Background: Psychiatric illnesses are known risk factors for self-harm but associations between self-harm and physical illnesses are less well established. We aimed to stratify selected chronic physical and psychiatric illnesses according to their relative risk of self-harm. Design: Retrospective cohort studies using a linked dataset of Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) for 1999-2011. Participants: Individuals with selected psychiatric or physical conditions were compared with a reference cohort constructed from patients admitted for a variety of other conditions and procedures. Setting: All admissions and day cases in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in England. Main outcome measures: Hospital episodes of self-harm. Rate ratios (RRs) were derived by comparing admission for self-harm between cohorts. Results: The psychiatric illnesses studied (depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol abuse, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia and substance abuse) all had very high RRs (> 5) for self-harm. Of the physical illnesses studied, an increased risk of self-harm was associated with epilepsy (RR ¼ 2.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.8-2.9), asthma (1.8, 1.8-1.9), migraine (1.8, 1.7-1.8), psoriasis (1.6, 1.5-1.7), diabetes mellitus (1.6, 1.5-1.6), eczema (1.4, 1.3-1.5) and inflammatory polyarthropathies (1.4, 1.3-1.4). RRs were significantly low for cancers (0.95, 0.93-0.97), congenital heart disease (0.9, 0.8-0.9), ulcerative colitis (0.8, 0.7-0.8), sickle cell anaemia (0.7, 0.6-0.8) and Down's syndrome (0.1, 0.1-0.2). Conclusions: Psychiatric illnesses carry a greatly increased risk of self-harm as well as of suicide. Many chronic physical illnesses are also associated with an increased risk of both self-harm and suicide. Identifying those at risk will allow provision of appropriate monitoring and support.

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The translation of fibers into 'yarns and these into flexible woven forms has been undertaken, using a number of new and unique organic and inorganic fibers. The stranding and twisting of 0.0005-in.-diameter superalloy filaments has resulted in 'yarn. structures with superior flexibility and strength. The woven fabric of these yarns has 2 to 4 times more strength and 20 to 100 times greater fold endurance than fabrics woven of monofilament wires. The weaving of Beta-diameter fibers of E-glass composition into narrow webbings intended for decelerators has shown that the higher strength retention achieved after pressure and temperature is a function of its finer diameter, even when compared to fibers of S-glass composition. Investigation of the translation characteristics of high-temperature polymeric yarns has been conducted, utiliiing Nomex 1 nylon. The high tninslation efficiencies obtained in weaving this yarn can be attributed to the unique stress-strain hehavior. The comparatively flat shape of the stress-strain curve in the post-yield region explains why little effect of geometry on the fabric strength is visible.In recent years there have been ma'riy advances in fiber research. The need for 'fibers to he transformed into flexible structures has heen supple-' mented by , requirements for high-strength, highmodulus fil~ers to be used as reinforcement in structural and ablative systems. ! The emphasis has , been concentrated on the forming and elyaracterization of fibers regardless of their potential use. In the case of fihers' for flexible structures, it has heen assumed that transformation from fiher to yarn, to . fabric would be a relatively easy and rapid process with no real need for research. Preliminary studies ' . with Nomex (formerly HT-1) Indicated that this ' was a correct assumption. However, as further weaving of this fiber progressed, it became apparent that even this fiber could not be woven into a form that would give mechanical properties equivalent 'to . the nylon form that it was to match, The lower initial strength of the yarn, its susceptibility to highspeed. loading, inability to be dyeg, and poor coating adhesion were only a few of the factors involved,'As a restilt, it became necessary to conduct studies of how the yarn 'structure;' co~strt1ction geometry of a_.__--h ,

Three experimental polymeric yarns, a polyimide, an aromatic polyamide, and a polybenzimidazole, were exposed to various gamma dosages up to 1.4 × 109 ergs/g carbon and exposure times up to 18.2 hr. Specimens ere exposed to the gamma radiation alone and also in combination with elevated temperatures. Temperatures of 400°, 600°, and 800°F were used in conjunction with the gamma radiation. All speci mens were evaluated for mechanical properties, i.e., tenacity, elongation, and work-to- rupture. Each polymeric yarn had higher strength, greater elongation, and better energy absorbing capability after thermal-gamma exposure. Exposure at 600°F and all radia tion dosages gave the best results for the polybenzimidazole (PBI) yarn, while exposure at 400°F and radiation dosages of 1.9 × 108 and 7.3 × 108 ergs/g carbon gave the best results for the polyimide and aromatic polyamide yarns. It can be concluded that the thermal stability of these yarns can be improved by thermal gamma treatment.

The heat transfer behavior was determined for textile materials used in Air Force flight jackets. The primary objective was to incorporate %me resistant, thermally stable fiber forms in jackets to provide greater protection to aircrewmen from fire. Combinations of fabriclinsulation, flammable and nonflammable, were evaluated in the layered configurations intended for use in either cold weather and moderately cold weather jackets. A combination of Nomex fabric (outer shell) and Kynol@ batting (insulation) proved superior to all other combinations of fabric and batting.