Recent Advances in Fabrication Methods for Flexible Antennas in Wearable Devices: State of the Art.

Antennas are a vital component of the wireless body sensor networks devices. A wearable antenna in this system can be used as a communication component or energy harvester. This paper presents a detailed review to recent advances fabrication methods for flexible antennas. Such antennas, for any applications in wireless body sensor networks, have specific considerations such as flexibility, conformability, robustness, and ease of integration, as opposed to conventional antennas. In recent years, intriguing approaches have demonstrated antennas embroidered on fabrics, encapsulated in polymer composites, printed using inkjets on flexible laminates and a 3-D printer and, more interestingly, by injecting liquid metal in microchannels. This article presents an operational perspective of such advanced approaches and beyond, while analyzing the strengths and limitations of each in the microwave as well as millimeter-wave regions. Navigating through recent developments in each area, mechanical and electrical constitutive parameters are reviewed, and finally, some open challenges are presented as well for future research directions.

In vivo antioxidant activity of Zataria multiflora Boiss essential oil.

Zataria multiflora Boiss. (Lamiaceae) is an endemic plant to Iran with many traditional uses. We have reported previously in vitro antioxidant activity of the essential oil of the plant. In the present work we aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the oil in rat. Antioxidant activity was measured by the test of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical inhibition and inhibition of lipid peroxidation by measuring the index of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs). Three doses of 100, 200 and 400 µL/ kg of the essential oil of Z. multiflora (ZMO) was administered to animals by i.g mouth for 10 days. The blood was collected in 11th day through direct puncture and the liver was rapidly excised. The histopathology studies of the animals was compared to animals in butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT) group. The results showed that ZMO in all tested doses significantly was able to scavenge DPPH radical (P<0.05). ZMO also decreased TBARs in a dose dependent manner. No alteration in LFT enzymes or changes in histopathology of the liver was considered in ZMO treated groups. The results indicated that ZMO might be used in healthy medicine and food industry.