NobleBlocks

Wuhan University of Science and Technology

UniversityWuhan, China

Research output, citation impact, and the most-cited recent papers from Wuhan University of Science and Technology (China). Aggregated across the NobleBlocks index of 300M+ scholarly works.

Total works
39.2K
Citations
1.5M
h-index
249
i10-index
34.9K
Also known as
Wuhan University of Science and Technology武汉科技大学

Top-cited papers from Wuhan University of Science and Technology

Comorbidity and its impact on 1590 patients with COVID-19 in China: a nationwide analysis
Wei-Jie Guan, Wenhua Liang, Yi Zhao, Heng-rui Liang +4 more
2020· European Respiratory Journal3.8Kdoi:10.1183/13993003.00547-2020

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is evolving rapidly worldwide. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the risk of serious adverse outcomes in patients with COVID-19 by stratifying the comorbidity status. METHODS: We analysed data from 1590 laboratory confirmed hospitalised patients from 575 hospitals in 31 provinces/autonomous regions/provincial municipalities across mainland China between 11 December 2019 and 31 January 2020. We analysed the composite end-points, which consisted of admission to an intensive care unit, invasive ventilation or death. The risk of reaching the composite end-points was compared according to the presence and number of comorbidities. RESULTS: The mean age was 48.9 years and 686 (42.7%) patients were female. Severe cases accounted for 16.0% of the study population. 131 (8.2%) patients reached the composite end-points. 399 (25.1%) reported having at least one comorbidity. The most prevalent comorbidity was hypertension (16.9%), followed by diabetes (8.2%). 130 (8.2%) patients reported having two or more comorbidities. After adjusting for age and smoking status, COPD (HR (95% CI) 2.681 (1.424-5.048)), diabetes (1.59 (1.03-2.45)), hypertension (1.58 (1.07-2.32)) and malignancy (3.50 (1.60-7.64)) were risk factors of reaching the composite end-points. The hazard ratio (95% CI) was 1.79 (1.16-2.77) among patients with at least one comorbidity and 2.59 (1.61-4.17) among patients with two or more comorbidities. CONCLUSION: Among laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19, patients with any comorbidity yielded poorer clinical outcomes than those without. A greater number of comorbidities also correlated with poorer clinical outcomes.

Reduction and Functional Exhaustion of T Cells in Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Bo Diao, Chenhui Wang, Yingjun Tan, Xiewan Chen +4 more
2020· Frontiers in Immunology2.5Kdoi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.00827

BACKGROUND The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has posed great threat to human health. T cells play a critical role in antiviral immunity but their numbers and functional state in COVID-19 patients remain largely unclear. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the counts of T cells and serum cytokine concentration from data of 522 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and 40 healthy controls. In addition, the expression of T cell exhaustion markers were measured in 14 COVID-19 cases. RESULTS The number of total T cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were dramatically reduced in COVID-19 patients, especially in patients requiring Intensive Care Unit (ICU) care. Counts of total T cells, CD8+T cells or CD4+T cells lower than 800/μL, 300/μL, or 400/μL, respectively, are negatively correlated with patient survival. T cell numbers are negatively correlated to serum IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α concentration, with patients in decline period showing reduced IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α concentrations and restored T cell counts. T cells from COVID-19 patients have significantly higher levels of the exhausted marker PD-1. Increasing PD-1 and Tim-3 expression on T cells was seen as patients progressed from prodromal to overtly symptomatic stages. CONCLUSIONS T cell counts are reduced significantly in COVID-19 patients, and the surviving T cells appear functionally exhausted. Non-ICU patients, with total T cells counts lower than 800/μL may still require aggressive intervention even in the immediate absence of more severe symptoms due to a high risk for further deterioration in condition.

Clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus cases in tertiary hospitals in Hubei Province
Kui Liu, Yuan-Yuan Fang, Yan Deng, Wei Liu +4 more
2020· Chinese Medical Journal1.5Kdoi:10.1097/cm9.0000000000000744

BACKGROUND: The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) causing an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei province of China was isolated in January 2020. This study aims to investigate its epidemiologic history, and analyze the clinical characteristics, treatment regimens, and prognosis of patients infected with 2019-nCoV during this outbreak. METHODS: Clinical data from 137 2019-nCoV-infected patients admitted to the respiratory departments of nine tertiary hospitals in Hubei province from December 30, 2019 to January 24, 2020 were retrospectively collected, including general status, clinical manifestations, laboratory test results, imaging characteristics, and treatment regimens. RESULTS: None of the 137 patients (61 males, 76 females, aged 20-83 years, median age 57 years) had a definite history of exposure to Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. Major initial symptoms included fever (112/137, 81.8%), coughing (66/137, 48.2%), and muscle pain or fatigue (44/137, 32.1%), with other, less typical initial symptoms observed at low frequency, including heart palpitations, diarrhea, and headache. Nearly 80% of the patients had normal or decreased white blood cell counts, and 72.3% (99/137) had lymphocytopenia. Lung involvement was present in all cases, with most chest computed tomography scans showing lesions in multiple lung lobes, some of which were dense; ground-glass opacity co-existed with consolidation shadows or cord-like shadows. Given the lack of effective drugs, treatment focused on symptomatic and respiratory support. Immunoglobulin G was delivered to some critically ill patients according to their conditions. Systemic corticosteroid treatment did not show significant benefits. Notably, early respiratory support facilitated disease recovery and improved prognosis. The risk of death was primarily associated with age, underlying chronic diseases, and median interval from the appearance of initial symptoms to dyspnea. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients with 2019-nCoV pneumonia present with fever as the first symptom, and most of them still showed typical manifestations of viral pneumonia on chest imaging. Middle-aged and elderly patients with underlying comorbidities are susceptible to respiratory failure and may have a poorer prognosis.

Clinical characteristics of 2019 novel coronavirus infection in China
Wei‐jie Guan, Zhengyi Ni, Yu Hu, Wenhua Liang +4 more
2020· medRxiv1.5Kdoi:10.1101/2020.02.06.20020974

Abstract Background Since December 2019, acute respiratory disease (ARD) due to 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) emerged in Wuhan city and rapidly spread throughout China. We sought to delineate the clinical characteristics of these cases. Methods We extracted the data on 1,099 patients with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV ARD from 552 hospitals in 31 provinces/provincial municipalities through January 29 th , 2020. Results The median age was 47.0 years, and 41.90% were females. Only 1.18% of patients had a direct contact with wildlife, whereas 31.30% had been to Wuhan and 71.80% had contacted with people from Wuhan. Fever (87.9%) and cough (67.7%) were the most common symptoms. Diarrhea is uncommon. The median incubation period was 3.0 days (range, 0 to 24.0 days). On admission, ground-glass opacity was the typical radiological finding on chest computed tomography (50.00%). Significantly more severe cases were diagnosed by symptoms plus reverse-transcriptase polymerase-chain-reaction without abnormal radiological findings than non-severe cases (23.87% vs. 5.20%, P <0.001). Lymphopenia was observed in 82.1% of patients. 55 patients (5.00%) were admitted to intensive care unit and 15 (1.36%) succumbed. Severe pneumonia was independently associated with either the admission to intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, or death in multivariate competing-risk model (sub-distribution hazards ratio, 9.80; 95% confidence interval, 4.06 to 23.67). Conclusions The 2019-nCoV epidemic spreads rapidly by human-to-human transmission. Normal radiologic findings are present among some patients with 2019-nCoV infection. The disease severity (including oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, blood leukocyte/lymphocyte count and chest X-ray/CT manifestations) predict poor clinical outcomes.

Hydroxychloroquine in patients with mainly mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019: open label, randomised controlled trial
Wei Tang, Zhujun Cao, Mingfeng Han, Zhengyan Wang +4 more
2020· BMJ1.1Kdoi:10.1136/bmj.m1849

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine plus standard of care compared with standard of care alone in adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). DESIGN: Multicentre, open label, randomised controlled trial. SETTING: 16 government designated covid-19 treatment centres in China, 11 to 29 February 2020. PARTICIPANTS: 150 patients admitted to hospital with laboratory confirmed covid-19 were included in the intention to treat analysis (75 patients assigned to hydroxychloroquine plus standard of care, 75 to standard of care alone). INTERVENTIONS: Hydroxychloroquine administrated at a loading dose of 1200 mg daily for three days followed by a maintenance dose of 800 mg daily (total treatment duration: two or three weeks for patients with mild to moderate or severe disease, respectively). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Negative conversion of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 by 28 days, analysed according to the intention to treat principle. Adverse events were analysed in the safety population in which hydroxychloroquine recipients were participants who received at least one dose of hydroxychloroquine and hydroxychloroquine non-recipients were those managed with standard of care alone. RESULTS: Of 150 patients, 148 had mild to moderate disease and two had severe disease. The mean duration from symptom onset to randomisation was 16.6 (SD 10.5; range 3-41) days. A total of 109 (73%) patients (56 standard of care; 53 standard of care plus hydroxychloroquine) had negative conversion well before 28 days, and the remaining 41 (27%) patients (19 standard of care; 22 standard of care plus hydroxychloroquine) were censored as they did not reach negative conversion of virus. The probability of negative conversion by 28 days in the standard of care plus hydroxychloroquine group was 85.4% (95% confidence interval 73.8% to 93.8%), similar to that in the standard of care group (81.3%, 71.2% to 89.6%). The difference between groups was 4.1% (95% confidence interval -10.3% to 18.5%). In the safety population, adverse events were recorded in 7/80 (9%) hydroxychloroquine non-recipients and in 21/70 (30%) hydroxychloroquine recipients. The most common adverse event in the hydroxychloroquine recipients was diarrhoea, reported in 7/70 (10%) patients. Two hydroxychloroquine recipients reported serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of hydroxychloroquine did not result in a significantly higher probability of negative conversion than standard of care alone in patients admitted to hospital with mainly persistent mild to moderate covid-19. Adverse events were higher in hydroxychloroquine recipients than in non-recipients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR2000029868.

Metal–Organic Frameworks for Biomedical Applications
Jie Yang, Ying‐Wei Yang
2020· Small980doi:10.1002/smll.201906846

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are an interesting and useful class of coordination polymers, constructed from metal ion/cluster nodes and functional organic ligands through coordination bonds, and have attracted extensive research interest during the past decades. Due to the unique features of diverse compositions, facile synthesis, easy surface functionalization, high surface areas, adjustable porosity, and tunable biocompatibility, MOFs have been widely used in hydrogen/methane storage, catalysis, biological imaging and sensing, drug delivery, desalination, gas separation, magnetic and electronic devices, nonlinear optics, water vapor capture, etc. Notably, with the rapid development of synthetic methods and surface functionalization strategies, smart MOF-based nanocomposites with advanced bio-related properties have been designed and fabricated to meet the growing demands of MOF materials for biomedical applications. This work outlines the synthesis and functionalization and the recent advances of MOFs in biomedical fields, including cargo (drugs, nucleic acids, proteins, and dyes) delivery for cancer therapy, bioimaging, antimicrobial, biosensing, and biocatalysis. The prospects and challenges in the field of MOF-based biomedical materials are also discussed.

Scalable synthesis of ant-nest-like bulk porous silicon for high-performance lithium-ion battery anodes
Weili An, Biao Gao, Shixiong Mei, Ben Xiang +4 more
2019· Nature Communications770doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09510-5

Abstract Although silicon is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries, scalable synthesis of silicon anodes with good cyclability and low electrode swelling remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report a scalable top-down technique to produce ant-nest-like porous silicon from magnesium-silicon alloy. The ant-nest-like porous silicon comprising three-dimensional interconnected silicon nanoligaments and bicontinuous nanopores can prevent pulverization and accommodate volume expansion during cycling resulting in negligible particle-level outward expansion. The carbon-coated porous silicon anode delivers a high capacity of 1,271 mAh g −1 at 2,100 mA g −1 with 90% capacity retention after 1,000 cycles and has a low electrode swelling of 17.8% at a high areal capacity of 5.1 mAh cm −2 . The full cell with the prelithiated silicon anode and Li(Ni 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 )O 2 cathode boasts a high energy density of 502 Wh Kg −1 and 84% capacity retention after 400 cycles. This work provides insights into the rational design of alloy anodes for high-energy batteries.

Comorbidity and its impact on 1,590 patients with COVID-19 in China: A Nationwide Analysis
Wei‐jie Guan, Wenhua Liang, Yi Zhao, Hengrui Liang +4 more
2020· medRxiv650doi:10.1101/2020.02.25.20027664

Abstract Objective To evaluate the spectrum of comorbidities and its impact on the clinical outcome in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Design Retrospective case studies Setting 575 hospitals in 31 province/autonomous regions/provincial municipalities across China Participants 1,590 laboratory-confirmed hospitalized patients. Data were collected from November 21 st , 2019 to January 31 st , 2020. Main outcomes and measures Epidemiological and clinical variables (in particular, comorbidities) were extracted from medical charts. The disease severity was categorized based on the American Thoracic Society guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia. The primary endpoint was the composite endpoints, which consisted of the admission to intensive care unit (ICU), or invasive ventilation, or death. The risk of reaching to the composite endpoints was compared among patients with COVID-19 according to the presence and number of comorbidities. Results Of the 1,590 cases, the mean age was 48.9 years. 686 patients (42.7%) were females. 647 (40.7%) patients were managed inside Hubei province, and 1,334 (83.9%) patients had a contact history of Wuhan city. Severe cases accounted for 16.0% of the study population. 131 (8.2%) patients reached to the composite endpoints. 399 (25.1%) reported having at least one comorbidity. 269 (16.9%), 59 (3.7%), 30 (1.9%), 130 (8.2%), 28 (1.8%), 24 (1.5%), 21 (1.3%), 18 (1.1%) and 3 (0.2%) patients reported having hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, hepatitis B infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney diseases, malignancy and immunodeficiency, respectively. 130 (8.2%) patients reported having two or more comorbidities. Patients with two or more comorbidities had significantly escalated risks of reaching to the composite endpoint compared with those who had a single comorbidity, and even more so as compared with those without (all P <0.05). After adjusting for age and smoking status, patients with COPD (HR 2.681, 95%CI 1.424-5.048), diabetes (HR 1.59, 95%CI 1.03-2.45), hypertension (HR 1.58, 95%CI 1.07-2.32) and malignancy (HR 3.50, 95%CI 1.60-7.64) were more likely to reach to the composite endpoints than those without. As compared with patients without comorbidity, the HR (95%CI) was 1.79 (95%CI 1.16-2.77) among patients with at least one comorbidity and 2.59 (95%CI 1.61-4.17) among patients with two or more comorbidities. Conclusion Comorbidities are present in around one fourth of patients with COVID-19 in China, and predispose to poorer clinical outcomes. Highlights What is already known on this topic - Since November 2019, the rapid outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has recently become a public health emergency of international concern. There have been 79,331 laboratory-confirmed cases and 2,595 deaths globally as of February 25 th , 2020 - Previous studies have demonstrated the association between comorbidities and other severe acute respiratory diseases including SARS and MERS. - No study with a nationwide representative cohort has demonstrated the spectrum of comorbidities and the impact of comorbidities on the clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. What this study adds - In this nationwide study with 1,590 patients with COVID-19, comorbidities were identified in 399 patients. Comorbidities of COVID-19 mainly included hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, hepatitis B infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney diseases, malignancy and immunodeficiency. - The presence of as well as the number of comorbidities predicted the poor clinical outcomes (admission to intensive care unit, invasive ventilation, or death) of COVID-19. - Comorbidities should be taken into account when estimating the clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19 on hospital admission.

Platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio is associated with prognosis in patients with coronavirus disease‐19
Rong Qu, Yun Ling, Yi‐hui‐zhi Zhang, Li‐ya Wei +4 more
2020· Journal of Medical Virology608doi:10.1002/jmv.25767

Since December 2019, novel coronavirus infected pneumonia emerged in Wuhan city and rapidly spread throughout China. In severe novel coronavirus pneumonia cases, the number of platelets, their dynamic changes during the treatment, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were a concern. We sought to describe the platelet feature of these cases. Single-center case series of the 30 hospitalized patients with confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 in Huizhou municipal central hospital from January 2020 to February 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic, clinical, blood routine results, other laboratory results, and treatment data were collected and analyzed. Outcomes of severe patients and nonsevere patients were compared. Univariate analysis showed that: age, platelet peaks, and PLR at peak platelet were the influencing factors in severe patients, multivariate analysis showed that the PLR value at peak platelet during treatment was an independent influencing factor in severe patients. The average hospitalization day of patients with platelet peaks during treatment was longer than those without platelet peaks (P < .05). The average age of patients with platelet peaks during treatment was older than those without platelet peaks (P < .05). The patients with significantly elevated platelets during treatment had longer average hospitalization days. And the higher PLR of patients during treatment had longer average hospitalization days. Single-center case series of the 30 hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Huizhou Municipal Central Hospital, presumed that the number of platelets and their dynamic changes during the treatment may have a suggestion on the severity and prognosis of the disease. The patient with markedly elevated platelets and longer average hospitalization days may be related to the cytokine storm. The PLR of patients means the degree of cytokine storm, which might provide a new indicator in the monitoring in patients with COVID-19.

GSCA: an integrated platform for gene set cancer analysis at genomic, pharmacogenomic and immunogenomic levels
Chunjie Liu, Feifei Hu, Gui‐Yan Xie, Ya‐Ru Miao +3 more
2022· Briefings in Bioinformatics574doi:10.1093/bib/bbac558

Cancer initiation and progression are likely caused by the dysregulation of biological pathways. Gene set analysis (GSA) could improve the signal-to-noise ratio and identify potential biological insights on the gene set level. However, platforms exploring cancer multi-omics data using GSA methods are lacking. In this study, we upgraded our GSCALite to GSCA (gene set cancer analysis, http://bioinfo.life.hust.edu.cn/GSCA) for cancer GSA at genomic, pharmacogenomic and immunogenomic levels. In this improved GSCA, we integrated expression, mutation, drug sensitivity and clinical data from four public data sources for 33 cancer types. We introduced useful features to GSCA, including associations between immune infiltration with gene expression and genomic variations, and associations between gene set expression/mutation and clinical outcomes. GSCA has four main functional modules for cancer GSA to explore, analyze and visualize expression, genomic variations, tumor immune infiltration, drug sensitivity and their associations with clinical outcomes. We used case studies of three gene sets: (i) seven cell cycle genes, (ii) tumor suppressor genes of PI3K pathway and (iii) oncogenes of PI3K pathway to prove the advantage of GSCA over single gene analysis. We found novel associations of gene set expression and mutation with clinical outcomes in different cancer types on gene set level, while on single gene analysis level, they are not significant associations. In conclusion, GSCA is a user-friendly web server and a useful resource for conducting hypothesis tests by using GSA methods at genomic, pharmacogenomic and immunogenomic levels.

Molecular helices as electron acceptors in high-performance bulk heterojunction solar cells
Yu Zhong, M. Tuan Trinh, Rongsheng Chen, Geoffrey E. Purdum +4 more
2015· Nature Communications568doi:10.1038/ncomms9242

Despite numerous organic semiconducting materials synthesized for organic photovoltaics in the past decade, fullerenes are widely used as electron acceptors in highly efficient bulk-heterojunction solar cells. None of the non-fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells have achieved efficiencies as high as fullerene-based solar cells. Design principles for fullerene-free acceptors remain unclear in the field. Here we report examples of helical molecular semiconductors as electron acceptors that are on par with fullerene derivatives in efficient solar cells. We achieved an 8.3% power conversion efficiency in a solar cell, which is a record high for non-fullerene bulk heterojunctions. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy revealed both electron and hole transfer processes at the donor-acceptor interfaces. Atomic force microscopy reveals a mesh-like network of acceptors with pores that are tens of nanometres in diameter for efficient exciton separation and charge transport. This study describes a new motif for designing highly efficient acceptors for organic solar cells.

Weighted Guided Image Filtering
Zhengguo Li, Jinghong Zheng, Zijian Zhu, Wei Yao +1 more
2014· IEEE Transactions on Image Processing557doi:10.1109/tip.2014.2371234

It is known that local filtering-based edge preserving smoothing techniques suffer from halo artifacts. In this paper, a weighted guided image filter (WGIF) is introduced by incorporating an edge-aware weighting into an existing guided image filter (GIF) to address the problem. The WGIF inherits advantages of both global and local smoothing filters in the sense that: 1) the complexity of the WGIF is O(N) for an image with N pixels, which is same as the GIF and 2) the WGIF can avoid halo artifacts like the existing global smoothing filters. The WGIF is applied for single image detail enhancement, single image haze removal, and fusion of differently exposed images. Experimental results show that the resultant algorithms produce images with better visual quality and at the same time halo artifacts can be reduced/avoided from appearing in the final images with negligible increment on running times.

Three-Dimensional Crystalline/Amorphous Co/Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> Core/Shell Nanosheets as Efficient Electrocatalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Xiaodong Yan, Lihong Tian, Min He, Xiaobo Chen
2015· Nano Letters553doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02205

Earth-abundant, low-cost electrocatalysts with outstanding catalytic activity in the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are critical in realizing the hydrogen economy to lift our future welfare and civilization. Here we report that excellent HER activity has been achieved with three-dimensional core/shell Co/Co3O4 nanosheets composed of a metallic cobalt core and an amorphous cobalt oxide shell. A benchmark HER current density of 10 mA cm(-2) has been achieved at an overpotential of ∼90 mV in 1 M KOH. The excellent activity is enabled with the unique metal/oxide core/shell structure, which allows high electrical conductivity in the core and high catalytic activity on the shell. This finding may open a door to the design and fabrication of earth-abundant, low-cost metal oxide electrocatalysts with satisfactory hydrogen evolution reaction activities.

Comprehensive understanding of the roles of water molecules in aqueous Zn-ion batteries: from electrolytes to electrode materials
Ming Li, Zilan Li, Xuanpeng Wang, Jiashen Meng +4 more
2021· Energy & Environmental Science534doi:10.1039/d1ee00030f

This review summarizes the influences of water molecules during the energy storage process from the perspectives of the electrolyte, Zn anode, and cathode materials, including the basic theory, modification methods, and practical applications.

Cancer Cell Membrane‐Coated Upconversion Nanoprobes for Highly Specific Tumor Imaging
Lang Rao, Lin‐Lin Bu, Bo Cai, Junhua Xu +4 more
2016· Advanced Materials529doi:10.1002/adma.201506086

Cancer cell membrane-coated upconversion nanoprobes (CC-UCNPs) with immune escape and homologous targeting capabilities are used for highly specific tumor imaging. The combination of UCNPs with biomimetic cancer cell membranes embodies a novel materials design strategy and presents a compelling class of advanced materials. As a service to our authors and readers, this journal provides supporting information supplied by the authors. Such materials are peer reviewed and may be re-organized for online delivery, but are not copy-edited or typeset. Technical support issues arising from supporting information (other than missing files) should be addressed to the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

Red Blood Cell Membrane as a Biomimetic Nanocoating for Prolonged Circulation Time and Reduced Accelerated Blood Clearance
Lang Rao, Lin‐Lin Bu, Junhua Xu, Bo Cai +4 more
2015· Small505doi:10.1002/smll.201502388

For decades, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has been widely incorporated into nanoparticles for evading immune clearance and improving the systematic circulation time. However, recent studies have reported a phenomenon known as "accelerated blood clearance (ABC)" where a second dose of PEGylated nanomaterials is rapidly cleared when given several days after the first dose. Herein, we demonstrate that natural red blood cell (RBC) membrane is a superior alternative to PEG. Biomimetic RBC membrane-coated Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles (Fe(3)O(4) @RBC NPs) rely on CD47, which is a "don't eat me" marker on the RBC surface, to escape immune clearance through interactions with the signal regulatory protein-alpha (SIRP-α) receptor. Fe(3)O(4) @RBC NPs exhibit extended circulation time and show little change between the first and second doses, with no ABC suffered. In addition, the administration of Fe(3)O(4) @RBC NPs does not elicit immune responses on neither the cellular level (myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs)) nor the humoral level (immunoglobulin M and G (IgM and IgG)). Finally, the in vivo toxicity of these cell membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles is systematically investigated by blood biochemistry, hematology testing, and histology analysis. These findings are significant advancements toward solving the long-existing clinical challenges of developing biomaterials that are able to resist both immune response and rapid clearance.

2D Dual‐Metal Zeolitic‐Imidazolate‐Framework‐(ZIF)‐Derived Bifunctional Air Electrodes with Ultrahigh Electrochemical Properties for Rechargeable Zinc–Air Batteries
Tingting Wang, Zongkui Kou, Shichun Mu, Jinping Liu +4 more
2017· Advanced Functional Materials487doi:10.1002/adfm.201705048

Abstract Here first a 2D dual‐metal (Co/Zn) and leaf‐like zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF‐L)‐pyrolysis approach is reported for the low‐cost and facile preparation of Co nanoparticles encapsulated into nitrogen‐doped carbon nanotubes (Co‐N‐CNTs). Importantly, the reasonable Co/Zn molar ratio in the ZIF‐L is the key to the emergence of the encapsulated microstructure. Specifically, high‐dispersed cobalt nanoparticles are fully encapsulated in the tips of N‐CNTs, leading to the full formation of highly active Co–N–C moieties for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR and OER). As a result, the obtained Co‐N‐CNTs present superior electrocatalytic activity and stability toward ORR and OER over the commercial Pt/C and IrO 2 as well as most reported metal‐organic‐framework‐derived catalysts, respectively. Remarkably, as bifunctional air electrodes of the Zn–air battery, it also shows extraordinary charge–discharge performance. The present concept will provide a guideline for screening novel 2D metal‐organic frameworks as precursors to synthesize advanced multifunctional nanomaterials for cross‐cutting applications.

Improved ethanol electrooxidation performance by shortening Pd–Ni active site distance in Pd–Ni–P nanocatalysts
Lin Chen, Lilin Lu, Hengli Zhu, Yueguang Chen +3 more
2017· Nature Communications483doi:10.1038/ncomms14136

Abstract Incorporating oxophilic metals into noble metal-based catalysts represents an emerging strategy to improve the catalytic performance of electrocatalysts in fuel cells. However, effects of the distance between the noble metal and oxophilic metal active sites on the catalytic performance have rarely been investigated. Herein, we report on ultrasmall (∼5 nm) Pd–Ni–P ternary nanoparticles for ethanol electrooxidation. The activity is improved up to 4.95 A per mg Pd , which is 6.88 times higher than commercial Pd/C (0.72 A per mg Pd ), by shortening the distance between Pd and Ni active sites, achieved through shape transformation from Pd/Ni–P heterodimers into Pd–Ni–P nanoparticles and tuning the Ni/Pd atomic ratio to 1:1. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the improved activity and stability stems from the promoted production of free OH radicals (on Ni active sites) which facilitate the oxidative removal of carbonaceous poison and combination with CH 3 CO radicals on adjacent Pd active sites.

Vanadium‐Based Nanomaterials: A Promising Family for Emerging Metal‐Ion Batteries
Xiaoming Xu, Fangyu Xiong, Jiashen Meng, Xuanpeng Wang +3 more
2020· Advanced Functional Materials475doi:10.1002/adfm.201904398

Abstract The emerging electrochemical energy storage systems beyond Li‐ion batteries, including Na/K/Mg/Ca/Zn/Al‐ion batteries, attract extensive interest as the development of Li‐ion batteries is seriously hindered by the scarce lithium resources. During the past years, large amounts of studies have focused on the investigation of various electrode materials toward emerging metal‐ion batteries to realize high energy density, high power density, and a long cycle life. In particular, vanadium‐based nanomaterials have received great attention. Vanadium‐based compounds have a big family with different structures, chemical compositions, and electrochemical properties, which provide huge possibilities for the development of emerging electrochemical energy storage. In this review, a comprehensive overview of the recent progresses of promising vanadium‐based nanomaterials for emerging metal‐ion batteries is presented. The vanadium‐based materials are classified into four groups: vanadium oxides, vanadates, vanadium phosphates, and oxygen‐free vanadium‐based compounds. The structures, electrochemical properties, and modification strategies are discussed. The structure–performance relationships and charge storage mechanisms are focused on. Finally, the perspectives about future directions of vanadium‐based nanomaterials for emerging energy storage devices are proposed. This review will provide comprehensive knowledge of vanadium‐based nanomaterials and shed light on their potential applications in emerging energy storage.

Freestanding Mesoporous VN/CNT Hybrid Electrodes for Flexible All‐Solid‐State Supercapacitors
Xu Xiao, Xiang Peng, Huanyu Jin, Tianqi Li +4 more
2013· Advanced Materials459doi:10.1002/adma.201301465

High-performance all-solid-state supercapacitors (SCs) are fabricated based on thin, lightweight, and flexible freestanding MVNN/CNT hybrid electrodes. The device shows a high volume capacitance of 7.9 F/cm3, volume energy and power density of 0.54 mWh/cm3 and 0.4 W/cm3 at a current density of 0.025 A/cm3. By being highly flexible, environmentally friendly, and easily connectable in series and parallel, the all-solid-state SCs promise potential applications in portable/wearable electronics. As a service to our authors and readers, this journal provides supporting information supplied by the authors. Such materials are peer reviewed and may be re-organized for online delivery, but are not copy-edited or typeset. Technical support issues arising from supporting information (other than missing files) should be addressed to the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.