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Viability Of Manually Passing Projectiles Through The Barrel Of A Firearm In Lieu Of Test Firing, Mara V. Mineo

Student Theses

Forensic examinations of discharged projectiles are made possible by the toolmarks and striations made by the barrel the projectiles pass through. Suspect barrels are attached to firearms and test fired to compare these toolmarks and striations with found evidence. However, physically damaged barrels could potentially be unable to produce exemplars. This study tests the viability of manually passing projectiles through stationary barrels as a meaningful and accurate means to produce acceptable exemplars that are able to be compared against recovered evidence. A total of 18 projectiles were manually passed between two distinct Glock handgun barrels and viewed under a comparison …

Interplay Of Atomicity, Polarization, And Quantization On Performance And Reliability In Gan Finfets, Salim I. Almenshad

Dissertations

GaN based nanoscale high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) are the next generation of transistor technology that features the unique combination of higher power, wider bandwidth, low noise, higher efficiency, and temperature/radiation hardness than conventional AlGaAs and Si based technologies. However, enhancement mode operation for nanoscale channel region is the most recent needed area of research. As well as reliability of these devices remains a major concern. The main objective of this proposed research is to numerically investigate the role of atomistic inhomogeneity and quantization in low-dimensionality lateral tri-gated AlGaN/GaN FinFET devices. It is shown that 3-D configured AlGaN/GaN FinFETs with narrow enough …

Quaking Aspen On Cedar Mountain, Utah: Status And Update, Jaycee Cappaert, Larissa L. Yocom, Paul C. Rogers, Darren J. Mcavoy, R. Justin Derose

Wildland Resources Student Research

Quaking aspen forests are important communities in the western United States where they provide preferential food and habitat for animals, limit wildfires from spreading, and have favorable aesthetics, among other things. Their putative decline is an issue for ecology and management. We remeasured the aspen population on Cedar Mountain, Utah, to assess changes to its condition since it was originally measured in 2008 and laid the groundwork for continued aspen monitoring on Cedar Mountain. Our objectives were to compare current metrics of stand structure and composition, mortality, crown dieback, bole damage, regeneration, and recruitment, to those of the original inventory. …

Adamts13 And Von Willebrand Factor In Relation To Vascular Cognitive Impairment And Cerebral Small Vessel Disease: The Heart-Brain Connection Study, Amos C Pomp, Mathijs T Rosbergen, Moniek P M De Maat, Paul S De Vries, M Arfan Ikram, Mat J A P Daemen, Imo E Hoefer, Wiro J Niessen, Jeroen De Bresser, Esther E Bron, Charlotte E Teunissen, Geert Jan Biessels, Robert J Van Oostenbrugge, Frank J Wolters

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Reduced activity of a disintegrin-like and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 repeats 13 (ADAMTS13) is associated with an increased risk of dementia, independent of Von Willebrand factor (VWF) levels. Pathways underlying this association remain poorly understood.

Objectives: Investigate the associations of VWF levels and ADAMTS13 activity with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD).

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 147 participants with VCI and 120 reference subjects (mean age: 67.5 years, 41% women). Using multivariable logistic regression, we determined the cross-sectional association of ADAMTS13 activity and VWF levels in plasma with VCI. Additionally, across …

From Understanding To Production: A Qualitative Case Study Of Instructional Alignment And Bar Examination Readiness At One Law School, Mackenzie E. Gray

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Many law students who understand the law struggle to produce it under examination conditions.This qualitative case study examined how instruction in three settings at one ABA-accredited law school (first-year doctrinal, upper-division doctrinal, and for-credit bar preparation courses) shaped students’ perceptions of their readiness for the California Bar Examination. Grounded in metacognitive transfer theory, the study drew on 18 classroom observations across six courses, semi-structured interviews with seven students and four professors, and a simulated bar examination scored against a criterion-referenced rubric, all collected during the Spring 2026 semester. Interview data were analyzed through codebook thematic analysis. Five themes resulted. Students …

Agent-Based Modeling Of Cellular Dynamics In Adoptive Cell Therapies, Yujia Wang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Adoptive cell therapies (ACT) have shown promising progress in combating cancer, but clinical responses remain heterogeneous. Key determinants, including the functional states of infused cells, tumor–immune interactions, and dosing strategies, are difficult to resolve experimentally in the dynamic and heterogeneous tumor microenvironment, limiting optimization of ACT products and treatment regimens. To address the gap, we developed ABMACT (Agent-Based Model for Adoptive Cell Therapies), a computational framework that reconstruct key cellular functions, interactions, and molecular signatures to recapitulate cell population dynamics associated with differential treatment responses. ABMACT encodes autonomous “virtual cells” using literature-informed rules calibrated with experimental data, enabling simulation of …

Transcriptional Regulation In The Uterine Luminal Epithelium, Evelyn A. Carrion

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Transcriptional Regulation in the Uterine Luminal Epithelium

Evelyn A. Carrion

Advisor: Richard R. Behringer, PhD

Abstract

The uterus is an organ comprised of multiple tissues that are essential for women’s health and reproduction. The uterus is composed of multiple tissue layers, including the perimetrium, myometrium, and the endometrium. The endometrium is the inner lining of the uterus, and contains the luminal epithelium, glandular epithelium, and stroma. The luminal epithelium is a simple columnar layer of cells that is necessary for embryo implantation. The uterus is derived in part from the embryonic precursor tissue called the Müllerian duct. There are no …

Ai-Driven Segmentation And Volumetric Response Modeling Of Liver Regions To Radiotherapy, Aashish Chandra Gupta

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

In liver-directed radiotherapy (RT), liver regions receiving higher doses typically undergo atrophy while contralateral/adjacent lower-dose regions may exhibit compensatory hypertrophy through regeneration of healthy tissue. Optimizing the RT plan to promote regional hypertrophy while minimizing the risk of developing atrophy has the potential to enhance post-RT liver function and long-term survivorship. However, current clinical practice largely relies on global liver dose-volume metrics during RT-planning, which may obscure favorable dose-response correlation and limit actionable guidance for clinicians. Therefore, we hypothesized that post-RT regional liver response is governed by a combination of region-specific dose-volume and patient clinical features, and that these responses …

Defining The Role Of Spxa1 And Spxa2 In Group A Streptococcus (Gas), Gretchen Anne Morrison

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a human-restricted pathogen whose global incidence has surged in the post-COVID era. The ability of GAS to shift from a colonizing to invasive phenotype depends on coordinated virulence gene regulation in response to host-imposed stressors. The paralogous global transcriptional regulators, SpxA1 and SpxA2, have emerged as central mediators of these adaptive responses; however, the mechanisms by which these regulators influence both global gene regulation in direct response to external stresses and the host response as a result of regulatory changes remain incompletely understood. Using an integrated multi-omic approach, we define the distinct yet interconnected regulatory …

Regulation Of Müllerian Duct Mesenchyme Transcription During Mammalian Sex Differentiation, Haowen Li, Richard R Behringer, Rachel D Mullen

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Sp7/Osterix (Osx) encodes a zinc-finger transcription factor of the Specificity-protein family discovered by Nakashima et al. at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. While primarily recognized for its role in osteogenesis, Osx has also been implicated in mammalian reproductive development, particularly in male sex differentiation, where Müllerian Duct (MD) regression occurs, mediated by anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) signaling. AMH-induced regression signals are transduced by the mesenchymal tissue surrounding the ductal structure, known as the Müllerian Duct mesenchyme (MDM). It was discovered that AMH signaling is necessary and sufficient for driving Osx expression in MDM. A previous transgenic mouse reporter …

Oxidative Stress Mediated Glutamate Release And Nmda Receptor-Dependent Synaptic Remodeling In Radiation-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction, Thanh Lam

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

In children younger than 14 years old, the brain and other parts of the central nervous system are the most common sites for solid tumors. Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for central nervous system (CNS) tumors. However, it often causes a progressive decline in cognitive functions, which is especially devastating for pediatric patients. Although post-mitotic neurons are generally considered resistant to radiation-induced immediate cell death, ionizing radiation causes complex neurochemical and structural changes that damage synaptic integrity. In this study, we examined the molecular cascades following a 10 Gy radiation dose applied to mouse cortical neurons. We found that radiation-induced …

Mutational Analysis Of Domain Functions In The Yeast Decapping Enzyme Dcp2, Jellisa Ewan, Ambro Van Hoof

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

In yeast, the major mRNA decay pathway involves deadenylation of the 3’ poly-A tail, followed by decapping of the 5’ m7Gppp cap and subsequent 5’ to 3’ degradation or 3’ to 5’ degradation. This is carried out by Pan2/Pan3 and Ccr4/Not deadenylases, the decapping enzyme Dcp2, and Xrn1 and  RNA exosome exoribonucleases, respectively. The eukaryotic mRNA decapping enzyme complex, Dcp1/Dcp2, is essential in yeast, and deletion of either gene is lethal. However, the deadenylases that act upstream and the 5’ exoribonuclease that act downstream of the decapping step are not, even though they are all highly conserved with no known …

From Geometry To Recognition: A Quantitative Framework For Tcr-Pmhc Structural Analysis In The Age Of Predicted Structures, Kun Hee Kim

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Recognition of antigen by a T cell begins with a single physical event, the engagement of the T cell receptor (TCR) with a peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC), and this interaction is encoded in the geometry with which the receptor docks onto the composite pMHC surface. Whether that docking geometry is biologically organized, and whether the structures now produced at scale by prediction preserve recognition or only reproduce that organization, are the two questions this thesis addresses. Two gaps stand in the way. The first is a gap of measurement, because docking geometry has never been made quantitatively comparable across many …

Antigen Discovery In Multiple Myeloma Using Integrated Long-Read Transcriptomics And Immunopeptidomics, Aya Albittar

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable plasma cell malignancy, with relapse driven by persistent chemotherapy-resistant cells and residual disease following treatment. Although immunotherapies have transformed MM care, their success depends on identifying tumor-specific antigens that can be safely targeted. While aberrant genomic structural variation and transcriptional dysregulation are increasingly recognized as sources of novel antigens in MM, the HLA-presented antigenic landscape of MM remains incompletely characterized, particularly for non-canonical, structurally-derived peptides, and long-read transcriptome-informed immunopeptidomic data specific to MM remain scarce.

We established an integrated antigen discovery platform combining long-read RNA sequencing (Iso-Seq) with mass spectrometry-based HLA immunoprecipitation and immunopeptidomics …

The Correlation Between Frequency Of School Lunch Consumption And Bmi Percentile, Brayden Rowland

Posters

No abstract provided.

Developing A Deep-Learning Model To Segment White Matter Lesions In Cerebral Palsy, Varsha Kumar, Hyukjin Yun, Rose N. Gelineau-Morel, Avner Meoded

Posters

No abstract provided.

Rural Emergency Department Perspectives On Telemedicine Consultation For Pediatric Emergencies, Caroline Nemechek, Kimberly Randell, Romina Barral, Michelle K. Arzubi-Hughes

Posters

No abstract provided.

Piloting Research In Action: To Act Or Not To Act?, Kosi Okuagu, Lauren Yan, Emily A. Hurley

Posters

No abstract provided.

“We’Re Just Always There For Each Other”: Examining Social Support For African American Caregivers Of Oncology Patients, Madeleine Lee, Keisha White Makinde

Posters

No abstract provided.

Investigating Postbiotic-Derived Therapies For Necrotizing Enterocolitis In Infants, Ilan Reichbart, Marianne N. Nsumu, Joshua Wheatley, Susana Chavez-Bueno, Alain Cuna

Posters

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Relationship Between Naltrexone Systemic Exposure And Acute Brain Response Using A Neuroimaging-Based Pharmacodynamic Biomarker, Trisha Rastogi, Stephani Stancil, Susan M. Abdel-Rahman, Michael Bartkoski, James Bartolotti, Mariah E. Brewe, William Brooks, Morgan Brucks, Anna Burns, Ann M. Davis, Laura Martin, Jeffrey R. Strawn, John Tumberger, Michaela Voss, Hung-Wen Yeh

Posters

No abstract provided.

Operationalizing Frailty: A Comparison Of Measurement Frameworks, Audrey P. Doege, Madeline Donnelli, Daniel Forsha, Thomas Cochran, William R. Black, David A. White

Posters

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Impacts Of Research Including Zealous Genz-Ers (Rizz), Afraah Hawa, Andrea Bradley-Ewing Mpa, Ma, Kimberly A. Randell, Md, Msc, Yesenia Montoya, Karynn E. Glover

Posters

No abstract provided.

Endotyping Obstructive Sleep Apnea In Infants With Micrognathia, Alexis Dominic, Zarmina Ehsan, Baha Al-Shawwa Md, Karishma Rao, Blake A. Welker, Meghan Tracy, Andrew Li, Alessandra Manoylova-Vedder, Shiyuan Chen, Shu-Ching Chen, Members Of The Data Science And Analytics Innovation Center (Dsaic), John P. Dahl, Janelle Noel-Macdonnell

Posters

No abstract provided.

In Vivo Model Of Neurotropic Human Metapneumovirus Infection In Mice Brain, Joanna Yuen, Gage Greening, Eric S. Geanes, Dharitri Betha, Rebecca Mclennan Phd, Todd Bradley

Posters

No abstract provided.

Exposure-Toxicity Analysis Of Fluoxetine In Children And Adolescents, Amelia Whittier, Ethan Poweleit, Whitney Sparks Ms, Catherine Koertje, Addison Pritchett Ms, Angela Wiedner, Gail Robertson, Lindsey Malloy-Walton, Stephani Stancil, Alexa L. Pagano, Kathryn Kyler, Jonathan B. Wagner, Jeffrey R. Strawn, Brandon Retke, Paul C. Toren, J Steven Leeder, Laura B. Ramsey

Posters

No abstract provided.

Cartilage Ring Formation In Chick Trachea, Yashica Sharma, Samuel Q. Mellentine, John Dahl, Jennifer C. Kasemeier

Posters

No abstract provided.

Low-Cost Modular Transradial Prosthetic System, Caleb E. Barajas

Master's Theses

Upper-limb loss can significantly impact overall quality of life by limiting  a person's ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). Although prosthetic devices can help bridge the gap, many upper-limb prostheses are limited by high costs, discomfort, limited repairability, and accessibility barriers. Current commercial myoelectric prosthetic hands can provide high levels of functionality, but are often expensive and require specialized clinical access. In contrast, many current low-cost and open source prosthetic devices improve affordability but are limited in function or designed for partial hand applications rather than full transradial limb loss.

The purpose of this thesis was to design, …

Development And Initial Testing Of Novel Microfabricated Soap Film Frames For Use In Studying Instability Mechanisms In Liquid Sheet Edges, Sam Hastings, Sam Hastings

Master's Theses

The breakup of retracting liquid sheet edges into droplets is governed by instability mechanisms that, in some ways, are not yet fully understood. Previous and limited experimental soap film retraction experiments using straight edges have produced results that differ from the behavior predicted by Rayleigh-Plateau and Rayleigh-Taylor instability models, suggesting that uncontrolled imperfections in traditional wire frames (used to form and detach the soap films) may influence film detachment and the subsequent edge instability observed. This thesis presents the development of a new experimental approach using microfabricated silicon wafer-based soap film frames to provide improved control over the initial conditions …

2025-2026 Internal Funding Bulleting, Uno Office Of Research And Creative Activity

Internal Funding Newsletters

The University of Nebraska at Omaha is committed to exceptional education, groundbreaking research, and the life-long success of our students, alumni, and faculty. The 2025-2026 Academic Year brought many exciting opportunities for us to invest in a multitude of funding programs that promote research and creative activity. This year’s internal funding programs provided over $850,000 in awards for students and faculty. Projects from a wide variety of disciplines reflect the UNO community’s scholarly interests, including utilizing a virtual reality headset to reimagine scenic painting for theater productions, exploring the factors influencing the adoption of generative AI tools in U.S. local …