Abstract
Currently, there is a great interest in the development of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems for dermoscopic images. The segmentation step is one of the most important ones, since its accuracy determines the eventual success or failure of a CAD system. In this paper, different kinds of algorithms for the automatic segmentation of skin lesions in dermoscopic images were implemented and evaluated, namely automatic thresholding, k-means, mean-shift, region growing, gradient vector flow (GVF), and watershed. The segmentation methods were evaluated with three distinct metrics, using as ground truth a database of 50 images manually segmented by an expert dermatologist. Among the implemented segmentation approaches, the GVF snake method achieved the best segmentation performance.

Abstract
This paper proposes a platform which allows to evaluate the performance of an Embodied Conversational Agent and the influence of several distinct multimedia elements. Using the "Imitation Game" as described by Alan Turing as a starting point and motivation, the platform allows the configuration of several features which influence the Virtual environment. Through a series of user tests and surveys that are performed using the platform, it is possible to gather data that helps measure the efficiency of each feature.

Abstract

Abstract
Crowdsourcing is a bubbling research topic that has the potential to be applied in numerous online and social scenarios. It consists on obtaining services or information by soliciting contributions from a large group of people. However, the question of defining the appropriate scope of a crowd to tackle each scenario is still open. In this work we compare two approaches to define the scope of a crowd in a classification problem, casted as a recommendation system. We propose a similarity measure to determine the closeness of a specific user to each crowd contributor and hence to define the appropriate crowd scope. We compare different levels of customization using crowd-based information, allowing non-experts classification by crowds to be tuned to substitute the user profile definition. Results on a real recommendation data set show the potential of making crowds more personal, i.e. of tuning the crowd to the crowdtarget.

Abstract
59 Background: The international randomised contolled TARGeted Intraoperative radioTherapy (TARGIT) trial has demonstrated non-inferiority between the novel technique of TARGIT (intra-operative radiotherapy with Intrabeam) and conventional whole-breast external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in women with early breast cancer, in terms of the primary outcome measure of risk of local relapse within the treated breast. With very low recurrence rates, cosmesis becomes an increasingly important outcome of breast conserving treatment with both surgery and radiotherapy. This study was performed to determine if the single high dose of TARGIT leads to impaired cosmesis. Methods: A validated, objective assessment tool for evaluation of cosmetic outcome was used. Frontal digital photographs were taken at baseline (before TARGIT or EBRT) and yearly thereafter for up to five years. The photographs were analysed by BCCT.core software which produces a composite score based on symmetry, colour and scar. Results: 342 patients were assessed, all over 50 years old with a median age at baseline of 64 years (IQR 59 to 68). The scores were dichotomised into Excellent and Good (EG), and Fair and Poor (FP). There were statistically significant increases in the odds of having an outcome of EG for patients in the TARGIT group relative to the EBRT group at year 1 (OR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.12 to 3.85, p = 0.021) and year 2 (OR = 2.11, 95% CI 1.0 to 4.45, p = 0.05). Conclusions: Following an objective assessment of aesthetic outcome in patients from a randomised setting, this study demonstrates that those treated with targeted intraoperative radiotherapy have a superior cosmetic result compared with those patients who received conventional whole-breast external beam radiotherapy.

Abstract
The main purpose of this article is to study the antecedents (internal market orientation) and the consequences (innovation, organizational commitment and performance) of market orientation in industrial SMEs. This article follows a new approach: instead of analyzing the responses of CEOs to a questionnaire, commercial and marketing functional managers were addressed. Consequently, this is the first study of its kind involving industrial SMEs addressing those who implement the marketing strategy instead of those who define it. Based on 154 valid answers, the conclusions are that, at a signifi cant level of 1%, the internal market orientation infl uences positively the external market orientation, the external market orientation infl uences innovation and innovation, in its turn, infl uences business performance. Moreover, market orientation and organizational commitment only infl uence performance at a 5% signifi cance level.