Pomegranate-like ATO/SiO_(2)microspheres for efficient microwave absorption in wide temperature spectrum

High-performance microwave-absorbing materials(MAMs)should meet both impedance matching and attenuation performance.Commonly,it is hard to maintain excellent microwave absorption(MA)per-formance at an elevated temperature because the reliance on impedance matching and dielectric loss about temperature mutually restricts.In this work,the pomegranate-like antimony-doped tin dioxide(ATO)/silica dioxide(SiO_(2))spheres were fabricated via a simple spray drying process.When the spheres were used as functional units and dispersed in the matrix,the corresponding composites exhibit an out-standing anti-reflection effect on microwaves.Moreover,the unique pomegranate-like structure of the ATO/SiO_(2)spheres provides both the effective local eddy current and abundant heterogeneous interface,which therefore contribute harvest enhanced dielectric relaxation and improved absorption performance when compared with that of the corresponding ATO/SiO_(2)composition.As a result,the maximum re-flection loss of the ATO/SiO_(2)spheres composites can reach-47.8 dB at 9.7 GHz with a thickness of 1.8 mm,while the reflection loss could reach-47.3 dB at 573 K and the effective absorption bandwidth is 2.4 GHz.This work reveals the importance of local eddy current loss in optimizing the electromagnetic wave(EMW)absorption performance and impedance matching,providing novel guidance on designing advanced high-temperature MAMs.

Taurocholic acid inhibits the response to interferon-αtherapy in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B by impairing CD8^(+)T and NK cell function

Pegylated interferon-alpha (PegIFNα) therapy has limited effectiveness in hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. However, the mechanism underlying this failure is poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the influence of bile acids (BAs), especially taurocholic acid (TCA), on the response to PegIFNα therapy in CHB patients. Here, we used mass spectrometry to determine serum BA profiles in 110 patients with chronic HBV infection and 20 healthy controls (HCs). We found that serum BAs, especially TCA, were significantly elevated in HBeAg-positive CHB patients compared with those in HCs and patients in other phases of chronic HBV infection. Moreover, serum BAs, particularly TCA, inhibited the response to PegIFNα therapy in HBeAg-positive CHB patients. Mechanistically, the expression levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, granzyme B, and perforin were measured using flow cytometry to assess the effector functions of immune cells in patients with low or high BA levels. We found that BAs reduced the number and proportion and impaired the effector functions of CD3^(+)CD8^(+) T cells and natural killer (NK) cells in HBeAg-positive CHB patients. TCA in particular reduced the frequency and impaired the effector functions of CD3^(+)CD8^(+) T and NK cells in vitro and in vivo and inhibited the immunoregulatory activity of IFN-α in vitro. Thus, our results show that BAs, especially TCA, inhibit the response to PegIFNα therapy by impairing the effector functions of CD3^(+)CD8^(+) T and NK cells in HBeAg-positive CHB patients. Our findings suggest that targeting TCA could be a promising approach for restoring IFN-α responsiveness during CHB treatment.

Oxymatrine Inhibits Bocavirus MVC Replication, Reduces Viral Gene Expression and Decreases Apoptosis Induced by Viral Infection

Oxymatrine(OMT), as the main active component of Sophoraflavescens, exhibits a variety of pharmacological properties,including anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-viral activities, and currently is extensively employed to treat viral hepatitis; however, its effects on parvovirus infection have yet to be reported. In the present study, we investigated the effects of OMT on cell viability, virus DNA replication, viral gene expression, cell cycle, and apoptosis in Walter Reed canine cells/3873 D infected with minute virus of canines(MVC). OMT, at concentrations below 4 mmol/L(no cellular toxicity), was found to inhibit MVC DNA replication and reduce viral gene expression at both mRNA and protein levels, which was associated with the inhibition of cell cycle S-phase arrest in early-stage of MVC infection.Furthermore, OMT significantly increased cell viability, decreased MVC-infected cell apoptosis, and reduced the expression of activated caspase 3. Our results suggest that OMT has potential application in combating parvovirus infection.

Correction to: Oxymatrine Inhibits Bocavirus MVC Replication, Reduces Viral Gene Expression and Decreases Apoptosis Induced by Viral Infection

In the original version of Fig.2,the marker line between column 2 and column 6 is redundant(Fig.2A),and MVC label and MVCIOMT label were accidentally swapped(Fig.2B).The correct Fig.2 is provided below.