IDA-Pay: a secure and efficient micro-payment system based on Peer-to-Peer NFC technology for Android mobile devices

The evolution of modern mobile devices towards novel Radio Frequency (RF) capabilities, such as Near Field Communication, leads to a potential for delivering innovative mobile services, which is still partially unexplored. Mobile proximity payment systems are going to enhance the daily shopping experience, but the access to payment security resources of a mobile device (e.g. the “Secure Element”) by third party applications is still blocked by smartphone and Operating System manufacturers. In this paper, the IDA-Pay system is presented, an innovative and secure NFC micro-payment system based on Peer-to-Peer NFC operating mode for Android mobile phones. It allows to deliver mobile-to-POS micro-payment services, bypassing the need for special hardware. A validation scenario and a system evaluation are also reported to demonstrate the system effectiveness and performance

An RFID-Based Tracing and Tracking System for the Fresh Vegetables Supply Chain

The paper presents an innovative gapless traceability system able to improve the main business processes of the fresh vegetables supply chain. The performed analysis highlighted some critical aspects in the management of the whole supply chain, from the land to the table of the end consumer, and allowed us to reengineer the most important processes. In particular, the first steps of the supply chain, which include cultivation in greenhouses and manufacturing of packaged vegetables, were analyzed. The re-engineered model was designed by exploiting the potentialities derived from the combined use of innovative Radio Frequency technologies, such as RFID and NFC, and important international standards, such as EPCglobal. The proposed tracing and tracking system allows the end consumer to know the complete history of the purchased product. Furthermore, in order to evaluate the potential benefits of the reengineered processes in a real supply chain, a pilot project was implemented in an Italian food company, which produces ready-to-eat vegetables, known asIV gammaproducts. Finally, some important metrics have been chosen to carry out the analysis of the potential benefits derived from the use of the re-engineered model

A Cloud Architecture for Managing IoT-aware Applications According to Knowledge Processing Rules

The Web of Things paradigm has represented a shift in the conjunction of the Internet of Things (IoT) with people, as it allows treating a smart object as a Web resource. While in a first phase the challenge was the physically management of smart objects, the current demand is to help users in profitably introducing IoT in their own daily life.The paper presents a software architecture for IoT systems able to manage the behaviour of involved IoT entities basing on knowledge processing tools. The main goal is informing the user of the occurrence of events of interest semantically determined starting from actual state of the environment. The architecture exploits the potentialities of the Web of Topics (WoX) approach, a conceptual model that simplifies the designing of IoT applications. Leveraging the WoX approach, the architecture introduces an innovative way to mine knowledge from IoT devices aside from any technological background, so that facing the intrinsic heterogeneity affecting IoT entities. The discussed architecture is composed by different modules integrated into an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), strongly decoupled and provided with RESTful-compliant web interfaces to communicate each other and with the external environment, according to a SOA structure. The paper shows how the system is able to receive data coming from sensors and to semantically interpret them by means of a series of business rules that act as knowledge processor

Un esquema de autenticación de usuario basado en el cliente para el entorno de la nube de las cosas

The limited capabilities of IoT devices have resulted in some of the tasks of IoT applications being distributed to a cloud server, which witnessed the arisen of the cloud of things (COT). It enables IoT applications’ development and deployment as a service, providing additional data storage, enhanced processing performance, and fast communication between devices. As COT involves communication between IoT devices, a remote server, and users, remote user authentication is crucial to meeting security demands. Therefore, this study designs a client-based user authentication scheme utilizing smartphone fingerprint recognition technology to fill the gap. The scheme comprises six phases, namely (i) configuration phase, (ii) enrolment phase, (iii) authentication phase, (iv) password update phase, (v) fingerprint revocation phase, and (vi) smartphone revocation phase. The security analysis and automated verification using ProVerif suggested that the scheme is resistant to user impersonating attacks, replay attacks, and man-in-the-middle attacks. The study’s outcome could help secure user credentials from attacks on applications that involve IoT and the cloud.Las capacidades limitadas de los dispositivos IoT han dado como resultado que algunas de las tareas de las aplicaciones IoT se distribuyan a un servidor en la nube, lo que es testigo del surgimiento de la Nube de las Cosas (COT). Esta permite el desarrollo y la implementación de aplicaciones IoT como un servicio, proporcionando almacenamiento de datos adicional, mayor rendimiento de procesamiento y comunicación rápida entre dispositivos. Dado que la COT implica la comunicación entre dispositivos IoT, un servidor remoto y usuarios, la autenticación de usuarios remotos es crucial para satisfacer las demandas de seguridad. Por lo tanto, este estudio diseña un esquema de autenticación de usuario basado en el cliente que utiliza tecnología de reconocimiento de huellas digitales en teléfonos inteligentes para colmar la brecha. El esquema consta de seis fases: (i) fase de configuración, (ii) fase de inscripción, (iii) fase de autenticación, (iv) fase de actualización de contraseña, (v) fase de revocación de huellas digitales y (vi) fase de revocación de teléfonos inteligentes. A partir del análisis de seguridad y la verificación automatizada con ProVerif surge que el esquema es resistente a diferentes ataques, por ejemplo ataques de suplantación de identidad del usuario, los ataques de repetición y los ataques manin- the-middle. El resultado del estudio podría ayudar a proteger las credenciales de los usuarios de los ataques a las aplicaciones que involucran IoT y la nube.Facultad de Informátic

Top-Down Delivery of IoT-based Applications for Seniors Behavior Change Capturing Exploiting a Model-Driven Approach

Developing Internet of Things (IoT) requires expertise and considerable skills in different fields in order to cover all the involved heterogeneous technologies, communication formats and protocols. Developers and experts ask for new solutions that speed up the prototyping of IoT applications. One of these solutions is Web of Topics (WoX) middleware, a model-driven Cloud platform that aims to ease IoT applications developing, introducing a strong semantic abstraction of the IoT concepts. In WoX, almost all the IoT entities and concepts are limited to the concept of Topic, i.e. an entity containing the value of a feature of interest that we intend to detect. The local counterpart of WoX is L-WoX (Local-Web of Topics), which manages local instances of features of interest, allowing mobile applications to collaborate among them, offering and receiving data to/from smart objects, and enabling the communication with WoX Cloud platform. The presented study leverages WoX approach for showing an experience in rapid design and prototyping of an ambient assisted living system that detects the movements of elderly persons in their home, acquiring data through sensors in an unobtrusive way. Moreover, The paper shows that the chosen model-driven solution is very suitable in a top-down approach, starting from users requirements: the created system simplifies the user-centered design of IoT applications, adopting a full top-down approach from user required to the technological solution

New generation of optical robotic sensor applied to small notch detection

In this paper the experimental application of a new class of an optical pressure sensor based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-Au is shown. The sensor consists of a tapered bended optical fiber, where an optical signal goes across, embedded into a PDMS-gold nanocomposite material (GNM) and it is used for scanning surfaces while it is moved automatically by a controlled servomotor. The sensor data during the scanning may be used for detecting a small notch on a beam. The experimental results are very encouraging for foreseeing successful use of this new sensor in robotic applications

ORal anticoagulants In fraGile patients with percutAneous endoscopic gastrostoMy and atrIal fibrillation: the (ORIGAMI) study

BACKGROUND: Randomized trials support the safety and efficacy of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) versus vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, leading to increased use of these compounds. Crushed forms of DOACs have been shown to be reliable, but evidence supporting percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) delivery is lacking. PEG is a long-term option for enteral food and drug delivery in patients unable to maintain oral intake, bypassing the risks and disadvantages of parenteral nutrition.AIMS: The ORal anticoagulants In fraGile patients with percutAneous endoscopic gastrostoMy and atrIal fibrillation (ORIGAMI) study investigates the safety and efficacy of Edoxaban administered via PEG in patients with atrial fibrillation and a clinical indication for a long-term anticoagulation.DESIGN: In this prospective, single-centre observational study, 12 PEG-treated patients with indication to anticoagulation will receive edoxaban via PEG and will be followed up to 6 months. Plasma antifactor Xa activity and edoxaban concentrations will be assessed. Thromboembolic (ischaemic stroke, systemic embolism, venous thromboembolism) and bleeding events (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium and Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction) will be recorded at 1 and 6 months.PRELIMINARY CASES: A retrospective analysis of five atrial fibrillation cases undergoing PEG implantation at our Institution who received edoxaban via PEG showed plasma anti-FXa levels at a steady state of 146 ± 15 ng/ml, without major adverse event at a mean follow-up of 6 months.CONCLUSION: ORIGAMI prospectively investigates PEG-administration of edoxaban in PEG-treated patients requiring long-term anticoagulation. Our preliminary retrospective data support this route of DOAC administration. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT04271293

Alterations of Hyaluronan Metabolism in Acute Coronary Syndrome: Implications for Plaque Erosion

Background: Superficial erosion currently causes at least one-third of acute coronary syndromes (ACS), and its incidence is increasing. Yet, the underlying mechanisms in humans are still largely unknown. Objectives: The authors sought to assess the role of hyaluronan (HA) metabolism in ACS. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected from ACS (n = 66), stable angina (SA) (n = 55), and control (CTRL) patients (n = 45). The authors evaluated: 1) gene expression of hyaluronidase 2 (HYAL2) (enzyme degrading high-molecular-weight HA to its proinflammatory 20-kDa isoform) and of CD44v1, CD44v4, and CD44v6 splicing variants of HA receptor; and 2) HYAL2 and CD44 protein expression. Moreover, they compared HYAL2 and CD44 gene expression in ACS patients with plaque erosion (intact fibrous cap and thrombus) and in ACS patients with plaque rupture, identified by optical coherence tomography analysis. Results: Gene expression of HYAL2, CD44v1, and CD44v6 were significantly higher in ACS as compared with SA (p = 0.003, p < 0.001, and p = 0.033, respectively) and CTRL subjects (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.009, respectively). HYAL2 protein expression was significantly higher in ACS than in SA (p = 0.017) and CTRL (p = 0.032), whereas no differences were found in CD44 protein expression. HYAL2 and CD44v6 gene expression was significantly higher in patients with plaque erosion than in those with plaque rupture (p = 0.015 and p = 0.029, respectively). Conclusions: HYAL2 and CD44v6 splicing variants seem to play an important role in ACS, in particular when associated with plaque erosion. After further validation, HYAL2 might represent a potentially useful biomarker for the noninvasive identification of this mechanism of coronary instability

An Innovative Educational Format Based on a Mixed Reality Environment: A Case Study and Benefit Evaluation

We are in the midst of an information revolution, in which emerging technologies are creating new products and services that are redefining many aspects of our lives. The introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the educational context has allowed leading researchers and practitioners to find new ways of performing learning processes. It is evident that students are naturally attracted by activities that incorporate technology. In this work we propose an innovative competition-based educational format, known as “TIWE Linguistico,” that exploits a Mixed Reality (MR) environment in order to encourage the learning of English as a foreign language. The “TIWE Linguistico” has been used experimentally in an Italian high school and the benefits obtained have been validated by exploiting the FEE (Features Extractions) method