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Background Rigorous data management systems and planning are essential to successful research projects, especially for large, multicountry consortium studies involving partnerships across multiple institutions. Here we describe the development and implementation of data management systems and procedures for the Enterics For Global Health (EFGH) Shigella surveillance study—a 7-country diarrhea surveillance study that will conduct facility-based surveillance concurrent with population-based enumeration and a health care utilization survey to estimate the incidence of Shigella- -associated diarrhea in children 6 to 35 months old. Methods The goals of EFGH data management are to utilize the knowledge and experience of consortium members to collect high-quality data and ensure equity in access and decision-making. During the planning phase before study initiation, a working group of representatives from each EFGH country site, the coordination team, and other partners met regularly to develop the data management systems for the study. Results This resulted in the Data Management Plan, which included selecting REDCap and SurveyCTO as the primary database systems. Consequently, we laid out procedures for data processing and storage, study monitoring and reporting, data quality control and assurance activities, and data access. The data management system and associated real-time visualizations allow for rapid data cleaning activities and progress monitoring and will enable quicker time to analysis. Conclusions Experiences from this study will contribute toward enriching the sparse landscape of data management methods publications and serve as a case study for future studies seeking to collect and manage data consistently and rigorously while maintaining equitable access to and control of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This work investigates the effect of surfactant on the microencapsulation of thermochromic materials (TCMs) by TiO2. Three types of surfactants, namely Cetrimonium Bromide(CTAB), Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulphonate (SDBS), and Hexadecanol (HEXA) are deployed during the microemulsion process for the formation of a TiO2 shell layer on a commercial dyeTCM(CDTCM). These off‐the‐shelf CDTCMs are primarily Leuco dye particles that exhibit a color change (black to white) behavior at around 33°C. The role of TiO2 shell material encapsulation is to protect the CDTCMs from solar‐irradiated photodegradation by absorbing harmful UV radiation. Various analytical characterization methods, such as XRD, FTIR, UV‐Vis, DSC, SEM, HRTEM, and EDS were used to evaluate both the plain CDTCM and its TiO2 microencapsulated counterparts in terms of unraveling the structural, microstructural, chemical, and thermal properties. The reversible color change chromic characteristics were quantitatively and qualitatively examined via CIE Lab measurements. The microencapsulated TiO2@CDTCM fabricated in this study shows reversible thermochromic color change behavior and therefore has the potential for applications in energy‐savings in building envelops, smart windows, thermal energy storage and textile industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Excitonic transition was observed in Mn(II) doped ATO film. [•] Room temperature ferromagnetism was observed. [•] Mean free path shows that impurity scattering limits the Hall mobility. [•] The film degeneracy was confirmed by calculating the Fermi energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Two types of excitonic transition were observed in Sb-doped SnO2 thin film. [•] Schematic absorption and PL emission mechanism has been proposed. [•] The ionized impurity scattering limits the Hall mobility. [•] The film degeneracy is confirmed by calculating the Fermi energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Zr (IV) doped indium oxide thin films (∼55nm) were deposited onto pure silica glass by the sol–gel dip coating technique utilizing the precursors of 6wt% equivalent oxide content. Three different Zr (IV) oxide (ZrO2) dopant concentrations (5.0, 10.0 and 15.0wt% w.r.t. total oxides) were chosen. XRD patterns suggested the films were of distinct cubic symmetry of In2O3. Nanostructured surface feature was revealed by FESEM images. Average cluster size decreased with increasing dopant concentration as evidenced from TEM study. Blue shift of band gap and UV cut off wavelength (lambda-50) occurred with increase in dopant concentration. The refractive index gradually increased with doping. Baking atmosphere plays an important role in tailoring the refractive index (RI) of the films and relatively high RI was obtained in the case of baking in pure oxygen. Presence of both free and bound excitons was detected by the photoluminescence (PL) study. The 5wt% doped film exhibited relatively high PL intensity at ∼380nm responsible for free exciton. The PL emissions gradually quenched with increase in dopant concentration. Similar behaviour was also observed when the film was baked in pure oxygen atmosphere. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nanostructured indium tin oxide (ITO) films were deposited on silica glass by sol–gel dipping method from salt derived PVA based aqueous precursor. The films were cured at 250°C, 350°C, 450°C, 600°C, 700°C and 900°C and characterized by XRD, SEM, AFM techniques to observe heating effect on nanostructured feature. Nanocluster sizes were determined by TEM study. Different crystal phases of ITO were existed in the temperature range 250–900°C. Quantum confinement behavior of the nanoclusters was observed for their size being near Bohr radius. Absorption, band gap and photoluminescence behavior of the nanstructured ITO films supported excitonic transitions due to the formation of electron hole pair generated by interaction of electromagnetic radiation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sol–gel based dip coated Mn(II) doped indium tin oxide (ITO) films were prepared on pure silica glass at 350°C and 450°C using the aqueous solutions of In(III), Sn(IV) and Mn(II) salts having atomic ratio of In:Sn:Mn as 84.6:9.4:6.0. Thin films were characterized by XRD, EDX, SEM, AFM, TEM and photoluminescence (PL) studies. Oxygen deficiency in ITO films decreased due to Mn(II) doping. Quantum confinement of electron–hole pairs occurred in nanocrystals of Mn(II) doped ITO of average size range from 4.7nm to 6.4nm. Excitonic transitions and PL behaviours have been illustrated to focus quantum confinement and exciton–phonon interaction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sol–gel dip coated indium tin oxide film of In:Sn=90:10 was prepared on glass at 350°C from aqueous precursor. Nanostructured feature and cubic phase of the film were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies, respectively. Average cluster of 4.7nm diameter was measured by the transmission electron microscopy and it is near to Bohr radius of In2O3. The evaluated bandgap of the nanocluster (E g =4.0eV) is consistent with the absorption band appearing for quantum confinement. The confinement phenomenon resulted in photoluminescence (PL) when excited at different photoluminescence excitation wavelengths. The PL bands have been identified as the emissions of bound and free excitons. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Organic and polymer encapsulated thermochromic materials have potential use as energy savers in building envelopes, due to the fact that their colour chromatic behaviour changes with temperature. External stimuli, such as solar radiation, often causes degradation in the physicochemical characteristics that impact their optical performance in real-time outdoor applications. The off-the-shelf polymeric encapsulated thermochromic dyes blended in a sodium silicate binder were prepared as coating materials on glass substrates using a dye-casting process with a film thickness of approximately 300 µm. These films have been systematically exposed to extended simulated sunlight environments at ambient conditions. The optical absorption and colour chromatic characteristics using UV–Vis spectroscopic and CIE calorimetric measurements were evaluated and compared with those of the pristine samples for photodegradation and related processes. We have also attempted to microencapsulate these thermochromic dyes and characterized via Fourier transform infrared, to understand the chemical make-up of the encapsulants for possible degradation mitigation of the dyes, and these results are also presented and discussed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A mini-survey of 29 different foods produced by 21 different Indian manufacturers was conducted for the presence of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2, aflatoxin M1 and deoxynivalenol. The products were purchased from local markets in Kolkata, India and commonly used in the complementary feeding of infants and toddlers in India. Using a previously established direct competitive enzyme-linked immunoassay for this analysis we show that 100% of the samples contained aflatoxin M1 at levels exceeding the recommended European Union levels of 25 ng kg−1 by more than an order of magnitude. Also, several (66%) of them contained detectable concentrations of deoxynivalenol with two samples (6.9%) exceeding European Union guidelines for baby food products (200 μg kg−1) and 51.7% samples with DON levels that can lead to dietary intake higher than 1 μg kg−1 recommended by the joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives. None of the samples contained aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2. The results, therefore, suggest that complementary feeding can put Indian infants and toddlers at risk of simultaneous exposures to deoxynivalenol and aflatoxin M1 and warrant an urgent in-depth research to track, increase surveillance and reduce mycotoxin contamination of baby foods manufactured in India. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Mycotoxins aflatoxin M1 and DON was co-present in 66% food products used in the complementary feeding of Indian children. • Aflatoxin M1 was present in all samples at levels exceeding the recommended EU levels by more than an order of magnitude. • 51.7% samples also contained DON at levels that could result in dietary intake greater than JECFA recommended levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We observe remarkably strong room temperature ferromagnetism [∼1.5μB/Mn(II)] in optically transparent Mn(II)-doped indium tin oxide (ITO) films. The nanocrystalline films with average grain size 10–22nm and thickness 150–350nm are prepared by sol–gel coating technique on soda lime silica glass substrate. The ferromagnetic property is, of course, weak for films deposited on pure silica glass substrate. The structural parameters of the films appear to be governing the magnetic property strongly which vary appreciably depending on the substrate. The observation of room temperature ferromagnetism in transparent conducting ITO films may find a plethora of applications in the area of magneto-optics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]