Sex education and self-poisoning in Sri Lanka: an explorative analysis

BACKGROUND: Self-harm and suicide are important causes of morbidity and mortality in Sri Lanka, but our understanding of these behaviours is limited. Qualitative studies have implicated familial and societal expectations around sex and relationships. We conducted an explorative analysis using case-control data to investigate the association between sex education and self-poisoning in Sri Lanka. METHODS: Cases (N=298) were self-poisoning inpatients on a toxicology ward, Teaching Hospital Peradeniya. Controls (N=500) were sex and age frequency matched to cases and were outpatients/visitors to the same hospital. Participants were asked whether they had received sex education, and to rate the quality and usefulness of any sex education received. Logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, and religion quantified the association between receipt, quality and usefulness of sex education and self-poisoning. We tested whether the associations differed by sex. RESULTS: Roughly 1-in-3 cases and 1-in-5 controls reported having not received sex education. Individuals who did not receive sex education were nearly twice as likely to have self-poisoned than those who did (OR 1.68 (95% CI 1.11-2.55)). Those who reported the sex education they received as not useful were more likely to have self-poisoned compared to those who reported it useful (OR 1.95 (95% CI 1.04-3.65)). We found no evidence of an association between self-poisoning and the self-rated quality of sex education, or that associations differed by participant sex. CONCLUSION: As sex education is potentially modifiable at the population-level, further research should aim to explore this association in more depth, using qualitative methods and validated measurement tools. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-12374-4

Multifunctional sulfonium-based treatment for perovskite solar cells with less than 1% efficiency loss over 4,500-h operational stability tests

The stabilization of grain boundaries and surfaces of the perovskite layer is critical to extend the durability of perovskite solar cells. Here we introduced a sulfonium-based molecule, dimethylphenethylsulfonium iodide (DMPESI), for the post-deposition treatment of formamidinium lead iodide perovskite films. The treated films show improved stability upon light soaking and remains in the black α phase after two years ageing under ambient condition without encapsulation. The DMPESI-treated perovskite solar cells show less than 1% performance loss after more than 4,500 h at maximum power point tracking, yielding a theoretical T80 of over nine years under continuous 1-sun illumination. The solar cells also display less than 5% power conversion efficiency drops under various ageing conditions, including 100 thermal cycles between 25 °C and 85 °C and an 1,050-h damp heat test

The influence of knit-lines on the tensile properties of fiberglass reinforced thermoplastics

The adverse effect of knit-line formation on the mechanical properties of thermoplastics has been well documented for unfilled materials. A majority of these investigations concern amorphous polymers, whereas a number of engineering polymers are semicrystalline and also contain reinforcing fillers and fibers. The present investigation deals with the effect of knit-lines on the mechanical behavior of unfilled and glass fiber-reinforced semicrystalline polymers, such as polypropylene, poly(butylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene terephthalate), and poly(phenylene sulfide). Unfilled and fiber-reinforced polystyrene was also investigated for reference. Tensile specimens with knit-lines were produced by impinging melt fronts from two gates located at opposite ends of the dumbbell-shaped mold. The effect of process conditions on the knit-line strength was studied by varying primarily the melt and mold temperatures. The presence of glass fibers significantly reduced the knit-line factor based on strength and strain to failure for the reinforced grades of all polymers relative to their respective unfilled grades. This is attributed to the lack of fiber flow across the knit-line, which makes the material in the knit-line region act as if it is not reinforced. The knit-line strength could be changed through process modifications. For the unfilled grades of semicrystalline polymers, the presence of knit-lines did not affect the yield strength but reduced the elongation at onset of necking, indicating that little spherulitic growth takes place across the knit-line

Isolation and characterization of bacteria from canine respiratory diseases in and around Hyderabad city, Andhra Pradesh, India

Aim: To identify the organisms causing respiratory diseases in dogs that belongs to areas in and around Hyderabad city.Materials and Methods: Nasal samples were collected using sterile swabs from the canine clinical cases that were presented with the history of respiratory diseases at the University administered Veterinary Hospital, Bhoiguda, Secunderabad and Campus Veterinary Hospital, College of Veterinary Science, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad over a period of 26 months i.e., from October 2008 to November 2010. Clinical signs included coughing, nasal discharge, sneezing, difficulty in breathing, fever, loss of appetite and lethargic behavior. Nasal swabs were immediately transferred, aseptically, into a nutrient broth and were subjected to various cultural tests and microscopic examination. Results: Out of 90 nasal samples, different species of bacteria were isolated. Results from our bacterial culture, microscopic and biochemical studies of the nasal discharges collected from dogs suffering with respiratory diseases revealed various bacteria such as E. coli, Klebsiella spp, Streptococci spp.Staphylococci and mixed infections.Conclusion: This study revealed that the bacteria such as E. coli, Klebsiella spp, Streptococci spp. Staphylococci and mixed infections are the common causative agents that lead to respiratory diseases in dogs belonging to areas in and around Hyderabad city

COMBINED EFFECT OF EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION (EGR) AND FUEL INJECTION PRESSURE ON CRDI ENGINE OPERATING WITH JATROPHA CURCAS BIODIESEL BLENDS

This work investigates the influence of Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and injection pressure on the performance and emissions of CRDI engine using Jatropha curcas biodiesel blends of 10% and 20% (B10 and B20). Experiments were carried out for three fuel injection pressures (FIP) of 300, 400 and 500 bar with 15% and 20% EGR rate at constant speed of 2000 rpm and standard injection timing of 150 BTDC. Parameters like brake thermal efficiency and emission characteristics such as smoke opacity, oxides of nitrogen (NOx), hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon mono-oxide (CO) were measured and analysed. The results showed improvement of performance in terms of brake thermal efficiency for blends B10, B20 and with 15%EGR rate. Smoke, HC and CO decreased while slightly increasing NOx emissions when working with biodiesel. In summary, it is optimized that engine running with combination of B20 blend and 15% EGR rate culminates into NOx reductions without affecting engine efficiency and other emissions like smoke opacity, hydrocarbon and carbon mono-oxide