Implementation of accurate broadband steering vectors for broadband angle of arrival estimation

Motivated by accurate broadband steering vector requirements for applications such as broadband angle of arrival estimation, we review fractional delay filter designs. A common feature across these are their rapidly decreasing performance as the Nyquist rate is approached. We propose a filter bank based approach, which operates standard fractional delay filters on a series of frequency-shifted subband signals, such that they appear in the filters’ lowpass region. We demonstrate the appeal of this approach in simulations

Hope, Ethnic Pride, and Academic Achievement: Positive Psychology and Latino Youth

Previous studies have found that hope has beneficial effects in athletics, academics, physical health, and mental well being in majority populations. Given the challenges Latino youth face in the United States, ethnic identity and hope may be a powerful buffer from these negative stressors. The current study aimed to identify whether chronic levels of hope related to academic performance, whether an ethnic pride manipulation altered state hope levels, and whether there was a link between ethnic identity and chronic hope among a sample of Latino youth. Results indicated that GPA and chronic hope levels were not related, a manipulation to boost ethic pride increased state hope, and that ethnic identity was related to chronic levels of hope. The findings suggest that ethnic identity is an important contributor to hope levels

The climate emergency and future content on UK tv: carrot or stick time?

This paper explores two approaches that academia could take to help the UK TV industry embed more climate content in its outputs. The UK TV industry has made impressive strides in measuring and reducing its carbon footprints (McWhirter, 2022). This is in large part thanks to the BAFTA-chaired ‘albert’ (https://wearealbert.org) initiative with directorate involvement from organisations such as the BBC and Netflix where programmes seek positive CO2e reductions and certification. In recent years emphasis has switched focus to what can be achieved editorially to embed climate content in factual entertainment to high-end TV (HETV). Toolkits and guides for scriptwriters and creators are growing – including from albert – to help nudge behaviour change. This paper amalgamates some of these resources and posits a Climate Mise en Scene concept for HETV: an academically informed endeavour, drawing from some research areas around communicating climate science. For example, from Stoknes’ (2015) five barriers to effective climate communication. However, is such an initiative – that builds on existing industry-focused work – enough to inspire creatives to launch new ideas or alter existing ones? If the meta-aim is to inspire audiences for the journey to Net Zero, then a Climate Mise en Scene only adds to the growing ‘carrot’ toolkits. Therefore, perhaps the efforts of academia are better placed in arguing for a tougher ‘stick’ approach. Firstly, with enhanced industry actions. Given albert’s non-scoring editorial question in their certification process already asks how climate has been considered: How far could that approach be pushed towards mandatory requirements? Or, secondly and more controversially, are stronger regulations and media policies now required

Imaging photon detectors and their use with single and multiple Fabry-Perot etalon systems for atmospheric wind measurements

Imaging Photon Detectors are extremely sensitive imaging devices capable of detecting single photons of light. The Fabry-Perot etalon, a multiple beam interference device, is capable of detecting very small changes in the wavelength of light and is thus well suited to the determination of Doppler shifts. The combination of these two devices has enabled the realisation of a series of operational interferometers for the measurement of wind velocities in the upper atmosphere. This is achieved by measuring Doppler shifts in optical phenomena occurring at high altitudes. The instruments have been successfully deployed in Northern Scandinavia, North America and other locations world-wide. A full description of the component parts of the IPD and its associated electronics is presented. The theory and practical limitations of the device are discussed, together with a critical performance analysis of the complete imaging system. In addition to the IPDs for the Fabry-Perot interferometers, special types have been built for high time-resolution atmospheric lidar and a rocket-borne auroral imager. The Fabry-Perot etalon is described and the practical aspects of incorporating it into an interferometer are considered. The instruments are required to run unattended for extended periods, so particular care has been paid to long term aspects of stability, reliability and safe operation. Etalons can be tuned using piezo-electric transducers to vary the cavity length, in conjunction with capacitance sensors which determine the precise amount of movement. Such devices are termed capacitance stabilised etalons. These etalons can be combined in multiple etalon systems which provide greatly improved optical filtering. This allows measurements to be made against the higher background illumination encountered during daylight hours. Triple etalon interferometers have been built which have been flown on balloons in Texas and operated from the ground in Northern Sweden

Novel Oral Anticoagulants: Bedrest and Bleeding in Patients Undergoing Atrial Fibrillation Catheter Ablation

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common cardiac arrhythmia in persons over age 65, is associated with an increased stroke risk necessitating the need for long-term oral anticoagulation for risk reduction. With the introduction of direct thrombin and factor Xa inhibitors in the US since 2010, these novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are increasingly being prescribed, replacing the use of warfarin, a vitamin K antagonist. AF catheter ablation (CA), an elective procedure requiring femoral vascular access is a treatment for drug refractory and persistent AF. Bedrest, limb immobilization, and limited head of bed elevation are nursing measures utilized following femoral venous, and sometimes arterial, sheath removal and hemostasis. Limited research is available on the appropriate duration of bedrest to minimize bleeding complications associated with AF ablation in patients who use NOACs. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to compare and evaluate the effect of bedrest duration on post-procedure bleeding outcomes, urinary complaints, and back pain among patients taking NOACs while undergoing AFCA. Thirty patients undergoing elective AFCA on NOACs were orally consented to participate in the study and placed on shortened (8 hours) or prolonged (\u3e8 hours) bedrest following vascular hemostasis. Outcome measurements included bleeding after ambulation, back pain, and urinary complaints. Fifteen patients (50%) were on shortened bedrest and 15 (50%) were on prolonged bedrest. No statistically significant difference in bleeding, urinary complaints, or back pain were found. Since there is no clear advantage to prolonged bedrest for patients on NOACS after an AFCA procedure, clinicians should consider this when deciding on bedrest duration for their patients

The effect of aerobic base training on heart-rate variability and performance in elite youth football players

Background: It is vitally important to monitor training load, especially for elite athletes. Monitoring training load means an athletes load can then be manipulated in order to avoid undertraining or overtraining. There are many methods that can be used to monitor training load and differing ways of manipulating training load. Training load is monitored in order to ensure athletes do not over train as well as undertrain. Commonly used methods of training load monitoring include; Global positioning systems (GPS), heart rate and rated of perceived exertion (RPE) and metabolic parameters such as lactate thresholds. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a monitoring tool which shows the internal impact on the body caused from training and competition. Training at high intensity causes HRV to drop due to changes in the Autonomic nervous system (ANS), meaning a drop in parasympathetic activity and an increase in sympathetic activity in the ANS. Research has shown that steady state exercise (60-70% of maximum heart rate) can increase parasympathetic activity in the ANS which would increase HRV (Borghi-Silva et al., 2009). This suggests that the impact on HRV could be used to an athletes’ advantage when trying to recover internally from a training session, post session steady state exercise could increase the parasympathetic tone of the ANS quicker than naturally and therefore recover from the training session. The reliability of using HRV as a training load monitoring tool has yet to have been fully explored in a real life setting. Research has shown the impact and differences in HRV due to exercise (Kiviniemi et al., 2007; Martinmäki et al., 2008; Castello-Simões et al., 2013) but this has been in a controlled laboratory setting and not in an applied environment. Purpose: To assess the reliability of using HRV as a training load monitoring tool in a real life field environment. To analyse the effect of aerobic base training on HRV and performance in elite youth football players. To see whether aerobic base training has a direct effect on the autonomic nervous system and the subsequent change in HRV. Furthermore, whether the change in HRV has an effect on footballing performance. Methods: 18 elite academy football players (Male, 17 ± 1 yrs.’) training load was tracked through GPS, heart rate and HRV over a 12-week period. VO2max and time to exhaustion tests were completed pre and post study in order to establish any fitness changes. All 18 completed 6 weeks of their normal football training schedule; for the second 6 weeks the participants were randomised in to two groups of 9 participants, one control and one intervention group. The intervention group completed tri-weekly aerobic base training sessions on an exercise bike at 60-70% of HRmax, each sessions duration being 30 minutes, this was in addition to their normal training schedule, the control group continued with their normal training schedule. Results: There was low reliability for all HRV indices in a field setting, the most reliable indices were MeanRR, rMSSD and SDNN. There were no significant differences between groups for any parameters, including HRV (0.6). Conclusion: Aerobic base training did not have a significant effect on HRV in elite youth footballers. It did have had a positive effect on time to exhaustion and improved performance for distance covered and high intensity distance covered. A longitudinal study with greater participants is needed in this area as significant changes may not have been found due to the study being underpowered. Future research should further investigate the use of steady state exercise and its use in recovery from high training load. Furthermore, the use of HRV and monitoring systems in relation to Chronic Vs Acute training load and Chronic Vs Acute ratio

Broadband angle of arrival estimation methods in a polynomial matrix decomposition framework

A large family of broadband angle of arrival estimation algorithms are based on the coherent signal subspace (CSS) method, whereby focussing matrices appropriately align covariance matrices across narrowband frequency bins. In this paper, we analyse an auto-focussing approach in the framework of polynomial covariance matrix decompositions, leading to comparisons to two recently proposed polynomial multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithms. The analysis is complemented with numerical simulations