Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Developing Alternatives To Protect Domestic Sheep From Predation In South Africa, David L. Bergman, Nico L. Avenant, Michael J. Bodenchuk, Eddie Steenkamp

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

South Africa has approximately 8,000 commercial small livestock farms and 5,800 communal/subsistence farmers throughout the country. Reported rates of small livestock loss to predation range from 3-13% and 0.5-19% from communal farming areas. A range of predators exist on the African continent, but in southern Africa major livestock losses are primarily due to black-backed jackal and caracal. South Africans have been managing caracals and jackals for over 300 years with no elimination of predation. During the aforementioned time frame, producers have used and/or developed a number of techniques including lethal, nonlethal, and integrated predator damage management to address predation losses. …

Introduction To The R-Package: Usdampr, Elliott James Dennis, Bowen Chen

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

Why the Need for the Package? In the 1990’s, concern over growing packer concentration and a hog industry market shock resulted in discontent among producers and packers. As a result, the United States Congress passed the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 (1999 Act) [Pub. L. 106-78, Title IX] which is required to be reauthorized every five years. See here for a full history of the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Background.

Market reports were publicly issued in the form of .txt files with varying frequency from April 2000 to April 2020. Current and historical data were also housed in a USDA-AMS …

Automatic Delamination Segmentation For Bridge Deck Based On Encoder-Decoder Deep Learning Through Uav-Based Thermography, Chongsheng, Zhexiong Shang, Zhigang Shen

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Faculty Publications

Concrete deck delamination often demonstrates strong variations in size, shape, and temperature distribution under the influences of outdoor weather conditions. The strong variations create challenges for pure analytical solutions in infrared image segmentation of delaminated areas. The recently developed supervised deep learning approach demonstrated the potentials in achieving automatic segmentation of RGB images. However, its effectiveness in segmenting thermal images remains under-explored. The main challenge lies in the development of specific models and the generation of a large range of labeled infrared images for training. To address this challenge, a customized deep learning model based on encoder-decoder architecture is proposed …

Vegetation And Large Carnivore Responses In An Encroached Landscape, Hugh Ellerman

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

The Great Plains biome supports biodiverse plant and animal communities, provides a wide array of ecosystem services, and is depended upon by agricultural economies. Despite these advantages, however, Great Plains grasslands are becoming increasingly degraded by landcover changes due to agriculture and urbanization, fragmentation, loss of biodiversity and invasion by woody species. Woody encroachment is a biome-wide threat to Great Plains plant and wildlife communities and is therefore managed, though with variable success. I investigated the efficacy of invasive tree management projects in restoring tallgrass prairies in southeast Nebraska and regenerating oak gallery forests along the Niobrara River. I measured …

Soil Chemical Properties After 12 Years Of Tillage And Crop Rotation, Maysoon M. Mikha, Gary Hergert, Xin Qiao, Bijesh Maharjan

Panhandle Research and Extension Center

Crop rotation in combinationwith tillage can improve productivity, enhance economical return, and reduce soil erosion. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of moldboard plow (MP), strip tillage (ST), no-tillage (NT), and crop rotations on: (1) crop yield; (2) soil chemical properties; and (3) particulate organic matter (POM). The study was initiated in 2007 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center near Scottsbluff, NE. Crops in rotation were corn (C; Zea mays L.) and dry bean (DB; Phaseolus vulgaris L.) organized in a 3-yr rotation (C–DB–C) and a 4-yr rotation with the addition of …

Climate Change Impacts The Subsurface Transport Of Atrazine And Estrone Originating From Agricultural Production Activities, Renys Enrique Barrios, Simin Akbariyeh, Chuyang Liu, Khalid Muzamil Gani, Margarita T. Kovalchuk, Xu Li, Yusong Li, Daniel D. Snow, Zhenghong Tang, John Gates, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Climate change will impact soil properties such as soil moisture, organic carbon and temperature and changes in these properties will influence the sorption, biodegradation and leaching of trace organic contaminants to groundwater. In this study, we conducted a modeling case study to evaluate atrazine and estrone transport in the subsurface under current and future climate conditions at a field site in central Nebraska. According to the modeling results, in the future, enhanced evapotranspiration and increased average air temperature may cause drier soil conditions, which consequently reduces the biodegradation of atrazine and estrone in the water phase. On the other hand, …

Influences Of The Timing Of Extreme Precipitation On Floods In Poyang Lake, China, Xianghu Li, Qi Hu, Rong Wang, Dan Zhang, Qi Zhang

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Changes in the timing of extreme precipitation have important ramifications for public safety and storm water management, but it has not received much attention in relation to flooding. This study analyzed the changes in the timing of extreme precipitation in the Poyang Lake basin and projected its future changes for the period 2020–2099. The study also quantified the influences of changes in the timing of peak flows on lake floods based on a hydrodynamic model. The results showed that peak rainfall in the Poyang Lake basin had occurred on later dates during the period 1960–2012, and it is this change …

Vertebrates On The Brink As Indicators Of Biological Annihilation And The Sixth Mass Extinction, Gerardo Ceballos, Paul R. Ehrlich, Peter H. Raven

Harold W. Manter Laboratory: Library Materials

The ongoing sixth mass species extinction is the result of the destruction of component populations leading to eventual extirpation of entire species. Populations and species extinctions have severe implications for society through the degradation of ecosystem services. Here we assess the extinction crisis from a different perspective. We examine 29,400 species of terrestrial vertebrates, and determine which are on the brink of extinction because they have fewer than 1,000 individuals. There are 515 species on the brink (1.7% of the evaluated vertebrates). Around 94% of the populations of 77 mammal and bird species on the brink have been lost in …

Perspective: Ferromagnetic Liquids, Robert Streubel, Xubo Liu, Xuefei Wu, Thomas P. Russell

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Mechanical jamming of nanoparticles at liquid–liquid interfaces has evolved into a versatile approach to structure liquids with solid-state properties. Ferromagnetic liquids obtain their physical and magnetic properties, including a remanent magnetization that distinguishes them from ferrofluids, from the jamming of magnetic nanoparticles assembled at the interface between two distinct liquids to minimize surface tension. This perspective provides an overview of recent progress and discusses future directions, challenges and potential applications of jamming magnetic nanoparticles with regard to 3D nano-magnetism. We address the formation and characterization of curved magnetic geometries, and spin frustration between dipole-coupled nanostructures, and advance our understanding of …

Rfia: An R Package For Estimation Of Forest Attributes With The Us Forest Inventory And Analysis Database, Hunter Stanke, Andrew O. Finley, Aaron S. Weed, Brian F. Walters, Grant M. Domke

United States National Park Service: Publications

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) is a US Department of Agriculture Forest Service program that aims to monitor changes in forests across the US. FIA hosts one of the largest ecological datasets in the world, though its complexity limits access for many potential users. rFIA is an R package designed to simplify the estimation of forest attributes using data collected by the FIA Program. Specifically, rFIA improves access to the spatiotemporal estimation capacity of the FIA Database via space–time indexed summaries of forest variables within user-defined population boundaries (e.g., geographic, temporal, biophysical). The package implements multiple design-based estimators, and has …

Combined Use Of Sentinel‐1 Sar And Landsat Sensors Products For Residual Soil Moisture Retrieval Over Agricultural Fields In The Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia, Getachew Ayehu, Tsegaye Tadesse, Berhan Gessesse, Yibeltal Yigrem, Assefa M. Melesse

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The objective of this paper is to investigate the potential of sentinel‐1 SAR sensor products and the contribution of soil roughness parameters to estimate volumetric residual soil moisture (RSM) in the Upper Blue Nile (UBN) basin, Ethiopia. The backscatter contribution of crop residue water content was estimated using Landsat sensor product and the water cloud model (WCM). The surface roughness parameters were estimated from the Oh and Baghdadi models. A feed‐forward artificial neural network (ANN) method was tested for its potential to translate SAR backscattering and surface roughness input variables to RSM values. The model was trained for three inversion …

Remote Sensing And Three-Dimensional Photogrammetric Analysis Of Glaciofluvial Sand And Gravel Deposits For Aggregate Resource Assessment In Mchenry County, Illinois, Usa, Xiaodong Miao, Christopher J. Stohr, Paul R. Hanson, Qiansuo Wang

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Sand and gravel deposits, one of the most common natural resources, are used as aggregates mostly by the construction industry, and their extraction contributes significantly to a region's economy. Thus, it is critical to locate sand and gravel deposits, and evaluate their quantity and quality safely and quickly. However, information on aggregate resources is generally only available from conventional two-dimensional (2-D) geologic maps, and direct field measurements for quality analysis at outcrops are time consuming and are often not possible due to safety concerns, or simply because exposures are too difficult to access. In this study, we presented a methodology …

Variability In The Analysis Of A Single Neuroimaging Dataset By Many Teams, Rotem Botvinik-Nezer, Tom Schonberg, Russell A. Poldrack, Zachary J. Cole, Matthew R. Johnson, Phui Cheng Lim, Evan N. Linz, Douglas H. Schultz, Joshua E. Zosky, Narps Management Team, Jean M. Vettel, More Than 100 Other Co-Authors

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Data analysis workflows in many scientific domains have become increasingly complex and flexible. To assess the impact of this flexibility on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results, the same dataset was independently analyzed by 70 teams, testing nine ex-ante hypotheses. The flexibility of analytic approaches is exemplified by the fact that no two teams chose identical workflows to analyze the data. This flexibility resulted in sizeable variation in hypothesis test results, even for teams whose statistical maps were highly correlated at intermediate stages of their analysis pipeline. Variation in reported results was related to several aspects of analysis methodology. Importantly, …

Generalized Magnetoelectronic Circuit Theory And Spin Relaxation At Interfaces In Magnetic Multilayers, G. G. Baez Flores, Alexey Kovalev, Mark Van Schilfgaarde, K. D. Belashchenko

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Spin transport at metallic interfaces is an essential ingredient of various spintronic device concepts, such as giant magnetoresistance, spin-transfer torque, and spin pumping. Spin-orbit coupling plays an important role in many such devices. In particular, spin current is partially absorbed at the interface due to spin-orbit coupling. We develop a general magnetoelectronic circuit theory and generalize the concept of spin-mixing conductance, accounting for various mechanisms responsible for spin-flip scattering. For the special case when exchange interactions dominate, we give a simple expression for the spin-mixing conductance in terms of the contributions responsible for spin relaxation (i.e., spin memory loss), spin …

Expected Resurgence Of Ideals Defining Gorenstein Rings, Eloísa Grifo, Craig Huneke, Vivek Mukundan

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

Building on previous work by the same authors, we show that certain ideals defining Gorenstein rings have expected resurgence, and thus satisfy the stable Harbourne Conjecture. In prime characteristic, we can take any radical ideal defining a Gorenstein ring in a regular ring, provided its symbolic powers are given by saturations with the maximal ideal. While this property is not suitable for reduction to characteristic p, we show that a similar result holds in equicharacteristic 0 under the additional hypothesis that the symbolic Rees algebra of I is noetherian.

Structure For Regular Inclusions. Ii Cartan Envelopes, Pseudo-Expectations And Twists, David R. Pitts

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

We introduce the notion of a Cartan envelope for a regular inclusion (C,Ɗ). When a Cartan envelope exists, it is the unique, minimal Cartan pair into which (C,Ɗ) regularly embeds. We prove a Cartan envelope exists if and only if (C,Ɗ) has the unique faithful pseudo-expectation property and also give a characterization of the Cartan envelope using the ideal intersection property.

For any covering inclusion, we construct a Hausdorff twisted groupoid using appropriate linear functionals and we give a description of the Cartan envelope for (C,Ɗ) in terms of a twist …

Surface Termination And Schottky-Barrier Formation Of In4Se3(001), Archit Dhingra, Pavlo V. Galiy, Lu Wang, Nataliia S. Vorobeva, Alexey Lipatov, Angel Torres, Taras M. Nenchuk, Simeon J. Gilbert, Alexander Sinitskii, Andrew J. Yost, Wai-Ning Mei, Keisuke Fukutani, Jia Shiang Chen, Peter Dowben

Peter Dowben Publications

The surface termination of In₄Se₃(001) and the interface of this layered trichalcogenide, with Au, was examined using x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. Low energy electron diffraction indicates that the surface is highly crystalline, but suggests an absence of C2v mirror plane symmetry. The surface termination of the In₄Se₃(001 is found, by angle-resolved x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, to be In, which is consistent with the observed Schottky barrier formation found with this n-type semiconductor. Transistor measurements confirm earlier results from photoemission, suggesting that In₄Se₃(001 is an n-type semiconductor, so that Schottky barrier …

The Prairie Naturalist, Vol. 52, Issue 1, June 2020

The Prairie Naturalist

EDITOR’S NOTE • Jane E. Austin, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief

Factors Associated with Larval Freshwater Drum Annual Peak Density in a Nebraska Irrigation Reservoir • Brett T. Miller, Brian C. Peterson, Keith D. Koupal, and Casey W. Schoenbeck

Small mammal communities in grasslands at the Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, USA • Lynda R. Lafond, Elizabeth H. Rave, and Kathryn A. Yurkonis

Evaluation of Four Larval Fish Sampling Methods in a Large Midwestern River • Nathan J. Lederman, Anthony R. Sindt, Douglas J. Dieterman, John D. Krenz, and Shannon J. Fisher

Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica) in Southwestern Roberts …

Spectroscopic And Structural Probing Of Excited-State Molecular Dynamics With Time-Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy And Ultrafast Electron Diffraction, Yusong Liu, Spencer L. Horton, Jie Yang, J. Pedro F. Nunes, Xiaozhe Shen, Thomas J.A. Wolf, Ruaridh Forbes, Chuan Cheng, Bryan Moore, Martin Centurion, Kareem Hegazy, Renkai Li, Ming Fu Lin, Albert Stolow, Paul Hockett, Tamás Rozgonyi, Philipp Marquetand, Xijie Wang, Thomas Weinacht

Martin Centurion Publications

Pump-probe measurements aim to capture the motion of electrons and nuclei on their natural timescales (femtoseconds to attoseconds) as chemical and physical transformations take place, effectively making "molecular movies"with short light pulses. However, the quantum dynamics of interest are filtered by the coordinate-dependent matrix elements of the chosen experimental observable. Thus, it is only through a combination of experimental measurements and theoretical calculations that one can gain insight into the internal dynamics. Here, we report on a combination of structural (relativistic ultrafast electron diffraction, or UED) and spectroscopic (time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, or TRPES) measurements to follow the coupled electronic and …

Perspective: Ferromagnetic Liquids, Robert Streubel, Xubo Liu, Xuefei Wu, Thomas P. Russell

Robert Streubel Papers

Mechanical jamming of nanoparticles at liquid-liquid interfaces has evolved into a versatile approach to structure liquids with solid-state properties. Ferromagnetic liquids obtain their physical and magnetic properties, including a remanent magnetization that distinguishes them from ferrofluids, from the jamming of magnetic nanoparticles assembled at the interface between two distinct liquids to minimize surface tension. This perspective provides an overview of recent progress and discusses future directions, challenges and potential applications of jamming magnetic nanoparticles with regard to 3D nano-magnetism. We address the formation and characterization of curved magnetic geometries, and spin frustration between dipole-coupled nanostructures, and advance our understanding of …

The Total Solar Eclipse Of 2017: Meteorological Observations From A Statewide Mesonet And Atmospheric Profiling Systems, Rezaul Mahmood, Megan Schargorodski, Eric Rappin, Melissa Griffin, Patrick Collins, Kevin Knupp, Andrew Quilligan, Ryan Wade, Kevin Cary, Stuart Foster

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A total solar eclipse traversed the continental United States on 21 August 2017. It was the first such event in 99 years and provided a rare opportunity to observe the atmospheric response from a variety of instrumented observational platforms. This paper discusses the highquality observations collected by the Kentucky Mesonet (www.kymesonet.org), a research-grade meteorological and climatological observation network consisting of 72 stations and measuring air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, and wind direction. The network samples the atmosphere, for most variables, every 3 s and then calculates and records observations every 5 min. During the total solar …

A Hydrometeorological Assessment Of The Historic 2019 Flood Of Nebraska, Iowa, And South Dakota, Paul Xavier Flanagan, Rezaul Mahmood, Natalie Umphlett, Erin M.K. Haacker, Chittaranjan Ray, Bill Sorensen, Martha Shulski, Crystal J. Stiles, David Pearson, Paul Fajman

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Personnel Publications

During early 2019, a series of events set the stage for devastating floods in eastern Nebraska, western Iowa, and southeastern South Dakota. When the floodwaters hit, dams and levees failed, cutting off towns, while destroying roads, bridges, and rail lines, further exacerbating the crisis. Lives were lost and thousands of cattle were stranded. Estimates indicate that the cost of the flooding has topped $3 billion as of August 2019, with this number expected to rise.

After a warm and wet start to winter, eastern Nebraska, western Iowa, and southeastern South Dakota endured anomalously low temperatures and record-breaking snowfall. By March …

Genetic Biocontrol For Invasive Species, John L. Teem, Luke Alphey, Sarah Descamps, Matt P. Edgington, Owain Edwards, Neil Gemmell, Tim Harvey-Samuel, Rachel L. Melnick, Kevin P. Oh, Antoinette J. Piaggio, J. Royden Saah, Dan Schill, Paul Thomas, Trevor Smith, Andrew Roberts

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive species are increasingly affecting agriculture, food, fisheries, and forestry resources throughout the world. As a result of global trade, invasive species are often introduced into new environments where they become established and cause harm to human health, agriculture, and the environment. Prevention of new introductions is a high priority for addressing the harm caused by invasive species, but unfortunately efforts to prevent new introductions do not address the economic harm that is presently manifested where invasive species have already become established. Genetic biocontrol can be defined as the release of organisms with genetic methods designed to disrupt the reproduction …

Reducing Run-Time Adaptation Space Via Analysis Of Possible Utility Bounds, Clay Stevens, Hamid Bagheri

CSE Conference and Workshop Papers

Self-adaptive systems often employ dynamic programming or similar techniques to select optimal adaptations at run-time. These techniques suffer from the “curse of dimensionality", increasing the cost of run-time adaptation decisions. We propose a novel approach that improves upon the state-of-the-art proactive self-adaptation techniques to reduce the number of possible adaptations that need be considered for each run-time adaptation decision. The approach, realized in a tool called Thallium, employs a combination of automated formal modeling techniques to (i) analyze a structural model of the system showing which configurations are reachable from other configurations and (ii) compute the utility that can be …

Co-Authorship Visualization Of Research On Covid-19 From Web Of Science Data Using Bibliometric Analysis, Akbar Iskandar, Firman Azis, Riskha Dora Candra Dewi, R. Rusli, Ansari Saleh Ahmar

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Bibliometric analysis is one of the research approaches that utilizes quantitative and mathematical data to address problems posed in the context of visualization to see patterns in the field of science. In fact, bibliometric analysis may also include a wider overview of the names of the most influential writers in the area of science. This data analysis would discuss the co-authorship of COVID-19 research covering author productivity and author collaboration. The data was collected on 11th May 2020 of Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database. The literature review was conducted using the keyword: TOPIC: ("covid") AND YEAR PUBLISHED: (2020). …

Photographic Validation Of Target Versus Nontarget Take Of Brown Treesnake Baits, Shane R. Siers, Aaron B. Shiels, Cynthia G. Payne, Francinem M. Chlarson, Craig S. Clark, Stephen M. Mosher

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Use of toxic baits or other tools for managing nuisance species must ensure that the species of interest is adequately targeted while exposure to nontarget species is minimized. Nontarget takes of acetaminophen‐laced baits for control of invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) on Guam may put those animals at risk of lethal intoxication and render the bait unavailable to the intended target species. We used wildlife cameras to identify species removing toxic and nontoxic baits from brown treesnake bait stations designed to exclude nontarget taxa in 2015 and 2016. Throughout various sites and habitat types, and balanced by season (wet vs. …

Time Allocation To Resources By Three Species Of Rats (Rattus Spp.) In A Radial Arm Maze, Gary Witmer, Nathan P. Snow, Rachael S. Moulton

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Introduced rats (Rattus spp.) can pose a serious threat to native flora and fauna, especially on islands where most species have evolved in the absence of terrestrial predators. Effective detection and eradication methods for introduced rats are essential to the maintenance of insular ecosystem integrity. Thus, it is important to better understand the behaviour of rats when they first arrive in a new setting.

Aims. To determine whether rats would find some novel stimuli to be significantly more attractive than other novel stimuli.

Methods. An eight-arm radial maze was used to study the behaviour of three species of Rattus …

Interactions With Humans Shape Coyote Responses To Hazing, Julie K. Young, Edd Hammill, Stewart W. Breck

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Medium and large carnivores coexist with people in urban areas globally, occasionally resulting in

negative interactions that prompt questions about how to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Hazing,

i.e., scaring wildlife, is frequently promoted as an important non-lethal means for urbanites to reduce

conflict but there is limited scientific evidence for its efficacy. We used a population of captive coyotes (Canis latrans) to simulate urban human-coyote interactions and subsequent effects of hazing on coyote behavior. Past experiences with humans significantly affected the number of times a coyoteapproached a human to necessitate hazing. coyotes that had been hand fed by adults had to …

Hawaii As A Microcosm: Advancing The Science And Practice Of Managing Introduced And Invasive Species, Liba Pejchar, Christopher A. Lepczyk, Jean E. Fantle-Lepczyk, Steven C. Hess, M. Tracy Johnson, Christina R. Leopold, Michael Marchetti, Katherine M. Mcclure, Aaron B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive species are a leading driver of global change, with consequences for biodiversity and society. Because of extraordinary rates of endemism, introduction, and extinction, Hawaii offers a rich platform for exploring the cross-disciplinary challenges of managing invasive species in a dynamic world. We highlight key successes and shortcomings to share lessons learned and inspire innovation and action in and beyond the archipelago. We then discuss thematic challenges and opportunities of broad relevance to invaded ecosystems and human communities. Important research needs and possible actions include eradicating mammals from mainland island sanctuaries, assessing hidden threats from poorly known introduced species, harnessing …

Deciphering Interactions Between White-Tailed Deer And Approaching Vehicle, Morgan Pfeiffer, Raymond B. Iglay, Thomas W. Seamans, Bradley F. Blackwell, Travis L. Devault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Deer-vehicle collisions are a major transportation hazard, but factors affecting deer escape decision-making in response to vehicle approach remain poorly characterized. We made opportunistic observations of deer response to vehicle approach during daylight hours on a restricted- access facility in Ohio, USA (vehicle speeds were ≤64 km/h). We hypothesized that animal proximity to the road, group size, vehicle approach, and ambient conditions would affect perceived risk by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to vehicle approach, as measured by flight-initiation distance (FID). We constructed a priori models for FID, as well as road-crossing behavior. Deer responses were variable and did not demonstrate …