Location-aware Mobile Services for a Smart City: Design, Implementation and Deployment

A smart city is a high-performance urban context, where citizens are more aware of, and more integrated into the city life, thanks to an intelligent city information system. In this paper we design, implement and deploy a smart application that retrieves and conveys to the user relevant information on the user's surroundings. This case study application let us discuss the challenges involved in creating a location-aware mobile service based on live information coming from the city IT infrastructure. The service, that is currently being deployed in the Italian city of Cesena, has been designed with the goal of being a general model for future applications. In particular, we discuss location-aware and mobile development, cloud and cluster based geographical data storage, and spatial data computation. For each of these topics we provide implementation and deployment solutions based on currently available technology. In particular we propose an architecture based on a complex On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) infrastructure. Furthermore, this paper represents the first comprehensive, scientific study on the subject

Passengers information in public transport and privacy: Can anonymous tickets prevent tracking?

Abstract Modern public transportation companies often record large amounts of information. Privacy can be safeguarded by discarding nominal tickets, or introducing anonymization techniques. But is anonymity at all possible when everything is recorded? In this paper we discuss travel information management in the public transport scenario and we present a revealing case study (relative to the city of Cesena, Italy), showing that even anonymous 10-ride bus tickets may betray a user's privacy expectations. We also propose a number of recommendations for the design and management of public transport information systems, aimed at preserving the users’ privacy, while retaining the useful analysis features enabled by the e-ticketing technology

From Sensing to Action: Quick and Reliable Access to Information in Cities Vulnerable to Heavy Rain

Cities need to constantly monitor weather to anticipate heavy storm events and reduce the impact of floods. Information describing precipitation and ground conditions at high spatio-temporal resolution is essential for taking timely action and preventing damages. Traditionally, rain gauges and weather radars are used to monitor rain events, but these sources provide low spatial resolutions and are subject to inaccuracy. Therefore, information needs to be complemented with data from other sources: from citizens' phone calls to the authorities, to relevant online media posts, which have the potential of providing timely and valuable information on weather conditions in the city. This information is often scattered through different, static, and not-publicly available databases. This makes it impossible to use it in an aggregate, standard way, and therefore hampers efficiency of emergency response. In this paper, we describe information sources relating to a heavy rain event in Rotterdam on October 12-14, 2013. Rotterdam weather monitoring infrastructure is composed of a number of rain gauges installed at different locations in the city, as well as a weather radar network. This sensing network is currently scarcely integrated and logged data are not easily accessible during an emergency. Therefore, we propose a reliable, efficient, and low-cost ICT infrastructure that takes information from all relevant sources, including sensors as well as social and user contributed information and integrates them into a unique, cloud-based interface. The proposed infrastructure will improve efficiency in emergency responses to extreme weather events and, ultimately, guarantee more safety to the urban population

Sympathetic arousal in children with oppositional defiant disorder and its relation to emotional dysregulation

Background: Emotional dysregulation (ED) is a trans-nosographical condition characterized by mood instability, severe irritability, aggression, temper outburst, and hyper-arousal. Pathophysiology of emotional dysregulation and its potential biomarkers are an emerging field of interest. A Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) profile, defined as Dysregulation Profile (DP), has been correlated to ED in youth. We examined the association between the CBCL-DP and indices of sympathetic arousal in children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and healthy controls. Method: The current study sought to compare the arousal level measured via electrodermal activity in response to emotional stimuli in three non-overlapping groups of children: (1) ODD+CBCL-DP (n = 28), (2) ODD without CBCL-DP (n = 35), and (3) typically developing controls (n = 25). Results: Analyses revealed a distinct electrodermal activity profile in the three groups. Specifically, children with ODD+CBCL-DP presented higher levels of sympathetic arousal for anger and sadness stimuli compared to the other two groups. Limitations: The relatively small sample and the lack of assessing causality limit the generalizability of this study which results need to be replicated in larger, different samples. Conclusion: The CBCL-DP was associated to higher levels of arousal for negative emotions, consistently with previous reports in individuals with depression and anxiety. Further work may identify potential longitudinal relationships between this profile and clinical outcomes

Evaluation of altered functional connections in male children with autism spectrum disorders on multiple-site data optimized with machine learning

No univocal and reliable brain-based biomarkers have been detected to date in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Neuroimaging studies have consistently revealed alterations in brain structure and function of individuals with ASD; however, it remains difficult to ascertain the extent and localization of affected brain networks. In this context, the application of Machine Learning (ML) classification methods to neuroimaging data has the potential to contribute to a better distinction between subjects with ASD and typical development controls (TD). This study is focused on the analysis of resting-state fMRI data of individuals with ASD and matched TD, available within the ABIDE collection. To reduce the multiple sources of heterogeneity that impact on understanding the neural underpinnings of autistic condition, we selected a subgroup of 190 subjects (102 with ASD and 88 TD) according to the following criteria: male children (age range: 6.5–13 years); rs-fMRI data acquired with open eyes; data from the University sites that provided the largest number of scans (KKI, NYU, UCLA, UM). Connectivity values were evaluated as the linear correlation between pairs of time series of brain areas; then, a Linear kernel Support Vector Machine (L-SVM) classification, with an inter-site cross-validation scheme, was carried out. A permutation test was conducted to identify over-connectivity and under-connectivity alterations in the ASD group. The mean L-SVM classification performance, in terms of the area under the ROC curve (AUC), was 0.75 ± 0.05. The highest performance was obtained using data from KKI, NYU and UCLA sites in training and data from UM as testing set (AUC = 0.83). Specifically, stronger functional connectivity (FC) in ASD with respect to TD involve (p < 0.001) the angular gyrus with the precuneus in the right (R) hemisphere, and the R frontal operculum cortex with the pars opercularis of the left (L) inferior frontal gyrus. Weaker connections in ASD group with respect to TD are the intra-hemispheric R temporal fusiform cortex with the R hippocampus, and the L supramarginal gyrus with L planum polare. The results indicate that both under-and over-FC occurred in a selected cohort of ASD children relative to TD controls, and that these functional alterations are spread in different brain networks

The European Legal Framework on Cybercrime

This article analyzes the European legal framework on cybercrime. Initially, it argues the challenges of cybercrime to traditional criminal justice systems. Subsequently, it focuses on the criminal law framework on cybercrime with a mainly European perspective. The European legal framework provides a three-path solution: the reduction of frictions among national legislations, the introduction of new investigative powers and the facilitation of international cooperation. The article presents and discusses each solution. Further, it argues that the effective implementation of the main legal instruments does not seem to depend on the legal enforceability of these international measures. Contrarily, other, non legal, factors such as national security, politics, the economy and the public opinion appear to stimulate the spontaneous implementation of the European legal framework. In this context, the added value of the EU action is rather low, although the Treaty of Lisbon and the Stockholm Programme may improve this situation in the long ter

Disentangling the initiation from the response in joint attention: an eye-tracking study in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders

Joint attention (JA), whose deficit is an early risk marker for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), has two dimensions: (1) responding to JA and (2) initiating JA. Eye-tracking technology has largely been used to investigate responding JA, but rarely to study initiating JA especially in young children with ASD. The aim of this study was to describe the differences in the visual patterns of toddlers with ASD and those with typical development (TD) during both responding JA and initiating JA tasks. Eye-tracking technology was used to monitor the gaze of 17 children with ASD and 15 age-matched children with TD during the presentation of short video sequences involving one responding JA and two initiating JA tasks (initiating JA-1 and initiating JA-2). Gaze accuracy, transitions and fixations were analyzed. No differences were found in the responding JA task between children with ASD and those with TD, whereas, in the initiating JA tasks, different patterns of fixation and transitions were shown between the groups. These results suggest that children with ASD and those with TD show different visual patterns when they are expected to initiate joint attention but not when they respond to joint attention. We hypothesized that differences in transitions and fixations are linked to ASD impairments in visual disengagement from face, in global scanning of the scene and in the ability to anticipate object's action

Spatial Bloom Filters: Enabling Privacy in Location-Aware Applications

The wide availability of inexpensive positioning systems made it possible to embed them into smartphones and other personal devices. This marked the beginning of location-aware applications, where users request personalized services based on their geographic position. The location of a user is, however, highly sensitive information: the user's privacy can be preserved if only the minimum amount of information needed to provide the service is disclosed at any time. While some applications, such as navigation systems, are based on the users' movements and therefore require constant tracking, others only require knowledge of the user's position in relation to a set of points or areas of interest. In this paper we focus on the latter kind of services, where location information is essentially used to determine membership in one or more geographic sets. We address this problem using Bloom Filters (BF), a compact data structure for representing sets. In particular, we present an extension of the original Bloom filter idea: the Spatial Bloom Filter (SBF). SBF's are designed to manage spatial and geographical information in a space efficient way, and are well-suited for enabling privacy in location-aware applications. We show this by providing two multi-party protocols for privacy-preserving computation of location information, based on the known homomorphic properties of public key encryption schemes. The protocols keep the user's exact position private, but allow the provider of the service to learn when the user is close to specific points of interest, or inside predefined areas. At the same time, the points and areas of interest remain oblivious to the user

Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Gastrointestinal, Sensory and Core Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The microbiota-gut-brain axis has been recently recognized as a key modulator of neuropsychiatric health. In this framework, probiotics (recently named “psychobiotics”) may modulate brain activity and function, possibly improving the behavioral profiles of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We evaluated the effects of probiotics on autism in a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 85 preschoolers with ASD (mean age, 4.2 years; 84% boys). Participants were randomly assigned to probiotics (De Simone Formulation) (n=42) or placebo (n=43) for six months. Sixty-three (74%) children completed the trial. No differences between groups were detected on the primary outcome measure, the Total Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule - Calibrated Severity Score (ADOS-CSS). An exploratory secondary analysis on subgroups of children with or without Gastrointestinal Symptoms (GI group, n= 30; NGI group, n=55) revealed in the NGI group treated with probiotics a significant decline in ADOS scores as compared to that in the placebo group, with a mean reduction of 0.81 in Total ADOS CSS and of 1.14 in Social-Affect ADOS CSS over six months. In the GI group treated with probiotics we found greater improvements in some GI symptoms, adaptive functioning, and sensory profiles than in the GI group treated with placebo. These results suggest potentially positive effects of probiotics on core autism symptoms in a subset of ASD children independent of the specific intermediation of the probiotic effect on GI symptoms. Further studies are warranted to replicate and extend these promising findings on a wider population with subsets of ASD patients which share targets of intervention on the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02708901