Token Exchange Research Articles

Emergent cooperation from mutual acknowledgment exchange in multi-agent reinforcement learning

Peer incentivization (PI) is a recent approach where all agents learn to reward or penalize each other in a distributed fashion, which often leads to emergent cooperation. Current PI mechanisms implicitly assume a flawless communication channel in order to exchange rewards. These rewards are directly incorporated into the learning process without any chance to respond with feedback. Furthermore, most PI approaches rely on global information, which limits scalability and applicability to real-world scenarios where only local information is accessible. In this paper, we propose Mutual Acknowledgment Token Exchange (MATE), a PI approach defined by a two-phase communication protocol to exchange acknowledgment tokens as incentives to shape individual rewards mutually. All agents condition their token transmissions on the locally estimated quality of their own situations based on environmental rewards and received tokens. MATE is completely decentralized and only requires local communication and information. We evaluate MATE in three social dilemma domains. Our results show that MATE is able to achieve and maintain significantly higher levels of cooperation than previous PI approaches. In addition, we evaluate the robustness of MATE in more realistic scenarios, where agents can deviate from the protocol and communication failures can occur. We also evaluate the sensitivity of MATE w.r.t. the choice of token values.

The Decentralized Non-Fungible Token Exchange with Secure Connections

During the COVID-19 outbreak, due to the lockdown, all museums and galleries were closed for more than a year. So, the buying and selling of physical arts have dropped. This project aims to overcome this challenge by developing a decentralized application called Decentralized NFT Exchange. The decentralized non-fungible token (NFT)exchange includes features such as secure wallet connections, NFT creations, buying, selling, and profile management. The back-end of the decentralized NFT exchange is implemented using Solidity-based smart contracts, while InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)is used for decentralized storage. Front-end development of decentralized NFT exchange is implemented using React JSX and framework web3.js that helps developers connect to the Ethereum network. Decentralized NFT can help art creators sell their artworks using a smart contract system where the ownership of the work will become the property of the new owner with proof of a digital certificate. The project demonstrates the practical application of blockchain technology in developing decentralized applications (DApps)for secure and decentralized digital asset management. Overall, Decentralized NFT might be a solution for the copyright of work in the future and the project contributes to secure and decentralized digital asset management

Implementing Smart College Chatbot using Ml And Python

Implementing Smart College Chatbot using Ml And Python

Examining the Drivers of Cryptocurrency Investment Intentions among Undergraduates in Malaysian Universities

This study aimed to examine the variables that affect Malaysian university students' intentions to invest in cryptocurrencies. Few studies have been conducted on the factors influencing Malaysian university students' intention to invest in cryptocurrencies, despite a wealth of research on the desire to do so. The researcher used a self-administered questionnaire to collect data for this quantitative study, which was grounded in a positivist philosophy. The target population was students who intend to invest or have invested previously in cryptocurrencies. A total of 106 respondents were obtained. The results of this study were empirically analyzed using a deductive approach and the positivist philosophy. The Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS) was used to process and analyze the data. The study's findings demonstrated that among the students surveyed, financial literacy, perceived trust, and social norms all had a significant impact on their intention to invest in cryptocurrencies. It was discovered, nevertheless, that their intention to purchase cryptocurrency is not significantly impacted by their perception of behavioral control. This study's value and implications stem from the insights it provides to various stakeholders in the cryptocurrency space, such as marketers, educators, and businesses engaged in the development, exchange, and creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). To draw in and keep the interest of potential investors, the study's findings indicate that these parties should concentrate on raising financial literacy and spreading knowledge about cryptocurrencies. The study's conclusions add to our knowledge of undergraduates' investing behavior and have applications for those involved in the cryptocurrency space.

PTET: A progressive token exchanging transformer for infrared and visible image fusion

Integrating complementary information from different modalities is one of the key challenges in image fusion. Most of the existing deep learning-based methods still rely on a one-off fusion layer to integrate the features extracted from two modalities into one. Such an information interaction pattern only considers significant feature integration but neglects the removal of hazardous information that is widely present in the source images. To overcome these limitations, we propose a progressive token exchanging Transformer for infrared and visible image fusion, named PTET. Different from the one-time fusion layer, we devise a progressive token exchange strategy to gradually transfer features from source images and remove harmful information simultaneously. A predictor is utilized to assess the saliency of Transformer tokens from both modalities. Afterwards, an exchanger is designed to perform beneficial token transfer and insignificant token elimination. Through the cascading layers, our network enhances the feature of fusion branch in a progressive manner. Innovative exchange loss and rank loss are introduced to constrain the fusion network. Extensive experiments on MSRS and LLVIP datasets demonstrate the superiority of our PTET compared to nine state-of-the-art alternatives. Visualization of token exchanging strategy and ablation study reveals the effectiveness of our designs.

A framework for efficient cross-chain token transfers in blockchain networks

The proliferation of blockchain technology has resulted in diverse token standards, posing challenges for compatibility, security, and performance in existing cross-chain bridges. This paper introduces a novel framework capable of concurrently facilitating fungible token exchange, as well as the processing of both individual and batch non-fungible tokens (NFTs). We deploy token bridges that meet different token standards to support cross-chain staking and unlocking of ERC20, ERC721, and ERC1155. To minimize both waiting times and handling fees, we relocate processes necessitating frequent transactions and verifications to the sidechain. Additionally, we adopt a batch-processing approach for tokens necessitating cross-chain transfers, leveraging payment channels to facilitate efficiency. The system’s reliability is upheld through the validator group. Validators acquire an initial reputation value by making deposits and enhance both their rewards and reputation by successfully completing NFT auction tasks on the sidechain. We use OpenZeppelin’s security library functions to standardize token operations, and carefully design the validator’s reward, punishment, and reputation mechanisms. Our comprehensive contract security audit and system analysis validate our solution’s effectiveness in mitigating common vulnerabilities and internal threats. Implementation and testing with Ethereum and its test network demonstrate substantial reductions in transmission time for key cross-chain token steps by nearly half. Moreover, our framework showcases efficiency and cost-effectiveness with an average gas cost of 693,379.

Trading carbon credit tokens on the blockchain

Innovative financial services may help to reduce global carbon emissions. We examine the activity in trading of voluntary carbon credits on a new blockchain-based exchange, which reduces the amount of intermediation in this market. Over the years 2021 and 2022, about 3.8 million tCO2e tokens have been tokenized on the carbon token exchange, of which about 2.8 million tCO2e tokens have been burned, leaving 1.0 million tCO2 tokens available for purchase on the exchange. Over these two years, the total secondary market trading turnover has been $ 21.2 million. Trading liquidity is limited to only a few types of carbon credit tokens. The prices of these most liquid tokens move in line with prices of similar carbon projects available for purchase elsewhere.

The Concatenating Relationship between Political Clientelism and Citizen Quiescence in Kenya

Abstract Political clientelism is an intractable problem that neuters transparent governance and public accountability in Kenya. On the one hand, is the patron (ruler/politician), and on the other hand, a client (voter) who engages in a reciprocal exchange of tokens, monetary donations, and favors to extract benefits from one another. Often, the patron gains by garnering loyalty from voters, while the client may benefit from small rewards such as monetary gains and favors. Such a dyadic relationship yields an unequal reciprocal exchange between the two agents. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which political clientelism influences citizen inaction (quiescence) when demanding public accountability from their patrons in Kenya. The study applied a mixed-method technique. The primary data was collected from a sample of 100 respondents drawn from Nairobi City County using self-administered questionnaires. The data was analyzed using SPSS to perform both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed a direct relationship between political clientelism and citizen quiescence, yielding R(98) = 0.896, p < 0.05, and R2 0.803. The findings indicate that political clientelism could explain 80.3% of the variance in predicting citizen quiescence. In other words, the researchers concluded that citizens were less likely to demand more accountability from political leaders in an environment undergirded by high levels of clientelism.

DATA SECURITY ENHANCEMENT IN CLOUD COMPUTING USING AES ENCRYPTION

. Cloud computing has transformed data storage and access, yet it has raised significant security and privacy concerns. This article advocates the use of various encryption methods to protect data in the cloud. It discusses threats to data integrity and supports secure encryption techniques. The proposed framework integrates authentication and encrypted data transfer using 256-bit AES algorithm with token exchange for better security and trust. In addition, a web-based AES- CBC-256 encryption and decryption mechanism for cloud files is proposed. The study also recommends a bulk authentication protocol to ensure data integrity without additional burden. This study highlights the key role of encryption and authentication protocols in solving cloud computing challenges and highlights the necessity of data security, integrity and privacy in the digital era.

Сross-platform application for NFT tokens

A software application has been developed, which is a platform for creating, storing, viewing and selling NFT tokens. The object of research is the process of managing NFT tokens, the subject of research is the development and implementation of the NFT token marketplace. The developed application is a micro service that includes an API for working with NFT tokens and a client part that provides a convenient way to use the marketplace for users. The backend part was developed in the C# programming language, and the frontend part uses React and Redux. OOP methods, the Git version control system, namely Github, work with multithread, asynchrony and implemented SOLID principles were used during development. The application allows users to access NFT tokens, perform various operations with them and manage tokens. The libraries used in the application ensure stability and security in the process of working with tokens. This application allows for efficient and secure exchange of NFT tokens between different systems and users. The developed software product is built according to the principle of Clean Architecture, which will provide easy further expansion of the scope of the project.

Detecting Risky Authentication Using the OpenID Connect Token Exchange Time.

With the rise in sophisticated cyber threats, traditional authentication methods are no longer sufficient. Risk-based authentication (RBA) plays a critical role in the context of the zero trust framework-a paradigm shift that assumes no trust within or outside the network. This research introduces a novel proposal as its core: utilization of the time required by OpenID Connect (OIDC) token exchanges as a new RBA feature. This innovative approach enables the detection of tunneled connections without any intervention from the user's browser or device. By analyzing the duration of OIDC token exchanges, the system can identify any irregularities that may signify unauthorized access attempts. This approach not only improves upon existing RBA frameworks but is also in alignment with the broader movement toward intelligent and responsive security systems.

Score-mediated mutual consent and indirect reciprocity

Helping strangers at a cost to oneself is a hallmark of many human interactions, but difficult to justify from the viewpoint of natural selection, particularly in anonymous one-shot interactions. Reputational scoring can provide the necessary motivation via "indirect reciprocity," but maintaining reliable scores requires close oversight to prevent cheating. We show that in the absence of such supervision, it is possible that scores might be managed by mutual consent between the agents themselves instead of by third parties. The space of possible strategies for such "consented" score changes is very large but, using a simple cooperation game, we search it, asking what kinds of agreement can i) invade a population from rare and ii) resist invasion once common. We prove mathematically and demonstrate computationally that score mediation by mutual consent does enable cooperation without oversight. Moreover, the most invasive and stable strategies belong to one family and ground the concept of value by incrementing one score at the cost of the other, thus closely resembling the token exchange that underlies money in everyday human transactions. The most successful strategy has the flavor of money except that agents without money can generate new score if they meet. This strategy is evolutionarily stable, and has higher fitness, but is not physically realizable in a decentralized way; when conservation of score is enforced more money-like strategies dominate. The equilibrium distribution of scores under any of this family of strategies is geometric, meaning that agents with score 0 are inherent to money-like strategies.

A privacy‐preserving model for blockchain‐based data sharing in the industrial internet

AbstractInformation technology is an important direction for the development of traditional industries. With the in‐depth study of the industrial internet and blockchain technology in recent years, data‐sharing based on blockchain has become an important means to achieve industrial internet interconnection and has played an important role in achieving production efficiency and product quality. However, the transparency of blockchain can raise privacy issues, and competitors may engage in malicious competition due to the exposure of blockchain transactions. Therefore, based on the general blockchain system, this article unifies the scale of value of data sharing by introducing a token exchange mechanism as a basis for privacy‐preserving mechanisms. Based on smart contracts, a token mixer anonymizes shared participants. By introducing a ring signature scheme with smart contracts, we provide group‐oriented authentication for anonymous identities participating in data sharing and ensure data flow within a controlled range. The abovementioned mechanism provides a feasible solution for the privacy‐preserving requirement of data sharing among industrial entities and could encourage industrial entities to participate in data sharing, supporting the goals of interconnection in the industrial internet.

Successes and challenges in implementing specifications grading in skills-based laboratory courses: Experiences at two colleges of pharmacy

Background and purposeSpecifications grading, a grading schema focused on mastery of skills, may provide an alternative to traditional grading. Specifications grading uses three components (pass/fail grading, bundles, and tokens) to allow students to demonstrate competency in specific areas as part of competency-based education. The purpose of this article is to outline specifications grading and review its implementation at two colleges of pharmacy. Educational activity and settingTwo colleges of pharmacy used specifications grading within a first-year skills-based laboratory course. Instructors identified key skills for each course and the minimum performance levels for each grade (A, B, C, etc.). Each college evaluated skills that aligned with course learning objectives. FindingsIncorporating specifications grading helped better align assignments and assessments to course learning objectives. Instructors felt specifications grading introduced more rigor into the course. Instructors identified four challenges when implementing specifications grading, including: (1) lack of integration into the learning management system, (2) initial student confusion, (3) modifications needed due to unforeseen circumstances, and (4) logistical issues when implementing token exchange. Many of these challenges can be overcome with instructor tracking of passed assignments and earned/redeemed tokens, periodic reinforcement of the grading schema with students, and creating flexibility within the course, especially the first time the schema is implemented. SummarySpecifications grading was successfully implemented in two skills-based courses. Challenges encountered with implementing specifications grading will be continually addressed. Implementation of specifications grading in other forms of course deliveries (e.g., electives, didactic) may require adjustment and further evaluation.

Behavioral and physiological response to inequity in bonobos (Pan paniscus).

Inequity aversion (IA), the affective, cognitive, and behavioral response to inequitable outcomes, allows individuals to avoid exploitation and therefore stabilizes cooperation. The presence of IA varies across animal species, which has stimulated research to investigate factors that might explain this variation, and to investigate underlying affective responses. Among great apes, IA is most often studied in chimpanzees. Here, we investigate IA in bonobos, a reputedly tolerant and cooperative species for which few IA studies are available. We describe how bonobos respond to receiving less preferred rewards than a partner in a token exchange task. We show that bonobos respond to receiving less preferred rewards by refusing tokens and rewards, and by leaving the experimental area. Bonobos never refused a trial when receiving preferred rewards, and thus showed no advantageous IA. We also investigate the variability in the disadvantageous IA response on a dyadic level, because the level of IA is expected to vary, depending on characteristics of the dyad. Like in humans and chimpanzees, we show that the tolerance towards inequity was higher in bonobo dyads with more valuable relationships. To study the affective component of IA, we included behavioral and physiological measures of arousal: a displacement behavior (rough self-scratching) and changes in salivary cortisol levels. Both measures of arousal showed large variability, and while analyses on rough self-scratching showed no significant effects, salivary cortisol levels seemed to be lower in subjects that received less than their partner, but higher in subjects that received more than their partner, albeit that both were not significantly different from the equity condition. This suggests that although overcompensated bonobos showed no behavioral response, they might be more aroused. Our data support the cooperation hypothesis on an interspecific and intraspecific level. They show inequity aversion in bonobos, a reputedly cooperative species, and suggest that the variability in IA in bonobos can be explained by their socioecology. Most successful cooperative interactions happen between mothers and their sons and among closely bonded females. The limited need to monitor the partners'investment within these dyads can result in a higher tolerance towards inequity. We therefore suggest future studies to consider relevant socioecological characteristics of the species when designing and analyzing IA studies.

Implementation of zk-SNARK HH Authentication on IoT Protocols

CoAP and MQTT are messaging protocols in the application layer of the Internet of Things (IoT) architecture. Both protocols, in general, have not been equipped with certain authentication schemes to cope with the network security gap. Without an authentication mechanism, the protocol is prone to mand-in-the middle attacks. Addressing this issue, the present study attempted to implement an authentication scheme using zk-SNARK Homomorphic Hiding (HH). This authentication mechanism does not require a token exchange and is safe from an eavesdropper. In this study, zk-SNARK HH was implemented to CoAP and MQTT protocols. The performance of both protocols was compared. The result of the study indicates that zk-SNARK was successfully implemented in CoAP and MQTT protocols. The result of the independent sample t-test presented a significant difference in COAP and MQTT memory usage where MQTT required larger memory. Regarding time execution, no significant difference was noticed. To conclude, CoAP may serve as an alternative when zk-SNARK is implemented in a device with limited memory as it requires lower memory and has an execution time that is not significantly different from MQTT.

Want a Positive Management System? Try a Token Economy

The purpose of this article is to lay out how physical education teachers can implement a token economy in their lessons. Following an introductory vignette, five steps to guide teachers on how to implement a token economy are described, namely (1) selection and definition of target behaviors, (2) selection of tokens, (3) selection of backup reinforcers, (4) selection of a reinforcement schedule, and (5) the exchange of tokens.

INTEGRATING THE BWM AND TOPSIS ALGORITHM TO EVALUATE THE OPTIMAL TOKEN EXCHANGES PLATFORM IN TAIWAN

This research presents procedures for determining the optimal solution of token exchanges platform for investors in Taiwan via integrating the best-worst method (BWM) and the technique for ordering preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS). Firstly, this research applies the modified Delphi method to develop the perspectives and factors via literature review and experts opinion. Secondly, the BWM is implemented to obtain weights of perspectives and factors on the linear programming concept. Thirdly, the TOPSIS model is used to rank the optimal solution of the token exchange for investors or corporations. Finally, the proposed model BWMTOPSIS-based procedures will list the optimal token exchanges platform on the three token exchange platforms to investors or corporations in Taiwan on the basis of their rankings in the architecture. The proposed combination framework is able to provide academic and commerce support to investors or corporations in implementing the token into their portfolio as a valuable objective guide to determine the optimal token exchange platform.

Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) do not show an aversion to inequity in a token exchange task.

Although individuals in some species refuse foods they normally accept if their partner receives a more preferred one, this is not true across all species. The cooperation hypothesis proposes that this species-level variability evolved because inequity aversion is a mechanism to identify situations in which cooperation is not paying off, and that species regularly observed cooperating should be more likely to be averse to inequity. To rule out other potential explanations of inequity aversion, we need to test the converse as well: species rarely observed cooperating, especially those phylogenetically close to more cooperative species, should be less likely to be inequity averse. To this end, we tested eight zoo-housed Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) on a token exchange task in which subjects received either the same food reward or a less-preferred reward for the same or more effort than their partner, recording both refusals to participate in the exchange and refusals to accept the reward. Supporting the cooperation hypothesis, even with procedural differences across sessions, gorillas were significantly more likely to refuse in all conditions in which they received a low-value food reward after completing an exchange, regardless of what their partner received, suggesting that gorillas were not inequity averse, but instead would not work for a low-value reward. Additionally, gorillas were more likely to refuse later in the session; while the pattern of refusals remained unchanged after accounting for this, this suggests that species should be tested on as many trials as is practical.

SwapCT: Swap Confidential Transactions for Privacy-Preserving Multi-Token Exchanges

Abstract Decentralized token exchanges allow for secure trading of tokens without a trusted third party. However, decentralization is mostly achieved at the expense of transaction privacy. For a fair exchange, transactions must remain private to hide the participants and volumes while maintaining the possibility for noninteractive execution of trades. In this paper we present a swap confidential transaction system (SwapCT) which is related to ring confidential transactions (e.g. used in Monero) but supports multiple token types to trade among and enables secure, partial transactions for noninteractive swaps. We prove that SwapCT is secure in a strict, formal model and present its efficient performance in a prototype implementation with logarithmic signature sizes for large anonymity sets. For our construction we design an aggregatable signature scheme which might be of independent interest. Our SwapCT system thereby enables a secure and private exchange for tokens without a trusted third party.