Diamond From the Sky

Digital image presented at the 2018 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.The image presented is an example of a high resolution airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) collection, covering a 1km x 0.6km area above the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, and includes the UK’s synchrotron Diamond Light Source. The data was collected using Airbus’ X-band quad-polarised SAR airborne platform. In total there were 55609 measurements along the aircraft trajectory, equating to 14GB of measurement data. This raw data was then processed into SAR imagery using parallel processing of the back-projection image formation algorithm using "Cranfield University"’s High Performance Computing facility. The image is a colour composite combining all 4 polarisations. Red represent the vertical polarisation (VV), green represents the horizontal polarisation (HH) and blue is the sum of the cross polarisations (VH and HV). The result is an extremely detailed 30000x18000 pixel SAR image. High resolution datasets like this aid in the development of new image formation and analysis algorithms and provide the user with a clean and clear reference to work with.Dst

The effects of Nematode Infection and MI-Mediated Resistance in Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum) on Plant Fitness

The Mi gene in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a single, dominant resistance (R) gene that confers resistance against several species of insects and root-knot nematodes. Tis study examined the impact of root-knot nematode infestation and the plant growth and reproduction of near-isogenic tomato cultivars with and without Mi. The objectives of this experiment were to examine the potential fitness costs and benefits of the R gene-mediated herbivore resistance, and to explore the role of nematodes as a selection pressure favoring plants that carry Mi. Mi-mediated resistance dramatically reduced nematode reproduction on tomato. In the presence of nematodes, plants that carried Mi produced larger fruits and greater foliar biomass than susceptible plants. Both resistant and susceptible plants, however were able to compensate for heavy nematode infestation, and neither genotype showed a significant reduction in yield or estimated lifetime seed production in response to infestation. Therefore, Mi-mediated resistance did not provide a fitness benefit to the plants under the infestation level tested. Seeds from plants that carried Mi Also had lower germination rates than seeds from susceptible plants, suggesting that there may be a metabolic fitness cost associated with Mi-mediated nematode resistance

Using synthetic aperture radar data-dome collections for building feature analysis

Low-frequency synthetic aperture radar (LF-SAR) is a remote sensing measurement technique that can aid in covert intelligence gathering capabilities for detecting concealed targets in building, and obscured phenomena in general. The Airbus Defence and Space Ltd LF-SAR data dome project has provided a coherently collected three-dimensional data set using airborne circular SAR (CSAR) trajectories, with the potential of providing volumetric SAR imagery of obscured regions inside buildings. Preliminary results of this collection are presented. Both the linear strip-map and CSAR datasets provided contain a great deal of information. Early results show promise, but have revealed the fundamental challenge with low-frequency remote sensing, that being the presence of radio-frequency interference, which reduces the quality of SAR image products

Through-wall detection and imaging of a vibrating target using synthetic aperture radar

This paper explains the development of a through-wall synthetic aperture radar (SAR) simulator, which is being used to investigate the SAR artefacts originating from vibrating targets, known as paired echoes. The simulation and experimental results both show that paired echoes can be detected and imaged through a wall, with a noticeable reduction in intensity, resulting in the number of visible echoes to be reduced in brightness and appear shifted in location in a through-wall SAR image

Localising vibrating scatterer phenomena in synthetic aperture radar imagery

Artefact phenomena resulting from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image formation can pose a challenge for image interpretation. One such artefact is produced when a vibrating target is imaged. Suppression of these artefacts has previously been described, however little has been developed in the area of modelling the location and shape of such artefacts. The authors present an experimentally validated model that provides accurate location and shape of vibrating target paired echoes in both SAR near-field and SAR far-field imagery

Imaging SAR phenomenology of concealed vibrating targets

This paper describes the novel imaging of SAR phenomena produced from vibrating targets with multipath effects. It has been established, through numerical SAR experiments, that different physical mechanisms interact to produce new artefacts. The computations demonstrated that the edges of a dielectric medium can act as a source for multipath effects to emanate from, leading to the hypothesis that SAR artefacts can arise from through-wall SAR imagery. This deduction and mechanism of origin were validated through several experimental measurements, undertaken at Cranfield University’s Antennas and Ground-based SAR laboratory, yielding results that closely match those predicted

Psychological distress and unsatisfied need for psychosocial support in adolescent and young adult cancer patients during the first year following diagnosis

Purpose Identifying at‐risk adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients and referring them to age‐appropriate psychosocial support services may be instrumental in reducing psychological distress and promoting psychosocial adaptation. The purpose of this study is to identify trajectories of clinically significant levels of distress throughout the first year following diagnosis and to distinguish factors, including supportive care service use, that predict the extent to which AYAs report distress. Methods In this prospective multisite study, 215 AYAs aged 15–39 years were assessed for psychological distress and psychosocial support service use within the first 4 months of diagnosis and again 6 and 12 months later. On the basis of distress scores, respondents were assigned to one of four distress trajectory groups (Resilient, Recovery, Delayed, and Chronic). Multiple logistic regression analyses examined whether demographics, clinical variables, and reports of unsatisfied need for psychosocial support were associated with distress trajectories over 1 year. Results Twelve percent of AYAs reported clinically significant chronic distress throughout the first 12 months following diagnosis. An additional 15% reported delayed distress. Substantial proportions of AYAs reported that needs for information (57%), counseling (41%), and practical support (39%) remained unsatisfied at 12 months following diagnosis. Not getting counseling needs met, particularly with regard to professional mental health services, was observed to be significantly associated with distress over time. Conclusions Substantial proportions of AYAs are not utilizing psychosocial support services. Findings suggest the importance of identifying psychologically distressed AYAs and addressing their needs for mental health counseling throughout a continuum of care. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109318/1/pon3533.pd