Analyzing the Impacts of Climate Change on Water Level Fluctuations of Tashk and Bakhtegan Lakes and Its Role in Environmental Sustainability

Climate changes are the main motivation for destruction of ecosystems;in fact the effects of these changes on biodiversity and ecosystems are considered as the most challenging cases in present century. Therefore, since the lakes are the most important services and functions of ecosystems, the effect of climate change on water level fluctuations of Tashk and Bakhtegan Lakes was analyzed as a natural ecosystem in this essay. For this purpose, the data related to six parameters of temperature, precipitation, evaporation, sunshine hours and snowy days were selected during 25-year statistical period (1985-2010), and Mann-Kendall test was used to determine the trend of changes in each time series. Inflow system of the lake, the volume of evaporation and area of water were simulated and fluctuation of lake was also assessed by using dynamic analysis method and to achieve to lake level and analysis of its fluctuations in period under study, the satellite images of Landsat 7 and ETM 5-1 were used in two high waters of April 1987 and April 2010. Results indicate that the lake level has been dropped 6 meters in 2010 compared to the similar period of 1986;in wet years that the rainfall is more than 618/5 mm, high water level is the lake conditions in all months of the year;unlike in most years when rainfall occurred under average of 365.4 mm, lake is faced with dry condition that is mainly due to the reduce of icemaker area, rainfall reduction, increase in evaporation and temperature. These conditions show the extent to which the lake is fragile and affected by climatic conditions that the most obvious evidence of it is decline of genetic storages such as Tashk and Bakhtegan lakes and subsequently instability of the region and reducing of services and ecosystems’ functions.

Relationship Between Land Use Changes and the Production of Dust Sources in Kermanshah Province,Iran

Recognizing land use changes(LUC)and evaluating their relationship with producing dust sources are considered effective to manage the environment.Taking Kermanshah Province,Iran as study area,dusty days from 2008 to 2015 were selected and dust sources were identified applying thermal-infrared dust index(TDI),hybrid single-particle lagrangian integrated trajectory(HYSPLIT),false color composite(FCC)and true color composite(TCC)of MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS)images.Afterwards,the land use change map was produced using Landsat images in 2000 and 2015.Then,the distribution and frequency of the sources in each land-use change class and important dust production areas were specified.Eventually,two non-parametric tests including Chisquare and Kruskal-Wallis were applied to examine the relationship between LUC and dust sources.Results indicated that the distribution of dust sources was not identical in the study area,and the sources were mainly generated in the areas where land-use change had occurred.In fact,different classes of LUC have different contributions to dust production,and the highest contribution refers to the deflation in gentle slope areas and lowlands where the rangeland has been converted into agriculture land.The findings from this study are useful to manage and control dust in the identified sources.

Nutritional Knowledge and Behavior of Professional Athletes in Khorramabad

Today it is proved that the lack of adequate nutritional knowledge leads to problems such as obesity, overweight and increased cardiovascular diseases. However, many obstacles such as poor financial support, lack of time and poor nutritional knowledge can influence achievement of optimal nutrition which is proportional to the level of the athlete＇s physical activity. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of nutritional knowledge and dietary behavior of athletes in Khorramabad in 2013. Professional athletes of Khorramabad, Iran, with more than one year of regular exercise and at least one course participating in national championships competitions were studied in this cross-sectional, descriptive-analytic study. The samples included 247 athletes aged 17-29 years. Their nutritional knowledge and behavior were measured by the nutritional knowledge and behavior inventory. Results： The results showed a significant difference in nutritional knowledge of athletes by gender and educational level; female athletes have higher nutritional knowledge than male athletes. A gender-dependent difference was found in nutritional behavior; despite their higher nutritional knowledge, female athletes have weaker nutritional behavior than male athletes. However, no significant correlation was found between BMI and nutritional knowledge and behavior of the athletes. Moreover, findings showed that nutritional knowledge and behavior could be significantly different in various sports.

Global public concern of childhood and adolescence suicide:a new perspective and new strategies for suicide prevention in the post-pandemic era

Background Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people worldwide and is responsible for about 52,000 deaths annually in children and adolescents aged 5-19 years.Familial,social,psychological,and behavioral factors play important roles in suicide risk.As traumatic events such as the COVID-19 pandemic may contribute to suicidal behaviors in young people,there is a need to understand the current status of suicide in adolescents,including its epidemiology,associated factors,the influence of the pandemic,and management initiatives.Data sources We investigated global and regional suicide mortality rates among children and adolescents aged 5-19 years using data from the Global Burden of Diseases,Injuries,and Risk Factors Study(GBD)2019.The suicide mortality rates from 1990 to 2019 were examined in 204 countries and territories across six World Health Organization(WHO)regions.Additionally,we utilized electronic databases,including PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus,and employed various combinations of terms such as“suicide”,“adolescents”,“youth”,“children”,“risk factors”,“COVID-19 pandemic”,“prevention”,and“intervention”to provide a narrative review on suicide within the pediatric population in the post-pandemic era.Results Despite the decreasing trend in the global suicide mortality rate from 1990 to 2019,it remains high.The mortality rates from suicide by firearms or any other specified means were both greater in males.Additionally,Southeast Asia had the highest suicide rate among the six WHO regions.The COVID-19 pandemic seems to contribute to suicide risk in young people;thus,there is still a strong need to revisit appropriate management for suicidal children and adolescents during the pandemic.Conclusions The current narrative review integrates up-to-date knowledge on suicide epidemiology and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,risk factors,and intervention strategies.Although numerous studies have characterized trends in suicide among young people during the pre-pandemic era,further studies are required to investigate suicide during the pandemic and new strategies for suicide prevention in the post-pandemic era.It is necessary to identify effective prevention strategies targeting young people,particularly those at high risk,and successful treatment for individuals already manifesting suicidal behaviors.Care for suicidal children and adolescents should be improved with parental,school,community,and clinical involvement.

National trends in sexual intercourse and usage of contraception among Korean adolescents

Background The exact influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual intercourse and usage of contraception remains largely uncharted territory.To bridge this gap in knowledge,we conducted a comprehensive,cross-sectional examination of long-term trends in the prevalence of sexual intercourse and usage of contraception among South Korean adolescents from 2006 to 2022.Methods In our research,we drew upon data encompassing 1,138,799 South Korean adolescents aged 12 to 18 years,derived from the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey(KYRBS)over a period spanning from 2006 to 2022.We focused on the prevalence of sexual intercourse,contraception utilization,and the underlying associated factors among this demographic.The KYRBS data was collected using a complex sampling strategy to determine the national prevalence estimates and shifts in prevalence before(2006-2019)and during(2020-2022)the COVID-19 pandemic era.Results During the pre-pandemic period,a decrease in adolescent sexual intercourse was observed(6.34%in 2006,5.53%in 2012,and 5.87%in 2019).However,in the post-pandemic period(2020-2022),there was a surge in sexual intercourse(4.55%in 2020 and 6.20%in 2022).This evident alteration in sexual intercourse trajectory between pre-and post-pandemic periods was statistically significant[βdiff,0.950;95%confidence interval(CI),0.756-1.144].Regarding contraceptive use among South Korean adolescents,there was an increase in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic phase across all demographic segments(14.61%in 2006,22.30%in 2012,and 47.69%in 2022)but a notable decline when compared with the pre-and post-pandemic periods(βdiff,-0.319;95%CI,-0.454 to-0.184).Additionally,during the study period,a decrease in sexual intercourse was observed in the pre-pandemic period(β,-0.129;95%CI,-0.148 to-0.110),followed by an increase in the post-pandemic period(β,0.821;95%CI,0.627 to 1.014).This shift is highlighted by an effect size of 0.96[weighted odds ratio(wOR);95%CI,0.92 to 1.00],indicating a substantial change in adolescent sexual behaviors across study periods.Conclusions The increase in sexual intercourse and decrease in usage of contraception observed in our study between the pre-and post-COVID-19 periods suggests a potential threat to sexual health among South Korean adolescents.This trend emphasizes the ongoing necessity of raising awareness about adolescent sexual behavior in South Korea.

Determinants of Adaptation to Climate Change:A Case Study of Rice Farmers in Western Province,Iran

The decisions made by agricultural households to adjust to climate change(CC)in Iran are not well known.This study is intended to investigate the influence of perceptions and socioeconomic,institutional features on farmers’adaptation decisions about CC,which constitute the hypothetical statements of the study.We undertook a survey of 200 farm householders from 31 villages of Ilam Province,situated in the western Iran,as randomly selected.The result discloses that the proposed discriminant model matches the dataset well,with a strong effect size of partial eta-squared(η^(2)=0.38).The analysis further signals that adapters are younger and more welleducated than non-adapters.Adapters are also knowledgeable about CC risks and institutional policy barriers.The adapters have subsidiary work,better access to credit,and have good contacts with expansion agents and specialists.The paper concludes that government authorities should provide farmers with the enriched capabilities and competencies enabling them to adapt to CC.

Investigating the Relationship between Responsibility-Taking and Identity Crisis among One-Child Students

The present study has investigated the relationship between responsibility-taking and identity crisis among one-child students. This research is a descriptive-correlational study and the target population comprised all one-child female students of Mashhad secondary schools in the academic year 2014-2015. In this study, multistage cluster sampling method was applied and finally, Region 4, 6 and 7 were randomly selected and 150 students were also randomly chosen according to Morgan table. The research data was collected through California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and Ahmadi identity crisis questionnaire. The obtained information was analyzed by Pearson correlation test and regression. The achieved results indicated that the relationship between responsibility-taking and identity crisis among students is statistically reverse and significant at the level of p < 0.01. In other words, with reducing the identity crisis in students, their responsibility-taking increases. As a result, the main research hypothesis indicating the relationship between responsibility-taking and identity crisis among one-child students of Mashhad secondary schools was confirmed.

Exercise preconditioning exhibits neuroprotective effects on hippocampal CA1 neuronal damage after cerebral ischemia

Recent evidence has suggested the neuroprotective effects of physical exercise on cerebral ischemic injury. However, the role of physical exercise in cerebral ischemia-induced hippocampal damage remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of pre-ischemia treadmill training on hippocampal CA1 neuronal damage after cerebral ischemia. Male adult rats were randomly divided into control, ischemia and exercise ＋ ischemia groups. In the exercise ＋ ischemia group, rats were subjected to running on a treadmill in a designated time schedule（5 days per week for 4 weeks）. Then rats underwent cerebral ischemia induction th rough occlusion of common carotids followed by reperfusion. At 4 days after cerebral ischemia, rat learning and memory abilities were evaluated using passive avoidance memory test and rat hippocampal neuronal damage was detected using Nissl and TUNEL staining. Pre-ischemic exercise significantly reduced the number of TUNEL-positive cells and necrotic cell death in the hippocampal CA1 region as compared to the ischemia group. Moreover, pre-ischemic exercise significantly prevented ischemia-induced memory dysfunction. Pre-ischemic exercise mighct prevent memory deficits after cerebral ischemia through rescuing hippocampal CA1 neurons from ischemia-induced degeneration.