Fault detection and isolation of malicious nodes in MIMO Multi-hop Control Networks

A MIMO Multi-hop Control Network (MCN) consists of a MIMO LTI system where the communication between sensors, actuators and computational units is supported by a (wireless) multi-hop communication network, and data flow is performed using scheduling and routing of sensing and actuation data. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions on the plant dynamics and on the communication protocol configuration such that the Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI) problem of failures and malicious attacks to communication nodes can be solved.Comment: 6 page

Optimal co-design of control, scheduling and routing in multi-hop control networks

A Multi-hop Control Network consists of a plant where the communication between sensors, actuators and computational units is supported by a (wireless) multi-hop communication network, and data flow is performed using scheduling and routing of sensing and actuation data. Given a SISO LTI plant, we will address the problem of co-designing a digital controller and the network parameters (scheduling and routing) in order to guarantee stability and maximize a performance metric on the transient response to a step input, with constraints on the control effort, on the output overshoot and on the bandwidth of the communication channel. We show that the above optimization problem is a polynomial optimization problem, which is generally NP-hard. We provide sufficient conditions on the network topology, scheduling and routing such that it is computationally feasible, namely such that it reduces to a convex optimization problem.Comment: 51st IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 2012. Accepted for publication as regular pape

Advanced technologies to target cardiac cell fate plasticity for heart regeneration

The adult human heart can only adapt to heart diseases by starting a myocardial remodeling process to compensate for the loss of functional cardiomyocytes, which ultimately develop into heart failure. In recent decades, the evolution of new strategies to regenerate the injured myocardium based on cellular reprogramming represents a revolutionary new paradigm for cardiac repair by targeting some key signaling molecules governing cardiac cell fate plasticity. While the indirect reprogramming routes require an in vitro engineered 3D tissue to be transplanted in vivo, the direct cardiac reprogramming would allow the administration of reprogramming factors directly in situ, thus holding great potential as in vivo treatment for clinical applications. In this framework, cellular reprogramming in partnership with nanotechnologies and bioengineering will offer new perspectives in the field of cardiovascular research for disease modeling, drug screening, and tissue engineering applications. In this review, we will summarize the recent progress in developing innovative therapeutic strategies based on manipulating cardiac cell fate plasticity in combination with bioengineering and nanotechnology-based approaches for targeting the failing heart

Promotion of proliferation and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma by LncRNA00673 based on the targeted-regulation of notch signaling pathway

we read with great interest the paper by Dr. Chen et al1, recently published in European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences and titled ‘‘Promotion of proliferation and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma by LncRNA00673 based on the targeted-regulation of notch signaling pathway’’. Authors concluded that lncRNA00673 is highly expressed and may be a potential target for the treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Moreover, according to authors, it can promote the proliferation and metastasis of HCC by the regulation of Notch signaling pathway. We congratulate the authors for their interesting work

Superoptimal Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient Iteration for Image Deblurring

We study the superoptimal Frobenius operators in the two-level circulant algebra. We consider two specific viewpoints: ( 1) the regularizing properties in imaging and ( 2) the computational effort in connection with the preconditioned conjugate gradient method. Some numerical experiments illustrating the effectiveness of the proposed technique are given and discussed

Ciriaco d’Ancona visita Micene

A hitherto unpublished note in a manuscript of the Biblioteca Capitular y Colombina of Sevilla testifies that in 1448 Ciriaco of Ancona visited Mycenae, and admired and exactly measured the Lion Gate. The autograph of the Latin note, which accom-panied a drawing of the Mycenaean monument, was cut off from Ciriaco’s Diary (ms. Ambros. Trotti 373) and is now lost, having perhaps become part of a private collection

LA PROTEZIONE DEI SETTORI STRATEGICI EUROPEI

\u201cThe Protection of the European Strategic Sectors\u201d. The kind of protection that is at the heart of this doctoral thesis is the defence of the strategic companies established in the European Union (EU) from takeovers by foreign investors, that is to say investors from countries which are not part of the European Economic Area. This work aims, on the one hand, at outlining the main features of a screening mechanism of foreign investments at the EU level and, on the other, at identifying the proper legal basis in the EU Treaties for its establishment. Chapter 1 contains a non-exhaustive list of the European strategic sectors which consist in all the economic sectors in which the EU or its Member States have adopted rules to limit foreign investors\u2019 right to acquire participations in strategic companies for reasons of public security. Indeed, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) used the expression \u201cstrategic sectors\u201d in relation to undertakings whose activities are deeply linked to the protection of public security. The EU notion of public security contains both internal and external security, but also the production of goods and the supply of services which are essential for the very existence of a country. Chapter 2 provides a comparative study of the present situation of strategic enterprises\u2019 protection in three EU Member States (Germany, Italy and France). It shows that a fragmented landscape of foreign investment control rules adopted by national authorities represents both a constraint to an efficient internal market of capital movements, and a limit to an effective protection of the European strategic sectors. By contrast, an EU foreign investment control mechanism could lead to a less fragmented system of strategic companies\u2019 protection, which would be able to encourage foreign investments. At the same time, a single EU body of foreign investment control should be more efficient in order to protect EU public security. Moreover, unlike Member States measures such as \u201cgolden shares\u201d, this mechanism could enjoy a greater degree of compatibility with the fundamental freedoms of the Treaties. In effect, the CJEU recognises a \u201cpresumption of conformity\u201d with the freedoms of movement to the EU secondary legislation which pursues objectives of general interest like the protection of public security. Chapter 3 analyses the most significant experience of foreign investment control at the global level, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, in order to understand if it could be a suitable model for the establishment of a similar body in the EU, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the EU (CFIEU). Once outlined the key aspects of the CFIEU, chapter 3 focuses on the search of the most proper legal basis in the EU Treaties for its establishment. The study tries to demonstrate that Article 207(2) TFEU on unilateral measures of Common Commercial Policy (CCP) could be the right legal basis for the creation of the CFIEU. Indeed, after the Lisbon Treaty, the CCP has become an exclusive competence of the EU which also encompasses the admission and the treatment of foreign direct investments. In conclusion, chapter 3 tries to figure out the implications of the establishment of the CFIEU both on Member States competences (especially their exclusive competence on national security by virtue of Article 4 TEU), and on the international obligations undertaken by the EU towards third countries, with particular reference to the World Trade Organisation rules and international investment law

Blocking CD248 molecules in perivascular stromal cells of patients with systemic sclerosis strongly inhibits their differentiation toward myofibroblasts and proliferation: A new potential target for antifibrotic therapy

Background: Fibrosis may be considered the hallmark of systemic sclerosis (SSc), the end stage triggered by different pathological events. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) are profibrotic molecules modulating myofibroblast differentiation and proliferation, respectively. There is evidence linking CD248 with these two molecules, both highly expressed in patients with SSc, and suggesting that CD248 may be a therapeutic target for several diseases. The aim of this work was to evaluate the expression of CD248 in SSc skin and its ability to modulate SSc fibrotic process. Methods: After ethical approval was obtained, skin biopsies were collected from 20 patients with SSc and 10 healthy control subjects (HC). CD248 expression was investigated in the skin, as well as in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) treated with TGF-β or PDGF-BB, by immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting. Finally, in SSc-MSCs, the CD248 gene was silenced by siRNA. Results: Increased expression of CD248 was found in endothelial cells and perivascular stromal cells of SSc skin. In SSc-MSCs, the levels of CD248 and α-smooth muscle actin expression were significantly higher than in HC-MSCs. In both SSc- and HC-MSCs, PDGF-BB induced increased expression of Ki-67 when compared with untreated cells but was unable to modulate CD248 levels. After CD248 silencing, both TGF-β and PDGF-BB signaling were inhibited in SSc-MSCs. Conclusions: CD248 overexpression may play an important role in the fibrotic process by modulating the molecular target, leading to perivascular cells differentiation toward myofibroblasts and interfering with its expression, and thus might open a new therapeutic strategy to inhibit myofibroblast generation during SSc