Other Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Soil Water Extraction Patterns And Crop, Irrigation, And Evapotranspiration Water Use Efficiency Of Maize Under Full And Limited Irrigation And Rainfed Settings, Koffi Djaman, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The effects of full and limited irrigation and rainfed maize production practices on soil water extraction and water use efficiencies were investigated in 2009 and 2010 under center-pivot irrigation near Clay Center, Nebraska. Four irrigation regimes (fully irrigated treatment (FIT), 75% FIT, 60% FIT, and 50% FIT) and a rainfed treatment were implemented. The crop water use efficiency (CWUE, or crop water productivity), irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), and evapotranspiration water use efficiency (ETWUE) were used to evaluate the water productivity performance of each

treatment. The seasonal rainfall amounts in 2009 and 2010, respectively, were 426 mm (18% below normal) …

Large-Scale On-Farm Implementation Of Soil Moisture-Based Irrigation Management Strategies For Increasing Maize Water Productivity, Suat Irmak, Michael J. Burgert, Haishun Yang, Kenneth G. Cassman, Daniel T. Walters, William R. Rathje, Jose O. Payero, Patricio Grassini, Mark S. Kuzila, Kelly J. Brunkhorst, Dean E. Eisenhauer, William L. Kranz, Brandy Vandewalle, Jennifer M. Rees, Gary L. Zoubek, Charles A. Shapiro, Gregory J. Teichmeier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Irrigated maize is produced on about 3.5 Mha in the U.S. Great Plains and western Corn Belt. Most irrigation water comes from groundwater. Persistent drought and increased competition for water resources threaten long-term viability of groundwater resources, which motivated our research to develop strategies to increase water productivity without noticeable reduction in maize yield. Results from previous research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) experiment stations in 2005 and 2006 found that it was possible to substantially reduce irrigation amounts and increase irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) and crop water use efficiency (CWUE) (or crop water productivity) with little or …

Evaporative Losses From A Common Reed-Dominated Peachleaf Willow And Cottonwood Riparian Plant Community, Isa Kabenge, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Our study is one of the first to integrate and apply within-canopy radiation physics parameters and scaling-up leaf-level stomatal resistace (r_L) to canopy resistance (r_c) approach to quantify hourly transpiration (TRP) rates of individual riparian plant species—common reed (Phragmites australis), peachleaf willow (Salix amygdaloides), and cottonwood (Populus deltoides)— in a mixed riparian plant community in the Platte River Basin in central Nebraska. Two experimental years (2009 and 2010) were contrasted by warmer air temperature and presence of flood water in 2010. The seasonal average r_c values for common reed, …

Curcumin-Loaded Magnetic Nanoparticles For Breast Cancer Therapeutics And Imaging Applications, Murali M. Yallapu, Shadi F. Othman, Evan T. Curtis, Nichole A. Bauer, Neeraj Chauhan, Deepak Kumar, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Breast cancer is a commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States. It is estimated that 230,480 women were diagnosed with, and 39,520 women died from, breast cancer in 2011 in the United States.¹ Basal-like breast cancer accounts for 15% of all breast cancers and has a poor prognosis. The majority of these cancers are referred to as triple-negative breast cancers because they do not over express estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2.^2,3 Chemotherapy is an effective option to treat such cancers; however, chemotherapy is always associated with several sets of side …

P95. In Vivo Loads In The Cervical Spine: A Preliminary Investigation Using A Force-Sensing Implant, Rebecca A. Wachs, Mary Beth M. Grabowsky, Joseph C. Glennon, Eric H. Ledet

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: It is estimated that up to 80% of the general population will experience at least one significant bout of low back pain in their lifetime. The leading known cause of low back pain is degenerative disc disease (DDD). Many established risk factors for low back pain and DDD are mechanical in nature and are often related to occupational activities, such as poor posture and frequent/heavy lifting. Altered mechanical loading in the spine has been shown to be a potential stimulus for disc degeneration. However, a link between occupational/environmental factors and intervertebral loading has never been demonstrated in vivo. …

P96. Three-Dimensional Morphometry Of Human Cervical Endplates, Rebecca A. Wachs, Victoria M. Michna, Eric H. Ledet

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Degeneration of the cervical intervertebral disc is the underlying cause for many patients suffering from neck and upper extremity pain. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, and cervical disc replacements are common, but next generation implants and less invasive surgical techniques are predicated on a comprehensive characterization of cervical endplate morphology. To date, cervical endplate morphometry has not been described in detail, and age-related and gender- dependent differences have not been characterized.

PURPOSE: The purposes of this research were to measure cervical endplate morphometry in both men and women across three decades of life and characterize age, gender, and …

Sensitivity Analysis On Mapping Evapotranspiration At High Resolution Using Internal Calibration (Metric), Venkata Naga Ravi Kumar Choragudi

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mapping EvapoTranspiration at high Resolution using Internal Calibration (METRIC) is most widely used to quantify evapotranspiration (ET) spatially and temporally. It is essential to inspect the model’s response to errors in various parameters used in the model. Landsat 5 images from May 30 2009, July 1 2009 and a Landsat 7 image from September 27 2009 are used in this study. Fourteen different fields composed of Corn, Soybeans, Alfalfa are randomly chosen for each crop type.

Two kinds of errors are addressed in this study. One, with the errors that are transferred and potentially compensated by calibration (Global error) and …

Seamless Bridge And Roadway System For The U.S. Practice, Nima Ala

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Expansion joints are one of the main causes for high maintenance costs in bridges. The search for ideal expansion joints has proven fruitless. That is why it has been said that “the best joint is no joint”. A seamless bridge system is envisioned that results in bridges with long service lives by eliminating the joints over the entire length of the bridge, approach slab and a segment of the roadway called transition. All bridge thermal movements are dissipated to zero in the transition. The system is similar to a system developed in Australia but modifications had to be made to …

Stage-Dependent Transient Storage Of Phosphorus In Alluvial Floodplains, Derek M. Heeren, Garey A. Fox, Ronald B. Miller, Daniel E. Storm, Amanda K. Fox, Chad J. Penn, Todd Halihan, Aaron R. Mittelstet

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Models for contaminant transport in streams commonly idealize transient storage as a well-mixed but immobile system. These transient storage models capture rapid (near-stream) hyporheic storage and transport, but do not account for large-scale, stage-dependent interaction with the alluvial aquifer. The objective of this research was to document transient storage of phosphorus (P) in coarse gravel alluvium potentially influenced by large-scale, stage-dependent preferential flow pathways (PFPs). Long-term monitoring was performed at floodplain sites adjacent to the Barren Fork Creek and Honey Creek in northeastern Oklahoma. Based on results from subsurface electrical resistivity mapping which was correlated to hydraulic conductivity data, observation …

Performance Rating Of De-Icing Chemicals For Winter Operations, Barbara M. Gerbino-Bevins

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The cost of deicing chemicals is a significant part of the Nebraska Department of Road's winter maintenance budget. Many products are available for use in highway and bridge deicing and new products are introduced each year. The objectives of this research are to develop a laboratory test to evaluate the performance of chemical deicers, to investigate national, state, and local standards, and to develop best maintenance practices to optimize the use of chemical deicers.

This research project consists of two phases:

Phase 1: conduct a literature survey to find data from existing laboratory tests used to evaluate deicer performance.

Phase …

Do Invasive Riparian Woody Plants Affect Hydrology And Ecosystem Processes?, Julie Huddle, Tala Awada, Derrel Martin, Xinhua Zhou, Sue Ellen Pegg, Scott Josiah

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

© 2011 Copyright by the Center for Greot Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Glypican-3 Targeting Of Liver Cancer Cells Using Multifunctional Nanoparticles, James O. Park, Zachary Stephen, Conory Sun, Omid Veiseh, Forrest M. Kievit, Chen Fang, Matthew Leung, Hyejung Mok, Miqin Zhang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Imaging is essential in accurately detecting, staging, and treating primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC]), one of the most prevalent and lethal malignancies. We developed a novel multifunctional nanoparticle (NP) specifically targeting glypican-3 (GPC3), a proteoglycan implicated in promotion of cell growth that is overexpressed in most HCCs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to confirm the differential GPC3 expression in two human HCC cells, Hep G2 (high) and HLF (negligible). These cells were treated with biotin-conjugated GPC3 monoclonal antibody (aGPC3) and subsequently targeted using superparamagnetic iron oxide NPs conjugated to streptavidin and Alexa Fluor 647. Flow cytometry demonstrated …

Magnetite Nanoparticles For Medical Mr Imaging, Zachary R. Stephen, Forrest M. Kievit, Miqin Zhang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become one of the most widely used and powerful tools for non-invasive clinical diagnosis due to its high soft tissue contrast, spatial resolution, and penetration depth1. In addition, images are acquired without the use of ionizing radiation or radiotracers that would cause unwanted harmful side-effects. A considerable amount of research in medical MR imaging is focused on the development of contrast agents that can provide better delineation between healthy and diseased tissue. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are a major class of nanoscale material currently under extensive development for improved diagnosis of a wide range of diseases, …

Development Of An Angular Scanning System For Sensing Vertical Profiles Of Soil Electrical Conductivity, Viacheslav Adamchuk, Ahmad S. Mat Su, Roger A. Eigenberg, Richard B. Ferguson

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Apparent soil electrical conductivity (EC_a) is typically mapped to define soil spatial variability within an agricultural field. Knowledge of the vertical variability of EC_a is desired to define the site‐specific behavior of the soil profile. A pneumatic angular scanning system (PASS) was developed to sense horizontal and vertical changes of EC_a on‐the‐go with an electromagnetic induction (EMI) instrument using an angular scanning method. This sensor system consists of a sled with a rotating mechanism, an EMI sensor, an inclinometer, and a pneumatic actuator. The system was evaluated at the University of Nebraska‐Lincoln Agricultural Research and Development …

Identification Of Holocarboxylase Synthetase Chromatin Binding Sites In Human Mammary Cell Lines Using The Damid Technology, Dipika Singh, Angela K. Pannier, Janos Zempleni

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Holocarboxylase synthetase (HCS) is a chromatin protein that is essential for mediating the covalent binding of biotin to histones. Biotinylation of histones plays crucial roles in the repression of genes and repeats in the human genome. We tested the feasibility of DNA adenine methyltransferase identification (DamID) technology to map HCS binding sites in human mammary cell lines. Full-length HCS was fused to Dam for subsequent transfection into breast cancer (MCF-7) and normal breast (MCF-10A) cells. HCS docking sites in chromatin were identified by using the unique adenine methylation sites established by Dam in the fusion construct; docking sites were unambiguously …

Cellular Arrays For Large-Scale Analysis Of Transcription Factor Activity, Abigail D. Bellis, Beatriz Peňalver-Bernabé, Michael S. Weiss, Michael E. Yarrington, Maria V. Barbolina, Angela K. Pannier, Jacqueline S. Jeruss, Linda J. Broadbelt, Lonnie D. Shea

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Identifying molecular mechanisms or therapeutic targets is typically based on large-scale cellular analysis that measures the abundance of mRNA or protein; however, abundance does not necessarily correlate with activity. We report a method for direct large-scale quantification of active pathways that employs a cellular array with parallel gene delivery of constructs that report pathway activity. The reporter constructs encode luciferase, whose expression is influenced by binding of transcription factors (TFs), which are the downstream targets of signaling pathways. Luciferase levels are quantified by bioluminescence imaging (BLI), which allows for rapid, noninvasive measurements. Activity profiles by BLI of 32 TFs were …

Microarray Analysis Of Gene Expression Profiles In Cells Transfected With Nonviral Vectors, Sarah A. Plautz, Gina Boanca, Jean-Jack M. Riethoven, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Inefficient gene delivery is a critical factor limiting the use of nonviral methods in therapeutic applications including gene therapy and tissue engineering. There have been few efforts to understand or engineer the molecular signaling pathways that dictate the efficacy of gene transfer. Microarray analysis was used to determine endogenous gene expression profiles modulated during nonviral gene transfer. Nonviral DNA lipoplexes were delivered to HEK 293T cells. Flow cytometry was used to isolate a population of transfected cells. Expression patterns were compared between transfected and nontransfected samples, which revealed three genes that were significantly upregulated in transfected cells, including RAP1A, …

Flocculation Of Wall-Deficient Cells Of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii Mutant Cw15 By Calcium And Methanol, Matt Scholz, Takanori Hoshino, Mark R. Riley, Joel Cuello

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Flocculation is a common and inexpensive method for harvesting algae from solution. After nitrogen starvation, it was shown that 83 + 3% of the wall-deficient cells of the cw 15 mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii flocculated from 12 mL samples within 15 min after the addition of 15 mM calcium chloride at pH 8.4. Only 24 2% of the wildtype strain flocculated under these conditions, thus demonstrating how a simple mutation might facilitate process design. The data suggested that algae grown in waters with similar calcium concentrations (e.g. certain wastewaters) might be harvested through simple pH adjustment. It was also discovered …

Performance Of Extended Shuttleworth‐Wallace Model For Estimating And Partitioning Of Evapotranspiration In A Partial Residue‐Covered Subsurface Drip‐Irrigated Soybean Field, Lameck O. Odhiambo, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Estimation of actual evapotranspiration (ET), especially its partitioning into plant transpiration (T) and soil evaporation (E), in agricultural fields is important for effective soil water management and conservation and for understanding the interactions between ET, T, and E with the management practices. Direct field measurements of ET, T, and E rates are difficult and costly; hence, mathematical models are used for estimating them. The objective of this study was to evaluate the practical applicability of the Shuttleworth‐Wallace (S‐W) model to estimate and partition ET in a subsurface drip‐irrigated soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) field with partial residue cover. While its …

Improved Soil Mixing And Delivery System For A Storm Runoff Simulator, William C. Alms, Thomas G. Franti, David P. Shelton

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

An earlier version of a storm runoff simulator to test conservation buffers reproduced target hydrographs and sedigraphs using uniform, fine sand; however, it was unable to uniformly mix and deliver native sediment. The objectives of this work reported were to create a method to process native agricultural sediment, mix a uniform sediment slurry at a target concentration, and create a control system that will deliver the slurry in varying flow rates corresponding to a target sedigraph. Eroded silty clay (14% sand) was scraped, dried, and processed with a hammer mill. A sand (93% sand) and loam (44% sand) were dried …

Irrigation Efficiency And Uniformity, And Crop Water Use Efficiency, Suat Irmak, Lameck O. Odhiambo, William L. Kranz, Dean E. Eisenhauer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This Extension Circular describes various irrigation efficiency, crop water use efficiency, and irrigation uniformity evaluation terms that are relevant to irrigation systems and management practices currently used in Nebraska, in other states, and around the world. The definitions and equations described can be used by crop consultants, irrigation district personnel, and university, state, and federal agency personnel to evaluate how efficiently irrigation water is applied and/or used by the crop, and can help to promote better or improved use of water resources in agriculture.

As available water resources become scarcer, more emphasis is given to efficient use of irrigation water …

A Case Study Concerning The Effects Of Controller Response And Turning Movements On Application Rate Uniformity With A Self-Propelled Sprayer, Joe D. Luck, A. Sharda, Santosh Pitla, J. P. Fulton, S. A. Shearer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The use of precision agriculture technologies such as automatic boom section control allows producers to reduce off-target application when applying herbicides. While automatic boom section control provides benefits, pressure differences across the spray boom resulting from boom section actuation may lead to off-rate application errors. Off-rate errors may also result from spray rate controller compensation for ground speed changes or velocity variation across the spray boom during turning movements. This project focused on characterizing application rate variation for three fields located in central Kentucky. GPS coordinates, boom control status, and nozzle pressure data (at 15 nozzle locations) were recorded as …

Role Of Information On Probability Of Traffic Conflict On The Onset Of Yellow, Nathaniel P. Burnett, Anuj Sharma

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper examines the effect of information provided to drivers through advance warning flashers (AWFs) on driver’s probability of conflict at the onset of yellow at a high-speed intersection. AWFs are specifically designed to minimize the number of vehicles trapped in their respective dilemma zones at the onset of yellow. A probit modeling technique was used to establish dilemma zone boundaries. Based on the dilemma zone boundaries probability of a perceived conflict curves was computed and compared against actual conflicts observed at each of the studied intersections. The comparison between the actual and theoretical probability of conflict curves generated a …

Effects Of Warm-Mix Asphalt Additives On Asphalt Mixture Characteristics And Pavement Performance, Jun Zhang

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the feasibility of several WMA mixtures as potential asphalt paving mixtures for Nebraska pavements. To that end, three well-known WMA additives (i.e., Sasobit, Evotherm, and Advera synthetic zeolite) were evaluated. For a more realistic evaluation of the WMA approaches, trial pavement sections of the WMA mixtures and their HMA counterparts were implemented in Antelope County, Nebraska. More than one ton of field-mixed loose mixtures were collected at the time of paving and were transported to the NDOR and UNL laboratories to conduct comprehensive laboratory evaluations and pavement performance predictions of the …

Optimization And Economic Evaluation Of Industrial Gas Production And Combined Heat And Power Generation From Gasification Of Corn Stover And Distillers Grains, Ajay Kumar, Yaşar Demirel, David D. Jones, Milford Hanna

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Thermochemical gasification is one of the most promising technologies for converting biomass into power, fuels and chemicals. The objectives of this study were to maximize the net energy efficiency for biomass gasification, and to estimate the cost of producing industrial gas and combined heat and power (CHP) at a feedrate of 2,000 kg/h. Aspen Plusbased model for gasification was combined with a CHP generation model, and optimized using corn stover and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) as the biomass feedstocks. The cold gas efficiencies for gas production were 57% and 52%, respectively, for corn stover and DDGS. The selling …

Nebraska Agricultural Water Management Demonstration Network (Nawmdn): Integrating Research And Extension/Outreach, Suat Irmak, Jennifer M. Rees, Gary L. Zoubek, Brandy S. Van Dewalle, William R. Rathje, Rodney Debuhr, Dan Leininger, Darrel D. Siekman, James W. Schneider, Andrew P. Christiansen

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Maximizing the net benefits of irrigated plant production through appropriately designed agricultural water management programs is of growing importance in Nebraska, and other western and Midwestern states, because many areas are involved in management and policy changes to conserve irrigation water. In Nebraska, farmers are being challenged to practice conservation methods and use water resources more efficiently while meeting plant water requirements and maintaining high yields. Another challenge Nebraska experiences in it's approximately 3.5‐million‐ha irrigated lands is limited adoption of newer technologies/tools to help farmers better manage irrigation, conserve water and energy, and increase plant water use efficiency. In 2005, …

On The Dynamics Of Canopy Resistance: Generalized Linear Estimation And Relationships With Primary Micrometeorological Variables, Suat Irmak, Denis Mutiibwa

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The 1‐D and single layer combination‐based energy balance Penman‐Monteith (PM) model has limitations in practical application due to the lack of canopy resistance (r_c) data for different vegetation surfaces. r_c could be estimated by inversion of the PM model if the actual evapotranspiration (E_Ta) rate is known, but this approach has its own set of issues. Instead, an empirical method of estimating r_c is suggested in this study. We investigated the relationships between primary micrometeorological parameters and rc and developed seven models to estimate r_c for a nonstressed maize canopy on an hourly …

Nebraska Water And Energy Flux Measurement, Modeling, And Research Network (Nebflux), Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Surface energy and water vapor fluxes play a critical role in understanding the response of agro‐ecosystems to changes in environmental and atmospheric parameters. These fluxes play a crucial role in exploring the dynamics of water and energy use efficiencies of these systems. Quantification of the fluxes is also necessary for assessing the impact of land use and management changes on water balances. Accomplishing these goals requires measurement of water vapor and energy exchanges between various vegetation surfaces and microclimates for long‐enough periods to understand the behavior and dynamics involved with the flux transfer so that robust models can be developed …

Numerically Predicting Seepage Gradient Forces And Erosion: Sensitivity To Soil Hydraulic Properties, Garey A. Fox, Derek M. Heeren, Glenn V. Wilson, E. J. Langendoen, Amanda K. Fox, Maria L. Chu-Agor

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Research has suggested that streambank seepage can be an important mechanism of bank instability; however, limited information is available on the level of soil characterization necessary to accurately predict seepage gradient forces and erosion. The objective of this research was to quantify the expected range of predicted seepage gradients for various degrees of site characterization. Uncertainty analysis on seepage gradient predictions was performed relative to variability in soil hydraulic properties. A two-dimensional unsaturated/saturated groundwater flow model was used to simulate a homogeneous soil layer for sand and loamy sand soils packed at various bulk densities, ρ_b. A pedotransfer …

Nebraska Agricultural Water Management Demonstration Network (Nawmdn): Integrating Research And Extension/Outreach, Suat Irmak, Jennifer M. Rees, Gary L. Zoubek, Brandy S. Van Dewalle, William R. Rathje, Rodney Debuhr, Dan Leininger, Darrel D. Siekman, James W. Schneider, Andrew P. Christiansen

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Maximizing the net benefits of irrigated plant production through appropriately designed agricultural water management programs is of growing importance in Nebraska, and other western and Midwestern states, because many areas are involved in management and policy changes to conserve irrigation water. In Nebraska, farmers are being challenged to practice conservation methods and use water resources more efficiently while meeting plant water requirements and maintaining high yields. Another challenge Nebraska experiences in it's approximately 3.5‐million‐ha irrigated lands is limited adoption of newer technologies/tools to help farmers better manage irrigation, conserve water and energy, and increase plant water use efficiency. In 2005, …