Predicting of dust storm source by combining remote sensing, statistic-based predictive models and game theory in the Sistan watershed, southwestern Asia

Dust storms in arid and desert areas affect radiation budget,air quality,visibility,enzymatic activities,agricultural products and human health.Due to increased drought and land use changes in recent years,the frequency of dust storms occurrence in Iran has been increased.This study aims to identify dust source areas in the Sistan watershed(Iran-Afghanistan borders)-an important regional source for dust storms in southwestern Asia,using remote sensing(RS)and bivariate statistical models.Furthermore,this study determines the relative importance of factors controlling dust emissions using frequency ratio(FR)and weights of evidence(WOE)models and interpretability of predictive models using game theory.For this purpose,we identified 211 dust sources in the study area and generated a dust source distribution map-inventory map-by dust source potential index based on RS data.In addition,spatial maps of topographic factors affecting dust source areas including soil,lithology,slope,Normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI),geomorphology and land use were prepared.The performance of two models(WOE and FR)was evaluated using the area under curve(AUC)of the receiver operating characteristic curve.The results showed that soil,geomorphology and slope exhibited the greatest influence in the dust source areas.The 55.3%(according to FR)and 62.6%(according to WOE)of the total area were classified as high and very high potential dust sources,while both models displayed acceptable accuracy with subsurface levels of 0.704 for FR and 0.751 for WOE,although they predict different fractions of dust potential classes.Based on Shapley additive explanations(SHAP),three factors,i.e.,soil,slope and NDVI have the highest impact on the model's output.Overall,combination of statistic-based predictive models(or data mining models),RS and game theory techniques can provide accurate maps of dust source areas in arid and semi-arid regions,which can be helpful for mitigation of negative effects of dust storms.

Polymyxin B effects on motility parameters of cryopreserved bull semen

Objective:To evaluate the effect of adding different values of polymyxin B (PMB) to bull semen on various motility parameters of post-thawed semen such as total motility, progressive motility and velocity parameters using kinetic parameters of sperm by Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis.Methods: Gram negative bacteria release lipopolysaccharide, which induces the apoptotic pathway. Antibiotics are added to semen in order to prevent bacterial contaminations in bovine semen. These antibiotics kill the bacteria especially gram negative bacteria. Therefore, their endotoxins are released during bacteriolysis and bind to the head region and midpiece of sperm. PMB is a bactericidal antibiotic against multidrug resistant gram-negative bacteria and is able to neutralize the toxic effects of the released endotoxin. This study was performed on 3-year old Taleshi bulls. Results:The results showed both positive and negative significant effects of PMB on semen quality. Total motility and progressive motility were significantly increased (P<0.0001) by 100 μg per mL of PMB (55.2% and 48.8% respectively) against the control groups (43.5% and 37.7%, respectively). Moreover, they were significantly decreased (P<0.0001) by 1000 μg per mL of PMB (35.2% and 28.8% respectively) against the control groups (43.5% and 37.7% respectively) in above-mentioned parameters. In Computer Assisted Semen Analyzer, parameter VAP was significantly decreased (P<0.04) in 1000 μg (69.6 μm/s) against the control group (78.7 μm/s). Finally, using PMB in processing cryopreserved bull semen is advised, but before using it, the rate of endotoxins must be measured.Conclusions: We advise using PMB after measuring endotoxin concentration;In vitro,in vivoand in field fertilization, adding other sperm evaluation factors such as acrosomal integrity, DNA integrity, mitochondrial function to PMB treated semen.