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Publicações

2025

Development of a Framework to Coordinate Capacity with Market Demand

Autores
Pereira, E; Santos, S; Bastos, J; Da Silva Ávila, PA; Varela, L; Leal, NE; Machado, JMF;

Publicação
Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems

Abstract
This document addresses and develops a framework tool to solve reliability issues in the calculation of processing times for components, using their dimensions. This framework was implemented in a real industrial setting, specifically in a multinational company that manufactures highly customizable electric motors according to customer requirements. After identifying the most critical components and their respective process diagrams, a prototype of the proposed framework was developed to calculate production time. Additionally, another prototype was developed to aid in visualizing the company’s workload. As a result of this work, various improvements were observed in the company, including a 42% reduction in the time required to create workflows and an increase in the reliability and dependability of process times. The framework significantly enhanced operational efficiency, streamlined production processes, and provided a robust solution for managing the complexities of custom manufacturing, demonstrating its effectiveness in a real-world industrial environment. Furthermore, this approach has the potential to be adapted for use in other industries facing similar challenges. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

2025

Interventions Based on Biofeedback Systems to Improve Workers' Psychological Well-Being, Mental Health, and Safety: Systematic Literature Review

Autores
Ferreira, S; Rodrigues, MA; Mateus, C; Rodrigues, PP; Rocha, NB;

Publicação
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH

Abstract
Background: In modern, high-speed work settings, the significance of mental health disorders is increasingly acknowledged as a pressing health issue, with potential adverse consequences for organizations, including reduced productivity and increased absenteeism. Over the past few years, various mental health management solutions, such as biofeedback applications, have surfaced as promising avenues to improve employees' mental well-being. However, most studies on these interventions have been conducted in controlled laboratory settings. Objective: This review aimedtosystematicallyidentify and analyzestudies that implementedbiofeedback-based interventions in real-world occupational settings, focusing on their effectiveness in improving psychological well-being and mental health. Methods: A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. We searched PubMed and EBSCO databases for studies published between 2012 and 2024. Inclusion criteria were original peer-reviewed studies that focused on employees and used biofeedback interventions to improve mental health or prevent mental illness. Exclusion criteria included nonemployee samples, lack of a description of the intervention, and low methodological quality (assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database [PEDro] checklist). Data were extracted on study characteristics, intervention type, physiological and self-reported outcomes, and follow-up measures. Risk of bias was assessed, and VOSviewer was used to visualize the distribution of research topics. Results: A total of 9 studies met the inclusion criteria. The interventions used a range of delivery methods, including traditional biofeedback, mobile apps, mindfulness techniques, virtual reality, and cerebral blood flow monitoring. Most studies focused on breathing techniques to regulate physiological responses (eg, heart rate variability and respiratory sinus arrhythmia) and showed reductions in stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Mobile and app-directed interventions appeared particularly promising for improving resilience and facilitating recovery after stress. Of the 9 studies, 8 (89%) reported positive outcomes, with 1 (11%) study showing initial increases in stress due to logistical limitations in biofeedback access. Sample sizes were generally small, and long-term follow-up data were limited. Conclusions:Biofeedback interventions in workplace settings show promising short-term results in reducing stress and improving mental health, particularly when incorporating breathing techniques and user-friendly delivery methods such as mobile apps. However, the field remains underexplored in occupational contexts. Future research should address adherence challenges, scalability, cost-effectiveness, and long-term outcomesto support broader implementation of biofeedback as a sustainable workplace mental health strategy.

2025

AI-based models to predict decompensation on traumatic brain injury patients

Autores
Ribeiro, R; Neves, I; Oliveira, HP; Pereira, T;

Publicação
Comput. Biol. Medicine

Abstract
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a form of brain injury caused by external forces, resulting in temporary or permanent impairment of brain function. Despite advancements in healthcare, TBI mortality rates can reach 30%–40% in severe cases. This study aims to assist clinical decision-making and enhance patient care for TBI-related complications by employing Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods and data-driven approaches to predict decompensation. This study uses learning models based on sequential data from Electronic Health Records (EHR). Decompensation prediction was performed based on 24-h in-mortality prediction at each hour of the patient's stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). A cohort of 2261 TBI patients was selected from the MIMIC-III dataset based on age and ICD-9 disease codes. Logistic Regressor (LR), Long-short term memory (LSTM), and Transformers architectures were used. Two sets of features were also explored combined with missing data strategies by imputing the normal value, data imbalance techniques with class weights, and oversampling. The best performance results were obtained using LSTMs with the original features with no unbalancing techniques and with the added features and class weight technique, with AUROC scores of 0.918 and 0.929, respectively. For this study, using EHR time series data with LSTM proved viable in predicting patient decompensation, providing a helpful indicator of the need for clinical interventions. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd

2025

Combining DDMRP and CONWIP: A Simulation Study of the Pool-Sequencing Rule

Autores
Fernandes, O; Almeida, J; Ferreira, P; Ávila, P; Carmo Silva, S;

Publicação
Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering

Abstract
Two essential tasks in production planning and control are the generation and the release of orders to the shop floor. In this study order, generation is based on the Demand Driven Materials Requirement Planning system, while order release is based on the CONstant Work-in-Process system. Although the two systems alone have been extensively studied, their combination has received much less attention. In this paper, we address the problem of sequencing replenishment orders generated by the Demand Driven Materials Requirement Planning system to be released by the CONstant Work-in-Process system. Four pool-sequencing rules have been considered. Two of these are used by Demand Driven Materials Requirement Planning for establishing priorities for order planning and order execution. The other two are the First-Come-First-Served rule and a virtual due date rule. Results of a simulation study show that the rules proposed in the Demand Driven Materials Requirement Planning literature for planning and for execution are not the best options for pool-sequencing, particularly for restricted levels of workload allowed on the shop floor. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

2025

Barcoding the Caatinga biome bees: a practical review

Autores
Rodrigues, P; Teixeira, C; Guimaraes, L; Ferreira, NGC;

Publicação
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REPORTS

Abstract
Bees play a critical role as pollinators in ecosystem services, contributing significantly to the sexual reproduction and diversity of plants. The Caatinga biome in Brazil, home to around 200 bee species, provides an ideal habitat for these species due to its unique climate conditions. However, this biome faces threats from anthropogenic processes, making it urgent to characterise the local bee populations efficiently. Traditional taxonomic surveys for bee identification are complex due to the lack of suitable keys and expertise required. As a result, molecular barcoding has emerged as a valuable tool, using genome regions to compare and identify bee species. However, little is known about Caatinga bees to develop these molecular tools further. This study addresses this gap, providing an updated list of 262 Caatinga bee species across 86 genera and identifying similar to 40 primer sets to aid in barcoding these species. The findings highlight the ongoing work needed to fully characterise the Caatinga biome's bee distribution and species or subspecies to support more effective monitoring and conservation efforts.

2025

Towards an Artificial Intelligence System for Automated Accessory Removal in Textile Recycling: Detecting Textile Fasteners

Autores
Lopes D.; Silva M.F.; Rocha L.F.; Filipe V.;

Publicação
IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation ETFA

Abstract
The textile industry faces economic and environmental challenges due to low recycling rates and contamination from fasteners like buttons, rivets, and zippers. This paper proposes an Red, Green, Blue (RGB) vision system using You Only Look Once version 11 (YOLOv11) with a sliding window technique for automated fastener detection. The system addresses small object detection, occlusion, and fabric variability, incorporating Grounding DINO for garment localization and U2-Net for segmentation. Experiments show the sliding window method outperforms full-image detection for buttons and rivets (precision 0.874, recall 0.923), while zipper detection is less effective due to dataset limitations. This work advances scalable AI-driven solutions for textile recycling, supporting circular economy goals. Future work will target hidden fasteners, dataset expansion and fastener removal.

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