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.

Putting Mitigation Techniques at Work

Abstract: The developed place and route algorithms have been experimentally evaluated in order to probe the efficiency and the improvements of performances with respect to standard TMR circuits implemented on SRAM-based FPGAs. The place and route-hardened circuits have been compared with the ones generated by the Xilinx ISE tool chain version 9.2.

Analytical analysis of the MCUs sensitiveness of TMR architectures in SRAM-based FPGAs

Abstract: In this paper we present an analytical analysis of the fault masking capabilities of triple modular redundancy (TMR) hardening technique in the presence of multiple cell upsets (MCUs) in the configuration memory of SRAM-based FPGAs. The analytical method we developed allow an accurate study of the MCUs sensitiveness characterizing the orientation and the effects provoking multiple domain crossing errors that defeats the TMR fault tolerance capability. From our analysis we have found that most of the failure affects configurable logic block's routing resources. The experimental analysis have been performed on two realistic case study circuits. Experimental results are presented and discussed in terms of faults effects showing in particular that 2-bits MCUs may corrupt TMR 2.6 order of magnitude more than single cell upsets (SCUs).

FPGA-based serial links for SuperB: Design Issues Vs. Radiation Tolerance

Abstract: SuperB is a novel, high-luminosity (1036cm-2s-1), asymmetric e+e- collider to be built at the future Cabibbo Laboratory, in the campus of the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy). A detector aimed at studying the B physics will be installed in this facility. High-speed serial links will be used for trigger, control and data read-out. The on-detector ends of the links will have to withstand a hadron fluence of 8·1010cm-2 per effective year (107 s). In this work, we focus on the multi-gigabit bidirectional serial link architecture, which we implemented by means of GTP SerDes embedded in Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA. We also performed proton irradiation tests of our designs and, with reference to the collected results, we discuss the effectiveness of the radiation mitigation techniques we employed.

A new placement algorithm for the optimization of fault tolerant circuits on reconfigurable devices

Abstract: Reconfigurable logic devices such as SRAM-based Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are nowadays increasingly popular thanks to their capability of implementing complex circuits with very short development time and for their high versatility in implementing different kind of applications, ranging from signal processing to the networking. The usage of reconfigurable devices in safety critical fields such as space or avionics require the adoption of specific fault tolerant techniques, like Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR), in order to protect their functionality against radiation effects. While these techniques allow to increase the protection capability against radiation effects, they introduce several penalties to the design particularly in terms of performances. In this paper, we present an innovative placement algorithm able to implement fault tolerant circuits on SRAM-based FPGAs while reducing the performance penalties. This algorithm is based on a model-based topology heuristic that address the arithmetic modules implemented on the FPGA reducing the interconnection delays between their resources. Experimental evaluations performed by means of timing analysis and fault injection on two industrial-like case studies demonstrated that the proposed algorithm is able to improve the running frequency up to the 44% versus standard TMR-based techniques while maintaining complete fault tolerance capabilities.

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.