We carried out metagenomic shotgun sequencing and a metagenome-wide association study (MGWAS) of fecal, dental and salivary samples from a cohort of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy controls. Concordance was observed between the gut and oral microbiomes, suggesting overlap in the abundance and function of species at different body sites. Dysbiosis was detected in the gut and oral microbiomes of RA patients, but it was partially resolved after RA treatment. Alterations in the gut, dental or saliva microbiome distinguished individuals with RA from healthy controls, were correlated with clinical measures and could be used to stratify individuals on the basis of their response to therapy. In particular, Haemophilus spp. were depleted in individuals with RA at all three sites and negatively correlated with levels of serum autoantibodies, whereas Lactobacillus salivarius was over-represented in individuals with RA at all three sites and was present in increased amounts in cases of very active RA. Functionally, the redox environment, transport and metabolism of iron, sulfur, zinc and arginine were altered in the microbiota of individuals with RA. Molecular mimicry of human antigens related to RA was also detectable. Our results establish specific alterations in the gut and oral microbiomes in individuals with RA and suggest potential ways of using microbiome composition for prognosis and diagnosis.

The search for new zeolites is of continuous interest in the field of zeolite science because of their widespread application in catalysis and adsorption-separation. To this end, considerable efforts have been devoted to the preparation of new zeolites with novel porous architectures and compositions. Taking account of the key factors governing the formation of zeolites (e.g., guest species, framework elements, construction processes, etc.), several synthetic strategies have been developed recently. These allow the discovery of many new zeolites with unprecedented structural features, such as hierarchical pores, odd-ring numbers (11-, 15-rings), extra-large pores (16-, 18-, 20-, 28-, and 30-rings), chiral pores, and extremely complex framework topologies, etc. In this review, we will present the advances in the synthesis of new zeolite structures in the last decade, which are achieved by utilization of the synthetic strategies based on pre-designed structure-directing agents, heteroatom substitution, and topotactic transformations.

A facile “dots-in-zeolites” strategy is developed to synthesize a new class of CD-based TADF materials with ultralong lifetimes.