Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mapping kernel objects to enable systematic integrity checking

Dynamic kernel data have become an attractive target for kernel-mode malware. However, previous solutions for checking kernel integrity either limit themselves to code and static data or can only inspect a fraction of dynamic data, resulting in limited protection. Our study shows that previous solutions may reach only 28% of the dynamic kernel data and thus may fail to identify function pointers manipulated by many kernel-mode malware. To enable systematic kernel integrity checking, in this paper we present KOP, a system that can map dynamic kernel data with nearly complete coverage and nearly perfect accuracy. Unlike previous approaches, which ignore generic pointers, unions and dynamic arrays when locating dynamic kernel objects, KOP (1) applies inter-procedural points-to analysis to compute all possible types for generic pointers (e.g., void*), (2) uses a pattern matching algorithm to resolve type ambiguities (e.g., unions), and (3) recognizes dynamic arrays by leveraging knowledge of kernel memory pool boundaries. We implemented a prototype of KOP and evaluated it on a Windows Vista SP1 system loaded with 63 kernel drivers. KOP was able to accurately map 99% of all the dynamic kernel data. To demonstrate KOP's power, we developed two tools based on it to systematically identify malicious function pointers and uncover hidden kernel objects. Our tools correctly identified all malicious function pointers and all hidden objects from nine real-world kernel-mode malware samples as well as one created by ourselves, with no false alarms.
Them and Us’: Social Psychology and ‘The New Industrial Relations

This article sets out to examine the impact of ‘new industrial relations’ techniques on worker attitudes to management and to worker-management relations. We found 17 case studies of share schemes, profit-sharing, quality circles and autonomous work-groups which reported relevant evidence on worker attitudes. Although workers often welcome new industrial relations techniques, there is very little evidence of any impact on ‘them and us’ attitudes. Drawing on social-psychological theories of attitude change, the persistence of ‘them and us’ attitudes can be explained by the ways in which new industrial relations techniques have been implemented and managed in organisations. Workers have often lacked choice over participation in new schemes; there has been a lack of trust between the parties involved, together with inequality in status and benefits and a lack of institutional support for the schemes among senior management. It is argued that these conditions explain the failure of new organisational initiatives to bring about changes in ‘them and us’ attitudes.
Happily Never after: Young Women's Stories of Abuse in Heterosexual Love Relationships

Although repeated exposure to narratives of romance in popular culture from an early age may lead young women to expect idealized romance in their heterosexual love relationships, a good number encounter abusive experiences. This article draws on young women's stories of abuse in heterosexual love relationships gathered from interviews with 23 young women aged 16-18 years. These stories are examined using a feminist, poststructuralist form of narrative analysis to explore the extent to which young women draw on cultural narratives of romance or alternative narratives and to explore how self and boyfriends are positioned within these narratives. Although at one level romance seemed to be a trap that prevented young women from abandoning an abusive boyfriend, at another it was a resource that they used in an active way to make sense of what had happened. Ways in which this work might usefully inform prevention, education and counselling are discussed.
Asthma and the motorways--one District's experience.

BACKGROUND Proposals to widen the section of the M25 motorway that passes through East Surrey caused considerable concern and claims that the traffic on the road was responsible for an increasing prevalence of asthma. This study was designed to ascertain the prevalence of asthma-related symptoms among schoolchildren in the District and determine whether there was an association with proximity to a motorway. METHODS A total of 2387 children aged between 13 and 14 from 17 schools in East Surrey were invited to participate in a survey of the prevalence of asthma-related respiratory symptoms. The survey instrument used was the core asthma questionnaire of the International Survey on Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). The children were grouped according to electoral ward of residence and comparisons were made between urban and rural wards, and the presence or absence of a section of motorway. RESULTS The prevalence of reported symptoms varied from 2.2 per cent reporting sleep disturbance on more than one night each week to 40 per cent reporting a wheezing episode at some time in their lives; 16 per cent reported a diagnosis of asthma. The overall prevalence of symptoms did not differ greatly from that reported in other similar studies. There was a decrease in the prevalence of asthma-related symptoms in areas close to motorways, which was statistically significant for two questions. This is unlikely to be due to the rural location of the motorways. CONCLUSION This study suggests that the motorways in East Surrey, in their present configuration, are not responsible for an increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms associated with asthma.
Collective Labor Supply with Children

We extend the collective model of household behavior to allow for the existence of public consumption. We show how this model allows the analysis of welfare consequences of policies aimed at changing the distribution of power within the household. Our setting provides a conceptual framework for addressing issues linked to the “targeting” of specific benefits or taxes. We also show that the observation of the labor supplies and the household demand for the public good allow one to identify individual welfare and the decision process. This requires either a separability assumption or the presence of a distribution factor.
Evaluating Pose Estimation Methods for Stereo Visual Odometry on Robots

Structure-From-Motion (SFM) methods, using stereo data, are among the best performing algorithms for motion estimation from video imagery, or visual odometry. Critical to the success of SFM methods is the quality of the initial pose estimation algorithm from feature correspondences. In this work, we evaluate the performance of pose estimation algorithms commonly used in SFM visual odometry. We consider two classes of techniques to develop the initial pose estimate: Absolute Orientation (AO) methods, and Perspective-n-Point (PnP) methods. To date, there has not been a comparative study of their performance on robot visual odometry tasks. We undertake such a study to measure the accuracy, repeatability, and robustness of these techniques for vehicles moving in indoor environments and in outdoor suburban roadways. Our results show that PnP methods outperform AO methods, with P3P being the best performing algorithm. This is particularly true when stereo triangulation uncertainty is high due to a wide Field of View lens and small stereo-rig baseline.
The effect of low-fat versus whole-fat dairy product intake on blood pressure and weight in young normotensive adults.

BACKGROUND Epidemiologic and experimental studies suggest that higher intake of dairy products could be associated with lower risk of hypertension and obesity. Differences in nutrient composition of distinct dairy products suggest that their effect on these outcomes might be heterogeneous. However, little experimental research has examined the potentially different effects of low- and whole-fat dairy products on blood pressure (BP) and weight change. The present study aimed to assess whether supplementing diets with low- or whole-fat dairy products would differentially affect BP levels and weight. METHODS A randomised crossover trial in 45 normotensive volunteers (18-24 years old, 49% female) was conducted. Participants alternatively received 3.5 servings/day of whole-fat or low-fat dairy products (milk and yogurt) in addition to their usual diet during two 8-week periods, with a 4-week washout period between both interventions. Weight and BP were measured at the beginning and end of each intervention. RESULTS Whole-fat dairy supplementation significantly increased systolic BP [2.1 mmHg, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.1-4.0, P = 0.04] and weight (1.0 kg, 95% CI = 0.5-1.5, P = 0.0002), but not diastolic BP (P = 0.34). Weight and BP did not change significantly after the low-fat dairy intervention (P > 0.10). There were no significant differences in the effect of low-fat or whole-fat dairy products on BP (P > 0.60), but whole-fat dairy increased weight significantly compared to low-fat dairy (1.2 kg, 95% CI = 0.5-1.8, P = 0.0007). CONCLUSIONS In a young nonhypertensive population, dietary supplementation with whole-fat dairy products, compared to low-fat dairy, was associated with weight gain. No differential effects were observed for levels of BP.
Activity of oxazolidinone TR-700 against linezolid-susceptible and -resistant staphylococci and enterococci.

BACKGROUND TR-700 is the active moiety of TR-701 (DA-7157), a new oral/intravenous oxazolidinone prodrug. We examined its activity against linezolid-susceptible and -resistant staphylococci and enterococci. METHODS MICs were determined by the CLSI agar dilution method. RESULTS MICs of TR-700 were tightly clustered around 0.5 mg/L for linezolid-susceptible staphylococci and enterococci compared with 2 mg/L for linezolid. MICs for 52 linezolid-resistant isolates were raised, but only exceeded 4 mg/L for two Enterococcus faecium isolates homozygous for the G2576T 23S rRNA mutation and for one with an unknown mechanism of linezolid resistance. CONCLUSIONS TR-700 is 4- to 16-fold more active than linezolid and overcame most linezolid resistance in vitro.
Uncertainty Reduction Through Everyday Performative Language Work

In this study, we focus on coaching in the context of small and medium-size enterprises in the creative industries. We draw on data collected from five business-coaching organizations over numerous coaching encounters with their clients. Using detailed conversational data drawn from these coaching encounters we analyze the ways in which business coaches practice "active listening" and "reflective questioning" in order to reduce the uncertainties they and their clients face when working together. We show that they do so through the strategy of positioning "performance" as central to their practice. Successful performances depend on the ability to convince clients that one's performance is what it represents itself to be: a performance that is brought off by detailed everyday language work, mimicking the client's language back on to the client. In this way, coaches demonstrate themselves as skilled analysts of everyday life and masters of listening.
Understanding Social Nature of an Online Community of Practice for Learning to Teach

This study is aimed to explore the social nature of membership in an online community of practice (NETwork, Nurturing Elementary Teachers’ work) whose purpose is to support pre-service and in-service teachers with a collaborative virtual space for learning how to teach. Path analysis was employed to explore the relationships among social constructs: perceived ease of use and usefulness, social ability, sense of community, satisfaction with NETwork experience, and effectiveness of NETwork for Teaching. The results show members’ satisfaction was the only direct factor impacting members’ perceptions of effectiveness; several social constructs have direct impact on members’ satisfaction; and technology acceptance influences members’ social ability, sense of community, and learning satisfaction.
The Rise of the Creative City: Culture and Creativity in Copenhagen

Abstract Culture and creativity as drivers of development are established features of the urban policy agenda. This article examines the interplay of culture, creativity and city planning using the example of Copenhagen, Denmark. Denmark presents an interesting example because whilst it has a tradition for linking culture with urban economic boosterism, recent research has suggested a social emphasis in its more contemporary urban cultural policies. The paper argues that the arrival of creativity upon the urban agenda has abruptly altered this policy context. Both culture and creativity have become central to attempts to stimulate the cultural and creative industries and to promote the city at an international level, attracting investment and the “Creative Class”. In tracing this development, the article discusses potential changes to the planning system designed to facilitate Copenhagen's transformation to a creative city and points to the potential impacts of these.
Neoliberalizing states: thin policies/hard outcomes

This progress report examines the discursive and structural conditions surrounding the production of public policy within a restructured and increasingly neoliberalized system. As such, it is less concerned with the evaluation of public policies within their own terms of reference than with the political-economic contexts in which they are formulated, their resultant ‘macro’ configuration, and the codification of ‘policy problems’ that they imply. Increasingly, this macro context is dominated by various strands of neoliberal conviction politics, which assert that the fiercely competitive economic environment abroad, coupled with deep-seated social problems at home, leave ‘no alternative’ to a course of deregulation, marketization, privatization, and public asset-stripping. This policy medicine may be administered in a number of ways – from the shock treatment of Third World structural adjustment programs to the sweetened pills of ‘Third Way’ politics à la Blair, Clinton, and Schröder. The doses do vary, but, never mind what it says on the bottle, the basic treatment is pretty much the same: purge the system of obstacles to the functioning of ‘free markets’; restrain public expenditure and any form of collective initiative; celebrate the virtues of individualism, competitiveness, and economic self-sufficiency; abolish or weaken social transfer programs while actively fostering the ‘inclusion’ of the poor and marginalized into the labor market, on the market’s terms. This neoliberal policy prescription is predicated on a vision of naturalized market relations. Rhetorically at least, it is as if all that is required for the optimization of economic efficiency and individual freedom is for the overbearing ‘nanny’ state to get out of the way. At the same time, ‘deregulationist’ states are often impelled to adopt strikingly interventionist measures in order to mobilize or manufacture ‘markets’ where previously competitive forces were weak or absent. In fields like labor Progress in Human Geography 25,3 (2001) pp. 445–455
The Effectiveness of the Responsive Teaching Parent-mediated Developmental Intervention Programme in Turkey: A pilot study

The case study was conducted to examine the feasibility of an early intervention curriculum called Responsive Teaching with two five-year-old children from Turkey who had significant developmental delays. This study determined whether Turkish mothers might be successful in learning to become more responsive to their children, and whether this would result in significant improvements in their children’s development. Both dyads received 28 individual parent–child intervention sessions which were conducted over a four-month period of time. Pre-, mid-, and post-assessments indicated improvements in the mothers’ responsiveness to their children and the children’s levels of engagement with their parents. There were also improvements in the children’s language and personal social development. Mothers reported that Responsive Teaching helped them learn to interact more effectively with their children and that this resulted in longer and more enjoyable interactions with them. Results from this investigation are discussed in terms of their implications for providing developmental services to preschool-aged children with disabilities in Turkey.
An Ultralow Power Time-Domain Temperature Sensor With Time-Domain Delta–Sigma TDC

Without using bipolar transistors, serially connected inverter cells generate clock delay according to temperature. The delay is compared with a reference clock to estimate the temperature. The proposed time-to-digital converter (TDC) structure is using a time-domain delta–sigma <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(\Delta\Sigma)$</tex-math></inline-formula> modulator. This type of TDC with <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta\Sigma$</tex-math></inline-formula> modulator can achieve higher resolution by increasing the oversampling ratio, with the advantages of low area and low power consumption. To increase the accuracy by producing true temperature-independent time delay, an external reference clock is utilized, instead of temperature-independent inverter cells, for robust operations. The measured temperature sensors demonstrated a minimum power consumption of 480 nW and a resolution under 0.1 °C. The <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3\sigma$</tex-math></inline-formula> error of the sensor is ±0.99 °C over −20 °C–80 °C temperature range from ten-sample measurement results. The chip area is 0.089 mm<sup>2</sup> using a Dongbu 0.18-<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu\mbox{m}$</tex-math></inline-formula> CMOS process. The conversion rate is 1.25 samples/s.
Curiosity driven reinforcement learning for motion planning on humanoids

Most previous work on artificial curiosity (AC) and intrinsic motivation focuses on basic concepts and theory. Experimental results are generally limited to toy scenarios, such as navigation in a simulated maze, or control of a simple mechanical system with one or two degrees of freedom. To study AC in a more realistic setting, we embody a curious agent in the complex iCub humanoid robot. Our novel reinforcement learning (RL) framework consists of a state-of-the-art, low-level, reactive control layer, which controls the iCub while respecting constraints, and a high-level curious agent, which explores the iCub's state-action space through information gain maximization, learning a world model from experience, controlling the actual iCub hardware in real-time. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ever embodied, curious agent for real-time motion planning on a humanoid. We demonstrate that it can learn compact Markov models to represent large regions of the iCub's configuration space, and that the iCub explores intelligently, showing interest in its physical constraints as well as in objects it finds in its environment.
Probing Allosteric Binding Sites of the Maize Endosperm ADP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase1[OA]

Maize (Zea mays) endosperm ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) is a highly regulated enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting step in starch biosynthesis. Although the structure of the heterotetrameric maize endosperm AGPase remains unsolved, structures of a nonnative, low-activity form of the potato tuber (Solanum tuberosum) AGPase (small subunit homotetramer) reported previously by others revealed that several sulfate ions bind to each enzyme. These sites are also believed to interact with allosteric regulators such as inorganic phosphate and 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PGA). Several arginine (Arg) side chains contact the bound sulfate ions in the potato structure and likely play important roles in allosteric effector binding. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis was applied to the corresponding Arg residues in both the small and large subunits of maize endosperm AGPase to determine their roles in allosteric regulation and thermal stability. Steady-state kinetic and regulatory parameters were measured for each mutant. All of the Arg mutants examined—in both the small and large subunits—bound 3-PGA more weakly than the wild type (A50 increased by 3.5- to 20-fold). By contrast, the binding of two other maize AGPase allosteric activators (fructose-6-phosphate and glucose-6-phosphate) did not always mimic the changes observed for 3-PGA. In fact, compared to 3-PGA, fructose-6-phosphate is a more efficient activator in two of the Arg mutants. Phosphate binding was also affected by Arg substitutions. The combined data support a model for the binding interactions associated with 3-PGA in which allosteric activators and inorganic phosphate compete directly.
Overpowering Restriction: Power Reduces Restriction Among Self-Critical Perfectionists

Research finds that self-oriented perfectionism is a risk-factor for disordered eating. Failing to achieve extreme standards leads perfectionists to feel a lack of personal control. To regain a sense of control, some self-oriented perfectionists turn to dietary restriction. The present study used experimental methods to test the hypothesis that power, operationalized as situational resource control, might increase consumption among those high in self-oriented perfectionism. Ninetysix women (who met at least one criterion for anorexia nervosa), completed a lab study in which they were randomly assigned to either a power or control condition. In the power condition, participants expected to have power over an ostensible partner. In the control condition, participants expected to work as equals. Under the guise of a taste-test cover story, participants then had the opportunity to consume a liquid test meal, which was weighed and served as the study's central dependent measure. Individual differences in perfe.
Effects of Nrf2 Deficiency on Bone Microarchitecture in an Experimental Model of Osteoporosis

Objective. Redox imbalance contributes to bone fragility. We have evaluated the in vivo role of nuclear factor erythroid derived 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2), an important regulator of cellular responses to oxidative stress, in bone metabolism using a model of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Methods. Ovariectomy was performed in both wild-type and mice deficient in Nrf2 (Nrf2−/−). Bone microarchitecture was analyzed by μCT. Serum markers of bone metabolism were also measured. Reactive oxygen species production was determined using dihydrorhodamine 123. Results. Sham-operated or ovariectomized Nrf2−/− mice exhibit a loss in trabecular bone mineral density in femur, accompanied by a reduction in cortical area in vertebrae. Nrf2 deficiency tended to increase osteoblastic markers and significantly enhanced osteoclastic markers in sham-operated animals indicating an increased bone turnover with a main effect on bone resorption. We have also shown an increased production of oxidative stress in bone marrow-derived cells from sham-operated or ovariectomized Nrf2−/− mice and a higher responsiveness of bone marrow-derived cells to osteoclastogenic stimuli in vitro. Conclusion. We have demonstrated in vivo a key role of Nrf2 in the maintenance of bone microarchitecture.