Vertical activity estimation using 2D radar

Understanding airspace activity is essential for airspace control. Being able to detect vertical activity in aircraft allows prediction of aircraft intent, thereby allowing more accurate situation awareness and correspondingly more appropriate airspace control response. The method for qualitative vertical activity estimation as presented is characterised by a very fast response time and requires minimal sensor input. The method relies on the interplay of two opposing motion prediction models. The efficacy of the method is demonstrated in both simulated and real-world data. Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies Vol. 36 (2) 2008: pp. 60-7

Aircraft Height Estimation using 2-D Radar

A method to infer height information from an aircraft tracked with a single 2-D search radar is presented. The method assumes level flight in the target aircraft and a good estimate of the speed of the aircraft. The method yields good results for medium to high altitudes, though performs weaker at low altitudes. The method can distinguish between high and low targets on a normal 2-D radar, and can reach a height resolution of 100 m provided the 2-D radar is optimised to the task.Defence Science Journal, 2010, 60(1), pp.100-105, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.60.11

Once-weekly cagrilintide for weight management in people with overweight and obesity: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled and active-controlled, dose-finding phase 2 trial

BACKGROUND: Natural amylin is a pancreatic hormone that induces satiety. Cagrilintide is a long-acting amylin analogue under investigation for weight management. We assessed the dose–response relationship of cagrilintide regarding the effects on bodyweight, safety, and tolerability. METHODS: We conducted a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled and active-controlled, dose-finding phase 2 trial at 57 sites including hospitals, specialist clinics, and primary care centres in ten countries (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Poland, Serbia, South Africa, the UK, and the USA). Eligible participants were adults aged at least 18 years without diabetes, with a body-mass index of at least 30 kg/m^{2} or at least 27 kg/m^{2} with hypertension or dyslipidaemia. Participants were randomly assigned (6:1) to subcutaneous self-injections of once-weekly cagrilintide (0·3, 0·6, 1·2, 2·4, or 4·5 mg), once-daily liraglutide 3·0 mg, or volume-matched placebo (for six placebo groups). The trial had a 26-week treatment period, including a dose-escalation period of up to 6 weeks, and a 6-week follow-up period without treatment. Participants and investigators were masked to the assigned study treatment with respect to active versus pooled placebo treatment, but not to different active treatments. The primary endpoint was the percentage change in bodyweight from baseline to week 26, assessed in all randomly assigned participants according to the trial product estimand (assuming all participants were adherent to treatment) and to the treatment policy estimand (regardless of adherence to treatment). Safety was assessed in all participants who received at least one dose of randomised treatment. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03856047, and is closed to new participants. FINDINGS: Between March 1 and Aug 19, 2019, we randomly assigned 706 participants to cagrilintide 0·3–4·5 mg (100–102 per dose group), 99 to liraglutide 3·0 mg, and 101 to placebo. Permanent treatment discontinuation (n=73 [10%]) occurred similarly across treatment groups, mostly due to adverse events (n=30 [4%]). In total, 29 participants (4%) withdrew from the trial. According to the trial product estimand, mean percentage weight reductions from baseline were greater with all doses of cagrilintide (0·3–4·5 mg, 6·0%–10·8% [6·4–11·5 kg]) versus placebo (3·0% [3·3 kg]; estimated treatment difference range 3·0%–7·8%; p<0·001). Weight reductions were also greater with cagrilintide 4·5 mg versus liraglutide 3·0 mg (10·8% [11·5 kg] vs 9·0% [9·6 kg]; estimated treatment difference 1·8%, p=0·03). Similar weight loss reductions were observed with the treatment policy estimand. The most frequent adverse events were gastrointestinal disorders (eg, nausea, constipation, and diarrhoea) and administration-site reactions. More participants receiving cagrilintide 0·3–4·5 mg had gastrointestinal adverse events compared with placebo (41%–63% vs 32%), primarily nausea (20%–47% vs 18%). INTERPRETATION: Treatment with cagrilintide in people with overweight and obesity led to significant reductions in bodyweight and was well tolerated. The findings support the development of molecules with novel mechanisms of action for weight management. FUNDING: Novo Nordisk A/S

Remote sensing of vegetation fires and its contribution to a fire management information system

In the last decade, research has proven that remote sensing can provide very useful support to fire managers. This chapter provides an overview of the type of information remote sensing can provide to the fire community. It considers first fire management information needs in the context of fire management information system. An introduction to remote sensing then precedes the description of fire information obtainable from remote sensing data (such as vegetation status, active fire detection and burned areas assessment). Finally, operational examples in five African countries illustrate how the information can be used in practice

8. Remote Sensing Of Vegetation Fires And Its Contribution To A Fire Management Information System

In the last decade, research has proven that remote sensing can provide very useful support to fire managers. This chapter provides an overview of the types of information remote sensing can provide to the fire community. First, it considers fire management information needs in the context of a fire management information system. An introduction to remote sensing then precedes a description of fire information obtainable from remote sensing data (such as vegetation status, active fire detection and burned areas assessment). Finally, operational examples in five African countries illustrate the practical use of remotely sensed fire information. As indicated in previous chapters, fire management usually comprises activities designed to control the frequency, area, intensity or impact of fire. These activities are undertaken in different institutional, economic, social, environmental and geographical contexts, as well as at different scales, from local to national. The range of fire management activities also varies considerably according to the management issues at stake, as well as the available means and capacity to act. Whatever the level, effective fire management requires reliable information upon which to base appropriate decisions and actions. Information will be required at many different stages of this fire management system. To illustrate this, we consider a typical and generic description of a fire management loop , as provided in Figure 8.1. Fire management objectives result from fire related knowledge . For example, they may relate to sound ecological reasons for prescribed burning in a particular land management context, or to frequent, uncontrolled fires threatening valuable natural or human resources. Whatever the issues, appropriate objectives require scientific knowledge (such as fire impact on ecosystems components, such as soil and vegetation), as well as up-to date monitoring information (such as vegetation status, fire locations, land use, socioeconomic context, etc.). Policies, generally at a national and governmental level, provide the official or legal long term framework (e.g. five to ten years) to undertake actions. A proper documentation of different fire issues, and their evolution, will allow their integration into appropriate policies, whether specific to fire management, or complementary to other policies in areas such as forestry, rangeland, biodiversity, land tenure, etc. Strategies are found at all levels of fire management. They provide a shorter-term framework (e.g. one to five years) to prioritise fire management activities. They involve the development of a clear set of objectives and a clear set of activities to achieve these objectives. They may also include research and training inputs required, in order to build capacity and to answer specific questions needed to improve fire management. The chosen strategy will result from a trade-off between priority fire management objectives and the available capacity to act (e.g. institutional framework, budget, staff, etc.), and will lead towards a better allocation of resources for fire management operations to achieve specific objectives. One example in achieving an objective of conserving biotic diversity may be the implementation of a patch-mosaic burning system (Brockett et al., 200 1 ) instead of a prescribed block burning system, based on an assumption that the former should better promote biodiversity in the long-term than the latter (Parr & Brockett, 1999). This strategy requires the implementation of early season fires to reduce the size of later season fires. The knowledge of population movements, new settlements or a coming El Nino season, should help focus the resources usage, as these factors might influence the proportion as well as the locations of area burned. Another strategy may be to prioritise the grading of fire lines earlier than usual based on information on high biomass accumulation. However, whatever the strategies, they need to be based on reliable information

8. Remote Sensing Of Vegetation Fires And Its Contribution To A Fire Management Information System

In the last decade, research has proven that remote sensing can provide very useful support to fire managers. This chapter provides an overview of the types of information remote sensing can provide to the fire community. First, it considers fire management information needs in the context of a fire management information system. An introduction to remote sensing then precedes a description of fire information obtainable from remote sensing data (such as vegetation status, active fire detection and burned areas assessment). Finally, operational examples in five African countries illustrate the practical use of remotely sensed fire information. As indicated in previous chapters, fire management usually comprises activities designed to control the frequency, area, intensity or impact of fire. These activities are undertaken in different institutional, economic, social, environmental and geographical contexts, as well as at different scales, from local to national. The range of fire management activities also varies considerably according to the management issues at stake, as well as the available means and capacity to act. Whatever the level, effective fire management requires reliable information upon which to base appropriate decisions and actions. Information will be required at many different stages of this fire management system. To illustrate this, we consider a typical and generic description of a fire management loop , as provided in Figure 8.1. Fire management objectives result from fire related knowledge . For example, they may relate to sound ecological reasons for prescribed burning in a particular land management context, or to frequent, uncontrolled fires threatening valuable natural or human resources. Whatever the issues, appropriate objectives require scientific knowledge (such as fire impact on ecosystems components, such as soil and vegetation), as well as up-to date monitoring information (such as vegetation status, fire locations, land use, socioeconomic context, etc.). Policies, generally at a national and governmental level, provide the official or legal long term framework (e.g. five to ten years) to undertake actions. A proper documentation of different fire issues, and their evolution, will allow their integration into appropriate policies, whether specific to fire management, or complementary to other policies in areas such as forestry, rangeland, biodiversity, land tenure, etc. Strategies are found at all levels of fire management. They provide a shorter-term framework (e.g. one to five years) to prioritise fire management activities. They involve the development of a clear set of objectives and a clear set of activities to achieve these objectives. They may also include research and training inputs required, in order to build capacity and to answer specific questions needed to improve fire management. The chosen strategy will result from a trade-off between priority fire management objectives and the available capacity to act (e.g. institutional framework, budget, staff, etc.), and will lead towards a better allocation of resources for fire management operations to achieve specific objectives. One example in achieving an objective of conserving biotic diversity may be the implementation of a patch-mosaic burning system (Brockett et al., 200 1 ) instead of a prescribed block burning system, based on an assumption that the former should better promote biodiversity in the long-term than the latter (Parr & Brockett, 1999). This strategy requires the implementation of early season fires to reduce the size of later season fires. The knowledge of population movements, new settlements or a coming El Nino season, should help focus the resources usage, as these factors might influence the proportion as well as the locations of area burned. Another strategy may be to prioritise the grading of fire lines earlier than usual based on information on high biomass accumulation. However, whatever the strategies, they need to be based on reliable information

Medications Activating Tubular Fatty Acid Oxidation Enhance the Protective Effects of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery in a Rat Model of Early Diabetic Kidney Disease

Background: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) improves biochemical and histological parameters of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Targeted adjunct medical therapy may enhance renoprotection following RYGB. Methods: The effects of RYGB and RYGB plus fenofibrate, metformin, ramipril, and rosuvastatin (RYGB-FMRR) on metabolic control and histological and ultrastructural indices of glomerular and proximal tubular injury were compared in the Zucker Diabetic Sprague Dawley (ZDSD) rat model of DKD. Renal cortical transcriptomic (RNA-sequencing) and urinary metabolomic (1H-NMR spectroscopy) responses were profiled and integrated. Transcripts were assigned to kidney cell types through in silico deconvolution in kidney single-nucleus RNA-sequencing and microdissected tubular epithelial cell proteomics datasets. Medication-specific transcriptomic responses following RYGB-FMRR were explored using a network pharmacology approach. Omic correlates of improvements in structural and ultrastructural indices of renal injury were defined using a molecular morphometric approach. Results: RYGB-FMRR was superior to RYGB alone with respect to metabolic control, albuminuria, and histological and ultrastructural indices of glomerular injury. RYGB-FMRR reversed DKD-associated changes in mitochondrial morphology in the proximal tubule to a greater extent than RYGB. Attenuation of transcriptomic pathway level activation of pro-fibrotic responses was greater after RYGB-FMRR than RYGB. Fenofibrate was found to be the principal medication effector of gene expression changes following RYGB-FMRR, which led to the transcriptional induction of PPARα-regulated genes that are predominantly expressed in the proximal tubule and which regulate peroxisomal and mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation (FAO). After omics integration, expression of these FAO transcripts positively correlated with urinary levels of PPARα-regulated nicotinamide metabolites and negatively correlated with urinary tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates. Changes in FAO transcripts and nicotinamide and TCA cycle metabolites following RYGB-FMRR correlated strongly with improvements in glomerular and proximal tubular injury. Conclusions: Integrative multi-omic analyses point to PPARα-stimulated FAO in the proximal tubule as a dominant effector of treatment response to combined surgical and medical therapy in experimental DKD. Synergism between RYGB and pharmacological stimulation of FAO represents a promising combinatorial approach to the treatment of DKD in the setting of obesity.Health Research BoardHealth Service ExecutiveScience Foundation IrelandUniversity College DublinWellcome TrustSwedish Medical Research CouncilEuropean Foundation for the Study of Diabetes/Boehringer Ingelheim European Diabetes Research ProgrammeHealth and Social Care, Research and Development Division, Northern Irelan