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Abstract Background Long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic (As) and cigarette smoking has been associated with adverse health effects such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease. Oxidative stress is one of the most well-known damage mechanisms for both. However, studies on the association with induced 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in Iran are scarce, with no study on the interactive effect of As exposure and smoking in the literature. Objective This stratified cross-sectional study aimed to assess urinary and serum 8-OHdG levels in the relation to As exposure from drinking water, smoking and their interaction effect. Methods This study was based on 132 healthy male subjects living in villages of Hashtroud County, Iran (2021). All participants were categorized into four groups: (i) non-As exposed, never smokers (n = 33); (ii) non-As exposed, active smokers (n = 33); (iii) As exposed, never smokers (n = 33); and (iv) As exposed, active smokers (n = 33). Data on demographic and lifestyle factors were collected, and urinary and serum levels of 8-OHdG were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The smoker's daily cigarette consumption and the duration of smoking were self-reported data. Results Participants consuming drinking water with an As concentration > 10 µg/L had significantly higher urinary total arsenic (U-tAs) concentrations (median 26.96, IQR 21.35–37.17) µg/g Cr compared to the reference group (median 19.33, IQR 17.29–23.26) µg/g Cr. There was a significant difference in the serum concentration of 8-OHdG between groups (i) and (iii), (iv) and also between groups (ii) and (iv). We did not find a significant interaction effect of As exposure and smoking on the both urinary and serum 8-OHdG levels (P > 0.05). Serum 8-OHdG (S-8OHdG) was associated with average daily intake of As (As-ADI) (β = 0.32; 95% CI 0.01, 0.04, P-value = 0.001) and cigarettes smoked per day (β = 0.3; 95% CI 0.00, 0.043, P-value = 0.046). While As-ADI (β = 0.16; 95% CI 0.001, 0.004, P-value = 0.01) and U-tAs (β = 0.6; 95% CI 0.006, 0.009, P-value

Introduction: Radiologists and radiotherapists are frequently exposed to elevated levels of radiation compared to the general population. This study aimed to assess the impact of Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) conditions on employees in radiology and diagnostic imaging services regarding the incidence of cancer. Methods: This cross-sectional survey comprised two components: (1) Evaluation of HSE conditions in radiology and diagnostic imaging services within hospitals, and (2) Examination of radiation doses received by radiologic technologists, along with investigating cancer incidence among these workers. Results: Among the 29 and 54 participants, the two-month and annual doses exceeded standard levels. The HSE condition survey revealed mean scores across all hospitals of 75.5±10.2 for radiation safety, 88.2±8.5 for general safety, and 47±10.6 for emergency safety. No cases of suspected radiation-related cancer symptoms were identified. Higher scores on metrics such as individual dosimeter usage, adherence to proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), equipment safety checks, device leak testing, presence of safety warnings, and attention to HSE issues were associated with reduced radiation exposure and fewer doses received by participants. Conclusion: Adherence to safety protocols leads to decreased radiation exposure and mitigates concerns regarding occupational diseases.

Background and Objective: The trend of developments in the health system and medical education and other related sciences, including environmental health, is a global challenge. In this research educational content of environmental health and its revision were studied from the point of view of students and graduates. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional descriptive study. In this research, through two checklists, the opinions of environmental health students and graduates regarding the necessity of revising the educational content of the field according to the requirements of the time and considering the future situation were investigated with the participation of 441 people. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-22 software. Results: According to the results, 73.7 percent of participants believed that the educational content of environmental health in Iran has fundamental differences from developed countries. 81.7 percent believed that the educational content provided to environmental health students is not proportional to their duties. Meantime, 91.4 percent of the graduates of environmental health believe that the expected capabilities included in the educational curricula of different degrees of environmental health should be revised. 88.4 percent believed that it is necessary to revise the educational content of this field considering the "change in executive and practical functions of environmental health during the past years". Conclusion: The overwhelming majority of graduates of the field emphasized the need to revise the educational content of the environmental health field, taking into account the requirements of the time. It is necessary to redefine the field of environmental health in the country according to the changing situation and the emergence of new indicators.

Abstract Introduction: Proper knowledge of groundwater geochemistry and identification of the risk factors for the aquifer system is very important to control and improve the management of groundwater resources in arid and semi-arid regions. Methods: Sampled data during six years from 2014 to 2019 were used to assess the temporal variation of geochemical parameters of the wells in the study area. Water quality index (WQI), Piper diagram, Wilcox Diagram, and Gibbs Diagram were employed for evaluating the status of groundwater using sampled data in 2019. Results: The results showed that the total hardness (TH) exceeded the standard value proposed by WHO for six years. The study area is categorized in a moderate range in terms of drinking water quality. Calcic-bicarbonate and temporary hardness (Ca-Mg-HCO3) were obtained as the hydrochemical factor and type of the groundwater in most of the samples, respectively. A little salty and salty water were identified as the status of groundwater quality for agricultural purposes. Rock dominance was also determined as the controlling factor in groundwater of the study area. The results of multivariate statistical analyses indicated that wastewater, fertilizers, agricultural effluents, and geological structures were the most important sources of entering the hydrochemical parameters. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that anthropogenic activities, geology structures, and the effects of Urmia lake are the most important factors to the concentration of physicochemical parameters in the groundwater.

Background and Objective: Chlorpyrifos (CPF), an organophosphate pesticide, has been widely used in the agricultural industry and may cause environmental damage. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential application of Fe(VI) and Fe(VI)/PMS processes for oxidation of CPF in water after pretreatment with ferric chloride coagulant. Materials and Methods: This study was performed in two phases including coagulation and flocculation process and advanced oxidation process (AOP). In the first phase, the coagulation process was performed for turbidity removal by ferric chloride (FeCl3). In this phase, using a central composite design (CCD) with R software, the combined effect of four variables including initial turbidity, initial pH, coagulant dose and contact time was investigated. The supernatant from this process was transferred to the next phase for further analysis. In the AOP phase, the effect of Fe(VI) and Fe(VI)/PMS oxidants were investigated separately. Results: In the first phase (coagulation and flocculation), FeCl3 showed the highest efficiency (95.79%) at alkaline pH (pH=8). In the next phase (AOP), the results showed that the degradation efficiency of Fe(VI)/PMS process was higher compared to sole Fe(VI) process at all pHs. Also, by examining the reaction kinetics, it was found that after the coagulation process by FeCl3, the removal rate in the Fe(VI)/PMS process is 1.5 times higher than the Fe(VI) process. Conclusion: Due to the high removal efficiency and higher degradation rate of Fe(VI)/PMS process, this technique can be used as a relatively effective method in removing chlorpyrifos from aqueous solution.

The evaluation of groundwater quality and geochemistry have an important role in the management of water resources in arid and semi-arid regions. In the present study, the spatio-temporal assessment of groundwater quality and hydrogeochemical processes, as well as, statistical analyses in the Azarshahr and Ajabshir plains located in the Urmia Lake basin were investigated. The results revealed that within six years (from 2014 to 2019), the value of total hardness was higher than the permissible level and the quality of groundwater for drinking was very hard and fresh in both plains. In 2019, 84 and 67% of the samples fell within the range of good to poor groundwater quality in the Azarshahr and Ajabshir plains, respectively. The temporal assessment with the help of water quality index values for both plains revealed a good groundwater quality for the Azarshahr plain and a good to poor groundwater quality for the Ajabshir plain. However, deterioration of water quality was observed in both plains from 2014 to 2019. The level of water quality for irrigation was better in the Azarshahr plain than in the Ajabshir plain, due to the presence of fewer salty sites. In addition, Ca–Mg–HCO3 and rock dominance were identified as hydrochemical facies and the controlling factor in the groundwater of both plains, respectively. Multivariate statistical analyses indicated both natural and anthropogenic sources (such as weathering, fertilizers, and wastewater) for hydrochemical parameters. It was suggested to develop a comprehensive regulation to control the entry of pollutants into the groundwater of the study area. HIGHLIGHTS The level of water quality for drinking and irrigation was better in the Azarshahr plain than in the Ajabshir plain.; Ca–Mg–HCO3 and rock dominance were identified as hydrochemical facies and the controlling factors in the groundwater of the study area.; The groundwater resources in the Urmia Lake Basin were found to be threatened by different sources of pollution.;

Abstract The performance of ozonation for the removal of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) using Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa carrying ARGs from hospital wastewaters was evaluated in this study. Bacterial inactivation was determined using plate count methods and real time PCR for ARG damage (Sul1, bla tem , bla ctx , bla vim and qnrS). The reduction rate of bacterial cells and ARGs was increased by different amounts of transferred ozone dose from 11 to 45 mg/L. The concentration of 108 cfu/ml bacteria was reduced to an acceptable level by ozone treatment after a 5 min contact time, Although the removal rate was much higher for concentrations of 106 cfu/ml and 104 cfu/ml bacteria. Overall, the tendency of gene reduction by ozonation from more to less was 16S rRNA > sul1 > bla tem > bla ctx > qnrS > bla vim . Given that plasmid-borne ARGs can potentially be transferred to other bacteria even after the disinfection process, our results can provide important insights into the fate of ARGs during hospital wastewater ozonation.

Hospitals are considered an important factor in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARBs) and antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs). The purpose of this research was to characterize the microbial populations in hospital wastewater and investigated the prevalence of β-lactamase, SulІ and QnrS resistance genes. In the first step, culture method was used to isolate Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. In the next step, accurate identification of isolated bacteria was carried out using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, then the resistance of the bacteria at different concentrations of antibiotics (8–128 μg/mL) was examined. Finally the ARGs were detected using the PCR method. The averages of heterotrophic plate count (HPC) and ARB concentration in wastewater samples were 1.8 × 108 and 4.3 × 106 CFU/100 mL, respectively. The highest resistance rates were found for sulfamethoxazole and the highest resistance rates in the β-lactamase group were for ceftazidime, while highest sensitivity was for gentamicin and there was no isolate that was sensitive to the studied antibiotics. SulІ and QnrS were the highest and lowest abundance of all ARGs in samples respectively and blaSHV was the highest β-lactam resistance gene. Our results indicated an increase in the resistance of identified bacteria to several antibiotics. So it can be concluded that numerous antibiotic-resistant pathogens and vast numbers of ARGs exist in the human body so that their release from hospitals without effective treatment can cause many dangers to the environment and human health. Highlights In this study, five types of bacteria were extracted from EMB agar, two types of these bacteria were Escherichia coli.; The identified Escherichia coli both had the SUL, SHV, TEM genes and only one type of Escherichia coli CTX had the QnrS gene; The highest abundance of ARG, among identified Pseudomonas grown on cetrimide agar was sulfadimidine-resistance gene.;

Abstract Background Antibiotics are extensively discharged into the environment through sewages. These emergent contaminants cause health and environmental risks by toxicity, allergic impacts, non-biodegradability and more importantly advancing antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics are hardly removed by conventional treatment processes and frequently are being reported in aquatic environments. The systematic review outlined in this protocol will compile and synthesize literature on the variety and concentrations of antibiotics in wastewaters and receiving water resources. Also, the review will address the efficiency of treatment processes in elimination of antibiotics from aqueous solutions. Outcomes of the study could help wastewater treatment plant engineers with providing reliable design data and outline a road map for future researches. Methods The review will be performed according to the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence (CEE) guidelines for systematic review and evidence synthesis in environmental management, and will be reported according to ROSES reporting standards for systematic evidence syntheses. The published articles will be screened by considering the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria at the title, abstract and full-text levels. Included studies will be exposed to a critical appraisal for validity and quality assessment. The articles will be assessed on the susceptibility to bias and the studies with high bias will be excluded from the data synthesis. The data from included studies will be combined into a narrative synthesis. Random effect Meta-analysis will be conducted due to the likely range of underlying effects. If the heterogeneity exists, the source of heterogeneity will be sought by met-regression and subgroup analyses.

Background: Excessive use of plastic bags has become a major problem in the worldwide causing irreparable damages to the environment and humans. The purpose of this study was to identify the individual and environmental factors associated with the use of plastic bags among the vendors of Hadishahr city, Iran. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 400 vendors working in Hadishahr city. The data were gathered using a researcher-made questionnaire, which measured knowledge and attitudes of vendors regarding the use of plastic bags at the individual level. At the environmental level, access to alternatives plastic bags and social support to use of alternative was measured. Plastic bags in kilograms per week was measured as the consumer behavior Data were analyzed using SPSS software via Chi-square, t-test and hierarchical regression tests. Results: The average usage of plastic bags by the vendors was 4.5 kg per week. 97.8% of vendors gave plastic bags for the customers to carry away their purchased items. The individual-level factors (knowledge and attitude), along with social support for the use of alternatives taken from environmental factors were the most important predictors for the use of plastic bags; they were able to predict consumption behavior (15%) along with other variables. Conclusion: In order to reduce the plastic bags consumption while training, it is necessary to provide social support for the usage of alternatives and environmental access to these alternatives.

Introduction: Application of point-of-use (POU) drinking water treatment units is expanding across the world due to the increased concerns about the adverse health effects of water pollution. The main treatment systems of these devices are mostly activated carbon and nano-filter or reverse osmosis. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of using POU units on physical and chemical characteristics of water supply by people of Tabriz. The results were compared with national drinking water standards of Iran. A total of 60 samples were collected from 30 devices and analyzed for physical and chemical parameters especially heavy metals. Results: According to the findings, the physical and chemical parameters of the treated water were acceptable. Concentration of Pb was significantly higher than standards in the input water and effluent obtained from units. Conclusion: Although drinking water plays an indirect role in providing minerals for the body, consumers of these devices should be made aware of the reduced intake of minerals through drinking water. Considering the efficiency of household POU drinking water treatment units to reduce heavy metals that have health effects on humans, adequate supervision should be performed on the supply of standard and suitable products in the market.

Background and Objectives: Integrated solid waste management is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing the public and private institutions. This requires knowledge of the composition and sources of waste production. The aim of this study was to determine the quality and quantity of common waste at the faculty of health and nutrition and medical schools. Material and Methods: This study was a cross sectional and descriptive study on the point of all-waste generated in both schools. A total of 24 samples were taken and weighted from each school. Data were analyzed with SPSS and Excel. T-test was used for comparison of means following normality test of the data. Results: Average of waste produced at faculties of health and nutrition and medicine were 37±7 and 30±3 kg per day, respectively. Paper and metals were the highest and lowest part of solid waste, respectively with daily average of 15 and 2 kg. Paper is accounted about 40 to 45 percent by weight of the total waste. Per capita waste production in the faculty of health and nutrition is nearly twice faculty of medicine. The total waste per capita of university was estimated at about 15 kg per person per year. Conclusion: University solid waste per capita, especially the amount of paper, is high compared with the other researches. The highest amount of waste material examined in this study is recyclable at source. Training programs and changes in attitude and practice must be applied for students and staff to produce less waste to protect environment and natural resource and create a green university.

In this paper, the performance of a submerged membrane electro-bioreactor with pre-anaerobic reactors containing anode electrodes (SMEBR+) was compared with that of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) in municipal wastewater treatment. The new design idea of the SMEBR+ was based on applications of direct current (DC) on the anode and cathode electrodes. The pilot study was divided into 2 stages and operated for 48 days. In Stage I, the MBR was continuously operated for 24 days without the application of electrodes. In Stage II, the SMEBR+ was continuously operated for 24 days, while aluminum electrodes and an intermittent DC were working with an operational mode of 2 min ON/4 min OFF at a constant voltage of 1.4 V. The results indicated that membrane fouling was reduced by nearly 22.02% in the SMEBR+ compared to the MBR. The results also showed that the SMEBR+ increased the quality of effluent to the extent that high removals of NH3+-N, PO43−-P, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 98%, 76%, and 90%, respectively. This system, in comparison with those proposed in other studies, showed a suitable improvement in biological treatments, considering the high removal of NH3+-N. Therefore, SMEBR+ can be considered as a promising treatment alternative to the conventional MBR.

Background: The number of studies available on the performance of on-site medical waste treatment facilities is rare, to date. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of onsite medical waste treatment equipment in hospitals of Tabriz, Iran. Methods: A various range of the on-site medical waste disinfection equipment (autoclave, chemical disinfection, hydroclave, and dry thermal treatment) was considered to select 10 out of 22 hospitals in Tabriz to be included in the survey. The apparatus were monitored mechanically, chemically, and biologically for a six months period in all of the selected hospitals. Results: The results of the chemical monitoring (Bowie-Dick tests) indicated that 38.9% of the inspected autoclaves had operational problems in pre-vacuum, air leaks, inadequate steam penetration into the waste, and/or vacuum pump. The biological indicators revealed that about 55.55% of the samples were positive. The most of applied devices were not suitable for treating anatomical, pharmaceutical, cytotoxic, and chemical waste. Conclusion: Although on-site medical waste treating facilities have been installed in all the hospitals, the most of infectious-hazardous medical waste generated in the hospitals were deposited into a municipal solid waste landfill, without enough disinfection. The responsible authorities should stringently inspect and evaluate the operation of on-site medical waste treating equipment. An advanced off-site central facility with multi-treatment and disinfection equipment and enough capacity is recommended as an alternative.

Background: Rich texture of cosmetics can provide a suitable medium for growth of pathogenic microorganisms. In addition, skin microflora of anyone is unique which might be harmful toanother person. Skin and eye pathogenicity could be communicated by sharing cosmetics in beauty saloons. The main objective of this study was to evaluate microbial contamination of in-use skin and eye cosmetics which are available as public make-up kits for women in the beauty salons. Methods: Fifty-two in-use skin and eye cosmetics were included in this cross sectional study.The specimens from all the cosmetics were collected following the owner’s informed consent,and then about 1 g of the cosmetics was added to nine ml of liquid Eugon LT100 broth medium,two for each product. Ten beauty salons randomly selected from different regions of Tabriz city between June and August 2016. Cosmetics were sampled and carried to the laboratory in sterile condition and then examined to determine bacterial and fungal species in the samples. Results: All of in-use cosmetic were contaminated with bacteria (95% CI = 93.1%-100.0%) and about 19.2% by fungus and yeast (95% CI = 10.8%-31.9%). Streptococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Acinetobacter, Bacillus spp., Staphylococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Klebsiella,Citrobacter, Rhodotorula and Candida were dominant species which were isolated from the cosmetics. Powders with 38.5% (95% CI = 17.7%-64.5%) and eyeliners with 30.0% (95%CI = 6.7%-65.2%) were the most fungal contaminated products. Conclusion: Shared cosmetics in beauty salons are almost contaminated by bacteria and fungus.Therefore, it is suggested to avoid sharing cosmetics by women and prevent use of public cosmetics in toilet saloons.

Background: Disposal and release of plastic bags in the environment can cause environmental, economic, and social problems. The aim of this study was to explore the determinants of the behavior of plastic bag use (BPBU) among residents using socioecological approach (SEA). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, multistage random sampling was employed to enroll 400 residents in Hadishahr County, North West of Iran. A valid and reliable instrument based on SEA variables was used. Results: Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were performed with SEA and BPBU as outcome variables. Predictors of outcome variables were classified into four different blocks. Demographic characteristics and SEA constructs explained 50% of the observed variance in BPBU. In the first block, age (P = 0.03) and purchase frequency (P = 0.902) were significant predictors of BPBU (R2 = 0.34), and in the third block, access to alternatives in environment (P = 0.01) was significant predictor for BPBU (R2 = 0.49). The majority of residents (47%) were taking home 6 to 10 plastic bags and more than 10 freezer bags after their shopping per week. Conclusions: Health-care providers may consider purchase frequency and SEA as a framework for developing educational, environmental, and social interventions aiming at reducing the consumption of plastic bags.

Background and purpose: Awareness of people about drinking water impurities and the demand for better water quality have led to widespread application of point-of-use (POU) water treatment devices. The aim of this study was to investigate the bacteriological quality of water produced by household water treatment devices. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 18 household water treatment devices in 2014. Thirty-six inlet and outlet water samples were collected. Bacterial quality of the samples were determined by total and fecal coliform multiple-tube fermentation techniques, heterotrophic plate count (HPC) was done using membrane filter technique on blood agar medium and gram-negative bacteria analysis was performed via membrane filtration technique on EMB agar medium. Isolated colonies were identified using standard biochemical tests. Results: Total and fecal coliform bacteria were negative at all inlet samples, but were positive at two of the outlet samples. HPC were higher than the maximum limits of 500 cfu/ml at 67% of the outlet samples. Pseudomonas, Alcaligenes, Serratia and Shigella genus were found with higher frequencies at both inlet and outlet samples. However, frequencies of Proteus and gram positive Bacillus have increased in the outlet samples. Conclusion: The removal of residual chlorine by household water treatment devices causes developing biofilm on the filters and storage tank of the devices by the bacteria present in distribution network. Consequently, the number and variety of bacteria are increased in water produced by POU water treatment devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the power electronic converters for grid connection of axial flux permanent magnetic synchronous generators (AFPMSG) based variable speed wind turbine. In this paper, a new variable speed wind turbine with AFPMSG and Z-source inverter is proposed to improve number of switches and topology reliability. Besides, dynamic modeling of AFPMSG is presented to analyze grid connection of the proposed topology. The Z-source inverter controls maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and delivering power to the grid. Therefore other DC–DC chopper is not required to control the rectified output voltage of generator in view of MPPT. As a result, the proposed topology requires less power electronic switches and the suggested system is more reliable against short circuit. The ability of proposed energy conversion system with AFPMSG is validated with simulation results and experimental results using PCI-1716 data acquisition system.

This paper proposes two advanced algorithms for multilevel Z-source inverter (MLZSI), which employ space vector control (SVC) as control algorithm of cascaded H-bridge multilevel Z-source inverter; where output voltage is achieved by summing the output voltages of bridge. In these algorithms different states to generate the same voltage with low THD, as the purpose, are verified and the suitable one is selected. This method is simple and has appropriate performance, where sample time is set quietly. Use of Z-network allows the inverter to generate a wide range of output voltage with high reliability. The accuracy of suggested algorithms is validated with simulation results using MATLAB/SIMULINK software and experimental results based PCI-1716 data acquisition system.

Nurses are full partners with other health care professionals. Until fairly recently the scope of nurses potential in entrepreneurship has not been widely recognized. The present study tries to evaluate entrepreneurship psychological characteristics among nurses. The survey instrument included scales measuring entrepreneurship psychological characteristics including locus of control, need for achievement, risk taking propensity, ambiguity tolerance, and innovation, among nurses in the Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, Yazd, Iran in 2013. In this study average of entrepreneurship psychological characteristics of nurses which are higher than standard mark. The majority of the nurses have average entrepreneurship (20.4%). It means that they have some strong entrepreneurship. The result show that average of the need for achievement is 34.5%, the locus of control 33.8%, risk taking propensity 33.2%, ambiguity tolerance 34.2%, and innovation 41.6%. The results indicate that the 4 dimensions of the need for achievement, risk taking, Ambiguity Tolerance, and Innovation were significant. However, the locus of control is not significant at a 0.05 significance level. In terms, entrepreneurially nurses are comparatively more innovative, have risk taking attitudes, need for achievement, Ambiguity Tolerance, and Innovation. Results largely support significant positive relationships between psychological traits and entrepreneurial orientations.