Photodegradation of atrazine by ultraviolet radiation in different conditions

Background: Atrazine is one of the most widely used triazine herbicides which has been used for controlling broadleaf and grassy weeds for many years. Its widespread use in water has caused environmental concern because of frequent detection of atrazine in aquatic systems where this herbicide has been spilled. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the herbicide removal efficiency at the optimal conditions

Methods: The effect of different parameters including pH at three different levels [3-11], the initial concentration of atrazine at three different levels [0.1-10 mg/L], and reaction time at five different levels [0-120 min] on the removal of atrazine in the aqueous phase using ultraviolet radiation [1020 microw/cm[2]] was investigated. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS software [version 16]

Results: The results demonstrated that atrazine removal rate increased by increasing pH, initial atrazine concentration, and reaction time. The maximum rate of atrazine removal [99.2%] at optimal condition occurred in pH=11, atrazine concentration=10 mg/L at 30 min

Conclusion: According to the findings, it can be concluded that the UV-A process is an effective and commodious method for reducing atrazine in polluted water resources

Optimization of the parameters affecting the Fenton process for decolorization of reactive red 198 [RR-198] from the aqueous phase

Background: Recently, there has been a great concern about the consumption of dyes because of their toxicity, mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, and persistence in the aquatic environment. Reactive dyes are widely used in textile industry. Advanced oxidation processes are one of the cost-effective methods for the removal of these dyes. The main aims of this study were determining the feasibility of using Fenton process in removing Reactive Red 198 [RR-198] dye from aqueous solution and determining the optimal conditions

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at a laboratory scale. A total of 69 samples were considered and the effect of pH, Fe [II] concentration, H[2]O[2] concentration, initial dye concentration and reaction time were investigated

Results: According to the results, a maximum removal efficiency of 92% was obtained at pH of 3 and the reaction time of 90 min; also, the concentration of Fe [II], H[2]O[2], initial dye concentration were 100 mg/L, 50 mg/L, and 100 mg/L, respectively. The results revealed that by increasing the concentration of Fe [II], H2O2 and initial dye, the removal efficiency was increased

Conclusions: The results showed that Fenton process could be used as a cost-effective method for removing RR-198 dye from textile wastewater efficiently

Survey on air pollution and cardiopulmonary mortality in Shiraz: an analytical-descriptive study

Expanding cities with rapid economic development has resulted in increased energy consumption leading to numerous environmental problems for their residents. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between air pollution and mortality rate due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in Shiraz. This is an analytical cross-sectional study in which the correlation between major air pollutants [including carbon monoxide [CO], sulfur dioxide [SO2], nitrogen dioxide [NO2] and particle matter with a diameter of less than 10 micro [PM10]] and climatic parameters [temperature and relative humidity] with the number of those whom expired from cardiopulmonary disease in Shiraz from March 2011 to January 2012 was investigated. Data regarding the concentration of air pollutants were determined by Shiraz Environmental Organization. Information about climatic parameters was collected from the database of Iran's Meteorological Organization. The number of those expired from cardiopulmonary disease in Shiraz were provided by the Department of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. We used non-parametric correlation test to analyze the relationship between these parameters. The results demonstrated that in all the recorded data, the average monthly pollutants standard index [PSI] values of PM10 were higher than standard limits, while the average monthly PSI value of NO2 were lower than standard. There was no significant relationship between the number of those expired from cardiopulmonary disease and the air pollutant [P > 0.05]. Air pollution can aggravate chronic cardiopulmonary disease. In the current study, one of the most important air pollutants in Shiraz was the PM10 component. Mechanical processes, such as wind blowing from neighboring countries, is the most important parameter increasing PM10 in Shiraz to alarming conditions. The average monthly variation in PSI values of air pollutants such as NO2, CO, and SO2 were lower than standard limits. Moreover, there was no significant correlation between the average monthly variation in PSI of NO2, CO, PM10, and SO2 and the number of those expired from cardiopulmonary disease in Shiraz

performance of Trauma Research Centers of Iran during the past 10 years; a science monitor survey

Objective: To compare and evaluation of scores of trauma research center of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran with other trauma research centers in Iran

Methods: The assessment scores of each center were gathered from Iran medical research and Ministry of Health and Medical Education website. Each score is recorded in helical year which is defined from the 21[th] of March of every year until the 20[th] of March of the next. They are ranked and scored by knowledge production, capacity development, and research projects

Results: The total evaluation scores of the trauma research center of Iran's Universities of Medical Sciences have increased from establishment. The highest increase in assessment scores was related to Tehran Trauma Research Center. An upward trend was observed in the total indicators of knowledge production index of all the trauma research centers from 2001/2002 to 2011/2012. An ascending trend was showed in the published articles score of Shiraz and Kashan Trauma Research Centers through the recent years

Conclusion: The increasing trend in scores of trauma research centers in Iran indicated a significant role in the knowledge production but it is need to find barriers of research and doing interventional projects to promote trauma care and prevention

Investigation of science production in Iran's type I universities of medical sciences, a 6-year assessment

Introduction: Science production is one of the main dimensions of sustainable development in any country. Thus, universities as the major centers for science production play a key role in development. The present study aimed to assess the trend of science production in Iran's type I universities of medical sciences from 2007 to 2012

Method: In this study, the universities' scores of empowering, governance and leadership, science production, student researches, and number of published articles were computed based on the evaluations of universities of medical sciences by the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education from 2007 to 2012. Then, the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the figures were drawn by Excel software

Results: This study assessed science production in Iran's type I universities of medical sciences and analyzed each university's proportion in publication of articles. According to the results, most of the published articles were affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. However, considering the role of number of faculty members, different results were obtained. With respect to the evaluation raw scores, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences showed a considerable reduction of scores in 2012, while other universities had a constant or ascending trend. Besides, indexed articles followed an ascending trend in all the universities and most of the articles had been published in index 1

Conclusion: Similar to other studies, the findings of this study revealed an increase in science productions in Iran through the recent years. Yet, the highest scores of the studied indexes, except for student researches, were related to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. This great difference between this university and other universities might be due to accumulation of specific potentials and forces in this region. Overall, science productions followed an ascending trend in all type I universities of medical sciences. Yet, more attempts should be made to publish high-quality articles in reliable international journals. Thus, managers and policymakers are recommended to provide the ground for improvement and empowerment of knowledge and science production, development of leadership and governance capacity, empowerment of researchers, and provision of financial and infrastructure supports for development of fundamental, basic, clinical, and applied researches which can be presented at the international level