Understanding the Nature of Vibro-Polaritonic States in Water and Heavy Water.

Very recent experiments on vibrational strong coupling tend to modify chemical reactivity, energy transfer, and many other physical properties of the coupled system. This is achieved without external stimuli and is very sensitive to the vibrational envelope. Water is an excellent vibrational oscillator, which is being used for similar experiments.

Efficacy of partial spraying of SumiShield, Fludora Fusion and Actellic against wild populations of Anopheles gambiae s.l. in experimental huts in Tiassalé, Côte d'Ivoire.

From August 2020 to June 2021, we assessed the efficacy of SumiShield 50WG (clothianidin), Fludora Fusion 56.25WP-SB (mixture of clothianidin and deltamethrin) and Actellic 300CS (pirimiphos-methyl) in experimental huts when partially sprayed against wild, free-flying populations of Anopheles gambiae s.l.

Dispersion engineering of infrared epsilon-near-zero modes by strong coupling to optical cavities.

Epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials have recently emerged as a promising platform for infrared nanophotonics. A significant challenge in the design of ENZ-based optics is to control the dispersion of ENZ modes that otherwise have a flat profile near the ENZ frequency. Strong coupling with an optical cavity is a promising approach to ENZ dispersion engineering, which however has limitations due to the lack of tunability or nanofabrication demands of the cavity employed.

The Know-Do Gap: Understanding and Improving Service Quality Among Pharmacies Providing Injectable Contraceptives Through a Mystery Client Study in Nepal.

Nepal is one of the first countries to license pharmacists to administer injectable contraceptives, through Nepal CRS Company's (CRS) Sangini private pharmacy network. There are more than 3,400 Sangini pharmacies in Nepal, including in hard-to-reach mountain areas, where these outlets are a key access point to injectables and other short-acting methods for those who lack access through the public sector or prefer the private sector.We compared the performance of Sangini pharmacists in (1) CRS-led technical support visits, when providers were aware of being observed, and (2) mystery client visits, when providers were not aware of being observed, to assess any gaps between pharmacists' knowledge and practices.

Partial indoor residual spraying with pirimiphos-methyl as an effective and cost-saving measure for the control of Anopheles gambiae s.l. in northern Ghana.

The scale up of indoor residual spraying (IRS) and insecticide treated nets have contributed significantly to global reductions in malaria prevalence over the last two decades. However, widespread pyrethroid resistance has necessitated the use of new and more expensive insecticides for IRS. Partial IRS with pirimiphos-methyl in experimental huts and houses in a village-wide trial was evaluated against Anopheles gambiae s.

Interaction of ZnO nanorods with plasmonic metal nanoparticles and semiconductor quantum dots.

We model the enhancement of near band edge emission from ZnO nanorods using plasmonic metal nanoparticles and compare it with emission enhancement from ZnO with semiconducting quantum dots. Selected CdSe quantum dots with absorption energies close to those of Ag and Au nanoparticles are chosen to construct model systems with ZnO to comprehend the role of ZnO's intrinsic defects and plasmonic excitation in realizing the spectrally selective luminescence enhancement. Excitation wavelength dependent photoluminescence spectra along with theoretical models quantifying the related transitions and plasmonic absorption reveal that a complex mechanism of charge transfer between the ZnO nanorods and metal nanoparticles or quantum dots is essential along with an optimal energy band alignment for realizing emission enhancement.

Equal Opportunity, Equal Work: Increasing Women's Participation in the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative Africa Indoor Residual Spraying Project.

Background: One of the primary control measures for malaria transmission is indoor residual spraying (IRS). Historically, few women have worked in IRS programs, despite the income-generating potential. Increasing women's roles in IRS requires understanding the barriers to women's participation and implementing measures to address them.

Exploring the use of routinely-available, retrospective data to study the association between malaria control scale-up and micro-economic outcomes in Zambia.

Background: Country-level evidence on the impact of malaria control on micro-economic outcomes is vital for mobilizing domestic and donor resources for malaria control. Using routinely available survey data could facilitate this investigation in a cost-efficient way.

Methods: The authors used Malaria Indicator Surveys (MIS) and Living Conditions Monitoring Survey (LCMS) data from 2006 to 2010 for all 72 districts in Zambia to relate malaria control scale-up with household food spending (proxy for household well-being), educational attainment and agricultural production.

A randomized controlled trial of the impact of a family planning mHealth service on knowledge and use of contraception.

Objectives: mHealth, or the use of mobile phones for health, is a promising but largely untested method for increasing family planning knowledge in developing countries. This study estimates the effect of m4RH, an mHealth service in Kenya that provides family planning information via text message, on consumers' knowledge and use of contraception.

Study Design: We randomly assigned new consumers of the m4RH service to receive either full access or limited access to m4RH.