335 research outputs found
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Agricultural Research Division 121st Annual Report. July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007.
Our Mission..... 4
Foreword..... 5
Research Highlights..... 6
Faculty Awards and Recognitions....14
Graduate Student Awards and Recognitions...17
Undergraduate Honors Student Research Program...22
Variety and Germplasm Releases....23
Patents.....24
Administration.....25
Administrative Personnel....25
Organizational Chart....26
Administrative Units....27
IANR Research Facilities....28
Faculty.....29
Agricultural/Natural Resources Units....30
Education and Human Sciences Departments...39
Off-Campus Research Centers....40
Interdisciplinary Activities....41
Visiting Scientists/Research Associates....42
Research Projects.....47
Agricultural/Natural Resources Units....47
Education and Human Sciences Departments...52
Off-Campus Research Centers....52
Interdisciplinary Activities....53
Publications.....55
Agricultural/Natural Resources Units....60
Education and Human Sciences Departments...82
Off-Campus Research Centers....85
Research Expenditures....8
Challenges and perspectives of hate speech research
This book is the result of a conference that could not take place. It is a collection of 26 texts that address and discuss the latest developments in international hate speech research from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives. This includes case studies from Brazil, Lebanon, Poland, Nigeria, and India, theoretical introductions to the concepts of hate speech, dangerous speech, incivility, toxicity, extreme speech, and dark participation, as well as reflections on methodological challenges such as scraping, annotation, datafication, implicity, explainability, and machine learning. As such, it provides a much-needed forum for cross-national and cross-disciplinary conversations in what is currently a very vibrant field of research
Generating a balanced, modern and agile supply chain ― the invisibility of supply chain risk management with a focus on geopolitical risk
In today’s global environment, supply chain risk management (SCRM) needs to be transparent so geopolitical risk (GPR) are understood and can thus be mitigated within the supply chain. Adopting business management practices (i.e. globalisation and outsourcing) has contributed to uncertainties in the supply chain. Although various strategies exist to cope with GPR, the literature fails to clarify how they are implemented and impact on the supply chain. The extent to which organisations (including the military) prepare for such risks was found to be low.
This research uses the theory of SCRM to understand and broadly identify any constraints that apply to Defence procurement in practice in an international setting. Conducting research in the specific field of GPR allowed this research to examine geopolitical events, such as those underlying government decisions that can permeate all aspects of the supply chain.
The potential impact of uncertainties (specifically GPR) on the supply chain associated with SCRM during procuring and sustaining military equipment such as the F/A-18F Australian Super Hornet in the Royal Australian Air Force raises this study’s research problem. This research takes a qualitative approach to analysing an instrumental case study from data gathered from semi-structured interviews to address the question: How do geopolitical risks impact effective SCRM in the Royal Australian Air Force? Data was collected through 36 semi-structured interviews with a broad range of managers and decisions makers, of differing organisation levels with varying responsibilities, skills and experiences in major capital project acquisition and sustainment activities, more specifically the F/A-18F Australian Super Hornet. The data generated in the case study was subject to open and selective coding analysis using an interpretive focus. The findings evolved from the research participants responses with the results addressing the research question. The assessment criteria for judging quality and credibility were addressed throughout the research, based on the measures internal validation, external validation, reliability and objectivity.
This research finds that understanding the source, consequence and impact of risk is required for effective SCRM. This research identifies three factors that constrain the capacity to undertake such SCRM: (1) the decision making by the government to procure the F/A-18F Australian Super Hornet is made impetuously; (2) the problematic procurement method; and (3) that the acquisition is rapid. Specifically, the two primary themes required for SCRM are the communication system, composed of timely, accurate, relevant and reliable information, and collaborative relationships. In addition, SCRM lacking transparency leading to the invisibility of GPR was questioned, and that, if these elements were present, they were not readily understood or formalised. These themes and their characteristics were the mechanisms that participants identified as necessary to prepare or mitigate the risk sources, and the integration of the SCRM constructs through a ‘ripple effect’.
Further, the findings of this research identify the misalignment between the organisational and the supply chain management strategies. Outsourcing creates SCR even though it is being used to strategically control program and project risk. Considering risk or the project alone directly ramifies on the supply chain, and thus is a flawed approach to managing risk. The findings of this study support the significant need to manage GPR thoroughly for the duration of the Defence procurement. In doing so, this research emphasises the unintended consequences illustrated by the three constraints caused by how their three underlying elements interact. The flow-on effect of unintended effects provides a deep awareness of how human performance impact on major capital acquisitions.
This research contributes to the literature mainly by showing that, if GPR is not identified, it cannot be managed well and will remain invisible. This research study contributes to theory in advocating that the problems identified contributed to inhibiting the Royal Australian Air Force from managing GPR through SCRM successfully. The contribution to practice contributes to showing the requirement for governance structures that enable collaboration are crucial because the operators (i.e. aircrew) generally lead project negotiations with for example logisticians an afterthought or replaced by engineers. As well, the impact of acquisitions decisions made will impact upon sustainment but this will not be known until the capability is brought into service, which is too late. The results of this research should challenge what those involved prevalently assume and perceive about GPR and thus should encourage them to contribute to developing greater knowledge of SCRM, specifically that associated with GPR
The universe without us: a history of the science and ethics of human extinction
This dissertation consists of two parts. Part I is an intellectual history of thinking about human extinction (mostly) within the Western tradition. When did our forebears first imagine humanity ceasing to exist? Have people always believed that human extinction is a real possibility, or were some convinced that this could never happen? How has our thinking about extinction evolved over time? Why do so many notable figures today believe that the probability of extinction this century is higher than ever before in our 300,000-year history on Earth? Exploring these questions takes readers from the ancient Greeks, Persians, and Egyptians, through the 18th-century Enlightenment, past scientific breakthroughs of the 19th century like thermodynamics and evolutionary theory, up to the Atomic Age, the rise of modern environmentalism in the 1970s, and contemporary fears about climate change, global pandemics, and artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Part II is a history of Western thinking about the ethical and evaluative implications of human extinction. Would causing or allowing our extinction be morally right or wrong? Would our extinction be good or bad, better or worse compared to continuing to exist? For what reasons? Under which conditions? Do we have a moral obligation to create future people? Would past “progress” be rendered meaningless if humanity were to die out? Does the fact that we might be unique in the universe—the only “rational” and “moral” creatures—give us extra reason to ensure our survival? I place these questions under the umbrella of Existential Ethics, tracing the development of this field from the early 1700s through Mary Shelley’s 1826 novel The Last Man, the gloomy German pessimists of the latter 19th century, and post-World War II reflections on nuclear “omnicide,” up to current-day thinkers associated with “longtermism” and “antinatalism.” In the dissertation, I call the first history “History #1” and the second “History #2.”
A main thesis of Part I is that Western thinking about human extinction can be segmented into five distinction periods, each of which corresponds to a unique “existential mood.” An existential mood arises from a particular set of answers to fundamental questions about the possibility, probability, etiology, and so on, of human extinction. I claim that the idea of human extinction first appeared among the ancient Greeks, but was eclipsed for roughly 1,500 years with the rise of Christianity. A central contention of Part II is that philosophers have thus far conflated six distinct types of “human extinction,” each of which has its own unique ethical and evaluative implications. I further contend that it is crucial to distinguish between the process or event of Going Extinct and the state or condition of Being Extinct, which one should see as orthogonal to the six types of extinction that I delineate. My aim with the second part of the book is to not only trace the history of Western thinking about the ethics of annihilation, but lay the theoretical groundwork for future research on the topic. I then outline my own views within “Existential Ethics,” which combine ideas and positions to yield a novel account of the conditions under which our extinction would be bad, and why there is a sense in which Being Extinct might be better than Being Extant, or continuing to exist
Assessing Recreational User Impacts, Motivations, and Knowledge on the Spread of Invasive Plant Species in a Managed, Multiple-Use Forest Ecosystem
The spread of invasive plants is ecologically and economically detrimental to native ecosystems, animals, and humans. Recreation is one factor that may influence plant dispersal. The impacts of recreation on invasive plant spread are multifaceted and include the physical act of spreading and transporting seeds and vegetation to new areas on clothes, pets, and equipment, as well as the social aspect of outreach and education. Therefore, I used a multifaceted approach to assess the impact of human trafficked areas where recreational activities frequently occur on four known invasive plant species in the Clemson Experimental Forest (CEF) in South Carolina: Microstegium vimineum, Ligustrum. sinense, Lespedeza cuneata, and Lonicera japonica. To address the ecological component, I quantified the distribution of these species along transects at recreation trails in the CEF. To address the social component, I distributed a survey to CEF trail users that assessed their knowledge of, and attitude towards, common invasive plants.
Increasing distance from trailhead and trail edge was correlated with a decreased percent cover of M. vimineum, L. sinense, and L. cuneata but not L. japonica. Increases in litter and canopy cover significantly decreased the percent cover of M. vimineum but not L. sinense, L. cuneata, or L. japonica. This supports previous research demonstrating a positive relationship between areas of increased disturbance (i.e., trailheads) and invasive plant spread, but also suggest areas of future research regarding canopy and litter cover effects on invasive plants.
My research on social awareness indicated that survey participants were knowledgeable about the status of plants from the CEF as either native or invasive. Most participants reported an awareness of invasive plant impacts, a belief in personal responsibility for the prevention of invasive plant spread, and a desire to purchase native plants for their own use, with Extension services often being the educational delivery method that led to a desire to participate in behaviors that help curb invasive plant spread.
Together, these results demonstrate a link between increased disturbance at recreational areas and invasive plant distribution and spread. Future research should aim to better understand the effects of microclimates, seeds banks, propagule pressure, residence time, and other environmental factors on invasive plant response to disturbance.
Additionally, research that looks at plant purchase motivations for varying property size owners’ and the ability of these owners to properly identify known invasives, creating invasive education that engages the non-traditional audience, factors that may be inhibiting ecologically friendly plant production in the horticulture industry, and how to better engage minorities in ecological decision making may have a positive impact on mitigating spread by empowering forest users and landowners to contribute positively to the resources they enjoy
XVI Agricultural Science Congress 2023: Transformation of Agri-Food Systems for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals
The XVI Agricultural Science Congress being jointly organized by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences
(NAAS) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) during 10-13 October 2023, at hotel Le Meridien,
Kochi, is a mega event echoing the theme “Transformation of Agri-Food Systems for achieving Sustainable
Development Goals”. ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute takes great pride in hosting the XVI ASC,
which will be the perfect point of convergence of academicians, researchers, students, farmers, fishers, traders,
entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders involved in agri-production systems that ensure food and nutritional security
for a burgeoning population.
With impeding challenges like growing urbanization, increasing unemployment, growing population, increasing
food demands, degradation of natural resources through human interference, climate change impacts and natural
calamities, the challenges ahead for India to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out by the
United Nations are many. The XVI ASC will provide an interface for dissemination of useful information across all
sectors of stakeholders invested in developing India’s agri-food systems, not only to meet the SDGs, but also to
ensure a stable structure on par with agri-food systems around the world.
It is an honour to present this Book of Abstracts which is a compilation of a total of 668 abstracts that convey the
results of R&D programs being done in India. The abstracts have been categorized under 10 major Themes – 1.
Ensuring Food & Nutritional Security: Production, Consumption and Value addition; 2. Climate Action for Sustainable
Agri-Food Systems; 3. Frontier Science and emerging Genetic Technologies: Genome, Breeding, Gene Editing;
4. Livestock-based Transformation of Food Systems; 5. Horticulture-based Transformation of Food Systems; 6.
Aquaculture & Fisheries-based Transformation of Food Systems; 7. Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable AgriFood Systems; 8. Next Generation Technologies: Digital Agriculture, Precision Farming and AI-based Systems; 9.
Policies and Institutions for Transforming Agri-Food Systems; 10. International Partnership for Research, Education
and Development.
This Book of Abstracts sets the stage for the mega event itself, which will see a flow of knowledge emanating
from a zeal to transform and push India’s Agri-Food Systems to perform par excellence and achieve not only the
SDGs of the UN but also to rise as a world leader in the sector. I thank and congratulate all the participants who
have submitted abstracts for this mega event, and I also applaud the team that has strived hard to publish this
Book of Abstracts ahead of the event. I wish all the delegates and participants a very vibrant and memorable
time at the XVI ASC
Abstract Book: Scales of Social, Environmental & Cultural Change in Past Societies
The interplay of environment, social relations, material culture, population dynamics, and human perception are the key factors of socio-environmental changes. The exploration of processes and parameters of societal change enable further exploration of transformations of human-environmental interactions. These processes and parameters are detectable in the development of, for example, settlement systems, material culture, or ritual sites, which link different socio-environmental components. Humans and environments deeply shaped each other, creating diverse social, environmental, and cultural constellations. On the one hand, examining the roots of social, environmental, and cultural phenomena and processes, which substantially marked past human development, can lead to a deeper understanding of the development of societies. On the other hand, a focus on transformation patterns within momentous developments of past societies opens up the possibility of identifying substantial and enduring re-organisation of socio-environmental interaction patterns
Quantification of microRNA expression in single cells using microfluidics
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung condition characterised by progressive airflow limitation in part due to narrowing and fibrosis of small airways. COPD is associated with cellular senescence which is driven by stressors such as oxidative stress. MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) and microRNA-34a (miR-34a) are upregulated in COPD, however their regulatory role in COPD pathogenesis or in response to oxidative stress remains unclear.
To better understand the role of miR-21 and miR-34a in COPD, a microfluidic platform was developed to quantify miR-21 and miR-34a molecules in single cells. Sandwich hybridisation assay was optimised and integrated into microfluidic chambers for single cell miRNA detection. The sensitivity was demonstrated by quantifying levels of miRNA in nasal cells and fluid. Levels of miR-21 were varied in nasal cells and fluid within and between individuals.
Levels of miR-21 and miR-34a were increased in small airway epithelial cells (SAEC) and fibroblasts (SAF) from COPD subjects compared to non-smokers, and were varied within and between subjects. MiR-21 and miR-34a were detected simultaneously from the same cell using a multiplex assay which showed a positive correlation between miR-21 and miR-34a expressed in SAEC and SAF.
Baseline gene expression of miR-21 and miR-34a targets differed in SAEC and SAF. Altered levels of miR-21 and miR-34a influenced their targets mRNA and protein levels, however the effect was different in COPD cells compared to healthy cells. MiR-21 and miR-34a levels were elevated in response to oxidative stress, while their target gene expression was reduced and senescent markers were increased.
This study demonstrated that a microfluidic platform can be developed to quantify single miRNA molecules in single cells to determine cell-to-cell variation of miRNAs within cell populations. MiR-21 and miR-34a are crucial regulators in COPD and may have a protective role in response to oxidative stress, however further investigation is required.Open Acces
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