Mobile laboratories as an alternative to conventional remote laboratories

Remote laboratories have been playing an important role on the improvement of flexibility and the extent of practical activities in teaching and learning activities in engineering and technology. However, the current remote laboratories model does not consider dynamic scenarios including collaboration, peer-to-peer labs and mobile labs. This paper presents a set of tools for creating collaborative online mobile laboratories that allow students to develop their own labs and share them with classmates and teachers. The approach used is compatible with the machine and network configurations that the target user has in schools and at home, and provides the retrieval of information for learning evaluation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Atypical presentation of erythema multiforme

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems toward Remote Experimentation

This paper presents a process based on learning analytics and recom- mender systems to provide suggestions to students about remote laboratories ac- tivities in order to scaffold their performance. For this purpose, the records of remote experiments from the VISIR project were analyzed taking into account one of its installations. Each record is composed of requests containing the as- sembled circuits and the configurations of the measuring equipment, as well as the response provided by the measurement server that evaluates whether a par- ticular request can be performed or not. With the log analysis, it was possible to obtain information in order to determine some initial statistics and provide clues about the student’s behavior during the experiments. Using the concept of rec- ommendation, a service is proposed through request analysis and returns to the students more precise information about possible mistakes in the assembly of circuits or configurations. The process as a whole proves consistent in what re- gards its ability to provide suggestions to the students as they conduct the exper- iments. Furthermore, with the log, relevant information can be offered to teach- ers, thus assisting them in developing strategies to positively impact student’s learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Singularities of Pyogenic Streptococcal Biofilms – From Formation to Health Implication

Biofilms are generally defined as communities of cells involved in a self-produced extracellular matrix adhered to a surface. In biofilms, the bacteria are less sensitive to host defense mechanisms and antimicrobial agents, due to multiple strategies, that involve modulation of gene expression, controlled metabolic rate, intercellular communication, composition, and 3D architecture of the extracellular matrix. These factors play a key role in streptococci pathogenesis, contributing to therapy failure and promoting persistent infections. The species of the pyogenic group together with Streptococcus pneumoniae are the major pathogens belonging the genus Streptococcus, and its biofilm growth has been investigated, but insights in the genetic origin of biofilm formation are limited. This review summarizes pyogenic streptococci biofilms with details on constitution, formation, and virulence factors associated with formation.publishersversionpublishe

Remote Experimentation supported by Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems

This paper proposes a process based on learning analytics and recommender systems targeted at making suggestions to students about their remote laboratories activities and providing insights to all stakeholders taking part in the learning process. To apply the process, a log with requests and responses of remote experiments from the VISIR project were analyzed. A request is the setup of the experiment including the assembled circuits and the configurations of the measuring equipment. In turn, a response is a message provided by the measurement server indicating measures or an error when it is not possible to execute the experiment. Along the two phases of analysis, the log was analyzed and summarized in order to provide insights about students' experiments. In addition, there is a recommendation service responsible for analyzing the requests thus returning, in case of error, precise information about the assembly of circuits or configurations. The evaluation of the process is consistent in what regards its ability to afford recommendations to the students as they carry out the experiments. Moreover, the summarized information intends to offer teachers means to better understand and develop strategies to scaffold students' learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Actualização NB-IoT e BLE5

A Techwelf tem desenvolvido vários dispositivos em que a comunicação de e para internet (cloud, serviços ou aplicações móveis) é crítica ou pelo menos uma clara mais-valia comercial. A conectividade ponto-a-ponto, por BLE 4 ou NFC já é uma tecnologia dominada e comum no mercado. O mesmo acontece com comunicação Wifi ou mesmo GSM/LTE. Mas só no último ano chegaram ao mercado os primeiros chips, do tipo System On Chip, capazes de estabelecerem ligações de dados via LTE-M e NBIoT, permitindo comunicação com consumos energéticos muito baixos e, como tal, com elevada autonomia – característica fundamental para a geração IoT e para a grande maioria das soluções desenvolvidas pela Techwelf. Por outro lado, face às exigências do mercado IoT, mesmo as tecnologias mais convencionais têm vindo a sofrer optimizações. É o caso do BLE que na versão 5 não só é significativamente mais eficiente, como permite comunicações ponto-a-ponto de maior distância. É neste contexto que surge o trabalho dos autores, no sentido de efetuar esta transição tecnológica mantendo a Techwelf nas empresas de referência na utilização do que de mais recente existe em termos de soluções IoT e, assim, mais uma vez assegurar a vantagem competitiva face a concorrência. O trabalho tem seguido duas vertentes distintas. Uma destinada a evoluir a solução de rede de sensores existente, implementada com recurso a tecnologia ANT e BLE 4, e que se pretende agora actualizar para tecnologia BLE 5, designadamente BLE Mesh. A segunda vertente é focada na criaçã de uma alternativa à solução de gateway existente, que faz a ponte entre a rede de sensores e a rede WiFi. Esta solução, tecnicamente bastante complexa e desenvolvida com a cooperação de docentes do Dep de Informática e Comunicações do IPB, consegue assegurar a comunicação bidirecional através dos routers domésticos, de forma transparente para o utilizador final, isto é, sem requerer qualquer configuração do router por parte do utilizador. No entanto, a evolução tecnológica das soluções de NB-IoT e LTE-M permitem ligação direta sem passar pelo router, o que elimina vários problemas e torna tudo mais simples e flexível. Esta solução permite também a monitorização e controlo em tempo real dos dispositivos, a partir de aplicações e/ou serviços em cloud. A solução técnica utilizada nesta segunda vertente é o NB-IoT, dado que o único operador que já tem rede disponível (para efeitos de teste) é a Altice (MEO) que optou pela tecnologia NB-IoT, em detrimento da LTE-M, e que nos facultou os meios de acesso à rede (aproveitamos para agradecer publicamente o apoio da Altice Labs). Os testes efetuados permitem já conetividade bidirecional com o Develop Kit (DK) nRF91 da Nordic Semiconductor – o primeiro kit disponível no mercado com este tipo de tecnologia. Foram também já efetuados, com sucesso, testes de integração com chips da família nRF52 do mesmo fabricante. Chips estes que já suportam BLE 5. Tornou-se assim possível até ao momento a visualização de dados em cloud recolhidos pelo DK, e também a sua conexão e troca de dados via Bluetooth com outras “boards”. Estes resultados iniciais são extraordinários, visto que ficamos com uma enorme margem de manobra para a criação de uma rede “gigantesca”, monitorizada em cloud e com uma poupança de energia superior á existente atualmente.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Remote Experimentation supported by Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems

This paper proposes a process based on learning analytics and recommender systems targeted at making suggestions to students about their remote laboratories activities and providing insights to all stakeholders taking part in the learning process. To apply the process, a log with requests and responses of remote experiments from the VISIR project were analyzed. A request is the setup of the experiment including the assembled circuits and the configurations of the measuring equipment. In turn, a response is a message provided by the measurement server indicating measures or an error when it is not possible to execute the experiment. Along the two phases of analysis, the log was analyzed and summarized in order to provide insights about students' experiments. In addition, there is a recommendation service responsible for analyzing the requests thus returning, in case of error, precise information about the assembly of circuits or configurations. The evaluation of the process is consistent in what regards its ability to afford recommendations to the students as they carry out the experiments. Moreover, the summarized information intends to offer teachers means to better understand and develop strategies to scaffold students' learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Structural relations among implicit theories, achievement goals, and performance in writing

inexistenteinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SUB-LETHAL EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO ATRAZINE IN GILL CELLS OF SEA LAMPREY DOWNSTREAM MIGRANTS

In Portugal, atrazine (ATZ) was one of the most widely used herbicides in agriculture, and despite prohibited since 2007, it still continued to be detected in the surface and ground waters. Recent research demonstrated that the conditions experienced by anadromous fishes, while in freshwater, may be critical to their subsequent fitness and survival in the sea. Several studies established a decline in wild populations, most probably caused by a reduction in recruitment related with pollution. In the case of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) trophic migration to the ocean, expose fish to several stress factors, including chemical stress. Thus, it is crucial to assess the effects of sub-lethal exposure to ATZ and predict potential consequences to juveniles of sea lamprey