Abstract
The first step in any non linear time series analysis, is to characterize signals in terms of periodicity, stationarity, linearity and predictability. In this work we aim to find if PCG (phonocardiogram) and ECG (electrocardiogram) time series are generated by a deterministic system and not from a random stochastic process. If PCG and ECG are non-linear deterministic systems and they are not very contaminated with noise, data should be confined to a finite dimensional manifold, which means there are structures hidden under the signal that could be used to increase our knowledge in forecasting future values of the time series. A non-linear process can give rise to very complex dynamic behaviours, even though the underlying process is purely deterministic and probably low-dimensional. To test this hypothesis, we have generated 99 surrogates and then we compared the fitting capability of AR (auto-regressive) models on the original and surrogate data. The results show with a 99\% of confidence level that PCG and ECG were generated by a deterministic process. We compared the fitting capability of an ECG and PCG to AR linear models, using a multi-channel approach. We make an assumption that if a signal is more linearly predictable than another one, it may adjust better to these AR linear models. The results showed that ECG is more linearly predictable (for both channels) than PCG, although a filtering step is needed for the first channel. Finally we show that the false nearest neighbour method is insufficient to identify the correct dimension of the attractor in the reconstructed state space for both PCG and ECG signals.

Abstract
Acoustic heart signals are generated by a turbulence effect created when the heart valves snap shut, and therefore carrying significant information of the underlying functionality of the cardiovascular system. In this paper, we present a method for heart murmur classification divided into three major steps: a) features are extracted from the heart sound; b) features are selected using a Backward Feature Selection algorithm; c) signals are classified using a K-nearest neighbor's classifier. A new set of fractal features are proposed, which are based on the distinct signatures of complexity and self-similarity registered on the normal and pathogenic cases. The experimental results show that fractal features are the most capable of describing the non-linear structure and the underlying dynamics of heart sounds among the all feature families tested. The classification results achieved for the mitral auscultation spot (88% of accuracy) are in agreement with the current state of the art methods for heart murmur classification.

Abstract
We present a methodology to assess cell level alterations on the human retina responsible for functional changes observable in the Optical Coherence Tomography data in healthy ageing and in disease conditions, in the absence of structural alterations. The methodology is based in a 3D multilayer Monte Carlo computational model of the human retina. The optical properties of each layer are obtained by solving the Maxwell's equations for 3D domains representative of small regions of those layers, using a Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element Method (DG-FEM). Here we present the DG-FEM Maxwell 3D model and its validation against Mie's theory for spherical scatterers. We also present an application of our methodology to the assessment of cell level alterations responsible for the OCT data in Diabetic Macular Edema. It was possible to identify which alterations are responsible for the changes observed in the OCT scans of the diseased groups.

Abstract
The goal of this work is to develop a computational model of the human retina and simulate light scattering through its structure aiming to shed light on data obtained by optical coherence tomography in human retinas. Currently, light propagation in scattering media is often described by Mie's solution to Maxwell's equations, which only describes the scattering patterns for homogeneous spheres, thus limiting its application for scatterers of more complex shapes. In this work, we propose a discontinuous Galerkin method combined with a low-storage Runge-Kutta method as an accurate and efficient way to numerically solve the time-dependent Maxwell's equations. In this work, we report on the validation of the proposed methodology by comparison with Mie's solution, a mandatory step before further elaborating the numerical scheme towards the propagation of electromagnetic waves through the human retina.

Abstract
This article studies the economic crisis' impact on consumers' behavior, and aims to help defining green marketing strategies appropriate for these periods. We conducted a survey to 412 Portuguese individuals. The majority of the respondents shows a medium or high green consumer behavior, and demonstrates reduced consumption during crisis. The purchase of green products is more present in products whose use cost is lower than the use cost of the alternative products. The crisis may have a bipolar effect on green consumption, encouraging certain practices and reducing others.

Abstract