Western Azerbaijan Research Articles

The archaeological record of the Qaraçay River Basin along the northern piedmont of the Lesser Caucasus

Abstract This project documents the current archaeological record of the Qaraçay River Basin in western Azerbaijan. Integrating intensive pedestrian survey, satellite imagery analysis and topographic mapping, the study identified 85 kurgans, six necropolises and nine sites from the Chalcolithic or medieval periods. The authors believe this demonstrates the potential for further archaeological studies in the region.

Predicting Psychological Well-Being Based on Five Personality Traits by Mediating Role of Marital Control

ABSTRACT This study aimed to predict psychological well-being by considering five personality traits while mediating the role of marital control. The research followed a descriptive correlation method with structural equation modeling for data analysis. The study focused on married individuals residing in Western Azerbaijan (Urmia) in Iran and included 587 participants selected through convenience sampling. Key research instruments encompassed the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10), Marital Controlling Scale (MCS-21), and Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale (RPWS-18). Path analysis through structural modeling was employed to assess the variables” direct and indirect effects. The findings demonstrated that the relationship between personality traits and psychological well-being is well-suited to mediate the impact of marital control. This research confirmed the mediating role of marital control in the connection between neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience personality traits, and psychological well-being. However, the mediating role of extroversion was not established. Consequently, marital control emerges as a significant factor capable of mitigating the positive impact of various personality traits on couples” lives, potentially exposing them to detrimental influences on their psychological well-being. Clinical implications for working with married couples in Western Azerbaijan who are grappling with issues of marital control, including cultural sensitivity and an understanding of the unique dynamics present in the region, were highlighted.

Simulation and synoptic investigation of a severe dust storm originated from the Urmia Lake in the Middle East

Dried lake beds are one of the largest sources of dust in the world, causing environmental problems in the surrounding areas. In this study, the desiccated Urmia Lake was the primary source of dust for all nearby synoptic stations during the April 24-25, 2017 dust episode. Synoptic analysis revealed that the heavy dust storm was triggered by a strong Black Sea cyclone and a low-pressure system over central Iraq in conjunction with a vast high-pressure system. HYSPLIT-based trajectory analysis showed that high PM10 recorded over the Urmia Lake region on April 23-26, 2017, influenced western Azerbaijan, the south of the Caspian Sea, southwestern Kazakhstan, northwestern Uzbekistan, and western Turkmenistan. The dustiest air masses (PM10 > 400 µg m–3) affected the south of the Caspian Sea and western Azerbaijan. Furthermore, the WRF-Chem model was run to evaluate the spatial distribution of dust particles in the study region. The vertical profile revealed that the simulated dust concentration ascended to 5 km from the lake. The WRF-Chem dust schemes accurately simulated dust propagation and the vertical dust profile over Urmia Lake; however, the AFWA and GOCART dust schemes showed that PM10 fluctuating changes were earlier than the measured surface PM10 at five stations around Urmia Lake on April 23-26, 2017. Furthermore, the maximum amount anticipated by the model simulation was 12 h earlier than the maximum surface mass concentration of measured PM10 at the stations throughout the period.

Kurgan Phenomenon in the Southern Caucasus: Results of an Interdisciplinary Multi‐Method Remote Sensing Survey Along the Kurekçay Valley (Goranboy Province, Western Azerbaijan)

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the results of a pilot study that combines findings from satellite remote sensing analyses and an intensive interdisciplinary survey conducted in November 2021 on kurgans along the Kurekçay Valley, in western Azerbaijan. Through the integration of various methods, including historical and contemporary satellite and aerial imagery analysis, topographic mapping and geophysical prospections, this research remotely maps and quantifies the density, size, morphology and distribution of the burial mounds in the area. Unlike previous studies focusing solely on individual burial mounds, this investigation adopts a broader approach by contextualizing the kurgans within their respective landscapes. The results contribute to a deeper understanding of the physical and symbolic aspects and relationships of these structures, providing valuable insights into the enduring burial practices that shaped the funerary traditions of the Southern Caucasus during the 4th and 1st millennium BCE. Furthermore, this approach supports an assessment of the condition of the individual kurgans, thereby opening new perspectives to develop innovative plans to protect these burial mounds and their settings.

The descendants of the land of Western Azerbaijan

The descendants of the land of Western Azerbaijan

Linguistic features of paleo-dialectal and neo-dialectal consonant correspondences in the system of toponyms of Western Azerbaijan

Linguistic features of paleo-dialectal and neo-dialectal consonant correspondences in the system of toponyms of Western Azerbaijan

Linguistic analysis of preserved paleo-dialect and neo-dialect correspondences of vowels and consonants in place names of Western Azerbaijan

Linguistic analysis of preserved paleo-dialect and neo-dialect correspondences of vowels and consonants in place names of Western Azerbaijan

Signs of lexical-semantic stability and change of dialects in the literary turkish language of the ethnotoponymic system of Western Azerbaijan (now Armenia)

Signs of lexical-semantic stability and change of dialects in the literary turkish language of the ethnotoponymic system of Western Azerbaijan (now Armenia)

The Analysis of Cultural-Historical Resources of Goycha

Goycha is one of the most historically and geographically rich regions of Western Azerbaijan. It is surrounded by Lake Goycha, which in turn shows the importance of the region for tourism. However, the article analyzes only the cultural and historical resources of the region. The article provides a general review of Goycha’s cultural resources The resources are described by categories. Then in the manuscrift discusses the cultural importance of resources and their role in tourism.

Nakhchivan parallels of petroglyphs of western Azerbaijan and Karabakh

Nakhchivan parallels of petroglyphs of western Azerbaijan and Karabakh

Geochemistry, Fluid Inclusions and Sulfur Isotopes of the Goshgarchay Cu‐Au Deposit (Western Azerbaijan) in Lesser Caucasus: Implications for the Origins of Ore‐forming Fluids

AbstractThe Goshgarchay Cu‐Au deposit is located in the central part of the northwest flank of the Murovdagh region in the Lesser Caucasus. The Goshgarchay Cu‐Au deposit is associated with Middle Jurassic volcanic and Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous high‐K calc‐alkaline intrusive rocks. The Cu‐Au mineralization is commonly related to quartz‐sericite‐chlorite alteration dominantly composed of chalcopyrite, gold, sphalerite, pyrite, bornite, hematite, covellite, chalcocite, malachite, and azurite. The Goshgarchay copper‐gold deposit, which is 600 m wide and approximately 1.2 km long, is seen as a fault‐controlled and vein‐, stockwork– and disseminated type deposit. The Goshgarchay Cu‐Au deposit predominantly comprises Cu (max. 64500 ppm) and Au (max. 11.3 ppm), while it comprises relatively less amounts Zn (max. 437 ppm), Mo (max. 47.5 ppm), Pb (max. 134 ppm), and Ag (max. 21 ppm). The homogenization temperatures and salinities of fluid inclusions in quartz for stage I range from 380°C to 327°C, and 6.9 wt% to 2.6 wt% NaCl eq., respectively. Th and salinities in quartz for stage II range from 304°C to 253°C, and 7.6 wt% to 3.2 wt% NaCl eq., respectively. The calculated δ34Sh2s values (–1.5‰ to 5.5‰) of sulfides and especially the narrow range of δ34Sh2s values of chalcopyrite and bornite (between –0.07‰ and +0.7‰) indicate that the source of the Goshgarchay Cu‐Au mineralization is magmatic. Based on the mineralogical, geochemical, fluid inclusion, and sulfur isotopic data, the Goshgarchay Cu‐Au deposit represents a late stage peripheral magmatic‐hydrothermal mineralization probably underlain by a concealed porphyry deposit.

A novel evolutionary combination of artificial intelligence algorithm and machine learning for landslide susceptibility mapping in the west of Iran.

Detecting and mapping landslides are crucial for effective risk management and planning. With the great progress achieved in applying optimized and hybrid methods, it is necessary to use them to increase the accuracy of landslide susceptibility maps. Therefore, this research aims to compare the accuracy of the novel evolutionary methods of landslide susceptibility mapping. To achieve this, a unique method that integrates two techniques from Machine Learning and Neural Networks with novel geomorphological indices is used to calculate the landslide susceptibility index (LSI). The study was conducted in western Azerbaijan, Iran, where landslides are frequent. Sixteen geology, environment, and geomorphology factors were evaluated, and 160 landslide events were analyzed, with a 30:70 ratio of testing to training data. Four Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithms and Artificial Neural Network (ANN)-MLP were tested. The study outcomes reveal that utilizing the algorithms mentioned above results in over 80% of the study area being highly sensitive to large-scale movement events. Our analysis shows that the geological parameters, slope, elevation, and rainfall all play a significant role in the occurrence of landslides in this study area. These factors obtained 100%, 75.7%, 68%, and 66.3%, respectively. The predictive performance accuracy of the models, including SVM, ANN, and ROC algorithms, was evaluated using the test and train data. The AUC for ANN and each machine learning algorithm (Simple, Kernel, Kernel Gaussian, and Kernel Sigmoid) was 0.87% and 1, respectively. The Classification Matrix algorithm and Sensitivity, Accuracy, and Specificity variables were used to assess the models' efficacy for prediction purposes. Results indicate that machine learning algorithms are more effective than other methods for evaluating areas' sensitivity to landslide hazards. The Simple SVM and Kernel Sigmoid algorithms performed well, with a performance score of one, indicating high accuracy in predicting landslide-prone areas.

New species and records of Oecobius Lucas, 1846 (Araneae: Oecobiidae) from Iran and Azerbaijan

ABSTRACT New data on the oecobiid spiders of the genus Oecobius Lucas, 1846 occurring in Iran and Azerbaijan are provided. Five species are described as new to science: O. dariusi sp. n. (♀; Alborz and Tehran ‒ northern Iran), O. melanocephalus sp. n. (♀; Lorestan, Razavi Khorasan, Semnan, and Tehran ‒ south-western, northern and north-eastern Iran; hitherto described as the female of O. ferdowsii Mirshamsi, Zamani and Marusik, 2017), O. naxuanus sp. n. (♂; Nakhchivan ‒ western Azerbaijan), O. pasargadae sp. n. (♂♀; Fars ‒ south-central Iran), and O. zagros sp. n. (♂; Kermanshah ‒ western Iran). Furthermore, O. navus Blackwall, 1859 is reported in Iran for the first time, and new distribution records are provided for O. putus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876 and O. nadiae (Spassky, 1936). http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:98E34233-D62C-4443-A963-6F1DFB6183DF

Fritillaria shehbazii and F. selenica (Liliaceae), two new species from Iran

Two new species, Fritillaria shehbazii from Western Azerbaijan province in northwest Iran and F. selenica from Kurdistan province in western Iran are described. Fritillaria shehbazii is similar to F. chlororhabdota, F. pinardii, F. zagrica, F. kordestanica, F. assyriaca and F. umitkaplanii in the F. caucasica‐group in general facies, but differs mainly by the colour and size of its lowest leaves, and shape and colour of perigone segments. Fritillaria selenica is similar to F. assyriaca and F. kordestanica in general facies, but differs mainly by narrower leaves. Detailed taxonomic descriptions, diagnostic characters, original photographs, geographical distributions, habitat, phenology and ecology, etymology, conservation status and phylogenetic analysis of the new and the related species are presented.

Regional disparities in cancer survival in Iran: Insight from a National Surveillance of Cancer Survival in Iran (IRANCANSURV)

Background and objectivesWe aimed to investigate geographical disparity in cancer survival in 9 provincial population-based cancer registries in Iran from 2015 to 2016. Material and methodIn the current study, data from 90,862 adult patients (aged >15 years) diagnosed with cancer were retrieved from 9 population-based cancer registries across Iran. Five-year survival rates were estimated by applying relative survival approaches. We also applied the international cancer survival standard weights for age standardization. Finally, we calculated the excess hazard ratio (EHR) for each province adjusted for age, sex, and cancer sites to estimate the excess hazard ratio of mortality compared to the capital province (Tehran). ResultsThe largest gap in survival was observed in more curable cancer types, including melanoma (41.4%), ovary (32.3%), cervix (35.0%), prostate (26.7%), and rectum (21.4%), while the observed geographical disparity in lethal cancers such as lung, brain, stomach, and pancreas was less than 15%. Compared to Tehran, we found the highest excess hazard of death in Western Azerbaijan (EHR=1.60, 95% CI 1.51, 1.65), Kermanshah (EHR=1.52, 95% CI=1.44, 1.61), and Kerman (EHR=1.46, 95% CI=1.38, 1.53). The hazard ratio of death was almost identical in Isfahan (EHR=1.04, 95% CI=1.03, 1.06) and Tehran provinces. ConclusionProvinces with higher HDI had better survival rates. IRANCANSURV study showed regional disparities in cancer survival in Iran. Cancer patients in provinces with a higher Human Development Index (HDI) had a higher survival rate and lived longer compared to the patients in provinces with medium and low HDI regions.

The last Mohican of the Soviet library science. (On the occasion of the 90-th Anniversary of Professor A. A. Khalafov)

The founder of library science in Azerbaijan “The founder of library science in Azerbaijan”, Abuzar Aly oglu Khalafov was born on December 25, 1931, in the village of Jil, located on the territory of Goych in Western Azerbaijan. In 1938–1945 he studied at a seven-year general education school, in 1945–1946 he worked on the collective farm named after Ali Bairamov. From 1950–1955 he studied at the library department of the Faculty of Philology of the Azerbaijan State University. Over the years, he worked as a teacher, senior lecturer, associate professor at the Library Faculty. In 1961 he defended his candidate’s thesis on the topic “From the history of librarianship in Azerbaijan” (1920–1932)”, and in 1975 he defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic “From the history of librarianship in Azerbaijan” (1933–1958). In 1978 he became a professor. These works, being significant and relevant, reflected the dynamics of the development of librarianship in Azerbaijan. He scientifically substantiated the goals and objectives of library activities, and carefully studied its pressing problems, and proposed his own ways to solve them. Abuzar Khalafov was the first to be awarded the degree of Doctor of Historical Sciences in library science. The authors emphasize the role of the prominent scientist in the scientific, pedagogical and cultural life of Azerbaijan by providing numerous examples. Abuzar Khalafov devoted seventy years of his s life to the librarianship of his country.

The embodiment of the landscape of Western Azerbaijan in the works of the artist Ali Ismail

The embodiment of the landscape of Western Azerbaijan in the works of the artist Ali Ismail

Regarding Political Relations of Abusayid Mirzo with the Ruler of Aqquyuns

This article informs about political activities of Sultan Abusayid, the ruler of Temurids Empire, his struggle for the throne of Samarqand, military, political and embassy relations on the issue of Western Iran and Azerbaijan regions with representatives of Aqquyuns dynasty Hasanbek and Qaraquyuns Jahanshah. The role and importance of the territories of Western Iran and Azerbaijan[1] in the Temurid kingdom were both politically and economically important. The essence of the Sultanate's military-political relations with local principalities and various ethnic groups in these regions are not only to control Western Iran and Azerbaijan, but also to be seen from time to time as a place where conflicting political and economic interests of major powers should collide.

Investigation of geochemistry and determination of tectonomagmatic setting of igneous rocks in North Oshnavieh, Western Azerbaijan

Investigation of geochemistry and determination of tectonomagmatic setting of igneous rocks in North Oshnavieh, Western Azerbaijan

Evaluation of pesticide residues and risk assessment in apple and grape from western Azerbaijan Province of Iran

West Azerbaijan, especially the city of Urmia, is the center of Iranian apple and grape production hence the importance of this, residues of 85 pesticides in these products were investigated using modified QuEChERS extraction followed by UHPLC-MS/MS technique. Residues of 17 different pesticides detected in some apple samples. In grape sample only 7 pesticides detected. The levels of the residues found in all apple and grape samples were below the maximum residue levels (MRLs) of Iran, except for iprodione. Health risk assessment associated with pesticide residues in apples and grapes were estimated by hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI), which indicated that the HI value was lower than 1 in adults and children due to apple and consumption. HI in adults and children were 0.012 and 0.054 in apple; 0.001 and 0.003 in grape samples, respectively. Although the health risk assessment showed that the consumers are not at considerable risk but due to pesticide residue, implement control plans to manage the proper application of this pesticide, or replace it with safer alternatives in apple and grape is required.