Overview and status of EXCLAIM, the experiment for cryogenic large-aperture intensity mapping

The EXperiment for Cryogenic Large-Aperture Intensity Mapping (EXCLAIM) is a balloon-borne far-infrared telescope that will survey star formation history over cosmological time scales to improve our understanding of why the star formation rate declined at redshift z < 2, despite continued clustering of dark matter. Specifically,EXCLAIM will map the emission of redshifted carbon monoxide and singly-ionized carbon lines in windows over a redshift range 0 < z < 3.5, following an innovative approach known as intensity mapping. Intensity mapping measures the statistics of brightness fluctuations of cumulative line emissions instead of detecting individual galaxies, thus enabling a blind, complete census of the emitting gas. To detect this emission unambiguously, EXCLAIM will cross-correlate with a spectroscopic galaxy catalog. The EXCLAIM mission uses a cryogenic design to cool the telescope optics to approximately 1.7 K. The telescope features a 90-cm primary mirror to probe spatial scales on the sky from the linear regime up to shot noise-dominated scales. The telescope optical elements couple to six {\mu}-Spec spectrometer modules, operating over a 420-540 GHz frequency band with a spectral resolution of 512 and featuring microwave kinetic inductance detectors. A Radio Frequency System-on-Chip (RFSoC) reads out the detectors in the baseline design. The cryogenic telescope and the sensitive detectors allow EXCLAIM to reach high sensitivity in spectral windows of low emission in the upper atmosphere. Here, an overview of the mission design and development status since the start of the EXCLAIM project in early 2019 is presented.Comment: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1912.0711

Experiment for cryogenic large-aperture intensity mapping: instrument design

The experiment for cryogenic large-aperture intensity mapping (EXCLAIM) is a balloon-borne telescope designed to survey star formation in windows from the present to z  =  3.5. During this time, the rate of star formation dropped dramatically, while dark matter continued to cluster. EXCLAIM maps the redshifted emission of singly ionized carbon lines and carbon monoxide using intensity mapping, which permits a blind and complete survey of emitting gas through statistics of cumulative brightness fluctuations. EXCLAIM achieves high sensitivity using a cryogenic telescope coupled to six integrated spectrometers employing kinetic inductance detectors covering 420 to 540 GHz with spectral resolving power R  =  512 and angular resolution ≈4  arc min. The spectral resolving power and cryogenic telescope allow the survey to access dark windows in the spectrum of emission from the upper atmosphere. EXCLAIM will survey 305  deg2 in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82 field from a conventional balloon flight in 2023. EXCLAIM will also map several galactic fields to study carbon monoxide and neutral carbon emission as tracers of molecular gas. We summarize the design phase of the mission

Female Olympic and Paralympic athletes’ experiences of pregnancy: Interview Transcripts

 UK Sport commissioned research with Loughborough University into athletes’ experiences of pregnancy, with the aim of providing further guidance about how athletes should be supported through pregnancy and post-childbirth. Research Questions: The research was designed to document female Olympic and Paralympic athletes’ experiences of pregnancy whilst on, or recently retired from, WCP. Three main research questions structured the focus of the research. These were:  · What factors contribute to decision making around pregnancy whilst on a WCP for athletes?  · What challenges and concerns do athletes face throughout their pregnancy and postpartum?  · What were athletes’ experiences of support from NGBs during pregnancy and post-partum, and how could this be improved?  Research Design and Method: The research employed a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews as the method for data collection. Athletes were recruited via advertising the study on social media, via the BAC and EIS, and via emails detailing the study which were sent to current WCP athletes and those who had recently retired (within the last 3 years). 13 athletes expressed an interest in the study, of which interviews were conducted with 10 athletes between January to May 2021. The athletes included in the sample were from Olympic (n=5) and Paralympic (n=5) sports and had either experienced pregnancy (n=4) or were considering pregnancy (n=6) whilst on WCP.  Data Analysis: Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim before undergoing a form of qualitative thematic analysis. Data analysis procedures were followed throughout the process to enhance the empirical adequacy and descriptive validity. Interviews lasted on average 90 minutes. </p

A feminist materialist inspired analysis of the meaning and management of pregnancy and reproductive health in Olympic and Paralympic female athletes

The number of elite female athletes returning to professional sport following childbirth has gradually increased in recent years. There now exists a burgeoning of scholarship across sport and health-related disciplines that have paid attention to the experiences of pregnancy and motherhood in elite female athlete populations. This paper contributes to this expanding topic of inquiry by taking inspiration from feminist materialist approaches to examine the experiences and politics of pregnancy and reproductive health in elite female Olympic and Paralympic athletes on the United Kingdom elite sport funded programme–The World Class Programme (WCP). In doing so, we begin to foreground the bio-social-material practices and entanglements that constitute the WCP environment which actively shape athletes’ understandings of reproductive health and choice around pregnancy in particular ways. We discuss how the presented data has implications for female athlete embodied subjectivity and reproductive realities that complicate cultural narratives around athlete agency and gender equities in elite sport

Experiences of Speaking With Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation: A Qualitative Investigation

Purpose The aim of this study was to describe experiences of speaking with 2 forms of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV)—mouthpiece NPPV (M-NPPV) and nasal bilevel positive airway pressure (BPAP)—in people with neuromuscular disorders who depend on NPPV for survival. Method Twelve participants (ages 22−68 years; 10 men, 2 women) with neuromuscular disorders (9 Duchenne muscular dystrophy, 1 Becker muscular dystrophy, 1 postpolio syndrome, and 1 spinal cord injury) took part in semistructured interviews about their speech. All subjects used M-NPPV during the day, and all but 1 used BPAP at night for their ventilation needs. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and verified. A qualitative descriptive phenomenological approach was used to code and develop themes. Results Three major themes emerged from the interview data: (a) M-NPPV aids speaking (by increasing loudness, utterance duration, clarity, and speaking endurance), (b) M-NPPV interferes with the flow of speaking (due to the need to pause to take a breath, problems with mouthpiece placement, and difficulty in using speech recognition software), and (c) nasal BPAP interferes with speaking (by causing abnormal nasal resonance, muffled speech, mask discomfort, and difficulty in coordinating speaking with ventilator-delivered inspirations). Conclusion These qualitative data from chronic NPPV users suggest that both M-NPPV and nasal BPAP may interfere with speaking but that speech is usually better and speaking is usually easier with M-NPPV. These findings can be explained primarily by the nature of the 2 ventilator delivery systems and their interfaces

North Carolina's Pediatric Obesity Clinician Reference Guide and Tool Kit

This poster presents the tools developed by clinicians treating childhood obesity in North Carolina. The history of the development of these tools is outlined at the end of the accompanying abstract submission to the 2009 CDC Weight of the Nation Conference

A preliminary trial examining a ‘real world’ approach for increasing physical activity among breast cancer survivors: findings from project MOVE

Background: Physical activity (PA) is a safe and effective strategy to help mitigate health challenges associated with breast cancer (BC) survivorship. However, the majority of BC survivors are not meeting the minimum recommended PA (≥150 min of moderate to vigorous intensity). Project MOVE was developed as a model for increasing PA that combined a) Microgrants: funds ($2000) awarded to applicant groups to develop and implement a PA initiative and b) Financial incentives: a reward ($500) for increasing group PA. The purpose of this paper was to provide an exploratory analysis of effectiveness of Project MOVE on PA behavior, PA motivation, and quality of life (QoL) in female BC survivors. The differential outcomes between women meeting and not meeting PA guidelines were also investigated. Methods: This pre-post test, preliminary trial included groups of adult (18+ years) self-identified female BC survivors, who were post-surgery and primary systemic chemo- and radiation therapy, and living in British Columbia, Canada. PA was assessed by accelerometry. PA motivation and QoL were assessed by self-report. Data were collected at baseline, 6-months, and 12-month time points. Repeated measures mixed ANOVAs were used to test changes in the main outcomes. Results: A total of 10 groups were awarded microgrants between May 2015 and January 2016. Groups comprised of 8 to 12 women with a total of 87 participants. A statistically significant increase was found between time points on weekly moderate to vigorous PA (p = .012). This was mediated by a significant interaction between those meeting PA guidelines and those not meeting guidelines at baseline by time points (p = .004), with those not meeting guidelines at baseline showing the greatest increase in MVPA. A statistically significant difference across time points was found for intrinsic motivation (p = .02), physical functioning (p < .001), physical health limitations (p = .001), emotional health limitations (p = .023), social functioning (p = .001) and general health (p = .004). Conclusion: These results provide promising support for a unique approach to increasing PA among BC survivors by empowering women and optimizing PA experiences through the use of microgrants and financial incentives. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03548636 , Retrospectively registered June 7, 2018.Health and Social Development, Faculty of (Okanagan)Medicine, Faculty ofOther UBCNon UBCHealth and Exercise Sciences, School of (Okanagan)Nursing, School of (Okanagan)Physical Therapy, Department ofPopulation and Public Health (SPPH), School ofReviewedFacult