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The economic viability of corn biorefineries depends heavily on the sale of coproducts as animal feeds, but elevated phosphorus (P) contents can exacerbate manure management issues. Phosphorus removal from light steep water and thin stillage, two concentrated in‐process aqueous streams at wet milling and dry‐grind corn biorefineries, could simultaneously generate concentrated fertilizer and low‐P animal feeds, but little is known regarding how differences in stream composition affect removal. To address this data gap, we show that the solubility of P in light steep filtrate (LSF) and thin stillage filtrate (TSF) exhibits distinct sensitivity to calcium (Ca) and base addition due to differences in P fractionation and protein abundance. In LSF, P was primarily organic, and near‐complete removal of P (96%) was observed at pH 8 and a Ca/total P (TP) ratio of 2. In TSF, TP removal was lower (81%), and there was more equal distribution of organic and orthophosphate, indicating that the Ca requirements of inorganic P precipitation were a limiting factor. The C/H/N ratio, elemental characterization, and crude protein analysis of the precipitated solids indicated that coprecipitation of amorphous solids containing Ca, Mg, and K with soluble proteins facilitated removal of P, particularly in LSF. Although the removal mechanisms and solubility limits differed, these results highlighted the magnitude (40–70 mM) and efficacy (80–96%) of P recovery from two biorefinery streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubiquitin‐specific protease 18 (USP18) is an important inhibitor of interferon (IFN) antiviral activity, and the aim of this study was to investigate the association between the USP18 mRNA level change in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) when stimulated with IFN in vitro before initiating treatment and the treatment outcomes in HBeAg‐positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated with IFN. A total of 44 patients who received standard IFN‐based anti‐HBV therapy and follow‐up were enrolled in the study. The in vitro IFN‐induced USP18 mRNA change (USP18IFN‐N) was measured via comparison of quantitative PCR‐determined USP18 transcription levels of BPMCs cultured with and without IFN stimulation. Either for virological (VR) or serological response (SR), the baseline USP18IFN‐N was significantly higher (P = 0.018 for VR, P = 0.008 for SR) among nonresponders (n = 23 for VR, n = 33 for SR) than that of responders (n = 21 for VR, n = 11 for SR). Multivariate analyses revealed baseline USP18IFN‐N was a novel independent predictor for either VR (OR = 0.292, 95% CI = 0.102‐0.835, P = 0.022) or SR (OR = 0.173, 95% CI = 0.035‐0.849, P = 0.031) in our cohort. In addition, baseline USP18IFN‐N in combination with HBV DNA loads or HBeAg levels showed improved accuracy of pretreatment prediction for VR or SR responders, respectively. Baseline USP18IFN‐N levels are associated with both virological and serological response, and have the potential to become a clinical predictor for treatment outcomes in HBeAg‐positive CHB patients before initiating IFN‐α therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]