Portable Calorimeter for Fire Experiments

Executive Summary An oxygen consumption calorimeter works by measuring the heat release rate of a burning substance. This value is calculated by measuring the oxygen and byproducts in smoke from afire.In order to get these values two types of sensors were used. A non-dispersive infrared sensor (NDIR) that measured CO and CO2 and a zirconium O2 sensor were used to find their respective gas concentrations.The design to calculate the heat release rate is focused on maximizing sensor accuracy and portability while simplifying the manufacturing by using off-the-shelf components. The goal included making the system simple to recreate and package in a portable system.Multiple designs were considered to ensure that the system would be portable. The final design is focused on working around the Crestline 7911 NDIR sensor and AO2 Citacel sensor. The other key components include the microcontroller, pump, power supply, air filter, and mounting platform, which were designed around these two sensors. These components are packaged together in a briefcase that will house the components and protect them during transportation and usage. This flexibility for transportation allows the system to be used in different locations.The oxygen consumption calorimeter also has several specific design specifications that it will meet. These fall under three categories: safety, usability, and data acquisition. Safety considerations involve ensuring that the system is not exposed to excessive heat, well insulated, does not deflect or fracture, etc. To ensure the usability of the device, the engineering team will record issues and the appropriate solutions for hardware and software issues to establish a working guideline for future users.Another key specification category is data acquisition. It is important for the system accurately acquire data and that the system is calibrated properly. This document will serve as the scope of work and as a design report for the mechanical engineering team working on the Portable Calorimeter for Fire Experiments project. The objective of this document is to define the problem and detail the steps that were taken to design the portable oxygen consumption calorimeter

Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (HALE), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950-2019 : a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of fertility, mortality, migration, and population for 204 countries and territories and selected subnational locations from 1950 to 2019. Methods: 8078 country-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 938 surveys, 349 censuses, and 238 other sources were identified and used to estimate age-specific fertility. Spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression (ST-GPR) was used to generate age-specific fertility rates for 5-year age groups between ages 15 and 49 years. With extensions to age groups 10–14 and 50–54 years, the total fertility rate (TFR) was then aggregated using the estimated age-specific fertility between ages 10 and 54 years. 7417 sources were used for under-5 mortality estimation and 7355 for adult mortality. ST-GPR was used to synthesise data sources after correction for known biases. Adult mortality was measured as the probability of death between ages 15 and 60 years based on vital registration, sample registration, and sibling histories, and was also estimated using ST-GPR. HIV-free life tables were then estimated using estimates of under-5 and adult mortality rates using a relational model life table system created for GBD, which closely tracks observed age-specific mortality rates from complete vital registration when available. Independent estimates of HIV-specific mortality generated by an epidemiological analysis of HIV prevalence surveys and antenatal clinic serosurveillance and other sources were incorporated into the estimates in countries with large epidemics. Annual and single-year age estimates of net migration and population for each country and territory were generated using a Bayesian hierarchical cohort component model that analysed estimated age-specific fertility and mortality rates along with 1250 censuses and 747 population registry years. We classified location-years into seven categories on the basis of the natural rate of increase in population (calculated by subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate) and the net migration rate. We computed healthy life expectancy (HALE) using years lived with disability (YLDs) per capita, life tables, and standard demographic methods. Uncertainty was propagated throughout the demographic estimation process, including fertility, mortality, and population, with 1000 draw-level estimates produced for each metric. Findings: The global TFR decreased from 2·72 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 2·66–2·79) in 2000 to 2·31 (2·17–2·46) in 2019. Global annual livebirths increased from 134·5 million (131·5–137·8) in 2000 to a peak of 139·6 million (133·0–146·9) in 2016. Global livebirths then declined to 135·3 million (127·2–144·1) in 2019. Of the 204 countries and territories included in this study, in 2019, 102 had a TFR lower than 2·1, which is considered a good approximation of replacement-level fertility. All countries in sub-Saharan Africa had TFRs above replacement level in 2019 and accounted for 27·1% (95% UI 26·4–27·8) of global livebirths. Global life expectancy at birth increased from 67·2 years (95% UI 66·8–67·6) in 2000 to 73·5 years (72·8–74·3) in 2019. The total number of deaths increased from 50·7 million (49·5–51·9) in 2000 to 56·5 million (53·7–59·2) in 2019. Under-5 deaths declined from 9·6 million (9·1–10·3) in 2000 to 5·0 million (4·3–6·0) in 2019. Global population increased by 25·7%, from 6·2 billion (6·0–6·3) in 2000 to 7·7 billion (7·5–8·0) in 2019. In 2019, 34 countries had negative natural rates of increase; in 17 of these, the population declined because immigration was not sufficient to counteract the negative rate of decline. Globally, HALE increased from 58·6 years (56·1–60·8) in 2000 to 63·5 years (60·8–66·1) in 2019. HALE increased in 202 of 204 countries and territories between 2000 and 2019

Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods: GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings: Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990–2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0–9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10–24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10–24 years were also in the top ten in the 25–49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50–74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation: As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and developm nt investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

The experience of body image in people with psychosis and psychotic-like experiences: a co-produced mixed methods systematic review and narrative synthesis.

Background: Body image is a transdiagnostic construct which appears poorly understood in the context of psychosis. Poor body image is associated with paranoia which makes it a theoretically meaningful treatment target in psychosis. We systematically reviewed associations between body image and psychosis symptoms in both the typical population and people living with psychotic disorders, synthesised known correlates of negative body image in people living with psychotic disorders and performed a meta-synthesis to understand the lived experience of body image in people with psychosis. Method: Ovid MEDLINE, OVID Embase, OVID APA PsycINFO, EBSCOhost Cinahl and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched in January 2024. The methodological quality and risk of bias were assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Results: 20,612 participants were included from 31 studies, of which 3203 (15.54%) living with psychotic conditions, 17,301 from the general population, 93 people with other conditions being compared to psychosis (such as bipolar disorder) and 15 carers. There were 25 quantitative studies (24 cross-sectional, 1 prospective), five qualitative studies, and one mixed-methods study. Cross-sectional evidence suggests associations between negative body image and psychotic symptoms, especially paranoia, as well as wider mental and physical health outcomes. Potential factors contributing to the persistence of poor body image include psychosis symptoms, worries about appearance related judgements, negative self-concept, body ambivalence, appearance related safety-seeking behaviours, and traumatic memories Conclusions: Negative body image is relevant to the lives of people with psychosis spectrum conditions. Recommendations to guide and improve future research are reported

The experience of body image in people with psychosis and psychotic-like experiences: a co-produced mixed methods systematic review and narrative synthesis

Background: Body image is a transdiagnostic construct which appears poorly understood in the context of psychosis. Poor body image is associated with paranoia which makes it a theoretically meaningful treatment target in psychosis. We systematically reviewed associations between body image and psychosis symptoms in both the typical population and people living with psychotic disorders, synthesised known correlates of negative body image in people living with psychotic disorders and performed a meta-synthesis to understand the lived experience of body image in people with psychosis. Method: Ovid MEDLINE, OVID Embase, OVID APA PsycINFO, EBSCOhost Cinahl and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched in January 2024. The methodological quality and risk of bias were assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Results: 20,612 participants were included from 31 studies, of which 3203 (15.54%) living with psychotic conditions, 17,301 from the general population, 93 people with other conditions being compared to psychosis (such as bipolar disorder) and 15 carers. There were 25 quantitative studies (24 cross-sectional, 1 prospective), five qualitative studies, and one mixed-methods study. Cross-sectional evidence suggests associations between negative body image and psychotic symptoms, especially paranoia, as well as wider mental and physical health outcomes. Potential factors contributing to the persistence of poor body image include psychosis symptoms, worries about appearance related judgements, negative self-concept, body ambivalence, appearance related safety-seeking behaviours, and traumatic memories. Conclusions: Negative body image is relevant to the lives of people with psychosis spectrum conditions. Recommendations to guide and improve future research are reported

Fluorescence spectroscopy of nanofillers and their polymer nanocomposites

Polymer nanocomposites have seen enormous growth in recent years owing to their potential applications in a variety of industries. It is well known that the synergistic combination of nanofillers and polymer matrix offers materials with exceptional properties, which are not realizable by using an individual component. Fluorescence spectroscopy is an attractive tool that can provide information at a nanoscopic level with exceptional sensitivity, for analyzing and acquiring data on the structure and properties of materials with high precision. However, most polymers are not fluorescent, and are heterogeneous in nature with complex architecture that makes it challenging to investigate the processes occurring at the microscopic and nanoscale level using fluorescence spectroscopy. Therefore fluorescent nanofillers are added into the polymer, which act as a molecular probe to detect the properties of the surrounding polymer and analyze the dynamic processes which alter the local environment at different times. The current chapter provides a comprehensive study on the importance of molecular fluorescence to study the nanofillers, their respective polymer nanocomposites, and technological advances in fluorescence measurements to study material characteristics