Abstract
Today's software feature user interface (UI) patterns. Those patterns describe generic solutions for common recurrent problems. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no specific testing methodology that is particularly suited for testing those patterns providing generic testing solutions that can be reused after minor configurations in order to test slightly different implementations. Pattern-Based Graphical User Interface Testing (PBGT) is a recent methodology that aims at systematizing and automating the GUI testing process, by sampling the input space using "UI Test Patterns" that express generic solutions to test common recurrent GUI's behaviour. This paper describes the development process of PARADIGM, a domain specific language (DSL) to be used in the context of PBGT and empirically evaluates PARADIGM to assess its diminished modeling efforts, usefulness, graphical power, and acceptability.

Abstract
Distribution Systems (DS) are usually structured as weakly-meshed but the majority of them operate with a radial topology, mainly in order to accommodate the protection coordination. Obtaining the optimal radial configuration under several criteria has been an active research topic for more than two decades. Because of the computational burden and the non-linearity of the problem, the majority of the proposed methods and techniques, single or multi-objective, use various meta-heuristics. The DS reconfiguration problem, respecting the radiality constraints, is formulated in this paper as a multi-objective Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) problem. An adequate representation of the Pareto set is produced using an improved implementation of the epsilon-constrained method. The objective is to determine the optimal radial configuration during several time intervals, minimizing the active power losses and the cost emerging from the switching operations. The proposed methodology is tested using a 16-node sample system.

Abstract
Recent embedded processor architectures containing multiple heterogeneous cores and non-coherent caches, bring renewed attention to the use of Software Transactional Memory (STM) as a building block for developing parallel applications. STM promises to ease concurrent and parallel software development, but relies on the possibility of abort conflicting transactions to maintain data consistency, which affects the execution time of tasks carrying transactions. Thus, execution time overheads resulting from aborts must be limited, otherwise the timing behaviour of the task set will not be predictable. In this paper we formalise a FIFO-based algorithm to order the sequence of commits of concurrent transactions. Furthermore, we propose and evaluate two non-preemptive scheduling strategies, in order to avoid transaction starvation. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.

Abstract
This paper investigates the gap between research into Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA), and the standardization of these technologies, as well as ways in which coordination of standardization activities between EU funded research projects might help bridge this gap. Concretely, it first discusses the current state of standardization in CR and DSA, as well as the need for a coordinated approach to DSA standardization among European projects. It subsequently provides a short overview of the DSA and CR research landscape in Europe and briefly describes the objectives of the Cognitive Radio Standardization Initiative (CRS-i). The following sections on the paper then focus on a survey which was conducted among the 26 currently funded, Radio Access and Spectrum related EU projects, with specific analysis also performed for the CR and DSA related sub-cluster of projects. This survey provides insight into projects' current standardization activities and collaboration methods, as well as opportunities and bottlenecks for collaboration in standardization. The paper concludes that the coordination of standardization efforts, as well as specific instruments to enable the standardization of research results beyond the project lifetime, are desirable if Europe is to play a role in the global standardization of CR and DSA. Based on the survey and on close interactions with RAS cluster projects, the paper finally proposes a number of concrete coordination trajectories. © 2014 IEEE.

Abstract
Over the last decade, several algorithms for process discovery and process conformance have been proposed. Still, it is well-accepted that there is no dominant algorithm in any of these two disciplines, and then it is often difficult to apply them successfully. Most of these algorithms need a close-to expert knowledge in order to be applied satisfactorily. In this paper, we present a recommender system that uses portfolio-based algorithm selection strategies to face the following problems: to find the best discovery algorithm for the data at hand, and to allow bridging the gap between general users and process mining algorithms. Experiments performed with the developed tool witness the usefulness of the approach for a variety of instances. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.

Abstract
In this paper we present a comprehensive analysis and a performance assessment on the transmission of digitised RF signals over optical fibre (DRoF). Specifically, a study of the impact of the ADC/DAC quantization, jitter noise and the signal attenuation caused by the sub-sampling technique and DAC frequency roll-off are addressed by means of simulation, considering the transmission of RF signals conveying QAM symbols. Additionally, an experimental evaluation of DRoF links using vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL) for different optical fibre attenuation levels is also conducted. Finally, a new paradigm of DRoF systems based on well-known sigma-delta modulators (SDM) is also presented. Results show that it is possible to digitally transmit signals through a digital optical-based network and to distribute them wirelessly at the receiver side without the need for local oscillators (LO) and/or frequency up-converters. Results also show that the new sigma-delta-over-fibre concept performs similarly to conventional DRoF schemes, whilst being more competitive for either upgrading installed systems as well as for new deployments.