Investigation into Photon Emissions as a Side-Channel Leakage in Two Microcontrollers: A Focus on SRAM Blocks

Microcontrollers are extensively utilized across a diverse range of applications. However, with the escalating usage of these devices, the risk to their security and the valuable data they process correspondingly intensifies. These devices could potentially be susceptible to various security threats, with side channel leakage standing out as a notable concern. Among the numerous types of side-channel leakages, photon emissions from active devices emerge as a potentially significant concern. These emissions, a characteristic of all semiconductor devices including microcontrollers, occur during their operation. Depending on the operating point and the internal state of the chip, these emissions can reflect the device’s internal operations. Therefore, a malicious individual could potentially exploit these emissions to gain insights into the computations being performed within the device. This dissertation delves into the investigation of photon emissions from the SRAM blocks of two distinct microcontrollers, utilizing a cost-effective setup. The aim is to extract information from these emissions, analyzing them as potential side-channel leakage points. In the first segment of the study, a PIC microcontroller variant is investigated. The quiescent photon emissions from the SRAM are examined. A correlation attack was successfully executed on these emissions, which led to the recovery of the AES encryption key. Furthermore, differential analysis was used to examine the location of SRAM bits. The combination of this information with the application of an image processing method, namely the Structural Similarity Index (SSIM), assisted in revealing the content of SRAM cells from photon emission images. The second segment of this study, for the first time, emphasizes on a RISC-V chip, examining the photon emissions of the SRAM during continuous reading. Probing the photon emissions from the row and column detectors led to the identification of a target word location, which is capable of revealing the AES key. Also, the content of target row was retrieved through the photon emissions originating from the drivers and the SRAM cells themselves. Additionally, the SSIM technique was utilized to determine the address of a targeted word in RISC-V photon emissions which cannot be analyzed through visual inspection. The insights gained from this research contribute to a deeper understanding of side-channel leakage via photon emissions and demonstrate its potential potency in extracting critical information from digital devices. Moreover, this information significantly contributes to the development of innovative security measures, an aspect becoming increasingly crucial in our progressively digitized world

Design and Implementation of a Multi-Channel Field-Programmable Analog Front-End For a Neural Recording System

Neural recording systems have attracted an increasing amount of attention in recent years, and researchers have put major efforts into designing and developing devices that can record and monitor neural activity. Understanding the functionality of neurons can be used to develop neuroprosthetics for restoring damages in the nervous system. An analog front-end block is one of the main components in such systems, by which the neuron signals are amplified and processed for further analysis. In this work, our goal is to design and implement a field-programmable 16-channel analog front-end block, where its programmability is used to deal with process variation in the chip. Each channel consists of a two-stage amplifier as well as a band-pass filter with digitally tunable low corner frequency. The 16 recording channels are designed using four different architectures. The first group of recording channels employs one low-noise amplifier (LNA) as the first-stage amplifier and a fully differential amplifier for the second stage along with an NMOS transistor in the feedback loop. In the second group of architectures, we use an LNA as the first stage and a single-ended amplifier for implementing the second stage. Groups three and four have the same design as groups one and two; however the NMOS transistor in the feedback loop is replaced by two PMOS transistors. In our design, the circuits are optimized for low noise and low power consumption. Simulations result in input-referred noise of 6.9 μVrms over 0.1 Hz to 1 GHz. Our experiments show the recording channel has a gain of 77.5 dB. The chip is fabricated in AMS 0.35 μm CMOS technology for a total die area of 3 mm×3 mm and consumes 2.7 mW power from a 3.3 V supply. Moreover, the chip is tested on a PCB board that can be employed for in-vivo recording

Antibacterial and ciprofloxacin -potentiation activities of Berberis vulgaris L. root extracts against some gram-negative pathogenic bacteria

Background and aims: Some medicinal plants particularly those with antimicrobial properties contain compounds that potentiate the activity of antimicrobials against pathogenic bacteria. This study was planned to search the antibacterial activities of the hydro alcoholic and chloroform extracts of Berberis vulgaris L. root and their synergistic effects with ciprofloxacin against some gram-negative pathogenic bacteria. Methods: After grinding, powder of Berberis vulgaris L. roots were extracted with ethanol 85% and chloroform by maceration method. Broth micro dilution method was used for determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the extracts alone or in association with ciprofloxacin and Phenylalanine-Arginine β- Naphtylamide (PAβN) as a positive control and efflux pumps inhibitor (EPI). Results: MIC determination indicated that the hydro alcoholic and chloroform extracts from Berberis vulgaris L. root were able to inhibit the growth of all the studied bacteria within a concentration range of 25000 to 75000 and 1562 to 6250 µg/mL, respectively. Synergistic effects were noted between the extracts from Berberis vulgaris L. root extracts and ciprofloxacin on all tested bacteria. Conclusion: Berberis vulgaris L. root extracts act as an antibacterial agent and potentiate ciprofloxacin effects on examined pathogenic bacteria. The present investigation brings about primary information’s for the possible use of these extracts in association with fluoroquinolones

Comparing Human Sperm Quality Preserved at Two Different Temperatures; Effect of Trolox, Coenzyme Q10 and Extracellular Adenosine Triphosphate

Cooling method was proposed to maintain the sperm quality for several days. Nevertheless, during this procedure, sperm is encountered to “cold shock”, and its quality decreases time-dependently. This study was designed to improve the in vitro sperm preservation methods. Thirty normal semen samples were examined in Shiraz, Iran, 2017. Fifteen samples were incubated at 22-27 °C and 15 samples were cooled moderately to 4 °C. Each sample was divided into five subgroups; control, solvent, 200 μM Trolox, 40 μM Coenzyme Q10, and 10 mM ATP. ATP was added only 15 minutes before the analysis. Assessments of motility parameters and sperm viability were done every 24 hours. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 16 software. The differences between two main groups and subgroups were compared by t test and one-way ANOVA, respectively. The effect of time was analyzed by repeated measurement test. Sperm motility and viability were the same in both groups until 24 hours, except the straight line velocity was greater in the cold group. Even after 48 hours, progressive motility and sperm velocity, but not viability, were still the same. The greatest reduction in progressive motility occurred on the second day; and after 72 hours, sperm quality was better preserved in 22-27 °C. Treatment with Trolox, coenzyme-Q10, and extracellular ATP did not have effect on sperm quality. Cold temperature is recommended for in-vitro sperm preservation up to 24 hours, and 22-27 °C is preferred for longer time storage. The sperm does not need antioxidant therapy for quality maintenance, but the extender media must be supplied with nutrients and antibiotics

Synchronized Laparoscopic Bilateral Adrenalectomy for Pheochromocytoma in Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Syndrome: A Case Report

Pheochromocytomas are tumors producing catecholamines that arise from chromaffin cells in the adrenal medulla. They are usually benign in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) syndrome, but they tend to present bilaterally in 50–80% of the patients. Few researchers have reported success with simultaneous laparoscopic bilateral adrenalectomy. Hence, we report a 48-year-old woman who presented with a panic attack, headache, and abdominal discomfort that had started 10 years ago. The computed tomography (CT) scan showed a large bilateral cystic lesion in both adrenal glands in favor of pheochromocytomas (30 × 22 mm and 18 × 15 mm on the right side and 40 × 33 mm and 35 × 28 mm on the left side). The patient underwent bilateral laparoscopic adrenalectomy without intraoperative or postoperative complications. The total blood loss was 50 cc, and the operative time was 4 h. The histopathology of the specimen revealed pheochromocytomas of adrenal masses. In conclusion, our case demonstrates that synchronized laparoscopic bilateral adrenalectomy can be a safe and feasible treatment option for pheochromocytomas in MEN2 patients

Evaluating the Effect of Graphite Source and Operating Conditions on the Synthesis of Graphene Oxide

In this research graphene oxide was synthesized by two methods. These methods were achieved by changing the improved Hummers’ and modified Hummers’ methods. Structure of graphene oxide was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. According to SEM image, the thickness of graphene oxide sheets prepared by improved Hummers’ method is about 66 nm. In improved Hummers’ method excluding NaNO3 from reacting gel and performing reaction in a 9:1 volume ratio of concentrated H2SO4/H3PO4 mixture improved the oxidation process by elimination of toxic gases, finally the prepared GO contains well-oxidized carbon materials. XRD results implied more oxidation for synthesized GO by improved Hummers’ based method. Importance of graphite source was shown in synthesis of pure GO. Two sources of graphite supplied by Daejung and Fluka Companies were used to synthesis GO in improved Hummers’ method. According to SEM images and XRD patterns, the graphite source prepared by Fluka Co. was more efficient towards production of pure GO than other graphite source. The results also indicated that temperature and mixing condition are two important factors for synthesis of GO

Global variation in diabetes diagnosis and prevalence based on fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but these measurements can identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening, had elevated FPG, HbA1c or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardized proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed and detected in survey screening ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the age-standardized proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29-39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c was more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global shortfall in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance

Measurement of t(t)over-bar normalised multi-differential cross sections in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV, and simultaneous determination of the strong coupling strength, top quark pole mass, and parton distribution functions

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