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Avian embryos are among the most convenient and the primary representatives for the study of classical embryology. It is well-known that the hatching time of duck embryos is approximately one week longer than that of chicken embryos. However, the key features associated with the slower embryonic development in ducks have not been adequately described. This study aimed to characterize the pattern and the speed of early embryogenesis in Brown Tsaiya Ducks (BTD) compared with those in Taiwan Country Chicken (TCC) by using growth parameters including embryonic crown-tail length (ECTL), primitive streak formation, somitogenesis, and other development-related parameters, during the first 72 h of incubation. Three hundred and sixty eggs from BTD and TCC, respectively, were incubated at 37.2°C, and were then dissected hourly to evaluate their developmental stages. We found that morphological changes of TCC embryos shared a major similarity with that of the Hamburger and Hamilton staging system during early chick embryogenesis. The initial primitive streak in TCC emerged between 6 and 7 h post-incubation, but its emergence was delayed until 10 to 13 h post-incubation in BTD. Similarly, the limb primordia (wing and limb buds) were observed at 51 h post-incubation in TCC embryos compared to 64 h post-incubation in BTD embryos. The allantois first appeared around 65 to 68 h in TCC embryos, but it was not observed in BTD embryos. At the 72 h post-incubation, 40 somites were clearly formed in TCC embryos while only 32 somites in BTD embryos. Overall, the BTD embryos developed approximately 16 h slower than the chicken embryo during the first 72 h of development. To our best knowledge, this is the first study to describe two distinct developmental time courses between TCC and BTD, which would facilitate future embryogenesis-related studies of the two important avian species in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrible marine environment such as extreme wave, swell, storm surge, wave runup, and overtopping can easily cause ship crashes into reef, collision or even capsizes, and may cause people fall into the sea or oil spills. This also threatens the lives and property of coastal residents. Therefore, accurate marine meteorology information is an indispensable element of reducing the occurrence of unexpected disasters and reducing the risks to life and property.The object of this 4-year project (2017-2020) which was commissioned and supported by Central Weather Bureau is to develop the Taiwan maritime disaster prevention and environmental information service platform. The development strategy is to integrate real-time marine observing and forecasting, data management and information services using state-of-the-art technologies and capabilities. That is to combine the applied technologies for maritime disaster prevention on the basis of science and technology and a huge and correct of Northwest Pacific marine database, and then present maritime disaster products base on GIS interface so that users can easily operate and get information. The applied technologies including typhoon extreme wave early warning, flooding warning from tsunami and storm surge, ship sailing safety, spilled oil tracking, trapped by high tide, and search and rescue objects missing at sea. In addition to the daily operational observing and forecast data of Central Weather Bureau, the public marine meteorology monitoring and forecast information will also be imported into the database. So far, the sub-platforms of oil spill tracking, typhoon extreme wave early information, ship sailing safety information, regional wave climate, coastal swell forecasting, and tsunami real-time analysis information system have been developed. And we confirm the rationality of these products after the verification throuogh the past maritime disaster events. For instance, The ship sailing safety information module can instantly provide the impact of future wave conditions on various types of vessels to improve the safety of navigation operations; the regional wave climate module provides historical wave statistics as a reference for planning routes; coastal swell forecasting to improve the safety of coastal recreation. The tsunami real-time analysis module provides instant monitoring of abnormal sea level such as tsunami and provides rapid and complete monitoring of seawater level by national disaster prevention units. Further, due to this platform is mainly to serve the government disaster prevention agencies, the developed technologies will continue to improve according to the feeback from the government disaster prevention agencies, such as ship sailing safety information, coastal swell forecasting and tsunami real time analysis information system. Through the integration and provision of real-time marine meteorology monitoring and early warning information services, the government will increase the ability of implement early warning and prevention for various catastrophic maritime disaster events, effectively reduce the losses caused by various disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a wave run-up monitoring system and a model for forecasting the wave run-up height on a seawall were developed. Electrical conductivity sensors were installed on the seaward slopes of seawalls to measure the wave run-up heights. The general packet radio service protocol was used to transmit the measured data in real time to the desired remote location. The Princeton Ocean Model and WAVEWATCH III were used to predict the water levels and ocean waves, respectively, by using the available wind fields. The empirical formulas recommended in the Coastal Engineering Manual (2011) and EurOtop (2018) were adopted to estimate the run-up height. The wave run-up heights were forecasted 72 h in advance and were renewed at 6-h intervals as new wind fields became available. The developed monitoring system and forecasting model were combined for operational monitoring and forecasting of wave run-up on seawalls. The wave run-up monitoring system was set up at three seawalls along the southwestern coast of Taiwan from 2013 to 2016. Consistency between the forecasted and measured wave run-up heights during typhoon periods demonstrated the feasibility of using the proposed method for monitoring and forecasting wave run-up heights. Furthermore, the multi-model ensemble approach was adopted to improve the unsatisfactory run-up forecasting performance during typhoon periods, and the forecasted run-up heights were eventually presented as a band with upper and lower limits as opposed to single values. The forecast results can be used to provide advance warning of possible wave overtopping and associated coastal flooding during typhoon periods. • Electrical conductivity sensors on the seawall were used to establish an operational wave run-up monitoring system. • Operational run-up forecasting system was established based on the POM, WAVEWATCH III, and empirical formulas for run-up. • Combined wave run-up systems were operated on seawalls along the coast of Taiwan during typhoon periods. • Consistency between the forecasted and measured run-up heights during typhoon periods has been demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) often results in impaired functional hearing and accidental injuries; thus, reducing military performance and endangering flight safety. While a few studies addressing laterality (left-right ear differences) and NIHL incidence between fixed-winged (jet-fighter) and rotary-wing (helicopter) aircrafts yielded inconsistent results, little is known about the NIHL profile among different types of jet-fighter pilots. This study aims to conduct a fine-grained examination of NIHL among Airforce jet pilots, with planned comparisons of laterality and aircraft type, along with the goal to compare the sensitivity of different hearing indices in predicting military pilot NIHL., Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study utilizes the health and hearing data of 1025 Taiwanese Air Force Military pilots from the 2019 Taiwanese physical examination database to assess the changes in their hearing thresholds, and evaluate their risk for NIHL., Results: Our results showed that, among available military aircraft types, the trainer aircraft and M2000-5 jet-fighter had the highest risk of NIHL, in addition to a left ear inferiority found in the overall population of military pilots. Among the three hearing indices used in this study -the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) three-point hearing index, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) three-point hearing index, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery's (AAO-HNS) high-frequency three-point hearing index-, the OSHA the AAO-HNS were the most sensitive., Conclusion: Our results suggest a better noise protection for trainer and M2000-5 pilots, especially for the left ear, is warranted., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)