University Of Nebraska-Lincoln Research Articles

Evaluation of an Interview-Based Internship Class in the Construction Management Curriculum: A Case Study of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Internships have been shown to be impactful tools to connect students’ learning in academia with real-world industrial needs. To help the students to get more out of their internship experience, some universities provide a summer internship class in which students do class assignments based on their experiences during their internship. There have been numerous studies on the benefits of internships. However, the benefits of a potential internship class for students in construction management (CM) programs at universities have not yet been investigated. This paper demonstrates the structure of an interview-based internship class and investigates its effectiveness. We have focused on the CM program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) as a case study. We sent online questionnaires to the intern students who took the class, students’ mentors, and the professors who taught the class. The results indicate that despite some challenges to meet the requirements of the class, the students, their mentors, and the professor found the class beneficial. The results of this paper are expected to help CM programs with the establishment and improvement of internship classes in their curriculum.

Erratum to: Research progress in Asia on methods of processing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy data

In the original publication of the article, there is one mistake in the authors’ affiliations. Prof. Yong-Feng Lu’s affiliation should be: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0511, USA.

Estimation of heterosis and combining abilities of U.S. winter wheat germplasm for hybrid development in Texas

AbstractHybrid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) offers promises to break the yield stagnation in global wheat productivity as a result of heterosis. But, for this promise to be realized, the level of heterosis must be adequate. To test this, elite winter wheat lines from the breeding programs of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) and Texas A&M University (TAMU) were crossed in a 25‐by‐25 full‐diallel design using a chemical hybridizing agent (CHA) to produce experimental hybrids. These hybrids were planted in a modified augmented design with commercial checks and parents at McGregor, TX, in 2016 (n = 612) and Greenville and Bushland, TX, in 2017 (n = 470) to evaluate for yield heterosis and combining ability. A subset of hybrids (n = 333) were repeated between years. The effect of field heterogeneity in grain yield was corrected by spatial modelling in ASReml‐R. Commercial heterosis ranged from −78.3 to 20.4% in 2016 and −32.9 to 6.2% in 2017. High‐parent heterosis (HPH) ranged from −70.4 to 54.3% in 2016 and −26.9 to 29.2% in 2017. General combining ability (GCA) variance was significantly higher than zero, whereas specific combining ability (SCA) variance was not. Significant maternal effect was identified in some crosses tested by computing reciprocal effects between crosses and estimating variances. This indicates that most of the heterosis is due to additive rather than dominance effect. These results suggest exploitation of GCA for higher yield while underscoring the need for development of heterotic pools to maximize SCA and dominance effects.

Quantitative assessment of microbial quality and safety risk: A preliminary case study of strengthening raspberry supply system in Chile

National governments are moving to integrate risk analysis frameworks into food safety management systems at the country level. However, this process is less advanced in developing countries. In this context, the Chilean Livestock and Agriculture Service (SAG), Food Quality and Safety Agency (ACHIPIA) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) collaborated on a project to control generic Escherichia coli and Hepatitis A virus (HAV) contamination in both fresh and frozen raspberry products destined for export. The objectives of this study were to 1) identify along the raspberry supply chain the most influential factors of E. coli and HAV contamination in the final products; and 2) evaluate the efficacies of possible interventions to control these influential factors. To achieve these objectives, a unified quantitative model of microbial contamination in raspberries was developed to describe the impact of factors in a continuum from the farm to the destination of importation on E. coli/HAV contamination in fresh and frozen raspberry products. Multiple surveys were conducted to obtain country-specific data on current common practices of producing and processing raspberries in Chile for inputs into the simulation model. The model estimated mean bacterial loads of −1.64 and −5.46 logCFU/g for E. coli and mean viral loads of −6.45 and −6.51 logPDU/g for HAV in fresh and frozen raspberries, respectively. Sensitivity and scenario analyses indicated that reduction of E. coli contamination in the end products can be effectively achieved by improving the quality of water used for pesticide application, as well as by controlling the transport and storage time and temperature along raspberries supply chain. By contrast, to control HAV contamination in the end products, efforts should be focused on improving the hygiene practices of berry handlers on the farm and at the packing plant. This project provides straightforward recommendations for Chilean food safety authorities to effectively prioritize their financial and human resources to proactively prevent microbial contamination in raspberries. Moreover, this project provide a framework that can be extended to other countries to promote capability building for applying risk-based food safety management systems for public health protection.

Corrigendum: Quantitative Electrochemical DNA Microarray on a Monolith Electrode with Ten Attomolar Sensitivity, 100 % Specificity, and Zero Background

Prof. Ravi F. Saraf of this publication discloses financial interest in Vajra Instrument as its Founder and President. In accordance with its Conflict of Interest policy, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Conflict of Interest in Research Committee has determined that this must be disclosed. The original manuscript failed to acknowledge that Ravi F. Saraf was affiliated with Vajra Instruments, Inc. or disclose financial interest. The amended Conflict of Interest statement appears below. The authors apologize for this oversight. Prof. Ravi F. Saraf discloses financial interest in Vajra Instrument, Inc. as its Founder and President.

Corrigendum: Quantitative Electrochemical DNA Microarray on a Monolith Electrode with Ten Attomolar Sensitivity, 100 % Specificity, and Zero Background

Prof. Ravi F. Saraf of this publication discloses financial interest in Vajra Instrument as its Founder and President. In accordance with its Conflict of Interest policy, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Conflict of Interest in Research Committee has determined that this must be disclosed. The original manuscript failed to acknowledge that Ravi F. Saraf was affiliated with Vajra Instruments, Inc. or disclose financial interest. The amended Conflict of Interest statement appears below. The authors apologize for this oversight. Prof. Ravi F. Saraf discloses financial interest in Vajra Instrument, Inc. as its Founder and President.

Art of the West: Selected Works from the Autry Museum ed. by Amy Scott

Reviewed by: Art of the West: Selected Works from the Autry Museum ed. by Amy Scott George Philip Lebourdais Art of the West: Selected Works from the Autry Museum. Edited by Amy Scott. Foreword by Stephen Aron. Afterword by Brian W. Dippie. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2018. vii + 144 pp. Illustrations, selected bibliography, index. $34.95, paper. Splendidly illustrated and richly varied in perspective, this catalogue represents a timely revision of the Autry Museum of the American West. Originally founded in 1988 by famed Western actor and businessman Gene Autry, the museum has progressively reckoned with the imperialist ideology that once defined frontier culture. Edited by the Autry's chief curator, Amy Scott, this collection of fourteen short essays models more inclusive and critical perspectives of an important collection of art that includes John Gast's iconic 1872 painting, American Progress. That title is apt; as Stephen Aron, the original director of the Autry's Research Institute, writes in his foreword, "Almost from its inception, the Autry Museum was a work in progress" (ix). Having merged with several other museums over the years, the Autry recently reimagined its mission around concepts like "convergence," reframing "the American West as an interwoven tapestry of cultures and peoples" (x). Art of the West puts this most recent incarnation on display while also tracking the evolution of interpretive methods. Prior skirmishes in western historiography echo in Scott's lucid introduction, "The Art of the Shared West," chief among them the mythbusting 1991 Smithsonian exhibition, The West as America: Reinterpreting Images of the Frontier, 1820–1920. One of that show's curators, art historian Alexander Nemerov, contributes an engrossing essay ("The Imp; or, The Madness of Charles Deas"), as does distinguished historian Brian W. Dippie, who reflects on dominant western tropes and their arc within the museum. A case in point: the Autry's gallery once titled "Spirit of Romance" now features three themes—"Religion and Ritual," "Land and Landscape," and "Migration and Movement"—that reappear as section titles for the beautiful color plates in the catalogue. The other texts do their part bucking manifest destiny for multiculturalism. Vital indigenous voices and materials emerge, including in Nancy Marie Mithlo's take on the painting of Harry Fonseca, and Lois S. Dubin's explication of Blackfeet, Sioux, and Pawnee beadworks in Great Plains equestrian cultures. On other topics, one wishes for more. There is scant reference to how the Hollywood wealth that built this Los Angeles museum (mis)represented various "Wests" and their origins. And while compelling stories from disparate geographies arise, the texts can seem too brief or too broad in scope. Even a survey catalogue of this kind could benefit from a bit more thematic "convergence." That said, the diverse viewpoints and artworks in this volume remain resounding strengths. Art of the West is both a handsome tribute to the Autry Museum's past and a symbol of its expanding politics toward western art and culture. [End Page 176] George Philip Lebourdais Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis Stanford University Copyright © 2020 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Chemical Lands: Pesticides, Aerial Spraying, and Health in North America's Grasslands since 1945 by David D. Vail

Reviewed by: Chemical Lands: Pesticides, Aerial Spraying, and Health in North America's Grasslands since 1945 by David D. Vail Christopher R. Laingen Chemical Lands: Pesticides, Aerial Spraying, and Health in North America's Grasslands since 1945. By David D. Vail. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2018. ix + 180 pp. Illustrations, map, notes, bibliography, index. $39.95 cloth. I applaud David Vail and the University of Alabama Press for having written and published a book that dared to do anything other than demonize farming—in general—and the use of agricultural chemicals—specifically—and pretend that our country's agricultural production systems could have been created and continue to function without them. Vail's book is truly a breath of fresh air insofar as that many social scientists, social science programs, and academic presses preach increasingly partisan worldviews about large-scale conventional agricultural practices. Farmers are, by and large, keen stewards of the land. Their livelihoods largely depend upon the health of the ecosystems within which they operate. In his book, Vail expertly explains how practices employed by "Ag pilots" evolved over many decades as they carefully considered their target landscape(s), non-target crops, and the people, animals, and surrounding environments affected by their work; they worked diligently, more often than not, alongside their clients and other stakeholders to minimize risks to these local and regional ecosystems. While many farmers were initially reluctant to adopt aerial application methods, over time, collaboration and "precision became the answer" (7). In 1950 the convergence of federal officials, agriculturalists, aeronautical engineers, and pilots to design and build the Ag-1 "flying tractor" marked the arrival of the "first plane ever designated and built exclusively for super safe and efficient crop control flying" (88). "By considering the target landscape, non-target crops, people, and animals, and the larger environment together, Ag pilots minimized risks to local ecosystems while also keeping crops safe" (128). By the 1960s a patchwork of state regulations, a growing emphasis on federal oversight of chemicals, and the release of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring placed Ag pilots, landowners, and weed scientists—overwhelmingly, people who were doing their dead-level best to reduce harm to the environment—on the side of what was viewed by the general public as an environmentally destructive industry. Are there shortcomings to these practices? Absolutely. Are there alternatives? For sure, and in certain locales—largely outside the Great Plains and Midwest— nonindustrialized and nonconventional agricultural production and pest-control practices might even prove to be more logical and optimal solutions. Vail's book, however, curbs any notion that America's food production system could have been created or sustained without the help of industrialization and nonorganic—sometimes dangerous—chemicals. Efforts that began in the mid-twentieth century aimed at improving precision in agricultural chemical application were the building blocks upon which farmers' labors continue today (e.g., Global Positioning System [GPS] technology and precision agriculture). Such efforts, many of which originated on the American Great Plains, have helped consumers get what they want out of agricultural production: to keep the cost of agricultural products as low as possible, so that we do not spend a penny more of our disposable income than necessary on the food, fuel, and fiber that our country's farmers produce. The proliferation of aerial spraying was driven not by American farmers or by "Big Ag," but by the growing demands of American consumers. All of us. Dr. Vail and the University of Alabama Press: this was a job well done! [End Page 87] Christopher R. Laingen Department of Geology and Geography Eastern Illinois University Copyright © 2020 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The Jews' Indian: Colonialism, Pluralism, and Belonging in America by David S. Koffman

Reviewed by: The Jews' Indian: Colonialism, Pluralism, and Belonging in America by David S. Koffman Rachel Rubinstein The Jews' Indian: Colonialism, Pluralism, and Belonging in America. By David S. Koffman. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2019. 252 pp. Illustrations, notes, index. $34.95, paper. About a decade ago, a modest cluster of scholarly texts were published that all examined, in some fashion, Jewish-Native literary relations (full disclosure: my own book was one of them).1 Back then, we were writing in the context of literary multiculturalism, meaning to add to the already robust conversations emerging about Jews and other "others" in American culture. David Koffman's impressive study builds upon and extends these earlier efforts but is more urgently engaged with a critical framework of settler-colonialism, over and against multiculturalism. "Jewish immigration history," he demands, "must be recast in the context into which all American ethnic immigration properly fits but within which it is rarely cast—namely, settler colonial expansion" (7). At the same time, however, Koffman insists that religious and ethnic specificity conditioned encounters between Jews and indigenous people. The result is a rich and nuanced account of a broad history, beginning with Jews' selfconscious narrativizing of their participation in westward expansion as merchants and middlemen, and continuing through Jews' involvement with Native tribes as lawyers, policy makers, and ethnographers in the Indian New Deal era of the early twentieth century and the post–World War II period. Throughout, Koffman resists reducing his materials to either a celebratory narrative of Jewish material success in America or a virtuous narrative of Jewish progressivism and civil rights advocacy on behalf of others. On the frontier, Koffman demonstrates in his first two chapters, Jews uncritically embraced identities as white, western pioneers, participating in actual and rhetorical acts of violence against Indians. At the same time, Indians could be vehicles for assimilation and engaged with in "productive capitalism" (15). But after the turn of the twentieth century, when racial panic fed both anti-immigrant and anti-Indian sentiment, Jews devoted substantial energy to justice [End Page 171] for Native Americans, even as, Koffman observes, they did not necessarily see the ways in which their efforts often perpetuated colonial relations and structures. Chapters 5 and 6, devoted to liberal Jewish attorneys in the Department of the Interior, like Felix Cohen, and to anthropologist-activists, like Melville Jacobs, are notable triumphs. Throughout, Koffman's deep and original work in the archive is in abundant evidence, and the moral thrust of his argument is crystalline: "Jewish class mobility and civic belonging," Koffman concludes, "were wrapped up in the dynamics of power, commerce, historical narrative, and myth making that so severely impacted Native Americans" (220). Grappling with this legacy, he reminds us, is both imperative and ongoing. Rachel Rubinstein American Literature and Jewish Studies Holyoke Community College Note 1. Jonathan Boyarin, The Unconverted Self: Jews, Indians, and the Identity of Christian Europe (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009); Stephen Katz, Red, Black, and Jew: New Frontiers in Hebrew Literature (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009); Rachel Rubinstein, Members of the Tribe: Native America in the Jewish Imagination (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2010). Other important, earlier intertexts were Alan Trachtenberg, Shades of Hiawatha: Staging Indians, Making Americans, 1880–1930 (New York: Hill and Wang, 2004), and Walter Benn Michaels, Our America: Nativism, Modernism and Pluralism (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1997). Copyright © 2020 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

1889: The Boomer Movement, the Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City by Michael J. Hightower

Reviewed by: 1889: The Boomer Movement, the Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City by Michael J. Hightower Julie Hufstetler 1889: The Boomer Movement, the Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City. By Michael J. Hightower. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2018. ix + 312 pp. Notes, bibliography, index. $24.95, paper. In the compelling text 1889: The Boomer Movement, The Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City, author Michael J. Hightower contextualizes Great Plains history within Gilded Age American politics to argue that the foundation story of Oklahoma Proper served as a representation of the inequality often experienced during the Gilded Age. A self-proclaimed "social historian with a view of history that percolates up from the churn of everyday life," Hightower utilizes newspapers, memoirs, oral testimonies and interviews, and personal letters to create a timeline of the settling of the Oklahoma frontier (xi). Hightower divides his book into three parts: (1) Indian Territory to 1885, (2) The Run, and (3) City Building. Part 1 serves as a prequel to the story and examines Indian Territory and the politics surrounding westward expansion and the reservation system. Hightower introduces the famed "boomer" David Lewis Payne. He also describes how the boomer came to represent a struggle against a seemingly corrupt government intent on denying the land that the boomers believed to be rightfully theirs. In part 2, Hightower continues his examination of this boomer versus government power dynamic by alternating the chapters between Washington, DC, and the frontier. The "Oklahoma question" raged in Congress and represented Gilded Age controversies: "relations with the Indians; the chasm between the haves and have-nots; the corrupting effects of Big Money in an age of oversized and largely unregulated corporations; and the definition and disposition of public lands" (125). The eventual opening of the territory culminated in a disorganized run for public land on April 22, 1889. In part 3, Hightower chronicles the settlement of Oklahoma City. Continuing the theme of power dynamics within the Gilded [End Page 173] Age, Hightower delineates the various internal controversies that developed within the power vacuum created by Congress's reluctance to officially designate Oklahoma a US territory. Hightower's analysis of how Oklahoma's foundation story symbolized Gilded Age American politics is enmeshed in a fascinating narrative of frontier settlement life. His outstanding storytelling ability generates an entertaining yet thought-provoking book. Each chapter provides ample evidence that the Oklahoma frontier typified Gilded Age America. Perhaps the most compelling example is found in the descriptions of the 1889 Land Run and the ensuing chaos (chapter 9, "Everybody at Sea"). Beneath the resilient optimism that accompanied the excitement of settling a new territory was a seedy underbelly of corruption and greed that would surface as surveyors began their work of dividing the public lands. In the preface, Hightower challenges the reader to forsake any preconceived notions of Oklahoma's foundation story and to "brace for a shocking tale" (xiv). Hightower's book certainly lives up to this bold claim, and this reviewer highly recommends it for anyone who enjoys an enthralling historical narrative. Julie Hufstetler History and Political Science Oklahoma Wesleyan University Copyright © 2020 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Up the Trail: How Texas Cowboys Herded Longhorns and Became an American Icon by Tim Lehman

Reviewed by: Up the Trail: How Texas Cowboys Herded Longhorns and Became an American Icon by Tim Lehman Tim Keane Up the Trail: How Texas Cowboys Herded Longhorns and Became an American Icon. By Tim Lehman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018. 184 pp. Notes, suggested further reading, index. $19.95, paper. Chasing grass, good weather, and greed. Tim Lehman's book is terse, inviting, and a fun read. The primary characters in this story are the cattle, the drovers, and the fickle climate of the Great Plains. Supporting roles are played by railroad and cattle barons, the beef market, and western expansion following the Civil War. From this great open-air saga emerged an American icon built upon rumor, legend, and folklore. The "Texas longhorn" was an invasive species that, while wild and dangerous, represented "cash on the hoof." Vast herds of cattle represented a resource free for the claiming to anyone who could gather and burn their brand onto their flanks. But the markets for the beef they provided were in the East and the railheads were to the north. Lehman describes the beginnings of the trail drives and the herders they required in accurate and compelling text. He shows the difficulty of managing wild herds with boys of varied skills, fortitude, and commitment, many of whom were teens and people of color. And as Lehman notes, most only made one drive. Interesting was the observation that the laconic nature of the stoic cowboy was likely due to the depression of spirits that resulted from the monotony and isolation of the trail. Lehman's story of the characters of the trails north is engaging and informative. However, I longed for a stronger characterization of the free ranges of tallgrass that covered the Southern Plains and fed the cattle and horse on their trails to Kansas, and likewise, the devastation [End Page 172] of these grasses and soils as markets boomed and tens of thousands of cattle moved north, many wintering on ranges around the rail heads to gain weight and kill off the Texas fever–carrying ticks. Lehman deftly shows that just when the trail drives should have ended, the chase for quick and easy profits moved the routes west and farther north. He notes that taking Texas cattle to the Northern Plains and the cool-season grasses (that cured into highprotein forage) was made possible by the near eradication of the bison and necessitated by the impounding of the Native peoples of the region. These northern drives and winter stocking essentially ended when the deadly winter of 1886–87 hit the overgrazed Northern Plains. From the dust and ashes of the trails rose an American icon, the cowboy. Lehman traces this transformation in cogent fashion, from the night-herd songs and poems, to the "dime novels," to the Hollywood "horse operas" of the early 1900s. Gone from this legend were the hardship, the cruelty, and the extreme toll exacted from the land, the stock, and the men of the trail drives that we are given glimpses of in this appealing book. Tim Keane College of Architecture, Planning & Design Kansas State University Copyright © 2020 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Where's There's Smoke: The Environmental Science, Public Policy, and Politics of Marijuana ed. by Char Miller

Reviewed by: Where's There's Smoke: The Environmental Science, Public Policy, and Politics of Marijuana ed. by Char Miller Barney Warf Where's There's Smoke: The Environmental Science, Public Policy, and Politics of Marijuana. Edited by Char Miller. Foreword by Jared Juffman. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2018. vii + 226 pp. Illustrations, tables, index. $29.95 cloth. The drive toward the legalization of marijuana has unleashed a flurry of new literature concerned with its impacts and with the legal debates pertaining to permissible use. This volume, a series of 12 chapters and an afterword, authored by academic ecologists and sociologists, wildlife biologists, and wildlife managers, sheds interesting new light on the politics of legalization as well as understudied dimensions of marijuana cultivation and the illegal trespass of grow operations on federal lands. As different authors make clear, illegal grow sites were the unintended consequence of the disastrous war on drugs, which encouraged producers to shift cultivation from Mexico to the United States. Northern California's Emerald Triangle emerged as the prime producer in this regard, a locale whose operations were soon duplicated in other parts of the Golden State and then in several others. Most grow sites go undetected. Thousands of illegal grow sites have enormously deleterious effects on local ecosystems, including the cutting of trees, diversion of streams, and contamination of streams with sediment and fertilizers, widespread garbage, heavy use of pesticides and fungicides, and ro-denticides that have exterminated many small animals and poisoned the ones that prey on them. Hikers and forestry personnel stumbling across such sites are often put in danger. These types of operations now exist in at least 22 states. As noted in chapter 1, "More than forty years of federal intransigence concerning cannabis has forced state regulators and cannabis advocates to pursue a piecemeal approach to legalization and has done very little in the way of bringing growers into regulatory compliance, and even less at protecting the environment. Debate rages as to whether legalization will enhance or depress such operations" (24). Trespass operations are prefigured by earlier cultural geographies. Thus, in northern California the tradition extends back to hippies in the 1960s; in Appalachia, their roots extend to the tradition of rural moonshine producers, now displaced by Mexican immigrants. The chapters are engaging. One chapter consists of a hair-raising first-person account of a raid on an illegal grow operation. Others offer remarkably sympathetic views of the workers on grow sites. Essentially all are undocumented aliens, poorly educated, with no knowledge of the law and justice system or the risks, often lured to the work under false pretenses, who are essentially slaves. Mexican cartels may hold their families hostage to force cooperation, and such workers may not testify after being caught, fearing for the safety of their kin back home. Some are charged with all of the crimes committed by the cartel, and many are sentenced to long and harsh prison sentences. Several chapters address legalization movements in various states. What makes this interesting is how the volume depicts different trajectories toward similar goals, paths shaped by local histories, cultures, and political environments. Medical marijuana inevitably led the way. Typically successful legalization involves multiple failed attempts. California is the behemoth of legal and illegal cultivation, producing more than all the others combined; its move toward legal recreational cannabis opened the door for others such as Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. In Washington, DC, the panopticonic gaze of congressional Republicans has repeatedly attempted to thwart legalization. The aftermath of legalization is also uneven. As chapter 9 notes, "different states have crafted different regulatory regimes and licensing requirements" (143-44). Banking services for distributors are difficult to come by, given that cannabis is still illegal at the federal level. Taken together, these chapters provide an informative and frequently fascinating glimpse into the complex political, environmental, and regulatory dimensions of cannabis production. The book will be useful for academics, legalization advocates, and anyone interested in the world's most heavily consumed illegal drug. [End Page 89] Barney Warf Department of Geography University of Kansas Copyright © 2020 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Language and Power

The following is a conceptual paper consisting of a series of short, critical essays written for the “Language and Power” course taught by Professor Loukia K. Sarroub at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during Fall 2019. The purpose of these essays is to understand the power of language, communication, and discourse in society and in education. Each essay is itself unique and connected to the others and explores the role of language in community and institutional settings. Language is intrinsically connected to culture, and most societies show their hierarchal power through it. For example, the short essay “‘Ketchup’ with Social Norms” explicitly shows how a relationship between a man and a woman could be compromised because of possible misunderstandings resulting from the different ways women and men use language in a contextualized situation. The essays in this paper draw on the work of social theorists and major thinkers such as Ahmed, Bourdieu, Butler, Cameron, Dewey, Foucault, R. Lakoff, and Tannen, among others, in connection to a range of topics centered on language as symbolic power and symbolic capital and its semiotic meanings.

PH Variability and its Relationship with Sarcomere Length and Free Calcium in Beef from Commercial Cattle in Puerto Rico

ObjectivesResearch conducted at the University of Puerto Rico noted that beef with elevated pH values (> 5.86) resulted in more tender meat (P ≤ 0.05). It has been established that proteolytic degradation mechanisms can be influenced by pH and calcium concentration in muscle. Beef with pH values ≥ 5.86 is classified as Dark Firm and Dry (DFD) but there are negative implications associated with greater pH values. However, observations indicating increased tenderness with increased pH raise the question: can variations in pH be associated with differences in sarcomere length (SL) and free calcium concentration (FCC)? Therefore, the objectives of this project were to: (1) document pH distribution; (2) determine the incidence of DFD; and (3) evaluate the relationship between pH, SL, and FCC in commercial cattle harvested in Puerto Rico.Materials and MethodsLongissimus lumborum samples (n = 51) were obtained and background information was noted including number of permanent incisors (PI), type (Dairy or Beef), and gender. The pH values were used to categorize beef into the following groups: Low (≤ 5.40), Normal (5.41 to 5.59), High (5.60 to 5.85) and DFD (≥ 5.86). Meat was flash frozen, powdered, and placed on a microscope slide and a Helium-Neon laser was used to determine SL. A subset of samples was sent off and prepared at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for FCC quantification (Ward Laboratories; Kearney, NE) with an inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometer (iCAP 6500 Radial; Thermo Electron, Cambridge, UK). All statistical analyses were conducted in SAS (9.4). The Proc FREQ was used to determine pH category distributions and incidence of DFD. The Proc GLIMMIX and Tukey adjustment (α = 0.05) were used to determine the effects of number of PI, type, and gender on pH category, SL and FCC. The Proc CORR was used to evaluate the relationship between pH category, SL and FCC.ResultsThe pH category distribution for the current samples was as follows: 3.92% Low, 41.18% Normal, 35.29% High and 19.61% DFD. The SL ranged from 1.69 to 1.46 mm with an average of 1.53 mm. The FCC ranged from 132.19 to 31.39 mM with an average of 64.23 mM. Longer sarcomeres were detected in cattle with eight and zero PI (1.57 and 1.56 mm, respectively); cattle with two and four PI had intermediate SL (1.53 and 1.52 mm, respectively), and cattle with six PI had the shortest sarcomeres (1.51 mm; P = 0.03). Dairy cattle had longer sarcomeres relative to beef cattle (1.56 vs. 1.52 mm; P = 0.02). Dairy cattle tended to have increased FCC relative to beef cattle (70.72 vs. 58.38 mM; P = 0.08). Also, FCC tended to be greater within the Normal and Low pH categories relative to the High and DFD categories (72.36 vs. 57.31 mM; P = 0.06). The SL and FCC had no relationship (P > 0.05) within the Low, Normal and High pH categories. However, DFD beef had longer SL (0.78; P = 0.01), while having decreased FCC (–0.66; P = 0.04).ConclusionOver half (54.90%) of the beef samples analyzed fell into the High and DFD pH categories, with nearly 20% being classified as DFD. Although, a clear relationship was not established between SL and FCC within the Low, Normal or High pH categories, the results indicate that the increased pH in samples surpassing the DFD threshold correspond to longer sarcomeres and decreased free calcium.

Deriving individual threshold doses from clinical food challenge data for population risk assessment of food allergens

Food allergies are a significant public health issue, and the only effective management option currently available is strict avoidance of all foods containing the allergen. In view of the practical impossibility of limiting risks to zero, quantitative allergen risk assessment and management strategies are needed. We sought to develop appropriate methods for informing population-based risk assessments and risk management programs to benefit all stakeholders but particularly patients with food allergy. Individual thresholds for food allergens (maximum tolerable doses and minimum eliciting doses) can ideally be established through double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges. If double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge data are not available, data from widely used open food challenges using predefined objective criteria can also provide useful data regarding minimum eliciting doses. For more than 20years, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research and the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have been collecting individual maximum tolerable doses and minimum eliciting doses that produce objective symptoms from published and unpublished clinical data to better refine knowledge regarding the sensitivity of the population to food allergens. In this article we provide in-depth insights into the methodology applied by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research and Food Allergy Research and Resource Program to derive individual maximum tolerable doses and minimum eliciting doses for objective symptoms from clinical food challenge data. More than 90 examples for determining individual allergic thresholds are presented. With the methodology presented in this article, we aim to stimulate harmonization and transparency in quantitative food allergen risk assessment and risk management programs, encouraging their wider adoption.

Review: The History Harvest, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Review: The History Harvest, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The Impact of Prescribed Exercise and Short-Term Caloric Restriction on Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity (P08-011-19)

ObjectivesWeight loss, especially when achieved by caloric restriction (CR), reduces total daily energy expenditure (EE), which can attenuate further weight loss. Although exercise is a common countermeasure to the decline in EE, it is unknown whether prescribed exercise leads to compensatory changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activities (MVPA) during non-exercise periods in the context of CR. The present study sought to quantify changes in MVPA in response to an energetically-matched energy deficit induced by CR alone or combined with exercise. We hypothesized that MVPA outside of prescribed exercise would be greater during non-exercise conditions, regardless of energy balance. MethodsIn a repeated-measures crossover design, active men (n = 6, 25 ± 1.0 y) underwent four 4-day conditions: CR with exercise (CR + X), CR without exercise (CR–X), energy-balanced control (CON) with exercise (CON + X) and without exercise (CON–X). Dietary intake was manipulated such that energy availability (EA) was 15 kcal·kg FFM−1·day−1 (CR) or 40 kcal·kg FFM−1·day−1 (CON). Prescribed exercise EE was 15 kcal·kg FFM−1·day−1. Physical activity was assessed using the SenseWear Pro3 armband (Bodymedia, Pittsburgh, USA) to quantify time spent in MVPA and light activities (sleep, lying down without sleep, and non-lying light activities) as % of total wear time. ResultsEA did not differ between CR (P = 0.87) nor CON (P = 0.42). As expected, weight loss was significant (P < 0.001) in CR + EX (–1.8 ± 0.4 kg) and CR-EX (–2.4 ± 0.3 kg). After deducting prescribed exercise, there was a significant effect of exercise on time spent in MVPA (P = 0.02), in that MVPA was lower during CON-EX vs. CON + EX (11.4 ± 2.0% vs. 17.9 ± 2.1%, P = 0.03) and trended lower during CR-EX vs. CR + EX (13.6 ± 1.5% vs. 15.5 ± 1.6%, P = 0.08). In exercise conditions, MVPA was lower during CR + EX when compared to CON + EX (P = 0.03). ConclusionsIndependent of energy balance, engaging in short-term exercise led to more, not less, time spent in non-exercise MVPA. These findings indicate the prevention of reductions in non-exercise activity as an additional benefit of incorporating exercise into weight loss interventions. Funding SourcesThe study was supported in part by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and institutional funding from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Transforming the Quality of Metadata in Institutional Repositories

ABSTRACTEstablished in 2005, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL)’s Libraries’ institutional repository (IR) has approximately 99,500 unique items. It is one of the largest and most-used institutional repositories in the United States. This presentation explores how UNL is working to meet the challenge of consistently and accurately identifying individual researchers and their scholarly activities. It examines UNL’s metadata practices for its IR, giving a more detailed explanation of personal names and Open Researcher and Contributor ID identifiers. It reviews some typical metadata problems found in UNL’s IR. Finally, it explores priorities for metadata maintenance and what is sustainable and worthwhile.

“I am interested in the metaphysics of being and existence”: Chigozie Obioma in conversation with Kunle Ajibade

On Sunday, 24 March 2019, P.A.G.E. Book Connoisseurs organized an evening of reading and conversation with Chigozie Obioma whose second novel, An Orchestra of Minorities, was just published in Nigeria by Parresia. It was a very rewarding encounter with Obioma, who was born in Akure, Ondo State, to an Igbo family of 12 children. He read English Literature at Cyprus International University (CIU), Northern Cyprus. Because he made a first class in his set, he was chosen as the student commencement speaker on 23 June, 2011. In his speech, Obioma spoke eloquently about the necessity for courage, diligence, hard-work, and gratitude. He made a solemn promise to make good use of all he had learnt at CIU. As a story-teller, he has been steadily fulfilling that promise. He was 27 years old in 2015 when his first novel, The Fishermen, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Among other prizes, the novel has won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, The Los Angeles Times Award for First Fiction, and Nebraska Book Award for Fiction. Before then, he was in Ledig House in New York for a residency and at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he completed an MFA in creative writing. He writes occasionally for The Guardian of London and New Statesman, among other publications. Chigozie Obioma is an Assistant Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. In the course of our conversation, Professor Wole Soyinka, the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Literature, made a video call to the gathering, congratulating the author on his second novel, and his literary achievements so far. Obioma was grateful for Soyinka’s kind words. The edited transcript has been supplemented with an earlier email interview conducted on 10 March 2019.

Evaluation of spray pattern uniformity using three unique analyses as impacted by nozzle, pressure, and pulse-width modulation duty cycle.

The increasing popularity of pulse-width modulation (PWM) sprayers requires that application interaction effects on spray pattern uniformity be completely understood to maintain a uniform overlap of spray, thereby reducing crop injury potential and maximizing coverage on target pests. The objective of this research was to determine the impacts of nozzle type (venturi vs. non-venturi), boom pressure, and PWM duty cycle on spray pattern uniformity. Research was conducted using an indoor spray patternator located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, NE, USA. Coefficient of variation (CV), root mean square error (RMSE), and average percent error (APE) were used to characterize spray pattern uniformity. Generally, across nozzles and pressures, the duty cycle minimally impacted the CV of spray patterns. However, across nozzles and duty cycles, increasing pressure decreased CV values, resulting in more uniform spray patterns. The RMSE values typically increased as pressure and duty cycle increased across nozzles. This may be the result of a correlation between RMSE values and flow rate as RMSE values also increased as nozzle orifice size increased. Generally, APE increased as the duty cycle decreased across nozzles and pressures with significant increases (40%) caused by the 20% duty cycle. Within non-venturi nozzles, increasing pressure reduced APE across duty cycles, while venturi nozzles followed no such trend. Overall, results suggest PWM duty cycles at or above 40% minimally impact spray pattern uniformity. Further, increased application pressures and the use of non-venturi nozzles on PWM sprayers increase the precision and uniformity of spray applications. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.