Neutrophils serve as a vanguard of the acute innate immune response to invading pathogens. Neutrophils are also abundant at sites of autoimmune inflammation, such as the rheumatoid joint, although their pathophysiologic role is incompletely defined and relevant effector functions remain obscure. Using genetic and pharmacologic approaches in the K/BxN serum transfer model of arthritis, we find that autoantibody-driven erosive synovitis is critically reliant on the generation of leukotrienes, and more specifically on leukotriene B4 (LTB4), for disease induction as well as perpetuation. Pursuing the cellular source for this mediator, we find via reconstitution experiments that mast cells are a dispensable source of leukotrienes, whereas arthritis susceptibility can be restored to leukotriene-deficient mice by intravenous administration of wild-type neutrophils. These experiments demonstrate a nonredundant role for LTB4 in inflammatory arthritis and define a neutrophil mediator involved in orchestrating the synovial eruption.

Inflammation is an adaptive response of the immune system to noxious insults to maintain homeostasis and restore functionality. The retina is considered an immune-privileged tissue as a result of its unique anatomic and physiologic properties. During aging, the retina suffers from a low-grade chronic oxidative insult, which sustains for decades and increases in level with advancing age. As a result, the retinal innate-immune system, particularly microglia and the complement system, undergoes low levels of activation (parainflammation). In many cases, this parainflammatory response can maintain homeostasis in the healthy aging eye. However, in patients with age-related macular degeneration, this parainflammatory response becomes dysregulated and contributes to macular damage. Factors contributing to the dysregulation of age-related retinal parainflammation include genetic predisposition, environmental risk factors, and old age. Dysregulated parainflammation (chronic inflammation) in age-related macular degeneration damages the blood retina barrier, resulting in the breach of retinal-immune privilege, leading to the development of retinal lesions. This review discusses the basic principles of retinal innate-immune responses to endogenous chronic insults in normal aging and in age-related macular degeneration and explores the difference between beneficial parainflammation and the detrimental chronic inflammation in the context of age-related macular degeneration.

The application of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) is still inherently limited by the unstable lithium (Li)/electrolyte interface, despite the advantages of security, flexibility, and workability of SPEs. Herein, the Li/electrolyte interface is modified by introducing Li2S additive to harvest stable all‐solid‐state lithium metal batteries (LMBs). Cryo‐transmission electron microscopy (cryo‐TEM) results demonstrate a mosaic interface between poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) electrolytes and Li metal anodes, in which abundant crystalline grains of Li, Li2O, LiOH, and Li2CO3 are randomly distributed. Besides, cryo‐TEM visualization, combined with molecular dynamics simulations, reveals that the introduction of Li2S accelerates the decomposition of N(CF3SO2)2− and consequently promotes the formation of abundant LiF nanocrystals in the Li/PEO interface. The generated LiF is further verified to inhibit the breakage of CO bonds in the polymer chains and prevents the continuous interface reaction between Li and PEO. Therefore, the all‐solid‐state LMBs with the LiF‐enriched interface exhibit improved cycling capability and stability in a cell configuration with an ultralong lifespan over 1800 h. This work is believed to open up a new avenue for rational design of high‐performance all‐solid‐state LMBs.

The design and synthesis of hollow/yolk-shell mesoporous structures with catalytically active ordered mesoporous shells can infuse new vitality into the applications of these attractive structures. In this study, we report that hollow/yolk-shell structures with catalytically active ordered mesoporous aluminosilica shells can be easily prepared by using silica spheres as the silica precursors. By simply treating with a hot alkaline solution in the presence of sodium aluminate (NaAlO(2)) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), solid silica spheres can be directly converted into high-quality hollow mesoporous aluminosilica spheres with perpendicular pore channels. On the basis of the proposed formation mechanism of etching followed by co-assembly, the synthesis strategy developed in this work can be extended as a general strategy to prepare ordered mesoporous yolk-shell structures with diverse compositions and morphologies simply by replacing solid silica spheres with silica-coated nanocomposites. The reduction of 4-nitrophenol with yolk-shell structured Au@ordered mesoporous aluminosilica as the catalyst has clearly demonstrated that the highly permeable perpendicular pore channels of mesoporous aluminosilica can effectively prevent the catalytically active yolk from aggregating. Furthermore, with accessible acidity, the yolk-shell structured ordered mesoporous aluminosilica spheres containing Pd yolk exhibit high catalytic activity and recyclability in a one-pot two-step synthesis involving an acid catalysis and subsequent catalytic hydrogenation for desired benzimidazole derivative, which makes the proposed hollow ordered aluminosilica spheres a versatile and practicable scaffold for advanced catalytic nanoreactor systems.

Unique porous ZnO polygonal nanoflakes were synthesized by the microwave hydrothermal method. The structural properties of the products were investigated by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution TEM techniques. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy technique was employed to investigate the mechanism of NO2 sensing. Free nitrate ions, nitrate ions, and nitrite anions were the main adsorbed species. N2O was formed via NO– and N2O2 – that were stemmed from NO. Comparative tests for gas sensing between gas sensors based on the as-prepared porous ZnO nanoflakes and purchased ZnO nanoparticles clearly showed that the former exhibited more excellent NO2 sensing performances. Photoluminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra further proved that the intensities of donors (oxygen vacancy (VO) and/or zinc interstitial (Zni)) and surface oxygen species (O2 – and O2), which were involved in the mechanism of gas sensing led to the different gas-sensing properties.

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Air-stable atomically thick copper nanosheets are prepared and used for selective electrochemical reduction of CO2 into CO.