2026
Authors
Silva, AD; Correia, MV; da Costa, AG; Cerqueira, RJ; da Silva, HP;
Publication
JOURNAL OF SENSOR AND ACTUATOR NETWORKS
Abstract
Previous studies on healthy controls suggest the added value of thigh-based Electrocardiography (ECG), which collects data using sensors embedded in a toilet seat for unobtrusive signal acquisition. However, further evidence regarding its clinical feasibility is needed; with this work, we investigated three complementary aspects: signal quality, morphological correlation with standard ECG leads, and the system's potential for heart rate variability (HRV) analysis in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement. This work was divided into two main phases. In the first, 32 healthy volunteers underwent simultaneous ECG recordings using both a standard 12-lead ECG system and the thigh-based system. Signal Quality Index (SQI) analysis revealed that 56.25% of the experimental signals were classified as excellent, and over 62.5% of recordings showed a strong correlation with Lead I of the clinical ECG. These findings extend the state of the art by further characterising the quality and relevance of the captured signals. In the second phase, two patients with severe aortic stenosis were monitored before and after surgical valve replacement. HRV metrics derived from the thigh-based ECG captured distinct autonomic responses: one patient showed significant postoperative improvement in global and parasympathetic modulation (increased SDNN, RMSSD, and Sample Entropy), while the other exhibited reduced variability and complexity, potentially indicating impaired autonomic recovery. These results highlight the feasibility of thigh-based ECG data acquisition for passive, longitudinal cardiac health monitoring in everyday environments and its applicability for pre- and postoperative autonomic assessment.
2026
Authors
Osório, FJ; Barbosa, F; D’Inverno, G; Camanho, AS;
Publication
European Journal of Operational Research
Abstract
2026
Authors
Ramalho, FR; Soares, AL; Simoes, AC; Almeida, AH; Oliveira, M;
Publication
ADVANCES IN PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. CYBER-PHYSICAL-HUMAN PRODUCTION SYSTEMS: HUMAN-AI COLLABORATION AND BEYOND, APMS 2025, PT I
Abstract
This paper evaluates an Augmented Reality (AR) solution designed to support quality control in a assembly line inspection station before body marriage at a European automotive manufacturer. A threephase methodology was applied: an AS-IS assessment, a formative evaluation of an intermediate prototype, and a summative evaluation under real production conditions. The AR solution aimed to improve task standardization, non-value-added time (NVAT), and enhance operator accuracy. The results showed that operators successfully developed inspections using the AR tool, identifying and correcting non-conformities (NOKs) while maintaining task duration. Participants valued having contextual information directly in their field of vision and reported increased rigor and consistency. However, usability and ergonomic improvements were noted, such as headset weight, gesture interaction, and visibility over dark components. The findings highlight AR's potential to support operator autonomy and accuracy in industrial environments while emphasizing the need for human-centered design and integration to ensure long-term adoption.
2026
Authors
Figueiredo, FO; Figueiredo, A;
Publication
AIP Conference Proceedings
Abstract
This study aims to understand the EU countries progress towards the Europe 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the areas of good health and well-being, gender equality and reduction of inequalities. Data for some indicators related to these areas were collected from the Eurostat database for the period 2010-2023. In order to analyze this three-way data, we first carried out a preliminary analysis through some graphical representations of the data, and then, we used a method of multivariate data analysis, Double Principal Component Analysis, which allows to identify which countries and/or indicators are close to or quite far from the targets. © 2026 Author(s).
2026
Authors
Calado, S; Veloso, CM; da Fonseca, MJS; Sousa, BB; Garcia, JE;
Publication
Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies - Advances in Tourism, Technology and Systems
Abstract
2026
Authors
Lourenco, A; Gama, J; Xing, EP; Marreiros, G;
Publication
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 32ND ACM SIGKDD CONFERENCE ON KNOWLEDGE DISCOVERY AND DATA MINING VOL 1, KDD 2026
Abstract
State-of-the-art data stream mining has long drawn from ensembles of the Very Fast Decision Tree, a seminal algorithm honored with the 2015 KDD Test-of-Time Award. However, the emergence of large tabular models, i.e., transformers designed for structured numerical data, marks a significant paradigm shift. These models move beyond traditional weight updates, instead employing in-context learning through prompt tuning. By using on-the-fly sketches to summarize unbounded streaming data, one can feed this information into a pre-trained model for efficient processing. This work bridges advancements from both areas, highlighting how transformers' implicit meta-learning abilities, pre-training on drifting natural data, and reliance on context optimization directly address the core challenges of adaptive learning in dynamic environments. Exploring real-time model adaptation, this research demonstrates that TabPFN, coupled with a simple sliding memory strategy, consistently outperforms ensembles of Hoeffding trees, such as Adaptive Random Forest, and Streaming Random Patches, across all non-stationary benchmarks.
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