A buil-in mixed-signal block observer (BIMBO) to improve observability in 1149.4 environments

This document proposes an extension to the IEEE 1149.4 test infrastructure, whereby a bank of sigma-delta first order modulators enables the simultaneous observation of several analog pins in a single component. The modulator output bit streams are shifted out and made available to an external test controller that comprises the corresponding bank of decimation filters and other decision and control logic. The architecture proposed is fully non-intrusive and may be used to support debug and test operations in mixed-signal environments

Weighing-in-motion wireless system for sustainable railway transport

Railway transport is well known as one of the safest and most energy-efficient transport modes, thus favoring its strengthening as part of a sustainable transport system. Yet, the track service life and the quality of the ride on a railway are dependent upon different factors, which can be assessed by a diverse set of technology based systems. In this context, this paper presents the EVO4Rail project that seeks to design, develop and implement a wireless monitoring system for weighing-in-motion and detecting faulty wheels in railway vehicles, positively impacting railway operation, maintenance and management, ultimately aiming at a sustainable rail transport.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluating COVID-19 in Portugal: Bootstrap confidence interval

In this paper, we consider a compartmental model to fit the real data of confirmed active cases with COVID-19 in Portugal, from March 2, 2020 until September 10, 2021 in the Primary Care Cluster in Aveiro region, ACES BV, reported to the Public Health Unit. The model includes a deterministic component based on ordinary differential equations and a stochastic component based on bootstrap methods in regression. The main goal of this work is to take into account the variability underlying the data set and analyse the estimation accuracy of the model using a residual bootstrapped approach in order to compute confidence intervals for the prediction of COVID-19 confirmed active cases. All numerical simulations are performed in R environment ( version. 4.0.5). The proposed algorithm can be used, after a suitable adaptation, in other communicable diseases and outbreaks.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Molecular evidence for gender differences in the migratory behaviour of a small seabird

Molecular sexing revealed an unexpectedly strong female bias in the sex ratio of pre-breeding European Storm Petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus), attracted to playback of conspecific calls during their northwards migration past SW Europe. This bias was consistent across seven years, ranging from 80.8% to 89.7% female (mean annual sex ratio ± SD = 85.5% female ±4.1%). The sex ratio did not differ significantly from unity (i.e., 50% female) among (i) Storm Petrel chicks at a breeding colony in NW France, (ii) adults found dead on beaches in Southern Portugal, (iii) breeding birds attending nest burrows in the UK, captured by hand, and (iv) adults captured near a breeding colony in the UK using copies of the same sound recordings as used in Southern Europe, indicating that females are not inherently more strongly attracted to playback calls than males. A morphological discriminant function analysis failed to provide a good separation of the sexes, showing the importance of molecular sexing for this species. We found no sex difference in the seasonal or nocturnal timing of migration past Southern Europe, but there was a significant tendency for birds to be caught in sex-specific aggregations. The preponderance of females captured in Southern Europe suggests that the sexes may differ in migration route or in their colony-prospecting behaviour during migration, at sites far away from their natal colonies. Such differences in migration behaviour between males and females are poorly understood but have implications for the vulnerability of seabirds to pollution and environmental change at sea during the non-breeding season

Antibacterial electrospun PVA/Enzymatic synthesized poly(catechol) nanofibrous mid-layer membrane for ultrafiltration

Two different nanofibrous antibacterial membranes containing enzymatically synthesized poly(catechol) (PC) or silver nitrate (AgNO3, positive control) blended with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and electrospun onto a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) basal disc to generate thin-film composite mid-layers were produced for water ultrafiltration applications. The developed membranes were thoroughly characterized in terms of morphology, chemical composition and general mechanical and thermal features, antimicrobial activity and ultrafiltration capabilities. The electrospun blends were recognized as homogeneous. Data revealed relevant conformational changes in the PVA side groups, attributed to hydrogen bonding, and high thermal stability and residual mass. PVDF+PVA/AgNO3 membrane displayed 100% growth inhibition of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria strains, despite the wide range of fiber diameters generated, from 24 to 125 nm, formation of numerous beads and irregular morphology. The PVDF+PVA/PC membrane showed a good growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus (92%) and revealed a smooth morphology, with no relevant bead formations and diameters ranging from 68 to 131 nm. The ultrafiltration abilities of the membrane containing PVA/PC were tested in a dead-end high-pressure cell (4 bar) using a reactive dye in distilled water and seawater. After 5 cycles, a maximum rejection of ≈ 85% with an average flux rate of 70 L m-2 h-1 for distilled water and ≈ 64% with an average flux rate of 62 L m-2 h-1 for seawater were determined with an overall salt rejection of ≈ 5%.This work was funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Competitiveness Programme – COMPETE and by National Funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) –under the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-009389 (PTDC/CTM/100627/2008). A. Zille and H. P. Felgueiras also acknowledge funding from FCT within the scope of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136 and UID/CTM/00264.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A roadmap for lifting restrictive measures for COVID-19

After more than one year of the pandemic, we now know that no single preventive measure affords fully effective control of virus transmission. Therefore, it is vital to combine different approaches to quickly identify the cases, trace their contacts, constantly reduce the risk of transmission, promptly respond to outbreaks or community transmission and monitor the circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. The updated Strategic Framework presented sets out tools that were used to restore, in a phased approach, normality to life in Portugal on 11 March 2021. Immediate short-term government responses are needed to save lives and livelihoods. However, the crisis could also provide valuable lessons for longer-term resilience of systems that support well-being over time, such as social connections and social capital, opening up new ways of working and living, and reinforcing the capacity of public services and social safety nets to react in times of crisis. Should COVID-19 move to being an endemic or seasonal disease such as influenza, the lessons learned from the response to the pandemic will be helpful in successful containing and preventing new waves of COVID-19.The authors would like to thank S Marques and B Monteiro for the table design and formatting. AA holds a PhD Grant (Ref. 2020.09390.BD), co-funded by the FCT and the Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) Program

Debugging mixed-signals circuits via IEEE1149.4 – a built-in mixed condition detector

Diagnosing design faults in a mixed-signals circuit is no trivial task, due to the inherent uncertainties associated with analog signals, not mentioning the interaction between the analog part and the digital part. Using debug and test tools is one way to deal with the problem, especially during the prototyping phase, however if a physical access is required then the same restrictions that led to other solutions, based on electronic access, apply. This is particularly the case that led to the emergence and wide acceptance of the IEEE1149 family of test infrastructures, which relies on an electronic test access port. While the IEEE1149.4 test infrastructure enables the structural and parametric test of mixed-signal boards, its use is still far from reaching a wide acceptance, namely due to the lack of alternative applications, such as debugging, as seen in the 1149.1 domain of purely digital circuits. Building upon the rationale that enabled transferring the structural test of board interconnections between analog pins, from the analog domain to the digital domain, using the mechanisms present in an Analog Boundary Module, as defined in the IEEE1149.4 Std., we propose a new way to support debug operations in 1149.4 mixed-signals circuits. In particular, we describe a built-in mechanism able to detect both internal and pin-level mixed-signal conditions, and hence able to support watchpoint/breakpoint operations at the IC level.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The VISIR+ Project – Helping Contextualize Math in an Engineering Course

[EN]The long-term goal of engineering education is to prepare students to work as engineers. Being a practical profession, laboratories play a crucial role in illustrating concepts and principles as well as improving technical skills. In the last decades the use of online resources (simulators and remote labs) has been growing, either as a complementary and/or as an alternative way of developing experimental competences. In the scope of the VISIR+ Project, this work presents the first results of a didactical implementation using simultaneously the remote laboratory VISIR (Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality), simulation and calculus in a Math Course at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). The preliminary results indicate that the use of several resources increases students’ performance, boosting their learning and competence development

Evaluating COVID-19 in Portugal: Bootstrap confidence interval

In this paper, we consider a compartmental model to fit the real data of confirmed active cases with COVID-19 in Portugal, from March 2, 2020 until September 10, 2021 in the Primary Care Cluster in Aveiro region, ACES BV, reported to the Public Health Unit. The model includes a deterministic component based on ordinary differential equations and a stochastic component based on bootstrap methods in regression. The main goal of this work is to take into account the variability underlying the data set and analyse the estimation accuracy of the model using a residual bootstrapped approach in order to compute confidence intervals for the prediction of COVID-19 confirmed active cases. All numerical simulations are performed in R environment ( version. 4.0.5). The proposed algorithm can be used, after a suitable adaptation, in other communicable diseases and outbreaks