Exploiting Library Vulnerability via Migration Based Automating Test Generation

In software development, developers extensively utilize third-party libraries to avoid implementing existing functionalities. When a new third-party library vulnerability is disclosed, project maintainers need to determine whether their projects are affected by the vulnerability, which requires developers to invest substantial effort in assessment. However, existing tools face a series of issues: static analysis tools produce false alarms, dynamic analysis tools require existing tests and test generation tools have low success rates when facing complex vulnerabilities. Vulnerability exploits, as code snippets provided for reproducing vulnerabilities after disclosure, contain a wealth of vulnerability-related information. This study proposes a new method based on vulnerability exploits, called VESTA (Vulnerability Exploit-based Software Testing Auto-Generator), which provides vulnerability exploit tests as the basis for developers to decide whether to update dependencies. VESTA extends the search-based test generation methods by adding a migration step, ensuring the similarity between the generated test and the vulnerability exploit, which increases the likelihood of detecting potential library vulnerabilities in a project. We perform experiments on 30 vulnerabilities disclosed in the past five years, involving 60 vulnerability-project pairs, and compare the experimental results with the baseline method, TRANSFER. The success rate of VESTA is 71.7\% which is a 53.4\% improvement over TRANSFER in the effectiveness of verifying exploitable vulnerabilities

A Novel Architecture of Software Testing based on SDN Hypervisor Technique for Big Data

There is a lack of network standard skills in present networking landscape. There is an increase in data plane granularity, data plane separation and simplifies the network devices, even networking industry has experienced a renewal with Software-Defined Networking (SDN). The device performance is improve by the linearly protocol by using SDN controller. The SDN-based software testing architecture is the basics of hypervisor approach. The application layer is initially combined with network updates, security and Quality of service. Software Defined Network (SDN) is a main feature. By using data plane communication protocol, the protocol communication is simplified. The physical switch controls the network data plane and virtual switch. The performance and efficiency are the accurate results that are achieved. Therefore, processing, storage, acquisition of big data and transmission are highly possible by SDN. The operation and design of SDN has big data impact. Hence, this method shows better results interms of accuracy, efficiency, computational time and security

A Cluster-Based Opposition Differential Evolution Algorithm Boosted by a Local Search for ECG Signal Classification

Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, which capture the heart's electrical activity, are used to diagnose and monitor cardiac problems. The accurate classification of ECG signals, particularly for distinguishing among various types of arrhythmias and myocardial infarctions, is crucial for the early detection and treatment of heart-related diseases. This paper proposes a novel approach based on an improved differential evolution (DE) algorithm for ECG signal classification for enhancing the performance. In the initial stages of our approach, the preprocessing step is followed by the extraction of several significant features from the ECG signals. These extracted features are then provided as inputs to an enhanced multi-layer perceptron (MLP). While MLPs are still widely used for ECG signal classification, using gradient-based training methods, the most widely used algorithm for the training process, has significant disadvantages, such as the possibility of being stuck in local optimums. This paper employs an enhanced differential evolution (DE) algorithm for the training process as one of the most effective population-based algorithms. To this end, we improved DE based on a clustering-based strategy, opposition-based learning, and a local search. Clustering-based strategies can act as crossover operators, while the goal of the opposition operator is to improve the exploration of the DE algorithm. The weights and biases found by the improved DE algorithm are then fed into six gradient-based local search algorithms. In other words, the weights found by the DE are employed as an initialization point. Therefore, we introduced six different algorithms for the training process (in terms of different local search algorithms). In an extensive set of experiments, we showed that our proposed training algorithm could provide better results than the conventional training algorithms.Comment: 44 pages, 9 figure

A Meta-Analysis of Informal and Formal Family Social Support Studies: Relationships with Parent and Family Psychological Health and Well-Being

Background. Family social support from informal and formal social network members provide parents and other primary caregivers the time and psychological energy to carry out child-rearing responsibilities. Objective. Conduct a meta-analysis of family social support studies to evaluate the associations between informal and formal family social support and parent and family general health, depression, stress, and well- being. Method. Studies that used the Family Support Scale to measure informal and formal family support which included one or more scales measuring parents’ and other primary caregivers’ health and well-being were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The correlations between measures were used as the sizes of effect for the relationships between informal and formal family social support and four different health-related outcomes. Twenty-three studies including 26 independent samples of study participants (N = 2929) were included in the meta-analysis. Results. Informal family social support was related to all four outcome measures and formal family social support was related to 3 of the 4 outcome measures. The sizes of effect for the associations between measures were larger for informal compared to formal family social support. The relationships between both types of family social support and the outcome measures were also moderated by several child and parent background variables. Conclusion. Results showed that both informal and formal family social support were related to less negative and more positive parent and family psychological health and well-being

Evolution of ESG-focused DLT Research: An NLP Analysis of the Literature

As Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) rapidly evolve, their impacts extend beyond technology, influencing environmental and societal aspects. This evolution has increased publications, making manual literature analysis increasingly challenging. We address this with a Natural Language Processing (NLP)-based systematic literature review method to explore the intersection of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) with its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) aspects. Our approach involves building and refining a directed citation network from 107 seed papers to a corpus of 24,539 publications and fine-tuning a transformer-based language model for Named Entity Recognition (NER) on DLT and ESG domains. Applying this model, we distilled the corpus to 505 key publications, enabling an inaugural literature review and temporal graph analysis of DLT's evolution in ESG contexts. Our contributions include an adaptable and scalable NLP-driven systematic literature review methodology and a unique NER dataset of 54,808 entities, tailored for DLT and ESG research. Our inaugural literature review demonstrates their applicability and effectiveness in analyzing DLT's evolution and impacts, proving invaluable for stakeholders in the DLT domain

The Human Factor in Blockchain Ecosystems: A Sociotechnical Framework

As blockchain development continues at an ever-increasing pace, an increasing number of individual actors and organizations throughout entire economies get into contact with the technology. Furthermore, the growing collaboration of companies, customers, suppliers, and other actors is evolving into a multilateral network between the parties engaged with the technology. Therefore, to understand blockchain-based business models and innovations, it is necessary to understand human interactions within blockchain ecosystems. Consequently, this paper offers new insights concerning the role of human actors within blockchain ecosystems. For this purpose, the structure within and around the Ethereum-blockchain is analyzed using existing literature on the Ethereum ecosystem and Sociotechnical systems. The analysis results are then placed in their context and summarized in a framework for comparable ecosystems

Doentes com insuficiência cardíaca e ressincronizador cardíaco submetidos a treino de exercício : indicadores de resposta terapêutica e prognóstica

Tese de mestrado, Reabilitação Cardiovascular, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, 2021Introdução A insuficiência cardíaca crónica (IC) tem demonstrado ser um desafio crescente para a saúde a nível global. Os doentes com IC podem apresentar baixa tolerância ao esforço, reduzida qualidade de vida, aumento do risco de mortalidade e do número de internamentos, refletindo-se em elevados custos de saúde. A terapêutica da ressíncronização cardíaca (TRC) é uma das mais eficazes no tratamento de IC em doentes selecionados, com benefícios clínicos amplamente comprovados. É importante criar estratégias que ajudem a definir os potenciais candidatos com resposta à TRC, de modo que haja uma referenciação mais adequada. Por outro lado, diversos estudos mostraram que a reabilitação cardíaca com base no exercício pode conferir melhoria na qualidade de vida e possível redução do número de internamentos nos doentes com IC. Com este estudo, pretende-se comparar os diferentes indicadores clínicos entre doentes com IC e TRC considerados “respondedores” (R) e doentes com IC e TRC considerados “não respondedores” (NR). Pretende-se, adicionalmente, comparar o número de eventos cardíacos (internamentos/mortalidade) entre um subgrupo submetido a treino de exercício após implante de ressincronizador cardíaco e restantes doentes sem treino de exercício. Objetivos • Objetivo 1: Identificar os indicadores clínicos que poderão definir a resposta terapêutica e prognóstica, dos doentes com IC e TRC, definindo os grupos “respondedores” e “não respondedores”. • Objetivo 2: Comparar o número de eventos cardíacos (internamentos e mortalidade) entre os indivíduos que foram submetidos a um treino de exercício e os indivíduos que não realizaram treino de exercício. Metodologia Este estudo é uma análise post-hoc, de uma coorte prospetiva de doentes com Insuficiência Cardíaca Crónica (ICC) do Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central – Hospital de Santa Marta, que foram submetidos a TRC, em que um subgrupo realizou treino de exercício, entre Janeiro de 2012 e Março de 2015. Pré- e pós-implantação foram avaliados os dados clínicos dessa população. Neste estudo, pretende-se comparar os indicadores clínicos que poderão definir a resposta terapêutica e prognóstica entre os grupos “respondedores” e “não respondedores” à TRC. Será também avaliado comparativamente o número de internamentos e mortalidade em os indivíduos que foram submetidos a um treino de exercício e os que não realizaram treino de exercício, após 5 anos. Os doentes foram avaliados em 4 momentos: pré TRC (M1), 3 meses de exercício/4 meses de TRC (M2), 6 meses de exercício/7 meses de TRC (M3) e 5 anos após TRC (M4). Foi considerada a informação clínica de base e após TRC relativa aos parâmetros de função cardíaca e remodelagem inversa (determinadas por ecocardiografia e doseamento plasmático de péptido natriurético, BNP), da capacidade funcional de exercício (determinadas por teste de exercício cardiopulmonar, TCP), de função do sistema nervoso autonómico, SNA (por cintigrafia cardíaca com 123I-MIBG, TCP e análise da variabilidade da frequência cardíaca no Holter-24 horas, VFC), de função endotelial e rigidez arterial (determinada por doseamento de ON, óxido nítrico, e por TAP, tonometria arterial periférica), marcadores de inflamação e apoptose (medição de proteína C reativa de alta sensibilidade, PCR-hs, fator de necrose tumoral alfa, TNF-α, interleucina-6, IL-6, fracção solúvel do cluster de diferenciação 40, sCD40, fração solúvel do ligando Fas, sFasL), frequência de eventos major cardiovasculares/internamentos, classe funcional NYHA e questionário de qualidade de vida (HeartQol). Os critérios de inclusão (CI) utilizados entre 2012 e 2015 foram: doentes com ICC estável, em classe II-IV (NYHA), sob terapêutica farmacológica otimizada, referenciados para TRC de acordo com guidelines vigentes, etiologia isquémica e não isquémica, com idade superior a 18 anos, que se encontravam em follow-up 5 anos após o implante de TRC e todos os doentes que morreram nos 5 anos após implante de TRC. Da amostra inicial total, 2 doentes foram perdidos para follow-up, tendo sido incluídos apenas nos cálculos relativos ao objetivo 1. Os critérios de exclusão (CE) incluíram insuficiência cardíaca instável, angina instável, doença ortopédica ou muscular incapacitante para exercício e residência geograficamente distante do hospital. Doentes que foram perdidos para FU foram excluídos dos cálculos do objetivo 2. Os doentes que preencheram os CI e aceitaram participar no estudo foram aleatorizados para treino de exercício intervalado de alta intensidade (HIIT) ou para um grupo de controlo. No presente estudo, os doentes perdidos para follow-up foram excluídos dos cálculos do objetivo 2. Considerando a amostra já existente e dando continuidade ao trabalho anterior “BETTER HF” 5 , verificou-se 5 anos após o implante TRC, quais os indicadores clínicos de resposta à TRC e mortalidade desses mesmos doentes. Através da consulta da base de dados existente e dos registos clínicos eletrónicos, obteve-se uma amostra com um total de 102 doentes. O critério utilizado para caraterizar o grupo “respondedores” foi o aumento de pelo menos 5% (valor absoluto) da fração de ejeção ventricular esquerda (FEVE). Os dados recolhidos foram registados numa tabela Excel Office 365 onde foram posteriormente tratados com recurso ao software de análise estatística “GNU Project (2015), GNU PSPP (Version 1.2.0) [Computer Software], Free Software Foundation. Boston, MA" através do site https://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/". Os testes estatísticos foram realizados com um nível de significância de 0,05 e um intervalo de confiança de 95%. Para caraterização da amostra foi utilizada a estatística descritiva através da análise de medidas estatísticas sumárias, como a média e desvio padrão. Os testes T para amostras emparelhadas, testes T para amostras independentes, Qui-quadrado, ANOVA e regressão logística binária foram usados para análise estatística envolvendo a relação de duas variáveis. A análise multivariável foi realizada por meio de modelos de regressão logística binária considerando as variáveis que apresentaram na análise bivariada um p<0,05. O estudo seguiu os princípios definidos na declaração de Helsínquia de 2008, não apresentando qualquer prejuízo para o doente. Resultados O estudo é constituído por 102 doentes, dos quais 70 do sexo masculino (69%). Com idade média de 68,8 ± 10,05 anos, compreendida entre 43 e 87 anos. Destes, 30 casos (29%) tinham Cardiopatia Isquémica, 25 (25%) já tinham sido submetidos a cirurgia cardíaca, 76 (75%) estavam entre a classe III/IV da NYHA, com FEVE basal de 25,87±7,27%. Apresentavam como fatores de risco: Tabagismo - 19 (19%), Dislipidemia - 71 (70%), Diabetes Mellitus (DM) - 41 (40%), Hipertensão Arterial (HTA) - 89 (87%), Obesidade - 24 (24%), História Familiar Cardíaca - 30 (29%). Verificou-se que 68 (77,3%) responderam à TRC e 20 (22,7%) não responderam à TRC. Realizaram programa de treino de exercício 19 (18,6%) doentes. Foi possível verificar através do “Teste T para amostras emparelhadas”, que existem diferenças estatísticas significativas (p<0,05) entre os momentos M1 e M3 nas seguintes variáveis: FEVE, Creatinina, CK, FCR min1, Duração do TCP, declive VEVCO2, VolTdVE, VolTsVE, PAS, Massa; E/E´médio e Global strain; e entre os momentos M1 e M6 nas variáveis: Hprecoce, Htardio e HMRtardio. Estas variáveis poderão ser utilizadas como possíveis indicadores clínicos para definir a resposta terapêutica e prognóstica, dos doentes com IC e TRC. Verificou-se, através da análise de regressão logística binária, que quanto mais alta a FC basal em repouso, melhor a capacidade de resposta (p=0,048). No seguimento de 5 anos, 2 (1,96%) foram perdidos para follow-up, 56 (54,9%) sobreviveram e 44 (43,14%) morreram (18% no primeiro ano, 32% no segundo e terceiro ano e 50% no quarto e quinto ano), 18 (40,9%) dos quais com causa de morte cardíaca. A percentagem de internamento no primeiro ano após TRC foi de 13,7%, do segundo ao terceiro ano foi de 16,7% e do quarto ao quinto ano foi de 12,7%. No grupo “não sobreviventes”, 35 (80%) eram do sexo masculino, 24 (54%) tinham como etiologia Cardiomiopatia Dilatada Não Isquémica e 14 (34%) Cardiomiopatia Dilatada Isquémica, 9 (20%) eram fumadores, 15 (34%) tinham DM, 41 (93%) HTA, 33 (75%) Dislipidemia, 9 (20%) Obesidade, 31 (70%) em classe funcional NYHA III/IV, 23 (52,3%) foram “respondedores” e 13 (29,5%) foram “não respondedores” à TRC, e 8 (18,2%) realizaram treino de exercício “HIIT”. Verificou-se não existirem evidências estatísticas de associação entre Mortalidade e Exercício (p=1.000). Através do coeficiente de correlação de “Pearson”, mostrou-se que não existem evidências estatísticas de correlação entre o número de Internamentos e Exercício, no entanto há uma tendência para quem fez exercício ter menos internamentos (R= -0.04; p=0.757). Também foi possível verificar através da análise de regressão logística binária que a melhoria da classe funcional NYHA do momento M1 para o momento M3 aumenta a sobrevida em aproximadamente 5 vezes mais. O sexo Feminino pode ser um fator protetor relativamente à Mortalidade com um p = 0.068. Conclusão Nesta análise post-hoc de uma coorte prospetiva de doentes com ICC, que foram submetidos a TRC entre Janeiro de 2012 e Março de 2015, em que um subgrupo realizou treino de exercício, foi possível verificar que apenas a variável FC basal em repouso se associa a melhor a capacidade de resposta à ressincronização. As restantes variáveis basais avaliadas não se associaram à resposta da ressincronização. Uma melhoria da classe funcional NYHA verificada após o implante de TRC aumenta a sobrevida em 5 vezes mais. O sexo Feminino pode ser um fator protetor relativamente à Mortalidade. Não existiu correlação estatística entre o número de internamentos, número de mortes e o exercício. No entanto há uma tendência para quem fez exercício ter menos internamentos.Introduction Chronic heart failure (CHF) has been shown to be a growing global health challenge. Patients with HF may have low exercise tolerance, reduced quality of life, increased risk of mortality and number of hospitalizations, which are reflected in high health costs. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is one of the most effective in the treatment of HF in selected patients, with widely proven clinical benefits. It is important to create strategies that can help define potential candidates for CRT, so that there is a more adequate referral. On the other hand, several studies show that exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation can improve quality of life in patients with HF and a possible reduction of hospitalizations. With this study, we intend to compare the different clinical indicators between patients with HF and CRT considered “responders” (R) and patients with HF and CRT considered “non-responders” (NR). In addition, we intend to compare the number of events (hospitalizations and mortality) with a subgroup undergoing exercise training. Aims • Aim 1: Identify the clinical indicators that can define therapeutic and prognostic response of patients with HF and CRT, defining the groups “responders” and “non responders”. • Aim 2: Compare the number of events (hospitalizations and mortality) between patients who underwent exercise training and who did not perform exercise training. Methodology This study is a post-hoc analysis of a prospective cohort of patients with CHF from Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central – Hospital de Santa Marta, who underwent CRT in which a subgroup performed exercise training, between January 2012 and March 2015. Pre and post implantation data of these patients were evaluated. In this study, we intend to compare the clinical indicators that can define response of these patients with CHF and CRT between “responders” and “non-responders” and compare the number of events (hospitalizations and mortality) between patients who underwent exercise training and who did not perform exercise training, 5 years post implant. There were 4 moments to evaluate patients: before CRT implant (M1), at 3 months of exercise, corresponding to 4 months after CRT (M2), at 6 months after implant, corresponding to 7 months after CRT (M3) and 5 years after CRT implant (M4). Baseline and post CRT clinical data were evaluated regarding cardiac function and reverse remodeling parameters (determined by echocardiography and plasmatic brain natriuretic peptide, measurement, BNP), functional exercise capacity (determined by cardiopulmonary test, CPT), autonomic nervous system (by cardiac scintigraphy with 123IMIBG, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing and 24-hours-holter heart rate variability, HRV), endothelial function and arterial stiffness (determined by nitric oxide, NO, measurement and by peripheral arterial tonometry, PAT), inflammation and apoptosis markers (measurement of high sensitivity C reactive protein, hs-CRP, tumor necrosis factor alpha, TNF-α, interleukin-6, IL-6, soluble cluster of differentiation c40, sCD40 , soluble ligand of Fas, sFasL), frequency of major cardiovascular/hospitalization events, clinical functional class (NYHA) and quality of life scores (HeartQol questionnaire). The inclusion criteria (IC) used between 2012 and 2015 were patients with stable HF, class II-IV NYHA, under optimized pharmacological therapy, referred to CRT according to current guidelines, ischaemic and non-ischaemic etiology, with age over 18 years old. The IC for the present study were all patients who were in follow-up (FU) 5 years after CRT implantation and all patients who died within 5 years after CRT implantation. From the initial sample, 2 patients were lost to FU, having been only included in calculations of aim 1. Exclusion criteria (EC) included unstable HF, orthopedic or muscle disease disabling exercise, and residence geographically distant from the hospital. Patients who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study were randomized to high-intensity interval exercise training (HIIT) or to a control group. In the present study, patients lost to FU were excluded from aim 2 calculations. Considering the existing sample and continuing the previous study “BETTER-HF” 5 , we verified 5 years after CRT implant (M4), the outcome of these patients (hospitalizations and mortality) and the evidence of clinical indicators of CRT response. By consulting the existing database and hospital data of the respective patients, a total of 102 patients was obtained. The main criteria used to characterize “responders” was an increase of at least 5% (absolute value) in LVEF. Data were registered at Excel Office 365 table and later processed using the statistical analysis software “GNU Project (2015), GNU PSPP (Version 1.2.0) [Computer Software], Free Software Foundation. Boston, MA" via https://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/". Statistical tests were performed with a significance level of 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval. To characterize the sample, descriptive statistics were used through the analysis of summary statistical measures, such as mean and standard deviation. T-tests for paired samples, T-tests for independent samples, Chi-square, ANOVA and binary logistic regression were used for statistical analysis involving the relationship of two variables. Multivariate analysis was performed using binary logistic regression models considering the variables that presented p<0.05 in the bivariate analysis. The study followed the principles defined at the Declaration of Helsinki, 2008, without presenting any harm to the patient. Results The study consists in 102 patients, of which 70 are male (69%). Mean age of 68.8 ± 10.05 years, between 43 and 87 years. Of these, 30 had Ischaemic Heart Disease (29%), 25 (25%) had already undergone cardiac surgery, 76 (75%) were in NYHA class III/IV, baseline LVEF 25.87±7.27%. The risk factors were: 19 (19%) smoking, 71 (70%) Dyslipidemia, 41 (40%) Diabetes Mellitus (DM), 89 (87%) Arterial Hypertension (HTA), 24 (24%) Obesity, 30 (29%) Cardiac Family History. It was found that 68 (77.3%) patients responded to CRT and 20 (22.7%) did not respond to CRT. 19 (18.6%) performed exercise training. It was possible to verify through "T test for paired samples" that there are statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between moments M1 and M3 in the following variables: LVEF, Creatinine, CK, HRR min1, CPT Duration, VEVCO2slope, VolTdVE, VolTsVE, PAS, Mass; E/E'medium and Global strain; and between moments M1 and M6 in the variables: Hearly, Hlate and HMRlate, which can serve as possible clinical indicators to define the therapeutic and prognostic response of patients with HF and CRT. It was verified, through binary logistic regression analysis, that a higher basal HR at rest is positively associated with the capacity to respond to resynchronization (p=0.048). Following 5 years, 2 (1.96%) were lost to follow-up, 56 (54.9%) survived and 44 (43.14%) died (18% at first year, 32% at second and third year and 50% between the fourth and fifth year) 18 (40.9%) with cardiac death. The percentage of hospitalization at first year after CRT was 13.7%, from second to third year was 16.7% and from fourth to fifth year was 12.7%. At “non-survivors” group, 35 (80%) were male, 24 (54%) had Dilated Cardiomyopathy as etiology and 14 (34%) ischaemic, 9 (20%) were smokers, 15 (34%) with Diabetes, 41 (93%) with Hypertension, 33 (75%) with Dyslipidemia, 9 (20%) with Obesity, 31 (70%) with NYHA III/IV functional class, 23 (52.3%) were “responders” and 13 (29.5%) were “non-responders”, 8 (18.2%) performed “HIIT” exercise training. We verified that there was no statistical evidence of association between Death and Exercise (p=1,000). Through "Pearson" correlation coefficient, we verified that there is no statistical evidence of correlation between the number of admissions and exercise, however there is a tendency for those who exercised to have fewer admissions (R= -0.04; p=0.757). It was also possible to verify through binary logistic regression analysis that an improvement of NYHA functional class from moment M1 to moment M3 increases survival by approximately 5 time more. Female sex can be a protective factor for Death with p = 0.068. Conclusion In this post-hoc analysis, of a prospective cohort of patients with CHF, who underwent CRT between January 2012 and March 2015, in which a subgroup performed exercise training, it was possible to verify that only the variable HR at rest (M1) was positively associated with the capacity to respond to resynchronization. The remaining baseline variables evaluated were not associated with resynchronization response. An improvement in NYHA functional class seen after CRT implantation increases survival by 5 times more. Female sex can be a protective factor regarding Mortality. There was no statistical correlation between the number of hospitalizations, number of deaths and exercise. However, there is a tendency for less hospitalizations in those who exercised

THOR: A Hybrid Recommender System for the Personalized Travel Experience

One of the travelers’ main challenges is that they have to spend a great effort to find and choose the most desired travel offer(s) among a vast list of non-categorized and non-personalized items. Recommendation systems provide an effective way to solve the problem of information overload. In this work, we design and implement “The Hybrid Offer Ranker” (THOR), a hybrid, personalized recommender system for the transportation domain. THOR assigns every traveler a unique contextual preference model built using solely their personal data, which makes the model sensitive to the user’s choices. This model is used to rank travel offers presented to each user according to their personal preferences. We reduce the recommendation problem to one of binary classification that predicts the probability with which the traveler will buy each available travel offer. Travel offers are ranked according to the computed probabilities, hence to the user’s personal preference model. Moreover, to tackle the cold start problem for new users, we apply clustering algorithms to identify groups of travelers with similar profiles and build a preference model for each group. To test the system’s performance, we generate a dataset according to some carefully designed rules. The results of the experiments show that the THOR tool is capable of learning the contextual preferences of each traveler and ranks offers starting from those that have the higher probability of being selected

Novel Approaches to Pervasive and Remote Sensing in Cardiovascular Disease Assessment

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for 45% of all deaths. Nevertheless, their mortality is decreasing in the last decade due to better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment resources. An important medical instrument for the latter processes is the Electrocardiogram (ECG). The ECG is a versatile technique used worldwide for its ease of use, low cost, and accessibility, having evolved from devices that filled up a room, to small patches or wrist- worn devices. Such evolution allowed for more pervasive and near-continuous recordings. The analysis of an ECG allows for studying the functioning of other physiological systems of the body. One such is the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), responsible for controlling key bodily functions. The ANS can be studied by analyzing the characteristic inter-beat variations, known as Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Leveraging this relation, a pilot study was developed, where HRV was used to quantify the contribution of the ANS in modulating cardioprotection offered by an experimental medical procedure called Remote Ischemic Conditioning (RIC), offering a more objective perspective. To record an ECG, electrodes are responsible for converting the ion-propagated action potential to electrons, needed to record it. They are produced from different materials, including metal, carbon-based, or polymers. Also, they can be divided into wet (if an elec- trolyte gel is used) or dry (if no added electrolyte is used). Electrodes can be positioned either inside the body (in-the-person), attached to the skin (on-the-body), or embedded in daily life objects (off-the-person), with the latter allowing for more pervasive recordings. To this effect, a novel mobile acquisition device for recording ECG rhythm strips was developed, where polymer-based embedded electrodes are used to record ECG signals similar to a medical-grade device. One drawback of off-the-person solutions is the increased noise, mainly caused by the intermittent contact with the recording surfaces. A new signal quality metric was developed based on delayed phase mapping, a technique that maps time series to a two-dimensional space, which is then used to classify a segment into good or noisy. Two different approaches were developed, one using a popular image descriptor, the Hu image moments; and the other using a Convolutional Neural Network, both with promising results for their usage as signal quality index classifiers.As doenças cardiovasculares (DCVs) são a principal causa de morte no mundo, res- ponsáveis por 45% de todas estas. No entanto, a sua mortalidade tem vindo a diminuir na última década, devido a melhores recursos na prevenção, diagnóstico e tratamento. Um instrumento médico importante para estes recursos é o Eletrocardiograma (ECG). O ECG é uma técnica versátil utilizada em todo o mundo pela sua facilidade de uso, baixo custo e acessibilidade, tendo evoluído de dispositivos que ocupavam uma sala inteira para pequenos adesivos ou dispositivos de pulso. Tal evolução permitiu aquisições mais pervasivas e quase contínuas. A análise de um ECG permite estudar o funcionamento de outros sistemas fisiológi- cos do corpo. Um deles é o Sistema Nervoso Autônomo (SNA), responsável por controlar as principais funções corporais. O SNA pode ser estudado analisando as variações inter- batidas, conhecidas como Variabilidade da Frequência Cardíaca (VFC). Aproveitando essa relação, foi desenvolvido um estudo piloto, onde a VFC foi utilizada para quantificar a contribuição do SNA na modulação da cardioproteção oferecida por um procedimento mé- dico experimental, denominado Condicionamento Isquêmico Remoto (CIR), oferecendo uma perspectiva mais objetiva. Na aquisição de um ECG, os elétrodos são os responsáveis por converter o potencial de ação propagado por iões em eletrões, necessários para a sua recolha. Estes podem ser produzidos a partir de diferentes materiais, incluindo metal, à base de carbono ou polímeros. Além disso, os elétrodos podem ser classificados em húmidos (se for usado um gel eletrolítico) ou secos (se não for usado um eletrólito adicional). Os elétrodos podem ser posicionados dentro do corpo (dentro-da-pessoa), colocados em contacto com a pele (na-pessoa) ou embutidos em objetos da vida quotidiana (fora-da-pessoa), sendo que este último permite gravações mais pervasivas . Para este efeito, foi desenvolvido um novo dispositivo de aquisição móvel para gravar sinal de ECG, onde elétrodos embutidos à base de polímeros são usados para recolher sinais de ECG semelhantes a um dispositivo de grau médico. Uma desvantagem das soluções onde os elétrodos estão embutidos é o aumento do ruído, causado principalmente pelo contato intermitente com as superfícies de aquisição. Uma nova métrica de qualidade de sinal foi desenvolvida com base no mapeamento de fase atrasada, uma técnica que mapeia séries temporais para um espaço bidimensional, que é então usado para classificar um segmento em bom ou ruidoso. Duas abordagens diferentes foram desenvolvidas, uma usando um popular descritor de imagem, e outra utilizando uma Rede Neural Convolucional, com resultados promissores para o seu uso como classificadores de qualidade de sinal

Deep Learning Based on Fine Tuning with Application to the Reliability Assessment of Similar Open Source Software

Recently, many open-source products have been used under the situations of general software development, because the cost saving and standardization. Therefore, many open-source products are gathering attention from many software development companies. Then, the reliability/quality of open-source products becomes very important factor for the software development. This paper focuses on the reliability/quality evaluation of open-source products. In particular, the large quantity fault data sets recorded on Bugzilla of open-source products is used in many open-source development projects. Then, the large amount of data sets of software faults is recorded on the Bugzilla. This paper proposes the reliability/quality evaluation approach based on the deep machine learning by using the large quantity fault data on the Bugzilla. Moreover, the large quantity fault data sets are analyzed by the deep machine learning based on the fine-tuning