Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Oxygen Reactive Polymers For Treatment Of Traumatic Brain Injury, Parick S. Stayton, Menko P. Ypma, Peter A. Chiarelli, Joshua Sang Hun Park, Richard G. Ellenbogen, Julia Mengyun Xu, Pierre D. Mourad, Donghoon Lee, Anthony Convertime, Forrest M. Kievit

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Methods and compositions for treating traumatic brain injury . The methods and compositions utilize a multi - functional oxygen reactive polymer ( ORP ) that includes repeating units that include a reactive oxygen species ( ROS ) scavenging group and a polyalkylene oxide group . For theranostic applications , the oxygen reactive polymer fur ther includes a diagnostic group .

Compliance With Hand Sanitizer Quality During The Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic: Assessing The Impurities In An Ethanol Plant, Gabriel Cohen, Nathan Kreutzer, Katie M. Mowat, Ashraf Aly Hassan, Bruce I. Dvorak

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Using alcohol-based disinfectants is an effective method for preventing the spread of COVID-19. However, non-traditional manufacturers of alcohol-based disinfectants, such as ethanol plants, need to undergo additional treatment to curb their impurities to limits set by the Food and Drug Association (FDA) to produce alcohol-based disinfectants. To transform them to disinfectant-grade alcohol, 17 process streams in a dry-mill ethanol plant were analyzed to determine the quality parameters for acetaldehyde, acetal, propanol, methanol, and water, including chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and nutrients. Results suggest that the process stream generated by the distillation column requires further treatment because the acetaldehyde …

Robotic Technologies For High-Throughput Plant Phenotyping: Contemporary Reviews And Future Perspectives, Abbas Atefi, Yufeng Ge, Santosh Pitla, James Schnable

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Phenotyping plants is an essential component of any effort to develop new crop varieties. As plant breeders seek to increase crop productivity and produce more food for the future, the amount of phenotype information they require will also increase. Traditional plant phenotyping relying on manual measurement is laborious, time-consuming, error-prone, and costly. Plant phenotyping robots have emerged as a high-throughput technology to measure morphological, chemical and physiological properties of large number of plants. Several robotic systems have been developed to fulfill different phenotyping missions. In particular, robotic phenotyping has the potential to enable efficient monitoring of changes in plant traits …

Comparison Of Promoter, Dna Vector, And Cationic Carrier For Efficient Transfection Of Hmscs From Multiple Donors And Tissue Sources, Tyler Kozisek, Andrew Hamann, Luke Samuelson, Miguel Fudolig, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are primary cells with high clinical relevance that could be enhanced through genetic modification. However, gene delivery, particularly through nonviral routes, is inefficient. To address the shortcomings of nonviral gene delivery to hMSCs, our lab has previously demonstrated that pharmacological “priming” of hMSCs with clinically approved drugs can increase transfection in hMSCs by modulating transfection-induced cytotoxicity. However, even with priming, hMSC transfection remains inefficient for clinical applications. This work takes a complementary approach to addressing the challenges of transfecting hMSCs by systematically investigating key transfection parameters for their effect on transgene expression. Specifically, we investigated …

Modeling Vadose Zone Hydrology [Lecture Notes], Derek M. Heeren, Dean E. Eisenhauer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Modeling Vadose Zone Hydrology is a graduate-level course offered biennially in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering. Topics included hydraulic properties of porous media, application of Darcy's Law in variably saturated media, hydrologic and transport processes in the vadose zone, and solution of steady and unsteady flow problems using numerical techniques. A graphical approach for characterizing vertical one-dimensional problems with energy head profiles was emphasized. Common one-dimensional flow and transport problems were solved analytically. The course was taught using a combination of lecture notes and PowerPoint presentations. The lecture notes from 2021, captured using the Microsoft Whiteboard app with a …

Uavs For Vegetation Monitoring: Overview And Recent Scientific Contributions, Ana I. De Castro, Yeyin Shi, Joe Mari Maja, Jose M. Peña

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper reviewed a set of twenty-one original and innovative papers included in a special issue on UAVs for vegetation monitoring, which proposed new methods and techniques applied to diverse agricultural and forestry scenarios. Three general categories were considered: (1) sensors and vegetation indices used, (2) technological goals pursued, and (3) agroforestry applications. Some investigations focused on issues related to UAV flight operations, spatial resolution requirements, and computation and data analytics, while others studied the ability of UAVs for characterizing relevant vegetation features (mainly canopy cover and crop height) or for detecting different plant/crop stressors, such as nutrient content/deficiencies, water …

Early Detection Of Encroaching Woody Juniperus Virginiana And Its Classification In Multi-Species Forest Using Uas Imagery And Semantic Segmentation Algorithms, Lin Wang, Yuzhen Zhou, Qiao Hu, Zhenghong Tang, Yufeng Ge, Adam Smith, Tala Awada, Yeyin Shi

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Woody plant encroachment into grasslands ecosystems causes significantly ecological destruction and economic losses. Effective and efficient management largely benefits from accurate and timely detection of encroaching species at an early development stage. Recent advances in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) enabled easier access to ultra-high spatial resolution images at a centimeter level, together with the latest machine learning based image segmentation algorithms, making it possible to detect small-sized individuals of target species at early development stage and identify them when mixed with other species. However, few studies have investigated the optimal practical spatial resolution of early encroaching species detection. Hence, we …

Exploration Of The Sludge Biodiesel Pathway, Zachary Christman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wastewater sludge is an overlooked source of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) that could be converted into biodiesel. The United States produces about 8 million tons of sludge per year. The disposal cost for this amount of sludge is about 2 billion US dollars. The widespread availability and low cost of sludge compared to other biodiesel raw materials make it an economical choice for a renewable fuel. Using sludge as a raw material can produce 25 to 30 mg per gram of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME); the main component of biodiesel. Sludge biodiesel has the potential of transforming a …

Drinking Water: Iron And Manganese, Bruce I. Dvorak, Becky Schuerman

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Iron and manganese are two naturally occurring drinking water contaminants that can cause poor taste and odor issues, and be associated with discoloration that leads to staining of fixtures, dishes, and laundry. They are primarily found in Eastern Nebraska groundwater and most people mention these issues when iron levels exceed 300 micrograms per liter (µg/L) and manganese levels exceed 50 µg/L. Levels of iron can be much higher and are not associated with health concerns but manganese concentrations above 300 µg/L may pose a health issue for rice or soy formula-fed infants. Higher levels, over 1,000 µg/L, may pose a …

Environmental Impacts Of Overdesign In Small Community Water Resource Recovery Facilities, Andrew Pham

Department of Environmental Engineering: Theses and Other Student Research

Although water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) reduce environmental impacts related to water quality, their construction and operation result in negative environmental impacts in other categories. Past research into Nebraska WRRFs investigated variables determining energy intensity, opportunities and barriers for energy efficiency improvements, and environmental impacts of the construction and operation phase. This leads to the research question of what design practices can be considered to reduce the environmental impacts.

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used to evaluate and compare the inventory and environmental impacts of nine small WRRFs, most of which are serving slow growing or declining populations. …

Utilizing Digital Image Processing And Two‑Source Energy Balance Model For The Estimation Of Evapotranspiration Of Dry Edible Beans In Western Nebraska, Wei‑Zhen Liang, Isabella Possignolo, Xin Qiao, Kendall Dejonge, Suat Irkmak, Derek M. Heeren, Daran Rudnick

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Having an accurate yet simple method to estimate crop evapotranspiration ( ET_C) is a vital component of reliable irrigation scheduling. In this study, two versions of the two-source energy balance (TSEB) model: the TSEB model with the Priestley–Taylor equation (TSEB-PT) and the Penman–Monteith equation (TSEB-PM), were used to estimate ET_C of dry edible beans in western Nebraska. Compared with previous studies, this study is unique in that a Visual Basic software—Crop Canopy Image Analyzer (CCIA) was developed to process digitally captured RGB canopy images to obtain necessary canopy cover (CC) parameters for the TSEB models such as …

Comparative Study Of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Endothelial Cells In Hydrogel-Based Culture Systems, Zhanqi Wang, Fuxing Zuo, Qing Liu, Xuesheng Wu, Qian Du, Yuguo Lei, Zhangmin Wu, Haishuang Lin

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived endothelial cells (ECs) are promising cell sources for drug discovery, tissue engineering, and studying or treating vascular diseases. However, hPSC-ECs derived from different culture methods display different phenotypes. Herein, we made a detailed comparative study of hPSC-ECs from three different culture systems (e.g., 2D, 3D PNIPAAm-PEG hydrogel, and 3D alginate hydrogel cultures) based on our previous reports. We expanded hPSCs and differentiated them into ECs in three culture systems. Both 3D hydrogel systems could mimic an in vivo physiologically relevant microenvironment to protect cells from shear force and prevent cell agglomeration, leading to a high …

Determination Of Vadose Zone And Saturated Zone Nitrate Lag Times Using Long-Term Groundwater Monitoring Data And Statistical Machine Learning, Martin J. Wells, Troy E. Gilmore, Natalie Nelson, John K. Bohlke

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this study, we explored the use of statistical machine learning and long-term groundwater nitrate monitoring data to estimate vadose zone and saturated zone lag times in an irrigated alluvial agricultural setting. Unlike most previous statistical machine learning studies that sought to predict groundwater nitrate concentrations within aquifers, the focus of this study was to leverage available groundwater nitrate concentrations and other environmental variables to determine mean regional vertical velocities (transport rates) of water and solutes in the vadose zone and saturated zone (3.50 and 3.75 m yr−1 , respectively). The statistical machine learning results are consistent with two primary …

Role Of Nadþ In Regulating Cellular And Metabolic Signaling Pathways, Sara Amjad, Sabah Nisar, Ajaz A. Bhat, Ab Rauf Shah, Michael P. Frenneaux, Khalid Fakhro, Mohammad Haris, Ravinder Reddy, Zoltan Patay, Joseph Baur, Puneet Bagga

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background: Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), a critical coenzyme present in every living cell, is involved in a myriad of metabolic processes associated with cellular bioenergetics. For this reason, NAD⁺ is often studied in the context of aging, cancer, and neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders.

Scope of review: Cellular NAD⁺ depletion is associated with compromised adaptive cellular stress responses, impaired neuronal plasticity, impaired DNA repair, and cellular senescence. Increasing evidence has shown the efficacy of boosting NAD⁺ levels using NAD⁺ precursors in various diseases. This review provides a comprehensive understanding into the role of NAD^{+ …}

Historical Contingency In Microbial Resilience To Hydrologic Perturbations, Hyun-Seob Song, James C. Stegen, Emily B. Graham, Timothy D. Scheibe

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Development of reliable biogeochemical models requires a mechanistic consideration of microbial interactions with hydrology. Microbial response to and its recovery after hydrologic perturbations (i.e., resilience) is a critical component to understand in this regard, but generally difficult to predict because the impacts of future events can be dependent on the history of perturbations (i.e., historical contingency). Fundamental issues underlying this phenomenon include how microbial resilience to hydrologic perturbations is influenced by historical contingency and how their relationships vary depending on the characteristics of microbial functions. To answer these questions, we considered a simple microbial community composed of two species that …

Modeling The Release And Spreading Of Permanganate From Aerated Slow-Release Oxidants In A Laboratory Flow Tank, Ann Kambhu, Yusong Li, Troy E. Gilmore, Steve D. Comfort

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Aerated, slow-release oxidants are a relatively new technology for treating contaminated aquifers. A critical need for advancing this technology is developing a reliable method for predicting the radius of influence (ROI) around each drive point. In this work, we report a series of laboratory flow tank experiments and numerical modeling efforts designed to predict the release and spreading of permanganate from aerated oxidant candles (oxidant-wax composites). To mimic the design of the oxidant delivery system used in the field, a double screen was used in a series of flow tank experiments where the oxidant was placed inside the inner screen …

Nebraska Water Center Annual Report 2019-2020

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

Contents

Introduction: Foreword • Director’s Letter • Nebraska Water Center (NWC) Overview and Timeline • In Memoriam: Kyle Hoagland

Research • Water Sciences Laboratory • Nebraska Vadose Zone Program • Ogallala Water Coordinated Agriculture Project • Water for Agriculture Project • Greeley Award • U.S. Geological Survey 104b Projects

Extension & Outreach: NWC Events • Nebraska Nitrate Initiative • Bazile Groundwater Management Area • Water and Integrated Crops Hub • Water Faculty Directory • State Legislative Funding • Water Resources Advisory Panel

Teaching: Know Your Well • Sorab Panday Spotlight • NWC Postdoc Profiles • NWC Student Intern Profiles • …

Evolution Of Three Streambanks Before And After Stabilization And Record Flooding, Matthew Russell, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Tiffany Messer, Jesse T. Korus, R.M. Joeckel

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Stabilization projects are increasingly used to mitigate the effects of anthropogenic streambank erosion, yet the effectiveness of stabilization has been insufficiently measured. Sound monitoring practices inform adjustments in implementation and maintenance, which improve engineered effectiveness. Thus, the objectives of this study were to: 1) measure streambank migration from in three reaches stabilized with wooden jetties following a major flooding event, and 2) quantify deposition around the jetties between pre-flood and post-flood. Streambank deposition was measured in 2019 with a River Surveyor and Global Positioning System (GPS). Bank erosion rates in Reaches 1, 2 and 3 were 0.41, 0.96 and 0.07 …

Quantification Of Nitric Oxide Concentration Using Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Sensors, Jakob Meier, Joseph Stapleton, Eric M. Hofferber, Abigail Haworth, Stephen D. Kachman, Nicole M. Iverson

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Nitric oxide (NO), a free radical present in biological systems, can have many detrimental effects on the body, from inflammation to cancer. Due to NO’s short half-life, detection and quan- tification is difficult. The inability to quantify NO has hindered researchers’ understanding of its impact in healthy and diseased conditions. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), when wrapped in a specific single-stranded DNA chain, becomes selective to NO, creating a fluorescence sensor. Unfortunately, the correlation between NO concentration and the SWNT’s fluorescence intensity has been difficult to determine due to an inability to immobilize the sensor without altering its properties. Through the …

Modeling And Prioritizing Interventions Using Pollution Hotspots For Reducing Nutrients, Atrazine And E. Coli Concentrations In A Watershed, Olufemi P. Abimbola, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Tiffany Messer, Elaine Berry, Anna Van Griensven

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Excess nutrients and herbicides remain two major causes of waterbody impairment globally. In an attempt to better understand pollutant sources in the Big Sandy Creek Watershed (BSCW) and the prospects for successful remediation, a program was initiated to assist agricultural producers with the implementation of best management practices (BMPs). The objectives were to (1) simulate BMPs within hotspots to determine reductions in pollutant loads and (2) to determine if water-quality standards are met at the watershed outlet. Regression-based load estimator (LOADEST) was used for determining sediment, nutrient and atrazine loads, while artificial neural networks (ANN) were used for determining E. …

Assessing Different Plant-Centric Water Stress Metrics For Irrigation Efficacy Using Soil-Plant-Atmosphere-Continuum Simulation, Jingwen Zhang, Kaiyu Guan, Bin Peng, Ming Pan, Wang Zhou, Robert F. Grant, Trenton E. Franz, Daran Rudnick, Derek M. Heeren, Andrew Suyker, Yi Yang, Genghong Wu

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Understanding plant water stress (PWS) in the soil-plant-atmosphere-continuum (SPAC) that connects water supply from soil, water demand from atmosphere, and plant self-regulation is a prerequisite for efficient irrigation in response to water scarcity. Currently, PWS can be defined in various ways, for example, based on environmental factors and/or plant-centric metrics. The environment-based metrics usually do not take plants into consideration. Regarding the existing plant-centric metrics, their interconnections and abilities to capture the physical water constraints from both soil water supply and atmospheric water demand are still unclear. This research investigates the theoretical foundations behind different PWS metrics, and assesses their …

Antibiotic Resistance Genes In Swine Manure Slurry As Affected By Pit Additives And Facility Disinfectants, Maria C. Hall, Jon Duerschner, John E. Gilley, Amy Schmidt, Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, Kent M. Eskridge, Xu Li

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Manure storage facilities are critical control points to reduce antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in swine manure slurry before the slurry is land applied. However, little is known about how exogenous chemicals entering the manure storage facilities may affect the fate of ARGs. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of six commonly used pit additives and four facility disinfectants on the concentration of ARGs in swine manure slurry. Bench scale reactors, each containing approximately 50 L of liquid swine manure, were dosed with additives or disinfectants and were sampled for 40 days. Seven antibiotic resistance genes along …

Differential Survival Of Non-O157 Shiga Toxigenic Escherichia Coli In Simulated Cattle Feedlot Runoff, Lisa M. Durso, John E. Gilley, Daniel N. Miller

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Environmental survival time is important when evaluating adverse health outcomes from foodborne pathogens. Although outbreaks associated with manure-impacted irrigation or runoff water are relatively infrequent, their broad scope, regulatory importance, and severe health outcomes highlight the need to better understand the environmental survival of manure-borne pathogens. Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) are excreted in feces and persist in the environment until they die or recolonize a new host. Surface waters contaminated with manure-borne STEC can infect humans through drinking and recreational water use or irrigated crops that are minimally cooked. In this study, manure-impacted water microcosms mimicking beef cattle feedlot …

Editorial: Predictive Modeling Of Human Microbiota And Their Role In Health And Disease, Hyun-Seob Song, Stephen R. Lindemann, Dong-Yup Lee

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Nanotheranostic Researcher’S Guide For Use Of Animal Models Of Traumatic Brain Injury, Brandon Z. Mcdonald, Connor C. Gee, Forrest M. Kievit

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is currently the leading cause of injury-related morbidity and mortality worldwide, with an estimated global cost of USD 400 billion annually. Both clinical and preclinical behavioral outcomes associated with TBI are heterogeneous in nature and influenced by the mechanism and frequency of injury. Previous literature has investigated this relationship through the development of animal models and behavioral tasks. However, recent advancements in these methods may provide insight into the translation of therapeutics into a clinical setting. In this review, we characterize various animal models and behavioral tasks to provide guidelines for evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of …

Frontier: Discipline-Based Education Research To Advance Authentic Learning In Agricultural And Biological Engineering, Heidi A. Diefes-Dux

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Discipline-based education research (DBER) is research activity aimed at investigating “learning and teaching in a discipline from a perspective that reflects the discipline’s priorities, worldview, knowledge, and practices” for the purpose of producing research-based evidence to improve education in that discipline. DBER arose out of concerns about the quality of post-secondary science education. Physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, geosciences, and astronomy education each have unique DBER histories in the U.S. that date back to the late 1800s or early 1900s when colleges and university systems were expanding and formalizing. The DBER fields accelerated in the 1950s and 1960s as a result …

Combining Electrochemical Nitrate Reduction And Anammox For Treatment Of Nitrate-Rich Wastewater: A Short Review, Xinyi Zou, Chongjun Chen, Changhong Wang, Qun Zhang, Zhuowei Yu, Haiping Wu, Chao Zhuo, Tian C. Zhang

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Treatment of nitrate-rich wastewater is important but challenging for the conventional biological denitrification process. Here, we propose combining the electrochemical reduction and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) processes together for treatment of nitrate-rich wastewater. This article reviews the mechanism and current research status of electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonium as well as the mechanism and applicability of the anammox process. This article discusses the principles, superiorities, and challenges of this combined process. The feasibility of the combined process depends on the efficiency of electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonium and the conditions in the anammox process to use the reduced ammonium …

Low-Level Groundwater Atrazine In High Atrazine Usage Nebraska Counties: Likely Effects Of Excessive Groundwater Abstraction, Moses New-Aaron, Olufemi Abimbola, Raheleh Mohammadi, Oluwaseun Famojuro, Zaeema Naveed, Azar Abadi, Jesse E. Bell, Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, Eleanor G. Rogan

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Recent studies observed a correlation between estrogen-related cancers and groundwater atrazine in eastern Nebraska counties. However, the mechanisms of human exposure to atrazine are unclear because low groundwater atrazine concentration was observed in counties with high cancer incidence despite having the highest atrazine usage. We studied groundwater atrazine fate in high atrazine usage Nebraska counties. Data were collected from Quality Assessed Agrichemical Contaminant Nebraska Groundwater, Parameter–Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM), and water use databases. Descriptive statistics and cluster analysis were performed. Domestic wells (59%) were the predominant well type. Groundwater atrazine was affected by well depth. Clusters consisting …

Improvements In Sub-Catchment Fractional Snowpack And Snowmelt Parameterizations And Hydrologic Modeling For Climate Change Assessments In The Western Himalayas, Vishal Singh, Francisco Muñoz-Arriola

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The present work proposes to improve estimates of snowpack and snowmelt and their assessment in the steep Himalayan ranges at the sub-catchment scale. Temporal variability of streamflow and the associated distribution of accumulated snow in catchments with glacier presence in the Himalayas illustrates how changes in snowpack and snowmelt can affect the water supply for local water management. The primary objective of this study is to assess the role of elevation, temperature lapse rate (TLR), and precipitation lapse rate (PLR) in the computation of snowpack (or snowfall) and snowmelt in sub-catchments of the Satluj River basin. Modeling of snowpack and …

Neonicotinoid Pesticide And Nitrate Removal In Floating Treatment Wetlands, Julia Lindgren

Department of Environmental Engineering: Theses and Other Student Research

Nutrient and pesticide concentrations in surface water are a growing concern in the Midwest. Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) are often used to remove excess nutrients from surface water and should be considered for removal of emerging contaminants, such as neonicotinoids. Therefore, the objectives for this research project were: 1) Determine FTW neonicotinoid removal capacity, 2) Quantify neonicotinoid incorporation into floating macrophytes, and 3) Explore potential implications of neonicotinoids on microbial denitrification. A microcosm and mesocosm experiment was completed. The mesocosm experiment evaluated 3 treatments: 1) FTW mesocosm with neonicotinoids, 2) FTW without neonicotinoids, and 3) mesocosm with neonicotinoids and without …