7,625 research outputs found
Growth of Pseudotypes of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus with N-Tropic Murine Leukemia Virus Coats in Cells Resistant to N-Tropic Viruses
Formation of pseudotypes between murine RNA tumor viruses and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) has been confirmed. Pseudotypes of VSV genomes coated by the surface envelope from an N-tropic tumor virus grew equally well in cells homozygous for either the Fv-1n or Fv-1b alleles. Therefore, the product of the Fv-1 locus, which restricts growth of murine RNA tumor viruses, must act on an intracellular aspect of tumor virus replication, a step after attachment and penetration
Determinants of Mortality and Disease Progression of Kaposi Sarcoma in a Primary care ART Programme in Khayelitsha, South Africa
CROI 200
A Calculation of the plane wave string Hamiltonian from N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory
Berenstein, Maldacena, and Nastase have proposed, as a limit of the strong
form of the AdS/CFT correspondence, that string theory in a particular plane
wave background is dual to a certain subset of operators in the N=4
super-Yang-Mills theory. Even though this is a priori a strong/weak coupling
duality, the matrix elements of the string theory Hamiltonian, when expressed
in gauge theory variables, are analytic in the 't Hooft coupling constant. This
allows one to conjecture that, like the masses of excited string states, these
can be recovered using perturbation theory in Yang-Mills theory.
In this paper we identify the difference between the generator of scale
transformations and a particular U(1) R-symmetry generator as the operator dual
to the string theory Hamiltonian for nonvanishing string coupling. We compute
its matrix elements and find that they agree with the string theory prediction
provided that the state-operator map is modified for nonvanishing string
coupling. We construct this map explicitly and calculate the anomalous
dimensions of the new operators. We identify the component arising from the
modification of the state-operator map with the contribution of the string
theory contact terms to the masses of string states.Comment: 38 pages, Latex; v2: Comparison with string theory changed in light
of corrections to string theory results in hep-th/0206073 v3; state-operator
map modified; Physical interpretation and conclusions unchange
Structure and stereochemistry of the base excision repair glycosylase MutY reveal a mechanism similar to retaining glycosidases.
MutY adenine glycosylases prevent DNA mutations by excising adenine from promutagenic 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (OG):A mismatches. Here, we describe structural features of the MutY active site bound to an azaribose transition state analog which indicate a catalytic role for Tyr126 and approach of the water nucleophile on the same side as the departing adenine base. The idea that Tyr126 participates in catalysis, recently predicted by modeling calculations, is strongly supported by mutagenesis and by seeing close contact between the hydroxyl group of this residue and the azaribose moiety of the transition state analog. NMR analysis of MutY methanolysis products corroborates a mechanism for adenine removal with retention of stereochemistry. Based on these results, we propose a revised mechanism for MutY that involves two nucleophilic displacement steps akin to the mechanisms accepted for 'retaining' O-glycosidases. This new-for-MutY yet familiar mechanism may also be operative in related base excision repair glycosylases and provides a critical framework for analysis of human MutY (MUTYH) variants associated with inherited colorectal cancer
It's Hard to Learn How Gravity and Electromagnetism Couple
We construct the most general effective Lagrangian coupling gravity and
electromagnetism up to mass dimension 6 by enumerating all possible non-minimal
coupling terms respecting both diffeomorphism and gauge invariance. In all,
there are only two unique terms after field re-definitions; one is known to
arise from loop effects in QED while the other is a parity violating term which
may be generated by weak interactions within the standard model of particle
physics. We show that neither the cosmological propagation of light nor,
contrary to earlier claims, solar system tests of General Relativity are useful
probes of these terms. These non-minimal couplings of gravity and
electromagnetism may remain a mystery for the foreseeable future.Comment: 9 pages. Minor corrections made. To appear in Phys. Rev.
CAD/CAM/CNC of dies for car alloy wheels and golf clubs
This paper presents 3D solid feature based modelling of a new design of a car alloy wheel
derived from the ball pattern of the World Cup 2006 and golf clubs using a CAD system. Finite
Element Analysis was applied to improve the new designs. Their dies were extracted from the
parts/assemblies. The dies were scaled down to 20% of their original size using the CAD system,
and these models were transferred into a CAM system. The machining processes were simulated for
a three axis CNC mill controller using the CAM system. The tool paths were produced and the CNC
programmes were generated by the modified postprocessor for controlling the CNC machine. The
models of the dies of the new car alloy wheel and the golf clubs were produced using the modified
CNC programmes with accurate shapes and reasonable surface finish. There is good potential for die
making markets and industrial developments
Assessment of ocean prediction model for Naval Operations using acoustic preset
OCEANS2005, MTS/IEEE Conference Proceedings, DVD-ROMThe outcome of a battlefield engagement is
often determined by the advantages and disadvantages held
by each adversary. On the modern battlefield, the possessor
of the best technology often has the upper hand, but only if
that advanced technology is used properly and efficiently. In
order to exploit this advantage and optimize the effectiveness
of high technology sensor and weapon systems, it is essential
to understand the impact on them by the environment. In the
arena of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), the ocean
environment determines the performance of the acoustic
sensors employed and the success of any associated weapon
systems. Since acoustic sensors detect underwater sound
waves, understanding how those waves propagate is crucial
to knowing how the sensors will perform and being able to
optimize their performance in a given situation. To gain this
understanding, an accurate depiction of the ocean
environment is necessary. How acoustic waves propagate
from one location to another under water is determined by
many factors, some of which are described by the sound
speed profile (SSP). If the environmental properties of
temperature and salinity are known over the entire depth
range, the SSP can be compiled by using them in an
empirical formula to calculate the expected sound speed in a
vertical column of water. One way to determine these
environmental properties is to measure them in situ, such as
by conductivity-temperature-depth or expendable
bathythermograph (XBT) casts. This method is not always
tactically feasible and only gives the vertical profile at one location producing a very limited picture of the regional
ocean structure. Another method is to estimate the ocean
conditions using numerical models. The valued-aided
ocean prediction models to ASW is assessed in this study.
Such quantitative analyses offer a means to optimize the
ASW requirements and technical capabilities of new weapon
systems. We use observed and modeled 3-D fields of
temperature, salinity, and sound speed. Compare model
profiles to observed profiles. Do ocean models predict the
vertical features of the observational data? Run
representative modeled and observed SSP profiles through
Navy’s acoustic models to see if there is an acoustic
difference in propagation and weapon preset
Genie: A Generator of Natural Language Semantic Parsers for Virtual Assistant Commands
To understand diverse natural language commands, virtual assistants today are
trained with numerous labor-intensive, manually annotated sentences. This paper
presents a methodology and the Genie toolkit that can handle new compound
commands with significantly less manual effort. We advocate formalizing the
capability of virtual assistants with a Virtual Assistant Programming Language
(VAPL) and using a neural semantic parser to translate natural language into
VAPL code. Genie needs only a small realistic set of input sentences for
validating the neural model. Developers write templates to synthesize data;
Genie uses crowdsourced paraphrases and data augmentation, along with the
synthesized data, to train a semantic parser. We also propose design principles
that make VAPL languages amenable to natural language translation. We apply
these principles to revise ThingTalk, the language used by the Almond virtual
assistant. We use Genie to build the first semantic parser that can support
compound virtual assistants commands with unquoted free-form parameters. Genie
achieves a 62% accuracy on realistic user inputs. We demonstrate Genie's
generality by showing a 19% and 31% improvement over the previous state of the
art on a music skill, aggregate functions, and access control.Comment: To appear in PLDI 201
Molecular characterization, biofilm analysis and experimental biofouling study of Fusarium isolates from recent cases of fungal keratitis in New York State
BACKGROUND: To characterize Fusarium isolates from recent cases of fungal keratitis in contact lens wearers, and to investigate fungal association with MoistureLoc solution. METHODS: We studied six fungal isolates from recent cases of keratitis in New York State. The isolates were characterized by nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of multiple genes, and then typed using minisatellite and microsatellite probes. Experimental fungal biofilm formation was tested by standard methods. MoistureLoc solutions were tested in biofouling studies for their efficacy in elimination of Fusarium contamination. RESULTS: Fusarium solani – corneal ulcers (2 isolates), lens case (1 isolate), and F. oxysporum – corneal ulcer (1 isolate), eye (1 isolate), were recovered from five patients. An opened bottle of MoistureLoc solution provided by a patient also yielded F. solani. Two distinct genotypes of F. solani as well as of F. oxysporum were present in the isolated strains. Remarkably, F. solani strains from the lens case and lens solution in one instance were similar, based on phylogenetic analyses and molecular typing. The solution isolate of F. solani formed biofilm on contact lenses in control conditions, but not when co-incubated with MoistureLoc solution. Both freshly opened and 3-month old MoistureLoc solutions effectively killed F. solani and F. oxysporum, when fungal contamination was simulated under recommended lens treatment regimen (4-hr). However, simulation of inappropriate use (15 – 60 min) led to the recovery of less than 1% of original inoculum of F. solani or F. oxysporum. CONCLUSION: Temporary survival of F. solani and F. oxysporum in MoistureLoc suggested that improper lens cleaning regimen could be a possible contributing factor in recent infections
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