Effect of medium-density fiberboard wastes ash on calcium silicate hydrate crystal of concrete.

Due to the high consumption of Medium-density fiberboard (MDF), waste products of this material are growing worldwide. In this research, the feasibility of using Medium-density fiberboard waste ash (MDFWA) as part of cement in concrete was investigated. For this purpose, 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% of the cement in concrete was substituted with MDFWA. For all design mixes, the water/blind ratio and the volume of aggregates were same. The slump, compressive strengths, SEM, EDX, TGA, DSC, and FTIR tests were conducted on the samples. At 28 days, the results demonstrated that the compressive strength of the sample containing 20% MDFWA increased by 13.6% compared to the control sample. Furthermore, the microstructure of the concrete show that the voids of the sample containing 20% MDFWA reduced compared to the control sample and also more calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) crystal formed.Implications: The significance of the present paper is to solve the environmental issue caused by large amount of Medium-density fiberboard waste ash (MDFWA) and produce also sustainable concrete. In addition, the replacement of cement with MDFWA increases the compressive strength and enhancement of the microstructure of concrete due to extra C-S-H products. Therefore, the findings confirm that by using 20% MDFWA, a more eco-friendly production, denser, sustainable, economical, and stronger concrete would be achieved.

Epidemiological Patterns of Animal Bites in the Najafabad, Center of Iran (2012-2017).

Background: Animal bite due to the risk of rabies is a major public health problem. Rabies is of great importance because of fatalities and economic damage. Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the epidemiological patterns of animal bite in Najaf Abad during the years of 2012 to 2017. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. All records (4,104) were registered in the registration offices of animal bites during the years of 2012 to 2017 at the rabies treatment centres of Najafabad by census method. Demographic characteristics, animal type and sometime clinical patterns of the wounded were examined. Results: The mean age of the injured was 31.28 ± 15.28 years. Of the 4,104 injured, 3648 (88%) were male and the rest of them were women. In terms of residential area, 3645 people (88%) were in urban areas and the rest were in rural areas in the place of occurrence of bites. Most cases of animal biting occurred in dogs (70.9%) and then cat (24.3%). The most affected part was 51% with shoulder and hand. In this study, the incidence of animal bites is estimated as 100,000 people per year in Najaf Abad in in 2012 it was 206.4, with an increasing trend to 212.9 in 2019 (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The results of the study showed that most cases of animal bites were related to dogs, urban areas and male sex variables. The incidence of animal bites was also increasing. Due to the importance of this disease and its financial losses, it is recommended that prevention methods should be used to control stray dogs, vaccination of domesticated dogs and to raise awareness of the people.

Irrational beliefs in major depression and generalized anxiety disorders in an Iranian sample: a preliminary study.

Previous research on Rational Emotive Theory using western samples has shown that irrational belief systems are associated with emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression. In a replication of this work the present study was conducted to compare the scores of 29 clinically depressed, 31 clinically anxious, and 34 normal controls on the Irrational Beliefs Test in an Iranian sample. Consistent with Ellis's theory, depressed and anxious patients scored higher than the controls on scores for the full scale and all 10 subscales of the Irrational Beliefs Test. Also, the two patient groups differed significantly in their endorsement of 2 out of 10 irrational belief subscales but not in overall score on irrational beliefs. Results were interpreted in light of previous literature.