nourollah mirghaffari

Milk and dairy products, due to their high nutritional value and consumption by all ages, are an important part of the human diet in many parts of the world. Nitrate and heavy metals contamination of milk is a danger to humans that is much more common in childhood. The Lenjan county in the southwest of Isfahan province and different industries, such as Esfahan Steel Company and Mobarakeh Steel Company, are located around the region. In addition, because of the intensive agricultural activities in this region, dairy products, including raw milk, could be exposed to nitrate and heavy metals pollution. The objective of this study is to investigate the concentration of lead, nitrate, and nitrite in the raw milk of livestock in the Lenjan region. Raw milk sampling was performed in polyethylene containers from 30 farms including industrial, semi-industrial, and traditional units situated in the different parts of the county. Furthermore, eight samples of raw and pasteurized milk from a dairy processing company in the region were collected in four different working days. The vanadium trichloride reduction and graphite furnace atomic absorption methods were used to measure the nitrate and lead concentrations of the samples, respectively. The results demonstrated that the concentration range of nitrate was 0-12.6 with a mean of 1.41 mg/kg; nitrite was 0-3.3 with a mean of 0.11 mg/kg; and lead was 0.006-0.387 with a mean of 0.03 mg/kg. Nitrite and nitrate levels of the samples were less than the standard of Codex (1 and 10 mg/kg, respectively). Moreover, the amount of lead in 16.7% of the samples was higher than the world standard (0.002 mg/kg). The risk assessment of lead and nitrate for humans through the consumption of raw milk was in the safety range. Risk factors (THQ) for lead, nitrate, and nitrite were 0.14, 0.01, and 0.0, respectively. However, monitoring of various contaminants in dairy products in the areas, which are at high risk of contamination, seems to be necessary.

Nowadays, the compounds known as emerging pollution are increasing in the environment. Pharmaceutical compounds are one of the most important substances in this group. Due to the complexity of chemical structure of pharmaceutical compounds and their metabolites, removal of these is important. Removal of these compounds by conventional water and wastewater treatment methods is not possible. In the present research, the performance of a hybrid of synthesized zeolite and ZnO nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen-codeine from aqueous solutions was investigated. To remove acetaminophen-codeine from aqueous solution, ZnO-Zeolite under UV and solar radiations was used. Final concentration of drug was measured using by HPLC in λmax = 214 nm. The optimal conditions of pH, catalyst dosage, drug initial concentration and reaction time were determined, based on Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Reusability test was finally performed for this synthesized composite. The results indicated that maximum removal of acetaminophen under UV radiation (48W/m2) was related to 14 mg/L of initial concentration in the neutral pH and a catalyst concentration of 1.7 g/L after 167min and that under the solar radiation (1200W/m2) was related on 5.5 mg/L of initial concentration in the neutral pH and a catalyst concentration of 1.2 mg/L after 143min of reaction start. Optimal initial concentration for codeine remove was 7.5 mg/L in the neutral pH. The maximum removal under UV and solar radiations was related to 1.5 and 1 g/L of composite after 192 and 170 min for codeine photocatalytic degradation. Photocatalytic degradation using this synthesized composite under optimal conditions, is able to completely remove the drug compounds (>99%) under UV and solar radiation. The photocatalytic method of ZnO-Z to remove acetaminophen and codeine from aqueous solutions is recommended. Synthesized composite in this research is a suitable material with reusability. Its efficiency also is acceptable under sunlight.

The experiment was conducted in factorial test based on a completely randomized design with three replications in greenhouse of Isfahan University of Technology of Iran. Lettuce seedlings were exposed separately to the exhaust emissions in three different exposure times (10, 20 and 30 days) and after the exposure time, their morphological, physiological and anatomical traits were measured and compared with morphological, physiological and anatomical traits of control plants. Results obtained in lettuce, showed significant increases in traits including catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, guaiacol peroxidase, proline, electrolyte leakage, relative water content and number of stomata and significant decreases in photosynthetic factors, leaf area, height, aerial fresh and dry weight and length of stomata in lettuce plants which were exposed to gases for 30 days, compared to controls. Significant increase in the photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, CO2 intracellular concentration and leaf area of lettuce seedlings were exposed to emissions for 10 days, most likely, indicate the nutritional role of output gases from generator in the short period time of exposure. It was observed that the anatomical features of contaminated samples have been changed by gases in 30-days exposure plants compared to others. The results showed that the exposure of lettuce plants to gases, especially 30-days exposure, caused morphological, physiological and anatomical reactions due to contaminants that could be considered these reactions as the adaptation of these plants to the stress of contamination, in order to adapt or to deal with stress conditions and thus to survive the plant under pollution stress conditions.

Textile industry wastewater in additions toxicity for organisms led to changes as decreased of water transparency and sunlight penetration and increase in chemical oxygen demand. Therefore, this study was carried out with the aim of removal of cationic red 46 dye from aqueous solution. For this purpose, the magnetic polymeric composite of graphite oxide nanoparticles (GO) and magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) in the matrix of polyacrilonitrile fiber (WPAN) at micro size by electroespining method was prepared. The XRD and SEM tests were used to determine the polymeric adsorbent characteristics. Magnetic properties of magnetic nanoparticles and polymeric adsorbent were measured at using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analysis. Batch adsorption tests were optimized using the L16 orthogonal array of Taguchi method. The effects of variables including pH, adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration and contact time on the dye removal were examined and the most influential factor in the removal of dye was pH. The adsorption isotherm data were well-fitted to Freundlich isothermal model (R^2= 0.99). Furthermor, adsorption kinetics of the dye followed pseudo-second-order model. Basic on these results, the polymeric composites was effective adsorbent for dye removal with efficiency over 96% and with quick separation for dye removal from aquatic solution.

In this study, the carbonaceous adsorbents were prepared from the waste of crude oil storage tanks using with steam at various temperatures. The optimum adsorbent was selected for further experiments after characterization of specific surface area and textural properties. Batch experiments of nickel adsorption were performed with initial concentration of 25-200 mg/L, pH 2-8, contact time 5-240 min and absorbent dose of 1-5 g/L. The results showed that among the three synthesized absorbents, the obtained adsorbent at 900 ˚C showed the higher surface and best structural properties with a specific surface area of 422 m2/g and a total pore volume of 0.55 m3/g. The results of nickel adsorption showed that the removal efficiency increases with increasing the contact time and absorbent dose. Maximum nickel adsorption efficiency was obtained at pH 5, contact time of 60 min and absorbance dose of 2 g/L. In addition, it was observed that the adsorption data follow the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The results of fitting the kinetic models for all adsorbents indicate that the adsorption process follow the pseudo second order kinetic model. Base on the results of this study, it can be stated that the activated carbon produced from oily sludge can be considered as an efficient and cost effective adsorbent for treatment of industrial wastewater.

The increase of wastes and their management are considered as an important environmental and economic problem. In this study, the oily sludge of oil refinery and lignocellulosic waste from elm tree were used as raw materials for preparation of composite adsorbents. Composite adsorbents were prepared using carbonization at 500 ˚C and chemical activation by zinc chloride at 800 ˚C and their efficiency for removal of furfural from aqueous solutions were investigated. Results of furfural adsorption, BET, SEM and FTIR analysis showed that the activated composite, due to formation of micropore and mesopore structures, has  a more higher specific surface area and efficiency, as compared with carbonized composite. The BET of carbonized and activated composite was 3.53 and 691.7 m 2/g and the percentage of furfural adsorption was 10.3 and 96.7%, respectively. Based on the obtained results, the activated composite adsorbent can be used as an alternative of commercial activated carbon for wastewater treatment.

Depending on the fuel type, the main vehicle exhaust emissions are nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon oxides, sulfur oxides (SOx), carbon particles, heavy metals, water vapor and hydrocarbons including aldehydes, single hydrocarbons and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, olefins, alkyl nitriles that along with secondary pollutants such as ozone, have negative effects on plant health. Agricultural lands which are adjacent to urban areas, are increasingly vulnerable to vehicle pollution.
The plants suffer a lot from the pollution caused by exhaust of vehicles because they can not move away from the source of contamination.
Plants exposed to exhaust of vehicles, show many disruptions in their general appearance, which are referred to as "visible injuries". In fact, these visible damages to the plants reflect the physiological changes that come with the contaminants. These physiological changes may be considered as "hidden injuries".
There is concern about the compounds of contaminants, because there is an evidence that the plant response to multi-pollutant mixtures may be different from plant response to a pollutant. For example, one hour exposure to combination of SO2 gases with concentration of 1310 micrograms per cubic meter and NO2 with concentration of 940 micrograms per cubic meter resulted in low leaf damage, while none of the gases do not cause damage alone in this concentrations.
There are many reports on the effects of pollutants on the anatomy, physiology and morphology of different plant species.
The importance of stomata in plant protection against air pollutants has been investigated and it has been shown that the closure of stomata helps to protect plants from pollution damage.
Vehicle contaminants affect photosynthesis and cause oxidative stress in plants.
Air pollution caused a significant increase in membrane peroxidation in Lavandula officinalis Chaix. and Ligustrum vulgare L. planted in the margin of the streets of polluted and cleaned areas of Tehran.
The activity of Antioxidants enzymes (catalase, peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase) increased in different levels in contaminated areas compared to clean areas.
There are not enough researches on the effect of gasoline exhaust pollution on leafy vegetables, especially spinach.
According to the considerable amount of cultivated spinach, especially in Iran are in outdoors and on the side of the roads or contaminated urban areas, therefore, the effects of the gasoline exhaust pollutants on some anatomical, physiological and morphological characteristics of spinach (spinacia oleraceae var virofly) was investigated.
Material and

The experiment was conducted in factorial test based on a completely randomized design with three replications in greenhouse of Isfahan University of Technology.
12 small chambers (length: 100 cm, width 70 cm and height: 70 cm) and an exhaust generator for transferring the contaminants to the chambers were constructed.
VARIOPLUS MRU device was used to analyze the output gases and determine the concentration of contaminants from burning gasoline.
The seeds of Spinacia oleraceae var. viroflay were directly cultured in pots No. 4 which were filled with sand and soil mixtures of 1:2.
When the spinach seedlings reached to 4-leafy stage, transferred to the chambers and exposed separately to the gasoline exhaust pollution for three hours in three different exposure times (10, 20 and 30 days) and after the exposure time, their anatomical, physiological and morphological traits of plants were measured and compared with control plants.
The relative water content was measured by the method of Ritchie et al. (1990). Electrolyte leakage was measured by Lutts et al. (1995).
The total chlorophyll content and carotenoid content of leaves were extracted by 100% acetone solvent method. The absorbance of light at 661.6 and 168.8 for total chlorophyll and 470 nm for carotenoids were read.
The chlorophyll fluorescence concentration was measured by a chlorophyll meter machine (OS-30P model manufactured by Opti-science, UK) and the Fv/Fm ratio (photochemical effect of photosystem 2) was reported.
Factors related to leaf gas exchange were measured by a portable photosynthesis measurement (LCi model manufactured by ADC Bioscientific Ltd, UK). The amount of proline was measured using the Bates method (1973).
Catalase activity was measured using modified Aebi method (1984) at 240 nm wavelength. Ascorbate peroxidase activity was estimated by modified Nakano and Asada (1981) by absorbance reduction at 290 nm. The activity of the guaiacol peroxidase enzyme was determined by the Chance and Maehli method (1955) with a slight change.
Anatomical traits were observed by optical microscope and measured through the Edn-2 software.
Statistical analysis of data of all traits were performed using statistical software Statistix 8 and comparison of meanings performed based on minimum significant difference test (LSD) at 5% probability level.
Discussion of

Anatomical, physiological and morphological characteristics of spinach plants affected by gasoline exhaust pollution in every three exposure time.
Exposure to contaminants for 10 days, significantly increased total chlorophyll content, CO2 intracellular concentration, stomatal conductance and net photosynthetic rate compared to controls.
No reduction was seen in all anatomical, physiological and morphological characteristics of spinach plants exposured to contaminants for 10 days compared to the controls.
The number of stomata, proline content and antioxidant enzymes activity including catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and guaiacol peroxidase in plants exposed to contaminants for 20 days showed significant increase compared to the control plants.
Dry weight, relative water content of leaves and stomatal conductance of plants exposed to contaminants for 20 days showed a significant decrease compared to the control plants.
Plants exposed to the pollutants for 30 days, showed significant increases in antioxidant enzymes activity such as catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and guaiacol peroxidase, proline content, electrolyte leakage and the number of stomata per unit compared to controls. But total chlorophyll content, carotenoid, photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll fluorescence, relative water content of leaves, fresh weight, dry weight and length of stomata significantly decreased compared to control plants.
Stomata pores in spinach plants that were exposed to the pollutants for 30 days shrinked due to closure of stomata by the pollutants as against other exposure days and control plants.
Significant differences in the xylem and phloem of plants that had the highest and the lowest exposure time to the pollutants were not observed.

Exposure to contaminants for 10 days, significantly increased total chlorophyll content and leaf gas-exchange parameters that are most likely because of the contents in contaminants and also the role of CO2 in photosynthesis process and the presence of nitrogen and sulfur in NO2 and SO2 gases.
Between the three time of exposure in this study, the most trait changes were observed in plants exposed to pollutants for 30 days.
Significant increase in antioxidant enzymes, proline, ion leakage and number of stomata was observed in spinach plants exposed to pollutants for 30 days compared to control plants. The highest increase in this interval was related to the activity of the guaiacol peroxidase enzyme and then the amount of proline.
Among the anatomical traits, the highest change was shown in the number of stoma (62.20%) of plants exposed to pollutants for 30 days compared to controls.
Significant decrease in total chlorophyll, carotenoid, photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll fluorescence, relative water content of leaves, fresh weight, dry weight and length of stomata in spinach plants exposured for 30 days was observed compared to control plants.
The highest decrease in plants exposed to pollutants for 30 days compared to controls was observed in stomatal conductance (39.21%) and the lowest reduction was observed in the amount of chlorophyll fluorescence (2.56%).
The results showed that the exposure of spinach plants to pollutants, especially 30-days exposure, caused morphological, physiological and anatomical reactions due to contaminants that could be considered these reactions as the adaptation of these plants to the stress of contamination, in order to adapt or to deal with stress conditions and thus to survive the plant under pollution stress conditions.

Landscape characteristics and land use patterns of watershed demonstrate extension, distribution, density and abundance of human interference. These factors can affect water quality of adjacent aquatic systems within a watershed. Land use changes have caused various environmental problems for Zayandehroud River,turned it as a sink of pollutant. Therefore this is investigated that how would Landscape characteristics and land use patterns change water quality and affect ecosystem management. The main goal of this study was to examine how landscape patterns (including Number of Patches, Edge Density, Percentage of landscape, Total Edge and Largest Patch Index) influence water quality. Indexes (including EC, HCO3, NO3, Cl, K, Ca, COD, Na, DO, P, pH, BOD5 and TDS) were measured in 10 stations along the Zayandehroud river.This is one of the most important rivers of the central plateau of Iran.In this study, Four classes of land use including Cropland, Orchard, Residential and industrial area were identified in a period of eleven years (1997–2008). The results indicated that water quality was significantly correlated with both proportions and configuration of Residential areas. Total edge of Industrial area had negative effects on water quality, especially on TDS and COD. Results of this study can be used not only for resource managers in order to restore the aquatic ecosystems but also for policy makers in evaluating alternate land management decisions.

Mangrove forests are of the most sensitive coastal ecosystems to oil pollution especially to Nickel and Vanadium bioaccumulation. The most important aim of the study was to compare the concentration of Nickel and Vanadium in sediments، mangrove roots and leaves in Nayband Marine National Park and Hara Protected Area in Qeshm Island; as well as to analyze the effects of physical and chemical parameters on these concentrations. So، the correlation between Nickel and Vanadium concentrations with sediment texture، EC، pH، and organic material were analyzed. The results showed that mean concentration of Nickel is higher than Vanadium in sediments and leaves of both habitats. It is also revealed that the mean concentration of both Nickel and Vanadium in sediments and roots in Nayband habitat are higher that those concentrations in Harra habitat which can be because of higher portion of soft texture in Harra habitat. However، the concentration of both Nickel and Vanadium in leaves in Nayband is much higher than of Harra habitat (about 2). This can have to explanations as: first، it might be because of more soluble Vanadium available for transferring to the leaves due to lower EC in Nayband sediments; second، higher exposure and absorption of vanadium from the air because of oil and gas activities in Nayband habitat. These findings are so concerning as usually the conservation، control، and monitoring plans are focused the habitats in vicinity of oil polluted areas but this research showed that also there are the other parameters more than distance-to-source controlling the accumulation of Nickel and Vanadium in mangrove habitats.

Population genetics of Petroleuciscus esfahani in Zayandeh Rood River، Iran were analysed using 120 samples of adult fish from four stations of the river Cheshmeh Dimeh (CHD)، Khersoonak (KH)، Chamgordan (CH) and Safaeye Bridge (SB) and 5 pairs of microsatellite primers. All loci showed polymorphism. A total number of 54 alleles were recorded across loci ranging from 6 at CnaB-030 to 17 at Ca3. The mean number of alleles per populations ranged from 9. 6 in CHD to 8. 6 in others. Mean observed heterozygosity at the five loci detected ranged from 0. 92 to 1. 00 which showed high level of genetic diversity in each population. Deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was obvious in most combinations (locus × population)، mainly due to heterozygosity excess. The lowest and highest genetic distances were calculated between CHD-KH and CHD-CH populations، respectively. The results showed low but significant FST values between each pair of the populations. This investigation represented at least four separate populations of P. esfahani in the river which showed the effects of river landscape fragmentation on population genetic structure of P. esfahani.

Increasing energy demands associated with economic growth and industrialization have resulted in dramatic increases in air pollution emissions. Air pollution damages the plant mainly by disrupting cell homeostatic conditions. In the present study، diverse plant criteria indicating air pollution from different levels including cell biochemistry، leaf and tree crown in the plane-tree were determined، and their relation to the air pollutants such as ozone، nitrous oxide، nitrogen dioxide، sulfur dioxide، carbon dioxide and particulates was investigated. Results showed that the concentration of Chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b in the leaf of plane-tree are reduced with increase in the ozone concentration in the air. The concentration of Chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b are negatively correlated with NO in the autumn (r= -0. 69 and -0. 72، respectively). Specific leaf area showed a positive relation with the concentration of ozone، nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide (p<0. 05). Crown transparency did not show any relation with air pollutants. On the contrary، crown area ratio was positively correlated with NO2 in the summer (p<0. 05). Specific leaf area was a good indicator of air pollution stress and damage to sycamore especially in the spring. Moreover، crown area ratio responded better than crown transparency to air pollutants and can be a suitable indicator of NO2 effect on the plane-tree. This criterion has a large potential as an indicator of various stresses on the tree due to its fast and easy measurement by a consumer-grade digital camera and available image processing software.

Heavy metals are very important from environmental consideration due to their toxicity and accumulative properties. The aim of this study is the evaluation of spatial distribution of Cr, Co and Ni in the surface soils of Hamadan province. For this purpose, the surface soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected using systematic random sampling method and the concentration of heavy metals and some of the soil parameters such as pH, EC, the percentage of organic matter, sand, clay and silt were analyzed. For interpolation and mapping the spatial distribution of heavy metals, the accuracy of Kriging methods and their models were compared by the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) values and Mean Bias Error (MBE), and the method with the lowest error was selected. Maps of chromium and nickel distribution were prepared by ordinary Kriging with a spherical model, and that of cobalt by disjanctive Kriging with exponential model. The western regions of Hamadan province had the highest concentration of chromium, cobalt and nickel. According to obtained maps, the regions with the highest concentrations of heavy metals corresponded to the igneous and metamorphic bedrocks. It seems that the geology is the main factor influencing the concentration of heavy metals in the soil.