The sustainable development of humanity imposes precise norms regarding the management of natural resources, their extraction, use, and the introduction in a complex, innovative circuit of the waste resulting from exploitation. The paper deals with some aspects related to the sustainable management of general medical waste on the one hand and the medical waste specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand. Medical waste requires special treatment given its impact on the environment and on humanity. The management of activities related to its storage, transport, destruction is an important point in the sustainable development of mankind, especially in the current context of the pandemic. Medical waste is in a continuous increase in quantity and involves many effects in various activity fields. Through a scientometric study in the Web of Science—WOS database, the authors identify clusters of keywords, analyze the articles identified in the WOS and identify the main research directions and existing concepts. Corroborating and interpreting the results obtained, three significant trends of approach to medical waste are identified: M—management (1); E—exposure (2); and D—distribution (3). An extensive map of the concepts is made, a narrow map of the concepts used, and a theoretical map of the concepts. The link between medical waste and the development of a sustainable society is demonstrated, and it is possible to open new research directions. The scientometric research undertaken on 1192 WOS articles that were published in 2020 led to the selection of 32, focused on issues related to hazardous medical waste, especially of COVID-19 patients. Following this approach, the authors were able to see, by comparison, the different forms of management of this waste in different countries, thus being able to contribute to the creation of procedures for the collection, storage, and destruction of this hazardous waste, with direct influence on the environment.

Sustainable consumption refers to the choice, purchase, use, and disposal of goods so as to enable all people to meet their present and future objective needs. However, panic caused by the gradual onset of the pandemic had a considerable impact on the behavior of consumption and purchase of medication, and the question remains whether sustainable consumption still matters during a crisis or not. The present study aims to analyze whether the pandemic has influenced the behavior of medication use among residents of Brasov County amid panic caused by the virus and to determine the primary sources of information on methods of the prevention and treatment of health conditions. The study focusses on the differences between the two target groups, young people, and adults, considering three socio-demographic factors, such as age, gender, and background. The present research uses two methods of data collection: an interview with 5 doctors and a questionnaire with 543 respondents. This research draws attention to the fact that the behaviors of purchasing and consuming medication during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed due to the spreading of the new virus and the state of emergency, as well as with medication use becoming less sustainable. The results showed that adults were more engaged in the panic buying of medication compared to young people during the pandemic; however, in normal times, young people use more medication. Our study shows that females tend to consume more medicines than males. Moreover, they are more susceptible for seeking media guidance and following advice from the digital realm, because they avoid going to the doctor, especially during the COVID-19 period. Depending on the environment of residence, it was found that people in rural areas generally tend to consume more medication than those in urban areas. However, during the pandemic, the drug use of this category of population has decreased because they do not tend to self-medicate and avoid visiting the doctor because of the fear of becoming contaminated. The results of the research could help to establish measures in order to prevent the panic buying of self-medication and pharmaceuticals, both during pandemics and in normal times, because such behaviors can have negative effects on both health and the environment.

Introduction: Patient satisfaction represents an essential indicator of the quality of care in the medical recuperation sector. This study aimed to identify the degree of satisfaction in patients who benefit from medical recuperation services in one private clinic from Romania and the factors that played a part in this respect. Method: An online questionnaire was completed by 105 patients of a private clinic in the period immediately following the opening of the clinic after the quarantine period due to COVID-19. The following concepts were measured: general satisfaction with clinical recuperation services (SG), physician’s behavior (PB), the impact of interventions on the state of health (IHI), modern equipment (ME), and the intention to return to the clinic (IRC). Based on a linear regression model, the impact of PB, IHI, ME, and IRC variables on general satisfaction (SG) was established. Results: The study results confirm the data from studies carried out in different sociocultural contexts in ordinary time, where physician behavior is the most crucial factor in patients’ satisfaction. Therefore, we can say that the physiotherapist’s behavior has an essential role in determining the patients’ satisfaction both in ordinary time and in COVID-19 time. The data in this study reflect the fact that satisfaction with the services offered by a medical recuperation clinic is a predictor for using the services in the future. Still, our study reflects a moderate relationship in intensity.

Introduction: In an era where technology is revolutionizing the way business is done, specialists are continuously developing Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems used in call centers in an attempt to meet the ever-changing needs of both customers and businesses. Before investing in an IVR system, call center managers must have a clear picture of the advantages and challenges associated with this technology, and for researchers, it is important to know what are the emerging topics that could be future research directions in the field. However, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews that present an overview of how IVR systems are used in call centers, and this paper aims to fill this gap in the literature by conducting a scientometric research on scientific production in the field.Methods: A total of 284 documents indexed in the Web of Science database between 1991 and 2023 were analyzed using VOSviewer software. The scientometric analysis included a semantic examination of research trends and thematic clustering within the field.Results: The semantic analysis of scientific production highlighted four main research directions: Automatic Speech Recognition, IVR flow optimization, Reliability of IVR systems as a methodology for studies, and Human-Computer Interaction for Development (HCI4D). These clusters highlight the intellectual structure of the field.Discussion: The paper discusses the general intellectual structure of the field, with the four semantic groups being reviewed. Additionaly, emerging topics were identified and the advantages and challenges that accompany the use of this technology in call centers were discussed.

The growing demand for sustainable food production has driven significant advancements in modern agriculture, including increasing interest in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), a high-tech solution designed to provide fresh, local, and organic products. Although the integration of various technologies in agriculture continues to expand, many opportunities remain to improve environmental performance and operational efficiency. Recent advancements in Remote Sensing (RS) and Machine Learning (ML) offer promising tools for enhancing resource efficiency, improving sustainability, and optimizing processes across various agricultural settings. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of the application of Remote Sensing and Machine Learning in agriculture, highlighting publication trends, influential research contributions, and emerging themes in this interdisciplinary field. While the majority of the analyzed literature addresses general agricultural modernization, the growing relevance of RS and ML in artificial climate facilities and controlled environments has been evident in more recent research. Furthermore, we explore how RS and ML technologies contribute to real-time monitoring, precision agriculture, and decision-making in agriculture.

In an era of escalating digital threats and growing dependence on online systems, cybersecurity and user data protection have become critical global priorities. This study aims to identify cutting-edge discoveries and emerging trends in the field through a bibliometric analysis of 708 articles indexed in the Web of Science database. The first part of the analysis presents publication trends, while a semantic analysis of the scientific output highlights the main research directions within the field. For each research direction, emerging terms were identified and used to map the key trends shaping current developments. To fully capture the nuances of the relationships among emerging terms, the identified trends were discussed and contextualized to enhance their understanding. The results provide a comprehensive overview of the evolving dynamics of cybersecurity and user data protection research, and they underscore the dynamic areas of interest driving innovation in this domain.