Abstract
Non-adherence to medication is a pervasive issue worldwide, affecting 50% of prescription users, resulting in suboptimal therapy outcomes and premature death. One of the key factors contributing to non-adherence is the complexity associated with managing medication regimens. To address this challenge, an automated pill dispenser “SelfMed, your medication partner” has been proposed. This study focuses on studying determinants of medication non-adherence, its ramifications and alternatives available in the market in order to increase medication adherence among adults aged 60 and over. The overarching goal of this research is to evaluate whether digital solutions like SelfMed are required for addressing non-compliance issues in Portugal while assessing their effectiveness over time for our target audience within the marketplace. The research was conducted using primary data collected through a questionnaire distributed to users and care institutions/companies in Portugal (Northern area). According to the analysis, 40% of users and 40% of care companies are interested in obtaining SelfMed to simplify the complex medication management and prescription regimen for the end user. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025.

Abstract

Abstract
The aim of this study was to conduct a qualitative analysis research that will support the internal and external analysis, as well as the strategic options to be developed for a Marketing Plan for the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo. The methodology used was through exploratory interviews using a script based on nine key dimensions for creating a marketing plan. The script was applied through face-to-face interviews with the president of the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo. We obtained six interviews that could be analyzed in the nine dimensions. It was possible to understand that the elements suggest some changes in the different dimensions of the script. One of the points with the most observations for improvement was communication, mostly internal. However, all the improvements and growth that the institute has achieved over the years were acknowledged. It was also possible to realize that the six people interviewed have the same perspective and make similar observations on the different questions asked. With the interviews, it will be possible to outline the best structure and path for the strategic marketing plan. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025.

Abstract

Abstract
This study investigates the effects of occlusions on the fairness of face recognition systems, particularly focusing on demographic biases. Using the Racial Faces in the Wild (RFW) dataset and synthetically added realistic occlusions, we evaluate their effect on the performance of face recognition models trained on the BUPT-Balanced and BUPT-GlobalFace datasets. We note increases in the dispersion of FMR, FNMR, and accuracy alongside decreases in fairness according to Equalized Odds, Demographic Parity, STD of Accuracy, and Fairness Discrepancy Rate. Additionally, we utilize a pixel attribution method to understand the importance of occlusions in model predictions, proposing a new metric, Face Occlusion Impact Ratio (FOIR), that quantifies the extent to which occlusions affect model performance across different demographic groups. Our results indicate that occlusions exacerbate existing demographic biases, with models placing higher importance on occlusions in an unequal fashion across demographics.

Abstract
The presence of missing data poses a common challenge for time series analysis in general since the most usual requirement is that the data is equally spaced in time and therefore imputation methods are required. For time series of counts, the usual imputation methods which usually produce real valued observations, are not adequate. This work employs Bayesian principles for handling missing data within time series of counts, based on first-order integer-valued autoregressive (INAR) models, namely Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) and Gibbs sampler with Data Augmentation (GDA) algorithms. The methodologies are illustrated with synthetic and real data and the results indicate that the estimates are consistent and present less bias when the percentage of missing observations decreases, as expected. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.