Counseling Customers: Emerging Roles for Genetic Counselors in the Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Market

Individuals now have access to an increasing number of internet resources offering personal genomics services. As the direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC GT) industry expands, critics have called for pre- and post-test genetic counseling to be included with the product. Several genetic testing companies offer genetic counseling. There has been no examination to date of this service provision, whether it meets critics’ concerns and implications it may have for the genetic counseling profession. Considering the increasing relevance of genetics in healthcare, the complexity of genetic information provided by DTC GT, the mediating role of the internet in counseling, and potential conflicts of interest, this is a topic which deserves further attention. In this paper we offer a discourse analysis of ways in which genetic counseling is represented on DTC GT websites, blogs and other online material. This analysis identified four types of genetic counseling represented on the websites: the integrated counseling product; discretionary counseling; independent counseling; and product advice. Genetic counselors are represented as having the following roles: genetics educator; mediator; lifestyle advisor; risk interpreter; and entrepreneur. We conclude that genetic counseling as represented on DTC GT websites demonstrates shifting professional roles and forms of expertise in genetic counseling. Genetic counselors are also playing an important part in how the genetic testing market is taking shape. Our analysis offers important and timely insights into recent developments in the genetic counseling profession, which have relevance for practitioners, researchers and policy makers concerned with the evolving field of personal genomics. Keywords Genetic counseling Internet Direct-to-consumer genetic testing Discourse analysis

Test of Fermi Gas Model and Plane-Wave Impulse Approximation Against Electron-Nucleus Scattering Data

A widely used relativistic Fermi gas model and plane-wave impulse approximation are tested against electron-nucleus scattering data. Inclusive quasi-elastic cross section are calculated and compared with high-precision data for C, O, and Ca. A dependence of agreement between calculated cross section and data on a momentum transfer is shown. Results for the C(nu_mu,mu) reaction are presented and compared with experimental data of the LSND collaboration.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Quasi-elastic neutrino charged-current scattering cross sections on oxygen

The charged-current quasi-elastic scattering of muon neutrinos on oxygen target is computed for neutrino energies between 200 MeV and 2.5 GeV using the relativistic distorted-wave impulse approximation with relativistic optical potential, which was earlier successfully applied to describe electron-nucleus data. We study both neutrino and electron processes and show that the reduced exclusive cross sections for neutrino and electron scattering are similar. The comparison with the relativistic Fermi gas model (RFGM), which is widely used in data analyses of neutrino experiments, shows that the RFGM fails completely when applied to exclusive cross section data and leads to overestimated values of inclusive and total cross sections. We also found significant nuclear-model dependence of exclusive, inclusive and total cross sections for about 1 GeV energy.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures; final version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Impact of Home Field Advantage: Analyzed Across Three Professional Sports

We examined the impact of home-field advantage in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. We defined home-field advantage as winning more than 50% of the home games. Additionally, we took into consideration how season length could act as a moderator and influence the impact of home-field advantage. We collected data from the 2015 NBA and MLB seasons and the 2015 and 2016 NFL seasons to determine statistical significance. In total, we got data from 4,141 games to analyze. We found that there is statistical significance that the home team has a better chance of winning than the away team across the NFL, NBA, and MLB. We also found that season length has a significant impact on home team winning percentage

Impending anterior ischemic optic neuropathy with elements of retinal vein occlusion in a patient on interferon for polycythemia vera.

We describe the course and likely pathophysiology of impending anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) and retinal vein occlusion in a 56-year-old man with polycythemia vera managed with interferon alpha for 2 years. Our patient presented with decreased vision, scintillating scotomata, and floaters. Fundus examination findings and results of a fluorescein angiogram led to the diagnosis of impending AION and retinal vein occlusion. Considering that both polycythemia vera and interferon have possible influences on vascular occlusion and optic disc edema, we stopped interferon treatment and immediately attempted to treat the polycythemia vera empirically with pentoxifylline and any interferon-associated inflammation with prednisone. Our patient experienced complete resolution of fundus abnormalities and return of normal vision within 3 weeks, which may be attributed to our successful treatment of both etiologies. Thus, further study is warranted to elucidate the treatment of both polycythemia vera and interferon-induced impending AION

Dynamic performance of detuned ridge waveguide AlInGaAs distributed feedback laser diodes

The dynamic behavior of AlInGaAs ridge waveguide distributed feedback lasers is reported in this work covering five detuned wavelengths between 1291 nm and 1326 nm for a laser active layer optical peak gain design centered at 1310 nm at room temperature. The detuning is achieved by modifying the laser grating pitch that performs the mode selection within the laser cavity simultaneously across a single processed wafer. The dynamic behavior is evaluated using the resonance frequencies of the detuned lasers measured at a range of injection currents for heatsink temperatures of 25°C and 85°C. The results confirm that a speed improvement can be achieved at 25°C by detuning the laser to shorter wavelengths. However, the results also show that a lower direct modulation bandwidth at 85°C makes the shorter wavelength design less attractive. For communications applications such as 10 Gbps uncooled operation, this trade-off between detuning and modulation bandwidth imply an optimum around −2 nm to +8 nm detuning (measured at 25°C)

Implementation of the block-Krylov boundary flexibility method of component synthesis

A method of dynamic substructuring is presented which utilizes a set of static Ritz vectors as a replacement for normal eigenvectors in component mode synthesis. This set of Ritz vectors is generated in a recurrence relationship, which has the form of a block-Krylov subspace. The initial seed to the recurrence algorithm is based on the boundary flexibility vectors of the component. This algorithm is not load-dependent, is applicable to both fixed and free-interface boundary components, and results in a general component model appropriate for any type of dynamic analysis. This methodology was implemented in the MSC/NASTRAN normal modes solution sequence using DMAP. The accuracy is found to be comparable to that of component synthesis based upon normal modes. The block-Krylov recurrence algorithm is a series of static solutions and so requires significantly less computation than solving the normal eigenspace problem

Abstract Tensor Systems as Monoidal Categories

The primary contribution of this paper is to give a formal, categorical treatment to Penrose's abstract tensor notation, in the context of traced symmetric monoidal categories. To do so, we introduce a typed, sum-free version of an abstract tensor system and demonstrate the construction of its associated category. We then show that the associated category of the free abstract tensor system is in fact the free traced symmetric monoidal category on a monoidal signature. A notable consequence of this result is a simple proof for the soundness and completeness of the diagrammatic language for traced symmetric monoidal categories.Comment: Dedicated to Joachim Lambek on the occasion of his 90th birthda