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Publications

2017

Export performance and the internationalisation of SMEs

Authors
Ribau, CP; Moreira, AC; Raposo, M;

Publication
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business

Abstract
This paper proposes a conceptual model that analyses the factors influencing the export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and integrates international entrepreneurship theory and international strategies. Rooted in an extensive bibliography that provides the basis for key constructs, the proposed model brings together the fundamentals of SMEs' internationalisation processes that influence these enterprises' export performance. The model highlights three important factors: industry-, environment- and firm-related aspects affecting firms' entrepreneurial orientation. The model contributes to a better understanding of the key factors affecting the export performance of SMEs, providing a simple structure that can be strategically used by entrepreneurs when launching their firms into international markets. The model complements previous approaches but offers a more integrative approach based on research that ventures further into a little explored area of the literature on internationalisation theories. Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

2017

Balcony Greenhouse: An EPS@ISEP 2017 Project

Authors
Calderon, A; Mota, A; Hopchet, C; Grabulosa, C; Roeper, M; Duarte, AJ; Malheiro, B; Ribeiro, C; Ferreira, F; Silva, MF; Ferreira, P; Guedes, P;

Publication
Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality, TEEM 2017, Cádiz, Spain, October 18 - 20, 2017

Abstract
This paper presents the development process of a sustainable solution to grow aromatic plants in small houses. The solution is called The GreenHouse and is meant for people who live in small houses or city apartments and want fresh home grown aromatic plants, but have neither the time nor the space to grow them. The solution is intended to be sustainable and appropriate for people concerned with eating healthy, fresh food. The project was developed by a team of five students enrolled in the European Project Semester (EPS) at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) during the spring of 2017. EPS@ISEP is a project-based learning framework which aims to foster personal, teamwork and multidisciplinary problem-solving skills in engineering, business and product design students. Research and discussions within the team were done to develop the product. The existing solutions for growing fresh food in industrial and domestic applications as well as marketing, sustainability and ethical topics were researched and discussed. This way it was possible to define the requirements of The GreenHouse. The GreenHouse is semi-automatic and requires little interaction from the customer. It has two covers, a winter cover and a summer cover, to be changed depending on the season and weather. Solar energy and rainwater are used to enable the growth of aromatic plants, making this a sustainable system. The support is adaptable and made to fit different support sizes so it can be hanged on balconies or windows. © 2017 Association for Computing Machinery.

2017

Integration of Eco-Efficiency and Efficiency Assessment Methodologies: The Efficiency Framework

Authors
Baptista, AJ; Lourenco, EJ; Silva, EJ; Estrela, MA; Pecas, P;

Publication
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING 2017

Abstract
The overall aim of the Efficiency Framework is to encourage a culture of continuous improvement and sustainability within manufacturing and process industries. The framework presented supports informed decision-making processes and helps to define strategies for continuous performance improvement. The proposed innovative Efficiency Framework, materialized through the integration of concepts and results provided by eco-efficiency methodology, namely Eco-Efficiency Integrated Methodology for Production Systems (ecoPROSYS) and the lean based resource efficiency assessment method, Multi-layer Stream Mapping (MSM). Thus, the framework assesses simultaneously the environmental, economic and efficiency performance of complex production systems, which helps to identify major inefficiencies and circumstances of low eco-efficiency performance, consequently leading to the definition of improvement priorities. Ultimately, this framework aims to facilitate the overall efficiency performance assessment, by an integrated multi-dimensional analysis, presented as the Total Efficiency Index. The logic behind this index is to combine, for each unit process and for the overall production process, two fundamental efficiency aspects, namely eco-efficiency and operations efficiency.

2017

A Preliminary Approach for the Segmentation of Mitral Valve Regurgitation Jet in Doppler Ecocardiography Images

Authors
Costa, E; Martins, N; Sultan, MS; Veiga, D; Ferreira, MJ; Mattos, S; Coimbra, M;

Publication
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 10TH INTERNATIONAL JOINT CONFERENCE ON BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES, VOL 2: BIOIMAGING

Abstract
Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease remain a major burden among children in developing countries. Echocardiography with colour flow Doppler is key to early diagnosis. However, the technique requires time and experienced operators, which are scarce resources in the affected areas. Automatic segmentation of colour Doppler regurgitation jets could, potentially, reduce the cost of screening, and spread diagnostic accessibility for a larger number of patients. Ultrasound processing is very challenging due to speckle noise and similarity of representation of all kinds of tissue. Region-based active contours are suitable tools for the segmentation in cases of intensity heterogeneities, which makes them interesting algorithms for left atrium segmentation. HSV colour space describes colour in terms of hues and saturation, which may facilitate the translation of medical interpretation of the Doppler pseudo-colour into mathematical expression for colour segmentation. A total of 979 frames from 20 sequences were manually annotated and used to validate the proposed pipeline. Overall, the results for colour pattern segmentation are promising (sensitivity=0.91 false detection rate=0.10), but further developments are required for the atrium segmentation (sensitivity=0.80, false detection rate=0.28).

2017

CARMIE

Authors
Lobo, J; Ferreira, L; Ferreira, AJ;

Publication
Health Care Delivery and Clinical Science

Abstract
The incidence of chronic diseases is increasing and monitoring patients in a home environment is recommended. Noncompliance with prescribed medication regimens is a concern, especially among older people. Heart failure is a chronic disease that requires patients to follow strict medication plans permanently. With the objective of helping these patients managing information about their medicines and increasing adherence, the personal medication advisor CARMIE was developed as a conversational agent capable of interacting, in Portuguese, with users through spoken natural language. The system architecture is based on a language parser, a dialog manager, and a language generator, integrated with already existing tools for speech recognition and synthesis. All modules work together and interact with the user through an Android application, supporting users to manage information about their prescribed medicines. The authors also present a preliminary usability study and further considerations on CARMIE.

2017

Automated volumetry of hippocampus is useful to confirm unilateral mesial temporal sclerosis in patients with radiologically positive findings

Authors
Silva, G; Martins, C; Moreira da Silva, N; Vieira, D; Costa, D; Rego, R; Fonseca, J; Silva Cunha, JP;

Publication
Neuroradiology Journal

Abstract
Background and purpose We evaluated two methods to identify mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS): visual inspection by experienced epilepsy neuroradiologists based on structural magnetic resonance imaging sequences and automated hippocampal volumetry provided by a processing pipeline based on the FMRIB Software Library. Methods This retrospective study included patients from the epilepsy monitoring unit database of our institution. All patients underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging in 1.5T and 3T scanners with protocols that included thin coronal T2, T1 and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery and isometric T1 acquisitions. Two neuroradiologists with experience in epilepsy and blinded to clinical data evaluated magnetic resonance images for the diagnosis of MTS. The diagnosis of MTS based on an automated method included the calculation of a volumetric asymmetry index between the two hippocampi of each patient and a threshold value to define the presence of MTS obtained through statistical tests (receiver operating characteristics curve). Hippocampi were segmented for volumetric quantification using the FIRST tool and fslstats from the FMRIB Software Library. Results The final cohort included 19 patients with unilateral MTS (14 left side): 14 women and a mean age of 43.4 ± 10.4 years. Neuroradiologists had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 73.3% to detect MTS (gold standard, k = 0.755). Automated hippocampal volumetry had a sensitivity of 84.2% and specificity of 86.7% (k = 0.704). Combined, these methods had a sensitivity of 84.2% and a specificity of 100% (k = 0.825). Conclusions Automated volumetry of the hippocampus could play an important role in temporal lobe epilepsy evaluation, namely on confirmation of unilateral MTS diagnosis in patients with radiological suggestive findings. © SAGE Publications.

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