Objective: This umbrella review aims to ascertain the extent to which immersive Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies improve specific competencies in healthcare professionals within medical education and training, in contrast to traditional educational methods or no intervention.Methods: Adhering to PRISMA guidelines and the PICOS approach, a systematic literature search was conducted across major databases to identify studies examining the use of VR and AR in medical education. Eligible studies were screened and categorized based on the PICOS criteria. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were employed to analyze the data, supplemented by the Fisher test for small sample sizes or specific conditions.Analysis: The analysis involved cross-tabulating the stages of work (Development and Testing, Results, Evaluated) and variables of interest (Performance, Engagement, Performance and Engagement, Effectiveness, no evaluated) against the types of technologies used. Chi-square tests assessed the associations between these categorical variables.Results: A total of 28 studies were included, with the majority reporting increased or positive effects from the use of immersive technologies. VR was the most frequently studied technology, particularly in the “Performance” and “Results” stages. The chi-square analysis, with a Pearson value close to significance (p = 0.052), suggested a non-significant trend toward the association of VR with improved outcomes.Conclusions: The results indicate that VR is a prevalent tool in the research landscape of medical education technologies, with a positive trend toward enhancing educational outcomes. However, the statistical analysis did not reveal a significant association, suggesting the need for further research with larger sample sizes. This review underscores the potential of immersive technologies to enhance medical training yet calls for more rigorous studies to establish definitive evidence of their efficacy.

Recently, green-prepared oxidized graphenes have attracted huge interest in water purification and wastewater treatment. Herein, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was prepared by a scalable and eco-friendly method, and its potential use for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from water systems, was explored. The present work includes the green protocol to produce rGO and respective spectroscopical and morphological characterizations, as well as several kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamic analyses to successfully demonstrate the adsorption of MB. The pseudo-second-order model was appropriated to describe the adsorption kinetics of MB onto rGO, suggesting an equilibrium time of 30 min. Otherwise, the Langmuir model was more suitable to describe the adsorption isotherms, indicating a maximum adsorption capacity of 121.95 mg g⁻¹ at 298 K. In addition, kinetics and thermodynamic analyses demonstrated that the adsorption of MB onto rGO can be treated as a mixed physisorption–chemisorption process described by H-bonding, electrostatic, and π $-$ π interactions. These results show the potential of green-prepared rGO to remove cationic dyes from wastewater systems.

The oxidative exfoliation of graphite is a promising approach to the large-scale production of graphene. Conventional oxidation of graphite essentially facilitates the exfoliation process; however, the oxidation procedure releases toxic gases and requires extensive, time-consuming steps of washing and reduction to convert exfoliated graphene oxide (GO) into reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Although toxic gases can be controlled by modifying chemical reactions, filtration, dialysis, and extensive sonication are unfavorable for large-scale production. Here, we report a complete, scalable, and green synthesis of GO, without NaNO₃, followed by reduction with citric acid (CA). This approach eliminates the generation of toxic gases, simplifies the washing steps, and reduces the time required to prepare rGO. To validate the proposed method, we present spectroscopical and morphological studies, using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), UV-visible spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) is used to analyze the thermal properties of GO and rGO. This eco-friendly method proposes a complete guideline protocol toward large-scale production of oxidized graphene, with potential applications in supercapacitors, fuel cells, composites, batteries, and biosensors.

The evolution of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) has significantly benefited from advancements in graphene-based materials, particularly graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). This systematic review consolidates and analyzes existing research on the roles of GO and rGO in enhancing the performance of EDLCs, focusing on synthesis methods, electrode fabrication, electrolytes, and performance metrics such as capacitance, energy density, and cycling stability. Following the PICOS and PRISMA frameworks, a comprehensive literature search was conducted across Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and IEEE Xplore, covering the period from 2010 to 2023. A total of 128 articles were initially identified, with 27 studies meeting the inclusion criteria after rigorous screening and full-text analysis. Key findings reveal that the incorporation of GO and rGO in EDLCs leads to significant improvements in specific capacitance, energy density, and cycling stability. Notable advancements include novel synthesis techniques and composite materials such as nitrogen-doped graphene, graphene/polyaniline hybrids, and various metal oxide–graphene composites, which exhibit superior electrochemical performance. However, challenges such as material scalability, environmental sustainability, and consistency in synthesis methods remain. This review stresses the great potential of GO and rGO in the development of high-performance EDLCs and highlights the need for continued research to address existing challenges and further optimize material properties and fabrication techniques.

This work explores the transformative role of graphene in enhancing the performance of surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensors. The motivation for this review stems from the growing interest in the unique properties of graphene, such as high surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, and versatile functionalization capabilities, which offer significant potential to improve the sensitivity, specificity, and stability of SPR biosensors. This review systematically analyzes studies published between 2010 and 2023, covering key metrics of biosensor performance. The findings reveal that the integration of graphene consistently enhances sensitivity. Specificity, although less frequently reported numerically, showed promising results, with high specificity achieved at sub-nanomolar concentrations. Stability enhancements are also significant, attributed to the protective properties of graphene and improved biomolecule adsorption. Future research should focus on mechanistic insights, optimization of integration techniques, practical application testing, scalable fabrication methods, and comprehensive comparative studies. Our findings provide a foundation for future research, aiming to further optimize and harness the unique physical properties of graphene to meet the demands of sensitive, specific, stable, and rapid biosensing in various practical applications.