José António Fernandes

A Complete Blood Typing Device for Automatic Agglutination Detection Based on Absorption Spectrophotometry

Blood type determination is an important clinical test that should be performed before any blood transfusion. However, in emergency situations, due to the patients condition, there may not be enough time to determine the patients blood type. In these cases, the O negative blood type is administered, because it causes less incompatibility risk to the patient. This paper presents a low-cost and portable device for ABO, Rh phenotype, reverse, and Cross-matching human blood typing, based on a spectrophotometric approach of the agglutination detection, with a fast response time (results in <;5 min). These features allow the device operation in mobile emergency units, outside conventional clinical laboratories, and close to the patient. It avoids the risk of incompatibility between the donors and receptors blood, improving the quality in healthcare services.

High Accuracy Navigation in Unknown Environment Using Adaptive Control

Aiming to reduce cycle time and improving the accuracy on tracking, a modified adaptive control was developed, which adapts autonomously to changing dynamic parameters. The platform used is based on a robot with a vision based sensory system. Goal and obstacles angles are calculated relatively to robot orientation from image processing software. Autonomous robots are programmed to navigate in unknown and unstructured environments where there are multiple obstacles which can readily change their position. This approach underlies in dynamic attractor and repulsive forces. This theory uses differential equations that produce vector fields to control speed and direction of the robot. This new strategy was compared with existing PID method experimentally and it proved to be more effective in terms of behaviour and time-response. Calibration parameters used in PID control are in this case unnecessary. The experiments were carried out in robot Middle Size League football players built for RoboCup. Target pursuit, namely, ball, goal or any absolute position, was tested. Results showed high tracking accuracy and rapid response to moving targets. This dynamic control system enables a good balance between fast movements and smooth behaviour.

Web-Based Intellectual Property MarketPlace: A Survey of Current Practices

In the past year, knowledge and innovation management have acquired increasing relevance in organizations. In the last decade, open innovation strategy, and in particular, crowdsourcing innovation model has also gained increasing importance. This model is seen as a new innovation model, capable of accelerating the innovation process. Therefore, it is important to understand how organizations can best take advantage of this innovation model. This paper approaches in two ways for commercializing intellectual property: crowdsourcing innovation, and intellectual property marketplaces. Thus, with the intention of understanding the concepts and practices, the study started by collecting scientific articles through bibliographic data bases. The paper provides knowledge about concepts and practices underlying the ways for commercializing intellectual property. It also contributes with a proposal of architecture for an intellectual property marketplace, based on the analysis of practices about crowdsourcing innovation and intellectual property marketplaces. This architecture is still in a draft stage, but already includes helpful insights for organizations interested in applying the open innovation strategy.

Desenvolvimento de competências de autocontrolo no estudo acompanhado: uma intervenção na área curricular de Estudo Acompanhado numa turma do 9.º ano

The article focuses on an intervention at the level of the development of selfcontrol competencies within supervised study with 9th grade pupils. Its main goals are to evaluate the impact of the intervention on the self-control and to identify the characteristics of the tasks that were more and less valued by the pupils. The teacher of Supervised Study carried out the intervention with her 9th graders during 10 sessions of 90 minutes each. The intervention was evaluated through two questionnaires, one administered to the pupils and the other one to the teachers of curriculum subjects. An interview was also conducted with the pupils. Findings show significant gains by the pupils in all competences of selfcontrol that were trained. The tasks preferred by them were the ones performed in group involving didactic games, competition among groups and research or games, to the detriment of those that involved many written records and the ones they considered to be repetitive and non-practical. Key words: supervised study, study competences, self-control, intervention.