The Effect of Free Virtual Private Networks in the Conductivity of Online Classes in De La Salle University – Senior High School

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) provide users with online anonymity by sending network traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server controlled by a VPN service company. With the abrupt shift of educational and work modes to an online setting, VPN services have been utilized to secure data privacy on the web. Consequently, with online synchronous classes becoming a part of the “new normal,” students are more prone to certain online attacks or breaches. Hence, protective software applications such as VPNs have been in high demand. However, despite the numerous much-uncovered benefits VPN services offer regarding privacy and security, they have also been found to complicate network paths and affect application performance. Considering this information, this study was conducted to measure the impact of free Virtual Private Networks on network performance during online synchronous classes conducted in areas within the Greater Manila Area. In particular, researchers performed experiments through online synchronous class simulations using the Zoom application software to benchmark various commercially free VPNs on the available local network setups. Through the simulations conducted for online synchronous classes, Hotspot Shield VPN has been deemed the best and recommended free VPN for all network plans utilized in the research. The data from this research could be highly beneficial to VPN developers, Internet Service providers, students, instructors, and even educational institutions in managing the impact of the use of VPNs as a means of online privacy, to Network Performance in an online learning setup, particularly online synchronous sessions within the Greater Manila Area

KIN-29 SIK regulates chemoreceptor gene expression via an MEF2 transcription factor and a class II HDAC

The expression of individual chemoreceptor (CR) genes in Caenorhabditis elegans is regulated by multiple environmental and developmental cues, possibly enabling C. elegans to modulate its sensory responses. We had previously shown that KIN-29, a member of the salt-inducible kinase family, acts in a subset of chemosensory neurons to regulate the expression of CR genes, body size and entry into the alternate dauer developmental stage. Here, we show that KIN-29 regulates these processes by phosphorylating the HDA-4 class II histone deacetylase (HDAC) and inhibiting the gene repression functions of HDA-4 and an MEF-2 MADS domain transcription factor. MEF-2 binds directly to the CR gene regulatory sequences, and is required only to repress but not activate CR gene expression. A calcineurin phosphatase antagonizes the KIN-29/MEF-2-regulated pathway to modulate levels of CR gene expression. Our results identify KIN-29 as a new regulator of MEF2/HDAC functions in the nervous system, reveal cell-specific mechanisms of action of this pathway in vivo and demonstrate remarkable complexity in the regulation of CR gene expression in C. elegans