Archives of Hygiene Sciences
Volume:4 Issue: 1, Winter 2015

Background & Aims of the Study: High concentration of nitrogen compounds in water and wastewater can be caused various problems and diseases such as methhemoglobinemia and eutrophication. The aim of this study was investigated nitrification and denitrification from wastewater using integrated fixed film activated sludge (IFAS) includes powder activated carbon. Materias and The laboratory scale experiments were conducted in a continuous mode. Two bioreactors containing IFAS and IFAS include powder activated carbon were utilized for evaluating of ammonium removal. Ammonia, nitrate, mass liquor suspended solid (MLSS), Suspended solid (SS) and pH were analyzed. 2.5 g/L MLSS were inoculated in the startup time. The IFAS system was operated in HRTs 8, 12 and 16 h. The obtained results shows that utilization of powder activated carbon in the media can be cause rapid sludge production and high efficient ammonium removal process. Nevertheless, it has not effect on the carbon removal in the process. According to the obtained results, utilization of powder activated carbon in the integrated fixed film activated sludge can be promoted the efficiency of ammonium efficiency.

Background &Aims of the Study: Nowadays heat stress is one of the most current harmful physical agents in workplaces. Attentions to recognized consequences of heat stress and have no information about heat stress in Ardabil bakeries, this study have been done in 2013.This cross sectional research has been done in 96 different bread types bakeries in Ardabil. Among 301 bakeries in Ardabil city, 96 of them have been selected by stratified random sampling method. These 96 bakeries include 32 Barbaric bakeries, 45 Lavash, 15 Sangak and 4 special bakeries. To determine heat stress, WBGT index and WBGT meter made of Casella Company have been used. Mean of total WBGT index in oven workstation and kneader workstation showed this index in traditional Barbaric, Lavash, Sangak, respectively was more than special bakeries. Special bakeries have least heat stress among other bakeries. This study showed 80.2% of workers in oven workstation and kneader workstation had heat stress. According to results of this study can state indoor WBGT index in special bakeries with least level of heat stress is better than other bakeries and traditional Barbaric identified as most unsuitable place. Workers in traditional bakeries exposed to heat stress

Background and Aim of the study: The landfill leachate is contains various contaminates that can effect on quality of surface water and wells. In this study influence of the leachate from Albourz landfill in Qom (Qom, Iran) was investigated on quality of groundwater. In this experimental study, Samples were collected from wells around the landfill site. Various physical, chemical and biological parameters were detected. All tests were performed according to the Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. Findings were compared with Iran national drinking water standard. Findings show that the highest level of pH 7.76 mg/l, nitrate34.12 mg/l, phosphate 8.84 mg/l, total hardness 2095 mg/l, electrical conductivity 14850 s/cm, total dissolved solids 5841 mg/l, Ca+2 2.5 mg/l, Mg+2 30.11 mg/l, Na+ 112 mg/l, K+ 28.8 mg/l,, and biological oxygen demand 4.5 mg/l. The results of microbiological tests were reported negative. Results obtained in this study confirm that the quality of the groundwater resource underlying Albourz landfill hasn’t been significantly impacted. The results of experiment of the following specific parameters, TH and TDS are above the highest permissible levels allowed by Iran national Standards for Drinking Water.

Background & Aims of the Study: Gasoil is one of most-used oil products applied as diesel fuel, for instance, which, since it consists of aromatic compounds, is among the most important environmental pollutants. Considering its harmful effects on living organisms and human beings, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of gasoil ingestion on blood factors of white Albino NMRI mice. 40 adult mice, with an average weight of 28 grams, were placed in four groups. Adult male mice were placed in two groups, including a control group and a treatment group and adult female mice were divided into two groups of control and treatment. For 14 days, the treatment groups were fed once per day with 0.2cc of pure gasoil solution with a ratio of 6.6 mg/kg of the mice’s weight. After anesthesia and blood sample collection, blood parameters, including the number of white and red blood cells, hematocrit and hemoglobin were respectively measured using Neubauer slide, capillary tube, and Sally method. Then, the analyses performed using SPSS19 software. Variations observed in the blood parameters of male and female mice placed in the treatment groups compared with the control group indicated a significant increase in hematocrit (8%, 10%), a significant decrease in hemoglobin (6%, 10%), and no significant increase in the average number of RBCs (6%, 6%). The level of blood leukocytes consisting of lymphocytes and neutrophils indicated a decrease, while the level of blood. leukocytes consisting of degenerated lymphocytes indicated a significant increase (P<0.05). Due to the increased use of gasoil and generalization of the results of the present research to human beings in terms of leukocyte reduction and weakening of the immune system, hemoglobin reduction and tissue oxygenation disorder, in addition to environmental damages, this substance imposes irrecoverable damages on human health. Hence, necessary measures should be taken by authorities for replacing, reducing its effects and raising public awareness of the methods of dealing with its effects.

Background & Aims of the Study: Professional burnout is a kind of function disorder which can be developed due to long exposure to job and mental stress. This can affects on the physical and mental health of people as well as their performance. So, this study with purpose of evaluating the rate of professional burning out and its relevance with mental health situation of Kashan University of Medical Sciences staff was performed. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 staffs of hospitals and health centers in Kashan university of Medical Sciences using share sampling in 2014. Three types of questionnaires were used in this research: Staff demographic characteristics questionnaire, Maslesh Burnout questionnaire (MBI) and Goldberg general Health Questionnaire. In Maslesh Questionnaire, the mental health frequency of studied units was evaluated using Likert scale. Data analyzed using SPSS software. T-test, Tukey, ANOVA, Chi-Square and Pearson correlation coefficient. Most of subjects were in mild to moderate levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization while they were in mild level in personal accomplishment and professional engagement. The prevalence of symptomatic samples in the GHQ-28 was 32.8. There was a significant statistical relationship between burnout and mental health in terms of sex, depersonalization and emotional exhaustion. The emotional exhaustion was high in women staffs. However, depersonalization in men was higher. There was a significant relationship between professional burnout and mental health (P<0.001), while it was not found a significant relationship between decreasing personal accomplishment and professional burnout. The high prevalence of burnout in the dimension of self accomplishment, combined with the strong correlation between mental health and burnout, it is essential to respect the authorities in preventing this problem Our results show that there is a strong correlation between mental health and burnout. The high prevalence of symptomatic samples and high prevalence of burnout in the dimension of self accomplishment, combined with the strong correlation between mental health and burnout all show that care should be taken to improve the stressful conditions that Employee face.

Background & Aims of the Study: Torqabeh and Shandiz are the two most well-known areas among the varied summer areas of Mashhad. The climate of these areas is appropriate for the development of agriculture and gardening and attracting tourists. Hence, maintaining the safety of drinking water is necessary in these areas. This study was carried out to investigate the diazinon concentration in drinking water resources (groundwater) in the summer areas of Mashhad city. Sixty water samples, with the volume of 250 ml, were gathered from 10 wells and springs in the villages of Shandiz and Torqabeh in two seasons. The liquid-liquid extraction was performed using dichloromethane solvent and the concentrations were measured using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) system (KNAUER model) which was equipped with UV detector. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (Version 16). A probability level of P<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. The data were compared to the standards of WHO and EPA. A linear relationship between concentration and peak area was obtained within the range of 0.05 to 2 ppb with R2 (Correlation coefficient) values greater than 0.99. Recoveries for spiked water samples with six diazinon standards in 0.05 to 2 ranged from 79.63 to 110.90% (with an average of 92.80±12.12). The results indicated that diazinon wasn’t detectable in the springs of the studied areas while the wells of Torqabeh (with an average concentration of 0.82 µg/l) were contaminated more than the wells of Shandiz (with an average concentration of 0.48 µg/l), measured by HPLC. The maximum and minimum of contamination were observed in the villages of Veyrani1 and Nochah, respectively, measured by HPLC. The concentration of diazinon in Shandiz and Torqabeh areas was higher than standard limits of WHO (0.1 µg/l) and EPA (9×10-6 mg/l). Also, the average concentration of diazinon in Torqabeh (0.61 µg/l) was higher than that in Shandiz (0.48 µg/l) and the contamination in wells was observed to be more (0.59 µg/l) than springs.

Background & Aim of the Study: Parasitic infections are common in many countries, especially in developing countries and tropical areas. People who deal with foods can be a threat to health of communities. This meta-analysis study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of parasitic infections, such as Ascaris lambericoids, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba histolytica, and Giardia lamblia, among the food staff in Asian and African countries. We systematically searched Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane library, Proquest, Scopus, and Springer databases. In this meta-analysis, only the cross-sectional studies conducted from 1970 to October 2013 were selected. After searching by the main keywords, 23 papers were found that after applying the inclusion criteria, 11 articles remained. I2 and T2 coefficients were used to find heterogeneity in the studies. Then, random effect model was applied for data analysis by Stata-12 software. The pooled effect size, T2, and I2 for E. coli were 0.041 (CI95%: 0.009-0.073), 0.004, and 88.9%, respectively. For A. lambericoids, the pooled effect size was 0.017 (CI95%: 0.012-0.022), T2 was 0.002, and I2 was 87.2%. These measures were respectively obtained as 0.026 (CI95%: 0.014-0.038), 0.003, and 88.5% for E. histolytica. Ultimately, the pooled effect size, T2, and I2 for G. lambelia were 0.033 (CI95%: 0.022-0.044), 0.004, and 85.7%, respectively. The prevalence rate of some intestinal parasites was relatively low in the food-handlers in Asian and African countries compared to the previous studies. Also, high heterogeneity was obtained regarding the prevalence rate in these countries.