Long COVID: Association of Functional Autoantibodies against G-Protein-Coupled Receptors with an Impaired Retinal Microcirculation

Long COVID (LC) describes the clinical phenotype of symptoms after infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Diagnostic and therapeutic options are limited, as the pathomechanism of LC is elusive. As the number of acute SARS-CoV-2 infections was and is large, LC will be a challenge for the healthcare system. Previous studies revealed an impaired blood flow, the formation of microclots, and autoimmune mechanisms as potential factors in this complex interplay. Since functionally active autoantibodies against G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR-AAbs) were observed in patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection, this study aimed to correlate the appearance of GPCR-AAbs with capillary microcirculation. The seropositivity of GPCR-AAbs was measured by an established cardiomyocyte bioassay in 42 patients with LC and 6 controls. Retinal microcirculation was measured by OCT–angiography and quantified as macula and peripapillary vessel density (VD) by the Erlangen-Angio Tool. A statistical analysis yielded impaired VD in patients with LC compared to the controls, which was accentuated in female persons. A significant decrease in macula and peripapillary VD for AAbs targeting adrenergic β2-receptor, MAS-receptor angiotensin-II-type-1 receptor, and adrenergic α1-receptor were observed. The present study might suggest that a seropositivity of GPCR-AAbs can be linked to an impaired retinal capillary microcirculation, potentially mirroring the systemic microcirculation with consecutive clinical symptoms.     

Magnetotransport phenomena in single AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wires grown on laterally patterned substrates

Single, sub-micrometer wide quantum wires have been fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy on mesa-etched GaAs substrates, where the GaAs wire is embedded in AlGaAs. By using a Hall bar pattern, potential probes were directly attached to the wires while grown. To avoid problems associated with anisotropic etching and regrowth, the wire structures were oriented along the 100 crystallographic directions. From this fabrication technique, described in detail by Shitara et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 66, 2385 (1995), one can expect the formation of high quality “self-aligned” quantum wires with a confinement potential determined by the conduction band discontinuity of AlGaAs and GaAs. Here we study the four-point magnetoresistance of 50 μm long single quantum wires with widths between 250 and 700 nm from 1.3 to 21 K. A distinct weak localization peak and universal conductance fluctuations dominate the low magnetic field regime and are used to estimate the phase-coherence length of the electrons. Pronounced 1/B periodic quantum oscillations at magnetic fields above 1 T are consistent with the picture of wires with a square-well shaped confining potential.     

Metal–Ligand Based Mechanophores Enhance Both Mechanical Robustness and Electronic Performance of Polymer Semiconductors

The backbone of diketopyrrolopyrrole-thiophene-vinylene-thiophene-based polymer semiconductors (PSCs) is modified with pyridine (Py) or bipyridine ligands to complex Fe(II) metal centers, allowing the metal–ligand complexes to act as mechanophores and dynamically crosslink the polymer chains. Mono- and bi-dentate ligands are observed to exhibit different degrees of bond strengths, which subsequently affect the mechanical properties of these Wolf-type-II metallopolymers. The counter ion also plays a crucial role, as it is observed that Py-Fe mechanophores with non-coordinating BPh₄^– counter ions (Py-FeB) exhibit better thin film ductility with lower elastic modulus, as compared to the coordinating chloro ligands (Py-FeC). Interestingly, besides mechanical robustness, the electrical charge carrier mobility can also be enhanced concurrently when incorporating Py-FeB mechanophores in PSCs. This is a unique observation among stretchable PSCs, especially that most reports to date describe a decreased mobility when the stretchability is improved. Next, it is determined that improvements to both mobility and stretchability are correlated to the solid-state molecular ordering and dynamics of coordination bonds under strain, as elucidated via techniques of grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy techniques, respectively. This study provides a viable approach to enhance both the mechanical and the electronic performance of polymer-based soft devices.     

Thermal Stress Assessment for Transient Liquid-Phase Bonded Si Chips in High-Power Modules Using Experimental and Numerical Methods

The potential of transient liquid-phase (TLP) bonding for chip packaging applications has been evaluated, focusing on three interlayer arrangements (Ag-Sn-Ag, Ni-Sn-Ni, and Ag-Sn-Ni). Shear tests on TLP-bonded components provided the interlayer-dependent mechanical strength as well as failure mode and position. Critical local stresses, i.e., failure criteria, within the intermetallic compound (IMC) layer were derived by replicating the shear test conditions with finite-element methods. The missing coefficient of thermal expansion for Ag₃Sn IMC was obtained by producing small IMC bulk samples and subjecting them to dilatometric measurements. The experimental results were implemented into a finite-element model of a representative power module architecture to provide first predictions on thermally induced residual stresses that could be classified into fail/safe, as successfully validated by TLP chip bonding experiments. A numerical parameter study then assessed thermal stresses, including failure prediction and design optimization for TLP-bonded Si chips, considering the influence of process temperature, service conditions, TLP interlayer system, and metallization layers within the TLP joint. The presented procedure serves as a guideline to choose an appropriate TLP interlayer system for predefined boundary conditions, or vice versa.     

Insights into the In Vitro Formation of Apatite from Mg-Stabilized Amorphous Calcium Carbonate

A protein-free formation of bone-like apatite from amorphous precursors through ball-milling is reported. Mg²⁺ ions are crucial to achieve full amorphization of CaCO₃. Mg²⁺ incorporation generates defects which strongly retard a recrystallization of ball-milled Mg-doped amorphous calcium carbonate (BM-aMCC), which promotes the growth of osteoblastic and endothelial cells in simulated body fluid and has no effect on endothelial cell gene expression. Ex situ snapshots of the processes revealed the reaction mechanisms. For low Mg contents (<30%) a two phase system consisting of Mg-doped amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) and calcite “impurities” was formed. For high (>40%) Mg²⁺ contents, BM-aMCC follows a different crystallization path via magnesian calcite and monohydrocalcite to aragonite. While pure ACC crystallizes rapidly to calcite in aqueous media, Mg-doped ACC forms in the presence of phosphate ions bone-like hydroxycarbonate apatite (dahllite), a carbonate apatite with carbonate substitution in both type A (OH⁻) and type B (PO₄³⁻) sites, which grows on calcite “impurities” via heterogeneous nucleation. This process produces an endotoxin-free material and makes BM-aMCC an excellent “ion storage buffer” that promotes cell growth by stimulating cell viability and metabolism with promising applications in the treatment of bone defects and bone degenerative diseases.