Unmanned Aircraft System Control and ATC Communications Bandwidth Requirements

There are significant activities taking place to establish the procedures and requirements for safe and routine operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS). Among the barriers to overcome in achieving this goal is the lack of sufficient frequency spectrum necessary for the UAS control and air traffic control (ATC) communications links. This shortcoming is compounded by the fact that the UAS control communications links will likely be required to operate in protected frequency spectrum, just as ATC communications links are, because they relate to "safety and regularity of flight." To support future International Telecommunications Union (ITU) World Radio Conference (WRC) agenda items concerning new frequency allocations for UAS communications links, and to augment the Future Communications Study (FCS) Technology Evaluation Group efforts, NASA Glenn Research Center has sponsored a task to estimate the UAS control and ATC communications bandwidth requirements for safe, reliable, and routine operation of UAS in the NAS. This report describes the process and results of that task. The study focused on long-term bandwidth requirements for UAS approximately through 2030

C-Band Airport Surface Communications System Standards Development. Phase II Final Report. Volume 1: Concepts of Use, Initial System Requirements, Architecture, and AeroMACS Design Considerations

This report is provided as part of ITT s NASA Glenn Research Center Aerospace Communication Systems Technical Support (ACSTS) contract NNC05CA85C, Task 7: New ATM Requirements-Future Communications, C-Band and L-Band Communications Standard Development and was based on direction provided by FAA project-level agreements for New ATM Requirements-Future Communications. Task 7 included two subtasks. Subtask 7-1 addressed C-band (5091- to 5150-MHz) airport surface data communications standards development, systems engineering, test bed and prototype development, and tests and demonstrations to establish operational capability for the Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications System (AeroMACS). Subtask 7-2 focused on systems engineering and development support of the L-band digital aeronautical communications system (L-DACS). Subtask 7-1 consisted of two phases. Phase I included development of AeroMACS concepts of use, requirements, architecture, and initial high-level safety risk assessment. Phase II builds on Phase I results and is presented in two volumes. Volume I (this document) is devoted to concepts of use, system requirements, and architecture, including AeroMACS design considerations. Volume II describes an AeroMACS prototype evaluation and presents final AeroMACS recommendations. This report also describes airport categorization and channelization methodologies. The purposes of the airport categorization task were (1) to facilitate initial AeroMACS architecture designs and enable budgetary projections by creating a set of airport categories based on common airport characteristics and design objectives, and (2) to offer high-level guidance to potential AeroMACS technology and policy development sponsors and service providers. A channelization plan methodology was developed because a common global methodology is needed to assure seamless interoperability among diverse AeroMACS services potentially supplied by multiple service providers

C-Band Airport Surface Communications System Standards Development, Phase I

This document is being provided as part of ITT's NASA Glenn Research Center Aerospace Communication Systems Technical Support (ACSTS) contract NNC05CA85C, Task 7: "New ATM Requirements--Future Communications, C-Band and L-Band Communications Standard Development." The proposed future C-band (5091- to 5150-MHz) airport surface communication system, referred to as the Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications System (AeroMACS), is anticipated to increase overall air-to-ground data communications systems capacity by using a new spectrum (i.e., not very high frequency (VHF)). Although some critical services could be supported, AeroMACS will also target noncritical services, such as weather advisory and aeronautical information services as part of an airborne System Wide Information Management (SWIM) program. AeroMACS is to be designed and implemented in a manner that will not disrupt other services operating in the C-band. This report defines the AeroMACS concepts of use, high-level system requirements, and architecture; the performance of supporting system analyses; the development of AeroMACS test and demonstration plans; and the establishment of an operational AeroMACS capability in support of C-band aeronautical data communications standards to be advanced in both international (International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO) and national (RTCA) forums. This includes the development of system parameter profile recommendations for AeroMACS based on existing Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) 802.16e- 2009 standard

Identification of Technologies for Provision of Future Aeronautical Communications

This report describes the process, findings, and recommendations of the second of three phases of the Future Communications Study (FCS) technology investigation conducted by NASA Glenn Research Center and ITT Advanced Engineering & Sciences Division for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FCS is a collaborative research effort between the FAA and Eurocontrol to address frequency congestion and spectrum depletion for safety critical airground communications. The goal of the technology investigation is to identify technologies that can support the longterm aeronautical mobile communication operating concept. A derived set of evaluation criteria traceable to the operating concept document is presented. An adaptation of the analytical hierarchy process is described and recommended for selecting candidates for detailed evaluation. Evaluations of a subset of technologies brought forward from the prescreening process are provided. Five of those are identified as candidates with the highest potential for continental airspace solutions in L-band (P-34, W-CDMA, LDL, B-VHF, and E-TDMA). Additional technologies are identified as best performers in the unique environments of remote/oceanic airspace in the satellite bands (Inmarsat SBB and a custom satellite solution) and the airport flight domain in C-band (802.16e). Details of the evaluation criteria, channel models, and the technology evaluations are provided in appendixes

Risk of chronic kidney disease after cancer nephrectomy.

The incidence of early stage renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is increasing and observational studies have shown equivalent oncological outcomes of partial versus radical nephrectomy for stage I tumours. Population studies suggest that compared with radical nephrectomy, partial nephrectomy is associated with decreased mortality and a lower rate of postoperative decline in kidney function. However, rates of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients who have undergone nephrectomy might be higher than in the general population. The risks of new-onset or accelerated CKD and worsened survival after nephrectomy might be linked, as kidney insufficiency is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Nephron-sparing approaches have, therefore, been proposed as the standard of care for patients with type 1a tumours and as a viable option for those with type 1b tumours. However, prospective data on the incidence of de novo and accelerated CKD after cancer nephrectomy is lacking, and the only randomized trial to date was closed prematurely. Intrinsic abnormalities in non-neoplastic kidney parenchyma and comorbid conditions (including diabetes mellitus and hypertension) might increase the risks of CKD and RCC. More research is needed to better understand the risk of CKD post-nephrectomy, to develop and validate predictive scores for risk-stratification, and to optimize patient management

Organizing risk: organization and management theory for the risk society

Risk has become a crucial part of organizing, affecting a wide range of organizations in all sectors. We identify, review and integrate diverse literatures relevant to organizing risk, building on an existing framework that describes how risk is organized in three ‘modes’ – prospectively, in real-time, and retrospectively. We then identify three critical issues in the existing literature: its fragmented nature; its neglect of the tensions associated with each of the modes; and its tendency to assume that the meaning of an object in relation to risk is singular and stable. We provide a series of new insights with regard to each of these issues. First, we develop the concept of a risk cycle that shows how organizations engage with all three modes and transition between them over time. Second, we explain why the tensions have been largely ignored and show how studies using a risk work perspective can provide further insights into them. Third, we develop the concept of risk translation to highlight the ways in the meanings of risks can be transformed and to identify the political consequences of such translations. We conclude the paper with a research agenda to elaborate these insights and ideas further

Dynamic Suboptimality of Competitive Equilibrium in Multiperiod Overlapping Generations Economies

The question we ask is: within the set of a three-period-lived OLG economies with a stochastic endowment process, a stochastic dividend process, and sequentially complete markets, under what set of conditions may a set of government transfers dynamically Pareto dominate the laissez faire equilibrium? We start by characterizing perfect risk sharing and find that it implies a strongly stationary set of state-dependent consumption claims. We also derive the stochastic equivalent of the deterministic steady-state by steady-state optimal marginal rate of substitution. We show then that the risk sharing of the recursive competitive laissez faire equilibrium of any overlapping generations economy with weakly more than three generations is nonstationary and that risk is suboptimally shared. We then show that we can construct a sequence of consumption allocations that only depends on the exogenous state and which Pareto dominate the laissez faire allocations in an ex interim as well as ex ante sense. We also redefine conditional Pareto optimality to apply within this framework and show that under a broad set of conditions, there also exists a sequence of allocations that dominates the laissez faire equilibrium in this sense. Finally, we apply these tools and results to an economy where the endowment is constant, but where fertility is stochastic, i.e. the number of newborn individuals who enters the economy follows a Markov Process

Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in 6 US Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018-2021

INTRODUCTION: E-cigarette retail/marketing surveillance is needed during regulatory changes, like the US increasing minimum legal sales age to 21 (T21) and flavor restrictions (2019 and 2020) and certain state/localities increasing related restrictions. METHODS: We examined regulatory compliance (e.g., minimum-age signage), promotional strategies (e.g., health claims), and products at 2 timepoints among vape shops across 6 US metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs; Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, San Diego, Seattle). In summer 2018, pairs of trained auditors assessed randomly-selected shops (n=~30/MSA). In fall 2021, audits were conducted among 2018 shops (if open and allowed) and additional randomly-selected shops (n=~20/MSA). Data from 179 shops in 2018 and 119 in 2021 (43 from the 2018 sample) were compared. RESULTS: There were decreases (p\u3c.01) in the proportion of shops with (1) minimum-age signs (90.5% vs. 73.9%); (2) their own e-liquid brand (68.2% vs. 44.5%), onsite vaping (73.2% vs. 46.2%), counter seating (65.2% vs. 34.5%), and e-liquid sampling (90.0% vs. 33.6%); and (3) signs with product/price promotions (89.9% vs. 65.5%), health/cessation claims (29.1% vs. 12.6%), and cartoon imagery (27.4% vs. 11.8%). The proportions selling wet/dry vaporizers (26.4% vs. 39.5%), CBD products (23.3% vs. 71.4%), and pipes/glassware/papers (18.4% vs. 52.9%) increased. In 2021, many sold THC (12.6% e-liquids, 62.2% other products) and kratom (40.3%). CONCLUSIONS: With increasing restrictions (e.g., on flavors, sampling, T21), fewer shops sold their own e-liquid brands or accommodated onsite use/sampling, but fewer also posted minimum-age signage. Notably, more offered cannabis-related products. These changes underscore the need for comprehensive surveillance to assess regulatory impact. IMPLICATIONS: The past 6 years marked increasing e-cigarette sales restrictions in the US, yet limited research has examined the implications for tobacco specialty shops selling e-cigarettes. This study found that, from 2018 to 2021, there were significant decreases in the proportion of vape shops with their own e-liquid, onsite vaping, e-liquid sampling, lounge/counter seating, and price promotions, as well as minimum age signs. There were increases in the proportion selling cannabis-derived products and related paraphernalia. Tobacco control research and regulatory agencies must consider how tobacco specialty stores have evolved alongside legislative changes that impact them and consumers

Vape Shop Owners/Managers\u27 Opinions About FDA Regulation of E-Cigarettes.

INTRODUCTION: In the United States, prominent sources of vaping products are specialty vape shops, which are subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation. This study interviewed vape shop owners/managers to assess: (1) reasons for entering into or engaging in vape shop retail; (2) personnel training, particularly with regard to FDA and state regulations; and (3) how existing regulations are perceived and the anticipated impact of future regulation. AIMS AND METHODS: The current study involved phone–based semi-structured interviews of 45 vape shop owners/managers in six metropolitan statistical areas (Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, San Diego, and Seattle) during Summer 2018 as FDA regulations regarding minimum age verification, bans on product sampling, and health warnings (among others) were first being implemented. RESULTS: Vape shop owners/managers reported: (1) entering the industry with positive intentions for their customers, (2) training their personnel to adhere to regulations and provide good customer service, and (3) significant concerns about the impact of FDA regulations. With regard to the latter, participants reported mistrust of the intentions of the FDA regulations, financial implications of the regulations (particularly for small businesses), difficulty understanding and interpreting the regulations, insufficient evidence to support the regulations, negative impact on customer service, negative impact on product offerings and product innovation/advancement, and negative implications of flavor bans and/or restrictions on sale of flavors. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate the complexities in implementing tobacco regulations, particularly from the perspective of the vape shop industry. Current findings should inform future regulatory actions and efforts to assess compliance with regulations. IMPLICATIONS: Current and impending FDA regulation of vaping products present a critical period for examining regulatory impact on the vape shop industry. Current results indicated that many vape shop owners/managers reporting positive intentions for engaging in the vaping product industry and in training vape shop personnel to adhere to regulations. However, the majority reported concerns about FDA regulation and other state/local regulations that could have negative implications for their industry. Particular concerns include difficulty understanding the regulations due to complexity, vagueness, and changes in language and/or interpretation over time. These issues have implications for compliance that must be addressed