In this paper, a novel technique for the approximation of three-dimensional (3-D) antenna radiation patterns is presented. The proposed method combines the two principal cuts in order to acquire an adequate estimate of the 3-D antenna radiation solid. The absolute error from the theoretical solution is analyzed along with other statistical measures for various types of antenna structures, namely omni-directional and directive arrays. The performance of the method is compared against other existing extrapolation algorithms. The proposed technique exhibits low approximation errors and is easily integrated into 3-D radio propagation planning tools (such as ray-tracing algorithms).

GHz. The poor match, excess losses, and frequency shift of ϳ0.4 GHz can be attributed to losses due to coaxial connectors, conductor and dielectric losses, impedance mismatch, and fabrication errors, respectively, which were not considered in the simulation. No attempt for circuit tuning and iterations in the simulation were made in the proof-of-concept phase. CONCLUSIONA novel compact BPF using Chebyshev multisection transformer has been presented. The filter has dimensions similar to those of the hairpin filter. The filter resonates at 5.28 GHz with a 3-dB cutoff bandwidth of 0.32 GHz (6%). The filter is promising for modern RF and microwave applications.

Although it has been shown that some mannose-binding lectins (MBLs) exhibit significant activity against HIV infection, little is known about whether -acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-binding lectins have the ability to inhibit HIV infection. Here, we demonstrate that a soybean-derived lectin (SBL) with GalNAc-binding affinity could potently suppress HIV infection of macrophages in a dose-dependent fashion. Unlike the MBLs, which block HIV only through binding to the glycosylated envelope proteins (gp120 and gp41) of the virus, SBL inhibited HIV at multiple steps of the virus infection/replication cycle. SBL could activate the beta interferon (IFN-β)-STAT signaling pathway, resulting in the upregulation of a number of antiviral interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) in macrophages. In addition, SBL treatment of macrophages induced the production of C-C chemokines, which bind to HIV entry coreceptor CCR5. Deglycosylation of cell surface galactosyl moieties or presaturation of GalNAc-binding capacity could compromise SBL-mediated induction of the antiviral factors. Furthermore, SBL exerted its anti-HIV activity in the low nanomolar range with no mitogenic effect on CD4 T cells, a major advantage in the development of SBL as a potential anti-HIV agent compared with MBLs. These data indicate a necessity to further investigate SBL as an alternative and cost-effective anti-HIV natural product. Mannose-binding lectins (MBLs) can block the attachment of HIV to target cells and have been suggested as anti-HIV microbicides. However, the mitogenic effect of MBLs on CD4 T cells limits this potential in clinical settings. Lectins with galactose (Gal)- or -acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-binding specificity are another important category of carbohydrate-binding proteins (CBP). Compared to high-mannose N-linked glycans, GalNAc-type glycans present much less in HIV gp120 or gp41 glycosylation. Here, we demonstrate that GalNAc-specific soybean lectin (SBL) triggers antiviral signaling via recognition of the cell surface galactosyl group of macrophages, which results in the suppression of HIV at multiple steps. More importantly, SBL has no mitogenic effect on the activation of CD4 T cells, a major advantage in the development of Gal/GalNAc-specific lectins as naturopathic anti-HIV agents.

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