Evaluation of the landslide susceptibility and its spatial difference in the whole Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region by five learning algorithms

AbstractLandslides are considered as major natural hazards that cause enormous property damages and fatalities in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). In this article, we evaluated the landslide susceptibility, and its spatial differencing in the whole Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region using five state-of-the-art learning algorithms; deep neural network (DNN), logistic regression (LR), Naïve Bayes (NB), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM), differing from previous studies only in local areas of QTP. The 671 landslide events were considered, and thirteen landslide conditioning factors (LCFs) were derived for database generation, including annual rainfall, distance to drainage $${(\mathrm{Ds}}_{\mathrm{d}})$$ ( Ds d ) , distance to faults $${(\mathrm{Ds}}_{\mathrm{f}})$$ ( Ds f ) , drainage density ($${D}_{d})$$ D d ) , elevation (Elev), fault density $$({F}_{d})$$ ( F d ) , lithology, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), plan curvature $${(\mathrm{Pl}}_{\mathrm{c}})$$ ( Pl c ) , profile curvature $${(\mathrm{Pr}}_{\mathrm{c}})$$ ( Pr c ) , slope $${(S}^{^\circ })$$ ( S ∘ ) , stream power index (SPI), and topographic wetness index (TWI). The multi-collinearity analysis and mean decrease Gini (MDG) were used to assess the suitability and predictability of these factors. Consequently, five landslide susceptibility prediction (LSP) maps were generated and validated using accuracy, area under the receiver operatic characteristic curve, sensitivity, and specificity. The MDG results demonstrated that the rainfall, elevation, and lithology were the most significant landslide conditioning factors ruling the occurrence of landslides in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The LSP maps depicted that the north-northwestern and south-southeastern regions ( 45% of total area). Moreover, among the five models with a high goodness-of-fit, RF model was highlighted as the superior one, by which higher accuracy of landslide susceptibility assessment and better prone areas management in QTP can be achieved compared to previous results. Graphical Abstrac

Potential of biosurfactant as green pharmaceutical excipients for coating of microneedles: A mini review

Microneedles, a novel transdermal delivery system, were designed to improve drug delivery and address the challenges typically encountered with traditional injection practices. Discovering new and safe excipients for microneedle coating to replace existing chemical surfactants is advantageous to minimize their side effect on viable tissues. However, some side effects have also been observed for this application. The vast majority of studies suggest that using synthetic surfactants in microneedle formulations may result in skin irritation among other adverse effects. Hence, increasing knowledge about these components and their potential impacts on skin paves the way for finding preventive strategies to improve their application safety and potential efficacy. Biosurfactants, which are naturally produced surface active microbial products, are proposed as an alternative to synthetic surfactants with reduced side effects. The current review sheds light on potential and regulatory aspects of biosurfactants as safe excipients in the coating of microneedles

Influence of structural lineaments on drainage morphometry in Qorveh-Dehgolan basin, Kurdistan, Iran

In the current study, a combination of automated lineament extraction from Landsat 8 satellite imagery and 3D interactive visual interpretation (using DEM) alongside image processing techniques (Gram-Schmidt pan-sharpening, convolution directional filter) was carried out to investigate expression and influence of tectonic activity on drainage morphometry within Qorveh-Dehgolan basin. The watersheds, derived from burned DEM using SWAT, were categorized into high and low-altitude watersheds depending on the associated relief. Analysis of spatial relationship of lineament density with drainage density and basin slope revealed that structural lineaments have a decisive control over drainage density distribution particularly at higher basin slopes of certain watersheds. These high-altitude watersheds, associated with more-resistant lithology, were also found to cover higher percentage of total lineaments compared to the lower-altitude watersheds associated with less-resistant lithology. The analysis presented significant insights into the influence of tectonic activity on drainage network in a relatively unexplored area and provided vital baseline information for future investigations

“Assessing the key drivers of stream network configuration dynamics for tectonically active drainage basins using multitemporal satellite imagery and statistical analyses”

A comprehensive integrated framework was designed to categorize individual streams and watersheds based on their temporal variation, and to determine the key drivers controlling watershed hydrology in the Qorveh-Dehgolan Basin. Four stream networks were extracted from multi-temporal Pan-Sharpened Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 imageries. Nineteen geomorphometric indices are measured and classified into the linear aspect, aerial aspect, and relief aspect. The results revealed a significant decline in stream networks from 2000 to 2017, reducing basin order. The factor analysis identified three principal factors including ‘factor of basin magnitude’ (affecting low-altitude watersheds), ‘factor of steepness’ (influencing high-altitude watersheds), and ‘factor of texture’. The focal mechanism highlighted the complex fault mechanisms in the study area. Finally, RadViz clustering showed that for the lower order streams in the high-altitudes watersheds, stream width showed higher temporal variability in comparison to other parameters. In contrast, flow accumulation showed high variance in higher-order streams

Spectral-based regression model for destriping of abnormal pixel values in PRISMA hyperspectral image

Hyperspectral imageries are often degraded by systematic sensor-based errors known as “striping noises”. This study implements a spectral-based regression algorithm from highly correlated consecutive bands, i.e. left band, right band or both, to model and reconstruct the abnormal pixel values, stripe noises, in various bands of PRISMA (PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa) imagery. The modeling performance was evaluated based on the statistical difference between the reconstructed images’ pixel values (reflectance) and their corresponding original pixel values. Results referred to the model’s high accuracy in R2, RMSE, rRMSE and skewness in most bands (0.9492R20.9995;0.0008RMSE0.0254;0.0116\breakrRMSE0.5713−0.9280skewness0.2708). Furthermore, the results indicated that the combination of both bands had higher accuracy and pixels’ homogeneity preservation compared to single-band modeling. Our findings suggested that the algorithm significantly depends on the spectral similarities between neighboring bands so that the higher spectral similarities lead to the higher model performance and vice versa. Subsequently, the minimum model performance was observed in band 143 due to lower spectral similarity, lower spectral correlation and higher wavelength differences with its adjacent right band. Finally, the study suggests that alongside other methods, our algorithm may be used as a reliable, straightforward and accurate alternative for destriping different Earth observation satellite imageries. Limitations of the proposed approach are also discussed.</p

‘Multivariate statistical analysis of relationship between tectonic activity and drainage behavior in Qorveh-Dehgolan basin Kurdistan, Iran’

In this study, morphotectonic analysis was performed to investigate the influence of tectonic activity on drainage network in Qorve-Dehgolan basin, located in Sanandaj - Sirjan Zone (SSZ). Eight watersheds were delineated using burnt DEM and eleven morphotectonic indices including stream length gradient index (SL); drainage basin asymmetry (Af); hypsometric curve (HC); hypsometric integral (HI); roughness (R); elongation ratio (Re); mountain front sinuosity (Smf); basin shape (Bs); curvature of surface (C), basin slope (Sb) and river sinuosity index (K) were calculated. The higher altitude watersheds specifically showed various anomalies in the calculated indices. These indices when subjected to factor analysis (using Varimax rotation) resulted in extraction of “steepness factor” and “asymmetric factor” as two principal factors influencing the drainage network. The integrated analysis revealed that steepness factor, indicating ongoing tectonism, plays a significant role in the hydrology of higher altitude watersheds, whereas asymmetric factor is more dominant in lower altitude watersheds

Drainage network extraction and morphometric analysis in an Iranian basin using integrating factor analysis and geospatial techniques

The application of multivariate statistical analysis (MSA) in analyzing drainage basin morphometry, in conjunction with seismic events (focal mechanism) and associated tectonic influences, has been discussed less in the framework of existing geomorphometric studies. Hence, in this study, an integrated approach was designed combining the geomorphometric analysis with MSA, focal mechanism and associated structural lineaments (using a remote sensing and GIS framework) to address the role of active tectonism on the drainage network characteristics in Qorveh-Dehgolan basin located in western part of Iran (Kurdistan province). Eight watersheds were delineated from burnt ASTER DEM using SWAT model and categorized into high-altitude watersheds and low-altitude watersheds. Four-sets of the drainage network were extracted from satellite imageries (Landsat 7 and 8) over a period of 17 years (2000–2017) to monitor the temporal stream network behavior. Overall, nineteen morphometric parameters were calculated (and categorized into linear, aerial, and relief aspects) exhibiting significant changes in the drainage network from 2000 to 2017 (the stream order declined from 5th to 4th order). The higher-altitude watersheds showed various anomalies in the calculated indices (indicating the potential influence of tectonic activity), while the lower altitude watersheds did not exhibit any specific anomalies. In addition, higher concentration of longer lineaments was observed in areas where the relatively resistant, fractured bedrock lithology (meta-volcanic and meta-sedimentary rocks) provided favorable conditions for origin and propagation of the lineaments. Further analysis of focal mechanism solutions (FMS, beachball diagrams) showed that the study area is primarily influenced by moderate earthquake events (3 ≤ Mw ≤ 6) and is influenced by a complex fault mechanism (primarily normal faults and strike slip faults). The morphometric parameters were further subjected to the factor analysis (principal axis factoring using Varimax rotation transformation) resulting in derivation of “factor of basin magnitude”, “factor of steepness” and “factor of texture” as three principal factors impacting the drainage network. Finally, it was concluded that “factor of steepness” played a decisive role in defining hydrology of higher-altitude watersheds (an indication of tectonic influences in these watersheds) and thereby defining the overall hydrology of the study area as well. Overall, this study highlighted the significant role of the tectonic activity associated with structural lineaments and the seismic events in defining the nature and behavior of the drainage network and certain anomalies caused in the basin hydrology under these structural controls

Designing energy-efficient and visually-thermally comfortable shading systems for office buildings in a cooling-dominant climate

Windows and their control elements, including shading systems, are among the most critical building components affecting both energy consumption and occupant comfort. With the increasing demand for full-glazed facades, designers and researchers are actively devising advanced control strategies to address the challenges posed by excessive sunlight penetration and heat transfer. These strategies aim to harmonize the benefits of natural light with the need for comfortable indoor environments and energy consumption reduction. This study investigates the impact of external shading configurations for an office room in Tehran, categorized as group B in the Köppen climate classification, to reduce total building energy consumption and improve occupant thermal and visual comforts. The shading parameters include shading angle, shading depth, and the number of shading slats. More specifically, this study analyzes and compares two design configurations for the considered office room. The first configuration consists of a single southern window with horizontal shading, whereas the second configuration consists of two windows on the south and west, one being horizontal shading on the southern side and the other being vertical shading on the western side. There are a total of 1330 models investigated from which 20 models are selected as the most suitable solutions. Finally, this paper examines the effect of each design parameter on the overall performance of each configuration in terms of energy efficiency and visual-thermal comfort