Monostatic and Bistatic Radar Measurements of Birds and Micro-drone

This paper analyses the experimental results from recent monostatic and bistatic radar measurements of multiple birds as well as a quadcopter micro-drone. The radar system deployed for these measurements was the UCL developed NetRAD system. The aim of this work is to evaluate the key differences observed by a radar system between different birds and a micro-drone. Measurements are presented from simultaneous monostatic co/cross polarized data as well as co-polar bistatic data. The results obtained show comparable signature within the time domain and a marked difference in the Doppler domain, from the various birds in comparison to the micro-drone. The wing beat properties of the birds are shown for some cases which is a stark contrast to the rotor blade micro-Doppler signatures of the drone

Open Radar Initiative: Large Scale Dataset for Benchmarking of micro-Doppler Recognition Algorithms

In this paper, we discuss an "open radar initiative" aimed at promoting the sharing of radar datasets and a common framework for acquiring data. The framework is based on widely available and affordable short-range radar hardware (automotive FMCW radar transceivers). This framework and initiative are intended to create and promote access to a common shared dataset for the development and benchmarking of algorithms. While this is the norm for image processing and speech processing research, there has been reluctance in the radar community so far to create common datasets of shared data, often due to justified intellectual property or security classification reasons. Notable exceptions do exist, such as the MSTAR dataset of SAR images, which enabled great progress across the radar research community for a number of years. With this initiative, we hope to stimulate discussion and, with time, changes of practice in the radar research community. The main contribution of this work relative to previously shared datasets of radar data is that the proposed framework consists of a complete, integrated and replicable hardware and software pipeline, allowing users to not only download existing data, but also to acquire their own data with a compatible format that allows expansion and enrichment of the common dataset.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Microwave Sensing, Signals & System

Cardiometabolic effects of genetic upregulation of the interleukin 1 receptor antagonist : A Mendelian randomisation analysis

To investigate potential cardiovascular and other effects of long-term pharmacological interleukin 1 (IL-1) inhibition, we studied genetic variants that produce inhibition of IL-1, a master regulator of inflammation. Methods: We created a genetic score combining the effects of alleles of two common variants (rs6743376 and rs1542176) that are located upstream of IL1RN, the gene encoding the IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra; an endogenous inhibitor of both IL-1α and IL-1β); both alleles increase soluble IL-1Ra protein concentration. We compared effects on inflammation biomarkers of this genetic score with those of anakinra, the recombinant form of IL-1Ra, which has previously been studied in randomised trials of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory disorders. In primary analyses, we investigated the score in relation to rheumatoid arthritis and four cardiometabolic diseases (type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, ischaemic stroke, and abdominal aortic aneurysm; 453 411 total participants). In exploratory analyses, we studied the relation of the score to many disease traits and to 24 other disorders of proposed relevance to IL-1 signalling (746 171 total participants). Findings: For each IL1RN minor allele inherited, serum concentrations of IL-1Ra increased by 0·22 SD (95% CI 0·18-0·25; 12·5%; p=9·3 × 10-33), concentrations of interleukin 6 decreased by 0·02 SD (-0·04 to -0·01; -1·7%; p=3·5 × 10-3), and concentrations of C-reactive protein decreased by 0·03 SD (-0·04 to -0·02; -3·4%; p=7·7 × 10-14). We noted the effects of the genetic score on these inflammation biomarkers to be directionally concordant with those of anakinra. The allele count of the genetic score had roughly log-linear, dose-dependent associations with both IL-1Ra concentration and risk of coronary heart disease. For people who carried four IL-1Ra-raising alleles, the odds ratio for coronary heart disease was 1·15 (1·08-1·22; p=1·8 × 10-6) compared with people who carried no IL-1Ra-raising alleles; the per-allele odds ratio for coronary heart disease was 1·03 (1·02-1·04; p=3·9 × 10-10). Per-allele odds ratios were 0·97 (0·95-0·99; p=9·9 × 10-4) for rheumatoid arthritis, 0·99 (0·97-1·01; p=0·47) for type 2 diabetes, 1·00 (0·98-1·02; p=0·92) for ischaemic stroke, and 1·08 (1·04-1·12; p=1·8 × 10-5) for abdominal aortic aneurysm. In exploratory analyses, we observed per-allele increases in concentrations of proatherogenic lipids, including LDL-cholesterol, but no clear evidence of association for blood pressure, glycaemic traits, or any of the 24 other disorders studied. Modelling suggested that the observed increase in LDL-cholesterol could account for about a third of the association observed between the genetic score and increased coronary risk. Interpretation: Human genetic data suggest that long-term dual IL-1α/β inhibition could increase cardiovascular risk and, conversely, reduce the risk of development of rheumatoid arthritis. The cardiovascular risk might, in part, be mediated through an increase in proatherogenic lipid concentrations. Funding: UK Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, UK National Institute for Health Research, National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, European Research Council, and European Commission Framework Programme 7