2024年

The idea of dramatically reducing the cost of the production dry cell, reducing its carbon footprint, and being able to be an alternative to current materials such as biochars really propels the interest of performing this project research. Biochars from durian husk, bamboo and coconut shell are promising alternative chemical materials of the anodes in the dry cell due to their eco-friendly traits and availability in the trophic areas which covers about 40% of the land on earth. Using the technique of pyrolysis, the latest and the best technique to produce a high carbon content biochars, the dry cell uses the potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte and manganese dioxide as the catalysts that make the biochar mixture to produce maximum voltage of 65% from the dry cell sold in the current market. The voltage analysis of the biochar dry cell was done in our school science laboratory and then, characterization tests analysis was carried out on the products from the specific biomass namely the SEM/EDX analysis, at the Material Characterization Laboratory (MCL), Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University Putra 馬來西亞. Based on our research, the biochar obtained from the raw materials (Durian Husk, Bamboo and Coconut Shell) had shown different characteristics. The bamboo biochar had shown the most amount of carbon content which is 86.64% more than the durian husk biochar (72.77%) and coconut shell biochar (65.57%). On the other hand, based on the micrograph, we observed that the durian husk biochar had shown much created pores rather than bamboo biochar and coconut shell biochar. In our study, we found out that the average voltage produced by the three different biochars have shown that Durian Husk char dry cell produced the highest voltage which is 0.97V, more than the bamboo char (0.62V) and coconut shell char (0.73V). In conclusion, the biochar dry cell produced are much cheaper in term of its production as our biochar dry cell uses biomass that are freely available and comes from renewable source of energy, the best ingredient for Green Technology.

Calcineurin (CN) activation is a main cause of cancerous tumor formation, one of the leading causes of death globally. Cyclosporine-A (CsA) is a commercially available oral drug that inhibits CN activation; however, low bioavailability limits its use. Nine patented CsA conjugates are potential alternatives to CsA as they have improved cytotoxicities and bioavailabilities but unknown CN-binding affinity. This study aimed to identify the CNinhibition strength and bioavailability of CsA conjugates in silico drug-likeness evaluation via modified Lipinski’s Rule of Five was done on CsA, voclosporin, and CsA conjugates to test bioavailability. The binding affinities of bioavailable compounds were computed via docking to CN in five trials, and the binding affinities were compared. The Water-soluble, RVal, IIA, Alpha, and MeBmt 2 conjugates showed improved bioavailabilities compared to CsA as they passed the drug-likeness screening. After five trials of computational docking to CN, the IIA and RVal conjugates showed improved binding affinities at -15.8 kcal/mol and -15.2 kcal/mol, respectively, compared to CsA at -14.3 kcal/mol. Notably, IIA also showed an improved binding affinity compared to voclosporin at -15.5 kcal/mol. These results suggest that CsA conjugates may be better oral chemotherapeutic drugs than CsA.

Within the scope of sustainable cities and responsible consumption, which are among the goals of sustainable development, it is aimed to contribute to life safety, defense industry, protection from disasters and economy with the new generation environmental building technologies and materials to be developed in the field of construction. It is a critical issue to protect reinforced concrete structures, piers, bridge piers, overpasses against impacts, and to reduce the damages and economic losses in disaster situations. Reinforced concrete scaffolding is the load-bearing component of the structure and its impact resistance is crucial to the overall safety of the concrete structure. Therefore, there is a need to develop technologies that can protect structures against explosion and impact loads. Within the scope of the project, environmentally friendly and low-cost concrete materials with industrial waste glass, aluminum, plastic material additives, which can be used in columns, which are the most important part in the strength of reinforced concrete structures to prevent explosion and impact damage, were produced and their strengths were analyzed. The use and design of these materials in the strength of concrete creates the originality of the project. When the results obtained in the project were examined, it was observed that the steel fiber concretes with the addition of waste glass, aluminum ring, disc, beverage can and plastic bottle were resistant to high pressure when compared with the control groups without additives, and the change in surface height after the impact test, visual analysis and load-time graphics showed this. It is seen that the additives have a cushioning effect against the impact, absorbing the energy against the force by 87.6% and increasing the strength significantly. In this project, where it is aimed to increase the strength of concrete structures by using the impact energy absorption feature of waste glass, plastic and aluminum, products with high added value are developed, contributing to the literature and the construction sector. With the large-scale use of the project, the costs spent on the disposal of waste materials will be reduced, the upcycling based on re-using the waste products will be contributed, and the loss of life and property due to impacts and explosions will be prevented.

Currently, Large-scale solar PV systems installations are taking place in the desert environment and space to harness abundant solar energy effectively. Dust accumulation on the surface of photovoltaic panels (PV) is the most stignant problem for photovoltaic panels, as dust deposition reduces PV problem energy generation efficiency significantly. Thus, the removal of dust from the PV panels has become very important to increase the rate of energy efficiency by the PV panels. The dust particles could be reduced using traditional dust cleaning techniques. But, in the harsh and hostile desert environment, these approaches which requires a lot of water, complicated mechanical instruments, enormous logistics, and personnel. Electrodynamic dust shielding (EDS) system has been developed at our laboratory to remove dust particles from the surface of the PV panels. The EDS system has been successfully tested for dust mitigation. The unique features of our EDS System is that it is cost effective, easy to install and no manpower required as it is an unmanned system. The design and construction of a single-phase electrodynamic dust repulsion device built locally in KSA is demonstrated in this study. This work showed that the optimized electrode design and electrical parameters, such as AC source voltage and frequency, maximized the EDS system's dust mitigation effectiveness. A perfect balance was achieved between the geometrical and electrical parameters of the EDS system, resulting in a dust removal efficiency of up to 92±1 ℅.

Titanium dioxide TiO2 is a semiconductor, that has great chemical and physical properties, such as remarkable resistance against corrosion, chemical stability, and it’s a non-toxic material. Due to these properties, it rises as an excellent candidate for a wide range of different applications, such as being a popular material for solar cells, paints, cosmetics, energy storge devices, and water splitting. For photoelectrochemical water splitting to generate Hydrogen, a large surface area is essential, to be maximized to enhance photocatalytic redox processes and hence improve overall efficiency. Therefore, different methods have been utilized to fabricate TiO2 nanotubular structure. However, they either encounter a difficult process because of a long synthesis time or the need of expensive precursors. In our work, we demonstrated a study of enhancing 1 D TiO2 film to perform as a bifunctional catalyst (works as cathode and anode). As it is known that TiO2 is kinetically hampered as cathode for producing hydrogen from water, this is due to sluggish electron transfer at the interface between TiO2 and water and the conduction band of the TiO2, which is more negative than H+/H2. To tackle this problem, TiO2 film should be modified. In this work, we modified the TiO2 as bifunctional by investigating different parameters in detail, like the anodic oxidation solution content, anodic oxidation time, and the role of the polyethylene glycol chain. Electrochemical characterization and SEM, and XPS were utilized to prevent the nanotubes structure and to confirm the chemical bonding as well as investigating the physical properties such as resistance and electron kinetic mobility.

為研究花青素在不同因素影響下的抗 UV 能力，選用矮仙丹作為研究對象。以矮仙丹花瓣的花青素，研究不同濃度及 pH 值的環境下，花青素的抗 UV 能力，以及在照射 UV 後， 矮仙丹 SOD、POD 之濃度變化。由實驗得知，紅花的花青素含量大於粉花。對比了紅花及粉花的 UV-Vis 光譜圖後發現：在相同濃度下，紅花的吸光度大於粉花且兩者的最大吸收高峰皆位於約 510nm~520nm 處，由此推知矮仙丹的花瓣含有大量的花青素。而花青素在不同pH 值環境下，會因為結構改變而呈現不同的顏色。我們測試在不同 pH 值緩衝液的花青素是否具有不同的抗 UV 能力，發現鹼性高於酸性。植物在代謝過程中容易產生具有毒害作用的活性氧，由於活性氧會對細胞造成傷害，於是演化出抗氧化酶，如 SOD、POD 等，用以清除活性氧，降低對植物的傷害。

Global warming is a phenomenon in which the Earth's overall temperature rises as a result of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Among the major greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming [1,2]. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), as well as changes in land use and vegetation [3]. Carbon dioxide and other gases, such as methane and nitrogen monoxide absorb infrared radiation and redirect it back to Earth, warming the planet [4]. This rise in temperature can impact ecosystems, climate, water resources, agriculture, public health, and societies in general [5]. To combat global warming and reduce carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, many countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, are working to achieve a vision to reduce carbon emissions by reducing their carbon emissions by 278 million tons per year by 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement, for climate. The Kingdom is committed to generating 50% of its electrical energy from renewable sources by 2030. In addition to the shift in the local energy mix, the Saudi Green Initiative is implementing a number of ambitious programs and projects to reduce emissions. These programs include investing in new energy sources, promoting energy efficiency, and expanding carbon capture and storage programs [6]. Through these initiatives, the Kingdom will be able to achieve its climate goals and establish a sustainable future (Figure 1). In addition, the Paris Climate Change Agreement includes 196 countries and the European Union, covering most of the world. This agreement aims to achieve carbon neutrality by taking measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions [7].

氦閃是類太陽恆星演化過程的關鍵事件之一，過去已有人建立了不同初始質量、不同金屬豐度的恆星演化模型，但礙於當時的科技水平，無法直接計算氦閃的過程，只能在水平分支時透過導入模型繼續運算。如今因為模擬程式的進步，已能補足以往之缺漏，以新的視角來檢視恆星演化的過程。 本研究使用功能強大的 MESA進行恆星演化的模擬，再以 Python將模擬結果繪製成可視化圖表，來探討金屬豐度對類太陽恆星氦閃過程及恆星演化的影響。經分析得知恆星的金屬豐度與能夠發生氦閃的初始質量上下限呈正相關。而在會發生氦閃的恆星中，金屬豐度與其氦閃前的表面光度為正相關。隨後因為金屬豐度氦閃釋放的功率峰值呈負相關，導致其與氦核溫度與密度的變化也呈負相關，所以金屬豐度與恆星氦閃後的光度呈負相關；並因為金屬豐度與氫包層質量呈負相關，所以其與恆星在氦閃前及氦閃後的溫度也呈負相關。

The purpose of the project was to find out whether humans can tell the difference between human-generated text and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots-generated text and to identify how Al-generated text differs from human-generated text. The dependent variable was the results given by the participants (whether the paragraphs were Al-generated texts or human-generated text). The Independent variable was the participants in the experiment and the controlled variable was the type of paragraphs (both the Al-generated texts and human-generated texts) and time used to test each participant. The hypothesis for this experiment was that the participants were not going to be able to differentiate between AI-generated text and human-generated text. In this descriptive and mixed-method study, participants were presented with questionnaires. Each participant needed to state whether they thought each paragraph was human-generated or AI-generated. At the end of the questionnaire, the participants were asked to briefly explain what assisted them in differentiating between the two. They were given 60 seconds to decide. A stopwatch was used to time them. A sample of 456 participants took part in this project. They were not told how many AI-generated passages and human-generated passages there were in the selection. They only knew the total number of passages. Over 99% of the participants could not correctly differentiate between AI-generated text and human-generated text in all passages. Only four participants were able to get 100% of the questions correct. All four learners attend schools located in urban areas. After I did my analysis, I discovered that my hypothesis was incorrect. Four of the participants were able to get 100% of the questions correct this indicates that not all the participants were not able to tell the difference between Al-generated text and human-generated text. This rejects my hypothesis. However, the chances of humans differentiating between the two are very low. All four learners attend schools located in urban areas; this indicates that it is easier for learners attending urban area schools to recognise AI-generated texts than learners attending schools located in rural areas.

此研究是以實驗方式，驗證理論模擬中指出水漂在不同入水模式下，入水攻角為 20 度時皆可產生最佳的彈跳效果。因此我以壓克力板作為模擬水漂的模型，設計了以下四組操作變因，分別是入水攻角、水的流速、水漂邊界形狀以及接觸面的粗糙程度，接著透過Tracker 分析壓克力板的質心彈跳高度及運動軌跡，再利用 Excel 分析數據，找出其中的運動相關性。最後透過座標轉換，可以利用此實驗來分析打水漂的運動行為，成功發現入水攻角在 20 度時的確有最佳的彈跳效果，並以此實驗結果來優化打水漂的運動行為。