Highlights Initial blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and D-dimer levels were associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients. Combination of BUN ≥ 4.6 mmol/L and D-dimer ≥ 0.845 μg/mL can identify patients at high risk of in-hospital mortality. Development of a nomogram model based on initial BUN and D-dimer levels. The nomogram could be a suitable and useful individualised tool to predict mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Symmetry-breaking synthesis of colloidal nanocrystals with desired structures and properties has aroused widespread interest in various fields, but the lack of robust synthetic protocols and the complex growth kinetics limit their practical applications. Herein, a general strategy is developed to synthesize the Au-Cu Janus nanocrystals (JNCs) through the site-selective growth of Cu nanodomains on Au nanocrystals, which is directed by the substantial lattice mismatch between them, with the assistance of judicious manipulation of the growth kinetics. This strategy can work on Au nanocrystals with different architectures for the achievement of diverse asymmetric Au-Cu hybrid nanostructures. Of particular note, the obtained Au nanobipyramids (Au NBPs)-based JNCs facilitate the conversion of CO 2 to C 2 hydrocarbon production during electrocatalysis, with the Faradaic efficiency and maximum partial current density being 4.1-fold and 6.4-fold higher than those of their monometallic Cu counterparts, respectively. The excellent electrocatalytic performances benefit from the special design of the Au-Cu Janus architectures and their tandem catalysis mechanism as well as the high-index facets on Au nanocrystals. This research provides a new approach to synthesize various hybrid Janus nanostructures, facilitating the study of structure-function relationship in the catalytic process and the rational design of efficient heterogeneous electrocatalysts.

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Plasmonic hot electrons have shown great potential in photocatalysis, but little is known about the hot hole-driven chemical reactions due to the lack of desired plasmonic metal/p-type semiconductor architectures. Herein, we describe a general and robust strategy for the site-selective growth of a p-type semiconductor, Cu 2 O on Au nanocrystals (NCs), to produce diverse spatially separated Au/Cu 2 O heterostructures. The preferential growth of Cu 2 O on the tips/ ends/edges of Au NCs is directed by the sparse coverage of the surfactant molecules at the high-curvature sites of Au NCs. The obtained dumbbell-shaped nanostructures serve as the ideal platforms for probing the hot-hole-mediated CO 2 reduction reaction. Benefiting from the hot-hole injection, a new reaction pathway is unlocked, and the C 2 product activity and selectivity are significantly improved. This study demonstrates the genuine superiority of the dumbbell-shaped nanostructures in photocatalysis, offering a new unique avenue to explore the underlying mechanism of hot-hole-mediated chemical reactions.