Wayfinding and Glaucoma: A Virtual Reality Experiment.

PurposeWayfinding, the process of determining and following a route between an origin and a destination, is an integral part of everyday tasks. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of glaucomatous visual field loss on wayfinding behavior using an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 31 glaucomatous patients and 20 healthy subjects without evidence of overall cognitive impairment. Wayfinding experiments were modeled after the Morris water maze navigation task and conducted in an immersive VR environment. Two rooms were built varying only in the complexity of the visual scene in order to promote allocentric-based (room A, with multiple visual cues) versus egocentric-based (room B, with single visual cue) spatial representations of the environment. Wayfinding tasks in each room consisted of revisiting previously visible targets that subsequently became invisible.ResultsFor room A, glaucoma patients spent on average 35.0 seconds to perform the wayfinding task, whereas healthy subjects spent an average of 24.4 seconds (P = 0.001). For room B, no statistically significant difference was seen on average time to complete the task (26.2 seconds versus 23.4 seconds, respectively; P = 0.514). For room A, each 1-dB worse binocular mean sensitivity was associated with 3.4% (P = 0.001) increase in time to complete the task.ConclusionsGlaucoma patients performed significantly worse on allocentric-based wayfinding tasks conducted in a VR environment, suggesting visual field loss may affect the construction of spatial cognitive maps relevant to successful wayfinding. VR environments may represent a useful approach for assessing functional vision endpoints for clinical trials of emerging therapies in ophthalmology

The Relative Odds of Progressing by Structural and Functional Tests in Glaucoma.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of disease severity and number of tests acquired during follow-up on the relative odds of identifying progression by structural or functional tests in glaucoma.MethodsThis was an observational cohort study involving 462 eyes of 305 patients with glaucoma and 62 eyes of 49 healthy subjects. Glaucoma patients and healthy subjects were followed for an average of 3.6 ± 0.9 and 3.8 ± 0.9 years, with a median (interquantile range) of 8 (6-9) and 7 (6-8) visits, respectively. At each visit, subjects underwent visual field assessment with standard automated perimetry (SAP) and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) evaluation by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Slopes of change in SAP mean sensitivity and OCT RNFL thickness over time were estimated by linear regression using progressively cumulative visits over time. Cutoff values for age-related expected rates of change for each test were obtained from the healthy group. Progression by SD-OCT and/or SAP was determined if the slope of change was statistically significant and also lower (faster) than the fifth percentile cutoff calculated from the healthy group. A generalized estimating equation logistic regression model was used to evaluate the relative odds of progressing by OCT versus SAP in glaucoma eyes.ResultsEyes with less severe disease at baseline had a higher chance of being detected as progressing by SD-OCT but not by SAP, whereas an increase in disease severity at baseline increased the chance that the eye would be detected as progressing by SAP but not SD-OCT. Each 1 dB higher MD was associated with a 5% increase in the odds of detecting progression by SD-OCT versus SAP (odds ratio = 1.05 per 1 dB; 95% confidence interval: 1.01-1.09; P = 0.005).ConclusionsThe ability to detect glaucoma progression by SAP versus SD-OCT is significantly influenced by the stage of disease. Our results may provide useful information for guiding clinicians on the relative utility of these tests for detecting change throughout the disease continuum

Brazilian solar saltworks - ancient uses and future possibilities

Coastal solar saltworks of Brazil are exploited for sea salt, which becomes progressively concentrated by evaporation. This study aimed to review the current and new potential uses of these systems, in order to provide more dynamic for this activity. The first evaporation ponds are also used for artisanal fisheries, ensuring the livelihood of many families. All the brine rich in secondary salts (bittern) can be widely used by the chemical industry, while the Brazil shows an incipient production of "flower of salt", a salt with distinct characteristics with higher market value than sodium chloride. On the other hand, the saltponds have a high potential for management and obtaining of large populations of Artemia spp., purifying the brine through the action as biological filter. This microcrustacean occurs naturally in intermediate salinity ponds, being commonly used in aquaculture. Species of microalgae and halobacteria found in the saltworks are employed for extraction of beta-carotene and glycerol, used in an extensive list of products with high commercial value. These ecosystems represent refuge zones for many species of migratory birds, becoming imperative to promote the conservation of these hypersaline wetlands

Implementação de um sistema de informação geográfica para a gestão da empresa florestal.

Este trabalho mostra a integração do modelo administrativo de uma empresa florestal através da implementação de um sistema de informação geográfica. Como base do trabalho, foi utilizado o sistema SPRING (Sistema para Processamento de Informações Georreferenciadas) desenvolvido pelo INPE (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais). Também foram utilizados os sistemas SISPINUS (Simulador de Crescimento e Produção de Pinus elliottii e Pinus taeda) e PLANIN (Planejamento Florestal Integrado), ambos desenvolvidos pela EMBRAPA (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) e UFPR (Universidade Federal do Paraná). O Uso do SPRING integrado a simuladores da produção tornou viável a elaboração de um sistema que possibilita a espacialização da prognose de crescimento e produção por sortimento de madeira bem como da programação de cortes e parâmetros econômicos, até resultados mais avançados de análise espacial. O sistema de informação geográfica implementado apresentou bons resultados e demonstrou grandes possibilidades proporcionando a rápida visualização espacial de informações obtidas como também a integração e produção de novas informações que podem auxiliar os processos de decisão e planejamento das empresas, sobretudo no planejamento e manejo florestal de espécies de rápido crescimento

Estimativa da divergência genética entre genótipos de feijão-caupi a partir de análises multivariadas.

Objetivou-se, neste trabalho, estimar a divergência genética entre genótipos de feijão-caupi por meio de técnicas multivariadas

Avaliacao de um injetor Venturi funcionando para aeracao de agua.

Objetivando avaliar um injetor Venturi p ara realizar aeração de água, conduziu-se um experimento no Laboratório de Hidráulica da ESALQ-USP co m injetor Venturi dotado de câmara de mistura com diâmetros de entrada e saída d e 20 mm e diâmetro interno do bocal de 7,1 mm, instalado em série à linha de abastecimento de um sistema de tubos perfurados submersos. Trabalhou-se com pressões de serviço variando de 49,0 até 269,5 kPa, com incrementos de 24,5, produzindo-se, portanto, diferentes vazões motrizes. Mediu-se as vazões succionadas d e ar in corporado na água, diferenciais de pressões e rendimento p ara cada pressão de serviço e definiu-se equações representativas para diferentes relações. Os rendimentos oscilaram entre 5,72 e 9,58% com média de 7,25%, e que a vazão de ar incorporada à água pode ser estimada em função do diferencial de pressão entre a entrada e saída do Venturi por uma relação linear