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Shielding effectiveness relates to the ability of a material to reduce the transmission of propagating fields in order to electromagnetically isolate one region from another. Because the shielding capability of a complex material is difficult to predict, it often must be measured. A number of approaches to simulating a far-field source are studied, including the use of coaxial transmission-line holders and a time-domain system. In each case we consider the system frequency range, test sample requirements, test field type, dynamic range, measurement time required, and analytical background; and present data taken on a common set of materials.

Pathogens are capable of hijacking immune defense mechanisms, thereby creating a tolerogenic environment for hypermutated malignant cells that arise within the site of infection. Immune checkpoint-oriented immunotherapies have shown considerable promise. Equally important, the epigenetic reprogramming of an immune-evasive phenotype that activates the immune system in a synergistic manner can improve immunotherapy outcomes. These advances have led to combinations of epigenetic-and immune-based therapeutics. We previously demonstrated that Porphyromonas gingivalis isolated from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) lesions represents a major pathogen associated with this deadly disease. In this study, we examined the mechanisms associated with host immunity during P. gingivalis infection and demonstrated that experimentally infected ESCC responds by increasing the expression of B7-H4 and lysine demethylase 5B, which allowed subsequent in vivo analysis of the immunotherapeutic effects of anti-B7-H4 and histone demethylase inhibitors in models of chronic infection and immunity against xenografted human tumors. Using three different preclinical mouse models receiving combined therapy, we showed that mice mounted strong resistance against P. gingivalis infection and tumor challenge. This may have occurred via generation of a T cell-mediated response in the microenvironment and formation of immune memory. In ESCC subjects, coexpression of B7-H4 and KDM5B correlated more significantly with bacterial load than with the expression of either molecule alone. These results highlight the unique ability of P. gingivalis to evade immunity and define potential targets that can be exploited therapeutically to improve the control of P. gingivalis infection and the development of associated neoplasia.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LAD) is a human malignancy successfully treated with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) gefitinib; however, the enrichment of therapy resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs) in such patients is assumed to be a source of treatment failure. Evaluation of LAD cell populations treated with the TKI inhibitor gefitinib identified unique aspects of a subpopulation of tumor cells exhibiting stem-like properties and mitochondria-specific metabolic features along with their reliance on sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) for survival advantage. This addiction to bioenergetic metabolism in LAD treated with EGFR-targeted therapy suggests that mitochondrial targeting should be synthetically lethal using established cytotoxic therapies. Accordingly, loss of the phenotype present in resistant CSC clones either by targeting the energy metabolism with tigecycline, a mitochondrial DNA-translation inhibitor, or tenovin-6 (TV-6), a SIRT1 inhibitor, inhibited their dependency on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (mtOXPHOS) and sensitized them for a more pronounced and long-lasting TKI therapeutic effect. The results specifically demonstrated that combined therapy with TV-6 and gefitinib resulted in tumor regression in xenograft mouse models, whereas administration of a single agent showed no such efficacy. Importantly, combined treatment with TV-6 also decreased the effective dose of gefitinib necessary for treatment response. Clinical analysis demonstrated that high-profile SIRT1 and mtOXPHOS proteins were associated with recurrence and poor prognosis in LAD patients. These observations support the CSC hypothesis for cancer relapse and advocate use of mitochondria-targeting inhibitors as part of combinatorial therapy in a variety of clinical settings, as well as for reducing first-line TKI dosage in LAD patients.

ObjectiveMany previous studies have reported that pain symptoms can lead to significant brain function and anatomical changes, whereas the intrinsic brain activity changes in acute eye pain (EP) patients remain unknown. Using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) method, this study aimed to evaluate the spontaneous brain activity alterations and their relationships with clinical features in acute EP patients.Participants and methodsA total of 20 patients with EP (15 males and 5 females) and 20 healthy controls (HCs; 15 males and 5 females) closely matched in age, sex, and education underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. The ALFF method was applied to assess spontaneous brain activity changes. The ALFF values of the EP patients were distinguished from those of the HCs using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationships between the mean ALFF signal values from many brain regions and the clinical features in EP patients.ResultsCompared with the HCs, acute EP patients had significantly lower ALFF in the left and right precentral/postcentral gyrus and left precuneus. In contrast, acute EP patients showed higher ALFF values in the right and left parahippocampal gyri and left caudate. However, no relationship was observed between the mean ALFF signal values from the different areas and clinical manifestations in the acute EP patients.ConclusionWe demonstrated that acute EP patients showed abnormal intrinsic brain activities in the precentral/postcentral gyrus and limbic system, which might provide useful information for explaining neural mechanisms in EP patients.

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