Extending the near infrared emission range of indium phosphide quantum dots for multiplexed 'In Vivo' imaging

This report of the reddest emitting indium phosphide quantum dots (InP QDs) to date demonstrates tunable, near infrared (NIR) photoluminescence and fluorescence multiplexing in the first optical tissue window with a material that avoids toxic constituents. This synthesis overcomes the InP synthesis “growth bottleneck” and extends the emission peak of InP QDs deeper into the first optical tissue window using an inverted QD heterostructure. The ZnSe/InP/ZnS core/shell/shell structure is designed to produce emission from excitons with heavy holes confined in InP shells wrapped around larger-bandgap ZnSe cores and protected by a second shell of ZnS. The InP QDs exhibit InP shell thickness-dependent tunable emission with peaks ranging from 515 – 845 nm. The high absorptivity of InP leads to effective absorbance and photoexcitation of the QDs with UV, visible, and NIR wavelengths in particles with diameters of eight nanometers or less. These nanoparticles extend the range of tunable direct-bandgap emission from InP-based nanostructures, effectively overcoming a synthetic barrier that has prevented InP-based QDs from reaching their full potential as NIR imaging agents. Multiplexed lymph node imaging in a mouse model shows the potential of the NIR-emitting InP particles for in vivo imaging.First author draf

Long-Term Tibetan Alpine Vegetation Responses to Elevation-Dependent Changes in Temperature and Precipitation in an Altered Regional Climate: A Case Study for the Three Rivers Headwaters Region, China

Recent studies offer more evidence that the rate of warming is amplified with elevation, indicating thereby that high-elevation ecosystems tend to be exposed to more accelerated changes in temperature than ecosystems at lower elevations. The phenomenon of elevation-dependent warming (EDW), as one of the regional climate-change impacts, has been observed across the Tibetan Plateau. Studies have often found large-scale greening trends, but the drivers of vegetation dynamics are still not fully understood in this region, such that the local implications of vegetation change have been infrequently discussed. This study was designed to quantify and characterize the seasonal changes in vegetation across the Three Rivers Headwaters Region (TRHR), where the land cradles the headwaters of the Yangtze, the Yellow, and the Lancang (Mekong). By mapping the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) over the growing season from 1982 to 2015, we were able to evaluate seasonal changes in vegetation cover over time. The results show a slightly increased tendency in green vegetation cover, which could possibly be attributed to sustained warming in this region over the past three decades, whereas a decline in the green-up rate with elevation was found, indicating an inconsistent trend of vegetation greening with EDW. The cause of the green-up rate decline at high elevations could be linked to the reduced soil water availability induced by the fast increase in warming rates associated with EDW. The findings of this study have important implications for devising adaptation strategies for alpine ecosystems in a changing climate