JMIR Research Protocols

Pterygium and cataract frequently coexist in populations with high UV light exposure, particularly in rural India. Both conditions impair visual acuity and reduce quality of life. Simultaneous small incision cataract surgery (SICS) combined with pterygium excision offers the advantages of a single surgical session, faster rehabilitation, and lower cost compared with sequential procedures. However, SICS uses a superior scleral tunnel incision of 6.5 to 7 mm, which itself induces against-the-rule surgically induced astigmatism. The net astigmatic outcome of simultaneous SICS and pterygium excision—specifically, whether the reduction of pterygium-induced with-the-rule astigmatism offsets SICS-induced against-the-rule astigmatism—has not been prospectively characterized in a resource-limited setting. The bare sclera technique, while not designed to minimize recurrence, was selected to isolate the corneal astigmatic effects of fibrovascular tissue removal without confounding variables associated with conjunctival grafting.

One in 4 young adults has prediabetes, and improving diet is a key step to lowering the risk of diabetes. Existing standard-of-care diet approaches show short-term efficacy but lack long-term effectiveness, including in young adults. Greater fiber intake is associated with a reduced risk of diabetes; however, fiber is not well targeted using existing interventions. Many young adults may be reluctant to consume fiber given the coexistence with digestible carbohydrates and concerns over gastrointestinal effects. Targeting these factors more explicitly may improve uptake and lower diabetes risk, and doing so via a mobile health (mHealth) intervention may be particularly responsive to young adult demands.

The transdiagnostic symptom of anhedonia, or the loss of pleasure in previously pleasurable things, is common across several chronic physical and mental illnesses. Music therapy has been effective in treating a range of conditions associated with anhedonia, but only 3 cases have been reported that targeted increasing hedonic capacity and all relied on descriptive data (qualitative and quantitative). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) evidence demonstrates that pleasure is associated with increased activity in the limbic system, including the anterior cingulate cortex, as well as the prefrontal cortex. As such, changes within these regions may provide objective evidence to explore how music therapy acts to reduce anhedonia symptomatology.

Most clinical reasoning evaluations in large language models (LLMs) score only the final answer, usually multiple-choice accuracy, which explains little about model reasoning. Two developments stress this gap: reasoning-optimized models are now common, and several expose an explicit extended thinking control. Whether that deliberation improves the reasoning process remains untested with a validated instrument.

Electronic medical charts within Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) specialty programs contain rich but unstructured clinical and sociodemographic data essential for injury classification, treatment planning, and compensation decisions. Manual chart review is time-consuming, inconsistent, and susceptible to reviewer bias. Large language models (LLMs) extract complex information from unstructured clinical text, yet their application to workplace injury rehabilitation remains unexplored.

Reduced cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a well-recognized but underaddressed complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), contributing substantially to cardiovascular morbidity, mortality, and reduced quality of life. Evidence related to pulmonary function, functional exercise capacity, and autonomic dysfunction in T2DM remains fragmented and methodologically heterogeneous.

Eating disorders (EDs) remain challenging to treat effectively, with low recovery percentages and high relapse rates. This study protocol explores autonomy-enhancing therapy as a therapeutic adjunct to existing day care treatment in the last phase of treatment. Autonomy-enhancing therapy is aimed at improving autonomy-connectedness: the capacity for self-steering while connected to others, which encompasses self-awareness, sensitivity to others, and the capacity for managing new situations. Higher autonomy-connectedness has been associated with improved ED recovery and lower relapse rates, yet little is known about the effectiveness of autonomy-enhancing therapy in ED populations.

About 828 million adults were estimated to be living with diabetes, and this is projected to affect 1 in 9 adults by 2045. In Belgium, 7.6% of adults have been diagnosed with the disease; however, approximately 1 in 3 people remain unaware of their condition. Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have improved care quality and health management, and facilitated communication between health care providers and patients. The Digital Diabetes Patient Reminder (DIPAR) tool was developed as an extension of the existing patient portal to support diabetes management through automated reminders for overdue monitoring, and a consultation dashboard that facilitates communication between patients and health care providers. This pilot study was conducted within the European Joint Action on Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes framework.

Adoption of sustainable menstrual products, such as menstrual cups (MCs) and menstrual panties (MPs), remains low in India despite national menstrual hygiene initiatives. Cultural taboos, low awareness, and misinformation are significant barriers. This study develops and evaluates a community-based intervention led by trained community health workers and female teachers to promote sustainable menstrual product use among adolescent girls.

Endoscopic hemostasis is used to treat colonic diverticular bleeding (CDB); however, rebleeding is frequently observed after conservative treatment. Currently, evidence regarding the efficacy of oral medications for preventing rebleeding from colonic diverticula is limited. Orengedokuto (Huanglian Jiedu Tang) is a traditional Kampo formula with capillary-constricting and hemostatic properties that are used to treat bleeding conditions such as epistaxis, hematemesis, and melena. If proven to be effective in preventing rebleeding, orengedokuto could reduce the need for hospitalization and repeat endoscopic procedures, thereby lowering the burden on patients and health care systems.

Preterm infants often experience physiological instability and immature feeding coordination, which can delay the transition to oral feeding and prolong hospitalization. Nonpharmacological interventions are increasingly used to support feeding readiness and neurobehavioral regulation. Exposure to breast milk odor has shown potential benefit. However, robust evidence from randomized controlled trials using validated outcome measures remains limited, particularly in the Indonesian context.

Dementia training requires innovative strategies to improve nursing students’ attitudes, knowledge, and behavioral responses regarding ageism. Virtual reality (VR) offers immersive learning, but existing interventions often rely on passive 360° viewing, which provides limited opportunities for practice communication.