URANUS: Radio Frequency Tracking, Classification and Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles

Safety and security issues for Critical Infrastructures are growing as attackers adopt drones as an attack vector flying in sensitive airspaces, such as airports, military bases, city centers, and crowded places. Despite the use of UAVs for logistics, shipping recreation activities, and commercial applications, their usage poses severe concerns to operators due to the violations and the invasions of the restricted airspaces. A cost-effective and real-time framework is needed to detect the presence of drones in such cases. In this contribution, we propose an efficient radio frequency-based detection framework called URANUS. We leverage real-time data provided by the Radio Frequency/Direction Finding system, and radars in order to detect, classify and identify drones (multi-copter and fixed-wings) invading no-drone zones. We adopt a Multilayer Perceptron neural network to identify and classify UAVs in real-time, with $90$% accuracy. For the tracking task, we use a Random Forest model to predict the position of a drone with an MSE $\approx0.29$, MAE $\approx0.04$, and $R^2\approx 0.93$. Furthermore, coordinate regression is performed using Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates to ensure high accuracy. Our analysis shows that URANUS is an ideal framework for identifying, classifying, and tracking UAVs that most Critical Infrastructure operators can adopt

On varieties with higher osculating defect

In this paper, using the method of moving frames, we generalise some of Terracini's results on varieties with tangent defect. In particular, we characterise varieties with higher order osculating defect in terms of Jacobians of higher fundamental forms and moreover we characterise varieties with "small" higher fundamental forms as contained in scrolls.Comment: AMS-LaTeX; 17 pages. To appear in Revista Matem\'atica Iberoam\'erican

Lipoprotein(a) levels and risk of adverse events after myocardial infarction in patients with and without diabetes

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels with long-term outcome in patients with recent history of myocardial infarction (MI), and to investigate if diabetes may influence this association. Methods: Consecutive MI patients who underwent urgent/emergent coronary angiography from February 2013 to June 2019 were prospectively collected. The primary outcome was the composite of MI recurrence and all-cause death. The propensity score weighting technique was used to account for covariates potentially influencing the relationship between Lp(a) levels and the study outcomes. Results: The study population consisted of 1018 post-MI patients (median age 63 years). Diabetes was reported in 280 patients (27.5%), who showed lower Lp(a) levels than patients without diabetes (p = 0.026). At a median follow-up of 1121 days, the primary outcome was reported in 182 patients (17.9%). At univariable Cox regression analysis, Lp(a) was associated with the risk of the primary outcome in the overall population and in non-diabetic patients, but not in diabetics. The adjusted Cox regression analysis confirmed the independent association between Lp(a) values and the primary outcome in non-diabetic patients, but not in diabetics. Lp(a) levels > 70 mg/dL were independently associated with the risk of the primary outcome in non-diabetic patients (adjusted HR: 2.839; 95% CI, 1.382-5.832), but not in diabetics. Conclusions: In this real-world post-MI population, increasing Lp(a) levels were significantly associated with the risk of recurrent MI and all-cause death, and very high Lp(a) serum concentration independently predicted long-term outcome in non-diabetic patients, but not in diabetics

The use of functional tests and planned coronary angiography after percutaneous coronary revascularization in clinical practice. Results from the AFTER multicenter study

Background: The follow-up strategies after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have relevant clinical and economic implications. The purpose of this prospective observational multicenter study was to evaluate the effect of clinical, procedural and organizational variables on the execution of functional testing (FT) and planned coronary angiography (CA) after PCI, and to assess the impact of American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines on clinical practice. Methods: Four hundred twenty consecutive patients undergoing PCI were categorized as class I, IIB and III indications for follow-up FT according to ACC/AHA guidelines recommendations. Furthermore, all patients were grouped according to the presence or absence of FT and/or planned CA over 12 months after PCI. Multivariable analysis was used to assess the potential predictors of test execution. Results: During the 12-month follow-up at least one test was performed in 72% of patients with class I indication, 63% of patients with class IIB indication and 75% of patients with class III indication (p=ns). A total of 283 patients (67%) underwent testing. The use of tests was associated with younger age (R. R. 0.94, C. I. 0.91 +/- 0.97, p<0.001), a lower number of diseased vessels (R.R. 0.60, C.I. 0.43 +/- 0.84, p=0.003), follow-up by the center performing PCI (R. R. 2.64, C. I. 1.43 +/- 4.86, p=0.002), and the specific center at which PCI was performed. Most asymptomatic patients completed their testing prematurely with respect to the risk period for restenosis. Conclusions: The use of FT and planned CA after PCI is unrelated to patient's symptom status, and depends on patient's age and logistics. ACC/AHA guidelines have no influence in clinical practice, and test timing is not tailored to the risk period for restenosis. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

A Novel Combination of High-Load Omega-3 Lysine Complex (AvailOm®) and Anthocyanins Exerts Beneficial Cardiovascular Effects

Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to exert several beneficial effects in the prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The objective of the present study was to analyze the effects of a novel high-load omega-3 lysine complex, AvailOm®, its related constituents and a novel mixture of AvailOm® with specific vasoactive anthocyanins on vascular function in mice resistance artery. Pressure myograph was used to perform vascular reactivity studies. Nitric oxide and oxidative stress were assessed by difluorofluorescein diacetate and dihydroethidium, respectively. Increasing doses of AvailOm® exerted a dose-response vasorelaxation via AMPK-eNOS-mediated signaling. Omega-3 Ethyl Ester was identified as the main bioactive derivative of AvailOm®, being capable of inducing vasorelaxant action to the same extent of entire product. The combination of AvailOm® with a mix of potent vasoactive anthocyanins (C3-glu + DP3-glu + Mal3-glu + Mal3-gal + PEO3-gal), strongly protected mesenteric arteries from vascular dysfunction and oxidative stress evoked by oxidized-LDL. These data demonstrate for the first time the direct effects of AvailOm® on resistance arteries. The evidence that the combination of specific vasoactive anthocyanins and AvailOm® further enhanced the vasculoprotective properties of these compounds, may offer new promising perspectives for preventing the onset of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events

Stroke Risk during TAVR: Is Prevention Better than Cure?

Periprocedural stroke is an uncommon but feared complication in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Typically embolic, it occurs more frequent in the first days (within seven days) after the procedure and it is secondary to procedural factors. It has a wide clinical spectrum and it is associated with increased mortality and a controversial worse impact on cognitive functions. Capture of the debris by different cerebral embolic protection devices (CEPDs) during the TAVR were thought to be a safe and effective preventive strategy to reduce the risk of stroke. A lot of trials were conducted to demonstrate a benefit of CEPDs, but the current evidence is not conclusive on their impact on periprocedural strokes

Predictors of sacubitril/valsartan high dose tolerability in a real world population with HFrEF

Abstract Aims The angiotensin receptor‐neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) sacubitril/valsartan (Sac/Val) demonstrated to be superior to enalapril in reducing hospitalizations, cardiovascular and all‐cause mortality in patients with ambulatory heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), in particular when it is maximally up‐titrated. Unfortunately, the target dose is achieved in less than 50% of HFrEF patients, thus undermining the beneficial effects on the outcomes. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the role of Sac/Val and its titration dose on reverse cardiac remodelling and determine which echocardiographic index best predicts the up‐titration success. Methods and results From January 2020 to June 2021, we retrospectively identified 95 patients (65.6 [59.1–72.8] years; 15.8% females) with chronic HFrEF who were prescribed Sac/Val from the HF Clinics of 5 Italian University Hospitals and evaluated the tolerability of Sac/Val high dose (the ability of the patient to achieve and stably tolerate the maximum dose) as the primary endpoint in the cohort. We used a multivariable logistic regression analysis, with a stepwise backward selection method, to determine the independent predictors of Sac/Val maximum dose tolerability, using, as candidate predictors, only variables with a P‐value < 0.1 in the univariate analyses. Candidate predictors identified for the multivariable backward logistic regression analysis were age, sex, body mass index (BMI), chronic kidney disease (CKD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), dyslipidaemia, atrial fibrillation, systolic blood pressure (SBP), baseline tolerability of ACEi/ARBs maximum dose, left ventricle global longitudinal strain (LVgLS), LV ejection fraction (EF), tricuspid annulus plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), right ventricle (RV) fractional area change (FAC), RV global and free wall longitudinal strain (RVgLS and RV‐FW‐LS). After the multivariable analysis, only one categorical (ACEi/ARBs maximum dose at baseline) and three continuous (younger age, higher SBP, and higher TAPSE), resulted significantly associated with the study outcome variable with a strong discriminatory capacity (area under the curve 0.874, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.794–0.954) to predict maximum Sac/Val dose tolerability. Conclusions Our study is the first to analyse the potential role of echocardiography and, in particular, of RV dysfunction, measured by TAPSE, in predicting Sac/Val maximum dose tolerability. Therefore, patients with RV dysfunction (baseline TAPSE <16 mm, in our cohort) might benefit from a different strategy to titrate Sac/Val, such as starting from the lowest dose and/or waiting for a more extended period of observation before attempting with the higher doses

Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA. focus on coronary microvascular dysfunction and genetic susceptibility

Among the most common causes of death worldwide, ischemic heart disease (IHD) is recognized to rank first. Even if atherosclerotic disease of the epicardial arteries is known as the leading cause of IHD, the presence of myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary artery disease (MINOCA) is increasingly recognized. Notwithstanding the increasing interest, MINOCA remains a puzzling clinical entity that can be classified by distinguishing different underlying mechanisms, which can be divided into atherosclerotic and non-atherosclerotic. In particular, coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), classifiable in non-atherosclerotic mechanisms, is a leading factor for the pathophysiology and prognosis of patients with MINOCA. Genetic susceptibility may have a role in primum movens in CMD. However, few results have been obtained for understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying CMD. Future studies are essential in order to find a deeper understanding of the role of multiple genetic variants in the genesis of microcirculation dysfunction. Progress in research would allow early identification of high-risk patients and the development of pharmacological, patient-tailored strategies. The aim of this review is to revise the pathophysiology and underlying mechanisms of MINOCA, focusing on CMD and actual knowledge about genetic predisposition to it

Use of Machine Learning to Investigate the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT) towards Early Autism Screening.

In the past two decades, several screening instruments were developed to detect toddlers who may be autistic both in clinical and unselected samples. Among others, the Quantitative CHecklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT) is a quantitative and normally distributed measure of autistic traits that demonstrates good psychometric properties in different settings and cultures. Recently, machine learning (ML) has been applied to behavioral science to improve the classification performance of autism screening and diagnostic tools, but mainly in children, adolescents, and adults. In this study, we used ML to investigate the accuracy and reliability of the Q-CHAT in discriminating young autistic children from those without. Five different ML algorithms (random forest (RF), naïve Bayes (NB), support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR), and K-nearest neighbors (KNN)) were applied to investigate the complete set of Q-CHAT items. Our results showed that ML achieved an overall accuracy of 90%, and the SVM was the most effective, being able to classify autism with 95% accuracy. Furthermore, using the SVM-recursive feature elimination (RFE) approach, we selected a subset of 14 items ensuring 91% accuracy, while 83% accuracy was obtained from the 3 best discriminating items in common to ours and the previously reported Q-CHAT-10. This evidence confirms the high performance and cross-cultural validity of the Q-CHAT, and supports the application of ML to create shorter and faster versions of the instrument, maintaining high classification accuracy, to be used as a quick, easy, and high-performance tool in primary-care settings