Abstract
There is a growing demand for alternative forms of energy that could firstly replace fossil fuels, with the environmental advantages resulting therefrom, but that could be as well economically more beneficial by allowing companies to obtain competitive advantages from the aforementioned alternative forms of energy. In this sense, the use of waste to produce thermal energy is presented as an alternative worthy of study. In this paper, an analysis is made of the use of waste from the textile industry, more precisely cotton waste, which is used as a renewable resource for the production of thermal energy. After the characterization of the waste, the energetic potential is determined comparatively to other fuels such as woodchips and wood pellets. A comparative economic assessment with other fuels is carried out. The obtained results show that the cotton briquettes have a heating value of 16.80 MJ/kg and a cost of 0.006 (sic)/kWh when used as fuel. This predicts an annual reduction in fuel cost of 80, 75 and 70% when compared with fuel-oil, wood pellets and wood chips, respectively. Thus, the use of cotton waste could be a viable alternative, economically and environmentally, to produce thermal energy.

Abstract
This paper aims to present a novel control strategy for modular multilevel converters (MMC) based on differential flatness theory, in which instantaneous active and reactive power values are considered as the flat outputs. To this purpose, a mathematical model of the MMC taking into account dynamics of the ac-side current and the dc-side voltage of the converter is derived in a d-q reference frame. Using this model, the flat outputs-based dynamic model of MMC is obtained to reach the initial value of the proposed controller inputs. In order to mitigate the negative effects of the input disturbance, model errors, and system uncertainties on the operating performance of the MMC, the integral-proportional terms of the flat output errors are added to the initial inputs. This can be achieved through defining a control Lyapunov function which can ensure the stability of the MMC under various operating points. Moreover, the small-signal linearization method is applied to the proposed flat output-based model to separately evaluate the variation effects of controller inputs on flat outputs. The proficiency of the proposed method is researched via MATLAB simulation. Simulation results highlight the capability of the proposed controller in both steady-state and transient conditions in maintaining MMC currents and voltages, through managing active and reactive power.

Abstract
Universities have assumed an increasingly important role in transferring technology to society with a strong economic impact. The companies originated from the academic environment, called academic spin-offs, have fostered the appearance of new projects based on emerging technologies and knowledge, created by young students and researchers who seek to launch their own business and generate new jobs in society. However, the number of existing studies on academic spin-offs is limited and restricted to the specific national realities, and the results of these studies are typically incorporated only in scientific manuscripts. In this sense, this study proposes a web platform that allows the analysis of academic spin-offs according to multiple dimensions, such as firm, institutions, individual, localization, science parks, financial data and corporate actions. The application is built exclusively in open source technologies and allows data to be explored in real-time and interactively. The results obtained allow us to evaluate the behavior of the application regarding fundamental elements in the success of the adoption of a Web application, such as usability, security, interoperability and portability.

Abstract
Over the last few years, an increasing number of user's and enterprises on the internet has generated a global marketplace for both employers and job seekers. Despite the fact that online job search is now more preferable than traditional methods - leading to better matches between the job seekers and the employer's intents - there is still little insight into how online job searches are different from general web searches. In this paper, we explore the different characteristics of online job search and their differences with general searches, by leveraging search engine query logs. Our experimental results show that job searches have specific attributes which can be used by search engines to increase the quality of the search results.

Abstract
Biped robots have not achieved the efficient and harmonious locomotion of the human beings, capable of walking and running on unstructured terrains, with obstacles, holes and slopes. With this in mind, researchers started the development of biomimetic solutions to control the locomotion of biped models. This work presents a new solution of motion control of bipedal robots with adaptable stiffness, by exploring effects of joint stiffness in modulating walking behavior. Further, torque adjustment is achieved through a biomimetic controller that mimics and adjusts the natural dynamics of the robot to the environment. Specifically, the torque adjustment is made using AFOs (adaptive frequency oscillator) to generate the correct equilibrium positions that will be applied to the impedance control that computes the torque of each joint. Results show that the biped model is capable of walking in several types of terrain, including flat terrain, ramps, stairs and flat terrain with obstacles.

Abstract
This paper reports the main results obtained by the first author in the preparation of his MSc Thesis. The motivation for this work resulted from the intention announced by the Portuguese Regulatory Agency for the Energy Services to introduce dynamic tariffs as a way to induce a change of the behavior of some consumers in terms of moving some demand from peak periods to the adjacent hours. This is reported to lead to loss reductions, postponement of grid investments and generation cost reductions. In the case of Portugal, given the participation in the common market with Spain, generation costs are not publicly available so that it was investigated how the Social Welfare Function, SWF, that is maximized by the market operator would change given these demand transfers. The simulations were done using real market data for 2016 and the results suggest that the advantages are unclear since the SWF would be almost unchanged or slightly reduced.