Exploring the Relationship between Functional Movement, Skill-related Physical Fitness, Skill Performance, Competitive Anxiety, and Sport-confidence in College Footballers

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship among functional movement, skillrelated physical fitness, skill performance, competitive anxiety, and sport-confidence in college footballers. METHODS In this study, 76 college footballers were selected as research participants to investigate their body composition factors and general characteristics, and their functional movement, quickness, speed, agility, dribbling, competitive anxiety, and sport-confidence were measured. For analysis of study results, descriptive statistics, and Pearson’s product-moment coefficients of correlation were used. And then, multiple and simple linear regression were conducted to verify the influence of psychological, functional movement, skill-related physical fitness, and skill performance factors. RESULTS As a results of the analysis, correlation between functional movement factors, cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and state sport-confidence were significant considerably. In addition, deep squat, rotary stability, and shoulder mobility among the FMS sub-factors were found to have a significant effect on cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, state sport-confidence, and trait sport-confidence. Also, dribbling factor was found to have a significant effect on cognitive anxiety. CONCLUSIONS Functional movement and dribbling factors are related to competitive anxiety and sportconfidence of college footballers. follow-up studies are needed to verify the mechanism of the relationship between physical, skill-related physical fitness, skills, and psychological factors

Speeding up Elliptic Curve Scalar Multiplication without Precomputation

This paper presents a series of Montgomery scalar multiplication algorithms on general short Weierstrass curves over odd characteristic fields, which need only 12 field multiplications plus 12 ~ 20 field additions per scalar bit using 8 ~ 10 field registers, thus significantly outperform the binary NAF method on average. Over binary fields, the Montgomery scalar multiplication algorithm which was presented at the first CHES workshop by L´opez and Dahab has been a favorite of ECC implementors, due to its nice properties such as high efficiency outperforming the binary NAF, natural SPA-resistance, generality coping with all ordinary curves and implementation easiness. Over odd characteristic fields, the new scalar multiplication algorithms are the first ones featuring all these properties. Building-blocks of our contribution are new efficient differential addition-and-doubling formulae and a novel conception of on-the-fly adaptive coordinates which softly represent points occurring during a scalar multiplication not only in accordance with the basepoint but also bits of the given scalar. Importantly, the new algorithms are equipped with built-in countermeasures against known side-channel attacks, while it is shown that previous Montgomery ladder algorithms with the randomized addressing countermeasure fail to thwart attacks exploiting address-dependent leakage

Monte Carlo simulation-based defect ratio estimation approach for a chemical materials stockpile reliability program

A chemical material stockpile reliability program (CSRP) that determines the usability, safety, reliability, and performance of chemical equipment and materials is developed to determine the storage or disposal of chemical material stockpile (Storage Chemical Equipment and Material Reliability Evaluation Instruction, 2019). However, current inspection for current CSRP depend on test and evaluation of criteria for level of importance, and so the number of samples and acceptance quality limit (AQL) are presented based on the lot size. All the processes are conducted under KS Q ISO 2859-1, and the defect rate of the entire lot of CSRP items is generally assumed to be a distribution that is similar to a binomial distribution. However, the pass-fail test for CSRP items is based on approximately 10 test items, and the factors that cause defects in these items are also heterogeneous. We propose a new methodology for estimating the defect rates of CSRP items based on Monte Carlo simulations, which are widely used in various academic fields. In addition, we show the future applicability of the methodology by applying it to the K1 gas mask case and revealing the results of the defect rate estimation. We also present future work, including the need for a standard sample of CSRP items

Monte Carlo simulation-based defect ratio estimation approach for a chemical materials stockpile reliability program

A chemical material stockpile reliability program (CSRP) that determines the usability, safety, reliability, and performance of chemical equipment and materials is developed to determine the storage or disposal of chemical material stockpile (Storage Chemical Equipment and Material Reliability Evaluation Instruction, 2019). However, current inspection for current CSRP depend on test and evaluation of criteria for level of importance, and so the number of samples and acceptance quality limit (AQL) are presented based on the lot size. All the processes are conducted under KS Q ISO 2859-1, and the defect rate of the entire lot of CSRP items is generally assumed to be a distribution that is similar to a binomial distribution. However, the pass-fail test for CSRP items is based on approximately 10 test items, and the factors that cause defects in these items are also heterogeneous. We propose a new methodology for estimating the defect rates of CSRP items based on Monte Carlo simulations, which are widely used in various academic fields. In addition, we show the future applicability of the methodology by applying it to the K1 gas mask case and revealing the results of the defect rate estimation. We also present future work, including the need for a standard sample of CSRP items

Alkali-Metal-Mediated Reversible Chemical Hydrogen Storage Using Seawater

The economic viability and systemic sustainability of a green hydrogen economy are primarily dependent on its storage. However, none of the current hydrogen storage methods meet all the targets set by the US Department of Energy (DoE) for mobile hydrogen storage. One of the most promising routes is through the chemical reaction of alkali metals with water; however, this method has not received much attention owing to its irreversible nature. Herein, we present a reconditioned seawater battery-assisted hydrogen storage system that can provide a solution to the irreversible nature of alkali-metal-based hydrogen storage. We show that this system can also be applied to relatively lighter alkali metals such as lithium as well as sodium, which increases the possibility of fulfilling the DoE target. Furthermore, we found that small (1.75 cm2) and scaled-up (70 cm2) systems showed high Faradaic efficiencies of over 94%, even in the presence of oxygen, which enhances their viability

Fabrication and characterization of thin-film encapsulation for organic electronics

The rapid development of organic electronics is leading to a number of promising devices in the area of energy sources and conservation (e.g., solar cells and solid-state lighting), while also advancing display technology, sensors, and thin-film transistors. One obstacle to this development is the susceptibility of these devices to water vapor and oxygen, which are well known to cause rapid degradation in many organic electronic devices. In order to guarantee the minimum lifetime needed for various applications, high barrier performance encapsulation materials and structures must be developed and has been the object of much experimental research. However, there is a dearth of comprehensive studies which link the characterization, modeling, and integration of ultra-high barrier films with organic electronics. Such studies are necessary in order to advance the understanding of thin-film encapsulation and to find methodologies which greatly improve its performance. The present work investigates the processing and development of high quality single-layer and multilayer encapsulation architectures for ultra-high barrier films. For compatibility with organic electronics, this study focuses on low temperature fabrication processes which can lead to poor film quality. To circumvent the issue of defects, multilayer encapsulation films with alternating inorganic and organic layers were used to provide ultra-low permeation films. By reducing the complexity of typical multilayer architectures, a new encapsulation processing procedure was developed which combines a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition fabricated inorganic film followed by a high quality film deposited by atomic layer deposition. The improvements that this hybrid film provided were through the quick coating of the device via plasma-based deposition followed by a short atomic layer deposition exposure to seal the defects in the first film. The barrier performance of all thin-film encapsulation was characterized in terms of the effective water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) by using Ca corrosion tests. A detailed study of the water vapor permeation mechanism through thin-film layers was presented. Finally, fully characterized encapsulation layers were integrated with organic solar cells to validate the effectiveness of the barrier layers. The compatibility of the encapsulation process with organic devices was investigated by comparing the performance parameters of organic device before and after encapsulation. The parameters of encapsulated organic devices with various encapsulation structures were compared with their initial values as a function of exposure time to atmosphere to provide a link between effective WVTR and shelf-lifetime of encapsulated organic devices.Ph.D.Committee Chair: Samuel Graham; Committee Member: Bernard Kippelen; Committee Member: David McDowell; Committee Member: Sankar Nair; Committee Member: Suresh Sitarama

Five Years’ Experience with Gene Panel Sequencing in Hereditary Hemolytic Anemia Screened by Routine Peripheral Blood Smear Examination

Background: Hereditary hemolytic anemia (HHA) is defined as a group of heterogeneous and rare diseases caused by defects of red blood cell (RBC) metabolism and RBC membrane, which leads to lysis or premature clearance. The aim of this study was to investigate individuals with HHA for potential disease-causing variants in 33 genes reported to be associated with HHA. Methods: A total of 14 independent individuals or families diagnosed with suspected HHA, and in particular, RBC membranopathy, RBC enzymopathy, and hemoglobinopathy, were collected after routine peripheral blood smear testing. A custom designed panel, including the 33 genes, was performed using gene panel sequencing on the Ion Torrent PGM™ Dx System. The best candidate disease-causing variants were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Results: Several variants of the HHA-associated genes were detected in 10 out of 14 suspected HHA individuals. After excluding those variants predicted to be benign, 10 pathogenic variants and 1 variant of uncertain significance (VUS) were confirmed in 10 individuals with suspected HHA. Of these variants, the p.Trp704Ter nonsense variant of EPB41 and missense p.Gly151Asp variant of SPTA1 were identified in two out of four hereditary elliptocytoses. The frameshift p.Leu884GlyfsTer27 variant of ANK1, nonsense p.Trp652Ter variant of the SPTB, and missense p.Arg490Trp variant of PKLR were detected in all four hereditary spherocytosis cases. Missense p.Glu27Lys, nonsense p.Lys18Ter variants, and splicing errors such as c.92 + 1G > T and c.315 + 1G > A within HBB were identified in four beta thalassemia cases. Conclusions: This study provides a snapshot of the genetic alterations in a cohort of Korean HHA individuals and demonstrates the clinical utility of using gene panels in HHA. Genetic results can provide precise clinical diagnosis and guidance regarding medical treatment and management for some individuals

Emissions and engine performance of an ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel in a utility DI diesel engine

Diesel fuel with an ultra-low sulfur content will soon displace the high sulfur fuel that has been used for a long time. The purpose of this research was to evaluate how ultra-low sulfur diesel (Texas Low Emission Diesel, TxLED) fuel effects on engine performance and emissions. Hence, TxLED was compared to use of conventional 2D on-road diesel in a one cylinder diesel engine. Small diesel engines such as this are used for a variety of applications by the Texas Department of Transportation. According to the results of these experiments, TxLED provide about 12 % reduction in fuel consumption and emissions benefits of about 30-33 % for NOx, about 21-23 % for PM, about 13~25 % for HC, and about 47~66 % for CO depending upon the test cycle. Also at most test points, the maximum torque with TxLED is higher than with 2D. As a result, it is concluded that use of TxLED in small utility diesel engines provides a benefit in emissions, fuel consumption, and performanceMechanical Engineerin

A hybrid encapsulation method for organic electronics

© 2009 American Institute of Physics. The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3115144DOI: 10.1063/1.3115144We report a thin-film encapsulation method for organic electronics that combines the deposition of a layer of SiOₓ or SiNₓ (100 nm) by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition followed by a layer of Al₂O₃ (10–50 nm) by atomic layer deposition and a 1-μm-thick layer of parylene by chemical vapor deposition. The effective water vapor transmission rates of the encapsulation was (2±1) x 10 ⁻⁵ g/m² day at 20 °C and 50% relative humidity (RH). The encapsulation was integrated with pentacene/C ₆₀ solar cells, which showed no decrease in conversion efficiency after 5800 h of exposure to air demonstrating the effectiveness of the encapsulation methodology

Thermal transport properties of thin films of small molecule organic semiconductors

© 2005 American Institute of Physics. The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2140478DOI: 10.1063/1.2140478A series of harmonic Joule-heating experiments have been employed to determine the thermal conductivities of thin films of pentacene, N,N -diphenyl−N,N -di 3-methylphenyl − 1,1 -biphenyl -4,4 -diamine, and tris 8-hydroquinolinato aluminum, three widely used organic semiconductors. Room-temperature thermal conductivity values of 0.51, 0.24, and 0.48 W/mK were measured for films of these three compounds, respectively. These values are over two orders of magnitude lower than those of inorganic semiconductors. While amorphous films were found to display only small thermal conductivity changes over the temperature range of 228–350 K, pentacene exhibited stronger variations that are typical of phonon-phonon scattering observed in polycrystalline semiconductors