Both the current corn starch to ethanol industry and the emerging lignocellulosic biofuels industry view recycling of spent fermentation broth or stillage as a method to reduce fresh water use. The objective of this study was to understand the impact of recycling stillage on conversion of corn stover to ethanol. Sugars in a dilute-acid pretreated corn stover hydrolysate were fermented to ethano...

Sugary-Brawn2 (su-Bn2) corn endosperm contains higher concentrations of watersoluble polysaccharides than dent corn. Eight multiparous Holstein cows averaging 48 d in milk and 667 kg BW at trial initiation were in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square design with 28-d periods. Only cows in one square were ruminally cannulated. Treatments were su-Bn2 or dent corn and 45 or 60% of ration DM as alfalfa ...

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding increasing proportions of corn grain on concentration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the rumen fluid and the subsequent alterations in immune responses as reflected by plasma concentrations of serum amyloid A (SAA) and haptoglobin (Hp) in goats. Nine goats were assigned to three diets (0%, 25%, and 50% corn grain) in a 3 ×3 Latin sq...

Phosphorus (P) losses from pastures fertilized with poultry litter contribute to the degradation of surface water quality in the United States. Dietary modification and manure amendments may reduce potential P runoff losses from pastures. In the current study, broilers were fed a normal diet, phytase diet, high available phosphorus (HAP) corn diet, or HAP corn + phytase diet. Litter treatments ...

Weeds compete with crops for belowground resources; however, there is little detailed information on relative dynamics of soil water during competitive interactions. This research was conducted to determine changes in soil-water storage (CSWS) in rain-fed no-tillage corn (Zea mays L.) production in the presence or absence of weed competition over two droughty growing seasons. Weeds at the exper...

The current study seeks to resolve the discrepancy in the literature regarding the cross-kingdom transfer of plant microRNAs (miRNAs) into mammals using an improved miRNA processing and detection method. Two studies utilizing C57BL/6 mice were performed. In the first study, mice were fed an AIN-93M diet and gavaged with water, random deoxynucleotide triphosphates (dNTP) or isolated corn miRNAs ...

The survival and effect of three new probiotic inoculants (Lactobacillus plantarum CCM 4000, L. fermentum LF2, and Enterococcus faecium CCM 4231) on the nutritive value and fermentation parameters of corn silage was studied under laboratory conditions. Whole corn plants (288.3 g/kg DM) were cut and ensiled at 21°C for 105 days. The inoculants were applied at a concentration of 1.0×10 cfu/ml. Un...

The major proteinase activity in extracts of larval midguts from the southern corn rootworm (SCR), Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi, was identified as a cysteine proteinase that prefers substrates containing an arginine residue in the P1 position. Gelatin-zymogram analysis of the midgut proteinases indicated that the artificial diet-fed SCR, corn root-fed SCR, and root-fed western corn rootwo...

The Cry3Aa and Cry3Bb insecticidal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis are used in biopesticides and transgenic crops to control larvae of leaf-feeding beetles and rootworms. Cadherins localized in the midgut epithelium are identified as receptors for Cry toxins in lepidopteran and dipteran larvae. Previously, we discovered that a peptide of a toxin-binding cadherin expressed in Escherichia coli...

Dilute H(3)PO(4) (0.0-2.0%, v/v) was used to pretreat corn stover (10%, w/w) for conversion to ethanol. Pretreatment conditions were optimized for temperature, acid loading, and time using central composite design. Optimal pretreatment conditions were chosen to promote sugar yields following enzymatic digestion while minimizing formation of furans, which are potent inhibitors of fermentation. T...