Correlation of HBV Core-Related Antigen with Conventional Serologic Indicators of Hepatitis B and Disease Stage.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious global public health issue. Currently, serological indicators serve as important markers for the diagnosis of hepatitis B. It has been found that HBV core-related antigen (HBcrAg) correlates well with intrahepatic cccDNA, intrahepatic HBV DNA, serum HBV DNA, and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg). To provide a more reliable basis for the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B, we explored the correlation between HBcrAg and conventional serologic testing indicators and disease staging. METHODS: Five hundred forty-two patient serum samples were collected at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from November 2021 to March 2022. The serum HBcrAg was measured by the magnetic particle chemiluminescence method in addition with other serum indicators. RESULTS: HBcrAg statistically correlated with HBV DNA level (r = 0.655, p < 0.001) and HBeAg level (r = 0.945, p < 0.001. The mean HBcrAg levels in the immune-tolerant and immune-clearance phases were significantly higher than those in the immunologic-control phase and the reactivation phase. This study demonstrated that serum HBcrAg positively correlated with serum HBV DNA and HBeAg. Even in cases where HBV DNA and HBeAg are negative, there is still a higher positivity rate of HBcrAg in hepatitis B patients. CONCLUSIONS: HBcrAg is a reliable serum marker to avoid underdiagnosis of occult HBV infection.

Shell Modulation of Hollow Metal Sulfide Nanocomposite for Stable Potassium Storage at Room and High Temperature.

The large size of K-ion makes the pursuit of stable high-capacity anodes for K-ion batteries (KIBs) a formidable challenge, particularly for high temperature KIBs as the electrode instability becomes more aggravated with temperature climbing. Herein, we demonstrate that a hollow ZnS@C nanocomposite (h-ZnS@C) with a precise shell modulation can resist electrode disintegration to enable stable high-capacity potassium storage at room and high temperature. Based on a model electrode, we identify an interesting structure-function correlation of the h-ZnS@C: with an increase in the shell thickness, the cyclability increases while the rate and capacity decrease, shedding light on the design of high-performance h-ZnS@C anodes via engineering the shell thickness. Typically, the h-ZnS@C anode with a shell thickness of 60 nm can deliver an impressive comprehensive performance at room temperature; the h-ZnS@C with shell thickness increasing to 75 nm can achieve an extraordinary stability (88.6 % capacity retention over 450 cycles) with a high capacity (450 mAh g-1) and a superb rate even at an extreme temperature of 60 °C, which is much superior than those reported anodes. This contribution envisions new perspectives on rational design of functional metal sulfides composite toward high-performance KIBs with insights into the significant structure-function correlation.

Conductive Metal-Organic Framework with Superior Redox Activity as a Stable High-Capacity Anode for High-Temperature K-Ion Batteries.

High-temperature rechargeable batteries are essential for energy storage in elevated-temperature situations. Due to the resource abundance of potassium, high-temperature K-ion batteries are drawing increasing research interest. However, raising the working temperature would aggravate the chemical and mechanical instability of the KIB anode, resulting in very fast capacity fading, especially when high capacity is pursued. Here, we demonstrated that a porous conductive metal-organic framework (MOF), which is constructed by N-rich aromatic molecules and CuO4 units via π-d conjugation, could provide multiple accessible redox-active sites and promised robust structure stability for efficient potassium storage at high temperatures. Even working at 60 °C, this MOF anode could deliver high initial capacity (455 mAh g-1), impressive rate, and extraordinary cyclability (96.7% capacity retention for 1600 cycles), which is much better than those of reported high-temperature KIB anodes. The mechanistic study revealed that C═N groups and CuO4 units contributed abundant redox-active sites; the synergistic effect of π-d conjugated character and reticular porous architecture facilitated the K+/e- transport and ensured an insoluble electrode with small volume deformation, thus achieving stable high-capacity potassium storage.