LLVM-Based Fortification for Kernel Drivers

In today’s operating systems, drivers are linked with the kernel where handling pointers and performing memory accesses must be considered with much more care than in application user space. This thesis focuses on two issues. First, memory access to user space must never be done directly, because the access may fault due to insufficient access permissions or unmapped pages. Second, pointers entering via system calls must be checked prior to their use to prevent a malevolent user from exploiting kernel drivers to access kernel space for them. The proposed solution uses the type system of Clang combined with analyzes on the generated LLVM intermediate representation, both in the purpose of performing static analyzes to produce valuable messages to developers during compile time, but also to insert robustness assertions and perform code transformations. With these precautions we were able to identify four bugs in a single device driver

The use of shared residence arrangements in English and Swedish family law: in the child's best interests or a covert resurrection of traditional patriarchal structures?

Shared residence was previously viewed with suspicion by the judiciary, but following D v D [2001] a line of cases has developed, where this order is said to benefit children, firstly, by helping them feel cherished, and, secondly, by improving parental cooperation and thus protect children from the harmful effects of exposure to their conflicts. This thesis reviews available research to conclude that shared residence is so unlikely to achieve either objective where it is ordered against a parent’s wishes, that the order should be restricted to families where both parents agree. Autopoietic theory is combined with feminist critique to explain the selfreferential nature of law, its tendency to prioritise children’s abstract need for fathers and its inability to fully understand parents’ complex disputes. The thesis compares the preconditions for, and use of, shared residence in England and in Sweden, concluding that despite better preconditions, Swedish court-imposed shared residence arrangements are unlikely to last, and can harm children by increasing their exposure to conflict. There is also, in contested cases, a worrying focus on equal rights for parents, with children who have grown up in these arrangements complaining of feeling objectified. This, combined with a growing emphasis in English case law on sending symbolic messages about status, is a strong argument against a shared residence presumption. It seems naïve to assume that new, collaborative co-parenting patterns can develop after separation merely because law coerces the adults into a particular kind of formal arrangement. The suspicion is therefore raised that law’s agenda is in fact something very different: to mask familial and societal change by making post-separation families conform to a binuclear pattern which resembles the nuclear ideal not only in membership but also in its hierarchical structure

Affordable sanitation for rural India

India is one of the densest populated subcontinents in the world and has the lowest sanitation coverage. Promotion of subsidised water-sealed pour flush latrines has become a major problem for affordable sanitation, where approximately 100 million new latrines are needed to increase the coverage from the present 15 per cent to some 85 per cent or more. 24 million new latrines are estimated to be built before the year 2001. For this to happen a drastic increase in construction of latrines has to take place, requiring effective methods for commercial and social marketing and cost-effective technologies

Journal Staff

Studien undersöker om annonsering av nyemissioner genererar en onormal avkastning på svenska aktiemarknaden. Studiens avsikt är även att ge bättre förståelse för i vilken grad faktorer som bolagsstorlek och emissionsbelopp påverkar den onormala avkastningen. Undersökningen är av kvantitativ art och genomförs med hjälp av en eventstudie. För att besvara undersökningen beräknas den onormal avkastningen vid annonsering om nyemission. Resultatet visar att bolag som annonserar om nyemission genererar negativ onormal avkastning på eventdagen. Det går inte att säkerställa om bolagsstorleken kan vara en förklarande faktor till den onormala avkastningen. Däremot föreligger ett samband mellan emissionsbeloppet i förhållande till marknadsvärdet och dess påverkan på den onormala avkastningen. Studiens slutsats är att annonsering av nyemissioner genererar en negativ onormal avkastning i samband med att nyheten blir publik

Patients' knowledge and perceived understanding – Associations with consenting to participate in cancer clinical trials

AbstractRecruitment to clinical trials is essential. The aims of the study were to investigate associations between patients' informed consent to participate in a cancer clinical trial and knowledge and perceived understanding of the trial. Furthermore, associations between demographic factors and consent to participate and knowledge and perceived understanding of information about the trial were studied.MethodsThe patients were recruited in connection to a visit at the oncology clinic for information about a drug trial. The Quality of Informed Consent questionnaire was mailed to the patients after they had decided about participation in the trial. The associations of demographic factors and “knowledge” and “perceived understanding” were analysed using linear regression models.ResultsA total of 125 patients were included. Higher levels of “knowledge” and “understanding” were found to be associated with consent to participate in a clinical trial, both in the univariate and multivariate analyses (p = 0.001). None of the tested demographic factors were related to consent to participate. No statistically significant associations between any of the demographic factors and knowledge or perceived understanding scores were found.ConclusionThe results indicate that interventions that increase patients' knowledge and perceived understanding might improve participation rates in clinical trials

COMPARISON OF VACUUM AND HIGH PRESSURE EVAPORATED WOOD HYDROLYZATE FOR ETHANOL PRODUCTION BY REPEATED FED-BATCH USING FLOCCULATING SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

With the aim of increasing the sugars concentration in dilute-acid ligno-cellulosic hydrolyzate to more than 100 g/l for industrial applications, the hydrolyzate from spruce was concentrated about threefold by high-pressure or vacuum evaporations. It was then fermented by repeated fed-batch cultivation using flocculating Saccharomyces cerevisiae with no prior detoxification. The sugars and inhibitors concentrations in the hydrolyzates were compared after the evaporations and also fermenta-tion. The evaporations were carried out either under vacuum (VEH) at 0.5 bar and 80°C or with 1.3 bar pressure (HPEH) at 107.5°C, which resulted in 153.3 and 164.6 g/l total sugars, respectively. No sugar decomposition occurred during either of the evaporations, while more than 96% of furfural and to a lesser extent formic and acetic acids disappeared from the hydrolyzates. However, HMF and levulinic acid remained in the hydrolyzates and were concentrated proportionally. The concentrated hydrolyzates were then fermented in a 4 l bioreactor with 12-22 g/l yeast and 0.14-0.22 h-1 initial dilute rates (ID). More than 84% of the fermentable sugars present in the VEH were fermented by fed-batch cultivation using 12 g/l yeast and initial dilution rate (ID) of 0.22 h-1, and resulted in 0.40±0.01 g/g ethanol from the fermentable sugars in one cycle of fermentation. Fermentation of HPEH was as successful as VEH and resulted in more than 86% of the sugar consumption under the corresponding conditions. By lowering the initial dilution rate to 0.14 h-1, more than 97% of the total fermentable sugars were consumed, and ethanol yield was 0.44±0.01 g/g in one cycle of fermentation. The yeast was able to convert or assimilate HMF, levulinic, acetic, and formic acids by 96, 30, 43, and 74%, respectively

Hästars liggbeteende i box och ligghall

Group-housing of horses is getting more popular in Sweden due to the advantages for horses and keepers, and therefor it’s important to investigate how environment and available space affects horses’ lying behaviour. Horses are highly social animals living in groups in the wild and studies has revealed that group-housing of horses has a lot of advantages and have positive effects on both behaviour and physics of horses. In a few studies a correlation between single-housing, together with limited opportunities to search for food, and stereotypic behaviours has been seen. Horses can often be seen sleeping while standing up, but to get into REM-sleep it’s necessary for them to lay down with the head against the surface. The aim of this study was to see if horses’ lying-behaviours and lying-time differs between single- and group-housing and if the size of the lying area matters. Hypothesis further aim was to evaluate if measurements in the Swedish legislation were too restrictive regarding the size of the lying-area when horses are group-housed. I hypnotized that the horses would lay down more when single-housed than group-housed, that they would lay down more when the size of the lying-area was expanded and that the horses would disturb each other more when having a smaller lying space when group-housed. Three different housing treatments were used, either the horses where kept single in boxes, they were group-housed with a lying area of 8m2/horse as is the legislation minimum -and lastly the horses were group-housed with a lying-area of 18m2/horse. The results showed that there were significant differences between the different systems in several aspects of the lying behaviour. Example.g., total time spent lying down, horses lay down least in the small size group lying area. However, time spent lying on the chest with the head against the surface or in the time spent lying on the side did not differ significantly. But there was a tendency to spend less total time with the head against the surface in the small size group lying area. Overall it seems like the horses got their REM-sleep in all housing but, due to the tendency, we cannot exclude the possibility that some horses did not get their need of REM-sleep satisfied. The results also showed significant differences in disturbances amongst the systems, but this difference wasn’t as expected that the horses would disturb each other more when they had a smaller area, they were actually disturbing each other more when they had more space. The conclusion of this study is that there are differences in lying behaviours between single- and group-hosing, and between different sizes of lying-area when group-housed, but also that it overall seems like they get their need of REM-sleep satisfied in all treatments

Efficacy of Moringa oleifera leaf powder as a hand-washing product: a crossover controlled study among healthy volunteers.

BACKGROUND: Moringa oleifera is a plant found in many tropical and subtropical countries. Many different uses and properties have been attributed to this plant, mainly as a nutritional supplement and as a water purifier. Its antibacterial activity against different pathogens has been described in different in vitro settings. However the potential effect of this plant leaf as a hand washing product has never been studied. The aim of this study is to test the efficacy of this product using an in vivo design with healthy volunteers. METHODS: The hands of fifteen volunteers were artificially contaminated with Escherichia coli. Moringa oleifera leaf powder was tested as a hand washing product and was compared with reference non-medicated liquid soap using a cross over design following an adaptation of the European Committee for Standardization protocol (EN 1499). In a second part of tests, the efficacy of the established amount of Moringa oleifera leaf powder was compared with an inert powder using the same protocol. RESULTS: Application of 2 and 3 g of dried Moringa oleifera leaf powder (mean log10-reduction: 2.44 ± 0.41 and 2.58 ± 0.34, respectively) was significantly less effective than the reference soap (3.00 ± 0.27 and 2.99 ± 0.26, respectively; p < 0.001). Application of the same amounts of Moringa oleifera (2 and 3 g) but using a wet preparation, was also significantly less effective than reference soap (p < 0.003 and p < 0.02, respectively). However there was no significant difference when using 4 g of Moringa oleifera powder in dried or wet preparation (mean log10-reduction: 2.70 ± 0.27 and 2.91 ± 0.11, respectively) compared with reference soap (2.97 ± 0.28). Application of calcium sulphate inert powder was significantly less effective than the 4 g of Moringa oleifera powder (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Four grams of Moringa oleifera powder in dried and wet application had the same effect as non-medicated soap when used for hand washing. Efficacious and available hand washing products could be useful in developing countries in controlling pathogenic organisms that are transmitted through contaminated hands