Observed different impacts of potential tree restoration on local surface and air temperature.

Tree restoration can cool or warm the local climate through biophysical processes. However, the magnitude of these effects remains unconstrained at large scales, as most previous observational studies rely on land surface temperature (Ts) rather than the more policy-relevant air temperature (Ta). Using satellite observations, we show that Ta responds to tree cover change at only 15-30% of the magnitude observed in Ts.

New land surface temperature retrieval algorithm for heavy aerosol loading during nighttime from Gaofen-5 satellite data.

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key variable used for studies of the water cycles and energy budgets of land-atmosphere interfaces. The Chinese Gaofen-5 (GF5) satellite, with an onboard visual and infrared multispectral imager (VIMS), is the only satellite that can capture the earth's thermal infrared information for use in the national high-resolution earth observation project of China; it can observe the earth surface at a high spatial resolution of 40 m in four thermal infrared channels and two mid-infrared channels. This article selects the optimum spectral channel combination for reducing the aerosol effect on LST retrieval with the aid of simulated data, and a new four-channel LST retrieval method from GF5 infrared data under heavy dust aerosol during nighttime is proposed.

An Improved Linear Spectral Emissivity Constraint Method for Temperature and Emissivity Separation Using Hyperspectral Thermal Infrared Data.

The linear spectral emissivity constraint (LSEC) method has been proposed to separate temperature and emissivity in hyperspectral thermal infrared data with an assumption that land surface emissivity (LSE) can be described by an equal interval piecewise linear function. This paper combines a pre-estimate shape method with the LSEC method to provide an initial-shape estimation of LSE which will create a new piecewise scheme for land surface temperature (LST) and LSE separation. This new scheme is designated as the pre-estimate shape (PES)-LSEC method.

Land surface temperature retrieval from AMSR-E passive microwave data.

The land surface temperature (LST) is a key parameter for energy balance, evapotranspiration and climate change. In this study, two new methods of LST retrieval from passive microwave data are developed: one is deriving LST only using single-channel dual-polarized data based on the relationship between the emissivity and microwave polarization difference index (MPDI) (denoted as Method 1); the other one is deriving LST using the traditional multi-channel method with prior knowledge of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (denoted as Method 3). Taking Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST products as the actual LSTs, the coefficients for these algorithms are determined.

Small is Smarter: Nano MRI Contrast Agents - Advantages and Recent Achievements.

Many challenges for advanced sensitive and noninvasive clinical diagnostic imaging remain unmatched. In particular, the great potential of magnetic nano-probes is intensively discussed to further improve the performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially for cancer diagnosis. Based on recent achievements, here the concepts of magnetic nanoparticle-based MRI contrast agents and tumor-specific imaging probes are critically summarized.

Land surface reflectance retrieval from hyperspectral data collected by an unmanned aerial vehicle over the Baotou test site.

To evaluate the in-flight performance of a new hyperspectral sensor onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV-HYPER), a comprehensive field campaign was conducted over the Baotou test site in China on 3 September 2011. Several portable reference reflectance targets were deployed across the test site. The radiometric performance of the UAV-HYPER sensor was assessed in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the calibration accuracy.

Self-assembly cationic nanoparticles based on cholesterol-grafted bioreducible poly(amidoamine) for siRNA delivery.

In this study, a series of bioreducible poly(amidoamine)s grafting different percentages of cholesterol (rPAA-Ch14: 14%, rPAA-Ch29: 29%, rPAA-Ch57: 57% and rPAA-Ch87: 87%) was synthesized and used for siRNA delivery. These amphiphilic polymers were able to self-assemble into cationic nanoparticles in aqueous solution at low concentrations. The nanoparticle formation was evidenced via cryo-transmission electron microscope (Cryo-TEM) and dynamic light scattering analysis.

A comparative study of three ternary complexes prepared in different mixing orders of siRNA/redox-responsive hyperbranched poly (amido amine)/hyaluronic acid.

In this study, a novel redox-responsive hyperbranched poly(amido amine) (named PCD) was synthesized and used as a cationic polymer to form a ternary complex with small interfering RNA (siRNA) and hyaluronic acid (HA) for siRNA delivery. Here, it is hypothesized that different mixing orders result in different assembly structures, which may affect the siRNA delivery efficiency. To investigate the effects of mixing orders on siRNA delivery efficiency in two human breast cancer cell lines, three ternary complexes with different mixing orders of siRNA/PCD/HA were prepared and characterized: mixing order I (initially prepared siRNA/PCD binary complex further coated by negatively charged HA), mixing order II ( initially prepared HA/PCD binary complex further incubated with siRNA), and mixing order III ( initially prepared siRNA/HA mixture further electrostatically compacted by positively charged PCD).

Surface engineering of gold nanoparticles for in vitro siRNA delivery.

Cellular uptake, endosomal/lysosomal escape, and the effective dissociation from the carrier are a series of hurdles for specific genes to be delivered both in vitro and in vivo. To construct siRNA delivery systems, poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and siRNA were alternately assembled on the surface of 11.8 ± 0.

Self-assembly nanomicelles based on cationic mPEG-PLA-b-Polyarginine(R15) triblock copolymer for siRNA delivery.

Due to the absence of safe and effective carriers for in vivo delivery, the applications of small interference RNA (siRNA) in clinic for therapeutic purposes have been limited. In this study, a biodegradable amphiphilic tri-block copolymer (mPEG(2000)-PLA(3000)-b-R(15)) composed of monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol), poly(d,l-lactide) and polyarginine was synthesized and further self-assembled to cationic polymeric nanomicelles for in vivo siRNA delivery, with an average diameter of 54.30 ± 3.