e. solgi

Soil contamination by heavy metals can change soil quality, because they are permanent and does not change by biological processes. The aim of this study was to investigate the concentration, spatial distribution and risk assessment of heavy metals including copper, zinc, chromium and nickel in the soil and leaf of pistachio trees in the Kabootar Khaneh area in Rafsanjan city, Kerman province, Iran.

Soil sampling was performed based on a systematic random method from the  depth of 0 to 20 cm. After chemical analysis of the samples, the concentration of heavy metals was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Risk assessment of heavy metals was carried out using enrichment factor (EF), geoaccumulation index (Igeo) and ecological risk index. Variogram analysis and spatial distribution map of heavy metals in soil were analyzed by ArcGIS 9.3 software and kriging method.

The average concentration of chromium, copper, zinc and nickel in soil samples was 20.91, 12.11, 53.2 and 29.32 mg/kg, respectively. In leaf samples, concentration of copper and zinc were 0.91 and 13.78 mg/kg, respectively. Nickel and chromium were not detected in leaf samples. The concentration of heavy metals in soil and leaf samples was below WHO and the FAO standards, Additionally, the results of pollution risk assessment showed that the soil of the region was in the low category of enrichment and low risk in terms of heavy metal concentrations. Spatial distribution maps showed that the concentration of copper and zinc increased and chromium decreased towards the north of the region. Nickel had the highest concentration in the north of the region.

The leaf of the trees near the road had the highest amount of copper accumulation. The accumulation of zinc in the leaf of trees was also high in the whole region. In general, the concentrations of heavy metals in soil samples and pistachio leaf were below the standard limit considered as safe.

Blood indices have variation in Covid-19 that could affect diagnosis. Blood index changes in Covid-19 inpatiens were evaluated.

In a descriptive/cross-sectional study, 167 Covid-19 inpatients in Besat Hospital in Hamedan were selected and in terms of changes on the first and seventh days of the blood indices were investigated. Data analysis was done with SPSS software version 26. In order to compare the blood indices on the first and seventh days of hospitalization, Wilcoxon and Monte Carlo tests were used.

The average blood indices on the first and seventh day were 4.64 ± 0.59 and 4.39 ± 0.62 million in microliter (p< 0.001) for RBCs, 6.20 ± 3.84 and 7.55± 4.13 thousand in microliter (p< 0.001) for white blood cells, 179.54 ± 90.14 and 269.76 ± 109.03 thousand in microliter (p< 0.001) for platelets, 13.20 ± 1.71 and 12.27 ± 1.77 g/dL (p< 0.001) for hemoglobin, 40.45 ± 4.67 and 38.16 ± 5.02 % (p< 0.001) for hematocrit, 12.5 ± 0.55 and 13.1 ± 0.66 % (p< 0.001) for RDW, 87.18 ± 5.43 and 87.15 ± 5.62 femtoliters for MCV, 28.47 ± 2.16 and 28.18 ± 2.03 picograms (p= 0.002) for MCH and 32.56 ± 1.63 and 32.35 ± 1.64 g/dL for MCHC.

Blood indices in Covid-19 inpatients undergo changes from the time of admission to the seventh day. White blood cell, platelet and RDW were increased and red blood cell, hematocrit, hemoglobin, MCV, MCH and MCHC decreased compared to the first day of hospitalization.

The industrial areas are located near residential centers in the city of Arak and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pollution is a serious threat to human health and living organisms in this area. Meanwhile, soil contamination by PTEs is one of the challenges in this region and various studies have been conducted in this area. Meta-analysis studies provide a comprehensive evaluation of the results of a subject. In the present study, soil contamination data for PTEs in the 11 years (2009 to 2020) were studied through the studies conducted in Arak. In this study, the risk, potential toxicity, and carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of PETs were assessed using indices and mathematical relationships. Based on the results of pollution indices, the soil of Arak city in terms of PETs including Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, As, Pb, Cu, and Hg were categorized into the polluted and highly polluted classes. The soil of the region in terms of PETs has significant ecological risk and acute toxicity. Cadmium, arsenic, and mercury showed the ecological risk of 49.3%, 23.2%, and 18.3% respectively, and nickel, chromium, and arsenic were responsible for 34.7%, 23.03%, and 22.07% of the toxicity potential of PETs in the soil. Arsenic, nickel, and chromium have the highest carcinogenic risk for children in both the ingestion and inhalation pathways, and chromium, arsenic, and nickel have the highest carcinogenic risk from the inhalation pathway for adults. According to the results, the most considerable PETs in the study area including As, Cd, and Pb, and the most important source of their emission in Arak are anthropogenic resources and industries.

Conventional wastewater treatment methods usually cannot meet the standards required by environmental organizations. Therefore, in this study, the efficiency of advanced oxidation methods using persulfate by various activators of hydrogen peroxide, UV, and ozone in the tertiary treatment of municipal wastewater was investigated. Also, the effects of contact time, solution pH, and the molar ratio of oxidants on the color removal were evaluated. The results showed that the highest color removal was obtained in H2O2/S2O82- with a molar ratio of 1.06 to 1 for three processes of H2O2/S2O82-, UV/H2O2/S2O82- and O3/H2O2/S2O82- in solution pH of 9. A comparison of different systems showed the highest color removal efficiency followed the order of O3/H2O2/S2O82- >UV/H2O2/S2O82- >H2O2/S2O82-. The results showed that activating agents and persulfate have a significant effect on the removal of color in wastewater treatment. Therefore, tertiary wastewater treatment by these processes can effectively reuse wastewater in agriculture and aquaculture.

Four heavy metals were measured in forty-nine topsoil samples collected fromagricultural areas in Siakh-Darengoun, Iran. The goals were to investigate soil spatialdistribution patterns of metals; their potential ecological risk; and sources. The Hakansonpotential ecological risk index and index of geo-accumulation (Igeo) were used forevaluating the condition of soil heavy metal enrichment and the extent of potentialecological risk. Results demonstrated that the mean concentrations in the agricultural soilswere 2.23 mg/kg for Cd, 5.3 mg/kg for Cu, 38.002 mg/kg for Pb, and 13.84 mg/kg for Zn.The average concentrations of Cd and Pb in the agricultural soils were higher than averageworldwide soils and for Cu and Zn, values were lower than average worldwide soils. Thespatial mapping of the distribution of heavy metals produced by kriging interpolationshowed similar patterns for all heavy metals, and higher concentrations of all heavy metalswere observed in the western and southern parts of the study area. Our findingsdemonstrated that in the Siakh-Darengoun plain, natural sources affect the levels of Cu andZn, however, anthropogenic sources such as chemical fertilizers, especially phosphatefertilizers could be the major sources of Cd and Pb. Hossain Abad agro industry in the westof the study area can be considered as one of the most important heavy metal sources. Thegeo-accumulation index classified Cu and Zn into no pollution levels, Cd and Pb intounpolluted to moderately polluted level. Cd produced serious ecological risk in agriculturalsoils and was the main pollutant, while the Cu, Pb and Zn had low ecological risk.Comprehensive potential ecological risk indexes of all metals showed that the soils in SiakhDarengoun were suffering from high level of ecological risk.

Sediments are the sink where various contaminants accumulate; they are an inseparable component of ecosystems; among heavy metals are very important because of their harmful effects on the ecosystems and their long extremely long persistency. The present study was conducted to determine the concentration and contamination degree of heavy metals (Iron, Zinc, Copper, Manganese and Nickel) in the coastal sediments of Bushehr Port. In order to sampling sediments, a distance of 10 km was considered. Acid digestion method was used to prepare the samples for metal analysis. Also, the physical properties of the sediments were measured using the standard methods. The metal enrichment and contamination status in the sediments were determined using the contamination degree (Cd), the modified degree of contamination (mCd), the contamination factor (CF), the enrichment factor (EF), and the geoaccumulation index (Igeo). Based on the results, the distribution of heavy metals in sediments were obtained as Ni Fe> Mn > Zn > Cu >. In the present study, due to the distance between Asalouyeh and Bushehr port, a low nickel concentration was obtained. The results of Igeo and other indices showed that the surface sediments of the study were uncontaminated. Comparison of heavy metals in Bushehr Port sediments with sediment quality standards showed that the concentration of metals in this study was less than the standard levels. As a result, the Coastline of Bushehr port was not contaminatied with iron, zinc, copper, manganese, and nickel metals. The study, therefore, indicated that although there were slight changes in these indices, the combination of the indices could give us a comprehensive cognition of heavy metals risks in the surface sediments of the Bushehr Port.

Today, the presence and increase of particulate matter is one of the serious factors that threaten human health. In the meantime, trees can accumulate airborne particles by their foliage. In this study, the accumulating ability of various PM by the leaf of some tree and shrub species was evaluated in Isfahan. 12 species of trees and shrubs were selected at 8 locations in Isfahan and the total PM, PM10, PM2.5 and PM0.2 were measured using water and chloroform washing methods by paper filters 91, 42 μm, and Polytetra Fluorethylene filters and digital balance. The results showed that the highest and lowest mean total accumulation of total particulate matter was related to Morus nigra and Salix alba, that were 190.23 ± 23.5 and 11.9 ± 4.42 μg/cm2. In addition, the trend of accumulation of total PM on the leaf surface from the highest to the lowest was: Morus nigra> Platanus orientalis> Ulmus umbraculifera> Morus alba> Acer negundo> Ailanthus altissima> Fraxinus excelsior > Nerium oleander >Robinia pseudoacacia> Cercis siliquastrum> Nerium oleander > Euonymus japonicas> Salix alba and in epicuticular Waxes, Morus nigra> Ulmus umbraculifera > Platanus orientalis > Morus alba> Ailanthus altissima> Acer negundo > Robinia pseudoacacia>Cercis siliquastrum> Fraxinus excelsior > Nerium oleander > Euonymus japonicas> Salix alba. The results indicated that the ability of different tree species to absorb PM depended on the morphological, physiological and ecological characteristics of the leaf. Finally, among the different species the Morus nigra had the highest ability to capture various PM.

The establishment of pelletizing and steel industries in Ardakan suburbs has increased the pollutants such as heavy metals into the environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contamination of the area soil by heavy elements around these industries using the pollution index (PI), comprehensive pollution index (NIPI), accumulation index (Igeo) and enrichment index (EF). 57 soil samples were prepared by systematic-random sampling from 0 to 5 cm depth and levels of As, Cd, Cr, Mo, Ni, Pb, V and Zn were analyzed by ICP-OES. The highest and lowest mean of Igeo (0.49 and 0.36) and PI (2.16 and 1.17), were related to nickel, and the highest EF was calculated for Zn at about 25.1 and the lowest were detected for molybdenum approximately that was 17.1. The EF index of lead, vanadium and zinc, which was 15.8%, 5.3% and 1.8%, respectively, classified the study area in a medium enrichment class. Hot spots of lead, vanadium, nickel and zinc was at the nearest distance to these industries and downstream of wind direction. Indicators of Igeo and EF showed a low level of soil pollution. The PI and NIPI indices in most stations were classified in medium pollution class, and the highest of these indicators was related to the surface soil of station 30, which was located near the steel industry. Therefore, it can be concluded that the activities of these industries had affected the soil contamination of the study area.