مجله سلامت و بهداشت
سال ششم شماره 1 (پیاپی 20، بهار 1394)

Ag nanoparticles is an effective option for water and wastewater disinfection due to their high antimicrobial properties. Application of AgNPs was limited because of difficulties associated with their separation from aqueous environments. In this study، AgNPs were coated on Fe3O4 nano particles to achieve magnetic separation of AgNPs from solution after disinfection process. In this study composites of magnetic silver nanocomposites and the one modified with carbon layer have been synthesized and their disinfection potentials on FC were tested through direct fermentation tube method. Efficiencies of two disinfectants were compared using nonparametric Wilcoxon test. Effects of disinfectants concentrations (0-60 mg/L)، initial MPN of bacteria (101-105 MPN/100mL)، and contact times (0-60 min)، as well as the reusability of disinfectant (1-7 rounds) were studied. Efficiency of Fe3O4@C@Ag nanoparticles significantly differed from Fe3O4@Ag (p<0. 05) based on Wilcoxon test result. The standard discharge conditions were achieved at 40 mg/L of Fe3O4@C@Ag after 30 minutes contact time. Reuse of Fe3O4@C@Ag showed that this disinfectant can be reused 7 rounds without significant decrease in their efficiency. The effluent analysis revealed that at different pH levels silver ion concentrations in effluent were lower than the standard level; even after 24 hours. Nanocomposite of Fe3O4@C@Ag has greate potential to be used in urban wastewater treatment due to high disinfection efficiency، reusability، production of no hazardious byproduct.

Criminal activity is a spreading social phenomenon that occurs in different forms in the community. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to this event. The aim of this study was comparison of the brain-behavioral systems in normal and delinquent adolescents in Ardebil city, Iran. In this scientific-comparative study statistic population was all the adolescents of Ardabil city (n=28,170) in 2014. Using systematic-random sampling method, 60 normal and 60 delinquent adolescents were selected. Data were collected using brain-behavioral systems’ questionnaire of Gary Wilson approach. Obtained results data subjected to statistical analysis by SPSS using Multivariable variance (MANOVA) and regression analysis. Results showed that active avoidance, passive avoidance, turn off (silence) avoidance, and opposition (avoidance) systems are different between normal and delinquent adolescents (p<0.001). However, no significant differences were observed in tendency and opposition (avoidance) systems of normal and delinquent adolescents. Furthermore, the results of regression analysis showed that 27 percent of criminal variances in adolescents are determined by variables of brain-behavioral systems. According to the Beta coefficient values, active avoidance and opposition (avoidance) systems positively predict the crimes and passive avoidance system negatively predict the crimes in adolescents. Findings show that brain-behavioral systems’ variables have strong impact on the scale of delinquency in adolescents. In this regard psychological training could be effective in modifying personality characteristics and delinquency in adolescents.

The presence of phenol in effluents may cause risk to human health. By Taguchi statistical model, the process can be optimized by certain number of experiments. The aim of this study was optimization of catalytic ozonation process in removal of phenol from aqueous environments by Nano Fe / MgO with Taguchi statistical model. In this experimental study, experiment design was set based on the statistical model. Parameters such as pH (3, 5, 9, and 11), initial concentration of pollutant (500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 mg/L), reaction time (10, 20, 30, and 40 min) and catalytic dose (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 g/L) in 4 layers and 4 levels were investigated. Data were analyzed with Minitab ver.16 software. Residual concentration of phenol was measured according to standard method book. The results showed that, efficiency of phenol removal depends on various operational parameters. The optimum conditions of phenol removal was obtained at reaction time=30 min, pH=5, the phenol initial concentration of 1000 mg/L and catalyst dose of 0.1 g/L. Among the factors investigated; initial concentration of phenol has the maximum effect (69.5%) and reaction time the minimum (3.2%) effect in optimum conditions. S/N ratio of 39.39 was estimated at optimum conditions. By using Taguchi statistical model, phenol removal was optimized in certain number of experiments. Ozonation process has high capability in phenol removal.

The situation of hospitals relative to other urban land uses especially roads network and population density has an important role on physical and mental health of urban dwellers. This research, attempts to provide geographical evaluation of present hospitals and determine the best locations for these hospitals in the city. Methodology of the research is descriptive-analytical. At first geographical location of present hospitals and then the areas that need hospitals (based on the criteria exist for locating hospitals) were determined using Weighted Linear Combination model of ARCGIS software. Due to high number of criteria involved in finding optimal location for hospitals, in present paper combination of the GIS capabilities and WLC model were tested to provide suitable positioning model for these hospitals. Results show that location of hospitals in Ardabil city does not follow a logic and scientific process. Concentration of these environments in south west and the city centre has caused various problems in these areas and has resulted in the lack of hospital land use in other parts of the city. General conclusion expresses that in the case of hospital construction Danesh Abad, Karshnasan, Islam Abad, and Golestan neighborhoods have the first priority. The second priority areas are Yousef Abad, Salman abad, Javadiye, Abbasiye and Zainabiye. The last priorities are Shahid Rajaee and Sayed Abad areas. The areas having priority in the output of WLC model showed that these areas have preferred conditions based on the given criteria. This fact demonstrates the capabilities of these techniques and tools on playing roles as a decision support system (DSS) for selection of the appropriate options.

In recent years exposure to bioaerosols has been an important matter of concern; causing danger to human health. This study aimed to determine bacterial and fungal pollution in ambient air of Tehran’s Shahrake Ghods waste water treatment and investigate its relations to environmental parameters. This cross-sectional study was done in Tehran WWTP for 4 months. 440 samples were taken from grit chamber, aeration tank, aerobic digester, 100 meters apart from the last unit of the treatment plant, and management building of treatment plant by a passive method using 9cm plates. Soy agar and dextrose agar were used for sampling of Trypticase and Sabouraud, respectively. Concentrations varied from 62 to 1823 CFU/Plate for bacteria and from 1 to 50 CFU/Plate for fungi. The highest concentration of bacterial pollution was observed in aeration digester with an average of 3303 CFU/Plate and the lowest one related to grit chamber with an average of 586 CFU/Plate. In terms of fungal pollution, respective highest and lowest numbers were quantified in grit chamber with an average of 61 CFU/Plate and aeration system with an average of 41 CFU/Plate. Dominant species for bacterial were Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Micrococcus and for fungi were Cladosporium, Alternaria and Penicillium. According to the results, operational and processing units of WWTP influence pollution load and dispersion of bioaerosols. Therefore, appropriate environmental health management in WWTP could be one of the important factors reducing dispersion of bioaerosols.

Dietary diversity score is a method to assess quality of individual's diet variation. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between dietary diversity and child growth status among primary school students in Ardabil. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 280 primary school students with age range of 7-11years in 2012. Data were collected using a personal information questionnaire and three 24-h recall questionnaires. Dietary diversity score was calculated from the number of food groups in all the three 24-hour recall questionnaires. Z-score related to weight for age and height for age were calculated by Epi info software version 6; World Health Organization, and entered into SPSS version16. The mean age of the students was 1.42 ± 8.9 years. In terms of height for age, 20 students (14.7%) were in the normal range (z-score ≤ -2) and 260 (92.86%) suffered from stunted growth (Z-score ≥ -3). The index of weight for age of 14 students (5%) was normal and 266 (95%) were severely underweight. In terms of BMI; 77 (27.5%) were lean and 203(72.5%) were obese. No significant relationships were observed between weight, height, and BMI of the student and their dietary diversity. Although there was no significant relation between nutritional indexes and dietary diversity score, but the results showed that prevalence of severe malnutrition is high and dietary diversity scores are low among primary school students in Ardebil.

Air pollution in major cities is one of the most important concerns of the society. BTEX compounds; benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylenes are categorized as monocyclic aromatic chemicals. MTBE, ETBE and TAME are oxygenated compounds belonging to the class of ethers. All of these compounds are mainly added to gasoline to enhance octane rate, reduce carbon monoxide emission and improve combustion process as an alternatives to alkyl-lead compounds. The aim of this study was to determine concentrations of urinary biomarkers of mentioned chemicals in subjects with no occupational exposure history. This is a cross-sectional study conducted in 2013. Spot urine samples were collected from 30 healthy volunteers (18 from indoor and 12 from outdoor environments). Head space solid phase micro extraction (HS-SPME) technique was used to extract compounds and a gas chromatograph equipped with FID detector for sample analysis. The mean concentrations of urinary biomarkers of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, p+m-xylene, o-xylene, MTBE, ETBE, TAME were respectively 81, 87, 31, 198, 44, 184, 31 and 0 ng/L. No significant difference (p>0.05) was observed in concentrations of urine biomarkers between two groups. According to the results of this and other studies, biomarkers are useful criteria for assessing human exposure to environmental pollutants.

Cardiovascular diseases are the most important cause of death in Iran and the world. Regarding the relationships between cardiovascular diseases and nutritional status as well as the tendency of people toward having food in restaurants and hotels; present study conducted to study the effect of education on knowledge, attitude and practice of restaurant and hotels’ chefs to prevent risk factors of cardiovascular diseases in Yazd. In a semi-experimental study, intervention factor for case group was education through lectures, pamphlets, and videos were. All the restaurant and hotels’ chefs of Yazd were divided in two groups, intervention and control (each group 39). Data were gathered through a researcher made questionnaire. Its validity was confirmed under supervision of health education and cardiovascular professionals and its reliability was proved through conducting a pilot study and calculation of Cronbach's alpha (α=0.75). Pretest was done prior to interventional educational program (in 4 sessions of 90 min). Posttest questionnaire was filled in after one week from implementation of educational intervention and the data were analyzed by SPSS software using appropriate statistical tests. Before training, average scores of knowledge and attitude had no significant differences between case and control groups. However, unlike attitude (p=0.065), mean score of knowledge (p<0.001) significantly increased in intervention group comparing to control group. Significant differences were observed in scores of knowledge and attitude of intervention group between prior and one week after education courses (p<0.001). The main information source of the subjects was media (63.5%) with physicians being their preferred source (62.2%). According to average knowledge of chefs before the intervention and significant role of chefs on cardiovascular health; improving chef's information through regular training programs in consultation and health education centers, posters, pamphlets, and media is suggested.

Heavy metals are among the significant pollutants of water sources. Unlike organic contaminants, they are not biodegradable and tend to accumulate in living organisms. The objective of the present work was to investigate efficiency of glass beads modified with APTES ligand (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane) on copper ion removal from aqueous solution. Methodology of the research was experimental, basic and applicable based on the nature of the study and experimental data. Response surface methodology based on Box-Behnken design was used to assess the effect of independent variables including flow rate, solution pH, initial concentrations and size of glass beads on the response function (removal efficiency of copper ion). The optimum conditions to remove copper ion from aqueous solution was achieved at pH≥6, flow rate of 30 ml min−1, and a glass beads size of 38-63µ. Absorption results indicated that Cu2+ adsorption from aqueous solutions to fit with Langmuir isotherm and follow pseudo-second-order kinetic model. All the results demonstrated that modified glass beads successfully absorb copper ion from aqueous solution.

Motor vehicle traffic in streets is one of the main causes of noise pollution in the environment. Present study aimed to determine day average sound level Index in overcrowded areas of Birjand, Iran. Noise level in selected stations was measured by TES sound level meter using BS 7445-1-2003 and BS 7445-3-1991 standards. The measurement was done on working days and weekends according to the enactment of the Council for Environment of Iran. Data were processed using SPSS software. The average day noise level was 66.7 ± 2.2 dB with the highest level belonging to Motahari St. (69.1 dB). Mean noise level on working days was 67.8 ± 2.3 dB and on weekends was 65.1 ± 2.2 dB that are higher than the standard limit (p<0.05). Regarding the harmful effects of this environmental agent, more studies are recommended to investigate causes of the noise pollution. Since traffic load are the main determinant of the noise pollution; passing traffic rules and educating residents to promote culture of motor vehicle driving may decrease noise pollution level and prevent its physical and mental disorders in such areas.