Abstract
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive noble gas generated within mineral grains of uranium bearing rocks by alpha decay from radium. The Amram tunnel (A. Bloch Geophysical Observatory) is a particularly suitable location for the investigation of radon variability. Located in the arid environment of the Arava desert, near Elat, the 170 m tunnel that constitutes the observatory enables radon monitoring in a desert environment and under fairly stable environmental conditions. The analysis of the temporal variability of continuous measurements of radon and environmental parameters at the Amram tunnel over a period of several years shows a complex temporal pattern characterized by non-stationary and multiscale features. Radon concentrations exhibit multiyear variability in the form of a increasing trend of similar to 1000 Bq m(-3) yr(-1) in the mean and much larger trends up to similar to 2500 Bq m(-3) yr(-1) in the maximum radon levels. Radon concentrations also display strong seasonal patterns, with maxima in summer and minima in winter, ranging from 2.5 kBq m(-3) in winter to 35 kBq m(-3) in summer. Intraseasonal variability is characterized by very large radon anomalies, with sharp increases of more than 20 kBq m(-3) relative to the base level, that occur in spring and summer and last for several days. Daily periodic variability with maxima around midnight appears also in spring and summer, being absent in the cold months. Radon variability at seasonal, intraseasonal and daily timescales is associated with the air temperature outside the tunnel, specifically the temperature gradient between the external environment and the more stable environment inside the tunnel where the measurements are performed.

Abstract
This paper describes a software application developed using the MATLAB language for a mobile mapping system (MMS) implemented at the University of Porto. An MMS includes a survey stage, where direct navigation and imaging sensors are mounted rigidly in a vehicle, to acquire time-synchronized navigation and image data. It also includes a processing stage which manipulates all the collected data to obtain absolute or relative coordinates for the object points appearing in the images. This report focuses mainly on the development of procedures to acquire images with time-tag information, perform several image manipulations, implement photogramrnetric and matching algorithms, and put it all together in a user-friendly graphic interface. One of the main objectives during the application development was to keep this standard MMS procedure as simple as possible. MATLAB has proven to be a very well-suited platform for achieving the proposed objectives, with the advantage that it made possible the construction of a user-friendly graphic interface. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Abstract
There is a need to overcome problems resulting from disconnected and fragmented healthcare and social assistance services when it comes to provide integrated care services for the elderly. The concept of integrated care services requires healthcare information services, such as Electronic Health Record, to be up and running not only in hospitals and other healthcare units, but also in social assistance institutions since they take on an important role in providing care for the elderly. This paper proposes a reference model that identifies the processes, procedures and concepts inherent to the functioning of social assistance institutions. This model coupled with an implementation architecture whose flexibility and modularity allows for the gradual development of applications and components reuse. This makes possible to introduce and adapt information services through the involvement of the care providers in a sector that traditionally has had difficulties to incorporate Information and Communication Technology. © 2010 IEEE.

Abstract
The concept of integrated care services requires healthcare information services, such as Electronic Health Record, to be up and running not only in hospitals and other healthcare units, but also in social assistance institutions since they take on an important role in providing care for the elderly. This paper proposes a reference model that identifies the processes, procedures and concepts inherent to the functioning of social assistance institutions. The associated implementation architecture allows the gradual development of applications and components reuse, which facilitates the introduction and adaptation of information services through the involvement of the care providers. © 2010 IADIS.

Abstract
With the increase of Endoscopic Capsule (EC) exams, the amount of video data to be analyzed by automated image processing algorithms grows exponentially and standard desktop computers start to present limitations to complete that procedure in an acceptable "clinical time". This has motivated us to assess the potential of Grid computing paradigm to process and analyze EC data, using existing Grid infrastructures. We used our Automated Topografic Segmentation (ATS) algorithm as a case study to run experiments on the Ibergrid Grid infrastructure. As a result, we were able to port the existing ATS algorithm used in routine to run on the Grid seamlessly. A friendly portal environment was adopted, allowing for clinical end-users to harness from existing production Grids in a practical way. The processing time could be reduced in some cases but, when considering job processing overheads, the desktop version is preferable for small scale processing. These results show that Grid computing is a promising technology to process massive amounts of EC data, but current infrastructures present a high variability in jobs processing times, especially when compared with dedicated clusters.

Abstract
This article presents a set of research studies that aim to adapt Carol Ryff's scales of psychological wellbeing (SPWB) and to analyze its psychometric properties in adolescents. The first two studies focused on the reliability and factorial validity of different Portuguese short versions of SPWB, revealing measurement models inadequacies and low internal consistency. In the third study we developed a shortened version (30 items), taking into account the application of psychometric criteria suggested by van Dierendonck (2005). The scales of this version revealed better reliability and adequate goodness of fit indices for the six-factor model, as proposed by Carol Ryff's PWB theory. Although further research focused on the psychometrical properties reanalysis of this shortened version of SPWB is needed, this article provides a contribution to the research and intervention on positive mental health during adolescence.