Flipped classrooms: from concept to reality using Google Apps

Flipped classrooms use in-class time to work onlearning materials that were previously explored by thestudents on their own (e.g. pre-recorded presentations,instructional videos, etc.). Any e-learning platform can beused to flip a classroom / course, but they suffer from anoriginal sin -- they can just as well be used to supporttraditional teacher-centred models, where the course siteworks as a repository of slides used during plenary classesdelivered in lecture halls. Besides this historical handicap,most e-learning platforms offer relatively poor collaborativeenvironments, particularly if we consider the standardsharing facilities of social platforms like Facebook, Google+(G+), etc. The portfolio of resources included in the GoogleApps for Education program, on the other hand, offers apowerful toolbox that can be used to build rich collaborativeenvironments. Ending up with teacher-centred models ismuch harder in the Google Apps world, where a pervasivecollaborative strategy can be made to spread across ateaching and learning framework built as a Google site. Thispaper presents the essential Google Apps that can be used inthis context, proposes a pedagogical model that ensurescollaborative, student-centred learning, and describes how ateaching and learning framework can be built using thetools comprised in the Google Apps for Education portfolio.The reusable template offered as a result of this work isavailable online at http://goo.gl/wllUk

Restoring Reliability in Fault Tolerant Reconfigurable Systems

The new generations of SRAM-based FPGAdevices, built on nanometer technology, are thepreferred choice for the implementation ofreconfigurable computing platforms. However,smaller technological scales increase theirvulnerability to manufacturing imperfections andhence to the occurrence of electromigration.Moreover, the large internal RAM (for configurationpurposes or as embedded memory blocks) makesthem more prone to soft errors.The incorporation of self-reconfigurationcapabilities in recent FPGAs, allied to the use of softand hard microprocessor cores, facilitates the offsetof these vulnerabilities by enabling the developmentof self-restoring fault tolerant reconfigurablesystems. In the methodology presented in this paper,the embedded microprocessor is also responsible forthe implementation of online self-test-and-repairstrategies, based on modular redundancy and onself-reconfiguration. The detection of faults, causedby soft or hard errors, may be followed by repairingactions, depending on the fault type. This approachleads to smoother system degradation, extending itslifetime and improving its reliability

An IEEE 1149.x Embedded Test Coprocessor

This paper describes a microprogrammed architecture for an embedded coprocessor that is ableto control IEEE 1149.1 to IEEE 1149.7 test infrastructures, and explains how to expand the supportedtest command set. The coprocessor uses a fast simplex link (FSL) channel to interface a32-bit MicroBlaze CPU, but it can work with any microprocessor core that accepts this simpleFIFO-based interface method. The implementation cost (logic resource usage for a Xilinx Spartan6FPGA) and the performance data (operating frequency) are presented for a test command setcomprising two parts: 1) the full IEEE 1149.1 structural test operations; 2) a subset of IEEE 1149.7operations selected to illustrate the implementation of advanced scan formats

Debugging mixed-signal circuits via the IEEE1149.4 Std. - analysis of limitations and requirements

Debugging mixed-signal circuits is traditionally seen as a complex task due to the presence of an analog part and the necessary interaction with a digital part. The use of debug tools that require physical access suffers from the same restrictions that led to the use of debug tools based on electronic access to digital circuits. While the IEEE1149.4 test infrastructure enables the structural and parametric test of mixed-signal boards, through electronic access, its use for debug purposes is still far from reaching a wide acceptance, namely due to the lack of a debug methodology. This work analyses several access mechanisms for Controllability, Observability and Verification operations via the IEEE1149.4 infrastructure, with an emphasis on the analysis of its limitations and requirements

Techniques to improve the reliability of fault-tolerant systems based on self-reconfigurable FPGAs

In this paper it is proposed a new technique toimprove the reliability of fault-tolerant systemsbased on self-reconfigurable FPGAs. The aim is tocreate a self-tolerant system based on selfreconfiguration.To achieve this objective the workwas divided in five main tasks: the analysis of faultinducement mechanisms in FPGAs, its correlationand its matching with existent fault models, or,eventually, if necessary, the proposal of a newmodel; the design and evaluation of a fault tolerancemechanism for FPGAs; the design andimplementation of a methodology able to detect,diagnose and repair the emerging faults; thedevelopment and validation of the proposedmethodology. This study will be the base for a PhDthesis

AR2T : implementing a truly SRAM-based FPGA on-line concurrent testing

The new partial and dynamic reconfigurable features offered by new generations of SRAM-based FPGAs may be used to improve the dependability of reconfigurable hardware platforms through the implementation of on-line concurrent testing / fault tolerance mechanisms. However, such mechanisms imply the existence of new test strategies that do not interfere with the current system functionality.The AR2T (Active Replication and Release for Testing) technique is a set of procedures that enables the implementation of a truly non-intrusive structural on-line concurrent testing approach, detecting and avoiding permanent faults and correcting errors due to transient faults. Experimental results prove the effectiveness of these solutions. In relation to a previous technique proposed by the authors as part of the DRAFT FPGA concurrent test methodology, AR2T extends the range of circuits that can be replicated, by introducing a small replication aid block

Improved dependability for dynamically reconfigurable hardware: restoration of the reliability index via replication and error correction

Fault-tolerant (FT) architectures based on classic spatial and temporal redundancy are used in anincreasing number of applications. However, the hardware platforms underlying modern highreliabilitysystems have little resemblance to those that were common when such architectureswere devised. The earlier fault models are not necessarily out-of-date (e.g. stuck-at faults stillplay an important role for validating FT applications), but the new failure modes of nanometertechnologies were largely irrelevant when J. von Neumanns paper on the synthesis of reliableorganisms from unreliable components was published in the 1950s. Such concerns areparticularly relevant when designing high-reliability adaptive systems, where reconfigurablefield-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are increasingly used. On the other hand, theeconomics of FT architectures based on spatial redundancy (e.g. triple modular redundancy,TMR), are entirely different when evaluated under the assumption of such features as dynamicreconfiguration, which enables just-in-time implementation of only those resources that need tobe available at any given time, or self-reconfiguration, which enables self-contained correctiveactions that are able to isolate / replace defective resources. New design approaches are therefore required to cope with the challenges introduced by each new generation ofprogrammable hardware devices. This paper presents an approach to design high-reliabilityarchitectures at lower cost, by taking advantage of dynamic / self reconfiguration and built-intest infrastructures, which are present in modern generations of FPGAs

Processo de cálculo automático de colunas mistas

Este relatório é elaborado no âmbito do estágio curricular no regime de parceria entre o Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto e o gabinete de projetos SE2P – Sociedade de Engenharia, Projetos e Planeamento, Lda. O tema do estágio é o estudo de colunas mistas aço-betão na vertente de projeto, mais concretamente através da criação dum processo de cálculo automático integrado com o modelo estrutural global. Aplicam-se os métodos de dimensionamento dos eurocódigos estruturais na avaliação da segurança dos estados limites. Avaliam-se as propriedades geométricas, determina-se a curva de interação, calcula-se a posição do eixo neutro donde se inferem os estados de tensão em flexão desviada ao nível da secção, necessários às verificações de segurança. O processo de cálculo tem por base uma folha de cálculo desenvolvida em Excel que, com ajuda do Visual Basic for Applications, comunica com o software de modelação e cálculo estrutural Autodesk Robot Professional Analisys. Cria-se fluxos de informação que possibilitam o cálculo iterativo de colunas mistas permitindo ajustar e por esta via otimizar as soluções de dimensionamento. A exportação de relatórios de cálculo detalhados para cada coluna constitui uma mais-valia para gabinetes de engenharia quando comparada com outras soluções de dimensionamento existentes no mercado. A aplicação do processo de cálculo desenvolvido a múltiplas combinações de soluções de colunas mistas permitiu analisar comparativamente os resultados obtidos e a criação de tabelas e ábacos que poderão ser úteis em cenários de pré-dimensionamento e de anteprojeto.This thesis is elaborated in the curriculum stage in partnership with the Institute of Engineering of Porto and project office SE2P – Engineering Society, Projects and Planning, Lda. The main theme is the study of steel-concrete composite columns in concern to the project by creating an automatic calculation process integrated with the global structural model. The dimensioning methods of structural euro codes are applied in the assessment of the state limits. The geometrical properties are evaluated, the interaction curve is determined, the position of neutral axis from which to infer the stress state in diverted flection to the section level needed to check security is calculated. The calculation process is developed based on an Excel sheet that with help of Visual Basic for Applications communicates with the modeling software and structural calculator Autodesk Robot Professional Analysis. Flows of information are created enabling the fast iterative calculation allowing to put into practice the dimensioning adjustments to the conditions of use of each column. Compared to the existing solutions in the market, the detailed calculation reports exportation for each column is of great value to the engineering firms. The calculation process also allowed multiple combinations of solutions and benchmark results, creating tables that may be useful in scenarios of preliminary design and preliminary draft

Degenerescência aneurismática na doença de Von Recklinghausen

ResumoA doença de Von Recklinghausen é uma facomatose de transmissão autossómica dominante. Apesar da heterogeneidade da expressão clínica, os estigmas cutâneos clássicos como manchas café au lait são frequentes. A arteriopatia é incomum, sendo a degenerescência aneurismática extremamente rara.Os autores apresentam o caso clínico de um homem de 63 anos com doença de Von Recklinghausen e degenerescência multianeurismática aorto‐ilíaca, femoral e poplítea, submetido com sucesso a tratamento cirúrgico convencional.A degenerescência aneurismática na doença de Von Recklinghausen encontra‐se associada a displasia muscular lisa e a invasão neurofibromatosa da parede vascular. Esta fragilidade arterial implica dissecção laboriosa e técnica cirúrgica meticulosa para limitar a hemorragia e a deiscência anastomótica.AbstractThe Von Recklinghausen's disease is a facomatosis with autosomal dominant transmission. Despite the heterogeneity of clinical expression, the classic cutaneous stigmata such as café au lait spots are common. The arteriopathy is unusual, with rare aneurysmal degeneration.The authors disclose the clinical case of a 63 years old man with Von Recklinghausen's disease and multi‐aneurysmal degeneration of the aorto‐iliac, femoral and popliteal sectors, who successfully underwent open surgery.The aneurysmal degeneration in Von Recklinghausen's disease is associated with smooth muscle dysplasia and neurofibromatosis invasion of the vascular wall. This arterial fragility implies laborious and meticulous surgical dissection to limit the bleeding and anastomotic dehiscence