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Publications

2023

Detection of Foot Motions for Interaction With Exergames Using Shoe-Mounted Inertial Sensors

Authors
Guimaraes, V; Sousa, I; Correia, MV;

Publication
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON HUMAN-MACHINE SYSTEMS

Abstract
Inertial sensors are widely used to measure human movement. Although inertial sensors have been successfully applied to exergaming in the past, the problem of detecting foot motions to interact with stepping exergames is still largely understudied. In this work, we developed a new method to detect and classify step directions relying on inertial sensor data captured by two shoe-mounted inertial sensors. Drawing on previous results, we developed a single multiclass classifier to distinguish front, back, side, and center steps originating from any of these positions. Since some of these steps exhibit similar displacement patterns, the previous step position was also considered as an input to the classifier. The method was tested on a group of young and older adults, achieving an accuracy of 93.1%. Performance remained consistent throughout the acquisition time due to the introduction of a novel calibration approach designed to handle sensor orientation drift over time. This study provided the first insights into the potential of inertial sensors to detect the foot motions required to interact with stepping exergames. Experimental results support their application in a real scenario.

2023

Sagittal Lower Limb Joint Angular Phase-Plane Analysis at Long, Short and No-Countermovement

Authors
Rodrigues, C; Correia, M; Abrantes, J; Rodrigues, M; Nadal, J;

Publication
2023 IEEE 7TH PORTUGUESE MEETING ON BIOENGINEERING, ENBENG

Abstract
This study presents non-invasive subject specific analysis using innovative tools from dynamic systems theory and image processing for sagittal plane anatomical marker tracking and digital filtering for detection of normalized phase differences of lower limb joint angular displacement and angular velocity coordination during long and short countermovement (CM) and muscle stretch-shortening cycle. Applied metrics captured at low-dimensional level (one variable - the phase) differences of CM neuromuscular control of lower limb joint coordination with greater dissimilarity between long and short CM, whereas no CM condition shares higher phase coordination at the hip, knee, ankle.

2023

First insight into oral microbiome diversity in Papua New Guineans reveals a specific regional signature

Authors
Pedro, N; Brucato, N; Cavadas, B; Lisant, V; Camacho, R; Kinipi, C; Leavesley, M; Pereira, L; Ricaut, FX;

Publication
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY

Abstract
The oral microbiota is a highly complex and diversified part of the human microbiome. Being located at the interface between the human body and the exterior environment, this microbiota can deepen our understanding of the environmental impacts on the global status of human health. This research topic has been well addressed in Westernized populations, but these populations only represent a fraction of human diversity. Papua New Guinea hosts very diverse environments and one of the most unique human biological diversities worldwide. In this study we performed the first known characterization of the oral microbiome in 85 Papua New Guinean individuals living in different environments, using a qualitative and quantitative approach. We found a significant geographical structure of the Papua New Guineans oral microbiome, especially in the groups most isolated from urban spaces. In comparison to other global populations, two bacterial genera related to iron absorption were significantly more abundant in Papua New Guineans and Aboriginal Australians, which suggests a shared oral microbiome signature. Further studies will be needed to confirm and explore this possible regional-specific oral microbiome profile.

2023

Boosting additive circular economy ecosystems using blockchain: An exploratory case study

Authors
Ferreira, IA; Godina, R; Pinto, A; Pinto, P; Carvalho, H;

Publication
COMPUTERS & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

Abstract
The role of new technologies such as additive manufacturing and blockchain technology in designing and implementing circular economy ecosystems is not a trivial issue. This study aimed to understand if blockchain technology can be an enabler tool for developing additive symbiotic networks. A real case study was developed regarding a circular economy ecosystem in which a fused granular fabrication 3D printer is used to valorize polycarbonate waste. The industrial symbiosis network comprised four stakeholders: a manufacturing company that produces polycarbonate waste, a municipality service responsible for the city waste management, a start-up holding the 3D printer, and a non-profit store. It was identified a set of six requirements to adopt the blockchain technology in an additive symbiotic network, bearing in mind the need to have a database to keep track of the properties of the input material for the 3D printer during the exchanges, in addition to the inexistence of mechanisms of trust or cooperation between well-established industries and the additive manufacturing industry. The findings suggested a permissioned blockchain to support the implementation of the additive symbiotic network, namely, to enable the physical transactions (quantity and quality of waste material PC sheets) and monitoring and reporting (additive manufacturing technology knowledge and final product's quantity and price).Future research venues include developing blockchain-based systems that enhance the development of ad-ditive symbiotic networks.

2023

Impact of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations on Distribution Grids with PV Integration

Authors
Silva, P; Cerveira, A; Baptista, J;

Publication
International Conference on Electrical, Computer and Energy Technologies, ICECET 2023, Cape Town, South Africa, November 16-17, 2023

Abstract
Electric mobility has been one of the big bets for the reduction of CO2 in the transport sector. But, the integration of electric vehicles on a large scale, especially the charging of their battery will bring some challenges in the distribution of electricity to avoid problems in their transport. In this paper, the impact of introducing electric vehicle charging stations and renewable energy sources in a 69-node IEEE network will be analysed. The integration of charging stations into the grid leads to high losses and voltage drops that harm the network. On the other hand, the installation of Photovoltaic (PV) panels, besides the advantage of energy production, improves the profile of the grid in terms of voltage drops. The choice of the best location for the charging stations, as well as the best location for the renewable sources, is made using two genetic algorithms. The results obtained show that the genetic algorithms can solve the problem efficiently. © 2023 IEEE.

2023

Communication and coordination issues in managing distributed scrum teams

Authors
Almeida, F;

Publication
Perspectives on Workplace Communication and Well-Being in Hybrid Work Environments

Abstract
Software development companies have progressively been experiencing the need to migrate their traditional development processes to agile environments. Several frameworks have emerged that support this paradigm, and Scrum is one of the most widely adopted on a global scale. However, Scrum was originally designed to work in small, local team environments. The challenge lies in designing its adoption in large-scale environments with geographically distributed teams. This chapter seeks to explore this challenge by identifying communication and coordination issues that may arise when adopting distributed Scrum. Three case studies are considered to allow comparison of different approaches considering structural and contextual factors associated with each organization.

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