Abstract
The model-driven automatic generation of interactive applications has been addressed by some research projects, but only few propose the model-to-model generation of a graphical user interface (UT). Existing solutions generate only part of the interactive application and most of them require as input the full specification of a UT model. This paper proposes an iterative and incremental approach that enables the modeler to generate a form-based executable prototype from the constructed models, favouring an evolutionary construction of models starting with a domain model, proceeding with an extended domain model and finally complementing it with a use case model. The approach derives a UI model from the previously referred models and allows its execution by generating an executable description of the UT in a XML-based UT description language, together with code for the specified logic and for persisting the data entities. The generated UI description may be further refined and supplemented with style definitions in order to obtain a final UT.

Abstract
Most reconfigurable computing architectures suffer from computationally demanding Placement and Routing (P&R) steps which might hamper their use in contexts requiring dynamic compilation (e.g., to guarantee application portability in embedded systems). Bearing in mind the simplification of P&R steps, this paper presents and analyzes a coarse-grained reconfigurable array extended with global Omega Networks. We show that integrating one or two Omega Networks in a coarse-grained array simplifies the P&R stage with both low hardware resource overhead and low performance degradation (18% for an 8 x 8 array). The experimental results included permit to compare the coarse-grained array with one or two Omega Networks with a coarse-grained array based on a grid of processing elements with neighbor connections. When comparing the execution time to perform the P&R stage needed for the two arrays, we show that the array using two Omega Networks needs a far simple P&R which for the benchmarks used completed on average in about 20x less time.

Abstract
An optical fibre sensor for determination of acetic acid is presented. The sensing probe is based on a fibre Bragg grating (FBG) Fabry-Perot cavity, coated with a thin film of sol-gel-PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone) composite material. The polymeric thin film renders the interferometric output sensitive to the presence of carboxylic acid species. Results show that the wavelength of the interferometric peaks changes with acetic acid concentration, enabling its quantification. Coupling the fibre probe with a serrodyne modulated readout interferometer enables pseudo-heterodyne interrogation and the detection of acetic acid with a sensitivity of 92.6 deg/% L/L and a resolution of 0.2% L/L. The results demonstrate the potential of the proposed scheme to operate as a sensitive chemical sensor platform.

Abstract
In this work, sensitivity to strain and temperature of a sensor relying on modal interferometry in hollow-core photonic crystal fibers is studied. The sensing structure is simply a piece of hollow-core fiber connected in both ends to standard single mode fiber. An interference pattern that is associated to the interference of light that propagates in the hollow core fundamental mode with light that propagates in other modes is observed. The phase of this interference pattern changes with the measurand interaction, which is the basis for considering this structure for sensing. The phase recovery is performed using a white light interferometric technique. Resolutions of +/- 1.4 mu epsilon and +/- 0.2 degrees C were achieved for strain and temperature, respectively. It was also found that the fiber structure is not sensitive to curvature. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Abstract

Abstract
The integration of computer systems into clinical practice is a consequence of the growing sophistication of medical machinery. The fact that patient management in large institutions is handled by complex information systems brings about the need for integration between applications on both sides. The paper describes a prototype for automatic data collection from intensive care devices developed at Pedro Hispano Hospital in Portugal. The system acts as an application gateway between the network of patient monitoring devices and the general-purpose hospital network. The conformance to medical standards is one of the main concerns. The international standard Health Level 7 (HL7) has been adopted to import vital signs, as well as to prepare data for visualization in departmental applications and to organize archives. The design has followed the administrative and clinical processes in the hospital closely, leading to a successful interaction with the health professionals. Automatic acquisition eliminates transcription errors, improves the quality of records and allows the assembly of large electronic archives of vital sign data. The concern with data archiving in standard formats opens many possibilities for further analysis of the collected data sets. The possibility of communicating via the HL7 standard makes the whole system easily interoperable with applications in related domains.