Archives of Hygiene Sciences
Volume:11 Issue: 2, Spring 2022

of the Study: This study aimed to investigate the fit of the model of the effect of personality traits, enjoyment, and sports commitment on sports motivation mediated by competitive anxiety of wrestlers in Mazandaran Province.

We selected 405 wrestlers (312 males and 93 females) ranging in age from 16-48 years using the available method and based on the five-factor list of Neo-personality Inventory, Sports Motivation Scale Sports Commitment Questionnaire, Sports Enjoyment, and Competitive Anxiety Questionnaire.

The results showed that the model of the effect of personality traits, enjoyment, and sports commitment on sports motivation mediated by the sport commitment of wrestlers in Mazandaran province has a favorable fit. The results also showed that personality traits and sports enjoyment and commitment could explain competitive anxiety and sports motivation. Among the personality traits, neuroticism (0.337), extraversion (0.738), and conscientiousness (0.529) had a direct effect on wrestlers’ sports motivation. Also, sports enjoyment (2.391) and sports commitment (0.582) directly affected wrestlers’ sports motivation. The traits of openness had no significant direct effect on athletic motivation. The psychotic traits of neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness, sporting enjoyment, and sports commitment mediated by competitive anxiety did not significantly affect wrestlers’ sporting motivation.

In general, it can be said that the characteristics of neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness, sports enjoyment, and sports commitment increase sports motivation in wrestlers.

Resilience means the ability of a system to predict, tolerate, and adapt to various disturbances and recover quickly to its original state. This study aims to weigh and prioritize the indicators affecting the resilience in a combined cycle power plant using the combined method of FAHP-TOPSIS.

This is a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study conducted at the beginning of 2021 in the Kashan Combined Cycle Power Plant. In the first step, a literature review and semi-structured interviews with 25 experts were conducted to identify the indicators affecting resilience. A total of 20 affecting indicators were identified and divided into three groups: situational awareness, vulnerability, and adaptability. In the next step, we used the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to determine the indicators’ weights of each group. In the end, we used the TOPSIS method to perform the final prioritization of the indicators.

The final results of prioritizing the indicators that affect resilience based on the outcomes of the TOPSIS method showed that the three indicators of structural stability (final weight=1), senior management awareness of the roles and responsibilities (final weight=0.075), and understanding and risk acceptance (final weight=0.067) play the most important roles, while logistics support index (final weight=0.029) is the least important indicator in determining the level of resilience.

By recognizing and prioritizing the indicators affecting the level of resilience, corrective and preventive measures can be defined and implemented to improve safety and increase the resilience in combined cycle power plants based on the importance of each indicator. Also, the method introduced in this paper can be used as a scientific technique to identify and prioritize resilience indicators in other process industries such as oil and gas and petrochemical industries.

Air pollution is currently one of the most important industry challenges for countries. Much progress has been made in modeling air pollution, one of which is the AERMOD model, which is based on the Gaussian model. This study investigates the temporal changes of NO2 , SO2 , and CO pollutants emitted from the stack of turbines and gas furnaces of Maroon oil and gas facilities in Omidieh City, Iran.

First, the concentration of pollutants was measured using a Testo x-350 analyzer with an average accuracy of ±3 ppm for all three pollutants in cold and hot seasons from 2018 to 2019. Each pollutant was measured 3 times for 15 minutes at 24-hour intervals. Then, the emission rate of each pollutant from the stack was obtained by calculations. The modeling was performed in 2500 Km2 by entering the emission rate data, technical specifications of the turbines and furnaces, and topographic and meteorological data into the AERMOD program. For validation, the concentrations of all three pollutants were measured by an aeroqual-200 analyzer with an accuracy of 0-25 ppm for CO, 0-1 ppm for NO2 , and 0-10 ppm for SO2 in 10 stations. Each pollutant was measured 3 times for 20 minutes at 24-hour intervals. The modeled results were then compared with the Iranian and US-EPA environmental standards and measurements.

The hourly concentrations for CO pollutants in hot and cold seasons were 102 μg/m3 and 156 μg/m3 , respectively, and less than the standard (40000 μg m3 ), SO2 1.18 μg/m3 and 1.78 μg/m3 and less than the standard (196 μg/m3 ), NO2 16 μg/m3 and 27 μg/m3 and less than the standard (200 μg/m3 ). The measured results were higher than the modeled ones.

  The results of the concentration of SO2 and NO2 pollutant gases showed a close agreement with the modeled results. The concentration of the produced pollutants was higher in the cold season than in the warm season due to reasons such as the increase in the volume of heavier compounds and moisture in the gases, as well as the decrease in the wind. AERMOD model had a good estimate in places where there was no background concentration of pollutan

Anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) is one of the low-cost wastewater treatment systems; however, it has some limitations, such as insufficient standard nutrient outflow. Accordingly, it should be studied and developed. This research aims to determine the efficiency of a five-sectional reactor pilot and to upgrade it with an integrated aerated media filter in the reactor (integrated reactor) for municipal wastewater treatment.

This study was performed on a laboratory scale with field conditions in the Khoy City wastewater treatment plant. The ABR reactor operated for 270 days with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 48, 36, 24, and 18 hours, respectively. The Integrated anaerobic baffled reactor (IABR) was operated for 35 days with 24 hours of HRT, i.e., aeration time of 5 hours. The reactors were fed in line from the inflowing wastewater to the treatment plant. A 24-hour combined sampling was performed 224 times from the inflow and outflow of the system, and volatile suspended solids, total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total phosphorus (TP), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) parameters were measured and compared with the effluent disposal standard.

The launch of ABR lasted 105 days, and its helpful operation lasted 200 days. In 18 to 48 hours, the reactor removed 79% to 91% of COD, 9% to 20% of TKN, 19% to 30% of phosphorus, and 89% to 94% of TSS. The IABR reached the effluent disposal standard in terms of TSS, BOD, COD, and phosphorus under 24 hours HRT, i.e., aeration time of 5 hours, and increased the COD removal efficiency by 6% compared to ABR under 24 hours HRT and the same conditions.

By integrating the final aerobic media filter in ABR while reducing the required HRT by 50%, its efficiency in achieving the effluent disposal standards increased compared to ABR. Therefore, this system can be used to treat municipal wastewater.

Urban development trends and land-use changes harm the quality of urban runoff. Heavy metals are one of the most important pollutants in urban runoff. This study aimed to investigate the amount of heavy metal pollutants (Zn, Pb, Cu, As, Hg, and Cd) in different land uses in a densely populated urban area of Tehran.

Six stations were selected for urban runoff sampling in five land uses. Land uses were residential, commercial, industrial, traffic, and outdoor. A station (sixth station) with mixed land use was selected, which included the runoff of all uses. The event mean concentration (EMC) model was used to estimate this study’s heavy metal pollution load.

The amount of all heavy metals except Arsenic in fields with industrial use was higher than other land uses (Cu=0.292 mg/l), (Pb=0.6166 mg/l), (Zn=1.36 mg/l), (Cd=0.0114 mg/l), and (Hg=0.1332 mg/l). While the amount of Arsenic metal in the station with outdoor land use (AS=0.111 mg/l) was the highest.

The results of this study indicate that the risk of metals on long dry days without precipitation is very high. Uncertainties related to the accumulation of pollution and various human activities can be attributed to the high amount of heavy metals in the mixed land use compared to land use alone

Nowadays, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation seems to have a vital role in all aspects of human life. However, radiations such as infrared radiation (IR) adversely affect the human visual system. This study aimed to evaluate IR exposure and occupational cataracts in the selected traditional and automatic bakeries in Qom Province, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in traditional and modern bakeries with 306 workers. Demographic data were collected using a demographic questionnaire. IR measurement was done using the Hagner EC1-IR digital radiometer at the eye height and in the first and last hours of the workday. The obtained data were analyzed with statistical tests of the Chi-square, Fisher exact, 1-way ANOVA, and independent t test in SPSS software v. 20.

According to the obtained results, 16.1% of the workstations had a high level of exposure to IR, and 20.3% of workers were suffering from cataracts. The results showed a significant correlation between the exposure level and jobs as well as tasks and working hours (P<0.05). Also, a significant correlation was observed between the risk of cataracts and the exposure level, workstation type, age, and experience (P<0.05). However, no significant difference was observed between the type of bakeries and the risk of cataracts (P=0.59).

Based on our findings, nearly one-sixth of the surveyed stations were higher than the standard limit in terms of IR measurement, and nearly one-fifth of workers were suffering from cataracts. The results indicated that due to the long-term exposure of bakery workers to IR, it is necessary to plan and implement effective control measures in bakeries.

Street foods are ready-to-eat foods and drinks prepared and sold by vendors on the streets and other public places for immediate consumption or consumption at other times without any processing steps and are welcomed by a wide range of people for reasons such as the economy and easier access. This study aimed to investigate the status of heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), and manganese (Mn) in the most common street foods in Qom City, Iran, (Falafel, shoulders and wings) according to the particular cultural, social, pilgrimage, and tourism conditions of the city.

After preparing and collecting 18 samples of Falafel and 18 samples of shoulders and wings in the summer via quota stratified sampling method from supply and distribution centers in the city, the samples were transferred to the instrumental analysis laboratory of the faculty of health. After crushing, grinding, and weighing 2g of the samples, dry ashing was performed while maintaining the temperature program. White ash was dissolved in 5% nitric acid, and finally, the concentrations of Pb, Cd, As, Al, and Mn in the samples were measured by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS).

According to this study, Mn, Al, and Pb metals had the highest concentrations in falafel, shoulder, and wing samples. Mean concentrations of Al, As, Cd, Pb and As in falafel samples were 10.07±9.82, 0.0005±0.0002, 0.0007±0.0003, 2.65±1.33, 24.50±11.91 µg/g, respectively, and in the shoulder & wing samples 11.12±7.70, 0.0009±0.0006, 0.050±0.018, 1.62±1.24, 18.50±14.64 µg/g, respectively. Also, the concentrations of Al, Pb, and Mn were higher than the standard level in all samples. The results showed that the mean concentration of As and Cd in Falafel, shoulder, and wing samples were less than the standard level.

According to the results of this study, the concentration of aluminum, lead, and manganese in all samples is higher than the standard level; it seems that if the necessary hygienic measures are not taken during the various stages of production and supply of these foods, it will seriously threaten the health of consumers. The usefulness and enjoyment of street food are essential factors in encouraging consumers to purchase this type of food, so with the widespread acceptance of this type of food by society, essential strategies should be adopted by health authorities to create a proper food culture in society by emphasizing the correct understanding of food safety hazards and the quality of food consumed.

Gas condensate flares are a crucial factor in greenhouse gas emissions. The present study aimed to investigate the global warming potential resulting from gas condensate flares in the Ahvaz oil field, Ahvaz City, Iran, and its impact on climate indices from 2008 to 2018.

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The information on gas flares and climate data has been obtained from the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) and meteorological stations in Khuzestan Province, Iran. The emission factor of greenhouse gases due to the burning of these flares was calculated after obtaining climatic information on gas flares in the study area. The climate indices of Ivanov, Emberger, and Barat were calculated for 11 years. Finally, the relationship between climate indices and Global Warming Potential (GWP) was determined using multiple regression.

The results showed that during the research period, an average of 626831.2.2 tons of carbon dioxide (equivalent) was produced due to gas flares in one month in the Ahvaz oil field. Carbon dioxide was responsible for 90% of the global warming effect of the flares. Based on the results of calculating climate indices, Ahvaz City in the studied years was classified in the category of “semi-arid” in Barat index, “dry desert” in Ivanov index, and “semi-arid desert” and “severe desert” in Emberger index.

The results of correlation analysis between GWP and climate indices show a significant negative correlation between the values of the Emberger index and the global warming potential caused by gas flares, indicating the impact of greenhouse gases on climate change in Ahvaz. These changes have intensified phenomena such as dust and severe floods.