Avian Influenza A Viruses among Occupationally Exposed Populations, China, 2014-2016.

To determine the seroprevalence and seroconversion of avian influenza virus (AIV) antibodies in poultry workers, we conducted a seroepidemiologic study in 7 areas of China during December 2014-April 2016. We used viral isolation and reverse transcription PCR to detect AIVs in specimens from live poultry markets. We analyzed 2,124 serum samples obtained from 1,407 poultry workers by using hemagglutination inhibition and microneutralization assays.

Fat Intake and Hypertension Among Adults in China: The Modifying Effects of Fruit and Vegetable Intake.

Introduction: Evidence on the combined effect of fruit and vegetable intake and total fat intake on hypertension is scarce. This study aimed to explore the relationship among fruit and vegetable intake, fat intake, and hypertension risk among Chinese adults.

Methods: Individuals who participated in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (2004, 2006, 2009, and 2011) and were free of hypertension at baseline (n=4,368) were categorized into quartiles (Q1, lowest; Q4, highest) according to their dietary fruit and vegetable intake and fat intake.

Patterns of human social contact and contact with animals in Shanghai, China.

East Asia is as a principal hotspot for emerging zoonotic infections. Understanding the likely pathways for their emergence and spread requires knowledge on human-human and human-animal contacts, but such studies are rare. We used self-completed and interviewer-completed contact diaries to quantify patterns of these contacts for 965 individuals in 2017/2018 in a high-income densely-populated area of China, Shanghai City.

Fruit and vegetable intake in relation to depressive and anxiety symptoms among adolescents in 25 low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) has been inversely associated with the risk of depression. However, there is a gap in evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and among adolescents. Further, little is known about FVI in relation to the risk of anxiety.

Broad- and narrow-sense validity performance of three polygenic risk score methods for prostate cancer risk assessment.

Background: Several polygenic risk score (PRS) methods are available for measuring the cumulative effect of multiple risk-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Their performance in predicting risk at the individual level has not been well studied.

Methods: We compared the performance of three PRS methods for prostate cancer risk assessment in a clinical trial cohort, including genetic risk score (GRS), pruning and thresholding (P + T), and linkage disequilibrium prediction (LDpred).

Synergism of Interface and Electronic Effects: Bifunctional N-Doped Ni S /N-Doped MoS Hetero-Nanowires for Efficient Electrocatalytic Overall Water Splitting.

The realization of water electrolysis on the basis of highly active, cost-effective electrocatalysts is significant yet challenging for achieving sustainable hydrogen production from water. Herein, N-doped Ni S /N-doped MoS 1D hetero-nanowires supported by Ni foam (N-Ni S /N-MoS /NF) are readily synthesized through a chemical transformation strategy by using NiMoO nanowire array growth on Ni foam (NiMoO /NF) as the starting material. With the in situ generation of Ni S /MoS heterointerfaces within nanowires and the incorporation of N anions, an extraordinary hydrophilic nature with abundant, well-exposed active sites and optimal reaction dynamics for both oxidation and reduction of water are obtained.

Facile dual tuning of PtPdP nanoparticles by metal-nonmetal co-incorporation and dendritic engineering for enhanced formic acid oxidation electrocatalysis.

Tuning the compositions and morphologies of catalysts is very important for the design of efficient formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR) electrocatalysts. Herein, unique PtPdP dendritic nanoparticles (PtPdP DNs) with uniform size and open-pore structure are fabricated by a facile method, in which the Pd and P elements are simultaneously incorporated into Pt DNs. The prepared PtPdP DNs show enhanced catalytic activity and stability for FAOR.

Influenza-associated excess respiratory mortality in China, 2010-15: a population-based study.

Background: The estimation of influenza-associated excess mortality in countries can help to improve estimates of the global mortality burden attributable to influenza virus infections. We did a study to estimate the influenza-associated excess respiratory mortality in mainland China for the 2010-11 through 2014-15 seasons.

Methods: We obtained provincial weekly influenza surveillance data and population mortality data for 161 disease surveillance points in 31 provinces in mainland China from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for the years 2005-15.

Enhanced Oxygen Reduction and Methanol Oxidation Electrocatalysis over Bifunctional PtPdIr Mesoporous Hollow Nanospheres.

Designing and constructing nano-architectures with abundant reactive atoms exposed on the surface and widely open pore interiors is an effective strategy for highly efficient utilization of Pt-based catalysts. Herein, we report a facile method to synthesize tri-metallic PtPdIr mesoporous hollow nanospheres (PtPdIr MHNSs) by selective chemical removal of sacrificial metallic cores from pre-constructed Pd@PtIr mesoporous nanospheres (Pd@PtIr MNSs). The unique nano-architectures, with mesoporous shells interconnected into the interior hollow cavities and the synergistic electronic effect from tri-metallic PtPdIr composition, enable the as-synthesized PtPdIr MHNSs to be efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for catalyzing both methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).

A Mesoporous Nanorattle-Structured Pd@PtRu Electrocatalyst.

Pt-based nanomaterials play important roles in the catalytic process toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Rationally regulating the composition and morphology of the catalysts could enhance the catalytic performance effectively. In this work, an effective method is presented to synthesize Pd@ mesoporous PtRu nanorattles (Pd@mPtRu NRs) containing a Pd core and a mesoporous PtRu shell.

Interface engineering of NiP nanoparticles and a mesoporous PtRu film heterostructure on Ni foam for enhanced hydrogen evolution.

Engineering of multicomponent heterostructures can yield exceptional functionalities and enhance electrocatalytic activities by a synergistic effect. Herein, NiP nanoparticle-decorated mesoporous PtRu film on Ni foam (NiP-mPtRu/NF) has been synthesized via a facile two-step strategy. NiP-mPtRu/NF possesses a well-developed continuous mesoporous structure and strong electronic interaction between NiP and PtRu, exhibiting an enhanced electrocatalytic performance towards an alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).

Effectiveness of EV-A71 vaccination in prevention of paediatric hand, foot, and mouth disease associated with EV-A71 virus infection requiring hospitalisation in Henan, China, 2017-18: a test-negative case-control study.

Background: Inactivated monovalent enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) vaccines are now available in China to reduce the substantial public health burden of hand, foot, and mouth disease. However, post-licensure monitoring of vaccine effectiveness is important. We did an observational test-negative study of EV-A71 vaccine effectiveness.

Hollow PtPd Nanorods with Mesoporous Shells as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for the Methanol-Oxidation Reaction.

Tailoring the morphology and composition of platinum-based electrocatalysts is of significant importance for the development of highly efficient direct methanol fuel cells. Herein, we report a dual-templating method for the design of hollow PtPd nanorods with mesoporous shells (mPtPd HNRs). We found that F127 micelles favored the formation of mesoporous structures and that SiO nanorods served as a hard template for the creation of cavities.

Correction: Clinical features of 2041 human brucellosis cases in China.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Stop-gain mutations in UBAP1 cause pure autosomal-dominant spastic paraplegia.

Hereditary spastic paraplegias refer to a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders resulting from degeneration of the corticospinal tract. Clinical characterization of patients with hereditary spastic paraplegias represents progressive spasticity, exaggerated reflexes and muscular weakness. Here, to expand on the increasingly broad pools of previously unknown hereditary spastic paraplegia causative genes and subtypes, we performed whole exome sequencing for six affected and two unaffected individuals from two unrelated Chinese families with an autosomal dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia and lacking mutations in known hereditary spastic paraplegia implicated genes.

Concept and benchmarks for assessing narrow-sense validity of genetic risk score values.

Background: While higher genetic risk score (GRS) has been statistically associated with increased disease risk (broad-sense validity), the concept and tools for assessing the validity of reported GRS values from tests (narrow-sense validity) are underdeveloped.

Methods: We propose two benchmarks for assessing the narrow-sense validity of GRS. The baseline benchmark requires that the mean GRS value in a general population approximates 1.

High-intensity focused ultrasound inhibits invasion and metastasis of colon cancer cells by enhancing microRNA-124-mediated suppression of STAT3.

Metastasis is the primary contributor to colorectal cancer mortality. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is an emerging technology for tumor therapy that exerts its effects through tumor ablation, mechanical disruption, and enhancement of immune responses. However, it remains unclear whether HIFU can influence tumor metastasis.

Systematic evaluation of cancer-specific genetic risk score for 11 types of cancer in The Cancer Genome Atlas and Electronic Medical Records and Genomics cohorts.

Background: Genetic risk score (GRS) is an odds ratio (OR)-weighted and population-standardized method for measuring cumulative effect of multiple risk-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We hypothesize that GRS is a valid tool for risk assessment of most common cancers.

Methods: Utilizing genotype and phenotype data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE), we tested 11 cancer-specific GRSs (bladder, breast, colorectal, glioma, lung, melanoma, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, renal, and thyroid cancer) for association with the respective cancer type.

Publisher Correction: Past and future spread of the arbovirus vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

This Article was mistakenly not made Open Access when originally published; this has now been amended, and information about the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License has been added into the 'Additional information' section.

Publisher Correction: Past and future spread of the arbovirus vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

In the version of this Article originally published, the affiliation for author Catherine Linard was incorrectly stated as 'Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK'. The correct affiliation is 'Spatial Epidemiology Lab (SpELL), Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium'. The affiliation for author Hongjie Yu was also incorrectly stated as 'Department of Statistics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA'.

Inter-annual variation in seasonal dengue epidemics driven by multiple interacting factors in Guangzhou, China.

Vector-borne diseases display wide inter-annual variation in seasonal epidemic size due to their complex dependence on temporally variable environmental conditions and other factors. In 2014, Guangzhou, China experienced its worst dengue epidemic on record, with incidence exceeding the historical average by two orders of magnitude. To disentangle contributions from multiple factors to inter-annual variation in epidemic size, we fitted a semi-mechanistic model to time series data from 2005-2015 and performed a series of factorial simulation experiments in which seasonal epidemics were simulated under all combinations of year-specific patterns of four time-varying factors: imported cases, mosquito density, temperature, and residual variation in local conditions not explicitly represented in the model.

The impact of a health education intervention on health behaviors and mental health among Chinese college students.

This study aimed to assess the impact of a health education intervention on health behaviors, self-efficacy, and well-being among college students. Between March and October 2016, a total of 532 undergraduates participated. A theory-based intervention was conducted at Wuhan University, China.

Past and future spread of the arbovirus vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

The global population at risk from mosquito-borne diseases-including dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika-is expanding in concert with changes in the distribution of two key vectors: Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The distribution of these species is largely driven by both human movement and the presence of suitable climate. Using statistical mapping techniques, we show that human movement patterns explain the spread of both species in Europe and the United States following their introduction.

Electrochemical Fabrication of Porous Au Film on Ni Foam for Nitrogen Reduction to Ammonia.

Electrochemical reduction of N to NH provides an alternative strategy to replace the industrial Haber-Bosch process for facile and sustainable production of NH . The development of efficient electrocatalysts for the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is highly desired. Herein, a micelle-assisted electrodeposition method is presented for the direct fabrication of porous Au film on Ni foam (pAu/NF).