一等獎

Due to widespread water shortages, there is an increasing need for innovative water conservation strategies, such as reusing greywater from laundry. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes greywater as suitable for plant irrigation, but commercial laundry detergents contain synthetic chemicals that can harm both the environment and plant health. Soap nuts, derived from the Sapindus mukorossi tree, offer a natural alternative. Their pericarp is rich in triterpenoid saponins, amphiphilic compounds, composed of hydrophilic sugar group and hydrophobic triterpenoid sapogenins. These saponins mimic the chemical structure of surfactants in detergents, allowing soap nuts to act as natural foaming and surface-active agents in water. As a result, soap nuts have long been used as a sustainable option for shampoo and laundry detergent in many Asian countries (Sochacki & Vogt, 2022). Greywater, an often overlooked resource, is generated from household activities like laundry, showers, and basins. Unlike blackwater, it contains lower levels of pathogens and bacteria. However, due to a lack of awareness, greywater is frequently mixed with blackwater and directed to the same sewage treatment systems (Greywater Systems: From Recycling to Filtration, n.d.). Greywater accounts for 50-80% of a household’s daily wastewater (Wong, 2011). Repurposing greywater offers a promising and sustainable solution to address water conservation challenges.

Problem • Rice is the primary cereal crop consumed by nearly half the population worldwide • By 2050, there will be a 50% increase in demand for rice • The world’s poor populations depend more on rice, both for income and consumption, than any other food. Rice is the single-largest source of employment and income for rural people • Worldwide, 51–82% of agricultural crop yield is lost annually due to abiotic stress due to climate change • Climate change causes extreme temperatures, erratic rainfall, dangerous droughts, and increased salinity from rising sea levels Solution • To adapt to abiotic stress, rice has intricate signaling pathways, particularly those mediated by the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA), that cause an increase in stress tolerance • Clade A genes of the Protein Phosphatase 2C (PP2C) gene family are known to be negative regulators of the ABA signaling pathway. • “Deleting” these genes activates the ABA pathway and increases stress tolerance in rice without inducing stress CRISPR gene editing technology is the ideal solution Research Goal • While the role of PP2C genes in stress response is recognized, there is a gap in understanding the specific genes within this family that contribute significantly to stress signaling. Furthermore, there is a need for a detailed investigation into the effects of targeted CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) genome editing on rice stress response pathways.

Formaldehyde is an air-borne, carcinogenic indoor pollutant. It may cause adverse effects on human health such as irritation of eyes and respiratory system. Shells of hermetia illucens, Black Soldier Flies (BSF) are leftovers when the insects mature from pupae to adults. BSF shells are rich in chitin which can be converted into chitosan by demineralisation and deacetylation. Chitosan and its ammonium salt (chitogel) can remove formaldehyde via condensation of water. In this investigation, the efficiency of removal of formaldehyde by different substrates were compared including shells of BSF before and after demineralization, deacetylation and action of vinegar; and common commercial products and Anti-Forma Chitogels made from shells of BSF and some crustaceans. Anti-Forma Chitogel of BSF was found to be effective in removing (91.2%) formaldehyde (1:20 by mass) among shells of BSF with different treatments and its efficiency was better than all commercial products tested. Concentration of formaldehyde in the container with deacetylated Anti-Forma Chitogel is 0.54 mg/m3. It removed 74.8% of formaldehyde compared to the control (2.14 mg/m3). Concentration of formaldehyde in the container with Anti-Forma Chitogel without deacetylation is 0.76 mg/m3 . It removed 64.5% of formaldehyde compared to the control (2.14 mg/m3). The Anti-forma Chitogel of BSF was found to be eco-friendly with high formaldehyde removal efficiency when placed in a drawer (removal of 54.8% of in 24 hours), the chamber of a newly renovated room (removal of 84.9% in 30 minutes reducing the conc. of formaldehyde from 0.53 mg/m3 to 0.08 mg/m3; cf. the safety limit of formaldehyde <0.125mg/m3) and drawers of a new wardrobe (removal of 83.7% at 20.2oC in 1 day reducing the conc. of formaldehyde from 0.49 mg/m3 to 0.08 mg/m3 & kept the conc. of drawers below 0.125mg/m3 most of the time over a month when temperature was below 21oC). Conc. of formaldehyde in air-tight boxes (5g of construction adhesive in 9.3 dm3) with air purifiers with and without Anti-forma Chitogel as filter before and after 3 hours was reduced by 44.5% (from 6.25mg/m3 to 3.47mg/m3 ) and 27.7% respectively showing that Anti-forma Chitogel as filter in air purifier outperformed that without by 160%. Besides, anti-forma Chitogel is antibacterial, so it would also kill bacteria when used in air purifiers. [1] proving that Anti-forma Chitogel is effective in removal of formaldehyde on the spot and can be applied to households. It can also help achieve Target 3.9 and 12.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

本研究從濕地篩選出可能為新種的耐鹽菌Oceanobacillus sp.，暫命名為OC2，其在無植物相伴狀態下不會降低土壤含鹽量，但卻在與植物共存後誘發特殊機轉，促使土壤含鹽量降低約，並提升植物耐鹽能力，顯示 OC2與植物存在特殊交互作用。深入研究發現，OC2能產生IAA，並吸引植物根部向其生長以利其進入根部，並在鹽逆境下分泌代謝物以刺激植物合成脯胺酸 (增加達98.5%)提升根部滲透壓、增加葉片類胡蘿蔔素及類黃酮含量以提升植物抗氧化力。植物方面，鹽逆境下植物分泌的化學物質會觸發OC2產生更多的IAA(約17%)，藉以刺激植物根系發展以利水分吸收，而OC2的存在會促進根部澱粉酶活性上升達88%，以分解澱粉產生可溶性醣類供OC2使用，推測兩者存在共生關係。本研究展示新種耐鹽菌與植物的交互作用，期待透過此菌改善鹽化農地並能提升作物產量。

本研究設計與合成一系列的電子供體分子，以研究分子單體的化學結構對於所形成的激發複合體光物理性質的影響。 五個所設計的供體分子已被成功的合成並確定均具有分子內電子轉移的性質 其躍遷偶級距變化分布範圍在17.6-28.6D之間。 將此五個供體分子分別與兩種電子受體分子在溶液聚集在一起，利用在長波長處所新生的螢光發光，推測激發複合體的形成。研究的成果並顯示，具有類似三角形結構的供體分子將更容易形成激發複合體，而具有棒狀結構的分子則較不易形成之。此成果有效的提供有關於單體分子結構的設計對於所需激發複合體光物理性質的影響，形成可快速地提供各式不同發光波長的材料，將可作為在發光二極體發光層材料、螢光感測器、生物成像等領域需求時的分子設計藍圖與指引。

We invented the Midori which means green Bioreactor (MBR), beads of euglena and other microalgae fixed in calcium alginate that absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2). We examined the effect of 19 different solutions and two different organisms on MBR cultivation. Surprisingly, when the MBR was supplied with carbon dioxide or cultured with yeast, they became drastically darker green. Chromatography revealed this green color to be that of microalgae such as green algae or Euglena because chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b were detected. Under sunlight, MBR absorbed CO2 and the absorption rate was 1.5 L CO2/day/1L of MBR. Furthermore, when we put MBR in the water tank, they increased the amount of dissolved oxygen without polluting the environment. These results indicate that MBR can absorb CO2 by photosynthesizing without leaking out the inside microalgae.

量子電腦是近年來新發展的科技，利用量子糾纏態的量子位元進行計算。本文希望可以利用量子電腦計算諧振子隨時間演化算符。而這也是我第一次在量子電腦上模擬諧振子隨時間演化系統。首先我找出可以用於諧振子算符的合適算符矩陣大小、空間步長(Δ𝑥)、質量(m)、角頻率(ω)並且在位置基底下表現時間演化算符矩陣。設計並簡化量子電路後，使用IBM公司提供的量子電腦模擬並計算數值。我透過矩陣修正減少修正輸出錯誤產生的誤差，達到較精確的結果。模擬出在一個時間單位內的數值與理論值大致相符，未來希望可以利用此量子電路尋找矩陣的特徵值或是模擬更大型的系統。

生物時鐘可對生物體的行為與生理造成影響，在探討晝夜節律特徵的差異時，過去研究常侷限於北美大陸的品系，缺少赤道及南半球品系的晝夜節律特徵探討。有鑒於黑腹果蠅在全球各大洲的廣泛分佈，因此我們以黑腹果蠅（近赤道與中高緯度品系）為材料，研究果蠅是否因緯度而有相異的晝夜節律特徵？結果顯示不同緯度的果蠅品系展現出相異的晝夜節律特徵。赤報品系在全暗狀態下仍維持原本光暗12小時的穩定節律，而南北半球的中高緯度品系則具有相似節律特徵，即在全暗狀態下的節律不對齊原本正常光源的穩定節律，其他如活動量、週期、及節律強度等皆有著品系間的差異。更進一步比對實驗中各個品系基因序列，研究發現per和tim在調控區段有許多SNP變異，顯示其與晝夜節律特徵的關係，有助於後續尋找更多造成晝夜節律特徵差異的可能遺傳變異並探討。

發展安全且可靠的身份辨識技術是當今的重要議題，而指靜脈因其高安全性及難以偽造特性成為我們的主題。本研究提出一種基於Transformer模型架構的指靜脈辨識模型稱為GLA-FD，旨在解決現有技術對指靜脈影像特徵表示與提取的局限性。透過開發特徵解耦與重建模組(FDRM)，模型能夠有效區分指靜脈的背景資訊與紋理特徵，並將其重新組合以提升辨識準確度。此外，本研究開發的全域-局部注意力模組(GLAM)能同時捕捉影像的全域與局部特徵，進一步強化模型對指靜脈特徵的理解。GLA-FD在FV-USM、PLUSVein-FV3、MMCBNU-6000、UTFVP、NUPT-FPV 資料集中的正確辨識率(CIR)達到100%、98.47%、99.75%、96.11%、99.82%，展現卓越的穩定性與泛化能力。此外，本模型在處理不同年齡層、國籍與影像模糊度的資料下，仍能保持高辨識準確度，顯示其在需要高安全性辨識的應用場景中具備廣泛的實用性。

量子電腦是近年來新發展的科技，利用量子糾纏態的量子位元進行計算。本文希望可以利用量子電腦計算諧振子隨時間演化算符。而這也是我第一次在量子電腦上模擬諧振子隨時間演化系統。首先我找出可以用於諧振子算符的合適算符矩陣大小、空間步長(Δ𝑥)、質量(m)、角頻率(ω)並且在位置基底下表現時間演化算符矩陣。設計並簡化量子電路後，使用IBM公司提供的量子電腦模擬並計算數值。我透過矩陣修正減少修正輸出錯誤產生的誤差，達到較精確的結果。模擬出在一個時間單位內的數值與理論值大致相符，未來希望可以利用此量子電路尋找矩陣的特徵值或是模擬更大型的系統。