Abstract

Abstract
Context-aware applications are fast becoming popular as a means of enriching users' experiences in various multimedia content access and delivery scenarios. Nevertheless, the definition, identification, and representation of contextual information are still open issues that need to be addressed. In this paper, we briefly present our work developed within the VISNET II Network of Excellence (NoE) project on context-based content adaptation in Virtual Collaboration Systems (VCSs). Based on the conducted research, we conclude that MPEG-21 Digital Item Adaptation (DIA) is the most complete standardization initiative to represent context for content adaptation. However, tools defined in MPEG-21 DIA Usage Environment Descriptors (UEDs) are not adequate for Virtual Collaboration application scenarios, and thus, we propose potential extensions to the available UEDs.

Abstract
This paper addresses the generation expansion-planning problem describing a model that generation companies and regulators can use to get insight to this problem and to more completely study and characterize different investment decisions. The simulation model considers a number of possible generation technologies and aims at characterizing the corresponding investment plans from an economic point of view having in mind that market prices, the demand growth, investment and operation costs, as well as other factors, are affected by uncertainties. With the objective of helping generation companies and regulators to carry out this planning, we adopted an approach based on System Dynamics. This methodology allows simulating the long-term behavior of electricity markets, namely to help getting insight into the way new generation capacity enters in the market in a liberalized framework. Finally, the paper presents results from a case study illustrating the use of this approach.

Abstract
In vivo observation and tracking of the Arabidopsis thaliana root meristem, by time-lapse confocal microscopy, is important to understand mechanisms like cell division and elongation. The research herein described is based on a large amount of image data, which must be analyzed to determine the location and state of cells. The automation of the process of cell detection/marking is an important step to provide research tools for the biologists in order to ease the search for special events, such as cell division. This paper discusses a hybrid approach for automatic cell segmentation, which selects the best cell candidates from a starting watershed-based image segmentation and improves the result by merging adjacent regions. The selection of individual cells is obtained using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier, based on the shape and edge strength of the cells' contour. The merging criterion is based on edge strength along the line that connects adjacent cells' centroids. The resulting segmentation is largely pruned of badly segmented and over-segmented cells, thus facilitating the study of cell division. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Abstract
In this paper we propose a fast and incremental algorithm for learning model trees from data streams (FIMT) for regression problems. The algorithm is incremental, works online, processes examples once at the speed they arrive, and maintains an any-time regression model. The leaves contain linear-models trained online from the examples that fall at that leaf, a process with low complexity. The use of linear models in the leaves increases its any-time global performance. FIMT is able to obtain competitive accuracy with batch learners even for medium size datasets, but with better training time in an order of magnitude. We study the properties of FIMT over several artificial and real datasets and evaluate its sensitivity on the order of examples and the noise level.

Abstract
Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems are becoming more and more sophisticated and include nowadays numerous applications, which are not only accessed by medical professionals, but also by accounting and administrative personnel. This could represent a problem concerning basic rights such as privacy and confidentiality. The principles, guidelines and recommendations compiled by the OECD protection of privacy and trans-border flow of personal data are described and considered within health information system development. Granting access to an Elf R should be dependent upon the owner of the record; the patient: he must be entitled to define who is allowed to access his EHRs, besides the access control scheme each health organization may have implemented. In this way, it's not only up to health professionals to decide who have access to what, but the patient himself Implementing such a policy is walking towards patient empowerment which society should encourage and governments should promote. The paper then introduces a technical solution based on web security standards. This would give patients the ability to monitor and control which entities have access to their personal EHRs, thus empowering them with the knowledge of how much of his medical history is known and by whom. It is necessary to create standard data access protocols, mechanisms and policies to protect the privacy rights and furthermore, to enable patients, to automatically track the movement (flow) of their personal data and information in the context of health information systems. This solution must be functional and, above all, user-friendly and the interface should take in consideration some heuristics of usability in order to provide the user with the best tools. The current official standards on confidentiality and privacy in health care, currently being developed within the EU, are explained, in order to achieve a consensual idea of the guidelines that all member states should follow to transfer such principles into national laws. A perspective is given on the state of the art concerning web security standards, which can be used to easily engineer health information systems complying with the patient empowering goals. In conclusion health systems with the characteristics thus described are technically feasible and should be generally implemented and deployed.