The lack of sunlight on mountain roads in the wintertime leads to an increase in accidents. In this paper, a methodology is presented for the use of sunny and shady areas to be included as a parameter in road design. The inclusion of this parameter allows for the design of an iterative method for the projected infrastructures. The parameterization of the road layout facilitates the possibility of applying an iterative process of modifying the geometric elements that constitute it, examining different layout alternatives until a layout is achieved in which the surface area in the shady area is minimized, increasing the road safety and minimizing environmental impact. The methodology has been defined, generating and analyzing the results of the solar lighting study using a file in IFC format capable of integrating with the rest of the design elements (platform, signaling, structures, etc.) and thus obtaining a BIM format which allows the model to be viewed in three dimensions and moves towards 4D and 5D. The model used for the study was a high mountain road located in the province of Teruel (Spain). It is a road section characterized by successive curves in which several traffic accidents have occurred due to running off the road, partly because of the presence of ice on the platform.

Background: Acne vulgaris is the most common dermatological pathology worldwide. The currently used methodologies for the evaluation and monitoring of acne have been analyzed in several studies, highlighting important limitations that can be concretely addressed using image processing methods by performing segmentation on different acne vulgaris image modalities. These techniques reduce the costs of treatment and acne severity grading, since they improve objectivity and are less time-consuming. That is why, in the last decade, several studies that propose segmentation methodologies on acne patients’ images have been published. The aim of this work is to analyze the segmentation methods developed for acne vulgaris images until now, including an analysis of the processing techniques and image modalities used, as well as the results. Results: Following the PRISMA statement and PICO model, 27 studies were included in the systematic review, and subsequently, they were divided into two groups: those that discuss methods based on classical image processing techniques, such as contrast adjustment and conversion of RGB images to other color spaces, and those discussing methods based on machine learning algorithms. Conclusions: Currently, there is no preference between one group of segmentation methods or the other. Moreover, the lack of uniformity in the evaluation of results for each study makes the comparison of methods difficult. The preferred image modality for segmentation is conventional photography, which shows a research gap in the application of segmentation algorithms to other acne vulgaris image modalities that could be useful, such as fluorescence imaging.

The number of infectious spots or pathological structures recorded on dermatological images is a tool to aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression. Dermatological images for the detection and monitoring of the evolution of acne infections are evaluated globally, comparing whether the increase or decrease in infectious lesions appearing on an image is significant. This evaluation method is only indicative since its accuracy is low. The accuracy problem could be improved by an exact count of the number of structures and spots appearing on the image. The mathematical function circular Hough transform (CHT) function implemented in MATLAB is here applied to develop a procedure for counting these structures. CHT has been used in the recognition of benign and distorted red blood cells, in the detection of pellet sizes in industrial processes and in the automated detection and morphological characterization of breast tumor masses from infrared images, as well as for the detection of brain aneurysms and use in magnetic resonance imaging. The sensitivity factor is one of the many parameters required to feed the CHT algorithm. Its choice is unclear as there is no proper methodology to select an optimum value suitable for each image. In this work, a procedure for determining the optimal value of the sensitivity factor is proposed The approach is validated by comparison with the results of the manual counting of the points (ground truth).

This paper presents the findings of a 12-year study on radon conducted from January 2011 to December 2022 at the Giordan Lighthouse station on the island of Gozo, Malta. Located in the Central Mediterranean, Gozo’s strategic position enables effective monitoring of air mass movements between Africa and Europe (from south to north) and between Europe and Central Asia (from west to east). Our research involves an analysis of seasonal and diurnal variations in radon levels, alongside analysis of relevant meteorological variables, clustering of air mass back trajectories, and assessment of local and remote radon production. The findings provide critical insights into the dynamics of atmospheric radon, which are significant not only for the Maltese islands, but also for enhancing our understanding of transcontinental radon transport in the Central Mediterranean, a region that has remained largely unexplored.