Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology
Volume:5 Issue: 1, Winter 2016

One of the challenges in construction is the occurrence of numerous accidents. In this regard, risk assessment can play an important role in reducing accidents. The aim of this study was to prepare comprehensive and quantitative checklists to determine the potential hazards in the construction phase.
The present descriptive and analytical study was carried out on petrochemical projects in the south of Iran in 2014. After the inspection of more than 50 construction projects, two types of technical and managerial checklists were designed. The managerial and technical checklists were designed with seven and 32 major subjects, respectively. Finally prepared checklist and ET&BA method were compared in term of their risk identification capability.
The checklist and ET&BA methods, respectively, identified 300, 75, 125, and 48, and 107, 25, 12, and 0 risks related to hardware, design, mismanagement, and human error.
The checklist method can identify and assess human errors, while the ET&BA method cannot. Moreover, this method was more efficient than the ET&BA technique in identification and assessment of hardware-related, design-related, and managerial risks. Moreover, the duration and cost of implementation of checklist method were significantly lower than ET&BA method. This technique can be introduced as a quantitative risk assessment method in construction phases of projects and its weaknesses can be improved by future studies.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one of the most important and prevalent air pollutants. The vapor produced as a result of the vaporization ýof these compounds, even at very low concentrations, is harmful to the environment and human health. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the removal of styrene vapor from the air flow using Zeolite ý(ZSM-5) in a continuous flow reactor.
This cross-sectional study was conducted at a laboratory scale. Styrene concentrations of 200 and 300 ppm were selected for this study and steam saturation method was used to obtain the desired ýdynamic concentration. The desired concentration of dynamic styrene vapor was prepared in a fireproof cubic continuous flow reactor (canopy). ZSM-5 was synthesized and ground in a flat steel plate with standard mesh number of 20-40 and was used to remove the styrene vapors. In order to evaluate the removal efficiency, two variables of time and initial concentration of pollutant were investigated. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) technique, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used to investigate the surface and quality of the obtained adsorbent.
The results of SEM and XRD indicated the uniform surface and high purity of the synthesized zeolite. Adsorption breakthrough and saturation for 200 ppm of styrene concentration occurred in the first 35 and 510 minutes of the experiment, and for 300 ppm of styrene concentration, occurred 23 and 385 minutes after the beginning of the test, respectively,.
ZSM-5 showed a high level of efficiency in the removal of styrene vapors from polluted air; thus, it can be used to remove this pollutant from large industrial environments.

Laboratory activities must be planned and organized carefully because of the danger they may cause. The purpose of this study was to assess students’ awareness and comprehension of chemical hazard warning signs at the Departments of Chemistry of Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.
This descriptive study was carried out to assess students’ awareness and comprehension of chemical hazard warning signs. Data were collected from 175 students enrolled in Chemistry Laboratory Classes during the second semester of the year 2012-2013. The participants were selected randomly. The collected data was entered into SPSS software and analyzed using descriptive statistical methods.
The results of the study revealed that the majority of the respondents (81%; n = 143) were familiar with hazard signs of laboratory chemicals. After obtaining information on their level of awareness about potential hazards of laboratory chemicals, the respondents were also requested to match chemical properties with the corresponding labels or pictograms.
The results indicated that the students had a high level of familiarity and understanding of hazard warning signs. The study also surveyed the preferred labeling technique and revealed that the majority favored the use of both colors and signs.

The biological effects of radiation on radiology personnel are divided into two groups of deterministic effects and stochastic effects. Due to the effects of radiation on health, radiology staff may be afraid of radiation. Younger personnel with little work experience, compared with older personnel, have higher level of fear. The fear among radiology personnel, like employees of various departments, can impact their job satisfaction and performance.
This descriptive, cross-sectional research was performed on radiology staff of hospitals affiliated with Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in the year 2014. In total, 70 questionnaires were distributed among the radiology personnel of these hospitals, of which 49 questionnaires were completed. This questionnaire consisting of 14 questions scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1-5 (from very high to very low). All P-values of more than 0.05 (P > 0.05) were considered significant.
No significant relationship was observed between fear of radiation and education, age, gender, marital status, and work experience.
The total mean for very low level of fear of radiation among the radiology staff of hospitals affiliated to Hamadan University of Medical Sciences was 15.73%. Furthermore, no significant relationship was observed between fear and other variables such as education, age, gender, marital status, and work experience (P > 0.05).

Children are the most sensitive and vulnerable group in terms of tooth decay. Any change or improvement in health-related knowledge and behavior in this group can have long-term and significant impacts on the health of the future generation. Thus, the present study was conducted with the aim to determine the relationship of knowledge of oral health-related issues with the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index in 12-year-old students of Rafsanjan, Iran, in 2016.
This descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed on 460 students (230 boys and 230 girls) of 12 years of age from 10 elementary schools in Rafsanjan. The subjects were randomly selected. Data were collected through clinical examination, interviews, and a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of two parts; the first part contained a demographic characteristics form, and the second part contained the DMFT index and questions on knowledge of oral health-related issues. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, ANOVA, chi-square, and the Pearson correlation coefficient (α = 0.05).
Mean DMFT index and knowledge score of the students were 2.66 ± 1.40 and 5.43 ± 1.82, respectively. Students with higher knowledge had lower DMFT index. Moreover, mean knowledge score of students with homemaker mothers was significantly higher compared to students with working mothers.
The results of this study suggested a positive significant relationship between knowledge of oral health-related issues and DMFT index in 12-year-old students of Rafsanjan.

Chemerin is and adipokine produced and secreted by adipose tissue and is associated with functions such as insulin resistance, inflammation, and blood pressure regulation. The purpose of the present study was the determination of serum chemerin level in an Iranian population with metabolic syndrome and its comparison with healthy individuals.
The study subjects consisted of 31 individuals with metabolic syndrome and 25 healthy individuals (control group). Serum chemerin level was measured and its relationship with indices of metabolic syndrome, obesity, and insulin resistance was determined. The collected data were analyzed using independent two-sample t-test and the Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS software.
Serum chemerin level was significantly higher in the metabolic syndrome group compared to the control group (P = 0.009). The mean of the measured indices of BMI (P Serum chemerin level was higher among patients with metabolic syndrome compared to healthy individuals. Thus, it can be concluded that serum chemerin level measurement can be effective in the diagnosis of this syndrome and determination of appropriate treatment methods.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common chronic diseases of the central nervous system. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of psychological training combinedý with gradual muscular stress relaxation technique on QOL of patients with MS.
This triple-blind, controlled, clinical trial was conducted on 60 patients with MS who were members of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Yazd Province, Iran. The subjects were selected through convenience sampling method and with the consideration of the inclusion criteria. The participants were randomly divided into 2 groups of experimental (30 persons) and control (30 persons). The experimental group received 12 sessions of psychological training combined with gradual muscular stress relaxation technique (2 sessions per week), but the control group received no intervention. The data collection tools used consisted of a demographic characteristics form and the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQOL-54) ý questionnaire. The questionnaires were completed before, immediately after, and 3 months after the training. Data were analyzed using the statistical tests of student’s t-test, Pearson correlation, and repeated measures.
QOL score in the experimental and control groups were 50.86 ± 14.78 and 56.25 ± 13.09 before the intervention (p=0.141), 68.49 ± 11.81 and 55.76 ± 13.37 immediately after the intervention, and 67.80 ± 11.90 and 55.06 ± 12.83 three months after the intervention, respectively. This difference was statistically significant (P The implementation of psychological training intervention combined with gradual muscular stress relaxation method in patients with MS increases QOL. Therefore, it can be used as a beneficial intervention method for improving the QOL of patients with MS.

Noise as a most common harmful physical agent in workplaces has some effects on the exposed persons such as hearing threshold reduction, increasing blood pressure, and interference with the speech. The adverse side-effect of noise is one of the scientific areas that have seldom been considered by researchers. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of occupational noise on the male fertility (human and experimental animals) to be finally able to provide solutions for the future orientation of research studies, and on the other hand, to increase awareness in industrial divisions about effects of noise stress on workers fertility.
In this study, we conducted the bibliographic search in PubMed and Google Scholar databases and studies about effects of workplaces noise on the male fertility with keywords such as fertility, noise, and testicular damage were selected.
Male infertility is a major health problem in the world. According to different study, Noise can impact on testis weight, sperm parameters (count, viability, motility and morphology), sexual hormones, testicular tissue, oxidative stress and finally infertility.
The results of this study shows that noise exposure plays an important role as an environmental risk factor for male fertility; therefore, it is necessary to formulate guidelines for occupational exposure limits of noise effects, exposure time, use or not usage of supplemental antioxidants and to consider fertility and not be confined merely to the effects of noise on hearing system.