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In this paper, we present an Android-based system Application - AWARE - for the assessment of the person's physiology and behavior outside of the laboratory. To accomplish this purpose, AWARE delivers context dependent audio-visual stimuli, embedded into the subject's real-world perception, via marker/vision-based augmented reality (AR) technology. In addition, it employs external measuring resources connected via Bluetooth, as well as the smartphone's integrated resources. It synchronously acquires the experiment's video (camera input with AR overlay), physiologic responses (with a dedicated ECG measuring device) and behavior (through movement and location, with accelerometer/gyroscope and GPS, respectively). Psychological assessment is heavily based on laboratory procedures, even though it is known that these settings disturb the subjects' natural reactions and condition. The major idea of this application is to evaluate the participant condition, mimicking his/her real life conditions. Given that phobias are rather context specific, they represent the ideal candidate for assessing the feasibility of a mobile system application. AWARE allowed presenting AR stimuli (e.g., 3D spiders) and quantifying the subjects' reactions non-intrusively (e.g., heart rate variation) - more emphatic in the phobic volunteer when presented with spider vs non phobic stimulus. Although still a proof of concept, AWARE proved to be flexible, and straightforward to setup, with the potential to support ecologically valid monitoring experiments.

BackgroundPrevious studies have successfully used augmented reality (AR) as an aid to exposure‐based treatments for anxiety disorders. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of these studies have measured the physiological correlates of the fear response, relying solely on self‐reports and behavioral avoidance tests.MethodsAs the physiological defensive reactivity pattern impacts on the treatment effectiveness, we tested the feasibility of an AR system integrated in a mobile and wearable device for assessing the psychophysiological mechanisms (heart rate) involved in fear responses in real‐life contexts. Specific phobia was used as a model given its prototypical defensive hyperreactivity toward the feared stimulus (spiders to spider phobics, in the current study).ResultsThe results showed that the stimuli presented using AR were able to induce physiological alterations in the participants, which were specific depending on the stimulus type (fear or neutral) and on the participants’ level of spider fear (phobic and control group). These physiological correlates of the fear response were reflected both in the intensity of heart rate (in relation to the baseline) and in the time needed to react and recover after the stimulus exposure. Finally, we tested a theoretical model that showed that the physiological responses of phobic individuals when facing their phobic stimulus only explained its own data.ConclusionsWe argue in favor of the system's feasibility at capturing and quantifying the physiological dimension of fear‐related responses, which may be of great value for diagnostic and treatment purposes in anxiety disorders, namely specific phobia.

This work was developed in Barrinha de Mira Coastal Lagoon, Portugal. The lagoon belongs to the Natura 2000 network. Its main objectives were to monitor aquatic bird species before, during, and after a desorption intervention on this lagoon. Monitoring of waterfowl was carried out to evaluate the monthly variation of birds in Barrinha, in order to obtain useful information for region's management and planning, as well as for species preservation. In experimental design, it was decided to perform four counts per month in each pond (weekly), to evaluate the effect of increased monitoring effort in relation to previous years. The results revealed that the study area has a significant importance as a wintering zone for water birds. Some species have stable resident populations which, seasonally, see their numbers vary with migratory birds arrival and departure. Another purpose was to verify the influence of desorption intervention on the usual number of individuals by species. The results show that during and after intervention, there was a reduction of birds in the order of 89%, being more visible in the populations of Anas platyrhynchos and Fulica atra.

Background Anthropogenic activities affect ecosystems creating stress and new disturbances. Among these anthropogenic activities, we highlight roads that are main cause of habitat segmentation. As roads were built to accommodate traffic in rural areas, rate of vehicle-wildlife collisions has significantly expanded, thereby causing a direct decrease in population size. This study was conducted in Portugal (country's western central coast) and assessed impact of secondary roads on wildlife, as well as the influence that a catastrophic event, like a great fire, has on this wildlife. Practical work was carried out during 15 months (from October 2016 to December 2017), two consecutive days per week, first day being used for "road cleaning", that is, collection of all animals found on road, followed of their identification, and second day for morning and afternoon collection and identification of dead animals found on same tracks. Results In Agricultural Zone, vertebrate deaths on the road covered 17 species. Birds were the most affected , followed by amphibians, mammals and reptiles. The most fragile species were Passer domesticus and Salamandra salamandra. Two hotspots were recognized, one on each road. In Forestral Zone, vertebrate deaths on road included 26 species. Mammals were most vulnerable in this area followed by birds, amphibians and reptiles. Bufo bufo and Salamandra salamandra were the most vulnerable species. On the contrary, differences between roads composition were clear: there were only deaths on asphalted roads. Differences between before and after fire are evident Conclusions In this study, it was concluded that different zones and therefore different habitats should be worked on separately and that mitigation measures should be implemented as a priority in so-called "hotspots". This work highlights importance of secondary roads as a source of mortality for wildlife, and these should not be ignored. As far as macadam roads are concerned, they are not a threat to vertebrate populations in municipality of Mira. In future, it would be important to improve this work by including volume of traffic on roads and recording kilometers at which animals were collected. Results before and after fire illustrate the impact of this catastrophic event on wildlife.