Trick or Heat? Manipulating Critical Temperature-Based Control Systems Using Rectification Attacks

Temperature sensing and control systems are widely used in the closed-loop control of critical processes such as maintaining the thermal stability of patients, or in alarm systems for detecting temperature-related hazards. However, the security of these systems has yet to be completely explored, leaving potential attack surfaces that can be exploited to take control over critical systems. In this paper we investigate the reliability of temperature-based control systems from a security and safety perspective. We show how unexpected consequences and safety risks can be induced by physical-level attacks on analog temperature sensing components. For instance, we demonstrate that an adversary could remotely manipulate the temperature sensor measurements of an infant incubator to cause potential safety issues, without tampering with the victim system or triggering automatic temperature alarms. This attack exploits the unintended rectification effect that can be induced in operational and instrumentation amplifiers to control the sensor output, tricking the internal control loop of the victim system to heat up or cool down. Furthermore, we show how the exploit of this hardware-level vulnerability could affect different classes of analog sensors that share similar signal conditioning processes. Our experimental results indicate that conventional defenses commonly deployed in these systems are not sufficient to mitigate the threat, so we propose a prototype design of a low-cost anomaly detector for critical applications to ensure the integrity of temperature sensor signals.Comment: Accepted at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS), 201

A second ortho­rhom­bic polymorph of 2-(pyridin-4-ylmeth­oxy)phenol

The crystal structure of the title compound, C12H11NO2, represents a new ortho­rhom­bic polymorph II of the previously reported ortho­rhom­bic form I [Zhang et al. (2009 ▶) Acta Cryst. E65, o3160]. In polymorph II, the six-membered rings form a dihedral angle of 13.8 (1)° [71.6 (1)° in I], and O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link mol­ecules into chains along [100], whereas the crystal structure of I features hydrogen-bonded centrosymmetric dimers

A novel biomarker of cardiometabolic pathology in schizophrenia?

BackgroundPersons with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (PwS) have high rates of cardiometabolic pathology that contributes to premature mortality. Adiponectin is a metabolic hormone affecting insulin sensitivity and inflammation, and is active in the brain. High-molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin is considered a more sensitive marker of metabolic dysfunction than total adiponectin, but has been poorly studied in schizophrenia.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study of 100 PwS, age range 26-68 years (46 women), and 93 age- and sex-comparable non-psychiatric comparison (NC) subjects. Assessments included measures of psychopathology, physical health, cognitive function, and circulating biomarkers of metabolic dysfunction (HMW adiponectin, lipids, insulin resistance) and inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein or hs-CRP, Tumor Necrosis Factor-α, Interleukin-6, and Interleukin-10).ResultsHMW adiponectin levels were lower in PwS compared to NCs. Lower HMW adiponectin levels were associated with higher body mass index (BMI), higher Framingham risk for coronary heart disease, higher number of metabolic syndrome criteria, greater insulin resistance, lower HDL cholesterol, and higher hs-CRP in both groups. Only in PwS, lower HMW adiponectin correlated with younger age. In the best-fit regression models of HMW adiponectin, lower levels were associated with lower HDL cholesterol and minority race/ethnicity in both groups; but with younger age, non-smoking, higher insulin resistance, and a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder only among PwS, and with male sex, better cognitive functioning, and higher hs-CRP levels in NCs only.DiscussionHMW adiponectin may be a promising biomarker of cardiometabolic health, especially among PwS. Adiponectin is a potential target for lifestyle and pharmacological interventions. Research on the possible role of HMW adiponectin in modifying cardiometabolic pathology in schizophrenia is needed

Plasma-catalytic synthesis of ammonia over Ru/BaTiO3-based bimetallic catalysts: Synergistic effect from dual-metal active sites

Plasma-catalytic synthesis of ammonia (NH3) was carried out using BaTiO3 supported Ru-M bimetallic catalysts (Ru-M/BaTiO3, M = Fe, Co and Ni) in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. The NH3 synthesis performance followed the order of Ru-Ni/BaTiO3 > Ru/BaTiO3 > Ru-Co/BaTiO3 > Ru-Fe/BaTiO3, with the highest NH3 concentration (3895 ppm) and energy yield (0.39 g kWh−1) achieved over Ru-Ni/BaTiO3 at 25 W and 10 W, respectively. To gain insights into the physio-chemical properties of the Ru-M/BaTiO3 catalysts, comprehensive catalyst characterizations were performed, including X-ray diffraction, N2 physisorption measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and temperature-programmed desorption of CO2 and N2 (CO2 and N2-TPD). The results indicated that the loading of Ni enhanced the basicity and N2 adsorption capacity of the catalyst, as well as the density of oxygen vacancy (OV) on the BaTiO3 surface, which facilitated the adsorption and activation of N2 on catalyst surface. These effects led to the enhanced NH3 synthesis, as excited N2 could be adsorbed on Ru-Ni/BaTiO3 from plasma region and stepwise hydrogenated to form NHx species and ultimately NH3

Non-Markovian Transmission through Two Quantum Dots Connected by a Continuum

We consider a transport setup containing a double-dot connected by a continuum. Via an exact solution of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation, we demonstrate a highly non-Markovian quantum-coherence-mediated transport through this dot-continuum-dot (DCD) system, which is in contrast with the common premise since in typical case a quantum particle does not reenter the system of interest once it irreversibly decayed into a continuum (such as the spontaneous emission of a photon). We also find that this DCD system supports an unusual steady state with unequal source and drain currents, owing to electrons irreversibly entering the continuum and floating there

A data analysis method for isochronous mass spectrometry using two time-of-flight detectors at CSRe

The concept of isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) applying two time-of-flight (TOF) detectors originated many years ago at GSI. However, the corresponding method for data analysis has never been discussed in detail. Recently, two TOF detectors have been installed at CSRe and the new working mode of the ring is under test. In this paper, a data analysis method for this mode is introduced and tested with a series of simulations. The results show that the new IMS method can significantly improve mass resolving power via the additional velocity information of stored ions. This improvement is especially important for nuclides with Lorentz factor $\gamma$-value far away from the transition point $\gamma _t$ of the storage ring CSRe.Comment: published in Chinese Physics C Vol. 39, No. 10 (2015) 10620