Background: Folic acid supplementation is effective in reducing the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs). However, the use of folic acid is low among rural women in China. Nutrition education can provide information about folic acid and encourage its use. The primary objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of a village‐based nutrition intervention on folic acid use among rural women. Methods: Sixty villages were randomly selected using multiple‐stage sampling and were divided into control and intervention groups. The intervention included nutritional education at village clinics, written materials, and text messages (SMS). Folic acid use knowledge and behavior was assessed at baseline and after the intervention. Results: Self‐reported compliance with folic acid supplement use increased from 17.0%–29.2% at baseline to 41.7%-59.2% one year post‐intervention. During the same period, the folic acid knowledge score in the intervention group increased from 3.07 to 3.65, significantly higher than the control group (3.11 to 3.35). Multivariate binary logistic regression showed that the women who received folic acid education and SMS intervention were more likely to comply with folic acid supplement recommendations. Conclusions: The results indicated that an integrated village‐based folic acid education intervention may be an effective way of promoting folic acid use for the prevention of NTDs in rural women. Full article

In this work, we studied how TiO₂ and ZrO₂ coatings enhance the CO oxidation performance of SiO₂-supported Pt catalysts under conditions relevant to automotive emissions control. SiO₂ was coated with metal oxides TiO₂ or ZrO₂ by sol-gel method and the subsequent Pt loading was done by incipient wetness method. The prepared catalysts Pt/TiO₂-SiO₂ and Pt/ZrO₂-SiO₂ were compared with Pt/SiO₂ and Pt/Al₂O₃ in fresh, sulfated, and hydrothermally aged states. The structure of the catalysts was characterized with BET, XRD, TEM, EDS, EXAFS, XANES, TPD and TPR to help interpret the CO oxidation performance. Higher dispersion, stability, and oxidation state of Pt were achieved on TiO₂-SiO₂ and ZrO₂-SiO₂ supports due to stronger metal-support interaction leading to superior CO oxidation performance compared to Pt/SiO₂ and Pt/Al₂O₃. TiO₂ and ZrO₂ coatings introduced surface acidity but negligible basicity, which is a likely reason for the weak and low adsorption of SO₂. The results suggest that the sol-gel coating of SiO₂ with metal oxides could be an attractive strategy for designing automotive oxidation catalysts with enhanced performance such as low-temperature activity, sulfur tolerance, and hydrothermal stability. Full article