by Monica Nicoli and Vittorio Rampa

Localization of moving users or terminals (MTs) is one of the hottest topics in mobile radio/network research and development. User localization may be achieved by satellites (eg using the GPS or the forthcoming GALILEO satellite system) or radio. While in the first case one or more additional devices must be embedded in the user terminal, thus making it more complex and expensive, the latter scenario requires no additional devices since only radio/network services are employed. Radio-assisted localization is the only method suitable in indoor or urban canyon scenarios where satellite signals are not available.

by Bram Vermeer

CT scans are set to become far more efficient. That is the outcome of a study conducted at CWI by Joost Batenburg, who obtained his PhD in 2006 with a thesis on algorithms for computer tomography. The results of Batenburg's research offer new prospects for medical diagnosis, but are also of interest to diamond cutters. It also allowed him to capture images of individual atoms in small crystals from electron microscopy data.

by Bram Vermeer and Harry Buhrman

Work on quantum entanglement at CWI gives new insight in the non-locality of Nature. There is also a surprising connection to fault tolerant computing and the feasibility of quantum computers.

by Fabrizio Clarelli, Antonio Fasano, and Roberto Natalini

Air pollution is one of the most serious causes of degradation in carbonate stone, which in the form of marble, limestone and similar materials comprises some of the most important monuments and artefacts in the world. Mathematicians have now begun to model the degradation problem in order to assist in the protection and restoration of this stone. This paper presents a free boundary model, which describes the growth of a gypsum crust on the surface of marble monuments under SO2 aggression, and quantifies the influence of environmental factors such as pollutant concentration, humidity and temperature.

by Angela Grassi

In the post-genomic era, identifying the structure of genetic networks is one of the main goals of Systems Biology. A project in which gene regulatory networks are modelled and reconstructed from time-course gene expression data is being undertaken by the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (ISIB-CNR) in collaboration with Lancaster University.

by Tibor Gottdank

The goal of data provenance is to provide a method and a standard with which to manage the validity and the origin of information. At SZTAKI, a model-level data provenance method is implemented in a distributed service-oriented system, as part of a Hungarian national research and development project called SINTAGMA (Semantic INtegration Technology Applied in Grid-based, Model-driven Architectures).

by Balázs Pataki and László Kovács

While SMEs (small, medium and micro enterprises) are the largest group of businesses in Europe, their requirements for doing business with each other in an interoperable and cost-effective way have not been in focus until the last couple of years. The European Commission has sponsored the IST project ABILITIES (Application Bus for InteroperabiLITy In Enlarged Europe SMEs) to build a comprehensive solution for SMEs in an enlarged Europe. This will be achieved by studying, designing and implementing a B2B enterprise interoperability solution; such a solution would involve a federated architecture based on adaptive and intelligent UBL active messages to support complete Order-to-Invoice processes of SMEs.

by Apostolos Stamou, Anthony Savidis and Constantine Stephanidis

KING PONG, a fully accessible remake of the classic Pong game, has been developed to foster the inclusion of people with disabilities to computer game entertainment. It constitutes a research prototype of innovative display and interaction techniques that are suitable for visually and physically impaired people as well as able-bodied users, thus promoting interaction and gaming between diverse user groups.

by Paul-Louis George and Houman Borouchaki

The Japanese steel manufacturer Nippon Steel Corporation has selected BL2D, a bidimensional mesh generator software package, to better simulate and optimize thin sheet cut-outs and forming. BL2D was jointly developed by INRIA and UTT, the Troyes University of Technology.