Crystal polymorphism selectively stabilizes the electronic phase of atomically thin transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) as metallic or semiconducting, suggesting the potential to integrate these polymorphs as circuit components in two-dimensional electronic circuitry. Developing a selective and sequential growth strategy for such two-dimensional polymorphs in the vapour phase is a critical step in this endeavour. Here, we report on the polymorphic integration of distinct metallic (1T') and semiconducting (2H) MoTe crystals within the same atomic planes by heteroepitaxy. The realized polymorphic coplanar contact is atomically coherent, and its barrier potential is spatially tight-confined over a length of only a few nanometres, with a lowest contact barrier height of ∼25 meV. We also demonstrate the generality of our synthetic integration approach for other TMDC polymorph films with large areas.

Recently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with multifunctional pore chemistry have been intensively investigated for positioning the desired morphology at specific locations onto substrates for manufacturing devices. Herein, we develop a micro-confined interfacial synthesis (MIS) approach for fabrication of a variety of free-standing MOF superstructures with desired shapes. This approach for engineering MOFs provides three key features: 1) in situ synthesis of various free-standing MOF superstructures with controlled compositions, shape, and thickness using a mold membrane; 2) adding magnetic functionality into MOF superstructures by loading with Fe3 O4 nanoparticles; 3) transferring the synthesized MOF superstructural array on to flat or curved surface of various substrates. The MIS route with versatile potential opens the door for a number of new perspectives in various applications.

There has been significant progress in the self-assembly of biological materials, but the one-step covalent peptide self-assembly for well-defined nanostructures is still in its infancy. Inspired by the biological functions of tyrosine, a covalently assembled fluorescent peptide nanogel is developed by a ruthenium-mediated, one-step photo-crosslinking of tyrosine-rich short peptides under the visible light within 6 minutes. The covalently assembled peptide nanogel is stable in various organic solvents and different pH levels, unlike those made from vulnerable non-covalent assemblies. The semipermeable peptide nanogel with a high density of redox-active tyrosine acts as a novel nano-bioreactor, allowing the formation of uniform metal-peptide hybrids by selective biomineralization under UV irradiation. As such, this peptide nanogel could be useful in the design of novel nanohybrids and peptidosomes possessing functional nanomaterials.

Equine parvovirus‐hepatitis (EqPV‐H) and equine hepacivirus (EqHV) are etiologically associated with Theiler's disease (TD), causing fulminant equine hepatitis, but the transmission route and co‐infection effect remain unclear. We determined EqPV‐H and EqHV prevalence and coinfection rate in 160 serum and 114 faecal samples using nested polymerase chain reaction. Amino acid and nucleotide analyses were performed and phylogenetic trees were constructed. By measuring liver‐specific parameters (AST, GGT, TBIL and A/G ratio), hepatopathological changes in viremia status were compared. We found a high prevalence (EqPV‐H: 10.6% in serum, 5.3% in faeces; EqHV: 8.1% in serum) and coinfection rate (35.3% in EqPV‐H) of TD‐causing agents. The newly identified EqPV‐H genomes showed high nucleotide and amino acid similarities with previously reported strains in the USA, China and Austria. In phylogenetic tree and recombination analysis, a natural recombination event was confirmed between Chinese and Korean strains. In the EqPV‐H or EqHV viremic horses, AST was significantly elevated and at least two liver‐specific parameters were outside the reference intervals in 43.5% (10/23) of horses. To our knowledge, this is the first prevalence field study of EqPV‐H and EqHV using both serum and faeces, providing further evidence of faecal‐oral transmission of TD. These epidemiologic and clinicopathologic analyses specify the risk factors of TD infection and promote disease prevention strategy.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). More than 143 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported to date, with the global death rate at 2.13%. Currently, there are no licensed therapeutics for controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection. The antiviral effects of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), a cytoprotective enzyme that inhibits the inflammatory response and reduces oxidative stress, have been investigated in several viral infections. To confirm whether HO-1 suppresses SARS-CoV-2 infection, we assessed the antiviral activity of hemin, an effective and safe HO-1 inducer, in SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found that treatment with hemin efficiently suppressed SARS-CoV-2 replication (selectivity index: 249.7012). Besides, the transient expression of HO-1 using an expression vector also suppressed the growth of the virus in cells. Free iron and biliverdin, which are metabolic byproducts of heme catalysis by HO-1, also suppressed the viral infection. Additionally, hemin indirectly increased the expression of interferon-stimulated proteins known to restrict SARS-CoV-2 replication. Overall, the findings suggested that HO-1, induced by hemin, effectively suppressed SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Therefore, HO-1 could be potential therapeutic candidate for COVID-19.