Waveform Agile Sensing Approach for Tracking Benchmark in the Presence of ECM using IMMPDAF

This paper presents an efficient approach based on waveform agile sensing, to enhance the performance of benchmark target tracking in the presence of strong interference. The waveform agile sensing library consists of different waveforms such as linear frequency modulation (LFM), Gaussian frequency modulation (GFM) and stepped frequency modulation (SFM) waveforms. Improved performance is accomplished through a waveform agile sensing technique. In this method, the selection of waveform to be transmitted at each scan is determined, by jointly computing ambiguity function of waveform and Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) matrix of measurement errors. Electronic counter measures (ECM) comprises of stand-off jammer (SOJ) and self-screening jammer (SSJ). Interacting multiple model probability data association filter (IMMPDAF) is employed for tracking benchmark trajectories. Experimental results demonstrate that, waveform agile sensing approach require only 39.98 percent lower mean average power compared to earlier studies. Further, it is observed that the position and velocity root mean square error values are decreasing as the number of waveforms are increasing from 5 to 50

Performance Analysis of Spectrum Sharing Radar in Multipath Environment

Radar based sensing and communication systems sharing a common spectrum have become a potential research problem in recent years due to spectrum scarcity. The spectrum sharing radar (SSR) is a new technology that uses the total available bandwidth (BW) for both radar based sensing and communication. Unlike traditional radar, the SSR divides the total available BW into radar-only and mixed-use bands. In a radar-only band, only radar sensor signals can be transmitted and received. In contrast, radar and communication signals can both be transmitted and received in the mixed-use band. Taking such BW sharing into account, this paper investigates the performance of SSR in an information-theoretic sense. To evaluate performance, mutual information (MI), spectral efficiency (SE) and capacity (C) metrics are used. Initially, this paper considered a clean environment (no multipath) in order to evaluate performance metrics in the mixed-use band with and without successive interference cancellation. Following that, this paper addresses the performance of BW allocation by allocating low to high BW in mixed-band. Furthermore, the performance metrics are extended to account for the multipath environment, and the same analogy as in a clean environment is used. In addition, the MI and SE of traditional radar system is taken into account when comparing the performance of SSR with and without the use of the SIC. Finally, MI and capacity results show that using the SIC scheme in a mixed-use band yields performance comparable to traditional radar and communication system. In terms of SE, the SSR with SIC scheme outperforms traditional radar and communication system.publishedVersio

Practice Models and Challenges in Teledermatology: A Study of Collective Experiences from Teledermatologists

Despite increasing practice of teledermatology in the U.S., teledermatology practice models and real-world challenges are rarely studied.The primary objective was to examine teledermatology practice models and shared challenges among teledermatologists in California, focusing on practice operations, reimbursement considerations, barriers to sustainability, and incentives. We conducted in-depth interviews with teledermatologists that practiced store-and-forward or live-interactive teledermatology from January 1, 2007 through March 30, 2011 in California.Seventeen teledermatologists from academia, private practice, health maintenance organizations, and county settings participated in the study. Among them, 76% practiced store-and-forward only, 6% practiced live-interactive only, and 18% practiced both modalities. Only 29% received structured training in teledermatology. The average number of years practicing teledermatology was 4.29 years (SD±2.81). Approximately 47% of teledermatologists served at least one Federally Qualified Health Center. Over 75% of patients seen via teledermatology were at or below 200% federal poverty level and usually lived in rural regions without dermatologist access. Practice challenges were identified in the following areas. Teledermatologists faced delays in reimbursements and non-reimbursement of teledermatology services. The primary reason for operational inefficiency was poor image quality and/or inadequate history. Costly and inefficient software platforms and lack of communication with referring providers also presented barriers.Teledermatology enables underserved populations to access specialty care. Improvements in reimbursement mechanisms, efficient technology platforms, communication with referring providers, and teledermatology training are necessary to support sustainable practices

Duodenal hematoma following endoscopic duodenal biopsy in an adult requiring arterial embolization and surgical evacuation: a case report and review of the literature

A 21-year-old man presented with severe abdominal pain four days after undergoing upper endoscopy with duodenal biopsies and was found to have an intramural duodenal hematoma. Symptoms progressed after attempts at diet advancement, and repeat imaging showed an enlarging hematoma with duodenal obstruction. The patient was managed with arterial embolization followed by laparoscopic surgical evacuation of the hematoma. This is the first report of an enlarging duodenal hematoma managed by this combination approach. While surgical interventions have previously been reserved for the most severe cases, we review the literature on minimally invasive approaches to manage this rare endoscopic complication

GH mediates exercise-dependent activation of SVZ neural precursor cells in aged mice

Here we demonstrate, both in vivo and in vitro, that growth hormone (GH) mediates precursor cell activation in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the aged (12-month-old) brain following exercise, and that GH signaling stimulates precursor activation to a similar extent to exercise. Our results reveal that both addition of GH in culture and direct intracerebroventricular infusion of GH stimulate neural precursor cells in the aged brain. In contrast, no increase in neurosphere numbers was observed in GH receptor null animals following exercise. Continuous infusion of a GH antagonist into the lateral ventricle of wild-type animals completely abolished the exercise-induced increase in neural precursor cell number. Given that the aged brain does not recover well after injury, we investigated the direct effect of exercise and GH on neural precursor cell activation following irradiation. This revealed that physical exercise as well as infusion of GH promoted repopulation of neural precursor cells in irradiated aged animals. Conversely, infusion of a GH antagonist during exercise prevented recovery of precursor cells in the SVZ following irradiation

Growth hormone responsive neural precursor cells reside within the adult mammalian brain

The detection of growth hormone (GH) and its receptor in germinal regions of the mammalian brain prompted our investigation of GH and its role in the regulation of endogenous neural precursor cell activity. Here we report that the addition of exogenous GH significantly increased the expansion rate in long-term neurosphere cultures derived from wild-type mice, while neurospheres derived from GH null mice exhibited a reduced expansion rate. We also detected a doubling in the frequency of large (i.e. stem cell-derived) colonies for up to 120 days following a 7-day intracerebroventricular infusion of GH suggesting the activation of endogenous stem cells. Moreover, gamma irradiation induced the ablation of normally quiescent stem cells in GH-infused mice, resulting in a decline in olfactory bulb neurogenesis. These results suggest that GH activates populations of resident stem and progenitor cells, and therefore may represent a novel therapeutic target for age-related neurodegeneration and associated cognitive decline

The choroid plexus as a sex hormone target: Functional implications

The choroid plexuses (CPs) are highly vascularized branched structures that protrude into the ventricles of the brain, and form a unique interface between the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In recent years, novel functions have been attributed to this tissue such as in immune and chemical surveillance of the central nervous system, brain development, adult neurogenesis and circadian rhythm regulation. Sex hormones (SH) are widely recognized as modulators in several neurodegenerative diseases, and there is evidence that estrogens and androgens regulate several fundamental biological functions in the CPs. Therefore, SH are likely to affect the composition of the CSF impacting on brain homeostasis. This review will look at implications of the CPs' sex-related specificities.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal – http://www.fct.pt) project grants (PTDC/SAU-NEU/114800/2009); and by FEDER funds through the POCI – COMPETE 2020 – Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalisation in Axis I – Strengthening research, technological development and innovation (Project No. 007491) and National Funds by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology (Project UID/Multi/00709). Joana Tomás was supported by a grant from CENTRO-07-ST24-FEDER-002015. Telma Quintela is a recipient of a FCT fellowship (SFRH/BPD/70781/2010). The work at ICVS/3B’s has the support of Portuguese North Regional Operational Program (ON.2 – O Novo Norte) under the National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN), through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). Fernanda Marques is a recipient of a FCT Investigator award (IF/00231/2013) of the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio