprising dearth of information regarding deviant religious practitioners. Importantly, there remains a lack of focus on the specificities of religious and spiritual deviance, and the accounts of those who engage in such practices. This exploratory study closely examines the members of one such religion; specifically, the Church of Satan. Despite the stigma associated with Satanism, individuals continue to willfully engage in such practices. Research uses face-toface, semi-structured interviews to better discern the rationale behind Satanic worship as understood by modern-day believers. Particular attention …

The History Of Intellectual Property Taxation: Promoting Innovation And Other Intellectual Property Goals?, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine

Faculty Publications

An important issue deserving scholarly attention concerns the proper role of the federal tax system in achieving intellectual property law's innovation objectives. The article traces the historic development of the specific tax rules governing intellectual property, identifies present areas of policy dissonance in the intersection of intellectual property and taxation, and calls for an appropriate legal framework for future intellectual property tax legislation.

Our Theories, Ourselves: Hierarchies Of Place And Status In U.S. Academia, Karen M. Morin, Tamar Rothenberg

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

The Acute Toxicity Of The Death Camas (Zigadenus Species) Alkaloid Zygacine In Mice, Including The Effect Of The Methyllycaconitine Coadministration On Zygacine Toxicity, K. D. Welch, K. E. Panter, D. R. Gardner, B. L. Stegelmeier, B. T. Green, J. A. Pfister, D. Cook

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

Death camas (Zigadenus spp.) is a common poisonous plant on foothill rangelands in western North America. The steroidal alkaloid zygacine is believed to be the primary toxic component in death camas. Poisonings on rangelands generally occur in the spring when death camas is abundant, whereas other more desirable forage species are limited in availability. In most cases where livestock are poisoned by plants in a range setting, there is more than one potential poisonous plant in that area. One common poisonous plant that is often found growing simultaneously in the same area as death camas is low larkspur ( …

Poema Of Lieutenant Schmidt’S End: Pasternak’S Dialogue With Tsvetaeva Through The Prism Of Genre., Ludmila Lavine

Faculty Journal Articles

Boris Pasternak’s poemy are acutely self-conscious of their place in the epic tradition. Lieutenant Schmidt (LS) represents one attempt at exploring the parameters of the poema itself as the poet makes a “difficult” transition from “lyric thinking” to “the epic.” In this article I examine this transition against a contemporaneous example in the genre, Tsvetaeva’s Poema of the End (PE). In LS, structural elements of the poema are counterposed to those of PE. While PE amplifies the individual voice, LS muffles what is personal for the sake of the public voice. While PE is atemporal, LS is historical. While PE …

Comparing Media Coverage Of The Gulf Oil Spill In The Us And Uk Implications For Global Crisis Communication, Sarah Crytzer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following research is a content analysis of 114 articles written by the American and British news media outlets in the first month following the BP Gulf oil spill in April 2010. The goal of the research was to identify any dominant frames evident in the reports and to compare the two countries to see if there was a difference in the dominant frames used. Positive, negative, and neutral tones were also evaluated to determine if there was a difference between the countries. The results show that both countries reports predominantly used an ecology and action frame, while British media …

Social Justice And Common Good: What Are They For?, Thomas Hughson

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.