Abstract
Depth control is crucial for underwater vehicles, not only to perform certain tasks that require the vehicle to be still at a given depth but also because most propeller-driven vehicles waste a considerable amount of energy to counteract the passively tuned positive buoyancy. The use of a variable buoyancy system (VBS) can effectively address these items, increasing the energetic efficiency and thus mission length. Achieving accurate depth controllers is, however, a complex task, since experimental controller development in sea or even in test pools is unpractical and the use of simulation requires accurate vertical motion models whose parameters might be difficult to obtain or measure. The development of simple, yet comprehensive, dynamic models for devices incorporating VBS is therefore of upmost importance, as well as developing procedures that allow a simple determination of their parameters. This work contributes to this field by deriving a unified model for the vertical motion of a VBS actuated device, irrespective of the specific technological actuation solution employed, whether it be electromechanical or electrohydraulic. A concise analysis of the open-loop stability of the unified model is presented and a straightforward yet efficient procedure for identifying several of its parameters is introduced. This identification procedure is designed to be convenient and can be carried out in shallow waters, such as test pools, while its results are applicable to the deeper water model as well. To validate the procedure, experimental values obtained from an electromechanical VBS actuated device are used. Closed-loop control of the electromechanical VBS actuated device is conducted through simulation and experimental tests. The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed unified model and the parameter identification methodology.

Abstract
This work models a distributed community-based market with diverse assets (photovoltaic generators and energy storage systems), accounting for network constraints and adopting the relaxed branch flow model. The market is modeled in a single and fully distributed approach, employing the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) to prevent voltage and line capacity problems in the community network and improve data privacy and reduce the communication burden. Different scenarios, based on the penalty term and the agents' number, are tested to study the efficiency of the algorithm and the convergence rate of the ADMM distributed model. The proposed method is tested on 10-bus, 22-bus, and 33-bus medium voltage radial distribution networks, where each node contains a large prosumer with one or several assets. One important conclusion is that the implemented residual balancing technique improves the efficiency of the ADMM distributed algorithm by increasing the convergence rate and reducing the computational time.

Abstract

Abstract
AbstractManaging non-functional requirements (NFRs) has been a challenge in software development for many years. These requirements are typically used to make important architectural decisions early in the project, which can be problematic if they are uncertain or unstable. When this uncertainty is not considered when designing the software architecture, changes are often costly and sometimes even unfeasible. Some empirical studies on the subject have already been carried out, but few have focused on the perspective of professionals with extensive experience on the changes and uncertainties of NFRs. This work aims to expand the understanding about the management, clarity and validation of NFRs to fill this gap in the literature. To achieve this goal, a survey was carried out with professionals to find out how NFRs were managed and validated. For the research design, instead of generic questions, the questionnaire focused on some specific types of NFRs to induce participants to recall and report concrete situations. As a result, 40 valid responses were obtained, most from professionals with more than 10 years of experience. The results reveal that a significant number of NFRs were defined after the delivery of software increments (more than 30%) and that revision and change occurred in about a third of the NFRs. Hence, this study presents evidence that NFRs, as the functional ones, can also be uncertain and change frequently, requiring agile approaches and techniques to evolve the software architecture to consider this uncertainty.

Abstract
The increased use of smartphones and the COVID-19 pandemic directly influenced the development of remote tools in several areas. In the context of oncology, it was no different, as several studies address health care or services related to mobile devices. Apps aimed at the medical field (m-health) focus directly on monitoring symptoms and improving interaction between health professionals and patients, combined with the convenience of smartphones. In this context, this work aims to address recent studies on the use of m-health in the clinical practice of oncological diseases and report the characteristics of the apps involved. For this, a review of m-health focused on oncology was conducted using the PubMed and Science Direct databases. The investigation was carried out using tools inherent in international databases and was limited to articles published between 2015 and 2022. In total, 34 articles were analyzed, with a higher frequency of publications between 2019 and 2022. The resources observed were patient follow-up, prevention of signs and symptoms, monitoring of treatment and aid in prognosis and diagnosis of patients. It is concluded that a close collaboration among patients, health professionals, and information technology professionals is necessary to optimize symptom recognition and improve patient-professional communication. Although the pandemic has intensified the increase in the use of m-health, its use is expected to increase in the post-pandemic scenario, bearing in mind the changes in social dynamics and the growing dissemination of technologies. © 2023 ITMA.

Abstract
In recent years, there has been a remarkable surge in the development and research of tethered aerial systems, thus reflecting a growing interest in their diverse applications. Long-term missions involving aerial vehicles present significant challenges due to the limitations of current battery solutions. Tethered vehicles can circumvent such restrictions by receiving their power from an element on the ground such as a ground station or a mobile terrestrial platform. Tethered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can also be applied to load transportation achieved by a single or multiple UAVs. This paper presents a comprehensive systematic literature review, with a special focus on solutions published in the last five years (2017-2022). It emphasizes the key characteristics that are capable of grouping publications by application scope, propulsion method, energy transfer solution, perception sensors, and control techniques adopted. The search was performed in six different databases, thereby resulting in 1172 unique publications, from which 182 were considered for inclusion in the data extraction phase of this review. Among the various aircraft types, multirotors emerged as the most widely used category. We also identified significant variations in the application scope of tethered UAVs, thus leading to tailored approaches for each use case, such as the fixed-wing model being predominant in the wind generation application and the lighter-than-air aircraft in the meteorology field. Notably, the classical Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control scheme emerged as the predominant control methodology across the surveyed publications. Regarding energy transfer techniques, most publications did not explicitly describe their approach. However, among those that did, high-voltage DC energy transfer emerged as the preferred solution. In summary, this systematic literature review provides valuable insights into the current state of tethered aerial systems, thereby showcasing their potential as a robust and sustainable alternative to address the challenges associated with long-duration aerial missions and load transportation.