Artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize modern society in all its aspects. Encouraged by the variety and vast amount of data that can be gathered from patients (e.g., medical images, text, and electronic health records), researchers have recently increased their interest in developing AI solutions for clinical care. Moreover, a diverse repertoire of methods can be chosen towards creating performant models for use in medical applications, ranging from disease prediction, diagnosis, and prognosis to opting for the most appropriate treatment for an individual patient. In this respect, the present paper aims to review the advancements reported at the convergence of AI and clinical care. Thus, this work presents AI clinical applications in a comprehensive manner, discussing the recent literature studies classified according to medical specialties. In addition, the challenges and limitations hindering AI integration in the clinical setting are further pointed out.

Cancer continues to represent a global health concern, imposing an ongoing need to research for better treatment alternatives. In this context, nanomedicine seems to be the solution to existing problems, bringing unprecedented results in various biomedical applications, including cancer therapy, diagnosing, and imaging. As numerous studies have uncovered the advantageous properties of various nanoscale metals, this review aims to present metal-based nanoparticles that are most frequently employed for cancer applications. This paper follows the description of relevant nanoparticles made of metals, metal derivatives, hybrids, and alloys, further discussing in more detail their potential applications in cancer management, ranging from the delivery of chemotherapeutics, vaccines, and genes to ablative hyperthermia therapies and theranostic platforms.

Encompassing a group of complex and heterogeneous diseases, cancer continues to be a challenge for patients and healthcare systems worldwide. Thus, it is of vital importance to develop advanced treatment strategies that could reduce the trends of cancer-associated morbidity and mortality rates. Scientists have focused on creating performant delivery vehicles for anti-cancer agents. Among the possible materials, cyclodextrins (CDs) attracted increasing interest over the past few years, leading to the emergence of promising anti-tumor nanomedicines. Tackling their advantageous chemical structure, ease of modification, natural origin, biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, and commercial availability, researchers investigated CD-based therapeutical formulations against many types of cancer. In this respect, in this paper, we briefly present the properties of interest of CDs for designing performant nanocarriers, further reviewing some of the most recent potential applications of CD-based delivery systems in cancer management.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex metabolic disease with many specifically related complications. Early diagnosis of this disease could prevent the progression to overt disease and its related complications. There are several limitations to using existing biomarkers, and between 24% and 62% of people with diabetes remain undiagnosed and untreated, suggesting a large gap in current diagnostic practices. Early detection of the percentage of insulin-producing cells preceding loss of function would allow for effective therapeutic interventions that could delay or slow down the onset of diabetes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) could be used for early diagnosis, as well as for following the progression and the severity of the disease, due to the fact of their pancreatic specific expression and stability in various body fluids. Thus, many studies have focused on the identification and validation of such groups or “signatures of miRNAs” that may prove useful in diagnosing or treating patients. Here, we summarize the findings on miRNAs as biomarkers in diabetes and those associated with direct cellular reprogramming strategies, as well as the relevance of miRNAs that act as a bidirectional switch for cell therapy of damaged pancreatic tissue and the studies that have measured and tracked miRNAs as biomarkers in insulin resistance are addressed.

With the prevalence of digitalization in all aspects of modern society, health assessment is becoming digital too. Taking advantage of the most recent technological advances and approaching medicine from an interdisciplinary perspective has allowed for important progress in healthcare services. Digital health technologies and biotelemetry devices have been more extensively employed for preventing, detecting, diagnosing, monitoring, and predicting the evolution of various diseases, without requiring wires, invasive procedures, or face-to-face interaction with medical personnel. This paper aims to review the concepts correlated to digital health, classify and describe biotelemetry devices, and present the potential of digitalization for remote health assessment, the transition to personalized medicine, and the streamlining of clinical trials.

Background: Telemedicine is the service of delivering medical care from a distance through the means of modern technology. It has many advantages, including improved access, decreased costs for both patients and clinics, more flexibility and availability, as well as more precise and individualized therapies. However, it is equally important to take into consideration all the challenges associated with this innovative way of providing care. This virtual technology has had an exponential growth, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, because it delivers great outcomes and suggests exciting future promises. Methods: The study involved the collection of responses from an online questionnaire comprising 26 questions that was distributed to healthcare professionals in Romania. Results: The questionnaire was completed by a number of 1017 healthcare professionals. We investigated and analyzed whether telehealth is seen as an important constituent of the healthcare system, if it is perceived as necessary, safe, well-managed by lawmakers, and easy to use, what advantages it has, what common practices specialists already employ and, additionally, the openness toward becoming more digitally educated for the purpose of streamlining the use of telemedicine. Conclusions: This paper reports on the perception of telemedicine among healthcare professionals in Romania, as constructive feedback represents an essential piece of the puzzle in assuring the smooth transition toward this facet of modern healthcare.

Background: Incisional hernias represent a common complication following a midline incision, generating impairment, lower quality of life, and social costs. The aim of this narrative review is to determine in which manner risk factors – such as age, gender, postoperative complications, and even the overall health system – impact the satisfaction and expectations of the patients. Methods: A literature search was performed through PubMed, Web of Science, and SpringerLink, addressing both international and national articles. Only full-text articles published in the last 12 years were chosen. Each individual positive or negative factor was then targeted. Results: Statistically, the majority of patients were satisfied with the outcomes of the reparative surgery. Even so, complications can still occur, which are more likely to appear in the early postoperative stages. In most of these cases, the patients complained of strenuous movement, chronic pain, or recurrence, leaving the option of another surgical repair up to the patient’s wishes. On the one hand it seems that robotic-assisted surgery (RAS), absorbable sutures, suture fixation without tacks, and the male gender were associated with a better quality of life and less recurrence or other complications. On the other hand, lack of communication between patients and health personnel, chronic health diseases, and the female gender were linked to a tendency of developing more complications and therefore, a lower quality of life. Conclusion: Statistically, in most of the cases, the patients were satisfied with the results. While it is safe to say that an incisional hernia repair increases the quality of life, there is still a small, but significant percentage of people that do not benefit from it as much as they expected. More awareness should be raised and the communication between patients and health personnel improved.

Dinamica evoluţiei tehnologice a dus la creşterea exponenţială a cantităţii de informaţii publicate în toate domeniile ştiinţifice. În acest context a fost necesară dezoltarea unor metode obiective de a evalua revistele, articolele şi respectiv cercetătorii. Articolul de faţă reprezintă un review al evoluţiei parametrilor scientometrici tradiţionali bazaţi pe citări.Cuvinte cheie: metrici, factor de impact, h index, citare, evaluarea cercetării Abstract Technological evolution dynamics has led to the exponential increase of the quantity of information published in all the scientific domains. In this context, there has been necessary to develop an objective method of reviewing the journals, articles and respectively the researchers. This paper represents a review of the evolution of traditional metrics based on citations.