Prevalence of female genital mutilation and its determinants among pregnant women in Benin City, Nigeria

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a harmful cultural practice perpetuating gender inequality and violence against women and the girl child. This study assessed prevalence and determinants of FGM among pregnant women in Benin City, Edo State with a view to mitigating the practice.Methods: A facility-based descriptive, cross-sectional study involving 400 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in selected health facilities in Benin City, Edo State. The respondents were selected using systematic sampling technique and data collection was by pretested structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21.0 statistical software with statistical significance set at p<0.05 and 95% confidence interval.Results: The mean age (SD) of respondents was 30.3 (4.8) years. The prevalence of FGM among respondents was 187 (46.7%) and 77 (19.4%) of them had their daughters circumcised. Seventy-six (98.7%) and 1 (1.3%) of the daughters circumcised had mothers who were previously and not previously circumcised, respectively. Significant association exists between FGM status of respondents and their daughters (p˂0.001) and in relation to their intention to circumcise future daughters (p<0.001). Age group (p=0.004), ethnicity (p˂0.001), educational status (p= 0.004) and knowledge of FGM (p˂0.001) were significant factors influencing FGM practice.Conclusion: Female genital mutilation was common among respondents studied with significant association identified between the FGM status of respondents with that of their daughters and intention to circumcise future daughters. There is need to channel appropriate FGM preventive interventions involving critical stakeholders including pregnant women to curb this harmful socio-cultural practice.Keywords: Prevalence, DeterminantsFemale Genital Mutilation, Pregnant women, Edo State, Nigeri

Termite activities and surface characteristics of coastal plain sands

This study evaluated the effect of mound building termites on the increase in the quantity of fine particles of the dimension of clay on the surface of  coastal plain sands of south-eastern Nigeria. Six termite mounds were selected in different locations, destroyed completely and sampled in three replications. Surface and subsurface soils were sampled within the periphery of the termite mounds in similar replications as the mounds. Samples were processed and analyzed in the laboratory. Data were analysed using ANOVA, correlation and principal component. Termite mounds were not common but massive, with base diameter more extensive than height. The major determinants (responsible for 28%) of the effects of termite activities on the surface characteristics are total sand, clay and silt + clay. Termite mounds were similar to the surface soil in available phosphorus, exchangeable sodium and potassium, effective cation exchange capacity, fine sand and silt. These similarities result from homogenization through erosion and redistribution of the mound material within the surface soil vicinity. The fortified mound materials redistributed in surface soil vicinity is responsible for the high clay, elevated pH, enhanced effective cation exchange capacity, improved structural stability, minimized leaching and subsequently improved fertility of coastal plain sands.Key words: termite mounds, pedogenesis, acid sands, biopedoturbation, surface finin

Theory of proximity effect in superconductor/ferromagnet heterostructures

We present a microscopic theory of proximity effect in the ferromagnet/superconductor/ferromagnet (F/S/F) nanostructures where S is s-wave low-T_c superconductor and F's are layers of 3d transition ferromagnetic metal. Our approach is based on the solution of Gor'kov equations for the normal and anomalous Green's functions together with a self-consistent evaluation of the superconducting order parameter. We take into account the elastic spin-conserving scattering of the electrons assuming s-wave scattering in the S layer and s-d scattering in the F layers. In accordance with the previous quasiclassical theories, we found that due to exchange field in the ferromagnet the anomalous Green's function F(z) exhibits the damping oscillations in the F-layer as a function of distance z from the S/F interface. In the given model a half of period of oscillations is determined by the length \xi_m^0 = \pi v_F/E_ex, where v_F is the Fermi velocity and E_ex is the exchange field, while damping is governed by the length l_0 = (1/l_{\uparrow} + 1/l_{\downarrow})^{-1} with l_{\uparrow} and l_{\downarrow} being spin-dependent mean free paths in the ferromagnet. The superconducting transition temperature T_c(d_F) of the F/S/F trilayer shows the damping oscillations as a function of the F-layer thickness d_F with period \xi_F = \pi/\sqrt{m E_ex}, where m is the effective electron mass. We show that strong spin-conserving scattering either in the superconductor or in the ferromagnet significantly suppresses these oscillations. The calculated T_c(d_F) dependences are compared with existing experimental data for Fe/Nb/Fe trilayers and Nb/Co multilayers.Comment: 13 pages, REVTeX4, 8 PS-figures; improved version, submitted to PR

Inhomogeneous magnetism induced in a superconductor at superconductor-ferromagnet interface

We study a magnetic proximity effect at superconductor (S) - ferromagnet (F) interface. It is shown that due to an exchange of electrons between the F and S metals ferromagnetic correlations extend into the superconductor, being dependent on interface parameters. We show that ferromagnetic exchange field pair breaking effect leads to a formation of subgap bands in the S layer local density of states, that accommodate only one spin-polarized quasiparticles. Equilibrium magnetization leakage into the S layer as function of SF interface quality and a value of ferromagnetic interaction have also been calculated. We show that a damped-oscillatory behavior versus distance from SF interface is a distinguished feature of the exchange-induced magnetization of the S layer.Comment: 10 pages, 7 Postscript figure

Birth preparedness and complication readiness: knowledge and practices among pregnant women in Benin City, Edo State

Nigeria accounts for nearly 10% of global estimates of maternal mortalities. Antenatal registration and health facility deliveries remain very challenging in Nigeria. This study was conducted to assess knowledge, birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPACR) practices among pregnant women in Benin City, for improved antenatal care (ANC) registration and skilled attendance at birth.Materials and Methods: A community based analytical cross sectional study design was utilized in this study, involving researcher distribution of pretested semi structured questionnaires to 252 consenting pregnant women in Benin City..Results: The mean age of women studied was 28.9 ± 4.9 years, 197(78.2%) of them were aware of the term “birth preparedness”, with 172 (89.1%) reporting health care providers as their main source of information. Majority 243(96.4%) of respondents had good knowledge of birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPACR) while 9(3.6%) had fair knowledge. In relation to practice of BPACR, 238(94.4%) had registered for ANC, 234(98.3%) had identified a health facility, 233(92.5%) identified a skilled birth provider, 165(65.5%) made transportation plans, 74(29.4%) had savings as emergency funds while only 21(8.3%) had identified potential blood donor. ANC registration (OR=0.30; 95%CI= 0.09-0.98; p=0.040) and Identifying skilled birth provider (OR=0.18; 95%CI= 0.06-0.49; p< 0.001) among respondents were significant predictors identified as influencing health facility deliveries.Conclusion: This study identified good knowledge and practice of BPACR among pregnant women studied in Benin City, with ANC registration and identifying skilled birth providers significantly influencing health facility deliveries. There is need to strengthen Antenatal Care  (ANC) registration practices and identifying skilled birth providers among pregnant women in study area and by extension Nigeria for improved health facility delivery.Keywords: Assessment, Benin City, Birth preparedness and complication readiness, Knowledge, practices, pregnant wome

Health infrastructural challenges to health management information systems in Edo State, South-South, Nigeria

Aim: This study aims to assess health management information systems at the primary health care facilities in Edo State to help identify gaps in performance especially as regards the health workers’ ability to practice and use the health data generated at their Primary Health Care centres.Methods: A health facility based qualitative survey was done involving focus group discussion, in depth/key informant interviews and an observational checklist assessment of the health facilities. Both questionnaires were structured in line with study objectives. The notes and recordings were transcribed using thematic analysis to identify recurrent themes of barriers to the practice and use of data collection.Results: Thirty-five PHC health facilities were assessed for availability and functionality of health infrastructure. None of the health facilities had internet connectivity and budget specific for NHMIS, 2(5.7%) had stand by generating sets only 0.06 of the total (2.9%) were functional, 6(17.1%) had desk, chairs for data entry/NHMIS only 0.3 of the total (5.7%) were functional and 26(74.3%) of health facilities had focal persons handling data, all (100%) were functional. Only 2 (5.7%) of the health centres surveyed were capable of operating the NHMIS activities while 33 (94.3%) were not capable.Conclusion: The study showed a huge gap in the health infrastructure necessary to facilitate practice and utilization of the NHMIS thus weak operational capacity of the PHC-NHMIS. The government at all levels should ensure collective effort and political will to improve the PHCNHMIS in Edo State through training and training courses and placement of appropriate data staff across the PHCs.Key words: Data, Edo State, Health workers, Health infrastructure, Health ManagementInformation Systems, Primary Health Care centres

Static and dynamic mechanical behavior of doum palm (Hyphaene thebaica) nut reinforced HDPE composites

The quest to discover more and to enhance the qualities of agro-residue for use as natural reinforcement of polymers continues to attract the attention of researchers because of the environmental friendliness. Hyphaene thebaica also known as doum palm is a fruit tree native to the Nile in Egypt and found in abundance in many parts of Africa. Doum palm fruit contains probably the hardest and toughest known nut. The doum palm nuts (DPN) are the most under-used hard-nut despite their abundance in nature. This study presents the potential doum palm nut particles (DPNp) as natural reinforcement for high density polyethylene (HDPE). Properties of DPN such as density, hardness and weight loss due to heating were determined. HDPE/DPNp composites were produced by reinforcing HDPE with 30, 35, 40 and 45% DPNp particles of two different sizes. The particle sizes 600 μm and 710 μm led to classifying the composites as X-composite and Y-composite respectively. The static and dynamic mechanical properties of the composites were determined and compared with the those of pure HDPE. Results showed that HDPE and DPNp can be formed into light and attractive components. Loading HPDE with DPNp significantly improve static mechanical properties of HDPE such as tensile strength, hardness, stiffness and resistance to impact failure by 50%, 200%, 800% and 1500% respectively. The HDPE/DPNp composites also had better dynamic mechanical properties. The ability of the composites to maintain load bearing capacity under dynamic conditions was superior to that of HDPE

Computer-Aided design of belt and pulley systems using Visual Basic

A Visual Basic Code “DriveCad” was developed for analysis and design of flat and V-belt drives. The Code was used to solve design problems and the results compared favorably with data generated by manual computat-ions, with variation of less than 1.6 %. DriveCad was used to generate scaled 2-dimensional drawings of pulley and belt assembly at reduced design time with minimal roundoff errors

Determinants of Attitude Towards Gender Based Violence Among Adult Residents in an Urban Community in a Developing Country

Gender based violence (GBV) has very strong and deep cultural roots in developing counties. This study assessed awareness and attitude towards GBV among adult residents in an urban setting, in other to raise awareness on need to stop GBV. A community based analytical cross sectional study was conducted, utilizing pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires to interview 400 consenting adult residents. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20.0 statistical software, statistical significance was set at p˂0.050 and 95% Confidence Interval. The mean age of respondents was 30.3 ± 8.9 years, they were aware of the term GBV, with mass media 281(70.3%) reported as their main source of information. Three hundred and forty three (85.7%) of them had negative attitude towards GBV while 57 (14.3%) had positive attitude. Gender (OR=0.102; 95%CI=0.036-0.292; p<0.001), marital status (OR=0.219; 95%CI=0.086-0.556; p<0.001), religion (OR=31.649; 95%CI=9.404-106.515; p<0.001) and knowledge of GBV (OR=0.428; 95%CI=0.181-1.015; p<0.001) were identified as significant predictors influencing attitude towards GBV. Gender, marital status and religion were identified as significant predictors influencing attitude towards GBV. Strategic stakeholder engagement and sensitization efforts can help foster better behavioural and cultural practices against GBV. Keywords: Adults residents, Awareness, Developing country, Edo State, Gender based violence, Ogbe Community

Tribological evaluation of refined, bleached and deodorized palm stearin using four-ball tribotester with different normal loads

The effects of the mechanical factors with applied loads on the tribological performance of refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) palm stearin (PS) were studied using a four-ball tribotester. All the RBD PS results were simultaneously compared with the additive-free paraffinic mineral oil (PMO). The experiments were carried out using different loads with a constant speed in order to gain a better understanding of the mechanical processes that occurred during the experiment. For each experiment, the temperature was increased to 75 °C and was run for 1 h. In a mechanical system, lubricant plays an important role in reducing wear and friction. PS exists as a semi-solid at room temperature after the fractionation process from oil palm. Due to the increasing rate of pollution to the environment, vegetable oil was chosen as the test lubricant with regard to its biodegradability. Other advantages of vegetable oil are that it is more easily harvestable and non-toxic compared to petroleum-based oil, which made it a suitable candidate. From the experiment, RBD PS is found to have a better friction constraint reduction compared with additive-free PMO