Artificial intelligence in neurology: opportunities, challenges, and policy implications

Neurological conditions are the leading cause of disability and mortality combined, demanding innovative, scalable, and sustainable solutions. Brain health has become a global priority with adoption of the World Health Organization's Intersectoral Global Action Plan in 2022. Simultaneously, rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing neurological research and practice. This scoping review of 66 original articles explores the value of AI in neurology and brain health, systematizing the landscape for emergent clinical opportunities and future trends across the care trajectory: prevention, risk stratification, early detection, diagnosis, management, and rehabilitation. AI's potential to advance personalized precision neurology and global brain health directives hinges on resolving core challenges across four pillars-models, data, feasibility/equity, and regulation/innovation-through concerted pursuit of targeted recommendations. Paramount actions include swift, ethical, equity-focused integration of novel technologies into clinical workflows, mitigating data-related issues, counteracting digital inequity gaps, and establishing robust governance frameworks balancing safety and innovation.

The future of psychophysiology, then and now

Since its founding in 1973, Biological Psychology has showcased and provided invaluable support to psychophysiology, a field that has grown and changed enormously. This article discusses some constancies that have remained fundamental to the journal and to the field as well as some important trends. Some aspects of our science have not received due consideration, affecting not only the generalizability of our findings but the way we develop and evaluate our research questions and the potential of our field to contribute to the common good. The article offers a number of predictions and recommendations for the next period of growth of psychophysiology.

Extreme rainfall erosivity: Research advances and future perspectives

Extreme rainfall erosivity, the capacity of intense rainfall to induce soil erosion, is vital for anticipating future impacts on soil conservation. Despite extensive research, significant differences persist in terms of understanding influencing mechanisms, potential impacts, estimation models and future trends of extreme rainfall erosivity. Quantitatively describing extreme rainfall erosivity remains a key issue in existing research. In this study, we comprehensively reviewed the literature to assess the relationships between extreme rainfall characteristics and rainfall erosivity, between extreme rainfall erosivity and soil erosion, estimation models and trend prediction. The aim was to summarize previous related research and achievements, providing a better understanding of the generation, impacts and future trends of extreme rainfall erosivity. Future research directions should include identifying the thresholds of extreme rainfall events, increasing research attention on tropical cyclones in terms of rainfall erosivity, considering on the impact of extreme rainfall erosivity on soil erosion, and improving rainfall erosivity estimation and simulation prediction methods. This study could contribute to adapting to global climate change and aiding in formulating soil erosion prevention and environmental protection recommendations.

Recent challenges in biological cyanidation and oxidation of sulfide-based refractory gold ore

In mining industries, biomining (comprising biooxidation and bioleaching) is implemented to extract metals from specific ores and waste streams with less environmental effect and expense. Usually, micron-sized gold particles are held in a crystal lattice of iron sulfide minerals and expensively extracted using common approaches. Researchers and industries are interested in developing recent technology and biologically sustainable methods in both pretreatment and further extraction steps for extracting this valuable metal from ores. Diverse studies in biooxidation, as a conventional pretreatment, and biocyanidation, as a new proposed biotechnological method in the downstream gold extraction step, have addressed scientific and technological issues in the extraction of this metal. These two methods have become economically practical by merging high-throughput microbiological data, extraction and recovery process knowledge, and theory validation. However, there is still a gap in the implementation of both the pretreatment method and extraction method due to the consistency and their compatibility with operational recovery conditions. This review brings out the recent biooxidation and biocyanidation improvements, innovation, industry and academic research, and obstacles to gold extraction with a brief explanation to address the recent developments.

Past and projected future patterns of fractional vegetation coverage in China

With the intensifying climate change and the strengthening ecosystem management, quantifying the past and predicting the future influence of these two factors on vegetation change patterns in China need to be analyzed urgently. By constructing a framework model to accurately identify fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) change patterns, we found that FVC in China from 1982 to 2018 mainly showed linear increase (29.5 %) or Gaussian decrease (27.4 %). FVC variation was mainly affected by soil moisture in the Qi-North region and by vapor pressure deficit in other regions. The influence of environmental change on FVC, except for Yang-Qi region in the southwest (-2.0 %), played a positive role, and weakened from the middle (Hu-Yang region: 2.7 %) to the northwest (Qi-North region: 2.4 %) to the east (Hu-East region: 0.8 %). Based on five machine learning algorithms, it was predicted that under four Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs, including SSP126、SSP245、SSP370、SSP585) from 2019 to 2060, FVC would maintain an upward trend, except for the east, where FVC would rapidly decline after 2039. FVC in the eastern region experienced a transition from past growth to future decline, suggesting that the focus of future ecosystem management should be on this region.

Research progress of starch as microencapsulated wall material

Starch is non-toxic, low cost, and possesses good biocompatibility and biodegradability. As a natural polymer material, starch is an ideal choice for microcapsule wall materials. Starch-based microcapsules have a wide range of applications and application prospects in fields such as food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and others. This paper firstly reviews the commonly used wall materials and preparation methods of starch-based microcapsules. Then the effect of starch wall materials on microcapsule properties is introduced in detail. It is expected to provide researchers with design inspiration and ideas for the development of starch-based microcapsules. Next the applications of starch-based microcapsules in various fields are presented. Finally, the future trends of starch-based microcapsules are discussed. Molecular simulation, green chemistry, and solutions to the main problems faced by resistant starch microcapsules may be the future research trends of starch-based microcapsules.

Global development and future trends of artificial sweetener research based on bibliometrics

Artificial sweeteners have sparked a heated debate worldwide due to their ambiguous impacts on public and environmental health and food safety and quality. Many studies on artificial sweeteners have been conducted; however, none scientometric studies exist in the field. This study aimed to elaborate on the knowledge creation and development of the field of artificial sweeteners and predict the frontiers of knowledge based on bibliometrics. In particular, this study combined VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Bibliometrix to visualize the mapping of knowledge production, covered 2389 relevant scientific publications (1945-2022), and systematically analyzed articles and reviews (n = 2101). Scientific publications on artificial sweeteners have been growing at an annual rate of 6.28% and globally attracting 7979 contributors. Susan J. Brown with total publications (TP) of 17, average citation per article (AC) of 36.59, and Hirsch (h)-index of 12 and Robert F. Margolskee (TP = 12; AC = 2046; h-index = 11) were the most influential scholars. This field was clustered into four groups: eco-environment and toxicology, physicochemical mechanisms, public health and risks, and nutrition metabolism. The publications about environmental issues, in particular, "surface water," were most intensive during the last five years (2018-2022). Artificial sweeteners are gaining importance in the monitoring and assessment of environmental and public health. Results of the dual-map overlay showed that the future research frontiers tilt toward molecular biology, immunology, veterinary and animal sciences, and medicine. Findings of this study are conducive to identifying knowledge gaps and future research directions for scholars.

Development, application and future trends of starch-based delivery systems for nutraceuticals: A review

As a natural biopolymer, starch is ideally adapted as an encapsulant material for nutraceutical delivery systems due to its unique nature of extensive sources, versatility and high biocompatibility. This review offers an outline of recent advances in the development of starch-based delivery systems. The structure and functional properties of starch in encapsulating and delivering bioactive ingredients are first introduced. Structural modification of starch improves the functionalities and extends the applications of starch in novel delivery systems. Then, various nutraceutical delivery systems are systematically summarized, which include porous starch, starch particle, amylose inclusion complex, cyclodextrin, gel, edible film and emulsion. Next, the delivery process of nutraceuticals is discussed in two parts: digestion and release. Intestinal digestion plays an important role during the whole digestion process of starch-based delivery systems. Moreover, controlled release of bioactives can be achieved by porous starch, starch-bioactive complexation and core-shell structure. Finally, the challenges of the existing starch-based delivery systems are deliberated, and the directions for future research are pointed out. Composite delivery carriers, co-delivery, intelligent delivery, delivery in real food systems, and reuse of agricultural wastes may be the research trends for starch-based delivery systems in the future.

What Do Future Trends in Medical Education Mean to the Scientific Development of Iran's Health System?

Background

Medical education system in Iran has an essential role in responding to scientific development targets from both education and research perspectives. Investigating future trends and analyzing how they interact with the medical education system helps increase awareness and give insight into the preferred future.

Methods

The present qualitative study consists of Systematic reviews and interviews that have been analyzed using content analysis. Afterward, the themes and codes were visualized in the form of maps and presented in a focus group discussion of experts to define how medical education trends will impact scientific development.

Results

The future trends of Iran's medical education system were classified into six groups: workplace changes, demographic changes, changes in concepts, the emergence of new players, structural changes in universities, and technology development. The next point is how they will influence science development. Their impact on science development is classified into five main groups or main streams of change of new financial models, open science, redesigning the research management, the role of universities, and capacity building.

Conclusion

Our findings showed that redesigning the structure of medical education is the most important priority to make the system as agile as needed to capture the signs and act. New meanings and concepts should also be considered in restructuring, like power balance, competency-based and personalized education, cost-effectiveness, and openness.

Patent analysis of chemical treatment technology for wastewater: Status and future trends

In order to reveal the status and trends of chemical treatment for wastewater, the patents analysis from both structured and unstructured data was performed in this study. 35,838 patents recorded in the Derwent Innovation Index database were adopted. The results showed that China was the country with the largest number of patents in the field, and the United States was the main exporter of international technology flows. Chemical processes combined with biological and physical processes was the mainstream, and ozonation and electrochemical treatment were the major single technologies. Technology evolution path generally showed the transition from biological process-combined chemical treatment to electrochemical treatment and finally to physical process-combined chemical treatment. Furthermore, future trends were revealed from both patents and papers. It demonstrated that efficient removal of ammonia nitrogen, green water treatment agents and resourcezation of wastewater were the key innovation directions, and technologies with regard to efficient use of energy (including photocatalytic technology and microbial fuel cell) were the main research hotspots. Overall, this study provided a comprehensive understanding for the research and application of chemical treatment for wastewater technologies.

Recent developments in Moringa oleifera Lam. polysaccharides: A review of the relationship between extraction methods, structural characteristics and functional activities

Moringa oleifera Lam. (M. oleifera Lam) is a perennial tropical deciduous tree that belongs to the Moringaceae family. Polysaccharides are one of the major bioactive compounds in M. oleifera Lam and show immunomodulatory, anticancer, antioxidant, intestinal health protection and antidiabetic activities. At present, the structure and functional activities of M. oleifera Lam polysaccharides (MOPs) have been widespread, but the research data are relatively scattered. Moreover, the relationship between the structure and biological activities of MOPs has not been summarized. In this review, the current research on the extraction, purification, structural characteristics and biological activities of polysaccharides from different sources of M. oleifera Lam were summarized, and the structural characteristics of purified polysaccharides were focused on this review. Meanwhile, the biological activities of MOPs were introduced, and some molecular mechanisms were listed. In addition, the relationship between the structure and biological activities of MOPs was discussed. Furthermore, new perspectives and some future research of M. oleifera Lam polysaccharides were proposed in this review.

COVID-19 imaging: Diagnostic approaches, challenges, and evolving advances

The role of radiology and the radiologist have evolved throughout the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Early on, chest computed tomography was used for screening and diagnosis of COVID-19; however, it is now indicated for high-risk patients, those with severe disease, or in areas where polymerase chain reaction testing is sparsely available. Chest radiography is now utilized mainly for monitoring disease progression in hospitalized patients showing signs of worsening clinical status. Additionally, many challenges at the operational level have been overcome within the field of radiology throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of teleradiology and virtual care clinics greatly enhanced our ability to socially distance and both are likely to remain important mediums for diagnostic imaging delivery and patient care. Opportunities to better utilize of imaging for detection of extrapulmonary manifestations and complications of COVID-19 disease will continue to arise as a more detailed understanding of the pathophysiology of the virus continues to be uncovered and identification of predisposing risk factors for complication development continue to be better understood. Furthermore, unidentified advancements in areas such as standardized imaging reporting, point-of-care ultrasound, and artificial intelligence offer exciting discovery pathways that will inevitably lead to improved care for patients with COVID-19.

Present and Future Trends in Transoral Surgical Intervention: Maximal Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery, and Transoral Robotic Surgery

Oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) has undergone a renaissance/metamorphosis as a specialty and in the technologic innovations that have enhanced the surgical care of patients. This article reviews traditional maximal transoral approaches in the management of common pathologic lesions seen by OMFS, and compares these techniques with a literature review that applies minimally invasive technology and innovative robotic surgery (transoral robotic surgery) to treat similar lesions. The traditional approaches described in this article have transcended generations and future trends are suggested that will improve the training of the OMFS legacy as clinicians move forward in the care of patients.

Fascioliasis and fasciolopsiasis: Current knowledge and future trends

Food-borne zoonotic trematodiases are classified as neglected diseases by the World Health Organization. Among them, fascioliasis is caused worldwide by Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica, and represent a huge problem in livestock production and human health in endemic areas. Fasciolopsis buski, restricted to specific regions of Asia, causes fasciolopsiasis. The incidence of these trematodiases is underestimated due to under-reporting and to the lack of sensitive and widely accepted tool for their diagnosis. This, together with a rising trend in reporting of drug resistance and the need for an effective vaccine against these parasites, pose a challenge in the effective control of these diseases. Here, the latest reports on fascioliasis outbreaks between 2000 and 2020 and the most recent advances in their epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and control are revised. Finally, future needs in the field of fascioliasis and fasciolopsiasis are presented, which could be addressed based on current knowledge and by means of new emerging technologies.

Historical and future polychlorinated biphenyl emission trends in Japan

Different countries produce varying amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), have distinct patterns of use, and regulations for treatment and disposal. Therefore, long-term countermeasures require an understanding of historical and future emission trends at the national scale. In this study, we estimate historical PCB emissions from products containing PCBs, unintentional production related thermal processes, and disposal processes for products containing PCBs from 1950 to 2030 in Japan. In addition, in order to validate the results, we estimated PCB concentrations in environmental media using an environmental fate model and a sensitivity analysis was conducted. Our results show that total PCB emissions were approximately 2.6 tons in 2017, which was a dramatic decrease from peak emissions of 68.9 tons in 1970. We suggest that PCB emissions may continue to decrease, reaching 0.707 tons in 2030. This trend might be due to a change in the emission source; it was estimated that the main emission source in past and recent years was volatilization from large products containing PCBs. However, it is predicted that the main emission sources in the future will be unintentional PCB production from thermal processes and volatilization from small untreated products containing PCBs, although the estimation of environmental PCB levels suggested that there might be unknown emission sources. Additionally, the sensitivity analysis indicated that some parameters greatly influenced the estimation of recent and future emissions. In particular, there was no detailed information concerning the applications for PCBs, which potentially had a large influence on the estimation of future emissions.

Half-century research developments in maritime accidents: Future directions

Over the past 50 years, research in maritime accidents has undergone a series of fundamental changes. Understanding the evolution of these changes can help maritime communities to know what has been done in the past, how maritime safety can be improved in the future, and how to reduce or eliminate the risks to ships, the lives aboard them, the cargo they carry, and the marine environment. This study conducts a comprehensive literature review on research in maritime accidents, comprising 572 papers published in 125 journals over the 50 years from 1965 to 2014. The patterns of evolution of the researchers, the journals, the disciplines involved, the research methods, the major issues and causes, and the data sources are identified, and the changes explained. We find that the main focus of research in maritime accidents has shifted over the past 50 years from naval architecture to human error, and may continue to expand into socio-economic factors. In addition, future research in maritime accidents will be multi-disciplinary, use multiple data sources, and adopt advanced research methods, to account for complex interactions between the natural environment, the development of naval technology, human behavior, and shipping market conditions.

Global Scenario of Research in Oral Cancer

Introduction

With 300,000 new cases diagnosed worldwide, oral cancer continues to be a major global public threat. In Indian subcontinent, oral cancer accounts for 30-40% of all cancer types.

Methodology

Early detection of oral cancer is still considered as the most effective way to improve survival. In this regard, early detection of oral premalignant lesions and conditions is quite important as it may help in prevention of oral cancer. Scientific evidence is available which clearly indicates that transition from normal epithelium to premalignancy to oral carcinoma is the result of accumulation of genetic and epigenetic alterations in a multi-step process.

Conclusion

Proper oral screening and understanding of the genetic and environmental factors involved in oral carcinogenesis will allow the emphasis of cancer medicine to shift from the therapy of established oral cancer to the prevention of oral carcinogenesis.

The schism in chiropractic through the eyes of a 1st year chiropractic student

Since its inception, the chiropractic profession has been divided along ideological fault lines. These divisions have led to a profession wide schism, which has limited mainstream acceptance, utilisation, social authority and integration. The authors explore the historical origins of this schism, taking time to consider historical context, religiosity, perpetuating factors, logical fallacies and siege mentality. Evidence is then provided for a way forward, based on the positioning of chiropractors as mainstream partners in health care.

What determines PCB concentrations in soils in rural and urban areas? Insights from a multi-media fate model for Switzerland as a case study

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are banned worldwide under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. However, PCBs are still emitted in appreciable amounts from remaining primary sources in urban areas or landfills and are ubiquitous environmental contaminants, inter alia in soil and air. Concentrations of PCBs have been measured in various media by numerous studies worldwide. However, monitoring data do not always provide quantitative information about transport processes between different media, deposition fluxes to ground, or distribution of PCBs between environmental compartments. Also future trends in environmental contamination by PCBs cannot be predicted from monitoring data, but such information is highly relevant for decision-makers. Here, we present a new regionally resolved dynamic multimedia mass balance model for Switzerland to investigate the origin of PCBs in air and to investigate their long-term fate and mass balance in the environment. The model was validated with existing field data for PCBs. We find that advective inflow of PCBs from outside Switzerland into the atmospheric boundary layer is responsible for 80% of PCBs present in air in Switzerland, whereas Swiss emissions cause the remaining 20%. Furthermore, we show that the atmospheric deposition of the higher-chlorinated PCBs is dominated by particle-bound deposition, whereas the deposition of the lower-chlorinated PCBs is a combination of particle-bound and gaseous deposition. The volume fraction of particles in air is in both cases an important factor driving the deposition of PCBs to ground and, thus, contributing to the higher concentrations of PCBs generally observed in populated and polluted areas. Regional emissions influence the deposition fluxes only to a limited extent. We also find that secondary emissions from environmental reservoirs do not exceed primary emissions for all PCB congeners until at least 2036. Finally, we use our model to evaluate the effect of chemical regulation on future environmental contamination by PCBs.

Retinopathy of prematurity: Past, present and future

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a vasoproliferative disorder of the retina occurring principally in new born preterm infants. It is an avoidable cause of childhood blindness. With the increase in the survival of preterm babies, ROP has become the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness throughout the world. A simple screening test done within a few weeks after birth by an ophthalmologist can avoid this preventable blindness. Although screening guidelines and protocols are strictly followed in the developed nations, it lacks in developing economies like India and China, which have the highest number of preterm deliveries in the world. The burden of this blindness in these countries is set to increase tremendously in the future, if corrective steps are not taken immediately. ROP first emerged in 1940s and 1950s, when it was called retrolental fibroplasia. Several epidemics of this disease were and are still occurring in different regions of the world and since then a lot of research has been done on this disease. However, till date very few comprehensive review articles covering all the aspects of ROP are published. This review highlights the past, present and future strategies in managing this disease. It would help the pediatricians to update their current knowledge on ROP.

Surfactants in aquatic and terrestrial environment: occurrence, behavior, and treatment processes

Surfactants belong to a group of chemicals that are well known for their cleaning properties. Their excessive use as ingredients in care products (e.g., shampoos, body wash) and in household cleaning products (e.g., dishwashing detergents, laundry detergents, hard-surface cleaners) has led to the discharge of highly contaminated wastewaters in aquatic and terrestrial environment. Once reached in the different environmental compartments (rivers, lakes, soils, and sediments), surfactants can undergo aerobic or anaerobic degradation. The most studied surfactants so far are linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), alkylphenol ethoxylate (APEOs), and alcohol ethoxylate (AEOs). Concentrations of surfactants in wastewaters can range between few micrograms to hundreds of milligrams in some cases, while it reaches several grams in sludge used for soil amendments in agricultural areas. Above the legislation standards, surfactants can be toxic to aquatic and terrestrial organisms which make treatment processes necessary before their discharge into the environment. Given this fact, biological and chemical processes should be considered for better surfactants removal. In this review, we investigate several issues with regard to: (1) the toxicity of surfactants in the environment, (2) their behavior in different ecological systems, (3) and the different treatment processes used in wastewater treatment plants in order to reduce the effects of surfactants on living organisms.

Di 2-ethylhexylphtalate in the aquatic and terrestrial environment: a critical review

Phthalates are being increasingly used as softeners-plasticizers to improve the plasticity and the flexibility of materials. Amongst the different plasticizers used, more attention is paid to di (2-ethylhexylphtalate) (DEHP), one of the most representative compounds as it exhibits predominant effects on environment and human health. Meanwhile, several questions related to its sources; toxicity, distribution and fate still remain unanswered. Most of the evidence until date suggests that DEHP is an omnipresent compound found in different ecological compartments and its higher hydrophobicity and low volatility have resulted in significant adsorption to solids matrix. In fact, there are important issues to be addressed with regard to the toxicity of this compound in both animals and humans, its behavior in different ecological systems, and the transformation products generated during different biological or advanced chemical treatments. This article presents detailed review of existing treatment schemes, research gaps and future trends related to DEHP.

Pharmacology of local anesthetics used in oral surgery

This article provides a comprehensive review of the pharmacology of local anesthetics as a class, and provides details of the individual drugs available in dental cartridges. Maximum recommended doses of local anesthetics and vasoconstrictors are presented for healthy adult and pediatric patients, and for patients with cardiovascular system impairments. Various complications and reasons for failure of local anesthesia effectiveness are discussed, and current and future trends in local anesthesia are presented to provide an overview of current research in local anesthesia.