A High Performance EO Small Satellite Platform (SSTL-300)

This paper describes a new high performance Earth Observation Platform, the SSTL-300, which has been developed to provide customers with a capability that has previously only been available at much higher cost and on larger platforms. This platform offers a 7-year mission lifetime with a very high operational availability. The main payload is a very high-resolution imager (VHRI) with a panchromatic 2.5m ground sampling distance (GSD) channel and four multi-spectral channels offering 5m GSD. The imager swath is 20km in all channels. This imager is an extension of the 4m GSD imager already flying on Beijing-1, which was launched in October 2005. Additional payloads can be accommodated, such as the Medium Resolution Imager (MRI), offering lower resolution of 22m or 32m GSD in four multiple spectral bands with 300km swath width. The 32m MRI has already flown on four previous Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) Missions. High performance geo-location is provided, the performance of which is dependent on the chosen subsystem options. Simultaneous imaging is possible with the VHRI and the MRI and scenes can be as long as 2000km. The image data is compressed on-board, using lossless data compression, for store-and-forward operations. Furthermore, switchable encryption is available, using the Data Encryption Standard (DES), on the TM/TC as well as switchable scrambling on payload data. Near real-time imaging &amp; down-linking is possible for a range of targets close to the ground station. A range of imaging modes are available including: strip mapping, fast response scene capture, stereo imaging, with pitch angles between 10 and 45 degrees to provide digital elevation models, and increased area coverage to provide wide-swath high-resolution imagery of up to 85km. The nominal orbit for the SSTL-300 will be sun-synchronous, with a 10.30am node to provide repeatable global coverage and good lighting conditions. The platform will orbit at approximately 700km, which provides good optimisation for single satellite and constellation revisits. On-board propulsion is included for orbit maintenance.</p

Urban planning as an enabler of urban health: Challenges and good practice in England following the 2012 planning and public health reforms

© 2019 The Authors This article synthesises the challenges faced by the English (urban) spatial planning system to become an enabler of urban health and explores some keys features of the evidence base, policy tools and policy implementation issues that urban planners need to be aware of to become health enablers. It draws on good practice identified in an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) seminar series involving over 500 academic researchers and practitioners between 2015 and 2017. A number of key recommendations emerged out of the project. First, planning and health agendas must align at the local level. Second, the evidence base of health priorities must be locally relevant. Third, robust tools can support the creation of frameworks for delivering health outcomes through planning. And finally, adequate resources are necessary to develop the capacity of key place-making stakeholders

IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning. Volume 9, Issue 2, Summer 2020

Every essay, interview and book review published in Impact is important and special to our readers, the College of General Studies, and the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning. However, it may be that each essay, interview and review in our summer 2020 issue has a special resonance for us because it came to fruition in the midst of Covid-19. In the context of a global pandemic, themes such as democracy, general education, and how we teach history and safeguard the environment become even more meaningful. Not only must we stay safe and hold our loved ones just a little closer to us, but also we must reaffirm our commitment as teachers and scholars

Cardiovascular Risk Factors Associated With Venous Thromboembolism

Importance It is uncertain to what extent established cardiovascular risk factors are associated with venous thromboembolism (VTE). Objective To estimate associations between major cardiovascular risk factors and VTE, i.e., deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Design Analysis of individual-participant data from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration (ERFC; 731,728 participants; 75 cohorts; latest date of follow-up 2015), and UK Biobank (UKBB; 421,537 participants; latest date of follow-up 2016). Setting Approximately population-based prospective cohort studies. Participants Individuals without cardiovascular disease at baseline. Exposures A panel of several established cardiovascular risk factors. Main Outcomes and Measures Hazard ratios (HRs) per 1-SD higher risk factor levels (or presence/absence). Incident fatal outcomes in ERFC (n=1041 VTE, n=25,131 CHD) and incident fatal/non-fatal outcomes in UKBB (n=2321 VTE, n=3385 CHD). HRs were adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, diabetes mellitus, and body-mass index. Results Adjusted HRs for VTE were: 2.67 (2.45-2.91) in ERFC and 1.81 (1.71-1.92) in UKBB per decade older age; 1.38 (1.20-1.58) in ERFC and 1.23 (1.08-1.40) in UKBB with smoking; 1.43 (1.35-1.50) in ERFC and 1.37 (1.32-1.41) in UKBB per 1-SD higher body-mass index; and 0.75 (0.61-0.93) in ERFC and 0.82 (0.71-0.94) in UKBB with current alcohol consumption. For the preceding factors, there were similar HRs for pulmonary embolism versus deep vein thrombosis in UKBB (except adiposity was more strongly associated with PE; P<0.01), and similar HRs for unprovoked versus provoked VTE. Apart from adiposity, these risk factors were less strongly associated with VTE than coronary heart disease. We noted inconsistent associations with diabetes and blood pressure for VTEs across ERFC and UKBB, and had limited ability to study lipid and inflammation markers. Conclusions and Relevance Older age, smoking, adiposity, and lower alcohol consumption were consistently associated with higher VTE risk.A study website (http://www.phpc.cam.ac.uk/ceu/erfc/list-of-studies/) includes a list that investigators have provided of funding agencies that have supported individual cohorts in the ERFC contributing to the present consortium. This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank resource (application 26865)

Natriuretic peptides and integrated risk assessment for cardiovascular disease. an individual-participant-data meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Guidelines for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases focus on prediction of coronary heart disease and stroke. We assessed whether or not measurement of N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentration could enable a more integrated approach than at present by predicting heart failure and enhancing coronary heart disease and stroke risk assessment. METHODS: In this individual-participant-data meta-analysis, we generated and harmonised individual-participant data from relevant prospective studies via both de-novo NT-proBNP concentration measurement of stored samples and collection of data from studies identified through a systematic search of the literature (PubMed, Scientific Citation Index Expanded, and Embase) for articles published up to Sept 4, 2014, using search terms related to natriuretic peptide family members and the primary outcomes, with no language restrictions. We calculated risk ratios and measures of risk discrimination and reclassification across predicted 10 year risk categories (ie, <5%, 5% to <7·5%, and ≥7·5%), adding assessment of NT-proBNP concentration to that of conventional risk factors (ie, age, sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, history of diabetes, and total and HDL cholesterol concentrations). Primary outcomes were the combination of coronary heart disease and stroke, and the combination of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. FINDINGS: We recorded 5500 coronary heart disease, 4002 stroke, and 2212 heart failure outcomes among 95 617 participants without a history of cardiovascular disease in 40 prospective studies. Risk ratios (for a comparison of the top third vs bottom third of NT-proBNP concentrations, adjusted for conventional risk factors) were 1·76 (95% CI 1·56-1·98) for the combination of coronary heart disease and stroke and 2·00 (1·77-2·26) for the combination of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. Addition of information about NT-proBNP concentration to a model containing conventional risk factors was associated with a C-index increase of 0·012 (0·010-0·014) and a net reclassification improvement of 0·027 (0·019-0·036) for the combination of coronary heart disease and stroke and a C-index increase of 0·019 (0·016-0·022) and a net reclassification improvement of 0·028 (0·019-0·038) for the combination of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. INTERPRETATION: In people without baseline cardiovascular disease, NT-proBNP concentration assessment strongly predicted first-onset heart failure and augmented coronary heart disease and stroke prediction, suggesting that NT-proBNP concentration assessment could be used to integrate heart failure into cardiovascular disease primary prevention

Physical Examination Variables Predict Response to Conservative Treatment of Nonchronic Plantar Fasciitis: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized, Placeboâ Controlled Footwear Study

BackgroundPlantar fasciitis is a common, disabling condition, and the prognosis of conservative treatment is difficult to predict.ObjectiveTo determine whether initial clinical findings could help predict patient response to conservative treatment that primarily consisted of supportive footwear and stretching.SettingPatients were recruited and seen at 2 outpatient podiatric clinics in the Chicago, Illinois, metropolitan area.PatientsSeventyâ seven patients with nonchronic plantar fasciitis were recruited. Patients were excluded if they had a heel injection in the previous 6 months or were currently using custom foot orthoses at the time of screening. Sixtyâ nine patients completed the final followâ up visit 3 months after receiving the footwear intervention.MethodsTreatment failure was considered a <50% reduction in heel pain at 3 month followâ up. Logistic regression models evaluated the possible association between more than 30 clinical and physical examination findings prospectively assessed at enrollment, and treatment response.ResultsInability to dorsiflex the ankle past â 5° (odds ratio [OR] 3.9, P = .024), nonsevere (â ¤7 on ordinal scale) firstâ step pain (OR 3.8, P = .021), and heel valgus in relaxed stance (OR 4.0, P = .014) each predicted treatment failure in multivariable analysis (receiver operating characteristic area under the curve = .769). Limited ankle dorsiflexion also correlated with greater heel pain severity at initial presentation (r = â 0.312, P = .006).ConclusionsPatients with severe ankle equinus were nearly 4 times more likely to experience a favorable response to treatment centered on home Achilles tendon stretching and supportive therapy. Thus, earlier use of more advanced therapies may be most appropriate in those presenting without severe ankle equinus or without severe first step pain. The findings from our study may not be clinically intuitive because patients with less severe equinus and less severe pain at presentation did worse with conservative care.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146867/1/pmrj436.pd

Risk thresholds for alcohol consumption: combined analysis of individual-participant data for 599 912 current drinkers in 83 prospective studies

Background Low-risk limits recommended for alcohol consumption vary substantially across different national guidelines. To define thresholds associated with lowest risk for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD), we studied individual-participant data on 599,912 current drinkers without prior CVD. Methods We characterised dose-response associations and calculated hazard ratios (HRs) per 100 grams/week of alcohol (12.5 units/week) across 83 prospective studies in 19 countries, adjusting at least for study/centre, age, sex, smoking, and diabetes. We recorded 40,317 deaths and 39,018 incident CVD events during 5.4 million person-years of follow-up. We corrected HRs for long-term variability in alcohol consumption using 152,640 serial alcohol assessments obtained some years apart (median interval: 5.6 years). Findings For all-cause mortality, there was a positive and curvilinear association, with minimum risk around or below 100 grams/week. Alcohol consumption was approximately linearly associated with higher risk of: stroke (HR, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.10-1.17); coronary disease excluding myocardial infarction (1.06, 1.00-1.17); heart failure (1.09, 1.03-1.15); fatal hypertensive disease (1.24, 1.15-1.33); and fatal aortic aneurysm (1.15, 1.03-1.28). By contrast, alcohol consumption was log-linearly associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction (0.94, 0.91-0.97). Compared with current low-risk limits in US guidelines (196 grams/week for men), consumption of less than 100 grams/week could increase male life expectancy by about 1-2 years. Interpretation Among current drinkers, the threshold for lowest risk of all-cause mortality was about 100 grams/week. For CVD subtypes other than myocardial infarction, there were no clear risk thresholds below which lower alcohol consumption stopped being associated with lower disease risk. These data support limits for alcohol consumption that are lower than in current guidelines.UK Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, National Institute for Health Research, European Union Framework 7, and European Research Council