Student Perceptions of Online Video Cases to Promote Helping Skills Training

Video case based learning was integrated with multimodal online learning to facilitate helping skills training for graduate students. Five online cases were utilized before students participated in classroom-based role-plays and live practice. Students’ reactions to the activity were positive, and recommendations for counselor training are described

Social Media and Fake News Detection using Adversarial Collaboration

The diffusion of fake information on social media networks obscures public perception of events, news, and relevant content. Intentional misleading news may promote negative online experiences and influence societal behavioral changes such as increased anxiety, loneliness, and inadequacy. Adversarial attacks target creating misinformation in online information systems. This behavior can be viewed as an instrument to manipulate the online social media networks for cultural, social, economic, and political gains. A method to test a deep learning model- long short-term memory (LSTM) using adversarial examples generated from a transformer model has been presented. The paper attempts to examine features in machine learning algorithms that propagate fake news. Another goal is to evaluate and compare the usefulness of generative adversarial networks with long-term short-term recurrent neural network algorithms in identifying fake news. A closer look at the mechanisms of implementing adversarial attacks in social media systems helps build robust intelligent systems that can withstand future vulnerabilities

Novel cationic polymers for use at biological interfaces

One of the main problems with the use of synthetic polymers as biomaterials is the invasion of micro-organisms causing infection. A study of the properties of polymeric antibacterial agents, in particular polyhexamethylene biguanide, has revealed that the essential components for the design of a novel polymeric antibacterial are a balance between hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity coupled with sites of cationicity. The effect of cation incorporation on the physical properties of hydrogels has been investigated. Hydrogel systems copolymerised with either N-vinyl imidazole or dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate have been characterised in terms of their water binding, mechanical and surface properties. It has been concluded that the incorporation of these monomers does not adversely affect the properties of such hydrogels and that these materials are potential candidates for further development for use in biomedical applications. It has been reported that hydro gels with ionic character may increase the deposition of biological material onto the hydrogel surface when it is in contact with body fluids. An investigation into the deposition characteristics of hydrogels containing the potentially cationic monomers has been carried out, using specific protein adsorption and in vitro spoilation techniques. The results suggest that at low levels of cationicity, the deposition of positively charged proteins is reduced without adversely affecting the uptake of the other proteins. The gross deposition characteristics were found to be comparable to some commercially available contact lens materials. A preliminary investigation into the development of novel antibacterial polymers has been completed and some novel methods of bacterial inhibition discussed. These methods include development of an hydrogel whose potential application is as a catheter coating

The Relation of Knowledge Development to Children\u27s Basketball Performance.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the relation of sport specific knowledge to the development of skilled basketball performance in children. Three experiments were conducted. The first experiment established the reliability and validity of instruments used to measure basketball knowledge, dribbling skill, shooting skill and individual components of offensive basketball performance--control, decisions, and execution. The second experiment compared expert and novice basketball players in two age leagues, an 8- to 10-year-old league and an 11- to 12-year-old league, on the individual components of performance and on measures of basketball knowledge, dribbling skill, and shooting skill. The cognitive decision making component maximally discriminated expert and novice basketball players and expert players of both age groups possessed more shooting skill and more basketball knowledge. Canonical analysis indicated that basketball knowledge was related to decision making skill in basketball, whereas dribbling and shooting skill were related to the motor components of control and execution. Experiment 3 examined the changes in the individual components of performance, basketball knowledge, dribbling skill, and shooting skill from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. Subjects improved in the cognitive decision making component of performance across the course of the season and basketball knowledge increased from the beginning to the end of the season. Only basketball knowledge was a significant predictor of the decision making component at the end of the season. The overall results of Experiments 2 and 3 indicate that the development of the sport knowledge base plays a salient role in skilled sport performance of children. In particular, many of the deficits of young children in youth sports may be due to lack of sufficient sport knowledge which is necessary to make appropriate decisions within the context of sport

Cyber security responsibilization:an evaluation of the intervention approaches adopted by the Five Eyes countries and China

Governments can intervene to a greater or lesser extent in managing the risks their citizens face. They can adopt a maximal intervention approach (e.g. COVID-19) or a handsoff approach, effectively “responsibilizing” their citizens (e.g. unemployment). To manage the cyber risk, governments publish cyber-related policies. The question that we wanted to answer was: “What intervention stances do governments adopt in supporting individual citizens managing their personal cyber risk?” We pinpointed the cyber-related responsibilities that several governments espoused, applying a “responsibilization” analysis. We identified those that applied to citizens, and thereby revealed their cyber-related intervention stances. Our analysis revealed that most governments adopt a minimal cyber-related intervention stance in supporting their individual citizens. Given the increasing number of successful cyber attacks on individuals, it seems time for the consequences of this stance to be acknowledged and reconsidered. We argue that governments should support individual citizens more effectively in dealing with cyber threats

Combined column test for characterization of leaching and transport of trace elements in contaminated soils

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Fibronectin and Cyclic Strain Improve Cardiac Progenitor Cell Regenerative Potential In Vitro.

Cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) have rapidly advanced to clinical trials, yet little is known regarding their interaction with the microenvironment. Signaling cues present in the microenvironment change with development and disease. This work aims to assess the influence of two distinct signaling moieties on CPCs: cyclic biaxial strain and extracellular matrix. We evaluate four endpoints for improving CPC therapy: paracrine signaling, proliferation, connexin43 expression, and alignment. Vascular endothelial growth factor A (about 900 pg/mL) was secreted by CPCs cultured on fibronectin and collagen I. The application of mechanical strain increased vascular endothelial growth factor A secretion 2-4-fold for CPCs cultured on poly-L-lysine, laminin, or a naturally derived cardiac extracellular matrix. CPC proliferation was at least 25% higher on fibronectin than that on other matrices, especially for lower strain magnitudes. At 5% strain, connexin43 expression was highest on fibronectin. With increasing strain magnitude, connexin43 expression decreased by as much as 60% in CPCs cultured on collagen I and a naturally derived cardiac extracellular matrix. Cyclic mechanical strain induced the strongest CPC alignment when cultured on fibronectin or collagen I. This study demonstrates that culturing CPCs on fibronectin with 5% strain magnitude is optimal for their vascular endothelial growth factor A secretion, proliferation, connexin43 expression, and alignment

The Internet of Things (IoT): Platforms, Analytics, Security, Business Model, and Human Interaction

According to Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 and a number of recent research reports in 2016 and 2017 from Gartner, Deloitte, McKinsey, and Info-Tech Research Group, the Internet of Things (IoT) is projected to be a multi-trillion dollar opportunity. However, there are numerous issues and requirements in IoT, such as platforms, analytics, gateways and devices (including sensors) management; communication services (i.e., M2M and networking protocols); security and privacy; and user interactions. In addition, various perspectives for monetizing IoT, as a business model, will be considered. The IoT panel proposal will cover IoT platform, gateway and devices; communications services; IoT analytics; security and privacy; business model and business value of IoT; and human interaction with IoT. Each panelist will present the assigned IoT topics