A League of Our Own: The Future of Cyber Defense Competitions

Numerous cyber defense competitions exist today for individuals and teams to test their cyber security skills where each team has to “win or go home.” What is missing from these competitions is a league allowing head to head competitions over the course of a season, much like a sport. Teams playing several hours every week during a ten-week season have the opportunity to improve their cyber security skills. This paper provides an overview of cyber security competitions, and how a National Cyber League can greatly expand the number of and participants in these competitions at a much lower cost leveraging virtual technologies

My Student, My Teacher: A Polytechnic Approach to Information Assurance

A polytechnic education involves the practical application of knowledge, including hands-on learning, senior projects, class projects, club activities, professional association activities, and internships. In 1824, the first polytechnic institution in the United States was the Rensselaer School in Troy, New York and today there are approximately 100 polytechnic universities. Several polytechnic institutions are leaders in teaching information assurance. Information assurance educators develop and depend on students to provide leadership in information assurance through active, engaged learning. The goal of this paper is to describe how a polytechnic approach supports information assurance education

Pathway-Based Genomics Prediction using Generalized Elastic Net.

We present a novel regularization scheme called The Generalized Elastic Net (GELnet) that incorporates gene pathway information into feature selection. The proposed formulation is applicable to a wide variety of problems in which the interpretation of predictive features using known molecular interactions is desired. The method naturally steers solutions toward sets of mechanistically interlinked genes. Using experiments on synthetic data, we demonstrate that pathway-guided results maintain, and often improve, the accuracy of predictors even in cases where the full gene network is unknown. We apply the method to predict the drug response of breast cancer cell lines. GELnet is able to reveal genetic determinants of sensitivity and resistance for several compounds. In particular, for an EGFR/HER2 inhibitor, it finds a possible trans-differentiation resistance mechanism missed by the corresponding pathway agnostic approach

CyberPatriot: Exploring University-High School Partnerships

Since its inception in 2008, the CyberPatriot competition has been held annually with the goal of increasing the number of technologically skilled individuals working in the field of cybersecurity. The competition is designed to address the shortage of U.S. citizens with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines by encouraging talented high school students to pursue post-secondary study leading to careers in cybersecurity. This paper describes how one university successfully partnered with a large metropolitan high school district to better reach out to talented students in both traditional and underrepresented groups

Schr\"odinger's Cheshire Cat: A tabletop experiment to measure the Di\'osi-Penrose collapse time and demonstrate Objective Reduction (OR)

For nearly 100 years, the paradox of Schr\"odinger's Cat has remained unresolved. Why does the world we live in appear classical despite being composed of quantum particles governed by the Schr\"odinger wave equation? Lajos Di\'osi and Roger Penrose propose the wavefunction collapses because it describes two incompatible space-times, demonstrating an inconsistency between quantum mechanics and general relativity. To avoid this paradox, collapse must occur within Heisenberg's time-energy uncertainty limit. Subatomic particles with low mass, and correspondingly low energy, collapse in years, while superposed cats would collapse almost instantaneously. We propose a table-top experiment to put two small mirrors into superposition and observe them collapse in a time consistent with the Di\'osi-Penrose model. We employ two techniques to perform this experiment in ambient laboratory conditions. Most experiments separate a small mass by a large distance. In contrast, we displace a large mass by a small distance where the self-energy follows an inverse square law with correspondingly high collapse times. We further use a symmetrical apparatus, where a break in symmetry indicates collapse independent of decoherence.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

To Catch A Thief II: Computer Forensics in the Classroom

The subject of computer forensics is still new and both challenging and intriguing for students. Cal Poly Pomona has offered this course since September of 2004. The course involves both the technical and legal aspects of investigative procedures as applied to digital evidence. For the instructor, it can involve challenges not found in other areas of information systems. This paper discusses some of the triumphs and pitfalls of including computer forensics as part of an undergraduate information assurance curriculum

Associations of Adiponectin with Adiposity, Insulin Sensitivity, and Diet in Young, Healthy, Mexican Americans and Non-Latino White Adults.

Low circulating adiponectin levels may contribute to higher diabetes risk among Mexican Americans (MA) compared to non-Latino whites (NLW). Our objective was to determine if among young healthy adult MAs have lower adiponectin than NLWs, independent of differences in adiposity. In addition, we explored associations between adiponectin and diet. This was an observational, cross-sectional study of healthy MA and NLW adults living in Colorado (U.S.A.). We measured plasma total adiponectin, adiposity (BMI, and visceral adipose tissue), insulin sensitivity (IVGTT), and self-reported dietary intake in 43 MA and NLW adults. Mean adiponectin levels were 40% lower among MA than NLW (5.8 ± 3.3 vs. 10.7 ± 4.2 µg/mL, p = 0.0003), and this difference persisted after controlling for age, sex, BMI, and visceral adiposity. Lower adiponectin in MA was associated with lower insulin sensitivity (R² = 0.42, p < 0.01). Lower adiponectin was also associated with higher dietary glycemic index, lower intake of vegetables, higher intake of trans fat, and higher intake of grains. Our findings confirm that ethnic differences in adiponectin reflect differences in insulin sensitivity, but suggest that these are not due to differences in adiposity. Observed associations between adiponectin and diet support the need for future studies exploring the regulation of adiponectin by diet and other environmental factors

Animal health emergencies: a gender-based analysis for planning and policy

There has been increasing recognition of gender-based inequity as a barrier to successful policy implementation. This consensus, coupled with an increasing frequency of emergencies in human and animal populations, including infectious disease events, has prompted policy makers to re-evaluate gender-sensitivity in emergency management planning. Seeking to identify key publications relating to gendered impacts and considerations across diverse stakeholders in different types of animal health emergencies, we conducted a non-exhaustive, targeted scoping review. We developed a matrix for both academic and policy literature that separated animal health emergencies into two major categories: humanitarian crises and infectious disease events. We then conducted semi-structured interviews with key animal health experts. We found minimal evidence of explicit gender responsive planning in animal health emergencies, whether humanitarian or infectious disease events. This was particularly salient in Global North literature and policy planning documents. Although there are some references to gender in policy documents pertaining to endemic outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) in Uganda, most research remains gender blind. Despite this, implicit gendered themes emerged from the literature review and interviews as being direct or indirect considerations of some research, policy, and implementation efforts: representation; gendered exposure risks; economic impact; and unpaid care. Absent from both the literature and our conversations with experts were considerations of mental health, gender-based violence, and intersectional impacts. To remedy the gaps in gender-based considerations, we argue that the intentional inclusion of a gender transformative lens in animal health emergency planning is essential. This can be done in the following ways: (1) collection of disaggregated data (race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.); (2) inclusion of gender experts; and (3) inclusion of primary gendered impacts (minimal representation of women in policy positions, gender roles, economic and nutrition impacts) and secondary gendered impacts (gender-based violence, mental health, additional unpaid care responsibilities) in future planning