Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Groundwater In Nebraska, Troy E. Gilmore, Jesse T. Korus Dr.

Conservation and Survey Division

What is groundwater? Groundwater is water that fills and moves between spaces in underground rocks, gravel, sand, or other materials.

Micrornas In Pancreatic Cancer: Advances In Biomarker Discovery And Therapeutic Implications, Roland Madadjim, Thuy An, Juan Cui

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Pancreatic cancer remains a formidable malignancy characterized by high mortality rates, primarily attributable to late-stage diagnosis and a dearth of effective therapeutic interventions. The identification of reliable biomarkers holds paramount importance in enhancing early detection, prognostic evaluation, and targeted treatment modalities. Small non-coding RNAs, particularly microRNAs, have emerged as promising candidates for pancreatic cancer biomarkers in recent years. In this review, we delve into the evolving role of cellular and circulating miRNAs, including exosomal miRNAs, in the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic targeting of pancreatic cancer. Drawing upon the latest research advancements in omics data-driven biomarker discovery, we also perform a …

Field Testing Of Gamma-Spectroscopy Method For Soil Water Content Estimation In An Agricultural Field, Sophia Becker, Trenton E. Franz, Tanessa Morris, Bailey Mullins

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Gamma-ray spectroscopy (GRS) enables continuous estimation of soil water content (SWC) at the subfield scale with a noninvasive sensor. Hydrological applications, including hyper-resolution land surface models and precision agricultural decision making, could benefit greatly from such SWC information, but a gap exists between established theory and accurate estimation of SWC from GRS in the field. In response, we conducted a robust three-year field validation study at a wellinstrumented agricultural site in Nebraska, United States. The study involved 27 gravimetric water content sampling campaigns in maize and soybean and ⁴⁰K specific activity (Bq kg⁻¹) measurements from a stationary …

A Cohomological Perspective To Nonlocal Operators, Nicholas White

Honors Theses

Nonlocal models have experienced a large period of growth in recent years. In particular, nonlocal models centered around a finite horizon have been the subject of many novel results. In this work we consider three nonlocal operators defined via a finite horizon: a weighted averaging operator in one dimension, an averaging differential operator, and the truncated Riesz fractional gradient. We primarily explore the kernel of each of these operators when we restrict to open sets. We discuss how the topological structure of the domain can give insight into the behavior of these operators, and more specifically the structure of their …

Where East Meets West: Phylogeography Of The High Arctic North American Brant Goose, Robert E. Wilson, W. Sean Boyd, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, David H. Ward, Preben Clausen, Kathryn M. Dickson, Barwolt S. Ebbinge, Gudmundur A. Gudmundsson, George K. Sage, Jolene R. Rearick, Dirk V. Derksen, Sandra L. Talbot

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Genetic variation in Arctic species is often influenced by vicariance during the Pleistocene, as ice sheets fragmented the landscape and displaced populations to low-and high-latitude refugia. The formation of secondary contact or suture zones during periods of ice sheet retraction has important consequences on genetic diversity by facilitating genetic connectivity between formerly isolated populations. Brant geese (Branta bernicla) are a maritime migratory waterfowl (Anseriformes) species that almost exclusively uses coastal habitats. Within North America, brant geese are characterized by two phenotypically distinct subspecies that utilize disjunct breeding and wintering areas in the northern Pacific and Atlantic. In the …

Will Saf Turbocharge The Corn Ethanol Market?, Richard Perrin, Lilyan Fulginiti, Felipe Miranda De Souza Almeida

Cornhusker Economics

The long-run outlook for the corn ethanol industry is questionable, due to a transition to electric and hybrid vehicles. One source of hope for the long run is the potential demand for producing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). SAF is a key component in the United States Aviation Climate Action Plan, a path to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the aviation industry by 2050. Demand for ethanol for SAF offers hope to the ethanol industry, but it depends a great deal on policy decisions that are being made now. Here we sketch out this story.

Based on the information available …

A Multi-Omics Investigation Into The Mechanism Of Action Of An Anti-Tubercular Fatty Acid Analog, Isin T. Sakallioglu, Amith S. Maroli, Aline De Lima Leite, Darrell D. Marshall, Boone W. Evans, Denise K. Zinniel, Patrick H. Dussault, Raul G. Barletta, Robert Powers

Patrick Dussault Publications

The mechanism of action (MoA) of a clickable fatty acid analogue 8-(2-Cyclobuten-1-yl)octanoic acid (DA-CB) has been investigated for the first time. Proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics were combined with a network analysis to investigate the MoA of DA-CB against Mycobacterium smegmatis (Msm). The metabolomics results showed that DA-CB has a general MoA related to that of ethionamide, a mycolic acid inhibitor that targets enoyl-ACP reductase (InhA), but DA-CB likely inhibits a step downstream from InhA. Our combined multi-omics approach showed that DA-CB appears to disrupt the pathway leading to the biosynthesis of mycolic acids, an essential mycobacterial fatty acid …

Leveraging The Hmbc To Facilitate Metabolite Identification, Fatema Bhinderwala, Thao Vu, Thomas G. Smith, Julian Kosacki, Darrell D. Marshall, Yuhang Xu, Martha D. Morton, Robert Powers

Chemistry Department: Faculty Publications

The accuracy and ease of metabolite assignments from a complex mixture are expected to be facilitated by employing a multi-spectral approach. The 2D ¹H-¹³C HSQC and 2D ¹H-¹H-TOCSY are the experiments commonly used for metabolite assignments. The 2D ¹H-¹³C HSQC-TOCSY and 2D ¹H-¹³C HMBC are routinely used by natural products chemists but have seen minimal usage in metabolomics despite the unique information, the nearly complete ¹H-¹H and ¹H-¹³C and spin systems provided by these experiments that may improve the accuracy and reliability …

Development Of A Composite Drought Indicator For Operational Drought Monitoring In The Mena Region, Karim Bergaoui, Makram Belhaj Fraj, Stephen Fragaszy, Ali Ghanim, Omar Hamadin, Emad Al‑Karablieh, Jawad Al‑Bakri, Mona Fakih, Abbas Fayad, Fadi Comair, Mohamed Yessef, Hayat Ben Mansour, Haythem Belgrissi, Kristi Arsenault, Christa Peters‑Lidard, Sujay Kumar, Abheera Hazra, Wanshu Nie, Michael Hayes, Mark D. Svoboda, Rachael Mcdonnell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This paper presents the composite drought indicator (CDI) that Jordanian, Lebanese, Moroccan, and Tunisian government agencies now produce monthly to support operational drought management decision making, and it describes their iterative co-development processes. The CDI is primarily intended to monitor agricultural and ecological drought on a seasonal time scale. It uses remote sensing and modelled data inputs, and it reflects anomalies in precipitation, vegetation, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration. Following quantitative and qualitative validation assessments, engagements with policymakers, and consideration of agencies’ technical and institutional capabilities and constraints, we made changes to CDI input data, modelling procedures, and integration to tailor …

On Skew-Symmetric Splitting And Entropy Conservation Schemes For The Euler Equations, Björn Sjögreen, H.C. Yee

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

The Tadmor type of entropy conservation formulation for the Euler equations and various skew-symmetric splittings of the inviscid flux derivatives are discussed. Numerical stability of high order central and Padé type (centered compact) spatial discretization is enhanced through the application of these formulations. Numerical test on a 2-D vortex convection problem indicates that the stability and accuracy of these formulations using the same high order central spatial discretization are similar for vortex travel up to a few periods. For two to three times longer time integrations, their corresponding stability and accuracy behaviors are very different. The goal of this work …

Publications And Other Works By R. F. Diffendal, Jr., Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Articles
Chapters in Books
Books
Field Guides
Geologic Maps
Other Maps
Cover Photographs
Other Photographs
Newspaper and Other Articles
Test-Hole Logs
Television Programs
Geonotes
Abstracts
Reviews
Manuscripts Accepted (A), Submitted (S), or in Preparation (P)
Geologic Maps in Press
Geologic Maps-Nebraska
Public Documents
Miscellaneous Publications
Editing

Updated March 2024

Cancer-Associated Fibroblast-Derived Acetate Promotes Pancreatic Cancer Development By Altering Polyamine Metabolism Via The Acss2–Sp1–Sat1 Axis, Divya Murthy, Kuldeep S. Attri, Surendra K. Shukla, Ravi Thakur, Nina V. Chaika, Chunbo He, Dezhen Wang, Kanupriya Jha, Aneesha Dasgupta, Ryan J. King, Scott E. Mulder, Joshua Souchek, Teklab Gebregiworgis, Vikant Rai, Rohit Patel, Tuo Hu, Sandeep Rana, Sai Sundeep Kollala, Camila Pacheco, Paul M. Grandgenett, Fang Yu, Vikas Kumar, Audrey J. Lazenby, Adrian R. Black, Susanna Ulhannan, Ajay Jain, Barish H. Edil, David L. Klinkebiel, Robert Powers, Amarnath Natarajan, Michael A. Hollingsworth, Kamiya Mehla2,, Quan Ly, Sarika Chaudhary, Rosa F. Hwang, Kathryn E. Wellen, Pankaj K. Singh

Robert Powers Publications

The ability of tumour cells to thrive in harsh microenvironments depends on the utilization of nutrients available in the milieu. Here we show that pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) regulate tumour cell metabolism through the secretion of acetate, which can be blocked by silencing ATP citrate lyase (ACLY) in CAFs. We further show that acetyl-CoA synthetase short-chain family member 2 (ACSS2) channels the exogenous acetate to regulate the dynamic cancer epigenome and transcriptome, thereby facilitating cancer cell survival in an acidic microenvironment. Comparative H3K27ac ChIP–seq and RNA–seq analyses revealed alterations in polyamine homeostasis through regulation of SAT1 gene expression and enrichment …

Stage And Discharge Prediction From Documentary Time-Lapse Imagery, Kenneth W. Chapman, Troy E. Gilmore, Mehrube Mehrubeoglu, Christian D. Chapman, Aaron R. Mittelstet, John E. Stranzl Jr.

Conservation and Survey Division

Imagery from fixed, ground-based cameras is rich in qualitative and quantitative information that can improve stream discharge monitoring. For instance, time-lapse imagery may be valuable for filling data gaps when sensors fail and/or during lapses in funding for monitoring programs. In this study, we used a large image archive (>40,000 images from 2012 to 2019) from a fixed, ground-based camera that is part of a documentary watershed imaging project (https://plattebasintimelapse.com/). Scalar image features were extracted from daylight images taken at one-hour intervals. The image features were fused with United States Geological Survey stage and discharge data as response variables …

Quantum Computing And U.S. Cybersecurity: A Case Study Of The Breaking Of Rsa And Plan For Cryptographic Algorithm Transition, Helena Holland

Honors Theses

The invention of a cryptographically relevant quantum computer would revolutionize computing power, transforming industry and national security. While a theoretical possibility at the time of this writing, the ability of quantum algorithms to solve the factoring and discrete logarithm problems, upon which all currently employed public-key cryptography depends, presents a serious threat to digital communications. This research examines both the mathematics and government policy behind these risks and their implications for cybersecurity. Specifically, a case study of RSA, Shor’s algorithm, and the American Intelligence Community’s plan to transition toward quantum-resistant algorithms is presented to analyze quantum threats and opportunities and …

Field Research Report: Results From The Enreec Vri Field For The 2021, 2022, And 2023 Crop Seasons, Derek M. Heeren, Ali T. Mohammed, Eric Wilkening, Christopher M. U. Neale, Alan L. Boldt, Ankit Chandra, Precious Nneka Amori, Ivo Z. Goncalves, Yeyin Shi, Guillermo R. Balboa

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Conference Presentations and White Papers

Long-term irrigation management research has been conducted from 2014 to 2023 for corn and soybean at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension, and Education Center (ENREEC) Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) Field located in subhumid east-central Nebraska (in the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District). The objective of this report was to present the overall results from the VRI Field for 2021 to 2023. Across the three growing seasons, there were the following irrigation treatments: Best Management Practice (BMP), 50% BMP, 125% BMP, rainfed, Spatial ET Modeling Interface (SETMI), SDD1, SDD2, machine-learning-based Cyber-Physical System (CPS), a student team recommended rate, and industry …

Soil Nitrate Prediction Using Ftir-Atr, Vis-Nir, And Raman Spectroscopy, Sabiha Ferdous

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations and Theses

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) combined with Attenuated total reflectance (ATR), Visible-Near Infrared spectroscopy (Vis-NIR), and Raman spectroscopy (RS) are non-destructive techniques for rapid determination of nitrogen compounds in soil. Leveraging FTIR-ATR and Vis-NIR spectra using partial least squares regression (PLSR) modeling, the study aims to predict soil nitrate content and explored the feasibility of Raman spectroscopy to detect nitrate (NO₃^-), nitrite (NO₂^-), and ammonium (NH₄⁺) in soil. Soil samples were collected from four different fields, dried, sieved (2mm), and then used for collecting spectra (FTIR-ATR and Vis-NIR). Laboratory analysis was …

Pollinator Communities And Their Ecosystem Services At Conservation Grasslands And Adjacent Croplands, Araceli Gomez Villegas

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pollinators are intrinsically linked to the success of unmanaged and managed ecosystems by providing pollination services that aid in the reproduction of wildflowers and many crops. Land use change, habitat loss, fragmentation, and related landscape-level phenomena (for example, increased pesticide exposure) threaten pollinators and have been associated with population declines. In the Midwestern region of the United States, land conversion of native prairies and grasslands to row-crop agriculture has been one of the largest contributors to pollinator habitat loss. Conservation programs, such as the Conservation Reserve Program, have worked towards removing environmentally sensitive lands from agriculture production and enrolling them …

Securing Synchrophasors Using Data Provenance In The Quantum Era, Kashif Javed, Mansoor Ali Khan, Mukhtar Ullah, Muhammad Naveed Aman, Biplab Sikdar

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Trust in the fidelity of synchrophasor measurements is crucial for the correct operation of modern power grids. While most of the existing research on data provenance focuses on the Internet of Things, there is a significant need for effective malicious data detection in power systems. Current methods either fail to detect malicious data modifications or require certain Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) to be physically secured. To solve these issues, this paper presents a new protocol to establish data provenance in synchrophasor networks. The proposed protocol is based on Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs) and harnesses the principles of quantum unreality and …

Editorial: Ipps 2022 - Plant Phenotyping For A Sustainable Future, Elias Kaiser, Philipp Von Gillhaussen, Jennifer Clarke, Ulrich Schurr

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

Plants are a venue for addressing the challenges facing humanity. The need for a reliable supply of food, feed, materials, chemicals and energy as well as ways to manage agroecology and climate change are among the challenges that we can address through the sustainable use of plants and plant ecosystems. The research community needs to integrate plant systems approaches, from molecular to organismal to applications in the field and ecosystems, to increase productivity sustainably while using fewer land, water, and nutrient resources. In the past two decades, plant phenotyping research has developed a highly valuable portfolio of technologies, processes and …

Tunable Magnetic Coupling In Graphene Nanoribbon Quantum Dots, Peter H. Jacobse, Mamun Sarker, Anshul Saxena, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Ziyi Wang, Emma Berger, Narayana R. Aluru, Alexander Sinitskii, Michael F. Crommie

Chemistry Department: Faculty Publications

Carbon-based quantum dots (QDs) enable flexible manipulation of electronic behavior at the nanoscale, but controlling their magnetic properties requires atomically precise structural control. While magnetism is observed in organic molecules and graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), GNR precursors enabling bottom-up fabrication of QDs with various spin ground states have not yet been reported. Here the development of a new GNR precursor that results in magnetic QD structures embedded in semiconducting GNRs is reported. Inserting one such molecule into the GNR backbone and graphitizing it results in a QD region hosting one unpaired electron. QDs composed of two precursor molecules exhibit nonmagnetic, antiferromagnetic, …

Intermittent-Aware Design Exploration Of Systolic Array Using Various Non-Volatile Memory: A Comparative Study, Nedasadat Taheri, Sepehr Tabrizchi, Arman Roohi

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

This paper conducts a comprehensive study on intermittent computing within IoT environments, emphasizing the interplay between different dataflows—row, weight, and output—and a variety of non-volatile memory technologies. We then delve into the architectural optimization of these systems using a spatial architecture, namely IDEA, with their processing elements efficiently arranged in a rhythmic pattern, providing enhanced performance in the presence of power failures. This exploration aims to highlight the diverse advantages and potential applications of each combination, offering a comparative perspective. In our findings, using IDEA for the row stationary dataflow with AlexNet on the CIFAR10 dataset, we observe a power …

Heavy Metal Movement Through Insect Food Chains In Pristine Thermal Springs Of Yellowstone National Park, Braymond Adams, John Bowley, Monica Rohwer, Erik Oberg, Kelly Willemssens, Wendy Wintersteen, Robert K.D. Peterson, Leon G. Higley

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Yellowstone National Park thermal features regularly discharge various heavy metals and metalloids. These metals are taken up by microorganisms that often form mats in thermal springs. These microbial mats also serve as food sources for invertebrate assemblages. To examine how heavy metals move through insect food webs associated with hot springs, two sites were selected for this study. Dragon-Beowulf Hot Springs, acid-sulfate chloride springs, have a pH of 2.9, water temperatures above 70 ^oC, and populations of thermophilic bacterial, archaeal, and algal mats. Rabbit Creek Hot Springs, alkaline springs, have a pH of up to 9, some water temperatures …

Analysis Of Legacy Gravity Data Reveals Sediment-Filled Troughs Buried Under Flathead Valley, Montana, Usa, Ali Gebril, Mohamed A. Khalil, Robert Matthew Joeckel, James Rose

Conservation and Survey Division

Shallow, dominantly silt- and clay-filled erosional troughs in Quaternary sediments under the Flathead Valley (northwestern Montana, USA) are very likely to be hydraulic barriers limiting the horizontal flow of groundwater. Accurately mapping them is important because of increasing demand for groundwater.We used a legacy Bouguer gravity map measured in 1968. The directional derivatives of the map are computed, and the map was enhanced by implementing edge detection tools.We produced generalized derivative, maximum horizontal gradient, total gradient and tilt gradient maps through two-dimensional Fourier transform analysis. These maps were remarkably successful in locating buried troughs in the northern and northwestern parts …

Discussion On “Spatial+: A Novel Approach To Spatial Confounding” By Dupont, Wood, And Augustin, Brian J. Reich, Shu Yang, Yawen Guan

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

Congratulations to the authors for this thoughtful and timely contribution to the spatial confounding literature. The intuitive nature of the method and simplicity of the estimation procedure will surely make Spatial+ popular with practitioners, and the theoretical developments are a major advance for researchers in this area. There is much to discuss! We have formatted our discussion in two sections: in Section 2 we consider the assumptions and statistical properties of Spatial+, and in Section 3 we examine how Spatial+ fits in the wider literature on spatial causal inference.

Prebiotic Proanthocyanidins Inhibit Bile Reflux–Induced Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Through Reshaping The Gut Microbiome And Esophageal Metabolome, Katherine M. Weh, Connor L. Howard, Yun Zhang, Bridget A. Tripp, Jennifer Clarke, Amy B. Howell, Joel H. Rubenstein, Julian A. Abrams, Maria Westerhoff, Laura A. Kresty

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

The gut and local esophageal microbiome progressively shift from healthy commensal bacteria to inflammation-linked pathogenic bacteria in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, Barrett’s esophagus, and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). However, mechanisms by which microbial communities and metabolites contribute to reflux-driven EAC remain incompletely understood and challenging to target. Herein, we utilized a rat reflux-induced EAC model to investigate targeting the gut microbiome–esophageal metabolome axis with cranberry proanthocyanidins (C-PAC) to inhibit EAC progression. Sprague-Dawley rats, with or without reflux induction, received water or C-PAC ad libitum (700 μg/rat/day) for 25 or 40 weeks. C-PAC exerted prebiotic activity abrogating reflux-induced dysbiosis and mitigating …

Command Injection Attacks In Smart Grids: A Survey, Muhammad Usama, Muhammad Naveed Aman

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Cybersecurity is important in the realization of various smart grid technologies. Several studies have been conducted to discuss different types of cyberattacks and provide their countermeasures. The false command injection attack (FCIA) is considered one of the most critical attacks that have been studied. Various techniques have been proposed in the literature to detect FCIAs on different components of smart grids. The predominant focus of current surveys lies on FCIAs and detection techniques for such attacks. This article presents a survey of existing works on FCIAs and classifies FCIAs in smart grids according to the targeted component. The impacts of …

Unveiling The Connection Between Malware And Pirated Software In Southeast Asian Countries: A Case Study, Asif Iqbal, Muhammad Naveed Aman, Ramkumar Rejendran, Biplab Sikdar

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Pirated software is an attractive choice for cybercriminals seeking to spread malicious software, known as malware. This paper attempts to quantify the occurrence of malware concealed within pirated software.We collected samples of pirated software from various sources from Southeast Asian countries, including hard disk drives, optical discs purchased in eight different countries, and online platforms using peerto- peer services. Our dataset comprises a total of 750 pirated software samples. To analyze these samples, we employed seven distinct antivirus (AV) engines. The malware identified by the AV engines was classified into four categories: adware, Trojans, viruses, and a miscellaneous category termed …

Parallels Of Quantum Superposition In Ecological Models: From Counterintuitive Patterns To Eco-Evolutionary Interpretations Of Cryptic Species, David G. Angeler, Hannah B. Fried-Petersen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background Superposition, i.e. the ability of a particle (electron, photon) to occur in different states or positions simultaneously, is a hallmark in the subatomic world of quantum mechanics. Although counterintuitive at first sight, the quantum world has potential to inform macro-systems of people and nature. Using time series and spatial analysis of bird, phytoplankton and benthic invertebrate communities, this paper shows that superposition can occur analogously in redundancy analysis (RDA) frequently used by ecologists.

Results We show that within individual ecosystems single species can be associated simultaneously with different orthogonal axes in RDA models, which suggests that they operate in …

Program Requirements For Beef Cattle Certified As Usda Organic, Carsten Loseke, Elliott James Dennis

Cornhusker Economics

This document provides an overview of the use and production of the USDA Certified Organic program for the beef cattle industry, with an emphasis on the state of Nebraska. We detail what cattle qualify, feed requirements, medical and health standards of cattle, and premiums paid by consumers for USDA certified organic products. All information is taken from the Organic Foods Production Act Provisions available in the Federal Register.

Estimation Of Sugarcane Yield Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel 2 Satellite Imagery And Random Forest Regression, Alireza Taravat, Gebeyehu Abebe, Berhan Gessesse, Tsegaye Tadesse

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Advancements in remote sensing techniques have greatly enhanced crop monitoring and yield estimation, with spectral vegetation indices (VIs) serving as a key component. Our study investigates the use of Sentinel-2 data, notable for its red-edge bands, in estimating sugarcane yield in Ethiopia's Awash Basin. Utilizing 22 VIs from S2 imagery, our approach combines Random Forest (RF) regression with the Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) algorithm to improve the accuracy of sugarcane yield predictions. The results demonstrate the superior performance of the RF-RFE method over traditional RF with full datasets and Stepwise Multiple Regression (SMR). Particularly, VIs focusing on the red-edge spectral …