Moi University is a public university located in Kesses, Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu county, in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It was established in 1984 by the Moi University Act of the Parliament of Kenya, after recommendations from the McKay Commission.The current chancellor of the university is Professor Miriam Were while the vice-chancellor is Professor Isaac Sanga Kosgey.
The perovskite solar cell (PSC) as an emerging and promising type of solar cell has been extensively studied, but instability is still a major challenge. Replacing the hygroscopic organic hole transport layer (HTL) in PSCs can result in an improvement in the device stability. However, it is still difficult to deposit inorganic HTLs onto the underlying perovskite layer without eroding or distorting it in the regular n-i-p architecture, thereby inducing defects at the interface and reducing the performance of the device. In this study, the performance of PSCs with an inorganic HTL is modelled using SCAPS-1D. The perovskite-HTL interface defect density was varied from 1.0 & times; 1012 to 1.0 & times; 1020 cm-3. We realized that, for PSCs based on some hole transport materials (HTMs), the effect of interface defect density was not significant. We observed that the HTL/perovskite valence band offset (VBO) plays a significant role in the phenomenon observed. In particular, a zero or slightly positive VBO results in an increase in both the defect tolerance and device efficiency. This information provides insights into the fabrication of PSCs with improved interface defect passivation and also enables the fabrication of perovskite solar cells based on physically deposited inorganic charge transport materials.
The clinical severity of COVID-19 is influenced by cellular and humoral immune responses, as well as the dynamics of viral replication. In line with this, the current study examined systemic and mucosal immunity responses alongside viral load in unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals during the period of Omicron predominance. Between 2022 and 2023, when Omicron prevalence was at its peak, 48 SARS-CoV-2-positive cases with varied severity were recruited using positive PCR testing, and 48 negative controls were recruited using negative PCR testing at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kenya. Severe patients showed higher viral loads and systemic anti-spike IgG levels compared to moderate and asymptomatic individuals. Asymptomatic individuals had higher mucosal anti-spike IgG and receptor-binding domain (RBD) levels compared to severe patients. Systemic IFN-alpha mRNA transcripts were higher in asymptomatic individuals compared to patients with severe COVID-19 and healthy individuals. Severe patients had significantly lower expression of IFN-gamma mRNA transcript levels in both blood and mucosa, as well as significantly lower systemic IFI-16 mRNA transcript levels. These findings reflect associations observed in a cross-sectional design and should not be interpreted as causal mechanisms. Suppressed interferon responses, both mucosal and systemic, were associated with severe disease. In conclusion, high systemic IgG and viral loads and low interferon responses were closely linked to severe COVID-19 outcomes.
Although there is an emerging evidence base on the impact of planned donor transitions from HIV programs, there is little research exploring the effects of abrupt cessation of donor aid for HIV programs. We sought to examine the early impacts of PEPFAR funding freeze announced on 20th January 2025 on HIV service delivery in Mid-western Uganda. We conducted a qualitative study in the Fort Portal region of mid-Western Uganda, involving 84 participants. In-depth interviews were conducted with 36 health workers in eight purposively selected HIV clinics. Six focus group discussions with a total of 48 participants were conducted with people with HIV (PWH). Data were analyzed by thematic approach. Four broad themes emerged in our analysis (1) There was uncertainty and confusion across the HIV service delivery landscape right from national-level HIV sector oversight to frontline service delivery. (2) PWH started ‘buffer stocking’ of antiretrovirals which contributed to stock-outs at participating facilities. (3) There was discontinuation of multiple HIV services. The discontinued HIV services include HIV prevention programs, viral load testing, services targeting ‘Key Populations’ and, community outreach for enhancing adherence to HIV/TB treatment including medication distribution through private retail pharmacies which ceased. (4) The loss of PEPFAR-salaried HIV workforce had ripple effects. These include disruptions in routine operations at HIV clinics, sub-national governance mechanisms for HIV services delivery unraveled and loss of PEPFAR-supported community health workers resulted in cessation of community outreach activities while loss of data clerks impeded routine HIV data capture. The abrupt cessation of PEPFAR funding resulted in widespread disruptions to HIV service delivery including discontinuation of multiple HIV services at participating facilities. Our findings highlight the need for planned donor transitions and the need of strengthening the financial, technical, and management capacity of recipient governments for managing previously donor-funded HIV services. Further research on the medium- to long-term impacts of PEPFAR funding freeze is warranted. Not applicable.
BACKGROUND:WHO recommends fractional dose vaccination to address yellow fever vaccine shortages during outbreaks. In adults, a 500 IU dose has recently been shown to be non-inferior to the full standard dose, but the minimum effective dose for children is unknown. METHODS:We conducted a randomised, double-blind, non-inferiority trial at two centres in Kenya and Uganda, including infants aged 9-12 months with no previous yellow fever vaccination or infection. Participants were randomly assigned 1:1 in blocks of variable sizes of four, six, or eight to receive either the standard dose (>13 000 IU) or 500 IU of the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (Dakar, Senegal) 17D-204 yellow fever vaccine, co-administered with the measles-rubella vaccine. The primary outcome was seroconversion 28 days post-vaccination, defined as a four-fold or greater increase in antibody titre at day 28 from baseline (day 0), as measured by the 50% plaque reduction neutralisation test. Non-inferiority was shown if the lower bound of the 95% CI for the difference in seroconversion rates between doses exceeded -10 percentage points. Safety was assessed in the safety population, which included all participants who received a study vaccine dose. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04059471) and is complete. FINDINGS:Between Oct 7, 2021, and June 14, 2023, 420 infants were enrolled and randomly assigned (210 participants in each group). The seroconversion rate at day 28 was 99% (95% CI 96-100; 177 of 179 infants) for the standard dose and 93% (88-96; 166 of 179 infants) for the 500 IU dose in the per-protocol population. The difference in seroconversion rate was -6·15 percentage points (95% CI -10·27 to -2·02); therefore, non-inferiority was not met for the 500 IU dose. 12 serious adverse events were reported in the study (eight in the 500 IU dose group and four in the standard dose group), but all were considered unrelated to vaccination. INTERPRETATION:Compared with the standard yellow fever vaccine dose, a dose of 500 IU did not meet the non-inferiority criterion, suggesting that minimum dose requirements in adults are not generalisable to infants. Therefore, standard yellow fever doses should be used for infants in the routine WHO Expanded Programme on Immunization. FUNDING:European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership and the Wellcome Trust.
Palm processing industries leave behind huge amounts of biomass annually which are not usually being disposed of sustainably. This study utilizes fast and feasible means of converting empty palm bunch biomass into supercapacitor electrodes. The two-step carbonization-activation method was used to synthesize the highly porous activated carbon, which was used in the electrodes. The resulting materials exhibited patterns similar to that of reduced graphene oxides (rGO) and a maximum specific surface area of 1375 m2/g. The supercapacitor designed from the porous activated carbon exhibits the greatest specific capacitance of 251 F/g at a scan rate of 1 mV/s, under 6 M KOH electrolyte. The corresponding GCD analysis at 100 mA/g current density was 346 F/g, and about 82.9 % of the original capacitance value was retained even after 5000 GCD cycles. The energy density and power density were 17.16 Wh/kg and 180.1 W/kg, respectively. This work does not only provide a feasible route for the management of palm agro-industrial waste, but also produces carbon materials whose electrochemical performance are competitive to state-of-the-art biomass-derived carbon, offering a sustainable pathway for electrochemical energy storage.
