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Publications

Publications by CRACS

2021

eHealthCare - A Medication Monitoring Approach for the Elderly People

Authors
Pinto, A; Correia, A; Alves, R; Matos, P; Ascensão, J; Camelo, D;

Publication
Wireless Mobile Communication and Healthcare - 10th EAI International Conference, MobiHealth 2021, Virtual Event, November 13-14, 2021, Proceedings

Abstract
For the regularly medicated population, the management of the posology is of utmost importance. With increasing average life expectancy, people tend to become older and more likely to have chronic medical disorders, consequently taking more medicines. This is predominant in the older population, but it’s not exclusive to this generation. It’s a common problem for all those suffering from chronic diseases, regardless of age group. Performing a correct management of the medicines stock, as well as, taking them at the ideal time, is not always easy and, in some cases, the diversity of medicines needed to treat a particular medical disorder is a proof of that. Knowing what to take, how much to take, and ensuring compliance with the medication intervals, for each medication in use, becomes a serious problem for those who experience this reality. The situation is aggravated when the posology admits variable amounts, intervals, and combinations depending on the patient’s health condition. This paper presents a solution that optimizes the management of medication of users who use the services of institutions that provide health care to the elderly (e.g., day care centers or nursing homes). Making use of the NB-IoT network, artificial intelligence algorithms, a set of sensors and an Arduino MKR NB 1500, this solution, in addition to the functionalities already described, eHealthCare also has mechanisms that allow identifying the non-adherence to medication by the elderly. © 2022, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.

2021

The Entropy Universe

Authors
Ribeiro, M; Henriques, T; Castro, L; Souto, A; Antunes, L; Costa Santos, C; Teixeira, A;

Publication
ENTROPY

Abstract
About 160 years ago, the concept of entropy was introduced in thermodynamics by Rudolf Clausius. Since then, it has been continually extended, interpreted, and applied by researchers in many scientific fields, such as general physics, information theory, chaos theory, data mining, and mathematical linguistics. This paper presents The Entropy Universe, which aims to review the many variants of entropies applied to time-series. The purpose is to answer research questions such as: How did each entropy emerge? What is the mathematical definition of each variant of entropy? How are entropies related to each other? What are the most applied scientific fields for each entropy? We describe in-depth the relationship between the most applied entropies in time-series for different scientific fields, establishing bases for researchers to properly choose the variant of entropy most suitable for their data. The number of citations over the past sixteen years of each paper proposing a new entropy was also accessed. The Shannon/differential, the Tsallis, the sample, the permutation, and the approximate entropies were the most cited ones. Based on the ten research areas with the most significant number of records obtained in the Web of Science and Scopus, the areas in which the entropies are more applied are computer science, physics, mathematics, and engineering. The universe of entropies is growing each day, either due to the introducing new variants either due to novel applications. Knowing each entropy's strengths and of limitations is essential to ensure the proper improvement of this research field.

2021

Complexity as cardiorespiratory coupling measure in neonates with different gestational ages

Authors
Ribeiro, M; Castro, L; Antunes, L; Costa Santos, C; Henriques, T;

Publication
Proceedings of Entropy 2021: The Scientific Tool of the 21st Century

Abstract

2021

A Standard-Based Internet of Things Platform and Data Flow Modeling for Smart Environmental Monitoring

Authors
Filho, T; Fernando, L; Rabelo, M; Silva, S; Santos, C; Ribeiro, M; Grout, IA; Moreira, W; Oliveira, A;

Publication
SENSORS

Abstract
The environment consists of the interaction between the physical, biotic, and anthropic means. As this interaction is dynamic, environmental characteristics tend to change naturally over time, requiring continuous monitoring. In this scenario, the internet of things (IoT), together with traditional sensor networks, allows for the monitoring of various environmental aspects such as air, water, atmospheric, and soil conditions, and sending data to different users and remote applications. This paper proposes a Standard-based Internet of Things Platform and Data Flow Modeling for Smart Environmental Monitoring. The platform consists of an IoT network based on the IEEE 1451 standard which has the network capable application processor (NCAP) node (coordinator) and multiple wireless transducers interface module (WTIM) nodes. A WTIM node consists of one or more transducers, a data transfer interface and a processing unit. Thus, with the developed network, it is possible to collect environmental data at different points within a city landscape, to perform analysis of the communication distance between the WTIM nodes, and monitor the number of bytes transferred according to each network node. In addition, a dynamic model of data flow is proposed where the performance of the NCAP and WTIM nodes are described through state variables, relating directly to the information exchange dynamics between the communicating nodes in the mesh network. The modeling results showed stability in the network. Such stability means that the network has capacity of preserve its flow of information, for a long period of time, without loss frames or packets due to congestion.

2021

Non-linear Methods Predominant in Fetal Heart Rate Analysis: A Systematic Review

Authors
Ribeiro, M; Monteiro Santos, J; Castro, L; Antunes, L; Costa Santos, C; Teixeira, A; Henriques, TS;

Publication
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE

Abstract
The analysis of fetal heart rate variability has served as a scientific and diagnostic tool to quantify cardiac activity fluctuations, being good indicators of fetal well-being. Many mathematical analyses were proposed to evaluate fetal heart rate variability. We focused on non-linear analysis based on concepts of chaos, fractality, and complexity: entropies, compression, fractal analysis, and wavelets. These methods have been successfully applied in the signal processing phase and increase knowledge about cardiovascular dynamics in healthy and pathological fetuses. This review summarizes those methods and investigates how non-linear measures are related to each paper's research objectives. Of the 388 articles obtained in the PubMed/Medline database and of the 421 articles in the Web of Science database, 270 articles were included in the review after all exclusion criteria were applied. While approximate entropy is the most used method in classification papers, in signal processing, the most used non-linear method was Daubechies wavelets. The top five primary research objectives covered by the selected papers were detection of signal processing, hypoxia, maturation or gestational age, intrauterine growth restriction, and fetal distress. This review shows that non-linear indices can be used to assess numerous prenatal conditions. However, they are not yet applied in clinical practice due to some critical concerns. Some studies show that the combination of several linear and non-linear indices would be ideal for improving the analysis of the fetus's well-being. Future studies should narrow the research question so a meta-analysis could be performed, probing the indices' performance.

2021

Flight Planning Optimization of Multiple UAVs for Internet of Things

Authors
Rodrigues, L; Riker, A; Ribeiro, M; Both, C; Sousa, F; Moreira, W; Cardoso, K; Oliveira, A;

Publication
SENSORS

Abstract
This article presents an approach to autonomous flight planning of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)-Drones as data collectors to the Internet of Things (IoT). We have proposed a model for only one aircraft, as well as for multiple ones. A clustering technique that extends the scope of the number of IoT devices (e.g., sensors) visited by UAVs is also addressed. The flight plan generated from the model focuses on preventing breakdowns due to a lack of battery charge to maximize the number of nodes visited. In addition to the drone autonomous flight planning, a data storage limitation aspect is also considered. We have presented the energy consumption of drones based on the aerodynamic characteristics of the type of aircraft. Simulations show the algorithm's behavior in generating routes, and the model is evaluated using a reliability metric.

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