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Detecting software security vulnerabilities and distinguishing vulnerable from non-vulnerable code is anything but simple. Most of the time, vulnerabilities remain undisclosed until they are exposed, for instance, by an attack during the software operational phase. Software metrics are widely-used indicators of software quality, but the question is whether they can be used to distinguish vulnerable...
In a society where smartphones and mobile connectivity increasingly act as mediators and enhancers of social ties, we can identify technological solutions that bring new challenges to the user, particularly in the way he interacts and communicates with others. This article, by focusing on mobile apps that promote social and loving ties between strangers (Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, etc.), driven by a...
This paper describes a methodology for Diabetic Retinopathy detection from eye fundus images using a generalization of the Bag-of-Visual-Words (BoVW) method. We formulate the BoVW as two neural networks that can be trained jointly. Unlike the BoVW, our model is able to learn how to perform feature extraction, feature encoding and classification guided by the classification error. The model achieves...
Intraoperative evaluation of the efficacy of Deep Brain Stimulation includes evaluation of the effect on rigidity. A subjective semi-quantitative scale is used, dependent on the examiner perception and experience. A system was proposed previously, aiming to tackle this subjectivity, using quantitative data and providing real-time feedback of the computed rigidity reduction, hence supporting the physician...
Scientific research has always been done and is done in a collaborative manner. Today we have available the internet that facilitates this process through communication tools, data sharing, management tasks, among others. However, qualitative research has taken timid steps towards a truly collaborative work. This paper presents the 4C collaborative work model as well as the collaboration features...
The use of qualitative analysis to support software has been growing. The integration of these types of tools in research is accompanied by an increase in the number of software packages available. Depending on the design and research questions, researchers can explore various solutions available in the market. Thus, it is urgent to ensure that these tools, apart from containing the necessary functionality...
One of the tools for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is the MRI scan. Among the acquisition protocols these exams are the Routine Protocol (PR) and the Specific Protocol (SP). The EP is an expensive and time consuming exam, but allows a more precise quantification of the lesions' volume. On the other hand, the PR is cheaper, however, its accuracy is lower for this task. Within this context,...
Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) may be defined as tools that help researchers developing qualitative research projects. These software packages help the users with tasks such as transcription analysis, writing and annotation, coding and text interpretation, recursive abstraction, content search and analysis, discourse analysis, data mapping, grounded theory methodology,...
In this paper, we investigate an adaptive genetic algorithm which will be able to identify the best combination of crossover and mutation operators in execution time. The adaptation involves four crossover methods (simple, arithmetical, non-uniform arithmetical and linear) and three mutation mechanism (uniform, non-uniform and creep). We validate the algorithm using some multimodal benchmarks function...
Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients often need Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery when they become intolerant to drugs or these lose efficiency. A stimulation electrode is implanted in the basal ganglia to promote the functional control of the deregulated dopaminergic motor pathways. The stimulation target is defined by medical imaging, followed by electrophysiological inspection for fine electrode...
In this paper the authors focus on presenting a new path planning approach for a multi-robot transportation system in an industrial case scenario. The proposed method is based on the A∗ heuristic search in a cell decomposition scenario, for which a time component was added — Time Enhanced A∗ or simply TEA∗. To access the flexibility and efficiency of the proposed algorithm, a set of experiments were...
In the past few years, cable-driven robots have received some attention by the scientific community and the industry. They have special characteristics that made them very reliable to operate with the level of safeness that is required by different environments, such as, handling of hazardous materials in construction sites. This paper presents a cable-driven robot called SPIDERobot, that was developed...
This paper presents an algorithm capable of generating smooth, feasible paths for an any-shape non-holonomic mobile robot, taking into account orientation restrictions, with the aim of navigating close to obstacles. Our contribution consists in an extension of the A∗ algorithm in a cell decomposition, where besides its position, the orientation of the platform is also considered when searching for...
The medical procedures related with the Breast Cancer Conservative Treatment (BCCT) have evolved towards the usage of affordable and practical tools, along with the recent inclusion of volumetric information of the breast. A richer three-dimensional (3D) model of the female torso allows, for instance, improvement of the evaluation the aesthetic outcome of BCCT and the surgery planning. The standard...
This paper presents a study aiming to assess the feasibility of using the Pattern Based GUI Testing approach, PBGT, to test mobile applications. PBGT is a new model based testing approach that aims to increase systematization, reusability and diminish the effort in modelling and testing. It is based on the concept of User Interface Test Patterns (UITP) that contain generic test strategies for testing...
We experimentally demonstrate in real-time mode operation the coexistence of a digital coherent PON architecture based on UDWDM QPSK with a NGPON2 system based on TWDM OOK. Using simple DSP-based ONU, guard bands of 100 GHz are achieved.
Every year thousands of students apply for access to higher education in Portuguese universities. These students are allocated according to their application, secondary school grades and their preference to distinct establishment-course pairs. Despite official statistics provided by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES), it is not always possible to have the relevant indicators...
Cloud Computing is revolutionizing the Information Technology (IT) industry by enabling organizations to have flexible costs by buying a service instead of owning their assets. Nevertheless, decision makers (DM) in IT organizations have difficulties in evaluating Cloud services because there are no guidelines or any structured form to decide what Cloud services they should use. In this paper, we propose...
KARYON, a kernel-based architecture for safety-critical control, is a European project that proposes a new perspective to improve performance of smart vehicle coordination. The key objective of KARYON is to provide system solutions for predictable and safe coordination of smart vehicles that autonomously cooperate and interact in an open and inherently uncertain environment. One of the main challenges...
MapReduce is often used for critical data processing, e.g., in the context of scientific or financial simulation. However, there is evidence in the literature that there are arbitrary (or Byzantine) faults that may corrupt the results of MapReduce without being detected. We present a Byzantine fault-tolerant MapReduce framework that can run in two modes: nonspeculative and speculative. We thoroughly...
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