In this paper we introduce the Smart Tempo-Spatial Hotspots Finder (Smart-TSH-Finder) for smart data crawling in the Second Life (SL) virtual world. Classical methods of crawling data from SL lead to irrelevant data content because of the dynamic nature of avatars and objects in SL. In order to build artificially intelligent expert avatar agents that are able to provide intelligent services for...

An intensive earthquake, the Wenchuan Earthquake of 8.0 on the Richter scale, struck western Sichuan, China on May 12, 2008. The earthquake significantly affected all industries in the quake-hit areas including local tourism. This paper provides suggestions for reconstruction after outlining findings on the various ways by which the earthquake affected the operations and viability of tourism in...

As part of research collaboration between MCEER and the National Center for Research in Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) in Taiwan, a team of MCEER/NCREE researchers undertook a reconnaissance mission shortly after the 921 Chi-Chi earthquake occurred in Taiwan at 1:47 a.m. on September 21, 1999. A major objective of this mission was to assess earthquake-induced damage, to document lessons learned...

Total electron content (TEC) data, obtained from GPS satellites can be used as a tool for extracting earthquake precursor. In this paper, a pattern matching technique is used for monitoring TEC variation during and prior to the earthquake. For the experiment two major earthquake events i.e. Bhutan earthquake on 21st September 2009 and Nepal earthquake on 25th April 2015 are considered for analy...

During meiosis, homologous chromosomes (homologs) undergo recombinational interactions, resulting in the formation of crossovers (COs) or noncrossovers (NCOs). Both COs and NCOs are initiated by the same event: programmed double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs), which occur preferentially at hotspots throughout the genome. COs contribute to the genetic diversity of gametes and are needed to promote pro...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to identify hotspots in research on clinical competence measurements from 2012 to 2016. METHODS The authors retrieved literature published between 2012 and 2016 from PubMed using selected medical subject headings (MeSH) terms. They used BibExcel software to generate high-frequency MeSH terms and identified hotspots by co-word analysis and cluster analysis. RESULT...

1 Institute of Earthquake Science, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100036, China; 2 Department of Geological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; 3 China Earthquake Network Center, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100045, China; 4 Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA; 5 Laboratory of Computational Geodynamics, Graduate University of Chines...

Marine protected areas (MPAs) provide an important tool for conservation of marine ecosystems. To be most effective, these areas should be strategically located in a manner that supports ecosystem function. To inform marine spatial planning and support strategic establishment of MPAs within the California Current System, we identified areas predicted to support multispecies aggregations of seab...

BACKGROUND Identifying ongoing tuberculosis infection sites is crucial for breaking chains of transmission in tuberculosis-prevalent urban areas. Previous studies have pointed out that detection of local accumulation of tuberculosis patients based on their residential addresses may be limited by a lack of matching between residences and tuberculosis infection sites. This study aimed to identify...

Persistent Impact of Natural Disasters on Child Nutrition and Schooling: Evidence from the 1999 Colombian Earthquake This paper studies the impact of the 1999 Colombian Earthquake on child nutrition and schooling. The identification strategy combines household survey data with event data on the timing and location of the earthquake, exploiting the exogenous exposure of children to the shock. Th...