On the Optimized Utilization of Smart Contracts in DLTs from the Perspective of Legal Representation and Legal Reasoning

Smart contracts are computer programs stored in blockchain which open a wide range of applications but also raise some important issues. When we convert traditional legal contracts written in natural language into smart contracts written in lines of code, problems will arise. Translation errors will exist in the process of conversion since the law in natural language is ambiguous and imprecise, full of conflicts, and the emergence of new evidence may influence the processing of reasoning. This research project has three purposes: the first aims at the resolution of these problems from logic and technical perspective to develop the accuracy and human-readability of smart contracts, by exploring a more novel and advanced logic-based language to represent legal contracts, and analyzing an extended argumentation framework with rich expressiveness; the second purpose is to investigate various existing technologies like Akoma Ntoso and Legal- RuleML, making the legal knowledge and reasoning machine-readable and be linked with the real world; third, to investigate the implementation of a mature multi-agent system incorporating the software agents with sensing, inferring, learning, decision-making and social abilities that can be fitted onto DLTs

Intelligent Human-input-based Blockchain Oracle (IHiBO)

The advent of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) has paved the way for a new paradigm of traceability in all information systems areas. In the context of decision-making processes, however, DLTs are generally used only to trace the end results. In this work we argue that a reasoning system can be put in place for making these decisions, in order to enhance auditability, transparency, and finally to provide explainability. We propose the Intelligent Human-input-based Blockchain Oracle (IHiBO), a cross-chain oracle that enables the execution and traceability of formal argumentation and negotiation processes, involving the intervention of human experts. We take as reference the decision-making processes of fund managements, as trust is of crucial importance in such ``trust services''. The architecture and implementation of IHiBO are based on leveraging two-layer DLTs, smart contracts, argumentation and negotiation in a multi-agent setup. Finally, we provide some experimental results that support our discussion, namely that in the use-case we have considered our methodology can increase trust from principals to trusted services

Enhancing Trust in Trust Services: Towards an Intelligent Human-input-based Blockchain Oracle (IHiBO)

As their name suggests, trust is of crucial importance in ‘‘trust service". Nevertheless, in many cases, these services suffer from a lack transparency, documentation, traceability, and inclusive multi-lateral decision-making mechanisms. To overcome these challenges, in this paper we propose an integrated framework which incorporates formal argumentation and negotiation within a blockchain environment to make the decision-making processes of fund management transparent and traceable. We introduce three possible architectures and we evaluate and compare them considering different technical, financial, and legal aspects

Distributed argumentation technology: advancing risk analysis and regulatory compliance of distributed ledger technologies for transaction and management of securities

Distributed argumentation technology is a computational approach incorporating argumentation reasoning mechanisms within multi-agent systems. For the formal foundations of distributed argumentation technology, in this thesis we conduct a principle-based analysis of structured argumentation as well as abstract multi-agent and abstract bipolar argumentation. The results of the principle-based approach of these theories provide an overview and guideline for further applications of the theories. Moreover, in this thesis we explore distributed argumentation technology using distributed ledgers. We envision an Intelligent Human-input-based Blockchain Oracle (IHiBO), an artificial intelligence tool for storing argumentation reasoning. We propose a decentralized and secure architecture for conducting decision-making, addressing key concerns of trust, transparency, and immutability. We model fund management with agent argumentation in IHiBO and analyze its compliance with European fund management legal frameworks. We illustrate how bipolar argumentation balances pros and cons in legal reasoning in a legal divorce case, and how the strength of arguments in natural language can be represented in structured arguments. Finally, we discuss how distributed argumentation technology can be used to advance risk management, regulatory compliance of distributed ledgers for financial securities, and dialogue techniques

Linkages between nitrogen cycling, nitrogen isotopes, and environmental properties in paleo-lake basins

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 41830425). E.E. Stüeken acknowledges funding from a Natural Environment Research Council grant (no. NE/V010824/1).The linkages between nitrogen cycling, nitrogen isotopes, and environmental properties are fundamental for reconstructing nitrogen biogeochemistry. While the impact of ocean redox changes on nitrogen isotopes is relatively well understood, it is poorly known how nitrogen responds to changes in pH and salinity. To fill the knowledge gap, we explore the effects of these environmental parameters using a well-controlled set of samples from Carboniferous−Paleogene lake sediments in China. Our results show that the threshold of 10−12‰ in δ15N works to distinguish alkaline (pH > 9) from circum-neutral conditions. Elevated Mo levels in the alkaline samples support the idea of NH3 volatilization from a reducing water column in an alkaline setting. For non-alkaline lakes, δ15N values tend to be higher (up to +10‰) in more saline, anoxic settings, which is attributed to either the expansion of stagnant anoxic waters spurring water-column denitrification or a shift from plant-based toward more microbially dominated ecosystems or both. Our results imply that salinity-induced redox stratification and basicity can alter nitrogen biogeochemical cycling beyond what is shown by the marine nitrogen isotope record alone. This finding will result in an improved understanding of the dynamic controls of δ15N in sediments and lead to better biogeochemical interpretations of paleo-environmental conditions from unknown environmental settings on Earth and beyond Earth.PostprintPeer reviewe

Influence of Stress on Electronic and Optical Properties of Rocksalt and Wurtzite MgO–ZnO Nanocomposites with Varying Concentrations of Magnesium and Zinc

The financial support of M-ERA.NET project “ZnMgO materials with tunable band gap for solar-blind UV sensors” (ZMOMUVS) is greatly acknowledged. The Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia, as the Center of Excellence, has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Program H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement no. 739508, project CAMART2. The calculations were performed at the Latvian SuperCluster (LASC) located at the Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia.The structural, electronic and optical properties of stressed MgO–ZnO nanocomposite alloys with concentrations of Zn and Mg varying from 0.125 to 0.875 were studied using ab initio simulations. Two crystal structures are considered for the initial MgO–ZnO alloys: the rocksalt Mg (Formula presented.) Zn (Formula presented.) O and wurtzite Zn (Formula presented.) Mg (Formula presented.) O phases. For rocksalt Mg (Formula presented.) Zn (Formula presented.) O, the optimized structures are stable at pressures below 10 GPa. The larger the Mg concentration and pressure, the wider the (Formula presented.) of the rocksalt phase. In contrast, the optimal geometries of wurtzite Zn (Formula presented.) Mg (Formula presented.) O reveal a diversity of possibilities, including rocksalt, wurtzite and mixed phases. These effects lead to the fact that the optical properties of wurtzite Zn (Formula presented.) Mg (Formula presented.) O not only demonstrate the properties of the wurtzite phase but also indicate the optical features of the rocksalt phase. In addition, mixed phases of Zn (Formula presented.) Mg (Formula presented.) O simultaneously provide the characteristics of both wurtzite and rocksalt phases with the same structures in different dielectric matrices. © 2022 by the authors. --//-- This is an open access publication Lin Y.-P., Piskunov S., Trinkler L., Chou M.M.-C., Chang L. "Influence of Stress on Electronic and Optical Properties of Rocksalt and Wurtzite MgO–ZnO Nanocomposites with Varying Concentrations of Magnesium and Zinc" (2022) Nanomaterials, 12 (19), art. no. 3408, DOI: 10.3390/nano12193408 published under the CC BY 4.0 licence.M-ERA.NET project “ZnMgO materials with tunable band gap for solar-blind UV sensors” (ZMOMUVS); the Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Program H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement no. 739508, project CAMART2

Enhancing Large Language Models for Secure Code Generation: A Dataset-driven Study on Vulnerability Mitigation

Large language models (LLMs) have brought significant advancements to code generation, benefiting both novice and experienced developers. However, their training using unsanitized data from open-source repositories, like GitHub, introduces the risk of inadvertently propagating security vulnerabilities. To effectively mitigate this concern, this paper presents a comprehensive study focused on evaluating and enhancing code LLMs from a software security perspective. We introduce SecuCoGen\footnote{SecuCoGen has been uploaded as supplemental material and will be made publicly available after publication.}, a meticulously curated dataset targeting 21 critical vulnerability types. SecuCoGen comprises 180 samples and serves as the foundation for conducting experiments on three crucial code-related tasks: code generation, code repair and vulnerability classification, with a strong emphasis on security. Our experimental results reveal that existing models often overlook security concerns during code generation, leading to the generation of vulnerable code. To address this, we propose effective approaches to mitigate the security vulnerabilities and enhance the overall robustness of code generated by LLMs. Moreover, our study identifies weaknesses in existing models' ability to repair vulnerable code, even when provided with vulnerability information. Additionally, certain vulnerability types pose challenges for the models, hindering their performance in vulnerability classification. Based on these findings, we believe our study will have a positive impact on the software engineering community, inspiring the development of improved methods for training and utilizing LLMs, thereby leading to safer and more trustworthy model deployment

Electronic and Optical Properties of Rocksalt Mg1−xZnxO and Wurtzite Zn1−xMgxO with Varied Concentrations of Magnesium and Zinc

The financial support of M-ERA.NET project “ZnMgO materials with tunable band gap for solar-blind UV sensors” (ZMOMUVS) is acknowledged. Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Program H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under Grant Agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2. The calculations were performed at the Latvian SuperCluster (LASC) located in Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia.The structural, electronic and optical properties of rocksalt Mg (Formula presented.) Zn (Formula presented.) O and wurtzite Zn (Formula presented.) Mg (Formula presented.) O with the concentration of Zn and Mg varying from 0.125 to 0.875 were investigated using density functional theory (DFT), DFT+U, linear response theory and the Bethe–Salpeter equation. According to the experimental band gap for varied concentrations of magnesium and zinc, modeling the supercell was utilized for the varied concentrations of Mg/Zn/O compounds in order to not only avoid constructing the complicated interface systems that are observed in the experiments but also take into account the excitonic effects that usually require huge computational resources. From the calculated density of states, the Zn states are highly related to the edge of the conduction band minimum and responsible for the width of bandgap. In addition, the contribution of Zn–d states is below expectations as they are located away from the VBM. As for the optical response, an increase in Zn concentration would cause a red-shifted spectrum, on the whole. In contrast, the higher concentration of Mg also triggers the blue-shift of the optical spectrum. In addition, anisotropic properties could be found in the spectrum with consideration of the excitonic effects, whereas there is no apparent difference in optical response based on linear response theory. In addition, the optical features of this work reflect the characteristic peaks of the literature around the absorption onset. © 2022 by the authors.--//-- This is an open access article in Y.-P., Piskunov S., Trinkler L., Ming-Chi Chou M., Chang L. "Electronic and Optical Properties of Rocksalt Mg1−xZnxO and Wurtzite Zn1−xMgxO with Varied Concentrations of Magnesium and Zinc" (2022) Materials, 15 (21), art. no. 7689, DOI: 10.3390/ma15217689 published under the CC BY 4.0 licence.M-ERA.NET project ZMOMUVS; Institute of Solid-State Physics, University of Latvia has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-Teaming Phase 2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2

Interpretations of Support Among Arguments

The theory of formal argumentation distinguishes and unifies various notions of attack, support and preference among arguments, and principles are used to classify the semantics of various kinds of argumentation frameworks. In this paper, we consider the case in which we know that an argument is supporting another one, but we do not know yet which kind of support it is. Most common in the literature is to classify support as deductive, necessary, or evidentiary. Alternatively, support is characterized using principles. We discuss the interpretation of support using a legal divorce action. Technical results and proofs can be found in an accompanying technical report

Argumentation in Trust Services within a Blockchain Environment

Both argumentation and trust concern multi-lateral uncertainties, while argumentation owns the ability to enhance trust in many ways. In the field of trust service where the trustee administers financial assets on behalf of principals, trust is an indispensable element. Often, the trustees withhold the investment plans and of which the decision-making process from their principals such that these services lack of transparency， documentation, traceability, and inclusive decision-making mechanisms. In this paper, we integrate formal argumentation within a blockchain framework. Both argumentation and blockchain have distinctive features that complement each other. They together make the decision-making of the trustees transparent and traceable in order to gain trust and confidence in principals. We introduce three possible architectures and we evaluate and compare them considering different technical, financial, and legal aspects. Specifically, we discuss the role of argumentation in building trust between trustees and their principals