Types of decisions according to managerial level.
\\n\\n
Released this past November, the list is based on data collected from the Web of Science and highlights some of the world’s most influential scientific minds by naming the researchers whose publications over the previous decade have included a high number of Highly Cited Papers placing them among the top 1% most-cited.
\\n\\nWe wish to congratulate all of the researchers named and especially our authors on this amazing accomplishment! We are happy and proud to share in their success!
Note: Edited in March 2021
\\n"}]',published:!0,mainMedia:{caption:"Highly Cited",originalUrl:"/media/original/117"}},components:[{type:"htmlEditorComponent",content:'IntechOpen is proud to announce that 191 of our authors have made the Clarivate™ Highly Cited Researchers List for 2020, ranking them among the top 1% most-cited.
\n\nThroughout the years, the list has named a total of 261 IntechOpen authors as Highly Cited. Of those researchers, 69 have been featured on the list multiple times.
\n\n\n\nReleased this past November, the list is based on data collected from the Web of Science and highlights some of the world’s most influential scientific minds by naming the researchers whose publications over the previous decade have included a high number of Highly Cited Papers placing them among the top 1% most-cited.
\n\nWe wish to congratulate all of the researchers named and especially our authors on this amazing accomplishment! We are happy and proud to share in their success!
Note: Edited in March 2021
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It mainly regularly monitor the asymptomatic high-risk population to achieve the purpose of early detection and early treatment of malignant tumors. Cancer carring out the secondary prevention should have the following conditions: 1) great harm to the health and life of the population; 2) long enough pre-clinical period; 3) better effect of both the early treatment and intervention of precancerous lesions; 4) screening methods with effective sensitivity and specificity.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a one of head and neck cancer. At present, the etiology of NPC has not remained completely elucidated, generally considered involving Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection, environment changes, and genetic susceptibility. There are no feasible preventive measures for NPC. However, it has secondary prevention. First, NPC exhibiting marked racial and geographical differences, is epidemic in the population of Southern China, Southeast Asia, and North Africa, which is extremely harmful to human life and health [1]. In 2014, the incidence and mortality of NPC were 2.48 per 100,000 and 1.23 per 100,000 in China respectively [2]. At the same time, the morbidity and mortality of males were higher than females. The morbidity was mainly in the young while the mortality was mainly in middle and old age. Besides, the occurrence and development of NPC is a multi-stage process, which includes initiation, promotion, malignant transformation, and advanced stage of disease [3]. It takes a certain amount of time to develop into a malignant tumor. In addition, the clinical stage of NPC is an important factor affecting therapeutic outcome. The 10-year survival rate for NPC with stages I and II can reach up to over 90%, whereas for patients with stage III and IV is less than 50% [4]. At last, there are effective methods to detect pre-clinical patients, and the level of antibody against EBV antigens is significantly related to the risk of NPC [5, 6].
NPC first occurs in the epithelium of the nasopharynx, which can invade the base of the skull and metastasize to the cervical lymph nodes. It has the characteristics of complex manifestations, hidden onset, non-specificity of the initial symptoms, and difficulty in early diagnosis. According to statistics, patients with NPC at an early stage who came to the hospital accounted for only about 20% of the total [7]. Strengthening secondary prevention - early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment - is an important part of the prevention and treatment of NPC. At the same time it is the key to improve the cure rate and obtain a better prognosis of NPC patients.
EBV belonging to γ-herpesvirus is a human herpesvirus with B lymphocytes. Nearly 95% of adults worldwide are infected with this virus. EBV in infected cells can be divided into two states: EBV latent infection and EBV lytic infection. Only a few virus genes are expressed in EBV latent infection, which can ensure the basic replication function of the virus but lossing infection ability. In EBV lytic infection, EBV needs to be activated about 80 ~ 100 viral genes to complete host-to-host propagation, and finally produce and form infectious virions (or viral particles). After the initial infection, EBV can establish a lifelong latent infection in the host, and persistent EBV lysis replication state infection can lead to a series of human malignant tumors [8].
EBV infection is closely related to the occurrence and development of NPC. EBV latent infection of nasopharyngeal epithelial cells is considered to be a key step in the carcinogenesis of epithelial cells. After EBV infection, the expressed virus genes can produce different antigens, such as EBV nuclear antigen (EBNA), membrane antigen (MA), early antigen (EA), viral capsid antigen (VCA), BZLF1 transcription activator protein (Zta), BRLF1 transcription activator protein (Rta), etc. [9].
The detection of antibodies against EBV antigens in the sera of NPC patients was reported as early as 1966. Helen W et al. first proposed the view that immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies against EBV can be used for the diagnosis of NPC [10]. Studies also confirmed that the expression of IgA antibodies against VCA (VCA-IgA) in NPC patients was higher than in healthy people and the antibody titer was related to the stage of NPC. The idea of using this antibody for NPC screening also was proposed [11]. In 1977, Y Zeng et al. established a prospective prevention and treatment site for NPC in Cangwu, Guangxi province China, in order to carry out research on early diagnosis and etiology analysis. The first NPC mass screening was carried out in Cangwu County by the application of the immunoenzymatic (IE) method to detect VCA-IgA and EA-IgA [12]. Therefore, the NPC screening model suitable for the population in the high-risk areas was established by Zeng’s team. Then this mass screening model was promoted to three high-risk areas in China, including Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan province; and more than four hundred thousand people were screened for NPC [13, 14, 15, 16]. In the 1980s, similar methods were used to screen and follow up large populations in Guangdong and Taiwan provinces [17, 18]. SM Cao et al. performed a prospective screening study of 18,986 subjects with a 20-year follow-up in Guangdong province using the same method [6]. This study showed that both VCA-IgA and EA-IgA antibodies were effective serum markers for NPC screening in high-risk areas. Thus, this method was considered as the standard tool for NPC mass screening in China. However, the IE method for detecting EBV antibodies also has disadvantages, such as tedious operation, long time consuming, no quality control standard, and subjective influence on manual interpretation results. These characteristics made it difficult to consistently perform in a large population.
Enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) with many advantages compared with the IE method, such as simple operation, automatic detection, and interpretation of results by a microplate reader, which have subsequently been applied in NPC screening. Many studies about using ELISA for NPC screening were reported. The detection of ZEBRA-IgG by ELISA was applied to screen NPC, but it’s specificity and sensitivity were lower compared with the detection of VCA-IgA based on IE [19]. ELISA-based detection of EBV-related antibodies, such as VCA-IgA, EBNA1-IgA have also found to be a marker for NPC screening [20, 21, 22]. The detection rate of one single marker was found to be not ideal, and issues such as the combination of indicators for joint detection, the setting of thresholds, and the strategy of screening intervals were discussed.
In Indonesia, the two-step approach employed the EBV IgA ELISA based on a combination of VCA p18- and EBNA1-derived synthetic peptides as an initial screening test and the EA-IgA ELISA as a confirmation test. The sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing NPC using it significantly increased, as well as positive predictive value and negative predictive value [23].
JY Guo et al. evaluated the diagnostic effect of VCA-IgA, EA-IgA and Rta-IgG antibody detection alone or Combiningly in NPC. The triple-positive of VCA-IgA, EA-IgA and Rta-IgG antibodies suggested the highest risk of NPC, and the triple-negative of them showed the lowest risk [24].
In Taiwan, the ability of anti-EBV-IgA antibody to detect NPC in a high-risk population was evaluated. These markers targeted at the following EBV peptides including EBNA1, VCAp18, EAp138, Ead_p47 and VCAp18 + EBNA1 peptide mixture. The result showed that EBNA1-IgA was a sensitive biomarker for differential diagnosis of NPC. At the same time they identified 80% of the high-risk individuals who developed to NPC during follow-up (80% sensitivity) during measuring at baseline [25].
SM Cao’s team developed a prediction formula to calculate Logit P-value with VCA-IgA and EBNA1-IgA as variables (Logit P = −3.934 + 2.203 × VCA/IgA + 4.797 × EBNA1/IgA). The specificity of the new screening scheme is equivalent to traditional screening scheme with the IE method (estimated at 98.5%), but the sensitivity of former (75.0%) is significantly higher than the latter (25.0%) [26]. A total of 28,688 Guangdong residents aged 30–59 years were screened by the combination of two EBV antibodies tests in addition to indirect mirror examination in the nasopharynx and/or lymphatic palpation (IMLP) in Sihui and Zhongshan, Guangdong province China. After one year of follow-up, the total detection rate of NPC was 0.14% (41/28,688), and the early diagnosis rate was as high as 68.3% (28/41) [27]. After six-year follow-up, the sensitivity of the new scheme was 95.7%, with AUC = 0.926 (95% CI: 0.885–0.966). The new screening scheme for NPC is verified to be the preferred serum diagnostic strategy for long-term screening in high-incidence areas of NPC [28]. For the best interval, studies have shown that the incidence of NPC was low in the first few years after the negative screening and then it would increase to the general population level. Therefore, the screening interval of 4–5 years may be more appropriate than 9–10 years after VCA-IgA negative detection in NPC screening [29]. The above research results were adopted by the Chinese Technical Program of Cancer Early Diagnosis and Early Treatment --Technical Scheme of NPC Screening to guide the annual routine population screening in NPC high-risk areas (Figure 1).
Flowchart of NPC screening procedure for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). EBV, Epstein–Barr virus; ab, antibody. Cited by expert group of NPC screening project, expert committee on early diagnosis and treatment of cancer project, China. The technical scheme of NPC screening, early diagnosis and early treatment (2015 edition).
However, there are still limitations in NPC screening using EBV antibodies as tumor markers. The false-positive rate of EBV serological screening is relatively high. The positive rate of EBV antibody in the high-risk areas of NPC is 3% ~ 10%. High-risk groups require further examinations, such as nasopharyngeal fibroscopy and nasopharyngeal tissue biopsy. Pathologically diagnosed NPC only accounts for 1.5% ~ 3.3% of the high-risk population at the initial screening, which further leads to a higher false positive rate [27, 30, 31].
Plasma EBV DNA load detected with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been also explored to detect early-stage NPC in asymptomatic patients. Research has demonstrated that EBV DNA could be quantitatively measured in the blood of NPC patients by PCR [32]. A study of 175 patients in New York City found that EBV DNA test had much higher specificity and positive predictive value than IgA test alone [33]. A systematic review reported that the EBV DNA load test had the largest area of 0.932 under the summary receiver operator curve with high sensitivity (73%) and specificity (89%), which suggested that EBV DNA detection in plasma could be an efficient marker in NPC screening [34].
In Hong Kong, a prospective study of 20,174 participants revealed that EBV DNA load in plasma samples was particularly useful in screening for early asymptomatic NPC [35]. The participants were ethnically Chinese men at 40 to 60 years of age. The subjects with initial positive results were detected again after about four weeks, while the subjects with persistent positive EBV DNA in plasma were performed to check by nasal endoscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The median duration of follow-up was 22 months (range, 12 to 44 months). This study showed that the sensitivity and specificity of this method in NPC screening were 97.1% and 98.6% respectively.
However, a study reported that EBV DNA load had a little poor sensitivity and specificity for NPC screening among high-risk family members compared with EBV-IgA serology [36].
The patients with early NPC may only release a limited amount of viral DNA to the blood, making it impossible to detect blood circulation. The potential value of plasma EBV DNA detection in screening for early NPC remains controversial. NPC mainly originates from epithelial cells in the nasopharynx fossa or posterior wall of the nasopharynx. EBV genome can be detected in almost all tumor cells of NPC cases [37]. Clonal EBV genome can be continuously detected in invasive cancer and precancerous high-grade dysplasia [38]. It is suggested that direct detection of EBV genome from nasopharyngeal brushing or swab specimens had highly predictive value for screening asymptomatic NPC.
In the 1990s, a prospective study was designed to assess the feasibility of a new method for NPC screening by using of PCR coupled with nasopharyngeal swab [39]. In this study, 55 patients were enrolled. The result showed that this method had a similar sensitivity to serological methods, indicating this new method was a good supplement to NPC screening. Nasopharyngeal swab is a quite simple procedure with little discomfort. SP Hao et al. detected the expression of EBV-derived latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) by nasopharyngeal swab, and he found that this strategy could serve as part of a screening program for high-risk populations with a sensitivity of 87.3% and a specificity of 98.4% [40]. Raymond’s study has also confirmed the effectiveness of this new method of screening for NPC. This study performed on 578 patients yielded a sensitivity of 98.9% and a specificity of 99.3% with a positive predictive value of 96.9% and a negative predictive value of 99.7% [41]. In a prospective and population-based study, the detection of EBV load in the nasopharynx by nasopharyngeal swab was demonstrated to be a useful tool as a supplement to serological tests [42]. Studies of both Zheng and Zhang also verified the same conclusion [43, 44]. Notably, Nasopharyngeal swab detection of EBV load alone should not be used as a mean of NPC screening because of its high false-positive rate [42]. However, nasopharyngeal swab serving as an applicable sampling method for NPC screening is great feasible, but more research will be needed in the future.
As mentioned above, EBV-related test has been widely used for early NPC screening, especially the combination of EBV-antibody VCA-IgA and EBNA1-IgA. With the development of research technologies, other biomarkers also develope for NPC screening. Liu et al. reported that a combination of PCR and MWCNT-Fe3O4 nanocomposites had the higher detection rate and higher sensitivity compared with the traditional ELISA method [45]. MWCNT-Fe3O4 nanocomposites are a combination of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and iron oxide nanoparticles, which can provide a large surface areas for antigen–antibody binding. A nested case–control study including 20 patients with NPC and 88 normal control showed that EBV microRNA BART2-5p had been proved to be a valuable biomarker for NPC screening with a sensitivity of 90.9% [46]. Thirteen genes including DNAAF1, PARPBP, TTC18, GSTA3, RCN1, MUC5AC, POU2AF1, FAM83B, SLC22A16, SPEF2, ERICH3, CCDC81, and IL33 have been associated with NPC detection based on comprehensive bioinformatics analyses [47]. A recent study showed that higher methylation rates of EGFR and ZNF6671 in circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) could predict NPC, which was a potential novel molecular marker for NPC screening [48]. However, all these researches need more evidence and more data to demonstrate their effectiveness in NPC screening.
Many studies have shown that intestinal flora disruption was associated with malignant tumors. C. ramosum bacteria that promotes the secretion of 5-HT was found to be a strong risk factor for NPC. The establishment of a disease prediction model based on C. ramosum might be used for the prediction of disease risk in a high-risk population and early non-invasive screening of NPC [49].
Raman spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis technology has been reported to analyze the sera of NPC patients and healthy individuals. In NPC samples, the lipid content, phenylalanine, and β-carotene decreased while amide III, tyrosine and tryptophan increased. The changes in these biomolecular concentrations may be applied for NPC diagnosis [50]. A unmodified nanotechnology based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy was used to detect the blood circulating DNA; and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for differentiating the NPC patients from the normal control were 83.3% and 82.5% respeactively. Nanotechnology which was sensitive, rapid, and easy-to-use may have the potential to become a better method for NPC detection and screening based on liquid biopsy [51].
A Markov stimulation model was constructed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different screening strategies for serological tests in China. In this study, NPC detection rate, cost, quality-adjust life, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio were considered. Results showed that strategy (annual screening for EBV-seropositive subject, triennial screening for seronegative subjects) was the economical and practical option [52]. In 2019, a Markov cohort model was also reported to use to estimate the screening for NPC with plasma EBV DNA for 50-year-old Asian American men in the United States. The study suggested that because of its high false-positive results in high-risk regions and its uncertain clinical value in non-endemic areas this method wasn’t the most cost-effective, despite its specificity and sensitivity were high [53]. Therefore more research will be required in the future.
Studies about NPC screening based on EBV-related test have been widely reported, but there are few studies on the association between EBV-antibody screening and NPC mortality. Recently a study about prospective, cluster-randomized, controlled trial in southern China for NPC screening was revealed that the combination of EBV antibody EBNA1-IgA and VCA-IgA could effectively identify the high-risk population and improve diagnosis of NPC in the interim analysis. Although the mortality of the screening group was not significantly reduced, the specific mortality of NPC in the screening participants was significantly reduced [54]. That was the first report which presented a mortality reduction by NPC screening. It is expected to further improve the participation rate in the future, and finally confirm the effectiveness of NPC screening based on EBV detection.
Due to the hidden location of NPC, it is difficult to diagnose early. Strengthening the publicity of NPC prevention and control, popularizing basic knowledge of it, and making residents cooperate with screening projects will be way helpful to improve the accuracy of early diagnosis rate of NPC. At present, the above screening methods have positive significance, but they also have limitations regrettably. How to make better use of their advantages and disadvantages to carry out local screening schemes in different regions is worthy to further exploration. And developing faster, simpler, higher true-positive rate and lower false-positive rate screening methods and more effective treatment were important ways to improve the survival rate and life quality of NPC patients.
Currently, there are few reports from randomized controlled trials (RCT) and controlled clinical trials (CCT) to determine the efficacy of screening for NPC or the cost-effectiveness of a screening strategy. Future studies with long-term follow-up need to systematically assess the impact of the screening methods in mortality, assess their ability to detect NPC, evaluate the impact on quality of life and cost-effectiveness.
This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 81860601, recipient: YLC).
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
According to Russell Ackoff [1], a systems theorist and professor of organizational change, the content of the human mind can be classified into three categories:
IF temperature < = 0° C THEN cold = true;
Cold IF == right THEN notify personnel to remove ice from aircraft.
Indeed, knowledge is the appropriate collection of information such that it intends to be useful. Knowledge is a deterministic process. Memorization of information leads to knowledge. Knowledge represents a pattern and provides a high level of predictability regarding what is being described or will happen next.
Ex: If the humidity is very high and the temperature drops drastically, the atmosphere is unlikely to hold the humidity so that it rains.
This knowledge has a useful meaning, but its integration in a context will infer new knowledge. For example, a student memorizes or accumulates knowledge of the multiplication Table. A student can answer 2 × 2 because this knowledge is in the multiplication table. Nevertheless, when asked for 1267 × 300, he cannot answer correctly because he cannot dip into the multiplication table. To answer such a question correctly requires a real cognitive and analytical capacity that exists in the next level … comprehension. In computer jargon, most of the applications we use (modeling, simulation, etc.) use stored knowledge.
The system is an aggregated “whole” where each component interacts with at least one other component of the system. The components or parts of a system can be real or abstract.
All system components work toward a standard system goal. A system can contain several subsystems. It can be connected to other systems.
A system is a collection of elements or components that interact to achieve goals. The elements themselves and the relationships between them determine how the system works. Systems have inputs, processing mechanisms, outputs, and feedback mechanisms. A system processes the input to create the output [3].
Input is the activity of collecting and capturing data.
Processing involves the transformation of inputs into outputs such as computation, for example.
Output is about producing useful information, usually in the form of documents and reports. The output of one system can become the input of another system. For example, the output of a system, which processes sales orders, can be used as input to a customer’s billing system. Computers typically produce output to printers and display to screens. The output can also be reports and documents written by hand or produced manually.
Finally, feedback or feedback is information from the system used to modify inputs or treatments as needed.
An information system (IS) is a set of interrelated components that collect, manipulate, store and disseminate information and provide a feedback mechanism to achieve a goal. The feedback mechanism helps organizations achieve their goals by increasing profits, improving customer service [3], and supporting decision-making and control in organizations [4].
Companies use information systems to increase revenues and reduce costs.
In organizations, information systems are structured around four essential elements, proposed in the 1960s by Harold Leavitt (Figure 1). The pattern is known as the “Leavitt Diamond.”
Leavitt’s diamond: A socio-technical view of IS.
A company has systems to support the different managerial levels. These systems include transaction processing systems, management information systems, decision support systems, and dedicated business intelligence systems.
Companies use information systems so that accurate and up-to-date information is available when needed [5].
Within the same organization, executives at different hierarchy levels have very different information requirements, and different types of information systems have evolved to meet their needs. A common approach for examining the types of information systems used within organizations is to classify them according to their roles at different organizational structure levels, and this approach is called a vertical approach. Indeed, the organization is considered a management pyramid at four levels (Figure 2):
Information Systems types according to managerial level.
At the operational level, managers need systems that keep track of the organization for necessary activities and operations, such as sales and material flow in a factory. A transaction processing system is a computer system that performs and records the routine (daily) operations necessary for managing affairs, such as keeping employee records, payroll, shipping merchandise, keeping records, accounting and treasury.
At this level, the primary purpose of systems is to answer routine questions and monitor transactions flow through the organization.
At the operational level, tasks, resources, and objectives are predefined and highly structured. The decision to grant credit to a customer, for example, is made by a primary supervisor according to predefined criteria. All that needs to be determined is whether the client meets the criteria.
Middle managers need systems to help with oversight, control, decision making, and administrative activities. The main question that this type of system must answer is: is everything working correctly?
Its role is to summarize and report on essential business operations using data provided by transaction processing systems. Primary transaction data is synthesized and aggregated, and it is usually presented in reports produced regularly.
DSS supports decision-making for unusual and rapidly evolving issues, for which there are no fully predefined procedures. This type of system attempts to answer questions such as: What would impact production schedules if we were to double sales for December? What would the level of Return on investment be if the plant schedule were delayed by more than six months?
While DSSs use internal information from TPS and MIS systems, they also leverage external sources, such as stock quotes or competitor product prices. These systems use a variety of models to analyze the data. The system can answer questions such as: Considering customer’s delivery schedule and the freight rate offered, which vessel should be assigned, and what fill rate to maximize profits? What is the optimum speed at which a vessel can maximize profit while meeting its delivery schedule?
ESS helps top management make decisions. They address exceptional decisions requiring judgment, assessment, and a holistic view of the business situation because there is no procedure to be followed to resolve a given issue at this level.
ESS uses graphics and data from many sources through an interface that senior managers easily understand. ESS is designed to integrate data from the external environment, such as new taxes or competitor data, and integrate aggregate data from MIS and DSS. ESSs filter, synthesize and track critical data. Particular attention is given to displaying this data because it contributes to the rapid assimilation of these top management figures. Increasingly, these systems include business intelligence analysis tools to identify key trends and forecasts.
Decision-making in companies is often associated with top management. Today, employees at the operational level are also responsible for individual decisions since information systems make information available at all company levels.
So decisions are made at all levels of the company.
Although some of these decisions are common, routine, and frequent, the value of improving any single decision may be small, but improving hundreds or even thousands of “small” decisions can add value to the business.
Not all situations that require decisions are the same. While some decisions result in actions that significantly impact the organization and its future, others are much less important and play a relatively minor role. A decision’s impact is a criterion that can differentiate between decision situations and the degree of the decision’s structuring. Many situations are very structured, with well-defined entrances and exits. For example, it is relatively easy to determine the amount of an employee’s pay if we have the appropriate input data (for example, the number of hours worked and their hourly wage rate), and all the rules of relevant decision (for example, if the hours worked during a week are more than 40, then the overtime must be calculated), and so on. In this type of situation, it is relatively easy to develop information systems that can be used to help (or even automate) the decision.
In contrast, some decision situations are very complex and unstructured, where no specific decision rules can be easily identified. As an example, consider the following task: “Design a new vehicle that is a convertible (with a retractable hardtop), has a high safety rating, and is esthetically pleasing to a reasonably broad audience. No predefined solution to this task finalizing a design will involve many compromises and require considerable knowledge and expertise.
Examples of Types of decisions, according to managerial level, are presented in Table 1.
Decision level | Characteristics of decisions | Examples of decisions |
---|---|---|
Top Management | Unstructured | Decide whether or not to come into the market |
Approve the budget allocated to capital | ||
Decide on long-term goals | ||
Intermediate management | Semi-structured | Design a marketing plan |
Develop a departmental budget | ||
Design a website for the company | ||
Operational management | Structured | Determine the overtime hours |
Determine the rules for stock replenishment | ||
Grant credit to customers | ||
Offer special offers to customers |
Types of decisions according to managerial level.
Generally speaking, structured decisions are more common at lower levels of the organization, while unstructured problems are more common at higher business levels.
The more structured the decision, the easier it is to automate. If it is possible to derive an algorithm that can be used to make an efficient decision and the input data to the algorithm can be obtained at a reasonable cost, it generally makes sense to automate the decision.
Davenport and Harris [6] proposed a framework for the categorization of applications used for decision automation. Most of the systems they describe include some expert systems, often combined with DSS and/or EIS aspects. The categories they provided include Solution Configuration, Optimization of Performance, Routing or Segmentation of Decisions, Business Regulatory Compliance, Fraud Detection, Dynamic Forecasting, and Operational Control.
Many business decision situations are not very structured, and therefore cannot (or should not) be fully automated.
Data visualization tools allow users to see patterns and relationships in large amounts of data that would be difficult to discern if the data had been presented in tabular form, for example.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) helps decision-makers visualize issues requiring knowledge about people’s geographic distribution or other resources. GIS software links the location data of points, lines, and areas on a map. Some GIS have modeling capabilities to modify data and simulate the impact of these modifications. For example, GIS could help the government calculate response times to natural disasters and other emergencies or help banks identify the best replacement for installing new branches or ATMs of tickets.
Geographic (or geospatial) information refers not only to things that exist (or are being planned) on specific locations on the Earth’s surface but also to events such as traffic congestion, flooding, and other events such as an open-air festival [7].
Its scope and granularity characterize this information:
Location, extent, and coverage are essential aspects of geographic information.
Granularity, for example, geometric information, can be concise or fuzzy depending on the application.
GIS is used to capture, store, analyze, and visualize data that describes part of the Earth’s surface, technical and administrative entities, and the results of geosciences, economics, and ecological applications.
It is a computer system with a database observing the spatial distribution of objects, activities, or events described by points, lines, or surfaces.
It is a comprehensive collection of tools for capturing, storing, extracting, transforming, and visualizing real-world spatial data for applications.
It is an information system containing all the data of the territory, the atmosphere, the surface of the Earth, and the lithosphere, allowing the systematic capture, the update, the manipulation, and the analysis of these data standardized reference framework.
It is a decision support system that integrates spatial data into a problem-solving environment.
Other definitions of GIS exist depending on the point of view of application [7], a GIS can be considered as
A collection of spatial data with storage and retrieval functions
A collection of algorithmic and functional tools
A set of hardware and software components necessary for processing geospatial data
A particular type of information technology
A gold mine for answers to geospatial questions
A model of spatial relations and spatial recognition.
Typically, a GIS provides functions for the storage and retrieval, interrogation and visualization, transformation, geometric and thematic analysis of information.
Indeed, geographic/geospatial information is ubiquitous, as seen on mobile devices such as cell phones, maps, satellite images, positioning and routing services, and even 3D simulations, gaining popularity from increasingly essential segments of the consumers.
Technological advances in recent years have transformed classical GIS into new forms of geospatial analysis tools, namely:
Web-based and service-oriented approaches have led to a client–server architecture.
Mobile technology has made GIS ubiquitous in smartphones, tablets, and laptops (opening up new markets).
IS applications cover functional areas and focus on the execution of business processes across the enterprise, including all management levels.
There are several categories of business applications: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management systems (SCM), Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM), electronic commerce or e-commerce, Knowledge Management systems or KM, and Business Intelligence or BI. The categories of business applications dealt with in this section cover all managerial levels since KMS are mainly intended for top management (ESS), SCMs, CRMs, and BI for mid-level management (MIS and DSS), ERP and e-commerce dedicated to the transactional level (TPS or basic or operational).
However, it is useful to specify that some ERP systems, such as the global giant SAP, offer versions of its software package covering these different categories, including SCM and CRM.
ERPs allow business processes related to production, finance and accounting, sales and marketing, and human resources to be integrated into a single software system. Information that was previously fragmented across many different systems is integrated into a single system with a single, comprehensive database that multiple business stakeholders can use.
An ERP system centralizes an organization’s data, and the processes it applies are the processes that the organization must adopt [8]. When an ERP provider designs a module, it must implement the rules of the associated business processes. ERP systems apply best management practices. In other words, when an organization implements ERP, it also improves its management as part of ERP integration. For many organizations, implementing an ERP system is an excellent opportunity to improve their business practices and upgrade their software simultaneously. Nevertheless, integrating an ERP represents a real challenge: Are the processes integrated into the ERP better than those currently used? Furthermore, if the integration is booming, and the organization operates the same as its competitors, how do you differentiate yourself?
ERPs are configurable according to the specificities of each organization. For organizations that want to continue using their processes or even design new ones, ERP systems provide means for customizing these processes. However, the burden of maintenance falls on the organizations themselves in the case of ERP customization.
Organizations will need to consider the following decision carefully: should they accept the best practice processes embedded in the ERP system or develop their processes? If the choice is ERP, process customization should only concern processes essential to its competitive advantage.
Electronic commerce is playing an increasingly important role in organizations with their customers.
E-commerce enables market expansion with minimal capital investment, improves the supply and marketing of products and services. Nevertheless, there is still a need for universally accepted standards to ensure the quality and security of information and sufficient telecommunications bandwidth.
The three main categories of e-commerce are Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Business-to-Business (B2B), and Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C).
Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce involves the retailing of products and services to individual customers. Amazon, which sells books, software, and music to individual consumers, is an example of B2C e-commerce.
Business-to-Business (B2B), e-commerce involves the sale of goods and services between businesses. The ChemConnect website for buying and selling chemicals and plastics is an example of B2B e-commerce.
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C), this type of e-commerce involves consumers selling directly to consumers. For example, eBay, the giant web-based auction site, allows individuals to sell their products to other consumers by auctioning their goods, either to the highest bidder or through a fixed price.
Information systems for the management of the supply chain or SCM make it possible to manage its suppliers’ relations. These systems help suppliers and distributors share information about orders, production, inventory levels, and delivery of products and services so that they can source, produce and deliver goods and services efficiently.
The ultimate goal is to get the right amount of products from their suppliers at a lower cost and time. Additionally, these systems improve profitability by enabling managers to optimize scheduling decisions for procurement, production, and distribution.
Anomalies in the supply chain, such as parts shortages, underutilized storage areas, prolonged storage of finished products, or high transportation cost, are caused by inaccurate or premature information. For example, manufacturers may stock an excessive amount of parts because they do not know precisely the dates of upcoming deliveries from suppliers. Alternatively, conversely, the manufacturer may order a small number of raw materials because they do not have precise information about their needs. These supply chain inefficiencies squander up to 25 percent of the company’s operating costs.
If a manufacturer has precise information on the exact number of units of the product demanded by customers, on what date, and its exact production rate, it would be possible to implement a successful strategy called “just in time” (just-in-time strategy). Raw materials would be received precisely when production needed them, and finished products would be shipped off the assembly line with no need for storage.
However, there are always uncertainties in a supply chain because many events cannot be predicted, such as late deliveries from suppliers, defective parts or non-conforming raw materials, or even breakdowns in the production process. To cope with these kinds of contingencies and keep their customers happy, manufacturers often deal with these uncertainties by stocking more materials or products than they need. The safety stock acts as a buffer against probable supply chain anomalies. While managing excess inventory is expensive, a low stock fill rate is also costly because orders can be canceled.
CRM aims to manage customer relationships by coordinating all business processes that deal with customers’ sales and marketing. The goal is to optimize revenue, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. This collected information helps companies identify, attract and retain the most profitable customers, and provide better service to existing customers and increase sales.
The CRM captures and integrates the data of the company’s customers. It consolidates data, analyzes it, and distributes the results to different systems and customer touchpoints throughout the company. A point of contact (touchpoint, contact point) is a means of interaction with the customer, such as telephone, e-mail, customer service, conventional mail, website, or even a sales store, by retail.
Well-designed CRM systems provide a single view of the company’s customers, which is useful for improving sales and customer service quality. Such systems also provide customers with a single view of the business regardless of their contact point or usage.
CRM systems provide data and analytical tools to answer these types of questions: “What is the value of a customer to the business” “Who are the most loyal customers?” “Who are the most profitable customers” and “What products are profitable customers buying?”
Businesses use the answers to these questions to acquire new customers, improve service quality, support existing customers, tailor offerings to customer preferences, and deliver escalating services to retain profitable customers.
Some companies perform better than others because they know how to create, produce, and deliver products and services. This business knowledge is difficult to emulate, is unique, and can be leveraged and deliver long-term strategic benefits. Knowledge Management Systems or KMS enable organizations to manage processes better to collect and apply knowledge and expertise. These systems collect all the relevant knowledge and experiences in the company and make them available to everyone to improve business processes and decision management.
Knowledge management systems can take many different forms, but the primary goals are: 1) facilitating communication between knowledge workers within an organization, and 2) to make explicit the expertise of a few and make it available to many.
Consider an international consulting firm, for example. The company employs thousands of consultants across many countries. The consultancy team in Spain may be trying to resolve a client’s problem, very similar to a consultancy team in Singapore that has already been solved. Rather than reinventing the solution, it would be much more useful for the Spain team to use the Singapore team’s knowledge.
One way to remedy this situation is to store case histories from which employees worldwide can access (via the Internet) and search for cases (using a search engine) according to their respective needs. If the case documentation is of good quality (accurate, timely, complete), the consultants will share and benefit from each other’s experiences, and the knowledge gained.
Unfortunately, it is often difficult to get employees to contribute meaningfully to the knowledge base (as they are probably more concerned with moving forward on their next engagements with customers rather than documenting their past experiences). For such systems to have any chance of success, the work organization must change, such as establishing a reward system for cases captured and well documented.
The term Business Intelligence (BI) is generally used to describe a type of information system designed to help decision-makers learn about trends and identify relationships in large volumes of data. Typically, BI software is used in conjunction with large databases or data warehouses. While the specific capabilities of BI systems vary, most can be used for specialized reporting (e.g., aggregated data relating to multiple dimensions), ad-hoc queries, and trend analysis.
As with knowledge management systems, the value of business intelligence systems can be hampered in several ways. The quality of the data that is captured and stored is not guaranteed. Besides, the database (or data warehouse) may lack essential data (for example, ice cream sales are likely to correlate with temperature; without the temperature information, it may be difficult to identify why it is. There has been an increase or decrease in sales of ice cream). A third challenge is the lack of mastery of data analysts over the context of the organization’s operations, even if they are proficient in BI software. In contrast, a manager has mastery of the organization but does not know how to use BI software. As a result, it is common to have a team (a manager associated with a data analyst) to get the most information (and/or knowledge) from a business intelligence system.
Unlike physical assets, the information does not necessarily disappear when it has been stolen. If an organization holds confidential information such as a new manufacturing process, it may be uploaded by an unauthorized person and remain available to the organization.
Exposing information to unauthorized personnel constitutes a breach of confidentiality.
Another type of system failure happens when the integrity of information is no longer guaranteed. In other words, rather than unauthorized exposure of information, there are unauthorized changes of information. A corporate website containing documentation on how to configure or repair its products could suffer severe financial harm if an intruder could change instructions, leading to customers misconfigure or even ruin the purchased product.
Finally, the denial of access to information or the unavailability of information represents another type of information failure. For example, if a doctor is prevented from accessing a patient’s test results, the patient may suffer needlessly or even die. A commercial website could lose significant sales if its website were down for an extended period.
Understanding the potential causes of system failure enables appropriate action to be taken to avoid them. There are a wide variety of potential threats to an organization’s information systems.
Human threats are the most complicated to manage because they include a wide variety of behaviors. To illustrate how the level of detail can vary, some relevant subcategories include:
Accidental behavior by members of the organization, technical support staff, and customers of the organization
Malicious behavior by someone inside or outside the organization
Other categories of threats include:
A natural event: flood, fire, tornado, ice storm, earthquake, pandemic flu
Environmental elements: chemical spill, gas line explosion.
Technical Threat: Hardware or software failure
Operational Threat: a faulty process that unintentionally compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of information. For example, an operational procedure that allows application programmers to upgrade software without test or notification system operators can result in prolonged outages.
It is possible to categorize the various checks intended to avoid a failure, such as:
Management controls management processes that identify system requirements such as confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information and provide for various management controls to ensure that these requirements are met.
Operational controls: include the day-to-day processes associated with the provision of information services.
Technical controls: concern the technical capacities integrated into the IT infrastructure to support the increased confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information services.
A widely cited Gartner research report concludes that “people directly cause 80% of downtime in critical application services. The remaining 20% are caused by technological failures, environmental failure or a natural disaster”.
Often, these failures are the result of software modifications such as adding new features or misconfiguring servers or network devices.
IT professionals should ensure that system changes are prioritized and tested and that all interested parties are notified of proposed changes.
Perceptible benefits can be quantified and assigned a monetary value. Imperceptible benefits, such as more efficient customer service or improved decision making, cannot be immediately quantified but can lead to quantifiable long-term gain [4].
System performance can be measured in different ways.
Efficiency is often referred to as “doing the things right” or doing things right. Efficiency can be defined as the ratio of output to input. In other words, a company is more efficient if it produces more with the same amount of resources or if it produces the same amount of output with a lower investment of resources, or - even better - produces more with less input. In other words, the company achieves improvements in terms of efficiency by reducing the waste of resources while maximizing Productivity.
Each time an item is sold or ordered, the manager updates the quantity of the item sold in the inventory system. The manager needs to check the sales to determine which items have been sold the most and restocked. This considerably reduces the manager’s time to manage his stock (limit input to achieve the same output). So efficiency is a measure of what is produced divided by what is consumed [3].
Effectiveness is measured based on the degree achieved in achieving system objectives. It can be calculated by dividing the objectives achieved by the total of the objectives set.
Effectiveness is denoted as “doing the right thing” or doing the things necessary or right. It is possible to define effectiveness as an organization’s ability to achieve its stated goals and objectives. Typically, a business more significant is the one that makes the best decisions and can carry them out.
For example, to better meet its various customers’ needs, an organization may create or improve its products and services founded on data collected from them and information accumulated from sales activities. In other words, information systems help organizations better understand their customers and deliver the products and services that customers desire. Collecting customer data on an individual basis will help the organization provide them with personalized service.
The manager can also ask customers what kind of products and services customers would like to buy in the future, trying to anticipate their needs. With the information gathered, the manager will order the customers’ products and stop ordering unpopular products.
In what follows, we present several formulas established to measure efficiency and effectiveness resulting from the information systems use. Indeed, the impact of an information system on an organization can be assessed using financial measures.
When the information system is implemented, management will certainly want to assess whether the system has succeeded in achieving its objectives. Often this assessment is challenging to achieve. The business can use financial metrics such as Productivity, Return On Investment (ROI), net present value, and other performance metrics explained in the following:
Return on investment, denoted as a Return rate, is a financial ratio that measures the amount gained or lost compared to the amount initially invested.
An information system with a positive return on investment indicates that this system can improve its efficiency.
The advantage of using Return on investment is that it is possible to quantify the costs and benefits of introducing an information system. Therefore, it is possible to use this metric to compare different systems and see which systems can help the organization be more efficient and/or more effective.
Developing information systems that measure Productivity and control is a crucial element for most organizations. Productivity is a measure of produced output divided by required input. A higher production level for a given entry-level means greater Productivity; a lower output level for a given entry-level means lower Productivity. Values assigned to productivity levels are not always based on hours worked. Productivity may be based on the number of raw materials used, the quality obtained, or the time to produce the goods or services. According to other parameters and with other organizations in the same industry, Productivity’s value has to mean only compared to other Productivity periods.
Another measure of the SI value is the increase in profit or the growth in realized profits. For example, a mail-order company installs an order processing system that generates 7 percent growth in profits over the previous year.
Market share is the percentage of sales of a product or service relative to the overall market. If installing a new online catalog increases sales, it could help increase the company’s market share by, for example, 20 percent.
Although customer satisfaction is difficult to quantify, many companies measure their information systems performance based on internal and external feedback. Some companies use surveys and questionnaires to determine whether investments have resulted in increased customer satisfaction.
Another way to measure the value of information systems has been developed by the Gartner Group and is called the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). This approach allocates the total costs between acquiring the technology, technical support, and administrative costs. Other costs are added to the TCO, namely: retooling and training costs. TCO can help develop a more accurate estimate of total costs for systems ranging from small computers to large mainframe systems.
The evolution of information technologies leads to the reflection on new approaches that set up more flexible, more scalable architectures to meet its agility needs. The urbanization of information systems is one such approach.
The company’s information system’s urbanization is an IT discipline consisting of developing its information system to guarantee its consistency with its objectives and business. By taking into account its external and internal constraints while taking advantage of the opportunities of the IT state of the art.
This discipline is based on a series of concepts modeled on those of the urbanization of human habitat (organization of cities, territory), concepts that have been reused in IT to formalize or model the information system.
Town planning defines rules and a coherent, stable, and modular framework, to which the various stakeholders refer for any investment decision relating to the management of the information system.
In other words, to urbanize is to lead the information systems’ continuous transformation to simplify it and ensure its consistency.
The challenges of urbanization consist of managing complexity, communicating and federating work, considering organizational constraints, and guiding technological choices.
Define and frame the objectives of the project, define the scope, develop the schedule.
Carry out the inventory, organize the work, and present the deliverables. More precisely, list the assets and map the different layers (business, functional, application, and technical):
Business Architecture
Identify “business processes”: Who does what and why? The description of the processes is done with BPMN, EPC formalisms, etc. This step is tricky and may require the use of exploration methods. However, it does improve the overall understanding and increase the possibilities for optimization
Functional architecture
Identify the “functional block”: What do we need to carry out the business processes? Here, we are based on a classic division into zones (exchanges, core business, reference data, production data, support activities, management). This step’s difficulty lies in choosing the right level of detail and remaining consistent with business processes. However, it provides a hierarchical presentation and makes it easier to break down the work.
Application Architecture
Identify the applications: How to achieve the functionalities? This step is based on a classic N-Tiers division. However, it is not easy to provide value and solutions compared to functional architecture. This stage lays the foundations for the realization (major technological choices, etc.).
System Architecture
Identify the technical components: With what and where the applications work, it is based on a classic division into technical areas (security, storage, etc.). It is not easy to make the connection between applications and servers. This step brings concrete and structuring and is essential to assess the cost of the system.
Impact on the different layers, consideration of constraints (human, material, etc.), design of costed scenarios, and arbitration of the choice of a target.
How to organize the work, frame and then refine the budgets, design and plan projects, define the support strategy, set up an organization, contributions, roles, and responsibilities of actors.
At the end of this process, a Land Use Plan (LUP) is defined. It is a report consisting of:
Summaries of the orientations chosen as well as the justifications for the options selected.
A definition of areas, neighborhoods, and blocks.
Existing and target maps (process, functional, application, and technical mapping).
Additional documents (interview reports, list of people and organizational entities, etc.)
The goal is to identify the gaps between the existing and the principles of urbanization and establish changes by describing the actions and their corresponding cost.
In practice, the urbanization process is very cumbersome to implement. On the one hand, it requires the participation of many actors in the organization, and on the other hand, the analysis is very long. As a result, needs to change, and LUP is no longer necessarily suitable.
The reasons for a successful or unsuccessful IS implementation are complex and contested by different stakeholders and from the various perspectives involved. Developers tend to focus on the system’s technical validity in terms of execution, operation, and evolution. Other qualities are often considered, such as security, maintainability, scalability, stability, and availability. All of these criteria are considered to be signs of successful IS Development.
The failure of an IS can be defined as: either the system put in place does not meet the user’s expectations or does not function properly. The reasons for failure are as divergent as the projects.
The perspective of project management, on the other hand, tends to focus on the consumption of resources. The project delivered with the initial budget and within the allotted time is considered a successful project. Nelson [9] analyzed 99 SI projects and identified 36 classic errors. He categorized these errors into four categories: process, people, product, and technology. The last category concerns the factors leading to IS failures based on the misuse of modern technologies.
The seminal article by DeLone and McLean [10] suggested that IS success should be the preeminent dependent variable for the IS domain. These researchers proposed a taxonomy of six interdependent variables to define the IS’ success as the system’s quality, the quality of information, the IS, user satisfaction, individual impact, and organizational impact.
One of the significant extensions to this proposition is the dimension of the IT department’s quality of service [11].
Either way, the use of the system is seen as a sign of its success. The IS use level is incorporated into most IS success models [11, 12]. These models show the complexity of measuring user satisfaction because, even in the same organization, some user groups may be more or less enthusiastic than others to use the new information system.
In the current global context of the covid pandemic, it appears clear that information systems that integrate web and mobile technologies can positively contribute to the monitoring of contaminated cases and therefore minimize the risks of contamination provided that users adhere to this movement for the benefit of all [13]. A truly global, rapid, and efficient decision-making process is enabled by the integration of information systems from distributed sources [14].
To conclude this introductive chapter, we present its key ideas:
Levels of information are data, information, and knowledge.
The system is an aggregated “whole” where each component interacts with at least one other system component to achieve a goal.
An information system can be defined as a set of interconnected components that gather, process, store and dispense information to support decision making and control in an organization. An IS can be seen as a socio-technical system. The technical part includes the technology and the processes, while the social part includes the people and the structure.
The role of information systems is to solve an organization’s problems concerning its information needs
A company has systems to support the different managerial levels: transaction processing systems, management information systems, decision support systems, and systems dedicated to business intelligence.
Decisions can be operational or strategic.
There are several categories of business applications: enterprise resource planning, supply chain management systems, customer relationship management systems, knowledge management systems, and business intelligence.
Among the failures that can affect IS a violation of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.
The controls intended to avoid the IS’s security failures include management controls, operational controls, and technical controls.
The information system’s performance can be measured according to efficiency, effectiveness, Return on investment, Productivity, customer satisfaction, etc.
Urbanizing an information system means directing its continuous transformation to guarantee its consistency
The reasons for a successful or unsuccessful implementation of an IS are complex and contested by the various stakeholders and from the various perspectives involved.
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\n\nInspect your order carefully when it arrives. Any problems should be immediately reported to orders@intechopen.com.
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Badria",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10799.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"41865",title:"Prof.",name:"Farid A.",middleName:null,surname:"Badria",slug:"farid-a.-badria",fullName:"Farid A. Badria"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"11072",title:"Sample Preparation Techniques for Chemical Analysis",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"38fecf7570774c29c22a0cbca58ba570",slug:"sample-preparation-techniques-for-chemical-analysis",bookSignature:"Massoud Kaykhaii",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11072.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"349151",title:"Prof.",name:"Massoud",middleName:null,surname:"Kaykhaii",slug:"massoud-kaykhaii",fullName:"Massoud Kaykhaii"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}],booksByTopicTotal:193,seriesByTopicCollection:[],seriesByTopicTotal:0,mostCitedChapters:[{id:"36171",doi:"10.5772/36942",title:"Research of Calcium Phosphates Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy",slug:"research-of-calcium-phosphates-using-fourier-transformation-infrared-spectroscopy",totalDownloads:9277,totalCrossrefCites:132,totalDimensionsCites:381,abstract:null,book:{id:"1591",slug:"infrared-spectroscopy-materials-science-engineering-and-technology",title:"Infrared Spectroscopy",fullTitle:"Infrared Spectroscopy - Materials Science, Engineering and Technology"},signatures:"Liga Berzina-Cimdina and Natalija Borodajenko",authors:[{id:"110522",title:"Prof.",name:"Liga",middleName:null,surname:"Berzina-Cimdina",slug:"liga-berzina-cimdina",fullName:"Liga Berzina-Cimdina"},{id:"112181",title:"MSc.",name:"Natalija",middleName:null,surname:"Borodajenko",slug:"natalija-borodajenko",fullName:"Natalija Borodajenko"}]},{id:"36178",doi:"10.5772/36323",title:"Applications of FTIR on Epoxy Resins - Identification, Monitoring the Curing Process, Phase Separation and Water Uptake",slug:"applications-of-ftir-on-epoxy-resins-identification-monitoring-the-curing-process-phase-separatio",totalDownloads:20869,totalCrossrefCites:84,totalDimensionsCites:260,abstract:null,book:{id:"1591",slug:"infrared-spectroscopy-materials-science-engineering-and-technology",title:"Infrared Spectroscopy",fullTitle:"Infrared Spectroscopy - Materials Science, Engineering and Technology"},signatures:"María González González, Juan Carlos Cabanelas and Juan Baselga",authors:[{id:"107857",title:"Prof.",name:"Juan",middleName:null,surname:"Baselga",slug:"juan-baselga",fullName:"Juan Baselga"},{id:"138113",title:"Dr.",name:"María",middleName:null,surname:"González",slug:"maria-gonzalez",fullName:"María González"},{id:"138114",title:"Dr.",name:"Juan C.",middleName:null,surname:"Cabanelas",slug:"juan-c.-cabanelas",fullName:"Juan C. Cabanelas"}]},{id:"53973",doi:"10.5772/66927",title:"Phenolic Compounds in Water: Sources, Reactivity, Toxicity and Treatment Methods",slug:"phenolic-compounds-in-water-sources-reactivity-toxicity-and-treatment-methods",totalDownloads:7324,totalCrossrefCites:77,totalDimensionsCites:170,abstract:"Phenolic compounds exist in water bodies due to the discharge of polluted wastewater from industrial, agricultural and domestic activities into water bodies. They also occur as a result of natural phenomena. These compounds are known to be toxic and inflict both severe and long‐lasting effects on both humans and animals. They act as carcinogens and cause damage to the red blood cells and the liver, even at low concentrations. Interaction of these compounds with microorganisms, inorganic and other organic compounds in water can produce substituted compounds or other moieties, which may be as toxic as the original phenolic compounds. This chapter dwells on the sources and reactivity of phenolic compounds in water, their toxic effects on humans, and methods of their removal from water. Specific emphasis is placed on the techniques of their removal from water with attention on both conventional and advanced methods. Among these methods are ozonation, adsorption, extraction, photocatalytic degradation, biological, electro‐Fenton, adsorption and ion exchange and membrane‐based separation.",book:{id:"6029",slug:"phenolic-compounds-natural-sources-importance-and-applications",title:"Phenolic Compounds",fullTitle:"Phenolic Compounds - Natural Sources, Importance and Applications"},signatures:"William W. Anku, Messai A. Mamo and Penny P. Govender",authors:[{id:"195237",title:"Dr.",name:"Messai",middleName:"A.",surname:"Mamo",slug:"messai-mamo",fullName:"Messai Mamo"},{id:"196465",title:"Dr.",name:"William Wilson",middleName:null,surname:"Anku",slug:"william-wilson-anku",fullName:"William Wilson Anku"},{id:"196466",title:"Dr.",name:"Penny",middleName:null,surname:"Govender",slug:"penny-govender",fullName:"Penny Govender"}]},{id:"36184",doi:"10.5772/36186",title:"Infrared Spectroscopy in the Analysis of Building and Construction Materials",slug:"infrared-spectroscopy-of-cementitious-materials",totalDownloads:7817,totalCrossrefCites:77,totalDimensionsCites:157,abstract:null,book:{id:"1591",slug:"infrared-spectroscopy-materials-science-engineering-and-technology",title:"Infrared Spectroscopy",fullTitle:"Infrared Spectroscopy - Materials Science, Engineering and Technology"},signatures:"Lucia Fernández-Carrasco, D. Torrens-Martín, L.M. Morales and Sagrario Martínez-Ramírez",authors:[{id:"107401",title:"Dr.",name:"Lucia J",middleName:null,surname:"Fernández",slug:"lucia-j-fernandez",fullName:"Lucia J Fernández"}]},{id:"53128",doi:"10.5772/66368",title:"Phenolic Compounds: Functional Properties, Impact of Processing and Bioavailability",slug:"phenolic-compounds-functional-properties-impact-of-processing-and-bioavailability",totalDownloads:9393,totalCrossrefCites:78,totalDimensionsCites:149,abstract:"In this chapter, we discuss the influence of the processing methods on the content of phenolic compounds in fruits and vegetables. The intake of fruits and vegetables based‐foods are associated with delayed aging and a decreased risk of chronic disease development. Fruits and vegetables can be consumed in natura, but the highest amounts are ingested after some processing methods, such as cooking procedures or sanitizing methods. These methods are directly methods are directly related to alteration on the phenolic content. In addition, the postharvest conditions may modify several phytochemical substances. Phenolic compounds are referred to as phytochemicals found in a large number of foods and beverages. The relative high diversity of these molecules produced by plants must be taken into account when methods of preparation are employed to obtain industrial or homemade products. Phenolic compounds comprise one (phenolic acids) or more (polyphenols) aromatic rings with attached hydroxyl groups in their structures. Their antioxidant capacities are related to these hydroxyl groups and phenolic rings. Despite the antioxidant activity, they have many other beneficial effects on human health. However, before attributing health benefits to these compounds, absorption, distribution, and metabolism of each phenolic compound in the body are important points that should be considered.",book:{id:"5609",slug:"phenolic-compounds-biological-activity",title:"Phenolic Compounds",fullTitle:"Phenolic Compounds - Biological Activity"},signatures:"Igor Otavio Minatel, Cristine Vanz Borges, Maria Izabela Ferreira,\nHector Alonzo Gomez Gomez, Chung-Yen Oliver Chen and\nGiuseppina Pace Pereira Lima",authors:[{id:"146379",title:"Dr.",name:"Giuseppina",middleName:null,surname:"Lima",slug:"giuseppina-lima",fullName:"Giuseppina Lima"},{id:"194002",title:"MSc.",name:"Cristine",middleName:null,surname:"Vanz Borges",slug:"cristine-vanz-borges",fullName:"Cristine Vanz Borges"},{id:"194003",title:"Prof.",name:"Igor Otavio",middleName:null,surname:"Minatel",slug:"igor-otavio-minatel",fullName:"Igor Otavio Minatel"},{id:"194004",title:"Dr.",name:"Maria Izabela",middleName:null,surname:"Ferreira",slug:"maria-izabela-ferreira",fullName:"Maria Izabela Ferreira"},{id:"194005",title:"Prof.",name:"Hector",middleName:null,surname:"Gomez-Gomez",slug:"hector-gomez-gomez",fullName:"Hector Gomez-Gomez"},{id:"194006",title:"Prof.",name:"Chung-Yen Oliver",middleName:null,surname:"Chen",slug:"chung-yen-oliver-chen",fullName:"Chung-Yen Oliver Chen"}]}],mostDownloadedChaptersLast30Days:[{id:"55500",title:"Interpretation of Mass Spectra",slug:"interpretation-of-mass-spectra",totalDownloads:12503,totalCrossrefCites:12,totalDimensionsCites:25,abstract:"The chapter includes an introduction to the main ionisation techniques in mass spectrometry and the way the resulting fragments can be analysed. First, the fundamental notions of mass spectrometry are explained, so that the reader can easily cover this chapter (graphs, main pick, molecular ion, illogical pick, nitrogen rule, etc.). Isotopic percentage and nominal mass calculation are also explained along with fragmentation mechanism. A paragraph emphasises the ionisation energy issues, the basics of ionisation voltage, the developing potential and the energy balance. A frame time of the main theoretical milestones in both theory and experimental mass spectrometry is highlighted here. In the second part of the chapter, the molecular fragmentation for alkanes, iso-alkanes, cycloalkanes, halogen, alcohols, phenols, ethers, carbonyl compounds, carboxylic acids and functional derivatives, nitrogen compounds (amines, nitro compounds), sulphur compounds, heterocycles and biomolecules (amino acids, steroids, triglycerides) is explained. Fragmentation schemes are followed by the simplified spectra, which help the understanding of such complex phenomena. At the end of the chapter, acquisition of mass spectrum is discussed. The chapter presented here is an introduction to mass spectrometry, which, we think, helps the understanding of the mechanism of fragmentation corroborating spectral data and molecular structures.",book:{id:"5735",slug:"mass-spectrometry",title:"Mass Spectrometry",fullTitle:"Mass Spectrometry"},signatures:"Teodor Octavian Nicolescu",authors:[{id:"196775",title:"Dr.",name:"Teodor Octavian",middleName:"Octavian",surname:"Nicolescu",slug:"teodor-octavian-nicolescu",fullName:"Teodor Octavian Nicolescu"}]},{id:"57909",title:"Validation of Analytical Methods",slug:"validation-of-analytical-methods",totalDownloads:6989,totalCrossrefCites:13,totalDimensionsCites:21,abstract:"Method validation is a key element in the establishment of reference methods and within the assessment of a laboratory’s competence in generating dependable analytical records. Validation has been placed within the context of the procedure, generating chemical data. Analytical method validation, thinking about the maximum relevant processes for checking the best parameters of analytical methods, using numerous relevant overall performance indicators inclusive of selectivity, specificity, accuracy, precision, linearity, range, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), ruggedness, and robustness are severely discussed in an effort to prevent their misguided utilization and ensure scientific correctness and consistency among publications.",book:{id:"6379",slug:"calibration-and-validation-of-analytical-methods-a-sampling-of-current-approaches",title:"Calibration and Validation of Analytical Methods",fullTitle:"Calibration and Validation of Analytical Methods - A Sampling of Current Approaches"},signatures:"Tentu Nageswara Rao",authors:[{id:"220824",title:"Dr.",name:"Tentu",middleName:null,surname:"Nageswara Rao",slug:"tentu-nageswara-rao",fullName:"Tentu Nageswara Rao"}]},{id:"55440",title:"Solubility Products and Solubility Concepts",slug:"solubility-products-and-solubility-concepts",totalDownloads:3090,totalCrossrefCites:6,totalDimensionsCites:7,abstract:"The chapter refers to a general concept of solubility product Ksp of sparingly soluble hydroxides and different salts and calculation of solubility of some hydroxides, oxides, and different salts in aqueous media. A (criticized) conventional approach, based on stoichiometry of a reaction notation and the solubility product of a precipitate, is compared with the unconventional/correct approach based on charge and concentration balances and a detailed physicochemical knowledge on the system considered, and calculations realized according to generalized approach to electrolytic systems (GATES) principles. An indisputable advantage of the latter approach is proved in simulation of static or dynamic, two-phase nonredox or redox systems.",book:{id:"5891",slug:"descriptive-inorganic-chemistry-researches-of-metal-compounds",title:"Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry Researches of Metal Compounds",fullTitle:"Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry Researches of Metal Compounds"},signatures:"Anna Maria Michałowska-Kaczmarczyk, Aneta Spórna-Kucab and\nTadeusz Michałowski",authors:[{id:"35273",title:"Prof.",name:"Tadeusz",middleName:null,surname:"Michalowski",slug:"tadeusz-michalowski",fullName:"Tadeusz Michalowski"},{id:"203867",title:"Dr.",name:"Anna Maria",middleName:null,surname:"Michałowska-Kaczmarczyk",slug:"anna-maria-michalowska-kaczmarczyk",fullName:"Anna Maria Michałowska-Kaczmarczyk"},{id:"203868",title:"Dr.",name:"Aneta",middleName:null,surname:"Spórna-Kucab",slug:"aneta-sporna-kucab",fullName:"Aneta Spórna-Kucab"}]},{id:"62736",title:"Radioisotope: Applications, Effects, and Occupational Protection",slug:"radioisotope-applications-effects-and-occupational-protection",totalDownloads:4543,totalCrossrefCites:10,totalDimensionsCites:17,abstract:"This chapter presents a brief introduction to radioisotopes, sources and types of radiation, applications, effects, and occupational protection. The natural and artificial sources of radiations are discussed with special reference to natural radioactive decay series and artificial radioisotopes. Applications have played significant role in improving the quality of human life. The application of radioisotopes in tracing, radiography, food preservation and sterilization, eradication of insects and pests, medical diagnosis and therapy, and new variety of crops in agricultural field is briefly described. Radiation interacts with matter to produce excitation and ionization of an atom or molecule; as a result physical and biological effects are produced. These effects and mechanisms are discussed. The dosimetric quantities used in radiological protection are described. Radiological protections and the control of occupational and medical exposures are briefly described.",book:{id:"5903",slug:"principles-and-applications-in-nuclear-engineering-radiation-effects-thermal-hydraulics-radionuclide-migration-in-the-environment",title:"Principles and Applications in Nuclear Engineering",fullTitle:"Principles and Applications in Nuclear Engineering - Radiation Effects, Thermal Hydraulics, Radionuclide Migration in the Environment"},signatures:"Sannappa Jadiyappa",authors:[{id:"239626",title:"Dr.",name:null,middleName:null,surname:"Sannappa J.",slug:"sannappa-j.",fullName:"Sannappa J."}]},{id:"58596",title:"Linearity of Calibration Curves for Analytical Methods: A Review of Criteria for Assessment of Method Reliability",slug:"linearity-of-calibration-curves-for-analytical-methods-a-review-of-criteria-for-assessment-of-method",totalDownloads:8095,totalCrossrefCites:19,totalDimensionsCites:44,abstract:"Calibration curve is a regression model used to predict the unknown concentrations of analytes of interest based on the response of the instrument to the known standards. Some statistical analyses are required to choose the best model fitting to the experimental data and also evaluate the linearity and homoscedasticity of the calibration curve. Using an internal standard corrects for the loss of analyte during sample preparation and analysis provided that it is selected appropriately. After the best regression model is selected, the analytical method needs to be validated using quality control (QC) samples prepared and stored in the same temperature as intended for the study samples. Most of the international guidelines require that the parameters, including linearity, specificity, selectivity, accuracy, precision, lower limit of quantification (LLOQ), matrix effect and stability, be assessed during validation. Despite the highly regulated area, some challenges still exist regarding the validation of some analytical methods including methods when no analyte-free matrix is available.",book:{id:"6379",slug:"calibration-and-validation-of-analytical-methods-a-sampling-of-current-approaches",title:"Calibration and Validation of Analytical Methods",fullTitle:"Calibration and Validation of Analytical Methods - A Sampling of Current Approaches"},signatures:"Seyed Mojtaba Moosavi and Sussan Ghassabian",authors:[{id:"216099",title:"Dr.",name:"Sussan",middleName:null,surname:"Ghassabian",slug:"sussan-ghassabian",fullName:"Sussan Ghassabian"},{id:"216101",title:"Mr.",name:"Seyed Mojtaba",middleName:null,surname:"Moosavi",slug:"seyed-mojtaba-moosavi",fullName:"Seyed Mojtaba Moosavi"}]}],onlineFirstChaptersFilter:{topicId:"8",limit:6,offset:0},onlineFirstChaptersCollection:[{id:"83005",title:"Catalytic Behavior of Extended π-Conjugation in the Kinetics of Sensitizer-Mediator Interaction",slug:"catalytic-behavior-of-extended-conjugation-in-the-kinetics-of-sensitizer-mediator-interaction",totalDownloads:3,totalDimensionsCites:0,doi:"10.5772/intechopen.106511",abstract:"This chapter discusses the catalytic effect of extended π-conjugation on the electron transfer process between ferricyphen-ferrocyanide and ferricypyr-ferrocyanide in an aqueous medium. Ferricyphen and ferricypyr may be feasible options for the sensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells due to their high reduction potential, stability, capability as an outer-sphere oxidant, and photosensitivity. Meanwhile, ferrocyanide could be used as a mediator in DSSCs instead of iodide to avoid iodate production and achieve a similar reduction potential and stability. This chapter compared the ability of competent putative sensitizers to oxidize the likely mediator in water. In contrast to the 2,2′-dipyridyl chelate, the extended π-conjugation in 1,10-phenanthroline accelerated the redox process by increasing the electron affinity of ferricyphen as compared to ferricypyr. The reactions had the same kinetics but different rate constants, indicating that the ferricyphen-ferrocyanide reaction was several times faster than the ferricypyr-ferrocyanide reaction, revealing and confirming the catalytic influence of extended π-conjugation on the redox process.",book:{id:"11217",title:"Recent Advances in Chemical Kinetics",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11217.jpg"},signatures:"Rozina Khattak"},{id:"83004",title:"Pyridine Heterocycles in the Therapy of Oncological Diseases",slug:"pyridine-heterocycles-in-the-therapy-of-oncological-diseases",totalDownloads:1,totalDimensionsCites:0,doi:"10.5772/intechopen.106406",abstract:"Oncological diseases pose a major challenge for modern medicine. Heterocyclic compounds play a vital role in modern medical and pharmaceutical science as most medicinal substances incorporate them. Nitrogen-containing heterocycles serve as the basis of numerous drugs and, therefore, are deeply involved in the design and synthesis of promising new therapeutic agents. Pyridine or pyrimidine scaffolds, with a number of substituents attached, comprise a large portion of FDA-approved drugs. They are chemically stable in the human body, manifest an affinity for DNA via hydrogen bonding, and present an opportunity for the development of novel anticancer agents. A large number of pyridine-based molecules are synthesized and tested for anticancer activity each year. The present chapter aims to introduce the most current synthetic approaches, published in scientific literature, and would also elaborate on structure-activity relationships described therein.",book:{id:"11562",title:"Chemistry with Pyridine Derivatives",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11562.jpg"},signatures:"Lozan T. Todorov and Irena P. Kostova"},{id:"82969",title:"Utilizing Photocatalysts in Reducing Moisture Absorption in Composites of Natural Fibers",slug:"utilizing-photocatalysts-in-reducing-moisture-absorption-in-composites-of-natural-fibers",totalDownloads:3,totalDimensionsCites:0,doi:"10.5772/intechopen.106543",abstract:"Due to growing environmental consciousness and the depletion of oil supplies, numerous efforts have been made to replace synthetic fibers in fiber-reinforced composites with natural fibers (NFr). The low cost and abundance of NFr and its biodegradability and low density have encouraged researchers worldwide to study their potential applications in several industrial sectors. However, NFr has several disadvantages: excessive moisture absorption and subsequent swelling and degradation, low chemical and fire resistance, and insufficient interfacial interactions with polymers. Consequently, there is great interest in modifying the surface of NFr using a variety of methods. This chapter presents an overview of the NFr, its characterization, the problems associated with adding NFr to polymer composites. This literature survey suggests an in-depth review of photocatalysis by utilizing photocatalysts nanoparticle (PHNPs) aimed at increasing the hydrophobicity and interfacial bonding between the NFr and the matrix Using a photo-induced oxidation mechanism to disassemble water molecules, pollutants, and bacteria in a wet environment. Additionally, we reviewed the effects of these PHNPs on the moisture absorption, mechanical characteristics, and dimensional stability of NFr composites. As a result, this review article may make a valuable contribution to researchers interested in coating and treating NFr to further enhance their surface characteristics.",book:{id:"11559",title:"Photocatalysts - New Perspectives",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11559.jpg"},signatures:"Mohammed Mohammed and Rozyanty Rahman"},{id:"82853",title:"Revealing Retention Mechanisms in Liquid Chromatography: QSRR Approach",slug:"revealing-retention-mechanisms-in-liquid-chromatography-qsrr-approach",totalDownloads:10,totalDimensionsCites:0,doi:"10.5772/intechopen.106245",abstract:"One-factor-at-a-time experimentation was used for a long time as gold-standard optimization for liquid chromatographic (LC) method development. This approach has two downsides as it requires a needlessly great number of experimental runs and it is unable to identify possible factor interactions. At the end of the last century, however, this problem could be solved with the introduction of new chemometric strategies. This chapter aims at presenting quantitative structure–retention relationship (QSRR) models with structuring possibilities, from the point of feature selection through various machine learning algorithms that can be used in model building, for internal and external validation of the proposed models. The presented strategies of QSRR model can be a good starting point for analysts to use and adopt them as a good practice for their applications. QSRR models can be used in predicting the retention behavior of compounds, to point out the molecular features governing the retention, and consequently to gain insight into the retention mechanisms. In terms of these applications, special attention was drawn to modified chromatographic systems, characterized by mobile or stationary phase modifications. Although chromatographic methods are applied in a wide variety of fields, the greatest attention has been devoted to the analysis of pharmaceuticals.",book:{id:"11557",title:"Chemometrics - Recent Advances, New Perspectives and Applications",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11557.jpg"},signatures:"Jovana Krmar, Bojana Svrkota, Nevena Đajić, Jevrem Stojanović, Ana Protić and Biljana Otašević"},{id:"82796",title:"A Revisit of the Underlying Fundamentals in the Laser Emission from BODIPYs",slug:"a-revisit-of-the-underlying-fundamentals-in-the-laser-emission-from-bodipys",totalDownloads:15,totalDimensionsCites:0,doi:"10.5772/intechopen.106334",abstract:"This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the laser performance of commercially available laser dyes based on the boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) chromophore in a liquid state, as well as to remark the main underlying photophysical signatures triggering such photonic behavior. First, we describe their light absorption and fluorescence properties in solution. This spectroscopic study is supplemented with quantum mechanics calculations and electrochemical measurements. Afterward, the dyes are tested as active media of tunable lasers under transversal pumping. The recorded laser efficiencies and photostabilities are correlated with the registered photophysical properties identifying the main structural guidelines and photonic parameters, which rule the laser bands’ position, intensity, and stability. As a result, we provide a comparative dataset of the laser performance, not available hitherto. Besides, the unraveling of the complex molecular structure-photophysics-laser relationship should help in the rational design of new tunable dye lasers with an improved photonic response along the entire visible region and reaching eventually the near infrared.",book:{id:"12081",title:"Dyes and Pigments - Insights and Applications",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/12081.jpg"},signatures:"Alaitz Peñafiel, Ainhoa Oliden-Sánchez, Edurne Avellanal-Zaballa, Leire Gartzia-Rivero, Rebeca Sola-Llano and Jorge Bañuelos"},{id:"82706",title:"Applications of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) in Fish Value Chain",slug:"applications-of-near-infrared-spectroscopy-nirs-in-fish-value-chain",totalDownloads:18,totalDimensionsCites:0,doi:"10.5772/intechopen.105736",abstract:"Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has undergone a significant evolution in the last years due to the numerous scientific studies that revealed its potential for industrial applications, attracting a growing interest in the food sector. Furthermore, new advances have allowed the reduction in size and cost of the NIR devices, making them appropriate for on-site determinations. The complex structure of the fish value chain, combined to its high market value, makes this sector particularly vulnerable to fraud and adulteration practices. Also, the perishable nature of fish and fish products, as well as the lack of traceability, arises the urgent need for a fast, reliable and portable tool capable of precisely characterizing the quality and authenticity of the product while also ensuring its safety. In this chapter, the capabilities of NIRS combined to several chemometric techniques for quality, authenticity and safety applications are presented through an extensive review of the most recent research works.",book:{id:"11564",title:"Infrared Spectroscopy - Perspectives and Applications",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11564.jpg"},signatures:"Sonia Nieto-Ortega, Rebeca Lara, Giuseppe Foti, Ángela Melado-Herreros and Idoia Olabarrieta"}],onlineFirstChaptersTotal:58},preDownload:{success:null,errors:{}},subscriptionForm:{success:null,errors:{}},aboutIntechopen:{},privacyPolicy:{},peerReviewing:{},howOpenAccessPublishingWithIntechopenWorks:{},sponsorshipBooks:{sponsorshipBooks:[],offset:0,limit:8,total:null},allSeries:{pteSeriesList:[{id:"14",title:"Artificial Intelligence",numberOfPublishedBooks:9,numberOfPublishedChapters:90,numberOfOpenTopics:6,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2633-1403",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.79920",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"7",title:"Biomedical Engineering",numberOfPublishedBooks:12,numberOfPublishedChapters:108,numberOfOpenTopics:3,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2631-5343",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.71985",isOpenForSubmission:!0}],lsSeriesList:[{id:"11",title:"Biochemistry",numberOfPublishedBooks:33,numberOfPublishedChapters:330,numberOfOpenTopics:4,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2632-0983",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.72877",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"25",title:"Environmental Sciences",numberOfPublishedBooks:1,numberOfPublishedChapters:19,numberOfOpenTopics:4,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2754-6713",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.100362",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"10",title:"Physiology",numberOfPublishedBooks:14,numberOfPublishedChapters:145,numberOfOpenTopics:4,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2631-8261",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.72796",isOpenForSubmission:!0}],hsSeriesList:[{id:"3",title:"Dentistry",numberOfPublishedBooks:9,numberOfPublishedChapters:141,numberOfOpenTopics:2,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2631-6218",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.71199",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"6",title:"Infectious Diseases",numberOfPublishedBooks:13,numberOfPublishedChapters:123,numberOfOpenTopics:4,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2631-6188",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.71852",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"13",title:"Veterinary Medicine and Science",numberOfPublishedBooks:11,numberOfPublishedChapters:112,numberOfOpenTopics:3,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2632-0517",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.73681",isOpenForSubmission:!0}],sshSeriesList:[{id:"22",title:"Business, Management and Economics",numberOfPublishedBooks:1,numberOfPublishedChapters:22,numberOfOpenTopics:3,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2753-894X",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.100359",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"23",title:"Education and Human Development",numberOfPublishedBooks:0,numberOfPublishedChapters:11,numberOfOpenTopics:1,numberOfUpcomingTopics:1,issn:null,doi:"10.5772/intechopen.100360",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"24",title:"Sustainable Development",numberOfPublishedBooks:1,numberOfPublishedChapters:19,numberOfOpenTopics:5,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2753-6580",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.100361",isOpenForSubmission:!0}],testimonialsList:[{id:"13",text:"The collaboration with and support of the technical staff of IntechOpen is fantastic. 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