Abstract
The influence of the massive wall material, thickness and ventilation system on the Trombe wall thermal performance was analysed based on an analytical methodology. Results obtained from experimental work will also be added to this study. During the heating season, for the non-ventilated Trombe wall, the global heat gains decrease is not proportional to the thickness increase, and this ratio depends on the massive wall material heat storage capacity. A ventilation system in the massive wall leads to higher heat gains due to the air convection, but this growth is not in the same proportion for the different materials. If solid brick or earth is used, heat gain values are much higher than those obtained if there is no ventilation system, increasing to the double in the case of earth and 2.5 times more in the case of solid brick. When the massive wall is ventilated and made of granite, an increase in the gains of 44.06% is obtained when compared with the non-ventilated. During the cooling season, closing the ventilation system and the external shutter leads to heat gains considerably lower than those obtained during the heating season. In this case, earth can be a suitable material.

Abstract
The role of digital technologies for fostering sustainability and efficiency in forest-based supply chains is well acknowledged and motivated several studies in the scope of precision forestry. Sensor technologies can collect relevant data in forest-based supply chains, comprising all activities from within forests and the production of the woody raw material to its transformation into marketable forest-based products. Advanced planning systems can help to support decisions of the various entities in the supply chain, e.g., forest owners, harvest companies, haulage companies, and forest product processing industry. Such tools can help to deal with the complex interdependencies between different entities, often with opposing objectives and actions-which may increase efficiency of forest-based supply chains. This paper analyzes contemporary literature dealing with digital technologies in forest-based supply chains and summarizes the state-of-the-art digital technologies for real-time data collection on forests, product flows, and forest operations, as well as planning systems and other decision support systems in use by supply chain actors. Higher sustainability and efficiency of forest-based supply chains require a seamless information flow to foster integrated planning of the activities over the supply chainthereby facilitating seamless data exchange between the supply chain entities and foster new forms of collaboration. Therefore, this paper deals with data exchange and multi-entity collaboration aspects in combination with interoperability challenges related with the integration among multiple process data collection tools and advanced planning systems. Finally, this interdisciplinary review leads to the discussion of relevant guidelines that can guide future research and integration projects in this domain.

Abstract
This work presents the state-of-the-art of visual sensing systems for monitoring and control purposes in both agriculture and forest areas. Regarding agricultural activities, four main topics are explored: robotics and autonomous vehicles, plant protection, feature extraction and yield prediction. Although vast literature can be found on image processing and computer vision applied to agriculture, its applications in forest-based systems are less frequent. Throughout this article, several research areas such as diseases control, post-processing, parameters estimation, UAVs and satellites will be addressed.

Abstract
The constant search for methods that allow the production processes improvement is a driving force for the development and integration of current technological solutions in systems which are, currently, still purely human based. It is in this context that the company "Factoryplay" comes forward with the challenge to upgrade its current sewing stations by adding a set of mechanization and automation solutions. This article documents the steps carried out to provide the current solution with the required technical attributes. In this paper, the instrumentation and actuation devised solutions, as well as the method employed to design an embedded PI controller, will be presented. The PI controller allows the closed-loop control of the station movement speed as a function of the sewing machine speed. The practical results obtained, regarding the dynamic response of the sewing station, are in line with the simulated ones.

Abstract
Current students and technologies demand using new learning/teaching techniques. The potentialities of using mobile devices such as smartphones for teaching/learning purposes are huge. However, in some teaching areas its use is still residual. The use of mobile applications in the context of teaching PLC programming techniques is addressed in this work. The MIT App-Inventor II is deployed to develop mobile applications for learning purposes. An android based application entitled Time-Counts is proposed here, developed to support the teaching/learning process of both Timers and Counters. Results regarding its use by students are presented.

Abstract
Due to strong improvements and developments achieved in the last decade, it is clear that applied research using remote sensing technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can provide a flexible, efficient, non-destructive, and non-invasive means of acquiring geoscientific data, especially aerial imagery. Simultaneously, there has been an exponential increase in the development of sensors and instruments that can be installed in UAV platforms. By combining the aforementioned factors, unmanned aerial system (UAS) setups composed of UAVs, sensors, and ground control stations, have been increasingly used for remote sensing applications, with growing potential and abilities. This paper's overall goal is to identify advantages and challenges related to the use of UAVs for aerial imagery acquisition in forestry and coastal environments for preservation/prevention contexts. Moreover, the importance of monitoring these environments over time will be demonstrated. To achieve these goals, two case studies using UASs were conducted. The first focuses on phytosanitary problem detection and monitoring of chestnut tree health (Padrela region, Valpacos, Portugal). The acquired high-resolution imagery allowed for the identification of tree canopy cover decline by means of multi-temporal analysis. The second case study enabled the rigorous and non-evasive registry process of topographic changes that occurred in the sandspit of Cabedelo (Douro estuary, Porto, Portugal) in different time periods. The obtained results allow us to conclude that the UAS constitutes a low-cost, rigorous, and fairly autonomous form of remote sensing technology, capable of covering large geographical areas and acquiring high precision data to aid decision support systems in forestry preservation and coastal monitoring applications. Its swift evolution makes it a potential big player in remote sensing technologies today and in the near future.