Effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain COVID-19 in China.

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic1. The strategies based on non-pharmaceutical interventions that were used to contain the outbreak in China appear to be effective2, but quantitative research is still needed to assess the efficacy of non-pharmaceutical interventions and their timings3. Here, using epidemiological data on COVID-19 and anonymized data on human movement4,5, we develop a modelling framework that uses daily travel networks to simulate different outbreak and intervention scenarios across China. We estimate that there were a total of 114,325 cases of COVID-19 (interquartile range 76,776-164,576) in mainland China as of 29 February 2020. Without non-pharmaceutical interventions, we predict that the number of cases would have been 67-fold higher (interquartile range 44-94-fold) by 29 February 2020, and we find that the effectiveness of different interventions varied. We estimate that early detection and isolation of cases prevented more infections than did travel restrictions and contact reductions, but that a combination of non-pharmaceutical interventions achieved the strongest and most rapid effect. According to our model, the lifting of travel restrictions from 17 February 2020 does not lead to an increase in cases across China if social distancing interventions can be maintained, even at a limited level of an on average 25% reduction in contact between individuals that continues until late April. These findings improve our understanding of the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19, and will inform response efforts across the world.

Bayesian phylodynamics reveals the transmission dynamics of avian influenza A(H7N9) virus at the human-live bird market interface in China.

In 2013 to 2017, avian influenza A(H7N9) virus has caused five severe epidemic waves of human infections in China. The role of live bird markets (LBMs) in the transmission dynamics of H7N9 remains unclear. Using a Bayesian phylodynamic approach, we shed light on past H7N9 transmission events at the human-LBM interface that were not directly observed using case surveillance data-based approaches. Our results reveal concurrent circulation of H7N9 lineages in Yangtze and Pearl River Delta regions, with evidence of local transmission during each wave. Our results indicate that H7N9 circulated in humans and LBMs for weeks to months before being first detected. Our findings support the seasonality of H7N9 transmission and suggest a high number of underreported infections, particularly in LBMs. We provide evidence for differences in virus transmissibility between low and highly pathogenic H7N9. We demonstrate a regional spatial structure for the spread of H7N9 among LBMs, highlighting the importance of further investigating the role of local live poultry trade in virus transmission. Our results provide estimates of avian influenza virus (AIV) transmission at the LBM level, providing a unique opportunity to better prepare surveillance plans at LBMs for response to future AIV epidemics.

Heterogeneous changes in mobility in response to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 outbreak in Shanghai.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the measures taken by authorities to control its spread have altered human behavior and mobility patterns in an unprecedented way. However, it remains unclear whether the population response to a COVID-19 outbreak varies within a city or among demographic groups. Here, we utilized passively recorded cellular signaling data at a spatial resolution of 1 km × 1 km for over 5 million users and epidemiological surveillance data collected during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron BA.2 outbreak from February to June 2022 in Shanghai, China, to investigate the heterogeneous response of different segments of the population at the within-city level and examine its relationship with the actual risk of infection. Changes in behavior were spatially heterogenous within the city and population groups and associated with both the infection incidence and adopted interventions. We also found that males and individuals aged 30 to 59 y old traveled more frequently, traveled longer distances, and their communities were more connected; the same groups were also associated with the highest SARS-CoV-2 incidence. Our results highlight the heterogeneous behavioral change of the Shanghai population to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 outbreak and the effect of heterogenous behavior on the spread of COVID-19, both spatially and demographically. These findings could be instrumental for the design of targeted interventions for the control and mitigation of future outbreaks of COVID-19, and, more broadly, of respiratory pathogens.

Antibody signatures in hospitalized hand, foot and mouth disease patients with acute enterovirus A71 infection.

Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) infection is a major cause of severe hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in young children. The characteristics of EV-A71 neutralizing antibodies in HFMD patients are not well understood. In this study, we identified and cloned EV-A71-neutralizing antibodies by single cell RNA and B cell receptor sequencing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. From 145 plasmablasts, we identified two IgG1 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and six IgM mAbs that neutralized EV-A71. Four of the IgM mAbs harbor germline variable sequences and neutralize EV-A71 potently. Two genetically similar IgM antibodies from two patients have recurrent heavy chain variable domain gene usage and similar complementarity-determining region 3 sequences. We mapped the residues of EV-A71 critical for neutralization through selection of virus variants resistant to antibody neutralization in the presence of neutralizing mAbs. The residues critical for neutralization are conserved among EV-A71 genotypes. Epitopes for the two genetically similar antibodies overlap with the SCARB2 binding site of EV-A71. We used escape variants to measure the epitope-specific antibody response in acute phase serum samples from EV-A71 infected HFMD patients. We found that these epitopes are immunogenic and contributed to the neutralizing antibody response against the virus. Our findings advance understanding of antibody response to EV-A71 infection in young children and have translational potential: the IgM mAbs could potentially be used for prevention or treatment of EV-A71 infections.

Lattice Strain and Charge Redistribution of Pt Cluster/Ir Metallene Heterostructure for Ethylene Glycol to Glycolic Acid Conversion Coupled with Hydrogen Production.

Upgrading overall water splitting (OWS) system and developing high-performance electrocatalysts is an attractive way to the improve efficiency and reduce the consumption of hydrogen (H2 ) production from electrolyzed water. Here, a Pt cluster/Ir metallene heterojunction structure (Pt/Ir hetero-metallene) with a unique Pt/Ir interface is reported for the conversion of ethylene glycol (EG) to glycolic acid (GA) coupled with H2 production. With the assistance of ethylene glycol oxidation (EGOR), the Pt/Ir||Pt/Ir hetero-metallene two-electrode water electrolysis system exhibits a lower cell voltage of 0.36 V at 10 mA cm-2 . Furthermore, the Faradaic efficiency of EG to GA is as high as 87%. The excellent performance of this new heterostructure arise from the charge redistribution and strain effects induced by Pt-Ir interactions between the heterogeneous interfaces, as well as the larger specific surface area and more active sites due to the metallene structure.

Interstitial Boron-Modulated Porous Pd Nanotubes for Ammonia Electrosynthesis.

Electrochemical conversion of nitrogen into ammonia at ambient conditions as a sustainable approach has gained significant attention, but it is still extremely challenging to simultaneously obtain a high faradaic efficiency (FE) and NH3 yield. In this work, the interstitial boron-doped porous Pd nanotubes (B-Pd PNTs) are constructed by combining the self-template reduction method with boron doping. Benefiting from distinctive one-dimensional porous nanotube architectonics and the incorporation of the interstitial B atoms, the resulting B-Pd PNTs exhibit high NH3 yield (18.36 µg h-1 mgcat.-1) and FE (21.95%) in neutral conditions, outperforming the Pd/PdO PNTs (10.4 µg h-1 mgcat.-1 and 8.47%). The present study provides an attractive method to enhance the efficiency of the electroreduction of nitrogen into ammonia by incorporating interstitial boron into porous Pd-based catalysts.

Amorphous/crystalline RhFeP metallene for hydrazine-assisted water splitting.

Replacing the slow oxygen evolution reaction with favorable hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) is a green and efficient way to produce hydrogen. In this work, we synthesize amorphous/crystalline RhFeP metallene via phase engineering and heteroatom doping. RhFeP metallene has good catalytic activity and stability for HER and HzOR, and only an ultralow voltage of 18 mV is required to achieve 10 mA cm-2in a two-electrode hydrazine-assisted water splitting system. The superior result is mainly ascribed to the co-doping of Fe and P and the formation of amorphous/crystalline RhFeP metallene with abundant phase boundaries, thereby adjusting electronic structure and increasing active sites.

Boron-intercalation-triggered crystalline transition of Pd nanosheet assemblies for an enhanced oxygen reduction reaction.

The development of effective and stable cathode electrocatalysts is highly desired for fuel cells. Controlling the composition and morphology of Pd-based materials can provide a great opportunity to improve their oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance. Here, we report the synthesis of hexagonal close-packed (hcp) Pd2B nanosheet assemblies (Pd2B NAs) via the boronation reaction between as-synthesized Pd NAs and N,N-dimethylformamide. The hcp Pd2B NAs with uniform pore distribution can provide sufficient active sites for ORRs. The insertion of B atoms can induce the phase transition from face-centered cubic structure to hcp structure, as the most thermodynamically stable phase in the Pd-B alloy, which is beneficial for enhancing the ORR stability and toxicity resistance. Therefore, the hcp Pd2B NAs exhibit superior mass activity, specific activity and excellent stability for ORR. The present strategy of boron-intercalation-triggered crystalline transition of Pd-based nanomaterials is valuable for the design of metal-nonmetal catalysts with enhanced performance.

Comparison of Neutralizing Antibody Response Kinetics in Patients with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Caused by Coxsackievirus A16 or Enterovirus A71: A Longitudinal Cohort Study of Chinese Children, 2017-2019.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), which is mainly caused by coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16) or enterovirus A71 (EV-A71), poses a serious threat to children's health. However, the long-term dynamics of the neutralizing Ab (NAb) response and ideal paired-serum sampling time for serological diagnosis of CVA16-infected HFMD patients were unclear. In this study, 336 CVA16 and 253 EV-A71 PCR-positive HFMD inpatients were enrolled and provided 452 and 495 sera, respectively, for NAb detection. Random-intercept modeling with B-spline was conducted to characterize NAb response kinetics. The NAb titer of CVA16 infection patients was estimated to increase from negative (2.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4-3.3) on the day of onset to a peak of 304.8 (95% CI: 233.4-398.3) on day 21 and then remained >64 until 26 mo after onset. However, the NAb response level of EV-A71-infected HFMD patients was much higher than that of CVA16-infected HFMD patients throughout. The geometric mean titer was significantly higher in severe EV-A71-infected patients than in mild patients, with a 2.0-fold (95% CI: 1.4-3.2) increase. When a 4-fold rise in titer was used as the criterion for serological diagnosis of CVA16 and EV-A71 infection, acute-phase serum needs to be collected at 0-5 d, and the corresponding convalescent serum should be respectively collected at 17.4 (95% CI: 9.6-27.4) and 24.4 d (95% CI: 15.3-38.3) after onset, respectively. In conclusion, both CVA16 and EV-A71 infection induce a persistent humoral immune response but have different NAb response levels and paired-serum sampling times for serological diagnosis. Clinical severity can affect the anti-EV-A71 NAb response.

The transition of eldercare responsibility and traditional filial piety concepts and its urban-rural differences in China: an age-period-cohort analysis from 2006 to 2017.

BACKGROUND: With rapid urbanization, massive migration, and non-family-based eldercare involvement, Chinese concepts of eldercare responsibility and filial piety are shifting. We performed age-period-cohort (APC) analyses to assess the transition of old-age pension coverage, eldercare responsibility, and filial piety concepts and its urban-rural differences among Chinese adults using data from the China General Social Survey (2006-2017). METHODS: Old-age pension coverage (yes/no) and primary eldercare responsibility (government/offspring/self/sharing) were investigated in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Filial piety was evaluated using customized questionnaires in 2006 and 2017. The APC effects were estimated using mixed effects and generalized additive models. RESULTS: Among 66,182 eligible participants (mean age: 48.8 years, females: 51.7%) in the six waves, APC analyses indicated that old-age pension coverage increased with aging and over time. Across cohort groups, it grew as the cohort was younger in urban residents but decreased in rural residents. The concept of offspring-based (> 50%) and government/self/offspring-shared eldercare (> 30%) predominated. APC analyses revealed that the offspring-based concept declined with aging (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.79-0.84), whereas the government-based (OR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.33-1.41) and self-based (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.47-1.63) concepts increased with aging. People born around the 1940s have a comparatively higher possibility to perceive that the primary eldercare responsibility should be undertaken by the government and elder parents. In contrast, people born in the younger cohort were more likely to perceive that adult children are responsible for their parents' primary eldercare. Filial piety score slightly increased with aging (ß = 0.18, SD: 0.05) but decreased as the birth cohort was younger. In addition, rural participants were more likely to perceive offspring-based eldercare and maintain filial piety, and the related urban-rural difference was intensified by aging. CONCLUSIONS: The traditional concept that eldercare solely relies on offspring has changed to relying on multiple entities, including the government and self-reliance. Diluted filial piety in people born in the young cohort requires reinforcement. Moreover, future healthy aging policies need to focus more on urban-rural disparities to promote equity in social well-being.

Modulating Hydrogen Adsorption by Unconventional p-d Orbital Hybridization over Porous High-entropy Alloy Metallene for Efficient Electrosynthesis of Nylon-6 Precursor.

Renewable electricity driven electrosynthesis of cyclohexanone oxime (C6H11NO) from cyclohexanone (C6H10O) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) is a promising alternative to traditional environment-unfriendly industrial technologies for green synthesis of C6H11NO. Precisely controlling the reaction pathway of the C6H10O/NOx-involved electrochemical reductive coupling reaction is crucial for selectively producing C6H11NO, which is yet still challenging. Herein, we report a porous high-entropy alloy PdCuAgBiIn metallene (HEA-PdCuAgBiInene) to boost the electrosynthesis of C6H11NO from C6H10O and nitrite, achieving a high Faradaic efficiency (47.6%) and almost 100% yield under ambient conditions. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and theoretical calculations demonstrate that unconventional orbital hybridization between d-block metals and p-block metals could regulate the local electronic structure of active sites and induce electron localization of electron-rich Pd sites, which tunes the active hydrogen supply and facilitates the generation and enrichment of key intermediates NH2OH* and C6H10O*, and efficiently promotes their C-N coupling to selectively produce C6H11NO.

Assessing changes in incubation period, serial interval, and generation time of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: After the first COVID-19 wave caused by the ancestral lineage, the pandemic has been fueled from the continuous emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Understanding key time-to-event periods for each emerging variant of concern is critical as it can provide insights into the future trajectory of the virus and help inform outbreak preparedness and response planning. Here, we aim to examine how the incubation period, serial interval, and generation time have changed from the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 lineage to different variants of concern. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis that synthesized the estimates of incubation period, serial interval, and generation time (both realized and intrinsic) for the ancestral lineage, Alpha, Beta, and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2. RESULTS: Our study included 280 records obtained from 147 household studies, contact tracing studies, or studies where epidemiological links were known. With each emerging variant, we found a progressive shortening of each of the analyzed key time-to-event periods, although we did not find statistically significant differences between the Omicron subvariants. We found that Omicron BA.1 had the shortest pooled estimates for the incubation period (3.49 days, 95% CI: 3.13-4.86 days), Omicron BA.5 for the serial interval (2.37 days, 95% CI: 1.71-3.04 days), and Omicron BA.1 for the realized generation time (2.99 days, 95% CI: 2.48-3.49 days). Only one estimate for the intrinsic generation time was available for Omicron subvariants: 6.84 days (95% CrI: 5.72-8.60 days) for Omicron BA.1. The ancestral lineage had the highest pooled estimates for each investigated key time-to-event period. We also observed shorter pooled estimates for the serial interval compared to the incubation period across the virus lineages. When pooling the estimates across different virus lineages, we found considerable heterogeneities (I2 > 80%; I2 refers to the percentage of total variation across studies that is due to heterogeneity rather than chance), possibly resulting from heterogeneities between the different study populations (e.g., deployed interventions, social behavior, demographic characteristics). CONCLUSIONS: Our study supports the importance of conducting contact tracing and epidemiological investigations to monitor changes in SARS-CoV-2 transmission patterns. Our findings highlight a progressive shortening of the incubation period, serial interval, and generation time, which can lead to epidemics that spread faster, with larger peak incidence, and harder to control. We also consistently found a shorter serial interval than incubation period, suggesting that a key feature of SARS-CoV-2 is the potential for pre-symptomatic transmission. These observations are instrumental to plan for future COVID-19 waves.

Interface Engineering and Boron Modification of Pd-B/Pd Hetero-Metallene Synergistically Accelerate Oxygen Reduction Catalysis.

2D metallene possess high surface area and excellent electron transport capability, thus enabling efficient application in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, the interface regulation and electronic structure optimization of metallene are still great challenges. Herein, Pd-B/Pd hetero-metallene is constructed by interface engineering and B modification strategies for efficient electrocatalytic ORR. The 2D configuration of Pd-B/Pd hetero-metallene exposes a large number of surface atoms and unsaturated defect sites, thus providing abundant catalytic active sites and exhibiting high electron mobility. More importantly, interface engineering and B modification synergistically optimizing the electronic configuration of the metallene system. This work not only provides an effective strategy for the rational regulation of the electronic configuration of metallene, but also offers a reference for the construction of efficient ORR catalysts.

A General Synthesis of Crystal Phase Controllable Aerogels for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution.

Amorphous/crystalline (a/c) hetero-phase structures are considered as a class of efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), but it remains a substantial challenge to obtain the specific phase by phase-selective synthesis. In this work, a general route for the preparation of various heterogeneous aerogels (RuB, PtB, PdB, and RhB) consisting of amorphous and crystalline phases is presented through a controlled NaBH4 reduction method. The prepared a/c-RuB aerogel exhibits better HER performance due to their desirable compositional and structural advantages such as more exposed active sites, optimized electronic structure, and interfacial synergistic effects. It requires only a low overpotential of 39 mV to reach a density of 10 mA cm-2 and also exhibits excellent stability. This work provides a new phase-selective synthesis strategy for the design and development of advanced hetero-phase electrocatalysts.

Defect-Rich PdIr Bimetallene Nanoribbons with Interatomic Charge Localization for Isopropanol-Assisted Seawater Splitting.

Metallene with outstanding physicochemical properties is an efficient two-dimensional electrocatalysts for sustainable hydrogen (H2 ) production applications. However, the controllable fabrication of extended atomically thin metallene nanoribbons remains a formidable challenge. Herein, this work proposes a controllable preparation strategy for atomically thin defect-rich PdIr bimetallene nanoribbons (PdIr BNRs) with a thickness of only 1.5 nm for the efficient and stable isopropanol-assisted seawater electrolytic H2 production. When using PdIr BNRs as catalyst to build an isopropanol-assisted seawater electrolysis system, a voltage of only 0.38 V is required at @10 mA cm-2 to achieve energy-saving H2 production, while producing high value-added acetone at the anode. The aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) clearly reveals that the PdIr BNRs possess abundant structural defects, which can additionally serve as highly catalytically active sites. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations combined with X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies reveal that the introduction of Ir atoms can induce the formation of a localized charge region and shift the d-band center of Pd down, thereby reducing the adsorption energy on the catalyst in favor of the rapid desorption of H2 . This work opens the way for the controllable design and construction of defect-rich atomically thin metallene nanoribbons for efficient electrocatalytic applications.

Sulfur-Induced Low Crystallization of Ultrathin Pd Nanosheet Arrays for Sulfur Ion Degradation-Assisted Energy-Efficient H2 Production.

The utilization of thermodynamically favorable sulfur oxidation reaction (SOR) as an alternative to sluggish oxygen evolution reaction is a promising technology for low-energy H2 production while degrading the sulfur source from wastewater. Herein, amorphous/crystalline S-doped Pd nanosheet arrays on nickel foam (a/c S-Pd NSA/NF) is prepared by S-doping crystalline Pd NSA/NF.  Owing to the ultrathin amorphous nanosheet structure and the incorporation of S atoms, the a/c S-Pd NSA/NF provides a large number of active sitesand the optimized electronic structure, while exhibiting outstanding electrocatalytic activity in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and SOR. Therefore, the coupling system consisting of SOR-assisted HER can reach a current density of 100 mA cm-2 at 0.642 V lower than conventional electrolytic water by 1.257 V, greatly reducing energy consumption. In addition, a/c S-Pd NSA/NF can generate H2 over a long period of time while degrading S2- in water to the value-added sulfur powder, thus further reducing the cost of H2 production. This work proposes an attractive strategy for the construction of an advanced electrocatalyst for H2 production and utilization of toxic sulfide wastewater by combining S-doping induced partial amorphization and ultrathin metal nanosheet arrays.

Engineering Under-Coordinated Active Sites with Tailored Chemical Microenvironments over Mosaic Bismuth Nanosheets for Selective CO2 Electroreduction to Formate.

Selective electrochemical reduction of CO2 into fuels or chemical feedstocks is a promising avenue to achieve carbon-neutral goal, but its development is severely limited by the lack of highly efficient electrocatalysts. Herein, cation-exchange strategy is combined with electrochemical self-reconstruction strategy to successfully develop diethylenetriamine-functionalized mosaic Bi nanosheets (mBi-DETA NSs) for selective electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to formate, delivering a superior formate Faradaic efficiency of 96.87% at a low potential of -0.8 VRHE . Mosaic nanosheet morphology of Bi can sufficiently expose the under-coordinated Bi active sites and promote the activation of CO2 molecules to form the OCHO- * intermediate. Moreover, in situ attenuated total reflectance infrared spectra further corroborate that surface chemical microenvironment modulation of mosaic Bi nanosheets via DETA functionalization can improve CO2 adsorption on the catalyst surface and stabilize the key intermediate (OCHO- *) due to the presence of amine groups, thus facilitate the CO2 -to-HCOO- reaction kinetics and promote formate formation.

Selective CO2 Electroreduction to Formate on Polypyrrole-Modified Oxygen Vacancy-Rich Bi2 O3 Nanosheet Precatalysts by Local Microenvironment Modulation.

Challenges remain in the development of highly efficient catalysts for selective electrochemical transformation of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) to high-valued hydrocarbons. In this study, oxygen vacancy-rich Bi2 O3 nanosheets coated with polypyrrole (Bi2 O3 @PPy NSs) are designed and synthesized, as precatalysts for selective electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to formate. Systematic material characterization demonstrated that Bi2 O3 @PPy precatalyst can evolve intoBi2 O2 CO3 @PPy nanosheets with rich oxygen vacancies (Bi2 O2 CO3 @PPy NSs) via electrolyte-mediated conversion and function as the real active catalyst for CO2 reduction reaction electrocatalysis. Coating catalyst with a PPy shell can modulate the interfacial microenvironment of active sites, which work in coordination with rich oxygen vacancies in Bi2 O2 CO3 and efficiently mediate directional selective CO2 reduction toward formate formation. With the fine-tuning of interfacial microenvironment, the optimized Bi2 O3 @PPy-2 NSs derived Bi2 O2 CO3 @PPy-2 NSs exhibit a maximum Faradaic efficiency of 95.8% at -0.8 V (versus. reversible hydrogen electrode) for formate production. This work might shed some light on designing advanced catalysts toward selective electrocatalytic CO2 reduction through local microenvironment engineering.

Trajectories of fasting glucose and glycated haemoglobin in obese and non-obese incident diabetes: Results from two large cohort studies.

AIMS: Diabetes development mechanisms vary by weight status. We aimed to compare cardiometabolic risk and characterize fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) trajectories before diagnosing type 2 diabetes in individuals with/without obesity. METHODS: Data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) were analysed. Participants without diabetes and with a body mass index of 18.5-40 kg/m2 at baseline were included. Incident diabetes was ascertained by self-reported physician diagnosis and/or antidiabetic drug use, FPG ≥126 mg/dl and/or HbA1c ≥6.5%. The difference in the FPG/HbA1c trajectory before the diabetes diagnosis in participants with/without obesity was examined using mixed-effects models. RESULTS: Among 11 925 eligible participants, 1361 incident diabetes cases (mean age: 61.4 years; male: 46.2%) were identified within 15 years of follow-up. Obese diabetes showed higher levels of diastolic blood pressure and C-reactive protein at diagnosis than non-obese diabetes. Mixed-effects models indicated the difference in the FPG trajectory before diagnosis by weight status was non-significant with a slope difference of 0.149 mg/dl (SE = 0.642, p = .816, CHARLS) and 0.013 mg/dl (SE = 0.013, p = .337, ELSA). However, obese diabetes showed a steep increase in HbA1c before diagnosis with a slope difference of 0.036% (SE = 0.016, p = .021) in the CHARLS and 0.032% (SE = 0.014, p = .027) in the ELSA, respectively. Sex-stratified analyses showed that the difference in HbA1c trajectory before the diabetes diagnosis by weight status was only significant in males. CONCLUSIONS: Obese and non-obese diabetes developments may share a similar FPG but distinct HbA1c trajectory. Obese diabetes interventions require more attention to cardiometabolic risks. Moreover, studies addressing weight/sex-related differences in diabetes aetiologies and treatments are warranted.

Polyethylenimine-Ethylenediamine-Induced Pd Metallene toward Alkaline Oxygen Reduction.

Designing two-dimensional (2D) materials functionalized with organic molecules is an effective tactic to enhance catalytic performances for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, we synthesize Pd metallene with in situ modification of polyethylenimine-ethylenediamine (Pd@PEI-EDA metallene), in which PEI-EDA serves as both the structure-directing agent and modifier. Pd@PEI-EDA metallene has ample active sites and tuneable electronic structures due to ultrathin nanosheets with abundant wrinkles and interfacial structure. In contrast with commercial Pd/C and Pt/C, Pd@PEI-EDA metallene displays preferable catalytic ORR performance under alkaline conditions. This work offers an in situ interface engineering tactic for the preparation of 2D polymer-metal electrocatalysts to boost the ORR performance.