Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the big hopes for the future of a positive revolution in the use of medical data to improve clinical routine and personalized medicine [...]

Abstract
Biomedical engineering has been targeted as a potential research candidate for machine learning applications, with the purpose of detecting or diagnosing pathologies. However, acquiring relevant, high-quality, and heterogeneous medical datasets is challenging due to privacy and security issues and the effort required to annotate the data. Generative models have recently gained a growing interest in the computer vision field due to their ability to increase dataset size by generating new high-quality samples from the initial set, which can be used as data augmentation of a training dataset. This study aimed to synthesize artificial lung images from corresponding positional and semantic annotations using two generative adversarial networks and databases of real computed tomography scans: the Pix2Pix approach that generates lung images from the lung segmentation maps; and the conditional generative adversarial network (cCGAN) approach that was implemented with additional semantic labels in the generation process. To evaluate the quality of the generated images, two quantitative measures were used: the domain-specific Frechet Inception Distance and Structural Similarity Index. Additionally, an expert assessment was performed to measure the capability to distinguish between real and generated images. The assessment performed shows the high quality of synthesized images, which was confirmed by the expert evaluation. This work represents an innovative application of GAN approaches for medical application taking into consideration the pathological findings in the CT images and the clinical evaluation to assess the realism of these features in the generated images.

Abstract
Almond trees in Portugal are susceptible to aphid infestation, which can result in reduced fruit production. To effectively tackle this issue, the combination of remote sensing (RS) data and machine learning (ML) classifiers can be used to accurately detect the presence of aphids. This study focuses in the implementation of ML classifiers and RS data analysis to identify aphids on almond trees, using high-resolution multispectral data collected through an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a Portuguese almond orchard. Four ML classifiers, kNN, SVM, RF and XGBoost, were employed and fine-tuned using vegetation indices derived from spectral data. The results revealed that the SVM classifier achieved an overall accuracy (OA) of 77%, followed by kNN with an OA of 74%, while XGBoost and RF achieved OAs of 71% and 69%, respectively. Consequently, this study demonstrates the viability of employing RS data and ML classifiers for aphid identification in almond orchards.

Abstract
Data acquisition through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has become integral to the study of agricultural crops, especially for multitemporal analyses spanning the entire growing season. Ensuring accurate data alignment is essential not only to maintain data quality but also to leverage the continuous monitoring of the same area over time. Ground control points (GCPs) play a critical role in geolocating UAV data. Their absence can lead to planimetric and altimetric discrepancies, which are particularly impactful in 3D plant-level studies. This study is centered on the examination of misalignment effects in a challenging steep slope vineyard environment and their impacts on 3D alignment accuracy. For this purpose, a UAV equipped with an RGB camera to capture imagery at two distinct flight heights. Various scenarios, each involving a different number of GCPs, were assessed to evaluate their impact on alignment precision. The methodology employed holds potential for assessing geolocation accuracy in complex 3D environments, providing value insights for vineyard monitoring. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.

Abstract
Bogota, the largest urban center and capital city of Colombia, is located within the Bogota savanna, which originated as a lake in the central part of the Colombian Eastern Cordillera. Over time, the lake transformed into a gently undulating plain with horizontally deposited sediments that formed around five million years ago. Over the last few decades, the region has undergone significant population growth and rapid urban development, largely driven by migration from rural areas. This development has substantially impacted the subsidence observed in the city, primarily due to the extraction of groundwater. A previous study by the Servicio Geologico Colombiano (SGC) utilized data from GNSS stations and synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) with TerraSAR-X SAR between 2011 and 2017 to identify a subsidence pattern in the central region of Bogota. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the risks and potential disasters associated with the subsidence phenomenon. Our study investigates both the subsidence in Bogota, previously studied, as well as the rural savanna area, which is currently undergoing significant residential and industrial development. We utilized multi-temporal InSAR (MT-InSAR) techniques with Sentinel-1 SAR images from 2014 to 2021. The analysis results indicate that the outer regions of the city display the most significant subsidence, extending from the center to the north. The subsidence velocities in these areas reach approximately 5-6 cm/year.

Abstract
Global warming presents a significant threat to the sustainability of agricultural systems, demanding increased irrigation to mitigate the impacts of prolonged dry seasons. Efficient water management strategies, including deficit irrigation, have thus become essential, requiring continuous crop monitoring. However, conventional monitoring methods are laborious and time-consuming. This study investigates the potential of aerial imagery captured by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to predict critical water stress indicators-relative water content (RWC), midday leaf water potential (psi MD), stomatal conductance (gs)-as well as the pigment content (chlorophyll ab, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids) of trees in an olive orchard. Both thermal and spectral vegetation indices are calculated and correlated using linear and exponential regression models. The results reveal that the thermal vegetation indices contrast in estimating the water stress indicators, with the Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) demonstrating higher precision in predicting the RWC (R2 = 0.80), psi MD (R2 = 0.61) and gs (R2 = 0.72). Additionally, the Triangular Vegetation Index (TVI) shows superior accuracy in predicting the chlorophyll ab (R2 = 0.64) and chlorophyll a (R2 = 0.61), while the Modified Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index (MCARI) proves most effective for estimating the chlorophyll b (R2 = 0.52). This study emphasizes the potential of UAV-based multispectral and thermal infrared imagery in precision agriculture, enabling assessments of the water status and pigment content. Moreover, these results highlight the vital importance of this technology in optimising resource allocation and enhancing olive production, critical steps towards sustainable agriculture in the face of global warming.