Abstract

Abstract
In this work we present a greenhouse case study with a new energy model based on a Biomass energy source, once it is a more profitable and sustainable energy system, but demands special safety measures. Biomass has some dangerous aspects along the process from transport, to storage until its' use. The paper foccus on safety for equipment operation, storage of biofuels, the design of the facilities and health of the employees, in a context of primary renewable energy source of greenhouses farming systems, for intensive cultivation of flowers and vegetables for human consumption. Similarly, exposure to biologically active material (mustiness and spores) may constitute a danger to the health of those involved in handling biomass. These properties and their use determine safety conditions in handling and storage. This energy model is constituted with several proposals, both technological and energy alternatives/renewable energy, to meet the needs of electric power and heat, with the objective of increasing the competitiveness in agricultural greenhouses, in the management, financial and environmental aspects. The model was developed with the purpose of improving efficiency and sustainability, with the inclusion of sensors that allow controlling the various components of a greenhouse, with the perspective of a quick distribution in the market, increasing the economic benefits and supported on efficient and intelligent management systems energy.

Abstract
Optical Tweezers (OT) are able to trap/manipulate dielectric particles with few microns in a contactless manner due to forces exerted on them by a strongly focused optical beam. OT are being applied in Biology/Medicine, especially Optical Fiber Tweezers (OFT), for being simpler and more flexible than the conventional setups. Despite of the trapping phenomena of symmetrical particles by OFTs being already modeled, effects regarding complex bodies remain poorly understood. Here we provide a 2D characterization of the trapping forces exerted by a laser OFT on a geometric form of a Red Blood Cell (RBC), occupying different positions in a grid, using the method proposed by Barnett&Loudon. Comparisons were made between the forces exerted on a RBC having the mean normal size; a RBC with 80% of the normal size and an 1.5µm circular particle, due to the size and shape variability of biological-derived structures. The influence of RBCs inclination angles regarding its major axis on trapping performance was also evaluated for angles of p/4 and p/2. Simulation results showed that trapping phenomena are possible for all the conditions evaluated, as well as calculated trapping forces range was according with the literature (pN). We observed that, despite of modeled particles having the same optical characteristics, features such as particle geometry, size, position and inclination degree influence trapping. Trapping forces magnitude was higher for RBC relatively to the circular symmetrical particle; for large RBCs than RBCs with smaller dimensions; and for inclined RBCs than erythrocytes horizontally aligned. Those results reinforce the importance of modeling optical experiments to determine relevant parameters which affect trapping performance. © 2017 IEEE.

Abstract
Cardiac volume/function assessment remains a critical step in daily cardiology, and 3-D ultrasound plays an increasingly important role. Though development of automatic endocardial segmentation methods has received much attention, the same cannot be said about epicardial segmentation, in spite of the importance of full myocardial segmentation. In this paper, different ways of coupling the endocardial and epicardial segmentations are contrasted and compared with uncoupled segmentation. For this purpose, the B-spline explicit active surfaces framework was used; 27 3-D echocardiographic images were used to validate the different coupling strategies, which were compared with manual contouring of the endocardial and epicardial borders performed by an expert. It is shown that an independent segmentation of the endocardium followed by an epicardial segmentation coupled to the endocardium is the most advantageous. In this way, a framework for fully automatic 3-D myocardial segmentation is proposed using a novel coupling strategy.

Abstract
One of the challenges in a kidney exchange program (KEP) is to choose policies that ensure an effective and fair management of all participating patients. In order to understand the implications of different policies of patient allocation and pool management, decision makers should be supported by a simulation tool capable of tackling realistic exchange pools and modeling their dynamic behavior. In this paper, we propose a KEP simulator that takes into consideration the wide typology of actors found in practice (incompatible pairs, altruistic donors, and compatible pairs) and handles different matching policies. Additionally, it includes the possibility of evaluating the impact of positive crossmatch of a selected transplant, and of dropouts, in a dynamic environment. Results are compared to those obtained with a complete information model, with knowledge of future events, which provides an upper bound to the objective values. Final results show that shorter time intervals between matches lead to higher number of effective transplants and to shorter waiting times for patients. Furthermore, the inclusion of compatible pairs is essential to match pairs of specific patient-donor blood type. In particular, O-blood type patients benefit greatly from this inclusion.

Abstract
This paper presents an orthogonal implementation for power system state estimators based on the Maximum Correntropy Criterion (MCC). The proposed approach leads to a numerically robust estimator which exhibits self -healing properties, in the sense that gross errors in analog measurements are automatically rejected. As a consequence, robust estimates are produced without the need of running the state estimator again after bad data identification and removal. Numerical robustness is achieved by means of a specialized orthogonal algorithm based on fast Givens Rotations, which is able to handle the dynamic measurement weighting mechanism implied by the Parzen window concept associated to MCC. Results for a 3 -bus test system are presented to properly illustrate the Correntropy principles, and several case studies conducted on the IEEE 30 -bus and 57 -bus benchmark systems are used to validate the proposed methodology.