The interactions between corneal nerve, epithelium, and stroma are essential for maintaining a healthy cornea. Thus, corneal tissue models that more fully mimic the anatomy, mechanical properties and cellular components of corneal tissue would provide useful systems to study cellular interactions, corneal diseases and provide options for improved drug screening. Here a corneal tissue model was constructed to include the stroma, epithelium, and innervation. Thin silk protein film stacks served as the scaffolding to support the corneal epithelial and stromal layers, while a surrounding silk porous sponge supported neuronal growth. The neurons innervated the stromal and epithelial layers and improved function and viability of the tissues. An air-liquid interface environment of the corneal tissue was also mimicked in vitro, resulting in a positive impact on epithelial maturity. The inclusion of three cell types in co-culture at an air-liquid interface provides an important advance for the field of in vitro corneal tissue engineering, to permit improvements in the study of innervation and corneal tissue development, corneal disease, and tissue responses to environmental factors.

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In order to evaluate the nutritional value and digestibility of corn (Zea mays L.) stover silage mixed with legume herbages in Tibet, corn stover was ensiled with four levels (0, 10, 20 and 30% of fresh weight) of common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), respectively. The silos were opened after 45 days of ensiling, and the fermentation characteristics, nutritive quality and in vitro digestibility of the mixed silages were analyzed. The results showed that the inclusion of legumes could somewhat improve the corn stover silage quality, as indicated by significantly (P < 0.05) higher lactic acid and crude protein contents and ratios of lactic acid/acetic acid, and significantly (P < 0.05) lower amylase‐treated neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and hemicellulose contents, while the corn stover silage containing 10% common vetch performed best, as indicated by significantly (P < 0.05) higher in vitro dry matter and neutral detergent fiber digestibility. These results suggest that mixing legumes to corn stover before ensiling appears to be a feasible strategy to improve the nutritive quality of mixed silage.