Abstract
Rheumatic arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes irreversible damage to joints and other physiological structures. The Metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint is one of the first regions to suffer alterations. These alterations are visible with high frequency ultrasound devices, which are used to quantify inflammatory activity in the MCP due to RA. The accurate segmentation of the bone surface and the identification of the MCP capsule region remains a challenge in ultrasound image processing. In this article we aim to make a contribution to this problem by incorporating prior knowledge of the bone and joint regions anatomy into our segmentation algorithm. The log Gabor filter is used for speckle noise reduction and to extract ridge-like structures from the images, while the phase is left unchanged. After thresholding, scores are generated, based on the intensities and areas of the resulting regions, enabling the selection of the structure that best matches the bone. Finally, segmented joint bones are processed to calculate the initial seeds of joint capsule region. Experimental results demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed segmentation algorithm. The mean pixel error between the automatic segmentation and the reference images were 4.4 pixel. The bone regions not segmented were, on average, 5.4%.

Abstract
The continuous changes in electricity markets' mechanisms and operations turn this environment into a challenging domain for the participating entities. Simulation tools are increasingly being used for decision support purposes of such entities. In particular, multi-agent based simulation, which facilitates the modeling of different types of mechanisms and players, is being fruitfully applied to the study of worldwide electricity markets. An effective decision support to market players' negotiations is, however, still not properly reached due to the uncertainty that results from the increasing penetration of renewable generation and the complexity of market mechanisms themselves. In this scope, this paper proposes a novel metalearner that provides decision support to market players in their negotiations. The proposed metalearner uses as input the output of several other market negotiation strategies, which are used to create a new, enhanced response. The final result is achieved through the combination and evolution of the strategies' learning results by applying a genetic algorithm. © 2015 IEEE.

Abstract

Abstract
The aim of this paper is to present a new approach in user modeling process that use learning and cognitive styles and student emotional state to adapt the user interface, learning content and context. The model is based on a constructivist approach, assessing the user knowledge and presenting contents and activities adapted to the emotional characteristics, learning and cognitive styles of the student. The intelligent behavior of such platform depends on the existence of a tentative description of the student - the student model. The contents of this model and emotional state of the student are used by a domain and interaction model to select the most suitable response to student actions.

Abstract
A spreadsheet usually starts as a simple and singleuser software artifact, but, as frequent as in other software systems, quickly evolves into a complex system developed by many actors. Often, different users work on different aspects of the same spreadsheet: while a secretary may be only involved in adding plain data to the spreadsheet, an accountant may define new business rules, while an engineer may need to adapt the spreadsheet content so it can be used by other software systems. Unfortunately, spreadsheet systems do not offer modular mechanisms, and as a consequence, some of the previous tasks may be defined by adding intrusive "code" to the spreadsheet. In this paper we go through the design and implementation of an aspect-oriented language for spreadsheets so that users can work on different aspects of a spreadsheet in a modular way. For example, aspects can be defined in order to introduce new business rules to an existing spreadsheet, or to manipulate the spreadsheet data to be ported to another system. Aspects are defined as aspect-oriented program specifications that are dynamically woven into the underlying spreadsheet by an aspect weaver. In this aspect-oriented style of spreadsheet development, different users develop, or reuse, aspects without adding intrusive code to the original spreadsheet. Such code is added/executed by the spreadsheet weaving mechanism proposed in this paper. Copyright © 2015 for the individual papers by the papers' authors.

Abstract
iMOOC is a new pedagogical model for massive open online courses (Teixeira & Mota, 2013), that evolved from UAb’s online model (Pereira et al., 2008), based on its four pillars of student-centered learning, interaction, flexibility and digital inclusion. It is also a software platform, that supports this model, and that was developed at UAb in close articulation with the pedagogical model. In this paper we describe the guidelines that oriented such development, and argue in favor of the use (or re-use) of well-established and robust software components for this purpose, as opposed to building platforms from scratch. The emergence of MOOCs as open courses, where participants have free access to the course, created new challenges in a closed, formatted LMS landscape. This led to the development of whole new environments that addressed those requirements (edX, Coursera). The iMOOC approach, however, was to build a platform from existing open source software components using an integration of Moodle (https://moodle.org/), which was previously adapted to UAb’s pedagogical model (Rocio & Coelho, 2009), and Elgg (http://elgg.org/), combining the advantages of both formal and informal learning modes, and addressing the pedagogical requirements in a cost-effective way. The integration was achieved using the IMS specification for LTI (learning tools interoperability) (Severance, 2010). As a result, the iMOOC platform has been successfully used both in stand-alone projects, and also in the european ECO project, where the effort to turn it project-compliant was relatively simple, due to the adoption of well-established protocols.