Application of GEE in Dust Actual Sources Detection using Sentinel- 5 and Modis

Dust storms originate in many of the world’s drylands and may impact a wide range of negative effects on ecological, public health, and socio-economic issues. The phenomenon of dust is one of the most important environmental challenges nowadays. Therefore, Identifying the sources of dust storms is the first step to combating these devastating phenomena. Using satellite images is the most up-to-date method to identify dust sources. The present study aims to identify areas of dust generation potential in Hamadan province and the effective range. Modis and Sentinel-5 satellite imagery were used for the 2008-2019 and 2018-2020 study periods using GEE, respectively. Land-use maps, BSI, and MNDVI were considered useful indices to detect and monitor the dust generation centers. Classification of aerosol concentrations in three classes showed that the area of the first class (the highest concentration class) in Modis and Sentinel-5 images are 9875.1 and 7100.5 km2, respectively, which are Continuous polygons in Sentinel-5 and Scattered polygons in Modis images. By focusing on quantifying and overlapping land-use 2018 and actual dust centers, the results showed that most aerosols are concentrated in poor pastures and uncultivated lands in Sentinel-5 images and are concentrated in poor pastures and rainfed-agriculture in Madis images. The correlation coefficient between the two images is 81%.  Finally, Sentinel-5 satellite imagery can be used for dust detecting and monitoring. To manage these actual dust sources, reducing bare soils, increasing vegetation covers, improving water-use efficiency in agriculture, and reducing the use of groundwater in Qahvand plain are recommended

Site Selection for Hazardous Waste Using FuzzyLogic Combined With Analytic Hierarchy Process: ACase study in Nahavand, Iran

Hazardous wastes include various types of chemicals and other wastes generated from industrialand other sources. Because of the complexity of waste management systems, the selection of theappropriate solid waste landfill site requires consideration of multiple alternative solutions andevaluation criteria. This paper investigated the utilization of the fuzzy logic in combination withAnalytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique by applying GIS and IDRISI programming for choosinghazardous waste landfill site in Nahavand, Iran. Based on the real conditions of the study area, weconsidered economic, biological and topographical factors (12 criteria). The candidate sites weredetermined based on the criteria weights. The best location was determined via the fuzzy logic andthe AHP methods. This study found that the combination of fuzzy logic and the AHP method was thebest option for selecting a site for hazardous waste landfill. In the end, 6 suitable areas were selectedfor a hazardous waste landfill in the city. This study verified that the combination of the AHP methodwith fuzzy logic using GIS in our project is a powerful tool for solid waste landfill site selection

Research Paper: Gender Identification With Knee Bicondylar Width and Vertical Diameter of the Femur Head Based on Radiography Assessment

Background: Some skeletal criteria especially for bones of lower limbs are considerably different between men and women that may help in identifying the gender. We studied two lower limbs parameters, i.e. bicondylar width and vertical diameter of the femoral head based on radiographic assessment in gender identification.Methods: Bicondylar width and vertical diameter of the femoral head of 280 radiographs taken from people aged 30 to 75 years were measured. Additionally, gender and age subgroups were recorded and added to the measured anthropometric parameters in the checklist of the study.Results: The mean width of both left and right bicondylar bones as well as vertical diameter of both left and right femoral heads were significantly different between men and women. Considering two parameters of bicondylar width and vertical diameter of femoral head, the measurements could differentiate gender, with 96.7% sensitivity, 72.2% specificity, and 96.0% accuracy.Conclusion: By measuring bicondylar width and vertical diameter of the femur head, it is possible to determine gender with a high discriminative capability

Evaluation of flow, supply, and demand for noise reduction in urban area, Hamadan in Iran.

Noise pollution is one of the consequences of urbanization that can cause environmental disturbances in urban areas. Urban ecosystems provide noise reduction services through Urban Green infrastructures (UGIs). Many studies have been conducted to evaluate and model traffic noise, but none have addressed the flow, supply, and demand of noise reduction ecosystem services. The main purpose of this paper is to present a new methodology for estimating flow, supply, and demand for noise reduction in Hamadan city that has not been mentioned in any paper so far. UGIs were classified into six main categories: agricultural lands, gardens, parks, abandoned lands, single trees, and street trees. A total of 57 sampling stations for sound measurement were made in August 2018. The current map of noise pollution (flow) was created using the Kriging method. The amount of supply was measured up to a distance of 50 meters from the main roads based on two approaches (the distance effect and the sound barrier effect). To quantify the demand, the current sound intensity level in the noise-sensitive land uses was compared with standards. Zonal statistics was used for spatial analysis of supply-demand in the urban neighborhood as a working unit. Results showed that at distances of 5m, 10m, 15m, and 20m, the average noise reduction was found to be 1.61, 2.83, 3.92, and 5.33 dB, respectively. Sound barriers at distances of 5m and 10m resulted in an average sound reduction of 1.61 and 2.83 dB, respectively. Individual trees, strip trees, abandoned lands, parks, and gardens led to a decrease in traffic noise by 0.3, 1, 0.1, 3.5, and 4.5 dB, respectively. The clustering analysis revealed a significant spatial clustering of noise pollution in Hamedan. The results and new methodology of this research can be used in similar areas to estimate the supply and demand of noise reduction and also for decision-makers to take management actions to increase supply and meet the demand for noise reduction service

Potential Evaluation of Carbon Storage by Urban Trees (Case Study: Hamadan)

Urban is a unique and inconsistently defined land cover including green and grey infrastructures. Tree covers that can store large stocks of carbon. There are several ways to estimate a tree's CO2 sequestration. In this study, Google Earth images were used for mapping tree covers in the Hamadan urban scale with an area of 7422 hectares. First, a 50-meter buffer was applied on two sides of the main streets. Then, it was classified into three groups called high, medium, and low density based on the percentage of greenery. In each group, the information of 265 trees (the total of 800 trees) were recorded randomly such as allometric data and canopy diameter of trees. An Object-Oriented approach was applied to extract the area and canopies of individual urban trees. The total number of trees and their location were estimated by dividing the total of trees canopy by the average of the individual urban trees canopy. Allometric equations were used to estimate the dry biomass of tree species. Based on the results, the main species in the study area include maple, black locust, sycamore, manna ash, cypress, fir tree, and elm. The average amount of organic carbon stored in individual and street trees with asphalt and cobblestone pavement is estimated to be about 88.29 kg, which differs significantly from those with the surface covered by soil and grass (an average value of 148.79 kg). In total, the amount of organic carbon stored by Hamadan urban trees is estimated to be 1.6 tons per hectare

SINGLE DOSE OF G-CSF IN LEUKOPENIA AFTER POST LIVER TRANSPLANT

Immunosuppressive therapies are the main treatment modalities after transplantation to prevent rejection. One of the major side effects of potent immunosuppressant is Leukopenia. Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a cytokine agent which is increasing life span and functional activity of mature neutrophils. G-CSF is a well-established treatment of chemotherapy induced Leukopenia, during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and HIV infection neutropenia. There were several studies in animal models of liver diseases which showed hematopoietic stem cell mobilization into the injured liver and their differentiation to hepatocytes. There were a few clinical trials in human after development of neutropenia in post Liver transplantation (LTx) periods. This study was designed as a pilot study to evaluate the safety of G-CSF on Leukopenia in early post LTx periods. Seventeen Leukopenic patients in 4 weeks after LTx entered to the study and randomized in one to one manner in this open label study. Treatment group received 0.3 mg of GCSF (PD- G-CSF) at the time of Leukopenia (≤3000/mm3) and Short term patient's and graft survival were determined. Data are reported as mean and all date were analyzed using chi square and Student t-test. (SPSS of ware, version 14) P values< 0.05 were considered significant. Nine patients in control group and 8 patients recruited in the treatment group. There were no significant differences in days of hospital admission (P: 0.244), microbiologic active Cultures (P: 0.30), Oropharyngial candidiasis (P: 0.30), acute cellular rejection (ACR) (P: 0.437) and day of desirable Mycofenolate Mofetile (MMF) dosage achievement (P: 0.691) and episodes of ACR treatments (P: 0.08). Our open labeled pilot study showsthat single dose of G-CSF in leukopenic post liver transplant patients is safe. Although there was no statistically significant beneficial effect on hospital stay, opportunistic and surgical site infections but there was a trend toward less ACR episodes in the treatment group. Whether single dosage has a beneficial effect on liver function, survival, rejection and hospital stay needs further research in another clinical trial.Keywords:G-CSF, Leukopenia, Post Liver Transplan

Impacts of future land cover and climate change on the water balance in northern Iran

19 Pags.- 11 Figs.- 7 Tabls.We evaluated the potential impacts of future land cover change and climate variability on hydrological processes in the Neka River basin, northern Iran. This catchment is the main source of water for the intensively cultivated area of Neka County. Hydrological simulations were conducted using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool. An ensemble of 17 CMIP5 climate models was applied to assess changes in temperature and precipitation under the moderate and high emissions scenarios. To generate the business-as-usual scenario map for year 2050 we used the Land Change Modeler. With a combined change in land cover and climate, discharge is expected to decline in all seasons except the end of autumn and winter, based on the inter-model average and various climate models, which illustrated a high degree of uncertainty in discharge projections. Land cover change had a minor influence on discharge relative to that resulting from climate change.Peer reviewe

Analysis of Outcomes in Ischemic vs Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation A Report From the GARFIELD-AF Registry

IMPORTANCE Congestive heart failure (CHF) is commonly associated with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF), and their combination may affect treatment strategies and outcomes