Comparison of Online Sexual Activity Among Iranian Individuals With and Without Substance Use Disorder: A Case-Control Study

The most important practical concerns in addiction medicine are the non-substance addiction and related addictive behaviors among individuals with substance use disorder. On the other hand, technological advances, and easy access have increased the frequency of online sexual activities (OSAs) as one of these behaviors. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of OSAs, based on the Internet Sex Screening Test (ISST) scores, among 60 patients with substance use disorder referred to Iran Psychiatric Hospital and 60 non-dependent individuals. The results showed significant negative correlations between the ISST scores and age, age at the onset of substance use, and substance use duration. There was a significant difference between the ISST scores of the case and control groups (P = 0.001). Patients who start using substances at an early age and have a great duration of substance use are more likely to engage in other addictive behaviors such as OSAs. Therefore, it is critical to consider OSAs and other addictive behaviors in patients with substance use disorder to provide better care for this vulnerable community

Inertial manipulation of bubbles in rectangular microfluidic channels

Inertial microfluidics is an active field of research that deals with crossflow positioning of the suspended entities in microflows. Until now, the majority of the studies have focused on the behavior of rigid particles in order to provide guidelines for microfluidic applications such as sorting and filtering. Deformable entities such as bubbles and droplets are considered in fewer studies despite their importance in multiphase microflows. In this paper, we show that the trajectory of bubbles flowing in rectangular and square microchannels can be controlled by tuning the balance of forces acting on them. A T-junction geometry is employed to introduce bubbles into a microchannel and analyze their lateral equilibrium position in a range of Reynolds (1 < Re < 40) and capillary numbers (0.1 < Ca < 1). We find that the Reynolds number (Re), the capillary number (Ca), the diameter of the bubble ([D with combining macron]), and the aspect ratio of the channel are the influential parameters in this phenomenon. For instance, at high Re, the flow pushes the bubble towards the wall while large Ca or [D with combining macron] moves the bubble towards the center. Moreover, in the shallow channels, having aspect ratios higher than one, the bubble moves towards the narrower sidewalls. One important outcome of this study is that the equilibrium position of bubbles in rectangular channels is different from that of solid particles. The experimental observations are in good agreement with the performed numerical simulations and provide insights into the dynamics of bubbles in laminar flows which can be utilized in the design of flow based multiphase flow reactors

A versatile and membrane-less electrochemical reactor for the electrolysis of water and brine

Renewables challenge the management of energy supply and demand due to their intermittency. A promising solution is the direct conversion of the excess electrical energy into valuable chemicals in electrochemical reactors that are inexpensive, scalable, and compatible with irregular availability of electrical power. Membrane-less electrolyzers, deployed on a microfluidic platform, were recently shown to hold great promise for efficient electrolysis and cost-effective operation. The elimination of the membrane increases the reactor lifetime, reduces fabrication costs, and enables the deployment of liquid electrolytes with ionic conductivities that surpass those allowed by solid membranes. Here, we demonstrate a membrane-less architecture that enables unprecedented throughput by 3D printing a device that combines components such as the flow plates and the fluidic ports in a monolithic part, while at the same time, providing tight tolerances and smooth surfaces for precise flow conditioning. We show that inertial fluidic forces are effective even in millifluidic regimes and, therefore, are utilized to control the two-phase flows inside the device and prevent cross-contamination of the products. Simulations provide insight on governing fluid dynamics of coalescing bubbles and their rapid jumps away from the electrodes and help identify three key mechanisms for their fast and intriguing return towards the electrodes. Experiments and simulations are used to demonstrate the efficiency of the inertial separation mechanism in millichannels and at higher flow rates than in microchannels. We analyze the performance of the present device for two reactions: water splitting and the chlor-alkali process, and find product purities of more than 99% and Faradaic efficiencies of more than 90%. The present membrane-less reactor – containing more efficient catalysts – provides close to 40 times higher throughput than its microfluidic counterpart and paves the way for realization of cost-effective and scalable electrochemical stacks that meet the performance and price targets of the renewable energy sector

Global age-sex-specific mortality, life expectancy, and population estimates in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1950–2021, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Estimates of demographic metrics are crucial to assess levels and trends of population health outcomes. The profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on populations worldwide has underscored the need for timely estimates to understand this unprecedented event within the context of long-term population health trends. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 provides new demographic estimates for 204 countries and territories and 811 additional subnational locations from 1950 to 2021, with a particular emphasis on changes in mortality and life expectancy that occurred during the 2020–21 COVID-19 pandemic period. Methods: 22 223 data sources from vital registration, sample registration, surveys, censuses, and other sources were used to estimate mortality, with a subset of these sources used exclusively to estimate excess mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2026 data sources were used for population estimation. Additional sources were used to estimate migration; the effects of the HIV epidemic; and demographic discontinuities due to conflicts, famines, natural disasters, and pandemics, which are used as inputs for estimating mortality and population. Spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression (ST-GPR) was used to generate under-5 mortality rates, which synthesised 30 763 location-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 1365 surveys and censuses, and 80 other sources. ST-GPR was also used to estimate adult mortality (between ages 15 and 59 years) based on information from 31 642 location-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 355 surveys and censuses, and 24 other sources. Estimates of child and adult mortality rates were then used to generate life tables with a relational model life table system. For countries with large HIV epidemics, life tables were adjusted using independent estimates of HIV-specific mortality generated via an epidemiological analysis of HIV prevalence surveys, antenatal clinic serosurveillance, and other data sources. Excess mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 was determined by subtracting observed all-cause mortality (adjusted for late registration and mortality anomalies) from the mortality expected in the absence of the pandemic. Expected mortality was calculated based on historical trends using an ensemble of models. In location-years where all-cause mortality data were unavailable, we estimated excess mortality rates using a regression model with covariates pertaining to the pandemic. Population size was computed using a Bayesian hierarchical cohort component model. Life expectancy was calculated using age-specific mortality rates and standard demographic methods. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were calculated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered values from a 1000-draw posterior distribution. Findings: Global all-cause mortality followed two distinct patterns over the study period: age-standardised mortality rates declined between 1950 and 2019 (a 62·8% [95% UI 60·5–65·1] decline), and increased during the COVID-19 pandemic period (2020–21; 5·1% [0·9–9·6] increase). In contrast with the overall reverse in mortality trends during the pandemic period, child mortality continued to decline, with 4·66 million (3·98–5·50) global deaths in children younger than 5 years in 2021 compared with 5·21 million (4·50–6·01) in 2019. An estimated 131 million (126–137) people died globally from all causes in 2020 and 2021 combined, of which 15·9 million (14·7–17·2) were due to the COVID-19 pandemic (measured by excess mortality, which includes deaths directly due to SARS-CoV-2 infection and those indirectly due to other social, economic, or behavioural changes associated with the pandemic). Excess mortality rates exceeded 150 deaths per 100 000 population during at least one year of the pandemic in 80 countries and territories, whereas 20 nations had a negative excess mortality rate in 2020 or 2021, indicating that all-cause mortality in these countries was lower during the pandemic than expected based on historical trends. Between 1950 and 2021, global life expectancy at birth increased by 22·7 years (20·8–24·8), from 49·0 years (46·7–51·3) to 71·7 years (70·9–72·5). Global life expectancy at birth declined by 1·6 years (1·0–2·2) between 2019 and 2021, reversing historical trends. An increase in life expectancy was only observed in 32 (15·7%) of 204 countries and territories between 2019 and 2021. The global population reached 7·89 billion (7·67–8·13) people in 2021, by which time 56 of 204 countries and territories had peaked and subsequently populations have declined. The largest proportion of population growth between 2020 and 2021 was in sub-Saharan Africa (39·5% [28·4–52·7]) and south Asia (26·3% [9·0–44·7]). From 2000 to 2021, the ratio of the population aged 65 years and older to the population aged younger than 15 years increased in 188 (92·2%) of 204 nations. Interpretation: Global adult mortality rates markedly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, reversing past decreasing trends, while child mortality rates continued to decline, albeit more slowly than in earlier years. Although COVID-19 had a substantial impact on many demographic indicators during the first 2 years of the pandemic, overall global health progress over the 72 years evaluated has been profound, with considerable improvements in mortality and life expectancy. Additionally, we observed a deceleration of global population growth since 2017, despite steady or increasing growth in lower-income countries, combined with a continued global shift of population age structures towards older ages. These demographic changes will likely present future challenges to health systems, economies, and societies. The comprehensive demographic estimates reported here will enable researchers, policy makers, health practitioners, and other key stakeholders to better understand and address the profound changes that have occurred in the global health landscape following the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and longer-term trends beyond the pandemic

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Learning from droplet flows in microfluidic channels using deep neural networks

A non-intrusive method is presented for measuring different fluidic properties in a microfluidic chip by optically monitoring the flow of droplets. A neural network is used to extract the desired information from the images of the droplets. We demonstrate the method in two applications: measurement of the concentration of each component of a water/alcohol mixture, and measurement of the flow rate of the same mixture. A large number of droplet images are recorded and used to train deep neural networks (DNN) to predict the flow rate or the concentration. It is shown that this method can be used to quantify the concentrations of each component with a 0.5% accuracy and the flow rate with a resolution of 0.05 ml/h. The proposed method can in principle be used to measure other properties of the fluid such as surface tension and viscosity

Learning The Fluid/Flow Properties Using Microfluidics

Deep neural networks (DNN) are employed to measure the flow rate and the concentration of the liquid using the images of the droplets in a microfluidic device. The trained networks are able to measure flow rates and concentrations with good accuracy

Learning The Fluid/Flow Properties Using Microfluidics

Deep neural networks (DNN) are employed to measure the flow rate and the concentration of the liquid using the images of the droplets in a microfluidic device. The trained networks are able to measure flow rates and concentrations with good accuracy

The potentials of additive manufacturing for mass production of electrochemical energy systems

ISSN:2451-910

A membrane-less electrolyzer with porous walls for high throughput and pure hydrogen production dagger

Membrane-less electrolyzers utilize fluidic forces instead of solid barriers for the separation of electrolysis gas products. These electrolyzers have low ionic resistance, a simple design, and the ability to work with electrolytes at different pH values. However, the interelectrode distance and the flow velocity should be large at high production rates to prevent gas cross over. This is not energetically favorable as the ionic resistance is higher at larger interelectrode distances and the required pumping power increases with the flow velocity. In this work, a new solution is introduced to increase the throughput of electrolyzers without the need for increasing these two parameters. The new microfluidic reactor has three channels separated by porous walls. The electrolyte enters the middle channel and flows into the outer channels through the wall pores. Gas products are being produced in the outer channels. Hydrogen cross over is 0.14% in this electrolyzer at flow rate = 80 mL h(-1) and current density (j) = 300 mA cm(-2). This cross over is 58 times lower than hydrogen cross over in an equivalent membrane-less electrolyzer with parallel electrodes under the same working conditions. Moreover, the addition of a surfactant to the electrolyte further reduces the hydrogen cross over by 21% and the overpotential by 1.9%. This is due to the positive effects of surfactants on the detachment and coalescence dynamics of bubbles. The addition of the passive additive and implementation of the porous walls result in twice the hydrogen production rate in the new reactor compared to parallel electrode electrolyzers with similar hydrogen cross over