Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research
Volume:8 Issue: 3, Summer 2020

Recently, several factors such as the physical growth of cities and the increased number of industries and cars, Hamedan city in Iran has faced the issue of air pollution. Due to the increased fuel consumption for heating purposes in the cold winters of this city, the pollution rate is higher in this season. Hamedan is surrounded by Alvand Mountains, which makes the air pollution control policies and air pollution management more important in this city. In the present study, the new methods of artificial neural network and meteorological data were used and compared as a tool for the prediction and warning of air pollution in Hamedan city. Highly accurate methods are available for the prediction of meteorological variables, which provide reliable data for the prediction of air pollution. In order to avoid over-training and assess the network compatibility with the lack of data, the minimum number of the data input data was used in this study. According to the results, the combined approaches of the artificial neural network were applicable in this regard, while ANN-MLP with the momentum learning rule and the TanhAxon transfer function yielded more accurate results compared to CAFIS.

Cities provide their residents and communities with specific services through urban green spaces. Cognitive development is an important service, which is the construction of thought processes such as remembering, problem-solving, and decision-making from childhood to adulthood. The present study aimed to evaluate and quantify the supply of the cognitive development services resulting from the exposure of green space for primary school students in Hamedan, Iran. In total, 179 schools were selected, and by applying a 50-meter buffer, the green space within the school area was classified into five categories based on field surveys and satellite imagery processing and weighted based on expert opinions. The final index value was obtained by summing the product of each polygon value in its area for each green infrastructure class, which was classified into five groups. According to the results, gardens and parks had the highest impact on cognitive development. Only 15 schools had a proper status in terms of the green cover standard (NDVI≥0.5) affecting the cognitive development of students. Considering the per capita standard of green space (0.5 m2) and standard area of ​​school infrastructure (1960 m2), only six schools met the triple standards, and four cases were added to the list by creating and expanding the green space. Since the design of schools is not focused on green spaces, its valuable capital remains a potential value. which should be recognized and activated to attain growth, academic progress, and improvement of students' learning.

The present study aimed to investigate and zonate Tabriz city, Iran in terms of vulnerability to earthquake hazard using the GIS software. Due to the geographical location of Tabriz over the North Tabriz Fault as an active and seismic fault from the north of the city, the necessity of this issue is highlighted. Based on the 10 most important influential factors in the vulnerability of cities to earthquake (geological and environmental factors), the seismic vulnerability zoning maps were developed by the ARC GIS software using the Fuzzy logic. By the integration of the layers using the Fuzzy method, the final map of the vulnerability of Tabriz city in equilibrium earthquakes was prepared in five zones with very high, high, moderate, low, and very low vulnerability. According to the zoning maps, Tabriz is not well positioned in terms of the occurrence of earthquakes, and most of the populated areas (especially the northern and central parts of the city) have higher vulnerability.

Industrial wastewater is one of the most dangerous and important sources of bacterial pathogens. This study aimed to determine the frequency of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in samples taken from wastewater plants of Golestan Province, Iran, and evaluate the antimicrobial effect of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in combination with vancomycin on the growth of isolates resistant to vancomycin. Samples were taken from three plants in Gorgan, Kordkuy and Bandar Turkoman. Enterococcal species were identified based on the most probable number (MPN), filtration, microbiological and biochemical tests. Susceptibility to six antibiotics with monitoring of vancomycin was investigated using the Kirby-Bauer method, according to the CLSI-2015 guidelines. The antibacterial effect of AuNPs was evaluated using agar well diffusion method. More than 60% of wastewater samples were positive for enterococcal species, 65% of which were found in raw effluent, while the remaining 35% were found in the treated effluent. Based on the results, 88.2% of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin. The frequency of vancomycin-resistant enterococci was 47.1%. Our findings indicate the presence of multi-drug resistant enterococci and high rate of vancomycin resistance in wastewater samples from the Golestan Province, Iran. Results show good antibacterial effects of AuNp s in combination with vancomycin in high densities against all the drug-resistant enterococci strains.

Considering the advantages of biological systems for wastewater treatment in compatibility with the environment, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of different concentrations of folic acid, nitrogen, and phosphorus on the biological treatment of industrial wastewater at Tabriz Petrochemical Company (TPC) in Iran. The Taguchi method with the orthogonal array L9 was used to determine the optimal conditions of microorganism growth. Color, pH, nitrogen, phosphorous, sludge volume reduction, sludge volume index (SVI), and mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) were measured. According to the results, the three investigated factors could significantly reduce wastewater. After removing the folic acid color, modulating the pH, and reducing the SVI, the nitrogen factor was considered most effective. Nitrogen also had a significant effect on the removal of output wastewater (62.62%). In addition, the phosphorus factor had the most significant impact on wastewater reduction (65.25%). The optimal conditions were observed with 0.2 ppm of folic acid, 20 ppm of nitrogen, and 4 ppm of phosphorus in the three investigated parameters. Folic acid only significantly affected the increasing of MLSS (90.1%), and the optimal condition of this parameter was with 0.2 ppm of folic acid, 30 ppm of nitrogen, and 4 ppm of phosphorus. Sludge volume reduction was observed in all the reactors. The addition of folic acid, nitrogen, and phosphorous to the TPC wastewater lacking these materials could enhance the output parameters and reduce adverse environmental effects.

Today, heavy metal contamination in soil due to toxicity, stability, high shelf life in soil, and elemental accumulation in foods is considered to hazardous biologically and ecologically. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of lead and nickel in wheat using sugarcane biochar. The experimental design was factorial with a completely randomized design in triplicate, and the factors included sugarcane biochar at four levels of zero (control), 2, 4, and 6% of soil weight and soil type (contaminated and non-contaminated with lead and nickel). Lead (500 mg/kg) and nickel (250 mg/kg) were added to each pot based on the threshold and critical levels of contaminated agricultural soil. The maximum lead in roots (1,771.8 mg/kg), stems (119.73 mg/kg), and grains (32.36 mg/kg) and maximum nickel in roots (562.5 mg/kg), stems (39.54 mg/kg), and grains (9.4 mg/kg) were measured in the contaminated soil. The maximum reduction of lead and nickel in the plants was measured using 6% biochar, and the reduction rate of lead in roots, stems, and grains with 6% biochar was 22.2, 75.7, and 83.3%. The reduction rate of nickel in roots, stems, and grains was 16.9, 81, and 62.8% compared to the biochar absence, respectively. In the contaminated soils, 6% biochar was effective in reducing the lead below the standard level in foods, especially in the grains, while the grain nickel was slightly higher than the food standards, and further investigations should increase food safety.

Toxic elements (heavy metals) generally include a wide range of elements such as cadmium, lead, arsenic, etc. which have a significant impact on water pollution, especially human drinking water. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of these metals on the level of drinking water pollution in Iran. This research is a systematic review article, conducted by searching the Scholar, SID, Science Direct, PubMed, and MAGIRAN databases for related published papers from 2000 to 2019. Several keywords have been searched including heavy metals, drinking water, water pollution index, urban water supply network, and GIS. Searching the database, 812 articles have been found, out of which 190 articles were picked out by reviewing their titles and abstracts, and finally, 50 articles were selected by reading the entire text. Out of these 50 articles, 25 articles were selected for review due to their high conceptual relationship with this study. According to the results, in 54.17% of the studies, the concentration of heavy metals was higher than the standards of Iran and WHO. The concentration of toxic elements Chromium, Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Copper, Iron and Manganese, in 18.75, 30, 16.66, 33.33, 7.69, 33.33 and 25% of the articles were higher than the permissible limits, respectively. In general, natural factors such as geology and human factors such as the effects of effluent, waste, metal and worn water supply networks caused pollution in drinking water.

Contaminated water is increasingly linked to diseases worldwide, necessitating the safety evaluation of the sources of domestic and drinking water in every locality. The present study aimed to assess water safety in terms of lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), and microorganisms in the borehole and well water in Iwaya, Makoko, and Ilaje in Lagos, Nigeria. Water samples were subjected to atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and microbiological examinations using standard protocols and compared with the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limits. The average daily ingestion (ADI) and hazard quotient (HQ) of the selected heavy metals were also calculated using standard formulas. The AAS indicated that the borehole and well water of the three locations contained non-permissible levels of Pb, Ni, and Cd (only the well water in Ilaje), while Zn, Cu, and Cr were normal. In addition, the microbiological examinations showed that the borehole and well water of the three locations contained abnormal bacteria and coliform counts (well water only). The ADI and HQ of the selected heavy metals were less than one, which is the threshold at which a substance is considered safe for consumption. Water could pose some health risks, and the consumers in high-risk areas should consider water treatment before consumption.