Background: Large spatial heterogeneity was observed in the dengue fever outbreak in Guangzhou in 2014, however, the underlying reasons remain unknown. We examined whether socio-ecological factors affected the spatial distribution and their interactive effects. Methods: Moran’s I was applied to first examine the spatial cluster of dengue fever in Guangzhou. Nine socio-ecological factors were chosen to represent the urbanization level, economy, accessibility, environment, and the weather of the 167 townships/streets in Guangzhou, and then the geographical detector was applied to analyze the individual and interactive effects of these factors on the dengue outbreak. Results: Four clusters of dengue fever were identified in Guangzhou in 2014, including one hot spot in the central area of Guangzhou and three cold spots in the suburban districts. For individual effects, the temperature (q = 0.33) was the dominant factor of dengue fever, followed by precipitation (q = 0.24), road density (q = 0.24), and water body area (q = 0.23). For the interactive effects, the combination of high precipitation, high temperature, and high road density might result in increased dengue fever incidence. Moreover, urban villages might be the dengue fever hot spots. Conclusions: Our study suggests that some socio-ecological factors might either separately or jointly influence the spatial distribution of dengue fever in Guangzhou.

Janus colloids are functional particles consisting of two surfaces (or internal materials) with distinct physical or chemical properties in the same particle. Owing to their amphiphilic nature, Janus colloids composed of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic faces provide a powerful tool to generate functional surfaces and to manipulate the properties of interfaces. Amphiphilic Janus colloids have shown promising applications as particulate surfactants in oil/water separation, as interfacial compatibilizers in polymer blends, and as assembly blocks in robust coatings with unique wettability. In this Feature Article, we summarize recent advances in engineering interfaces by using Janus colloids.