Ergonomic design / Fibre Technology: Clothing for mastectomized woman with lymphedema

Given the physical condition of the mastectomized woman with lymph sequel, the dynamics of ergonomic design in clothing therapeutic interaction and the pursuit of quality of life concerns lead the designer to investigate the condition of the textile industry related to service this cautious and complex market of pieces of therapeutic clothing. The textile technology, its plurality of therapeutic functions on its side by side walk with the diversity of pathological complexity within the trilogy Design/Technology/Pathology allows important benefits for the sanity of the body. This study involved the creation of two devices in different polyamide compositions, using the same proposed design, ant its comparison with one already used in the market. The universe of the research included 60 women who underwent mastectomy with lymph sequels, with participation of two oncology clinics of São Paulo (Brazil). The study used a cross-disciplinary methodology, emphasizing explicit and implicit needs with subjective questions.The authors thank the support of: Center for Mastectomized Women - Live Better from ABC (Centro de apoio à mulher mastectomizada Viva Melhor do ABC) - Sao Paulo - Brazil; Brazilian Institute of Cancer Control (Instituto Brasileiro do Controle de Câncer) - Sao Paulo - Brazil. Promotes Physical Therapy Institute (Promove Instituto de Fisioterapia - Sao Paulo - Brazil. Doctor José Carlos Teixeira do Valle. This work is financed by FEDER funds through the Competitive Factors Operational Program (COMPETE) and by national funds through FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) with the project PEst-C/CTM/U10264/2011

System providing discomfort monitoring for people in wheelchairs

This article describes a project that aims to develop a system that provides people in wheelchair a relief to the level of the sensitive perception of discomfort, assuring greater independence, welfare, quality of life and the prevention of illnesses/wounds. The project is based on the development of textile and polymer applications (cushions, mattresses and mattresses overlays) with functions of pressure and humidity monitoring in the body’s areas contacting with the support surfaces. The same principle used in this work can be applied to other situations, such as people with serious motor function limitations that condition their mobility and/or deambulation, bed rest patients or patients under effect of sedatives or anesthesia during long surgeries (intra and post operative).The authors thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (Grant PTDC/SAU-BEB/68678/2006) and the School of Engineering of The University of Minho (IN2TEC project)

Somatic senses required for the emotional design of upper limb prosthesis

Despite the technological advances associated with prostheses, the total embodiment is still the great challenge in the segment of assistive technology. One of the main aspects is that the bionic member’s sensibility is not responsive to the environment that surrounds it. The purpose of this study aims to identify the perceptual modalities of the somatic senses that are required for a more sensible prosthesis. The methodological strategy contemplates literary research and proposes an interrelationship between neuroscience with philosophical/cultural studies, which regards the different concepts of sensory experience. Such data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The main conclusion points out that it would be important to unite the nine physiological requirements identified in the state of the art, with the ontological image construction of the prosthesis, in order to create a sensory experience that, in addition to the perceptive organs, builds up by the visual areas of the brain.This work is financed by Project “Deus ex Machina”, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000026, funded by CCDRN, through Sistema de Apoio à Investigação Científica e Tecnológica (Projetos Estruturados I&D&I) of Programa Operacional Regional do Norte, from Portugal 2020 and byProject UID/CTM/00264/2019 of 2C2T –Centro de Ciência e Tecnologia Têxtil, funded by National Founds through FCT/MCTES

Maximum flow-based formulation for the optimal location of electric vehicle charging stations

With the increasing effects of climate change, the urgency to step away from fossil fuels is greater than ever before. Electric vehicles (EVs) are one way to diminish these effects, but their widespread adoption is often limited by the insufficient availability of charging stations. In this work, our goal is to expand the infrastructure of EV charging stations, in order to provide a better quality of service in terms of user satisfaction (and availability of charging stations). Specifically, our focus is directed towards urban areas. We first propose a model for the assignment of EV charging demand to stations, framing it as a maximum flow problem. This model is the basis for the evaluation of user satisfaction with a given charging infrastructure. Secondly, we incorporate the maximum flow model into a mixed-integer linear program, where decisions on the opening of new stations and on the expansion of their capacity through additional outlets is accounted for. We showcase our methodology for the city of Montreal, demonstrating the scalability of our approach to handle real-world scenarios. We conclude that considering both spacial and temporal variations in charging demand is meaningful when solving realistic instances

Evidence on the use of gait analysis - A review

Gait analysis consists of evaluating the individual through kinematic analysis, while walking along a surface. Kinematic analysis relates the relative movement between rigid bodies and finds applications in gait analysis. The purpose of this paper is to find the applications of gait analysis, the methodologies used to perform it and conclude about the different methodologies’ uses. A literature search was performed using PRISMA Guidelines. Twenty-two documents fulfilled the inclusion criteria. A total of 15 different countries presented researches in this topic. The areas within which these papers are published include Sports Medicine (7), Pediatric Medicine (1), General Medicine (11), Occupational Medicine (1), Engineering (2). Gait analysis has many different areas of intervention. Some gait parameters are interrelated and there are a few different methodologies available to perform gait analysis. A comprehensive table of results has been developed, where results are presented.This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

Advancements in on-line monitoring and control of parameters in knitting and sewing processes

This paper presents a summary of the developments in process control in textile processes at the University of Minho, by a multidisciplinary research group involving three different departments (Textile, lectronic and Mechanical Engineering). The studies target the automatic process parameter monitoring and control in the areas of industrial sewing and knitting.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)

Luiz bandeira bridge: Assessment of a historical reinforced concrete (RC) bridge

The Luiz Bandeira Bridge is located along the Portuguese national road EN333-3, breaching the valley of the Vouga River, just northeast of the small village Sejães, in the district of Oliveira de Frades. It is considered to be the oldest concrete bridge in use in Portugal, and one of the oldest in Europe. Since this bridge is at risk of disappearing due to a construction of a dam, the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Minho decided to launch a comprehensive study of Luiz Bandeira Bridge, in an attempt to preserve the memory of the past cataloguing the heritage for future reference. These studies include historical, geometrical and damage surveys, the physical and chemical characterization of existing structural materials, the assessment of the reinforcement detailing, dynamic characterization by determining the main frequencies and vibration modes and safety level. This work presents a comprehensive overview of the most important results of these studies

In Vitro Maturation of a Humanized Shark VNAR Domain to Improve Its Biophysical Properties to Facilitate Clinical Development

Acknowledgments: The authors would like to acknowledge the funding support for this work from Scottish Enterprise [VNAR_001(2012)] and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/K010905/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Elemental mapping of Portuguese ceramic pieces with a full-field XRF scanner based on a 2D-THCOBRA detector

UID/FIS/04559/2020In this work, we present a novel application of the full-field energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) imaging system based on a MicroPattern Gaseous Detector (2D-THCOBRA) in the cultural heritage field. The detector has an intrinsic imaging capability with spatial resolution of 400μmFWHM, and is energy sensitive, presenting an energy resolution of approximately 1keVFWHM at 5.9keV. The full-field XRF scanner based on the 2D-THCOBRA detector allows mapping the distribution of elements in large area samples with high detection efficiency (75 % at 5.9keV), being a very promising choice for elemental mapping analysis of large area cultural heritage samples. In this work, we have demonstrated the imaging capabilities of the full-field XRF scanner and used it to assess the restoration of a Portuguese faience piece.publishersversionpublishe