Study of design issues in a prototype lower-limb prosthesis - proof-of-concept in a 3D printed model

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia Biomédica Ramo de Biomateriais, Reabilitação e BiomecânicaThe amputation of one or both lower limbs, which can be brought on by trauma, diabetes, or other vascular diseases, is an increasingly common occurrence, especially due to the increase in the number of cases of diabetes in the developed world. In Portugal alone 1300 amputations each year are attributed to diabetes. These amputations severely impact the mobility, self-esteem, and quality of life of the patients, a situation that can be alleviated via the installation of a lower limb prosthesis. Sadly, these prostheses are not yet capable of completely emulating a sound limb in an affordable fashion. In this dissertation, state-of-the-art research was carried out regarding the mechanics of human gait, both healthy and prosthetic. An investigation regarding the state-of-the-art research was also carried out regarding lower-limb prostheses, their evolution, mechanics, and prospects, as well as additive manufacturing techniques, and how they can be crucial to the development of affordable prostheses. Special attention was provided to the study of the leading edge of prostheses research, namely active prostheses, capable of generating and introducing energy into the human gait, rather than simply acting as passive devices. This dissertation follows up on previous work carried out in the BioWalk Project of Universidade do Minho’s BiRDLab: “Prosthetic Devices and Rehabilitation Solutions for the Lower Limbs Amputees”. This work consisted of the development of an active lower-limb prosthesis prototype, with the goal of providing an affordable, but functional, prosthesis for future testing with patients. However, the resulting prototype was laden with issues, such as excessive weight and an underpowered motor. As such, this work set out to identify these issues, design, implement and test modifications to the prosthesis to produce a satisfying prototype. Given the limited resources and facilities available, it was decided to work on a smaller model prosthesis installed in a bipedal robot, the DARwIn-OP, using it as proof-of-concept for modifications to be implemented in the BiRDLab prosthesis. Modifications were successfully implemented, chiefly among them a planetary gear-based reductor and a novel attachment mechanism built using additive manufacturing techniques. It is possible to conclude that there is a great potential in the implementation of additive manufacturing techniques in the development of affordable prosthesis.A amputação de um ou ambos os membros inferiores, que pode ser causada por trauma, diabetes, ou outras doenças vasculares, é um evento cada vez mais frequente, especialmente devido ao aumento do número de casos de diabetes no mundo desenvolvido. Em Portugal, 1300 amputações são atribuídas aos diabetes todos os anos. Estas amputações influenciam negativamente a mobilidade, autoestima e qualidade de vida dos pacientes, mas estes efeitos podem ser minimizados através da instalação de uma prótese de membro inferior. Infelizmente, estas próteses ainda não são capazes de emular completamente um membro saudável de forma económica. Nesta dissertação, um estado da arte do caminhar humano foi realizado, tendo em atenção o funcionamento deste, quer em sujeitos saudáveis ou amputados. Um estado da arte também foi realizado relativamente às próteses de membros inferiores, a sua evolução, funcionamento, e perspetivas futuras, e também relativamente a técnicas de fabrico aditivas e a forma como estas podem ser aplicadas em próteses acessíveis. Tomou-se atenção especial ao estudo das próteses ativas, capazes de gerar e introduzir energia no caminhar, ao invés das próteses passivas tradicionais. Esta dissertação baseia-se em trabalho prévio ao abrigo do projeto BioWalk do laboratório BiRDLab da Universidade do Minho: “Dispositivos prostéticos e soluções de reabilitação para amputados dos membros inferiores”. Este trabalho consistiu no desenvolvimento de um protótipo de prótese de membro inferior ativa, com o objetivo de criar uma prótese de baixo custo para testes em pacientes. No entanto, o protótipo produzido possuí vários problemas, tais como peso excessivo e um motor subdimensionado. Assim sendo, este trabalho propôs-se a identificar estes problemas e a desenhar, implementar, e testar modificações. Tendo em conta os limitados recursos disponíveis, decidiu-se trabalhar numa prótese modelo mais pequena, instalada num robô bipedal, o DARwIN-OP, e a usá-la para testar modificações a implementar na prótese do BiRDLab. As modificações foram implementadas com sucesso, especialmente um redutor de engrenagens planetárias e um novo método de conectar a prótese, usando técnicas de fabrico aditivas

Creative tourism special issue: foreword

This Tourism and Management Studies Special Issue on Creative Tourism is born under the scope of a very original project: the CREATOUR - Creative Tourism Destination Development in Small Cities and Rural Areas. The CREATOUR project is the first action-research project in Portugal whose objectives are to study and to stimulate the creative tourism initiatives in small places and rural areas. CREATOUR is an incubator/demonstration and multidisciplinary research initiative, supporting collaborative research processes involving five Portuguese research centres working with a range of cultural/creative organisations and other stakeholders located in small cities across Portugal in the Norte, Centro, Alentejo and Algarve regions.Agência financiadora Joint Activities Programme of PORTUGAL 2020 ( Project 16437 ); COMPETE2020; Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologiainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mapping intangibilities in creative tourism territories through tangible objects: a methodological approach for developing creative tourism offers

What can people express about their places through the objects that they valorise and link to their territory? Can objects create narratives about a place's identity and collect significant cultural information that locate people in their places? Can such cultural mapping be a useful tool in the design of creative tourist offers? The Project CREATOUR held a series of Idea Laboratories with several entities that provide creative tourism experiences, approaching cultural mapping through objects as a tool for regional actors to discover what is 'so special' about their places, a way to link tourism offers with the community where they take place. These exercise lead participants to remark on the importance and idiosyncrasy of their regions and evidenced the importance of cultural mapping to a more sustainable offer and the overall marketing of destinations. Mapping intangibilities through tangible objects helped to capture what gives meaning to particular places.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia CREATOUR - 16437 COMPETE2020, POR Lisboainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A methodological approach to evaluate elderly-robot interactions

The relevance in the study of interaction between elderly and robots may depend on the choice of activities that robots can be developed to perform and the assessment of their impact and importance for older people. This research requires coordinated research between computer engineers and specialists in the humanities and social sciences. Being a recent research area, it is particularly relevant to carefully select the behavioural variables to be analyzed, the methodology adopted and the instruments that allow for a rigorous evaluation. Based on these assumptions, the present study aims to develop Innovative Initiatives for the Promotion of Active Aging in the EUROACE Region. The authors propose an appropriate methodology and instruments to evaluate the impact of the human-robot interaction in the promotion of a more active aging in a group of elderly in a nursing home. The analyzed variables focus on the involvement of the elderly in the activities, their capacity for initiative and to establish social interactions, indicators of well-being and a proactive attitude. The methodology of the study is mixed (qualitative and quantitative), organized as an exploratory case study. Data collection is based on naturalistic observation but variables are quantitatively assessed in a pre/post-test design. The research design identified the narratives of the elderly and the staff of the institution regarding the needs and interests of each elderly person, classified the participants according to the levels of prevailing social interactions, involvement and initiative in activities, considered important variables for an active ageing and, in this sense, demonstrated its adequacy to be used to evaluate the results of the intervention using social assistive robots.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

exploring a local setting in Portugal

In Portugal, the majority of immigrants come from Portuguese-speaking countries. Among children, overweight and obesity are serious public health concerns, but a few studies include children with immigrant background. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity and risk of abdominal obesity in school-age children and to explore potential determinants, considering the origin of the children’s parents (both mother and father are non-Portuguese, only one Portuguese, and both are Portuguese). A cross-sectional study included a random sample of 789 children (5–11 years old, 49.2% of males and 50.8% female) attending public primary schools in Barreiro, district of Setubal, Portugal. Fieldwork occurred from 20th April to 3rd July 2009. Data concerning socioeconomic, eating habits, and sports outside school were obtained through a questionnaire applied to the children’s person in charge. Anthropometric measures were collected by certified technicians. One-third of the children presented overweight and obesity (33.7%, 95% CI [30.0; 37.7]) and risk of abdominal obesity (16.4%, 95% CI [13.6; 19.7]) without differences according to parents’ origin. Children with immigrant background presented higher consumption of low-priced, high-sugar, and high-fat foods, with a worse situation for girls. Females from both non-Portuguese parents also practiced less sports outside school than those where one or two parents are Portuguese. Thus, promoting and monitoring a healthy diet and physical activity in this group should be prioritized in this local setting.publishersversionpublishe

Micromorphology and in vitro antibacterial evaluation of Zanthoxylum and Hymenocardia species

Mestrado em Engenharia Agronómica - Protecção das Plantas - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaAs plantas desenvolveram mecanismos funcionais e metabólicos como uma estratégia de defesa para sobreviver em ambientes adversos. Terpenóides, alcalóides, flavonóides e compostos fenólicos são biosintetizados e acumulados em organelos celulares ou em estruturas secretoras. Sendo assim, as plantas são uma fonte valiosa de produtos naturais e são usadas em medicina tradicional. O estudo das plantas proporciona novas ferramentas para o tratamento várias doenças e infeções. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a micromorfologia da folha, atividade antibacteriana e antifúngica, potencial sinérgico e determinação do perfil fitoquímico de três espécies nativas da Guiné-Bissau, conhecidas por possuírem propriedades etnobotânicas: Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides, Zanthoxylum leprieurii e Hymenocardia acida. O material vegetal foi recolhido na Guiné-Bissau. As folhas foram observadas em microscopia de campo claro, microscopia de fluorescência e microscopia eletrónica de varrimento. Extratos de polaridade crescente foram obtidos por extração sequencial do material vegetal e posteriormente testados contra bactérias Gram-positivas, Gram-negativas e fungos. A concentração mínima inibitória (CMI) e a concentração mínima bacteriostática (CMB) foram determinadas. O potencial sinérgico foi avaliado e o índice da concentração inibitória fracionária (ICIF) foi calculado. O perfil fitoquímico foi realizado por TLC em sílica gel. Foi possível identificar características micromorfologicas que permitem a diferenciação das espécies de Zanthoxylum. Os testes histoquímicos revelaram que as diferenças entre estas são de natureza quantitativa e não qualitativa. Para H. acida foi detetada a presença de vários compostos, sendo que os extratos apolares são os mais ativos, capazes de inibir o crescimento de bactérias Gram-positivas. Extratos de espécies de Zanthoxylum revelaram atividade contra Grampositivas e fungos, e quando combinados com antibióticos demostraram um efeito sinérgico, revertendo a atividade antibacteriana em estirpes resistentes. Os resultados obtidos enfatizam o valor de estudos adicionais para melhor compreensão dos compostos e mecanismos que podem ser fundamentais para ultrapassar a problemática da resistência das bactérias aos antibióticosN/

Therapist’s theoretical orientation and patients’ narrative production: Rogers, Lazarus, Shostrom and Cathy revisited

This study aimed to explore the influence of the therapist’s theoretical orientation on patient’s narrative production. Cathy’s therapeutic narratives with Carl Rogers, Arnold Lazarus and Everett Shostrom were analyzed in terms of three narrative dimensions: structural coherence, process complexity and content multiplicity. Results showed statistically significant differences in scores of Cathy’s total narrative production depending on the therapist she was interacting with. Process complexity was the only narrative dimension that registered statistically significant differences between the three therapists. Comparison between the three therapists showed statistically significant differences between Rogers and Shostrom but neither between Rogers and Lazarus nor between Lazarus and Shostrom. Cathy’s highest narrative production scores were obtained with Carl Rogers. Results suggest that the therapist’s theoretical orientation influences the patient’s narrative production in psychotherapy.Este estudio tiene como objetivo explorar la influencia de la orientación teórica del terapeuta sobre la producción narrativa del paciente. La narrativa terapéutica de Cathy con Carl Rogers, Arnold Lazarus and Everett Shostrom fue analizada en términos de tres dimensiones narrativas: coherencia estructural, complejidad del proceso y multiplicidad del contenido. Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas en la producción narrativa total de Cathy obtenida con cada uno de los terapeutas. La complejidad del proceso registró diferencias estadísticas significativas entre los tres terapeutas solamente en la dimensión narrativa. La comparación entre los tres terapeutas mostró diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre Rogers y Shostrom pero no entre Rogers and Lazarus ni entre Lazarus and Shostrom. La puntuación más alta en la producción narrativa de Cathy fue obtenida con Carl Rogers. Los resultados sugieren que la orientación teórica del terapeuta influye en la producción narrativa en psicoterapia.(undefined

Food safety in the domestic environment

O principal objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a importância da segurança alimentar em ambientes domésticos. A prevalência e identificação de bactérias de origem alimentar foi levada a cabo através da recolha de amostras em várias localizações de 15 casas, tais como maçanetas de portas, puxadores do frigorífico e máquina de lavar louça, botões de fogão, superfícies de preparação de alimentos, torneiras e toalhas de cozinha, bem como das patas de animais domésticos que usualmente têm acesso à área da cozinha, e ainda puxadores e torneiras de WC. Um questionário foi também preparado e efetuado ao responsável pelas tarefas domésticas de modo a avaliar a experiência em práticas de higiene alimentar. A deteção e quantificação de microrganismos de origem alimentar foram realizadas de acordo com os métodos descritos na International Standards Organization (ISO), resultando num total de 125 isolados de Enterobacteriaceae spp. (19 isolados de Salmonella spp., 46 de Escherichia coli e 60 de outras Enterobacteriaceae), 86 de Staphylococcus coagulase-positive, 5 de Listeria spp. e 13 de Escherichia coli. No entanto, nas 175 amostras analisadas não foi detetado Campylobacter spp.. A resistência aos antibióticos ampicilina, cloranfenicol, ciprofloxacina, gentamicina, ácido nalidíxico, tetraciclina, trimetropin e nitrofurantoína foi avaliada nos 3 grandes grupos dos 125 isolados de Enterobacteriaceae spp. (19 isolados de Salmonella spp., 46 de Escherichia coli e 60 de outras Enterobacteriaceae). Escherichia coli e Salmonella spp. demonstraram resistência à ampicilina, cloranfenicol, tetraciclina, ácido nalidíxico e nitrofurantoína, enquanto outras Enterobacteriaceae apresentaram resistência apenas à ampicilina, trimetropin e nitrofurantoína. Resistência múltipla aos antibióticos descritos ocorreu maioritariamente nos isolados de Escherichia coli mas também em isolados de Salmonella spp. e de outras Enterobacteriaceae; no entanto, todos os isolados mostraram sensibilidade a antibióticos de grande importância clínica, como as fluoroquinolonas e os aminoglicosídeos.The main purpose of the work was to evaluate the significance of food safety in domestic environments. The prevalence and identification of food-borne pathogens were assessed by taking swabs from several points in 15 houses, such as knobs of doors, refrigerators and dishwashers, stove buttons, surfaces of preparation of foods, taps and kitchen towels, as well as from domestic animals’ feet that usually have access to the kitchen area, and WC knobs and taps. A questionnaire was also prepared and administered to the person responsible for domestic tasks in order to evaluate their experience of hygienic practices. Detection and quantification of food-borne microorganisms was made according to the methods described in the International Standards Organization (ISO), resulting in a total of 125 Enterobacteriaceae spp. isolates (19 Salmonella spp. isolates, 46 of Escherichia coli and 60 of other Enterobacteriaceae), 86 Staphylococcus coagulase-positive isolates, 5 Listeria spp. isolates and 13 Escherichia coli isolates. No Campylobacter spp. was found in the 175 analyzed samples. Antibiotic resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, tetracycline, nalidixic acid and trimethoprim was evaluated in the 3 major groups of the 125 isolates of Enterobacteriaceae spp. (19 Salmonella spp. isolates, 46 of Escherichia coli and 60 of other Enterobacteriaceae). Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. showed resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, nalidixic acid and nitrofurantoin, while other Enterobacteriaceae presented resistance only to ampicillin, trimethoprim and nitrofurantoin. Multiple antibiotic resistance occurred mainly in Escherichia coli isolates but also in Salmonella spp. and other Enterobacteriaceae; nevertheless all the isolates showed sensitivity to antibiotics of clinical importance, such as fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides

Fast Graph - organic 3D graph for unsupervised location and mapping

It is well-known that fingerprinting-based positioning requires an exhaustive calibration phase to create a radio map, which often requires recalibration. Model-based and geometric approaches try to mitigate this effort at the expense of a lower accuracy or high computational cost. This paper introduces FastGraph, where a 3D graph is used to rapidly model the radio propagation environment. By means of unsupervised techniques, FastGraph is able to operate shortly after its deployment without previous knowledge about the environment. The proposed solution uses a novel algorithm to automatically provide location while simultaneously updating the radio map; and learn the position of the Access Points (APs) and location-specific radio propagation parameters. FastGraph has been evaluated in two real-world environments, a factory-plant and a regular university building, with results comparable to those obtained by conventional radio map-based solutions.This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT – Fundação para a Ciência eTecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013 and the PhD fellowship PD/BD/105865/201