West Azerbaijan Province Of Iran Research Articles

Concentration, spatial distribution, and non-carcinogenic risk assessment of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead in drinking water in rural areas of eight cities of West Azarbaijan province, Iran.

Exposure to heavy metals through drinking water can cause significant adverse health effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate the concentration, spatial distribution, and assessment of non-carcinogenic risk attributed to exposure to arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in rural areas of eight cities of the West Azerbaijan province of Iran. Eighty-five water samples were taken from randomly selected drinking water wells in the rural areas, and the concentration of the heavy metals was measured by using standard methods. The concentration distribution maps were drawn, and the non-carcinogenic health risks for ingestion and dermal exposure pathways were calculated in four age groups (including infants, children, teenagers, and adults). According to the obtained results, arsenic is considered as the most worrying pollutant among the investigated heavy metals. The maximum measured concentration for arsenic was 371.9 μg/L, which is 37 times the maximum permissible limit. The results of the health risk assessment illustrate that exposure to heavy metals via dermal contact do not pose significant non-carcinogenic risks. However, the calculated non-carcinogenic risks for oral exposure to arsenic were very high and concerning. The highest hazard quotient for oral exposure to arsenic was related to rural of city G (82.64). It is recommended to take the necessary measures as soon as possible regarding the supply of safe drinking water in the studied areas.

Saljuq Architecture in Iran: The Friday Mosque of Urmiya

Abstract This study details the Masjid-i Jami‘ of Urmiya, the earliest surviving mosque in the West Azerbaijan province in Iran. The building suggests the expansion of constructing Saljuq-domed mosques outside central Iran in the mid-sixth/twelfth century, embellished with a stunning Ilkhanid mihrāb (prayer niche) in the seventh/thirteenth century. This study provides as much information as possible for recognizing the structure's main features. While the mosque is comprised of various parts, this paper mainly focuses on its dome chamber as the earliest surviving structure. Several new inscriptions and drawings in the mosque's decoration are published for the first time in this article.

MITE FAUNA OF SUBFAMILY PHYLLOCOPTINAE (ACARI ERIOPHYIDAE) IN MAKU COUNTY WITH THREE NEW RECORDS FOR ASIA AND THREE NEW RECORDS FOR IRAN

During the survey on eriophyid mites fauna of Maku county in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran in summers 2020 and 2021, a total of three tribes, 10 genera and 20 species belonging to the subfamily Phyllocoptinae Nalepa were identified. Among them, three species including Leipothrix coactus (Nalepa, 1896), Aculus tomentosi Meyer et Ueckermann, 1990 and Aculus chamaespariti Carmona, 1974 were new reports for Asia and three species including Epitrimerus inulae Farkas, 1963, Aculodes capillarisi Skoracka, 2003 and Abacarus cynodonis Abou-Awad et Nasr, 1983 were new for Iran. The tribe Tegonotini Bagdasarian and seven species including Aculodes altamurgiensis de Lillo et Vidović, 2018, Aculus mogeri Farkas, 1960, Aculus thyrsoidi Lotfollahi et Tajaddod, 2018, Aculops rhodensis Keifer, 1957, Aculops seguieranae Lotfollahi, Khanjani, Mogaddam et de Lillo, 2012, Aculops pachyphora Honarmand, Sadeghi & de Lillo, 2020, Shevtchenkella denticulata Lotfollahi, de Lillo et Haddad, 2014 were new reports for West Azerbaijan Province. The most abundant mites belonged to Abacarus hystrix species complex. The supplementary descriptions of L. coactus and A. cynodonis are provided in this study. Key Words: Abacarus, Aculodes, Aculops, Aculus, Leipothrix, Shevtchenkella, Tegonotini

End-users’ perspectives on factors affecting implementation and utilization of the Iranian electronic health record system: a qualitative study in a developing country

BackgroundAs one of the most important information technologies for storing, managing, and exchanging health information, the electronic health record (EHR) plays a major role in the health system. However, these systems in developing countries have been associated with multidimensional issues. The purpose of the present study was the assessment of nonclinical end-users’ points of view on the implementation and utilization of the Iranian electronic health record system.MethodsThis was a large qualitative study conducted in 2021 for 7 months from February to August. In this study, data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 70 non-clinical end-users in 22 public and six private hospitals of West Azerbaijan province in Iran. To analyze the data, the thematic analysis method was used.ResultsThe study results indicated that technical, human, cultural, managerial, and financial readiness are the most important factors affecting the implementation of EHRs in Iran. Among the mentioned factors, technical and human readiness were emphasized more by the users. Also, technical, organizational, human, and managerial factors were identified as factors influencing EHRs utilization, and technical and organizational factors had a stronger role in the system utilization.ConclusionsAccording to the results, several factors influence EHR implementation and adequate utilization in Iran. To achieve the predetermined goals of this system, implementation issues and problems of using the system should be considered and solved.

Development and psychometric evaluation of an occupational health and safety performance tool for manufacturing companies

BackgroundThe occupational health and safety (OHS) performance of organizations maybe affected by internal and external factors. According to a literature review, standardized tools for studying these factors are limited. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to examine psychometric properties of a tool for evaluating OHS performance. The tool was used to investigate the relationship between the identified OHS performance influencing factors and occupational injury. MethodsThe questionnaire developed through conducting a literature review about the OHS performance and constructing a question pool. The number of items was reduced to 93 after performing a screening process. Sixteen OHS scholars offered feedback on the tool's phrasing and applicability to check face and content validity. Test-retest reliability was examined through intraclass correlation coefficients. 850 questionnaires were distributed at 12 manufacturing companies in the West Azerbaijan province in Iran, 600 valid questionnaires were returned. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to assess construct validity. Criterion validity was investigated by measuring agreement between its OHS performance scores and occupational injury. A set of regression analyses examined the variables associated with OHS influencing factors. ResultsValidity analysis revealed that 93 items had an excellent content validity ratio (>0.79) and content validity index (>0.47). The exploratory factor analysis resulted in eleven OHS performance factors. Thirty-three items were removed because of inadequate reliability. The result of confirmatory factor analysis showed that the OHS performance model is satisfactory. The final 60-item scale's reliability score was 0.96. The safety system was identified as the main influencing factor (3.54 ± 0.65). Participants with more safety training reported more injuries. Safety training and injury experiences, company size, and occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) adoption affected OHS performance influencing factors. Occupational injuries were linked to company size (OR = 1.39, CI = 1.06–1.82), whereas the absence of OHSMS was connected with an increased risk of occupational injury (OR = 0.09, CI = 0.02–0.55). ConclusionsThe developed tool had satisfactory psychometric properties for assessing OHS performance in manufacturing companies. OHS performance could be improved by implementing safety systems and focusing more on incentive programs. Implementing the requirements of an OHSMS may improve the OHS performance and decrease occupational injuries.

Aceria spp. of Maku county with two new records for Asia and eight new records for West Azerbaijan province of Iran

بررسی فون کنه های اریوفید شهرستان ماکو در استان آذربایجان غربی طی تابستان سال های 1399 و 1400 انجام شد. به این منظور نمونه برداری از فراوان ترین گونه های گیاهی این منطقه انجام شد . در کل چهارده گونه از جنس Aceria شناسایی شد: گونه Aceria balasi Farkas, 1960 جمع‌آوری‌ شده از گیاه Carduus acanthoides L. (Asteraceae) و گونه Aceria inturbida Boczek, 1961 جمع‌آوری ‌شده از گیاه Arctium lappa L. (Asteraceae) برای اولین بار از آسیا گزارش شدند که توصیف تکمیلی آن ها تهیه شد. هشت گونه شامل A. khaniensis Honarmand, Sadeghi & de Lillo, 2020، A. chenopodia Xue, Sadeghi & Hong, 2009، A. longisolenidia Lotfollahi, Haddad & de Lillo, 2015، A. cichorii Petanovic, Boczek & Shi, 2002، A. verbenacae de Lillo, Panzarino, Loverre & Valenzano, 2017، A. zygofabae Lotfollahi, de Lillo & Haddad, 2017، A. tragopogonis Xue, Sadeghi & Hong, 2012 و A. lobolinguae Lotfollahi & de Lillo 2014 برای فون استان آذربایجان غربی جدید بودند.

Towards Tax Evasion Detection Using Improved Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

This paper employs machine learning algorithms to detect tax evasion and analyzes tax data. With the development of commercial businesses, traditional algorithms are not appropriate for solving the tax evasion detection problem. Hence, other algorithms with acceptable speed, precision, analysis, and data decisions must be used. In the case of assets and tax assessment, the integration of machine learning models with meta-heuristic algorithms increases accuracy due to optimal parameters. In this paper, intelligent machine learning algorithms are used to solve tax evasion detection. This research uses an improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) algorithm to improve the multilayer perceptron neural network by finding the optimal weight and improving support vector machine (SVM) classifiers with optimal parameters. The IPSO-MLP and IPSO-SVM models using the IPSO algorithm are used as new models for tax evasion detection. Our proposed system applies the dataset collected from the general administration of tax affairs of West Azerbaijan province of Iran with 1500 samples for the tax evasion detection problem. The evaluations show that the IPSO-MLP model has a higher accuracy rate than the IPSO-SVM model and logistic regression. Moreover, the IPSO-MLP model has higher accuracy than SVM, Naive Bayes, k-nearest neighbor, C5.0 decision tree, and AdaBoost. The accuracy of IPSO-MLP and IPSO-SVM models is 93.68% and 92.24%, respectively.

Cohort Profile: The Urmia Lake Cohort Study (ULCS).

... The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing in Iran. Based on previous studies, the four main NCDs—cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory disorders, cancers and diabetes—are responsible for 81.0% of premature deaths in Iran.1,2 The prevalence of NCDs in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran has not yet been reported through reliable sources. Cohort studies provide reliable evidence for determining the prevalence of NCDs, their aetiology as well as contributing risk factors.3–5 Therefore, the Prospective Epidemiological Research Studies in IrAN (PERSIAN), a nationwide cohort study, was launched in 2014 in an attempt to identify risk factors associated with the most prevalent chronic diseases in different provinces of Iran, and to encourage researchers in different fields such as medicine, epidemiology, health and nutrition to be more involved in large-scale, longitudinal studies. The PERSIAN Cohort not only tries to improve the health status of Iranians but also to help advance global knowledge in medicine and health.6–8

A novel best‐worst‐method two‐stage data envelopment analysis model considering decision makers' preferences: An application in bank branches evaluation

AbstractData envelopment analysis (DEA) model has been applied for evaluating bank branches and recognizing efficient and inefficient branches can help bank managers to provide appropriate strategies to improve the inefficient branches' performance. Conventional DEA models are based on the ‘black box’ approach. However, the process of providing services in banks is made up of interactive and interdependent processes. Additionally, some managers tend to incorporate their preferences in evaluation process. In this paper, best worst method (BWM) is used for incorporating decision maker (DM) preferences in two‐stage DEA model. First, BWM model is applied to obtain the weights of inputs, intermediate measures and outputs based on DM's judgement. Second, generated weights are imposed on two‐stage DEA model as additional constraints and a novel bi‐objective BWM‐two stage DEA model is introduced. Finally, the proposed bi‐objective BWM‐two stage DEA model is solved using min‐max approach. To illustrate the capability of proposed model, 45 Agricultural Bank (Agribank) branches in West Azerbaijan province of Iran are evaluated. The branches' processes are considered as two stages ‘production’ and ‘profitability’ and efficiency of branches are calculated in each stage. According to the efficiencies of each sub‐stage, branches are divided to four groups and recommendations are made for each group.

An Assessment of Data Mining and Bivariate Statistical Methods for Landslide Susceptibility Mapping

Landslides are recognized as one of the environmental challenges that lead to land degradation, reduce fertility, and cause significant damage to the ecosystem. Therefore, proper identification of landslide-prone areas through modeling will be significantly helpful for land development managers and planners by providing them with appropriate management strategies to prevent land degradation. In this research, landslide susceptibility mapping was carried out for West Azerbaijan province in Iran using Frequency Ratio (FR), Shannon Entropy (SE), Random Forest (RF), and an ensemble of random forest and bagging (RF-BA) methods. Based on field surveys, local interviews, and review of similar studies, 12 factors influencing landslide occurrence, namely altitude, slope angle, slope aspect, distance from fault, distance from river, distance from road, drainage density, road density, rainfall, soil, land use, and lithology, were identified. In the field surveys, 110 landslides in the area were specified; 70% of the data (77 landslides) were randomly selected and utilized for modeling and the remaining 30% (33 landslides) for validation. The results of the ROC curve showed the accuracy of 0.92, 0.91, 0.89, and 0.88 with the RF-BA, RF, FR, and SE models, respectively.

Wheat physiological traits response in standard and ecological agricultural systems

This research was conducted on a farm of Payam-e-Noor University in Piranshahr, in West Azerbaijan province of Iran, during 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 crop sessions to investigate the wheat physiological traits response to standard and ecological agricultural systems. The experiment was conducted as a split-plot design with two factors and three replications. The first factor, which was considered the main plot, included high, low-input, and ecological agricultural systems. Subplots were seed pre-treatment, including control (without priming), hydro priming, and food priming with ascorbate. The results showed that the least photosynthesis rate and mesophilic conductance were related to low-input agricultural system; however, in the ecological system, the transpiration, substomatal carbon dioxide, and water use efficiency of photosynthesis were the lowest. Also, seed priming increased the photosynthesis rate, mesophilic conductivity, and water use efficiency of photosynthesis.

Tomato bacterial diseases in West Azerbaijan province of Iran

Tomato bacterial diseases in West Azerbaijan province of Iran

Assessing Iranian Middle-School Principals' Creativity and its Association with their Job Performance and Human Relations

Creativity has become a topic of ever-increasing interest in educational settings where principals are responsible for improving schools. In Iran, there is a need for research on evaluating the creativity of school principals due to the importance of their role in improving schools. In this paper we aim to assess the creativity of school principals in schools of Iran and investigate its relationship with their job performance and relations with students and teachers. The effect of age and educational level factors on their creativity were also studied. This is a case study conducted in boys' middle schools of Urmia city located in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. Participants included 52 schools principals aged between 34-54 years working in the academic year 2012-2013 who were randomly selected using Krejcie and Morgan table. Their creativity (CR), job performance (JP), and human relations (HR) were measured using designed Persianlanguage questionnaires. Collected data were analyzed using statistical tests (mean and standard deviation) and three formulated research hypotheses were tested by applying Pearson's correlation coefficient and one-way ANOVA in SPSS software. Their scores showed that they had a relatively good level of CR, HR and JP. Results of statistical analysis revealed that there was no significant relationship between Iranian school principals' creativity and human relations, but their creativity was significantly related to their job performance. Also, it was found that age and educational level had no significant effect on their creativity.

Designing a dynamic model of industrial development strategy in West Azerbaijan province of Iran

The present strategy aims at designing a dynamic model of industrial development strategy in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Population of the study includes all private and government organizations related to industries and industrial development. A synthetic model of interviews and system dynamics is used here. The study considers industrial development a dynamic model and suggests that interventive variables transform over time. A total number of 10 scenarios for industrial development in the province is proposed. Results show that simultaneous improvement of experience transfer, use of foreign counsellors, promoting information and communication power is the most effective scenario. This contributes to a better understanding of industrial development as a multifaceted phenomenon with a series of determinants in the region.

A systematic review of the genus Dila Fischer von Waldheim, 1844 (= Caenoblaps König, 1906, syn.n.) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) from the Caucasus, Turkey and boundary territories of Iran

The taxonomic history, composition, morphology, distribution, and bionomics of the genus Dila Fischer von Waldheim, 1844 are discussed. The following new generic synonymy is established: Dila Fischer von Waldheim, 1844 = Caenoblaps König, 1906, syn.n. As a result, four species are transferred from Caenoblaps to the genus Dila: Dila difformis (König, 1906), comb.n., Dila nitida (Schuster, 1920), comb.n., Dila baeckmanni (Schuster, 1928), comb.n., Dila kulzeri (Schuster, 1928), comb.n. A new synonymy is established: Blaps kulzeri Pierre, 1964 = Caenoblaps kulzeriana Pierre, 1964, syn.n. A taxonomic review of the eight known Caucasian, Turkish and Iranian species is given. Lectotypes of Caenoblaps nitida and Caenoblaps difformis are designated. Three new species are described: Dila hakkarica sp.n. and Dila svetlanae sp.n. from the Hakkary Province of Turkey and Dila crenatopunctata sp.n. from West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. The position of the genus Dila within the tribe Blaptini and subtribal classification are discussed.

Urban Sprawl Evaluation Using Landscape Metrics and Black-and-White Hypothesis (Case Study: Urmia City)

The increasing population growth has caused a phenomenon called urban sprawl in most cities in the world. Urban sprawl has imposed adverse economic and environmental impacts on cities. Therefore, study, measurement and recognition of this phenomenon are essential. The purpose of this study is the identification and measurement of urban sprawl intensity in the Urmia city (capital of West Azerbaijan Province of Iran). It causes urban planners and managers to better plan for the future growth of the Urmia and achieve sustainable urban development with greater awareness and understanding. The present research is a theoretical–applied research purpose and is descriptive–analytic in terms of research nature. Several methods have been used for measuring urban sprawl. Nowadays, landscape metrics and spatial data are widely used worldwide because they detected urban sprawl with great detail and accuracy. Thus, in the present research, in order to measure urban sprawl in Urmia city, the black-and-white hypothesis and satellite imagery and integration of these data with landscape metrics have been used for the first time in Iran. In this regard, satellite images of 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2016 were collected with the help of Landsat satellite. These images were classified using an artificial neural network in two classes: built and non-built. Then the detection of changes was done using ENVI 5.3 software and also using landscape metrics (fractal dimension index, largest patch index, contiguity index, number of patches index and shape index) by Fragstats 4.2 software in order to measure urban sprawl in Urmia city. The results of this study indicate that urban sprawl in Urmia during the period of 1991–2011 had a decreasing rate and from then until now has been increasing and it will be continued.

Opportunity Inequality in Accessing Higher Education and Presentation of Equity Promotion Model to Achieve Sustainable Development: A Case Study of West Azerbaijan Province in Iran

Abstract This study was aimed to investigate the inequality of opportunity of access to the higher education centers and to present a model of reducing inequality of opportunities and to administer justice and fairness in order to achieve a sustainable development among the 17 cities and towns of West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. This research was a descriptive-analytic and survey type of study in nature. The participants included 890 pre-university high school students who completed a set of questionnaires eliciting their perceptions on opportunity inequality in accessing higher education. Moreover, documents adopted from the responsible governmental bodies on this topic were analyzed. The collected data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient, cluster analysis, path analysis and neural networks by means of Topsis, SPSS, and Excel softwares. The findings showed that there is inequality of opportunity of access to the higher education centers in cities of West Azerbaijan. Based on the path analysis, admission and individual-family indexes had the most and the least impacts on inequality of achieving higher education, respectively, among the cities of West Azerbaijan. Moreover, the neural networks model showed that the education indexes were the most important and the individual-family indexes were the least important ones in predicting the opportunity of accessing higher education in these cities. This study reveals that a three-componential model (namely, education, admission, and family-individual) along with their sub-components could be the basis for achieving education for sustainable development.

Study of involved fluids and geochemistry of rare earth elements of Aghbolagh copper deposit, in North Oshnavieh, West Azerbaijan Province of Iran

Aghbolagh copper deposit is located in the southwest of West Azarbaijan Province, 10 km north of Oshnavieh city. Most of the existing rock outcrops in the area include Cambrian deposits (carbonated and clastic deposits). These deposits are metamorphosed by intrusive-granite masses (skarn-genesis). The infiltration of the mineralization solution at distances beyond contact and inside the sandstone sequences has resulted in the formation of copper ore veins. For microscopic and geochemical studies, 21 thin sections, and 22 doubly-polished cross-sections, 22 XRD specimens, 22 ICP-MS specimens, and three samples for analysis of 10 oxides were analyzed by Zarazma Corporation. In the study of the fluids involved, measurements were made using a Linkham THMSG600 heater and freezer plate, mounted on a polarized microscope with a separate stage and Olympus model. Studies on quartz minerals (3 samples) and garnet minerals (2 samples) were performed on five polished double sections by micro-thermometry measurements on 30 inclusion in quartz mineral and 15 inclusion in garnet mineral at Rizkavan Land Company. The results show that the La/Y ratio, which is a proper indicator for the pH conditions of the formation environment of ore deposit, in Aghbolagh deposit is a range from 0.09 to 2.26. The granite mass has the highest amount, and the skarn zone represents two types of conditions. Type 1: Section where the La/Y> 1 ratio observed in samples close to the skarn mass and ore. Type 2: Part where the ratio La/Y <1 is close to marble lithology. In the case of a vein deposit, the samples have mineralization under alkaline conditions, and other samples show acidic conditions. The examination of fluid inclusions determined two main groups of fluids in this mineralization system. Group 1: Supersaturated fluids of salt, which is the origin of halite multiphase inclusions in the garnet ore during the progressive skarn alteration process. Group 2: Salt-saturated fluids, which are the source of fluid-rich two-phase intermediates in the garnet and quartz minerals, and have been effective in regressive alteration in the skarn system.

Enhancing enzymatic and nonenzymatic response of Echinacea purpurea by exogenous 24-epibrassinolide under drought stress

In this study, the effect of brassinosteroids was evaluated on the physiological characteristics of Echinacea purpurea under drought stress in field conditions (West Azerbaijan Province in Iran) during two years. Drought stress imposed at three levels as irrigation after 70, 120 and 170 mm evaporation from class A pan and 24-epibrassinolide (EBL) by three concentrations of control including, 0, 0.01 and 0.1 μM. Based on the results, the application of EBL (0.01 and 0.1 μM), increased the superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, proline, total protein content, and H2O2 at severe drought stress conditions (170 mm evaporation from class A pan). EBL played a role in relieving stress on Echinacea under drought stress and creating better results, compared to the control counterpart. In addition, drought stress decreased dry matter at root, leaf, stem and flower significantly. Therefore, EBL plays an important role in drought tolerance in E. purpurea plants.

Investigation of Physicochemical Characteristics and Fruit Color of Some White Mulberry (Morus alba) Genotypes in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran

Investigation of Physicochemical Characteristics and Fruit Color of Some White Mulberry (Morus alba) Genotypes in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran