Tear Cytokines as Biomarkers for Acute Ocular Graft-Versus-Host Disease.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze tear cytokine and complement levels in patients diagnosed with acute ocular graft-versus-host disease (oGVHD) and examine the consistency of these levels with the severity of clinical manifestations. METHODS: Ten patients with acute oGVHD (20 eyes) were enrolled for the assessment of tear cytokine levels and ocular surface parameters, and 18 healthy people (36 eyes) were selected as the control group. The tear cytokine and complement levels were measured using microsphere-based immunoassay analysis. RESULTS: The main clinical manifestations of acute oGVHD include eye redness, a large amount of purulent exudate, eye pain, and even false membranes. The levels of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1, interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1ß), interleukin 8, epidermal growth factor (EGF), interleukin 7 (IL-7), B-cell activating factor, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and complement in patients with acute oGVHD showed significant differences compared with those in normal people. Furthermore, the levels of IL-6, IL-1ß, EGF, GM-CSF, IL-7, and C3a showed a stronger correlation with ocular surface parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Our study was the first to enroll patients with acute oGVHD to assess tear cytokine levels as a method contributing to the diagnosis of acute oGVHD. In addition, it has been demonstrated that certain tear cytokines, including intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1, IL-6, IL-1ß, interleukin 8, B-cell activating factor, GM-CSF, IL-7, EGF, and complement, may be new diagnostic biomarkers for acute oGVHD.

[GIS-based measurement of Haloxylon ammodendron tree ring]. / 基于GIS的梭梭年轮测量方法.

Tree ring data is of significance for reconstructing climate and predicting environmental dynamics. In order to accurately measure spacing and other parameters of Haloxylon ammodendron tree ring, we first assigned coordinate system to the scanned H. ammodendron disc PS images based on GIS, and then completed the H. ammodendron tree ring spacing measurement by using ENVI image classification software and GIS measuring tool. The measurement accuracy was proved by WinDENDRO tree ring analysis system. The results showed that there was no significant difference between those two methods (P=0.63), and that the difference of paired mean value was 0.87 µm, indicating that the measured results were accurate and reliable. The constructed method in this study could be used to measure the spacing of H. ammodendron tree ring, which lay the foundation for the automatic measurement of tree ring parameters such as area and perimeter. Our method could replace the current professional tree ring analysis system for some ring parameter measurement. The study would contribute to the dendroclimatology analysis and the investigation on age structure of H. ammodendron population.

[Spatiotemporal variation of growing season length of vegetation in China.] / 中国植被生长期的时空变化.

We analyzed the variation trend of growing season length (GSL) of different periods in provinces (regions) of China and the corresponding movement velocity of GSL isolines at 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 days, based on daily mean temperature data of 822 meteorological stations from 1951 to 2017. In this study, the definition of GSL given by the world meteorological organization was adopted, together with Slope, Hurst and Mann-Kendall indices. The results showed that the GSL in northern China changed significantly during 1951-2017. The extension of GSL was faster in the north than the south, and faster in high-altitude areas than low-altitude ones. The trend of future GSL change in most regions of China converged with the current extension trend. The extension of GSL in northern provinces (regions) was generally 0.1-0.2 d·a-1, of which the fastest was Tibet with a speed of 0.44 d·a-1. The period 1981-2000 was the most changeable time of GSL in Chinese provinces (regions). The growing season start (GSS) of all provinces (regions) contributed more to the GSL extension, except for Xinjiang, whose GSL extension was dominated by the growing season end (GSE). In the high-latitude or high-altitude provinces, GSL was more sensitive to the change of mean annual temperature. The higher the mean annual temperature, the longer the GSL. Since 1951, China's GSL isolines of 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 days showed notable variations. The fastest movement velocity was the 200 days isoline in Northeast China with an average northward movement velocity of 6.11 km·a-1. The general principle of the movement of China's GSL isoline was that the higher the value of the isoline, the slower the northward movement, with even a southward shift in part of the 350 days isoline. The extension of GSL in China would result in the northward shift of crop planting boundary and the extension of natural vegetation growth period. However, the specific impacts of this change on the quality, crop yield, and ecosystem carbon sequestration need further research.

Estimation of rice phenology date using integrated HJ-1 CCD and Landsat-8 OLI vegetation indices time-series images.

Accurate estimation of rice phenology is of critical importance for agricultural practices and studies. However, the accuracy of phenological parameters extracted by remote sensing data cannot be guaranteed because of the influence of climate, e.g. the monsoon season, and limited available remote sensing data. In this study, we integrate the data of HJ-1 CCD and Landsat-8 operational land imager (OLI) by using the ordinary least-squares (OLS), and construct higher temporal resolution vegetation indices (VIs) time-series data to extract the phenological parameters of single-cropped rice. Two widely used VIs, namely the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and 2-band enhanced vegetation index (EVI2), were adopted to minimize the influence of environmental factors and the intrinsic difference between the two sensors. Savitzky-Golay (S-G) filters were applied to construct continuous VI profiles per pixel. The results showed that, compared with NDVI, EVI2 was more stable and comparable between the two sensors. Compared with the observed phenological data of the single-cropped rice, the integrated VI time-series had a relatively low root mean square error (RMSE), and EVI2 showed higher accuracy compared with NDVI. We also demonstrate the application of phenology extraction of the single-cropped rice in a spatial scale in the study area. While the work is of general value, it can also be extrapolated to other regions where qualified remote sensing data are the bottleneck but where complementary data are occasionally available.

Assessing winter oilseed rape freeze injury based on Chinese HJ remote sensing data.

The winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) accounts for about 90% of the total acreage of oilseed rape in China. However, it suffers the risk of freeze injury during the winter. In this study, we used Chinese HJ-1A/1B CCD sensors, which have a revisit frequency of 2 d as well as 30 m spatial resolution, to monitor the freeze injury of oilseed rape. Mahalanobis distance-derived growing regions in a normal year were taken as the benchmark, and a mask method was applied to obtain the growing regions in the 2010-2011 growing season. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was chosen as the indicator of the degree of damage. The amount of crop damage was determined from the difference in the NDVI before and after the freeze. There was spatial variability in the amount of crop damage, so we examined three factors that may affect the degree of freeze injury: terrain, soil moisture, and crop growth before the freeze. The results showed that all these factors were significantly correlated with freeze injury degree (P<0.01, two-tailed). The damage was generally more serious in low-lying and drought-prone areas; in addition, oilseed rape planted on south- and west-oriented facing slopes and those with luxuriant growth status tended to be more susceptible to freeze injury. Furthermore, land surface temperature (LST) of the coldest day, soil moisture, pre-freeze growth and altitude were in descending order of importance in determining the degree of damage. The findings proposed in this paper would be helpful in understanding the occurrence and severity distribution of oilseed rape freeze injury under certain natural or vegetation conditions, and thus help in mitigation of this kind of meteorological disaster in southern China.

Diversity study of 12 X-chromosomal STR loci in Hui ethnic from China.

X-chromosomal STRs (X-STRs) have been used as complements of autosomal STR application in recent years. In this work, we present population genetic data of 12 X-STRs including DXS101, DXS10159, DXS10162, DXS10164, DXS6789, DXS7133, DXS7423, DXS7424, DXS8378, DXS981, GATA165B12, and GATA31E08 loci in a sample of 231 unrelated healthy individuals from the Hui ethnic group in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. Allelic frequencies of the 12 X-STR loci and haplotypic frequencies of the reported linkage groups (DXS7424-DXS101 and DXS10159-DXS10164-DXS10162) were investigated in the group, respectively. No STR loci showed significant deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibriums and no linkage disequilibriums of pairwise loci were found after Bonferroni correction, respectively. A combined power of discrimination in female individuals was 0.999999999985 and that in male individuals was 0.99999967, respectively. The combined mean exclusion chance in deficiency cases, normal trios and duo cases were 0.999934, 0.995754, and 0.999796, respectively. Significant differences were observed from 0 to 8 loci, when making comparisons between the data of Hui ethnic group and previously reported data from other 16 populations. The results indicated the new panel of 12 X-STR loci might be useful for forensic science application.

Effects of topical Janus kinase inhibition on ocular surface inflammation and immunity.

PURPOSE: To determine the effects of topical Janus kinase inhibition on ocular surface inflammation and immunity. METHODS: Ophthalmic 0.003% tofacitinib (CP-690,550) was administered topically to inhibit Janus kinase activation at the ocular surface. Male BALB/c mice 6 to 8 weeks of age were subjected to corneal thermocautery and randomized to receive tofacitinib, vehicle, or no treatment. Corneas were subsequently excised for fluorescence-activated cell sorting and quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Female C57BL/6 mice 6 to 8 weeks of age were exposed to desiccating stress to induce experimental dry eye disease and randomized to receive tofacitinib, tofacitinib and vehicle, vehicle, or no treatment. Corneal fluorescein staining was performed to evaluate clinical disease severity. The corneas and conjunctivae were harvested for immunohistochemical staining and quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: After corneal thermocautery, it was found that tofacitinib treatment decreased the corneal infiltration of CD45+, Gr-1+, and CD11b+ cells on days 1 and 3. Transcripts encoding interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-6 were significantly decreased by tofacitinib treatment at post-thermocautery day 3. In experimental dry eye disease, tofacitinib treatment twice per day significantly decreased corneal fluorescein staining on days 12 and 15. The corneal infiltration of CD11b+ cells was significantly decreased by tofacitinib treatment twice per day. Tofacitinib treatment twice per day significantly increased the corneal expression of IL-1RA, and significantly decreased the corneal expression of tumor necrosis factor and IL-23. Further, tofacitinib treatment twice per day significantly decreased the conjunctival expression of IL-17A and significantly increased the conjunctival expression of FoxP3. CONCLUSIONS: Topical ophthalmic tofacitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor, suppressed ocular surface inflammation and immunity in experimental corneal thermocautery and dry eye disease.

Multi-year monitoring of paddy rice planting area in Northeast China using MODIS time series data.

The objective of this study was to investigate the tempo-spatial distribution of paddy rice in Northeast China using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. We developed an algorithm for detection and estimation of the transplanting and flooding periods of paddy rice with a combination of enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and land surface water index with a central wavelength at 2130 nm (LSWI2130). In two intensive sites in Northeast China, fine resolution satellite imagery was used to validate the performance of the algorithm at pixel and 3×3 pixel window levels, respectively. The commission and omission errors in both of the intensive sites were approximately less than 20%. Based on the algorithm, annual distribution of paddy rice in Northeast China from 2001 to 2009 was mapped and analyzed. The results demonstrated that the MODIS-derived area was highly correlated with published agricultural statistical data with a coefficient of determination (R(2)) value of 0.847. It also revealed a sharp decline in 2003, especially in the Sanjiang Plain located in the northeast of Heilongjiang Province, due to the oversupply and price decline of rice in 2002. These results suggest that the approaches are available for accurate and reliable monitoring of rice cultivated areas and variation on a large scale.

Antagonism of the histamine H4 receptor reduces LPS-induced TNF production in vivo.

OBJECTIVE: Antagonism of the histamine H4 receptor (H4R) has been shown to be anti-inflammatory in a number of preclinical disease models, however the exact mechanisms behind this are still being uncovered. In vitro, the receptor interacts with TLR and impacts inflammatory mediator production from a number of different cell types. Here it is shown that this interaction also occurs in vivo. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wild-type and H4R deficient BALB/c mice received an i.p. injection of LPS in PBS in conjunction with p.o. JNJ 7777120 or JNJ 28307474 (H4R antagonists). Two hours later blood was collected and TNF was measured. RESULTS: Two different H4R antagonists inhibited LPS-induced TNF production in mice and this production was also reduced in H4R-deficient mice. The TNF mRNA analysis showed that the major source of the cytokine was the liver and not blood, and that the H4R antagonist only reduced the expression levels in the liver. Depletion or inactivation of macrophages reduced the TNF levels and eliminated the H4R sensitivity. Treatment with an H4R antagonist also reduced LPS-induced liver injury and blocked LPS-enhanced lung inflammation in mice. CONCLUSION: The data support an interaction between H4R and TLR activation in vivo that can drive inflammatory responses.

Spatio-temporal reconstruction of air temperature maps and their application to estimate rice growing season heat accumulation using multi-temporal MODIS data.

The accumulation of thermal time usually represents the local heat resources to drive crop growth. Maps of temperature-based agro-meteorological indices are commonly generated by the spatial interpolation of data collected from meteorological stations with coarse geographic continuity. To solve the critical problems of estimating air temperature (T(a)) and filling in missing pixels due to cloudy and low-quality images in growing degree days (GDDs) calculation from remotely sensed data, a novel spatio-temporal algorithm for T(a) estimation from Terra and Aqua moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data was proposed. This is a preliminary study to calculate heat accumulation, expressed in accumulative growing degree days (AGDDs) above 10 °C, from reconstructed T(a) based on MODIS land surface temperature (LST) data. The verification results of maximum T(a), minimum T(a), GDD, and AGDD from MODIS-derived data to meteorological calculation were all satisfied with high correlations over 0.01 significant levels. Overall, MODIS-derived AGDD was slightly underestimated with almost 10% relative error. However, the feasibility of employing AGDD anomaly maps to characterize the 2001-2010 spatio-temporal variability of heat accumulation and estimating the 2011 heat accumulation distribution using only MODIS data was finally demonstrated in the current paper. Our study may supply a novel way to calculate AGDD in heat-related study concerning crop growth monitoring, agricultural climatic regionalization, and agro-meteorological disaster detection at the regional scale.

Evaluation of reading speed and contrast sensitivity in dry eye disease.

PURPOSE: Visual disturbance is a common symptom reported by patients with dry eye disease (DED). The purpose of this study was to evaluate visual performance, including reading speed and contrast sensitivity, in control and DED subjects. METHODS: Fifty-two DED patients (mild, n = 17; moderate, n = 22; severe, n = 13; based on corneal staining and the Ocular Surface Disease Index ≥ 20) and 20 control subjects (Ocular Surface Disease Index <13, no corneal staining) took part in this study. The age ranges for the control and DED patients were 18 to 45 years and 19 to 84 years, respectively. Contrast sensitivity was measured using the Holladay Automated Contrast Sensitivity System, and reading speed was determined using the Wilkins Rate of Reading Test. Analysis of covariance was conducted to compare clinical characteristics among subject groups while adjusting for age, sex, and study site. Partial correlation coefficients from linear regression were used to measure the linear relationship between contrast sensitivity and reading speed with DED parameters. RESULTS: The log of the minimum angle of resolution visual acuities and contrast sensitivity were not significantly different across subject groups. The DED patients (134.9 ± 4.95 words per minute) exhibited slower reading speeds than the control subjects (158.3 ± 8.40 words per minute, p = 0.046). As DED severity increased, the reading speed decreased (141.0 ± 7.96 words per minute, 136.8 ± 7.15 words per minute, and 127.0 ± 9.63 words per minute in mild, moderate, and severe groups, respectively). Reading rate was found to correlate weakly with corneal staining based on a partial correlation coefficient (-0.345, p < 0.001) but not with other DED parameters. CONCLUSIONS: The reading rate was lower in DED subjects than that in control subjects. As the DED severity increased, the reading rate decreased. This finding is consistent with patient-reported symptoms and provides direct evidence for the impact of DED on reading performance. These findings suggest that reading speed may be used to monitor treatment benefit in DED.

Evaluations of tear protein markers in dry eye disease: repeatability of measurement and correlation with disease.

PURPOSE: We characterized tear protein markers in dry eye disease (DED). METHODS: In this prospective study, based on the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) and corneal staining (CS), 95 DED patients (OSDI ≥13) with increasing CS were enrolled into 3 severity groups: DE1 (CS <4), DE2 (CS 4-7), and DE3 (CS >7), while 25 asymptomatic subjects with no CS were enrolled into the control group (OSDI <13 and CS = 0). Tear fluid was collected at day 0 and day 7 visits, and concentrations of 43 protein markers were measured by multiplexed immunoassay. RESULTS: We analyzed 22 control and 80 DED subjects. Among 33 markers detectable, good inter-visit repeatability was observed with 25 markers, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) ranging from 0.85-0.60; ICCs were <0.60 in the other 8. Correlation with clinical measures was found with two markers, with absolute partial correlation coefficients >0.40: Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and IL-8. IL-1Ra and IL-8 correlated with conjunctival staining (0.43, P < 0.001 and 0.35, P < 0.01, respectively), and with Schirmer test (-0.58 and -0.42, P < 0.001). IL-1Ra and IL-8 in DE3 were 4.4- and 2.1-fold higher than in DE1 (P = 0.0001 and 0.0007), and 1.9- and 1.6-fold higher than in DE2 (P = 0.022 and 0.017). IL-1Ra in DE2 was 2.3-fold higher than in DE1 (P = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS: Tear levels of many immune mediators were highly repeatable between visits in DED. Among them, IL-1Ra and IL-8 were associated with clinical signs and disease severity defined by corneal staining.

Immunomodulatory effect of the topical ophthalmic Janus kinase inhibitor tofacitinib (CP-690,550) in patients with dry eye disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the immunomodulatory effect of topical ophthalmic tofacitinib (CP-690,550) after an 8-week treatment period in patients with dry eye disease (DED). DESIGN: Biomarker substudy of a phase 1/2 prospective, randomized, vehicle- and comparator-controlled clinical trial (NCT00784719). PARTICIPANTS: A total of 82 patients with moderate to severe DED enrolled. METHODS: Patients received 1 of 5 doses of tofacitinib (0.0003%, 0.001%, 0.003%, or 0.005% twice daily [BID] or 0.005% once daily [QD]), active comparator (cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion, 0.05% [Restasis, Allergan Inc., Irvine, CA]), or vehicle control BID for 8 weeks. Conjunctival impression cytology and tear fluid samples were collected at baseline and after an 8-week treatment period. Conjunctival cells were analyzed by flow cytometry for human leukocyte antigen DR-1 (HLA-DR). Tear fluids were analyzed by microsphere-based immunoassays for tear levels of cytokines and inflammation markers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reduction in inflammation assessed by change from baseline in conjunctival cell surface level of HLA-DR and tear level of cytokines and inflammation markers. RESULTS: At week 8, a decrease in conjunctival cell surface expression of HLA-DR was observed in patients treated with tofacitinib 0.005% QD and 0.003% BID: 71% and 67% of baseline, respectively, compared with 133% of baseline in patients treated with vehicle (P=0.023 and P=0.006, compared with vehicle, respectively). Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 in tears was reduced from baseline at week 8 (40% of baseline, P=0.035) in the tofacitinib 0.005% QD group, whereas the vehicle group showed 77% of baseline (P>0.20). Interleukin (IL)-1ß in tears was 36% of baseline (P=0.053) in the tofacitinib 0.005% QD group and 95% of baseline (P > 0.20) in the vehicle group. Several other cytokines and inflammation markers in tears, including MMP-9, IL-15, IL-17A, and IL-12p70, were markedly reduced in the tofacitinib 0.005% QD group but not the vehicle group. There was an association between the changes in HLA-DR and the tear inflammation markers (P<0.05): HLA-DR with IL-12p70 (r=0.49) and IL-1ß (r=0.46), IL-12p70 with IL-1ß (r=0.90), and IL-17A with MMP-9 (r=0.82). CONCLUSIONS: Topical ophthalmic tofacitinib may act as an immunomodulator in patients with DED. Treatment for 8 weeks showed a promising reduction of conjunctival cell surface HLA-DR expression and tear levels of proinflammatory cytokines and inflammation markers.

A tasseled cap transformation for CBERS-02B CCD data.

The tasseled cap transformation of remote sensing data has been widely used in agriculture, forest, ecology, and landscape. In this paper, tasseled cap transformation coefficients appropriate for data from a new sensor (China & Brazil Earth Resource Satellite (CBERS-02B)) are presented. The first three components after transformation captured 98% of the four-band variance, and represent the physical characteristics of brightness (coefficients: 0.509, 0.431, 0.330, and 0.668), greenness (coefficients: -0.494, -0.318, -0.324, and 0.741), and blueness (coefficients: 0.581, -0.070, -0.811, and 0.003), respectively. We hope these results will enhance the application of CBERS-02B charge-coupled device (CCD) data in the areas of agriculture, forest, ecology, and landscape.

Impaired visual performance in patients with dry eye.

Patients with dry eye disease (DED) often complain about poor vision, which is not easily quantifiable. This review assesses the current understanding of clinical evaluations of visual function in patients with DED. Several noninvasive techniques for the assessment of visual performance have been utilized in patients with DED, and these are critically reviewed in relation to the visual symptoms experienced by these patients. It is clear that none of the current techniques is ideal, and there is not one appropriate, simple, clinical test that can be used for assessing visual impairment in patients with DED. Evidence from a comprehensive literature search combined with clinical experience have been used to identify which tests are currently of most benefit and to highlight the future development of a more specific clinical test for visual impairment in the dry eye patient.

Genetic polymorphism analysis of 15 STR loci in Chinese Hui ethnic group residing in Qinghai province of China.

In the present study, we investigated the diversity distributions of allelic frequencies of 15 short tandem repeats (STRs) loci in a sample of Chinese Hui ethnic group in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The allelic frequencies of the 15 STR loci (D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818 and FGA) were obtained from 2975 unrelated healthy Hui individuals. The STR genotyping data of all the samples were generated by DNA extraction, multiple amplification, GeneScan and genotype analysis. The genetic distances among different populations were calculated by using Nei's method and a phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the allelic frequencies of the same 15 STR loci using the neighbor-joining method. A total of 185 alleles were observed in the Hui population, with the corresponding allelic frequencies ranging from 0.0002 to 0.5322. Chi-Square tests showed that all STR loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The forensic statistical parameters of all the loci showed high values. The population data in this study were compared with the previously published population data from other ethnics or areas. The Hui population showed significant differences from the Minnan Han, Uigur, Ewenki, Yi, Tibetan, Maonan and Malay ethnic minority groups in some loci, and from the South Morocco population and the Moroccan population in all the loci. Our results are valuable for human individual identification and paternity testing in the Chinese Hui population and are expected to enrich the genetic information resources of Chinese populations.

Genetic diversities of 21 non-CODIS autosomal STRs of a Chinese Tibetan ethnic minority group in Lhasa.

In the present study, we investigated 21 short tandem repeat (STR) loci (D6S474, D12ATA63, D22S1045, D10S1248, D1S1677, D11S4463, D1S1627, D3S4529, D2S441, D6S1017, D4S2408, D19S433, D17S1301, D1GATA113, D18S853, D20S482, D14S1434, D9S1122, D2S1776, D10S1435, D5S2500), which are not included in the Combined DNA Index System and Amelogenin locus in 104 randomly selected healthy autochthonous individuals from the Tibetan ethnic minority group residing in the Lhasa region, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Allelic frequencies, common forensic statistical parameters, and the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in this population were calculated with a modified PowerState V12.xls. A total of 143 alleles were found in the Tibetan group with corresponding allelic frequencies ranging from 0.005 to 0.582. The observed heterozygosity, the expected heterozygosity, the power of discrimination, the power of exclusion, and the polymorphic information content ranged from 0.615 to 0.817, 0.559 to 0.787, 0.727 to 0.926, 0.310 to 0.632, and 0.488 to 0.760, respectively. Chi-square tests of the observed genotype frequencies and expected genotype frequencies in the samples showed no departure from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium at all loci except for D5S2500. Our results demonstrate that these 21 STRs are highly polymorphic and suitable for anthropological research, population genetics, and forensic paternity testing and human individual identification in this region, and can enrich Chinese ethnical genetic informational resources.

[Research on extraction method of water body with DS spectral enhancement based on HJ-1 images].

Natural disaster is one of the major global issues, and it is an important premise for disaster prevention and reduction to monitor it. In the present paper, multi-temporal HJ-1 images pre- and posto-typhoon Morakot were used. First, radiometric calibration and registration were done, then, decorrelation stretch (DS) was applied, and finally, maximum likelihood classification (MLC) was adopted to extract water body and monitor change of water body caused by typhoon Morakot. The results show that after DS spectral enhancement, the correlations among bands decrease and spectral differences increase, and it is helpful to identify surface features. The accuracy assessment demonstrates that the overall accuracies and Kappa coefficients of four phases are higher, above 96.0% and 0.94 respectively, than that of direct MLC without DS spectral enhancement. It is beneficial to scheduling flood discharge and ensuring the safety of reservoir downstream by comparing extracted multi-temporal water bodies.

Detection of nitrogen-overfertilized rice plants with leaf positional difference in hyperspectral vegetation index.

The main objective of this work was to compare the applicability of the single leaf (the uppermost leaf L1 and the third uppermost leaf L3) modified simple ratio (mSR(705) index) and the leaf positional difference in the vegetation index between L1 and L3 (mSR(705L1)-mSR(705L3)) in detecting nitrogen (N)-overfertilized rice plants. A field experiment consisting of three rice genotypes and five N fertilization levels (0, 75, 180, 285, and 390 kg N/ha) was conducted at Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China in 2008. The hyperspectral reflectance (350-2500 nm) and the chlorophyll concentration (ChlC) of L1 and L3 were measured at different stages. The mSR(705L1) and mSR(705L3) indices appeared not to be highly sensitive to the N rates, especially when the N rate was high (above 180 kg N/ha). The mean mSR(705L1)-mSR(705L3) across the genotypes increased significantly (P<0.05) or considerably from 180 to 285 kg N/ha treatment and from 285 to 390 kg N/ha treatment at all the stages. Also, use of the difference (mSR(705L1)-mSR(705L3)) greatly reduced the influence of the stages and genotypes in assessing the N status with reflectance data. The results of this study show that the N-overfertilized rice plants can be effectively detected with the leaf positional difference in the mSR(705) index.