Development and performance evaluation of a Bengali-adapted mHealth app for early detection of impaired visual acuity.

This paper presents a comprehensive study on the development and performance evaluation of "," a mobile health (mHealth) app designed to facilitate eye screening for impaired visual acuity (VA) in Bangladesh. Recognizing the critical importance of vision and the challenges posed by visual impairments, particularly in low-resource settings, this study explores an innovative solution to enhance eye care accessibility. The app, developed for Android devices, integrates features such as VA testing using adapted Bengali letters, color blindness tests, and eye health education, aiming to make eye care more user-friendly and accessible.

A narrative review of the role of geriatric advanced practice nurses in the care of frail older adults in Singapore.

In Singapore's rapidly ageing population where the demand for tailored healthcare services is increasing, but is confronted with a shortage of geriatric medicine trained physicians, innovative and sustainable ways to provide quality healthcare care for frail older adults need to be explored. Recognising, developing, growing and establishing the role of geriatric Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) in Singapore, not just in clinical practice but in education and research as well, potentially offers one such solution to this problem. This narrative review, therefore, examines the available literature on how geriatric APNs can meet the healthcare needs of frail older adults in various local healthcare settings.

An in-depth investigation of lead-free KGeCl perovskite solar cells employing optoelectronic, thermomechanical, and photovoltaic properties: DFT and SCAPS-1D frameworks.

Potassium germanium chloride (KGeCl) has emerged as a promising contender for use as an absorber material for lead-free perovskite solar cells (PSCs), offering significant potential in this domain. In this study, we conducted a density functional theory (DFT) investigation to analyze and assess the structural, electronic, thermomechanical, and optical characteristics of the cubic KGeCl absorber. The positive phonon dispersion curve confirmed the dynamical stability of KGeCl.

Heavy Metals Accumulation in Vegetables and Its Consequences on Human Health in the Areas Influenced by Industrial Activities.

The degradation of the environment due to numerous industrial practices has emerged as a major issue globally, particularly in a country like Bangladesh. The present study dispenses information about heavy metal (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) contamination in some frequently consumed vegetables, namely, ash pumpkin, potato, bitter gourd, buffalo spinach, snake gourd, and pointed gourd grown in an industrially prone location and their repercussion on consumers' health. Proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique was used as the major analytical tool to detect heavy metal concentrations.

Chinese yuan interest rate swap yields.

This paper models the dynamics of Chinese yuan-denominated long-term interest rate swap yields. It shows that the short-term interest rate exerts a decisive influence on the long-term swap yield after controlling for various macrofinancial variables, such as core inflation, the growth of industrial production, the percent change in the equity price index, and the percentage change in the Chinese yuan exchange rate. The autoregressive distributed lag approach is applied to model the dynamics of the long-term swap yield.

Systems modelling as an approach for eliciting the mechanisms for hip fracture recovery among older adults in a participatory stakeholder engagement setting.

Introduction: Due to an aging population, the rising prevalence and incidence of hip fractures and the associated health and economic burden present a challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. Studies have shown that a complex interplay of physiological, psychological, and social factors often affects the recovery trajectories of older adults with hip fractures, often complicating the recovery process.

Methods: This research aims to actively engage stakeholders (including doctors, physiotherapists, hip fracture patients, and caregivers) using the systems modeling methodology of Group Model Building (GMB) to elicit the factors that promote or inhibit hip fracture recovery, incorporating a feedback perspective to inform system-wide interventions.

An interactive national digital surveillance system to fight against COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

Background: COVID-19 has affected many people globally, including in Bangladesh. Due to a lack of preparedness and resources, Bangladesh has experienced a catastrophic health crisis, and the devastation caused by this deadly virus has not yet been halted. Hence, precise and rapid diagnostics and infection tracing are essential for managing the condition and limiting its spread.

Apremilast Use in Severe Psoriasis: Real-World Data from Central and Eastern Europe.

Introduction: The broad and sustained efficacy of apremilast for psoriasis has been demonstrated in randomized and real-world observational studies. Data from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are lacking. Moreover, apremilast use in this region is limited by country-specific reimbursement criteria.

Challenges in osteoporosis treatment initiation in geriatric patients admitted under the hip-fracture pathway.

Unlabelled: Osteoporosis is often untreated especially in older people. This study found a low prescribing rate of osteoporosis treatment medication of 22.4% in older people admitted under the hip-fracture pathway.

Prediction of Hazardous Effect of Heavy Metals of Point-Source Wastewater on Fish (Anabas cobojius) and Human Health.

Aquatic ecosystems are exceedingly contrived due to industrial dispenses, as a huge amount of toxicants especially heavy metals are released, causing drastic effects on aquatic lives and the human body. This study was performed to assess the quality of point-source industrial wastewater at varying percentage levels and their subsequent hazardous effect on fish (Anabas cobojius) and human health. The perceived value revealed that water quality parameters declined with the increase of wastewater concentration and trace metal evaluation index (TEI) ascertained a high level of water pollution due to Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, and As content for all percentages of wastewater.

Recent Trends in Non-invasive Neural Recording Based Brain-to-Brain Synchrony Analysis on Multidisciplinary Human Interactions for Understanding Brain Dynamics: A Systematic Review.

The study of brain-to-brain synchrony has a burgeoning application in the brain-computer interface (BCI) research, offering valuable insights into the neural underpinnings of interacting human brains using numerous neural recording technologies. The area allows exploring the commonality of brain dynamics by evaluating the neural synchronization among a group of people performing a specified task. The growing number of publications on brain-to-brain synchrony inspired the authors to conduct a systematic review using the PRISMA protocol so that future researchers can get a comprehensive understanding of the paradigms, methodologies, translational algorithms, and challenges in the area of brain-to-brain synchrony research.

BCI-Based Consumers' Choice Prediction From EEG Signals: An Intelligent Neuromarketing Framework.

Neuromarketing relies on Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology to gain insight into how customers react to marketing stimuli. Marketers spend about 750 billion annually on traditional marketing camping. They use traditional marketing research procedures such as Personal Depth Interviews, Surveys, Focused Group Discussions, and so on, which are frequently criticized for failing to extract true consumer preferences.

An intelligent neuromarketing system for predicting consumers' future choice from electroencephalography signals.

Neuromarketing utilizes Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technologies to provide insight into consumers responses on marketing stimuli. In order to achieve insight information, marketers spend about $400 billion annually on marketing, promotion, and advertisement using traditional marketing research tools. In addition, these tools like personal depth interviews, surveys, focus group discussions, etc.

A Probabilistic-Deterministic Approach Towards Human Health Risk Assessment and Source Apportionment of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in Some Contaminated Fish Species.

Contamination of fish species with potential toxic elements (PTEs) has caught the prime attention globally including Bangladesh. The present study enlightened on the accumulation, origin, and associated health implications of Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Hg, Pb, and Cr in ten varieties of fish species collected from the heavily polluted river Buriganga. Levels of PTEs in the studied fish species were found within the legislative value suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) except for Fe, Cu, Zn, and Hg and can be assembled as Zn > Fe > Cu > Mn > Cr > Hg > As > Pb.

MarketBrain: An EEG based intelligent consumer preference prediction system.

The traditional marketing research tools (Personal Depth Interview, Surveys, FGD, etc.) are cost-prohibitive and often criticized for not extracting true consumer preferences. Neuromarketing tools promise to overcome such limitations.

Assessment of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in Alzheimer's disease.

There is great interest in crosstalk between the gastrointestinal and immune systems. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is a bowel disorder prevalent among patients with Parkinson's disease; SIBO treatment has been shown to modulate neurological inflammation, motor and cognitive outcomes there. However, to date, no link between Alzheimer's dementia and SIBO has been established.

CluSem: Accurate clustering-based ensemble method to predict motor imagery tasks from multi-channel EEG data.

Background: The classification of motor imagery electroencephalogram (MI-EEG) is a pivotal task in the biosignal classification process in the brain-computer interface (BCI) applications. Currently, this bio-engineering-based technology is being employed by researchers in various fields to develop cutting-edge applications. The classification of real-time MI-EEG signals is the most challenging task in these applications.

Practice, benefits, and impact of personal protective equipment (PPE) during COVID-19 pandemic: Envisioning the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) through the lens of clean water sanitation, life below water, and life on land in Fiji.

Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) highlights the global health emergency. To limit the rate of COVID-19 transmission to health care workers, adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) are required. Emerging reports indicate that the widespread usage of PPE during the COVID-19 outbreak has exacerbated plastic contamination in the ocean.

Elemental Analysis of Basella alba, Spinacia oleracea, Abelmoschus esculentus (L.), Ipomoea aquatica, Colocasia esculenta, Amaranthus dubius, and Raphanus sativus Vegetables Using the PIXE Technique in a Saline Region of Bangladesh, Rampal Area.

Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) method was used in this present research to identify the elements present in selected vegetable samples to show the possible influence in the metal absorption by the vegetables grown in a saline region of Rampal area of Munshiganj District, Bangladesh. The data acquisition setup is calibrated using a 2.5-MeV proton beam in the current ranges of 5nA to 15nA.

Progress in Brain Computer Interface: Challenges and Opportunities.

Brain computer interfaces (BCI) provide a direct communication link between the brain and a computer or other external devices. They offer an extended degree of freedom either by strengthening or by substituting human peripheral working capacity and have potential applications in various fields such as rehabilitation, affective computing, robotics, gaming, and neuroscience. Significant research efforts on a global scale have delivered common platforms for technology standardization and help tackle highly complex and non-linear brain dynamics and related feature extraction and classification challenges.

Telemonitoring Parkinson's disease using machine learning by combining tremor and voice analysis.

Background: With the growing number of the aged population, the number of Parkinson's disease (PD) affected people is also mounting. Unfortunately, due to insufficient resources and awareness in underdeveloped countries, proper and timely PD detection is highly challenged. Besides, all PD patients' symptoms are neither the same nor they all become pronounced at the same stage of the illness.

Technological advancements and opportunities in Neuromarketing: a systematic review.

Neuromarketing has become an academic and commercial area of interest, as the advancements in neural recording techniques and interpreting algorithms have made it an effective tool for recognizing the unspoken response of consumers to the marketing stimuli. This article presents the very first systematic review of the technological advancements in Neuromarketing field over the last 5 years. For this purpose, authors have selected and reviewed a total of 57 relevant literatures from valid databases which directly contribute to the Neuromarketing field with basic or empirical research findings.

A Prototype of an Electromagnetic Induction Sensor for Non-Destructive Estimation of the Presence of Corrosive Chemicals Ensuing Concrete Corrosion.

The corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete often leads to huge unbudgeted expenses for maintaining, monitoring and renovating an infrastructure. This is mainly due to the presence of salts or chemical chlorides that pose a danger to the concrete structures. The determination of the existence of these corrosive salts is vital for defining the service life of concrete.

Treatment of dementia and mild cognitive impairment with or without cerebrovascular disease: Expert consensus on the use of Ginkgo biloba extract, EGb 761.

Background: The Ginkgo biloba special extract, EGb 761 has been widely used in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: To guide clinical practice in the Asian region, the Asian Clinical Expert Group on Neurocognitive Disorders compiled evidence-based consensus recommendations regarding the use of EGb 761 in neurocognitive disorders with/without cerebrovascular disease.

Results: Key randomized trials and robust meta-analyses have demonstrated significant improvement in cognitive function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, activities of daily living (ADL) and quality of life with EGb 761 versus placebo in patients with mild-to-moderate dementia.

Project Octo-Pills-Engaging community pharmacists in the care of patients from a tertiary hospital: A pilot study.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot model engaging community pharmacists in the collaborative care of patients from a tertiary hospital, in terms of identification and resolution of drug-related problems (DRPs), and patients' acceptance and satisfaction with the program.

Methods: A prospective case series was conducted. Eligible patients were recruited from the tertiary hospital and referred to their preferred community pharmacy for medication reconciliation, review, and counseling.