Dream of Californication: welcome to the Californian Consumer Privacy Act

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), slated to enter into force on 1 January 2020, borrows some cutting edge ideas from the EU and others’ privacy regimes while also experimenting with new approaches to data privacy. Importantly, the CCPA envisages an online advertisement market in which business are prevented from “getting high on information,” breaches are promptly notified, and consumers are autonomous participants with the ability to sell their data at will. Where the CCPA breaks new ground is in protecting consumers from retaliation for opting out of the sale of their data. Thus, if it lives up to its potential, the CCPA could catalyse a permanent restructuring of the online data mining business. Our contribution will shed light on the new CCPA and offer some observations in comparing it with EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

HiPEP Ion Optics System Evaluation Using Gridlets

Experimental measurements are presented for sub-scale ion optics systems comprised of 7 and 19 aperture pairs with geometrical features that are similar to the HiPEP ion optics system. Effects of hole diameter and grid-to-grid spacing are presented as functions of applied voltage and beamlet current. Recommendations are made for the beamlet current range where the ion optics system can be safely operated without experiencing direct impingement of high energy ions on the accelerator grid surface. Measurements are also presented of the accelerator grid voltage where beam plasma electrons backstream through the ion optics system. Results of numerical simulations obtained with the ffx code are compared to both the impingement limit and backstreaming measurements. An emphasis is placed on identifying differences between measurements and simulation predictions to highlight areas where more research is needed. Relatively large effects are observed in simulations when the discharge chamber plasma properties and ion optics geometry are varied. Parameters investigated using simulations include the applied voltages, grid spacing, hole-to-hole spacing, doubles-to-singles ratio, plasma potential, and electron temperature; and estimates are provided for the sensitivity of impingement limits on these parameters

A multi-method characterization of Elasmobranch & Cheloniidae communities of the north-eastern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba

The Red Sea is particularly biodiverse, hosting high levels of endemism and numerous populations whose extinction risk is heightened by their relative isolation. Elasmobranchs and sea turtles have likely suffered recent declines in this region, although data on their distribution and biology are severely lacking, especially on the eastern side of the basin in Saudi Arabian waters. Here, we present sightings of elasmobranchs and sea turtles across the north-eastern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba collected through a combination of survey methods. Over 455 survey hours, we recorded 407 sightings belonging to 26 elasmobranch species and two sea turtle species, more than 75% of which are of conservation concern. We identified 4 species of rays and 9 species of sharks not previously recorded in Saudi Arabia and report a range extension for the pink whipray (Himantura fai) and the round ribbontail ray (Taeniurops meyeni) into the Gulf of Aqaba. High density of sightings of conservation significance, including green and hawksbill sea turtles and halavi guitarfish were recorded in bay systems along the eastern Gulf of Aqaba and the Saudi Arabian coastline bordering the north-eastern Red Sea, and many carcharhinid species were encountered at offshore seamounts in the region. Our findings provide new insights into the distribution patterns of megafaunal assemblages over smaller spatial scales in the region, and facilitate future research and conservation efforts, amidst ongoing, large-scale coastal developments in the north-eastern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba

An Infantile Case of Sturge-Weber Syndrome in Association with Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome and Phakomatosis Pigmentovascularis

Sturge-Weber syndrome can be associated with facial port-wine stains and intracranial calcification, and concurrent Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome has been reported. Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome is a rare congenital mesodermal phakomatosis characterized by cutaneous hemangiomas, venous varicosities and soft tissue or bone hypertrophy of the affected extremities. This report is presented a rare case of the Sturge-Weber syndrome in combination with the Klippel-Trennaunay syndrome and phakomatosis pigmentovascularis in a 4-month-old infant. He showed nevus flameus on the right leg and both part of the face and back, leptomeningeal angiomatosis on right hemisphere, hypertrophy of the right leg, hemiconvulsion on the left and also evidences of congenital glaucoma and nevus of Ota. Very rare case combined with these three kinds of phakomatosis has been reported

Ground Dwelling Ants as Surrogates for Establishing Conservation Priorities in the Australian Wet Tropics

This study aims to identify a set of areas with high biodiversity value over a small spatial scale within the Australian Wet Tropics. We identified sites of high biodiversity value across an altitudinal gradient of ground dwelling ant communities using three measures of biodiversity. The three measures considered were estimated species richness, complementarity between sites and evolutionary history. The latter measure was derived using the systematic nomenclature of the ants to infer a surrogate phylogeny. The goal of conservation assessments could then be achieved by choosing the most diverse site combinations. This approach was found to be valuable for identifying the most diverse site combinations across an altitudinal gradient that could ensure the preservation of terrestrial ground dwelling invertebrates in the Australian Wet Tropics

Ground Dwelling Ants as Surrogates for Establishing Conservation Priorities in the Australian Wet Tropics

This study aims to identify a set of areas with high biodiversity value over a small spatial scale within the Australian Wet Tropics. We identified sites of high biodiversity value across an altitudinal gradient of ground dwelling ant communities using three measures of biodiversity. The three measures considered were estimated species richness, complementarity between sites and evolutionary history. The latter measure was derived using the systematic nomenclature of the ants to infer a surrogate phylogeny. The goal of conservation assessments could then be achieved by choosing the most diverse site combinations. This approach was found to be valuable for identifying the most diverse site combinations across an altitudinal gradient that could ensure the preservation of terrestrial ground dwelling invertebrates in the Australian Wet Tropics