Group Irregularity Strength of Connected Graphs

We investigate the group irregularity strength ($s_g(G)$) of graphs, i.e. the smallest value of $s$ such that taking any Abelian group \gr of order $s$, there exists a function f:E(G)\rightarrow \gr such that the sums of edge labels at every vertex are distinct. We prove that for any connected graph $G$ of order at least 3, $s_g(G)=n$ if $n\neq 4k+2$ and $s_g(G)\leq n+1$ otherwise, except the case of some infinite family of stars

The ABC of peer mentoring – what secondary students have to say about cross-age peer mentoring in a regional Australian school

Cross-age peer mentoring is an educational model that builds on peer support and mentoring to assist young people to enhance social relationships, develop cognitive skills, and promote positive identity development. In this article, we outline the evaluation process of a cross-age peer-mentoring program implemented in an Australian secondary school. This program had a distinctive focus on blending cross-age peer mentoring, academic tutoring, and social support roles. We focus on the program's consumers – the voices of Year 7 students (mentees) and Year 10 students (mentors). Student perspectives were gathered using qualitative methods through repeated focus groups. Data were thematically analysed, and the findings show observed changes in social relationships, problem-solving skills, and engagement with literacy. We discuss the importance of this relationship for effective learning and examine the reported changes to engagement with relationship building. Implications for developing whole-of-school support and increasing wider participation are discussed

Effects of Lycopene on the Initial State of Atherosclerosis in New Zealand White (NZW) Rabbits

BACKGROUND: Lycopene is the main carotenoid in tomatoes, where it is found in high concentrations. Strong epidemiological evidence suggests that lycopene may provide protection against cardiovascular diseases. We therefore studied the effects of lycopene on diet-induced increase in serum lipid levels and the initiation of atherosclerosis in New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The animals, divided into four groups of 9 animals each, were fed either a standard diet, a high-cholesterol diet containing 0.5% cholesterol, a high-cholesterol diet containing placebo beadlets, or a high-cholesterol diet plus 5 mg/kg body weight/day of lycopene (in the form of lycopene beadlets), for a period of 4 weeks. We found significantly elevated lycopene plasma levels in the animal group treated with lycopene beadlets. Compared to the high-cholesterol and the placebo group, this was associated with a significant reduction of 50% in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol serum levels in the lycopene group. The amount of cholesteryl ester in the aorta was significantly decreased by lycopene. However, we did not observe a significant decrease in the extent of aortic surface lipid accumulation in the lycopene group. In addition, no differences in the intima-media thickness among groups were observed. Endothelial-dependent and endothelial-independent vasodilation in isolated rabbit aortic and carotid rings did not differ among any of the animal groups. CONCLUSIONS: Lycopene supplementation for 4 weeks increased lycopene plasma levels in the animals. Although we found strongly reduced total and LDL cholesterol serum levels as well as significantly lower amounts of cholesteryl ester in the aortae in the lycopene-treated group, no significant differences in initial lesions in the aortae were detected

The Use of Coconut Shells for the Removal of Dyes from Aqueous Solutions

The main purpose of the work was to check the possibility of using coconut shells for the removal of the dyes popular in the textile industry from aqueous solutions. The sorption abilities of an unconventional sorbent were tested against four anionic dyes: Reactive Black 5, Reactive Yellow 84, Acid Yellow 23, Acid Red 18 as well as two cationic dyes: Basic Violet 10 and Basic Red 46. The scope of research included investigation pertaining to the effect of pH on the effectiveness of sorption of dyes, conducted in order to determine the time of equilibrium of sorption and determine the maximum sorption capacity of coconut shells with respect to pigments. The most favorable pH of sorption for the anionic dyes and Basic Violet 10 was pH 3 and for Basic Red 46 – pH 6. The equilibrium time of sorption was the shortest in the case of acidic dyes (Acid Yellow 23/ Acid Red 18 – 45 min), while the longest in the case of alkaline dyes (Basic Red 46 – 90 min, Basic Violet 10 – 180 min). The sorption capacity of coconut shells in relation to anionic dyes was for Reactive Black 5 – 0.82 mg/g, Reactive Yellow 84 – 0.96 mg/g, Acid Yellow 23 – 0.53 mg/g and for Acid Red 18 – 0.66 mg/g. The tested sorbent showed much higher sorption capacity with respect to the cationic dyes, i.e. Basic Violet 10 (28.54 mg/g) and Basic Red 46 (68.52 mg/g)

Discovery and dissection of metabolic oscillations in the microaerobic nitric oxide response network of Escherichia coli

The virulence of many pathogens depends upon their ability to cope with immune-generated nitric oxide (NO·). In Escherichia coli, the major NO· detoxification systems are Hmp, an NO· dioxygenase (NOD), and NorV, an NO· reductase (NOR). It is well established that Hmp is the dominant system under aerobic conditions, whereas NorV dominates anaerobic conditions; however, the quantitative contributions of these systems under the physiologically relevant microaerobic regime remain ill defined. Here, we investigated NO· detoxification in environments ranging from 0 to 50 μM O(2), and discovered a regime in which E. coli NO· defenses were severely compromised, as well as conditions that exhibited oscillations in the concentration of NO·. Using an integrated computational and experimental approach, E. coli NO· detoxification was found to be extremely impaired at low O(2) due to a combination of its inhibitory effects on NorV, Hmp, and translational activities, whereas oscillations were found to result from a kinetic competition for O(2) between Hmp and respiratory cytochromes. Because at least 777 different bacterial species contain the genetic requirements of this stress response oscillator, we hypothesize that such oscillatory behavior could be a widespread phenomenon. In support of this hypothesis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, whose respiratory and NO· response networks differ considerably from those of E. coli, was found to exhibit analogous oscillations in low O(2) environments. This work provides insight into how bacterial NO· defenses function under the low O(2) conditions that are likely to be encountered within host environments

Plasma-activated direct bonding of coated optical glasses

For spectrometric applications in space the benefits of direct bonding are highly promising. However, direct bonding of optical coatings is still challenging. This work presents investigations on plasma-activated direct bonding of optical glasses without and with added optical coatings. Gained technologies will be used for novel coated prism spectrometers