The secret life of software applications

One of the most undervalued problems by smartphone users is the security of data on their mobile devices. Today smartphones and tablets are used to send messages and photos and especially to stay connected with social networks, forums and other platforms. These devices contain a lot of private information like passwords, phone numbers, private photos, emails, etc. and an attacker may choose to steal or destroy this information. The main topic of this thesis is the security of the applications present on the most popular stores (App Store for iOS and Play Store for Android) and of their mechanisms for the management of security. The analysis is focused on how the architecture of the two systems protects users from threats and highlights the real presence of malware and spyware in their respective application stores. The work described in subsequent chapters explains the study of the behavior of 50 Android applications and 50 iOS applications performed using network analysis software. Furthermore, this thesis presents some statistics about malware and spyware present on the respective stores and the permissions they require. At the end the reader will be able to understand how to recognize malicious applications and which of the two systems is more suitable for him. This is how this thesis is structured. The first chapter introduces the security mechanisms of the Android and iOS platform architectures and the security mechanisms of their respective application stores. The Second chapter explains the work done, what, why and how we have chosen the tools needed to complete our analysis. The third chapter discusses about the execution of tests, the protocol followed and the approach to assess the “level of danger” of each application that has been checked. The fourth chapter explains the results of the tests and introduces some statistics on the presence of malicious applications on Play Store and App Store. The fifth chapter is devoted to the study of the users, what they think about and how they might avoid malicious applications. The sixth chapter seeks to establish, following our methodology, what application store is safer. In the end, the seventh chapter concludes the thesis.

A maximum entropy approach to disturbed ecosystems

The current climate crisis requires a comprehensive understanding of biodiversity to acknowledge how ecosystems’ responses to anthropogenic disturbances may result in feedback that can either mitigate or exacerbate global warming. Although ecosystems are dynamic and macroecological patterns change drastically in response to disturbance, dynamic macroecology has received insufficient attention and theoretical formalisation. In this context, the maximum entropy principle (MaxEnt) could provide an effective inference procedure to study ecosystems. Since the improper usage of entropy outside its scope often leads to misconceptions, the opening chapter will clarify its meaning by following its evolution from classical thermodynamics to information theory. The second chapter introduces the study of ecosystems from a physicist’s viewpoint. In particular, the MaxEnt Theory of Ecology (METE) will be the cornerstone of the discussion. METE predicts the shapes of macroecological metrics in relatively static ecosystems using constraints imposed by static state variables. However, in disturbed ecosystems with macroscale state variables that change rapidly over time, its predictions tend to fail. In the final chapter, DynaMETE is therefore presented as an extension of METE from static to dynamic. By predicting how macroecological patterns are likely to change in response to perturbations, DynaMETE can contribute to a better understanding of disturbed ecosystems’ fate and the improvement of conservation and management of carbon sinks, like forests. Targeted strategies in ecosystem management are now indispensable to enhance the interdependence of human well-being and the health of ecosystems, thus avoiding climate change tipping points.

Mechanical analysis and modeling of structural archetypes

This is a research B for the University of Bologna. The course is the civil engineering LAUREA MAGISTRALE at UNIBO. The main purpose of this research is to promote another way of explaining, analyzing and presenting some civil engineering aspects to the students worldwide by theory, modeling and photos. The basic idea is divided into three steps. The first one is to present and analyze the theoretical parts. So a detailed analysis of the theory combined with theorems, explanations, examples and exercises will cover this step. At the second, a model will make clear all these parts that were discussed in the theory by showing how the structures work or fail. The modeling is able to present the behavior of many elements, in scale which we use in the real structures. After these two steps an interesting exhibition of photos from the real world with comments will give the chance to the engineers to observe all these theoretical and modeling-laboratory staff in many different cases. For example many civil engineers in the world may know about the air pressure on the structures but many of them have never seen the extraordinary behavior of the bridge of Tacoma ‘dancing with the air’. At this point I would like to say that what I have done is not a book, but a research of how this ‘3 step’ presentation or explanation of some mechanical characteristics could be helpful. I know that my research is something different and new and in my opinion is very important because it helps students to go deeper in the science and also gives new ideas and inspirations. This way of teaching can be used at all lessons especially at the technical. Hope that one day all the books will adopt this kind of presentation.

Gene expression responses to acute and chronic heat stress in the common reef-building coral Pocillopora verrucosa

Global climate change is impacting coral reefs worldwide, with approximately 19% of reefs being permanently degraded, 15% showing symptoms of imminent collapse, and 20% at risk of becoming critically affected in the next few decades. This alarming level of reef degradation is mainly due to an increase in frequency and intensity of natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Recent evidence has called into question whether corals have the capacity to acclimatize or adapt to climate changes and some groups of corals showed inherent physiological tolerance to environmental stressors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate mRNA expression patterns underlying differences in thermal tolerance in specimen of the common reef-building coral Pocillopora verrucosa collected at different locations in Bangka Island waters (North Sulawesi, Indonesia). Part of the experimental work was carried out at the CoralEye Reef Research Outpost (Bangka Island). This includes sampling of corals at selected sites and at different depths (3 and 12 m) as well as their experimental exposure to an increased water temperature under controlled conditions for 3 and 7 days. Levels of mRNAs encoding ATP synthase (ATPs) NADH dehydrogenase (NDH) and a 70kDa Heat Shock Protein (HSP70) were evaluated by quantitative real time PCR. Transcriptional profiles evaluated under field conditions suggested an adaptation to peculiar local environmental conditions in corals collected at different sites and at the low depth. Nevertheless, high–depth collected corals showed a less pronounced site-to-site separation suggesting more homogenous environmental conditions. Exposure to an elevated temperature under controlled conditions pointed out that corals adapted to the high depth are more sensitive to the effects of thermal stress, so that reacted to thermal challenge by significantly over-expressing the selected gene products. Being continuously exposed to fluctuating environmental conditions, low-depth adapted corals are more resilient to the stress stimulus, and indeed showed unaffected or down-regulated mRNA expression profiles. Overall these results highlight that transcriptional profiles of selected genes involved in cellular stress response are modulated by natural seasonal temperature changes in P. verrucosa. Moreover, specimens living in more variable habitats (low-depth) exhibit higher basal HSP70 mRNA levels, possibly enhancing physiological tolerance to environmental stressors.