Patents Represented by Attorney John D. Fado
  • Patent number: 8338333
    Abstract: A method for killing weeds (e.g., kudzu) involving applying to weeds a herbicidally effective amount of a herbicidal composition comprising glyphosate and at least one acetolactate synthase inhibitor (e.g., trifluxosulfuron, pyrithiobac, flumetsulam).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: William T. Molin, Margaret E. Lyn
  • Patent number: 8323706
    Abstract: The flavonoid family of phytochemicals, particularly those derived from soy, has received attention regarding their hormonal activity and their effects on human health and disease. The types and amounts of these compounds in soy and other plants are controlled by both constitutive expression and stress-induced biosynthesis. The health benefits of soy may therefore be dependent upon the amounts of the various hormonally active phytochemicals present. We have identified increased biosynthesis of the isoflavonoid phytoalexin compounds, Glyceollins I, II and III, in soy plants grown under stressed conditions (elicited soy), which exhibit marked anti-estrogenic effects on ER function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignees: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture, Tulane Educational Fund
    Inventors: Thomas E. Cleveland, Stephen M. Boue, Matthew E. Burow, John A. McLachlan
  • Patent number: 8317883
    Abstract: Bio-oil from a feedstock selected from mustard family seeds, mustard family seed presscake, mustard family seed defatted presscake, and mixtures thereof. The bio-oil is produced by a method involving (1) pyrolyzing the feedstock to produce bio-oil, bio-char and non-condensable gases, (2) removing the bio-char from the bio-oil, (3) condensing the bio-oil, and (4) precipitating the bio-oil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: Akwasi A. Boateng, Neil M. Goldberg, Peter B. Johnson, Sudhir Seth, Charles A. Mullen, Serin R. Rao
  • Patent number: 8313654
    Abstract: Methods for aggregating suspended solid particles in an aqueous medium involving mixing the aqueous medium with an effective amount of a flocculant to aggregate the solid particles to form aggregated solid particles, and optionally separating the aggregated solid particles from the aqueous medium. The flocculant is obtained from animal blood. The pH of the aqueous medium may be adjusted to a pH of about 4.5 to about 5.7 by the addition of at least one acid or acidic buffer. The temperature of the aqueous medium may be adjusted to a temperature range of about 10° to about 50° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: George Piazza, Rafael Garcia
  • Patent number: 8313789
    Abstract: A method of promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut of a human in need thereof, which involves administering to a human a composition containing an effective amount of Ara-(1-5)-(Ara)n-(1-5)-Ara as a prebiotic, where n=0-18.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: Arland T. Hotchkiss, Alberto Nunez, Robert A. Rastall, Glenn R. Gibson
  • Patent number: 8273340
    Abstract: A method for attracting cockroaches to an object or area, involving treating said object or area with a cockroach attracting composition containing a cockroach attractant effective amount of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, propyl, or butyl esters of C3-7 saturated or unsaturated carboxylic acids and mixtures thereof, and optionally a carrier material or carrier. A method for repelling cockroaches from an object or area, involving treating said object or area with a cockroach repelling composition containing a cockroach repelling effective amount of at least one compound selected from methyl, ethyl, propyl, or butyl esters of C3-7 saturated or unsaturated carboxylic acids or mixtures thereof, and optionally a carrier material or carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignees: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture, BioGuard Research and Development, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert K Vandermeer, Richard J. Brenner, Domonic A. Cataldo, Peter Van Voris, Edward S. Lipinsky
  • Patent number: 8268905
    Abstract: A composition containing poly(lactic acid), at least one bacteriocin (e.g., nisin, generally in the form of Nisaplin®), and at least one plasticizer (e.g., lactic acid, lactide, triacetin, glycerol triacetate), and optionally at least one pore forming agent. A method of making the composition, involving mixing about 100% of the total of the poly(lactic acid), about 50% to about 90% of the total of the at least one plasticizer, and optionally at least one pore forming agent at a first temperature of about 150° to about 170° C. to form a mixture, cooling the mixture to a second temperature of about 115° to about 125° C., adding at least one bacteriocin and about 10% to about 50% of the total of the at least one plasticizer and the remainder of the total of the poly(lactic acid) to the mixture and mixing to form the composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: LinShu Liu, David R. Coffin, Kevin B. Hicks, Zhonglin T. Jin
  • Patent number: 8252845
    Abstract: Resveratrol has been reported to have hypolipidemic properties. We investigated whether resveratrol and its analogs: pterostilbene, piceatannol and resveratrol trimethyl ether, would activate the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR?) isoform. This nuclear receptor is proposed to mediate the activity of lipid-lowering drugs such as the fibrates. The four stilbenes and ciprofibrate (positive control) were evaluated for the activation of endogenous PPAR? in H4IIEC3 cells transfected with a luciferase gene reporter construct. Pterostilbene demonstrated the highest induction of PPAR?; the maximal response to pterostilbene was similar to that obtained with the hypolipidemic drug, ciprofibrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignees: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture, The University of Mississippi
    Inventors: Agnes M. Rimando, Dennis R. Feller, Wallace H. Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 8207157
    Abstract: A method for repelling arthropods involving treating an object or area with an arthropod repelling effective amount of at least one compound having the formula wherein X is O, S, NH, N-NH2, N-CH3 or CH2, R? is H or alkyl, R? is alkyl, n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, and mixtures thereof, optionally including a carrier material or carrier. The compound is preferably selected from homopiperazine, 1-methylhomopiperazine, 1-methylpyrrolidine, (R)-(?)-2-methylpiperazine, (S)-(+)-2-methylpiperazine, 2-methylpiperazine, 1-methylpiperazine, pyrrolidine, 1-methylpiperidine, piperidine, 1-ethylpiperazine, 1-methylimidazolidine, 1-methylthiomorpholine, 1,4-dimethylpiperazine, homopiperidine, imidazolidine, 4-methylpiperidine, thiomorpholine, 1-amino-4-methylpiperazine, 4-methylmorpholine, azocane, 2,6-dimethylpiperazine, 2,5-dimethylpiperazine, piperazine, 1-methlyhomopiperidine, or mixtures thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: Ulrich R. Bernier, Kenneth Posey, Daniel L. Kline, Donald Barnard, Kamal Chauhan
  • Patent number: 8202970
    Abstract: A method for improving the bioavailability of polysaccharides in lignocellulosic materials, involving reacting lignocellulosic materials with ammonia and ethanol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: Nhuan P. Nghiem, Tae H. Kim, Kevin B. Hicks
  • Patent number: 8183025
    Abstract: A Unique Solenopsis invicta viruse (SINV2) have been identified and its genome sequenced. Oligonucleotide primers have been developed using the isolated nucleic acid sequences of the SINV2. The virus is used as a biocontrol agent for control of fire ants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: Steven M. Valles, Charles A. Strong, Yoshifumi Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 8176991
    Abstract: The powered rolling and crimping device is used to terminate cover crops in a minimum tillage soil conservation system. The device includes a powered crimping mechanism in combination with a crop roller. Power is transferred from a tractor power takeoff to a plurality of cam mechanisms via mechanical gearbox. The cam mechanisms raise and lower a crimping bar. As an operator directs a walk-behind tractor across a field of cover crops, a crop roller first flattens the crops and the powered crimping bar crimps the crops, thereby terminating the cover crops without severing the crop stalks disturbing the soil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventor: Ted S. Kornecki
  • Patent number: 8173179
    Abstract: Previous research demonstrated that aflatoxin contamination in corn is reduced by field application of wheat grains pre-inoculated with the non-aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus strain NRRL 30797. To facilitate field applications of the biocontrol isolate, a series of laboratory studies were conducted on the reliability and efficiency of replacing wheat grains with the novel bioplastic formulation Mater-Bi® to serve as a carrier matrix to formulate this fungus. Mater-Bi® granules were inoculated with a conidial suspension of NRRL 30797 to achieve a final cell density of ˜log 7 conidia/granule. Incubation of 20-g soil samples receiving a single Mater-Bi® granule for 60-days resulted in log 4.2 to 5.3 propagules of A. flavus/g soil for microbiologically active and sterilized soil, respectively. Increasing the number of granules had no effect on the degree of soil colonization by the biocontrol fungus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: Hamed K. Abbas, Cesare Accinelli, Robert M. Zablotowicz, Maria L. Sacca, Jeff Wilkinson
  • Patent number: 8173404
    Abstract: A process for obtaining fermentable sugars from barley, involving treating hulled barley with H2SO4 to produce acid treated barley and treating the acid treated barley with enzymes to produce fermentable sugars.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: Tae Hyun Kim, Kevin Hicks, Frank Taylor
  • Patent number: 8169483
    Abstract: A subject is connected to a monitoring system and videoed while being monitored. The monitoring system receives raw data from the subject and processes the raw data into waveform data, and transmits the waveform data to a marking device. The marking device simultaneously marks the waveform data with a waveform reference point and causes a light emitting diode to flash in the video, thereby creating a video reference point. A computer program locks the waveform reference point with the video reference point and thereby synchronizes the waveform data with the video.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: Elaine Backus, William H. Bennett
  • Patent number: 8159525
    Abstract: Multiport multispectral portable imaging systems having at least two cameras with charge-coupled device sensors, a front lens unit, at least two rear lens units, a beamsplitter, and at least two bandpass filters is used to detect contaminants on food.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: Bosoon Park, Michio Kise, Kurt C. Lawrence, William Robert Windham
  • Patent number: 8138391
    Abstract: The cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) Or gene is a semi-dominant, single-locus mutation. It induces the accumulation of high levels of beta-carotene in various tissues that are normally devoid of carotenoids, turning them orange. Using a map-based cloning strategy, we identified a single candidate gene representing Or and successfully verified its identity by phenotypic complementation in the wild type cauliflower. The Or gene encodes a plastid membrane protein containing the DnaJ zinc figure domain. A likely gain-of-function mutation from a 4.3-kb retrotransposon insertion in the Or allele confers the orange phenotype in the mutant. Southern blot analysis revealed that Or is a single-copy sequence in the cauliflower genome. High level of expression of the Or gene and the protein was found in very young leaves, curds, and flowers at comparable abundance between wild type and the Or mutant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignees: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture, Boyce Thompson Institute Inc., Cornell University
    Inventors: Li Li, David F. Garvin, Shan Lu, Julia Vrebalov, Diana M. O'Halloran
  • Patent number: 8133917
    Abstract: Resveratrol, a stilbenoid antioxidant found in grapes, wine, peanuts and other berries, has been reported to have hypolipidemic properties. Resveratrol and its three analogs (pterostilbene, piceatannol and resveratrol trimethyl ether) were evaluated for their effects on the activation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR?) isoforms, a receptor shown to mediate the activity of lipid-lowering drugs such as the fibrates. The four stilbenes and ciprofibrate (positive control) were evaluated for the activation of endogenous PPAR? in H4IIEC3 cells. Pterostilbene demonstrated the highest induction of PPAR? demonstrating increases of 7- and 9-14 fold relative to control. The maximal responses to pterostilbene are similar to those obtained with the hypolipidemic drug, ciprofibrate; that is, pterostilbene acts as a PPAR? agonist, like that of the fibrate class, and is a more effective hypolipidemic agent than resveratrol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignees: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture, The University of Mississippi
    Inventors: Agnes M. Rimando, Dennis R. Feller, Wallace H. Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 8128948
    Abstract: A composition containing suspensolide and optionally at least one of ?-hydroxy acid of epianastrephin, ?-hydroxy acid of anastrephin, 2,6-dimethyl-6-vinyl-cyclohexeneacetic acid, ?-D-glucopyranosyl 2,6-dimethyl-6-vinyl-cyclohex-1-ene-1-acetoate, or mixtures thereof, and optionally a carrier or carrier material; the composition contains no ?-bisabolene and no ?-farnesene. A method for attracting Anastrepha species (e.g., A. suspensa) involving treating an object or area with an Anastrepha species attracting effective amount of the above composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: Peter E.A. Teal, Spencer S. Walse
  • Patent number: PP22998
    Abstract: A new and distinct cultivar of Hedychium plant named ‘Ramata’, characterized by a compact, broad rounded appearance, unique leaf variegation which is uniformly distributed and stable, and mildly fragrant staminate flowers. ‘Ramata’ is the only Hedychium cultivar that combines both dwarfism and leaf variegation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventor: Hamidou Sakhanonkho