Vulnerability mapping and risk analysis of sand and dust storms in Ahvaz, IRAN.

In this work, a sand and dust storm vulnerability mapping (SDS-VM) approach is developed to model the vulnerability of urban blocks to SDS using GIS spatial analysis and a range of geographical data. The SDS-VM was carried out in Ahvaz, IRAN, representing one of the most dust-polluted cities in West Asia. Here, vulnerability is defined as a function of three components: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of the people in the city blocks to sand and dust storms. These components were formulated into measurable indicators (i.e. GIS layers) including: PM2.5, wind speed, distance from dust emission sources, demographic statistics (age, gender, family size, education level), number of building floors, building age, land surface temperature (LST), land use, percentage of literate population, distance from health services, distance from city facilities (city center, shopping centers), distance from infrastructure (public transportation, main roads and highways), distance from parks and green spaces, and green area per capita. The components and the indicators were weighted using analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Different levels of risks for the components and the indicators were defined using ordered weighted averaging (OWA). Urban SDS vulnerability maps at different risk levels were generated through spatial multi-criteria data analysis procedure. Vulnerability maps, with different risk levels, were validated against field-collected data of 781 patients hospitalized for dust-related diseases (i.e. respiratory, cardiovascular, and skin). Results showed that (i) SDS vulnerability map, obtained from the developed methodology, gives an overall accuracy of 79%; (ii); regions 1 and 5 of Ahvaz are recognized with the highest and lowest vulnerabilities to SDS, respectively; and (iii) ORness equal to 0 (very low risk) is the optimum SDS-VM risk level for decision-making to mitigate the harmful impacts of SDS in the deposition areas of Ahvaz city.

Chemotherapeutic effect of Berberis integerrima hydroalcoholic extract on colon cancer development in the 1,2-dimethyl hydrazine rat model.

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a Berberis integerrima hydroalcoholic extract as a chemotherapeutic agent in colon carcinogenesis in the rat induced by 1,2-dimethyl hydrazine (DMH). Male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: a negative control group without DMH treatment; a control group injected DMH (20 mg/kg b.w); two groups receiving B. integerrima extract (50 and 100 mg/kg b.w), concomitant with injected DMH, as chemotherapeutic groups; a positive control group receiving 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) along with DMH. The effects of the extracts were determined by assessment of hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), and the activities of hepatic glutathione S-transferase and cytochrome P450 (GST and CYP450). Additionally, colon tissues were assessed for colonic ß-catenin and histopathological analysis. In DMH-treated rats, the extracts partially normalized the levels of FRAP, CYP450, ß-catenin, and GST. Likewise, formation of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in colon tissue of DMH-treated was reduced by the extracts. Thus, the extracts possess chemotherapeutic activity against colon carcinogenesis.