Digital Commons Network^™

Thermal Tolerance Limits Of The Chinese Mystery Snail (Bellamya Chinensis): Implications For Management, Jessica L. Burnett, Kevin L. Pope, Alec Wong, Craig R. Allen, Danielle Haak, Bruce J. Stephen, Daniel R. Uden

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The Chinese mystery snail, Bellamya chinensis (Gray, 1834) is a gastropod native to East Asia and is considered an invasive species in North America where its impacts on native species and ecosystems are not well understood. Scientific literature describing its biology and life history are sparse. Thermal tolerance limits, or the maximum and minimum temperature under which a species can survive, are key to identifying the potential geographical range of a species. The ability of managers to control invasive species is directly impacted by the thermal tolerance limits of a species. We attempted to identify the thermal tolerance limits of …

The Effect Of Size On Juvenile Green Sturgeon (Acipenser Medirostris) Behavior Near Water-Diversion Fish Screens, Jamilynn B. Poletto, Dennis E. Cocherell, Natalie Ho, Joseph J. Cech Jr., A. Peter Klimley, Nann A. Fangue

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Anthropogenic water management projects and facilities that alter the local and regional hydrology of riverine environments greatly influence the behavior, physiology, and survival of native fishes. To mitigate for losses of native fishes at these structures, many are outfitted with fish-exclusion screens to reduce entrainment. The effect of fish size and age on behavior near fish screens, however, is largely unknown. Therefore, we tested two size classes of juvenile green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris; small, early juveniles: 9.2 ± 0.2 cm fork length [FL], 6.9 ± 0.3 g; intermediate juveniles: 18.8 ± 0.2 cm FL, 36.9 ± 0.8 g) …

Agroecology For The Shrinking City, Dustin L. Herrmann, Wen-Ching Chuang, Kristen Schawrz, Timothy M. Bowles, Ahjond S. Garmestani, William D. Shuster, Tarsha Eason, Matthew E. Hopton, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Many cities are experiencing long-term declines in population and economic activity. As a result, frameworks for urban sustainability need to address the unique challenges and opportunities of such shrinking cities. Shrinking, particularly in the U.S., has led to extensive vacant land. The abundance of vacant land reflects a loss of traditional urban amenities, economic opportunity, neighbors, businesses, and even basic city services and often occurs in neighborhoods with socially and economically vulnerable or underserved populations. However, vacant land also provides opportunities, including the space to invest in green infrastructure that can provide ecosystem services and support urban sustainability. Achieving desirable …

Historical Observations And Identifications Of Plants And Animals In The Vicinity Of Engineer Cantonment In 1819-1820, Hugh H. Genoways, Brett C. Ratcliffe, Carl R. Falk, John R. Bozell

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Historical observations and identifications of plants and animals in the vicinity of Engineer Cantonment in 1819–1820 (James 1822) are shown below in Roman and Roman italic print. Specimens identified through phytoarcheological and zooarcheological analysis of materials and believed to be reasonably associated or contemporaneous with the Long Expedition use of the site (AU4) are shown in boldface. Species present in both the historical and archeological data are marked by an asterisk (*). References used in this compilation include Benedict (1996), Brewer (1970 [1840]), Conant and Collins (1991), Ducey (2000), Evans (1997), Falk et al. (this volume), Genoways et al. (2008), …

Shift Work, Father Engagement, And The Cognitive Development Of Young Children, Matthew Weinshenker

Sociology Faculty Publications

The present study investigates whether the effect of fathers’ positive engagement on young children’s cognitive development is accentuated when one or both dual-earner parents is employed during non-standard hours. Longitudinal regression models are fitted to three waves of nationally-representative data from the Early Child Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. Father engagement when children are nine months old has an especially positive effect on children’s cognitive ability at age two when the father works during the day and the mother has a fixed evening or night shift. There are no interactions between shift work and engagement at age two in the whole sample, …

Distribution Of Glyphosate-Resistant Amaranthus Spp. In Nebraska, Bruno C. Vieira, Spencer L. Samuelson, Guilherme S. Alves, Todd A. Gaines, Rodrigo Werle, Greg Kruger

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

Background: Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats.), common waterhemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus var. rudis), and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) are major weeds occurring in fields throughout Nebraska with recurrent grower complaints regarding control with glyphosate. The objective of this study was to investigate the frequency and distribution of glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth, common waterhemp, and redroot pigweed populations in Nebraska. The study also aimed to investigate how agronomic practices influence the occurrence of glyphosate resistance in the three Amaranthus species.

Results: Glyphosate resistance was widespread in common waterhemp (81% of the screened populations), few Palmer amaranth …

Profitability Of Developing Beef Heifers On Stockpiled Winter Forages, Zachary David Mcfarlane, Chris Boyer, J. Travis Mulliniks

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

We estimate the profitability of developing heifers on one stockpiled cool-season grass and two stockpiled warm-season grasses during the winter months by comparing distributions of net present value (NPV) over an 11-year useful life. Furthermore, distributions of payback period and the break-even price for each calf over the heifer’s production life were generated for each forage species. These results are compared across forages as well as to a simulated drylot system for heifer development. Data comes from a grazing experiment in Tennessee, where heifers grazed big bluestem and Indian grass combination (BBIG), switchgrass (SW), or endophyte-infected tall fescue (TF) pastures. …

Seedbank Persistence Of Palmer Amaranth (Amaranthus Palmeri) And Waterhemp (Amaranthus Tuberculatus) Across Diverse Geographical Regions In The United States, Nicholas E. Korres, Jason K. Norsworthy, Bryan G. Young, Daniel B. Reynolds, William G. Johnson, Shawn P. Conley, Reid J. Smeda, Thomas C. Mueller, Douglas J. Spaunhorst, Karla L. Gage, Mark Loux, Greg R. Kruger, Muthukumar V. Bagavathiannan

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

Knowledge of the effects of burial depth and burial duration on seed viability and, consequently, seedbank persistence of Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson) and waterhemp [Amaranthus tuberculatus (Moq.) J. D. Sauer] ecotypes can be used for the development of efficient weed management programs. This is of particular interest, given the great fecundity of both species and, consequently, their high seedbank replenishment potential. Seeds of both species collected from five different locations across the United States were investigated in seven states (sites) with different soil and climatic conditions. Seeds were placed at two depths (0 and 15cm) for …

Nebline, January 2018

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Extension 2017 Highlights

Food & Health

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Early Childhood

and other extension news and events

Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 2018-2019, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

Academic Learning Compacts

The Academic Learning Compact for 2018-2019 for the Bachelor's of Arts in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.

Biology, 2018-2019, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

Academic Learning Compacts

The Academic Learning Compact for 2018-2019 for the Bachelor's of Science in Biology.

Anthropology, 2018-2019, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

Academic Learning Compacts

The Academic Learning Compact for 2018-2019 for the Bachelor's of Arts in Anthropology.

Expression Of The Microrna-143/145 Cluster Is Decreased In Hepatitis B Virus-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma And May Serve As A Biomarker For Tumorigenesis In Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B, Qi Zhao, Xiangfei Sun, Chao Liu, Tao Li, Juan Cui, Chengyong Qin

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

The aims of the present study were to identify the expression profile of microRNA (miR)‑143/145 in hepatitis B virus (HBV)‑associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), explore its association with prognosis and investigate whether the serum miR‑143/145 expression levels may serve as a diagnostic indicator of HBV‑associated HCC. The microRNA (miRNA) chromatin immunoprecipitation dataset was obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus databases, and analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed‑rank test. It was observed that the expression of miR‑143 and miR‑145 was decreased 1.5‑fold in HBV‑associated HCC samples compared with non‑tumor tissue in the TCGA and the GSE22058 datasets …

Astrocyte Ev-Induced Lincrna-Cox2 Regulates Microglial Phagocytosis: Implications For Morphine-Mediated Neurodegeneration, Guoku Hu, Ke Liao, Fang Niu, Lu Yang, Blake W. Dallon, Shannon E. Callen, Changhai Tian, Jiang Shu, Juan Cui, Zhiqiang Sun, Yuri L. Lyubchenko, Minhan Ka, Xian-Ming Chen, Shilpa Buch

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Impairment of microglial functions, such as phagocytosis and/ or dysregulation of immune responses, has been implicated as an underlying factor involved in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative disorders. Our previous studies have demonstrated that long intergenic noncoding RNA (lincRNA)-Cox2 expression is influenced by nuclear factor kB (NF-kB) signaling and serves as a coactivator of transcriptional factors to regulate the expression of a vast array of immune- related genes in microglia. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been recognized as primary facilitators of cell-to-cell communication and cellular regulation. Herein, we show that EVs derived from astrocytes exposed to morphine can be taken up …

An Information-Theoretic Framework For Evaluating Edge Bundling Visualization, Jieting Wu, Feiyu Zhu, Xin Liu, Hongfeng Yu

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Edge bundling is a promising graph visualization approach to simplifying the visual result of a graph drawing. Plenty of edge bundling methods have been developed to generate diverse graph layouts. However, it is difficult to defend an edge bundling method with its resulting layout against other edge bundling methods as a clear theoretic evaluation framework is absent in the literature. In this paper, we propose an information-theoretic framework to evaluate the visual results of edge bundling techniques. We first illustrate the advantage of edge bundling visualizations for large graphs, and pinpoint the ambiguity resulting from drawing results. Second, we define …

Computational Linguistics Techniques For The Study Of Ancient Languages, Peter Z. Revesz

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

This paper presents a grammatical comparison of the Minoan language with the proto-Ugric and proto- Hungarian languages. Recent research showed that these languages are closely related, but this paper presents a novel grammatical comparison. The grammatical comparison shows the Minoan language to have an agglutinative type of grammar, with a CVCV type root word structure. The Minoan language also features assimilation between the word roots and the suffixes and a possessive phrase structure that is similar to that in Hungarian.

A Comparative Analysis Of Motifs From Minoan And Hungarian Folk Art, Peter Z. Revesz

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

This paper presents a similarity measure for motives. The similarity measure is applied to several ceramic and metal artifacts that contain spiral motives. The similarity measure shows a particularly strong similarity between some Minoan and Hungarian ceramics.

Anisotropy And Phonon Modes From Analysis Of The Dielectric Function Tensor And The Inverse Dielectric Function Tensor Of Monoclinic Yttrium Orthosilicate, Alyssa Mock, Rafal Korlacki, Sean Knight, Mathias Schubert

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

We determine the frequency dependence of the four independent Cartesian tensor elements of the dielectric function for monoclinic symmetry Y₂SiO₅ using generalized spectroscopic ellipsometry from 40–1200 cm⁻¹. Three different crystal cuts, each perpendicular to a principle axis, are investigated. We apply our recently described augmentation of lattice anharmonicity onto the eigendielectric displacement vector summation approach [A.Mock et al., Phys. Rev. B 95, 165202 (2017)], and we present and demonstrate the application of an eigendielectric displacement loss vector summation approach with anharmonic broadening. We obtain an excellent match between all measured and model-calculated dielectric …

Efficient One‑Step Fusion Pcr Based On Dual‑Asymmetric Primers And Two‑Step Annealing, Yilan Liu, Jinjin Chen, Anders Thygesen

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Gene splicing by fusion PCR is a versatile and widely used methodology, especially in synthetic biology. We here describe a rapid method for splicing two fragments by one-round fusion PCR with a dual-asymmetric primers and two-step annealing (ODT) method. During the process, the asymmetric intermediate fragments were generated in the early stage. Thereafter, they were hybridized in the subsequent cycles to serve as template for the target full-length product. The process parameters such as primer ratio, elongation temperature and cycle numbers were optimized. In addition, the fusion products produced with this method were successfully applied in seamless genome editing. The …

A Scalable And Efficient Bioprocess For Manufacturing Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Endothelial Cells, Haishuang Lin, Qian Du, Qiang Li, Ou Wang, Zhanqi Wang, Neety Sahu, Christian Elowsky, Kan Liu, Chi Zhang, Soonkyu Chung, Bin Duan, Yuguo Lei

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Endothelial cells (ECs) are of great value for cell therapy, tissue engineering, and drug discovery. Obtaining high-quantity and -quality ECs remains very challenging. Here, we report a method for the scalable manufacturing of ECs from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). hPSCs are expanded and differentiated into ECs in a 3D thermoreversible PNIPAAm-PEG hydrogel. The hydrogel protects cells from hydrodynamic stresses in the culture vessel and prevents cells from excessive agglomeration, leading to high-culture efficiency including high-viability (>90%), high-purity (>80%), and high-volumetric yield (2.0 x 10⁷ cells/mL). These ECs (i.e., 3D-ECs) had similar properties as ECs made using …

Information Theory And Cognition: A Review, Khalid Sayood

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

We examine how information theory has been used to study cognition over the last seven decades. After an initial burst of activity in the 1950s, the backlash that followed stopped most work in this area. The last couple of decades has seen both a revival of interest, and a more firmly grounded, experimentally justified use of information theory. We can view cognition as the process of transforming perceptions into information—where we use information in the colloquial sense of the word. This last clarification is one of the problems we run into when trying to use information theoretic principles to understand …

Commencement Program, 2018, Cuny John Jay College Of Criminal Justice

Reports and Publications from John Jay College

Commencement Programs are handed out at each graduation. They include information on honorary degrees, awards and prizes and candidates for degree. However, they cannot be considered an official record of conferring of degrees.

Paying Patients: Legal And Ethical Dimensions, Govind Persad

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This Article explores the implications for medical care of a debate that is more familiar in the law and ethics of human subjects research: whether people should be paid to receive or decline medical interventions, or to reach certain health objectives. It examines the legal and ethical issues such payments raise, and considers various actors who might make such payments, including governments, employers, insurers, care providers, and private parties. It argues for two interrelated conclusions: first, that these payments should not be subject to blanket normative condemnation, and, second, that payments made in different settings and contexts frequently share underlying …

The Bot Legal Code: Developing A Legally Compliant Artificial Intelligence, Edmund Mokhtarian

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The advent of sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) agents, or bots, raises the question: How do we ensure that these bots act appropriately? Within a decade, AI will be ubiquitous, with billions of active bots influencing nearly every industry and daily activity. Given the extensiveness of AI activity, it will be nearly impossible to explicitly program bots with detailed instructions on permitted and prohibited actions, particularly as they face unpredictable, novel situations. Rather, if risks to humans are to be mitigated, bots must have some overriding moral or legal compass--a set of "AI Laws"--to allow them to adapt to whatever scenarios …

"There Is Another Kingdom": On The Politics Of Virtue, Tracey Rowland

Philosophy Papers and Journal Articles

No abstract available for this article.

Imsa360: Spring 2018, Imsa Fund

IMSA Fund Reports

IMSA is a leader in educating and developing a diverse STEM pipeline of creative, ethical, and scientific innovators for Illinois and the world. We aspire to become a recognized global leader and catalyst in equity and excellence in STEM teaching and learning, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Excerpt: From the President

Aquinas’ De Malo And The Ostensibly Problematic Status Of Natural Evil As Privation, Iñaki Xavier Larrauri Pertierra

Aristos

Arguments concerning the nature of natural evil vary in their conclusions depending on the particular approach with which they commence inquiry; one of the most contested conclusions regards evil as privation, sourcing its justification primarily from Aquinas’ metaphysical conception of good as being and evil as non-being. It should be of no surprise, then, that the dismissal of natural evil’s privative nature comes about when the understanding of natural evil favours a phenomenological approach rather than a metaphysical one. Proponents of said dismissal generally centre their claims around the notion of pain and suffering as substantially contentful – as in, …

Christianity And The Law: Trial Separation Or Acrimonious Divorce?, Michael Quinlan

Law Papers and Journal Articles

This article considers the relationship between Christianity and the law in Australia beginning with the arrival of the First Fleet and the declaration of the Swan River Colony. It examines in some detail the influence of the Western legal tradition and of Christianity on the jurisprudence relating to one elemental aspect of Western society: marriage. It considers the make-up of contemporary Australia, contemporary attitudes to religion and the relationship between law and religion in Australia. The article concludes that the once close relationship between law and religion may be better described today not as a trial separation but as an …

Rest Upregulates Gremlin To Modulate Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma Vasculature, Shavali Shaik, Bridget Kennis, Shinji Maegawa, Keri Schadler, Yang Yanwen, Javad Nazarian, +Several Additional Authors

Genomics and Precision Medicine Faculty Publications

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a highly aggressive glial tumor that occurs in children. The extremely poor median and 5-year survival in children afflicted with DIPG highlights the need for novel biology-driven therapeutics. Here, we have implicated the chromatin remodeler and regulator of brain development called RE1 Silencing Transcription Factor (REST), in DIPG pathology. We show that REST protein is aberrantly elevated in at least 21% of DIPG tumors compared to normal controls. Its knockdown in DIPG cell lines diminished cell growth and decreased their tumorigenicity in mouse intracranial models. DIPGs are vascularized tumors and interestingly, REST loss in …

Sodium Bicarbonate Cotransporter Nbce2 Gene Variants Increase Sodium And Bicarbonate Transport In Human Renal Proximal Tubule Cells., John J Gildea, Peng Xu, Brandon A Kemp, Julia M Carlson, Hanh T Tran, Dora Bigler Wang, Christophe J Langouët-Astrié, Helen E Mcgrath, Robert M Carey, Pedro A Jose, Robin A Felder

Medicine Faculty Publications

RATIONALE: Salt sensitivity of blood pressure affects >30% of the hypertensive and >15% of the normotensive population. Variants of the electrogenic sodium bicarbonate cotransporter NBCe2 gene, SLC4A5, are associated with increased blood pressure in several ethnic groups. SLC4A5 variants are also highly associated with salt sensitivity, independent of hypertension. However, little is known about how NBCe2 contributes to salt sensitivity, although NBCe2 regulates renal tubular sodium bicarbonate transport. We hypothesized that SLC4A5 rs10177833 and rs7571842 increase NBCe2 expression and human renal proximal tubule cell (hRPTC) sodium transport and may be a cause of salt sensitivity of blood pressure.

OBJECTIVE: To …