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Annual Report: Nebraska Extension In Lancaster County, January 1, 2023 Through December 31, 2023

Lancaster County, Nebraska Extension: Reports

Lancaster County Extension information from 2023. Contents include:

1) About Extension - Lancaster County Extension mission statement, overview and impact reports;

2) Staff and Programs - staff directory and Extension Educator annual program summaries;

3) Financials - summaries of 2022-2023 budget expenditures and fiscal year 2023-2024 budget; and

4) Media - website and social media information, samples of our Nebline newsletter and local newspaper articles.

Wpa News 122 (2023), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Winter 2023), number 122

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Towards Modeling Human Attention From Eye Movements For Neural Source Code Summarization, Aakash Bansal, Bonita Sharif, Collin Mcmillan

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Neural source code summarization is the task of generating natural language descriptions of source code behavior using neural networks. A fundamental component of most neural models is an attention mechanism. The attention mechanism learns to connect features in source code to specific words to use when generating natural language descriptions. Humans also pay attention to some features in code more than others. This human attention reflects experience and high-level cognition well beyond the capability of any current neural model. In this paper, we use data from published eye-tracking experiments to create a model of this human attention. The model predicts …

Interspecific Oral Rabies Vaccine Bait Competition In The Southeast United States, Wesley C. Dixon, Jacob E. Hill, Richard Chipman, Amy J. Davis, Amy Gilbert, James C. Beasley, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Guha Dharmarajan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Rabies Management Program (NRMP) has coordinated the use of oral rabies vaccination (ORV) to control the spread of raccoon rabies virus variant west of the Appalachian Mountains since 1997. Working with state and local partners, the NRMP deploys ORV baits containing a rabies vaccine, primarily targeting raccoon populations (Procyon lotor). Bait competition between raccoons and non-target species may limit the effectiveness of ORV programs, but the extent of bait competition remains poorly quantified, particularly in the southeastern United States. We placed placebo ORV baits in bottomland hardwood (n = 637 baits) and upland …

Foreword: Symbiotic Perspectives On The Processes Of Biology And Art, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Process Epistemologies For The Careful Interplay Of Art And Biology: An Afterword, S. R. Gilbert, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Scarlet Letter "E": How Tenancy Screening Policies Exacerbate Housing Inequity For Evicted Black Women, Yvette N.A. Pappoe

Journal Articles

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an unprecedented health and economic crisis in the United States. In addition to more than nine hundred thousand deaths in the United States and counting, another kind of crisis emerged from the pandemic: an eviction crisis. In August 2020, an estimated thirty to forty million people in America were at risk of facing eviction by the end of the year. Black women renters faced a higher risk of losing their homes than other groups. At the onset of the pandemic, the federal government implemented eviction moratoria to prevent the evictions of tenants who were unable …

Rnai-Mediated Gene Silencing In The Exotic Redbay Ambrosia Beetle, Xyleborus Glabratus, And Insect-Fungal Interactions Within The Laurel Wilt Complex, Morgan Christine Knutsen

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Laurel wilt disease (LWD) is a lethal vascular disease impacting lauraceous hosts caused by Harringtonia lauricola, the fungal symbiont of the redbay ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus Eichoff) (RAB) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). LWD has caused tree mortality throughout the southeastern United States and is continuing to spread into new regions. Current management methods have not been successful in preventing spread, warranting investigation into innovative techniques including RNA interference (RNAi).

Elongation factor-1 alpha (ef1a) and actin (act) were established as stably expressed reference genes after exposing beetles to different photoperiod, temperature, and dsRNA exposure. After RAB oral …

Linking Previous Experiences To Behavior And Health In The Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera), Rebecca R. Westwick

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

An organism’s ability to respond to changing conditions can be vital to its success. Indeed, plasticity is a common feature of living organisms. Much of the research in this area, though, has focused on effects caused by environmental conditions. What has received relatively less attention is how social experiences and broader features of an organism’s social environment can lead to long-lasting changes in health and behavior. This knowledge gap exists despite the well-documented existence of health and behavioral effects after social interactions in certain taxa such as humans.

Social insects such as honey bees provide an excellent opportunity to better …

Evaluating Microlearning Strategies In The Corporate Environment: A Comparative Mixed Methods Study Using The Kirkpatrick Model, Megan Laird Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Corporate training and development, despite their significance as primary learning strategies for adults, have received limited research attention. This study addresses this gap by evaluating and comparing the effectiveness of video-based and digital job aid procedural-based microlearning in a corporate setting, utilizing most of the Kirkpatrick Model: learner satisfaction, knowledge retention, and behavior change. Employing a mixed methods approach to gain a comprehensive understanding of microlearning’s application and potential for improving business outcomes, the study incorporates pre- and post-tests, participant interviews, and self-reported questionnaires. Thirty participants completed the study, with equal representation (15 participants each) for both modalities, and interviews …

Institute Of Public Health Newsletter- Volume5, Issue1, Institute Of Public Health (Iph)

Institute of Public Health Newsletter (IPHNL) and Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Reproductive Justice And Feminism: A Comparative Legal Analysis Of The Policies And Healthcare Systems In The United States And Colombia, Samantha Cooke

Modern Languages, Philosophy and Classics Theses

This thesis seeks to offer a comparative legal analysis of the state of the laws regarding abortion and reproductive autonomy in the United States of America and Colombia. This thesis will first address a brief history of feminism and its origins in the United States and Colombia. It will also analyze the policies held by each respective nation; starting with old legislation and moving to current policies regarding abortion. It will also include a comparison between both the U.S. and Colombia; offering suggestions for the future with regards to potential policy changes. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate …

Bilingualism: Bringing World Language To The Youth, Kyle Villella

Modern Languages, Philosophy and Classics Theses

This research thesis focuses on world language education in the United States, more specifically, in the state of Rhode Island. In a changing world, learning a second language is key to creating more culturally competent citizens of the world. This thesis pushes for world language education in elementary schools, particularly in first grade. The first section of the thesis focuses on the reasoning behind beginning this education and how a child’s brain is more capable of second language learning This thesis then looks into how this style of education can be successful and the best pedagogical approaches. It analyzes how …

Methods For Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Of Biomphalaria Glabrata Nf-Κb, Marissa A. Zintel

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Biomphalaria glabrata is a species of freshwater snail that is an intermediate host to the parasite Schistosoma mansoni, a causative agent of human schistosomiasis. Substantial research has focused on the B. glabrata immune system, but progress is restricted by the limited molecular tools available for molluscan organisms. While many studies have described the anti-parasitic defenses of B. glabrata, the initiation and regulation of these defenses remain unclear. One important immune regulator, well known in both human and Drosophila immunology, is nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). Research has shown that B. glabrata NF-κB transcripts are upregulated in response to …

Gangliogenesis And Embryonic Development In Biomphalaria Glabrata, Subhiksha Srinivasan

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Biomphalaria glabrata is an intermediate host for a parasitic species, Schistosoma mansoni, which can infect humans causing schistosomiasis. The majority of research conducted on these snails focuses on host-parasite relationships. Thus, very little is known regarding their nervous system, especially during embryonic and juvenile development. This project aims to investigate the transition from the embryonic nervous system consisting of a network of neurons to a developed ganglionic nervous system consisting of a separation between clusters of nerve cell bodies, or ganglia, and connectives. To investigate when this process, known as gangliogenesis, occurs, immunofluorescence is used to visualize the serotonergic nervous …

Lipids And Lipoproteins May Play A Role In The Neuropathology Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Omer Akyol, Sumeyya Akyol, Mei-Chuan Chou, Shioulan Chen, Ching-Kuan Liu, Salih Selek, Jair C Soares, Chu-Huang Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other classes of dementia are important public health problems with overwhelming social, physical, and financial effects for patients, society, and their families and caregivers. The pathophysiology of AD is poorly understood despite the extensive number of clinical and experimental studies. The brain's lipid-rich composition is linked to disturbances in lipid homeostasis, often associated with glucose and lipid abnormalities in various neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. Moreover, elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels may be related to a higher probability of AD. Here, we hypothesize that lipids, and electronegative LDL (L5) in particular, may be involved in the …

Masthead

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

No abstract provided.

Critical Latino Studies: Combatting The (Mis)Education Of Latino Students In U.S. Public Schools, Heidi Kern

West Chester University Master’s Theses

In this thesis, I will explore the historical undervaluing and miseducation of Latino youth in U.S. public schools using a lens of decolonial theory to combat the systems of oppression that continue to affect our Latino youth today. First, I explain what experiences brought me to this concern and provide a clear theoretical framework to explain my philosophy of education. I also articulate key concepts from decolonial scholars and educational activists that inform my own work on the educational experiences of Latino students. In Chapter Three, I provide a historical review of how a public school system rooted in colonialism …

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: Understanding Our Students' Mathematical Experiences Through Drawing, Gabriel T. Matney, Corrinne Fischer, Jack L. Jackson Ii

School of Inclusive Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Learning about our students’ perceptions of mathematics can help teachers better understand students’ mathematical efficacy and aid in the creation of lessons that foster positive mathematical learning experiences. In this article, we share some students’ perceptions of doing mathematics through their drawings. We looked at students from three different grade levels in three different countries: China, Fiji, and the United States. We discuss what we learned from these drawings as teachers and how teachers can use the drawing task to learn more about their student’s perceptions of doing mathematics.

Manipulation Of Components Of The Renin Angiotensin System In Renal Proximal Tubules Fails To Alter Atherosclerosis In Hypercholesterolemic Mice, Masayoshi Kukida, Naofumi Amioka, Dien Ye, Hui Chen, Jessica J. Moorleghen, Ching-Ling Liang, Deborah A. Howatt, Yuriko Katsumata, Motoko Yanagita, Hisashi Sawada, Alan Daugherty, Hong S. Lu

Saha Cardiovascular Research Center Faculty Publications

Background and objective: Whole body manipulation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) consistently exerts profound effects on experimental atherosclerosis development. A deficit in the literature has been a lack of attention to the effects of sex. Also, based on data with gene-deleted mice, the site of RAS activity that influences lesion formation is at an unknown distant location. Since angiotensin (AngII) concentrations are high in kidney and the major components of the RAS are present in renal proximal tubule cells (PTCs), this study evaluated the role of the RAS in PTCs in atherosclerosis development.

Methods and results: Mice with an LDL …

Trademark Tarnishmyths, Jake Linford, Justin Sevier, Allyson Willis

Scholarly Publications

Trademark law protects famous marks from dilution by tarnishment, defined by statute as use likely to "harm the reputation of the famous mark." Tarnishing uses are typically those that connect a mark with disreputable goods or topics, like sex or drugs. Mark owners worry that consumers will not purchase products connected with sexually explicit or drug-related materials, and courts often presume the same. If those associations likely cause consumers to withhold custom or dissipate goodwill consumers have invested in the mark, anti-tarnishment protection might be justified. But if that harm is more mythic than real, the law penalizing tarnishing use …

Review: Spencer Fluhman And Philip Barlow, Eds. The Book Of Mormon: Brief Theological Introductions. Provo, Ut: Neal A. Maxwell Institute, Brigham Young University, 2021., Seth Perry

Mormon Studies Review

“Theology” is a complicated concept in Mormon discourse. It is routine to say that there is no tradition of formal Mormon theology, or even any Mormon theology at all. This is explained by observing that continuing revelation and the multiple genres of Mormon scripture resist systematization, or that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints eschews seminaries and professionalized clergy. Both the perceived need and the space for discussion of what other Christianities consider theological questions is thought to be constrained by institutional and cultural insistence on the prophetic authority of church leaders. Seminarians are not needed to work …

Review: Blaire Ostler. Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction. Newburgh, In: By Common Consent Press, 2021., Mees Tielens

Mormon Studies Review

In Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction, Blaire Ostler straddles the boundaries between scholar and memoirist, queer and woodcuts by the artist Brian Kershisnik, and inside they are evocatively illustrated, with vivid orange accents and creative layout. In Miller’s volume, the verses of Mormon 6:8–22 are sparsely printed in white, a few lines at a time, across sixteen otherwise black pages. It feels, indeed, like the end of a world.

Review: Michael L. Tate, Ed. The Great Medicine Road: Narratives Of The Oregon, California, And Mormon Trails, Part 4: 1856–1869. Edited With The Assistance Of Kerin Tate, Will Bagley, And Richard L. Rieck. Norman, Oklahoma: The Arthur H. Clark Company, An Imprint Of The University Of Oklahoma Press, 2020., Juliette Bourdin

Mormon Studies Review

The four-volume series The Great Medicine Road offers a collection of primary sources about the overland trails across the American West in the nineteenth century. Originally designed by Will Bagley, a leading expert on trails history, and Richard L. Rieck, a professor of geography, the project was carried out by Michael L. Tate, a professor of history emeritus at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. The first volume, published in 2014, included fifteen sources for the period 1840–1848, encompassing the early years of migration on the overland trails. The second volume Smith’s path, a woman with her man following her lead. …

Parental Instincts: The Neurological And Biological Factors Associated With Parenthood, Jared Reeder

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The following project involves a systematic review of the scientific literature on neural and biological changes of mothers and fathers in parenthood. Until very recently, little scientific research was devoted to studying how bearing children affects a man or woman’s long-term biology. Over the last twenty years, studies of neuroplastic changes in new mothers show specific neural mechanisms responsible for altering the behaviors of mothers during and after pregnancy. These changes in neuroplasticity alter behavior in such a way that led to mothers requiring less sleep and being more prone to hearing the cries of their children. In addition to …

Lipophilic Analogues Of D-Cysteine Prevent And Reverse Physical Dependence To Fentanyl In Male Rats., James N Bates, Paulina M Getsy, Gregory A Coffee, Santhosh M Baby, Peter M Macfarlane, Yee-Hsee Hsieh, Zackery T Knauss, Jason A. Bubier, Devin Mueller, Stephen J Lewis

Faculty Research 2024

We examined whether co-injections of the cell-permeant D-cysteine analogues, D-cysteine ethyl ester (D-CYSee) and D-cysteine ethyl amide (D-CYSea), prevent acquisition of physical dependence induced by twice-daily injections of fentanyl, and reverse acquired dependence to these injections in freely-moving male Sprague Dawley rats. Injection of the opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone HCl (NLX, 1.5 mg/kg, IV), elicited a series of withdrawal phenomena that included cardiorespiratory and behavioral responses, and falls in body weight and body temperature, in rats that received 5 or 10 injections of fentanyl (125 μg/kg, IV), and the same number of vehicle co-injections. Regarding the development of physical dependence, …

Newsletter 2023, Department Of Parasitology Faculty Of Medicine

Archival Material (2020s)

No abstract provided.

Courtroom Presentation Technology_ Avoiding Death By Powerpoint, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (Iclef)

Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum 2023

Meeting proceedings of a seminar by the same name, held August 15, 2023.

2023 Advanced Worker's Compensation, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (Iclef)

Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum 2023

Meeting proceedings of a seminar by the same name, held March 22, 2023.

The Use Of Artificial Intelligence In The Practice Of Law, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (Iclef)

Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum 2023

Meeting proceedings of a seminar by the same name, held August 4, 2023.