In this study, forty-two fungi from soil were isolated and tested for their carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) and xylanase activities. From all isolates, the fungal isolate FR60, which was identified as Aspergillus aculeatus Iizuka, showed high activities in both CMCase and xylanase with 517 mU/mg protein and 550 mU/mg protein, respectively. The crude enzyme from A. aculeatus Iizuka FR60 could h...

Coastal Bermuda grass (CBG) is an agricultural residue with considerable potential as a feedstock for lignocellulosic-based ethanol. The treatment of biomass with water at high temperature, termed autohydrolysis, can be used to recover sugars in the filtrate and to improve enzyme digestibility of the pretreated solids. The effect of a twostage autohydrolysis process with respect to total sugar ...

A long-standing paradigm in biology has been that hummingbirds and passerine birds select for different nectar properties in the plants they pollinate. Here we show that this dichotomy is false and a more useful distinction is that between specialized and generalized bird pollination systems. Flowers adapted for sunbirds, which are specialized passerine nectarivores, have nectar similar to that...

Sugar consumption, especially added sugars, is under attack. Various government and health authorities have suggested new sugar recommendations and guidelines as low as 5% of total calories from free sugars. Definitions for total sugars, free sugars, and added sugars are not standardized, nor are there accepted nutrient databases for this information. Our objective was to measure total sugars a...

The effects of sodium carbonate (Na(2)CO(3)) pretreatment on the chemical compositions and enzymatic saccharification of rice straw were investigated. The enzymatic digestibility of rice straw is enhanced after pretreatment since pretreated solids show significant delignification with high sugar availability. During pretreatment, an increasing temperature and Na(2)CO(3) charge leads to enhanced...

The aim of this research was to analyze and compare 17 honey samples, 11 organic and six non-organic Apis mellifera honey. The samples were analyzed concerning moisture, hydroxymethylfurfural, diastase index, water activity, color, total sugar, reducing sugar, sucrose, ash, viscosity, electrical conductivity, pH, acidity, and formol index. With the exception of acidity, reducing sugar and diast...

Oil palm biomass, namely empty fruit bunch and frond fiber, were pretreated using a planetary ball mill. Particle sizes and crystallinity index values of the oil palm biomass were significantly reduced with extended ball mill processing time. The treatment efficiency was evaluated by the generation of glucose, xylose, and total sugar conversion yields from the pretreatment process compared to t...

Mutualistic interactions are often subject to exploitation by species that are not directly involved in the mutualism. Understanding which organisms act as such 'third-party' species and how they do so is a major challenge in the current study of mutualistic interactions. Here, we show that even species that appear ecologically similar can have contrasting effects as third-party species. We exp...

Excess added sugar consumption is tied to poor health outcomes in children. The sugar content of beverages and foods children are exposed to is mostly unknown, yet this information is imperative for understanding potential risks from overconsumption of sugars in early life. We determined actual sugar content by conducting a blinded laboratory analysis in infant formulas, breakfast cereals, pack...

Integrating of lignocellulose-based and starch-rich biomass-based hydrogen production was investigated by mixing wheat straw hydrolysate with a wheat grain hydrolysate for improved fermentation. Enzymatic pretreatment and hydrolysis of wheat grains led to a hydrolysate with a sugar concentration of 93.4 g/L, while dilute-acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat straw led to a hydroly...