Abstract
With the objective to study the variation of optical properties of rat muscle during optical clearing, we have performed a set of optical measurements from that kind of tissue. The measurements performed were total transmittance, collimated transmittance, specular reflectance and total reflectance. This set of measurements is sufficient to determine diffuse reflectance and absorbance of the sample, also necessary to estimate the optical properties. All the performed measurements and calculated quantities will be used later in inverse Monte Carlo (IMC) simulations to determine the evolution of the optical properties of muscle during treatments with ethylene glycol and glucose. The results obtained with the measurements already provide some information about the optical clearing treatments applied to the muscle and translate the mechanisms of turning the tissue more transparent and sequence of regimes of optical clearing.

Abstract
The goal of the present study is mapping the nature of possible contributions of participatory online platforms in citizen actions that may contribute in the fight against cancer and its associated consequences. The research is based on the analysis of online solidarity networks, namely the ones residing on Facebook and the blogosphere, that citizens have been gradually resorting to. The research is also based on the development of newer and more efficient solutions that provide the individual (directly or indirectly affected by issues of oncology) with the means to overcome feelings of impotence and fatality. In this chapter, the authors summarize the processes of usage of these decentralized, freer participatory platforms by citizens and institutions, while attempting to unravel existing hype and stigma; the authors also provide a first survey of the importance and the role of institutions in this kind of endeavor; lastly, they present a prototype, developed in the context of the present study that is specifically dedicated to addressing oncology through social media. © 2013, IGI Global.

Abstract
The feasibility of the MicroGrid (MG) concept, as the pathway for integrating Electric Vehicles (EV) and other Distributed energy Resources (DER), has been the focus of several research projects around the world. However, developments have been mainly demonstrated through numerical simulation. Regarding effective smart grid deployment, strong effort is required in demonstration activities, addressing the feasibility of innovative control solutions and the need of specific communication requirements. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to provide an integrated overview of the laboratorial infrastructure under development at INESC Porto, where it will be possible to conceptualize, implement and test the performance of new control and management concepts for Smart Grid cells. The laboratorial infrastructure integrates two experimental MG, including advanced prototypes for power conditioning units to be used in micro generation applications, batteries for energy storage and a fully controlled bidirectional power converter. Preliminary experimental results and organization of the infrastructure are presented.

Abstract
A new type of optical probe based on laser Doppler self-mixing technology, for a truly non-contact measurement in a single location, and extraction of the temporal features of the distension wave in the arterial wall, was developed. The monitoring of temporal features allows the assessment of cardiovascular function when measurement is carried out at the carotid artery. An algorithm based on the short-time Fourier transform and empirical mode decomposition was applied to the test setup self-mixing signals for the determination of waveform features, with an accuracy of a few milliseconds and a root mean square error less than 3 ms. In vivo testing signals show great consistency in the measured pulse pressure waveform.

Abstract
Electrical impedance spectroscopy, EIS, has been proving efficacy and utility in a wide range of areas, from the characterization of biological tissues to living organisms. Several commercial solutions, with high precision and resolution, are available. Nonetheless, the typical equipments are expensive, unfeasible for in vivo and in field applications and unspecific for concrete applications. These features, together with the lately demands in the vegetal field, fundament this work. Actually, the fast spread of asymptomatic forest diseases, with no cure available to date, such as the pinewood disease, PWD, constitute a problem of economical and forestall huge proportions. Herein is proposed a portable EIS system, for biological applications, able to perform AC current or voltage scans within a selectable frequency range. The procedure and the results obtained for a population of 24 young pine trees (Pinus pinaster Aiton) are also presented. Pine trees were kept in a controlled environment and were inoculated with the nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus Nickle), that causes the PWD, and also with bark beetles (Tomicus destruens Wollaston). Some degree of discrimination between different physiological states was achieved. These results may constitute a first innovative approach to the diagnosis of such types of diseases.

Abstract
The laser diode self-mixing technique is a well-known and powerful interferometric technique that has been used in biomedical applications, namely for the extraction of cardiovascular parameters. However, to construct an optical probe using the self-mixing principle which is able to acquire signals in the human carotid artery, some problems are expected. The laser diode has a small aperture area, which means that, for physiological sensing purposes, it can be considered as a point-like detector. This feature imparts difficulties to quality recording of physiological signals since the number of photons collected and mixed in the cavity of the photodiode is very small. In order to overcome this problem, a new mixing geometry based on an external large area planar photodiode (PD) is used in the probe, enabling a much larger number of photons to be collected, hence improving the quality of the signal. In this work, the possibility to obtain the mixing effect outside the laser cavity using an external photodetector, such as a planar photodiode, is demonstrated. Two test benches were designed, both with of two reflectors. The first one, which reflects the light beam with the same frequency of the original one is fixed, and the second one, is movable, reflecting the Doppler shifted light to the photodetector. The first test bench has a fixed mirror in front of the movable mirror, creating an umbra and penumbra shadow above the movable mirror. To avoid this problem, another test bench was constructed using a wedged beam splitter (WSB) instead of a fixed mirror. This new assembly ensures the separation of a single input beam into multiple copies that undergo successive reflections and refractions. Some light waves are reflected by the planar surface of WSB, while other light beams are transmitted through the WSB, reaching the movable mirror. Also in this case, the movable mirror reflects the light with a Doppler frequency shift, and the PD receives both beams. The two test benches were designed to demonstrate that it is possible to obtain mixing effect outside the laser cavity, using a planar photodiode. The Doppler spectrograms from the signals acquired in the test benches show that the signal frequency changes along time which correspond to the modulus of the derivative of the mirror movement, as expected in the self-mixing signals. Nevertheless, the test bench A showed better results than the test bench B. This fact probably results from the attenuation that the original beam suffers in each reflection and refraction in the WBS. Tests developed in the test benches opened the possibility to construct a probe that uses a planar photodiode with a large area to collect medical signals, and improve the quality of the acquisition with a better SNR.