University of Nebraska–Lincoln

About: University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a education organization based out in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 28059 authors who have published 61544 publications receiving 2139104 citations. The organization is also known as: Nebraska & UNL.

Distress management: Clinical practice guidelines in Oncology™

Abstract: The integration of psychosocial care into the routine care of all patients with cancer is increasingly being recognized as the new standard of care. These NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Distress Management discuss the identifica tion and treatment of psychosocial problems in patients with cancer. They are intended to assist oncology teams identify patients who require referral to psychosocial resources and to give oncology teams guidance on interventions for patients with mild distress to ensure that all patients with distress are recognized and treated. (JNCCN 2013;11:190–209)

Identification of Neutralizing and Nonneutralizing Epitopes in the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus GP5 Ectodomain

Abstract: After infection of swine with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), there is a rapid rise of PRRSV-specific nonneutralizing antibodies (NNA), while neutralizing antibodies (NA) are detectable not sooner than 3 weeks later. To characterize neutralizing epitopes, we selected phages from a 12-mer phage display library using anti-PRRSV neutralizing monoclonal antibody (MAb) ISU25-C1. In addition, phages carrying peptides recognized by swine antibodies with high seroneutralizing titer were isolated after subtracting from the library those clones binding to swine anti-PRRSV serum with no neutralizing activity. Two epitopes located in the ectodomain of PRRSV GP5 were identified. One of these epitopes, which we named epitope B, was recognized both by neutralizing MAb ISU25-C1 and swine neutralizing serum (NS) but not by swine nonneutralizing serum (NNS), indicating that it is a neutralizing epitope. Epitope B is sequential, conserved among isolates, and not immunodominant. Antibodies directed against it are detected in serum late after infection. In contrast, the other epitope, which we named epitope A, is hypervariable and immunodominant. Antibodies against it appear early after infection with PRRSV. This epitope is recognized by swine NNA but is not recognized by either neutralizing MAb ISU25-C1 or swine NA, indicating that it is not involved in PRRSV neutralization. During infection with PRRSV, epitope A may act as a decoy, eliciting most of the antibodies directed to GP5 and delaying the induction of NA against epitope B for at least 3 weeks. These results are relevant to the design of vaccines against PRRSV.

Switchgrass biomass production in the Midwest USA: harvest and nitrogen management.

Abstract: Information on optimal harvest periods and N fertilization rates for switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) grown as a biomass or bioenergy crop in the Midwest USA is limited. Our objectives were to determine optimum harvest periods and N rates for biomass production in the region. Established stands of Cave-in-Rock' switchgrass at Ames, IA, and Mead, NE, were fertilized 0, 60, 120, 180, 240, or 300 kg N ha -1 . Harvest treatments were two- or one-cut treatments per year, with initial harvest starting in late June or early July (Harvest 1) and continuing at approximately 7-d intervals until the latter part of August (Harvest 7). A final eighth harvest was completed after a killing frost. Regrowth was harvested on previously harvested plots at that time. Soil samples were taken before fertilizer was applied in the spring of 1994 and again in the spring of 1996. Averaged over years, optimum biomass yields were obtained when switchgrass was harvested at the maturity stages R3 to R5 (panicle fully emerged from boot to postanthesis) and fertilized with 120 kg N ha -1 . Biomass yields with these treatments averaged 10.5 to 11.2 Mg ha -1 at Mead and 11.6 to 12.6 Mg ha -1 at Ames. At this fertility level, the amount of N removed was approximately the same as the amount applied. At rates above this level, soil NO 3 -N concentrations increased.

Mixed-Method Research: Introduction and Application

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter clarifies the terms used in mixed-method research in the social science literature. It constructs a brief historical overview of mixed method studies, and advance eight steps useful in conducting and evaluating a mixed-method project. The chapter ends with an illustration of each step as applied to a specific study in the field of education. A mixed-method study is one in which the researcher incorporates both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis in a single study. This type of a study enables a policy researcher to understand complex phenomena qualitatively as well as to explain the phenomena through numbers, charts, and basic statistical analyses. According to Rossman and Wilson, a multi-method approach to policy research holds potential , for understanding the complex phenomena of social world, seeing this world through multiple lenses, and using eclectic methodologies that better respond to the multiple stakeholders of policy issues than a single method or approach to research.