Abstract
Fractional Calculus (FC) goes back to the beginning of the theory of differential calculus. Nevertheless, the application of FC just emerged in the last two decades, due to the progress in the area of chaos that revealed subtle relationships with the FC concepts. In the field of dynamical systems theory some work has been carried out but the proposed models and algorithms are still in a preliminary stage of establishment. Having these ideas in mind, the paper discusses FC in the study of system dynamics and control. In this perspective, this paper investigates the use of FC in the fields of controller tuning, legged robots, redundant robots, heat diffusion, and digital circuit synthesis.

Abstract
Cloud computing is becoming one of the most used paradigins to deploy highly available and scalable systems. These systems usually demand the management of huge amounts of data, which cannot be solved with traditional nor replicated database systems as we know them. Recent solutions store data in special key-value structures, in an approach that commonly lacks the consistency provided by transactional guarantees, as it is traded for high scalability and availability. In order to ensure consistent access to the information, the use of transactions is required. However, it is well-known that traditional replication protocols do not scale well for a cloud environment. Here we take a look at current proposals to deploy transactional systems in the cloud and we propose a new system aiming at being a step forward in achieving this goal. We proceed to focus on data partitioning and describe the key role it plays in achieving high scalability.

Abstract
In critical areas such as decision making, the Collaborative Work has an uttermost importance. Being a complex problem, the collective decision taking is currently a popular form of taking decisions. In this work we present the VirtualECare project: an intelligent multi-agent system able to monitor, interact and serve its customers (in need of care services). In developed countries, recent census data report a sudden increase in the elderly community together with a decrease of child birth. This is a new reality that needs to be dealt by the health sector, particularly by the public one. In an early stage, this new situation appears mostly as a financial problem. The costs involved in the health care are considerable. Thus, alternative technological solutions that lead to straightforward solutions should be adopted. Recently, a growing interest in combining the advances in information society - computing, telecommunications and presentation - to create Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS), has been observed. It is our view that the use of the GDSS in the health care area will pursue the achievement of better results in terms of patients Electronically Clinical Profile (ECP). Additionally, we believe that the best way of managing health appointments is through the use of calendars - one application that can manage both the physicians and patients calendars and consequently their day schedule. Within this area, the approaches used in the VirtualECare and iGenda projects are presented. © 2010 IEEE.

Abstract
This paper tries to show that Group Support Systems techniques and research results provide an adequate framework to develop public participation support systems that go beyond e-voting and aggregation of citizens' preferences. It is however necessary to look into political science and understand what kind of initiatives need to be supported and what requirements they pose. Only then the full potential of Information and Communication Technologies regarding democracy support may be achieved.

Abstract
It is known that the fibrous structure of muscle causes light scattering. This phenomenon occurs due to the refractive index discontinuities located between muscle fibers and interstitial fluid. To study the possibility of reducing light scattering inside muscle, we consider its spectral transmittance evolution during an immersion treatment with an optical clearing solution containing ethanol, glycerol, and distilled water. Our methodology consists of registering spectral transmittance of muscle samples while immersed in that solution. With the spectral data collected, we represent the transmittance evolution for some wavelengths during the treatment applied. Additionally, we study the variations that the treatment has caused on the samples regarding tissue refractive index and mass. By analyzing microscopic photographs of tissue cross section, we can also verify changes in the internal arrangement of muscle fibers caused by the immersion treatment. Due to a mathematical model that we develop, we can explain the variations observed in the studied parameters and estimate the amount of optical clearing agent that has diffused into the tissue samples during the immersion treatment. At the end of the study, we observe and explain the improvement in tissue spectral transmittance, which is approximately 65% after 20 min. (C) 2010 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. [DOI: 10.1117/1.3486539]

Abstract
The emergence of multi-agent systems in the past years has led to a necessity of developing new methodologies to assist in the requirements and architectural analysis, and in the design phases of such a system, and as a consequence, several Agent Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE) methodologies have been proposed. In this paper, we analyze the GAIA methodology and some proposed extensions, and use this methodology to design an abstract generic system model for an open multi-robot application. We then derive two distinct specific models for two different applications - the first with the intention of using intelligent wheelchairs in a hospital environment, and the second targeting the use of teams of autonomous aircrafts. The successful adoption of the generic model in the design stages of the two distinct systems not only validates the proposed model and shows that it can be used in open multi-agent systems, but also shows it is also flexible enough to be used in systems as diverse as these. By adapting the GAIA methodology for the design of open systems, this work enables designers to model open systems in a faster and simpler form, decreasing the time needed to complete several tasks, while maintaining a high-level overview of the system. ©2010 IEEE.