Abstract
The trend for an increasingly ubiquitous and cyber-physical world has been leveraging the use and importance of microcontrollers (mu C) to unprecedented levels. Therefore, microcontroller programming (mu CP) becomes a paramount skill for electrical and computer engineering students. However, mu CP poses significant challenges for undergraduate students, given the need to master low-level programming languages and several algorithmic strategies that are not usual in generic programming. Moreover, mu CP can be time-consuming and complex even when using high-level languages. This article samples the current state of mu CP education in Portugal and unveils the potential support of natural language processing (NLP) tools (such as chatGPT). Our analysis of mu CP curricular units from seven representative Portuguese engineering schools highlights a predominant use of AVR 8-bit mu C and project-based learning. While NLP tools emerge as strong candidates as students' mu C companion, their application and impact on the learning process and outcomes deserve to be understood. This study compares the most prominent NLP tools, analyzing their benefits and drawbacks for mu CP education, building on both hands-on tests and literature reviews. By providing automatic code generation and explanation of concepts, NLP tools can assist students in their learning process, allowing them to focus on software design and real-world tasks that the mu C is designed to handle, rather than on low-level coding. We also analyzed the specific impact of chatGTP in the context of a mu CP course at ISEP, confirming most of our expectations, but with a few curiosities. Overall, this work establishes the foundations for future research on the effective integration of NLP tools in mu CP courses.

Abstract
The exploitation of radio channels' inherent randomness for generating secret keys within a vehicular platoon offers a promising approach to securing communications in dynamic and unpredictable environments. The channel-based key generation leverages the fact that the physical characteristics of the radio channel, such as fading, shadowing, and multipath propagation, vary in a complex manner that makes it difficult for external adversaries to predict or replicate. A challenge lies in accurately assessing the channel's randomness to ensure the generated keys are both secure and consistent across the platooning vehicles, especially in vehicular environments with high mobility and the ever-changing urban landscape. This paper proposes a novel channel-based key generation (DRL-KeyAgree) technique to enhance communication security within vehicular platoons through combinatorial deep reinforcement learning (DRL). DRL-KeyAgree addresses key disagreement among platooning vehicles by training advantage Actor-Critic (A2C), which integrates policy-and value-based strategies to dynamically select optimal quantization intervals adapting to the random wireless channels. Further incorporation of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) allows DRL-KeyAgree to capture the characteristics of partially observable radio channels, significantly enhancing the key agreement rate among vehicles. DRL-KeyAgree is rigorously evaluated using the standard National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) test suite.

Abstract
Resilience is an important theoretical construct that helps to conceptualise the ways individuals and organisations attempt to countervail the effects of poverty and austerity. As a response to prolonged crises, such as the global economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, this chapter focuses on tracing the psychological, behavioural, sociological and spatial perspectives of resilience, advancing our current understanding of resilience theory within the marketing and consumption context of crises and austerity. The chapter reviews recent research exploring the importance of resilience and, more specifically, the notion of persistent resilience in response to long-term stressors, such as unemployment, triggered by the austerity measures imposed by European governments following the global economic crisis as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. In advancing previous research in this area, we offer a broader perspective by underlining the impetus for businesses and communities to employ a range of resilience strategies while also highlighting the importance for individuals to develop a sustainable set of resilience capacities to help creatively navigate the market and flexibly adapt to the long-term effects of intense and long-standing crises © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Caroline Moraes, Morven G. McEachern and Deirdre O’Loughlin; individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved.

Abstract
Growing obesity has been a worldwide issue for several years. This is the outcome of common nutritional disorders which results in obese individuals who are prone to many diseases. Managing diet while simultaneously dealing with the obligations of a working adult can be difficult. Today, people have a very fast-paced life and sometimes neglect food choices. In order to simplify the interpretation of the Nutri-score labeling this paper proposes a method capable of automatically reading food labels with this format. This method is intended to support users when choosing the products to buy based on the letter identification of the label. For this purpose, a dataset was created, and a prototype mobile application was developed using a deep learning network to recognize the Nutri-score information. Although the final solution is still in progress, the reading module, which includes the proposed method, achieved an encouraging and promising accuracy (above 90%). The upcoming developments of the model include information to the user about the nutritional value of the analyzed product combining it's Nutri-score label and composition.

Abstract

Abstract
Smart grids with EVs have been proposed as a great contribution to sustainability. Considering environmental sustainability is of great importance to humanity, it is essential to assess whether electrical vehicles (EVs) actually contribute to improving it. The objectives of the present study are, from a macro (broad-scope) perspective, to identify the sources of emissions and to create a framework for the calculation of CO2 emissions resulting from large-scale EV use. The results show that V2G mode increases emissions and therefore reduces the benefits of using EVs. The results also show that in the best scenario (NC mode), an EV will have 32.7% less emissions, and in the worst case (V2G mode), it will have 25.6% more emissions than an internal combustion vehicle (ICV), meaning that sustainability improvement is not always ensured. The present study shows that considering a macro perspective is essential to estimate a more comprehensive value of emissions. The main contributions of this work are the creation of a framework for identifying the main contributions to CO2 emissions resulting from large-scale EV integration, and the calculation of estimated CO2 emissions from a macro perspective. These are important contributions to future studies in the area of smart grids and large-scale EV integration, for decision-makers as well as common citizens.