The Right to Delete: Protecting Consumer Autonomy in Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing

We often think of DNA as a unique personal identifier. Yet, as of 2019, direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing companies have amassed the genetic data of more than twenty-six million consumers. This raises the concern that companies do not uniformly protect consumers’ genetic privacy. Substantiating such concerns are complaints that companies permit law enforcement access to their databases, sell consumer genetic information to third parties, pursue drug development, and suffer data breaches. Regulators have been slow to respond to this emerging privacy issue. The current legal framework is largely inadequate: there is no federal data-privacy law; courts and agencies are ill-equipped or lack directive to tackle a privacy issue of this magnitude; and current genetic-related laws focus on notice, informed consent, and antidiscrimination. However, recently enacted state data-privacy laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) may serve as a legal framework to address privacy in the DTC genetic testing context. Under the CCPA and CPRA, the right to delete promises to give control back to consumers over their genetic information. However, further genetic-specific regulations under the CCPA and CPRA, or a separate genetic-privacy statute, are needed to protect privacy in the DTC genetic testing context while balancing against legitimate business and governmental interests. This Note attempts to delineate how such a balance can be achieved

Light-induced switching between singlet and triplet superconducting states

While the search for topological triplet-pairing superconductivity has remained a challenge, recent developments in optically stabilizing metastable superconducting states suggest a new route to realizing this elusive phase. Here, we devise a testable theory of competing superconducting orders that permits ultrafast switching to an opposite-parity superconducting phase in centrosymmetric crystals with strong spin-orbit coupling. Using both microscopic and phenomenological models, we show that dynamical inversion symmetry breaking with a tailored light pulse can induce odd-parity (spin triplet) order parameter oscillations in a conventional even-parity (spin singlet) superconductor, which when driven strongly can send the system to a competing minimum in its free energy landscape. Our results provide new guiding principles for engineering unconventional electronic phases using light, suggesting a fundamentally non-equilibrium route toward realizing topological superconductivity

Radiation And Annealing Characteristics Of Neutron Bombarded Silicon Transistors

Operating a silicon planar epitaxial transistor in the inverse configuration allows one to demonstrate clearly the importance of the neutron-induced base current component and its degradation of the emitter efficiency, and, because of the much larger depletion layer, to compute a volume dependent damage constant applicable to all silicon p-n junctions. The importance of minimizing the absolute change versus relative change in radiation hardening studies is clearly illustrated. Surface effects were found to be significant for transistors mounted in gas-filled cans. The diffusion potential was predicted, on theoretical grounds, to vary with neutron fluence, and the theory was experimentally confirmed. Isochronal and isothermal annealing data were obtained for the inverse configuration and from these data, it is concluded that the neutron-induced defect centers are field dependent. Copyright © 1968 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc

On a Tree and a Path with no Geometric Simultaneous Embedding

Two graphs $G_1=(V,E_1)$ and $G_2=(V,E_2)$ admit a geometric simultaneous embedding if there exists a set of points P and a bijection M: P -> V that induce planar straight-line embeddings both for $G_1$ and for $G_2$. While it is known that two caterpillars always admit a geometric simultaneous embedding and that two trees not always admit one, the question about a tree and a path is still open and is often regarded as the most prominent open problem in this area. We answer this question in the negative by providing a counterexample. Additionally, since the counterexample uses disjoint edge sets for the two graphs, we also negatively answer another open question, that is, whether it is possible to simultaneously embed two edge-disjoint trees. As a final result, we study the same problem when some constraints on the tree are imposed. Namely, we show that a tree of depth 2 and a path always admit a geometric simultaneous embedding. In fact, such a strong constraint is not so far from closing the gap with the instances not admitting any solution, as the tree used in our counterexample has depth 4.Comment: 42 pages, 33 figure

High energy Coulomb-scattered electrons for relativistic particle beam diagnostics

A new system used for monitoring energetic Coulomb-scattered electrons as the main diagnostic for accurately aligning the electron and ion beams in the new Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) electron lenses is described in detail. The theory of electron scattering from relativistic ions is developed and applied to the design and implementation of the system used to achieve and maintain the alignment. Commissioning with gold and 3He beams is then described as well as the successful utilization of the new system during the 2015 RHIC polarized proton run. Systematic errors of the new method are then estimated. Finally, some possible future applications of Coulomb-scattered electrons for beam diagnostics are briefly discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 23 figure

Cep164, a novel centriole appendage protein required for primary cilium formation

Primary cilia (PC) function as microtubule-based sensory antennae projecting from the surface of many eukaryotic cells. They play important roles in mechano- and chemosensory perception and their dysfunction is implicated in developmental disorders and severe diseases. The basal body that functions in PC assembly is derived from the mature centriole, a component of the centrosome. Through a small interfering RNA screen we found several centrosomal proteins (Ceps) to be involved in PC formation. One newly identified protein, Cep164, was indispensable for PC formation and hence characterized in detail. By immunogold electron microscopy, Cep164 could be localized to the distal appendages of mature centrioles. In contrast to ninein and Cep170, two components of subdistal appendages, Cep164 persisted at centrioles throughout mitosis. Moreover, the localizations of Cep164 and ninein/Cep170 were mutually independent during interphase. These data implicate distal appendages in PC formation and identify Cep164 as an excellent marker for these structures

Quick setup of unit test for accelerator controls system

Testing a single hardware unit of an accelerator control system often requires the setup of a program with graphical user interface. Developing a dedicated application for a specific hardware unit test could be time consuming and the application may become obsolete after the unit tests. This paper documents a methodology for quick design and setup of an interface focused on performing unit tests of accelerator equipment with minimum programming work. The method has three components. The first is a generic accelerator device object (ADO) manager which can be used to setup, store, and log testing controls parameters for any unit testing system. The second involves the design of a TAPE (Tool for Automated Procedure Execution) sequence file that specifies and implements all te testing and control logic. The sting third is the design of a PET (parameter editing tool) page that provides the unit tester with all the necessary control parameters required for testing. This approach has been used for testing the horizontal plane of the Stochastic Cooling Motion Control System at RHIC