Epidemic and timer-based message dissemination in VANETs: A performance comparison

Data dissemination is among the key functions of Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs), and it has attracted much attention in the past decade. We address distributed, efficient, and scalable algorithms in the context of VANETs adopting the paradigm. We introduce an epidemic algorithm for message dissemination. The algorithm, named EPIC, is based on few assumptions, and it is very simple to implement. It uses only local information at each node, broadcast communications, and timers. EPIC is designed with the goal to reach the highest number of vehicles “infected” by the message, without overloading the network. It is tested on different scenarios taken from VANET simulations based on real urban environments (Manhattan, Cologne, Luxembourg). We compare our algorithm with a standard-based solution that exploits the contention-based forwarding component of the ETSI GeoNetworking protocol. On the other hand, we adapt literature based on a connected cover set to assess the near-optimality of our proposed algorithm and gain insight into the best selection of relay nodes as the size of the graph over which messages are spread scales up. The performance evaluation shows the behavior of EPIC and allows us to optimize the protocol parameters to minimize delay and overhead

CD40 cross-linking induces migration of renal tumor cell through nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) activation

CD40 crosslinking plays an important role in regulating cell migration, adhesion and proliferation in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). CD40/CD40L interaction on RCC cells activates different intracellular pathways but the molecular mechanisms leading to cell scattering are not yet clearly defined. Aim of our study was to investigate the main intracellular pathways activated by CD40 ligation and their specific involvement in RCC cell migration. CD40 ligation increased the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun NH (2)-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 MAPK. Furthermore, CD40 crosslinking activated different transcriptional factors on RCC cell lines: AP-1, NFkB and some members of the Nuclear Factor of Activated T cells (NFAT) family. Interestingly, the specific inhibition of NFAT factors by cyclosporine A, completely blocked RCC cell motility induced by CD40 ligation. In tumor tissue, we observed a higher expression of NFAT factors and in particular an increased activation and nuclear migration of NFATc4 on RCC tumor tissues belonging to patients that developed metastases when compared to those who did not. Moreover, CD40-CD40L interaction induced a cytoskeleton reorganization and increased the expression of integrin β1 on RCC cell lines, and this effect was reversed by cyclosporine A and NFAT inhibition. These data suggest that CD40 ligation induces the activation of different intracellular signaling pathways, in particular the NFATs factors, that could represent a potential therapeutic target in the setting of patients with metastatic RCC

Discovery privacy threats via device de-anonymization in LoRaWAN

LoRaWAN (Long Range WAN) is one of the well-known emerging technologies for the Internet of Things (IoT). Many IoT applications involve simple devices that transmit their data toward network gateways or access points that, in their turn, redirect data to application servers. While several security issues have been addressed in the LoRaWAN specification v1.1, there are still some aspects that may undermine privacy and security of the interconnected IoT devices. In this paper, we tackle a privacy aspect related to LoRaWAN device identity. The proposed approach, by monitoring the network traffic in LoRaWAN, is able to derive, in a probabilistic way, the unique identifier of the IoT device from the temporal address assigned by the network. In other words, the method identifies the relationship between the LoRaWAN DevAddress and the device manufacturer DevEUI. The proposed approach, named DEVIL (DEVice Identification and privacy Leakage), is based on temporal patterns arising in the packets transmissions. The paper presents also a detailed study of two real datasets: i) one derived by IoT devices interconnected to a prominent network operator in Italy; ii) one taken from the literature (the LoED dataset in Bhatia et al. (2020)). DEVIL is evaluated on the first dataset while the second is analyzed to support the hypothesis under the DEVIL operation. The results of our analysis, compared with other literature approaches, show how device identification through DEVIL can expose IoT devices to privacy leakage. Finally, the paper also provides some guidelines to mitigate the user re-identification threats

Discovery privacy threats via device de-anonymization in LoRaWAN

LoRaWAN (Long Range WAN) is one of the well-known emerging technologies for the Internet of Things (IoT). Many IoT applications involve simple devices that transmit their data toward network gateways or access points that, in turn, redirect the data to application servers. While several security issues have been faced in the LoRaWAN v1.1 specification from the very beginning, there are still some aspects that may undermine the privacy and the security of the IoT devices. In this paper we tackle the privacy aspect in the LoRaWAN device identity. The proposed approach, by monitoring the traffic of a LoRaWAN Network, is able to derive, in a probabilistic way, the unique identifier of the device from the temporal address assigned from the network. In other words, the method identifies the relationship between the LoRaWAN DevAddress and the device manufacturer DevEUI. The proposed approach, named DEVIL (DEVice Identification and privacy Leakage), is based on temporal patterns arising in the packet transmissions by LoRaWAN devices, and it is evaluated on the dataset extracted from real applications scenario deployed in Italy by a network operator. The results of our analysis show how device identification, during the time, can expose users to privacy leakage

Effects of different surface treatments on ripening of Canestrato Pugliese cheese

The effect of different surface treatments (with olive oil, liquid smoke or pimaricin) on a number of physico-chemical characteristics (namely, moisture, NaCl content, pH, total and soluble nitrogen fractions, lipolytic processes and mould production) of the core and therind zones of Canestrato Pugliese cheese were studied during the whole ripening period (100 days). Treated cheese data were statistically compared with data obtained for untreated cheese. While for the core zone proteolytic and lipolytic processes, together with all the other physico-chemical properties studied, remained unaffected by the surface treatment, in the layer close to the rind these were influenced significantly by the surface treatment in a manner correlated with the fungal growth