The covariability between the interannual changes of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and actual evapotranspiration was examined. This study employed NDVI datasets from the Pathfinder AVHRR Land (PAL) data and the Global Inventory Monitoring and Modeling Studies (GIMMS) group to reduce the uncertainty that may be involved in the NDVI time series. The analysis was carried out for th...

The Pearl River Delta in the People’s Republic of China is experiencing rapid rates of economic growth. Government directives in the late 1970s and early 1980s spurred economic development that has led to widespread land conversion. In this study, we monitor land-use through a nested hierarchy of land-cover. Change vectors of Tasseled Cap brightness, greenness and wetness of Landsat Thematic Ma...

In this paper we present a framework for modelling potential species distribution (PSD) of balsam fir [bF; Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.] as a function of landscape-level descriptions of: (i) growing degree days (GDD: a temperature related index), (ii) landsurface wetness, (iii) incident photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and (iv) tree habitat suitability. GDD and land-surface wetness are d...

Methanobactin (Mb) is a copper-binding peptide that appears to function as an agent for copper sequestration and uptake in methanotrophs. Mb can also bind and reduce Au(III) to Au(0). In this paper, Au/Al2O3 catalysts prepared by a novel incipient wetness-Mb-mediated bioreduction method were used for glucose oxidation. The catalysts were characterized, and the analysis revealed that very small ...

Carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants capture arthropods with specialized slippery surfaces. The key trapping surface, the pitcher rim (peristome), is highly slippery when wetted by rain, nectar or condensation, but not when dry. As natural selection should favour adaptations that maximize prey intake, the evolution of temporarily inactive traps seems paradoxical. Here, we show that intermittent...

Dry mouth can be caused by medication, CPAP use, radiation treatment and a variety of connective tissue diseases, with the prevalence increasing with age. In most individuals, daytime dryness is easily managed. However, except for a new product tested in this study, there is no product lasting longer than an hour that can be used at night to reduce the perception of oral dryness while sleeping....

Why wet feels wet? A neurophysiological model of human cutaneous wetness sensitivity 1 Davide Filingeri, Damien Fournet, Simon Hodder, George Havenith 2 3 Environmental Ergonomics Research Centre, Loughborough Design School, Loughborough 4 University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK 5 Thermal Sciences Laboratory, Oxylane Research, Villeneuve d’Ascq, 59665, France 6 7 Running head: 8 Neural pathways ...

The topographic wetness index (TWI, ln(a/tanβ)), which combines local upslope contributing area and slope, is commonly used to quantify topographic control on hydrological processes. Methods of computing this index differ primarily in the way the upslope contributing area is calculated. In this study we compared a number of calculation methods for TWI and evaluated them in terms of their correl...

[1] The depth of the active root zone identifies the portion of the subsurface that exchanges soil water with the atmosphere. The depth of this zone is determined by a number of factors, and this work focuses on the drivers related to water and climate. An analytical expression for a water-optimal root depth is developed by equating the marginal carbon cost and benefit of deeper roots. Soil-moi...

The highly ordered mesoporous silica SBA-15 was successfully synthesized and incorporated with iron, aluminum, and zinc oxides by use of an incipient wetness impregnation technique. Aluminum 10% impregnation was safely incorporated by an incipient wetness impregnation technique for SBA-15, which had 638.75 m/g of BET surface area and 48 Å of pore diameter, without producing clogging of pore str...