Abstract
The vertical integration of the manufacturing equipments within the information infrastructure of companies is a growing demand. The use of service-oriented standard interfaces and the upcoming trend of cloud computing technologies both deserve careful attention. This paper makes a comparison of remote database access times made through service-oriented interfaces, both for a cloud computing solution and for a local server data base. The results are analyzed not only in terms of the interface used (REST or SOAP) but also within the context of a laboratorial industrial robot work-cell evaluating the effective impact of these results when compared with other automation operations. © 2010 IEEE.

Abstract
In this paper we present the GamaSlicer tool, which is primarily a semantics-based program slicer that also offers formal verification (generation of verification conditions) and program visualization functionality. The tool allows users to obtain slices using a number of different families of slicing algorithms (precondition-based, postcondition-based, and specification-based), from a correct software component annotated with pre and postconditions (contracts written in JML-annotated Java). Each family in turn contains algorithms of different precision (with more precise algorithms being asymptotically slower). A novelty of our work at the theoretical level is the inclusion of a new, much more effective algorithm for specification-based slicing, and in fact other current work at this level is being progressively incorporated in the tool. The tool also generates (in a step-by-step fashion) a set of verification conditions (as formulas written in the SMT-lib language, which enables the use of different automatic SMT provers). This allows to establish the initial correctness of the code with respect to their contracts. © ACM 2010.

Abstract
Many of the models used for the representation of the generation companies' behavior in oligopolistic electricity markets are based on conjectural variation equilibria, which are a generalization of the classic Cournot approach. However, one of the main drawbacks of these approaches is the complexity of assigning adequate values to the conjectures, which can dramatically affect the results obtained from these models. This paper reviews and analyses the main formulations of conjectural equilibria applied to electricity markets. The paper shows how these different formulations are equivalent, and presents the relationships among the conjectures they use. Finally, it presents a brief overview on the main methods to estimate or compute the conjectures of these types of models.

Abstract
P>Purpose: To evaluate the significance of lateralization of ictal upper limb automatisms in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Methods: Ictal upper limb automatisms of 28 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy were quantified. Duration of automatisms in relation to total seizure duration, movement speed, extent, length, and predominant frequencies of the movements were analyzed for both upper extremities separately and compared to the lateralization of the epileptogenic temporal lobe. Results: Predominantly ipsilateral upper limb automatisms were more common (n = 19) than predominantly contralateral automatisms (n = 9). The duration of ictal ipsilateral upper limb automatisms was significantly longer than the duration of contralateral automatisms (ipsilateral automatisms: 29 of 86 s total seizure duration; contralateral automatisms: 19 of 110 s total seizure duration; p = 0.048). Patients with ipsilateral upper limb automatisms had more often exclusively unitemporal interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) (84.2%) than patients with contralateral automatisms (11.1%; p < 0.001). The positive predictive value (PPV) of the combination of these parameters is 84.2%. Excellent surgical seizure outcome was better in patients with ipsilateral upper limb automatisms (77.8%) compared to those with contralateral automatisms (20%) (p = 0.09). The quantitative analysis of movement extent, average speed, maximum speed, and repetition rate of ipsilateral and contralateral upper limb automatisms did not show any statistically significant difference in this patient sample. Conclusion: The lateralization of upper limb automatisms in TLE has a good lateralizing value if the lateralization of IEDs were also taken into consideration.

Abstract
Implantable electronic cardiovascular devices (IECD) include a broad spectrum of devices that have the ability to maintain rhythm, provide cardiac resynchronization therapy, and/or prevent sudden cardiac death. The incidence of bradyarrhythmias and other cardiac problems led to a broader use of IECD, which turned traditional follow-up into an extremely heavy burden for healthcare systems to support. Our aim was to assess the impact of remote monitoring on the follow-up of patients with IECD. We performed a review through PubMed using a specific query. The paper selection process included a three-step approach in which title, abstract, and cross-references were analyzed. Studies were then selected using previously defined inclusion criteria and analyzed according to the country of origin of the study, year, and journal of publication; type of study; and main issues covered. Twenty articles were included in this review. Eighty percent of the selected papers addressed clinical issues, from which 94% referred clinical events identification, clinical stability, time savings, or physician satisfaction as advantages, whereas 38% referred disadvantages that included both legal and technical issues. Forty-five percent of the papers referred patient issues, from which 89% presented advantages, focusing on patient acceptance/satisfaction, and patient time-savings. The main downsides were technical issues but patient privacy was also addressed. All the papers dealing with economic issues (20%) referred both advantages and disadvantages equally. Remote monitoring is presently a safe technology, widely accepted by patients and physicians, for its convenience, reassurance, and diagnostic potential. This review summarizes the principles of remote IECD monitoring presenting the current state-of-the-art. Patient safety and device interaction, applicability of current technology, and limitations of remote IECD monitoring are also addressed. The use of remote monitor should consider the selection of patients, the type of disease, and centers' availability to receive, interpret and respond to device alerts. Before remote IECD monitoring can be routinely used, technical, procedure, and ethical/legal issues should be addressed.

Abstract
The inclusion of the presentation of music in a conference dealing with technical or cultural aspects of that same music has evolved significantly. An important aspect of music presentation is the opportunity it provides for public engagement. Conferences that have a music program often follow two different approaches, or a combination of these that includes the creation of a music committee inways similar to a scientific committee, or the invitation of curators to select the program for one or more concerts in the conference. Models of new music creation have significantly expanded to include close composer-performer collaboration which in some cases results in coauthorship. The conference-plus-festival format needs to be able to expand and refine the process of submitting a work for public presentation in order to adequately exhibit the variety of approaches to music production and dissemination.