Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with life-threatening COVID-19

Interindividual clinical variability in the course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is vast. We report that at least 101 of 987 patients with life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia had neutralizing immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies (auto-Abs) against interferon-w (IFN-w) (13 patients), against the 13 types of IFN-a (36), or against both (52) at the onset of critical disease; a few also had auto-Abs against the other three type I IFNs. The auto-Abs neutralize the ability of the corresponding type I IFNs to block SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. These auto-Abs were not found in 663 individuals with asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection and were present in only 4 of 1227 healthy individuals. Patients with auto-Abs were aged 25 to 87 years and 95 of the 101 were men. A B cell autoimmune phenocopy of inborn errors of type I IFN immunity accounts for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia in at least 2.6% of women and 12.5% of men

Energie: Over ongemakkelijke waarheden en gouden kansen

Applied Science

Thermodynamic analysis of direct internal reforming of methane and butane in proton and oxygen conducting fuel cells

We present results of a thermodynamic analysis of direct internal reforming fuel cells, based on either a proton conducting fuel cell (FC-H+) or an oxygen ion conducting fuel cell (FC-O2-). We analyze the option of methane as fuel as well as butane. The model self-consistently combines all chemical equilibria in both the anode and cathode compartments with the proton or oxygen transfer rates through the membrane without predefining fuel utilization. The highest efficiency for generating electricity is obtained in a FC-H+ at a steam-to-carbon (SCR) ratio of around 2.5. In this case, the efficiency is 88% at 600 degrees C and 1 bar and increases when the temperature is decreased, or pressure increased. For an FC-O2- the highest efficiency is obtained when no steam is added, and is always several %-points lower than for the FC-H+. Important is that at the optimum SCR, coke formation is thermodynamically predicted not to occur in a FC-H*, irrespective of the rate of proton transfer through the membrane, down to operating temperatures of 500 degrees C, both for methane and for butane as fuel. Likewise, in an FC-O2- coke formation is thermodynamically not predicted to occur at the optimum oxygen ion transport rate (that is required for the highest efficiency). However, when the oxygen ion transport rate decreases, both for methane and for butane as fuel, we at some point enter the coke-forming regime. Thus, for direct internal reforming of methane or butane, we argue on thermodynamic grounds that a proton conducting fuel cell can be advantageous over an oxygen ion conducting fuel cell with respect to fuel cell efficiency and risk of coke formation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

CO chemisorption on cobalt clusters: choosing clusters for theoretical analysis of surface/adsorbate interactions

Local density calculations of CO bound to various cobalt clusters are described with the aim of determining the chemistry of the cluster as accurately as possible, and subsequently translating this into the chemistry of the metal surface. Highlighted is the importance of using an invariant cluster to compare binding site characteristics. Variations in the binding energy of CO to the clusters can be most readily ascribed to variations in cluster size and shape. Differences in energy are due primarily to the "cluster chemistry," i.e., different responses of the cluster electrons to the adsorbate, rather than differences in the cluster-adsorbate interaction as such. An important factor is the coordination sphere of the cluster atoms; at least one should have a bulklike coordination, others must have a lower coordination to simulate the surface. Thus it is important to construct a single cluster to study adsorbate-adsorbent interactions, in which the cluster atom coordination spheres are taken into account