Crystal structure of the dimerized of porcine circovirus type II replication-related protein Rep'.

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) can cause porcine circovirus-associated disease (PCVAD), which causes significant economic losses to the global pig industry annually. There are no effective antiviral drugs used to control and treat PCV2, and prevention is mainly obtained through vaccination. PCV2 genome replicates through the rolling circle replication (RCR) mechanism involving Rep and Rep', so analyzing the holistic structure of Rep and Rep' will help us better understand the replication process of PCV2. However, there are no reports on the integral structure of Rep' and Rep, which seriously hinders the research of the viral replication. By using the x-ray diffraction method, the structure of the Rep' dimer was resolved by us in this study. Structural analysis revealed that Rep' is a dimer formed by the interaction of the C-terminal domain. The two Rep' form a positively charged groove, which may play an essential role in the viral binding of dsDNA. Together, this study help to understand the replication process of the virus and may also provide new insights into the development of antiviral drugs.

Enhanced Tensile Properties, Biostability, and Biocompatibility of Siloxane-Cross-Linked Polyurethane Containing Ordered Hard Segments for Durable Implant Application.

This work developed a series of siloxane-modified polyurethane (PU-Si) containing ordered hard segments by a facile method. The polyaddition between poly(ε-caprolactone) and excess diurethane diisocyanate was carried out to synthesize a polyurethane prepolymer with terminal isocyanate groups, which was then end-capped by 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane to produce alkoxysilane-terminated polyurethane; the target products of PU-Si were obtained with hydrolysis and the condensation of alkoxysilane groups. The chemical structures were confirmed by FT-IR and XPS, and the effect of the siloxane content or cross-linked degree on the physicochemical properties of the PU-Si films was investigated in detail. The formation of the network structure linked by Si-O-Si bonds and interchain denser hydrogen bonds endowed PU-Si films with fine phase compatibility, low crystallinity, high thermal stability, and excellent tensile properties. Due to the high cross-linked degree and low interfacial energy, the films displayed a high surface water contact angle and low equilibrium water absorption, which resulted in slow hydrolytic degradation rates. Furthermore, the evaluation of protein adsorption and platelet adhesion on the PU-Si film surface presented high resistance to biofouling, indicating superior surface biocompatibility. Consequently, the siloxane-cross-linked polyurethane, which possessed excellent tensile properties, high biostability, and superior biocompatibility, showed great potential to be explored as biomaterials for durable implants.

Two-Dimensional Basalt/Ni Microflakes with Uniform and Compact Nanolayers for Optimized Microwave Absorption Performance.

It has been accepted that the uniform distribution of magnetic metal particles is beneficial to microwave absorption, while why the homogeneous magnetic particles on the dielectric substrate improve the electromagnetic loss is still unclear. Herein, metal Ni nanoparticles, two-dimensional (2D) basalt/scattered Ni, and basalt/uniform Ni microflakes are obtained through a pretreatment and electroless deposition process. In comparison to Ni nanoparticles and basalt/scattered Ni, the basalt/Ni microflakes with largely uniform and compact Ni nanolayers on basalt, breaking the percolation limit, are favorable for enhanced electromagnetic attenuation. The Ni nanolayers are convenient for construction of a microscale conductive net and migration of an electron. The 2D heterostructures constructed by basalt substrates and decorated Ni layers boost multiple scattering absorption and promote interfacial polarization. Meanwhile, exposed Ni does not inhibit magnetic resonance, enabling strong magnetic coupling. Consequently, the basalt/Ni microflakes with uniform Ni nanolayers demonstrate better microwave absorption with a minimum reflection loss of -30 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth of 3 GHz at 1 mm. This work shows that the uniform and compact magnetic metal nanolayers are effective in improving the dielectric loss and magnetic loss simultaneously to achieve the high-performance microwave absorption.