Abstract
We propose UOLO, a novel framework for the simultaneous detection and segmentation of structures of interest in medical images. UOLO consists of an object segmentation module which intermediate abstract representations are processed and used as input for object detection. The resulting system is optimized simultaneously for detecting a class of objects and segmenting an optionally different class of structures. UOLO is trained on a set of bounding boxes enclosing the objects to detect, as well as pixel-wise segmentation information, when available. A new loss function is devised, taking into account whether a reference segmentation is accessible for each training image, in order to suitably backpropagate the error. We validate UOLO on the task of simultaneous optic disc (OD) detection, fovea detection, and OD segmentation from retinal images, achieving state-of-the-art performance on public datasets.

Abstract
In the global, competitive and ever-changing market it is important that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), as a significant part of the Portuguese industrial business, become competitive and, thus, it´s important to assess how the level of involvement in Electronic Commerce (EC), in Business-to-Consumer (B2C) relations, can influence the success of a microenterprise in the retail sector, focusing on the Portuguese sub-region of Pinhal Interior Norte. Being a region that is far from the big metropolises, where the young and more educated stratum distances itself, leaving it little more than the population that is getting older and with a reduced level of education, we considered it interesting to study if the microenterprises of the region are prepared to the new era of technology as a business model for their companies. Using the definition of success for a company as positive and growing financial result, it is objective of this work to know if companies with involvement in the EC, in B2C relations, have an increasing success rate due to its adoption and maintenance. Based on a research in a database with information from the companies, the sample was subsequently evaluated to find out which of the companies in the sample were involved in the EC and conducted surveys / interviews with the managers of the sample companies to assess the motivation (s) for their adoption, as well as whether they recognize the return of their investment and what they intend to do to maintain or modify their business. Initially we found several difficulties to gather data to be able to achieve proper conclusions, but with the help of some company managers, we were able to confirm that 62.50% of the analyzed companies saw their financial result increased after the adoption of the EC, which allows us to establish the existence of a relationship between the two facts.

Abstract
Innovation is increasingly more relevant to researchers. Following a literature review, which revealed that research on innovation processes in a country averse to uncertainty (e.g. Portugal), and thus inhibiting of innovation, is still lacking, a focus group was performed at a product development firm, as well as a survey of the firm's employees, with 48 valid answers. The case is of a firm which develops innovative products and services for the telecommunications and information technology market. The firm is situated in central Portugal and the focus group involved six employees - one from each operational department (pre-sales), plus two employees from sales. How innovation is managed at the firm was a main topic of discussion in the focus group. The results revealed a corporate culture focused on teamwork, where employees are free to innovate in areas not directly linked to their job description, and where innovative ideas, however disruptive, are welcomed. No formal or informal recognition is given, to more innovative employees, and there is a desire by employees to change this. At a firm where product innovation older than 24 months may no longer be seen to be innovation, numerous tools to promote innovation are used, namely: brainstorming, scrum, agile, focus groups, and design thinking. Operating in a business-to-business market, innovation is continuous and open, also involving, for example, universities. Business cases are constructed for each product, customers are surveyed for their satisfaction, all ideas are valued and none are rejected. Despite an innovation-welcoming atmosphere at the firm tact and common sense are still needed to communicate new ideas. External competition by rivals is considered at all times. Internal competition, between colleagues, however, is not seen to be healthy, and work is done towards the common good. Knowledge sharing platforms abound and include internal blogs, workshops, and the registering of projects on specific knowledge-sharing platforms. Finally, product pricing will depend on a number of factors, including the degree of innovativeness of the product in question. The main influence on pricing is, however, the market - an extreme effort must be made to make product prices fit in with what the market is prepared to pay for a technology.

Abstract

Abstract
The increasing penetration of distributed energy sources, mainly based on renewable generation, calls for an urgent emergence of novel advanced methods to deal with the associated problems. The consensus behind smart grids (SGs) as one of the most promising solutions for the massive integration of renewable energy sources in power systems has led to the development of several prototypes that aim at testing and validating SG methodologies. The urgent need to accommodate such resources require alternative solutions. This chapter presents a multi-agent based SG simulation platform connected to physical resources, so that realistic scenarios can be simulated. The SG simulator is also connected to the Multi-Agent Simulator of Competitive Electricity Markets, which provides a solid framework for the simulation of electricity markets. The cooperation between the two simulation platforms provides huge studying opportunities under different perspectives, resulting in an important contribution to the fields of transactive energy, electricity markets, and SGs. A case study is presented, showing the potentialities for interaction between players of the two ecosystems: a SG operator, which manages the internal resources of a SG, is able to participate in electricity market negotiations to trade the necessary amounts of power to fulfill the needs of SG consumers. © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018.

Abstract
Multi-type fast charging stations are being deployed over Europe as electric vehicle adoption becomes more popular. The growth of an electrical charging infrastructure in different countries poses different challenges related to its installation. One of these challenges is related to weather conditions that are extremely heterogeneous due to different latitudes, in which fast charging stations are located and whose impact on the charging performance is often neglected or unknown. The present study focused on the evaluation of the electric vehicle (EV) charging process with fast charging devices (up to 50 kW) at ambient (25°C) and at extreme temperatures (-25°C, -15°C, +40°C). A sample of seven fast chargers and two electric vehicles (CCS (combined charging system) and CHAdeMO (CHArge de Move)) available on the commercial market was considered in the study. Three phase voltages and currents at the wall socket, where the charger was connected, as well as voltage and current at the plug connection between the charger and vehicle have been recorded. According to SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) J2894/1, the power conversion efficiency during the charging process has been calculated as the ratio between the instantaneous DC power delivered to the vehicle and the instantaneous AC power supplied from the grid in order to test the performance of the charger. The inverse of the efficiency of the charging process, i.e., a kind of energy return ratio (ERR), has been calculated as the ratio between the AC energy supplied by the grid to the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) and the energy delivered to the vehicle's battery. The evaluation has shown a varied scenario, confirming the efficiency values declared by the manufacturers at ambient temperature and reporting lower energy efficiencies at extreme temperatures, due to lower requested and, thus, delivered power levels. The lowest and highest power conversion efficiencies of 39% and 93% were observed at -25°C and ambient temperature (+25°C), respectively.