Western Digital (United States)

Abstract Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an increasingly important liquid biopsy for brain tumors, offering improved sensitivity over plasma due to proximity to the tumor and reduced peripheral DNA background. However, cfDNA concentrations in CSF are low, and extraction inefficiencies can limit the reliability of downstream molecular assays. This study evaluates cfDNA recovery performance from CSF-like matrices to support sensitive molecular profiling relevant to brain cancer applications. Methods: Synthetic CSF samples spiked with fragmented cfDNA reference material were processed using the nRichDX Revolution Max20 workflow. Low-input volumes representative of clinical CSF collections were evaluated. cfDNA yield and recovery were quantified using fluorometric and quantitative PCR-based measurements, and fragment size distributions were assessed to confirm recovery of short cfDNA fragments typical of CSF-derived material. Results: The extraction workflow consistently recovered cfDNA from synthetic CSF with high reproducibility across replicates and input volumes. Quantitative measurements demonstrated reliable cfDNA yields suitable for sensitive downstream molecular analyses. Fragment size analysis confirmed preservation of short cfDNA fragments, including those within the range relevant for mutation detection and copy number analysis. Minimal variability was observed between runs, indicating robustness of the extraction process under low-input conditions. Conclusions: Efficient and reproducible cfDNA extraction from CSF-like matrices enables molecular profiling approaches that are critical for brain cancer research and clinical translation. The performance demonstrated in this study supports clinical applications including detection of tumor-derived genetic alterations, longitudinal disease monitoring, and assessment of treatment response in central nervous system malignancies. Reliable cfDNA recovery from limited CSF volumes is a key enabling step for integrating CSF-based liquid biopsy into precision oncology workflows for brain cancer. Generative AI Disclosure: Generative AI was used solely to assist with editing and improving the clarity of this abstract; all scientific content and conclusions were reviewed and validated by the authors prior to submission. Citation Format: Nafiseh Jafari, Jason Saenz, Carlos Hernandez, Daniel Cedeno, Cameron Van Dieren, Mayer Saidian. Efficient recovery of cell-free DNA from synthetic cerebrospinal fluid enables sensitive molecular profiling in brain cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Brain Cancer; 2026 Mar 23-25; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2026;86(6_Suppl):Abstract nr A052.

The ability to use an applied voltage to effectively manipulate perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is critical for high density, robust magnetic random access memory devices. Using first principle simulations, we examine voltage control of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy at the interface between Fe and several different spinel oxides (MgAl2O4, MgGa2O4, and ZnAl2O4). These spinel oxides have an excellent lattice match with Fe and there is good alignment of spinel O atoms with Fe atoms at the interface. We find that all of these Fe|spinel oxide interfaces have high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy ranging from 1.87 to 1.89mJ/m2. The two Fe layers closest to the oxide interface provide significant contributions to the magnetic anisotropy. Calculations for Cu|Fe|spinel slabs under applied fields indicate VCMA coefficients in the range of (25–30 fJ V m) which are comparable to that found for Fe|MgO. Given the excellent lattice match with (001) bcc Fe for all of these spinel oxides and the demonstrated high TMR for the case of Fe|MgAl2O4, our results indicate that members of this spinel oxide family are promising candidates for tunneling barriers in future voltage controlled MRAM devices.

Accurate and high-efficiency film metrology remains a key challenge in High-Volume Manufacturing (HVM), where conventional spectroscopic reflectometry and white light interferometry (WLI) are either limited by model dependence or throughput. In this work, we extend the measurable film-thickness range of reflectometry to at least 50 µm through a new model-free algorithm, the Linearized Reflectance Zero-Crossing (LRZ) method. The approach builds upon the previously reported Linearized Reflectance Extrema (LRE) technique but eliminates the sensitivity to spectral sampling and fringe attenuation that degrade performance in the thick-film regime. By linearizing phase response and extracting Zero-Crossing positions in wavenumber space, LRZ provides robust and repeatable thickness estimation without iterative fitting, achieving comparable accuracy with much higher computational efficiency than conventional model-based methods. Validation using more than 80 measurements on alumina films over NiFe substrates shows excellent correlation with WLI (r = 0.97) and low gauge repeatability and reproducibility (GR&R < 3%). Moreover, LRZ achieves an average Move-Acquire-Measure (MAM) time of approximately 2 s, which is about 7 times faster than WLI. The proposed method enables fast, accurate, and model-independent optical metrology for thick films, offering a practical solution for advanced HVM process control.

While emerging memories are considered promising technologies to replace DRAM, it has been proven difficult to penetrate the mature DRAM market and achieve profitability. Therefore, it is crucial to reduce the cost of the emerging memory media. One important way to reduce the cost is to make the memory system more fault tolerant, thus the production process can be simplified and media yield can be improved. This paper focuses on stuck failures, which are dominant in endurance failures and manufacturing failures. We present ECC Replay, an efficient and practical scheme which handles the stuck failures by utilizing existing ECC techniques in a typical emerging memory system. When a codeword read results in an uncorrectable, ECC Replay detects the stuck bits of the codeword by writing all-0/all-1 data into the media and then reading it back. ECC Replay then tries to get a correctable result by reperforming ECC correction with all the possible data combinations of the stuck bits. We also propose special techniques to minimize the Miscorrection Rate, which is often the reliability bottleneck of memory systems, and read tail latency. With minimal change in the memory controller architecture and no change to the emerging memory media, ECC Replay achieves 30 × improvement of stuck-bit tolerance in a typical emerging memory system with negligible impact on memory bandwidth and read latency.

Switching of sub-50 nm perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (pMTJs) using the voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) effect has been a persistent challenge in spintronics, especially as devices scale down. This work presents the first comprehensive study of 20 CoFeB/MgO-based 3X-nm voltage-controlled pMTJs with diameters of 30 to 36 nm. The devices consistently demonstrate large VCMA coefficients (mean <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\xi ~\approx ~106$ </tex-math></inline-formula> fJ/Vm), which allow for achieving sub-nanosecond voltage-induced switching, and a mean tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) greater than 130%. Endurance measurements show a lower bound of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2\times 10^{{10}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> reliable write cycles. These results establish a high-VCMA pMTJ material stack for energy-efficient memory, sensing, and computing.

Announced as “the greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history,” 12 March 2025 marks the retreat of the United States Environmental Protection Agency from remedial and preventive policies that were informed by decades of consequential research in environmental science and public health. The USEPA administrator boasted further: “We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more.” The retreat threatens science-based regulations that have commanded the attention of researchers, policymakers, healthcare providers, non-governmental stewards of environments and ecosystems, and the general public. An example of such regulations targets mercury pollution, perhaps the only toxic chemical for which a specific UN action, the Minamata Convention, is dedicated. The linkage of mercury emissions to coal combustion as a source of energy that also drives climate change and particulate matter pollution that transcends national boundaries to cause diseases worldwide implies that the adverse impacts of USEPA’s retreat will not be borne only by the US population, but also by the global human population and wildlife. The retreat from progressive agendas on environmental sustainability is not unique to the US. Note the European Commission’s relaxation of reporting rules in the 2025 Competitiveness Compass. We may very well witness a “race to the bottom” as other countries sacrifice environmental regulations in pursuit of corporate profits.

Digital transformation entails leveraging digital capabilities to drive value creation, operational efficiency, and enhanced customer experiences. The emergence of bimodal IT, characterised by the coexistence of traditional and exploratory modes of operation, reflects the evolving role of IT in facilitating digital innovation. With this study we aimed to delve into the intersection of COVID-19, digital transformation, and bimodal IT, examining their collective impact on ICT divisions and organisational resilience. Interviewing was the primary method of data collection. Participants were predominantly selected based on seniority in their respective organisations, such as CIOs or IT managers, and their presumed knowledge and expertise on the subject. Fourteen interviews with participants representing 14 organisations were conducted. The findings reveal the significant impact of COVID-19 on technological capabilities and organisational responses. Themes such as acceleration of digital transformation, facilitation of remote work, management and repurposing of budgets, and cultivation of resilience and adaptability emerged. The study provides insight into the specific technological initiatives and challenges faced by organisations in adapting to remote work and evolving security landscapes. This study contributes to the understanding of the intersection between COVID-19, digital transformation, and bimodal IT, highlighting the importance of agility and resilience in managing ICT operations amid unpredictable circumstances. The study provides detailed perspectives on the efficiency of bimodal IT, moving beyond the simplistic representations in the existing literature. It underscores the importance of incorporating bimodal IT into the broader IT strategy and considering contextual factors.