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Introduction: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks have been among the cornerstones of COVID-19 prevention. Therefore, evaluating their preventive effects against COVID-19 is crucial. This review aimed to systematically search for the systematic review articles that explored the role of various types of face masks in preventing COVID-19.
Methods: We browsed the keywords of this study in the online databases of Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane on 10th January 2023 and retrieved all the relevant systematic review articles. The records were downloaded into an Endnote file, and the duplicates were removed. A two-step screening process consisting of title/abstract and full-text screenings was conducted to select the most relevant articles. To ensure the validity and reliability of the results, this study adhered to the PRISMA protocol.
Results: A total of 28 systematic reviews were included in this review. Most studies found that face masks are beneficial against viral respiratory infections, such as COVID-19. Different types of masks were evaluated in included studies. It appeared that mask efficacy depends on the material, layers, fitting on the face and user compliance. N 95 respirator had maximum efficacy, especially when used continuously.
Conclusion: Face masks have a beneficial effect against COVID-19. Home masks are less protective than surgical masks or N95 personal breathing masks. Besides, the use of masks may elicit a false sense of security in people, which may lead to poor hand hygiene and violation of social distancing. Therefore, the necessary training should be provided to the public to increase awareness and encourage the right practice of using the mask, emphasizing the preventive effects of washing hands, social distancing, and using a face mask against COVID-19.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1871526523666230601090905 | DOI Listing |
Med Eng Phys
October 2025
Biomedical Device Technology, Istanbul Aydın University, Istanbul, 34093, Istanbul, Turkey. Electronic address:
Deep learning approaches have improved disease diagnosis efficiency. However, AI-based decision systems lack sufficient transparency and interpretability. This study aims to enhance the explainability and training performance of deep learning models using explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) techniques for brain tumor detection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Res Notes
September 2025
Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Objectives: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for approximately 15% of lung tumors and is marked by aggressive growth and early metastatic spread. In this study, we used two SCLC mouse models with differing tumor mutation burdens (TMB). To investigate tumor composition, spatial architecture, and interactions with the surrounding microenvironment, we acquired multiplexed images of mouse lung tumors using imaging mass cytometry (IMC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSupport Care Cancer
September 2025
Department of Psycho-Oncology, HCG Cancer Center, Khasra No. 50, 51, Mouja Wanjri, Bande Nawaz Nagar, Near Automotive Square, Kalamna Ring Road, Nagpur, 440026, Maharashtra, India.
Purpose: Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients undergoing radiation therapy (RT) often experience mask anxiety due to the use of thermoplastic masks for immobilization. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a combined music therapy and relaxation-visualization intervention in reducing mask anxiety among HNC patients receiving RT at a tertiary care super-specialty oncology hospital in central India.
Methods: A total of 216 HNC patients scheduled for RT were randomized into either the intervention group (N = 108) or the control group (N = 108).
Am J Audiol
September 2025
Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
Purpose: This exploratory study examined if hearing handicap in older adults affected listening-related fatigue during health care interactions and explored whether different face mask types worn during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic influenced this association.
Method: A cross-sectional observational study among community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and older receiving care at an academic health care system outpatient audiology or otolaryngology clinics was conducted. Eligible participants completed and returned a mail-in self-reported packet including the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (Screener Version; HHIE-S) and the 10-item Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale for Adults (VFS-A-10).
IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell
September 2025
Generalized visual grounding tasks, including Generalized Referring Expression Comprehension (GREC) and Segmentation (GRES), extend the classical visual grounding paradigm by accommodating multi-target and non-target scenarios. Specifically, GREC focuses on accurately identifying all referential objects at the coarse bounding box level, while GRES aims for achieve fine-grained pixel-level perception. However, existing approaches typically treat these tasks independently, overlooking the benefits of jointly training GREC and GRES to ensure consistent multi-granularity predictions and streamline the overall process.
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