Evaluating Two Approaches to Assessing Student Progress in Cybersecurity Exercises

Cybersecurity students need to develop practical skills such as using command-line tools. Hands-on exercises are the most direct way to assess these skills, but assessing students' mastery is a challenging task for instructors. We aim to alleviate this issue by modeling and visualizing student progress automatically throughout the exercise. The progress is summarized by graph models based on the shell commands students typed to achieve discrete tasks within the exercise. We implemented two types of models and compared them using data from 46 students at two universities. To evaluate our models, we surveyed 22 experienced computing instructors and qualitatively analyzed their responses. The majority of instructors interpreted the graph models effectively and identified strengths, weaknesses, and assessment use cases for each model. Based on the evaluation, we provide recommendations to instructors and explain how our graph models innovate teaching and promote further research. The impact of this paper is threefold. First, it demonstrates how multiple institutions can collaborate to share approaches to modeling student progress in hands-on exercises. Second, our modeling techniques generalize to data from different environments to support student assessment, even outside the cybersecurity domain. Third, we share the acquired data and open-source software so that others can use the models in their classes or research

Molecular nanoinformatics approach assessing the biocompatibility of biogenic silver nanoparticles with channelized intrinsic steatosis and apoptosis

The developmental rapidity of nanotechnology poses higher risks of exposure to humans and the environment through manufactured nanomaterials. The multitude of biological interfaces, such as DNA, proteins, membranes, and cell organelles, which come in contact with nanoparticles, is influenced by colloidal and dynamic forces. Consequently, the ensued nano-bio interface depends on dynamic forces, encompasses many cellular absorption mechanisms along with various biocatalytic activities, and biocompatibility that needs to be investigated in detail. Addressing the issue, the study offers a novel green synthesis strategy for antibacterial AgNPs with higher biocompatibility and elucidates the mechanistic in vivo biocompatibility of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) at the cellular and molecular levels. The analysis ascertained the biosynthesis of G-AgNPs with the size of 25 +/- 10 nm and zeta potential of -29.2 +/- 3.0 mV exhibiting LC50 of 47.2 mu g mL(-1) in embryonic zebrafish. It revealed the mechanism as a consequence of abnormal physiological metabolism in oxidative stress and neutral lipid metabolism due to dose-dependent interaction with proteins such as he1a, sod1, PEX protein family, and tp53 involving amino acids such as arginine, glutamine and leucine leading to improper apoptosis. The research gave a detailed insight into the role of diverse AgNPs-protein interactions with a unique combinatorial approach from first-principles density functional theory and in silico analyses, thus paving a new pathway to comprehending their intrinsic properties and usage

Prevalence and Correlation with Other Diagnoses in Physiotherapy Practice—A 5-Year Retrospective Review.

Abstract (1) Background: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) as a primary or secondary diagnosis during physiotherapy practice. No other studies have investigated the prevalence and associations of DDH within the practice of pediatric rehabilitation. (2) Methods: This retrospective review was performed on 12,225 physiotherapy referrals to the King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital (KASCH), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from May 2016 to October 2021. Only DDH referrals for conservative treatment were included in the study. The plan for brace treatment was carried out by the pediatric orthopedics clinic in KASCH. The diagnostic methods were either a pelvic radiograph or ultrasound, depending on the participant’s age. DDH is considered one of the most common secondary complications for children with other medical diagnoses. (3) Results: The most common indication for referral was neurological diagnosis (44%), followed by orthopedic (28%), genetic (19%), cardiac (5%), ophthalmologic (3%), dermatologic (1%) and rheumatologic (0.5%) diagnoses. (4) Conclusion: The prevalence of DDH among all referrals in this study was 6%. In physiotherapy practice, neurologic, genetic, and orthopedic primary or secondary diagnoses were the most prevalent when DDH referrals were investigated. A relatively high prevalence of DDH in the pediatric rehabilitation clinic at KASCH in Riyadh was reported in this study.(1) Východiská: Cieľom tejto štúdie bolo posúdiť prevalenciu vývojovej dysplázie bedra (DDH) ako primárnej alebo sekundárnej diagnózy počas fyzioterapeutickej praxe. Žiadne iné štúdie neskúmali prevalenciu a asociácie DDH v praxi pediatrickej rehabilitácie. (2) Metódy: Tento retrospektívny prehľad bol vykonaný na 12 225 fyzioterapeutických odporúčaniach do Špecializovanej detskej nemocnice kráľa Abdulláha (KASCH), Rijád, Kráľovstvo Saudskej Arábie, od mája 2016 do októbra 2021. Do štúdie boli zahrnuté iba odporúčania DDH na konzervatívnu liečbu. Plán liečby realizovala klinika detskej ortopédie v KASCH. Diagnostické metódy boli buď rádiografia panvy alebo ultrazvuk, v závislosti od veku účastníka. DDH sa považuje za jednu z najčastejších sekundárnych komplikácií u detí s inými medicínskymi diagnózami. (3) Výsledky: Najčastejšou indikáciou na odoslanie bola neurologická diagnóza (44 %), nasledovala ortopedická (28 %), genetická (19 %), kardiálna (5 %), oftalmologická (3 %), dermatologická (1 %) a reumatologické (0,5 %) diagnózy. (4) Záver: Prevalencia DDH medzi všetkými odporúčaniami v tejto štúdii bola 6 %. Vo fyzioterapeutickej praxi boli neurologické, genetické a ortopedické primárne alebo sekundárne diagnózy najrozšírenejšie, keď sa skúmali odporúčania DDH. V tejto štúdii bola hlásená relatívne vysoká prevalencia DDH na pediatrickej rehabilitačnej klinike v KASCH v Rijáde.(1) Background: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) as a primary or secondary diagnosis during physiotherapy practice. No other studies have investigated the prevalence and associations of DDH within the practice of pediatric rehabilitation. (2) Methods: This retrospective review was performed on 12,225 physiotherapy referrals to the King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital (KASCH), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from May 2016 to October 2021. Only DDH referrals for conservative treatment were included in the study. The plan for brace treatment was carried out by the pediatric orthopedics clinic in KASCH. The diagnostic methods were either a pelvic radiograph or ultrasound, depending on the participant’s age. DDH is considered one of the most common secondary complications for children with other medical diagnoses. (3) Results: The most common indication for referral was neurological diagnosis (44%), followed by orthopedic (28%), genetic (19%), cardiac (5%), ophthalmologic (3%), dermatologic (1%) and rheumatologic (0.5%) diagnoses. (4) Conclusion: The prevalence of DDH among all referrals in this study was 6%. In physiotherapy practice, neurologic, genetic, and orthopedic primary or secondary diagnoses were the most prevalent when DDH referrals were investigated. A relatively high prevalence of DDH in the pediatric rehabilitation clinic at KASCH in Riyadh was reported in this study

Literární soutěž Jana Palacha 2022

Legenda o Marcovi Curtiovi je voľným veršovaným spracovaním starovekého rímskeho príbehu o rovnomennom legionárovi, ktorý obetoval svoj život za záchranu svojho rodného mesta.Legenda o Marcovi Curtiovi je voľným veršovaným spracovaním starovekého rímskeho príbehu o rovnomennom mladom legionárovi, ktorý obetoval svoj život za záchranu svojho rodného mesta.The Legend of Marcus Curtius is a free versified version of the ancient Roman story about the legionary of the same name who sacrificed his own life in order to save his city

Preventing Cheating in Hands-on Lab Assignments

Networking, operating systems, and cybersecurity skills are exercised best in an authentic environment. Students work with real systems and tools in a lab environment and complete assigned tasks. Since all students typically receive the same assignment, they can consult their approach and progress with an instructor, a tutoring system, or their peers. They may also search for information on the Internet. Having the same assignment for all students in class is standard practice efficient for learning and developing skills. However, it is prone to cheating when used in a summative assessment such as graded homework, a mid-term test, or a final exam. Students can easily share and submit correct answers without completing the assignment. In this paper, we discuss methods for automatic problem generation for hands-on tasks completed in a computer lab environment. Using this approach, each student receives personalized tasks. We developed software for generating and submitting these personalized tasks and conducted a case study. The software was used for creating and grading a homework assignment in an introductory security course enrolled by 207 students. The software revealed seven cases of suspicious submissions, which may constitute cheating. In addition, students and instructors welcomed the personalized assignments. Instructors commented that this approach scales well for large classes. Students rarely encountered issues while running their personalized lab environment. Finally, we have released the open-source software to enable other educators to use it in their courses and learning environments

Včasná diagnostika a evidence-based intervence jako klíčové faktory pro pozitivní vývoj u dětí s poruchou autistického spektra

V posledních dvou dekádách se pozornost odborné veřejnosti výrazněji obrátila směrem k poruchám autistického spektra (PAS). V mnoha zemích včetně České republiky byl zaveden včasný záchyt PAS. Také v důsledku povinného screeningu se počet diagnostikovaných dětí s PAS neustále zvyšuje. Ze současných výzkumů vyplývá, že některou z forem autismu trpí 1 až 2 % populace. Pro zlepšení prognózy dítěte s autismem je rozhodující včasné zachycení prvních příznaků, následná diagnostika a neprodlené zahájení efektivní intervence zaměřené na zmírnění jádrových symptomů PAS a rozvoj klíčových dovedností dítěte. Článek představuje průběh včasného záchytu PAS v ordinacích praktických lékařů pro děti a dorost, který byl v České republice zaveden v roce 2016, a navazující diagnostický proces prováděný dětským a dorostovým psychiatrem. Reaguje na odborníky a rodiči pociťovaný nedostatek efektivní včasné intervence a seznamuje s behaviorálními přístupy při rozvoji dovedností dítěte s PAS v raném věku. Věnuje se zejména včasné intenzivní behaviorální intervenci, která je založena na principech aplikované behaviorální analýzy a patří mezi doporučené postupy psychiatrické péče vydané Psychiatrickou společností ČLS JEP i dalšími odbornými organizacemi. V současné době se jedná o jednu z mála behaviorálních a psychoterapeutických intervencí u autismu, která se zaměřuje na rozvoj klíčových komunikačních a sociálních dovedností dětí s neurovývojovým postižením a její efektivita je podložena dostatečným množstvím kvalitní vědecké evidence.In the last two decades, the professional community focused its attention on autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Many countries including the Czech Republic started to administer early screeing of ASD. The prevalence of ASD is steadily increasing. Current research suggests that between 1 % and 2 % of the population suffer from some form of autism. Screening of early symptoms, subsequent diagnostics and prompt initiation of effective intervention aimed at the core symptoms of ASD and developing the child's key skills are critical for improving the prognosis of a child with autism. This article presents the process of ASD screening at general practitioners' offices, which was initiated in the Czech Republic in 2016, and the follow-up diagnostic process performed by a child and adolescent psychiatrist. It responds to the lack of effective early intervention perceived by professionals and parents and introduces approaches for developing critical skills of a child with ASD at an early age. It focuses on Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention, which is based on the principles of applied behavior analysis and is one of the recommended practices of the Czech Psychiatric Society and other renown professional organizations. Currently, it is one of the few behavioral and psychotherapeutic interventions for autism that focuses on the development of key communication and social skills in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and its effectiveness is supported by a sufficient amount of high-quality scientific evidence

Facilitating the Czech Coal Phase-Out : What Drives Inter-Organizational Collaboration?

Responses to current environmental challenges, such as the energy transition, require collaboration among diverse actors interacting in complex and conflicting policy settings. This study examines the drivers of inter-organizational collaboration within the conflictual context of Czech coal phase-out by investigating hypotheses on belief homophily, political influence, and expert information. It uses a sequential mixed-methods research design combining exponential random graph modeling, which controls for network self-organization processes, and directed qualitative content analysis, which validates and extends the findings from the previous stage. The results show that organizations perceived as influential and organizations providing expertise are more likely to be involved in inter-organizational collaboration. Belief homophily does not predict collaboration but is relevant for disincentivizing collaboration among actors with low-compatible beliefs, thus contributing to conflict reproduction. The study concludes that future collaborative arrangements need to avoid such design flaws as those of the recently established Coal Committee, which reinforced existing power asymmetries and conflicts

Explaining inequalities in vulnerable children’s digital skills : The effect of individual and social discrimination

While the Internet is part of everyday life for many children, inequalities exist in their digital skills, with little known about the influence of perceived discrimination on these inequalities. Building on survey data collected from nationally representative samples of 10,820 children aged 12–16 in 14 European countries, we seek to understand whether and how disadvantaged children may fall behind their more advantaged peers across Europe with respect to digital skills, as well as the role played by perceived individual and social discrimination in acquiring these skills. The findings show that perceived individual and social discrimination affect the relationships of socio-cultural resources (age, gender, preference for online social interaction) and personal resources (self-efficacy) with digital skills. Therefore, even in countries where Internet use is an integral part of children’s lives, interventions should be made to prevent perceived offline discrimination translating into digital inequalities

Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Nutritional Status and Physical Activity Levels and a Sports Injury Reported in Children: A Seven-Year Follow-Up Study

Objective: Our aim was to analyze dose-response associations between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and physical activity levels with childhood sports injury rates. Methods: Participants included pre-pregnant mothers (n = 4811) and their children at the age of 7 years (n = 3311). Maternal anthropometry (height, weight, and body mass index), time spent in physical activity, and education level were recorded. All sports injuries were defined as injuries reported in the past year by the children at the age of 7 years. Results: Children whose mothers were overweight/obese in the pre-pregnancy period were 2.04 (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.12-3.71) times more likely to report a sports injury at the age of 7 years. Underweight mothers exhibited a 74% decrease in the odds of their children reporting a sports injury at follow-up (OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.10-0.68). Finally, an increase in maternal physical activity across the last three quartiles was associated with a lower odds of sports injuries. Conclusions: The risk of reporting a sports injury was greater for children whose mothers were overweight/obese in the pre-pregnancy period. However, there was a lower risk with both maternal underweight status and increasing minutes of physical activity.Objective: Our aim was to analyze dose-response associations between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and physical activity levels with childhood sports injury rates. Methods: Participants included pre-pregnant mothers (n = 4811) and their children at the age of 7 years (n = 3311). Maternal anthropometry (height, weight, and body mass index), time spent in physical activity, and education level were recorded. All sports injuries were defined as injuries reported in the past year by the children at the age of 7 years. Results: Children whose mothers were overweight/obese in the pre-pregnancy period were 2.04 (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.12-3.71) times more likely to report a sports injury at the age of 7 years. Underweight mothers exhibited a 74% decrease in the odds of their children reporting a sports injury at follow-up (OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.10-0.68). Finally, an increase in maternal physical activity across the last three quartiles was associated with a lower odds of sports injuries. Conclusions: The risk of reporting a sports injury was greater for children whose mothers were overweight/obese in the pre-pregnancy period. However, there was a lower risk with both maternal underweight status and increasing minutes of physical activity