University Of Nebraska-Lincoln Research Articles

Calibration of Hybrid-Maize Model for Simulation of Soil Moisture and Yield in Production Corn Fields

Model calibration is essential for acceptable model performance and applications. The Hybrid-Maize model, developed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is a process-based crop simulation model that simulates maize growth as a function of crop and field management and environmental conditions. In this study, we calibrated and validated the Hybrid-Maize model using soil moisture and yield data from eight commercial production fields in two years. We used a new method for the calibration and multi-parameter optimization (MPO) based on kriging with modified criteria for selecting the parameter combinations. The soil moisture-related parameter combination (SM-PC3) improved simulations of soil water dynamics, but improvement in model performance is still required. The grain yield-related parameter combination significantly improved the yield simulation. We concluded that the calibrated model is good enough for irrigation water management at the field scale. Future studies should focus on improving the model performance in simulating total soil water (TSW) dynamics at different soil depths by including more soil water processes in a more dynamic manner.

Stress phenotyping analysis leveraging autofluorescence image sequences with machine learning.

Autofluorescence-based imaging has the potential to non-destructively characterize the biochemical and physiological properties of plants regulated by genotypes using optical properties of the tissue. A comparative study of stress tolerant and stress susceptible genotypes of Brassica rapa with respect to newly introduced stress-based phenotypes using machine learning techniques will contribute to the significant advancement of autofluorescence-based plant phenotyping research. Autofluorescence spectral images have been used to design a stress detection classifier with two classes, stressed and non-stressed, using machine learning algorithms. The benchmark dataset consisted of time-series image sequences from three Brassica rapa genotypes (CC, R500, and VT), extreme in their morphological and physiological traits captured at the high-throughput plant phenotyping facility at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. We developed a set of machine learning-based classification models to detect the percentage of stressed tissue derived from plant images and identified the best classifier. From the analysis of the autofluorescence images, two novel stress-based image phenotypes were computed to determine the temporal variation in stressed tissue under progressive drought across different genotypes, i.e., the average percentage stress and the moving average percentage stress. The study demonstrated that both the computed phenotypes consistently discriminated against stressed versus non-stressed tissue, with oilseed type (R500) being less prone to drought stress relative to the other two Brassica rapa genotypes (CC and VT). Autofluorescence signals from the 365/400 nm excitation/emission combination were able to segregate genotypic variation during a progressive drought treatment under a controlled greenhouse environment, allowing for the exploration of other meaningful phenotypes using autofluorescence image sequences with significance in the context of plant science.

Ultrasonic testing for metal additive manufacturing: Experience with new course development

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) has brought about the need for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods to assess part quality. AM processes result in complex microstructures, porosity, material texture, and residual stresses all of which may vary spatially throughout the part. Thus, knowledge of ultrasonic NDE methods to characterize materials is relevant to the AM community. To address this challenge, a new graduate-level course entitled “Ultrasound for Metal Additive Manufacturing,” was created at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The course followed a cognitive-situative blended learning approach to give students practical ultrasonics training regardless of prior acoustics background. The theory introduced key topics including: the general wave equation, plane wave solutions, waves in isotropic solids, impact of material anisotropy, role of material interfaces, reflection and transmission, surface waves, scattering, dispersion, material dissipation, and scattering attenuation. A series of laboratory experiments allowed students to learn: experimental setups, signal processing, transducer properties and selection, beam mapping, wave speed and attenuation measurements, and diffuse-field measurements. Finally, each student developed a project incorporating ultrasound measurements into their individual AM research. Their findings were included in research articles, conference presentations, and PhD dissertations. This presentation will describe the course design, successes, and recommendations for future implementations.

Ag Lenders Offer Insight on Conditions for Nebraska Livestock Producers

In 2017, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) and Nebraska Extension made a commitment to implement a multidisciplinary Beef Systems Initiative (BSI) to develop and support implementation of beef production systems in Nebraska. In addition to the BSI, a parallel project funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) implemented a study of the best practices for incorporating beef cattle onto cropping systems while improving ecosystem services to ensure sustainability. As a component of the FFAR project, an agricultural lenders panel was formed to provide input and feedback to UNL researchers on the financial considerations for producers implementing new or expanding existing operations. The lenders panel met for the first time in 2019.

Determination of autoantibody repertoire in the mouse model of viral myocarditis and in patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy by PhIP-Seq

Abstract Various infectious and non-infectious agents can cause myocarditis that may lead to cardiomyopathy with viruses being the most common suspects. Mechanistically, autoantibodies have been demonstrated for various antigens, in animal models and dilated cardiomyopathy patients, but their role continues to be enigmatic. First, by using the Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection model in A/J mice, we applied PhIP-Seq, a high-throughput platform to evaluate antibodies for various antigens. The data revealed the identification of antibodies to 32 antigens that were not previously reported. By investigating the biological significance of a few select antigens, we noted that cytochrome c oxidase assembly factor 4 homolog (COA4)-reactive antibodies were generated only in mice infected with CVB3 but not in influenza-infected animals proving virus specificity for antibody reactivity to COA4. Further immunogenicity studies revealed that animals immunized with COA4 did not develop myocarditis, nor was the T cell response generated, implying that COA4 is unlikely to act as a bonafide autoantigen. Alternatively, the COA4-reactive antibodies may represent biomarkers of viral myocarditis. Second, using the PhIP-Seq platform, we investigated the antibody profiles of human sera obtained from 25 age-matched non-ischemic cardiomyopathy patients and healthy controls. The analysis revealed significantly elevated levels of antibodies to 33 antigens, and the detection of the major candidates is being analyzed by ELISA as a secondary assay. Overall, our data suggest that the PhIP-Seq allows us to comprehensively analyze antibody repertoires that may lead to the identification of novel autoantibodies or their use as biomarkers. This work was supported in part by the institutional funds from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (J.R.), the Transformational Grant 18TPA34170206 from the American Heart Association (J.R.), and the National Institutes of Health grants R01 HL114669 (J.R), R01 GM136724 (H.B.L.).

Graduate studies in acoustics at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln within the College of Engineering

Those interested in pursuing graduate studies and conducting research in acoustics are invited to learn more about opportunities at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) within the College of Engineering. Dr. Lily Wang and Dr. Erica Ryherd work on architectural acoustics and noise control topics (http://nebraskaacousticsgroup.org ) within the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, based at UNL's Scott Campus in Omaha. Dr. Jinying Zhu in Civil and Environmental Engineering (also based on UNL’s Scott Campus in Omaha) is active in structural acoustics, using ultrasonic waves for concrete evaluation (https://engineering.unl.edu/cee/faculty/jinying-zhu/). Dr. Joseph Turner in Mechanical and Materials Engineering (based at UNL’s City Campus in Lincoln) focuses on ultrasound propagation through complex media for quantitative characterization of materials/microstructure (http://quisp.unl.edu ). This poster presents the graduate-level acoustics courses and lab facilities at UNL within the College of Engineering, and highlights the research interests and achievements of our faculty, graduates, and students. Extracurricular experiences are available through an Acoustical Society of America student chapter based on the Scott Campus and collaborations with Boys Town National Research Hospital.

COURAGE IN HARPER LEE’S NOVEL TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Creswell, J. (2014). Research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Los Angeles: University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Elmes. G. (2012). Research methods in psychology. Canada: Nelson Education. Klarer, M. (2013). An introduction to literary studies. New York: Routledge. Larrson, L. & Woolf, V. (2017). Walking Virginia Woolf’s London: An investigation in literary geography. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Mays, K. J. (2015). The Norton introduction to literature. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. Putman, D. (2010). The psychology of courage: modern research on an ancient virtue. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Turco, L. (2020). The book of literary terms: the genres of fiction, drama, nonfiction, literary criticism, and scholarship. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

SNAG: SDN-Managed Network Architecture for GridFTP Transfers Using Application-Awareness

Increasingly, academic campus networks support large-scale data transfer workflows for data-intensive science. These data transfers rely on high-performance, scalable, and reliable protocols for moving large amounts of data over a high-bandwidth, high-latency network. GridFTP is a widely used protocol for wide area network (WAN) data movement. However, as the GridFTP protocol does not share connection information with the network-layer, network operators have reduced flexibility, particularly in identifying/managing flows across the network. We address this problem by deploying a production “ <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">application-aware</i> ” software defined network (SDN) for managing GridFTP transfers for data-intensive science workflows. We first propose a novel application-aware architecture called SNAG (SDN-managed Network Architecture for GridFTP transfers). SNAG combines <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">application-layer and network-layer collaboration</i> (termed “application-awareness”) with SDN-enabled network management to classify, monitor and to manage network resources actively. Until now, our SNAG deployment has successfully classified over <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1.5 Billion</i> GridFTP connections at the Holland Computing Center (HCC), University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Next, we develop an application-aware SDN system to provide differentiated network services for distributed computing workflows. At HCC, we also demonstrate how our system ensures the quality of service (QoS) for high-throughput workflows such as Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) and Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Further, we also demonstrate how application-aware SDN can be exploited to create <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">policy-driven</i> approaches to achieve accurate resource accounting for each workflow. We present strategies for implementing differentiated network services and discuss their capacity improvement benefits. Lastly, we provide some guidelines and recommendations for developing application-aware SDN architectures for general-purpose applications.

Designing a Large, Online Simulation-Based Introductory Statistics Course

We designed an asynchronous undergraduate introductory statistics course that focuses on simulation-based inference at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In this article, we describe the process we used to design the course and the structure of the course. We also discuss feedback and comments we received from students on the course evaluations, and we reflect on the course after teaching it for the past three years. Our goal is to provide useful tips and ideas for instructors who have developed or are developing their own asynchronous introductory course. While we emphasize simulation-based inference in our course, we believe that many of the design features of this course would be useful for those using a traditional approach to inference in their introductory courses. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.

Mentoring Undergraduate Research in Mathematical Modeling.

In writing about undergraduate research in mathematical modeling, I draw on my 31 years as a mathematics professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where I mentored students in honors’ theses, REU groups, and research done in a classroom setting, as well as my prior experience. I share my views on the differences between research at the undergraduate and professional levels, offer advice for undergraduate mentoring, provide suggestions for a variety of ways that students can disseminate their research, offer some thoughts on mathematical modeling and how to explain it to undergraduates, and discuss the challenges involved in broadening research participation to include early career students and mid-tier students and how to deliver a research experience in a classroom setting. While different situations pose different challenges, different problems require different approaches, and different experiences lead to different conclusions, it is my hope that my experiences will be of broad value to a wide audience.

The Impact of Active Consideration of Health Outcomes on the Nutritional Quality of Food Choices

ObjectivesBeliefs about the future implications of behaviors affect people’s health decisions (Joireman et al., 2012). The objective of this study is to examine the proportion of individuals who consider current and/or future implications of food choices and to evaluate the impact of considering current and future health outcomes when making food choices on the nutritional quality of products selected. We hypothesize that participants who actively consider health outcomes will order more nutritional foods than those who do not. MethodsWe conducted an online food choice experiment in August 2021 with 502 adult (≥19 years old) residents of the US recruited from Prolific, an online survey recruitment platform. The survey consisted of a hypothetical shopping task in three product categories: cereals, bread, and crackers. Each product category featured dozens of distinct options and participants could also decline to select items from any category. Participants answered questions about the choices they made and completed demographic questions. Participants indicated whether they had considered the impact of the foods on current and future health. To measure overall nutritional quality, we use the Guiding Stars (GS) rating system (https://guidingstars.com/), which rates products based on nutrient content from 0 (low nutritional quality) to 3 (high nutritional quality) stars as the variable of interest in our analysis. We conducted a linear regression of GS on consideration of current and/or future health benefits and demographic characteristics. ResultsThose who considered current health outcomes, future health outcomes, and both current and future health outcomes selected products with 0.422, 0.585, and 0.591 more GS per product, respectively, than those who did not consider health outcomes. ConclusionsThe result of this study confirms that people who actively consider long-term implications of their daily eating choices eat more nutritional foods compared to those who don’t. Policies and health prompts oriented towards the future could improve healthy eating. Funding SourcesThis study was funded by the ARD Wheat Innovation Fund at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Two fingerprinting sets for Humulus lupulus based on KASP and microsatellite markers.

Verification of clonal identity of hop (Humulus lupulus L.) cultivars within breeding programs and germplasm collections is vital to conserving genetic resources. Accurate and economic DNA-based tools are needed in dioecious hop to confirm identity and parentage, neither of which can be reliably determined from morphological observations. In this study, we developed two fingerprinting sets for hop: a 9-SSR fingerprinting set containing high-core repeats that can be run in a single PCR reaction and a kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) assay of 25 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The SSR set contains a sex-linked primer pair, HI-AGA7, that was used to genotype 629 hop accessions from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR), the USDA Forage Seed and Cereal Research (FSCR), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) collections. The SSR set identified unique genotypes except for 89 sets of synonymous samples. These synonyms included: cultivars with different designations, the same cultivars from different sources, heat-treated clones, and clonal variants. Population structure analysis clustered accessions into wild North American (WNA) and cultivated groups. Diversity was slightly higher in the cultivated samples due to larger sample size. Parentage and sib-ship analyses were used to identify true-to-type cultivars. The HI-AGA7 marker generated two male- and nine female-specific alleles among the cultivated and WNA samples. The SSR and KASP fingerprinting sets were compared in 190 samples consisting of cultivated and WNA accession for their ability to confirm identity and assess diversity and population structure. The SSR fingerprinting set distinguished cultivars, selections and WNA accessions while the KASP assays were unable to distinguish the WNA samples and had lower diversity estimates than the SSR set. Both fingerprinting sets are valuable tools for identity confirmation and parentage analysis in hop for different purposes. The 9-SSR assay is cost efficient when genotyping a small number of wild and cultivated hop samples (<96) while the KASP assay is easy to interpret and cost efficient for genotyping a large number of cultivated samples (multiples of 96).

Alpha Seminar: A Course for New Graduate Students in Statistics

The accumulation of technical knowledge is the central focus of graduate programs in statistics. However, student success does not depend solely on acquiring such knowledge. Rather, students must also understand the rigors of graduate study to complete their degree. And, they need to understand the statistics profession to prepare for a career after graduation. The purpose of the one-credit hour Alpha Seminar course at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is to educate graduate students in these nontechnical areas. Students are required to enroll in Alpha Seminar during their first semester of study. In addition to advisement on courses and graduation requirements, Alpha Seminar features topics on career paths, ethics, professional accreditation, internships, and professional societies. Alumni also meet with the class to discuss how to be successful in the program and in a future career. This article discusses course topics, examines assignments, and provides evaluations from student cohorts. The corresponding course website is available at www.chrisbilder.com/stat810.

Gary B. Melton (1952-2020).

Memorializes Gary B. Melton (1952-2020). Melton was a psychology polymath. Recognized as a fellow by American Psychological Association (APA) and 10 different divisions, he was also president of Divisions 41 and 37 and received an unprecedented four APA Distinguished Contribution Awards-Psychology in the Public Interest (1981, 2014); Public Service (1999); and International Advancement of Psychology (2005). For 30 years, Melton directed interdisciplinary centers and institutes, three of which he founded: At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of South Carolina, and Clemson University. He was known by former students and close colleagues as a passionate advocate, a visionary leader, and a caring and loyal mentor and friend. Melton died September 20, 2020. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Reviewer’s Recognition

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board of the ASME Journal of Solar Energy Engineering would like to thank all of the reviewers for volunteering their expertise and time reviewing manuscripts in 2021. Serving as reviewers for the journal is a critical service necessary to maintain the quality of our publication and to provide the authors with a valuable peer review of their work. Below is a complete list of reviewer’s for 2021. We would also like to acknowledge three outstanding Reviewers of the Year.2021 Reviewers of the YearWael Yassine — California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, USAHaipeng Zhang — University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USAYunyang Ye — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USAThe Reviewers of the Year Award is given to reviewers who have made an outstanding contribution to the journal in terms of the quantity, quality, and turnaround time of reviews completed during the past 12 months. The prize includes a Wall Plaque, 50 free downloads from the ASME Digital Collection, and a 1-year free subscription to the journal.

ACRL candidates for 2022: A look at who’s running

Beth McNeil is dean of Libraries and School of Information Studies, Esther Ellis Norton Professor of Library Science at Purdue University, a position she has held since 2019. Prior to this, McNeil served as dean of Library Services at Iowa State University (2015-19), associate dean of academic affairs/scholarly communication at Purdue Libraries (2007-15), and associate dean at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) (2004-07). José Aguiñaga s librarian/branch coordinator at Glendale Community College, North Campus, a position he has held from 2008 to 2017 and 2018-present. Additionally, Aguiñaga served as lecturer with the School of Information at San José State University (2020-present), dean of library and instructional support at Rio Hondo College (2017-18), librarian at California State University-Long Beach (2001-05), social sciences librarian at Arizona State University-West (1999-2001), electronic resources librarian at the University of San Diego (1997-99), and social sciences librarian and library personnel coordinator at the University of Houston (1994-97).

How to Train Your Dragon by John Powell

Reviewed by: How to Train Your Dragon by John Powell Denise E. Finnegan-Hill John Powell. How to Train Your Dragon. Los Angeles: Omni Music Publishing, 2020. [xvi, 384 p. ISBN 9781734507928 (paperback), $85] Rarely does one find a published copy of a film’s score, particularly from a film as recent as 2010. The film How to Train Your Dragon received critical acclaim when it was first released with many reviewers acknowledging the role of the score in the film’s success. The score by composer John Powell, received its own recognition with an Oscar nomination for Best Score and winning Film Score of the Year from the IFMCA Awards. The score is written for full orchestra with a variety of folk and non-Western instruments. The published score is great for anyone studying film music, presenting a unique opportunity to dive deep into a newer score without having to rely on one’s ear and assist in widening the base of film music research. The lack of scholarly research on Powell, limited to only a composition dissertation chapter by Jennifer Dirkes (“Synchretic Analysis and Storyboard Scores: The Musical Rhythm of Filmic Elements,” [PhD diss., University of California-Los Angeles, 2017]) and my own Master’s thesis (“Thematic Development in John Powell’s Score for How to Train Your Dragon (2010),” [MM thesis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2020]) leaves much room for exploration of Powell and the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. The How to Train Your Dragon score is unique to Omni Music Publishing’s collection as both the only score by Powell and the only score for an animated film, helping to diversify the emerging “canon” brought about by the limited publication of film scores. The published score will allow more scholars to explore Powell’s thematic technique and other aspects of his composition style that have not yet been researched. The thematically driven nature of the score that is in many ways more akin to the classic scores of John Williams, than other scores of the same year such as Oscar nominees The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) and Inception (Hans Zimmer) is possibly why Omni chose this score for publication alongside well-known composers like James Horner, Bernard Herrmann, and Elmer Bernstein. The publication was successful enough that Omni is set to publish the score for the second How to Train Your Dragon film in fall of 2021. Apart from Batman and Batman Returns (Danny Elfman) this is the only other series of scores Omni has published to date. Pending the success of the second score, I’m sure they will consider releasing the score for the third film as well, giving scholars the opportunity to study the entire franchise more easily. The publication is a beautiful edition, clearly laid out for ease of study. Abridged film credits and a relatively short introductory “analysis” of some [End Page 466] main themes and where they appear in the score are included. The film credits page mentions only those involved in the music production apart from the directors and main voice actors. This page is helpful to see everyone involved in the music production besides Powell, including a long list of orchestrators and arrangers, reminding us that although Powell will get credit for every choice made in the film’s music, it is not likely that he made every small decision, an important thing to note when writing about film music. Unfortunately, there is no indication of which orchestrator or arranger worked on which parts of the score. One may assume the names are listed by amount of contribution since they are not in alphabetical order, but there is no confirmation of this idea. At the bottom of the same page are the “book credits” showing that Powell and others from his production company, 5 Cat Studios, were involved in creating this publication. Timothy Rodier from Omni Music Publishing is also listed and credited with the layout and design of the book, but unfortunately there is no indication of how much input Powell had in the publication’s production and could possibly be listed as a courtesy or simply because the publisher went through...

“Friendshoring,” ag markets, North American integration among issues examined at Yeutter Institute symposium

A Nov. 2, 2022, symposium sponsored by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Yeutter Institute brought together experts addressing a wide array of trade matters, including global ag market dynamics, North American economic integration and Asia-Pacific economic diplomacy. Among the key questions discussed: — What complications arise for efforts to shift trade policy toward “friendshoring”? — How well has North American economic integration fared in the wake of NAFTA and its successor, the USMCA? — What factors, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, are currently affecting agricultural markets and global food insecurity? — What guideposts can best direct U.S. economic diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region? — Does the World Trade Organization retain relevance amid changing global trade conditions? This biennial Yeutter Institute event, with in-person and online attendance, was held at the University of Nebraska’s Innovation Campus and featured the theme, “New Patterns of Trade Integration.”

Monitoring Climate Impacts on Annual Forage Production across U.S. Semi-Arid Grasslands

The ecosystem performance approach, used in a previously published case study focusing on the Nebraska Sandhills, proved to minimize impacts of non-climatic factors (e.g., overgrazing, fire, pests) on the remotely-sensed signal of seasonal vegetation greenness resulting in a better attribution of its changes to climate variability. The current study validates the applicability of this approach for assessment of seasonal and interannual climate impacts on forage production in the western United States semi-arid grasslands. Using a piecewise regression tree model, we developed the Expected Ecosystem Performance (EEP), a proxy for annual forage production that reflects climatic influences while minimizing impacts of management and disturbances. The EEP model establishes relations between seasonal climate, site-specific growth potential, and long-term growth variability to capture changes in the growing season greenness measured via a time-integrated Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) observed using a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The resulting 19 years of EEP were converted to expected biomass (EB, kg ha−1 year−1) using a newly-developed relation with the Soil Survey Geographic Database range production data (R2 = 0.7). Results were compared to ground-observed biomass datasets collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (R2 = 0.67). This study illustrated that this approach is transferable to other semi-arid and arid grasslands and can be used for creating timely, post-season forage production assessments. When combined with seasonal climate predictions, it can provide within-season estimates of annual forage production that can serve as a basis for more informed adaptive decision making by livestock producers and land managers.

Review: Presenting Difficult Pasts Through Architecture: Converting National Socialist Sites to Documentation Centers, by Rumiko Handa

Review: <i>Presenting Difficult Pasts Through Architecture: Converting National Socialist Sites to Documentation Centers</i>, by Rumiko Handa