Feeding corn milling byproducts to feedlot cattle.

Corn milling byproducts are expected to increase dramatically in supply as the ethanol industry expands. Distillers grains, corn gluten feed, or a combination of both byproducts offer many feeding options when included in feedlot rations. These byproduct feeds may effectively improve cattle performance and operation profitability. When these byproducts are fed in feedlot diets, adjustments to grain processing method and roughage level may improve cattle performance. Innovative storage methods for wet byproducts and the use of dried byproducts offer small operations flexibility when using byproducts. As new byproducts are developed by ethanol plants, they should be evaluated with performance data to determine their product-specific feeding values.     

High abrasion resistance with sparse mineralization: copper biomineral in worm jaws

Biominerals are widely exploited to harden or stiffen tissues in living organisms, with calcium-, silicon-, and iron-based minerals being most common. In notable contrast, the jaws of the marine bloodworm Glycera dibranchiata contain the copper-based biomineral atacamite [Cu2(OH)3Cl]. Polycrystalline fibers are oriented with the outer contour of the jaw. Using nanoindentation, we show that the mineral has a structural role and enhances hardness and stiffness. Despite the low degree of mineralization, bloodworm jaws exhibit an extraordinary resistance to abrasion, significantly exceeding that of vertebrate dentin and approaching that of tooth enamel.     

Uptake of the systemic fungicide triadimefon by clover and its effect on symbiotic nitrogen fixation

Clover is frequently grown in rotation with cereals in order to increase soil nitrogen. The systemic fungicide triadimefon, widely used against cereal pathogens, is readily taken up from soil by clover and degraded to a single major metabolite. Plant weight and symbiotic nitrogen fixation by Rhizobium trijolii are affected only by concentrations of triadimefon in soil that are much in excess of those likely to be encountered in practice. Triadimefon residues are thus unlikely to affect nitrogen fixation by clover under field conditions.     

Distribution and metabolic fate of [14C]-daminozide injected into silver maple and american sycamore seedlings

The distribution and metabolic fate of [¹⁴C]-daminozide in silver maple and American sycamore seedlings were studied by use of autoradiography, ion-exchange chromatography, thin-layer chromatography (t.l.c.), and liquid scintillation spectrometry. Within one day after treatment with [¹⁴C]-daminozide, radioactivity was detected in all parts of the plant. The ¹⁴C concentrated in meristematic regions of the leaves. Ion-exchange and thin-layer chromatographic analyses of the 50% methanol extracts indicated that no detectable metabolites of daminozide were formed in any of the plant parts but approximately 20% of the applied ¹⁴C, most of it in the stem tissue, was not extractable by aqueous methanol.     

Detecting awareness in the vegetative state

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to demonstrate preserved conscious awareness in a patient fulfilling the criteria for a diagnosis of vegetative state. When asked to imagine playing tennis or moving around her home, the patient activated predicted cortical areas in a manner indistinguishable from that of healthy volunteers.