Search Results (86)

Aims: To systematically review and synthesize qualitative research exploring the Breast Cancer Survivors (BCSs)’ perception of health promotion interventions and informing strategies to mitigate recurrence risk within five years post-treatment and improve clinical outcomes. Specifically, this study addresses the question: “How do women diagnosed with breast cancer perceive health promotion interventions for recurrence prevention?” Design: A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis were performed. Data Sources: A systematic search of scientific databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Scopus) was undertaken in November 2024. The reference list was cross-referenced and hand-searched to identify additional articles. Review Methods: Studies were included if they met the following criteria: they were primary qualitative studies focusing on BCSs within five years post-treatment, involving participants who had completed surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy in the same time frame, as this period is critical for monitoring recurrence and implementing health promotion interventions. Only studies published in peer-reviewed journals and written in Italian, English, French, or Spanish were considered, provided that an abstract and the full text were available. Moreover, eligible studies had to be conducted in high-income or middle-income countries. Studies were excluded if they focused exclusively on advanced or metastatic breast cancer, if they involved mixed cancer populations without reporting separate data for BCSs, or if they were non-qualitative studies or gray literature. The review study protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42024626033). Results: The literature search identified 490 records, 13 articles from databases, and 3 articles identified via other methods (web and citation searching) that met inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis approach allowed the emerging five themes: (I) Challenges, (II) Self-motivation and empowerment, (III) The relationships as a facilitator, (IV) Barriers to change, and (V) Proactive support strategies. Conclusions: Addressing internal and external factors that influence health behaviors is essential to improve adherence, reduce recurrence risk, and enhance quality of life. Tailored interventions, social support, and healthcare engagement are crucial in this effort. Impact: Our meta-synthesis highlighted significant challenges as well as valuable resources for health promotion among BCSs, suggesting practical and tailored approaches to improving the adoption of healthy behaviors, supported by relationships and targeted support strategies. Full article

Psychedelic plants and fungi have been traditionally used in many cultures as part of ritual ceremonies and ancient medicinal treatments. In some regions, these psychoactive plants have already entered mainstream discourse through popular literature and art. Today, numerous academic and medical institutions are establishing dedicated departments to examine the benefits and risks of psychedelic-assisted treatments. Entheogens in healing practices and herbal medicine are part of Slavic cultural heritage. However, due to the predominantly oral transmission of this knowledge, there is a significant lack of written sources and a profound gap in documentation regarding entheogen use on the Balkan Peninsula, where many psychoactive plants and mushrooms grow in their natural habitat. Our work aims to bridge indigenous knowledge systems with contemporary therapeutic discourse, while advocating for sustainable, inclusive, and culturally respectful research practices. This review manuscript presents information on Slavic ancient entheogens, and calls for further multidisciplinary, integrative approaches in researching psychoactive plants and mushrooms of the Balkans. Our paper includes the ethnobotanical uses of native Balkan entheogens, outlines the pharmacological mechanisms of their main active compounds, and discusses their impacts on social behavior, mental health, and overall well-being. We also examine their therapeutic potential and risks, contributing to the contemporary understanding of psychoactive and psychedelic use in mental health treatment and beyond, as tools for life enhancement to improve quality of life and well-being. Full article

Background/Objectives:Tinnitus, the perception of sound without an external source, is a prevalent and often distressing condition with complex neurobiological and psychological underpinnings. A growing body of literature suggests a frequent co-occurrence between tinnitus and psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances. However, the extent to which these conditions are associated, and whether treatments targeting one domain impact the other, remains unclear. This scoping review aimed to (1) identify associations between tinnitus and mental health comorbidities, (2) evaluate whether tinnitus treatments affect psychiatric outcomes, and (3) explore whether psychiatric treatments influence tinnitus symptoms. Methods: A comprehensive search of PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Google Scholar was conducted for articles published between January 2014 and May 2025. Eligible studies were written in English, French, or Spanish, focused primarily on tinnitus, included at least one co-occurring psychiatric condition, and described how tinnitus was evaluated. A total of 30 studies were included. Data were extracted and synthesized thematically. Study quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and relevant Joanna Briggs Institute checklists. Results: Most studies reported significant associations between tinnitus and psychiatric symptoms, particularly anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia, and, in some cases, psychosis. Treatments aimed at tinnitus, such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing and cognitive behavioral therapy, were sometimes associated with secondary improvements in mental health. Conversely, limited evidence suggested that psychiatric treatment, including antipsychotic medication and psychotherapy, may reduce tinnitus severity in selected cases. Conclusions: Tinnitus and psychiatric comorbidities frequently co-occur, and early evidence suggests that addressing one may benefit the other. Given the specific inclusion criteria, this review presents a selected subset of the broader literature, focusing only on studies that evaluated tinnitus alongside clinically measured psychiatric symptoms. Future research should prioritize integrated, longitudinal interventions to better understand these complex interactions. Full article

Stigma related to HIV hinders access to healthcare services and worsens the quality of life for people living with HIV (PLHIV). A comprehensive understanding of HIV stigma is crucial for designing effective stigma interventions. This scoping review offers an overview of the manifestations and markings of HIV stigma in Indonesia. Articles published in PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and other sources were searched. Studies selected were published between 2019 and 2023, written in English, and focused on the manifestations or markings of HIV stigma in Indonesia. A thematic approach was applied to analyze the findings. From an initial pool of 4776 articles, 745 advanced to the title and abstract screening process, with 40 ultimately included in the review. The findings indicate that HIV stigma in Indonesia manifested as avoidance of contact with PLHIV, differential treatment of PLHIV, negative reactions toward PLHIV, and self-stigma. These stigmatizing behaviors were observed across various societal levels, including family members, the general public, colleagues in the workplaces, healthcare providers, and even PLHIV themselves. The findings further reveal the dual burden of stigma experienced by vulnerable populations such as children, adolescents, pregnant women, and key populations. Additionally, this review notes the presence of stigma marking directed at PLHIV, portraying them as dangerous, unclean, immoral, bad and irresponsible, and even sinners. In conclusion, in Indonesia, HIV stigma may take many different forms and occur in many different societal levels. This underscores the need for comprehensive, collective action and cross-sectoral interventions to effectively address these issues. Full article

Background: Personalization of medical care is a significant topic of interest. Precision medicine denotes customized medical treatments based on individual genetic, molecular, and/or biomarker data. We conducted a scoping review to identify studies exploring precision medicine in breast reconstruction. Objectives: (1) To map the existing literature, (2) to identify key concepts, and (3) to discuss current and future clinical implications of precision medicine in breast reconstruction. Eligibility criteria: Indexed journal articles (primary research studies) relating to precision medicine in breast reconstruction written in the English language. Sources of evidence: Medline (via Pubmed), Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Charting methods: Data charting of selected studies was performed independently by two reviewers using Microsoft Excel. Any discrepancies in data charting were addressed through inter-reviewer discussion and/or expert review. Results: Of 321 initial records, 9 studies that were published between 2011 and 2025 were included in the final review. Eight studies focused predominantly on genomics, and one study focused predominantly on targeted therapies. Genomic-based studies were frequently implemented to evaluate patient risk and inform clinical decision-making, while targeted therapies were used to optimize reconstructive outcomes through cell-based therapies. Conclusions: There is a limited but emerging body of literature on precision medicine in breast reconstruction. Genomic data are the driving force of precision medicine in breast reconstruction, and multiple potential avenues exist to achieve translational applications in the short-term period. Future efforts should focus on translating known genomic data into real-time clinical applications and investing in precision-based research for targeted therapies and regenerative medicine in breast reconstruction. Full article

Population-based cancer registries are crucial for tracking cancer trends, supporting research, guiding policy decisions, and ensuring efficient healthcare resource allocation. However, their effectiveness relies heavily on data quality, specifically the completeness of the cancer registration process. Background/Objectives: This systematic review aims to identify the methods used by adult population-based cancer registries worldwide to assess the completeness of their data. It also considered the significant role of high-quality data in method selection and the significant challenges of data handling. Methods: A comprehensive electronic literature search was conducted across the Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed for studies published from January 2004 to December 2024. The review was written according to PRISMA guidelines, and the risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute tool. Results: The review identified 83 studies from 31 countries, the majority from Europe, especially Nordic and Central European countries. Most studies met high-quality standards, with only one study scoring below 75%. Common approaches include independent case ascertainment (the most used), a capture–recapture analysis, a death-certificate-only analysis, and comparisons with historical rates. While independent case ascertainment is valuable when high-quality auxiliary sources are available, its accuracy varies. Other methods, like capture-recapture or Mortality-to-Incidence ratios, may be more accurate or feasible in some cases. Conclusions: The findings suggest that methods for completeness evaluations vary widely across registries, influenced by data quality and regional practices. The results emphasize the importance of the continuous refinement of these assessment methods to improve the reliability and global comparability of cancer registry data. Full article

In the three decades since a digital archive of satellite-detected night-time lights (NTL) data was created, thousands of scholarly articles have been published using these data. An important change in the last decade saw a significant share of highly cited articles with NTL data now written by economists. The way that economists treat the literature in other disciplines potentially interferes with the diffusion of updated findings on NTL data. Our bibliometric analysis finds that many economics studies using NTL data, especially highly cited ones, ignore studies by the remote sensing scientists who help provide the NTL data. This review considers two implications of the growing distance in the literature between economists using NTL data and remote sensing scientists. First, newer, more accurate and precise NTL data from sources like VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) have slower uptake in economics, perhaps due to a lack of awareness. Yet, economists using NTL data increasingly work with spatially disaggregated units, for which the older, coarser, DMSP data are less suited. Second, a misunderstanding of DMSP spatial resolution leads to pixel-level regression studies in economics that are potentially subject to measurement error bias, for which we provide two case studies. Overall, the full value of NTL-based research may not be realized due to these weak connections. Full article

Background/Objectives: The evolution of digital technology enhances the broadening of a person’s intellectual growth. Research points out that implementing innovative applications of the digital world improves human social, cognitive, and metacognitive behavior. Artificial intelligence chatbots are yet another innovative human-made construct. These are forms of software that simulate human conversation, understand and process user input, and provide personalized responses. Executive function includes a set of higher mental processes necessary for formulating, planning, and achieving a goal. The present study aims to investigate executive function reinforcement through artificial intelligence chatbots, outlining potentials, limitations, and future research suggestions. Specifically, the study examined three research questions: the use of conversational chatbots in executive functioning training, their impact on executive-cognitive skills, and the duration of any improvements. Methods: The assessment of the existing literature was implemented using the systematic review method, according to the PRISMA 2020 Principles. The avalanche search method was employed to conduct a source search in the following databases: Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and complementary Google Scholar. This systematic review included studies from 2021 to the present using experimental, observational, or mixed methods. It included studies using AI-based chatbots or conversationalists to support executive functions, such as anxiety, stress, depression, memory, attention, cognitive load, and behavioral changes. In addition, this study included general populations with specific neurological conditions, all peer-reviewed, written in English, and with full-text access. However, the study excluded studies before 2021, the literature reviews, systematic reviews, non-AI-based chatbots or conversationalists, studies not targeting the range of executive skills and abilities, studies not written in English, and studies without open access. The criteria aligned with the study objectives, ensuring a focus on AI chatbots and the impact of conversational agents on executive function. The initial collection totaled n = 115 articles; however, the eligibility requirements led to the final selection of n = 10 studies. Results: The findings of the studies suggested positive effects of using AI chatbots to enhance and improve executive skills. Although, several limitations were identified, making it still difficult to generalize and reproduce their effects. Conclusions: AI chatbots are an innovative artificial intelligence tool that can function as a digital assistant for learning and expanding executive skills, contributing to the cognitive, metacognitive, and social development of the individual. However, its use in executive skills training is at a primary stage. The findings highlighted the need for a unified framework for reference and future studies, better study designs, diverse populations, larger sample sizes of participants, and longitudinal studies that observe the long-term effects of their use. Full article

Background/Objectives: To identify and analyze what is known about the psychosocial factors affecting the wellbeing and sources of support of young adult (YA) cancer survivors. Methods: The search strategy included Neoplasms, young adults, psycho* or emotional well* or mental health. The OVID Medline and CINAHL databases were searched. Included were cancer survivors (YA) ages 18–39 at the time of the study. The studies included qualitative and quantitative designs, written in English, and published between January 2016 and October 2024. The results were recorded according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Results: Thirteen studies with 4992 participants found psychosocial factors to be the most important influence on life satisfaction with social support the most decisive factor. This expands the results of previous reviews by including a variety of study designs and data collection tools to provide a comprehensive understanding of the YA experience. Psychosocial concerns affecting wellbeing led to social isolation, low connectedness with family and friends, and significant distress. Consistent with previous reviews, the greatest challenges to wellbeing were psychosocial needs, which included seeking and delivering information that is easy to understand but detailed, which can decrease frustration and anger, and needs to be readily available and accessible. Unlike older adult cancer survivors, YA survivors are more likely to have reduced psychosocial functioning compared to their peers and suffer from higher distress than their adult peers and non-YA cancer survivors with anxiety as the most reported symptom. Conclusions: Interventions need to be developed that lessen the impact of a cancer diagnosis and cancer treatments. The specific needs of YAs must be further researched and evaluated to determine specific interventions and the support needed during this crucial stage of cancer survivorship. Future research must also increase the focus on the racial and ethnic diversity of participants as well as prioritizing underserved populations and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article

Inflammatory bowel disease represents a wide range of pathologies and disease states including Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC). Despite extensive research, the exact immunopathogenesis of Crohn’s disease remains unclear, but a variety of studies over the years have pointed to yeast as a potential source antigen of uncertain significance. The aim of this review is to summarize the current literature investigating the association between Crohn’s disease patients and their responses to yeast. To do this, we performed a literature review by looking at clinical and translational research regarding the immunopathogenesis of Crohn’s disease, yeast and its associated biomarkers, and overall patient response to dietary yeast published between 1 January 1990 and 1 October 2024 that were indexed on PubMed and Google Scholar with the majority written in English. It was found that antibodies against Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ASCA) have proven to be highly specific for CD during the workup of IBD and may have diagnostic value for the purpose of excluding ulcerative colitis. For CD patients, there appears to be a dysregulated immune response to antigens like yeast that results in abnormal mucosal permeability and thus increases antigen presentation to the immune system. In addition, ASCA and its immunoglobulin modifications have been shown to have significant potential in the prediction of CD onset and disease course. Interestingly, although other abnormally structured antibodies can be found in CD patients’ serum for years preceding diagnosis, there appears to be no relation between ASCA and dietary yeast sensitivity by CD patients. In conclusion, significant research efforts have been made in recent years to explore the role of diet in the disease course and management of patients with Crohn’s disease. The immunological role of antigens including yeast in CD is complex and may represent an important pathogenetic factor in addition to influencing the specific phenotype of the disease. Unfortunately, no single specific diet is superior for the management of IBD, and individualized patient treatment by experts in the field is best for adjunctive therapy. New studies characterizing the microbiome of CD patients and also using immune markers/gene modifications to predict disease outcomes have shown to be quite promising. However, further research is required to investigate the CD yeast response and its role in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of CD. Full article

Code reviews are an important part of the software development process, and there is a wide variety of approaches used to perform them. While it is generally agreed that code reviews are beneficial and result in higher-quality software, there has been little work investigating best practices and approaches, exploring which factors impact code review quality. Our approach firstly analyses current best practices and procedures for undertaking code reviews, along with an examination of metrics often used to analyse a review’s quality and current offerings for automated code review assessment. A maximum of one thousand code review comments per project were mined from GitHub pull requests across seven open-source projects which have previously been analysed in similar studies. Several identified metrics are tested across these projects using Python’s Natural Language Toolkit, including stop word ratio, overall sentiment, and detection of code snippets through the GitHub markdown language. Comparisons are drawn with regards to each project’s culture and the language used in the code review process, with pros and cons for each. The results show that the stop word ratio remained consistent across all projects, with only one project exceeding an average of 30%, and that the percentage of positive comments across the projects was broadly similar also. The suitability of these metrics is also discussed with regards to the creation of a scoring framework and development of an automated code review analysis tool. We conclude that the software written is an effective method of comparing practices and cultures across projects and can provide benefits by promoting a positive review culture within an organisation. However, rudimentary sentiment analysis and detection of GitHub code snippets may not be sufficient to assess a code review’s overall usefulness, as many terms that are important to include in a programmer’s lexicon such as ‘error’ and ‘fail’ deem a code review to be negative. Code snippets that are included outside of the markdown language are also ignored from analysis. Recommendations for future work are suggested, including the development of a more robust sentiment analysis system that can include detection of emotion such as frustration, and the creation of a programming dictionary to exclude programming terms from sentiment analysis. Full article

Background: A rise in absenteeism among healthcare workers (HCWs) was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infections. However, evidence suggests that COVID-19 vaccine-related side effects may have also contributed to absenteeism during this period. This study aimed to synthesize the evidence on the prevalence of absenteeism related to COVID-19 vaccine side effects among HCWs. Methods: The inclusion criteria for this review were original quantitative studies of any design, written in English, that addressed absenteeism related to the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines among HCWs. Four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and the Web of Science) were searched for eligible articles on 7 June 2024. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. Narrative synthesis and a meta-analysis were used to synthesize the evidence. Results: Nineteen observational studies with 96,786 participants were included. The pooled prevalence of absenteeism related to COVID-19 vaccine side effects was 17% (95% CI: 13–20%), while 83% (95% CI: 80–87%) of the vaccination events did not lead in any absenteeism. Study design, sex, vaccination dose, region, and vaccine type were identified as significant sources of heterogeneity. Conclusions: A non-negligible proportion of HCWs were absent from work after reporting side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. Various demographic factors should be considered in future vaccination schedules for HCWs to potentially decrease the burden of absenteeism related to vaccine side effects. As most studies included self-reported questionnaire data, our results may be limited due to a recall bias. Other: The protocol of the study was preregistered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42024552517). Full article

Background: As the elderly population rapidly grows, age-related health issues are increasing. Telemedicine helps older adults adapt by providing efficient and accessible health management and medical services. Objectives: This study employs bibliometric analysis to examine research focus areas, emerging trends, and collaboration networks in telemedicine for older adults over the past three decades. Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection served as the primary data source for the publications on telemedicine and the elderly since the database’s inception through June 2024. Using CiteSpace.6.2.R4 software, keyword and collaboration network visualizations were generated, including clusters, co-authors, and co-citations. Results: This study analyzed 586 papers from 252 countries or regions, which were published across 246 journals and written by 2750 authors. Conclusions: The analysis revealed three primary research directions encompassing 42 clusters: (1) health literacy and technology adaptation; (2) telemedicine technology and health management; and (3) social interaction and economic impact. Research hotspots include elderly fitness, mobile health, technology acceptance, telemedicine, elderly care, and health literacy. Despite the potential benefit of telemedicine, challenges persist in areas such as technology acceptance, usability, effectiveness, service quality, and privacy concerns. This review provides a comprehensive overview of current research on telemedicine for the elderly and highlights emerging trends in the field. Full article

Artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning (DL), and machine learning (ML) are computer, machine, and engineering systems that mimic human intelligence to devise procedures. These technologies also provide opportunities to advance diagnostics and planning in human medicine and dentistry. The purpose of this literature review was to ascertain the applicability and significance of AI and to highlight its uses in maxillofacial surgery. Our primary inclusion criterion was an original paper written in English focusing on the use of AI, DL, or ML in maxillofacial surgery. The sources were PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, and the queries were made on the 31 December 2023. The search strings used were “artificial intelligence maxillofacial surgery”, “machine learning maxillofacial surgery”, and “deep learning maxillofacial surgery”. Following the removal of duplicates, the remaining search results were screened by three independent operators to minimize the risk of bias. A total of 324 publications from 1992 to 2023 were finally selected. These were calculated according to the year of publication with a continuous increase (excluding 2012 and 2013) and R² = 0.9295. Generally, in orthognathic dentistry and maxillofacial surgery, AI and ML have gained popularity over the past few decades. When we included the keywords “planning in maxillofacial surgery” and “planning in orthognathic surgery”, the number significantly increased to 7535 publications. The first publication appeared in 1965, with an increasing trend (excluding 2014–2018), with an R² value of 0.8642. These technologies have been found to be useful in diagnosis and treatment planning in head and neck surgical oncology, cosmetic and aesthetic surgery, and oral pathology. In orthognathic surgery, they have been utilized for diagnosis, treatment planning, assessment of treatment needs, and cephalometric analyses, among other applications. This review confirms that the current use of AI and ML in maxillofacial surgery is focused mainly on evaluating digital diagnostic methods, especially radiology, treatment plans, and postoperative results. However, as these technologies become integrated into maxillofacial surgery and robotic surgery in the head and neck region, it is expected that they will be gradually utilized to plan and comprehensively evaluate the success of maxillofacial surgeries. Full article

Among the foodborne illnesses, listeriosis has the third highest case mortality rate (20–30% or higher). Emerging drug-resistant strains of Listeria monocytogenes, a causative bacterium of listeriosis, exacerbate the seriousness of this public health concern. Novel anti-Listerial compounds are therefore needed to combat this challenge. In recent years, marine actinobacteria have come to be regarded as a promising source of novel antimicrobials. Hence, our aim was to provide a narrative of the available literature and discuss trends regarding bioprospecting marine actinobacteria for new anti-Listerial compounds. Four databases were searched for the review: Academic Search Ultimate, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and South African Thesis and Dissertations. The search was restricted to peer-reviewed full-text manuscripts that discussed marine actinobacteria as a source of antimicrobials and were written in English from 1990 to December 2023. In total, for the past three decades (1990–December 2023), only 23 compounds from marine actinobacteria have been tested for their anti-Listerial potential. Out of the 23 reported compounds, only 2-allyoxyphenol, adipostatins E–G, 4-bromophenol, and ansamycins (seco-geldanamycin B, 4.5-dihydro-17-O-demethylgeldanamycin, and seco-geldanamycin) have been found to possess anti-Listerial activity. Thus, our literature survey reveals the scarcity of published assays testing the anti-Listerial capacity of bioactive compounds sourced from marine actinobacteria during this period. Full article