Sexual Behavior and Abuse: A Case Study of University Undergraduates in Tertiary Institutions in Imo State, Nigeria

Introduction: In young people including adolescents, risky sexual behavior has been recognized as an important health, social and demographic concern in the developing world. Aim: To assess sexual behaviors and their association with current and life-time occurrence of sexual abuse among female undergraduates in tertiary institutions in Imo State, Nigeria. Methodology: This was a school based cross sectional study involving 600 female students selected from tertiary institutions in Imo State Nigeria, using the multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using a data software (EPI-INFO version 3.3.2). Descriptive variables were presented using summary indices, frequency tables/percentages, and graph while associations between variables were done using the Chi-square and binary regression. A p-value of 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age of the students was 21.73.2 years. About 65.2% of the respondents have initiated sexual intercourse and of this proportion, 75.6% were sexually active in the last one year preceding survey. The mean age at initiation of sexual debut among the students was 18.93.8 years and the commonest form of sexual act practiced was penile/vaginal sex. About 15.2% of the students had been currently abused. Predictors of current sexual abuse were; ever had sexual intercourse (OR.4.63), being within 14-19 years of age at first sexual initiation, (OR: 0.42), had first sexual exposure with a casual partner (OR: 12.38), and being sexually active in the last 1 year preceding study, (OR: 2.16). Conclusion: Risky sexual behaviors were prevalent and were found to influence the occurrence of sexual abuse, among the students. Thus, there is need to institute appropriate prevention strategies to limit risky sexual behaviors and it consequences among adolescents and young adults

CONTRACEPTIVE METHOD CHOICE AND COMMODITY SOURCES AMONG WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE CURRENTLY USING ANY FORM OF CONTRACEPTION IN COMMUNITIES IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Introduction: The choice and use of a particular contraceptive method and their sources varies globally. The common modern contraceptive methods used were; condoms, injectables, pills and Intra Uterine Contraceptive Devices (IUCD). Aim: The aims of this study was to determine the pattern of contraceptive method choice and commodity  sources among women of reproductive age who are currently using any contraception in communities in Imo State, Nigeria. Methodology: This study was a community based cross-sectional study carried out among 1123 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) living in communities in Imo State, Nigeria. Eligible participant were selected using a multistage random sampling technique and data was collected using a pretested, semi structured and interviewed administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using a computer software (EPI-INFO Version 3.3.2). Results: The mean age of the women was 32.0±8.0 years. Out of the 1123 women studied, only 305 (27.2%) were current contraceptive users. About two-third of the users (18.2%) were using any form of modern contraceptive method. The common contraceptive methods used were; condoms, periodic abstinence, injections and pills. Contraceptive choice varies with age, marital status, religion and resident of women. Overall most women sourced their contraceptives from the private sector. Most of the barrier methods and pills were sourced from the chemist while the injections, IUCD tubal ligation and implants were sourced from the hospitals. Conclusion: Use of modern contraceptive method was low and the choice of a particular contraceptive type and source of the commodity varies with socio-demographic characteristics of the women. There is need to make contraceptives available and family services accessible to women in a way that will be culturally acceptable to them. Keyword: Contraceptive method, choice, commodity sources, communities, Imo Stat

A comparison of the drying kinetics, energy consumption and colour quality of drying medicinal 1 leaves in direct-solar dryer with different colours of collector cover

© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is the accepted manuscript version of an article which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.119076In some countries, Neem and Bitter leaves are often offered as dried medicinal leaves and one of the appealing aspects to consumers is that they retain their original colour after drying. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine if collector cover colour variations can impact the quality and chlorophyll loss in solar-dried Neem and bitter leaves. To vary the colour spectrum, three distinct coloured polyethene materials with different colours were used as top window-cover for the dryer chamber and collector, which formed a single drying unit of a solar cabinet dryer. The results showed that the yellow-covered solar drying unit achieved 38.8% thermal efficiency, which declined by 1.43% and 10.41% for the blue and white-covered drying unit respectively. The yellow-cover dryer created higher internal temperature and drying rate, enabling it to dry the leaves faster. The average drying rate for Neem and bitter leaves was 0.003762-0.003849kg/h, and 0.004348-0.004689 kg/h respectively. The specific energy consumption for drying the leaves ranged from 10.52-13.89 MJ/kg for all dryers. Colour analysis showed that the yellow-covered dryer dried bitter leaf near its natural colour, while the blue-covered dryer dried Neem near its natural colour. Lograthimic model predicted their moisture ratio better for drying the leaves.Peer reviewe