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Broschüre zur Sonderausstellung vom 23.02. bis 31.03.2019 mit Fotografien von Sepp Kipfstuhl und Fernando Valero-Delgado im Historisches Museum Bremerhaven. Seit rund 30 Jahren arbeiten der Wissenschaftler Dr. Sepp Kipfstuhl und der Techniker Fernando Valero Delgado in der Abteilung Glaziologie des Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zemtrum für Polar und Meeresforschung (AWI) zusammen. Auf zahlreichen Expeditionen in der Arktis und Antarktis, aber auch bei der Dokumentation ihrer wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten in den Eislaboren in Bremerhaven haben sie Tausende Fotografien von Eis und Schnee gesammelt. Die Fotografien vermitteln dem Betrachter einen faszinierenden Eindruck von den unendlichen Facetten der Struktur des Eises und lassen ihn erahnen, wieviel Information die Komplexität dieses Materials enthält.

ATLL opera una red de distribución incluida dentro de los Sistemas de Infraestructuras Críticas. Estos sistemas son complejos de gran escala, distribuidos geográficamente y descentralizados con una estructura jerárquica, que requieren sistemas de control en tiempo real altamente sofisticados que garanticen un alto rendimiento y mantenimiento cuando las condiciones no son favorables debido, por ejemplo, a mal funcionamiento de los sensores (averías, problemas de baterías, problemas de comunicación, etc.). La fiabilidad de la información es la base para tomar decisiones que optimicen el gasto de energía y reduzcan las pérdidas de agua al tiempo que garanticen un suministro adecuado a los consumidores en cantidad y calidad a pesar de las demandas cambiantes. El objetivo principal de esta metodología es validar los datos brutos de los sensores (en este caso caudalímetros) y, si los datos no son consistentes, intente estimarlos para reconstruirlos manteniendo un sistema de base de datos fiable, segura y completa. Este procedimiento permite tratar, filtrar, depurar y completar todos los datos brutos recibidos y transformarlos en información útil; primero, como diagnóstico de anomalías y, finalmente, para controlar y gestionar de manera óptima el sistema de distribución de agua., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Drinking Water Treatment Plants face changes in raw water quality and quantity and the treatment needs to be adjusted accordingly to produce the best water quality at the minimum environmental cost. The amount of data generated along drinking water treatment plants allows developing data-based models like artificial neural networks that are able to predict operational parameters and can be incorporated into environmental decision support systems. In the present study, an artificial neural network is developed for predicting the potassium permanganate demand at the inlet of a full-scale Drinking Water Treatment Plant. A systematic methodology is carried out for outlier detection and removal from the original dataset. Afterwards, model parameters estimation, uncertainty and sensitivity analysis is reported to assess prediction quality and uncertainty of the models. Bootstrap method was used for parameter estimation, and uncertainty of the inputs onto the model outputs was propagated using a Monte Carlo scheme. Several sensitivity analysis methods were evaluated to understand the contribution of the inputs on the output of the models, and this was in accordance with the knowledge of the process and other studies found in the literature. The selected architecture consisted of a feed-forward multi-layer perceptron with four inputs and one node in the hidden layer with a sigmoid activation function. The mean absolute error of the resulting model is 0.128 mg·L-1, which was considered acceptable by the DWTP operators. The resulting model provided good results in terms of replicative, predictive and structural performance and is to be used for supporting decision-making in the daily operation of the plant.

This paper presents an improved tool for data validation and reconstruction of flowmeters. These sensors are installed in the Catalonia regional water network from Barcelona (Spain). Here a new time series model with exogenous variable is proposed with excellent results for data validation. It is postulated that the integration of the electronics alarms, along with other tests about the daily data accumulated and a later analysis of the data reconstruction allow to improve the results of the existing tools. This is accomplished by decreasing the false alarms and missing alarms of more than 6000 hourly data retrieved from more than 200 flowmeters each day. This new tool provides reliable information daily reliable information of the state of the water network. This information could potentially contribute to optimally control and manage this large and complex water network., Postprint (published version)

Reducing the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) during the process of water potabilization and proper risk assessment of drinking water requires exploring the potential of the source water and the applied treatment to generate these chemicals. This is actually more challenging in large drinking water networks that use different source waters to satisfy potable water demand. In this regard, this works investigated the formation of DBPs in water matrices that are commonly supplied to the city of Barcelona and its metropolitan area. The regulated trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids were the most abundant DBP classes in these waters, followed by haloacetamides and haloacetonitriles or trihalogenated acetaldehydes (THALs). On the contrary, the formation potential of iodo-DBPs was minor. Mixing of drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) finished waters with desalinated water decreased the overall DBP formation potential of the water but resulted in the increased formation of brominated DBPs after long chlorine contact time. The formation of most DBPs was enhanced at high water temperatures (except for Br-THALs) and increasing residence times. Potential cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of the DBP mixtures were mainly attributed to the presence of nitrogen-containing DBPs and HAAs.

[Objectives] Previous clinical audits of COPD have provided relevant information about medical intervention in exacerbation admissions. The present study aims to evaluate adherence to current guidelines in COPD through a clinical audit., [Methods] This is a pilot clinical audit performed in hospital outpatient respiratory clinics in Andalusia, Spain (eight provinces with more than 8 million inhabitants), including 9 centers (20% of the public centers in the area) between 2013 and 2014. Cases with an established diagnosis of COPD based on risk factors, clinical symptoms, and a post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 0.70 were deemed eligible. The performance of the outpatient clinics was benchmarked against three guidance documents available at the time of the audit. The appropriateness of the performance was categorized as excellent (>80%), good (60−80%), adequate (40−59%), inadequate (20−39%), and highly inadequate (<20%)., [Results] During the audit, 621 clinical records were audited. Adherence to the different guidelines presented a considerable variability among the different participating hospitals, with an excellent or good adherence for symptom recording, MRC or CAT use, smoking status evaluation, spirometry, or bronchodilation therapy. The most outstanding areas for improvement were the use of the BODE index, the monitoring of treatments, the determination of alpha1-antitrypsin, the performance of exercise testing, and vaccination recommendations., [Conclusions] The present study reflects the situation of clinical care for COPD patients in specialized secondary care outpatient clinics. Adherence to clinical guidelines shows considerable variability in outpatient clinics managing COPD patients, and some aspects of the clinical care can clearly be improved.

Jose Luis López-Campos,1,2 María Abad Arranz,1 Carmen Calero Acuña,1,2 Fernando Romero Valero,3 Ruth Ayerbe García,4 Antonio Hidalgo Molina,3 Ricardo I Aguilar Perez-Grovas,4 Francisco García Gil,5 Francisco Casas Maldonado,6 Laura Caballero Ballesteros,5 María Sánchez Palop,6 Dolores Pérez-Tejero,7 Alejandro Segado,7 Jose Calvo Bonachera,8 Bárbara Hernández Sierra,8 Adolfo Doménech,9 Macarena Arroyo Varela,9 Francisco González Vargas,10 Juan J Cruz Rueda10 1Unidad Médico-Quirúrgica de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío/Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, 2Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 3Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar, Cádiz, 4Hospital Juan Ramón Jiménez, Huelva, 5Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, Córdoba, 6Hospital Universitario San Cecilio, Granada, 7Hospital Infanta Margarita, Cabra, Córdoba, 8Hospital Torrecárdenas, Almería, 9Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, 10Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain Introduction: This study is an analysis of a pilot COPD clinical audit that evaluated adherence to guidelines for patients with COPD in a stable disease phase during a routine visit in specialized secondary care outpatient clinics in order to identify the variables associated with the decision to step-up or step-down pharmacological treatment.Methods: This study was a pilot clinical audit performed at hospital outpatient respiratory clinics in the region of Andalusia, Spain (eight provinces with over eight million inhabitants), in which 20% of centers in the area (catchment population 3