Journal of Human Environment and Health Promotion
Volume:4 Issue: 4, Winter 2018

Vegetables are the main source of nutrients for the human being but the intake of contaminated vegetables causes several diseases. Therefore, the aims of this study were to examine heavy metals concentration in leafy, fruit and root vegetables and their growing soil in Mongla, Bangladesh; and to estimate the health risks (non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic) caused by heavy metal exposure through ingestion of vegetable using hazard quotient (THQ) and target cancer risk (TCR). United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) deterministic approaches were used to assess the potential health risks to the human. The average concentration of Fe, Cd, and Pb was 489.47, 0.48 and 8.15 mg/kg respectively, which was above the permissible limit recommended by WHO/FAO. Furthermore, THQ values for these metals and combined impacts of all metals (HI) were greater than the acceptable limit (1.0) which indicated a potential non-carcinogenic health risk. TCR values of Cd and Pb were greater than USEPA risk limit (>10 -6); which exerts moderate to high carcinogenic risk to the human. The total health risk index showed that the consumption of vegetables from this study area poses a health risk and therefore regular monitoring of heavy metals is strongly recommended.

Nowadays, the development of new materials is emergent that can be used in the adsorption process to remove dyes from the aquatic environment. Therefore, in this study, the performance of raw Kaolin as a low cost adsorbent was evaluated in removing Direct Blue 71 (DB71) dye from aqueous solutions. For investigating the adsorption, various parameters were optimized and data were adjusted to four isotherm models: Freundlich, Dubinin–Radushkevich, Langmuir and Temkin, in order to determine the one presenting the best adjustment to the experimental data. Moreover, the kinetics study for adsorption was evaluated using diffusion, pseudo-first-order kinetic and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The results revealed that at the DB71 concentration of 10 mg/L, adsorbent dose of 2.5 g/L, and contact time of 75 min, the DB71 removal reached 98.5%. Adsorption data fitted best into the Langmuir and D-R adsorption isotherms. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was 36.41 mg/g. The pseudo second order kinetics best described the kinetics of the adsorption system. It was revealed that Kaolin could be applied for DB71 dye removal from solution samples with the adsorption capacity of 36.41 mg/g and thus could be used as a low-cost and effective adsorbent.

Helicobacter pylori play a significant etiological role in various digestive diseases. Peptic ulcer is caused by H. pylori, which destroys the duodenum mucus and is often observed in the individuals consuming tobacco, spicy and heavy meals, alcohol, coffee, and tranquilizers. Several studies have indicated that duodenal ulcer promoting genes dupA and cagA are involved in H. pylori etiology. The present study aimed to evaluate the correlation between these genes and peptic ulcer.  In this study, 500 stomach biopsy samples were assessed based on the rapid urease test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for H. pylori infection, followed by histological and microscopic examinations. The dupA and cagA genes were subjected to PCR. Although dupA showed no significant correlation with peptic ulcer, the cagA genotype had a significant association with peptic ulcer (P < 0.05). Similar to the dupA gene, blood group was not observed to be correlated with H. pylori infection. According to the results, there are significant correlations between tobacco use (P < 0.05), tranquilizer use (P < 0.05), and meteorism (P < 0.05) with peptic ulcer. In addition, the expression of the cagA and dupA genes was investigated in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia and peptic ulcer.

Gypsum industry is one of industries which is known as an environment pollutant. In this study distribution and prediction of emitted PM10 from Gypsum factory is studied by modeling. The main goal of this study is to create a regression equation to demonstrate the Zarch factory PM10 dispersion by the AERMOD model. In this study distribution and concentration of emitted particulate matter (PM10) is estimated by AERMOD model. The regression equation of emission is resulted by AERMOD estimation and excel software, finally the results of AERMOD model and regression equation was compared to each other. In this study the regression equation is c = 14.6 x (-1.045) and by this regression equation the particulate matter’s concentration could be estimated around the factory. Comparison of regression equation and AERMOD model represented that 69% of total results are similar in models. The results of this study represented that by AERMOD outputs, a regression equation could be created which is able to estimate particulate matter’s concentration around the emission sources according to sources properties, meteorological parameters, site topography and etc.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) have been documented in various occupational groups in Iran. However, there is a gap in the studies regarding the prevalence of WMSDs, occupational stress, and general health in workers. The present study aimed to investigate the correlations between WMSDs, occupational stress, and general health. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 455 workers selected from various industries in 10 cities in Iran. Data were collected using self-reported measures to evaluate the body map, HSE management standards indicator tool, and general health questionnaire (GHQ). In total, 455 questionnaires were completed and analyzed. The mean differences were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The results of Spearman's correlation-coefficient indicated a significant, positive correlation between WMSDs and occupational stress. In addition, negative correlations were observed between general health, WMSDs, and occupational stress. Some of the recommendations based on the findings are modifying the workplaces of individuals who perform long-term, static tasks, periodic identification of the individuals with musculoskeletal problems and taking measures to correct their posture, designing proper physical exercises for the individuals with hard work postures, and cognitive-behavioral education to raise awareness regarding the complications of mental health problems.

Catechol is considered as apriority pollutant, since it is harmful to organisms even at low concentrations, and has been classified as hazardous pollutants. The aim of this study was to investigate catechol adsorption by graphene oxide of aqueous solution. This study was an experimental-laboratory research. The batch adsorption system was utilized to evaluate the Catechol removal efficiency under different amount of effective parameters including contact time, adsorbent dosages and Catechol concentration. The experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin isotherm models. R2 value of Langmuir isotherm model is higher than other models and maximum monolayer coverage (qmax) was calculated to be 79.08 mg/g and the separation factor indicating a favorable sorption experiment is 0.242. Also from Freundlich isotherm model, the intensities of adsorption (n) that indicated favorable sorption is 3.324. The maximum removal efficacy (94.7%) was at concentration 100 mg/L, pH 7, adsorbent dosage 1200 mg/L and contact time 75 min. According to the results, the adsorption process using graphene oxide was effective in the removal of catechol. Therefore, the use of this cost-effective agent is recommended as a proper alternative for the removal of catechol from aqueous solutions.

The internet is a new achievement, which could be beneficial or harmful to the general health of the users. The present study aimed to investigate the association of internet addiction and the general health and influential socioeconomic factors in the internship students at Zanjan, Iran in 2018. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 137 internship students, who were selected via census sampling. Data were collected using Young's internet addiction and general health questionnaire. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 23 at the significance level of P < 0.05. Among the students, 87 cases (63.5%) were regular internet users, and 50 cases (36.5%) were at the risk of internet addiction. A significant association was observed between internet addiction and general health (r = 0.43; P = 0.001). Internet addiction was lower in married participants than the single students (P = 0.001). However, no significant correlations were observed between age, gender, and education level, occupation status of the parents, parental income, and nativity with the risk of internet addiction. According to the results, internet use was correlated with general health and marital status. Moreover, less than half of the medical internship students were at the risk of internet addiction.

Given the importance of road accidents as a major cause of mortality and disability, the present study aimed to assess the driving behaviors and their influential factors in the taxi drivers in Isfahan city, Iran in 2017. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 taxi drivers, who were randomly selected from various urban taxi lines. Data were collected using Manchester driver behavior questionnaire. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 20 using t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The mean scores of intentional violations, driving slips, driving mistakes, and unintentional violations were 10.26 ± 30.10, 8.39 ± 33.99, 3.71 ± 12.28, and 1.87 ± 5.14, respectively. Intentional violations and driving slips were associated with the highest driving risks. The most unsafe driving behavior was overtaking from a slow-driving driver, and unsafe driving was mainly observed in the youth, educated drivers, and those driving for long hours daily. According to the results, the taxi drivers in Isfahan city had high-risk driving behaviors in terms of intentional violations and driving slips. Therefore, it is recommended that related workshops be held to promote healthy driving in taxi drivers.