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Browsing ESTG - Artigos em revistas internacionais by Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) "10:Reduzir as Desigualdades"
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- Application of curcuminoids in inflammatory, neurodegenerative and aging conditions - Pharmacological potential and bioengineering approaches to improve efficiencyPublication . Lagoa, Ricardo; Rajan, Logesh; Violante, Cristiana; Babiaka, Smith B.; Marques da Silva, Dorinda; Kapoor, Bhupinder; Reis, Flávio; Atanasov, Atanas G.Curcumin, a natural compound found in turmeric, has shown promise in treating brain-related diseases and conditions associated with aging. Curcumin has shown multiple anti-inflammatory and brain-protective effects, but its clinical use is limited by challenges like poor absorption, specificity and delivery to the right tissues. A range of contemporary approaches at the intersection with bioengineering and systems biology are being explored to address these challenges. Data from preclinical and human studies highlight various neuroprotective actions of curcumin, including the inhibition of neuroinflammation, modulation of critical cellular signaling pathways, promotion of neurogenesis, and regulation of dopamine levels. However, curcumin’s multifaceted effects - such as its impact on microRNAs and senescence markers - suggest novel therapeutic targets in neurodegeneration. Tetrahydrocurcumin, a primary metabolite of curcumin, also shows potential due to its presence in circulation and its anti-inflammatory properties, although further research is needed to elucidate its neuroprotective mechanisms. Recent advancements in delivery systems, particularly brain-targeting nanocarriers like polymersomes, micelles, and liposomes, have shown promise in enhancing curcumin’s bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy in animal models. Furthermore, the exploration of drug-laden scaffolds and dermal delivery may extend the pharmacological applications of curcumin. Studies reviewed here indicate that engineered dermal formulations and devices could serve as viable alternatives for neuroprotective treatments and to manage skin or musculoskeletal inflammation. This work highlights the need for carefully designed, long-term studies to better understand how curcumin and its bioactive metabolites work, their safety, and their effectiveness.
- Artificial intelligence applied to the stone manufacturing industry: A systematic literature reviewPublication . Santos Silva, Alexandre; Antunes, Carolina; Miragaia, Rolando; Costa, Rogério Luís C.; Silva, Fernando; Ribeiro, JoséNatural stone has long been used in construction, as its properties provide functional and visual value, and the natural stone market currently holds significant importance in the global economy. It is important to consider integrating new technologies in the production chain to aid the industry in moving forward, increasing profit margins and reducing wasted material. This article reviews recent trends in using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques in the industry between 2017 and 2024, following a methodology for Systematic Literature Reviews in computer science. It was found that extensive research has been conducted on the subject of tile classification, with solid solutions proposed, achieving results that can be considered robust enough for industrial application. Other subjects comprise tasks regarding stone cutting and defect detection, as well as variable prediction, and quarry activity monitoring. Some authors propose solutions to integrate new technologies into the complete production chain. While more research needs to be done on specific subjects, this review provides a solid first step to future research.
- Artificial Intelligence-Driven User Interaction with Smart Homes: Architecture Proposal and Case StudyPublication . Lemos, João; Ramos, João; Gomes, Mário; Coelho, PauloThe evolution of Smart Grids enabled the deployment of intelligent and decentralized energy management solutions at the residential level. This work presents a comprehensive Smart Home architecture that integrates real-time energy monitoring, appliance-level consumption analysis, and environmental data acquisition using smart metering technologies and distributed IoT sensors. All collected data are structured into a scalable infrastructure that supports advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods, including Large Language Models (LLMs) and machine learning, enabling predictive analysis, personalized energy recommendations, and natural language interaction. Proposed architecture is experimentally validated through a case study on a domestic refrigerator. Two series of tests were conducted. In the first phase, extreme usage scenarios were evaluated: one with intensive usage and another with highly restricted usage. In the second phase, normal usage scenarios were tested without AI feedback and with AI recommendations following them whenever possible. Under the extreme scenarios, AI-assisted interaction resulted in a reduction in daily energy consumption of about 81.4%. In the normal usage scenarios, AI assistance resulted in a reduction of around 13.6%. These results confirm that integrating AI-driven behavioral optimization within Smart Home environments significantly improves energy efficiency, reduces electrical stress, and promotes more sustainable energy usage.
- Augmented Reality: An Enhancer for Higher Education Students in Math's Learning?Publication . Coimbra, MMath. Teresa; Cardoso, Teresa; Mateus, ArturIn this text, we intend to answer to the following question: is Augmented Reality an enhancer for Higher Education students in math's learning? For this purpose, we define augmented reality and present a state of the art mapped mainly by studies that focus AR in educational contexts. We also describe our research, including methodological aspects in data collection and the creation of 3D contents in AR. Then, we synthesize the analysis of some preliminary data, briefly presenting perceptions and practices of students in math's learning with AR contents. Finally, we conclude that the challenges that are nowadays put to teaching methods, acquisition and subsequent knowledge consolidation may be met, to some extent, by the application of available technologies. These, in turn, should enhance a more complete understanding of contents, leading to knowledge endogenization and also to the internalization of more sustained competencies. Among those technologies, we highlight augmented reality since it can encourage motivation, comprehension and a higher involvement with the contents to be learned. Thus, it may increase the use of information and the access to knowledge, improving digital and info-inclusion.
- Automated design of microwave discrete tuning differential capacitance circuits in Si‐integrated technologiesPublication . Mendes, Luís; Pires, E. J. Solteiro; Vaz, João C.; Rosário, Maria J.; Oliveira, P. B. de Moura; Machado, J. A. TenreiroA genetic algorithm used to design radio-frequency binary-weighted differential switched capacitor arrays (RFDSCAs) is presented in this article. The algorithm provides a set of circuits all having the same maximum performance. This article also describes the design, implementation, and measurements results of a 0.25 μm BiCMOS 3-bit RFDSCA. The experimental results show that the circuit presents the expected performance up to 40 GHz. The similarity between the evolutionary solutions, circuit simulations, and measured results indicates that the genetic synthesis method is a very useful tool for designing optimum performance RFDSCAs.
- Compressing depth maps using multiscale recurrent pattern image codingPublication . Graziosi, D. B.; Rodrigues, N. M. M.; Pagliari, C. L.; Faria, S. M. M. de; Silva, E. A. B. da; Carvalho, M. B. DeThe use of the multidimensional multiscale parser algorithm for depth maps coding is proposed. The compression method uses a block-based approach, where efficient prediction combined with pattern matching is applied to the encoding of greyscale images, which convey the disparity or depth information of a 3D image. Simulation results show gains of up to 10dB when compared with state-of-the-art methods, such as JPEG2000 and H.264/AVC.
- Contact center: information systems designPublication . Rijo, Rui; Varajão, João; Gonçalves, RamiroThe economic sector of contact centers is growing by more than 8% a year. It is a multidisciplinary area in which information systems are decisive to organizations' success. Contact Centers' Information Systems deal with real time requisites and critical business information. A theorybuilding research shows a framework with 12 key design factors to consider, which managers might use to develop projects and researchers may adopt for further investigation in the area of Contact Center design. This work intends to provide a valuable link between the research community and practitioners in industry.
- Correction to: A review of assistive spatial orientation and navigation technologies for the visually impairedPublication . Fernandes, Hugo; Costa, Paulo; Filipe, Vitor; Paredes, Hugo; Barroso, JoãoThe fourth author name was missed in the original publication. The correct list of authors should read as “Hugo Fernandes, Paulo Costa, Vitor Filipe, Hugo Paredes, João Barroso”. It has been corrected in this erratum. The original article has been updated.
- Dermoscopic skin lesion image segmentation based on Local Binary Pattern Clustering: Comparative studyPublication . Pereira, Pedro M. M.; Fonseca-Pinto, Rui; Paiva, Rui Pedro; Assuncao, Pedro A. A.; Tavora, Luis M. N.; Thomaz, Lucas A.; Faria, Sergio M. M.Accurate skin lesion segmentation is important for identification and classification through computational methods. However, when performed by dermatologists, the results of clinical segmentation are affected by a certain margin of inaccuracy (which exists since dermatologist do not delineate lesions for segmentation but for extraction) and also significant inter- and intra-individual variability, such segmentation is not sufficiently accurate for segmentation studies. This work addresses these limitations to enable detailed analysis of lesions’ geometry along with extraction of non-linear characteristics of region-of-interest border lines. A comprehensive review of 39 segmentation methods is carried out and a contribution to improve dermoscopic image segmentation is presented to determine the regions-of-interest of skin lesions, through accurate border lines with fine geometric details. This approach resorts to Local Binary Patterns and k-means clustering for precise identification of lesions boundaries, particularly the melanocytic. A comparative evaluation study is carried out using three different datasets and reviewed algorithms are grouped according to their approach. Results show that algorithms from the same group tend to perform similarly. Nevertheless, their performance does not depend uniquely on the algorithm itself but also on the underlying dataset characteristics. Throughout several evaluations, the proposed Local Binary Patterns method presents, consistently, better average performance than the current state-of-the-art techniques across the three different datasets without the need of training or supervised learning steps. Overall, apart from presenting a new segmentation method capable of outperforming the current state-of-the-art, this paper provides insightful information about the behaviour and performance of different image segmentation algorithms.
- O efeito do greenwashing no consumo ético mediado pela confusão verde e pelo ódio à marcaPublication . Santos, Célia; Coelho, Arnaldo; Marques, AlziraO greenwashing verifica-se quando as empresas enganam os consumidores quanto às suas práticas ambientais ou benefícios dos seus produtos/serviços. Esta investigação centra-se nos impactos dessas práticas no consumo ético e analisa como a confusão verde e o ódio à marca atuam como mediadores nessa relação. Baseado em informações recolhidas por meio de questionário aplicado numa amostra de 420 consumidores portugueses, foi realizado estudo confirmatório, quantitativo e transversal (ou de corte único). A análise foi conduzida através de um modelo de equações estruturais com o software SmartPLS. Os resultados sugerem que o greenwashing aumenta a confusão verde entre os consumidores, dificultando a correta interpretação de aspetos ambientais de um produto/serviço. Além disso, o greenwashing gera emoções negativas extremas, como o ódio à marca. Os resultados também demostram que os consumidores, quando percecionam práticas de greenwashing por parte de uma empresa/marca tendem a deixar de comprar os seus produtos/serviços, optando por alternativas mais éticas e responsáveis. Foi estabelecida relação positiva direta e indireta entre greenwashing e consumo ético. Esta investigação avança o estado da arte, que carece de estudos relacionados com as consequências das práticas de greenwashing e elucida as empresas da necessidade de eliminar essas atividades enganadoras e irresponsáveis. Limitações e oportunidades de estudo futuras são abordadas.