Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) has led to an unprecedented setback for global economy and health. Vaccination is ...one of the most effective interventions to substantially reduce severe disease and death due to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Vaccination programmes are being rolled out globally, but most of these vaccines have been approved without extensive studies on their side‐effects and efficacy. Recently, new‐onset autoimmune phenomena after COVID‐19 vaccination have been reported increasingly (e.g. immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, autoimmune liver diseases, Guillain–Barré syndrome, IgA nephropathy, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus). Molecular mimicry, the production of particular autoantibodies and the role of certain vaccine adjuvants seem to be substantial contributors to autoimmune phenomena. However, whether the association between COVID‐19 vaccine and autoimmune manifestations is coincidental or causal remains to be elucidated. Here, we summarize the emerging evidence about autoimmune manifestations occurring in response to certain COVID‐19 vaccines. Although information pertaining to the risk of autoimmune disease as a consequence of vaccination is controversial, we merely propose our current understanding of autoimmune manifestations associated with COVID‐19 vaccine. In fact, we do not aim to disavow the overwhelming benefits of mass COVID‐19 vaccination in preventing COVID‐19 morbidity and mortality. These reports could help guide clinical assessment and management of autoimmune manifestations after COVID‐19 vaccination.
As vaccination programmes are being rolled out globally, new‐onset autoimmune phenomena are emerging after COVID‐19 vaccination (e.g. immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, autoimmune liver diseases, Guillain–Barré syndrome, IgA nephropathy, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus).
Due to the capricious nature of renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar, large-scale energy storage devices are increasingly required to make the best use of the renewable power. The redox ...flow battery is considered suitable for large-scale applications due to its modular design, good scalability and flexible operation. The biggest challenge of the redox flow battery is the low energy density. The redox active species is the most important component in redox flow batteries, and the redox potential and solubility of redox species dictate the system energy density. This review is focused on the recent development of redox species. Different categories of redox species, including simple inorganic ions, metal complexes, metal-free organic compounds, polysulfide/sulfur and lithium storage active materials, are reviewed. The future development of redox species towards higher energy density is also suggested.
Abstract
The rapid development of additive manufacturing has fueled a revolution in various research fields and industrial applications. Among the myriad of advanced 3D printing techniques, ...two‐photon polymerization lithography (TPL) uniquely offers a significant advantage in nanoscale print resolution, and has been widely employed in diverse fields, for example, life sciences, materials sciences, mechanics, and microfluidics. More recently, by virtue of the optical transparency of most of the resins used, TPL is finding new applications in optics and photonics, with nanometer to millimeter feature dimensions. It enables the minimization of optical elements and systems, and exploration of light‐matter interactions with new degrees of freedom, never possible before. To review the recent progress in the TPL related optical research, it starts with the fundamentals of TPL and material formulation, then discusses novel fabrication methods, and a wide range of optical applications. These applications notably include diffractive, topological, quantum, and color optics. With a panoramic view of the development, it is concluded with insights and perspectives of the future development of TPL and related potential optical applications.
Biomimetic assembly of high-quality nanosheets into nacre-like structures can produce macroscopic films with favorable mechanical and optical performances due to the intrinsic properties and high ...level of ordering of the nanoscale building blocks. Natural ground mica is abundant and exhibits great application potential. However, large size and low aspect ratio greatly limit its biomimetic assembly. Moreover, exfoliation of ground mica into high-quality nanosheets remains a significant challenge. Here, we report that large-scale exfoliation of ground mica into mono- or few-layered mica nanosheets with a production rate of ~1.0 g h
can be successfully achieved. The mica nanosheets are then assembled into strong biomimetic polymeric mica film that inherits the high electric insulation, excellent visible transmittance, and unique ultraviolet-shielding properties of natural mica. Its overall performance is superior to that of natural sheet mica and other biomimetic films, making the polymeric mica film a suitable substrate for flexible and transparent devices.
Rechargeable Zn ion battery is a promising alternative for the current portable and mobile energy storage technologies because of its good safety, low cost, and material abundance. Poor deposition ...reversibility with dendrite formation of Zn metal anode in aqueous electrolytes, which brings the risk of short-circuit and capacity loss (dead Zn), is one of the critical issues that plague its practical applications. To improve the performances of Zn ion batteries, a crystalline single-ion Zn2+ solid-state electrolyte (SSE) is designed based on a post-synthetic modified metal–organic framework. The SSE possesses many advantages such as high ionic conductivity of 2.1 × 10−4 S cm−1 at 30 °C, minor activation energy of 0.12 eV, high Zn2+ transference number of 0.93, along with the good mechanical and electrochemical stability. Due to the restricted and guided Zn deposition through the nanowetted Zn/SSE interface at which Zn(H2O)62+ ions are confined, excellent compatibility between Zn metal anode and the SSE is revealed, which is confirmed firmly by the stable Zn plating/stripping performance, giving rise to a homogeneous, compact, and smooth Zn deposition layer. The good properties of the SSE are further verified in VS2/Zn batteries, which deliver a reversible capacity of 125 mAh g−1 over 250 cycles at 0.2 A g−1 and a reasonable rate capability with ~40% capacity retention (vs. 0.1 A g−1) at 2 A g−1.
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•Single-ion Zn2+ solid electrolyte based on a post-synthetic modified MOF.•Dendrite-free Zn anode benefited from the guided and restricted Zn deposition.•Good battery performance as demonstrated in Zn/VS2 solid batteries.
The observational association between gut microbiome and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been well documented. However, whether the association is causal remains unclear. The present study ...used publicly available genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data to perform two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR), aiming to examine the causal links between gut microbiome and SLE. Two sets of MR analyses were conducted. A group of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that less than the genome-wide statistical significance threshold (5 × 10
-8
) served as instrumental variables. To obtain a comprehensive conclusion, the other group where SNPs were smaller than the locus-wide significance level (1 × 10
-5
) were selected as instrumental variables. Based on the locus-wide significance level, the results indicated that there were causal effects of gut microbiome components on SLE risk. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method suggested that
Bacilli
and
Lactobacillales
were positively correlated with the risk of SLE and
Bacillales
,
Coprobacter
and
Lachnospira
were negatively correlated with SLE risk. The results of weighted median method supported that
Bacilli
,
Lactobacillales
, and
Eggerthella
were risk factors for SLE and
Bacillales
and
Coprobacter
served as protective factors for SLE. The estimates of MR Egger suggested that genetically predicted
Ruminiclostridium6
was negatively associated with SLE. Based on the genome-wide statistical significance threshold, the results showed that
Actinobacteria
might reduce the SLE risk. However, Mendelian randomization pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR-PRESSO) detected significant horizontal pleiotropy between the instrumental variables of
Ruminiclostridium6
and outcome. This study support that there are beneficial or detrimental causal effects of gut microbiome components on SLE risk.
To evaluate the reliability and validity of Chinese version of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III (ACE-III-CV) in the identification of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and further investigate ...the optimal cutoff scores according to different age and education level.
A total of 716 individuals aged from 50 to 90 years old were recruited through internet-based and print advertisements, including 431 cognitively normal controls (NC) and 285 individuals with MCI according to an actuarial neuropsychological method put forward by Jak and Bondi. Besides the cognitive screening tests of ACE-III-CV, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Chinese version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Basic (MoCA-BC), all the participants underwent a battery of standardized neuropsychological tests. Validations of the ACE-III-CV, MMSE, and MoCA-BC for detecting MCI from NC were determined by Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.
ACE-III-CV had a good reliability (Cronbach's coefficient α = 0.807, intraclass correlation coefficients for interrater and test-retest reliability were 0.95 and 0.93). According to the area under ROC curve (AUC), ACE-III-CV and MoCA-BC showed better ability than MMSE in detecting MCI. No significant difference was found between ACE-III-CV and MoCA-BC. The optimal cutoff scores of ACE-III-CV for screening MCI were 72 for individuals with 1-9 years of education, 78 for individuals with 10-15 years of education, and 80 for individuals with more than 16 years of education.
The Chinese version of ACE-III-CV is a reliable and valid screening tool for detecting MCI. The optimal cutoff scores are closely related with education level.
Solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) is the key component that enables all advanced electrochemical devices, the best representative of which is Li-ion battery (LIB). It kinetically stabilizes ...electrolytes at potentials far beyond their thermodynamic stability limits, so that cell reactions could proceed reversibly. Its ad hoc chemistry and formation mechanism has been a topic under intensive investigation since the first commercialization of LIB 25 years ago. Traditionally SEI can only be formed in nonaqueous electrolytes. However, recent efforts successfully transplanted this concept into aqueous media, leading to significant expansion in the electrochemical stability window of aqueous electrolytes from 1.23 V to beyond 4.0 V. This not only made it possible to construct a series of high voltage/energy density aqueous LIBs with unprecedented safety, but also brought high flexibility and even “open configurations” that have been hitherto unavailable for any LIB chemistries. While this new class of aqueous electrolytes has been successfully demonstrated to support diversified battery chemistries, the chemistry and formation mechanism of the key component, an aqueous SEI, has remained virtually unknown. In this work, combining various spectroscopic, electrochemical and computational techniques, we rigorously examined this new interphase, and comprehensively characterized its chemical composition, microstructure and stability in battery environment. A dynamic picture obtained reveals how a dense and protective interphase forms on anode surface under competitive decompositions of salt anion, dissolved ambient gases and water molecule. By establishing basic laws governing the successful formation of an aqueous SEI, the in-depth understanding presented in this work will assist the efforts in tailor-designing better interphases that enable more energetic chemistries operating farther away from equilibria in aqueous media.
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