فهرست مطالب neda mohammadpour

Modeling habitat network connections in biodiversity conservation planning is one of the global priorities of landscape ecology and ecological security. Destruction of landscape structure by creating disjointed habitats and disconnection in landscape patches leads to disturbance in ecological functions. This research aimed to model the landscape corridors of South Khorasan Province to link habitats together to increase habitat network connections. This, in spite of avoiding island management of conserved areas, causes sustainable protection of ecological security. First, the habitat quality map of the study area was modeled, and then it was converted into a habitat resistance map. Habitat hotspots were also extracted from the habitat quality map using the Getis-Ord G approach. Finally, Habitat corridors and the most significant connecting regions were modeled using the habitat quality and resistance maps in Circuitscape software based on circuit theory. The findings indicated that several regions are capable of producing flow with intensities ranging from 0 to 114.5 Ampere. These areas include about 4,944,200 ha (33%) of the entire study area, of which 900 ha are hot corridors, which can be thought of as corridors that facilitate species movement and can mitigate the negative effects of habitat fragmentation. Therefore, for efficient protection of habitat network security, it is necessary for planners to pay attention to the important corridors for connecting the habitats. The results of this study in the South Khorasan Province can pave the way for operational measures to be taken to construct and plan the protection of corridors and improve the habitat performance of the landscape.

Habitat fragmentation, interruption of the movement of organisms, and gene flow between them are considered a threat to the supply of habitat services in the landscape. It can lead species populations to extinction. Landscape connection is defined as the ability of landscape structure and composition to facilitate the movement of people and populations among habitat patches, and it is considered an important feature of the landscape. Establishing and maintaining gene flow between habitats and populations of species to prevent the fragmentation of habitats in the medium term and to prevent the extinction of species in the long term is one of the main goals of designing ecological corridors and connections. It is considered and causes preservation and supply of habitat services. Modeling habitat network connections in biodiversity conservation planning is one of the global priorities of landscape ecology and ecological security. Destruction of landscape structure by creating disjointed habitats and disconnection in landscape patches leads to disturbance in ecologic functions. This research aimed to model the landscape corridors of South Khorasan Province to link habitats together to increase habitat network connections. In spite of avoiding island management of conserved areas, this matter causes sustainable protection of ecological security.

The province of South Khorasan is a study area that has seven protected areas, three wildlife refuges, and six no-hunting areas. The province's diverse ecosystems and habitats have resulted in an abundance of species in arid land areas. In the first step, habitat quality was modeled using InVEST software. Then, based on the modeled map of the habitat obtained in the previous step, the habitat resistance map was considered as the inverse of the habitat quality. Then, a habitat resistance map and habitat hotspots were prepared as input in Circuitscape software. Also, habitat hotspots were extracted through spatial data mining using the Getis-Ord Gi method. In the third step, by implementing Circuitscape software, habitat corridors were designed in the South Khorasan province based on the circuit theory.

Modeling the status of habitat quality has a vital impact on biodiversity conservation strategies. Threats affect landscape fragmentation and functions and processes and lead the ecosystem to decrease the supply of habitat services. Therefore, building ecological networks by identifying and facilitating the connections of habitats and planning to improve their performance is considered a solution to deal with this crisis and sustainable conservation of habitats. The research method was applied according to the mentioned framework. For this purpose, the status of threat sources, their location, and distribution were determined by reviewing extensive studies. We identified ten types of threats and modeled the habitat quality. Habitat corridors and the most important communication areas were modeled based on the circuit theory using Circuitscape software. Finally, habitat corridors and the most significant connecting regions were modeled using the habitat quality and resistance maps in Circuitscape software based on circuit theory.  Results indicated that several regions are capable of producing flow with intensities ranging from 0 to 114.5. These areas include about 4,944,200 ha (33%) of the entire study area, of which 900 ha are hot corridors, which can be thought of as corridors that facilitate species movement. Another important result of this research was the identification of important connection areas called pinch points. The ease of movement along important connection areas (subject to their protection) can partially compensate for the negative effects of habitat fragmentation by connecting isolated populations and help to identify and review gaps in conservation planning.

In this research, sustainable conservation of biodiversity was done with a method based on habitat corridor modeling and circuit theory. The importance of conducting this research to identify corridors between habitat patches is because the circuit theory provides the possibility to evaluate the strength and intensity of the connection. The application of results of this research can be used to guide the conservation planning development of the province's ecological network based on the supply of habitat services to ensure the survival of wildlife and biodiversity with great benefit and the least cost. Also, as an effective conservation strategy, it causes integration and maximum supply of this service, which enables territorial managers to achieve ecological security and ultimately sustainable development. The results of this study in the South Khorasan Province can pave the way for operational measures to be taken to construct and plan the protection of corridors and improve the habitat performance of the landscape.

Human activities have increasingly threatened biodiversity and habitat services. With the intensification of fragmented habitats has affected their quality. In this regard, it is necessary to know the spatial pattern of habitat hotspots because it, in turn, causes environmental sustainability. In present research, habitat quality modeled in arid ecosystems of South Khorasan province using InVEST software based on human threats, impact, distance, relative sensitivity to threats, and accessibility of habitat sources. Then spatial data mining of hotspots was analyzed using Gettis-Ord Gi, Moran and natural breaks methods. Also, the accuracy assessment of habitat hotspots extraction, through the ROC index, indicated accuracy more than 80% in the mentioned data mining methods, but the Gettis-Ord Gi index had the highest accuracy (94.5%). The results of the spatial statistics of habitat hotspots overlapping with the protected areas of the province showed that Kamarsorkh Protected area contains the most (91.33%) and the Estand No-hunt area has the least (0.54%) habitat hotspots. Also, some areas of habitat hotspots were identified in free lands (9.34%). Therefore, the current protected areas do not cover a significant percentage of the hotspots in the free lands, so in sustainable conservation planning, the proposed methodology in research can apply to change and revise the borders of the protected areas.

 

To deal with the more and sudden prevalence of covid-19, dentists should be aware of recent developments, especially the guidelines for the prevention of covid-19. This study aimed to assess of compliance with guidelines about the prevention of covid-19 in the dental setting in Ardabil city in 2022.

This cross-sectional (descriptive-analytical) study was conducted in the period from May to August 2022. In this study, 254 general and specialist dentists were examined using full-census sampling. The tool for collecting information was a researcher-made questionnaire that was valid and reliable based on the country's guidelines, which included 6 demographic and 41 questions related to compliance with the instructions related to the prevention of covid-19. After collecting the data, they were classified and analyzed using the chi-square and Fisher's exact test. SPSS software version 26 was used for data analysis. The acceptable error level was considered 0.05.

The survey results showed that the rate of compliance with guidelines about the prevention of covid-19 in the index of patient management before treatment was estimated at 45%, in the index of required equipment and personal protection requirements were 72.42%, and in the index of required therapeutic action during the pandemic was 42.81%. There was a significant difference in compliance with the guidelines related to the prevention of covid-19 based on education and work history (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in compliance with the guidelines related to the prevention of covid-19 based on gender, age, marital status, and history of corona infection.

The level of compliance with the guidelines related to the prevention of covid-19 in the dental centers of Ardabil city was at an average level and was influenced by factors such as the dentist's education and work history.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction is a condition which affects the TMJ and muscles of mastication in the stomatognathic system and the associated structures. Several studies have indicated that approximately 60-70% of people suffer from at least one of the symptoms of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) in their life while only 5% need treatment. Some of evidence have suggested that myofascial pain, functional somatic syndromes are critical conditions of muscle pain which may be resulted from the psychosocial factors. The purpose of this epidemiological study was to evaluate the prevalence of relationship between TMDs, and psychological distress among university students at Babol University of Medical Sciences and Babol University of Technology, Iran. This study conducted due to diversity in prevalence reports and to follow the standardized diagnostic method of research in this field. In this cross-sectional descriptive-analytical (wrong term) research, 592 students at different universities in Babol were selected using stratified sampling method. Information about the signs and symptoms of TMD was collected by dental students and through completing the research diagnostic criteria (RDC) for TMD questionnaire. The data were analyzed using χ2, t-test, and Student’s test. Between the subjects (28.9%) had at least one type of TMD and the difference between two sex groups was statistically significant. About 5.7% of subjects had moderate to severe symptoms of depression and the difference between two sex groups was statistically significant. In this study, the relationship between depression symptoms and non-specific physical symptoms (NPS) (either with or without pain) with TMD was not statistically significant. In this study, no significant relationship was observed between depression symptoms, as well as NPS (with or without pain) and TMD (P = 0.682).