Group versus individual antenatal and first year postpartum care: Study protocol for a multi-country cluster randomized controlled trial in Kenya and Nigeria [version 1; referees: 2 approved]

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) in many low- and middle-income countries is under-utilized and of sub-optimal quality. Group ANC (G-ANC) is an intervention designed to improve the experience and provision of ANC for groups of women (cohorts) at similar stages of pregnancy. Methods: A two-arm, two-phase, cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) (non-blinded) is being conducted in Kenya and Nigeria. Public health facilities were matched and randomized to either standard individual ANC (control) or G-ANC (intervention) prior to enrollment. Participants include pregnant women attending first ANC at gestational age <24 weeks, health care providers, and sub-national health managers. Enrollment ended in June 2017 for both countries. In the intervention arm, pregnant women are assigned to cohorts at first ANC visit and receive subsequent care together during five meetings facilitated by a health care provider (Phase 1). After birth, the same cohorts meet four times over 12 months with their babies (Phase 2). Data collection was performed through surveys, clinical data extraction, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews. Phase 1 data collection ended in January 2018 and Phase 2 concludes in November 2018. Intention-to-treat analysis will be used to evaluate primary outcomes for Phases 1 and 2: health facility delivery and use of a modern method of family planning at 12 months postpartum, respectively. Data analysis and reporting of results will be consistent with norms for cRCTs. General estimating equation models that account for clustering will be employed for primary outcome analyzes. Results: Overall 1,075 and 1,013 pregnant women were enrolled in Nigeria and Kenya, respectively. Final study results will be available in February 2019. Conclusions: This is the first cRCT on G-ANC in Africa. It is among the first to examine the effects of continuing group care through the first year postpartum. Registration: Pan African Clinical Trials Registry PACTR201706002254227 May 02, 201

Fatal Syngamus Trachea infection in chickens in Jos, North Central Nigeria: A case report

Postmortem examination of chickens from a semi-intensive system was carried out following complaint of high mortality, loss of weight, sneezing and raising of heads and gaping. The farm had other types of birds which were also evaluated to ascertain their risk of transmission of Syngamus trachea. Lesions seen included anaemia, hyperemia of the trachea containing forked red warms (S. trachea), congested and haemorrhagic lungs and presence of Raillietina tetragona in the small intestine. Histologically, there was necrotizing trachiesis, pulmonary congestion and&nbsp; haemorrhages. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first case report of S. trachea in Jos, North Central Nigeria. Keywords: Syngamus trachea, Chicken, Case report, Pathology, Jos, Nigeri

Comparative study of binary cadmium sulfide (CdS) and tin disulfide (SnS2) thin buffer layers

[EN] Binary compound tin disulfide (SnS2) and cadmium sulfide (CdS) are the potential candidates used as a buffer layer for copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) thin-film device. Herein, both compounds have been successfully prepared through simple hydrothermal (HD) and chemical bath deposition (CBD) techniques, respectively. The prepared samples were characterized by different available techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), surface electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmittance electrons microscopy (TEM), UV¿Visible spectroscopy and photoelectrochemical (PEC) analysis. The XRD analysis confirms the polycrystalline nature of the prepared thin films. AFM analysis showed that the SnS2 display better roughness (60 nm), grain size (75 nm) than CdS roughness (23 nm), grain size (41 nm) thin films. SEM and EDS studies revealed near stoichiometry behavior of elemental composition of the films. The optical absorption spectrum showed the direct bandgap of CdS 2.45 eV and 2.20 eV for SnS2 thin films. The PEC analysis revealed that the SnS2 thin films exhibit two times higher photoresponse (140 µA) as compare to CdS (80 µA) thin films. The SnS2 high photocurrent could be attributed to the small band gap and increase in grain size which can trap more incident light. Based on the results the SnS2 used as a buffer layer can be a good choice for an efficient photovoltaic device.This work was supported by the ministry of education generalitat Valenciana under grant no (ENE2016-77798-C4-2-R)Ullah, S.; Bouich, A.; Ullah, H.; Marí, B.; Mollar García, MA. (2020). Comparative study of binary cadmium sulfide (CdS) and tin disulfide (SnS2) thin buffer layers. Solar Energy. 208:637-642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2020.08.036S63764220