Abstract
The usage of application-specific hardware based on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) has proven its benefits. Current system-on-chips, which contain FPGA fabric, supporting dynamic partial reconfiguration, enable a dynamic hardware acceleration for hardware/software co-designs. With the trend to consolidate multiple computing systems into a single system, applications with mixed criticalities can come into conflict. With our approach, we are exploring the possibility to utilize dedicated hardware for the system management and benefit from possible parallelization of applications and system management tasks.

Abstract
This paper proposes a conceptual model that analyses the factors influencing the export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and integrates international entrepreneurship theory and international strategies. Rooted in an extensive bibliography that provides the basis for key constructs, the proposed model brings together the fundamentals of SMEs' internationalisation processes that influence these enterprises' export performance. The model highlights three important factors: industry-, environment- and firm-related aspects affecting firms' entrepreneurial orientation. The model contributes to a better understanding of the key factors affecting the export performance of SMEs, providing a simple structure that can be strategically used by entrepreneurs when launching their firms into international markets. The model complements previous approaches but offers a more integrative approach based on research that ventures further into a little explored area of the literature on internationalisation theories. Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Abstract
This paper presents the development process of a sustainable solution to grow aromatic plants in small houses. The solution is called The GreenHouse and is meant for people who live in small houses or city apartments and want fresh home grown aromatic plants, but have neither the time nor the space to grow them. The solution is intended to be sustainable and appropriate for people concerned with eating healthy, fresh food. The project was developed by a team of five students enrolled in the European Project Semester (EPS) at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) during the spring of 2017. EPS@ISEP is a project-based learning framework which aims to foster personal, teamwork and multidisciplinary problem-solving skills in engineering, business and product design students. Research and discussions within the team were done to develop the product. The existing solutions for growing fresh food in industrial and domestic applications as well as marketing, sustainability and ethical topics were researched and discussed. This way it was possible to define the requirements of The GreenHouse. The GreenHouse is semi-automatic and requires little interaction from the customer. It has two covers, a winter cover and a summer cover, to be changed depending on the season and weather. Solar energy and rainwater are used to enable the growth of aromatic plants, making this a sustainable system. The support is adaptable and made to fit different support sizes so it can be hanged on balconies or windows. © 2017 Association for Computing Machinery.

Abstract
The overall aim of the Efficiency Framework is to encourage a culture of continuous improvement and sustainability within manufacturing and process industries. The framework presented supports informed decision-making processes and helps to define strategies for continuous performance improvement. The proposed innovative Efficiency Framework, materialized through the integration of concepts and results provided by eco-efficiency methodology, namely Eco-Efficiency Integrated Methodology for Production Systems (ecoPROSYS) and the lean based resource efficiency assessment method, Multi-layer Stream Mapping (MSM). Thus, the framework assesses simultaneously the environmental, economic and efficiency performance of complex production systems, which helps to identify major inefficiencies and circumstances of low eco-efficiency performance, consequently leading to the definition of improvement priorities. Ultimately, this framework aims to facilitate the overall efficiency performance assessment, by an integrated multi-dimensional analysis, presented as the Total Efficiency Index. The logic behind this index is to combine, for each unit process and for the overall production process, two fundamental efficiency aspects, namely eco-efficiency and operations efficiency.

Abstract
Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease remain a major burden among children in developing countries. Echocardiography with colour flow Doppler is key to early diagnosis. However, the technique requires time and experienced operators, which are scarce resources in the affected areas. Automatic segmentation of colour Doppler regurgitation jets could, potentially, reduce the cost of screening, and spread diagnostic accessibility for a larger number of patients. Ultrasound processing is very challenging due to speckle noise and similarity of representation of all kinds of tissue. Region-based active contours are suitable tools for the segmentation in cases of intensity heterogeneities, which makes them interesting algorithms for left atrium segmentation. HSV colour space describes colour in terms of hues and saturation, which may facilitate the translation of medical interpretation of the Doppler pseudo-colour into mathematical expression for colour segmentation. A total of 979 frames from 20 sequences were manually annotated and used to validate the proposed pipeline. Overall, the results for colour pattern segmentation are promising (sensitivity=0.91 false detection rate=0.10), but further developments are required for the atrium segmentation (sensitivity=0.80, false detection rate=0.28).

Abstract
The incidence of chronic diseases is increasing and monitoring patients in a home environment is recommended. Noncompliance with prescribed medication regimens is a concern, especially among older people. Heart failure is a chronic disease that requires patients to follow strict medication plans permanently. With the objective of helping these patients managing information about their medicines and increasing adherence, the personal medication advisor CARMIE was developed as a conversational agent capable of interacting, in Portuguese, with users through spoken natural language. The system architecture is based on a language parser, a dialog manager, and a language generator, integrated with already existing tools for speech recognition and synthesis. All modules work together and interact with the user through an Android application, supporting users to manage information about their prescribed medicines. The authors also present a preliminary usability study and further considerations on CARMIE.