Abstract The security core of blockchain technology relies on digital signature schemes. However, existing schemes face numerous challenges when applied on a large scale, such as complex key management, reliance on certificate infrastructure, potential key escrow risks, and lack of resistance to quantum computing capabilities. To address these issues, this paper proposes a novel enhanced certificateless identity-based digital signature scheme. This scheme ingeniously integrates certificateless cryptosystem and lattice cryptography, aiming to simultaneously achieve identity-friendly public key management, effectively mitigate the key escrow problem, and lay theoretical foundation for post-quantum security. This paper first presents the formal definition and detailed construction of the scheme. Then, under the random oracle model, the security of its existence being unforgeable is reduced to the computational difficulty of the short integer solution problem on the lattice. The performance evaluation of the system shows that, compared with the traditional scheme based on bilinear pairing, this scheme significantly improves security while maintaining reasonable computational overhead. Experimental results show that at the 128-bit security level, the signing time is 4.8 ms and the verification time is 2.1 ms. Finally, this paper elaborates in detail on the application model of this scheme in secure blockchain transactions, demonstrates how it simplifies the transaction process by using human-readable identity identifiers, and through its anti-quantum and decentralized trust characteristics, provides a powerful cryptographic primitive for building the next generation of secure, efficient and user-friendly blockchain systems.

Abstract Durian (Durio zibethinus L.) is one of the most important seasonal crops in Malaysia which has high economic value due to high demand. The shelf-life of durian fruit is very short about 2-3 days after naturally dropped from the tree stored at ambient temperature. This affects the profitability of durian sellers. Cold storage could prolong the shelf-life of fruits. However, it requires high investment and also can reduce the quality of the fruits by altering the original taste as well as inducing cold or chilling injury to the fruit. Therefore, it is important to develop a new postharvest technique with lower cost and easier to apply which can prolong the shelf-life of durian fruit at ambient storage. 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and hexanal vapors treatments were reported to be able to improve the shelf-life in many tropical fruits. The effectiveness of these treatments on D24 durian was unclear. The effect of these treatments on metabolic profile of the edible flesh is unknown. The objectives of this study are to investigate the effectiveness of 1-MCP and hexanal treatments on D24 durian at ambient temperature and to determine the metabolic changes of the flesh due to the treatments. In this study, the freshly dropped fruit was treated with 0.048% 1-MCP and 100 ppm hexanal vapors for 16 hours and stored at ambient condition. The physical appearance was observed from day 0 to 5. The metabolites extracted from the flesh were subjected to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. The results show that the treatments can prolong the shelf life of the fruit up to 5 days by delaying the husk dehiscence. The NMR analysis did not show significant metabolic changes in the flesh. In conclusion, the treatments could inhibit the metabolic changes in the husk but not significantly affect the flesh metabolic activity.

Abstract This study investigates the enhancement of breakdown voltage (BDV) in palm oil (PO) insulation by varying concentrations of rice husk (RH), aiming to address the mechanisms responsible for its performance optimization. Dielectric (real permittivity and loss tangent) and physicochemical tests were conducted. At low RH concentrations (up to 0.20 g/L), well-dispersed RH particles effectively reduce dielectric loss tangent to a minimum of 0.0083 and moderately decrease real permittivity due to optimal charge trapping and improvement of homogenized electric fields. Beyond 0.50 g/L, particle agglomeration becomes dominant, leading to a sharp increase in both real permittivity and loss tangent, degrading BDV performance due to interfacial polarization and increased conduction paths. The inverted U-shaped viscosity trend shows a transition from stable RH dispersion to agglomeration. While moisture content was also analyzed, moisture scavenging was not identified as a dominant mechanism. UV-Vis spectroscopy confirms the presence and varying concentrations of RH particles. This research provides mechanistic insights into the interplay between filler concentration, dispersion quality, and electrical properties, which highlights the importance of dispersion control for optimizing natural ester-based insulating fluids. This study is unique in demonstrating how the U-shaped trends of real permittivity and loss tangent mirror the inverted U-shaped BDV curve, suggesting a common mechanistic foundation for optimizing natural ester-based insulating fluids.

Abstract Many higher education institutions have adopted Arduino-based platforms for Embedded Systems (ES) education due to their rapid prototyping capabilities. However, it remains unclear whether this adoption is driven primarily by pedagogical ease or perceived alignment with engineering practice. This study investigates student acceptance of Arduino during a transition from PIC microcontrollers by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with Perceived Industry Relevance (PIR). A total of 29 diploma-level engineering students with prior PIC experience participated in a four-hour workshop using the Wokwi simulation environment. Data were analysed using non-parametric methods, and 12 cases were excluded due to Insufficient Effort Responding (IER), resulting in an analytical sample of n = 17. Spearman correlation analysis indicates that Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) shows the strongest association with Attitude Toward Use (AT). Perceived Usefulness (PU) demonstrates significant positive associations with PEOU, PIR, AT, and Behavioral Intention (BI), while PIR does not show significant associations with AT or BI. These findings suggest that, within this sample, student acceptance of Arduino is more closely associated with PEOU and PU than with PIR. This pilot study contributes to ongoing research on technology acceptance in ES education during transitions from low-level to higher-level development environments. The findings highlight the potential importance of usability factors in shaping student acceptance, while also indicating that PIR may play a more limited role in AT and BI formation at early stages of exposure.