Taiwan Geographic Information Center

Summary: On April 3, 2024, an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale occurred off the coast of Hualien County, Taiwan. This earthquake was the largest earthquake in Taiwan after the September 21 earthquake in 1999. The Taroko National Park, located in the northern part of Hualien City, had serious rockfalls and collapses; many tourists and vehicles were trapped on the trails and tunnels waiting to be rescued. The non-governmental organization, the Taiwan Development Association for Disaster Medical Teams, the disaster preparedness and rescue group, signed a cooperation agreement with the Special Search and Rescue (SSAR) Team and immediately formed an advance team to carry out the rescue mission. The SSAR team of the National Fire Agency and from neighboring counties and cities were responsible for coordinating rescue missions at the disaster site. Three of these teams have doctors, nurses, and emergency paramedics. Formation of an SSAR medical team to accompany the disaster relief mission. It was anticipated that more people or injuries would be extricated from the Taroko National Park on the second day of the disaster, and initial assessment, medical assistance, and medical evacuation assistance. The disaster medical advance team was dispatched by the on-site command center to perform medical operations at the scene of Taroko National Park with the SSAR medical team, sharing human resources and medical supplies, and at the same time being responsible for the evacuation of patients from the medical station. 181 people were monitored by the medical station and treated by the doctors for the evacuation. This was the first time that the disaster medical team and the SSAR medical teams cooperated in the rescue of a large-scale earthquake disaster in Taiwan in the past 25 years.

Driven by progress in digital imaging and hemispherical imaging techniques, digital hemispherical photography (DHP) has found widespread applications in vegetation ecology, agriculture, and ecological system monitoring. This method employs DHP to capture canopy images and estimates vegetation parameters, especially the Leaf Area Index (LAI), based on these images. However, the DHP method may introduce errors in LAI estimation due to factors such as light intensity and fisheye camera exposure settings, which significantly affect camera performance and, in turn, the accuracy of estimation results. These issues have not been effectively addressed in existing research, leading to inaccuracies in LAI estimation. To resolve this, we propose an exposure time optimization control model based on the Exposure Quality Factor (EQF), which adjusts exposure time automatically based on external light intensity, aiming to optimize image quality and improve LAI estimation accuracy. The experimental dataset includes images and light intensity data captured using industrial cameras and illuminance sensors. To eliminate the influence of other environmental factors, we use a plastic board with circular holes to simulate the vegetation canopy. The results demonstrate that exposure time correction based on external light intensity significantly improves image quality. Specifically, the parameter-optimized exposure control method based on EQF achieves an LAI value Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 0.67%, which represents a 14.97% reduction in MAPE compared to the standard auto-exposure control method, thereby improving estimation accuracy. This method provides an effective solution for automated leaf area index measurement, and future research will further validate and optimize the model using a broader and more diverse dataset.

Among sarcomas, which are rare cancers, many types are exceedingly rare; however, a definition of ultra-rare cancers has not been established. The problem of ultra-rare sarcomas is particularly relevant because they represent unique diseases, and their rarity poses major challenges for diagnosis, understanding disease biology, generating clinical evidence to support new drug development, and achieving formal authorization for novel therapies. The Connective Tissue Oncology Society promoted a consensus effort in November 2019 to establish how to define ultra-rare sarcomas through expert consensus and epidemiologic data and to work out a comprehensive list of these diseases. The list of ultra-rare sarcomas was based on the 2020 World Health Organization classification, The incidence rates were estimated using the Information Network on Rare Cancers (RARECARENet) database and NETSARC (the French Sarcoma Network's clinical-pathologic registry). Incidence rates were further validated in collaboration with the Asian cancer registries of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. It was agreed that the best criterion for a definition of ultra-rare sarcomas would be incidence. Ultra-rare sarcomas were defined as those with an incidence of approximately ≤1 per 1,000,000, to include those entities whose rarity renders them extremely difficult to conduct well powered, prospective clinical studies. On the basis of this threshold, a list of ultra-rare sarcomas was defined, which comprised 56 soft tissue sarcoma types and 21 bone sarcoma types. Altogether, the incidence of ultra-rare sarcomas accounts for roughly 20% of all soft tissue and bone sarcomas. This confirms that the challenges inherent in ultra-rare sarcomas affect large numbers of patients.

Abstract Background The emergence and re-emergence of arboviral infections particularly Chikungunya, dengue hemorrhagic fever, Rift Valley fever, and yellow fever in humans around the world threatens global health. The purpose of this study was to determine the urban ecology of the common arboviral mosquito vectors in urban Coastal Kenya areas.Materials and Methods The current study was conducted in urban settings of Kilifi and Mombasa counties in coastal Kenya in 2016 to 2017. Adult mosquitoes were collected both indoors and outdoors by CDC light traps and BG-Sentinel traps respectively. All blood fed mosquitoes were tested for blood meal sources by an Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Mosquito larvae were collected using standard dippers and pipettes. Egg survivorship in dry soil was evaluated by collecting of soil samples from dry potential breeding habitats, watering them for hatching and rearing of the eventual larvae to adults. Mosquitoes were screened for Flavivirus, Alphavirus and Phlebovirus arboviruses using Reverse Transcriptase Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT qPCR).Results A total of 3,264 adult mosquitoes belonging to ten species of Culex (Cx.), Aedes (Ae) and Anopheles (An.) were collected. Overall, the predominant species were Cx. quinquefasciatus 72.4% (n=2,364) and Ae. aegypti, 25.7%, (n=838). A total of 415 breeding habitat types were identified indoors (n=317) and outdoors (n=98). The most productive habitat types in both indoors and outdoors were: assorted small containers, water tanks, drainages, drums and jericans. Overall, 62% (n=18) of the soil samples collected from the two sites (Kilifi and Malindi) were positive for larvae which were used as proxy to measure the presence of eggs. The mosquitoes had high preference for human blood (29.81%) and chicken (3.73%) but none had fed on either goat or bovine. Of 259 mosquitoes tested for viral infection, 11.6% were positive for Flavivirus only.Conclusion Peri-domestic containers were identified to be the key breeding areas of arboviral vectors.

In this paper, we propose an innovative board game design process to help students to design a cybersecurity board game with a pre-designed board game tool kit, and help them to further learn cybersecurity knowledge by using the design thinking and learning-by-doing strategies. In the process, the board game design course will firstly be given, the CBR-based learning by doing scheme will then be provided for helping the students to develop a similar game by themselves, and finally a preliminary assessment including the questionnaire and the concept map testing will be conducted. The experimental results showed that the given appropriate learning scaffolding can guide students to stimulate the creativity and complete their own cybersecurity board game in a short period of time. Besides, the questionnaire survey result also showed that about 80% of students are very interested in the board game design course, and that they can be able to understand the most frequent attacking techniques.

In the initial online publication, the name of author Hock Siew Han was given incorrectly as Han Hock Siew. The original article has been corrected.

Physicians face the challenge of individualizing aesthetic treatments in order to match the aesthetic needs of patients with their expectations. To review issues underlying patient satisfaction with minimally invasive aesthetic treatment and to present a patient-centric assessment tool (the Global Ranking Scale [GRS]) designed to set higher standards for patient consultation and treatment experience; ensure a comprehensive patient-centric aesthetic consultation process; and raise patient satisfaction with facial rejuvenation treatment. A review of the design and content of the GRS and its use as part of the wider Galderma Harmony Program. Results of a small survey of clinicians who have switched to the GRS, and case studies of patients who have used the tool, are also presented. The GRS is used in ~500 clinics around the world. In a small survey, physicians who have used the GRS report that it has changed the way that patients are assessed and treated. While no patient survey was conducted, anecdotal evidence suggests that patients are satisfied with the GRS procedure and the outcomes of treatment. The GRS is a new patient assessment tool that is designed as a guide for clinicians to help ensure consistency in the quality of patient assessment and consultation in their clinics offering minimally invasive facial cosmetic procedures. Qualitative research suggests that it gives patients a better chance to achieve results aligned with their needs resulting in a higher level of satisfaction with aesthetic treatments, but this needs to be confirmed in a formal patient survey.

Marine reserves (MRs) have emerged as a preferred method to protect coral reefs from overfishing and human disturbance. However, due to ineffective enforcement by governments, many MRs have been reduced to mere "paper parks" which fail to achieve conservation goals. This is especially true in countries such as China where compliance is low and resources dedicated to enforcement may be scarce. Privately managed marine reserves (PMMRs) may be effective in areas where government enforcement is lacking. To determine if PMMRs are a viable alternative strategy to protect coral reefs, we surveyed and compared fish assemblages and coral coverage in national MRs in Sanya, China to areas of reef privately leased to and managed by dive operators and hospitality industries. We found higher fish abundances and fish sizes in PMMR sites than in MR sites. However, while PMMRs are protected from fishing, other human impacts such as marine debris and illegal coral collection were evident in most tourist sites. Despite protection, long-term monitoring data of PMMRs revealed that in recent years, fish abundances have slightly recovered but species richness has not, indicating the need for a more comprehensive coral reef management plan. We strongly recommend coupling PMMRs with expertise supported regulations as an alternative coral reef management strategy in China.

This paper explores the problems in the field of current food security supervision, proposed the prototype system for day-to-day supervision of food security based on the portable device (like PDA) and Mobile GIS technology, detail presented the system principle and functions, the system development platform and tools and the key technologies and studied the interaction techniques of wireless transmission. So the problems of remote data exchanging and emergency response in the monitoring process of food security were resolved and the process of food security supervision become more standardized and informatization. The system had been put into service in Chengdu bureau of quality and technical supervision and the efficiency of food security supervision had been greatly improved.

How living near environmental hazards contributes to poorer health and disproportionate health outcomes is an ongoing concern. We conducted a substantive review and critique of the literature regarding residential proximity to environmental hazards and adverse pregnancy outcomes, childhood cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, end-stage renal disease, and diabetes. Several studies have found that living near hazardous wastes sites, industrial sites, cropland with pesticide applications, highly trafficked roads, nuclear power plants, and gas stations or repair shops is related to an increased risk of adverse health outcomes. Government agencies should consider these findings in establishing rules and permitting and enforcement procedures to reduce pollution from environmentally burdensome facilities and land uses.