The aim of this study was to test whether there is an association between elevation and cognitive function among elderly residents in rural mountainous areas. Data were collected in 2012 from a cross-sectional study conducted in Ohnan Town, which is located in a rural mountainous area in the southern part of Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Cognitive function was evaluated using CADi (Cognitive Asses...

Cold air drainage and pooling occur in many mountain valleys, especially at night and during winter. Local climate regimes associated with frequent cold air pooling have substantial impacts on species phenology, distribution and diversity. However, little is known about how the degree and frequency of cold air drainage and pooling will respond to a changing climate. Evidence suggests that, beca...

The problem due to differential terrain illumination on satellite imagery is experienced by most of areas which are on mountainous terrain. This may cause variations in reflectance of similar ground features which lead to a misclassification of land cover classes due to different topographic positions. This phenomenon most commonly occurred in the areas which are located on southern and norther...

PURPOSE On the main island of Taiwan, a higher risk of scrub typhus infection has been reported in endemic clusters in Southeastern Taiwan and in mountainous township areas. However, research on health care problems associated with scrub typhus in Taiwanese ethnic peoples is limited. This study employs spatial analysis of areal data to determine spatial features related to scrub typhus and the ...

This paper considers two specific types of experiments conducted to improve our understanding of radar backscatter from snow-covered ground surfaces. The first experiment involves radar backscatter measurements at Cand X-band of artificial snow of varying depths. The relatively simple target characteristics, combined with an exhaustive ground truth effort, make the results of this experiment es...

landslide also referred to as mass movement, slope failures, slope instability, and terrain instability is the mass movement, usually sudden, of soil and debris down a steep slope (Cruden, 1991). They are caused by a variety of factors such as heavy rains, earthquake ground shaking or geological forces. Different types of landslides move down slope at a wide range of speeds (Varnes, 1978). Most...

Small Unit Precision Combat (SUPC) aims to extend current US military dominance to complex terrains, such as urban or mountainous areas. Currently, when forces engage in close-in combat in such terrains, US capabilities for precision strike and surveillance/reconnaissance are negated. SUPC seeks to create advantages in complex terrain through improved situation understanding and responsiveness ...

The Qin-Ba Ecological Functional Zone is a component of China’s ecological security pattern designed to protect the regional ecosystem and maintain biodiversity. However, due to the impact of mining and urban encroachment, the plight of a sustainable ecosystem in the Qin-Ba mountainous area is deteriorating. This paper has used a remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) to examine...

BACKGROUND Studies show that tuberculosis notification declines with increasing altitude. This can be due to declining incidence or declining case detection. In Vietnam notification rates of new smear-positive tuberculosis in the central mountainous provinces (26/100,000 population) are considerably lower than in Vietnam in general (69/100,000 population). In order to clarify whether this is ex...

Methods for accurately measuring biophysical parameters are a key component for quantitative evaluation regarding to various forest applications. Conventional in situ measurements of these parameters take time and expense, encountering difficultness at locations with heterogeneous microtopography. To obtain precise biophysical data in such situations, we deployed an unmanned aerial system (UAS)...