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People's subjective response to any thermal environment is commonly investigated by using rating scales describing the degree of thermal sensation, comfort, and acceptability. Subsequent analyses of results collected in this way rely on the assumption that specific distances between verbal anchors placed on the scale exist and that relationships between verbal anchors from different dimensions that are assessed (e.g. thermal sensation and comfort) do not change. Another inherent assumption is that such scales are independent of the context in which they are used (climate zone, season, etc.). Despite their use worldwide, there is indication that contextual differences influence the way the scales are perceived and therefore question the reliability of the scales’ interpretation. To address this issue, a large international collaborative questionnaire study was conducted in 26 countries, using 21 different languages, which led to a dataset of 8225 questionnaires. Results, analysed by means of robust statistical techniques, revealed that only a subset of the responses are in accordance with the mentioned assumptions. Significant differences appeared between groups of participants in their perception of the scales, both in relation to distances of the anchors and relationships between scales. It was also found that respondents’ interpretations of scales changed with contextual factors, such as climate, season, and language. These findings highlight the need to carefully consider context-dependent factors in interpreting and reporting results from thermal comfort studies or post-occupancy evaluations, as well as to revisit the use of rating scales and the analysis methods used in thermal comfort studies to improve their reliability.

An educational variable-rate application (VRA) sprayer was developed and laboratory tested at the University of Seville (Spain). It was designed and built during 2009 by the undergraduate engineering students in a Precision Agriculture course and used as a teaching model in an Agricultural Machinery course during 2010. The first stage involved mounting all the instrumentation, sensors, and the hydraulic system on a metal platform. The second stage involved mounting a DGPS receiver, flowmeter, automated application control system, and all necessary electrical connections to the platform. Preliminary calibration tests of the equipment at a constant speed of 0.375 m s-1 (1.35 km h--1 showed good performance for pressure (kPa) and application rate (L ha-1 (R² = 0.998, p < 0.001). To evaluate the teaching method based on the prototype, a short-answer assessment test was conducted consisting of ten multiple-choice questions, each with one possible correct answer Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The factors were the teaching method (TM), repeated course (R), and attended theory (AT). In addition, the effect of a covariate (number of times a student repeated the course) in the factors was controlled with an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The effect of teaching method was significant for the score on the VRA sprayer questions (SPS) variable and the score on the conventional sprayer questions (SCS) variable (p < 0.001 for both). The average success for students using the prototype sprayer was 86%, compared to 60% for those using a conventional sprayer The total cost of the VRA prototype sprayer was 40% less than the cost of retrofitting a conventional sprayer with precision agriculture equipment. Since the students were engaged in their own learning, they maintained a high level of enthusiasm throughout the course when utilizing the VRA prototype sprayer It has proved to be a complementary and beneficial alternative for improving the students' education in the Agricultural Machinery course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor air pollution is a recognized emerging threat, claiming millions of lives annually. People are constantly exposed to ambient and indoor air pollution. The latest research shows that people in developed countries spend up to 90% of their time indoors and almost 70% at home. Although impaired Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) represents a significant health risk, it affects people differently, and specific populations are more vulnerable: children, the elderly, and people with respiratory illnesses are more sensitive to these environmental risks. Despite rather extensive research on IAQ, most of the current understanding about the subject, which includes pollution sources, indoor-outdoor relationships, and ventilation/filtration, is still quite limited, mainly because air quality monitoring in the EU is primarily focused on ambient air quality and regulatory requirements are lacking for indoor environments. Therefore, the EDIAQI project aims to improve guidelines and awareness for advancing the IAQ in Europe and beyond by allowing user-friendly access to information about indoor air pollution exposures, sources, and related risk factors. The solution proposed with EDIAQI consists of conducting a characterization of sources and routes of exposure and dispersion of chemical, biological, and emerging indoor air pollution in multiple cities in the EU. The project will deploy cost-effective/user-friendly monitoring solutions to create new knowledge on sources, exposure routes, and indoor multipollutant body burdens. The EDIAQI project brings together 18 organizations from 11 different European countries that provide interdisciplinary skills and expertise in various fields, including environmental science and technology, medicine, and toxicology, as well as policy design and public engagement., (© 2024 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.)

The expanded GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat (HRE) in the non-coding region of the C9ORF72 gene (C9ORF72-HRE) is the most common genetic cause of familial forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), FTD, and concurrent ALS and FTD (ALS-FTD), in addition to contributing to the sporadic forms of these diseases. Both syndromes overlap not only genetically, but also sharing similar clinical and neuropathological findings, being considered as a spectrum. In this paper we describe the clinical-genetic findings in a Basque family with different manifestations within the spectrum, our difficulties in reaching the diagnosis, and a narrative review, carried out as a consequence, of the main features associated with C9ORF72-HRE. Family members underwent a detailed clinical assessment, neurological examination, and genetic analysis by repeat-primed PCR. We studied 10 relatives of a symptomatic carrier of the C9ORF72-HRE expansion. Two of them presented the expansion in the pathological range, one of them was symptomatic whereas the other one remained asymptomatic at 72 years. Given the great intrafamilial clinical variability of C9ORF72-HRE, the characterization of patients and family members with particular clinical and genetic subgroups within ALS and FTD becomes a bottleneck for medication development, in particular for genetically focused medicines for ALS and FTD.

The intensified indoor living during the spring 2020 lockdown, with enhanced user awareness of the prevailing conditions in their homes, constituted a natural stress test for the housing design in place today. Surveys conducted during this period have yielded lessons for designing better intervention strategies for the residential sector, taking into account the systematic morphological and economic limitations of the buildings concerned. These considerations should inform the development of policies and strategies for improving environmental quality compatible with lower residential energy consumption and higher quality of life. This study explores the effect of occupant behaviour on home ventilation and the perception of the impact of indoor air quality on user health before and during lockdown. The method deployed consisted in monitoring environmental variables and conducting user surveys before and after restrictions came into force. The findings showed that prior to lockdown, occupants were unaware of or paid little heed to changes in indoor air quality, failed to perceive stuffiness, and, as a rule, reported symptoms or discomfort only at night during the summer months. During lockdown, however, users came to attach greater importance to air quality, and a greater sensitivity to odours and a heightened awareness of CO 2 concentration prompted them to ventilate their homes more frequently. In the spring of 2020, occupants also indicated a wider spectrum of indisposition, in particular in connection with sleep patterns., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

During the first outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic the population, focusing primarily on the risk of infection, was generally inattentive to the quality of indoor air. Spain, and the city of Madrid in particular, were among the world's coronavirus hotspots. The country's entire population was subject to a 24/7 lockdown for 45 days. This paper describes a comparative longitudinal survey of air quality in four types of housing in the city of Madrid before and during lockdown. The paper analysed indoor temperatures and variations in CO 2 , 2.5 μm particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and total volatile organic compound (TVOC) concentrations before and during lockdown. The mean daily outdoor PM 2.5 concentration declined from 11.04 µg/m 3 before to 7.10 µg/m 3 during lockdown. Before lockdown the NO 2 concentration values scored as 'very good' 46% of the time, compared to 90.9% during that period. Although the city's outdoor air quality improved, during lockdown the population's exposure to indoor pollutants was generally more acute and prolonged. Due primarily to concern over domestic energy savings, the lack of suitable ventilation and more intensive use of cleaning products and disinfectants during the covid-19 crisis, indoor pollutant levels were typically higher than compatible with healthy environments. Mean daily PM 2.5 concentration rose by approximately 12% and mean TVOC concentration by 37% to 559%. The paper also puts forward a series of recommendations to improve indoor domestic environments in future pandemics and spells out urgent action to be taken around indoor air quality (IAQ) in the event of total or partial quarantining to protect residents from respiratory ailments and concomitantly enhanced susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, as identified by international medical research.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Thermal discomfort is one of the main triggers for occupants' interactions with components of the built environment such as adjustments of thermostats and/or opening windows and strongly related to the energy use in buildings. Understanding causes for thermal (dis-)comfort is crucial for design and operation of any type of building. The assessment of human thermal perception through rating scales, for example in post-occupancy studies, has been applied for several decades; however, long-existing assumptions related to these rating scales had been questioned by several researchers. The aim of this study was to gain deeper knowledge on contextual influences on the interpretation of thermal perception scales and their verbal anchors by survey participants. A questionnaire was designed and consequently applied in 21 language versions. These surveys were conducted in 57 cities in 30 countries resulting in a dataset containing responses from 8225 participants. The database offers potential for further analysis in the areas of building design and operation, psycho-physical relationships between human perception and the built environment, and linguistic analyses.

Regardless of the crop production system, nutrients inputs must be controlled at or below a certain economic threshold to achieve an acceptable level of profitability. The use of management zones and variable-rate fertilizer applications is gaining popularity in precision agriculture. Many researchers have evaluated the application of final yield maps and geo-referenced geophysical measurements (e.g., apparent soil electrical conductivity-ECa) as a method of establishing relatively homogeneous management zones within the same plot. Yield estimation models based on crop conditions at certain growth stages, soil nutrient statuses, agronomic factors, moisture statuses, and weed/pest pressures are a primary goal in precision agriculture. This study attempted to achieve the following objectives: (1) to investigate the potential for predicting winter wheat yields using vegetation measurements (the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index-NDVI) at the beginning of the season, thereby allowing for a yield response to nitrogen (N) fertilizer; and (2) evaluate the feasibility of using inexpensive optical sensor measurements in a Mediterranean environment. A field experiment was conducted in two commercial wheat fields near Seville, in southwestern Spain. Yield data were collected at harvest using a yield monitoring system (RDS Ceres II-volumetric meter) installed on a combine. Wheat yield and NDVI values of 3498 ± 481 kg ha(-1) and 0.67 ± 0.04 nm nm(-1) (field 1) and 3221 ± 531 kg ha(-1) and 0.68 ± 0.05 nm nm(-1) (field 2) were obtained. In both fields, the yield and NDVI exhibited a strong Pearson correlation, with r(xy) = 0.64 and p < 10(-4) in field 1 and r(xy) = 0.78 and p < 10(-4) in field 2. The preliminary results indicate that hand-held crop sensor-based N management can be applied to wheat production in Spain and has the potential to increase agronomic N-use efficiency on a long-term basis.

Sensors, communication systems and geo-reference units are required to achieve an optimized management of agricultural inputs with respect to the economic and environmental aspects of olive groves. In this study, three commercial olive harvesters were tracked during two harvesting seasons in Spain and Chile using remote and autonomous equipment that was developed to determine their time efficiency and effective based on canopy shaking for fruit detachment. These harvesters work in intensive/high-density (HD) and super-high-density (SHD) olive orchards. A GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) device was installed to track these harvesters. The GNSS receiver did not affect the driver's work schedule. Time elements methodology was adapted to the remote data acquisition system. The effective field capacity and field efficiency were investigated. In addition, the field shape, row length, angle between headland alley and row, and row alley width were measured to determinate the optimum orchard design parameters value. The SHD olive harvester showed significant lower effective field capacity values when alley width was less than 4 m. In addition, a yield monitor was developed and installed on a traditional olive harvester to obtain a yield map from the harvested area. The hedge straddle harvester stood out for its highly effective field capacity; nevertheless, a higher field efficiency was provided by a non-integral lateral canopy shaker. All of the measured orchard parameters have influenced machinery yields, whether effective field capacity or field efficiency. A saving of 40% in effective field capacity was achieved with a reduction from 4 m or higher to 3.5 m in alley width for SHD olive harvester. A yield map was plotted using data that were acquired by a yield monitor, reflecting the yield gradient in spite of the larger differences between tree yields.

In the new agricultural scenarios, the interaction between autonomous tractors and a human operator is important when they jointly perform a task. Obtaining and exchanging accurate localization information between autonomous tractors and the human operator, working as a team, is a critical to maintaining safety, synchronization, and efficiency during the execution of a mission. An advanced localization system for both entities involved in the joint work, i.e., the autonomous tractors and the human operator, provides a basis for meeting the task requirements. In this paper, different localization techniques for a human operator and an autonomous tractor in a field environment were tested. First, we compared the localization performances of two global navigation satellite systems' (GNSS) receivers carried by the human operator: (1) an internal GNSS receiver built into a handheld device; and (2) an external DGNSS receiver with centimeter-level accuracy. To investigate autonomous tractor localization, a real-time kinematic (RTK)-based localization system installed on autonomous tractor developed for agricultural applications was evaluated. Finally, a hybrid localization approach, which combines distance estimates obtained using a wireless scheme with the position of an autonomous tractor obtained using an RTK-GNSS system, is proposed. The hybrid solution is intended for user localization in unstructured environments in which the GNSS signal is obstructed. The hybrid localization approach has two components: (1) a localization algorithm based on the received signal strength indication (RSSI) from the wireless environment; and (2) the acquisition of the tractor RTK coordinates when the human operator is near the tractor. In five RSSI tests, the best result achieved was an average localization error of 4 m. In tests of real-time position correction between rows, RMS error of 2.4 cm demonstrated that the passes were straight, as was desired for the autonomous tractor. From these preliminary results, future work will address the use of autonomous tractor localization in the hybrid localization approach.

One objective of precision agriculture is to provide accurate information about soil and crop properties to optimize the management of agricultural inputs to meet site-specific needs. This paper describes the development of a sensor equipped with RTK-GPS technology that continuously and efficiently measures soil cutting resistance at various depths while traversing the field. Laboratory and preliminary field tests verified the accuracy of this prototype soil strength sensor. The data obtained using a hand-operated soil cone penetrometer was used to evaluate this field soil compaction depth profile sensor. To date, this sensor has only been tested in one field under one gravimetric water content condition. This field test revealed that the relationships between the soil strength profile sensor (SSPS) cutting force and soil cone index values are assumed to be quadratic for the various depths considered: 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm (r2 = 0.58, 0.45 and 0.54, respectively). Soil resistance contour maps illustrated its practical value. The developed sensor provides accurate, timely and affordable information on soil properties to optimize resources and improve agricultural economy.

Typically, low-pressure sprayers are used to uniformly apply pre- and post-emergent herbicides to control weeds in crop rows. An innovative machine for weed control in inter-row and intra-row areas, with a unique combination of inter-row cultivation tooling and intra-row band spraying for six rows and an electro-hydraulic side-shift frame controlled by a GPS system, was developed and evaluated. Two weed management strategies were tested in the field trials: broadcast spraying (the conventional method) and band spraying with mechanical weed control using RTK-GPS (the experimental method). This approach enabled the comparison between treatments from the perspective of cost savings and efficacy in weed control for a sugar beet crop. During the 2010-2011 season, the herbicide application rate (112 L ha(-1)) of the experimental method was approximately 50% of the conventional method, and thus a significant reduction in the operating costs of weed management was achieved. A comparison of the 0.2-trimmed means of weed population post-treatment showed that the treatments achieved similar weed control rates at each weed survey date. Sugar beet yields were similar with both methods (p = 0.92). The use of the experimental equipment is cost-effective on ≥20 ha of crops. These initial results show good potential for reducing herbicide application in the Spanish beet industry.

Variations in sinkage and cone index are of crucial importance when planning fieldwork, and for determining the trafficability of farm machinery. Many studies have highlighted the link between higher values of these parameters and dramatic decreases in crop yield. Variations in the dry bulk density and cone index of clayey soil in Southern Spain were measured following each of five successive passes over the same land with the three types of tractor most widely used in the area (tracked, two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive). In addition, sinkage (rut depth) of the running gear was measured using a laser microrelief profile meter. This device, which integrates three sensors, was specifically designed for these experiments, as was an electrical penetrometer to determine the cone index, and both instruments proved reliable and accurate in the field. The main goal of this study was to design, manufacture and test these new devices. The first pass caused most soil alteration when compared to successive passes for all types of tractor tested and soil conditions prevailing during the tests. (Heavier) four-wheel drive tractors were found to cause greater soil damage (sinkage, cone index and dry bulk density) than two-wheel drive and track tractors. There was no statistically significant difference between the two latter types. The greatest alterations were recorded in the top 10 cm of the soil. The results show that soil compaction should be avoided as much as possible. This can be achieved by ensuring that tractors always travel along the same tracks, especially in the wet season. At present these aspects are not considered by farmers in this area.