University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Gaseous mediators are increasingly recognized as critical regulators of human physiology and pathology, offering unique therapeutic opportunities that are fundamentally constrained by challenges in controlled delivery, spatial targeting, and biological specificity when harnessed through advanced delivery technologies. Among them, nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as a central player. Recent advancements have transitioned from conventional donor-based systems with limited control over dose and localization to wearable gas-delivery platforms capable of real-time, patient-specific dosing and frequently coupling with embedded diagnostic functionalities for dynamic feedback and precision control. Importantly, the therapeutic scope of gas biology is expanding beyond NO to encompass other clinically relevant and emerging gases, including O2, CO, H2S, H2, CO2, SO2, and Xe. These gases exhibit multifaceted biological effects ranging from cytoprotection and vasoregulation to antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory actions, thereby necessitating innovative material-based and bioresponsive delivery strategies that can interface dynamically with biological systems. By critically assessing progress in material platforms, responsive release mechanisms, and multimodal delivery approaches, this review bridges fundamental gas biology with clinically translatable therapeutic design. We further highlight persistent translational bottlenecks, such as dose control, off-target effects, and long-term safety, while outlining emerging research pathways poised to define the next era of gas-based medicine.

This comprehensive review examines the synergistic integration of climate mitigation strategies and circular economy (CE) principles as a pathway toward achieving global carbon neutrality. While traditional mitigation measures such as renewable energy adoption, carbon capture, and efficiency improvement are vital, they remain insufficient without systemic transformation across economic and industrial sectors. CE practices, including resource efficiency, waste valorization, product life extension, and recycling, offer complementary solutions that decouple economic growth from environmental degradation. This study synthesizes interdisciplinary insights on how CE principles enhance the effectiveness of renewable energy systems, industrial decarbonization, and waste reduction. It also highlights regional disparities, policy barriers, and opportunities for cross-sectoral innovation. Through an extensive review of international carbon neutrality initiatives and sectoral case studies, the paper identifies the multidimensional impacts of CE integration spanning reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, improvements in resource productivity, and strengthened socio-economic resilience. The findings underscore that achieving carbon neutrality requires a unified framework combining technological, economic, and policy measures that prioritize sustainability transitions. Ultimately, the study contributes a holistic perspective on leveraging CE-driven innovation to accelerate climate action and establish a sustainable, low-carbon global economy. • Integrating circular economy enhances climate mitigation effectiveness. • Renewable energy and CE synergy accelerates global carbon neutrality. • Resource efficiency reduces emissions and supports sustainable growth. • Policy and financial frameworks are crucial for CE implementation. • CE-driven innovation fosters resilience in low-carbon economic systems.

Universities vary greatly in their organic agriculture education programs, with differences in student interest in studying organic production and food systems, classes offered, and infrastructure and facilities. The organic agriculture curriculum options are also evolving as a result of departmental or college-level curriculum revisions. Similarly, the technical assistance provided for growers varies from state to state. Recent US Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Marketing Service Transition to Organic Partnership Program programming has created more interest in providing and growing this assistance. The workshop “Where are we today? State of Organic Education and Technical Programs” was conducted at the 2025 American Society for Horticultural Science Conference in New Orleans, LA, USA, and featured a panel of teaching and extension scholars who provided insights into the existing programs and challenges that are currently affecting organic production across the United States. This workshop focused on discussing the challenges to organic agriculture education both at the undergraduate and farmer levels, and opportunities for growth.

Cattle handling is a common form of human-animal interaction, essential to nearly all husbandry practices in cattle production, and with direct implications for animal welfare, productivity, and handler safety. Despite its critical role, the human skill involved in handling remains poorly defined, limiting efforts to evaluate stockperson performance, develop effective training programs, and improve outcomes for animals and workers. Defining handler skill is also essential for understanding how human-animal interactions influence animal behavior and welfare. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature focused on cattle handling and stockperson factors. Articles were retrieved from the Web of Science database and screened using predefined inclusion criteria, including a focus on cattle, handler influence, and empirical data. Of the records initially identified, 57 met the inclusion criteria. Using grounded theory methods, data were extracted and synthesized into a handler-centered taxonomy of cattle handling skill, termed the VITAL model (Values and Attitudes, Integration of Knowledge, Technical Execution, Situational Awareness, and Continuous Learning). The VITAL model describes 5 interrelated dimensions of handler skill that together capture both observable handling actions and the perceptual and cognitive components that support skilled practice. This taxonomy provides a comprehensive, evidence-informed framework for defining and evaluating cattle handler competence. It can support the development of training curricula, assessment tools, and behavior-based welfare standards. By providing a shared vocabulary for handler skill, this work contributes to more consistent training outcomes and to improvements in animal welfare, worker safety, and productivity across dairy and beef production systems.

Heteroatom-substituted xanthene dyes have attracted significant attention for development of imaging probes and functional dyes for reporting on biologically relevant analytes. However, synthetic access to diverse heteroatom xanthenes has been hindered by the sensitivity of heteroatom functional groups to commonly utilized synthetic procedures in the field. Herein, we develop a solvent-free strategy to access templates that can be used for late-stage installation of the heteroatom functionality. Dyes can be obtained using templates generated from our solvent-free approach within three steps. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by synthesizing and characterizing dyes with phosphinate ethyl ester-and borinate-bridging functionalities that are sensitive to commonly used synthetic manipulations in the field. This approach allows access to dyes with increased chemical stability, quantum yield, structural diversity, and sensitivity for target analytes that cannot be obtained using traditional methods. As an example, this methodology is used to obtain a borinate-containing dye capable of producing a >14,000-fold increase in ratiometric signal upon reaction with H2O2. We anticipate that the new dyes described herein will provide improved imaging probes and tools and that our solvent-free approach will enable the diversification of heteroatom xanthenes for applications in imaging and chemical biology.

We determine the composition dependence of the below-bandgap anisotropic refractive indices and dielectric functions of β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 for x up to 25% Al. We use Mueller matrix generalized spectroscopic ellipsometry and investigate a set of high quality single crystalline bulk (x=0%,5%,10%,15%,20%,25%) and thin film (4.6%, 9.7%, 12%, 15%, 16.3%, 21%) samples grown by the Czochralski method and by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, respectively. Bulk samples with 0.2% silicon doping are cut from ingots with (100) surface and the unintentionally doped thin films samples are grown pseudomorphically on (010) β-Ga2O3. The combination of ellipsometry data from both sample sets permits to fully determine the optical properties of the transparent alloys. We employ a quasi-orthorhombic approach which ignores the very small shear components induced by the monoclinic crystal structure. We also ignore the possibly small effects due to strain within the pseudomorphically grown epitaxial samples. We report indices and dielectric functions for polarization along lattice vectors a, b, and reciprocal lattice vector c⋆. All indices reduce with increasing incorporation of aluminum while the spectral range of transparency increases due to the increase in bandgap energy with composition. We use our results to predict Bragg reflector multilayer structures on b-plane β-(Al0.20Ga0.80)2O3, for use in polarization sensitive narrow-band optical filters in the short wavelength region.

Cassava brown streak disease (CBSD), caused by cassava brown streak virus (CBSV; Ipomovirus brunusmanihotis) and Ugandan cassava brown streak virus (UCBSV; Ipomovirus manihotis) (family Potyviridae, genus Ipomovirus), is increasingly becoming a threat to cassava production in several parts of Africa, especially in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. In Kenya, the disease continues to wreak havoc on cassava production leading to a significant reduction in crop yields and economic losses of up to USD 1 billion. Variation in virus populations make the control of CBSD challenging as virus genomic variation can affect the accuracy of diagnostic tests, lead to resistance breaking isolates and jeopardize strategies of breeding for resistance. CBSV and UCBSV populations obtained from cassava fields in Kenya were characterized. In total, 44 new complete sequences of CBSV and UCBSV were assembled and 40 sequences successfully submitted to GenBank. Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) analysis revealed that the cylindrical inclusion protein (CI) is the most stable region across the genome of CBSV and UCBSV. In contrast, protein 1 (PI) and the coat protein (CP) were the most hypervariable regions. Phylogenetic analysis showed three major geographical groupings for both UCBSV and CBSV isolates, suggesting a continued spread of the viruses through human-mediated movement of infected planting materials. The data obtained in this study can support the development of disease management strategies through improved molecular diagnostic tests and targets for breeding for resistance against CBSD.

Lithium-carbon dioxide batteries hold great promise for high-energy-density storage applications. However, advancing this technology as a sustainable alternative to Li-ion systems requires a deeper understanding of the underlying reaction mechanisms, which remain elusive. A key challenge stems from the added complexity introduced by the presence of oxygen in CO2 environment. In this study, we employ a stable Cu3(VBi)0.5Se4 mid-entropy catalyst and conduct comprehensive investigation to uncover the underlying reaction mechanisms in Li-CO2 batteries under varying CO2/O2 ratios. Under pure CO2 conditions, the battery shows extended rechargeability, sustaining up to 1200 cycles at a current density of 0.2 mA/cm2 and capacity of 0.1 mAh/cm2. However, at high current densities, the discharge potential drops significantly (below 2.0 V), primarily due to sluggish reaction kinetics caused by solid carbon formation. Interestingly, introducing O2 mitigates this limitation, leading to a 58% increase of the discharge potential (from 1.7 V to 2.7 V) at the current density of 0.8 mA/cm2, signifying a substantial boost in energy output. Our results reveal that the reactions follow distinct pathways, shifting from surface- to solution-based mechanism, and even exhibit coexistence of both mechanisms, depending on the CO2/O2 ratio. These findings offer useful insights for designing sustainable Li-gas batteries utilizing CO2 and O2 mixtures.