Abstract
Heart failure (HF) is a multifactorial chronic syndrome with progressive increasing incidence causing a huge financial burden worldwide. Remote monitoring should, in theory, improve HF management, but given increasing morbidity and mortality, a question remains: are we monitoring it properly? Device-based home monitoring enables objective and continuous measurement of vital variables and non-invasive devices should be first choice for elderly patients. There is no shortage of literature on the subject, however, most studies were designed to monitor a single variable or class of variables that were not properly assembled and, to the best of our knowledge, there are no large randomized studies about their impact on HF patient management. To overcome this problem, we carefully selected the most critical possible HF decompensating factors to design MONITORIA, a non-invasive device for comprehensive HF home monitoring. MONITORIA stands for MOnitoring Non-Invasively To Overcome mortality Rates of heart Insufficiency on Ambulatory, and in this paper, which is part I of a series of three articles, we discuss the theoretical basis for its design. MONITORIA and its inherent follow-up strategy will optimize HF patient care as it is a promising device, which will essentially adapt innovation not to the disease but rather to the patients. (C) 2020 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.

Abstract
This paper presents Alloy4Fun, a web application that enables online editing and sharing of Alloy models and instances (including dynamic ones developed with the Electrum extension), to be used mainly in an educational context. By introducing secret paragraphs and commands in the models, Alloy4Fun allows the distribution and automated assessment of simple specification challenges, a mechanism that enables students to learn the language at their own pace. Alloy4Fun stores all versions of shared and analyzed models, as well as derivation trees that depict how they evolved over time: this wealth of information can be mined by researchers or tutors to identify, for example, learning breakdowns in the class or typical mistakes made by Alloy users. A data analysis library is also provided to support this process. Alloy4Fun has been used in formal methods graduate courses for 3 years and for the latest editions we present results regarding its adoption by the students, as well as preliminary insights regarding the most common bottlenecks when learning Alloy (and Electrum).

Abstract
Cyberattacks exploiting Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces may have a high impact on individual and corporate systems. The BadUSB is an attack where a USB device's firmware is spoofed and, once mounted, allows attackers to execute a set of malicious actions in a target system. The countermeasures against this type of attack can be grouped into two strategies: phyiscal blocking of USB ports and software blocking. This paper proposes a distributed architecture that uses software blocking to enhance system protection against BadUSB attacks. This architecture is composed of multiple agents and external databases, and it is designed for personal or corporate computers using Microsoft Windows Operating System. When a USB device is connected, the agent inspects the device, provides filtered information about its functionality and presents a threat assessment to the user, based on all previous user choices stored in external databases. By providing valuable information to the user, and also threat assessments from multiple users, the proposed distributed architecture improves system protection.

Abstract
Intrapartum fetal monitoring's primary goal is to avoid adverse perinatal outcomes related to hypoxia/acidosis without increasing unnecessary interventions. Recently, a set of indices were proposed as new biomarkers to analyze heart rate (HR), termed HR fragmentation (HRF). In this work, the HRF indices were applied to intrapartum fetal heart rate (FHR) traces to evaluate fetal acidemia. The fragmentation method produces four indices: PIP-Percentage of inflection points; IALS-Inverse of the average length of acceleration/deceleration segments; PSS-Percentage of short segments; PAS-Percentage of alternating segments. On the other hand, the symbolic approach studied the existence of different patterns of length four. We applied the measures to 246 selected FHR recordings sampled at 4 and 2 Hz, where 39 presented umbilical artery's pH <= 7.15. When applied to the 4 Hz FHR, the PIP, IASL, and PSS showed significantly higher values in the traces from acidemic fetuses. In comparison, the percentage of "words " W1h and W2s showed lower values for those traces. Furthermore, when using the 2 Hz, only IASL, W-0, and W2m achieved significant differences between traces from both acidemic and normal fetuses. Notwithstanding, the ideal sampling frequency is yet to be established. The fragmentation indices correlated with Sisporto variability measures, especially short-term variability. Accordingly, the fragmentation indices seem to be able to detect pathological patterns in FHR tracings. These indices have the advantage of being suitable and straightforward to apply in real-time analysis. Future studies should combine these indexes with others used successfully to detect fetal hypoxia, improving the power of discrimination in a larger dataset.

Abstract

Abstract
In this paper we delve into the health sector and explore the way vaccines might change in the near future. As new challenges emerge, health professionals are faced with the need for innovative, effective answers to many issues, such as health-threatening viruses and diseases, that grow increasingly more complex, calling for new and practical solutions. Building on this framework, we have decided to address edible vaccines - a completely innovative and simpler way to administer vaccines - not only to understand if it is viewed in a favorable light but also to find out how the knowledge regarding these vaccines can be increased. After a thorough literature review, it became clear that the information about edible vaccines is not evident and easy to access. We then decided to apply a mixed methodology in our study, based on 15 interviews, in person and by email, addressing healthcare professionals, with the intent of gathering their experience and possible knowledge about vaccines. Additionally, an online survey was created and answered by 370 concerned citizens, in order to ascertain their knowledge and receptiveness to this matter. Hereupon, we concluded that, in both samples, there was very limited knowledge about these vaccines, it becoming obvious how important it is to transmit qualified information through accessible means, such as newscasts, scientific papers and magazines, health centers and hospitals, among others. Regarding the level of acceptance by the public in general, our results show that this innovation is dependent on its correct disclosure and propagation, since it is of great advantage and benefit for society. In sum, how the relevant knowledge (including proof of effectiveness) is managed and disseminated will be key.