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The growing problems of soil erosion and sedimentation due to plantation and construction activities highlight the importance of reliable information on sediment sources with the objectives of designing and implementing targeted management practices. However, reliable information is unavailable for mountainous catchments in southern China. Accordingly, the fingerprinting approach was adopted to quantitatively identify sediment sources in a typical mountainous catchment disturbed by plantation and construction activities in the Dadingshan catchment, Guangdong Province, China. Sensitivity tests were conducted to evaluate the effect of correction factors on the modified model. The results indicated that geochemical elements could be applied for identifying sediment sources within the study catchment. However, the coarse sediment in the catchment posed challenges to the conservative behaviour of tracers. The findings suggested that the primary sediment source is exposed subsoil (51.5 ± 10.0%), followed by plantation topsoil (35.3 ± 16.2%) and wind farms (13.2 ± 10.2%). The mean goodness‐of‐fit value for all sediment samples was 87.1 ± 5.7%. The sediment contributions of various sources varied significantly due to differences in the extent and intensity of human intervention and the main erosion type of each source. Sensitivity analysis revealed that considering the assumption of source normality improved the source apportionment accuracy. However, particle size correction and tracer within‐source variability weighting in the modified mixing model resulted in unusual estimates of the source contributions. This contribution highlights the significance of considering uncertainties in key fingerprinting‐related aspects and emphasizes the need for implementing sediment control strategies in degraded forest environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luminescent nano‐thermometry is a fast‐developing technique with great potential for in vivo sensing, diagnosis, and therapy. Unfortunately, it presents serious limitations. The luminescence generated by nanothermometers, from which thermal readout is obtained, is strongly distorted by the attenuation induced by tissues. Such distortions lead to low signal levels and entangle absolute and reliable thermal monitoring of internal organs. Overcoming both limitations requires the use of high‐brightness luminescent nanothermometers and adopting more complex approaches for temperature estimation. In this work, it is demonstrated how superbright Ag2S nanothermometers can provide in vivo, reliable, and absolute thermal reading of the liver during laser‐induced hyperthermia. For that, a new procedure is designed in which thermal readout is obtained from the combination of in vivo transient thermometry measurements and in silico simulations. The synergy between in vivo and in silico measurements has made it possible to assess relevant numbers such as the efficiency of hyperthermia processes, the total heat energy deposited in the liver, and the relative contribution of Ag2S nanoparticles to liver heating. This work provides a new way for absolute thermal sensing of internal organs with potential application not only to hyperthermia processes but also to advanced diagnosis and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of luminescence nanothermometry in bio and nanomedicine has enabled achievements outside the reach of conventional techniques. For instance, it has provided real‐time monitoring of in vivo thermal therapies of tumors, a mandatory requirement for these techniques to work safely and efficiently. However, the reliability of intratumoral thermal readings is currently in question due to the presence of artefacts caused by the inhomogeneous optical properties of biological tissues. This work demonstrates how it is possible to avoid, under specific conditions, these artefacts and reach precise and reliable in vivo intratumoral thermal feedback during in vivo photothermal treatments. The method proposed is based on the use of luminescent nanoparticles capable of multiparametric thermal sensing. The results demonstrate how the convergence of the different thermal readouts becomes a solid indicator of their reliability. It is shown how this new approach makes possible precise (thermal uncertainties below 1 °C) intratumoral thermal feed‐back, while simple, efficient, and minimally invasive in vivo thermal treatments of surface tumors is carried out. Results included in this work provide an ingenious route toward the consolidation of luminescence nanothermometry as a convincing technique for high sensitivity preclinical thermal sensing, while also constituting a step toward improved photothermal therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]