DLT Based Authentication Framework for Industrial IoT Devices.

The latest technological progress in the industrial sector has led to a paradigm shift in manufacturing efficiency and operational cost reduction. More often than not, this cost reduction comes at the price of dismissing information security, especially when multiple stakeholders are involved and the complexity increases. As a further matter, most of the legacy systems and smart factoring processes lack a security by design approach, making them highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Taking into consideration the aforementioned issues, we propose an architectural framework for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) that provides authentication and guaranteed integrity. Our proposal properly addresses the security by design principle while combining some of the emerging technologies like Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) for grounded policy rules and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for an immutable and transparent registry.

Simulation and Modeling of Telocytes Behavior in Signaling and Intercellular Communication Processes.

BACKGROUND: Telocytes (TCs) are unique interstitial or stromal cells of mesodermal origin, defined by long cellular extensions called telopodes (Tps) which form a network, connecting them to surrounding cells. TCs were previously found around stem and progenitor cells, and were thought to be most likely involved in local tissue metabolic equilibrium and regeneration. The roles of telocytes are still under scientific scrutiny, with existing studies suggesting they possess various functions depending on their location. METHODS: Human myometrium biopsies were collected from pregnant and non-pregnant women, telocytes were then investigated in myometrial interstitial cell cultures based on morphological criteria and later prepared for time-lapse microscopy. Semi-analytical and numerical solutions were developed to highlight the geometric characteristics and the behavior of telocytes. RESULTS: Results were gathered in a database which would further allow efficient telocyte tracking and indexing in a content-based image retrieval (CBIR) of digital medical images. Mathematical analysis revealed pivotal information regarding the homogeneity, hardness and resistance of telocytes' structure. Cellular activity models were monitored in vitro, therefore supporting the creation of databases of telocyte images. CONCLUSIONS: The obtained images were analyzed, using segmentation techniques and mathematical models in conjunction with computer simulation, in order to depict TCs behavior in relation to surrounding cells. This paper brings an important contribution to the development of bioinformatics systems by creating software-based telocyte models that could be used both for diagnostic and educational purposes.

Multi-Layer IoT Security Framework for Ambient Intelligence Environments.

Ambient intelligence is a new paradigm in the Internet of Things (IoT) world that brings smartness to living environments to make them more sensitive; adaptive; and personalized to human needs. A critical area where ambient intelligence can be used is health and social care; where it can improve and sustain the quality of life without increasing financial costs. The adoption of this new paradigm for health and social care largely depends on the technology deployed (sensors and wireless networks), the software used for decision-making and the security, privacy and reliability of the information. IoT sensors and wearables collect sensitive data and must respond in a near real-time manner to input changes. An IoT security framework is meant to offer the versatility and modularization needed to sustain such applications. Our framework was designed to easily integrate with different health and social care applications, separating security tasks from functional ones and being designed with independent modules for each layer (Cloud, gateway and IoT device), that offer functionalities relative to that layer.

Aggregation of biological particles under radial directional guidance.

Many biological environments display an almost radially-symmetric structure, allowing proteins, cells or animals to move in an oriented fashion. Motivated by specific examples of cell movement in tissues, pigment protein movement in pigment cells and animal movement near watering holes, we consider a class of radially-symmetric anisotropic diffusion problems, which we call the star problem. The corresponding diffusion tensor D(x) is radially symmetric with isotropic diffusion at the origin. We show that the anisotropic geometry of the environment can lead to strong aggregations and blow-up at the origin. We classify the nature of aggregation and blow-up solutions and provide corresponding numerical simulations. A surprising element of this strong aggregation mechanism is that it is entirely based on geometry and does not derive from chemotaxis, adhesion or other well known aggregating mechanisms. We use these aggregate solutions to discuss the process of pigmentation changes in animals, cancer invasion in an oriented fibrous habitat (such as collagen fibres), and sheep distributions around watering holes.