Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Communicator, Volume [5], Issue [2], August 2009

The Communicator: News from the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Faces – New and Old (Tony Barada; Jason DeBoer; Caryl Cashmere; Karie Decker; Lucas Kowaleski; Kody Unstad; Michelle Hellman; Carla Knight; Lexi Maple; Thad Miller)

Awards & Recognitions (Jason DeBoer; Andrew Furman; Dustin Martin; Kristine Nemec; Sarah Rehme; Amy Williams)

Service (Kevin Pope; Valerie Egger)

Current Research

Angler Behavior in Response to Management

Actions on Nebraska Reservoirs

Assessing the Relationship between Stable

Isotopes and Grassland Bird Productivity on

Great Plains National Park Service Properties

Diversity and Ecological Functions

The Effect of Common Reed (Phragmites

australis) on River Otter (Lontra canadensis)

Habitat Use

Identifying Socio-Ecological Factors

Determining Invasions and Extinctions

Conferences/Meetings/Workshops …

Anisotropic Sm-(Co,Fe) Nanoparticles By Surfactant-Assisted Ball Milling, Nilly Akdogan, George C. Hadjipanayis, David J. Sellmyer

David Sellmyer Publications

Magnetically hard Sm₂(Co_0.8Fe_0.2)₁₇ and SmCo₅ nanoparticles have been produced by using surfactant-assisted low- and high-energy ball milling techniques. Surfactants prevent the rewelding of the crashed particles during the milling process. Heptane was used as the milling medium and oleic acid as the surfactant. High-energy ball milling experiments took place in a milling vial with carbon steel balls by using an SPEX 8000M high-energy ball milling machine. The coercivity was found to increase with milling time with values of 2.3 kOe for Sm₂(Co_0.8Fe_0.2)₁₇ and 18.6 kOe …

Igc Fabrication And Tem Characterization Of Mn Nanoparticles, Xingzhong Li, Zhiguang Sun, David J. Sellmyer

David Sellmyer Publications

The reason for the enormous interest in nanomaterials is because they display unique and superior properties that are generally unavailable in conventional macroscopic materials. Gleiter and coworkers [1] first generated a novel solid structure with gas-like disorder, in addition to long-range order (crystalline and quasicrystalline solids) and short-range order (amorphous/glassy solids). Inert-gas condensation (IGC) is a well established nanoparticle production technique [2-4]. Figure 1 shows an IGC system equipped with magnetron sputter source and mass selector that was used in the present work. The ability to control the process parameters to fabricate metal nanoparticles with tailored size, shape, and properties …

Combination Of Tt Cross Section Measurements And Constraints On The Mass Of The Top Quark And Its Decays Into Charged Higgs Bosons, V. M. Abazov, Kenneth A. Bloom, Gregory Snow, D0 Collaboration

Kenneth Bloom Publications

We combine measurements of the top quark pair production cross section in pp collisions in the ℓ + jets, ℓℓ, and τℓ final states (where ℓ is an electron or muon) at a center of mass energy of √s = 1.96 TeV in 1 fb^-1 of data collected with the D0 detector. For a top quark mass of 170 GeV/c², we obtain σ_tt = 8.18_-0.87^+0.98 pb in agreement with the theoretical prediction. Based on predictions from higher order quantum chromodynamics, we extract a mass for the top quark from the combined tt …

Search For Charged Higgs Bosons In Decays Of Top Quarks, V. M. Abazov, Kenneth A. Bloom, Gregory Snow, D0 Collaboration

Kenneth Bloom Publications

We present a search for charged Higgs bosons in decays of top quarks, in the mass range 80 < m_H^± < 155 GeV, assuming the subsequent decay H⁺ → τ⁺v_τ (and its charge conjugate). Using 0.9 fb^-1 of lepton + jets data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp collider, operating at a center of mass energy √s = 1.96 TeV, we find no evidence for a H^± signal. Hence we exclude branching ratios B(t → H⁺b) > 0.24 for m_H^± = 80 GeV and B(t → H …

Direct Measurement Of The W Boson Width, V. M. Abazov, Kenneth A. Bloom, Gregory Snow, D0 Collaboration

Kenneth Bloom Publications

We present a direct measurement of the width of the W boson using the shape of the transverse mass distribution of W → ev candidate events. Data from approximately 1 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity recorded at √s = 1.96 TeV by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp collider are analyzed. We use the same methods and data sample that were used for our recently published W boson mass measurement, except for the modeling of the recoil, which is done with a new method based on a recoil library. Our result, 2.028 ± 0.072 GeV, is in …

Direct Measurement Of The Mass Difference Between Top And Antitop Quarks, V. M. Abazov, Kenneth A. Bloom, Gregory Snow, D0 Collaboration

Kenneth Bloom Publications

We present a measurement of the mass difference between t and t quarks in lepton + jets final states of tt events in 1 fb^-1 of data collected with the D0 detector from Fermilab Tevatron Collider pp collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV. The measured mass difference of 3.8 ± 3.7 GeV is consistent with the equality of t and t masses. This is the first direct measurement of a mass difference between a quark and its antiquark partner.

Measurement Of The W Boson Mass, V. M. Abazov, Kenneth A. Bloom, Gregory Snow, D0 Collaboration

Kenneth Bloom Publications

We present a measurement of the W boson mass in W → ev decays using 1 fb^-1 of data collected with the D0 detector during Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron collider. With a sample of 499830 W → ev candidate events, we measure M_W = 80.401 ± 0.043 GeV. This is the most precise measurement from a single experiment.

Observation Of Single Top-Quark Production, V. M. Abazov, Kenneth A. Bloom, Gregory Snow, D0 Collaboration

Kenneth Bloom Publications

We report observation of the electroweak production of single top quarks in pp collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV based on 2.3 fb^-1 of data collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Using events containing an isolated electron or muon and missing transverse energy, together with jets originating from the fragmentation of b quarks, we measure a cross section of σ(pp → tb + X, tqb + X) = 3.94 ± 0.88 pb. The probability to measure a cross section at this value or higher in the absence of signal is 2.5 x 10 …

Search For Long-Lived Charged Massive Particles With The D0 Detector, V. M. Abazov, Kenneth A. Bloom, Gregory Snow, D0 Collaboration

Kenneth Bloom Publications

We search for long-lived charged massive particles using 1.1 fb^-1 of data collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp Collider. Time-of-flight information is used to search for pair produced long-lived tau sleptons, gauginolike charginos, and Higgsino-like charginos. We find no evidence of a signal and set 95% C.L. cross section upper limits for staus, which vary from 0.31 to 0.04 pb for stau masses between 60 and 300 GeV. We also set lower mass limits of 206 GeV (171 GeV) for pair produced charged gauginos (Higgsinos).

Start The Presses, Stephen V. Ducharme, Alexei Gruverman

Stephen Ducharme Publications

A simple nanoimprinting method creates arrays of ferroelectric polymer structures suitable for low-cost, non-volatile memories. With the development of nanoimprinted high-quality ferroelectric nanomesa arrays, it seems that we now have all the necessary ingredients to print inexpensive, disposable organic memory chips.

Effects Of Two Vibrational Modes In The Dissociative Electron Attachment To Cf3cl, Michal Tarana, Pawel Wielgus, Szczepan Roszak, Ilya I. Fabrikant

Ilya Fabrikant Publications

We present a study of multimode effects in dissociative electron attachment to CF₃Cl molecules using a time-independent version of the local complex potential theory. Symmetric stretch C-Cl vibrations v₃ and symmetric deformation (or so-called umbrella) vibrations v₂ are included. The neutral and anion potential energy surfaces are calculated using the second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory with an empirical adjustment of the vertical attachment energy. The final-state vibrational distribution in the CF₃(v₂) fragment is dominated by the v₂=2 state. We also find an increase in the total cross section as compared with …

Estimating Survival Of Precocial Chicks During The Prefledging Period Using A Catch-Curve Analysis And Count-Based Age-Class Data, Conor P. Mcgowan, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Mark R. Ryan, Casey D. Kruse, Greg Pavelka

US Army Corps of Engineers

ABSTRACT: Estimating reproductive success for birds with pre-cocial young can be difficult because chicks leave nests soon after hatching and individuals or broods can be difficult to track. Researchers often turn to estimating survival during the pre-fledging period and, though effective, mark-recapture based approaches are not always feasible due to cost, time, and animal welfare concerns. Using a threatened population of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) that breeds along the Missouri River, we present an approach for estimating chick survival during the pre-fledging period using long-term (1993–2005), count-based, age-class data. We used a modified catch-curve analysis, and data collected …

New Seismic Methods To Support Sea-Ice Platform Drilling, M. A. Speece, Richard Levy, D. M. Harwood, Stephen F. Pekar, R. D. Powell

ANDRILL Research and Publications

The ANtarctic geological DRILLing Program (ANDRILL) is currently a consortium of five nations (Germany, Italy, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America). By drilling, coring and analyzing stratigraphic archives along the Antarctic continental margin, ANDRILL pursues its primary goal of better understanding the role the Antarctic cryosphere plays in the global climate system (Harwood et al., 2006). The ANDRILL drilling system was developed to operate on both ice shelf and sea-ice platforms (Harwood et al., 2006; Falconer et al., 2007; Naish et al., 2007; Florindo et al., 2008). While thick multiyear sea ice provides stable and …

Provenance Of Pleistocene Sediments In The Andrill And-1b Drillcore: Clay And Heavy Mineral Data, Giovanna Giorgetti, Franco M. Talarico, Sonia Sandroni, Antonio Zeoli

ANDRILL Research and Publications

The cryosphere in the McMurdo Sound region has undergone significant modifications during the last 1 Ma. Consequently, the sedimentary sequences underlying the modern McMurdo Ice-Shelf provide geological data to reconstruct variations in transport and depositional mechanisms of terrigenous material due to variations in ice sheet extension, grounding line position and main icestream flow directions during glacial and interglacial periods. The present study aims to investigate the clay and heavy mineral assemblages of the late Pleistocene subglacial and glaciomarine sediments recovered during the ANDRILL-McMurdo Ice Shelf Project in Windless Bight (South of Ross Island). The analyses show that the sediments are …

Significance Of The Trace Fossil Zoophycos In Pliocene Deposits, Antarctic Continental Margin (Andrill 1b Drill Core), Molly F. Miller, Ellen A. Cowan, Simon H. H. Nielsen

ANDRILL Research and Publications

Zoophycos is a complex three dimensional trace fossil that is abundant in deep ocean sediments worldwide, but has not been described previously from Cenozoic continental margin deposits of Antarctica. In the ANDRILL 1B core drilled through the north-west McMurdo ice shelf, Zoophycos occurs in a 17m thick unit of interglacial sediments bounded above and below by glacial surfaces of erosion. This unit was deposited during the transition from the relatively warm Early Pliocene characterized by productive open waters to the cooler Late Pliocene with fluctuating subpolar ice sheets. Globally, Late Cenozoic Zoophycos are most abundant at great depths (.1000 m), …

Antarctica: A Journey Of Discovery, Louise Huffman, Erin Carr, Rita Thomas, Yekaterina Kontar

ANDRILL Project Information

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ANT-0342484. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or other national or international contributing funding agencies or institutions.

ANDRILL Science Management Office
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
126 Bessey Hall
Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0341
United States

A Comprehensive Guide To Fuel Management Practices For Dry Mixed Conifer Forests In The Northwestern United States, Theresa B. Jain, Michael Battaglia, Han-Sup Han, Russell T. Graham, Jeremy S. Fried, Christopher R. Keyes, Jonathan Sandquist

JFSP Research Project Reports

This guide describes the benefits, opportunities, and trade-offs concerning fuel treatments in the dry mixed conifer forests of northern California and the Klamath Mountains, Pacific Northwest Interior, northern and central Rocky Mountains, and Utah. Multiple interacting disturbances and diverse physical settings have created a forest mosaic with historically low- to mixed-severity fire regimes. Analysis of forest inventory data found nearly 80 percent of these forests rate hazardous by at least one measure and 20 to 30 percent rate hazardous by multiple measures. Modeled mechanical treatments designed to mimic what is typically implemented, such as thinning, are effective on less than …

A Comparison Of Fire Severity Patterns In The Late 19th And Early 21st Century In A Mixed Conifer Forest Landscape In The Southern Cascades, Alan H. Taylor, Carl N. Skinner, Becky Estes

JFSP Research Project Reports

The extent and severity of fires in the United States during the last decade has been remarkable. Since 2002, there has been seven years (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012) when over 2.8 million ha have burned, more than twice the previous decade. The extent of recent fire activity has increased risks to lives and property (Cohen 2008; , biodiversity and species-at-risk (Spies et al. 2006), the timber value of forests (Butry et al. 2001) and forests as a carbon sink (Hurteau et al. 2008, 2011). Although one driver of the increase in fire extent, at least in western …

Validation Of Smoke Transport Models With Airborne And Lidar Experiments, Shawn P. Urbanski, Wei Min Hao, Vladimir Kovalev

JFSP Research Project Reports

This document reports our success in achieving the objectives and accomplishing the deliverables proposed in the project “Validation of Smoke Transport Models with Airborne and Lidar Experiments”. This final report is divided into four sections. Section 1, the Background, describes the purpose of the project and summarizes the project objectives and how accomplishment of these objectives addresses the original research solicitation JFSP AFP-2008-1, Task 6. The Background section also provides relates the project purpose material on smoke dispersion and air quality forecasting systems. The goal of Section 2 is to illustrate how the accomplished tasks contribute towards the project objective …

The Tata-Binding Protein Core Domain In Solution Variably Bends Tata Sequences Via A Three-Step Binding Mechanism [Tables & Figures], Roberto F. Delgadillo, Jodell E. Whittington, Laura K. Parkhurst, Lawrence J. Parkhurst

Lawrence Parkhurst Publications

Studies of the binding and bending of the AdMLP TATA sequence (TATAAAAG) by the core domain of yeast TBP allow quantitation of the roles of the N-terminal domains of yeast and human TBP. All three proteins bind DNA via a three-step mechanism with no evidence for an initially bound but unbent DNA. The large enthalpy and entropy of activation for the first step in yTBP binding can now be assigned to movement of the NTD from the DNA binding pocket and not to energetics of DNA bending. The energetic patterns for hTBP and cTBP suggest that the …

Interactions: Newsletter Of The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group, Interactions: Volume 15 Issue 4 Fall 2009

TWS Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter

Letters From Gary Get Involved With The Standing Committees Of The Wdmwg; Take Action To Influence Wildlife Policy; Conference Announcement 2010 Wild Pig Conference; Conference Announcement 24th Vertebrate Pest Conference; Human-Wildlife Conflicts Journal To Become Human wildlife Interactions; Notes From The Field Catching The Skunk Is The Easy Part….; New Video Netted Cage Traps For Deer: Tips And Techniques; The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group; Upcoming Meetings, Conferences, And Events; Congratulations To New Board Members

Newsletter Of The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Interactions: Volume 15 Issue 3 Summer 2009

TWS Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter

And Now…A Word From The Editor Letters from Joe; Conference Announcement 2010 Wild Pig Conference; Conference Announcement 24th Vertebrate Pest Conference; Latest and Next Issue Of Human Wildlife Conflicts; Conference Announcement Bird Strike North American Conference; Candidate for Board Member David Drake, Mike Mengak, Scott C. Barras, Jay Boulanger, Jason Sukow; How Do I Vote?!?; WDM Working Group Meeting; Conference Announcement TWS Conference Preliminary Program; The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group; Upcoming Meetings, Conferences, And Events;

High-Energy Laser-Accelerated Electron Beans For Long-Range Interrogation, Nathaniel Cunningham, Sudeep Banerjee, Viswanathan Ramanathan, Nathan D. Powers, Nathan A. Chandler-Smith, Randy Vane, David Schultz, Sara Pozzi, Shaun Clark, James Beene, Donald Umstadter

Donald Umstadter Publications

We are studying the use of 0.1 - 1.0 GeV laser-accelerated electron beams as active interrogation probes for long-standoff radiography or nuclear activation of concealed special nuclear material. Use of beams in this energy range is largely unexplored, but such beams could provide notable advantages over lower-energy beams and x-rays. High-energy laser-accelerated electrons exhibit large penetration range through air and solids, and low beam divergence for both direct beams and secondary Bremsstrahlung x-rays. We present laboratory measurements of radiography and activation using the high power Diocles laser system at the University of Nebraska, as well as MCNP and GEANT Monte …

First-Principles Studies Of A Two-Dimensional Electron Gas At The Interface In Ferroelectric Oxide Heterostructures, Yong Wang, Manish K. Niranjan, Sitaram Jaswal, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

The discovery of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the interface between two insulating oxides has recently stimulated intense research activity in this field. The 2DEG has unique properties that are promising for applications in all-oxide electronic devices.

Universality Of The Surface Magnetoelectric Effect In Half-Metals, Chun-Gang Duan, Ce-Wen Nan, Sitaram S. Jaswal, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

An electric field applied to a ferromagnetic metal produces a surface magnetoelectric effect originating from the spin-dependent screening of the electric field which results in a change in the surface magnetization of the ferromagnet.

Oxide Tunnel Junctions Supporting A Two-Dimensional Electron Gas, John D. Burton, Julian P. Velev, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

The discovery of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the interface between insulating oxides has led to a well-deserved level of excitement due to possible applications as “in-plane” all-oxide nanoelectronics. Here we expand the range of possibilities to the realm of “out-of-plane” nanoelectronics by examining such all-oxide heterostructures as barriers in tunnel junctions.

Negative-Ion Resonances In Zinc: A Study In Elastic Electron Scattering And Electron Transmission, S. A. Napier, D. Cvejanović, Paul D. Burrow, J. F. Williams, J. A. Michejda, L. Pravica

Paul Burrow Publications

The energies, widths, and angular behavior of negative-ion resonances in zinc atoms are determined using the complementary experimental techniques of electron transmission and angular differential elastic scattering.

A Synthesis Of Post-Fire Road Treatments For Baer Teams: Methods, Treatment Effectiveness, And Decisionmaking Tools For Rehabilitation, Randy B. Foltz, Peter R. Robiochaud, Hakjun Rhee

JFSP Research Project Reports

We synthesized post-fire road treatment information to assist BAER specialists in making road rehabilitation decisions. We developed a questionnaire; conducted 30 interviews of BAER team engineers and hydrologists; acquired and analyzed gray literature and other relevant publications; and reviewed road rehabilitation procedures and analysis tools. Post-fire road treatments are implemented if the values at risk warrant the treatment and based on regional characteristics, including the timing of first damaging storm and window of implementation. Post-fire peak flow estimation is important when selecting road treatments. Interview results indicate that USGS methods are used for larger watersheds (>5 mi2) and NRCS …

Delivery And Demonstration Of Surface Wind Simulation Tool For Fire Management Decision Support, Mark Finney, Larry Bradshaw, Bret Butler

JFSP Research Project Reports

One major source of uncertainty in fire behavior predictions is the spatial variation in winds blowing over mountainous terrain. Fire managers have not had access to “real time” predictions of surface wind flow. With the generous support of the JFSP and additional funding from several USDA Forest Service sources a wind simulation tool has been developed and tested. This project had three primary objectives: 1. Support wildland fire incident management teams with surface wind flow simulations. 2. Validate, improve and document the utility of gridded wind as a fire management decision support tool. 3. Produce technical documentation, including a user’s …