Abstract
The growth of the Internet and its associated technologies did open space for a new type of human interaction: virtual, social interaction environments. Nowadays, these virtual places are spread all over the Internet and are accessible to almost everyone. However, in these environments interaction is still mostly ad hoc, which is a drawback that, as pointed out by some authors, may lead to their future extinction. Therefore, the introduction of regulated interaction in these virtual interaction spaces may be a solution towards their organization and inherent increased credibility. In this paper we propose a model for interaction regulation and control for virtual, social interaction spaces, called Social Theatres. Social Theatres stand for the application of the theatrical metaphor to social virtual environments, intended to virtually reproduce some of the common useful people interaction contexts. Inside these environments, users become actors, playing previously well defined roles within a well known, commonly established virtual interaction scenario. The interaction between users becomes regulated and has to obey and follow very well established rules, flows and conversation protocols. This paper discusses the advantages of regulated interaction, presents the Social Theatre metaphor and proposes a software architecture for the implementation of these interaction spaces. A small case study of a regulated virtual interaction environment is also presented.

Abstract
In this paper we propose an architecture whose main goal is to improve productivity in user interface development for data-intensive applications. This objective is to be achieved by defining a high level model that describes the user interface structure. That model will be integrated in the source code through non-functional language extensions. Our final goal is allowing developers to define user interface model by adding language extensions to the source code and then acquiring an external software package to which they delegate the implementation of the concrete user interface. Copyright © (2007) by Knowledge Systems Institute (KSI).

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Atanassov's intuitionistic fuzzy sets (A-IFSs) have been used recently to determine the optimal threshold value for gray-level image segmentation [1]. Atanassov's intuitionistic fuzzy index values are used for representing the unknowledge/ignorance of an expert on determining whether a pixel of the image belongs to the background or the object of the image. This optimal global threshold of the image is computed automatically, regardless of the actual image analysis process. Although global optimal thresholding techniques give good results under experimental conditions, when dealing with real images having several objects and the segmentation purpose is to point out some application-specific information, one should use heuristic techniques in order to obtain better thresholding results. This paper introduces an evolution of the above mentioned technique intended for use with such images. The proposed approach takes into account the image and segmentation specificities by using a two-step procedure, with a restricted set of the image gray-levels. Preliminary experimental results and comparison with other methods are presented.

Abstract
The influence of reduced feedback from the cutaneous receptors in the hindpaw in rat locomotion is still unclear. To evaluate this question., we conducted a detailed hindlimb kinematic analysis in animals, which suffered complete loss of thermal sensation. Two-dimensional hindlimb kinematics, temporal and spatial measurements. and walking track analysis were performed in rats before and during hypothermic anesthesia. The walking velocity. duration of the step cycle and stance phase, and stride length between the two testing conditions were statistically indistinguishable. Swing phase duration was significantly decreased during sensory loss. Analysis of angular motion revealed an increased hip and knee extension and an ankle joint with increased flexion during the step cycle under plantar anesthesia. Also after plantar cooling, the hip and knee angular velocity was significantly affected along the step cycle. The remarkably geometric similarity of the angle-angle plots obtained in our experiments reflected an interjoint coordination: however. the interpretation of the cyclogram perimeter revealed a larger excursion by the ankle and hip in their respective joint spaces in rats deprived of sensation. Examination of the horizontal position of the ankle with respect to the hip and the extension before toe-off revealed no major changes. whereas, there was a slight decrease in distance of the hip to the ground during sensory loss. Also, the walking tracks revealed a significant functional deficit following reduced cutaneous information of the plantar aspect of the hindpaw. We therefore conclude that sensory feedback from the hindpaw is important in the maintenance of normal rat locomotion.