Chemical composition of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans lipid A

Lipopolysaccharides also called endotoxins are an integral component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. When released from the bacterial surface, they interact with a host immune system, triggering excessive inflammatory response. Lipid A is the biologically most active part of endotoxin, and its activity is modulated by the quantity, quality and arrangement of its fatty acids. Desulfovibrio desulfuricans is sulfate-reducing, Gram-negative bacterium that is supposed to be opportunistic pathogens of humans and animals. In the present study, chemical composition of lipid A from various strains of D. desulfuricans was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. It was found that the fatty acid component of the lipid A contains dodecanoic, tetradecanoic, 3-hydroxytetradecanoic and hexadecanoic acids, and its carbohydrate core is composed of glucosamine. The analysis of 3-acyloxyacyl residue of the lipid A revealed the presence of amide-bound 3-(dodecanoyloxy)tetradecanoic and 3-(hexadecanoyloxy)tetradecanoic acids and ester-bound 3-(tetradecanoyloxy)tetradecanoic acid. It was concluded that both fatty acid and 3-acyloxyacyl residue profiles of the lipid A from the studied bacteria were similar to those of E. coli and S.enterica

Discrete-continuous project scheduling with preemptable activities

In this paper, discrete-continuous project scheduling problems with preemptable activities are considered. In these problems, activities of a project simultaneously require discrete and continuous resources for their execution. The activities are preemptable, and the processing rate of each activity is a continuous, increasing function of the amount of a single continuous resource allotted to the activity at a time. The problem is to find a precedence- and discrete resource-feasible schedule and, simultaneously, continuous resource allocation that would minimize the project duration. Convex and concave processing rate functions are considered separately. We show that for convex functions the problem is simple, whereas for concave functions a special methodology has to be developed. We discuss the methodology for three cases of the problem: no discrete resource constraints, one discrete resource being a set of parallel, identical machines, and an arbitrary number of discrete resources. In each case we analyze separately independent and precedence-related activities. Some conclusions and directions for future research are given

Scheduling preemptable jobs on identical processors under varying availability of an additional continuous resource

In this work we consider a problem of scheduling preemptable, independent jobs, characterized by the fact that their processing speeds depend on the amounts of a continuous, renewable resource allocated to jobs at a time. Jobs are scheduled on parallel, identical machines, with the criterion of minimization of the schedule length. Since two categories of resources occur in the problem: discrete (set of machines) and continuous, it is generally called a discrete-continuous scheduling problem. The model studied in this paper allows the total available amount of the continuous resource to vary over time, which is a practically important generalization that has not been considered yet for discrete-continuous scheduling problems. For this model we give some properties of optimal schedules on a basis of which we propose a general methodology for solving the considered class of problems. The methodology uses a two-phase approach in which, firstly, an assignment of machines to jobs is defined and, secondly, for this assignment an optimal continuous resource allocation is found by solving an appropriate mathematical programming problem. In the approach various cases are considered, following from assumptions made on the form of the processing speed functions of jobs. For each case an iterative algorithm is designed, leading to an optimal solution in a finite number of steps

Geological documentation elaborated in order to specify hydrogeological conditions due to determining protection zone of Main Groundwater Basins (MGB) : summing-up research project

From 2009 till 2016 one of the largest in the recent years hydrogeological project "Making programmes and geological documentation in order to specify hydrogeological conditions due to determining protection zone of Main Groundwater Basins (MGB)" has been led by Polish Geological Institute - National Research Institute. The aim of the project was to document and describe MGBs as the most valuable and strategic groundwater reservoirs in Poland. Therefore set of documents for 101 MGBs and adaptation of 30 already existing pieces of MGBs documentation made before 2008 has been done. 131 documented MGBs encompass around 87 000 km2, which is 26.8% area of Poland. 20 groundwater basins didn’t meet all for MGB s established hydrogeological parameters, so they were reclassified to Local Groundwater Basins (LGB). 19 of all groundwater basins (15 MGBs and 4 LGBs) don’t need protection zones as the natural thickness of confining bed provides sufficient protection. For 112 of groundwater basins the protection zone has been determined. Their surface covers around 48 500 km2, which encompasses 15.5% area of Poland