Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane: Microvasculature Analysis with Optical Coherence Tomography and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Background: The present study examined the relationships among macular microvasculature, retinal structure, and epiretinal membrane (ERM) and explored the utility of optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography (OCTA) in idiopathic ERM assessment. Methods: The study sample comprised 276 eyes of 276 patients. A total of 154 eyes with ERM and 122 normal (control) eyes were analyzed. Only one eye of each participant was randomly selected for posterior segment imaging. Each patient underwent OCT and OCTA. Images were analyzed with AngioTool 0.6. Results: Foveal avascular zone was significantly smaller in the ERM group (p = 0.044). Average retinal thickness and foveal thickness were significantly higher in the ERM group (both p = 0.001). Moreover, 64 (41.5%) patients exhibited no metamorphopsia, while 46 (29.8%) and 44 (28.7%) patients exhibited moderate and extensive metamorphopsias, respectively. Meanwhile, FAZ was negatively correlated with central retinal thickness in the ERM group. The vessel area (p = 0.0017) and vessel percentage area (p = 0.044) were significantly greater in the ERM group. Conclusions: Changes observed in the superficial plexus in OCTA are related to the severity of metamorphopsia and can be further evaluated to support decision making regarding the surgical management of idiopathic ERM.

Integrated drought risk assessment to support adaptive policy making in the Netherlands

Adaptive policy-making to prepare for current and future drought risks requires an integrated assessment of policy actions and combinations of those under changing conditions. This entails quantification of drought risks, integrating drought probability and socio-economic consequences for all relevant sectors that are potentially impacted by drought. The investment costs of proposed policy actions and strategies (various actions combined) can then be compared with the expected risk reduction to determine the cost-effectiveness. This paper presents a method to quantify drought risk in the Netherlands under changing future conditions and in response to policy actions. It illustrates how to use this information as part of a societal cost-benefit analysis and in building an adaptive long-term strategy. The method has been successfully applied to support decision making on the Netherlands’ national drought risk management strategy as part of the National Delta Program for climate change adaptation.

Decision-Making Procedures and Their Relation to Knowledge Management and Quality Management

The environment in which managers currently operate is dynamic and turbulent. This fact affects the great complexity and dynamism of changes. Thus, decision-making becomes more complex in the context of sustainability. Decisive decision-making is becoming rare, and the challenge of globalization is increasing. Under its influence, decision-making is no longer deterministic. Decision-making processes prevail in conditions of uncertainty. In this context, there is a very intense need to be acquainted with progressive tools to support decision-making and management and to apply the acquired knowledge in practice. This paper focuses on three related areas. We are talking about knowledge management in connection with the most important contributing element—decision-making with quality management. We deal with the characteristics of the individual areas, defining their mutual relationship on a systemic basis. The paper also points to the necessary connection between theory and practice. More specifically, it points to the practical applications of management to decision-making as a managerial function and, at the same time, related to decision-making in quality management. Subsequently, we define the links to knowledge management with an emphasis on the use of procedures, methods, and knowledge in the decision-making process, which we use in theory and practice in quality management.

Room-Level Ventilation in Schools and Universities

Ventilation is of primary concern for maintaining healthy indoor air quality and reducing the spread of airborne infectious disease, including COVID-19. In addition to building-level guidelines, increased attention is being placed on room-level ventilation. However, for many universities and schools, ventilation data on a room-by-room basis are not available for classrooms and other key spaces. We present an overview of approaches for measuring ventilation along with their advantages and disadvantages. We also present data from recent case studies for a variety of institutions across the United States, with various building ages, types, locations, and climates, highlighting their commonalities and differences, and examples of the use of this data to support decision making.

A Conceptual Model for Describing the Integration of Decision Aspect into Big Data

Big Data is an important topic for discussion and research. It has gained this importance due to the meaningful value that could be extracted from these data. The application of Big Data in the modern business allows enterprises to take faster and smarter decisions, achieving a real competitive advantage. However, a lot of Big Data projects provide disappointing results that don't address the decision-makers' needs due to many reasons. The main reason for this failure can be summarized in neglecting the study of the decision-making aspect of these projects. In light of this challenge, this study proposes the integration of decision aspect into Big Data as a solution. Therefore, this article presents three main contributions: 1) Clarify the definition of Big Data; 2) Presents BD-Da model, a conceptual model describes the levels that should be considered to develop a Big Data project aiming to solve a problem that calls a decision; 3) Describes a particular, logical, requirements-like approach that explains how a company develops a Big Data analytics project to support decision-making.

Coping With the Infodemic With Scientific Knowledge Management

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a challenge to the health area and generated an enormous amount of information, some accurate and some not, which made it difficult to locate reliable sources of information. Scientific knowledge has become the best way to mitigate this infodemiological process. Observatories are instruments to support decision making, seeking to integrate different sources of information and communicate the results using research methodologies such as the COVID-19 Scientific Evidence Observatory. Created by members of the research group Information in Science, Technology, and Innovation in Health, of the IBICT, it aims to meet the informational demands of the most varied audiences. Its development methodology involves a knowledge management team that uses the methodological rigor of the systematic literature review to seek, evaluate, synthesize, and enable access to reliable and qualified sources of information. It provides access to different sources of national and international information from the Kaleidoscope of Science.

3D survey and virtual reconstruction of heritage. The case study of the City Council and Lonja of Alcañiz

With current data acquisition techniques, exhaustive documentation of patrimonial goods is generated, which allows obtaining a 3D geometric model, on which data from research from research is generated. As in other fields of architecture, the latest graphic techniques and manipulation of the image, allow a working methodology other than the current one in the patrimonial field. The information systems have been evolving towards technologies developed with open source software, the use of standards, ontologies and the structuring of information and of the 3D model itself under a semantic hierarchy. Interoperability between databases is favored and the maintenance of applications is ensured. The purpose is to support decision-making related to the model and simultaneously, serve multiple purposes such as cataloging, protection, restoration, conservation, maintenance or dissemination, among others. The research carried out for the realization of the survey of the City Council and Lonja of Alcañiz (Teruel), has the aim of expanding the historical knowledge of the buildings and delimiting its possible constructive phases, in order to obtain the geometric reality of the buildings. In this way, provide greater instruments to carry out the drafting work of the set restoration project.

Transition of antibody titers after the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine in Japanese healthcare workers

Since February 2021, health care workers in Japan have been preferentially vaccinated with a messenger RNA vaccine (BNT162b2/Pfizer) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). While many studies have confirmed that this vaccine is highly effective in reducing hospitalizations and deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), antibody titers tend to decline at 3 months, leading to a risk of breakthrough infections. Thus, information is needed to support decision making regarding the third vaccination. In this study, we investigated transition of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) IgG and neutralizing antibody titers of 41 vaccinated Japanese healthcare workers. Samples were collected seven times starting 1 week before vaccination until 6 months post-vaccination. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG levels peaked at 7 days after the booster, then declined over time and decreased to <10% at 6 months after the booster. Workers with low anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG levels also had low neutralizing antibody titers. These data support the active use of boosters for healthcare workers, especially for those with low anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG levels.

Geodetic Landmarks Soil Loss Susceptibility Using RUSLE and Climate Change Scenarios

Geodetic landmarks (GLs) are essential for obtaining the precise height, horizontal coordinates, and the Earth's gravity field. Once physically implanted on the surface, they are susceptible to movement and displacement. This study aims to assess the soil susceptibility of GLs for past and future scenarios through the Revised Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). So the soil loss estimations were made for the GLs in Brazil's southern Santa Catarina region. Our results showed average soil loss values, reaching 175915 t/ha/year, while the GLs were 2109 t/ha/year. There was an increase in GLs in the null class, mainly caused by urban infrastructure increase. At the same time, a decrease occurred in the low, very severe, severe, and moderate classes. In contrast, for future scenarios, an increase in the GLs average soil loss was found until 2100. However, it is essential to highlight that the most relevant increase occurred in the 2021-2040 period. After that, some scenarios as ssp126 remained stable, ssp245 and ssp370 slightly increased while ssp585 increased the most, reaching a maximum value of 2364 t/ha/year until 2100. There are a stability in the null class with a little decreasing in the low and moderate classes. In severe and very severe classes, there are a increase in the almost all scenarios. This behavior take account only the rainfall, thus for a better analysis, would be necessary the forecast of land cover change. Therefore, the climate simulations can be used to understand the effects of climate change on soil erosion to support decision-making.

Stylistic variation in email

This study explores how email is partly shaped by writers’ positions within a corporate structure. This stylistic variation is measurable at scale and can be described by messages’ rhetorical organizations and orientations. The modeling was carried out on a subset of the Enron email corpus, which was processed using the dictionary-based tagger DocuScope. The results identify four stylistic variants (Trained/Technical Support, Decision-Making, Everyday Workplace Interaction, and Engaged Planning), each realizing distinctive combinations of features reflective of their communicative functions. In Trained/Technical Support emails, for example, constellations of words and phrases associated with informational production and facilitation are marshaled in fulfilling routine guidance-seeking and guidance-giving tasks. While writers’ positions motivate stylistic tendencies (e.g., members of upper-level management compose a majority of their messages in the Decision-Making style), all writers avail themselves of a variety of styles, depending on audience and purpose, suggesting that learners might benefit from developing adaptable communicative repertoires.