Analysis of the specificity and kinetics of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for understanding immune protection and identifying targets for vaccine design. In a cohort of 647 SARS-CoV-2-infected subjects we found that both the magnitude of Ab responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleoprotein and nAb titers correlate with clinical scores. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) is immunodominant and the target of 90% of the neutralizing activity present in SARS-CoV-2 immune sera. Whereas overall RBD-specific serum IgG titers waned with a half-life of 49 days, nAb titers and avidity increased over time for some individuals, consistent with affinity maturation. We structurally defined an RBD antigenic map and serologically quantified serum Abs specific for distinct RBD epitopes leading to the identification of two major receptor-binding motif antigenic sites. Our results explain the immunodominance of the receptor-binding motif and will guide the design of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.

Recently, there has been great interest in flexible and wearable energy devices for applications in flexible and stretchable electronics. Even though future developments are moving toward thinner, lighter, and cheaper solutions, [1,2] many existing energy-harvesting and storage devices are still too bulky and heavy for intended applications. For example, high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) employ fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass as the substrate of working electrode. However, the use of rigid FTO glass has restricted adaptability of DSSCs during transportation, installation, and application, [2] requiring further development of flexible cells to improve DSSC adaptability. To develop flexible and wearable electronics, not only new materials for the substrates used in energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors need to be explored, but future development of higher performance energy systems still depends on the employment of new and lighter electrode materials.In recent years, electrochemical supercapacitors have attracted much attention as novel energy-storage devices because of their high power density, long life cycles, and high efficiency. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Supercapacitors can deliver higher power than batteries and store more energy than conventional capacitors. [13,14] Current research on supercapacitors has focused on their applications in electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and backup energy sources. Thus, conventional supercapacitors are heavy and bulky, and it is still a challenge to achieve high efficiency miniaturized energy-storage devices that are compatible with the flexible/wearable electronics. [15] Herein, we present a prototype of a high-efficiency fiberbased electrochemical microsupercapacitor using ZnO nanowires (NWs) as electrodes. These fiber supercapacitors, which have great potential for scale-up, comprise two electrodes that employ a flexible plastic wire and a Kevlar fiber as a substrate. Both wire and fiber are covered with arrays of highquality ZnO NWs grown by the hydrothermal method, and ZnO NWs on a Kevlar fiber was coated with a thin gold film to improve the charge-collection capacity. Furthermore, employment of ZnO NWs could provide exciting solutions to the future development of wearable energy devices. Our fiber-based microsupercapacitor would be large enough to be used in self-powering nanosystems, such as a power shirt using piezoelectric ZnO NWs grown radially around textile fibers.Even though conventional research efforts on bulky supercapacitors have focused on the use of carbon-based materials, such as activated carbons, and some transition metal oxides, such as RuO 2 and ZnO, could have several advantages over the conventional electrode materials of supercapacitors for the wearable electronics. First, it can be grown at low temperatures (less than 100 8C) by a chemical approach on any substrate and any shape substrate. Second, it is biocompatible and environmentally friendly material. Furthermore, ZnO NWs [16][17...

A hybrid-fiber nanogenerator comprising a ZnO nanowire array, PVDF polymer and two electrodes is presented. Depending on the bending or spreading action of the human arm, at an angle of ∼90°, the hybrid fiber reaches electrical outputs of ∼0.1 V and ∼10 nA cm(-2) . The unique structure of the hybrid fiber may inspire future research in wearable energy-harvesting technology.

Gut microbiome has been identified in the past decade as an important factor involved in obesity, but the magnitude of its contribution to obesity and its related comorbidities is still uncertain. Among the vast quantity of factors attributed to obesity, environmental, dietary, lifestyle, genetic, and others, the microbiome has aroused curiosity, and the scientific community has published many original articles. Most of the studies related to microbiome and obesity have been reported based on the associations between microbiota and obesity, and the in-depth study of the mechanisms related has been studied mainly in rodents and exceptionally in humans. Due to the quantity and diverse information published, the need of reviews is mandatory to recapitulate the relevant achievements. In this systematic review, we provide an overview of the current evidence on the association between intestinal microbiota and obesity. Additionally, we analyze the effects of an extreme weight loss intervention such as bariatric surgery on gut microbiota. The review is divided into 2 sections: first, the association of obesity and related metabolic disorders with different gut microbiome profiles, including metagenomics studies, and second, changes on gut microbiome after an extreme weight loss intervention such as bariatric surgery.

Conjugated polymers, such as polyfluorene and poly(phenylene vinylene), have been used to selectively disperse semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (sc-sWnTs), but these polymers have limited applications in transistors and solar cells. Regioregular poly(3-alkylthiophene)s (rr-P3ATs) are the most widely used materials for organic electronics and have been observed to wrap around sWnTs. However, no sorting of sc-sWnTs has been achieved before. Here we report the application of rr-P3ATs to sort sc-sWnTs. Through rational selection of polymers, solvent and temperature, we achieved highly selective dispersion of sc-sWnTs. our approach enables direct film preparation after a simple centrifugation step. using the sorted sc-sWnTs, we fabricate high-performance sWnT network transistors with observed charge-carrier mobility as high as 12 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 and on/off ratio of > 10 6 . our method offers a facile and a scalable route for separating sc-sWnTs and fabrication of electronic devices.

Redox-inactive metal ions play pivotal roles in regulating the reactivities of high-valent metal-oxo species in a variety of enzymatic and chemical reactions. A mononuclear non-heme Mn(IV)-oxo complex bearing a pentadentate N5 ligand has been synthesized and used in the synthesis of a Mn(IV)-oxo complex binding scandium ions. The Mn(IV)-oxo complexes were characterized with various spectroscopic methods. The reactivities of the Mn(IV)-oxo complex are markedly influenced by binding of Sc(3+) ions in oxidation reactions, such as a ~2200-fold increase in the rate of oxidation of thioanisole (i.e., oxygen atom transfer) but a ~180-fold decrease in the rate of C-H bond activation of 1,4-cyclohexadiene (i.e., hydrogen atom transfer). The present results provide the first example of a non-heme Mn(IV)-oxo complex binding redox-inactive metal ions that shows a contrasting effect of the redox-inactive metal ions on the reactivities of metal-oxo species in the oxygen atom transfer and hydrogen atom transfer reactions.

Piezomaterials are known to display enhanced energy conversion efficiency at nanoscale due to geometrical effect and improved mechanical properties. Although piezoelectric nanowires have been the most widely and dominantly researched structure for this application, there only exist a limited number of piezomaterials that can be easily manufactured into nanowires, thus, developing effective and reliable means of preparing nanostructures from a wide variety of piezomaterials is essential for the advancement of self-powered nanotechnology. In this study, we present nanoporous arrays of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), fabricated by a lithography-free, template-assisted preparation method, as an effective alternative to nanowires for robust piezoelectric nanogenerators. We further demonstrate that our porous PVDF nanogenerators produce the rectified power density of 0.17 mW/cm3 with the piezoelectric potential and the piezoelectric current enhanced to be 5.2 times and 6 times those from bulk PVDF film nanogenerators under the same sonic-input.

Metabolic syndrome is defined as a cluster of glucose intolerance, hypertension, dyslipidemia and central obesity with insulin resistance as the source of pathogenesis. Although several different combinations of criteria have been used to define metabolic syndrome, a recently published consensus recommends the use of ethnic-specific criteria, including waist circumference as an indicator of central obesity, triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol as indicators of dyslipidemia, and blood pressure greater than 130/85 mmHg. The definition of dysglycemia, and whether central obesity and insulin resistance are essential components remain controversial. Regardless of the definition, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is increasing in Western and Asian countries, particularly in developing areas undergoing rapid socioenvironmental changes. Numerous clinical trials have shown that metabolic syndrome is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes mellitus and all-cause mortality. Therefore, metabolic syndrome might be useful as a practical tool to predict these two major metabolic disorders. Comprehensive management of risk factors is very important to the improvement of personal and public health. However, recent studies have focused on the role metabolic syndrome plays as a risk factor for CVD; its importance in the prediction of incident diabetes is frequently overlooked. In the present review, we summarize the known evidence supporting metabolic syndrome as a predictor for type 2 diabetes mellitus and CVD. Additionally, we suggest how metabolic syndrome might be useful in clinical practice, especially for the prediction of diabetes. (J Diabetes Invest,