Inkjet Printed Bandpass Filters and Filtennas using Silver Nanoparticle Ink on Flexible Substrate

This paper presents an inkjet printed CPW filtenna designed at 5.8 GHz. The proposed structure consists of a CPW pseudo-interdigital bandpass filter and a CPW inset-fed antenna. The bandpass filter is fabricated using inkjet printing technology. The structure is printed on flexible Kapton substrate with polyimide film using silver nanoparticle ink. The filter is then used to suppress the spurious harmonics of the antenna. Measurements from the fabrication confirm the accuracy of the design method and the simulation results

Monitoring the internal and external loads of young team handball players during competition

This study aimed to examine the internal- and external-training-load (ITL and ETL, respectively) during a match of young handball players. Field testing included heart-rate monitoring (memory belt, Suunto) as a marker of ITL and accelerometry (motion-biosensor, Actical Respironcis, Philips) as a marker of ETL. Time motion analysis data were obtained by recording the player's game activities and later analysed with the Matlab software package. T-test and Pearson-product-moment correlation coefficient were used to examine the differences and the relationship between variables collected in the study. The t-test analysis did not show significant differences between the total distance covered (2216.42-2135.42 m), steps conducted (1829.25-1829.83 steps), steps per minute (91.46-91.49 steps/min), energy expenditure (92.24-90.87 METS), time spent in higher intensity zones calculated by motion biosensor (13.08-12.75 minutes), training-load calculated by Edwards TRIMP method (91.54-88.56 scores) in the first and in the second half of the match. Physical activity variables show no significant correlations with the data assessed by heart rate monitors. Similar results in monitored training-load variables in the first and second halves are connected with the game intensity, which was consistent throughout the match. The lack of correlations between ITL and ETL variables indicates that accelerometry is not suitable for the assessment of metabolic training load in intermittent activities, such as handball. ITL measures used in this study are more suitable for controlling load during training and competition, while the ETL parameters used are more appropriate for better understanding players activity in periods in which the players do not train; other activities can influence players fatigue and training and competition performance

Analysis of the relationship between tobacco smoking and physical activity in adolescence: a gender specific study

Background and Objective: Although smoking and the physical activity level (PAL) are important determinants of health status in adolescence, there is a lack of information on the relationship between smoking and PAL in early adolescence. The objective of this study was to evaluate the gender-specific relationship between smoking and PAL in 14-to-16-year-old adolescents. Materials and Methods: The sample included 650 adolescents (337 girls, 14.7 ± 0.5 years at first testing wave) from Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the first testing wave, participants were tested using struc-tured questionnaires. Second testing was commenced after approximately 20 months (16.4 ± 0.6 years). The variables were age, gender, socioeconomic status, living environment, cigarette smoking (predictors), and PAL (criterion). Predictors were measured at the first wave, and criterion at the first-wave and second-wave. Results: For girls, smoking was negatively correlated to PAL at the first-wave (OR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.55–0.95) and at the second-wave (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.71–0.96). No significant association between smoking and PAL was found for boys. Results suggest that adolescent boys and girls do not follow the equal trajectories when it comes to relationships between smoking and PAL. Conclusions: In developing promotional public health actions related to a decrease of smoking and increase of PAL, a gender-specific approach is highly recommended. Further studies analyzing the cause–effect relationship between consumption of other types of psychoactive substances and PAL in this age group are warranted

Efficient Certified Resolution Proof Checking

We present a novel propositional proof tracing format that eliminates complex processing, thus enabling efficient (formal) proof checking. The benefits of this format are demonstrated by implementing a proof checker in C, which outperforms a state-of-the-art checker by two orders of magnitude. We then formalize the theory underlying propositional proof checking in Coq, and extract a correct-by-construction proof checker for our format from the formalization. An empirical evaluation using 280 unsatisfiable instances from the 2015 and 2016 SAT competitions shows that this certified checker usually performs comparably to a state-of-the-art non-certified proof checker. Using this format, we formally verify the recent 200 TB proof of the Boolean Pythagorean Triples conjecture

Levels and changes of physical activity in adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Contextualizing urban vs. Rural living environment

The COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing implemented shortly after influence physical activity levels (PALs). The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the changes in PAL and factors associated with PALs among Croatian adolescents while considering the impact of community (urban vs. rural living environment). The sample included 823 adolescents (mean age: 16.5 ± 2.1 years) who were tested on baseline (from October 2019 to March 2020; before COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia) and follow-up (in April 2020; during the COVID-19 pandemic and imposed rules of social distancing). Baseline testing included anthropometrics, physical fitness status, and evaluation of PALs, while follow-up included only PALs (evaluated by a standardized questionnaire through an internet application). The results showed a significant influence of the living environment on the decrease of PAL, with a larger decrease in urban adolescents. Logistic regression showed a higher likelihood for normal PALs at baseline in adolescents who had better fitness status, with no strong confounding effect of the urban/rural environment. The fitness status of urban adolescents predicted their PALs at follow-up. The differences between urban and rural adolescents with regard to the established changes in PALs and relationships between the predictors and PALs are explained by the characteristics of the living communities (lack of organized sports in rural areas), and the level of social distancing in the studied period and region/country

Breakdown, scaling and volt-ampere characteristics of low current micro-discharges

Abstract We give preliminary results on the breakdown and low current limit of volt-ampere characteristics of simple parallel plate non-equilibrium dc discharges at standard (centimetre size) and micro-discharge conditions. Experiments with micro-discharges are reported attempting to establish the maintenance of E/N, pd and j/p 2 scalings at small dimensions down to 20 µm. It was found that it may not be possible to obtain properly the left-hand side of the Paschen curve. The possible causes are numerous but we believe that it is possible that long path prevention techniques do not work at high pressures. Nevertheless, the standard scaling laws seem to be maintained down to these dimensions which are consistent with simulations that predict violation of scaling below 10 µm. Volt-ampere characteristics are also presented and compared with those of the standard size discharges

Efficient Certified RAT Verification

Clausal proofs have become a popular approach to validate the results of SAT solvers. However, validating clausal proofs in the most widely supported format (DRAT) is expensive even in highly optimized implementations. We present a new format, called LRAT, which extends the DRAT format with hints that facilitate a simple and fast validation algorithm. Checking validity of LRAT proofs can be implemented using trusted systems such as the languages supported by theorem provers. We demonstrate this by implementing two certified LRAT checkers, one in Coq and one in ACL2

Application of Non-Eqilibrium Plasmas in Top-Down and Bottom-Up Nanotechnologies and Biomedicine

In this paper we discuss how a better understanding of thermal and mainly non-thermal plasmas provides basis for their application in a number or nanotechnologies. One should bear in mind that one may design unique properties of plasmas thus affecting very directly properties of the resulting nanostructures. A number of examples where plasmas contribute to production of nanomaterials, modification of surfaces and functionalization at nanoscales are given here. Plasmas are not a panacea but in nanotechnology their application may be the best strategy to convert production of individual structures to massively parallel production that may become a viable industrial technology