Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research
Volume:10 Issue: 3, Summer 2022

Newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 virus has been identified in China since 2019 and is still progressing as a tense threat to the human health worldwide. This virus can cause an acute respiratory infection and lead to death under acute circumstances. To describe the environmental factors affecting the prevalence of the disease as well as make an appropriate health strategy, some databases were reviewed. Coronavirus is mainly transmitted by direct contact through respiratory droplets. It can also be transmitted through secondary routes such as air, close contact and contaminated surfaces. The transmission through food has not been conclusively proven, but there are concerns about the food preparation, storage, infected staffs and improper use of personal protective equipment as the source of infection. Some possible sources of transmission are the contaminated water and sewage, especially in the areas where patients have the symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting. In this study, we described the essential strategies in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 disease. Based on the most important criteria, this study developed a prevention model and health strategy including updated training information, improvement programs, risk assessment, environmental monitoring, operational measures as well as supportive approaches and programs, which can be used step by step to reach a healthy environment, increase the compliance with protocols and, eventually, decrease the incidence of COVID-19.

The impacts of climate change can have many facets which are not directly felt. Climate change causes crucial political, economic, and social problems in our world. Inadequate public perceptions of climate change have resulted in little global response to climate change. This systematic review protocol examines existing perception models. First, we searched 3 databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, as well as Google Scholar as a search engine for all documents on the topic words “climate change”, “risk perception”, and “model” and their synonyms in medical subject headings (MESH). All types of journal articles were assessed. No date and language limitations were applied. The articles were evaluated by two independent persons. The results show that in recent years, the number of studies on climate risk perception across countries has increased compared to the total number of scientific publications. In addition, the number of climate change risk perceptions was higher than in other models. Our findings showed that until now, no systematic review has been conducted for models, features, and components of climate change perception. This is the first comprehensive study to assess climate change risk perception models (CCRPM). This study presents climate change perception models.

A variety of gas heaters are used in residential, administrative, and commercial buildings in Iran. Home packages (HP) and central heating boiler rooms (CHBRs) are among the most common types of heating systems that can be damaged during earthquakes and, thus, harm the building and the residents.

By doing a survey and an interview in 50 residential buildings in District 16 of Tehran, the risks of these facilities were assessed during earthquakes from the viewpoint of the residents. To do the risk assessment, the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) model in the fuzzy space were applied. To analyze the risk priority number (RPN), defuzzification and the center of gravity method were used. Based on the results, 11 indicators were identified and evaluated for each system.

The mean RPNs obtained for both systems were almost equal (the difference was about 2%). Thus, no definitive superiority can be presumed for HP or CHBR when earthquakes happen. The major difference in the risk of each system can be separately evaluated based on the conditions of each building, confidence about the quality of installation, connections, pipe materials, electric wire corrosion, etc.

It is suggested that the risks of CHBR and HP during earthquakes are the same, and some issues such as design, economy, and technical issues play a greater role in contractors’ selection of the system.

The present study examines the various complications and impurities of alcoholbased hand sanitizers during COVID-19 among health workers in Hamadan City, Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 178 healthcare workers in different hospitals affiliated with the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. The inclusion criteria included health personnel working in hospitals dedicated to the care and treatment of patients with COVID-19 in Hamadan City. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. Afterward, to evaluate the quality and impurities of the alcohol-based hand sanitizers used by healthcare workers, various samples were collected and analyzed using gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS). Stata software version 14-2 was used to analyze the data. The highest and the lowest percentages of ethanol in washing solutions and gels were 68.24% and 60.71%, respectively. Among them, the frequency of using gel, solution, and spray was 93.82%, 42.13%, and 49.44%, respectively. Skin and breathing sensitivity were the most common symptoms in 44.38% and 27.68% of the health workers, respectively. Skin dryness (50%) and sore throat (25.84%) were the most common complications observed in skin and respiratory symptoms among health workers, respectively. Our findings implied that the prevalence of various complications related to the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers is high among health workers, which highlights the role of using appropriate alcohol-based hand rubs with suitable formulations in the hospital environment to reduce the adverse health effects caused by their long-term and extensive use among health workers.

Microbial resistance to antibiotics has led to serious efforts to discover novel drugs, which is why there is so much interest in the use of herbs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial effect of aqueous, hydro-alcoholic, and alcoholic extracts of Morus nigra in comparison with some common antibiotics. In this experimental study, the zone of inhibition, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the Morus nigra extracts against Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus pyogenes were determined using the disk diffusion and broth macro-dilution methods. Statistical analysis was performed using the ANOVA test by SPSS software. The results of this study showed that all studied strains were sensitive to different extracts of Morus nigra. The highest antibacterial effect was related to the aqueous extract of Morus nigra, which created an inhibition zone with a diameter of 22.25 against Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus pyogenes. The lowest inhibition zone (9 mm) was related to the alcoholic extract of Morus nigra against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The MIC values of different extracts of Morus nigra against test bacteria varied from 0.78 to 3.12 mg/ml and MBC values were between 3.12 and 50 mg/mL. Based on the findings of this study, the aqueous extract of Morus nigra has shown strong bactericidal properties against all studied bacterial strains, which indicates its potential for therapeutic application.

Nanoparticles (NPs) have recently attracted extensive attention in the field of elimination and reduction of microbial load in various water resources. Accordingly, this study aimed to eliminate bacterial contamination from aqueous solutions using synthesized NPs.

In the present study, zinc oxide (ZnO) and silver (Ag) ion-doped zinc oxide (Ag/ZnO, 1-6 wt%) nanoparticles were synthesized using the sol-gel process and then characterized in terms of structure, morphology, and antimicrobial activity. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was utilized to determine the nanoparticle size and crystal structure. Images from field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the successful production of NPs. The antimicrobial activity of ZnO and Ag1-6%/ZnO against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was assessed by the agar well diffusion method.

According to the findings, the synthesized ZnO had a hexagonal structure and the size of ZnO and Ag5%/ZnO were 32.56 nm and 12.81 nm, respectively; the field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images showed that the nanoparticle sizes were 77.60 nm and 47.15 nm, respectively. Based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, the mean size of ZnO and Ag5%/ZnO was 22.5 nm and 17.5 nm, respectively. The results showed that the diameter of the zone of inhibition created by Ag5%/ZnO at a concentration of 0.1 g/mL was 20 mm and 13 mm for S. aureus  and E. coli, respectively.

The results indicated that E. coli was more resistant than S. aureus, although E. coli was still more resistant at low concentrations.

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in industrial ice cream was analyzed by immunoaffinity column (IAC) clean-up followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a fluorescence detector (FLD) as a highly-sensitive method to confirm and quantify AFM1 in the ice cream samples. A total of 150 industrial ice cream samples were randomly collected from supermarkets in seven Iranian cities (Tehran, Tabriz, Karaj, Urmia, Sanandaj, Qazvin, and Khoramabad). AFM1 was detected in more than 80.0% of samples. The average AFM1 concentration in ice cream was 29.79 ng/L. According to the results, in 12.62% of samples, AFM1 levels exceeded the maximum European Union (EU) limits for adults (50 ng/mL). This study recommends regular monitoring of AFM1 concentration in ice cream in Iran. Results of this study indicate the need to develop a database to assist law enforcement agencies, traders, and policymakers in local governments to minimize or prevent health-related risks caused by AFM1.

Natural organic matter (NOM) in drinking water sources has always been regarded as a precursor for the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAAs), and carcinogenic properties. This study aimed to fabricate and characterize a nanohybrid ultrafiltration membrane (PSF/ZnO) to evaluate its efficiency in NOM removal from water.

Nanohybrid membranes with ratios of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4% w/w of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated using the phase inversion method and characterized by the contact angle, AFM, FTIR, and SEM analyses. In this study, the effects of initial humic acid (HA) concentration, operating pressure, pH, and filtration time were examined on the HA removal efficiency and pure water flux through the membrane.

The results showed that addition of the ZnO NPs to the PSF membrane reduced the contact angle on the PSF/ZnO nanohybrid membrane’s surface. According to FE-SEM images, increasing the ZnO concentration changed the porous structure of the membranes from a spongy, teardrop shape to a finger-like channel structure. The FTIR analysis revealed an increase in the hydrophilicity of the membrane due to the presence of hydroxyl functional groups in ZnO. AFM images indicated an increase in the surface roughness of nanoparticle-containing membranes. It was found that an increase in the concentration of the ZnO NPs (0-4% w/w) increased HA removal efficiency (43.63-83.4%).

This study demonstrated that the use of the PSF/ZnO nanohybrid membranes increased HA removal efficiency and pure water flux passing through the membrane.