Ambiente de aprendizagem em matemática apoiado em agentes autónomos inteligentes

Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão0 objectivo deste trabalho é a construção de um Ambiente de Aprendizagem Inteligente, capaz de simular a interacção entre vários agentes, durante um processo de ensino-aprendizagem, em sala de aula. Este ambiente é modelado, tendo em conta algumas das características dos alunos e dos professores, enquanto agentes. Assim, são considerados dois tipos de agentes, o agente "professor" e o agente aluno. Ao agente professor cabe o papel de "ensinar" os outros agentes, denominados "alunos". Cada agente é modelado em termos do estado das suas crenças, possuindo uma certa capacidade de raciocínio, isto é, um conjunto de regras heurísticas que lhe permitem, em presença de determinadas crenças concluir outras. Pode ainda comunicar com outros agentes, colocando questões, dando respostas e transmitindo informação. Além do próprio conhecimento, cada agente possui conhecimento sobre as crenças dos outros agentes da sociedade, o que o leva a ter o seu ponto de vista sobre cada um deles e, em consequência, ter capacidade de escolher, perante determinados problemas, os agentes cora quem dialogar.The purpose of this work is to built up an Intelligent Learning Enviromnents (ILE), which has to be able to simulate a conununication among several agents during the process of knowledge transmission inside a proper space, the classroom. The partnership has to be molded in order to search the translation of some of Man's characteristics either being a student or a teacher. Therefore we have to consider two types of agents - the "teacher" himself whose role is "to teach" the other agents involved in the process, the "students", and the "students". Each agent has his own particular background, his beliefs. He has got a certain reasoning ability or skill, that is, a set of heuristic rules which allow him in presence of some beliefs to deduce others. He can also communicate whith other agents by asking questions, giving answers and conveying information. Besides his own knowledge each agent is aware of the others' beliefs at a certain moment. That will allow him to have his own point of view of each one of them and, consequently, have the ability of choosing, in face of certain problems, who to talk to.N/

Percepção dos estudantes do ensino superior (IPLeiria) em contextos de emergência

Natural disasters are events that can strongly affect the natural and anthropogenic environment, exceeding the self-healing capacity of the local community, and which generally have tragic consequences, with loss of human lives, socioeconomic losses and considerable environmental impacts. Thus, to prevent and minimize these negative impacts, several studies and projects have been developed, promoting education for sustainable development, contributing to the formation of more resilient communities and with a low level of vulnerability. This work was based on a survey to assess the level of knowledge of students in higher education about general procedures in case of emergency, and in the specific case of an earthquake, involving 2035 students from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (IPLeiria) in courses in different areas. The data obtained revealed that most students know the national emergency number, know how to identify the concentration zones, however only 25% demonstrate knowing how to react correctly in the event of an earthquake. The results are important for developing new strategies for reducing the vulnerability of communities, promoting an understanding of their role in reducing the risk of natural disasters, and the interaction and pertinence of environmental protection and strengthening of ecosystems to achieve this objective.Los desastres naturales son eventos que pueden afectar fuertemente el medio ambiente natural y antropogénico, excediendo la capacidad de autorrecuperación de la comunidad local y que generalmente tienen consecuencias trágicas, con pérdida de vidas humanas, pérdidas socioeconómicas e impactos ambientales considerables. Por lo tanto, para prevenir y minimizar estos impactos negativos, se han desarrollado varios estudios y proyectos, promoviendo la educación para el desarrollo sostenible, contribuyendo a la formación de comunidades más resilientes y con un bajo nivel de vulnerabilidad. Este trabajo se basó en una encuesta para evaluar el nivel de conocimiento de los estudiantes de educación superior sobre los procedimientos generales en caso de emergencia, y en el caso específico de un terremoto, que involucró a 2035 estudiantes del Instituto Politécnico de Leiria (IPLeiria) en cursos en diferentes áreas. Los datos obtenidos revelaron que la mayoría de los estudiantes conocen el número de emergencia nacional, saben cómo identificar las zonas de concentración, sin embargo, solo el 25% demuestra saber cómo reaccionar correctamente en caso de un terremoto. Los resultados son importantes para desarrollar nuevas estrategias para reducir la vulnerabilidad de las comunidades, promover la comprensión de su papel en la reducción del riesgo de desastres naturales y la interacción y pertinencia de la protección ambiental y el fortalecimiento de los ecosistemas para lograr este objetivo.Os desastres naturais son eventos que poden afectar fortemente o contorno natural e antropogénico, excedendo a capacidade de autorrecuperação da comunidade local, e que xeralmente presentan consecuencias tráxicas, con perdas de vidas humanas, prexuízos socioeconómicos e impactos ambientais considerábeis. Así, para previr e minimizar estes impactos negativos varios estudos e proxectos foron desenvolvidos, promovendo unha educación para o desenvolvemento sostible, contribuíndo á formación de comunidades máis resilientes e cun baixo nivel de vulnerabilidade. Este traballo baseouse na realización dunha enquisa para avaliar o nivel de coñecementos dos estudantes no ensino superior sobre procedementos xerais en caso de emerxencia, e no caso concreto de aparición dun sismo, que inclúen 2035 estudantes do Instituto Politécnico de Leiria (IPLeiria) cursos en diferentes áreas. Os datos obtidos revelaron que a maioría dos estudantes coñece o número nacional de emerxencia, sabe identificar as zonas de concentración, con todo só o 25% demostra saber como reaccionar correctamente en caso de sismo. Os resultados son importantes para desenvolver novas estratexias para a redución da vulnerabilidade das comunidades, promovendo a comprensión do seu papel na redución do risco dos desastres naturais, ea interacción e pertinencia da protección ambiental e fortalecemento dos ecosistemas para alcanzar este obxectivo.Os desastres naturais são eventos que podem afetar fortemente o ambiente natural e antropogénico, excedendo a capacidade de autorrecuperação da comunidade local, e que geralmente apresentam consequências trágicas, com perdas de vidas humanas, prejuízos socioeconómicos e impactes ambientais consideráveis. Assim, para prevenir e minimizar estes impactes negativos vários estudos e projetos têm sido desenvolvidos, promovendo uma educação para um desenvolvimento sustentável, contribuindo para a formação de comunidades mais resilientes e com um baixo nível de vulnerabilidade. Este trabalho baseou-se na realização de um inquérito para avaliar o nível de conhecimento dos estudantes no ensino superior sobre procedimentos gerais em caso de emergência, e no caso específico de ocorrência de um sismo, envolvendo 2035 estudantes do Instituto Politécnico de Leiria (IPLeiria) em cursos de diferentes áreas. Os dados obtidos revelaram que a maioria dos estudantes conhece o número nacional de emergência, sabe identificar as zonas de concentração, contudo apenas 25% demonstra saber como reagir corretamente em caso de sismo. Os resultados são importantes para desenvolver novas estratégias, para a redução da vulnerabilidade das comunidades, promovendo a compreensão do seu papel na redução do risco dos desastres naturais, e a interação e pertinência da proteção ambiental e fortalecimento dos ecossistemas para alcançar este objetivo

First trimester use of artemisinin-based combination therapy and the risk of low birth weight and small for gestational age.

BACKGROUND: While there is increasing evidence on the safety of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for the case management of malaria in early pregnancy, little is known about the association between exposure to ACT during the first trimester and the effect on fetal growth. METHODS: Data were analysed from prospective studies of pregnant women enrolled in Mozambique, Burkina Faso and Kenya designed to determine the association between anti-malarial drug exposure in the first trimester and pregnancy outcomes, including low birth weight (LBW) and small for gestational age (SGA). Exposure to anti-malarial drugs was ascertained retrospectively by record linkage using a combination of data collected from antenatal and adult outpatient clinic registries, prescription records and self-reported medication usage by the women. Site-level data synthesis (fixed effects and random effects) was conducted as well as individual-level analysis (fixed effects by site). RESULTS: Overall, 1915 newborns were included with 92 and 26 exposed to ACT (artemether-lumefantrine) and quinine, respectively. In Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Kenya at recruitment, the mean age (standard deviation) was 27.1 (6.6), 24.2 (6.2) and 25.7 (6.5) years, and the mean gestational age was 24.0 (6.2), 21.2 (5.7) and 17.9 (10.2) weeks, respectively. The LBW prevalence among newborns born to women exposed to ACT and quinine (QNN) during the first trimester was 10/92 (10.9%) and 7/26 (26.9%), respectively, compared to 9.5% (171/1797) among women unexposed to any anti-malarials during pregnancy. Compared to those unexposed to anti-malarials, ACT and QNN exposed women had the pooled LBW prevalence ratio (PR) of 1.13 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62-2.05, p-value 0.700) and 2.03 (95% CI 1.09-3.78, p-value 0.027), respectively. Compared to those unexposed to anti-malarials ACT and QNN-exposed women had the pooled SGA PR of 0.85 (95% CI 0.50-1.44, p-value 0.543) and 1.41 (95% CI 0.71-2.77, p-value 0.322), respectively. Whereas compared to ACT-exposed, the QNN-exposed had a PR of 2.14 (95% CI 0.78-5.89, p-value 0.142) for LBW and 8.60 (95% CI 1.29-57.6, p-value 0.027) for SGA. The level of between sites heterogeneity was moderate to high. CONCLUSION: ACT exposure during the first trimester was not associated with an increased occurrence of LBW or SGA. However, the data suggest a higher prevalence of LBW and SGA for children born to QNN-exposed pregnancies. The findings support the use of ACT (artemether-lumefantrine) for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria during the first trimester of pregnancy

Assessment of the safety of antimalarial drug use during early pregnancy (ASAP): protocol for a multicenter prospective cohort study in Burkina Faso, Kenya and Mozambique.

BACKGROUND: A major unresolved safety concern for malaria case management is the use of artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) in the first trimester of pregnancy. There is a need for human data to inform policy makers and treatment guidelines on the safety of artemisinin combination therapies (ACT) when used during early pregnancy. METHODS: The overall goal of this paper is to describe the methods and implementation of a study aimed at developing surveillance systems for identifying exposures to antimalarials during early pregnancy and for monitoring pregnancy outcomes using health and demographic surveillance platforms. This was a multi-center prospective observational cohort study involving women at health and demographic surveillance sites in three countries in Africa: Burkina Faso, Kenya and Mozambique [(ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01232530)]. The study was designed to identify pregnant women with artemisinin exposure in the first trimester and compare them to: 1) pregnant women without malaria, 2) pregnant women treated for malaria, but exposed to other antimalarials, and 3) pregnant women with malaria and treated with artemisinins in the 2nd or 3rd trimesters from the same settings. Pregnant women were recruited through community-based surveys and attendance at health facilities, including antenatal care clinics and followed until delivery. Data from the three sites will be pooled for analysis at the end of the study. Results are forthcoming. DISCUSSION: Despite few limitations, the methods described here are relevant to the development of sustainable pharmacovigilance systems for drugs used by pregnant women in the tropics using health and demographic surveillance sites to prospectively ascertain drug safety in early pregnancy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01232530

First-trimester artemisinin derivatives and quinine treatments and the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in Africa and Asia: A meta-analysis of observational studies.

BACKGROUND: Animal embryotoxicity data, and the scarcity of safety data in human pregnancies, have prevented artemisinin derivatives from being recommended for malaria treatment in the first trimester except in lifesaving circumstances. We conducted a meta-analysis of prospective observational studies comparing the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and major congenital anomaly (primary outcomes) among first-trimester pregnancies treated with artemisinin derivatives versus quinine or no antimalarial treatment. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Electronic databases including Medline, Embase, and Malaria in Pregnancy Library were searched, and investigators contacted. Five studies involving 30,618 pregnancies were included; four from sub-Saharan Africa (n = 6,666 pregnancies, six sites) and one from Thailand (n = 23,952). Antimalarial exposures were ascertained by self-report or active detection and confirmed by prescriptions, clinic cards, and outpatient registers. Cox proportional hazards models, accounting for time under observation and gestational age at enrollment, were used to calculate hazard ratios. Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis was used to combine the African studies, and the results were then combined with those from Thailand using aggregated data meta-analysis with a random effects model. There was no difference in the risk of miscarriage associated with the use of artemisinins anytime during the first trimester (n = 37/671) compared with quinine (n = 96/945; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 0.73 [95% CI 0.44, 1.21], I2 = 0%, p = 0.228), in the risk of stillbirth (artemisinins, n = 10/654; quinine, n = 11/615; aHR = 0.29 [95% CI 0.08-1.02], p = 0.053), or in the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth combined (pregnancy loss) (aHR = 0.58 [95% CI 0.36-1.02], p = 0.099). The corresponding risks of miscarriage, stillbirth, and pregnancy loss in a sensitivity analysis restricted to artemisinin exposures during the embryo sensitive period (6-12 wk gestation) were as follows: aHR = 1.04 (95% CI 0.54-2.01), I2 = 0%, p = 0.910; aHR = 0.73 (95% CI 0.26-2.06), p = 0.551; and aHR = 0.98 (95% CI 0.52-2.04), p = 0.603. The prevalence of major congenital anomalies was similar for first-trimester artemisinin (1.5% [95% CI 0.6%-3.5%]) and quinine exposures (1.2% [95% CI 0.6%-2.4%]). Key limitations of the study include the inability to control for confounding by indication in the African studies, the paucity of data on potential confounders, the limited statistical power to detect differences in congenital anomalies, and the lack of assessment of cardiovascular defects in newborns. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to quinine, artemisinin treatment in the first trimester was not associated with an increased risk of miscarriage or stillbirth. While the data are limited, they indicate no difference in the prevalence of major congenital anomalies between treatment groups. The benefits of 3-d artemisinin combination therapy regimens to treat malaria in early pregnancy are likely to outweigh the adverse outcomes of partially treated malaria, which can occur with oral quinine because of the known poor adherence to 7-d regimens. REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42015032371

Problemas de fluxos em redes, com objectivos múltiplos

Tese de doutoramento em Organização e Gestão de Empresas ( Investigação Operacional) apresentada à Fac. de Economia da Univ. de CoimbraO trabalho apresentado nesta Tese centra-se no domínio da optimização multi- -objectivo, mais concretamente dos problemas de fluxos em redes com dois ou mais objectivos, desenvolvendo-se um conjunto de algoritmos originais, para a determina ção de soluções eficientes e não-dominadas em problemas de fluxos em redes. Começámos por fazer uma revisão da bibliografia na área dos problemas de fluxos em redes, onde descrevemos os algoritmos exactos e os algoritmos aproximados, para problemas de fluxos em redes multi-objectivo com variáveis contínuas e com variáveis inteiras. Nesta revisão apercebemo-nos de que a maioria dos trabalhos existentes para este tipo de problemas se debruça apenas sobre o caso de problemas com dois objectivos. Além disso, percebemos também que existem nestes casos várias dificuldades. Partimos em busca de uma melhor compreensão deste tipo de problemas. Descobrimos também que um dos principais métodos utilizados na bibliografia, para calcular as soluções não-dominadas suportadas, afinal não calculava todas as soluções suportadas. Apresentámos exemplos que provam este facto. Propusemos um conjunto de novos algoritmos: um algoritmo do tipo primal-dual para o cálculo das soluções não-dominadas extremas no caso do problema de fluxos em redes bi-objectivo; um algoritmo baseado nos ciclos de custo zero, para o cálculo de todas as soluções eficientes ou não-dominadas suportadas do problema de fluxos em redes com variáveis inteiras multi-objectivo (este algoritmo resultou da demonstração que fizemos da conexidade deste conjunto de soluções, apresentada nesta Tese); uma versão melhorada do algoritmo de restrição-ε que calcula todas as soluções eficientes ou não-dominadas do problema de fluxos em redes com variáveis inteiras multi-objectivo; e um algoritmo dos trapézios, para o cálculo de representações do conjunto de todas as soluções não-dominadas, no problema de fluxos em redes inteiro bi-objectivo. Todos os algoritmos apresentados foram implementados em linguagem de programação C e os resultados foram apresentados e analisados.The work presented in this Thesis is devoted to the field of multi-objective network flows problems. It begins with a survey of all known exact and approximate algorithms for continuous network flow problems as well as integer network flow problems. We began by doing a survey of all the algorithms known for solving the multiple objective flow problems, for both the continuous and integer case exact and approximation algorithms. We observed that the large majority of the algorithms were designed for taking into account only two objectives and there were several algorithms incorrect. We presented some examples showing that the most used method to find all the supported non-dominated solutions for the integer bi- -objective network flow problem was wrong. A set of original algorithms were proposed: a primal-dual algorithm that finds all the extreme non-dominated solutions for the bi-objective network flow problem, a primal-dual algorithm for the minimum flow problem, a cost zero cycle algorithm that finds all the supported efficient/nondominated solutions for the integer multi-objective network flow problem (this algorithm is based on the proof of the connectedness of the supported non-dominated solutions that was presented also in this Thesis), an improved ε-constraint algorithm that finds all efficient/non-dominated solutions for the integer bi-objective network flow problem and a trapezium algorithm that finds representations of the set of all non-dominated solutions for the integer bi-objective network flow problem. All the algorithms have been implemented by using the C programming language and the results and analysis were reported in this document too

On the computation of all supported efficient solutions in multi-objective integer network flow problems

This paper presents a new algorithm for identifying all supported non-dominated vectors (or outcomes) in the objective space, as well as the corresponding efficient solutions in the decision space, for multi-objective integer network flow problems. Identifying the set of supported non-dominated vectors is of the utmost importance for obtaining a first approximation of the whole set of non-dominated vectors. This approximation is crucial, for example, in two-phase methods that first compute the supported non-dominated vectors and then the unsupported non-dominated ones. Our approach is based on a negative-cycle algorithm used in single objective minimum cost flow problems, applied to a sequence of parametric problems. The proposed approach uses the connectedness property of the set of supported non-dominated vectors/efficient solutions to find all integer solutions in maximal non-dominated/efficient facets.Multi-objective linear and integer programming Multi-objective network flows Negative-cycle algorithms Parametric programming

On finding representative non-dominated points for bi-objective integer network flow problems

This paper proposes a new algorithm to find a representation of the set of all non-dominated points of the bi-objective integer network flow problem. The algorithm solves a sequence of ε-constraint problems with a branch-and-bound algorithm to find a subset of non-dominated points that represents the set of all non-dominated points well in the sense of coverage or uniformity. At each iteration of the algorithm, one non-dominated point, determined by solving one ε-constraint problem, is added to the representation until it is guaranteed that the representation has the desired quality. Computational experiments on different problem types show the efficacy of the algorithm

Awareness of cervical cancer and willingness to be vaccinated against human papillomavirus in Mozambican adolescent girls

Sub-Saharan Africa concentrates the largest burden of cervical cancer worldwide. The introduction of the HPV vaccination in this region is urgent and strategic to meet global health targets. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Mozambique prior to the first round of the HPV vaccine demonstration programme. It targeted girls aged 10-19 years old identified from schools and households. Face-to-face structured interviews were conducted. A total of 1,147 adolescents were enrolled in three selected districts of the country. Most girls [84% (967/1147)] had heard of cervical cancer, while 76% believed that cervical cancer could be prevented. However only 33% (373/1144) of girls recognized having ever heard of HPV. When girls were asked whether they would accept to be vaccinated if a vaccine was available in Mozambique, 91% (1025/1130) answered positively. Girls from the HPV demonstration districts showed higher awareness on HPV and cervical cancer, and willingness to be vaccinated. This study anticipates high acceptability of the HPV vaccine in Mozambique and high awareness about cervical cancer, despite low HPV knowledge. These results highlight that targeted health education programs are critical for acceptance of new tools, and are encouraging for the reduction of cervical cancer related mortality and morbidity in Mozambique

College students-in-the-loop for their mental health: a case of AI and humans working together to support well-being

Technology plays a relevant role in mental health. Specifically, integrating pervasive technologies with artificial intelligence (AI) holds promising potential to collect users’ data, monitor individuals daily, and support treatment. However, the lack of trust in the collected data is a common limitation of prior work on mental health and technology. This paper proposes involving the user in a Human-in-the-loop approach as a solution to deal with the lack of accuracy of data collected through pervasive technology. In our study, end users judged and evaluated the data collected at two different times: before training the computational model, which would be later used for classification; and afterward to evaluate newly collected data that would be predicted and classified by the model. The solution proposed was implemented and tested in a project related to depression in college students. The results indicate positive reactions to the predicted classifications