BACKGROUND health professionals in Belgium are confronted with female genital mutilation (FGM). To date, no survey to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices on FGM was conducted among midwives in the Northern region of Belgium. OBJECTIVE the objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of Flemish midwives regarding female genital mutilation (FGM). DESIGN we...

A series of three articles presents an innovative way to build advanced functionally graded materials (FGM) based on polymer/ceramic (epoxy/SrTiO3) composites tailored by electrophoresis for field grading in power electronics. In Part 3, this method is applied the context modules DBC substrate encapsulation. An evaluation FGM performances reported electrostatic simulations and breakdown voltage...

BACKGROUND The existing literature is contradictory regarding effects of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) on sexual functions. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of type I and II FGM/C on sexual function of Egyptian women. METHODS We recruited 197 cut women and 197 control women from those visiting Assiut University hospitals for different reasons. We asked each woman to...

BACKGROUND Reliable evidence about the effect of female genital mutilation (FGM) on obstetric outcome is scarce. This study examines the effect of different types of FGM on obstetric outcome. METHODS 28 393 women attending for singleton delivery between November, 2001, and March, 2003, at 28 obstetric centres in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan were examined before deli...

In this paper, progressive damage and global failure of composite laminates under quasi-static, monotonic loading are investigated using 3D continuum damage mechanics. For this purpose, a finite element program has been developed using an eight-node 2D layered element including layer-wise plate theory. Damage analysis of a single orthotropic layer under various uniform in-plane and transverse l...

Soft magnetic composites (SMC) are a promising alternative to laminated steel in many Electrical Engineering applications. This is largely owing to their low level of eddy current losses. The electromagnetic behavior of SMC in electromagnetic devices cannot be easily predicted using standard numerical techniques such as the finite element method, mostly due to the computational cost required to...

BACKGROUND Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is still prevalent in several communities in Kenya and other areas in Africa, as well as being practiced by some migrants from African countries living in other parts of the world. This study aimed at detecting clustering of FGM/C in Kenya, and identifying those areas within the country where women still intend to continue the practice. A bro...