Unconventional Substance Use among Young People in Urban Lagos and the Implications for Sexual and Reproductive Health

Previous studies have examined conventional substance use among young people but little is known about unconventional substance use in this population. Hence, this study sought to explore unconventional substance use among young people in urban Lagos and the implications for sexual and reproductive health (SRH). The study employed cluster sampling strategy in administering 1200 copies of a structured questionnaire among in-school and out-of-school young people (10-24 years old) across selected areas in urban Lagos. Results indicated that the social environment of young people influenced their involvement in unconventional substance use (p<0.05) in the study setting. Older young people, those out-of-school, exposure to unconventional substance use through peers, through television and those less religious were more likely to report ever use of any unconventional substance. Tramadol, cough syrup, and rohypnol were the most popular unconventional substances ever used among both male and female respondents. Also, while young females who used various unconventional substances were vulnerable to STIs owing to poor preventive behaviour, multiple sexual partnership was rampant among their male counterparts though rich preventive culture prevailed among them. Thus, unconventional drug use among young people has a strong probability of increasing health burden through risky SRH in the study setting

Evaluation of crude watermelon oil as lubricant in cylindrical turning of AISI 1525 steel employing Taguchi and grey relational analyses techniques

Cutting fluids are used for cooling and lubricating the machining area of components used in manufacturing industries such as aerospace, automotive, petroleum, and heavy machinery. Mineral oils derived from petroleum are commonly utilized as cutting fluids. Mineral oil is hazardous to the health of workers and damaging to the environment. There is a need for a substitute for mineral oil. Vegetable oil is increasingly being used as a cutting fluid. Vegetable oils are easily accessible and have benefits including excellent biodegradability, resistance to fire, low humidity rates, and a low coefficient of expansion under heat. This study adopts watermelon oil as a lubricant in MQL machining of AISI 1525 steel using tungsten tools. In the experiment, the feed rate, depth of cut (DC) and spindle speed were varied using the Taguchi L9 orthogonal array. Grey relational analysis was conducted to obtain optimum cutting parameters for surface roughness, machine vibration, and cutting temperature. Hardness and microstructural analysis of the workpiece were also conducted. Results showed that vegetable oil performed much more effectively than mineral oil in most experiments. The DC was shown to be the most efficient cutting parameter after applying ANOVA analysis based on the parameters that were evaluated. Additionally, models for cutting temperature, machine vibration, and surface roughness values have been developed with accuracy between 69.73 % and 99.05 %. The hardness of the workpiece increases with an increase in diameter, which was attributed to the increase in the steel rod (workpiece) cross-sectional area and the likelihood of a more uniform stress distribution. Moreover, finer grain sizes were observed at 70 mm diameter, with the predominant presence of pearlites. These characteristics were reportedly beneficial to the material's toughness and strength

Evaluation of Palm Kernel Oil as Cutting Lubricant in Turning AISI 1039 Steel Using Taguchi-Grey Relational Analysis Optimization Technique

Cutting fluids have a known negative impact on productivity, human health, and the environment in the manufacturing sector. A suitable method for reducing the effect of cutting fluids on human health and the environment is minimum quantity lubrication (MQL). In this experiment, AISI 1039 steel was machined using vegetable oil lubricant and MQL. A chemical method was used to extract vegetable oil from palm kernel seeds. Then, using established techniques, the physicochemical and lubricity properties of palm kernel oil (PKO) were ascertained. The Taguchi L9 (33) orthogonal array served as the basis for the planning of the experimental design. Process parameters such as surface roughness, chip thickness ratio, cutting temperature, and material removal rate were measured during the turning operations. The multi-response outputs from TGRA were considered to simultaneously optimize the cutting parameters namely depth of cut, feed rate, and spindle speed. At a temperature of 55°C, 180 minutes, and particle sizes of 0.2 to 0.5 mm, an oil yield of 55 by weight was obtained. The viscosity at 40°C, specific gravity, pour, fire, cloud, and flash points of the raw PKO were 117.6 mm2/s, 0.8940 mg/ml, 21°C, 231°C, 22.3℃ and 227°C, respectively. The surface roughness and cutting temperature of PKO improved by 44 and 12, respectively, when compared with mineral oil. The findings of this research confirmed the effectiveness of the integrated Taguchi-grey relational analysis (TGRA) optimization method and established an experimental foundation for the use of PKO minimum quantity lubrication turning

Study of the Effects of Waste Glass Additives on the Properties and Compliance level of Fired Ceramic Masonry Bricks

The current study reports the effects of waste glass additives on the properties and compliance level of fired ceramic masonry bricks. In the course of producing durable bricks for masonry, waste glass powder sieved to 150 μm was added to clay, mixed with water and fired to 1000°C. The effects of the waste glass addition were investigated by subjecting 242 ceramic bricks produced to physical, mechanical, and thermal tests. Their morphological behaviour was thereafter examined. From the results obtained, the physical and mechanical properties were improved as waste glass content increased in the samples. Values of properties obtained were compared with existing standard values for bricks and it was observed that compliance level at 0% waste glass was 63%, at 10% waste glass addition, it was 75% and at 15% to 40% waste glass addition, compliance was 100%. Therefore, it was concluded that waste glass addition to bricks improved the properties of bricks for construction purpose

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

The past 2 years, during which waves of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants swept the globe, have starkly highlighted health disparities across nations. Tegally et al. show how the coordinated efforts of talented African scientists have in a short time made great contributions to pandemic surveillance and data gathering. Their efforts and initiatives have provided early warning that has likely benefited wealthier countries more than their own. Genomic surveillance identified the emergence of the highly transmissible Beta and Omicron variants and now the appearance of Omicron sublineages in Africa. However, it is imperative that technology transfer for diagnostics and vaccines, as well the logistic wherewithal to produce and deploy them, match the data-gathering effort