Shifting Automotive Landscapes: Privacy and the Right to Travel in the Era of Autonomous Motor Vehicles

This note discusses the changing nature of the right to transportation within the context of the “single-mode” doctrine and consumer privacy laws. Gillespie analyzes how the right to transportation has fundamentally outgrown the United States’ outdated policies, specifically addressing the right to privacy in relation to autonomous motor vehicles (AMVs). Gillespie then argues that the United States should abandon the single-mode transportation doctrine and adopt “comprehensive protections of consumer privacy when information is collected through AMVs.

Impact of cytokines and T lymphocytes upon osteoclast differentiation and function

Historically, the osteoblast has been considered the master cell in the control of osteoclast development and, therefore, bone resorption. Now the interactions between cells of the immune system and bone cells have redefined our thinking on the regulation of bone resorption. Moreover, the crosstalk between these cell types has special significance in inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. This report highlights the contribution that T lymphocytes make in regulating osteoclast formation and bone resorption

Developmental Evaluation of a Gender Bullying and Sexualized Violence Prevention Program for Adolescent Males: Preliminary Lessons on Engaging Boys

The purpose of this developmental evaluation was to explore the unique challenges for facilitators implementing a grassroots gender bullying and sexualized prevention pilot program with males in early and middle adolescence. Data were collected from participants, facilitators, and the primary evaluator in the form of survey data, focus group and interview transcripts, and post-session notes compiled by the evaluator. These data were inputted into Dedoose, a cloud-based data analysis software used primarily for mixed-methods analyses. Open-coding was used to analyze each transcript, from which 9 root codes were derived: 1) Support All Male Setting, 2) Deconstructing Masculinity, 3) Program Recommendations, 4) Skill Development, 5) Teacher Involvement, 6) Increased Participation, 7) Decreased Participation, 8) Bystander Intervention, and 9) Bystander Non-Intervention. These codes were used to compare and contrast the experiences of participants at the elementary school level and the secondary school level, as well as the facilitators for each group. This analysis took for the form of a case study, with males at the early adolescent developmental stage (ages 11-14) constituting one case, and male at the middle adolescent developmental stage (ages 16-17) constituting another. The findings were used to formulate recommendations for future programming of this nature targeting these populations. These recommendations pertain to group size, developmental stage or participants, facilitation strategies, group gender make-up, and facilitator gender

An Efficient Algorithm for Classical Density Functional Theory in Three Dimensions: Ionic Solutions

Classical density functional theory (DFT) of fluids is a valuable tool to analyze inhomogeneous fluids. However, few numerical solution algorithms for three-dimensional systems exist. Here we present an efficient numerical scheme for fluids of charged, hard spheres that uses $\mathcal{O}(N\log N)$ operations and $\mathcal{O}(N)$ memory, where $N$ is the number of grid points. This system-size scaling is significant because of the very large $N$ required for three-dimensional systems. The algorithm uses fast Fourier transforms (FFT) to evaluate the convolutions of the DFT Euler-Lagrange equations and Picard (iterative substitution) iteration with line search to solve the equations. The pros and cons of this FFT/Picard technique are compared to those of alternative solution methods that use real-space integration of the convolutions instead of FFTs and Newton iteration instead of Picard. For the hard-sphere DFT we use Fundamental Measure Theory. For the electrostatic DFT we present two algorithms. One is for the \textquotedblleft bulk-fluid\textquotedblright functional of Rosenfeld [Y. Rosenfeld. \textit{J. Chem. Phys.} 98, 8126 (1993)] that uses $\mathcal{O}(N\log N)$ operations. The other is for the \textquotedblleft reference fluid density\textquotedblright (RFD) functional [D. Gillespie et al., J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 14, 12129 (2002)]. This functional is significantly more accurate than the bulk-fluid functional, but the RFD algorithm requires $\mathcal{O}(N^{2})$ operations.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figure

A Continuum Of Tonal Coherence: Pitch Organization In 'General William Booth Enters Into Heaven' By Charles Ives And 'Chiaroscuro' For Chamber Ensemble

The first part of this dissertation examines the pitch language of Charles Ives’ song General William Booth Enters into Heaven, a work in which tonal and atonal elements are frequently juxtaposed and combined. It is the author’s view that the music is neither tonal nor atonal, but rather that it lies on a continuum of tonal coherence, in which the sense of functional tonality appears and recedes. This continuum constitutes the actual pitch language of the work, rather than any traditional processes of tonal or atonal organization. Chapter Two describes this continuum in general terms, identifying five types of music based upon the degree to which tonal elements audible. Chapter Three examines how Ives manipulates tonal elements such as dominants, certain melodic figures, and modulations, to create a sense of functional tonality, even when the music itself is not tonal. Chapter Four discusses how the composer employs elements typically associated with atonal music (atonal pitch-class sets, quartal and secundal harmony, and whole-tone or chromatic sets); it is shown that these elements were chosen so that they can easily combine with tonal elements, so that the continuum between tonality and atonality becomes seamless. Chapter Five examines Ives’ use of voice-leading to create formal links between tonal and atonal sections, allowing the work to retain formal coherence despite its surface contrasts. The second part of the dissertation is ‘Chiaroscuro’, a work for eleven musicians. The title refers to the contrast between light and shadow which is explored in the piece. In a similar manner to the Ives song discussed in the first part of the paper, light and shadow represent opposite ends of a continuum, which is manipulated primarily through changes in texture, timbre, and harmony

Results of 'two-in-one' single-stage revision total knee arthroplasty for infection with associated bone loss : prospective five-year follow up

Aims: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) occurs in approximately 1% to 2% of total knee arthroplasties (TKA) presenting multiple challenges, such as difficulty in diagnosis, technical complexity, and financial costs. Two-stage exchange is the gold standard for treating PJI but emerging evidence suggests 'two-in-one' single-stage revision as an alternative, delivering comparable outcomes, reduced morbidity, and cost-effectiveness. This study investigates five-year results of modified single-stage revision for treatment of PJI following TKA with bone loss. Methods: Patients were identified from prospective data on all TKA patients with PJI following the primary procedure. Inclusion criteria were: revision for PJI with bone loss requiring reconstruction, and a minimum five years' follow-up. Patients were followed up for recurrent infection and assessment of function. Tools used to assess function were Oxford Knee Score (OKS) and American Knee Society Score (AKSS). Results: A total of 24 patients were included with a mean age of 72.7 years (SD 7.6), mean BMI of 33.3 kg/m2 (SD 5.7), and median ASA grade of 2 (interquartile range 2 to 4). Mean time from primary to revision was 3.0 years (10 months to 8.3 years). At revision, six patients had discharging sinus and three patients had negative cultures from tissue samples or aspirates. Two patients developed recurrence of infection: one was treated successfully with antibiotic suppression and one underwent debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention. Mean AKSS scores at two years showed significant improvement from baseline (27.1 (SD 10.2 ) vs 80.3 (SD 14.8); p < 0.001). There was no significant change in mean AKSS scores between two and five years (80.3 (SD 14.8 ) vs 74.1 (SD 19.8); p = 0.109). Five-year OKS scores were not significantly different compared to two-year scores (36.17 (SD 3.7) vs 33.0 (SD 8.5); p = 0.081). Conclusion: 'Two-in-one' single-stage revision is effective for treating PJI following TKA with bone loss, providing patients with sustained improvements in outcomes and infection clearance up to five years post-procedure.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The Need for Standardizing Diagnosis, Treatment and Clinical Care of Cholecystitis and Biliary Colic in Gallbladder Disease

Gallstones affect 20% of the Western population and will grow in clinical significance as obesity and metabolic diseases become more prevalent. Gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy) is a common treatment for diseases caused by gallstones, with 1.2 million surgeries in the US each year, each costing USD 10,000. Gallbladder disease has a significant impact on the logistics and economics of healthcare. We discuss the two most common presentations of gallbladder disease (biliary colic and cholecystitis) and their pathophysiology, risk factors, signs and symptoms. We discuss the factors that affect clinical care, including diagnosis, treatment outcomes, surgical risk factors, quality of life and cost-efficacy. We highlight the importance of standardised guidelines and objective scoring systems in improving quality, consistency and compatibility across healthcare providers and in improving patient outcomes, collaborative opportunities and the cost-effectiveness of treatment. Guidelines and scoring only exist in select areas of the care pathway. Opportunities exist elsewhere in the care pathway

Clinical Perspectives in Integrating Whole Genome Sequencing into the Investigation of Healthcare and Public Health Outbreaks - Hype or Help?

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology analyses were supported by the University of St Andrews Bioinformatics Unit which is funded by a Wellcome Trust ISSF award [grant 097831/Z/11/Z]. The SHAIPI consortium is funded by the Chief Scientist Office through the Scottish Infection Research Network (SIRN10).Outbreaks pose a significant patient safety risk as well as being costly and time consuming to investigate. The implementation of targeted infection prevention and control (IPC) measures relies on infection prevention and control teams (IPCTs) having access to rapid results that accurately detect resistance, and typing results that give clinically useful information on the relatedness of isolates. At present, determining whether transmission has occurred can be a major challenge. Conventional typing results do not always have sufficient granularity or robustness to unequivocally define strains, and sufficient epidemiological data to establish links between patients and the environment is not always available. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) has emerged as the ultimate genotyping tool, but has not yet fully crossed the divide between research method and routine clinical diagnostic microbiology technique. A clinical WGS service was officially established in 2014 as part of the Scottish Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention Institute (SHAIPI) to confirm or refute outbreaks in hospital settings from across Scotland. In this personal view we describe our experiences that we believe provide new insights into the practical application of the use of WGS to investigate healthcare and public health outbreaks. We also propose solutions to overcome barriers to implementation of this technology in a clinical environment.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe