Luca Sterpone

Bio: Luca Sterpone is an academic researcher from Polytechnic University of Turin. The author has contributed to research in topics: Fault injection & Field-programmable gate array. The author has an hindex of 24, co-authored 222 publications receiving 3125 citations. Previous affiliations of Luca Sterpone include Instituto Politécnico Nacional.

A novel scalable and reconfigurable emulation platform for embedded systems verification

Abstract: Modern embedded systems are characterized by a heterogeneous architecture including several modules (e.g., DSPs, memories and mixed-signal IPs) often integrated with one or more microprocessor cores controlling the system functionalities by means of embedded software programs. The verification of such a kind of systems has become a challenge due to their increasing complexity that makes traditional simulation and emulation techniques unaffordable methods for current quality and time-to-market constraints. This paper presents a new platform for the hardware and software verification of modern embedded systems based on a reconfigurable device. The main novelty consists in an infrastructure architecture containing a signal processing IP and a microprocessor core flexibly interfaced with the device under validation, aimed at the overall reduction of the design verification time. It also provides a dynamic interface supporting the software verification of the embedded system microprocessors. The proposed environment is fully scalable and adaptable to the requirements of a general purpose embedded system, enabling advanced verification flows at different phases of design and integration without time expensive interface modification. Experimental and performance analysis on a real industrial case study are reported proving the effectiveness of the proposed solution.

Hybrid soft error mitigation techniques for COTS processor-based systems

Abstract: In this paper we combine a set of software-based fault tolerance techniques with a hardware module that monitors the trace port, and explore from an experimental point of view the fault coverage against soft errors in COTS processors that can be achieved. The costs in terms of performance and memory are also evaluated. Fault injection results show fault coverage is superior to the state-of-the-art techniques with lower performance and memory overheads.

A New Fault Injection Approach for Testing Network-on-Chips

Abstract: Packet-based on-chip interconnection networks, or Network-on-Chips (NoCs) are progressively replacing global on-chip interconnections in Multi-processor System-on-Chips (MP-SoCs) thanks to better performances and lower power consumption However, modern generations of MP-SoCs have an increasing sensitivity to faults due to the progressive shrinking technology Consequently, in order to evaluate the fault sensitivity in NoC architectures, there is the need of accurate test solution which allows to evaluate the fault tolerance capability of NoCs This paper presents an innovative test architecture based on a dual-processor system which is able to extensively test mesh based NoCs The proposed solution improves previously developed methods since it is based on a NoC physical implementation which allows to investigate the effects induced by several kind of faults thanks to the execution of on-line fault injection within all the network interface and router resources during NoC run-time operations The solution has been physically implemented on an FPGA platform using a NoC emulation model adopting standard communication protocols The obtained results demonstrated the effectiveness of the developed solution in term of testability and diagnostic capabilities and make our solutions suitable for testing large scale NoC design

On the design of highly reliable system-on-chip using dynamically reconfigurable FPGAs

Abstract: Radiation-induced Soft Errors are widely known since the advent of dynamic RAM chips. Reconfigurable FPGA devices based on SRAM configuration memories are extremely sensitive to these effects resulting in an unwelcome change of behavior in digital logic. Indeed, soft errors occur today as a result of radiation from space or even at sea level. Detection, protection and mitigation of soft errors beyond aerospace and defence applications have been widely debated over the last decades. In the present paper we provide a complete design flow illustrating the proper design rules ranging from the synthesis, mapping and physical place and route algorithm tailored to the implementation of high performance and reliable SoCs using dynamic-reconfiguration oriented SRAM-based FPGAs. Radiation experimental results obtained radiation test performed using proton particles demonstrated the goodness of our developed design flow resulting in an overall error cross-section reduction of more than 2 orders of magnitude.

Biological properties of extracellular vesicles and their physiological functions

Abstract: In the past decade, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been recognized as potent vehicles of intercellular communication, both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. This is due to their capacity to transfer proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, thereby influencing various physiological and pathological functions of both recipient and parent cells. While intensive investigation has targeted the role of EVs in different pathological processes, for example, in cancer and autoimmune diseases, the EV-mediated maintenance of homeostasis and the regulation of physiological functions have remained less explored. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the physiological roles of EVs, which has been written by crowd-sourcing, drawing on the unique EV expertise of academia-based scientists, clinicians and industry based in 27 European countries, the United States and Australia. This review is intended to be of relevance to both researchers already working on EV biology and to newcomers who will encounter this universal cell biological system. Therefore, here we address the molecular contents and functions of EVs in various tissues and body fluids from cell systems to organs. We also review the physiological mechanisms of EVs in bacteria, lower eukaryotes and plants to highlight the functional uniformity of this emerging communication system.

Extracellular vesicles: biology and emerging therapeutic opportunities

Abstract: Within the past decade, extracellular vesicles have emerged as important mediators of intercellular communication, being involved in the transmission of biological signals between cells in both prokaryotes and higher eukaryotes to regulate a diverse range of biological processes. In addition, pathophysiological roles for extracellular vesicles are beginning to be recognized in diseases including cancer, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative disorders, highlighting potential novel targets for therapeutic intervention. Moreover, both unmodified and engineered extracellular vesicles are likely to have applications in macromolecular drug delivery. Here, we review recent progress in understanding extracellular vesicle biology and the role of extracellular vesicles in disease, discuss emerging therapeutic opportunities and consider the associated challenges.

Atheroprotective communication between endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells through miRNAs.

Abstract: The shear-responsive transcription factor Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) is a critical regulator of endothelial gene expression patterns induced by atheroprotective flow. As microRNAs (miRNAs) post-transcriptionally control gene expression in many pathogenic and physiological processes, we investigated the regulation of miRNAs by KLF2 in endothelial cells. KLF2 binds to the promoter and induces a significant upregulation of the miR-143/145 cluster. Interestingly, miR-143/145 has been shown to control smooth muscle cell (SMC) phenotypes; therefore, we investigated the possibility of transport of these miRNAs between endothelial cells and SMCs. Indeed, extracellular vesicles secreted by KLF2-transduced or shear-stress-stimulated HUVECs are enriched in miR-143/145 and control target gene expression in co-cultured SMCs. Extracellular vesicles derived from KLF2-expressing endothelial cells also reduced atherosclerotic lesion formation in the aorta of ApoE(-/-) mice. Combined, our results show that atheroprotective stimuli induce communication between endothelial cells and SMCs through an miRNA- and extracellular-vesicle-mediated mechanism and that this may comprise a promising strategy to combat atherosclerosis.