Abstract
Great advances in stitching high-quality retinal images have been made in recent years. On the other hand, very few studies have been carried out on low-resolution retinal imaging. This work investigates the challenges of low-resolution retinal images obtained by the D-EYE smartphone-based fundus camera. The proposed method uses homography estimation to register and stitch low-quality retinal images into a cohesive mosaic. First, a Siamese neural network extracts features from a pair of images, after which the correlation of their feature maps is computed. This correlation map is fed through four independent CNNs to estimate the homography parameters, each specializing in different corner coordinates. Our model was trained on a synthetic dataset generated from the Microsoft Common Objects in Context (MSCOCO) dataset; this work added an important data augmentation phase to improve the quality of the model. Then, the same is evaluated on the FIRE retina and D-EYE datasets for performance measurement using the Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Structural Similarity Index (SSIM). The obtained results are promising: the average PSNR was 26.14 dB, with an SSIM of 0.96 on the D-EYE dataset. Compared to the method that uses a single neural network for homography calculations, our approach improves the PSNR by 7.96 dB and achieves a 7.86% higher SSIM score.

Abstract
The Digital electronics collaborative enhanced learning (DECEL) project has recently developed an international collaborative education course. Its main objective is to enhance the digital electronics skills of international students by working on a complex, multidisciplinary applied problem using a mixed digital architecture. We have developed a logic level synthesis and dedicated software layers on the Red Pitaya FPGA platform. The diversity of digital concepts to be implemented, from hardware description language (HDL) to high-level languages such as Python or Matlab, forced the students to work together and rapidly improve their skills. Their motivation was fueled by the curiosity of controlling an ultrasound probe to obtain ultrasound signatures. This particular physics, little known to the students, was an additional source of curiosity. The goal of forming an image in a liquid medium was an additional motivating factor for them. The students reported that they learned a lot from the experiment. Thus, the technical parts and pedagogical results are documented in this work for reproducibility.

Abstract
This tutorial delves into the transformative power of asking effective questions in engineering information systems. We explore how crafting well-defined questions in both the problem space (what issue are we addressing?) and the solution space (how will we approach it?) is paramount for success. The session will unveil the intricate relationship between these questions - how the what shapes the how and vice versa. We move beyond the fear of asking naive questions, demonstrating how these can spark innovation and reveal hidden assumptions. By the end, attendees will have a powerful and easy-to-use technique that removes the fear from questions.

Abstract

Abstract
A blue jeans brand committed to the environmental cause could position itself as unique and socially responsible and attract environmentally driven consumers. This research study examines the relationship between brand love and consumers' environmental cause knowledge and their willingness to recommend and pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans. To this end, this cross-sectional study comprises a snowball convenience sample of 978 Portuguese respondents, whose data were collected from December 2022 to January 2023. Positive associations between self-expression, brand love, loyalty, environmental cause knowledge, positive word-of-mouth, and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans stand out. There are differences in the willingness to pay a premium among generations, education levels, and consumers who are aware of sustainable line extensions and those who are not. The results may be helpful for brands, suggesting their communication should focus on creating increased proximity to consumers by enhancing their values and seeking to link their brands to intrinsic benefits and environmental stakes. This is the first study to incorporate knowledge of the environmental cause into a model linking brand love, brand loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans.

Abstract
Pruning consists on an agricultural trimming procedure that is crucial in some species of plants to promote healthy growth and increased yield. Generally, this task is done through manual labour, which is costly, physically demanding, and potentially dangerous for the worker. Robotic pruning is an automated alternative approach to manual labour on this task. This approach focuses on selective pruning and requires the existence of an end-effector capable of detecting and cutting the correct point on the branch to achieve efficient pruning. This paper reviews and analyses different end-effectors used in robotic pruning, which helped to understand the advantages and limitations of the different techniques used and, subsequently, clarified the work required to enable autonomous pruning. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.