Development of blockScholar as an educational mobile application on blockchain technology

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, blockchain emerges as a transformative force, reshaping digital transactions and decentralized systems. This revolutionary technology, initially synonymous with cryptocurrency, has transcended its roots, becoming a pivotal element in industries spanning finance, supply chain management, healthcare, and more. However, understanding blockchain's intricacies can be daunting, especially for newcomers. This project addresses the need for an accessible and engaging platform to introduce individuals to blockchain technology. Traditional educational resources like textbooks have lost their appeal in today's digital era, leaving learners seeking interactive and mobile-friendly alternatives. While online educational platforms like Udemy and Coursera offer diverse courses, they often lack the immediacy and interactivity that modern learners crave. In the mobile landscape, a noticeable gap exists in educational apps dedicated to blockchain technology. Existing options tend to focus on cryptocurrency, falling short in delivering immersive learning experiences. This project aims to bridge this gap by developing an educational mobile app centered on blockchain technology. The app's primary objective is to offer an interactive and engaging environment for users to explore blockchain's fundamentals, applications, and advantages in a user-friendly manner. By harnessing the ubiquity and convenience of mobile devices, our project seeks to empower learners to delve into the world of blockchain technology. In doing so, we aspire to foster a more informed and tech-savvy community, equipped to comprehend the far-reaching implications of blockchain on various industries. In summary, this project endeavors to unlock the potential of blockchain technology to revolutionize education by creating a mobile app that facilitates the exploration of this transformative field. Through interactive learning experiences and accessible content, we aim to empower individuals to grasp the significance of blockchain and contribute to a more knowledgeable and technologically adept society

A pragmatic approach to derogate dialysate-induced body composition bias in peritoneal dialysis patients: insight from a single-center study

Objective: Dialysate in peritoneal cavity is expected to affect multifrequency bioimpedance analysis measurement in peritoneal dialysis patients. Nevertheless, the extent of dialysate influence on multifrequency bioimpedance analysis measurement appears to be varied with the weight used in the calculation. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of dialysate on body composition when different weights were used in the multifrequency bioimpedance analysis measurement. Methods: This single-center study was conducted among 30 peritoneal dialysis patients in a tertiary referral hospital. Multifrequency bioimpedance analysis parameters were evaluated under 3 different conditions: (i) actual body weight without dialysate instilled (reference method); (ii) dialysate-included body weight with dialysate instilled (DIBW), and (iii) actual body weight with dialysate instilled (ABW). Differences, reproducibility, and agreements between the reference method with dialysate-included body weight and actual body weight methods were examined using repeated measure analysis of variance, intraclass correlation coefficients, and Bland–Altman analysis, respectively. Results: Pairwise comparisons showed significant differences (P <.05) between reference and DIBW in most multifrequency bioimpedance analysis parameters (10/14) except on intracellular water (P = .286), skeletal muscle mass (P = .518), skeletal muscle index (P = .079), and body cell mass (P = .357). Meanwhile, only extracellular water (P <.001), extracellular/ total body water (P <.001), and bone mineral content (P <.001) were significantly different for ABW when compared to the reference. Compared to DIBW, ABW showed lesser measurement bias, narrower 95 limit of agreement, and better reproducibility in most of the multifrequency bioimpedance analysis parameters with reference method. Conclusion: We concluded that dialysate-induced multifrequency bioimpedance analysis bias can be reasonably corrected using patient’s actual body weight upon body composition assessment

Ulnar nerve reconstruction with a basilic vein tributary graft: a practical and easily replicable technique with favourable outcomes

A young gentleman presented with a closed fracture of the left radius and an open fracture of the left ulna complicated with segmental loss of the ulnar nerve measuring 1.5cm. After thorough debridement and stabilization of the bone injuries, the ulnar nerve gap was bridged with an autologous venous graft harvested off a tributary of the basilic vein that served as a nerve conduit. At 18 months post-surgery, sensori-motor function of the patient’s left ulnar nerve was nearly fully restored, indicative of successful reconstitution of the ulnar nerve using a basilic vein tributary vein graft

Macroprudential policies and CO2 emissions: a comparative analysis of G7 and BRIC countries

This study investigates the impact of macroprudential policies on CO2 emissions in G7 and BRIC countries using country-level panel data from 11 countries, covering the period from 1992 to 2020. The findings indicate that macroprudential policies alleviate CO2 emissions in the sample. Quantile regression results reveal that policies can exacerbate CO2 emissions in countries with high levels of CO2 emissions due to carbon leakage. The positive impact of macroprudential policies on sustainable development can be strengthened by high level of globalisation. Moreover, the influence of macroprudential policies stayed the same based on the basic regression results during the post-global financial crisis (GFC) period, while the impact was positive in the pre-GFC period. Finally, robust tests validated the findings reported in the basic regression model. From this, policymakers should prioritise sustainable economic growth when implementing macroprudential policies and leverage the influence of globalisation to amplify their impact on CO2 emissions. Furthermore, it is crucial to strengthen environmental regulations to prevent carbon leakage that result from industries seeking lenient standards

Segmentation of pulmonary cavity in lung CT scan for tuberculosis disease

The complexity of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) lung cavity lesion features significantly increase the cost of semantic segmentation and labelling. However, the high cost of semantic segmentation has limited the development of TB automatic recognition to some extent. To address this issue, we developed an algorithm that automatically generates a semantic segmentation mask of TB from the TB target detection boundary box. Pulmonologists only need to identify and label the location of TB, and the algorithm can automatically generate the semantic segmentation mask of TB lesions in the labelled area. The algorithm, first, calculates the optimal threshold for separating the lesion from the background region. Then, based on this threshold, the lesion tissue within the bounding box is extracted and forms a mask that can be used for semantic segmentation tasks. Finally, we use the generated TB semantic segmentation mask to train Unet and Vnet models to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm. The experimental results demonstrate that Unet and Vnet achieve mean Dice coefficients of 0.612 and 0.637, respectively, in identifying TB lesion tissue

Optimization and characterization of fish protein Hydrolysate (FPH) from milkfish scales (Chanos chanos Forsskal) using Papain Enzyme

This study determined that optimum fish protein hydrolysed (FPH production results from milkfish scales using crude extract of papain can be achieved by mixing 0.305 units of papain crude extract with 1 g of milkfish scales previously treated with 0.1 M NaOH (1:10 w/v). The incubation process comprised three stages: incubation at room temperature for 3 h, incubation at 75 °C for 1 h, and continued incubation at 90 °C for 5 min, with a resulting FPH yield of 45.70%. FTIR characterization revealed that FPH derived from milkfish scales includes amide A, amide I, amide II, and amide III groups. Additionally, SDS-PAGE analysis indicated that the FPH molecules measure between 10-35 kDa. The results of the study showed that FPH can inhibit the activity of E. coli and S. aureus, forming clear zones measuring 2.438 mm and 1.563 mm, respectively. Furthermore, FPH exhibited antioxidant activity against DPPH with an IC50 value of 81.91 ppm