During the last twenty years the lifestyle of a large portion of the inhabitants of our planet has changed dramatically. This would never have been possible without the massive use of electronic and photonic technology, telecommuni- cations, and computers. These disciplines are designed to code, transmit, detect, decode, and process signals and related information, and can be broadly addressed as information science and technology. In the sophisticated society in which we live and operate, this science is diffused transversely and plays a major role in almost every human activity. Information...