Classification techniques on computerized systems to predict and/or to detect Apnea: A systematic review

Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), which can significantly decrease the quality of life is associated with a major risk factor of health implications such as increased cardiovascular disease, sudden death, depression, irritability, hypertension, and learning difficulties. Thus, it is relevant and timely to present a systematic review describing significant applications in the framework of computational intelligence-based SAS, including its performance, beneficial and challenging effects, and modeling for the decision-making on multiple scenarios.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Is the timed-up and go test feasible in mobile devices? A systematic review

The number of older adults is increasing worldwide, and it is expected that by 2050 over 2 billion individuals will be more than 60 years old. Older adults are exposed to numerous pathological problems such as Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, post-stroke, and orthopedic disturbances. Several physiotherapy methods that involve measurement of movements, such as the Timed-Up and Go test, can be done to support efficient and effective evaluation of pathological symptoms and promotion of health and well-being. In this systematic review, the authors aim to determine how the inertial sensors embedded in mobile devices are employed for the measurement of the different parameters involved in the Timed-Up and Go test. The main contribution of this paper consists of the identification of the different studies that utilize the sensors available in mobile devices for the measurement of the results of the Timed-Up and Go test. The results show that mobile devices embedded motion sensors can be used for these types of studies and the most commonly used sensors are the magnetometer, accelerometer, and gyroscope available in off-the-shelf smartphones. The features analyzed in this paper are categorized as quantitative, quantitative + statistic, dynamic balance, gait properties, state transitions, and raw statistics. These features utilize the accelerometer and gyroscope sensors and facilitate recognition of daily activities, accidents such as falling, some diseases, as well as the measurement of the subject's performance during the test execution.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Underwater optical mapping

Peer Reviewe

Análise e modelização da rede eléctrica da Ilha de São Vicente: planeamento da rede no horizonte de médio prazo

O objectivo do presente trabalho é o estudo do Sistema de Energia Eléctrica da Ilha de São Vicente em Cabo Verde, bem como a realização de um estudo de planeamento da rede tendo em consideração expectativas em torno da existência de novos pontos de carga, que pela sua natureza e amplitude podem influenciar de forma notória o desenvolvimento da rede no horizonte de médio e longo prazo. Para o efeito foi necessário proceder à caracterização dos elementos que constituem o sistema, como sejam a geração, a rede e as cargas, de forma a poder modelizá-la para efeitos de simulação. Foi realizado um diagnóstico da rede, para um conjunto de cenários típicos de operações da mesma, tendo em consideração os critérios de segurança usualmente adoptados. Posteriormente foi realizado um estudo de planeamento que teve em consideração a localização e características dos novos empreendimentos turísticos a surgir nos próximos anos, bem como a renovação do parque produtor existente. Os resultados obtidos identificam não só os reforços de rede como também a sua melhor calendarização, tendo em consideração a introdução de novos pontos de carga. Não foi objecto de estudo a análise de correntes de curto-circuito, estabilidade, compensação da energia reactiva, entre outros, que devem complementar um estudo deste géner

Effect of vegetable oils in limewashes for protection of masonry facades

Lime coatings have been used on architectural surfaces all over the world since ancient times. Additives have been used to improve specific properties of the coatings in relation to the substrate and environment where they were applied. They can impart lime coatings water-repellent properties to pro- tect surfaces from degradation, salt dissolutions, and microorganisms. But with the development of new synthetic materials after the Industrial Revolution, these techniques fell into disuse. This work focuses on evaluating the compatibility of vegetable oil additives with limewash paints on porous substrates by assessing the wettability and drying behavior of the coatings. These traditional and eco-friendly additives can be used as an alternative sustainable material as opposed to synthetic additives. In this study, three different vegetable oil additives were used: rapeseed oil, sunflower oil and high oleic sunflower oil. Additionally, a commercial water-repellent lime putty with the addition of olive oil sub-product was used to prepare a limewash (Fradical limewash) and compare it to the oil lab-prepared limewashes. The limewashes were applied to two different stones with different porous structures: Mšené stone, with high porosity and pore size distribution, and Opuka stone, with lower porosity and much smaller pore size than the previous stone. The lime coatings performance was evaluated by measuring the water contact angle, water ab- sorption by capillarity, and drying behavior with water and salt solution. The limewash that showed the best water-repellence, less water absorption and fastest drying with pure water was the Fradical limewash. The rapeseed limewash showed the fastest drying with the salt solution on Opuka and also showed promising results in the contact angle test being the only one that showed good water-resistance among the vegetable oil-based additives lab-prepared limewashes. The sunflower oil limewash had the fastest drying with the salt solution on Mšené stone.Revestimentos de cal têm sido usados sobre superfícies arquitetónicas em todo o mundo desde os tempos antigos. Os aditivos têm sido utilizados para melhorar propriedades específicas dos revesti- mentos em relação ao substrato e ao ambiente onde foram aplicados. Podem conferir propriedades hi- drófobas aos revestimentos de cal, protegendo as superfícies da degradação, dissoluções de sais e mi- crorganismos. Mas com o desenvolvimento de novos materiais sintéticos após a Revolução Industrial, essas técnicas caíram em desuso. Este trabalho tem como foco avaliar a compatibilidade de aditivos de óleos vegetais com tintas de cal em substratos porosos, avaliando o humedecimento e o comportamento de secagem dos materi- ais. Esses aditivos tradicionais e ecologicamente verdes podem ser usados como material alternativo e sustentável, ao contrário de aditivos sintéticos. Neste estudo, foram utilizados três aditivos diferentes de óleo vegetal: óleo de colza, óleo de girassol e óleo de girassol com alto teor oleico. Além disso foi utilizada, uma cal hidratada hidrófuga comercial, produzida com adição de subproduto de azeite para preparar um leito de cal (leite de cal Fradical) e comparar com as caiações com óleo preparadas em laboratório. A caiação foi aplicada em duas pedras diferentes com estruturas porosas muito distintas: a pedra Mšené com alta porosidade e de tamanho de poros, e a pedra Opuka, com porosidade menor e com tamanho de poros muito menor que a pedra anterior. O desempenho destes revestimentos de cal foram avaliados medindo-se o ângulo de contacto de gota de água, a absorção de água por capilaridade e o comportamento de secagem com água e solução salina. O leite de cal que apresentou melhor repelência à água, menor absorção de água, secagem mais rápida com água foi o leite de cal Fradical. O leite de cal de óleo de colza apresentou a secagem mais rápida com solução salina na pedra Opuka e também apresentou resultados promissores no ensaio de ângulo de contacto sendo a única que apresentou boa resistência à água entre as caiações de aditivos com óleo vegetal preparadas em laboratório. O leite de cal com óleo de girassol teve a secagem mais rápida com a solução salina na pedra Mšené

Refrigeration Cycle Efficiency Improvement Supported on Dual Response Optimization.

Trabalho apresentado em IIR International Congress of Refrigeration, 16-22 August 2015, Yokohama, Japan.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Internet of Things Architectures, Technologies, Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions for Enhanced Living Environments and Healthcare Systems: A Review

Internet of Things (IoT) is an evolution of the Internet and has been gaining increased attention from researchers in both academic and industrial environments. Successive technological enhancements make the development of intelligent systems with a high capacity for communication and data collection possible, providing several opportunities for numerous IoT applications, particularly healthcare systems. Despite all the advantages, there are still several open issues that represent the main challenges for IoT, e.g., accessibility, portability, interoperability, information security, and privacy. IoT provides important characteristics to healthcare systems, such as availability, mobility, and scalability, that o er an architectural basis for numerous high technological healthcare applications, such as real-time patient monitoring, environmental and indoor quality monitoring, and ubiquitous and pervasive information access that benefits health professionals and patients. The constant scientific innovations make it possible to develop IoT devices through countless services for sensing, data fusing, and logging capabilities that lead to several advancements for enhanced living environments (ELEs). This paper reviews the current state of the art on IoT architectures for ELEs and healthcare systems, with a focus on the technologies, applications, challenges, opportunities, open-source platforms, and operating systems. Furthermore, this document synthesizes the existing body of knowledge and identifies common threads and gaps that open up new significant and challenging future research directions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio