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.

Ensuring food security is essential for achieving sustainable global development, requiring a balance between sufficient food production and maintaining its safety and nutritional value. However, this objective faces considerable challenges due to the infiltration of toxic metal species into the food supply. Heavy metals and metalloids, depending on their molecular form and daily dose, exhibit varying degrees of toxicity, making the precise identification of their species essential for assessing their impact on human health and the environment. This study focuses on identifying the primary anthropogenic sources and dissemination pathways of heavy metal pollutants, with an emphasis on their speciation and bioavailability. It examines how toxic metal species, such as Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, Hg²⁺, and various arsenic species (AsIII and AsV), infiltrate ecosystems, bioaccumulate within the food chain, and ultimately compromise food safety and nutritional value. Furthermore, the research explores the physiological and biochemical disruptions caused by these toxic metal species, including the displacement of essential ions from enzymatic active sites and transport proteins due to competitive binding by pollutants, oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species generation, and cellular dysfunction affecting metabolic pathways and signaling cascades, all of which contribute to both chronic and acute health conditions. By providing a detailed analysis of exposure routes and toxicological processes, this paper highlights the far-reaching consequences of heavy metal contamination on public health and agricultural sustainability. Special attention is given to the need for precise terminology, as the toxicity of metals is inherently linked to their daily dose and chemical species rather than their elemental form. Finally, this study advocates for integrated, multidisciplinary strategies aimed at mitigating these risks, enhancing ecosystem stability, and ensuring long-term food security in the face of environmental challenges.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are vital dietary elements that play a significant role in human nutrition. They are highly regarded for their positive contributions to overall health and well-being. Beyond the fact that they provide a substantial supply of energy to the body (a role that saturated fats can also perform), these unsaturated fatty acids and, especially, the essential ones are involved in cell membrane structure, blood pressure regulation, and coagulation; participate in the proper functioning of the immune system and assimilation of fat-soluble vitamins; influence the synthesis of pro- and anti-inflammatory substances; and protect the cardiovascular system. Modern diets like the Western diet and the American diet are rich in saturated fats found especially in fast food products, sweets, and processed foods, a fact that has led to an increase in the prevalence of metabolic diseases worldwide (obesity, type II diabetes, gout, cardiovascular disease). Nutritionists have drawn attention to the moderate consumption of saturated fats and the need to increase the intake of unsaturated fats to the detriment of saturated ones. This paper examines the biochemical roles of polyunsaturated fats, particularly essential fatty acids, and contrasts their benefits with the detrimental effects of saturated fat overconsumption. Furthermore, it highlights the necessity for dietary shifts towards increased PUFA intake to mitigate the global burden of diet-related health issues. The co-occurrence of PUFAs and polyphenols in plant-based foods highlights the sophistication of nature’s design. These bioactive compounds are not randomly distributed but are present in foods humans have consumed together historically. From traditional diets like the Mediterranean, which pairs olive oil (PUFAs and polyphenols) with vegetables and legumes, to Asian cuisines combining sesame seeds with turmeric, cultural practices have long harnessed this natural synergy.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral circulation delivers the blood flow to the brain through a dedicated network of sanguine vessels. A healthy human brain can regulate cerebral blood flow (CBF) according to any physiological or pathological challenges. The brain is protected by its self-regulatory mechanisms, which are dependent on neuronal and support cellular populations, including endothelial ones, as well as metabolic, and even myogenic factors. OBJECTIVES: Accumulating data suggest that “non-pharmacological” approaches might provide new opportunities for stroke therapy, such as electro-/acupuncture, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, hypothermia/cooling, photobiomodulation, therapeutic gases, transcranial direct current stimulations, or transcranial magnetic stimulations. We reviewed the recent data on the mechanisms and clinical implications of these non-pharmaceutical treatments. METHODS: To present the state-of-the-art for currently available non-invasive, non-pharmacological-related interventions in acute ischemic stroke, we accomplished this synthetic and systematic literature review based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Principles Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). RESULTS: The initial number of obtained articles was 313. After fulfilling the five steps in the filtering/selection methodology, 54 fully eligible papers were selected for synthetic review. We enhanced our documentation with other bibliographic resources connected to our subject, identified in the literature within a non-standardized search, to fill the knowledge gaps. Fifteen clinical trials were also identified. DISCUSSION: Non-invasive, non-pharmacological therapeutic/rehabilitative interventions for acute ischemic stroke are mainly holistic therapies. Therefore, most of them are not yet routinely used in clinical practice, despite some possible beneficial effects, which have yet to be supplementarily proven in more related studies. Moreover, few of the identified clinical trials are already completed and most do not have final results. CONCLUSIONS: This review synthesizes the current findings on acute ischemic stroke therapeutic/rehabilitative interventions, described as non-invasive and non-pharmacological.

Background: In the last few years, several studies have focused on describing and understanding how virtual coaches (ie, coaching program or smart device aiming to provide coaching support through a variety of application contexts) could be key drivers for health promotion in home care settings. As there has been enormous technological progress in the field of artificial intelligence and data processing in the past decade, the use of virtual coaches gains an augmented attention in the considerations of medical innovations. Objective: This scoping review aimed at providing an overview of the applications of a virtual coach in the clinical field. In particular, the review focused on the papers that provide tangible information for coaching activities with an active implication for engaging and guiding patients who have an ongoing plan of care. Methods: We aimed to investigate the use of the term virtual coach in the clinical field performing a methodical review of the relevant literature indexed on PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases to find virtual coach papers focused on specific activities dealing with clinical or medical contexts, excluding those aimed at surgical settings or electronic learning purposes. Results: After a careful revision of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 46 records were selected for the full-text review. Most of the identified articles directly or indirectly addressed the topic of physical activity. Some papers were focused on the use of virtual coaching (VC) to manage overweight or nutritional issues. Other papers dealt with technological interfaces to facilitate interactions with patients suffering from different chronic clinical conditions such as heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, and chronic pain. Conclusions: Although physical activity is a healthy practice that is most encouraged by a virtual coach system, in the current scenario, rehabilitation is the great absentee. This paper gives an overview of the tangible applications of this tool in the medical field and may inspire new ideas for future research on VC.

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.