On the Feasibility of Specialized Ability Stealing for Large Language Code Models

Recent progress in large language code models (LLCMs) has led to a dramatic surge in the use of software development. Nevertheless, it is widely known that training a well-performed LLCM requires a plethora of workforce for collecting the data and high quality annotation. Additionally, the training dataset may be proprietary (or partially open source to the public), and the training process is often conducted on a large-scale cluster of GPUs with high costs. Inspired by the recent success of imitation attacks in stealing computer vision and natural language models, this work launches the first imitation attack on LLCMs: by querying a target LLCM with carefully-designed queries and collecting the outputs, the adversary can train an imitation model that manifests close behavior with the target LLCM. We systematically investigate the effectiveness of launching imitation attacks under different query schemes and different LLCM tasks. We also design novel methods to polish the LLCM outputs, resulting in an effective imitation training process. We summarize our findings and provide lessons harvested in this study that can help better depict the attack surface of LLCMs. Our research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on imitation attacks and defenses in deep neural models, particularly in the domain of code related tasks.Comment: 11 page

VRPTEST: Evaluating Visual Referring Prompting in Large Multimodal Models

With recent advancements in Large Multimodal Models (LMMs) across various domains, a novel prompting method called visual referring prompting has emerged, showing significant potential in enhancing human-computer interaction within multimodal systems. This method offers a more natural and flexible approach to human interaction with these systems compared to traditional text descriptions or coordinates. However, the categorization of visual referring prompting remains undefined, and its impact on the performance of LMMs has yet to be formally examined. In this study, we conduct the first comprehensive analysis of LMMs using a variety of visual referring prompting strategies. We introduce a benchmark dataset called VRPTEST, comprising 3 different visual tasks and 2,275 images, spanning diverse combinations of prompt strategies. Using VRPTEST, we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of eight versions of prominent open-source and proprietary foundation models, including two early versions of GPT-4V. We develop an automated assessment framework based on software metamorphic testing techniques to evaluate the accuracy of LMMs without the need for human intervention or manual labeling. We find that the current proprietary models generally outperform the open-source ones, showing an average accuracy improvement of 22.70%; however, there is still potential for improvement. Moreover, our quantitative analysis shows that the choice of prompt strategy significantly affects the accuracy of LMMs, with variations ranging from -17.5% to +7.3%. Further case studies indicate that an appropriate visual referring prompting strategy can improve LMMs' understanding of context and location information, while an unsuitable one might lead to answer rejection. We also provide insights on minimizing the negative impact of visual referring prompting on LMMs.Comment: 13 page

Pore structure characterization of Chang-7 tight sandstone using MICP combined with N2GA techniques and its geological control factors

Understanding the pore networks of unconventional tight reservoirs such as tight sandstones and shales is crucial for extracting oil/gas from such reservoirs. Mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) and N(2) gas adsorption (N(2)GA) are performed to evaluate pore structure of Chang-7 tight sandstone. Thin section observation, scanning electron microscope, grain size analysis, mineral composition analysis, and porosity measurement are applied to investigate geological control factors of pore structure. Grain size is positively correlated with detrital mineral content and grain size standard deviation while negatively related to clay content. Detrital mineral content and grain size are positively correlated with porosity, pore throat radius and withdrawal efficiency and negatively related to capillary pressure and pore-to-throat size ratio; while interstitial material is negatively correlated with above mentioned factors. Well sorted sediments with high debris usually possess strong compaction resistance to preserve original pores. Although many inter-crystalline pores are produced in clay minerals, this type of pores is not the most important contributor to porosity. Besides this, pore shape determined by N(2)GA hysteresis loop is consistent with SEM observation on clay inter-crystalline pores while BJH pore volume is positively related with clay content, suggesting N(2)GA is suitable for describing clay inter-crystalline pores in tight sandstones

Insights into solvent polarity associated geometries and ESIPT behaviours for Prz3HC: a theoretical study

Given the potential significance of 3-hydroxychromone derivatives, our focus in this study is to investigate the solvent-polarity-associated photo-induced behaviours for 3-hydroxy-2-(1-ethyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)-4H-chromen-4-one (Prz3HC). We firstly examine the coexistence of three conformations (i.e. Prz3HC-I, Prz3HC-II and Prz3HC-III) and present a mechanism for their coexistence between Prz3HC-I and Prz3HC-III. Notably, non-polar solvents contain mainly Prz3HC-I while polar solvents contain mainly Prz3HC-III. Analysing infrared vibrational spectra and geometrical variations between S0 and S1 states, we demonstrate a hydrogen bonding strengthening phenomenon that facilitates excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) behaviour for both Prz3HC-I and Prz3HC-III. To qualitatively investigate photo-induced behaviours, by frontier molecular orbitals (MOs), we have discovered that charge redistribution significantly enhances the propensity for ESIPT. By comparing the barriers of potential energy curves (PECs) for twisting dihedral angles and ESIPT paths, we have unequivocally ruled out any mutual transformations in the S1 state. We also propose a solvent-polarity-regulated ESIPT behaviour for Prz3HC-I and Prz3HC-III. Furthermore, through an exploration of transition states (TS), we have further scrutinised the intricate mechanism underlying ESIPT. We sincerely hope this study can elucidate the solvent-polarity-regulated excited-state behaviours of Prz3HC while simultaneously paving the way for future explorations and applications of other 3-hydroxychromone derivatives.</p

Synthesis of Polyionic Liquid by Phenolic Condensation and Its Application in Esterification

A novel polyionic liquid for esterification was synthesized by phenolic condensation. Different characterization techniques were applied, and the result showed that the catalyst had high acidity amount (4.5 mmol/g) and good thermal stability. The decomposition temperature of the polyionic liquid catalyst (PIL-S) was 240 degrees C, which was fitted to the product of ester. Owing to these good properties, the PIL-S exhibited excellent catalytic activity in esterification. The optimized condition was the 6 wt % catalyst amount, and the ratio of acetic acid to n-butanol was 0.8:1 at 95 degrees C for 3 h. In the optimized condition, the yield of ester was 97.1%. The PIL-S also has a good catalytic effect in other esterification systems. Compared with commercial resins (Amberlyst 15) and other catalysts, PIL-S showed better catalytic activity. After eight times use, the yield of ester did not decrease obviously (over 94%). The structure of PIL-S remained stable after eight times use

Data from: Enhancement on the electrochemical properties of commercial coconut shell-based activated carbon by H2O dielectric barrier discharge plasma

Commercial coconut shell-based activated carbon (CSAC) has low specific capacitance and specific capacitance retention owing to its undeveloped pore structure and low proportion of heteroatoms. In this study, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was used to enhance the specific capacitance and rate capability of CSAC. H2O was used as excited medium to introduce oxygen functional groups. The physicochemical properties of CSAC and CSAC modified by H2O plasma (HCSAC) were revealed by automated surface area and pore size analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy (Raman). Electrochemical workstation was applied to investigate the electrochemical properties of CSAC and HCSAC. Obtained results showed that plasma modification improved the specific capacitance of CSAC by 64.8% (current density, 1 A g-1; electrolyte, 6 M KOH solution) within 100 seconds. This result is ascribed to the oxygen functional groups introduced to the surface of CSAC. It can also improve hydrophilicity and wettability of the carbon surface leading to an increase from 76.7% to 84.6% in specific capacitance retention. Furthermore, H2O plasma modification can introduce oxygen functional groups without destroying the initial pore structures of CSAC. In summary, we provide a simple, fast, environment-friendly modification method to enhance the electrochemical properties of CSAC

Pore Size Distribution Characterization by Joint Interpretation of MICP and NMR: A Case Study of Chang 7 Tight Sandstone in the Ordos Basin

Pore size distribution characterization of unconventional tight reservoirs is extremely significant for an optimized extraction of petroleum from such reservoirs. In the present study, mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) are integrated to evaluate the pore size distribution of the Chang 7 tight sandstone reservoir. The results show that the Chang 7 tight sandstones are characterized by high clay mineral content and fine grain size. They feature complex micro-nano-pore network system, mainly composed of regular primary intergranular pores, dissolved pores, inter-crystalline pores, and micro-fractures. Compared to the porosity obtained from MICP, the NMR porosity is closer to the gas-measured porosity (core analysis), and thus can more accurately describe the total pore space of the tight sandstone reservoirs. The pore throat distribution (PTD) from MICP presents a centralized distribution with high amplitude, while the pore size distribution (PSD) derived from NMR shows a unimodal distribution or bimodal distribution with low amplitude. It is notable that the difference between the PSD and the PTD is always related to the pore network composed of large pores connecting with narrow throats. The PSD always coincides very well with the PTD in the very tight non-reservoirs with a much lower porosity and permeability, probably due to the pore geometry that is dominated by the cylindrical pores. However, a significant inconsistency between the PSD and PTD in tight reservoirs of relatively high porosity and low permeability is usually associated with the pore network that is dominated by the sphere-cylindrical pores. Additionally, Euclidean distance between PSD and PTD shows a good positive correlation with pore throat ratio (PTR), further indicating that the greater difference of pore bodies and pore throats, the more obvious differentiation of two distributions. In summary, the MICP and NMR techniques imply the different profiles of pore structure, which has an important implication for deep insight into pore structure and accurate evaluation of petrophysical properties in the tight sandstone reservoir

Accurate Fault Location Method Based on Time-Domain Information Estimation for Medium-Voltage Distribution Network

The sampling rate of the wide-area synchronous phasor measuring device (D-PMU) in the distribution network is insufficient, and the localization sensitivity of the traditional localization method based on the time-domain Bergeron equation in the distribution network is insufficient. In this paper, an accurate location method of the distribution line grounding fault based on the time-domain’ synchronous information calculation is proposed to solve the problem of limited location accuracy caused by a low sampling rate and the insufficient sensitivity of traditional methods. The method preprocesses the measurement data through low-frequency time-domain signal reconstruction and cubic spline interpolation. The fault current’s different location criterion is constructed by using the voltage and current constraints at the fault point. By calculating the fault current difference at a limited number of calculated points, the accurate fault location under a low sampling rate is realized, which is beneficial to the rapid maintenance of faults and the shortening of the power outage time