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Metastable compounds have greatly expanded the synthesizable compositions of solid-state materials and have attracted enormous amounts of attention in recent years. Especially, mechanochemically enabled metastable materials synthesis has been very successful in realizing cation-disordered materials with highly simple crystal structures, such as rock salts. Application of the same strategy for other structural types, especially for non-close-packed structures, is peculiarly underexplored. Niobium tungsten oxides (NbWOs), a class of materials that have been under the spotlight because of their diverse structural varieties and promising electrochemical and thermoelectric properties, are ideally suited to fill such a knowledge gap. In this work, we develop a new series of metastable NbWOs and realize one with a fully cation-disordered structure. Furthermore, we find that metastable NbWOs transform to a cation-disordered cubic structure when applied as a Li-ion battery anode, highlighting an intriguing non-close-packed-close-packed conversion process, as evidenced in various physicochemical characterizations, in terms of diffraction, electronic, and vibrational structures. Finally, by comparing the cation-disordered NbWO with other trending cation-disordered oxides, we raise a few key structural features for cation disorder and suggest a few possible research opportunities for this field.

Background: Adult Polyglucosan Body Disease (APBD) is an ultra-rare, genetic neurodegenerative disorder caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the glycogen branching enzyme gene. Knowledge of the demographic and clinical characteristics of APBD patients and the natural history of the disease is lacking. We report here initial results from a patient-reported registry of APBD patients., Objectives: (1) Maximize the quality of the APBD Registry survey data; (2) provide an initial report on APBD disease progression and natural history using these data; and (3) specify next steps in the process for testing potential new therapies., Design: Data are from members of the APBD Research Foundation (New York), surveyed from 2014 by the Columbia APBD Patient/Family (CAP) Registry. Inclusion criteria are: disease onset at age 18+ and progressive clinical triad of peripheral neuropathy, spasticity, and neurogenic bladder., Methods: Genetic testing results were used when available. Respondents found to not have APBD in clinical records were excluded. All changes and exclusions were recorded in a database edit log. Results are reported in frequency tables, bar graphs, time plots, and heat maps., Results: The 96 respondents meeting inclusion criteria were predominantly (96.8%) White, highly educated (89.3% at least some college education), and mostly (85.1%) of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. 57.1% had at least one parent born in the United States, with at least one grandparent from Europe (excluding Russia; 75.4%), the United States (42.1%), or Russia (33.3%). 37.2% reported a family history of APBD, and 33.3% had an affected sibling. Median APBD onset age was 51 [Interquartile range (IQR) 11], and median age of diagnosis 57 (IQR 10.5). The 75 reported prior misdiagnoses were mainly peripheral neuropathy (43, 60.6%) and spinal stenosis (11, 15.1%)., Conclusion: Although from a demographically constricted survey, the results provide basic clinical information for future studies to develop treatments for APBD., Competing Interests: There are no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2024.)