Abstract
This study explores the development of intelligent affective virtual environments generated by bimodal emotion recognition techniques and multimodal feedback. A semantic and acoustic analysis predicts emotions conveyed by spoken language, fostering an expressive and transparent control structure. Textual contents and emotional predictions are mapped to virtual environments in real locations as audiovisual feedback. To demonstrate the application of this system, we developed a case study titled "En train d'oublier,"focusing on a train cemetery in Uyuni, Bolivia. The train cemetery holds historical significance as a site where abandoned trains symbolize the passage of time and the interaction between human activities and nature's reclamation. The space is transformed into an immersive and emotionally poetic experience through oral language and affective virtual environments that activate memories, as the system utilizes the transcribed text to synthesize images and modifies the musical output based on the predicted emotional states. The proposed bimodal emotion recognition techniques achieve 94% and 89% accuracy. The audiovisual mapping strategy allows for considering divergence in predictions generating an intended tension between the graphical and the musical representation. Using video and web art techniques, we experimented with the environments generated to create diverses poetic proposals. © 2023 ACM.

Abstract
Deep-learning beat-tracking algorithms have achieved remarkable accuracy in recent years. However, despite these advancements, challenges persist with musical examples featuring complex rhythmic structures, especially given their under-representation in training corpora. Expanding on our prior work, this paper demonstrates how our user-centred beat-tracking methodology effectively handles increasingly demanding musical scenarios. We evaluate its adaptability and robustness through musical pieces that exhibit rhythmic dissonance, while maintaining ease of integration with leading methods through minimal user annotations. The selected musical works—Uruguayan Candombe, Colombian Bambuco, and Steve Reich’s Piano Phase—present escalating levels of rhythmic complexity through their respective polyrhythm, polymetre, and polytempo characteristics. These examples not only validate our method’s effectiveness but also demonstrate its capability across increasingly challenging scenarios, culminating in the novel application of beat tracking to polytempo contexts. The results show notable improvements in terms of the F-measure, ranging from 2 to 5 times the state-of-the-art performance. The beat annotations used in fine-tuning reduce the correction edit operations from 1.4 to 2.8 times, while reducing the global annotation effort to between 16% and 37% of the baseline approach. Our experiments demonstrate the broad applicability of our human-in-the-loop strategy in the domain of Computational Ethnomusicology, confronting the prevalent Music Information Retrieval (MIR) constraints found in non-Western musical scenarios. Beyond beat tracking and computational rhythm analysis, this user-driven adaptation framework suggests wider implications for various MIR technologies, particularly in scenarios where musical signal ambiguity and human subjectivity challenge conventional algorithms. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Abstract
One way to mitigate the high costs of doing science or business at sea is to create technological infrastructures possessing all the skills and resources needed for successful maritime operations, and make those capabilities and skills available to the external entities requiring them. By doing so, the individual economic and scientific agents can be spared the enormous effort of creating and maintaining their own, particular set of equivalent capabilities, thus drastically lowering their initial operating costs. In addition to cost savings, operating based on fully-fledged, shared infrastructures not only allows the use of more advanced scientific equipment and highly skilled personnel, but it also enables the business teams (be it industry or research) to focus on their goals, rather than on equipment, logistics, and support. This paper will describe the TEC4SEA infrastructure, created precisely to operate as described. This infrastructure has been under implementation in the last few years, and has now entered its operational phase. This paper will describe it, present its current portfolio of services, and discuss the most relevant assets and facilities that have been recently acquired, so that the research and industrial communities requiring the use of such assets can fully evaluate their adequacy for their own purposes and projects.

Abstract
Medical rescuers are the frontline for COVID-19 and their psychological experience and health are major concerns to our society and healthcare system. This study aims to understand how medical rescuers psychologically experienced this pandemic and explore the contributing variables to COVID-19 anxiety. Portuguese medical rescuers (n = 203) answered questions about their COVID-19 experience, the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale, Patient-Health Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory, and Well-Being Questionnaire. Rescuers presented low COVID-19 anxiety and low-moderate levels of fear. Most already faced or were facing changes in their job-related tasks, did not change household and did not feel stigma/discrimination. COVID-19 workplace security measures were considered moderately adequate and low anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, low to moderate stress and moderate well-being were found. Only COVID-19 fear and security measures, anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive symptoms explained COVID-19 anxiety. Overall, findings showed these rescuers were psychologically well adjusted during the pandemic's initial stages. © 2023 Associacao Portuguesa de Psicologia. All rights reserved.

Abstract
The increasing use of wearable electronics calls for sustainable energy solutions. Biomechanical energy harvesting appears as an attractive solution to replace the use of batteries in wearables, as the body generates sufficient power to drive small electronics. In particular, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have emerged as a promising approach due to its lightweight and high power density. In this work, a TENG is hybridized with an electromagnetic generator (EMG) to harvest energy from the foot strike. An enclosed radial-flow turbine is optimized and used to convert the foot-strike low-frequency linear movement into a higher-frequency rotational motion (by a factor of & AP;12). Besides increasing the motion frequency, the employed mechanism is physically robust and enables a continuous operation from irregular mechanical excitations. A single TENG unit operating in the freestanding mode generated an optimal power of 4.72 & mu;W and transferred a short-circuit charge of 2.3 nC. The TENG+EMG hybridization allows to power a digital pedometer even after the mechanical input stopped. Finally, the energy harvester is incorporated into a commercial shoe to power the same pedometer from foot walking. The obtained results validate the developed prototype ability to serve as a portable power source that can drive sensors and wearable electronics.

Abstract
For reconfigurable radios where the signals can be easily routed from one band to another band, new radio frequency switches (RF) are a fundament. The main factor driving the power consumption of the reconfigurable intelligent system (RIS) is the need for an intermediate device with static power consumption to maintain a certain surface configuration state. Since power usage scales quadratically with the RIS area, there is a relevant interest in mitigating this drawback so that this technology can be applied to everyday objects without needing such a high intrinsic power consumption. Current switch technologies such as PIN diodes, and field effect transistors (FETs) are volatile electronic devices, resulting in high static power. In addition, dynamic power dissipation related to switching event is also considerable. Regarding energy efficiency, non-volatile radio frequency resistive switch (RFRS) concept may be better alternative solution due to several advantages: smaller area, zero-hold voltage, lower actuation bias for operation, short switching time, scalability and capable to be fabricated in the backend-of-line of standard CMOS process.