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Ciprofloxacin (CIP) is one of the most widely used antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. Consequently, there is concern that it may contaminate water resources due to its high usage level. It is therefore necessary to monitor, trace, and reduce exposure to these antibiotic residues. In the current study, the extraction of CIP from water was performed using a green adsorbent material based on cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) decorated with mixed metal oxides (MMO). This cellulose/MMO/PVA adsorbent was synthesized using a simple sol-gel method. The prepared adsorbent materials were then characterized using a range of methods, including scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, gas adsorption analysis, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier Transform infrared. The impact of pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, and CIP concentration on ciprofloxacin extraction were examined. The equilibrium and kinetic adsorption data were well described using the Freundlich model (R 2  = 0.965). The optimum conditions for CIP adsorption were: pH = 4.5; adsorbent dosage = 0.55 g·L -1 ; contact time = 83 min; and initial CIP concentration = 2 mg·L -1 . The adsorption capacity of the cellulose/MMO/PVA adsorbent for CIP removal was ∼19 mg·g -1 (CIP removal = 86.48 %). This study shows that cellulose/MMO/PVA adsorbents have potential for removing contaminants from aqueous environments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The cost estimation and assessment of healthcare waste treatment systems (HCWTSs) for preventing financial and environmental damage are essential. This work reports economic analyses of treatment of hazardous-infectious waste based on WHO approach in HCWTS S of 43 hospitals in Tehran, Iran. The waste generation rate for total hospital waste in 43 HCWTS S was 4.42 ± 2.77 kg/active-bed/day. The mean of chemical, sharps, infectious, and general wastes in 43 HCWTS S were 13.79 ± 19.71, 30.29 ± 37.46, 336.28 ± 291.31, and 539.6 ± 383.13 kg/day, respectively. Economic analyses proved that general hospitals spent 1.63 times more than specialized hospitals on treating hazardous-infectious waste per year. The annual cost of treating each kilogram of hazardous healthcare waste in studied HCWTS S was 0.3 dollars. A range of total annual costs in 43 HCWTS S was limited to 7.9-118 thousand dollars. The results of ANOVA test demonstrated that the age and performance levels of hospitals significantly affect the annual capital and operating costs, respectively. Hence, improving recycling knowledge and increasing source-separated recycling should be considered to control the costs in HCWTS S . The results of this work have implications for the hospital managers in especially developing countries to evaluate previously unknown economic analyses and policies and take action to control wasted costs in HCWTS S ., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Type 2 diabetes causes early mortality worldwide. Air pollution's relationship with T2DM has been studied. The association between them is unclear because of inconsistent outcomes. Studies on this topic have been published since 2019, but not thoroughly evaluated. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis using relevant data. The study protocol was registered in PROSPIRO and conducted according to MOOSE guidelines. In total, 4510 manuscripts were found. After screening, 46 studies were assessed using the OHAT tool. This meta-analysis evaluated fine particles with T2DM using OR and HR effect estimates. Evaluation of publication bias was conducted by Egger's test, Begg's test, and funnel plot analysis. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the influence of several studies on the total estimations. Results show a significant association between PM2.5 and PM10 exposure and T2DM. Long-term exposure to fine air particles may increase the prevalence and incidence of T2DM. Fine air pollution increases the chance of developing T2DM mainly via systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, and endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Introduction: Microbial contamination of drinking water, particularly by pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157: H7, is a significant public health concern worldwide, especially in regions with limited access to clean water like the Gaza Strip. However, few studies have quantified the disease burden associated with E. coli O157: H7 contamination in such challenging water management contexts., Objective: This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment to estimate the annual infection risk and disease burden attributed to E. coli O157: H7 in Gaza's drinking water., Methods: Applying the typical four steps of the Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment technique-hazard identification, exposure assessment, dose-response analysis, and risk characterization-the study assessed the microbial risk associated with E. coli O157: H7 contamination in Gaza's drinking water supply. A total of 1317 water samples from various sources across Gaza were collected and analyzed for the presence of E. coli O157: H7. Using Microsoft ExcelTM and @RISKTM software, a Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment model was constructed to quantify the risk of infection associated with E. coli O157: H7 contamination. Monte Carlo simulation techniques were employed to assess uncertainty surrounding input variables and generate probabilistic estimates of infection risk and disease burden., Results: Analysis of the water samples revealed the presence of E. coli O157: H7 in 6.9% of samples, with mean, standard deviation, and maximum values of 1.97, 9.74, and 112 MPN/100 ml, respectively. The risk model estimated a median infection risk of 3.21 × 10-01 per person per year and a median disease burden of 3.21 × 10-01 Disability-Adjusted Life Years per person per year, significantly exceeding acceptable thresholds set by the WHO., Conclusion: These findings emphasize the urgent need for proactive strategies to mitigate public health risks associated with waterborne pathogens in Gaza., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Photocatalytic ozonation, which combines the effects of lighting and ozonation, has been shown to enhance the decolorization and degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater. Dye solutions with concentrations of 10 ppm for both methylene blue and methyl orange dyes were used. The influence of ozoneation on the performance of photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 and ZnO nanoparticles for the removal of organic dyes from aqueous solutions was investigated. To evaluate their efficacy for the removal of methylene blue and methyl orange dyes from aqueous solutions, the photocatalysts were exposed to UV light for 90 min, with ozone supplied either intermittently or continuously by an SDBD cold plasma reactor. The photocatalysts utilized in this study were characterized using SEM and XRD techniques. The degree of color degradation was determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that TiO 2 and ZnO nanoparticles exhibit different degrees of photocatalytic activity for the two dyes. The addition of ozone was found to enhance both the color degradation and mineralization rates of the pollutants, with intermittent ozonation proving more effective than continuous ozonation. The most significant color degradation results were obtained using TiO 2 nanoparticles with intermittent ozonation for methylene blue dye (97 %) and ZnO nanoparticles with intermittent ozonation for methyl orange dye (40 %). Overall, this study provides evidence that photocatalytic ozonation represents a promising technique for water treatment., Competing Interests: We declare that we have no known competing financial or personal relationship that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Waste incineration is increasingly used worldwide for better municipal solid waste management and energy recovery. However, residues resulting from waste incineration, such as Bottom Ash (BA) and Fly Ash (FA), can pose environmental and human health risks due to their physicochemical properties if not managed appropriately. On the other hand, with proper utilization, these residues can be turned into valuable Municipal metal mines. In this study, BA was granulated in various size ranges (< 0.075 mm, 0.075-0.125 mm, 0.125-0.5 mm, 0.5-1 mm, 1-2 mm, 2-4 mm, 4-16 mm, and > 16 mm). The physicochemical properties, heavy metal elements, environmental hazards, and other rare and precious metal elements in each Granulated Bottom Ash (GBA) group from Tehran's waste incineration were examined using ICP-MASS. Additionally, each GBA group's mineralogical properties and elemental composition were determined using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the average concentration of heavy metals in GBA, including Zn (1974 mg/kg), Cu, and Ba (790 mg/kg), Pb (145 mg/kg), Cr (106 mg/kg), Ni (25 mg/kg), Sn (24 mg/kg), V (25 mg/kg), As (11 mg/kg), and Sb (29 mg/kg), was higher in particles smaller than 4 mm. Precious metals such as gold (average 0.3 mg/kg) and silver (average 11 mg/kg) were significantly higher in GBA particles smaller than 0.5 mm, making their extraction economically feasible. Moreover, rare metals such as Ce, Nd, La, and Y were detected in GBA, with average concentrations of 24, 8, 11, and 7 mg/kg, respectively. The results of this study indicated that BA contains environmentally concerning metals, as well as rare and precious metals, with high concentrations, especially in particles smaller than 4 mm. This highlights the need for proper pre-treatment before using these materials in civil and municipal applications or even landfilling., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) is prevalent in many countries, but the problem's scope is poorly understood globally, especially in developing countries. We aimed to estimate SHS exposure and its national and subnational burden of diseases in Iran, the second-largest country in the Middle East, during 2009-2020. The burden of diseases from SHS was estimated as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for adolescents (10-18) year's non-smokers. Using comparative risk assessment methodologies, the calculations were based on disease-specific relative risk estimates with national and subnational SHS exposure data, and the uncertainty and sensitivity analysis was performed. The results of study showed that the trend of exposure to SHS is increasing in Iran. The highest DALY was related to lower respiratory infection (LRI), asthma, and otitis media, respectively. The national average asthma burden (DALY/100,000) has increased from 17.4 (11.8&#95;23.9) in 2009 to 21.3 (13.9&#95;30) in 2020, LRI decreased from 25.8 (21.5&#95;30.2) to 19.8 (16.7&#95;23.1), and national average burden of otitis media (DALY/100,000) has increased from 3.1(1.9&#95;4.6) to 3.9(2.4&#95;5.6). The increasing trend of otitis media and asthma DALYs attributable to SHS exposure in Iran requires more attention from policymakers to protect the population., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) can introduce the best option based on evidence. We integrated the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to prioritize the alternatives for photocatalytic diazinon removal in a bench scale and characterized TiO 2 -MIL-53(Fe) for this purpose. Criteria and alternatives were listed based on systematic literature reviews and expert opinions. Then, AHP and TOPSIS questionnaires were developed and distributed to an expert panel for pairwise comparisons. We converted the linguistic variables into the corresponding fuzzy values and used R for mathematical calculations. Then, TiO 2 -MIL-53(Fe) was synthesized and characterized for diazinon removal under LED visible light. The AHP ranked criteria as availability > degradation efficiency > safety for the environment > material cost > energy consumption > mineralization efficiency > photocatalyst reusability > safety for personnel > equipment cost. Based on TOPSIS, the order of alternatives was TiO 2 -containing/Visible light > ZnO-containing/UV light > TiO 2 -containing/UV light > ZnO-containing/Visible light > WO 3 -containing/UV light. With a bandgap of 1.8 eV, TiO 2 -MIL-53(Fe) could remove 89.35% of diazinon at 10 mg/L diazinon concentration, 750 mg/L catalyst dose, pH 6.8, and 180-min reaction time. Hybrid AHP-TOPSIS identified the best option for photocatalytic diazinon removal from aqueous solutions. Thus, MCDM techniques can use systematic review results to overcome the uncertainty in designing experimental studies., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Psychiatric drugs released by humans in wastewater have received more attention because of their potential risks for aquatic organisms. In this study, the occurrence of the two most common groups of psychiatric drugs (sedatives-hypnotics-anxiolytics and antidepressants) were evaluated in the Tehran South Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant. All the target sedatives-hypnotics-anxiolytics (alprazolam, phenobarbital, and thioridazine) and antidepressants (fluoxetine, citalopram, sertraline, and venlafaxine) were observed in influent and secondary clarification (SC) effluent. Thioridazine (164.25 ± 218.74 ng/L) and citalopram (672.53 ± 938.56 ng/L) had the highest mean concentrations in the influent, while alprazolam (5.09 ± 2.33 ng/L) and citalopram (776.97 ± 1088.01 ng/L) had the highest concentrations in the SC effluent. The higher concentrations of the psychiatric drugs, except thioridazine, were detected in the SC effluent compared to the concentrations in the influent. The increased drugs concentrations, with negative removal efficiencies, were more distinctive in the cold season samples. Psychiatric drugs processed in the chlorination unit followed a completely different pattern compared to the drugs in the biological treatment unit. All the drugs' concentrations, except thioridazine, decreased in the chlorination unit, ranging between 27 ± 14% for alprazolam and 75 ± 10% for citalopram. However, the mean concentrations of the detected drugs were as follows: sertraline (11.96 ± 11.62 ng/L) and venlafaxine (184.94 ± 219.74 ng/L) which could cause environmental and ecological concerns., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are widely used in various industrial items, including plastics, textiles, construction materials, electronics, and auto parts. Several studies have investigated the concentration of OPE compounds in the air, where different compounds have been measured. This systematic review aims to investigate and summarize the relationship between exposure concentrations of OPEs in outdoor air and health risk for different OPE compounds, and correlations between OPE compounds in emission sources. PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched from January 2000 to September 2021 to identify relevant research. The quality of the studies was assessed using the OHAT risk of bias tool. Spearman's correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to analyze the results and correlation between OPE compounds. A total of 7669 manuscripts were found from the search in 5 databases. Finally, 46 studies were included in the systematic review. According to the median concentrations in the studies that were included, Tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP) (25%), trimethylphenyl phosphate(TMPP) (19%), Tri-iso-butyl phosphate (TiBP) (12%), Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) (9%) and Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) (8%) had the greatest concentrations of OPEs overall. The cumulative contribution of the two main factors, F1 and F2, from the principal component analysis (PCA) results is 49.81%. The EDI value for the compounds is TCEP > TCIPP > TiBP > TMPP > 2-Ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPP) > TPHP > Tri(2-Ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP) > Tri-m-cresyl phosphate (mTCP) > Tris(1, 3-dichloro-isopropyl) phosphate (TDCPP) > Tri-n-butyl phosphate (TnBP). The total amount of non-carcinogenic risk (HQ) was for children > infants > adults. The highest value of HQ was for TCEP, TCIPP, and TMPP, respectively. The highest carcinogenic risk value was for TCEP and TMPP., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Diclofenac (DCF) as a non-steroidal pharmaceutical has been detected in aquatic samples more than other compounds due to its high consumption and limited biodegradability. In this study, ultrasound waves were applied along with an advanced nano-Fenton process (US/ANF) to remove DCF, and subsequently, the synergistic effect was determined. Before that, the efficiency of the US and ANF processes was separately studied. The central composite design was used as one of the most applicable responses surface method techniques to determine the main and interactive effect of the factors influencing DCF removal efficiency in US/ANF. The mean DCF removal efficiency under different operational conditions and at the time of 1-10 min was obtained to be about 4%, 83%, and 95% for the US, ANF, and US/ANF, respectively. Quadratic regression equations for two frequencies of US were developed using multiple regression analysis involving main, quadratic, and interaction effects. The optimum condition for DCF removal was obtained at time of 8.17 min, H/F of 10.5 and DCF concentration of 10.12 at 130 kHz US frequency. The synergy index values showed a slight synergistic effect for US/ANF (1.1). Although the synergistic effect of US/ANF is not very remarkable, it can be considered as a quick and efficient process for the removal of DCF from wastewater with a significant amount of mineralization., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In this study, nano pumice (NP) and a cationic surfactant (hexadecyltrimethylammonium-chloride (HDTMA.Cl)) treated nano pumice (HMNP) were used for humic acid (HA) adsorption from an aqueous solution. The adsorption process was modeled and optimized using Response surface methodology-central composite design (RSM-CCD) and Artificial neural networks- Genetic algorithm (ANN-GA). The results show that the ANN model outperforms the RSM-CCD model in terms of response prediction. Optimization results based on the RSM-CCD approach proposed pH 3, adsorbent dose 3 g L -1 , reaction time 60 min, and initial HA concentration 5 mg L -1 as optimal points of the variables, to reach the maximum adsorption efficiency of 100% and 65.4% by HMNP and NP adsorbents. The maximal adsorption capacity of NP was 1.21 mg g -1 , while that of HMNP was 27.34 mg g -1 . The optimal points of process parameters by the ANN-GA method are in accordance with the values suggested by the RSM-CCD method. In isotherm studies, Langmuir model was found to be the best-fitted model for both adsorbent with R 2 = 0.97 for NP and 0.992 for HMNP, and also among three different kinetic models which were assessed, Pseudo-second-order model with R 2 = 0.9989 for HMNP and R 2 = 0.9957 for NP were the best-fitted models for HA removal. Thermodynamic studies indicated that the HA adsorption process by both of the adsorbents is endothermic and the nature of HMNP was found spontaneous while for NP was non-spontaneous. The value of ΔH for both adsorbents was in the range of 34-36.8 kJ mol -1 so the process is clarified as chemical-physical adsorption. The reusability test revealed that the adsorption effectiveness of HMNP drops from 100% to 82.4% after 10 consecutive recycles. The influence of interfacing anions indicated that the adsorption efficiency drops from 100% to 95.4% when the anions were added to the reaction solution., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) can be considered as an important risk factor for human health. Some cytokines have been recognized as the biomarkers of exposure to air pollution. Experimental studies indicate that PM exposure could be associated with inflammation. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the exposure to air PM is associated with biomarkers of inflammation. The specific aim of this study was to determine the correlation between airborne PM levels and IL-6 and TNF-α as airway inflammation biomarkers among two groups of late adolescents in northwest of Iran. This study included 46 subjects, comprising 23 asthmatic subjects and 23 non-asthmatic persons. Environmental PM (PM 10 , PM 2.5 and PM 1 ) levels were measured in dust storm and non-dust storm days during both cold and warm seasons. Following the sampling of PM, Two pro-inflammatory cytokines of IL-6 and TNF-α in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) were also determined in the EBC samples via commercial ELISA kits. Daily mean ambient air PM 10 , PM 2.5 and PM 1 concentrations during the dust storm days was 221.79, 93.13 and 25.52 μg m -3 and in non-dusty days 48.37, 18.54 and 6.1 μg m -3 , respectively. Biomarkers levels were significantly (p < 0.001) higher in asthmatic students compared to the non-asthmatic subjects. EBC cytokines levels were increased in dust storm days compared to the non-dusty days (p < 0.001) and were positively correlated with different size of ambient PM concentration. Dust storm conditions can increase the pro-inflammatory cytokines and cause adverse effects on pulmonary health and lung tissue damage., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors (Mohammad Ghanbari Ghozikali, Khalil Ansarin, Kazem Naddafi, Ramin Nabizadeh, Kamyar Yaghmaeian, Jalil Jaafari, Reza Dehghanzadeh, Zahra Atafar, Maryam Faraji, Aliakbar Mohammadi, Gholamreza Goudarzi, and Masud Yunesian) declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

We sought to investigate the impact of air purifiers in the removal of particular matter (PM) 10 , PM 2.5 , PM 1, and particle number concentration (PNC) in the indoor air of dormitories located at Iran's largest medical university, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Twelve rooms were selected and randomly assigned to two rooms: sham air purifier system deployed room (SR) and true air purifier system deployed room (TR). All study samples were drawn simultaneously from assigned rooms using portable GRIMM dust monitors for 24 h. The PM monitors of air were positioned in the middle of each room next to the air purifier at the height of the breathing zone (1.5 m in height). The mean PM 10 , PM 2.5 , PM 1 , and PNC removal efficiency in rooms with and without a smoker were measured to be 40.7 vs 83.8%, 31.2 vs 78.4%, 29.9 vs 72.3%, and 44.3 vs 75.6%, respectively. The results showed that smoking is an important influencing factor on the indoor air quality; smoking lowered the removal efficiency of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , PM 1 , and PNC by 43%, 47%, 43%, and 31%, respectively. An air purifier could decline the PM 10 and PM 2.5 even lower than the WHO 24-h guideline level in non-smoker rooms. This study revealed that using household air purifiers in rooms with smokers and non-smokers significantly reduces the non-carcinogenic risks of exposure to PM 10 and PM 2.5 ., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Solid waste components can be recycled in waste paper and cardboard sorting plants (WPCSP) through a multistep process. This work collected 15 samples every six days from each of the 9 points selected to study the processes taking place in a WPCSP (135 particulate matter samples total). Examining the concentration and size fraction of particulate matter (i.e., PM 1 , PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) in WPCSP is an essential issue to notify policy makers about the health impacts on exposed workers. The major activities for increasing of the concentration of PM in various processing units in the WPCSP, especially in hand-picking routes I and II were related to manual dismantling, mechanical grinding, mechanical agitation, and separation and movement of waste. The results of this work showed that a negative correlation between temperature and particulate matter size followed the order PM 10  > PM 2.5  > PM 1 . Exposure to PM 2.5 and PM 10 in the WPCSP lead to possible risk (HI = 5.561 and LTCRs = 3.41 × 10 -6 to 9.43 × 10 -5 for PM 2.5 and HI = 7.454 for PM 10 ). The exposure duration and the previous concentrations had the most effect on the ILCRs and HQs for PM 2.5 and PM 10 in all sampling sites. Hence, because WPCSP are infected indoor environments (I/O ratio > 1), the use of control methods such as isolation of units, misting systems, blower systems equipped with bag houses, protective equipment, a mechanical ventilation system, and additional natural ventilation can reduce the amount of suspended PM, enhance worker safety, and increase the recycling rate., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The main purpose of this research was investigating of bioremediation potential oily contaminated soils using native bacterial strains in an oil field., Methods: In this research, total bacterial consortium were identified in oily soils with sandy loam texture as case and non-contaminated soils as controls during six months. The dominant strains present on contaminated soil were identified by DNA extraction using 16S rDNA gene sequencing via NGS technique and compared with bacteria present in non-contaminated soil as control samples. Furthermore, quantitative variations of bacterial count along with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) removal was performed in oily (case) samples to investigate the relation between TPH removal and changes in bacterial density. The TPH values were determined with gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID)., Results: The dominant identified bacteria in oily soil were as follows: Halomonas, Moraxellaceae, Thalassobacillus, Zhihengliuella and Enterobacteriaceae which varied significantly from those identified in control soil. The bacterial diversity was higher in contaminated soil and a TPH removal of 50.9% was observed over a period of six months monitoring., Conclusion: Indigenous bacteria in oil-contaminated soils of an oilfield in south west of Iran were found to be able to degrade Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons. Our results showed that bioremediation of oil-contaminated soils can be implemented without need to amplification of heterogeneous bacteria. Considering sandy loam texture of soil samples, the identified strains of bacteria could be introduced as sufficient consortium for biodegradation of this soils with similar texture., Competing Interests: Declaration of interest statementThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2020.)

Purpose: Bisphenol A (BPA), as endocrine-disrupting compound (EDC), is extensively used as an important chemical in the synthesis of polycarbonate polymers and epoxy resins. BPA absorption into the body can result in the development of metabolic disorders such as low sex-specific neurodevelopment, immune toxicity, neurotoxicity and interference of cellular pathway. Therefore, the presence of BPA in the body and the environment can create hazards that must reach standards before being discharged into the environment., Methods: In this study, bismuth ferric nanomagnetic (BFO NMPs) were successfully synthesized via sol-gel method and developed as photocatalysts for BPA removal under visible light irradiation. FE-SEM, TEM, PL, XRD, UV-Vis DRS, VSM, EDX, and FTIR were used to characterize the BFO NMPs., Results: RSM model (R 2  = 0.9745) showed a good correlation between experimental and predicted removal efficiency of BPA. The investigation of four independent variables indicated that pH had the most significant positive effect on the degradation of BPA. Under optimal conditions (pH = 4.042, catalyst dose = 7.617 mg, contact time = 122.742 min and BPA concentration = 15.065 mg/L), maximum degradation was calculated to be 98.7%. After five recycles, the removal of BPA remained >82%, which indicated the proper ability to reuse the catalyst., Conclusion: In conclusion, it can be stated like BPA, the prepared BFO NMPs is a promising photocatalyst for practical application in organic pollutant decomposition., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestAll authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2022.)

TiO 2 nanoparticles used in the photocatalytic degradation of pollutants in water treatment processes undergo physiochemical changes; therefore, their toxicological effects may be potentially different from those of the pristine nanoparticles. This study compared the toxic effects of exposure to pristine and photocatalytically used TiO 2 nanoparticles in mice. To obtain used TiO 2 , the nanoparticles were used for photocatalytic degradation of a model pollutant under UV irradiation several times. Two groups of mice were exposed to pristine (PT group) and photocatalytically used TiO 2 (UT group) at three different concentrations (5-20 mg/m 3 ) using whole-body exposure chambers (2 h/day, 5 days/weeks, 4 weeks). Exposure to both pristine and used TiO 2 increased the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphate (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), C-reactive protein (CRP), and creatine kinase (CK-MB) significantly. Both exposed groups showed higher levels of WBC, lymphocytes, platelets, hematocrits, hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and lower levels of RBC and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in a concentration-dependent manner. In all analyses, there were small non-significant differences between the PT and UT groups. More pathological changes were observed in the lung, kidney, and brain of the UT group, while the PT group showed more pathological effects in the liver and heart. The histological observations indicated that damage was mostly in the form of vascular endothelial injury. These two types of TiO 2 may activate different pathways to promote adverse effects. Further studies are required to evaluate and distinguish the mechanisms through which pristine and used TiO 2 induce toxicity., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Nowadays, hospital waste management is particularly important due to its potential pathogenicity and serious hazards and is considered as one of the most important environmental problems. One of the prominent actions in hospital waste management is quantitative studies and the collection of reliable and valid data to provide the best management solutions using the obtained information. Therefore, the present study was performed to reach this purpose. Measuring and quantifing of the hospital waste was performed using a daily list of the amount of medication used in the hospital. The weight of vial containers and the amount of residue and syringe, and serum wastes were also measured separately. Finally, the overall amount and per capita of waste production were determined. The results showed that pharmaceutical waste and drug residue in the hospital were 153.82 kg.d -1 and 45.87 kg.d -1 , respectively. Per capita production of pharmaceutical waste per patient and hospital bed was estimated to be 181.81 g.p -1 .d -1 and 264.7 g.b -1 .d -1 , and per capita production of drug residue per patient and hospital bed were 54.22 g.p -1 .d -1 and 88.21 g.b -1 .d -1 , respectively. Among the types of pharmaceutical waste found in vials, the antibiotics had the highest weight percent. The emergency department and operating room played a major role in producing pharmaceutical waste among different hospital wards. This study showed that the pharmaceutical waste production in the considered hospital was relatively high, which can be attributed to several factors such as waste management, type of health care, type of hospital, ratio of patients under daily treatment, gender, and initial weight of containers., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40201-022-00790-6., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2022.)

Diazinon is a widely used pesticide that can be effectively degraded in aqueous solutions via photocatalytic oxidation. This quantitative systematic review was conducted to shed light on the various aspects of photocatalytic diazinon removal based on evidence. A systematic search was performed in Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Ovid databases with keywords including diazinon, photocatalysis, and their equivalents. The search was limited to original articles in English published between January 1, 2010, and March 25, 2021. The results were expressed by descriptive statistics including mean, SD, median, and percentiles, among others. The initial electronic and manual search retrieved 777 articles, among which 41 studies comprising 49 trials were qualified for data synthesis. The reported diazinon degradation rate ranged from 2 to 100%, with a mean ± SD of 59.17 ± 28.03%. Besides, ZnO/UV, WO 3 /UV, TiO 2 /UV, and TiO 2 /Vis, in sequence, were the most widely used processes with the highest efficacies. Solution pH in the range of 5-8, catalyst dose below 600 mg/L, diazinon initial concentration below 40 mg/L, and contact time of 20-140 min could be the optimum conditions. Diazinon degradation obeyed the first-order kinetic model with k obs between 0.0042 and 1.86 min -1 and consumed energy of 38.93-350.36 kWh/m 3 . Diazoxon and IMP were the most detected by-products of diazinon degradation although bioassay data were scarce. Based on the results, photocatalytic processes are very efficient in removing diazinon from aqueous solutions although more elaborate studies are needed to assess the mineralization rate and effluent toxicity., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) usually enter water sources in different ways, such as via municipal and hospital wastewaters. Because conventional technologies used to treat water inefficient in removing these contaminants (especially antibiotic-resistant genes; ARGs), these contaminants easily enter drinking water distribution networks and pose serious threats to consumers' health. This study's main purpose is to systematically investigate the effect of chlorine disinfection on ARGs in drinking water supply systems. This study could play an important role in elucidating the effect of chlorine disinfection on ARGs., Methods: The systematic review outlining this protocol will be performed according to the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence (CEE) guidelines. The main question is, "what is the effect of chlorine disinfection on ARGs in drinking water supply systems?" For this purpose, the articles will be considered, in which chlorine's effect on ARGs is investigated. The search includes electronic resources, grey literature, and related websites. Electronic resources include Scopus, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, and Science Direct. After the final search, the obtained articles will be collected in the reference management software (Endnote X8). Upon removing the duplicate articles, the first stage of article screening will be performed based on the title and abstract the articles. In the second stage, the articles obtained from the first screening stage will be screened based on the full text of the articles based on the eligibility criteria. Then, two members of the expert team extract the data. To assess the validity of the articles, bias sources will be determined by an expert team. Biases will be defined according to the criteria designed by Bilotta et al. Finally, a narrative synthesis will be performed for the extracted data; if appropriate data are available, quantitative analysis will also be performed., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Access to healthy drinking water is vital to human health and development. Bottled water consumption has been on the rise in recent years. As several chemical and bacteriological parameters affect bottled water quality, it is difficult to choose the highest-quality bottled water. Numerous studies have proposed the use of multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods to overcome this problem. Herein, the two-stage fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method were adopted to rank different brands of bottled water. The FAHP approach allows working at the intervals of judgment rather than absolute values. TOPSIS is a technique for ordering performance based on its similarity to the ideal solution. An expert panel selected and classified the criteria and sub-criteria. A pairwise comparison questionnaire was then developed, and the weights of the criteria and sub-criteria were assigned by water quality experts. The data on the quality of different brands of water were collected from the Iranian bottled water database. The final data analysis and weight determination of each parameter were performed in Excel and R software Programs. Finally, the CC i (value of closeness coefficient) and rank of 71 bottled water brands were calculated, and the best brand was introduced. Among the selected criteria, carcinogenic chemical compounds with the weight of 0.368 were the most important compound in ranking bottled water brands, followed by bacteriologic, pathogenic chemical compounds, chemical compounds important in terms of toxicity, nutritious chemical compounds with a low toxicity level, chemical compounds related to esthetic effects, and chemical compounds without health effects, respectively., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Examining the concentration and types of airborne bacteria in waste paper and cardboard sorting plants (WPCSP) is an urgent matter to inform policy makers about the health impacts on exposed workers. Herein, we collected 20 samples at 9 points of a WPCSP every 6 winter days, and found that the most abundant airborne bacteria were positively and negatively correlated to relative humidity and temperature, respectively. The most abundant airborne bacteria (in units of CFU m -3 ) were: Staphylococcus sp. (72.4) > Micrococcus sp. (52.2) > Bacillus sp. (30.3) > Enterococcus sp. (24.0) > Serratia marcescens (20.1) > E. coli (19.1) > Pseudomonas sp. (16.0) > Nocardia sp. (1.9). The lifetime average daily dose (LADD) for the inhalation and dermal routes for the intake of airborne bacteria ranged from 3.7 × 10 -3 ≤ LADD Inhalation ≤ 2.07 × 10 1 CFU (kg d) -1 and 4.75 × 10 -6 ≤ LADD Dermal ≤ 1.64 × 10 -5 CFU (kg d) -1 , respectively. Based on a sensitivity analysis (SA), the concentration of airborne bacteria (C) and the exposure duration (ED) had the most effect on the LADD Inhalation and LADD Dermal for all sampling locations. Although the Hazard Quotient of airborne bacteria was HQ < 1, an acceptable level, the indoor/outdoor ratio (1.5 ≤ I/O ≤ 6.6) of airborne bacteria typically exceeded the threshold value (I/O > 2), indicating worker's exposure to an infected environment. Therefore, in the absence of sufficient natural ventilation the indoor ambient conditions of the WPCSP studied should be controlled by supplying mechanical ventilation., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)