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- Economic and food safety: optimized inspection routes generationPublication . Barros, Telmo; Oliveira, Alexandra; Cardoso, Henrique Lopes; Reis, Luís Paulo; Caldeira, Cristina; Machado, João PedroData-driven decision support systems rely on increasing amounts of information that needs to be converted into actionable knowledge in business intelligence processes. The latter have been applied to diverse business areas, including governmental organizations, where they can be used effectively. The Portuguese Food and Economic Safety Authority (ASAE) is one example of such organizations. Over its years of operation, a rich dataset has been collected which can be used to improve their activity regarding prevention in the areas of food safety and economic enforcement. ASAE needs to inspect Economic Operators all over the country, and the efficient and effective generation of optimized and flexible inspection routes is a major concern. The focus of this paper is, thus, the generation of optimized inspection routes, which can then be flexibly adapted towards their operational accomplishment. Each Economic Operator is assigned an inspection utility – an indication of the risk it poses to public health and food safety, to business practices and intellectual property as well as to security and environment. Optimal inspection routes are then generated typically by seeking to maximize the utility gained from inspecting the chosen Economic Operators. The need of incorporating constraints such as Economic Operators’ opening hours and multiple departure/arrival spots has led to model the problem as a Multi-Depot Periodic Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows. Exact and meta-heuristic methods were implemented to solve the problem and the Genetic Algorithm showed a high performance with realistic solutions to be used by ASAE inspectors. The hybrid approach that combined the Genetic Algorithm with the Hill Climbing also showed to be a good manner of enhancing the solution quality.
- Generation and optimization of inspection routes for economic and food safetyPublication . Barros, Telmo; Oliveira, Alexandra; Cardoso, Henrique Lopes; Reis, Luís Paulo; Caldeira, Cristina; Machado, João Pedro; Oliveira, AlexandraArtificial intelligence techniques have been applied to diverse business and governmental areas, in order to take advantage of the huge amount of information that is generated within specific organizations or institutions. Business intelligence can be seen as the process of converting such information into actionable knowledge, which is the basis for data-driven decision making. With this in mind, this work is framed in a project that seeks to improve the activity of the Portuguese Food and Economic Safety Authority, regarding prevention in the areas of food safety and economic enforcement. More specifically, this paper focuses on the generation and optimization of flexible inspection routes. An optimal inspection route seeks to maximize the number of targeted Economic Operators, or the utility gained from the set of Economic Operators that are actually inspected. For that, each Economic Operator is assigned an inspection utility value. The problem was then modelled as a Multi-Depot Periodic Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows, and solved using both exact and meta-heuristic methods. The comparison of the meta-heuristic algorithms showed a versatile Hill Climbing implementation in different test cases that explored the effect of the Economic Operators dispersion and density.
- Modelling reporting delays in a multilevel structured surveillance system - Application to portuguese HIV-AIDS dataPublication . Oliveira, Alexandra; Amorim, Humberta; Gaio, Rita; Reis, Luís Paulo; Oliveira, AlexandraIn a deeply interconnected world of people and goods, infectious diseases constitute a serious threat. An active vigilance is required. The collection of adequate data is vital and coordinated by surveillance systems. It is widely-acknowledged that every case-reporting system has some degree of under-reporting and reporting delay in particular in HIVAIDS Portuguese Surveillance System. To better understand the processes generating the reporting delays, which is an administrative process, it was used a flexible continuous time fully parametric survival analysis approach. It was taken into consideration the hierarchical administrative and organizational structure of the system as well as the relevant changes in the procedures throughout the time. The best multilevel structure to represent reporting delays in continuous time is the model where the individuals are nested into Reporting Entities (20.24% of the variance) which are nested into Type of services (8% of the variance) with the log-normal distribution.
- Interactive inspection routes application for economic and food safetyPublication . Barros, Telmo; Santos, Tiago; Oliveira, Alexandra; Cardoso, Henrique Lopes; Reis, Luís Paulo; Oliveira, AlexandraThis paper describes an application aimed at improving the current state of enforcement in the areas of food safety and economic activities in Portugal. More specifically, the application focuses on a flexible and interactive approach to generate inspection routes, to be followed by surveillance brigades with the aim of verifying Economic Operators’ compliance to national and European legislation on economic and food safety. The problem is modeled as a Multi-Depot Periodic Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows, and the algorithmic approaches employed seek to maximize either the number of inspected Economic Operators or a utility function that takes into account the utility gained from inspecting each Economic Operator. The generated solutions are shown in an intuitive platform, where human operators can visualize the solutions details (including georeferenced locations in a map) and fully customize them on time by manually removing or adding Economic Operators to be targeted.
- Assessing daily activities using a PPG sensor embedded in a wristband-type activity trackerPublication . Oliveira, Alexandra; Aguiar, Joyce; Silva, Eliana; Faria, Brígida Mónica; Gonçalves, Helena; Teófilo, Luís; Gonçalves, Joaquim; Carvalho, Victor; Cardoso, Henrique Lopes; Reis, Luís Paulo; Faria, Brigida Monica; Oliveira, AlexandraDue to the technological evolution on wearable devices, biosignals, such as inter-cardiac beat interval (RR) time series, are being captured in a noncontrolled environment. These RR signals, derived from photoplethysmography (PPG), enable health status assessment in a more continuous, non-invasive, nonobstructive way, and fully integrated into the individual’s daily activity. However PPG is vulnerable to motion artefacts, which can affect the accuracy of the estimated neurophysiological markers. This paper introduces a method for motion artefact characterization in terms of location and relative variation parameters obtained in different common daily activities. The approach takes into consideration interindividual variability. Data was analyzed throughout related-samples Friedman’s test, followed by pairwise comparison with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with a Bonferroni correction. Results showed that movement, involving only arms, presents more variability in terms of the two analyzed parameters.
- Extended reality tools for medical training and educationPublication . Magalhães, Renato; Veloso, Rita; Magalhães, Renato; da Silva Veloso, Rita SofiaThe integration of extended reality (XR) in medical education represents a cutting-edge approach to simulation-based training. This study critically assesses XR software for medical teaching, with a focus on compatibility, medical specialization, and licensing requirements. The findings highlight the significant use in anatomy (44%) and surgical applications (26%). Virtual and mixed reality are the dominant technologies in this field, with the U.S. accounting for 62% of the companies involved. Specifically, HoloAnatomy, tested on HoloLens 2 and evaluated by seven healthcare professionals using NASA-TLX, was deemed intuitive and effective, though high device costs limit broader adoption. In conclusion, XR technologies hold substantial potential for advancing medical education, but the cost barriers must be overcome to enable wider implementation.
- Key principles involving ethical and deontological issues in military stress management training in virtual reality environmentsPublication . Gomes, Paulo Veloso; Vianez, Ana; Curado, Henrique; Marques, António; Pereira, Javier; Machado Veloso Gomes, Paulo Sérgio; Pereira da Silva Marques, António José; Curado, HenriqueThe integration of Virtual Reality in military contexts, which simulates realistic combat and high-risk operational scenarios, provides a controlled environment for developing various skills and psychological resilience. This technology has proven to be a valuable tool for enhancing soldiers’ training and preparedness. The creation and use of VR programs, especially those involving the collection of biofeedback data to study military stress, carry significant ethical and deontological responsibilities. This study examines the regulation of using powerful algorithms to analyse biofeedback data to study military stress, emphasizing informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, beneficence and nonmaleficence, transparency in data usage and compliance with legal and regulatory standards.
- Virtual immersive training model with mixed reality for prosthesis application in orthopedicsPublication . Alves, Diogo; Gomes, Paulo Veloso; Magalhães, Renato; Pereira, João; Vilaça, Adélio; Marques, António; Machado Veloso Gomes, Paulo Sérgio; Pereira da Silva Marques, António JoséTraining medical professionals in Orthopedics faces several technical challenges. The equipment required for practical, hands-on training is often restricted to operating rooms. This constraint presents a significant issue, as developing the necessary skills to perform surgeries requires substantial practice time. This work developed a virtual training model using mixed reality, using a QR code to generate a virtual opaque hemisphere, within which the user operates two virtual tools that simulate an endoscope and a drill. A virtual monitor displays the endoscope’s view to the user, who must then navigate the drill tip to successfully touch specific target cubes. The application has the potential to significantly enhance the orthopedic learning experience by reducing the time and resources.
- Virtual reality exposure therapy for Arachnophobia: A pilot studyPublication . Lopes, Inês; Almeida, Raquel Simões de; Gomes, Paulo Veloso; Sá, Vítor J.; Oliveira, Gonçalo; Marques, António; Machado Veloso Gomes, Paulo Sérgio; Sá, Vítor J.; Pereira da Silva Marques, António José; Simões de Almeida, RaquelArachnophobia is a chronic disorder leading to significant avoidance of spider-related situations. This pilot study examines the effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) for treating arachnophobia. The study included 25 participants who completed fear questionnaires and avoidance tests before, after and two weeks after the intervention. The intervention consisted of a session of progressive exposure to a novel and gamified virtual environment containing spiders. The results showed a significant reduction in fear and anxiety in relation to the phobic stimulus, suggesting that VRET is a promising approach for treating phobias, in controlled and safe environments.
- Effectiveness of virtual reality in reducing public speaking anxiety: A pilot studyPublication . Oliveira, Maria; Almeida, Raquel Simões de; Gomes, Paulo Veloso; Donga, João; Marques, António; Teixeira, Bruno; Pereira, Javier; Simões de Almeida, Raquel; Machado Veloso Gomes, Paulo Sérgio; Rucha das Dores da Costa Donga, João Paulo; Pereira da Silva Marques, António JoséPublic speaking anxiety (glossophobia) is a manifestation of social anxiety that affects a significant portion of the population, jeopardizing performance in academic, professional, and social contexts. This pilot study examines the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) as a therapeutic tool for reducing public speaking anxiety. Over six VR simulation sessions, the physiological responses of 30 participants, including heart rate (HR) and electrodermal activity, were monitored alongside psychometric assessments. Results demonstrated a significant reduction in HR and improved self-efficacy. These findings recommend combining VR with traditional therapeutic approaches and emerging neuroscience-based methods, such as neurofeedback, to create more personalized treatment interventions.