A predicted three-dimensional structure for the human immunodeficiency virus binding domains of CD4 antigen

A predicted three-dimensional structure of the two N-terminalextracellular domains of human CD4 antigen, a cell surface glycoprotein,is reported. This region of CD4, particularly the first domain,has been identified as containing the binding region for theenvelope gp120 protein of the human immuno-deficiency virus.The model was predicted based on the sequence homology of eachdomain with the variable light chain of immunoglobulins. Theframework ß-sheet regions were taken from the crystalcoordinates of REI. For one region in the first domain of CD4there was an ambiguity in the alignment with REI and two alternatemodels are presented. Loops connecting the framework were modeledfrom fragments selected from a database of main chain coordinatesfrom all known protein structures. Residues identified as involvedin binding gp120 have been located in several other studieswithin the first domain of CD4. Epitopes from eight monoclonalantibodies have been mapped onto residues in both domains. Competitionof these antibodies with each other and with gp120 can be interpretedfrom the structural model.     

Synthesis of Organotin Polyamine Ethers Containing Acyclovir and their Preliminary Anticancer and Antiviral Activity

Organotin polyamine ethers containing acyclovir in their backbone were synthesized in moderate to high yield employing the aqueous interfacial polycondensation system. The products are high molecular weight polymers. Infrared spectroscopy of the products shows new bands characteristic of the formation of Sn–N and Sn–O bonds consistent with the proposed structure. MALDI-TOF MS below 2000 Da shows the presence of organotin and acyclovir units containing these two moieties. The products show moderate inhibition of a number of cancer cell lines and exhibit the ability to inhibit a number of viruses, particularly the herpes simplex virus-1 and varicella zoster virus that are responsible for herpes, chicken pox and shingles.     

Compressive strength and hydration of wastepaper sludge ash-ground granulated blastfurnace slag blended pastes

Compressive strength and hydration characteristics of wastepaper sludge ash-ground granulated blastfurnace slag (WSA-GGBS) blended pastes were investigated at a water to binder (w/b) ratio of 0.5. The strength results are compared to those of normal Portland cement (PC) paste and relative strengths are reported. Early relative strengths (1 day) of WSA-GGBS pastes were very low but a marked gain in relative strength occurred between 1 and 7 days and this increased further after 28 and 90 days. For the 50% WSA-50% GGBS blended paste, the strength achieved at 90 days was nearly 50% of that of the PC control paste. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis were carried out to identify the mineral components in the WSA and the hydration products of WSA and WSA-GGBS pastes. The principal crystalline components in the WSA are gehlenite, calcium oxide, bredigite and α′-C₂S (stabilised with Al and Mg) together with small amounts of anorthite and calcium carbonate and traces of calcium hydroxide and quartz. The α′-C₂S and bredigite, which phase separate from liquid phase that forms a glass on cooling, are difficult to distinguish by XRD. The hydration products identified in WSA paste are CH, C₄AH₁₃, C₃A.0.5CC?.0.5CH.H_11.5 and C-S-H gel plus possible evidence of small amounts of C₂ASH₈ and C₃A.3CS?.H₃₂. Based upon the findings, a hydration mechanism is presented, and a model is proposed to explain the observed strength development.     

Fractional Order Nonlinear Bone Remodeling Dynamics Using the Supervised Neural Network

This study aims to solve the nonlinear fractional-order mathematical model (FOMM) by using the normal and dysregulated bone remodeling of the myeloma bone disease (MBD). For the more precise performance of the model, fractional-order derivatives have been used to solve the disease model numerically. The FOMM is preliminarily designed to focus on the critical interactions between bone resorption or osteoclasts (OC) and bone formation or osteoblasts (OB). The connections of OC and OB are represented by a nonlinear differential system based on the cellular components, which depict stable fluctuation in the usual bone case and unstable fluctuation through the MBD. Untreated myeloma causes by increasing the OC and reducing the osteoblasts, resulting in net bone waste the tumor growth. The solutions of the FOMM will be provided by using the stochastic framework based on the Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation (LVMBP) neural networks (NN), i.e., LVMBPNN. The mathematical performances of three variations of the fractional-order derivative based on the nonlinear disease model using the LVMPNN. The static structural performances are 82% for investigation and 9% for both learning and certification. The performances of the LVMBPNN are authenticated by using the results of the Adams-Bashforth-Moulton mechanism. To accomplish the capability, steadiness, accuracy, and ability of the LVMBPNN, the performances of the error histograms (EHs), mean square error (MSE), recurrence, and state transitions (STs) will be provided.     

A survey on search results diversification techniques

The quantity of information placed on the web has been greater than before and is increasing rapidly day by day. Searching through the huge amount of data and finding the most relevant and useful result set involves searching, ranking, and presenting the results. Most of the users probe into the top few results and neglect the rest. In order to increase user’s satisfaction, the presented result set should not only be relevant to the search topic, but should also present a variety of perspectives, that is, the results should be different from one another. The effectiveness of web search and the satisfaction of users can be enhanced through providing various results of a search query in a certain order of relevance and concern. The technique used to avoid presenting similar, though relevant, results to the user is known as a diversification of search results. This article presents a survey of the approaches used for search result diversification. To this end, this article not only provides a technical survey of existing diversification techniques, but also presents a taxonomy of diversification algorithms with respect to the types of search queries.     

Efficient deterministic secure quantum communication protocols using multipartite entangled states

We propose two deterministic secure quantum communication protocols employing three-qubit GHZ-like states and five-qubit Brown states as quantum channels for secure transmission of information in units of two bits and three bits using multipartite teleportation schemes developed here. In these schemes, the sender’s capability in selecting quantum channels and the measuring bases leads to improved qubit efficiency of the protocols.     

Estimation of Length Limits for Integral Bridges Built on Clay

In this paper, the maximum length limits for integral bridges built on clay are determined as a function of the ability of steel H-piles supporting the abutments to sustain thermal-induced cyclic displacements and the flexural capacity of the abutment. First, H-pile sections that can accommodate large plastic deformations are determined considering their local buckling instability. Then, a low-cycle fatigue damage model is used to determine the maximum cyclic deformations that such piles can sustain. Next, nonlinear static pushover analyses of two typical integral bridges are conducted to study the effect of various geometric, structural, and geotechnical parameters on the performance of integral bridges subjected to uniform temperature variations. Using the pushover analyses results, design guidelines are developed to enhance and determine the maximum length limits for integral bridges built on clay. It is recommended that the maximum length of concrete integral bridges be limited to 210 m (689 ft) in cold climates and 260 m (853 ft) in moderate climates and that of steel integral bridges be limited to 120 m (394 ft) in cold climates and 180 m (590 ft) in moderate climates.     

Effect of Varying Amount of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG-600) and 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane on the Properties of Chitosan based Reverse Osmosis Membranes

Chitosan and polyethylene glycol (PEG-600) membranes were synthesized and crosslinked with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The main purpose of this research work is to synthesize RO membranes which can be used to provide desalinated water for drinking, industrial and agricultural purposes. Hydrogen bonding between chitosan and PEG was confirmed by displacement of the hydroxyl absorption peak at 3237 cm⁻¹ in pure chitosan to lower values in crosslinked membranes by using FTIR. Dynamic mechanical analysis revealed that PEG lowers Tg of the modified membranes vs. pure chitosan from 128.5 °C in control to 120 °C in CS-PEG5. SEM results highlighted porous and anisotropic structure of crosslinked membranes. As the amount of PEG was increased, hydrophilicity of membranes was increased and water absorption increased up to a maximum of 67.34%. Permeation data showed that flux and salt rejection value of the modified membranes was increased up to a maximum of 80% and 40.4%, respectively. Modified films have antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli as compared to control membranes.     

Double hinged articulated tower interaction with wind and waves

Articulated offshore towers are highly flexible against rotation at the hinges and derive their stability by means of inherently large buoyancy forces. The displacement response of such towers is mainly governed by the rigid body mode of vibration which has a very low frequency. Since the fluctuating wind velocity spectrum has high energy content in the low frequency region, therefore, wind induces significant dynamic response of such towers. In this paper, the responses of single and double hinged articulated towers are compared under various ocean environments. A Monte Carlo simulation technique is used to model the random sea environment. The sea state is characterized by Pierson–Moskowitz spectrum while the fluctuating wind has been estimated using Simiu's spectrum for compliant platforms. Iterative time domain solution procedure is adopted to take care of time dependent parameters and nonlinearities. Stochastic response is characterized by statistical quantities and power spectral density functions (PSDF) for various parametric combinations. Studies of wind effects are found to be imperative for double hinged articulated towers to serve and survive in the hostile offshore environment. The response PSDF highlights the wind induced dynamic responses of the towers.