A Journey Through Android App Analysis: Solutions and Open Challenges

in International Symposium on Advanced Security on Software and Systems (2021, June)

Users can today download a wide variety of apps ranging from simple toy games to sophisticated business-critical apps. They rely on these apps daily to perform diverse tasks, some of them related to ... [more ▼]

Users can today download a wide variety of apps ranging from simple toy games to sophisticated business-critical apps. They rely on these apps daily to perform diverse tasks, some of them related to sensitive information such as their finance or health. Ensuring high-quality, reliable, and secure apps is thus key. In the TruX research group of the interdisciplinary center for Security, Reliability, and Trust (SnT) of the University of Luxembourg, we are working for about 10 years to deliver practical techniques, tools, and other artifacts (such as repositories) making the analysis of Android apps possible. In this paper, we will briefly introduce our key contributions in both (1) Android app static analysis to detect security issues, and (2) Android Malware Detection with machine learning. We will conclude by listing several open challenges that we are currently facing towards improving the analysis and security of Android apps. [less ▲]

Faut il compter sur la théorie de l'imprévision pour réviser les relations contractuelles dont l'économie est brisée par la pandémie de la Covid-19

in Inventaire avant sortie de crise ! (2021)

Leitfaden zum Zitieren, Erstellen einer Literaturliste und zum Aufbau wissenschaftlicher Arbeiten im Bereich Erziehungswissenschaften im deutschsprachigen Raum

Learning material (2021)

Dieser grundlegende Leitfaden zum Verfassen von wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten im Bereich Erziehungswissneschaften im deutschsprachigen Raum zeichnet sich aus durch klare Anleitungen und sinngebende ... [more ▼]

Dieser grundlegende Leitfaden zum Verfassen von wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten im Bereich Erziehungswissneschaften im deutschsprachigen Raum zeichnet sich aus durch klare Anleitungen und sinngebende Illustrationen. Das Dokument ist entstanden durch eine Kooperation von Dozentinnen und Studentinnen des Bacheor in Sozial- und Erziehungswissenschaften (BSSE) der Universität Luxemburg. [less ▲]

Applying synchronization in branch and trunk bus networks: an experimental analysis

Scientific Conference (2021, June)

Comparing multi-modal traffic assignments in large-scale simulations using the Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram: Mode shift from cars to powered two wheelers

in IEEE Xplore (2021, June)

Industrial Pasts of the Minett: Remixing the Modes of Digital Storytelling

Presentation (2021, June)

Cognitive distraction from pain: An fMRI study on the role of age and executive functions

Scientific Conference (2021, June)

Completing a cognitive task has been shown to be a powerful strategy to reduce concurrent pain. This reduction in pain is assumed to result from a competition between the painful stimulus and the ... [more ▼]

Completing a cognitive task has been shown to be a powerful strategy to reduce concurrent pain. This reduction in pain is assumed to result from a competition between the painful stimulus and the distractive task for attentional and executive resources mediated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a region that is particularly affected by age-related grey matter atrophy. In the present study, we investigated the role of age-related changes in gray matter volume and executive functions in modulating the efficacy of distraction from pain. In a first session, young and older adults completed a battery of neuropsychological tests. In a second session, we acquired functional brain images while participants completed a working memory task with two levels of cognitive load (low vs. high load) and concurrently received individually adjusted heat stimuli (innocuous vs. painful) to their lower arm. While we found no age-related differences in the distraction effect size on the behavioural level, young adults showed a larger neural distraction effect in several regions involved in pain processing, including the insula, caudate and midcingulate cortex. Interestingly, older adults with better executive functions, particularly, better inhibitory control abilities, showed a larger neural distraction effect in the insula, thalamus and primary somatosensory cortex, and more activation in frontal clusters during the high load task. Taken together, these findings suggest that age alters the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive distraction from pain, and that the magnitude of these changes may be dependent on the preservation of executive functions. [less ▲]

Cultural identity in the context of migration – The case of Portuguese first generation immigrants in Luxembourg and their second generation children

Scientific Conference (2021, June)

While first generation immigrants carry a cultural heritage to their receiving country, their children are confronted with different cultural influences during their formative years. How does this so ... [more ▼]

While first generation immigrants carry a cultural heritage to their receiving country, their children are confronted with different cultural influences during their formative years. How does this so-called second-generation experience their cultural identities compared to their parents? To tackle this question, the present study focused on first- and second-generation Portuguese migrants living in Luxembourg. The sample comprises n = 72 PT young adult children (mean age M = 28.2, SD = 7.9; 61.1% female) who participated in the FNR-funded IRMA-project together with their parents (n = 70 PT mothers and n = 65 PT fathers). An adapted version of the bicultural identity orientation scale was employed to assess three dimensions of bicultural identity - compatible, conflicted and frame-switching. We examined patterns of identity constructions of first and second generation by use of cluster analysis, resulting in four profiles: blended, alternating, separated and ambivalent biculturals. Whereas second generation young adults were represented in each typology, parents were mostly found in the alternating or separated clusters. Clusters of parents and their children will be compared and factors contributing to parent-child congruence/incongruence identified. Results will be discussed considering regulatory processes of subjective well-being and different migration experiences in light of generation and age. [less ▲]

DNA METHYLATION: CONDUCTING THE ORCHESTRA FROM EXPOSURE TO PHENOTYPES

Doctoral thesis (2021)

Distraction from Pain: An fMRI Study on the Role of Age-related Changes in Executive Functions

Scientific Conference (2021, June)

Even though aging is associated with increased and prolonged episodes of pain, little is known about potential age-related changes in the "top-down" modulation of pain, such as cognitive distraction from ... [more ▼]

Even though aging is associated with increased and prolonged episodes of pain, little is known about potential age-related changes in the "top-down" modulation of pain, such as cognitive distraction from pain. The hypoalgesic effect of distraction results from a competition for attentional and executive resources mediated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Given that age-related grey matter atrophy is particularly prominent in the PFC, older adults may benefit less from distraction to reduce pain than young adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of aging on task-related hypoalgesia and its neural mechanisms, with a focus on the role of executive functions in distraction from pain. 64 participants (32 young adults: 26.69 ± 4.14 years; 32 older adults: 68.28 ± 7.00 years) first completed a battery of neuropsychological tests. In a second session, we administered a pain distraction paradigm while functional brain images were acquired. In this paradigm, participants completed a low (0-back) and a high (2-back) load condition of a working memory task while receiving either innocuous or painful heat stimuli to their lower arm. To control for age-related differences in sensitivity to pain and perceived task difficulty, stimulus intensity and task speed were individually calibrated. Both age groups showed significantly reduced activity in a network of regions involved in pain processing when performing the high compared to the low load distraction task; however, young adults showed a larger neural distraction effect in several of these regions, including the insula, caudate and midcingulate cortex. Moreover, in older adults, better executive functions – in particular inhibitory control abilities – were associated with a larger neural distraction effect in the insula, thalamus and primary somatosensory cortex, and with more activation in several prefrontal cortex regions during the high load task. These findings clearly demonstrate that the top-down control of pain is altered by age and could explain the higher vulnerability of older adults to developing chronic pain. Moreover, our findings suggest that the assessment of executive functions may be a useful tool for predicting the efficacy of cognitive pain modulation strategies in older adults. [less ▲]