Eastern Regional Research Center

Dr. Kevin Hicks, Acting Center Director
Eastern Regional Research Center, NAA, ARS, USDA
600 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania  19038
Phone:  (215) 233-6400   FAX:  (215) 233-6777

In the Spotlight Biofuels Engineering Process Technology   Our own John (Nhuan) Nghiem has co-authored a very important book on biofuels.  Click here for more information. ___________________________________ Breaking News Siemens Partners With USDA ARS to Improve Conversion of Second-Generation Feedstocks to Chemicals and Biofuels Atlanta, GA - Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. and the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreegment (CRADA) that will improve the processes used to convert second generation, non-food-based, biofuel feedstocks, including perennial grasses, animal wastes and agricultural residues such as corn stover, into liquid bio-fuel intermediates, such as bio-oil. As part of the CRADA, Logical Innovation of Richmond, VA, will work with researchers at USDA/ARS's Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) in Wyndmoor, PA, to improve on pyrolysis oil production via innovative control technologies. Click here to read more about it! ___________________________________ Beefing Up Barley Research Results Have Prompted Ethanol Producers to take Another Look at This Crop   In the ethanol world barley may be corn’s poor cousin, but research efforts have made it an attractive feedstock option in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region. Read more about the research in the October 2008 issue of Ethanol Producer Magazine . ___________________________________ To learn more click here ! ___________________________________ Food Safety Developments are in the Air   An experimental treatment that relies on cold plasma, which is created by introducing electricity into a gas until free electrons are liberated, may one day keep fresh produce like apples and almonds safe from potentially harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli . Photo courtesy of Paul Pierlott. An experimental treatment from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) could one day help protect some fresh produce from potentially dangerous microbes such as Salmonella , Listeria and Escherichia coli O157:H7. The treatment relies on cold plasma, which is generated when some form of concentrated energy--in this case, electricity--is introduced into a gas until free electrons are torn from the gas's atoms. At the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, Pa., microbiologist Brendan Niemira and engineer Joseph Sites --who are developing the process--exposed Golden Delicious apple samples to various microbial pathogens. Then they treated the samples with plasma. Click here to read all about it! ____________________________________ ERRC Participates in Bioenergy Awareness Day in Washington, DC, June 10-20, 2008   Click here to view more photos!

Upcoming Events      November 6 - Health Benefit Open Season Representative's will be in the Auditorium from 11 Am to 2 PM November 11 - Closed for Veterans Day November 14 - Seminar:  "Introduction of two-dimensional comprehensive gas chromatography with time of flight mass spectrometry (GC-GC/TOF-MS) and its analytical applications", presented by Dr. Eunha Hoh, MBRC, in Room 2006 at 2 PM November 20 - Native American Heritage Month - There will be a display of Native American artifacts from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM in Room 3008 November 25 - Green Team Meeting, Noon to 1 pm November 27 - Closed for the Thanksgiving holiday 10 Most Recent Publications Additional Publications - We have 5600+ publications online that you can view and print. The following publications are not yet online.  To request a reprint, please email Patti.Durkin@ars.usda.gov with your name, address, and reprint number.   REPRINT TITLE AUTHOR 7993 Membrane damage and viability loss of Escherichia coli K-12 and Salmonella enteritidis in liquid egg by thermal death time disk treatment D.O. Ukuku, T. Jin, and H. Zhang 7992 The application of "omics" technologies for food safety research P.M. Fratamico 7991 DNA sequencing and identification of serogroup-specific genes in the Escherichia coli O118 O antigen gene cluster and demonstration of antigenic diversity but only minor variation in DNA sequence of the O antigen clusters of E. coli O118 and O151 Y. Liu, P. Fratamico, C. Debroy, A.C. Bumbaugh, and J.W. Allen 7990 Identification of decorin and other proteins in bovine hide during its processing into leather M.L. Aldema-Ramos, R.J. Latona, L.L. Fortis, and W.N. Marmer 7989 Enzymatic dehairing of cattlehide with an alkaline protease isolated from Aspergillus tamarii D. Anandan, W.N. Marmer, and R.L. Dudley 7988 Industrial products from biodiesel glycerol R.D. Ashby, V.T. Wyatt, T.A. Foglia, and D.K.Y. Solaiman 7987 Effect of chlorine dioxide gas on polymeric packaging materials S. Netramai, M. Rubino, R. Auras, and B.A. Annous 7986 Enhancing water removal from whole stillage by enzyme addition during fermentation A.B. Henriques, D.B. Johnston, and M. Al-Dahhan 7985 Thermal inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes in ground beef under isothermal and dynamic temperature conditions L. Huang 7984 Analysis of Al-2/LuxS-dependent transcription in Campylobacter jejuni Strain 81-176 Y. He, J.G. Frye, T.P. Strobaugh, Jr., and C.-Y. Chen

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