Abstract
This paper presents a study on potential technology solutions for enhancing the communication process for deaf people on e-learning platforms through translation of Sign Language (SL). Considering SL in its global scope as a spatial-visual language not limited to gestures or hand/forearm movement, but also to other non-dexterity markers such as facial expressions, it is necessary to ascertain whether the existing technology solutions can be effective options for the SL integration on e-learning platforms. Thus, we aim to present a list of potential technology options for the recognition, translation and presentation of SL (and potential problems) through the analysis of assistive technologies, methods and techniques, and ultimately to contribute for the development of the state of the art and ensure digital inclusion of the deaf people in e-learning platforms. The analysis show that some interesting technology solutions are under research and development to be available for digital platforms in general, but yet some critical challenges must solved and an effective integration of these technologies in e-learning platforms in particular is still missing. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Abstract
Due to the current demands from the market, technological improvements and action of competitors, manufacturing companies are pushed to compete in shorter product development cycles. This poses a great challenge, as the conventional product development cycle is shortened. Hence, companies are forced to introduce some improvement action plans and adopt certain manufacturing operational strategies to remain competitive and achieve a good market share. Due to the importance of this topic, in this paper we revise the current manufacturing improvement plans in the literature, to establish the basis of our future research work. The findings of this work point towards the need to develop a system that integrates the evaluation of the manufacturing improvement plans in the future overall performance of the manufacturing plant and aid in the process of decision-making.

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In this work the use of guided wave photo-polymerization for the fabrication of novel polymeric micro tips for optical trapping is demonstrated. It is shown that the selective excitation of linear polarized modes, during the fabrication process, has a direct impact on the shape of the resulting micro structures. Tips are fabricated with modes LP02 and LP21 and their shapes and output intensity distribution are compared. The application of the micro structures as optical tweezers is demonstrated with the manipulation of yeast cells.

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The increasing number of vehicles and mobile users has led to a huge increase in the development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). In this paper we propose a multi-agent-based driving simulator which integrates a testbed that allows ADAS developers to compress testing time and carry out tests in a controlled environment while using a low-cost setup. We use the SUMO microscopic simulator and a serious-game-based driving simulator which has geodata provided from standard open sources. This simulator connects to an Android device and sends data such as the current GPS coordinates and transportation network data. One important feature of this application is that it allows ADAS validation without the need of field testing. Also important is the suitability of our architecture to serve as an appropriate means to conduct behaviour elicitation through peer-designed agents, as well as to collect performance measures related to drivers' interaction with ADAS solutions.

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