Abstract
Fall situations in the context of hospitalization represent high injury risks for the patient and can determine delays or even setbacks in the recovery process. This risk of fall can be minimized by using trained personnel but also using smart equipments that continuously monitor the patients and that can automatically raise alerts as a preventive measure. In this paper a new low-cost system for the prevention of falls in inpatients is proposed. The system is based on a simple modular design that can be easily adapted to distinct equipments such as a bed or an armchair. The sensing devices are pressure mats, transparent for the user and highly sensitive to body position changes, and accelerometers, that can reliably monitor movement while using a very small footprint. The main purpose of the system is to monitor the patients' movement while trying to detect the intention to abandon the bed or armchair. The system was widely tested using a pre-defined protocol and the overall results are quite promising. Some issues were also detected which opens the path for further developments. © 2018 IEEE.

Abstract
Metaheuristics (MH) aptitude to move past local optimums makes them an attractive technique to approach complex computational problems, such as the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP), but there is lack of information on the parameterization procedure and the appropriate parameters to improve MHs' performance. In this paper the parameterization procedure of Simulated Annealing (SA) and Discrete Artificial Bee Colony (DABC) is addressed, with a focus on the Neighborhood Structure (NS). Numerous NS have been proposed for specific problems, which seem to indicate that the NS is a special parameter, whose optimization is independent of other parameters. The performance of eight NS was examined with SA and DABC under two optimization constraints, regarding computational time variation, to determine if there is one appropriate NS for the TSP problem, independent of the rest of the parameters of the optimization procedure. The computational study carried out for comparing the evaluation of the NS, including a statistical analysis, demonstrated a nonproportional increase in the performance of DABC with some NS. For SA the improvement of the solutions appeared to be more uniform with an almost nonexistent variance in improvement.

Abstract
The problem of sequencing jobs on a single machine to minimize total cost (earliness and tardiness) is nowadays not just important due to traditional concerns but also due to its importance in the context of Collaborative Networked Organizations and Virtual Enterprises, where precision about promptly responses to customers' requests, along with other important requirements, assume a crucial role. In order to provide a contribution in this direction, in this paper the authors contribute with an applied constructive heuristics that tries to find appropriate solutions for single machine scheduling problems under different processing times and due dates, and without preemption allowed. In this paper, two different approaches for single-machine scheduling problems, based on external and internal performance measures are applied to the problem and a comparative analysis is performed. Computational results are presented for the problem under Just-in-Time and agile conditions on which each job has a due date, and the objective is to minimize the sum of holding costs for jobs completed before their due date and tardiness costs for jobs completed after their due date. Additional computational tests were developed based on different customer and enterprise oriented performance criteria, although preference is given to customer-oriented measures, namely the total number of tardy jobs and the maximum tardiness.

Abstract
Several challenges arrive with electrical power restructuring, liberalized electricity markets emerge, aiming to improve the system's efficiency while offering new economic solutions. Privatization and liberalization of previously nationally owned systems are examples of the transformations that have been applied. Microgrids and smart grids emerge and new business models able to cope with new opportunities start being developed. New types of players appear, allowing aggregating a diversity of entities, e. g. generation, storage, electric vehicles, and consumers, Virtual Power Players (VPPs) are a new type of player that allows aggregating a diversity of players to facilitate their participation in the electricity markets. A major task of VPPs is the remuneration of generation and services (maintenance, market operation costs and energy reserves), as well as charging energy consumption. The paper proposes a normalization method that supports a clustering methodology for the remuneration and tariffs definition. This model uses a clustering algorithm, applied on normalized load values, the value of the micro production, generated in the bus associated to the same load, was subtracted from the value of the consumption of that load. This calculation is performed in a real smart grid on buses with associated micro production. This allows the creation of sub-groups of data according to their correlations. The clustering process is evaluated so that the number of data sub-groups that brings the most added value for the decision making process is found, according to players characteristics.

Abstract
Technological advances are pushing into the mass market innovative wearable devices featuring increasing processing and sensing capacity, non-intrusiveness and ubiquitous use. Sensors built-in those devices, enable acquiring different types of data and by taking advantage of the available processing power, it is possible to run intelligent applications that process the sensed data to offer added -value to the user in multiple domains. Although not new to the modern society, it is unquestionable that the present exercise boom is rapidly spreading across all age groups. However, in a great majority of cases, people perform their physical activity on their own, either due to time or budget constraints and may easily get discouraged if they do not see results or perform exercises inadequately. This paper presents an application, running on a wearable device, aiming at operating as a personal trainer that validates a set of proposed exercises in a sports' session. The developed solution uses inertial sensors of an Android Wear smartwatch and, based on a set of pattern recognition algorithms, detects the rate of success in the execution of a planned workout. The fact that all processing can be executed on the device is a differentiator factor to other existing solutions.

Abstract
The contemporary adoption of Cyber-Physical Systems and improvements in robotic applications in industrial scenarios demands for horizontal integration mechanisms with already existing automation equipment, controlled by PLCs. This paper aims to shorten the gap between the automation and robotics domain, by proposing an Interprocess Communication method to establish interoperability between robotic systems and automation equipment in a reliable and straightforward manner. In particular, this paper introduces a novel approach for linking ROS and IEC 61131-3 by way of shared memory interfaces, enabling and promoting their interactions. Moreover, this paper addresses the applied synchronization mechanism for handling concurrent accesses to the shared memory location, explores data type mapping between ROS and IEC 61131-3, and identifies some practical industrial applications.