Assessing the Presence of Mindfulness within Cyber and Non-Cybersecurity groups

Corporations and individuals continue to be under Phishing attack. Researchers categorizes methods corporations and individuals can employ to reduce the impact of being caught in a Phishing scheme. Corporation enable technical mechanisms such as automated filtering, URL blacklisting, and manipulation of browser warning messages to reduce phishing susceptibility costing billions of dollars annually. However, even with robust efforts to educate employees about phishing techniques through security awareness training the abundance of attacks continues to plague organizations. This study aims to identify whether a correlation exists between mindfulness and phishing susceptibility. The goal of this research is to determine if mindful individuals are less susceptible to phishing. By showing individuals with increased awareness are significantly able to identify areas that phishing attempts exploit. Based on a review of the literature a misconception exists between end-users, corporation and Internet Service Providers (ISP) regarding ownership of Phishing identification. Specifically, individuals blame ISPs and corporate information technology departments for failing to protect them from Phishing attacks. Still, the truth of the matter is that the end-user is ultimately the weakest link in the phishing identification chain. The methodology of this study polled participants through initial screening focusing on whether the individuals were mindful using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) survey. Conclusions seen in this study in contrast with other studies saw no significant correlation between Mindfulness and phishing susceptibility, increase in cogitative ability or increase in Phishing identification. Thus, continued use of MAAS survey questionnaire is necessary to screen other groups for phishing awareness prior to focusing on other phishing cues

An Examination of Parents' Preferred School Counselor Professional Activities

The purpose of this study was to examine parent preferences for school counselor professional activities. The primary focus of research was to determine if any relationship exists between (1) parents' demographic factors - gender, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity - and their preferences for school counselors' professional activities; (2) educational factors - parents' level of education and grade level of their student (9-12) - and parents' preferences for professional activities; and (3) parents' experience parenting high school students and their preferences for school counselors' professional activities. I utilized a 7-item demographic questionnaire and an adapted version of the School Counselor Activity Rating Scale (SCARS; Scarborough, 2005). The SCARS is a 48-item standardized instrument that measures how school counselors actually spend their time engaged in professional activities compared to how they would prefer to spend that time. The format was adapted from a verbal frequency scale to a 5-point Likert-type scale. In the current study, parents indicated their preference for school counselors to enact certain tasks, with higher scores indicating greater endorsement of the task. Cronbach's alpha for each of the SCARS subscales indicated good internal consistency: Counseling .879; Consultation .831; Curriculum .933; Coordination .867; and "other" .828. The sample was composed of 250 parents from a school district in the southwestern United States. The study population consisted of 198 female and 52 male participants ranging in age from 31 to 66 years old and included 6.4% African American, 1.6% Asian/Pacific Islander, 8.0% Hispanic, 4% Native American, and 83.6% White. Results indicated that parents overall preferred counselors to engage, from most to least, in Coordination, Counseling, "other," Curriculum, and Consultation activities and that they most strongly endorsed counselors providing students with academic advising and counseling for school related behavior. Regarding the primary focus of this study, the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was utilized to ascertain potential relationship between variables. Results indicated a small statistically significant correlation between gender and the Counseling subscale score, r = .178, p < .01. Compared to male parents, female parents' scored higher on the Counseling subscale. Results also indicated a small statistically significant negative correlation between parents' eligibility for their children to receive free or reduced-price lunch and Coordination subscale scores, r = -.126, p < .05. Parents eligible to participate in the government's free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Program were more likely than non-eligible parents to indicate a preference for counselors to coordinate student referral to school-related programs and services. Respondents' reports of their age, ethnicity, parents' educational attainment, student grade level, and parents' experience parenting high school students did not correlate significantly with their SCARS scores. Parents' preferences based on responses to the SCARS are discussed, as are implications for school counselors, directors of guidance, and counselor education faculties

Building Medical Leaders

Professionalism and Leadership is one of the four themes underpinning the ANU Medical School curriculum. Legal and ethical considerations are addressed before moving to professionalism in the work place and teamwork. The chance to learn the skills and attributes that underpin leadership would further equip students and aid the development of the next generation of medical leaders. The clinical environment is one that demands leadership from key individuals, yet these individuals are trained and promoted predominantly based on clinical acumen without consideration of their leadership ability, nor is there structured support for its development. The aim of this project was to build and implement a Medical Leadership Program for the ANU Medical School. The author, a student of the ANU Medical School, took part in the ANU Vice Chancellor’s Student Leadership Program. The skills developed during the Vice Chancellor’s program were applied to the process of building a Medical Leadership Program (MLP) for the ANU Medical School (ANUMS). Key stakeholder’s were engaged in the process of program design and development, and a structure and timeline for a pilot program was agreed to by all parties. Funding sources were identified and established, a candidate selection criteria and process was developed, and program promotion began. The ANUMS MLP was launched as a pilot program in March 2016. The launch of the MLP by the ANUMS seeks to build the next generation of medical leaders for the ACT. Successful transition from a pilot to an established program will be dependent on program success and support.Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) ; Student Extracurricular Enrichment Fund (SEEF

Empowering Teachers as Leaders: A Hard Sell

Despite emphasis on preparing teachers as leaders, teacher educators realize that the transition of classroom practitioners into school leaders is fraught with many obstacles. This session addresses some of these obstacles, describes strategies and opportunities that we have used in our graduate master’s degree programs for teachers that support professionals as they make this change. The session will present evidence on the results of our efforts in terms of teachers’ performances within their programs and in the field after they graduate

Do antibody responses to the influenza vaccine persist year-round in the elderly? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The influenza vaccine is less immunogenic in older than younger adults, and the duration of protection is unclear. Determining if protection persists beyond a typical seasonal epidemic is important for climates where influenza virus activity is year-round. METHODS: A systematic review protocol was developed and registered with PROSPERO [CRD42015023847]. Electronic databases were searched systematically for studies reporting haemagglutination-inhibition (HI) titres 180-360days following vaccination with inactivated trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine, in adults aged ?65years. Geometric mean titre (GMT) and seroprotection (HI titre ?1:40) at each time point was extracted. A Bayesian model was developed of titre trajectories from pre-vaccination to Day 360. In the meta-analysis, studies were aggregated using a random-effects model to compare pre-vaccination with post-vaccination HI titres at Day 21-42 ('seroconversion'), Day 180 and Day 360. Potential sources of bias were systematically assessed, and heterogeneity explored. RESULTS: 2864 articles were identified in the literature search, of which nineteen met study inclusion/exclusion criteria. Sixteen studies contained analysable data from 2565 subjects. In the Bayesian model, the proportion of subjects seroprotected increased from 41-51% pre-vaccination to 75-78% at seroconversion. Seroprotection subsequently fell below 60% for all serotypes by Day 360: A/H1 42% (95% CI 38-46), A/H3 59% (54-63), B 47% (42-52). The Bayesian model of GMT trajectories revealed a similar pattern. By Day 360, titres were similar to pre-vaccination levels. In the meta-analysis, no significant difference in proportion of subjects seroprotected, 0 (-0.11, 0.11) or in log2GMT 0.30 (-0.02, 0.63) was identified by Day 360 compared with pre-vaccination. The quality of this evidence was limited to moderate on account of significant participant dropout. CONCLUSIONS: The review found consistent evidence that HI antibody responses following influenza vaccination do not reliably persist year-round in older adults. Alternative vaccination strategies could provide clinical benefits in regions where year-round protection is important

Sympathetic nervous regulation of calcium and action potential alternans in the intact heart

Rationale: Arrhythmogenic cardiac alternans are thought to be an important determinant for the initiation of ventricular fibrillation. There is limited information on the effects of sympathetic nerve stimulation (SNS) on alternans in the intact heart and the conclusions of existing studies, focused on investigating electrical alternans, are conflicted. Meanwhile, several lines of evidence implicate instabilities in Ca handling, not electrical restitution, as the primary mechanism underpinning alternans. Despite this, there have been no studies on Ca alternans and SNS in the intact heart. The present study sought to address this, by application of voltage and Ca optical mapping for the simultaneous study of APD and Ca alternans in the intact guinea pig heart during direct SNS. Objective: To determine the effects of SNS on APD and Ca alternans in the intact guinea pig heart and to examine the mechanism(s) by which the effects of SNS are mediated. Methods and Results: Studies utilized simultaneous voltage and Ca optical mapping in isolated guinea pig hearts with intact innervation. Alternans were induced using a rapid dynamic pacing protocol. SNS was associated with rate-independent shortening of action potential duration (APD) and the suppression of APD and Ca alternans, as indicated by a shift in the alternans threshold to faster pacing rates. Qualitatively similar results were observed with exogenous noradrenaline perfusion. In co ntrast with previous reports, both SNS and noradrenaline acted to flatten the slope of the electrical restitution curve. Pharmacological block of the slow delayed rectifying potassium current (I Ks ), sufficient to abolish I Ks -mediated APD-adaptation, partially reversed the effects of SNS on pacing-induced alternans. Treatment with cyclopiazonic acid, an inhibitor of the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum ATPase, had opposite effects to that of SNS, acting to increase susceptibility to alternans, and suggesting that accelerated Ca reuptake into the sarcoplasmic reticulum is a major mechanism by which SNS suppresses alternans in the guinea pig heart. Conclusions: SNS suppresses calcium and action potential alternans in the intact guinea pig heart by an action mediated through accelerated Ca handling and via increased I Ks

Plan estratégico de marketing para la comercialización del café orgánico marca Wong

El café orgánico peruano es altamente considerado en el mundo por su calidad y riqueza; a pesar de ello, el consumo per cápita nacional es muy bajo, por lo que existe una oportunidad para posicionarlo como uno de los productos bandera del portafolio de la Corporación Cencosud. Esto va acorde con los objetivos corporativos de responsabilidad social y ecológica que tiene Supermercados Wong, trabajando coordinadamente con la Comunidad de Mazamari, ubicada en la Región Junín. El presente plan de marketing tiene como objetivo demostrar que la comercialización del café orgánico con marca propia es un negocio financieramente viable para la Corporación, enmarcada en la responsabilidad social y ecológica que esta propugna, para lo que se ha estructurado un mix de marketing que considera siete factores: producto, precio, plaza, promoción, personas, procesos y propósito. Esto fue corroborado mediante una investigación de mercado con el consumidor objetivo, alcanzando una aceptación promedio de 85% del concepto y 70% para la propuesta de valor. Asimismo, dado que el producto es nuevo en el mercado, es importante la implementación de la mezcla de marketing en fases, así como la participación activa de los stakeholders para integrarlos en los beneficios de este plan. Por último, a nivel financiero el proyecto es viable, pues genera un VAN de 569,682 soles para el período 2017-2022 y un ROI social de 444% beneficiando directamente e indirectamente a 500 familias productoras de café orgánico de Mazamari, gracias a la generación de empleo y a la implementación de un programa de responsabilidad social y ecológica en la zonaPeruvian organic coffee is highly know in the world for its quality and richness; despite this, the national per capita consumption is very low; this makes a great opportunity to position it as one of the flagship products of the Cencosud Corporation portfolio. This is within the corporate objectives of social and ecological responsibility that Supermercados Wong has working in coordination with the Mazamari Community located in the Junín Region. The present marketing aims to demonstrate that the commercialization of organic coffee with its own brand is a financially viable business for the Corporation. Moreover, this has been framed in the Social and Ecological responsibility that advocates the same, for which a marketing mix has been structured which considers seven factors: product, price, place, promotion, people, processes and, purpose. Furthermore, this was corroborated through a market research with the target consumer, reaching an average acceptance of 85% of the concept and 70% for the value proposition. Also, since the product is new in the market, it is important to implement the marketing mix in phases, as well as the active participation of stakeholders to integrate them into the benefits of this plan. Lastly, at the financial level, the project is viable since it generates a NPV of 569,682 soles for the period 2017-2022 and ROI of 444%, directly and indirectly benefiting 500 families organic coffee Mazamari’s producer upon the generation of employment and the implementation of a Social and Ecological Responsibility Program in the zoneTesi

Zika virus tropism and interactions in myelinating neural cell cultures: CNS cells and myelin are preferentially affected

The recent global outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has been linked to severe neurological disorders affecting the peripheral and central nervous systems (PNS and CNS, respectively). The pathobiology underlying these diverse clinical phenotypes are the subject of intense research; however, even the principal neural cell types vulnerable to productive Zika infection remain poorly characterised. Here we used CNS and PNS myelinating cultures from wild type and Ifnar1 knockout mice to examine neuronal and glial tropism and short-term consequences of direct infection with a Brazilian variant of ZIKV. Cell cultures were infected pre- or post-myelination for various intervals, then stained with cell-type and ZIKV-specific antibodies. In bypassing systemic immunity using ex vivo culture, and the type I interferon response in Ifnar1 deficient cells, we were able to evaluate the intrinsic infectivity of neural cells. Through systematic quantification of ZIKV infected cells in myelinating cultures, we found that ZIKV infection is enhanced in the absence of the type I interferon responses and that CNS cells are considerably more susceptible to infection than PNS cells. In particular, we demonstrate that CNS axons and myelinating oligodendrocytes are especially vulnerable to injury. These results have implications for understanding the pathobiology of neurological symptoms associated with ZIKV infection. Furthermore, we provide a quantifiable ex vivo infection model that can be used for fundamental and therapeutic studies on viral neuroinvasion and its consequences

Photoacoustic microscopy of human teeth

Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) utilizes short laser pulses to deposit energy into light absorbers and sensitively detects the ultrasonic waves the absorbers generate in response. PAM directly renders a three-dimensional spatial distribution of sub-surface optical absorbers. Unlike other optical imaging technologies, PAM features label-free optical absorption contrast and excellent imaging depths. Standard dental imaging instruments are limited to X-ray and CCD cameras. Subsurface optical dental imaging is difficult due to the highly-scattering enamel and dentin tissue. Thus, very few imaging methods can detect dental decay or diagnose dental pulp, which is the innermost part of the tooth, containing the nerves, blood vessels, and other cells. Here, we conducted a feasibility study on imaging dental decay and dental pulp with PAM. Our results showed that PAM is sensitive to the color change associated with dental decay. Although the relative PA signal distribution may be affected by surface contours and subsurface reflections from deeper dental tissue, monitoring changes in the PA signals (at the same site) over time is necessary to identify the progress of dental decay. Our results also showed that deep-imaging, near-infrared (NIR) PAM can sensitively image blood in the dental pulp of an in vitro tooth. In conclusion, PAM is a promising tool for imaging both dental decay and dental pulp