Journal of Environmental Health and Sustainable Development
Volume:8 Issue: 2, Jun 2023

The aim of this study is the isolation and primary identification of isolated bioaerosols sampled from different locations, as well as determining their antibiotic resistance profile for the selected bacteria.

The air samples were collected from 35 stations in 17 buildings (bank, public, healthcare and industrial). An air-sampling pump (Flite3-SKC) with a flow rate of 14.1 l/min was used for five minutes at the respiratory height. The total bacterial count and primary identification were carried out, then the antibiotic susceptibility tests for ten selected antibiotics were conducted by the disk diffusion method. 

The bacterial population varied at a range of 128-5503 CFU/m3, and the fruit and vegetable bazaar of Zanjan showed the highest population of bioaerosols. The bioaerosols population among industrial samples was high. Most isolates were determined as gram-positive Cocci (> 70%) and Bacillus spp, respectively. The most antibiotic-resistant bacteria were related to manufacturing activities, showing resistance to Chloramphenicol and Trimethoprim/ Sulfamethoxazole (72%).

The type of activity affects the bacterial population and antibiotic resistance in industrial uses. The increase of multi-drug resistant bacteria, especially in medical settings, is known as a community health challenge and needs more attention.

Although many studies have been conducted on allergic diseases, their risk factors including allergic rhinitis have not yet been fully understood. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between house type, floor, and frequency of truck traffic on the street of residences with allergic rhinitis in adolescents in Yazd.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 5141 adolescents aged 13-14 years, from February 2020 to June 2020, using the large-scale Global Asthma Network (GAN) survey data in Yazd. The data were collected electronically using the GAN standard questionnaire, and analyzed in SPSS software version 23 using descriptive and analytical statistics (Chi-square and logistic regression). The value of P < 0.05 was considered significant.

In this study, 11.2% of boys and 13.3% of girls had allergic rhinitis, indicating a significant difference by gender (P = 0.025). The prevalence of allergic rhinitis did not differ significantly according to the type of house (apartment or detached house with a yard) and the floor (P > 0.05). However, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis showed a significant correlation with the frequency of truck traffic on the street of residence (P = 0.001). If the truck passed through the street near the house almost all day, the chance of developing allergic rhinitis would be 2.4 times higher.

The risk of allergic rhinitis increases with the frequent truck traffic from the street near the house, but the type of house and floor do not have a significant effect.

Solid waste is a global problem, especially plastic waste, which can spread and pollute various elements of the environment such as soil, river, forests, etc. The weakness of the existing plastic waste management model requires holistic management, especially in a community in the basin of Thailand. This study aims to conduct a model of plastic waste management in communities in Thachin basin.

Data were collected from 368 households using cluster random sampling in 4 provinces of Thailand (Chainat, Suphan Buri, Nakhon Pathom, and Samut Sakhon). Multiple logistic regressions were conducted for plastic waste situation managing in the community model.

The plastic waste situation was 6-10 pieces per household including a plastic bag, a plastic bag for food, a plastic bottle, and foam. The households had a high level of awareness of plastic waste management with middle-level of plastic waste behavior. The factors associated with plastic waste management in the community were sex (Adjusted Odds Ratio (Adj.OR) = 3.07; 95 % Confidential Interval (CI): 1.64 – 5.74), income between 5,001 – 10,000 baht (Adj.OR = 5.13; 95 % CI: 2.49 – 10.58), a member or volunteer in a community committee (Adj.OR = 0.56; 95 % CI: 0.29 – 1.09) and an awareness for plastic waste management (Adj.OR = 5.06; 95 % CI: 2.33 – 11.03).

Participation of stakeholders could improve plastic waste management in the community.  Moreover, stakeholders should be strategically more involved in development management and actively participate more than centralized management.

Maintaining hospital air quality is very important, especially in intensive care units (ICUs), where patients undergo invasive procedures. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of determining the relationship between particulate matters (PMs) and bioaerosols in pediatric ICU (PICU), neonatal ICU (NICU), and ICU open heart (ICU OH) of Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan.

This cross-sectional study was conducted for six consecutive months, i.e., autumn and winter of 2021. PM samples were taken using a Grimm Dust Monitor and microbial samples were taken using a Quick Take 30 sampler. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used for analysis and then ANOVA and LSD were used for further tests.

The maximum and minimum PM10 concentrations in the PICU and ICU OH were 59.19 and 9.71 μg/m3, respectively; and the maximum and minimum PM2.5 concentrations were 20.23 μg/m3 in the NICU and 4.69 μg/m3 in PICU. The mean PM concentration and the number of bacterial and fungal colonies were consistent with the WHO and EPA guidelines. Gram-positive Staphylococcus were the most abundant bacteria (90.96%). The most abundant fungi were Aspergillus (54.23%), Penicillium (15.64%), and Cladosperium (12.17%) species. There was also no significant relationship between PMs and bioaerosols.

The mean concentrations of PMs and bioaerosols match with the guidelines, which can be attributed to more observance of health protocols and restrictions on the movement of people into ICUs due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Heavy metals (HMs) are one of the most important and dangerous pollutants in water resources. This study aimed to determine the HMs concentrations in city water purifier devices or stations in Rafsanjan, Iran in 2022.

This study was conducted descriptively and on a laboratory scale on the input and output of 16 city water purifier devices stations in Rafsanjan in the summer of 2022. Heavy metals and other metals including arsenic (As), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), and potassium (K) were tested by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrophotometry (ICP-MS). Also, t-test statistical analysis was used by SPSS software.

The mean concentrations of HMs in the output of city water purifier devices for As, Pb, Cr, Cu, and Zn were ≤ 1, 2.84 ± 0.71, 8.48 ± 1.51, 2.51 ± 1.55, and 18.58 ± 9.24 µg/L, respectively. The difference between the output of water purifier devices and standard values ​​for As, Cr, and Cu was significant (p ≤ 0.001). Other metals concentrations in the output of water purifier devices for Fe, Mg, Ca, Na, and K were 0.03 ± 0.008, 6.72 ± 0.92, 8.38 ± 1.71, 64.11 ± 2.56, and 2.34 ± 0.08 µg/L, respectively. The HMs removal efficiency of city water purifier devices for As, Cu, and Pb were ≥ 99%, 83.33%, and 56.33%, respectively.

The HMs removal efficiency of city water purifier devices stations in Rafsanjan City was appropriate due to the use of filters containing alumina and iron hydroxide media.

Nurses' job stress during coronavirus disease is very high, which weakens the immune system. Furthermore, job stress plays an important role in the symptoms and clinical severity of this disease. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of job stress on the severity of coronavirus disease symptoms in hospital nurses in Iran.

This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 400 nurses with a history of coronavirus disease in hospitals in Tehran, Iran, in 2021. Demographic and occupational information and clinical status of the subjects were collected from medical records and self-reports. The level of job stress in the subjects was determined using Osipow questionnaire with Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.83. Finally, the data were analyzed using ANOVA and the Pearson test in SPSS 19 software.

The results of this study showed that the mean level of job stress increases with age, body mass index (BMI), and working hours (P < 0.05). Also, the mean level of job stress was higher in contractual and smoking nurses (P < 0.05). In this study, 20% of the subjects had severe job stress. Job stress decreased blood oxygen and increased the duration of shortness of breath and cough, gastrointestinal disorders, weakness and lethargy, and headache and dizziness in the subjects (P < 0.05).

Job stress in nurses experiencing coronavirus disease increases the severity and complete recovery time of coronavirus disease. It also increases the duration of the disease symptoms such as shortness of breath and cough, gastrointestinal disorders, weakness, headache, and vertigo.

This study developed a strategic management plan for hospital waste in selected public hospitals using quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) model.

This research was conducted in three stages. First, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) matrix of waste management was extracted and scored in public hospitals in Yazd. Then, the matrix of internal and external factors along with the obtained strategies were developed using the SWOT model. Finally, using the QSPM model, the attractiveness table was prepared for weighting the prioritized strategies.

The final score of SWOT analysis showed that the studied hospitals were in a competitive position (WT strategy). According to the results, 14 prioritized strategies were proposed. According to the QSPM matrix, the strategy of "green management indicators improvement" was prioritized.

The competitive position of the studied hospitals indicates a situation where hospitals should promote their strengths and reduce their weaknesses in order to take advantage of opportunities.