Blockchain, as the backbone technology of the current popular Bitcoin digital currency, has become a promising decentralized data management framework. Although blockchain has been widely adopted in many applications (e.g., finance, healthcare, and logistics), its application in mobile services is still limited. This is due to the fact that blockchain users need to solve preset proof-of-work puzzles to add new data (i.e., a block) to the blockchain. Solving the proof of work, however, consumes substantial resources in terms of CPU time and energy, which is not suitable for resource-limited mobile devices. To facilitate blockchain applications in future mobile Internet of Things systems, multiple access mobile edge computing appears to be an auspicious solution to solve the proof-of-work puzzles for mobile users. We first introduce a novel concept of edge computing for mobile blockchain. Then we introduce an economic approach for edge computing resource management. Moreover, a prototype of mobile edge computing enabled blockchain systems is presented with experimental results to justify the proposed concept.
Today the cloud plays a central role in storing, processing, and distributing data. Despite contributing to the rapid development of IoT applications, the current IoT cloud-centric architecture has led into a myriad of isolated data silos that hinders the full potential of holistic data-driven analytics within the IoT. In this paper, we present a blockchain-based design for the IoT that brings a distributed access control and data management. We depart from the current trust model that delegates access control of our data to a centralized trusted authority and instead empower the users with data ownership. Our design is tailored for IoT data streams and enables secure data sharing. We enable a secure and resilient access control management, by utilizing the blockchain as an auditable and distributed access control layer to the storage layer. We facilitate the storage of time-series IoT data at the edge of the network via a locality-aware decentralized storage system that is managed with the blockchain technology. Our system is agnostic of the physical storage nodes and supports as well utilization of cloud storage resources as storage nodes.
Alevtina Dubovitskaya, Zhigang Xu, Samuel Ryu
et al.
Electronic medical records (EMRs) are critical, highly sensitive private information in healthcare, and need to be frequently shared among peers. Blockchain provides a shared, immutable and transparent history of all the transactions to build applications with trust, accountability and transparency. This provides a unique opportunity to develop a secure and trustable EMR data management and sharing system using blockchain. In this paper, we present our perspectives on blockchain based healthcare data management, in particular, for EMR data sharing between healthcare providers and for research studies. We propose a framework on managing and sharing EMR data for cancer patient care. In collaboration with Stony Brook University Hospital, we implemented our framework in a prototype that ensures privacy, security, availability, and fine-grained access control over EMR data. The proposed work can significantly reduce the turnaround time for EMR sharing, improve decision making for medical care, and reduce the overall cost.
The blockchain is emerging as one of the most propitious and ingenious technologies of cybersecurity. In its germinal state, the technology has successfully replaced economic transaction systems in various organizations and has the potential to revamp heterogeneous business models in different industries. Although it promises a secure distributed framework to facilitate sharing, exchanging, and the integration of information across all users and third parties, it is important for the planners and decision makers to analyze it in depth for its suitability in their industry and business applications. The blockchain should be deployed only if it is applicable and provides security with better opportunities for obtaining increased revenue and reductions in cost. This article presents an overview of this technology for the realization of security across distributed parties in an impregnable and transparent way.
Blockchain-enabled e-voting (BEV) could reduce voter fraud and increase voter access. Eligible voters cast a ballot anonymously using a computer or smartphone. BEV uses an encrypted key and tamper-proof personal IDs. This article highlights some BEV implementations and the approach’s potential benefits and challenges.
Abstract The internet of things (IoT) enabled a common operating picture (COP) across the various applications of modern day living. The COP is achieved through the advancements seen in wireless sensor network devices that were able to communicate through the network thereby exchanging information and performing various analysis. In IoT, the exchange of information and data authentication is only done through the central server there by leading to the security and privacy concerns. Chances of device spoofing, false authentication, less reliability in data sharing could happen. To address such security and privacy concerns, a central server concept is eliminated and blockchain (BC) technology is introduced as a part of IoT. This paper elaborates the possible security and privacy issues considering the component interaction in IoT and studies how the distributed ledger based blockchain (DL-BC) technology contribute to it. Applications of BC with respect to focused sectors and category were clearly studied here. Various challenges specific to IoT and IoT with BC were also discussed to understand blockchain technology contribution.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has extended the internet connectivity to reach not just computers and humans, but most of our environment things. The IoT has the potential to connect billions of objects simultaneously which has the impact of improving information sharing needs that result in improving our life. Although the IoT benefits are unlimited, there are many challenges facing adopting the IoT in the real world due to its centralized server/client model. For instance, scalability and security issues that arise due to the excessive numbers of IoT objects in the network. The server/client model requires all devices to be connected and authenticated through the server, which creates a single point of failure. Therefore, moving the IoT system into the decentralized path may be the right decision. One of the popular decentralization systems is blockchain. The Blockchain is a powerful technology that decentralizes computation and management processes which can solve many of IoT issues, especially security. This paper provides an overview of the integration of the blockchain with the IoT with highlighting the integration benefits and challenges. The future research directions of blockchain with IoT are also discussed. We conclude that the combination of blockchain and IoT can provide a powerful approach which can significantly pave the way for new business models and distributed applications.
In 2008, the emergence of the blockchain as the foundation of the first-ever decentralized cryptocurrency not only revolutionized the financial industry but proved a boon for peer-to-peer (P2P) information exchange in the most secure, efficient, and transparent manner. The blockchain is a public ledger that works like a log by keeping a record of all transactions in chronological order, secured by an appropriate consensus mechanism and providing an immutable record. Its exceptional characteristics include immutability, irreversibility, decentralization, persistence, and anonymity.
Despite the claim that blockchain will revolutionise business and redefine logistics, existing research so far is limited concerning frameworks that categorise blockchain application potentials and their implications. In particular, academic literature in transport and logistics to date has not sufficiently distinguished between blockchain adoption (‘what to adopt’) and the identification of the right business opportunity (‘where to start’). In response, this paper (1) uses Rogers’ (2003) ‘attributes of innovation framework’ to identify potential blockchain applications and (2) presents a framework explicating four transformation phases to subsequently categorise the identified areas of application according to their effects on organisational structures and processes. Using academic and practitioner literature, we classify possible applications for adoption and provide a framework to identify blockchain opportunities in the logistics industry, thereby helping managers to systematically assess where to start building organisational capabilities in order to successfully adopt and deploy blockchain-based technology.
Objectives This pilot study aimed to provide an overview of the potential for blockchain technology in the healthcare system. The review covers technological topics from storing medical records in blockchains through patient personal data ownership and mobile apps for patient outreach. Methods We performed a preliminary survey to fill the gap that exists between purely technically focused manuscripts about blockchains, on the one hand, and the literature that is mostly concerned with marketing discussions about their expected economic impact on the other hand. Results The findings show that new digital platforms based on blockchains are emerging to enabling fast, simple, and seamless interaction between data providers, including patients themselves. Conclusions We provide a conceptual understanding of the technical foundations of the potential for blockchain technology in healthcare, which is necessary to understand specific blockchain applications, evaluate business cases such as blockchain startups, or follow the discussion about its expected economic impacts.
A key aspect of Federated Learning (FL) is the requirement of a centralized aggregator to maintain and update the global model. However, in many cases orchestrating a centralized aggregator might be infeasible due to numerous operational constraints. In this paper, we introduce BAFFLE, an aggregator free, blockchain driven, FL environment that is inherently decentralized. BAFFLE leverages Smart Contracts (SC) to coordinate the round delineation, model aggregation and update tasks in FL. BAFFLE boosts computational performance by decomposing the global parameter space into distinct chunks followed by a score and bid strategy. In order to characterize the performance of BAFFLE, we conduct experiments on a private Ethereum network and use the centralized and aggregator driven methods as our benchmark. We show that BAFFLE significantly reduces the gas costs for FL on the blockchain as compared to a direct adaptation of the aggregator based method. Our results also show that BAFFLE achieves high scalability and computational efficiency while delivering similar accuracy as the benchmark methods.
Introduction This systematic review comprehensively examines the application of blockchain in health insurance, highlighting the current state of research, inherent challenges, and future trends. Blockchains have demonstrated excellent potential in health insurance, especially in fraud prevention, claims processing, and data security. Moreover, this study also aims to identify several critical challenges that hinder their broader adoption and effectiveness, including data heterogeneity, individual task requirements, scalability and regulatory alignment. Methods System Review Results and Discussion Through comprehensive analysis, this study discusses some actionable solutions and strategies. Conclusively, this review underscores blockchain’s transformative impact on building a secure, efficient, and patient-centric health insurance system.
Racheal Ninsiima, Racheal Ninsiima, Patience Mshenga
et al.
IntroductionTechnological change is a mega trend that drives sustainable development in the agrifood sector globally. The introduction of BanQu, a blockchain-enabled platform, aimed to address challenges like lack of transparency, side-selling, and unfair pricing in Uganda's barley value chain, but its acceptance has been slow. While blockchain adoption has thrived in developed countries and large supply chains, empirical evidence on its uptake among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially Uganda, remains limited. This study investigates determinants of smallholder barley farmers' intentions to accept blockchain technology (BCT) in Uganda.MethodsThe study utilized the second extension of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM2), customized to fit Uganda's context. Quantitative data were gathered from 245 farmers in Bukwo and Kween, the two leading barley-producing districts in eastern Uganda. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).Results and discussionThe study showed that perceived usefulness (PU) significantly influenced behavioral intention (BI) and shaped perceived ease of use (PEU). Subjective norms (SUN) and voluntariness (BV) enhanced PU, while perceived behavioral control (PBC) improved PEU. Notably, BCT relevance (BR) directly influenced BI, bypassing PU. These findings provide fresh insights into rural technology adoption, highlighting PU's influence on PEU and BV's role in shaping PU. The study recommends emphasizing BCT benefits such as reducing transaction costs, leveraging social networks, and addressing resource gaps to boost acceptance. This study advances understanding of BCT adoption among smallholder farmers in emerging economies like Uganda.
Nutrition. Foods and food supply, Food processing and manufacture
Yanez A.H., Pizarro Mabel Barriga, Ponce Leiter Moreira
et al.
This study presents a systematic review of sustainability strategies for electric bus charging infrastructure using the PRISMA framework. 80 peer-reviewed articles published between 2020 and 2024 were analysed to identify key approaches that enhance energy efficiency and infrastructure resilience. The main strategies include: (1) optimizing station locations through the Charging Station Location Problem (CSLP) model to align demand, costs, and spatial constraints; (2) implementing fast-charging systems via nonlinear programming to reduce operational downtime; (3) integrating renewable-powered direct-current micro grids to relieve stress on public grids; and (4) deploying battery exchange models that improve voltage stability and financial performance. Smart grid technologies like Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), combined with artificial intelligence and blockchain, support real-time management, energy transaction security, and fleet optimization. However, challenges persist, such as standardizing technical protocols, expanding infrastructure in resource-limited regions, and minimizing reliance on critical materials like lithium and cobalt. The study emphasizes inclusive policy frameworks and circular economy strategies, especially in battery reuse and recycling. Future research should focus on alternative cathode materials (e.g., sodium, iron), AI-based forecasting models, and adaptive regulations. The findings highlight that a sustainable transition to electric buses requires interdisciplinary solutions linking mobility, energy, and urban equity.
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a key part of the Internet, and it is used for global domain name resolution. However, it has security risks due to its centralized or semi-centralized design and reliance on a few root servers. To improve DNS security and long-term stability, this study proposes the consensus roots system, a blockchain-based distributed domain architecture. The system uses a 1 + N master-subchain structure to solve the problem of trust and data synchronization across blockchains. The master chain acts as a relay and uses Hyperledger Fabric, a consortium blockchain platform, to support semi-centralized cross-chain communication. Subchains are local blockchains that need to connect with the master chain. To ensure safe and reliable transactions, the system uses a staged-proposal atomic swap method on the master chain. Compared to prior approaches, this work introduces a cross-chain architecture that enables more efficient trust synchronization, reducing latency and improving scalability without compromising security.
Ahmed M. Tawfik, Ayman Al-Ahwal, Adly S. Tag Eldien
et al.
Abstract Ensuring privacy and confidentiality in healthcare data management remains a critical challenge. Traditional centralized access control mechanisms are susceptible to security breaches, including unauthorized access, data leakage, and single points of failure, as well as privacy violations such as patient record exposure and improper data sharing. To address these issues, this paper proposes ACHealthChain, a blockchain-based framework leveraging Hyperledger Fabric for decentralized and transparent access control. The framework integrates the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) for decentralized storage and ensures privacy through Hyperledger Fabric channels. ACHealthChain features PolicyChain for fine-grained access control and revocation, structuring patient health data into separate subchains for EHRs and diagnoses with permissioned access. Additionally, LogChain enhances auditing and accountability. A series of experiments evaluate ACHealthChain’s performance and scalability, considering metrics such as throughput, latency, and resource utilization. Results demonstrate that ACHealthChain improves throughput by 19.7% and reduces latency by 87%, outperforming existing frameworks built on the same platform. The scalability analysis further confirms the framework’s capability to handle increasing workloads within an expanding blockchain network. ACHealthChain presents a promising solution for secure and efficient healthcare data sharing with potential real-world applications.