Abstract
One of the teacher's first goals should be to inspire students to learn. Using project-based learning (PBL) to involve students in the learning process could be a useful and powerful tool to prepare the students for their professional future. As part of a degree course in Biomedical Engineering, students were asked to look at society and identify a possible biomedical-related failure or daily-life problem. From this, the students were challenged to work towards a solution, by preparing a project and creating a prototype or a minimum viable product. In this article we present the case study of a students' team, whose project was candidate and winner of a national prize. This prize was related to health innovation. Despite the particularization of this case study case, the students considered the experience innovative, motivating, and challenging. They also underlined the added value of a project whose impact goes beyond the classroom. Therefore, this method of teaching and learning, based on projects, may have a special effect on the students and, therefore on the civil society. The PBL can help higher education institutions to have a more prominent social presence, as innovation drivers and as forces of intervention.

Abstract
Background:Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal progressive motor neuron disease. People with ALS demonstrate various speech problems.Summary:We aim to provide an overview of studies concerning the diagnosis of ALS based on the analysis of voice samples. The main focus is on the feasibility of the use of voice and speech assessment as an effective method to diagnose the disease, either in clinical or pre-clinical conditions, and to monitor the disease progression. Specifically, we aim to examine current knowledge on: (a) voice parameters and the data models that can, most effectively, provide robust results; (b) the feasibility of a semi-automatic or automatic diagnosis and outcomes; and (c) the factors that can improve or restrict the use of such systems in a real-world context.Key Messages:The studies already carried out on the possibility of diagnosis of ALS using the voice signal are still sparse but all point to the importance, feasibility and simplicity of this approach. Most cohorts are small which limits the statistical relevance and makes it difficult to infer broader conclusions. The set of features used, although diverse, is quite circumscribed. ALS is difficult to diagnose early because it may mimic several other neurological diseases. Promising results were found for the automatic detection of ALS from speech samples and this can be a feasible process even in pre-symptomatic stages. Improved guidelines must be set in order to establish a robust decision model.

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Abstract
The aim of the present study was the evaluation of the performance of analytical models developed with both mid-infrared (MIR) and near-infrared (NIR) spectral data, to assess the phytochemical composition and in vitro antioxidant activity, besides individual phenolic compounds determined by HPLC-DAD, of flours from 21 distinct cultivars of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to develop the analytical models, which were validated with an external set of samples. In MIR, the best prediction models were developed using the first derivative after normalization (R(2)c 0.86-0.99 and R(2)v 0.75-0.94), while for NIR, the use of the first derivative of the spectra after normalization led to the best results (R(2)c 0.94-0.99 and R(2)v 0.85-0.97). Both techniques allowed to ascertain the prediction models to ensure an accurate evaluation of the individual phenolic compounds in concentrations as low as similar to 5 mu g g(-1) and in vitro antioxidant capacity until the lower limit of 2.1 mu mol g(-1) dw. Therefore, this study revealed that the spectroscopic methodologies may represent an accurate and rapid method for quantification of phytochemical composition, in vitro antioxidant activity and individual phenolic compounds of bean flours; thus, their applicability in the food industry is representing an alternative to the traditional approaches.

Abstract
The present study evaluated the ability of Attenuated Total Reflectance - Mid-Infrared (ATR-MIR) spectroscopy combined with Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) to discriminate the origin and harvest year of 'Tempranillo' grape clones and with Partial Least Squares (PLS) regressions to predict its contents in soluble solids (SS), pH and titratable acidity (TA). Normalized spectra of grape homogenates and normalized plus 1st Derivative spectra of grape skins allowed an overall percentage of correct classifications of 99.6% and 96.7% in validation, according to origin, and 98.3% and 90.0% in validation, according to harvest year, respectively. The normalized spectra of grape homogenates allowed a calibration and validation determination coefficients (R-2) of 0.92 and 0.90 for SS, 0.90 and 0.84 for pH, 0.88 and 0.84 for TA, respectively. The ATR-MIR combined with multivariate analysis showed to be an appropriate tool to assist the clonal selection process of 'Tempranillo'.

Abstract
Phaseolus vulgaris L. is the most commonly consumed legume in the world, given its high vegetable protein content, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant properties. It also represents one of the most sustainable, low-carbon and sources of food available at present to man. This study aims to identify the nutrients, antinutrients, phenolic composition, and antioxidant profile of 10 common bean cultivars (Arikara yellow, butter, cranberry, red kidney, navy, pinto, black, brown eyed, pink eyed, and tarrestre) from two harvest years, thereby assessing the potential of each cultivar for specific applications in the food industry. Navy and pink eyed beans showed higher potential for enrichment of foodstuffs and gluten-free products due to their higher protein and amino acid contents. Additionally, red kidney, cranberry and Arikara yellow beans had the highest content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties, which can act as functional ingredients in food products, thus bringing health benefits. Our study highlights the potential of using specific bean cultivars in the development of nutrient-enriched food and as functional ingredients in diets designed for disease prevention and treatment.