Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Fossils On The Floor Mosaics In The Rotunda Of The Nebraska State Capitol Second Edition, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

The idea for this project arose during a field trip to the Nebraska State Capitol led by my long-time friend and colleague, Joe Hannibal, of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, during the Geological Society of America’s North-Central Section Meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Saturday, April 26, 2014. One of Joe’s interests is historical buildings and their building stones. He put together a very useful guidebook to the building and its decorative stones (Hannibal, 2014) that we used on our tour.

One of the many places that we visited was the State Capitol Archives, located in the basement, where the …

Magnetism Of Novel Rare-Earth-Free Intermetallic Compounds, Haohan Wang

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rare-earth-free magnets have drawn lots of interest because of their low cost, and the production is not limited by the shortage of rare-earth elements. This dissertation focuses on three rare-earth-free materials, Fe-Co-Ti alloys, Fe-Ni-B alloys, and Co-Si. All of them are synthesized by arc melting followed by melt-spinning. Fe_3+xCo_3−xTi₂ (x = 0, 2, 3) alloys exhibit hexagonal crystal structures and show non-collinear spin structures according to neutron diffraction. The magnetic moments have projections on both the c-axis and basal plane, and the corresponding misalignment angle exhibits a nonlinear decrease with …

Circuits Based On Magnetoelectric Transistor Devices, Nishtha Sharma Gaul, Andrew Marshall, Peter A. Dowben, Dmitri E. Nikonov

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Logic circuits constructed with magnetoelectric (ME) transistors are described herein. A ME logic gate device can include at least one conducting device, for example, at least one MOS transistor; and at least one ME transistor coupled to the at least one conducting device. The ME transistor can be a ME field effect transistor (ME-FET), which can be can be an anti-ferromagnetic spin-orbit read (AFSOR) device or a non - AFSOR device. The gates and logic circuits described herein can be included as standard cells in a design library. Cells of the cell library can include standard cells for a ME …

Advanced Cnc/Peg/Pdmaa Semi-Ipn Hydrogel For Drug Delivery Management In Wound Healing, Samia Afrin, Md. Shahruzzaman, Papia Haque, Md. Sazedul Islam, Shafiul Hossain, Taslim Ur Rashid, Tanvir Ahmed, Makoto Takafuji, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman

Chemistry Department: Faculty Publications

A Semi Interpenetrating Polymer Network (semi-IPN) hydrogel was prepared and loaded with an antibiotic drug, gentamicin, to investigate the wound healing activity of this system. The semi-IPN hydrogel was synthesized by combining natural polymer cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) and synthetic polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) and poly (N,N0-dimethyl acrylamide) (PDMAA), which was initially added as a monomer dimethyl acrylamide (DMAA). CNC was prepared from locally obtained jute fibers, dispersed in a PEG-NaOH solvent systemand then mixed with monomer DMAA, where polymerization was initiated by an initiator potassium persulphate (KPS) and cross-linked by N,N0-methylenebisacrylamide (NMBA). The size, morphology, biocompatibility, antimicrobial activity, thermal and …

Toxicological Responses To Sublethal Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure In Free‑Flying Hawks, Nimish B. Vyas, Barnett A. Rattner, J. Michael Lockhart, Craig S. Hulse, Clifford P. Rice, Frank Kuncir, Kevin Kritz

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

An important component of assessing the hazards of anticoagulant rodenticides to non-target wildlife is observations in exposed free-ranging individuals. The objective of this study was to determine whether environmentally realistic, sublethal first-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (FGAR) exposures via prey can result in direct or indirect adverse effects to free-flying raptors. We offered black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) that had fed on Rozol® Prairie Dog Bait (Rozol, 0.005% active ingredient chlorophacinone, CPN) to six wild-caught red-tailed hawks (RTHA, Buteo jamaicensis), and also offered black-tailed prairie dogs that were not exposed to Rozol to another two wild-caught RTHAs for 7 …

Within‑Marsh And Landscape Features Structure Ribbed Mussel Distribution In Georgia, Usa, Marshes, William K. Annis, Elizabeth A. Hunter, John M. Carroll

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Ribbed mussels, Geukensia demissa, are marsh fauna that are used in coastal management and restoration due to the ecosystem services they provide. Ribbed mussel restoration efforts may be improved with a greater understanding of the environmental drivers of ribbed mussel distribution at multiple spatial scales to predict areas where restoration could be successful. This study sought to estimate the effects of within-marsh (4 m) and landscape (500 m) factors on ribbed mussel distribution. Ribbed mussel densities were surveyed at 11 sites along the coast of Georgia, USA, and overlaid with spatial data for within-marsh factors (elevation, distance to marsh …

Influences Of Seasonality And Habitat Quality On Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Fish Community Composition And Diets, Sara N. Diller, Anna M. Harrison, Kurt P. Kowalski, Valerie J. Brady, Jan J. H. Ciborowski, Matthew J. Cooper, Joshua D. Dumke, Joseph P. Gathman, Carl R. Ruetz Iii, Donald G. Uzarski, Douglas A. Wilcox, Jeffrey S. Schaeffer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Great Lakes coastal wetlands (GLCW) have been severely degraded by anthropogenic activity over the last several decades despite their critical role in fish production. Many Great Lakes fish species use coastal wetland habitats for spawning, feeding, shelter, and nurseries throughout the year. The goal of our study was to compare GLCW fish community composition in the spring, summer, and fall months and investigate how water quality relates to fish diversity, the presence of functional groups, and juvenile fish diets. We summarized fish data collected from GLCW across the basin and used the coastal wetland monitoring program’s water quality-land use indicator …

A Critical Review Of Bioaccumulation And Biotransformation Of Organic Chemicals In Birds, Dave T. F. Kuo, Barnett A. Rattner, Sarah C. Marteinson, Robert Letcher, Kim J. Fernie, Gabriele Treu, Markus Deutsch, Mark S. Johnson, Sandrine Deglin, Michelle Embry

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A literature review of bioaccumulation and biotransformation of organic chemicals in birds was undertaken, aiming to support scoping and prioritization of future research. The objectives were to characterize available bioaccumulation/ biotransformation data, identify knowledge gaps, determine how extant data can be used, and explore the strategy and steps forward. An intermediate approach balanced between expediency and rigor was taken given the vastness of the literature. Following a critical review of >500 peer-reviewed studies, >25,000 data entries and 2 million information bytes were compiled on >700 organic compounds for ~ 320 wild species and 60 domestic breeds of birds. These data …

Stem Exploration Club, Erin Case, Caitlyn Scott

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

No abstract provided.

The Possibility Of A Land Bridge Across Nebraska In Mississippian Time, E. C. Reed

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Comparing Artificial-Intelligence Techniques With State-Of-The-Art Parametric Prediction Models For Predicting Soybean Traits, Susweta Ray, Diego Jarquin, Reka Howard

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is a significant source of protein and oil and is also widely used as animal feed. Thus, developing lines that are superior in terms of yield, protein, and oil content is important to feed the ever-growing population. As opposed to high-cost phenotyping, genotyping is both cost and time efficient for breeders because evaluating new lines in different environments (location–year combinations) can be costly. Several genomic prediction (GP) methods have been developed to use the marker and environment data effectively to predict the yield or other relevant phenotypic traits of crops. Our study compares a conventional …

Nutrient Restoration Of A Large, Impounded, Ultra-Oligotrophic Western River To Recover Declining Native Fishes, Ryan S. Hardy, Tyler J. Ross, Kevin N. Mcdonnell, Michael C. Quist, Charlie Holderman, Bryan S. Stevens

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Declines in many fish populations in large, western rivers have been primarily attributed to the anthropogenic reduction of nutrient inputs and subsequent impacts to the food web. The largest known river fertilization program was implemented starting in 2005 on the Kootenai River in northern Idaho to restore resident fisheries. Annual electrofishing surveys were conducted at multiple sites in Idaho and Montana before and during nutrient addition to evaluate assemblage and population-level responses. Although few responses in fish assemblage structure were observed, the addition of liquid ammonium polyphosphate fertilizer (3 μg/L) to the Kootenai River increased fish abundance and biomass over …

Real Time Call-Flagging System To Respond To Suicidal Ideation In Call Centers, Vishnu Menon, Joseph Carrigan, Charles Floeder, Thomas Walton, Devin Mcguire

Honors Theses

The 2021-2022 Signature Performance Design Studio team developed a live audio call-flagging system that enables faster responses and new response pathways to veteran crises by call service representatives and their management team. Using a custom made deep learning model, live audio streaming server, and Teams broadcasting add-on, the system empowers Signature Performance call service representatives to make quicker and more well informed decisions to provide veteran’s the best care possible.

Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Different Techniques For Creating Cross-Platform Compatible Software, Michael Westberg

Honors Theses

Creating cross-platform compatible software is a major issue in a world where users utilize a variety of devices and platforms. To ensure that a piece of software is accessible to as many users as possible, software must be cross-platform compatible. There are four main approaches that can be done to achieve this state of being cross-platform compatible, each with both advantages and disadvantages. These methods are: creating the software as separate binaries, using a scripting language with a cross-platform interpreter, compiling to an intermediate language, and creating the software as a web application. This paper will discuss how each of …

A Framework Comparison: .Net And Laravel, Guy Richard

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Seasonal Variation And Tracking Of Climate Niche Of A Migratory Bird, Javier Gutiérrez Illán, Guiming Wang, D. Tommy King, Fred L. Cunningham

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Migratory birds inhabit different areas during breeding and non-breeding seasons. Depending on the time of the year, they may utilize different resources available in seasonal habitats, but also are subjected to changing climate regimes during their annual life cycle. Migratory birds may adopt ecological niche tracking to cope with different environmental conditions between breeding and non-breeding grounds. The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, hereafter ‘AWPE’) is a short-distance migrant between the Gulf of Mexico coastal regions (nonbreeding grounds) and the Northern Great Plains (breeding grounds) of Canada and the US. The American White Pelican is a piscivore, feeding …

Greenhouse Gas Emissions During The Usage Phase Of Electric Vehicles In The United States, Now And In The Future, Zach Roza

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This is a systematic literature review and a discussion of future trends on the greenhouse gas emissions produced during the usage phase of electric vehicles in the United States now and in the future. The objective of this study was to determine the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced during the usage phase of an electric vehicle in the US currently and what it is expected to be in the year 2050. The reason that the study was conducted was due to the harmful effects caused by global warming and how large of a role the transportation industry in the …

The Impact Of Interactions Among Native Grassland Species: A Study Of Interactions Between Two Invasive Species (Bromus Tectorum And Setaria Faberi) And Two Native Species (Helianthus Annuus And Rudbeckia Hirta), Nash Leef

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Allelopathy is a description of an interaction between two plant species, usually negative, that impacts their growth or germination. There has been ample data published regarding the impact of allelopathic species in agricultural settings, but little attention has been given to the potential interactions between invasive and native species. Two culprits that have employed allelopathy to great effect in agricultural settings are cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and giant foxtail (Setaria faberi). This study posits that allelopathic interactions, similar to those found in agriculture, are occurring between native and invasive species on the Great Plains.

A set of greenhouse trials was established …

Age And Water-Quality Characteristics Of Groundwater Discharge To The South Loup River, Nebraska, 2019, Christopher M. Hobza, John E. Solder

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Streams in the Loup River Basin are sensitive to groundwater withdrawals because of the close hydrologic connection between groundwater and surface water. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Loup and Lower Loup Natural Resources Districts, and the Nebraska Environmental Trust, studied the age and water-quality characteristics of groundwater near the South Loup River to assess the possible effects of a multiyear drought on streamflow.

Groundwater sampled in wells screened in Quaternary-age deposits displayed a wide range of mean ages (27 to 2,100 years), fraction modern, and susceptibility index values. Groundwater with higher concentrations of chloride and higher …

Public Health Impacts Of The Clothing Industry, Schafer Flowerday

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The clothing industry is worth $1.5 trillion dollars and rapidly expanding (Statista, 2021). The industry is dominated by fast fashion, which accounts for clothing that is quickly and cheaply produced, based on ever-changing trends. 90% of textiles produced are made in low-income countries, predominantly in South Asia (Seigel, 2011). This systematic literature review looks into the impact this industry has on these vulnerable populations which are working and living in areas where clothing is produced. Environmental and Occupational health hazards and impacts were researched. Environmental impacts occur at each step of the process. Polyester is the most common textile, and …

Search For Higgsinos Decaying To Two Higgs Bosons And Missing Transverse Momentum In Proton-Proton Collisions At √S = 13 Tev, A. Tumasyan

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Results are presented from a search for physics beyond the standard model in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13TeV in channels with two Higgs bosons, each decaying via the process H ⟶ b[], and large missing transverse momentum. The search uses a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb⁻¹ collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC. The search is motivated by models of supersymmetry that predict the production of neutralinos, the neutral partners of the electroweak gauge and Higgs bosons. The observed event yields in the signal regions are found to be consistent with …

Search For Heavy Resonances Decaying To A Pair Of Lorentz-Boosted Higgs Bosons In Final States With Leptons And A Bottom Quark Pair At √S = 13 Tev, A. Tumasyan

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

A search for new heavy resonances decaying to a pair of Higgs bosons (HH) in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV is presented. Data were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016–2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹. Resonances with a mass between 0.8 and 4.5TeV are considered using events in which one Higgs boson decays into a bottom quark pair and the other into final states with either one or two charged leptons. Specifically, the single-lepton decay channel HH ⟶ b[]WW* ⟶ b[]ℓvq[]' and the dilepton decay channels HH ⟶ …

Multi-Criteria Evaluation Model For Classifying Marginal Cropland In Nebraska Using Historical Crop Yield And Biophysical Characteristics, Andrew Laws

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Marginal cropland is suboptimal due to historically low and variable productivity and limiting biophysical characteristics. To support future agricultural management and policy decisions in Nebraska, U.S.A, it is important to understand where cropland is marginal for its two most economically important crops: corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max). As corn and soybean are frequently planted in a crop rotation, it is important to consider if there is a relationship with cropland marginality. Based on the current literature, there exists a need for a flexible yet robust methodology for identifying marginal land at different scales, which …

Extremal Problems In Graph Saturation And Covering, Adam Volk

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation considers several problems in extremal graph theory with the aim of finding the maximum or minimum number of certain subgraph counts given local conditions. The local conditions of interest to us are saturation and covering. Given graphs F and H, a graph G is said to be F-saturated if it does not contain any copy of F, but the addition of any missing edge in G creates at least one copy of F. We say that G is H-covered if every vertex of G is contained in at least one copy of H. In the former setting, we …

Land-Use And Potential Effects On The Western Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma Mavortium), Emily Zappia

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Humans have altered 40% of land across the globefor cropland, rangeland, and pastureland, which, in turn, affects amphibious species like the western tiger salamander (Ambystoma mavortium; WTS)and their viable habitats.Since intensive agriculture increased throughout eastern Nebraska in the 1980’s, the distribution ofA. mavortiumhas declined and the species can no longer be found in the southeast corner of the state, while populations are thriving in the pastures of the Sandhills region. Here we explorethe potential factors contributing to the decline ofA. mavortiumthrough the analysis of climaticand soil characteristic data across the geographic distribution of WTS. Data indicated that precipitation rates, soil …

Reintroduction Of The Grey Wolf, Cody Willers

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A comprehensive literature review of the topic of the reintroduction of the grey wolf (Canis lupus) into the lower 48 states has been conducted to determine the viability of the grey wolf as a method for managing the overgrowth of medium to large ungulate populations. Due to the overgrowth of medium to large ungulate populations without the presence of the grey wolf, detrimental environmental impacts were being seen on many ecosystems such as Yellowstone in North America. Through predation and the fear of predation, the presence of the grey wolf in these ecosystems can provide a solution to the negative …

Wildfires & Prescribed Fires: Do They Impact Soil Quality?, Kate Nelson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Globally, climate change has had an adverse effect on natural phenomena and ecosystem trends, including drastically increasing the number of wildfires that occur annually. As a result, the number of wildfires in the western United States have doubled since 1984. More specifically, ideal wildfire conditions have also prolonged the wildfire season in California. The objectives of this study were to determine if wildfires had an effect on soil quality and determine if wildfires and prescribed fires had different impacts on soil quality in northern California. A literature review was conducted to address the knowledge gaps and understand the perceived changes …

Noise Pollution And Its Effects On Human Mental And Physical Health, Seth Anderson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Noise pollution is defined as unwanted sound, capable of causing both mental and physical harm. In order to see if there was a correlation between increasing noise pollution (dB) and (a) increasing Negative Affect Score (NAS), (b) decreasing Positive Affect Score (PAS), and (c) increasing Resting Heart Rate (RHR), research was conducted. Participants were taken to four different testing locations, each with a corresponding dB level, and asked to (a) have their Resting Heart Rate (RHR) taken and (b) fill out a questionnaire based on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) psychological measure. At the conclusion of this study, …

The Effects Of Human Activity On Reintroduced Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Populations, Justine Cherovsky

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Since the decimation of North America’s bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) populations due to human impacts, translocations have been the primary conservation strategy to repopulate the native habitat. Following the extirpation of the species in Nebraska, bighorns were reintroduced with the hope to establish a stable population, but nearly four decades of management has resulted in large-scale die-offs and unstable herds. Ongoing human impacts have created similar results across the country as reintroductions struggle to establish independent bighorn herds. A systematic literature review was conducted to analyze current human related effects, evaluate the effectiveness of management practices, and compare these findings …

How Can Stakeholders In Food Sovereignty Achieve More Political Power?, Micah Dierks

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Food sovereignty (FSv) is a peasant-driven, transnational movement that emerged in response to land-grabbing and the consolidation of power in food production. It advocates for the rights of people to define their own food practices and systems. To provide targeted feedback for movement reflexivity, 21 ecological conflicts referencing food sovereignty were sampled from the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (the EJAtlas). Involved groups of actors and their forms of mobilization were correlated with interpretations of success from the EJAtlas. I recommend that stakeholders in food sovereignty pursue the acquisition of greater political power through improving messaging, leveraging or disrupting existing …