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This study introduces a new method for nowcasting UV Index maps developed within the framework of the Austrian Solar UV Measurement Network. While we focus on the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) in this study, the same methods are routinely applied to nowcast UV Index maps for Europe. The primary objective is to improve public health measures by providing timely and area-wide UV Index values. The UV Index maps are based on clear-sky calculations using data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. Cloud effects are integrated using cloud modification factors determined from Meteosat Second Generation satellite imagery. To assess the representativeness of the calculated UV Index maps, the corresponding pixel values are compared to ground-based measurements for the year 2022 at 27 locations in the DACH region. For all sky conditions, the satellite-derived UV Index values are within ±1.0 UV Index of the ground-measured UV Index for at least 91% of the data at stations below 500 m a.s.l. and in flatter landscapes. For high-altitude sites and in more pronounced topographies, the values for U1.0 decrease, with the lowest agreement of 74.8% found for the Sonnblick station located at 3109 m a.s.l. Discrepancies arise due to differences in the measurement methods: ground-based measurements capture the local conditions, while satellite-derived values represent the average values over larger areas. The clear-sky deviations are most pronounced at high-altitude, snow-covered sites due to uncertainties in the surface albedo. Under all sky conditions, cloud variability adds further uncertainties, particularly in complex terrain or broken cloud cover scenarios, where satellite cloud data lack the resolution to capture local fluctuations. This study discusses these uncertainties while also highlighting the potential of the generated UV Index maps to provide area-wide information to the population as a valuable complement to ground-based measurements.

We demonstrate the applicability of propagation-based X-ray phase-contrast imaging at a laser-assisted compact light source with known phantoms and the lungs and airways of a mouse. The Munich Compact Light Source provides a quasi-monochromatic beam with partial spatial coherence, and high flux relative to other non-synchrotron sources (up to 10 10 ph/s). In our study we observe significant edge-enhancement and quantitative phase-retrieval is successfully performed on the known phantom. Furthermore the images of a small animal show the potential for live bio-imaging research studies that capture biological function using short exposures.

Establishing the mineral content distribution in highly mineralized tissues, such as bones and teeth, is fundamental in understanding a variety of structural questions ranging from studies of the mechanical properties to improved pathological investigations. However, non-destructive, volumetric and quantitative density measurements of mineralized samples, some of which may extend several mm in size, remain challenging. Here, we demonstrate the potential of grating-based x-ray phase tomography to gain insight into the three-dimensional mass density distribution of tooth tissues in a non-destructive way and with a sensitivity of 85 mg/cm3. Density gradients of 13 - 19% over 1 - 2 mm within typical samples are detected, and local variations in density of 0.4 g/cm3 on a length scale of 0.1 mm are revealed. This method proves to be an excellent quantitative tool for investigations of subtle differences in mineral content of mineralized tissues that can change following treatment or during ageing and healing.

We describe the first dynamic and the first in vivo X-ray imaging studies successfully performed at a laser-undulator-based compact synchrotron light source. The X-ray properties of this source enable time-sequence propagation-based X-ray phase-contrast imaging. We focus here on non-invasive imaging for respiratory treatment development and physiological understanding. In small animals, we capture the regional delivery of respiratory treatment, and two measures of respiratory health that can reveal the effectiveness of a treatment; lung motion and mucociliary clearance. The results demonstrate the ability of this set-up to perform laboratory-based dynamic imaging, specifically in small animal models, and with the possibility of longitudinal studies.

We demonstrate that phase retrieval and tomographic imaging at the organ level of small animals can be advantageously carried out using the monochromatic radiation emitted by a compact x-ray light source, without further optical elements apart from source and detector. This approach allows to carry out microtomography experiments which - due to the large performance gap with respect to conventional laboratory instruments - so far were usually limited to synchrotron sources. We demonstrate the potential by mapping the functional soft tissue within the guinea pig and marmoset cochlea, including in the latter case an electrical cochlear implant. We show how 3d microanatomical studies without dissection or microscopic imaging can enhance future research on cochlear implants.