Validation of the GUM uncertainty framework and the Unscented transformation for Brewer UV irradiance measurements using the Monte Carlo method

The uncertainty evaluation of spectral ultraviolet (UV) irradiance measurements is usually performed following the recommendations set by the GUM, the standard for uncertainty evaluation in metrology. In particular, the GUM uncertainty framework (GUF) is applied. Due to the difficulties in the propagation of uncertainties, it is standard practice to neglect the non-linearity of the irradiance model. To verify this assumption, the GUF is validated using the Monte Carlo method (MCM), as recommended by the GUM. As an alternative to these methods, an Unscented transformation (UT) has also been implemented and validated with the MCM. The data used are the UV scans recorded by a Brewer MKIII spectroradiometer at El Arenosillo Observatory. Evaluation of the spectral ratios between the combined standard uncertainties provided by the GUF, the UT, and the MCM showed that the agreement between the three methodologies is satisfactory.The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This work was supported by MCIN/ AEI/10. 13039/501100011033 and “European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR” [Grant TED2021-130532A-I00 ]; and by ESA-MPC , Aemet [KNMI- Contract Number 2020/658, 2020]

La radiación solar: efectos en la salud y el medio ambiente

140 páginasEl incremento de cierto tipo de radiaciones ultravioletas procedentes del sol, perjudiciales para la salud y el medio ambiente es un tema de candente actualidad, a pesar de la aparente recuperación de la capa de ozono, filtro protector de la biosfera y de la calidad de vida de los seres que habitan el Planeta. La obra ha tratado de definir la situación actual de este gas a escala planetaria, analizando las causas físicas de su aparición y de su destrucción y las consecuencias que para el medio ambiente y la salud tiene el incremento de radiación ultravioleta

Second solar ultraviolet radiometer comparison campaign UVC-II

In 2017, PMOD/WRC organised the solar ultraviolet broadband radiometer comparison campaign UVC-II. All 75 participating instruments from all over the world were characterised in the laboratory of the World Calibration Center for UV (WCCUV) and calibrated outdoors relative to the Qasume reference spectroradiometer. After a three month calibration period, all devices were returned to their owners, accompanied by a certificate demonstrating traceability to the international system of units. The calibration uncertainty stated in these certificates was less than 6% for the majority of the radiometers. The deviation to the original calibration factors was analysed. From this data we determined three components affecting the overall measurement uncertainty of solar UV measurements using broadband radiometers on different time scales: Usage of additional correction factors to the absolute calibration factor, control of the humidity inside the device and recalibration frequency. A subset of radiometers participating in the campaign were calibrated and characterised at their home laboratories. A comparison of the calibration factors shows that the USER- and the WCCUV-calibrations agree within the uncertainties for 9 out of 11 calibrations

Impacts of Use and Abuse of Nature in Catalonia with Proposals for Sustainable Management

This paper provides an overview of the last 40 years of use, and in many cases abuse, of the natural resources in Catalonia, a country that is representative of European countries in general, and especially those in the Mediterranean region. It analyses the use of natural resources made by mining, agriculture, livestock, logging, fishing, nature tourism, and energy production and consumption. This use results in an ecological footprint, i.e., the productive land and sea surface required to generate the consumed resources and absorb the resulting waste, which is about seven times the amount available, a very high number but very similar to other European countries. This overexploitation of natural resources has a huge impact on land and its different forms of cover, air, and water. For the last 25 years, forests and urban areas have each gained almost 3% more of the territory at the expense of agricultural land; those municipalities bordering the sea have increased their number of inhabitants and activity, and although they only occupy 6.7% of the total surface area, they account for 43.3% of the population; air quality has stabilized since the turn of the century, and there has been some improvement in the state of aquatic ecosystems, but still only 36% are in good condition, while the remainder have suffered morphological changes and different forms of nonpoint source pollution; meanwhile the biodiversity of flora and fauna remains still under threat. Environmental policies do not go far enough so there is a need for revision of the legislation related to environmental impact and the protection of natural areas, flora, and fauna. The promotion of environmental research must be accompanied by environmental education to foster a society which is Land 2021, 10, 144 3 of 53 more knowledgeable, has more control and influence over the decisions that deeply affect it. Indeed, nature conservation goes hand in hand with other social and economic challenges that require a more sustainable vision. Today’s problems with nature derive from the current economic model, which is environmentally unsustainable in that it does not take into account environmental impacts. Lastly, we propose a series of reasonable and feasible priority measures and actions related to each use made of the country’s natural resources, to the impacts they have had, and to their management, in the hope that these can contribute to improving the conservation and management of the environment and biodiversity and move towards sustainability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

Performance of the FMI cosine error correction method for the Brewer spectral UV measurements

Non-ideal angular response of a spectroradiometer is a well-known error source of spectral UV measurements and for that reason instrument specific cosine error correction is applied. In this paper, the performance of the cosine error correction method of Brewer spectral UV measurements in use at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) is studied. Ideally, the correction depends on the actual sky radiation distribution, which can change even during one spectral scan due to rapid changes in cloudiness. The FMI method has been developed to take into account the changes in the ratio of direct to diffuse sky radiation and it derives a correction coefficient for each measured wavelength. Measurements of five Brewers were corrected for the cosine error and the results were compared to the reference travelling spectroradiometer (QASUME). Measurements were performed during the RBCC-E (Regional Brewer Calibration Center – Europe) X Campaign held at El Arenosillo, Huelva (37∘ N, 7∘ W), Spain, in 2015. In addition, results of site audits of FMI's Brewers in Sodankylä (67∘ N, 27∘ E) and Jokioinen (61∘ N, 24∘ E) during 2002–2014 were studied. The results show that the spectral cosine error correction varied between 4 and 14 %. After that the correction was applied to Brewer UV spectra the relative differences between the QASUME and the Brewer diminished even by 10 %. The study confirms that the method, originally developed for measurements at high latitudes, can be used at mid-latitudes as well. The method is applicable to other Brewers as far as the required input parameters, i.e. total ozone, aerosol information, albedo, instrument specific angular response and slit function are available.This article is based upon work from the COST Action ES1207 “A European Brewer Network (EUBREWNET)”, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). This study was partially supported by the research projects CGL2014-56255-C2-1-R and CGL2014-56255-C2-2-R granted by the Ministerio de Economa y Competitividad from Spain

Educación coordinada de centro para la paz y la no violencia

Confluyen los distintos temas transversales en un tratamiento educativo integrado, desde un planteamiento global y continuado de la educación en valores, que tiene como eje vertebrador al Proyecto de Centro y en el que participan todos los profesores del claustro y todos los miembros de la comunidad educativa.Junta de Andalucía. Consejería de Educación y CienciaAndalucíaES

Ús i abús de la natura, impactes i propostes de gestió. El cas de Catalunya com a paradigma

78 pages, 10 figures, 20 tablesFem aquí un balanç dels darrers quaranta anys d'ús, en molts casos abús, dels recursos naturals a Catalunya, un país representatiu dels països europeus, en especial dels mediterranis. [...]Peer reviewe