Jundishapur Journal of Health Sciences
Volume:8 Issue: 2, Apr 2016

Zero-valent iron (ZVI) can effectively activate persulfate (PS) generating free sulfate radicals (SO4•–), thereby presenting a promising technology to degrade recalcitrant organic contaminants such as para-chlorophenol (PCP) in wastewater..
The current study aimed to examine the feasibility and application of ZVI/PS system through batch experiments to degrade PCP of petrochemical effluent, which its treatment is included in The United States environmental protection agency (USEPA) priority pollutant list..
Effects of dosages of ZVI (0.056 - 2.8 g/L), ZVI to PS molar ratio (0.1 - 5.0), PS concentration (2.5 - 25.0 mM/L), pH = (3.0 - 11.0), contact time (5 - 240 minutes), and ZVI reusability (three cycles) on PCP degradation were examined..
The results showed that the PCP degradation increased with an increase in ZVI dosage from 0.056 to 1.4 g/L, an increase in persulfate concentration from 2.5 to 15.0 mM/L, and an increase in ZVI to PS molar ratio from 0.1 to 2.5. The optimal initial pH for PCP removal was 5.0 and the maximum removal efficiency of 70% was achieved within 120 minutes. Moreover, the ZVI catalyst was reused until the third cycle to activate the persulfate and degrade PCP. However, the degradation efficiency of PCP gradually decreased to 51.7% when the ZVI reuse time increased..
The results indicate that using ZVI/PS system is not an efficient enough method to treat petrochemical effluent, due to the complexity of petrochemical wastewater matrix and high- total dissolved solids (TDS) content, as well..

Being overweight is a characteristic that may influence a person’s heat exchange..
The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of body weight on heat strain indices in hot and dry climatic conditions..
This study was completed with a sample of 30 participants with normal weights, as well as 25 participants who were overweight. The participants were physically inactive for a period of 120 minutes in a climatic chamber with hot and dry conditions (22 - 32°C and with 40% relative humidity (RH)).The physiological strain index (PSI) and heat strain score index (HSSI) questionnaires were used. Simultaneous measurements were completed during heat exposure for periods of five minutes. The resting periods acted as the initial measurements for 15 minutes..
In both groups, oral temperature, heart rate, and thermal perceptual responses increased during heat exposure. The means and standard deviations of heart rate and oral temperature were gathered when participants were in hot and dry climatic conditions and were not physically active. The heart rates and oral temperatures were 79.21 ± 5.93 bpm and 36.70 ± 0.45°C, respectively, for those with normal weights. For overweight individuals, the measurements for heart rate and oral temperature reached 82.21 ± 8.9 bpm and 37.84 ± 0.37°C, respectively..
The results showed that, compared to participants with normal weights, physiological and thermal perceptual responses were higher in overweight participants. Therefore, overweight individuals should avoid hot/dry weather conditions to decrease the amount of heat strain..

In complex socio-technical systems like aviation systems, human error is said to be the main cause of air transport incidents, accounting for about 75 percent of these incidents and events. air traffic management (ATM) is considered a highly reliable industry; however, there is a persistent need to identify safety vulnerabilities and reduce them or their effects, as ATM is very human-centered and will remain so, at least in the mid-term (e.g., until 2025)..
The current study aimed to conduct a predictive analysis of controllers’ cognitive errors using the TRACEr technique in an airport control tower..
This paper was done as a qualitative case study to identify controllers’ errors in an airport control tower. First, the controllers’ tasks were described by means of interviews and observation, and then the most critical tasks, which were more likely to have more errors, were chosen to be examined. In the next step, the tasks were broken down into sub-tasks using the hierarchical analysis method and presented as HTA charts. Finally, for all the sub-tasks, different error modes and mechanisms of their occurrence were identified and the results were recorded on TRACEr worksheets..
The analysis of TRACEr worksheets showed that of a total 315 detected errors, perception and memory errors are the most important errors in tower control controllers’ tasks, and perceptual and spatial confusion is the most important psychological factor related to their occurrence..
The results of this study led to the identification of many of the errors and conditions that affect the performance of controllers, providing the ability to define safety and ergonomic interventions to reduce the risk of human error. Therefore, the results of this study can be a basis for planning ATM to prioritize prevention programs and safety enhancement.

With technological developments, creation of new industries, and changing human behavior and lifestyles, several new infertility risk factors (IRFs) are discovered annually. Although many studies have been conducted on IRFs, no research has yet been carried out on the awareness of Iranian college students about the many IRFs..
Since prevention of infertility in a society is directly related to awareness about infertility, in the present study the awareness of male and female college students about IRFs was evaluated and compared at Jami institute of technology..
Patients and For this purpose, a survey questionnaire containing 24 factors related to IRFs was developed and 123 college students from Jami institute of technology completed it. All data was extracted from these questionnaires and was statistically analyzed..
The results showed that both male and female participants had moderate awareness (55.86%) about IRFs. Female participants had significantly more awareness about the effects of cell phone radiation, fast food, and stress in comparison with their male counterparts. However, significantly higher numbers of male participants knew that smoking has negative effects on fertility. Generally, the awareness of females about IRFs was greater than that of males (59.46% vs. 52.27%)..
College students have a considerable knowledge gap relating to infertility risk factors, which could be due to the lack of a suitable module on IRFs in the curricula of Iranian universities. Generally, females have more awareness than males. The greatest awareness about IRFs concerned smoking, which may result from widespread media coverage..

Traffic accidents with about 1.24 million deaths and 20 to 50 million cases of injury or disability per year are one of the most important public health challenges around the world. In Iran, traffic accidents, with an annual incidence of 32 cases per 100 thousand people, are considered as the second leading cause of death and the most common cause of injury..
This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiological pattern and mortality rate caused by traffic accidents during year 2012 in the Khuzestan province and its cities..
In this cross-sectional study, all data related to fatal traffic accident referrals to legal medicine center of Khuzestan province during year 2012 were obtained and analyzed. Road traffic accidents mortality rate during this year was calculated for the province and its cities. The data were analyzed using Stata 11 statistical software..
In 2012, one thousand and twenty deaths related to traffic accidents occurred in Khuzestan province. The incidence of deaths due to accidents in Khuzestan province was 22.5 and the standardized age of incidence was 24.3 per 100 thousand people. Regarding gender, 78.24% of the dead individuals were male and 21.76% were female. The most common final causes of death were head trauma (76.27% cases) and bleeding (12.55% cases). The most deceased people were drivers (42.55%), passengers (34.90%), and pedestrians (21.27%). The highest traffic accidents mortality rate in Khuzestan province was observed in Hoveizeh (55.43 per one hundred thousand), Omidiye (55.30 per one hundred thousand) and Ramhormuz (53.12 per one hundred thousand), and the lowest incidence rates belonged to Lali (5.35 per one hundred thousand) and Shadegan (9.78 per one hundred thousand)..
This study showed that drivers, passengers and pedestrians were the most vulnerable road users. Regarding the fact that most of them were illiterate or had primary education and were self-employed or laborers, it seems essential to develop plans not only to train the road users but also to evaluate the safety of vehicles and roads and post-accident care programs, and consequently, implement special programs fully and strictly in order to reduce traffic fatalities..

“Noise” can be defined as any unwanted sound. Soft drink plants, which produce the raw materials used in most carbonated beverage factories, are sources of noise..
This study investigated the noise pollution present in a soft drink CO2 gas injection plant, in order to present noise control measures..
The instructions specified by the canadian center for occupational health and safety (CCOHS) were followed during the noise study, and a sound level meter, CEL.450 calibrated with CEL-110.2 based on ISO-9612 methods, was used to record the sound pressure level (SPL) at each grid point. SPL was determined in weighting scales A and C. and a noise survey map of equivalent SPLs was drawn for each part. Each part of the floor area of the soft drink factory where SPL exceeded 85 dBA was identified from the noise survey map to determine the causes of high levels of noise. In order to reduce noise level in each part, the absorption coefficient, transmission loss, and noise reduction rate were calculated in the proposed control area..
According to the study results, noise levels in a CO2 plant’s house and control room ranged from 88 to 102 dB and 79 to 82 dB (A), respectively. In order to reduce the amount of emitted noise in the CO2 plant house and control room, a noise control plan was implemented in each part of the facility; it was met with effective results..
The findings of this investigation have clearly revealed that plant workers are at risk of developing noise-induced hearing loss. However, after the implementation of a noise control plan in each part of the facility, the noise dose received by workers has significantly decreased. The need to implement a noise conservation program was established..

Listeria spp. are able to be survive in many foods during frozen storage. One particular species, Listeria monocytogenes, is one of the most important food-borne pathogens globally. The antimicrobial resistance of pathogenic microorganisms is a worldwide public health concern because of increasing global trade and travel..
The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and antibiotic resistance of Listeria spp. in the Iranian beef burgers distributed in Ahvaz city..
During a five-month period, 150 frozen burgers were purchased from local markets in Ahvaz city, and tested for presence of Listeria spp. The experimental procedure consisted of a one-step enrichment in Listeria enrichment broth, followed by plating on Oxford agar. Suspected colonies were subjected to subsequent biochemical tests and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The susceptibility of the isolates to various antibiotics was investigated using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method, and the results were analyzed via the chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test using SPSS 16.0 software..
Out of 150 samples, only two were contaminated with Listeria innocua, and the statistical analysis showed no significant differences in the prevalence of Listeria between companies (P > 0.05). One of the isolates was resistant to tetracycline and the other to co-trimoxazole. Both of the isolates showed an intermediate susceptibility to chloramphenicol; however, they were sensitive to the other tested antibiotics..
L. innocua is not a pathogen, but the presence of the bacterium could be an indicator of probable contamination with L. monocytogenes. Moreover, there is a potential risk to public health from the consumption of raw or undercooked burgers, which may increase the possibility of the acquisition of resistance to antibiotics..

Cardiovascular diseases are the most important chronic diseases with significant negative effects on the individuals’ quality of life and communities’ economic productivity..
The present study aimed to analyze the costs of cardiovascular diseases and identify the related factors in hospitalized patients of Tabriz Shahid Madani hospital in 2015..
Patients and This paper was a cross-sectional study. Cost information was obtained by a bottom-up approach from the patients and their families’ perspective. A number of 285 patients were randomly selected to participate in the study. For data collection, the study deployed a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed by statistical tests. First, the collected data were analyzed using descriptive methods. And then, the researchers used t-test and ANOVA to analyze the relationship between demographic variables and the different types of cost. Tukey test was used to compare differences between groups groups, the researchers used..
The Study findings showed that the total cost of cardiovascular diseases was 13,074,700 Rials (US$462) per patient. The details of the costs of cardiovascular diseases also showed that direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs, and indirect costs were 10,909,100 Rials (US$386), 109’940 Rials (US$38.90), and 1,066,200 Rials (37.73 US$) which were 83.4%, 8.4% and 8.2% of the total costs, respectively. Statistical analyses indicated a significant relationship between gender, marital status, education, job status, location, type of disease, type of admission, and the reason for hospitalization and some types of assessed costs (P The study showed that the costs associated with cardiovascular diseases were not reasonable for many of these patients and their families. This certainly requires more consideration by managers and policy makers in the health care sector and the implementation of effective interventions..