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The quest for interesting properties and phenomena in liquid crystals toward their employment in nondisplay application is an intense and vibrant endeavor. Remarkable progress has recently been achieved with regard to liquid crystals in curved confined geometries, typically represented as enclosed spherical geometries and cylindrical geometries with an infinitely extended axial-symmetrical space. Liquid-crystal emulsion droplets and fibers are intriguing examples from these fields and have attracted considerable attention. It is especially noteworthy that the rapid development of microfluidics brings about new capabilities to generate complex soft microstructures composed of both thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals. This review attempts to outline the recent developments related to the liquid crystals in curved confined geometries by focusing on microfluidics-mediated approaches. We highlight a wealth of novel photonic applications and beyond and also offer perspectives on the challenges, opportunities, and new directions for future development in this emerging research area.

Background: The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought large challenges to dementia patients. We reviewed the existing literature on COVID-19 to assess the incidence and mortality of dementia comorbidities in COVID-19 patients. Objective: To investigate the impact of pre-existing dementia comorbidities on COVID-19. Methods: We searched the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for patients with preexisting dementia who were diagnosed with COVID-19. The statistical data on the prevalence and mortality of dementia comorbidities were examined. A fixed-or random-effect model was used to calculate the overall pooled risk estimates. Forest plots were generated to show the summarized results. Results: A total of 265 articles were retrieved from the three databases. After removing duplicates and performing two screenings, 10 articles were selected for meta-analysis, including 119,218 participants. Overall, the meta-analysis of the 10 studies showed that the incidence of dementia in COVID-19 patients was (R: 9%, [95% CI: 6% to 13%]). Moreover, the meta-analysis of 9 studies showed that the mortality rate of individuals with dementia after being infected with COVID-19 was higher than that of individuals with no dementia (OR: 5.17 [95% CI: 2.31 to 11.59]). Substantial heterogeneity was observed in this meta-analysis. Significant publication bias was also found. Conclusion: Emerging literature shows that dementia comorbidities are a high risk factor for the prevalence and mortality of COVID-19. Our results should have an impact on preventive interventions and encourage more targeted approaches to prioritize older people with specific risk factors, such as dementia.

Soybean protein powders obtained by aqueous buffer and reverse micelle extractions were examined and characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These analysis methods provided detailed information about elemental distributions, surface structure, and secondary and microstructures of the protein, respectively. XPS data revealed that the O and N atomic percentages of soybean protein surfaces obtained with bis(2-ethylhexyl) sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT)/hexane reverse micelles were higher than those obtained with aqueous buffer, whereas the percentage of atomic C was lower. The ratios of nitrogen to carbon (N/C) on the surface of soybean protein obtained through the two extraction methods were similar. The O/C ratio for soybean protein obtained from AOT reverse micelles was large. The obtained results indicated that the reverse micelles could affect the C, O, and N components on the surface of soybean proteins. Moreover, XRD and SEM results also showed the influence of AOT reverse micelles, which lead to more β-sheet and pore structures.

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