General Quality Index Research Articles

Обеспечение канцерогенной безопасности копченой рыбной продукции

The purpose of the study is to develop recommendations for rational smoke generation parameters that ensure the quality and environmental safety of smoked fish products. Objectives: to establish the influence of smoke generation parameters on the assessment of the carcinogenicity of smoked products; to evaluate the quality and safety of smoked products produced under optimal smoke generation parameters; to develop recommendations to ensure the quality and safety of smoked fish products. Research was carried out at the department of Management of Technical Systems at the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education Dalrybvtuz (Vladivostok, Primorsky Region). The object of the study is the process of smoke generation. Analytical, physical and chemical methods, and mathematical modeling methods were used. To prepare smoke-drying smoke samples, 10 kg of alder sawdust with a moisture content of 30–35 % was prepared. Hot smoked smelt samples were obtained under optimal smoke generation conditions. The overall organoleptic index was 5. The content of individual polyaromatic hydrocarbons was: chrysene – 71 ng/kg; benz(a)anthracene – 70 ng/kg; benz(b)fluoranthene – 602 ng/kg; benz(a)pyrene – 64 ng/kg; benz(e)pyrene – 667 ng/kg; dibenz(a,c)anthracene – 57 ng/kg; dibenz(a,h)anthracene – 69 ng/kg, which corresponds to a generalized quality index of 0.99 (very good). During the study, the influence of smoke generation parameters on the assessment of the carcinogenicity of smoked fish products was established, and the dependence of the content of individual polyaromatic hydrocarbons on the excess air coefficient in the smoke generation zone was confirmed. Optimal smoke generation modes: smoke generation temperature 475 °C, excess air coefficient – 0.4. Rational smoke generation parameters: smoke generation temperature 450–500 °C, excess air coefficient – 0.3–0.6.

Assessment of the Influence of the Preplant Treatment of Potatoes with Nanobiological Preparations on Crop Quality

A lack of mineral nutrition, including trace elements, and plant diseases can cause a low crop yield and poor quality of potatoes leading to crop-yield losses of up to 30–50%. Nanobiopreparations containing copper, iron, molybdenum, and magnesium nanoparticles (NPs) in a polymer film formed from a mixture of Na-carboxymethylcellulose and polyethylene glycol-400 are prepared to solve these problems. The preparations with trace-metal NPs in various concentrations are tested under laboratory conditions according to the following parameters: the number of shoots per tuber, and the length and weight of sprouts. Complex preparations are obtained for field tests: polymer + 10–9% Cu NPs + 10–5% B NPs + 10–6% Mo NPs + 10–5% Mg NPs and polymer + 10–9% Cu NPs. Field tests in 2021 showed that the preplant treatment of tubers with these preparations increased their gross yield by 3.3 and 3.6%, the number of standard tubers by 1.5 and 2.9%, and the yield of healthy potatoes by 5.4 and 6.2% compared to the control, respectively. At the same time, the prevalence of alternariosis decreased by 1.4–1.5 times, and the degree of damage by 2.9 times (after treatment with the composition of NPs) and 1.7 times (after Cu NPs) compared with the control. The spread of rhizoctoniosis decreased by two and three times compared with the control, respectively. The consumer properties of potato tubers of the new crop were assessed with a general quality index of ≥ 4.

Revealing the significance of the influence of vanadium on the mechanical properties of cast iron for castings for machine-building purpose

The object of study in this work is cast iron with lamellar graphite, modified with two types of modifiers – FeSi75 and FeSi40V7. In this work, the influence of vanadium on the mechanical properties of cast iron used for castings for engineering purposes was determined. The existing problem lies in the fact that ignorance of the influence of the alloying element on the mechanical properties of the alloy does not allow determining its consumption rates during the melting process. This can lead to unnecessary costs for materials for melting and casting, and not be justified in terms of the expected improvement in properties. To determine the effect of vanadium on properties, three indicators of the quality of cast iron are considered: tensile strength, stiffness, and a generalized quality index for mechanical properties. A decision is proposed on the procedure for checking the significance of the influence of vanadium within the considered range of variation V=0.04–0.078 % on these indicators. It has been established that the introduction of vanadium into cast iron as part of the FeSi40V7 modifier leads to a decrease in the tensile strength by 4 %, but to an increase in rigidity by 2 %. A significant influence of vanadium with a probability of 95 % was also established with respect to the generalized quality indicator for mechanical properties – the introduction of vanadium contributes to a drop in this indicator by about 5 %. As a result, it was concluded that the use of vanadium in the composition of FeSi40V7 within the final content in cast iron at the level of 0.04–0.078 % can be expedient only if it is necessary to increase the hardness of cast iron due to the promotion of carbide formation during alloy crystallization. The presented study will be useful for machine-building enterprises that have foundries in their structure, where cast iron is smelted for the manufacture of castings.

МЕТОДИКА БАГАТОФАКТОРНОСТІ ПОРІВНЯННЯ ПОКАЗНИКІВ ЯКОСТІ РАДІОПОГЛИНАЮЧИХ ФЕРИТОВИХ КОМПОЗИТІВ

The article proposes a graph-analytical method of comparing four arbitrary alternative samples of composite radio-absorbing ferrite coating (CRFС) on sixteen time indicators of their quality, reflecting different aspects of consumer utility of such samples. The main (integrated) quality indicators of composite radio-absorbing ferrite coatings are determined such as: efficiency (level of usefulness in practical application); operational properties; manufacturability of production and application; mechanical strength. The multi-criteria choice task is reduced to single-criteria. Then the implementation of direct comparison of samples CRFС. Specific examples of application of the method of comparing a variant of the composite radio-absorbing ferrite coating OD-RAM of own development, with three other existing in practice radio-absorbing coatings are given. The application of generalized quality indicators of manufactured composites, which are determined by graphs of multiple factors, is proposed. This allows you to find out the problem factors. It is proved that the developed composite radio-absorbing ferrite coatings OD-RAM have a generalized quality index that exceeds the known foreign samples by (30 - 40)%. Further development of the methodology is proposed, which can be implemented for comparative evaluation of options for protection of armaments and military equipment, for comparison of the same type of protective samples of CRFС, in order to select an acceptable set of alternatives. The article contains new data on the practical application of multifactor comparison of manufactured composites on some new indicators of the quality of the composite being developed, according to its electrophysical and electromagnetic parameters. Keywords: radio-absorbing ferrite materials, comparison of coating options, basic quality indicators of composite radio-absorbing coatings, comparative evaluations of options for protection of armaments and military equipment, comparison of the same type of samples.

Combining ability of standardized indices for multi-trait selection in tobacco

ABSTRACT Several traits must be simultaneously considered in selection of tobacco cultivars for meeting the requirements of farmers, manufacturers and consumers. Breeders should have an understanding of associations between economically-important traits in order to devise the best strategy to have response to selection for all them. Utilization of selection indices has been shown to be one of the most efficient strategy for selecting for correlated characters. In tobacco, no reports can be found within the academic literature for multiple trait selection. In this study we demonstrate the efficiency of the Sum of the Standardized Variables Index (SSV) for multi-trait selection in tobacco. The method was evaluated using a collection of thirteen inbred lines and hybrids derived using a diallel scheme. The hybrids, parental lines, and checks were evaluated in two field locations. The traits assessed were yield (YLD), general quality index (GQI), leaf stem to lamina ratio, percent total alkaloids, and percent total sugars. We considered weights according to the economic importance of each trait: 0.4 for YLD, 0.3 for GQI and 0.1 for the remaining characters. The SSV index proved to be efficient and easy to interpret, and could be used to generate genetic gain for almost all characters in the desired direction. General combining ability (GCA) explained the larger part of the variation of the index in the diallel analysis. The mean heterosis estimate was 2.02%. Some hybrid combinations exhibited heterosis levels greater than 10%, indicating that increased attention might need to be given to commercialization of F1 hybrids.

The effects of diets containing two corn stubble levels and three non-hydrogenated lipids sources on fattening performance, carcase, and meat quality of male hair-lambs

Research regarding the association of fatty acids (FA) with corn stubble in feedlot lambs is limited. FA dietary supplements can reduce the digestibility of neutral detergent fibre (NDF). However, it is not known if the NDF amount added with corn stubble and FA source in the diet can influence the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and the conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), all of which are related to meat quality. In this study, 96 male-lambs (29 ± 4.9 kg) were assigned in two dietary NDF levels [25% (NDF-25) and 29% (NDF-29)] and four supplemental fat treatments [no supplemental (C), 3% CLA-60, 3% Safflower oil (SAF) and 3% linseed oil (LIN)] evaluated in a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement of treatments. Compared with CLA diets, diets supplemented with SAF and LIN contained more C18:2. Dietary forage level did not affect average daily gain, feed efficiency, or carcase characteristics (p = .56). With NDF-29 increased meat protein content (2%, p < .05). Meat chromatic b* values were greater (p = .02) with NDF-25. Control vs. supplemental lipids (SL) MUFA and PUFA increased in the muscle with SL. The endogenous level of CLA in muscle improved (p < .05) in the muscle with SL. Juiciness meat increased with both NDF levels and lipid supplements (p = .06). In conclusion, protein content and juiciness in the meat improve with NDF-29 (as corn stubble) on a diet. Similarly, SAF and LIN increase the content of PUFA and CLA in meat. Highlights A slight increase of NDF from 25% to 29% added with corn stubble within an iso-energetic diet, change the colour and some sensory variables of the lamb meat. Safflower and linseed oils included in the diet at 3% improve the content of conjugated linoleic acid in lamb meat. The General Quality index in the meat sensory analysis is not affected by inclusion levels of fibre (NDF 25 vs. 29) and lipids (3%) in the diet of hair lambs.

Assessment of water quality in eutrophized water bodies through the application of indexes and toxicity

It is essential to have tools that can be used to diagnose water resources. For this reason, this study sets out on the one hand to assess water quality in three reservoirs in Spain (Salas, A Baxe and Conchas) with Cyano-Habs problems through the application of water quality indexes: The National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NFSWQI), the General Quality Index (GQI), the Trophic State Index (TSI), and the Trophic Contamination Index (ICOTRO). On the other hand, it seeks to learn how parameters such as nitrogen and phosphorus influence the presence of cyanotoxin, specifically Microcystis aeruginosa. To that end, samples from the three reservoirs are cultured and physical-chemical parameters and the toxicity of the water are measured. The results show that Salas reservoir has the worst water quality rating (GQI is bad and NFSWQI medium), while As Conchas and A Baxe obtain very good figures for NFSWQI. This contrasts with the data obtained via the TSI of moderately eutrophic conditions for all three reservoirs, and hypereutrophic levels for As Conchas and A Baxe downstream. On the other hand, the toxicity analysis shows levels of 1.12 ± 0.06 μg/l microcystin-LR (MC-LR) for As Conchas, 0.64 ± 0.04 μg/l MC-LR for Salas, and 1.24 ± 0.05 μg/l MC-LR for A Baxe, of which 20% corresponds to free MC-LR. This study finds that nitrogen is the parameter that most favors the production of MC-LR. We conclude that the eutrophication indexes are more reliable when studying the presence of cyanobacteria. Furthermore, nitrogen and phosphorous are the most significant parameters in this regard. They are taken into account in the quality indices (GQI, NFSWI), but they are not sufficiently representative. It is recommended as a future line of research that water quality indices be adapted or designed to incorporate eutrophication levels and even water toxicity.

Qualidade geral da educação municipal e as influências dos gastos públicos

Este estudo teve por objetivo quantificar e avaliar o padrão da qualidade da educação dos municípios brasileiros, por meio de um indicador da qualidade da educação básica municipal, e verificar a relação entre rubricas do orçamento público educacional e esta qualidade do ensino. Pela Análise por Componentes Principais, criou-se o Índice de Qualidade Geral da Educação Municipal (IQGEM), que incluiu aspectos micro e macroestruturais, entre 2009 e 2013. Posteriormente, utilizou-se um modelo de Regressão Beta Inflacionada, para verificar as relações entre o orçamento educacional desagregado e de fatores sociais e o IQGEM. Variando entre 0 (mínimo) e 1 (máximo), o índice apontou qualidade média de 0,61 pontos, sendo os maiores valores de municípios do Sul e Sudeste. Adicionalmente, os fatores que se relacionaram positivamente com o IQGEM foram os investimentos em infraestrutura escolar e os aspectos sociais. Por outro lado, as despesas com pessoal e materiais de consumo o influenciaram negativamente. De maneira geral, estes resultados sinalizaram como conclusões que os investimentos em infraestrutura escolar e em políticas de promoção social são relevantes para a qualidade educacional nos municípios do país. Por outro lado, apesar de terem sido negativamente relacionados com o IQGEM no curto prazo, é possível que a médio e longo prazo, investimentos em despesas com pessoal e materiais de consumo possam surtir influências positivas.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NO-REFERENCE MEASURES FOR DIGITAL IMAGE SHARPNESS ASSESSMENT

Recently, problems of digital image sharpness determination are becoming more relevant and significant. The number of digital images used in many fields of science and technology is growing. Images obtained in various ways may have unsatisfactory quality; therefore, an important step in image processing and analysis algorithms is a quality control stage of the received data. Poor quality images can be automatically deleted. In this article we study the problem of the automatic sharpness evaluation of digital images. As a result of the scientific literature analysis, 28 functions were selected that are used to analyze the clarity of digital images by calculation local estimates. All the functions first calculate local estimates in the neighborhood of every pixel, and then use the arithmetic mean as a generalized quality index. Testing have demonstrated that many estimates of local sharpness of the image often have abnormal distribution of the data. Therefore, some modified versions of the studied functions were additionally evaluated, instead of the average of local estimates, we studied the Weibull distribution parameters (FORM, SCALE, MEAN weib, MEDIAN weib). We evaluated three variants of the correlation of quantitative sharpness assessments with the subjective assessments of human experts. Since distribution of local features is abnormal, Spearman and Kendall rank correlation coefficients were used. Correlation above 0.7 means good agreement between quantitative and visual estimates. The experiments were carried out on digital images of various quality and clarity: artificially blurred images and blurred during shooting. Summing up results of the experiments, we propose to use seven functions for automatic analysis of the digital image sharpness, which are fast calculated and better correlated with the subjective sharpness evaluation.

Quality Assessment of Medical Care at the Stage of Primary Healthcare: the Range of Diagnostic Procedures in Patients with Eczema

According to the results of studying the ranges of diagnostic measures among 75 patients with eczema, primary health care quality was assessed. The adequacy/completeness of clinical and anamnestic examination of patients with eczema by general family medicine physicians was at the level of (56.5÷59.8)% being characterized by the underestimation of the state of skin derivatives (microelementosis, vitamin deficiency) in (86.7±3.9)% of patients; the constitutional and biological markers, visceral and functional markers of undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia in (74.7±5.0)% and (74.7±5.0)% of patients, respectively; the influence of unfavorable regional environmental factors, living conditions and professional activity, clinical and morphological evaluation of rash in (49.3±5.8)% of patients. According to the generalized quality index, the adequacy/completeness of clinical and laboratory examination of patients with eczema was at the level of (58.4÷63.4)% being characterized by a low level of examinations aimed at the detection of possible disorders of microelement homeostasis and comorbidity. According to the generalized quality index, the adequacy/completeness of clinical and instrumental examination of patients with eczema was at the level of 66.5 being characterized by a low level of instrumental diagnostics of autonomic homeostasis state, densitometry, anesthesiometry, imaging study of the joints.

EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF PRIMARY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO PATIENTS WITH ECZEMA: STUDY OF THE SCOPE AND ASSESSMENT OF THE ADEQUACY OF TREATMENT AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES

The development of general medical practice as a scientific specialty and practice and the structuring of medical care according to the levels of its delivery are characterized by shifting the emphasis on long-term care for patients with chronic dermatoses to the level of general practitioners. This paper describes the scope of treatment and prophylactic measures at the stage of primary medical care for 75 patients with eczema of different severity. It was revealed that the completeness of the use of non-medicated means in the period between the exacerbations of eczema prescribed by general practitioners was at the level of 56.1 ÷ 60.2% according to the generalized quality index and was characterized by insufficient use of autotraining techniques with elements of psychological correction in 76.7 ± 5,0%, herbal ointments in 72,7 ± 5,1%, as well as insufficient physiotherapeutic corrections in 57,3 ± 5,7%. Adequate use of pharmacological medicines prescribed by general practitioners for the periods between the exacerbation of eczema makes up 53,1 ÷ 53,9% according to the generalized indicator of quality and is characterized by low use of magnesium-containing products in 76,0 ± 4 9% of cases and adrenal gland stimulants in 74,7 ± 5,0% of cases, as well as detoxification agents (53,3 ± 5,8)% of cases. The analysis of general indicators of the quality of therapeutic and prophylactic process in the periods between exacerbations of chronic eczema has shown that general practitioners prefer to prescribe non-medicinal means, underestimating the importance of using immunomodulatory drugs and vitamins (A, E, B and C).

Прогнозирование и оценка эффективного состояния поверхностного слоя деталей машин при использовании наукоёмких технологий

The assessment indices of surface layer effective state in machinery subjected to different ways of finishing are considered. The role of the dislocation restructurization process in the formation of operation characteristics of surface layer material quality and prediction of its working capacity is shown. A generalized quality index of multi-component functional layers formed on operation surfaces of machinery is described.

A Generalized Quality Index of a Self-Contained Power Supply System

The article presents the issues of multicriterial evaluation of a self-contained power supply system as a complex engineering system. The methods of construction of the resulting target quality function in the form of the generalized index are considered. An assessment is given of the advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches in solving such problems. It is proposed to form a generalized quality index in the form of the dependence of the output characteristics inside the considered system and complicated engineering complex including a power supply system. Numerous output characteristics are presented in the form of separate aspects. The problem of assessment is reduced to consideration of two aspects. Methodological tools are given that allow the necessary calculations to be carried out.

Методологія визнaчення узaгaльненого покaзникa якостi вiдбиткiв метaлогрaфiчного друку

The method of determination of the generalized quality index of intaglio printing was developed. The group of quality indices consist of thickness of ink layer, the width of the printed strokes, the size of vertical ink penetration, the value of lateral ink penetration, the values of the left and right edge angles of printed strokes and coefficient of loss ink layer thickness, the rate of ink injection, the rate of ink outflow, percentage of tactile discrimination of samples, visual rate of samples. The method allowed to increase the objectivity of quality evaluating and detect the regularities of the influence of the technological process parameters on the intaglio prints quality parameters.The essence of the methodology is to calculate the generalized indicator on the basis of the transfering of absolute values of the indicators in the relative ones and then their grouping into the quality profile of the sample. This profile further compared with the profile of a base (reference) sample. It is also taking into account the weight ratios of quality, which allows us to create a generalized indicator of quality. The experts in the field suggested the weight coefficients and the paper contains the results of an expert opinion on the weight coefficients for each quality indices of intaglio prints. The article states that the generalized quality index of intaglio printing could be formed by as individual indices, as well as by grouping ones, as well as by complex ones. In order to determine the final level of the quality of the product, we use the evident Euclidean model of the individual differences, which allows us to obtain a one-dimensional estimate of the level of the quality of the product. The developed diagram graphically represent the algorithm for calculating of the generalized quality index of intaglio printing.

Evaluation of quality characteristics of software for the reference verification installations for gasmeters

The choosing a particular software product among the same type of analogues is one of the important problem of modern market relations. Even choosing the best one (with the highest numerical value of the generalized quality index), the question arises whether there is a sufficient level of quality of this software for one or for a number of tasks and functions they are solving. That is why, it is necessary to develop a scale of quality levels (qualimertic scale) for those software. The solution of this problem is the development of a qualitative scale for determining the quality indicators of such software and proving them based on experimental data of evaluation elements of quality metrics of software for measuring instruments. The authors developed three qualimetric scale models for software in this article: a uniform interval (or quantitative) scale, a scale based on the generalized Harrington utility desirability and a one based on the numbers of the Fibonacci series (“Golden section”). The number of evaluations determined by these functions was analyzed to prove the adequacy of devel­oped qualimetric scale models. According to the results of the analysis, using the Fibonacci function (“Golden section”) is more preferable then the Harrington function and the linear function for the developing the qualimetric scales of software products. Using the developed scale allows to quantify the software quality indicators determination.

The spatial and seasonal variability of the groundwater chemistry and quality in the exploited aquifer in the Daxing District, Beijing, China.

The aquifer in the Beijing Plain is intensively used as a primary source to meet the growing needs of the various sectors (drinking, agricultural, and industrial purposes). The analysis of groundwater chemical characteristics provides much important information useful in water resources management. To characterize the groundwater chemistry, reveal its spatial and seasonal variability, and determine its quality suitability for domestic and agricultural uses, a total of 200 groundwater samples were collected in June and October 2012 from 100 exploited wells in Daxing District, Beijing, China. All of the indices (39 items) listed in the Quality Standard for Groundwater of China (QSGC) as well as eight additional common parameters were tested and analyzed for all samples, based on which research target was achieved. The seasonal effect on the groundwater chemistry and quality was very slight, whereas the spatial changes were very obvious. The aquifer is mainly dominated by HCO3-Ca·Mg-type water. Of the 39 quality indices listed in QSGC, 28 indices of all of the samples for the 2 months can be classified into the excellent level, whereas the remaining 11 indices can be classified into different levels with the total hardness, NO3, NO2, and Fe being the worst, mainly distributed in the residential and industrial land. According to the general quality index, the groundwater can be classified from good to a relatively poor level, mainly from southeast to northwest. Furthermore, the relatively poor-level area in the northwest expands to the southeast more than in the past years, to which people should pay attention because this reverse spatial distribution relative to the natural law indicates an obvious, anthropogenic impact on the groundwater. In addition, the groundwater in this area is generally very suitable for irrigation year-round. Nevertheless, we recommend performing agricultural water-saving measures for the sustainable development of water and urbanization, groundwater recovery, and ecological safety.

Análisis de la calidad general del agua superficial en la cuenca hidrográfica del Júcar: periodo 2000-2009

This paper analyzes the quality of surface water in the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar, over the period 2000-2009. First, in a wide range of sampling points and at different times, the values for the General Quality Index (GQI) have been determiden from observed data on the physycal and chemical parameters defining the index. The results have allowed to evaluate the quality of surface water, regardless behavior of the general index based on their most important parametres allows to consider the specific indivual effect of each sampling point with more flexibility than classical regression methods.

The Duero Diatom Index (DDI) for river water quality assessment in NW Spain: design and validation

Diatom indices developed in certain geographic regions are frequently used elsewhere, despite the strong evidence that such metrics are less useful when applied in regions other than that where species-environment relationships were originally assessed, showing that species have particular autoecological requirements in different geographic areas. The goal of this study was to develop a new metric, the Duero Diatom Index (DDI), aimed at monitoring water quality in Duero basin watercourses (NW Spain). In summer 2008 and 2009, a total of 355 epilithic diatom samples were collected following standard protocols. The 2008 samples were used to develop the DDI, whereas the samples collected during 2009 were used in the index testing. Weighted averages method was used to derive the autoecological profiles of diatoms with respect to pH, conductivity, biological oxygen demand, ammonia, nitrates, and phosphates. The optimum and tolerance values for the measured environmental variables were determined for 137 taxa with abundances and frequencies of occurrence above 1%, and subsequent trophic indicator and sensitivity values were defined for the DDI. The correlation between the observed and the diatom-inferred nutrient concentrations was highest for phosphates (ρ (S) = 0.72). Significant statistical relationship were observed between DDI values and the chemistry-based General Quality Index values (p = 0.006) and the specific pollution index (SPI) diatom metric (p = 0.04). DDI has demonstrated a better correlation with water chemistry than SPI diatom metric.

Forecasting models for manufacturer warranty returns: a case study

In this paper, we consider the analysis of some failure data during the warranty period, with regard to some electrical products. Our goal is to define some innovative models for warranty forecasting, which are transferable to the company where this study has been carried out. We present two innovative procedures for warranty control: the former allows to determine the probability of failure, while the second model can be used to establish a general quality index. The performance of the proposed methods are illustrated by considering real data.

Water quality indicators: Comparison of a probabilistic index and a general quality index. The case of the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar (Spain)

Abstract The main objective of this work is to measure water quality using a stochastic index built with tools of Probability Theory. Its great advantage is that it accounts for the underlying uncertainty in quality classification that results from variations in the data for individual physical and chemical characteristics, considering them as random variables. We compare the results obtained by measuring water quality with this index (the probabilistic index, PI ) and a classical deterministic index (the general quality index, GQI ). Also we do a comparison with other usual indices in order to validate the PI index. To demonstrate the application of PI and GQI indices, we used information from the Confederacion Hidrografica del Jucar (Spain) for the period between 1990 and 2005. Our analyses showed that GQI was positively correlated with PI throughout the study period. Because of its high potential, the PI index can be used to analyze possible temporal changes in water quality, as well as to determine the individual influence of each variable in water quality. The results suggested an improvement in water quality over time and that omitting individually, one at a time, five of the nine water quality variables from the PI calculation significantly improved the calculated water quality. Novelty of this paper is the design of an index that takes into account the uncertainty inherent to data, and its application for measuring water quality from a general perspective.