Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Prediction Of Agricultural Implement Hydraulic Power Requirements Using Controller Area Network Bus Data, Gabriel P. Stoll, Rodney A. Rohrer, Santosh K. Pitla, Joe D. Luck

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

One of the important challenges in agricultural machinery research is the ability to effectively determine power requirements of a given field operation. The Controller Area Network (CAN) Bus, also known as ISOBUS, has proven to be an effective digital tool for tractor and implement data collection. This study attempted to determine implement hydraulic power requirements using a combination of existing public tractor CAN messages and minimal added sensors. The sensor signals were published on the CAN bus for ease of simultaneous sensor signal and CAN message data collection. Based upon the available CAN messages, this study attempted to measure hydraulic …

Effects Of Alternate Wetting And Drying Irrigation Regime And Nitrogen Fertilizer On Yield And Nitrogen Use Efficiency Of Irrigated Rice In The Sahel, Koffi Djaman, Valere C. Mel, Lamine Diop, Abdoulaye Sow, Raafat El-Namaky, Baboucarr Manneh, Kazuki Saito, Koichi Futakuchi, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The objectives of this study were to investigate water saving strategies in the paddy field and to evaluate the performance of some of the newly released rice varieties. Field experiments were conducted at Fanaye in the Senegal River Valley during two rice growing seasons in 2015. Three irrigation regimes ((i) continuous flooding, (ii) trigging irrigation at soil matric potential (SMP) of 30 kPa, (iii) trigging irrigation at SMP of 60 kPa) were tested in an irrigated lowland rice field. Irrigation regimes (ii) and (iii) are alternate wetting and drying (AWD) cycles. Four inbred rice varieties (NERICA S-21, NERICA S-44, Sahel …

Hydrologic Evaluation Of Residential Rain Gardens Using A Stormwater Runoff Simulator, A. R. Anderson, T. G. Franti, D. P. Shelton

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Engineered bioretention cells with underdrains have shown water quality and hydrologic benefits for abating urban stormwater problems. Less is known about the hydrologic performance of residential rain gardens that rely on in situ soil infiltration as the primary mechanism of volume control. Eleven residential rain gardens in Lincoln, Nebraska, were evaluated using a variable-rate stormwater runoff simulator. A volume-based water quality volume (WQV) design storm of 3.0 cm was applied to each rain garden as an SCS Type II runoff hydrograph until the system began overflowing to test the rain gardens for surface and subsurface storage capacity, drawdown rate, ponding …

Registration For Optical Multimodal Remote Sensing Images Based On Fast Detection,Window Selection, And Histogram Specification, Xiaoyang Zhao, Jian Zhang, Chenghai Yang, Huaibo Song, Yeyin Shi, Xingen Zhou, Dongyan Zhang, Guozhong Zhang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In recent years, digital frame cameras have been increasingly used for remote sensing applications. However, it is always a challenge to align or register images captured with different cameras or different imaging sensor units. In this research, a novel registration method was proposed. Coarse registration was first applied to approximately align the sensed and reference images. Window selection was then used to reduce the search space and a histogram specification was applied to optimize the grayscale similarity between the images. After comparisons with other commonly-used detectors, the fast corner detector, FAST (Features from Accelerated Segment Test), was selected to extract …

Impact Of Eastern Redcedar Proliferation On Water Resources In The Great Plains Usa—Current State Of Knowledge, Chris B. Zou, Dirac Twidwell, Christine H. Bielski, Dillon T. Fogarty, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Patrick J. Starks, Rodney E. Will, Yu Zhong, Bharat Sharma Acharya

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In the Great Plains of the central United States, water resources for human and aquatic life rely primarily on surface runoff and local recharge from rangelands that are under rapid transformation to woodland by the encroachment of Eastern redcedar (redcedar; Juniperus virginiana) trees. In this synthesis, the current understanding and impact of redcedar encroachment on the water budget and water resources available for non-ecosystem use are reviewed. Existing studies concluded that the conversion from herbaceous-dominated rangeland to redcedar woodland increases precipitation loss to canopy interception and vegetation transpiration. The decrease of soil moisture, particularly for the subsurface soil layer, …

Investigation Of Organic Solvents’ Effects On Kenaf (Hibiscus Cannabinus L.) Biomass Conversion In Subcritical Water, Bahar Meryemoglu, Arif Hasanoglu, Mehtap Kurtulus, Sibel Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Kenaf biomass was hydrolyzed under subcritical water conditions in the presence of various organic solvents. The solvents tested were tetrahydrofuran (THF), acetone, xylene (mixed isomers) and methanol. The organic compounds released into hydrolysates, total organic contents, water-soluble total phenols, and the molecular weight distributions of the polysaccharides in the hydrolysates, solid residues leftover after hydrolysis and gaseous products formed during the solubilization process were determined. The results showed that organic solvents significantly enhanced the dissolution of kenaf biomass (methanol < (omp)xylene ≤ acetone ~ tetrahydrofuran). The hydrolysis percentage was found to be between 75-82% depending on the type of the solvent. Hydrolysis yield and total organic carbons released into hydrolysates highly differed when the solubilization process was performed under carbon dioxide pressure and this effect considerably varied based on the type of solvent used in hydrolysis process. The main gas product formed during hydrolysis process was carbon dioxide with ~80% composition. Morphological measurements of the solid biomass residues left after hydrolysis showed substantial degradations with increasing number of pores on the biomass surfaces.

Near Infrared Fluorescent Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes As Tissue Localizable Biosensors, Nicole M. Iverson, Michael S. Strano, Nigel F. Strano, Thomas P. Mcnicholas

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A nanosensor for detecting an analyte can include a sub strate, a photoluminescent nanostructure, and a polymer interacting with the photoluminescent nanostructure. The nanosensor can be used in in vivo for biomedical applications.

Impact Of Vegetative Treatment Systems On Multiple Measures Of Antibiotic Resistance In Agricultural Wastewater, Lisa M. Durso, Daniel N. Miller, Christopher G. Henry

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Wastewater is an important vector of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes (ARB/G). While there is broad agreement that ARB/G from agricultural (ag) wastewaters can be transported through the environment and may contribute to untreatable infectious disease in humans and animals, there remain large knowledge gaps surrounding applied details on the types and amounts of ARB/G associated with different agricultural wastewater treatment options and different ag production systems. This study evaluates a vegetative treatment system (VTS) built to treat the wastewater from a beef cattle feedlot. Samples were collected for three years, and plated on multiple media types to …

Special Issue: Microbial Community Modeling: Prediction Of Microbial Interactions And Community Dynamics, Hyun-Seob Song

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Microbial communities are networks of species, the interaction structure of which dynamically reorganizes in a varying environment. Even in a static condition, community dynamics are often difficult to predict due to highly nonlinear interspecies interactions. Understanding the fundamental principles of microbial interactions is therefore key for predicting and harnessing community function and properties. As extensively reviewed previously, mathematical models and computational methods that can predictively link interactions to community behaviors are indispensable tools for achieving this goal [1].

Field-Based Scoring Of Soybean Iron Deficiency Chlorosis Using Rgb Imaging And Statistical Learning, Geng Bai, Shawn Jenkins, Wenan Yuan, George L. Graef, Yufeng Ge

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) is an abiotic stress in soybean that can cause significant biomass and yield reduction. IDC is characterized by stunted growth and yellowing and interveinal chlorosis of early trifoliate leaves. Scoring IDC severity in the field is conventionally done by visual assessment. The goal of this study was to investigate the usefulness of Red Green Blue (RGB) images of soybean plots captured under the field condition for IDC scoring. A total of 64 soybean lines with four replicates were planted in 6 fields over 2 years. Visual scoring (referred to as Field Score, or FS) was conducted …

Three-Dimensional Modeling Of Nitrate-N Transport In Vadose Zone: Roles Of Soil Heterogeneity And Groundwater Flux, Simin Akbariyeh, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, Xu Li, Zhenghong Tang, Yusong Li

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Contamination of groundwater from nitrogen fertilizers in agricultural lands is an important environmental and water quality management issue. It is well recognized that in agriculturally intensive areas, fertilizers and pesticides may leach through the vadose zone and eventually reach groundwater. While numerical models are commonly used to simulate fate and transport of agricultural contaminants, few models have considered a controlled field work to investigate the influence of soil heterogeneity and groundwater flow on nitrate-N distribution in both root zone and deep vadose zone.

In this work, a numerical model was developed to simulate nitrate-N transport and transformation beneath a center …

Setback Distance Requirements For Removal Of Swine Slurry Constituents In Runoff, John E. Gilley, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Kent M. Eskridge, Xu Li, Amy M. Schmidt, Daniel D. Snow

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The use of setback distances for manure application on cropland areas adjacent to surface water bodies could serve a function similar to vegetative filter strips. However, little information currently exists to identify the setback distances necessary to effectively reduce the transport of contaminants in runoff. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of setback distance and runoff rate on concentrations of selected constituents in runoff following land application of swine slurry to a no-till cropland area in southeast Nebraska. The study site had a residue cover of 7.73 Mg ha-1 and a slope gradient of 4.9%. The …

Quantifying Effectiveness Of Streambank Stabilization Practices On Cedar River, Nebraska, Naisargi Dave, Aaron R. Mittelstet

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Excessive sediment is a major pollutant to surface waters worldwide. In some watersheds, streambanks are a significant source of this sediment, leading to the expenditure of billions of dollars in stabilization projects. Although costly streambank stabilization projects have been implemented worldwide, long-term monitoring to quantify their success is lacking. There is a critical need to document the long-term success of streambank restoration projects. The objectives of this research were to (1) quantify streambank retreat before and after the stabilization of 18 streambanks on the Cedar River in North Central Nebraska, USA; (2) assess the impact of a large flood event; …

Spatial And Temporal Variation In Precipitation In Togo, Koffi Djaman, Vivek Sharma, Daran Rudnick, Komlan Koudahe, Suat Irkmak, Kokou Adambounou Amouzou, Jean Mianikpo Sogbedji

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Precipitation is one of the important variables in hydrological cycle and has important application in both irrigated and rainfed agricultural crop production. Better understanding of spatio-temporal variability of precipitation across Togo is important and useful for water users and most agricultural activities. Thus, the objective this study was to analyze the spatial and temporal variation in monthly and annual precipitation across Togo for the period of 1961-2001. Monthly precipitation data was provided by the national direction of meteorology. The performed analysis revealed a decline in annual total precipitation across almost all agro-ecological zones in Togo with the Maritime Region revealed …

Holistic Approach In Microalgae Conversion To Bioproducts And Biofuels Through Flash Hydrolysis, Ali Teymouri

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, the demand for renewable energy, mainly biomass has increased. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that more than 13.3% of the total energy production in the first seven months of 2017 was produced from a biomass source. Among all biomass resources, microalgae has brought a lot of attention due to their numerous advantages such as higher growth rate and productivity compared with the conventional energy crops, higher energy conversion efficiency by photosynthesis, and less water requirement than terrestrial crops. However, its development is far behind industrial production. Several research efforts across the globe have been concerned with …

Rice Hull Bioreactor For Recirculating Aquaculture, Marlon A. Greensword

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The engineering of floating media biofilters has been optimized over the years. The backwashing process has made them more energy and water efficient. Likewise, moving bed bioreactors (MBBR) are gaining interest and popularity because they are relatively affordable to build. Yet, developing countries’ aquaculture production remains largely excluded from the advances made in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). This discrepancy is partially driven by the high costs of media such plastic beads and Kaldnes (KMT) media, commonly used in MBBR.

This dissertation evaluates the usability and profitability of rice hulls (RH), an abundant by-product in many developing nations, as a sinking …

Biofuels From Crop Residue: Soil Organic Carbon And Climate Impacts In The Us And India, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

The transformation of crop residue to soil organic carbon and CO₂ is a conserved process that occurs globally. Due to the mathematics of carbon intensity calculations found in government regulations, the amount of CO₂ emitted from crop residue per unit of energy in biofuel is largely independent of the amount of residue removed and the location of its removal, as shown by results from the US and India.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) levels are at equilibria determined by carbon inputs from plant material (+I_c) and loss from oxidation to CO₂

Are the US results relevant …

Assessment Of The Ecosystem Services Of Rain Gardens, Hannah M. Hawrot, Dr. Sara Mcmillan, Rachel Scarlett

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces contributes to degradation of urban stream ecosystems. Impacts include increased flooding, water quality impairment, and disruption of habitats. Rain gardens are a type of green infrastructure designed to mitigate the adverse effects of stormwater runoff by promoting evapotranspiration, reducing peak flows, and retaining pollutants. Rain gardens can provide additional ecosystem services, defined as benefits that ecosystems provide to people. This includes, but is not limited to, increasing biodiversity by providing habitat, creating green spaces for recreation, and storing carbon. To date, little research has been done integrating these multiple services. My research measured water quality, …

Streambank Erosion Mapping On The Nottoway River Using Gps-Based Above-Water Video, Emine Fidan

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

This project concerns the development of streambank erosion maps on military installations utilizing GPS-based above-water video mapping and image georeferencing techniques. The river mapped was the Nottoway River at the Fort Pickett military installation on October 10-11, 2015. Kayak-mounted above-water cameras were utilized to capture georeferenced images of streambank erosion. These GIS-based erosion classifications were utilized to develop erosion maps for determining streambank erosion conditions along the river. Areas of high erosion were identified as about two percent of the river (2167 ft. of streambank length). These maps allow for the opportunity to revisit the sites to determine changes in …

Impact Of Macropores And Gravel Outcrops On Phosphorus Leaching At The Plot Scale In Silt Loam Soils, Derek M. Heeren, Garey A. Fox, Chad Penn, Todd Halihan, Daniel E. Storm, Brian Haggard

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In response to increased nutrient loads in surface waters, scientists and engineers need to identify critical nutrient source areas and transport mechanisms within a catchment to protect beneficial uses of aquatic systems in a cost-effective manner. It was hypothesized that hydrologic heterogeneities (e.g., macropores and gravel outcrops) in the vadose zone play an integral role in affecting flow and solute transport between the soil surface and shallow alluvial aquifers. The objective of this research was to characterize phosphorus (P) leaching through silt loam soils to alluvial gravel aquifers in the floodplains of the Ozark ecoregion at the plot scale. Solute …

Geometry-Based Mass Grading Of Mango Fruits Using Image Processing, M. A. Momin, Md Towfiqur Rahman, M. S. Sultana, C. Igathinathane, A. T. M. Ziauddin, T. E. Grift

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Mango (Mangifera indica) is an important, and popular fruit in Bangladesh. However, the post-harvest processing of it is still mostly performed manually, a situation far from satisfactory, in terms of accuracy and throughput. To automate the grading of mangos (geometry and shape), we developed an image acquisition and processing system to extract projected area, perimeter, and roundness features. In this system, images were acquired using a XGA format color camera of 8-bit gray levels using fluorescent lighting. An image processing algorithm based on region based global thresholding color binarization, combined with median filter and morphological analysis was developed …

Sensor System, Implantable Sensor And Method For Remote Sensing Of A Stimulus In Vivo, Eric H. Ledet, Rebecca A. Wachs, Keegan Paul Cole, David Fiorella

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A sensor system for sensing a stimulus in vivo includes an implantable sensor. The sensor comprises a passive resonator circuit having a resonant frequency and including at least a pair of generally parallel spirally wound unconnected conductive coils sandwiching a layer of solid dielectric material that manifest a change in property affecting the resonant frequency in response to application of the stimulus to the layer. A resonant frequency of the sensor is modulated by altering the spacing or gap between the coils or altering the overlapping area of the coils. The sensor is energized through application of radio frequency energy …

Supraspinatus Tendon Micromorphology In Individuals With Subacromial Pain Syndrome, Federico Pozzi, Amee L. Seitz, Hillary A. Plummer, Kira Chow, Gregory R. Bashford, Lori A. Michener

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Study Design: Cross-sectional cohort. Introduction: Tendon collagen organization can be estimated by peak spatial frequency radius (PSFR) on ultrasound images. Characterizing PSFR can define the contribution of collagen disruption to shoulder symptoms.

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this was to characterize the (1) supraspinatus tendon PSFR in participants with sub acromial pain syndrome (SPS) and healthy controls; (2) PSFR between participants grouped on a tendon visual quality score; and (3) relationship between PSFR with patient-reported pain, function, and shoulder strength.

Methods: Participants with SPS (n ¼ 20) and age, sex, and arm-dominance matched healthy controls (n ¼ 20) …

Method For The Production Of Substituted Polysaccharides Via Reactive Extrusion, Milford Hanna, Pratik Bhandari

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A reactive extrusion process for the production of substituted polysaccharides, in particular, cellulose acetate, starch acetate, carboxymethyl cellulose, and carboxymethyl starch.

The present application claims the benefit of PCT/ US20111059785 filed on Nov. 8, 2011, which claimed the benefit of U.S. provisional application 611411,521, filed on Nov. 9, 2010, U.S. provisional application 611411,992, filed on Nov. 10, 2010, and U.S. provisional application 611472, 748, filed on Apr. 7, 2011, each of which is which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The production of substituted polysaccharides such as starch and cellulose acetates and carboxymethylated starches and celluloses have typically …

Analysis Of Lid Implementation To Combat Flooding And Erosion At The University Of Arkansas Campus, Madison E. Crowl

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The city of Fayetteville, Arkansas has experienced rapid urbanization throughout recent years as it continues to grow. Within the city, the University of Arkansas has been constantly expanding, with increased impervious surfaces as more parking lots and facilities are built. This has caused issues including flooding and stream bank erosion, specifically in Mullins Creek, which receives runoff from a large part of campus. A portion of the creek was restored, but there are still downstream issues. Low Impact Development (LID) is a type of green infrastructure that has been shown to decrease runoff and increase infiltration. EPA SWMM, a hydrologic …

Remediating 1,4-Dioxane-Contaminated Water With Slow-Release Persulfate And Zerovalent Iron, Ann Kambhu, Megan Gren, Wei Tang, Steve D. Comfort, Clifford Harris

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

1,4-dioxane is an emerging contaminant that was used as a corrosion inhibitor with chlorinated solvents. Metal-activated persulfate can degrade dioxane but reaction kinetics have typically been characterized by a rapid decrease during the first 30 min followed by either a slower decrease or no further change (i.e., plateau). Our objective was to identify the factors responsible for this plateau and then determine if slow-release formulations of sodium persulfate and Fe⁰ could provide a more sustainable degradation treatment. We accomplished this by conducting batch experiments where Fe⁰-activated persulfate was used to treat dioxane. Treatment variables included the timing …

Center Pivot Irrigation Handbook (Ec3017), Derrel Martin, William Kranz, Tyler Smith, Suat Irmak, Charles Burr, Ron Yoder

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Center pivot irrigation has been the most rapidly expanding form of irrigation in the Central Great Plains and across the United States. The amount of land irrigated with sprinkler, gravity and drip or trickle systems was determined for all states in the USA in the Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey1 by the USDA in 2012. Results of the survey for the Great Plains States shows that approximately 85% of the land in Nebraska is irrigated with center pivots and that very little land was irrigated with drip systems in 2012 (Figure 1). The percentage of land irrigated with sprinklers in …

Tissue Decellularization Methods, Christine E. Schmidt, Rebecca A. Wachs, Robert Chase Cornelison

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Provided herein are methods of producing an acellular tissue product wherein the method can include the step of inducing apoptosis and washing the tissue after induction of apoptosis with a tonic solution. Also provided herein are acellular tissue products produced by the methods provided herein and methods of administering the acellular tissue products to a subject in need thereof.

The Irreversible Momentum Of Clean Energy, Barack Obama

United States Department of Energy: Publications

The release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) due to human activity is increasing global average surface air temperatures, disrupting weather patterns, and acidifying the ocean. Left unchecked, the continued growth of GHG emissions could cause global average temperatures to increase by another 4°C or more by 2100 and by 1.5 to 2 times as much in many midcontinent and far northern locations. Although our understanding of the impacts of climate change is increasingly and disturbingly clear, there is still debate about the proper course for U.S. policy—a debate that is very much on display …

2017 Nebraska Water Monitoring Programs Report, Marty Link, Ryan Chapman

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is charged with monitoring, assessing, and to the extent possible, managing the state’s water resources. The purpose of this work is to protect and maintain high quality water and encourage or execute activities to improve poor water quality. Monitoring is done on nearly 17,000 miles of flowing rivers and streams, more than 134,000 acres of surface water in lakes and reservoirs, as well as the vast storage of groundwater in Nebraska’s aquifers.