Abstract-TheIn addition to an extensive cloud mask, products include cloud-top properties (temperature, pressure, effective emissivity), cloud thermodynamic phase, cloud optical and microphysical parameters (optical thickness, effective particle radius, water path), as well as derived statistics. We will describe the various algorithms being used for the remote sensing of cloud properties from MODIS data with an emphasis on the pixel-level retrievals (referred to as Level-2 products), with 1-km or 5-km spatial resolution at nadir. An example of each Level-2 cloud product from a common data granule (5 min of data) off the coast of South America will be discussed. Future efforts will also be mentioned. Relevant points related to the global gridded statistics products (Level-3) are highlighted though additional details are given in an accompanying paper in this issue.

Background: The integrity of RNA molecules is of paramount importance for experiments that try to reflect the snapshot of gene expression at the moment of RNA extraction. Until recently, there has been no reliable standard for estimating the integrity of RNA samples and the ratio of 28S:18S ribosomal RNA, the common measure for this purpose, has been shown to be inconsistent. The advent of microcapillary electrophoretic RNA separation provides the basis for an automated high-throughput approach, in order to estimate the integrity of RNA samples in an unambiguous way.

Abstract.The The product of all the group confidences is used to determine the confidence of finding clear-sky conditions. This paper outlines the MEDIS cloud masking algorithm. While no present sensor has all of the spectral bands necessary for testing the complete MEDIS cloud mask, initial validation of some of the individual cloud tests is presented using existing remote sensing data sets. IntroductionThe Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is a keystone instrument of the Earth Observing System (EeS) for conducting global change research. The MEDIS provides global observations of Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere in the visible and infrared regions of the spectrum. Measurements at 36 wavelengths, from 0.4 to 14.5 /xm, will allow investigators to study the Earth in unprecedented detail. Biological and geophysical processes will be recorded in the MEDIS measurements on a global scale every 1 to 2 days. Many of the atmospheric and surface parameters require cloud free measurements. The MEDIS cloud mask provides an estimate that a given MEDIS field of view (FeV) is cloud free. It is a global level 2 product generated daily at 1 km and 250 m spatial resolutions. Copyright 1998 by the American Geophysical Union.Paper number 1998JD200032.0148-0227/98/1998JD200032509.00 resolution. Radiances from 14 spectral bands (Table 1) 2. Storage requirements are a concern. The cloud mask is more than a yes/no decision. The cloud mask consists of 48 bits of output which include information on individual cloud test results, the processing path, and ancillary information (e.g., land/sea tag). The first eight bits of the cloud mask provide a summary adequate for many processing applications; however, some applications will require the full mask at 4.8 Gb of storage per day.3. The cloud mask must be easily understood but provide enough information for wide use; it must be simple in concept but effective in its application. This paper describes the approach for detecting clouds using MODIS observations and details the algorithms. Section 2 presents a very brief summary of some current global cloud detection algorithms and discusses the wavelengths used in the MODIS cloud mask algorithm. Section 3 discusses the approach employed by the algorithm. Section 4 details the input 32,141