Human health risk assessment of toxic heavy metals in summer crops and vegetables: a study in Ilam Province, Iran.

Purpose: The presence of toxic heavy metals (HMs) in agricultural crops can be considered as a noteworthy threat for consumers. The aim of this study was to assess the content of HMs (Pb, As, Cr, Cd, Co, Hg, and Ag) and their potential health risk in summer crops and vegetables (watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, melon, tomato, onion, potato, raw and stewed vegetables) in Ilam province, Iran. Methods: Totally, 31 crop samples were collected from local farms during the 2019 harvest season and the elements content were evaluated using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The non-carcinogenic health risk of HMs to the adults and children was estimated by Monte Carlo simulation method and target hazard quotients (THQs). Results: In general, the results showed that the concentration of Cr in the studied agricultural crops was higher than other HMs. As well as, the carcinogenic risk (CR) obtained for adults and children were more than the acceptable range for As. Also, CR for As in raw vegetable was the most ( 8.19E-1) and violated the threshold risk limit. The total carcinogenic risk of HMs in children was higher than that in adults. Conclusion: These results suggest that the agricultural crops were not safe for human consumption with potential risks associated. Due to the possible health effects of such products consumption, proper action should be taken to avoid chronic exposure, prevention of further pollution and consequent adverse health implications.

Enhancement of the catalytic performance of Co-ZIF/WO3 heterostructures for selective catalytic reduction of NOx.

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are one of the growing air pollutants in industrial countries, and their emissions are regulated by stringent legislation. Therefore, the design of the catalyst comprised of metal oxides and ZIFs a potential solution for improving selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx. Here, an efficient strategy was described to fabricate Co-ZIF/WO3 heterostructures for SCR of NOx. First, WO3 nanostructures were fabricated by the solvothermal method, and subsequently epitaxial growth of ZIF-67 on the metal oxide surface to create a new type of semiconductor Co-ZIF/WO3 heterostructures. The obtained heterostructures were systemically characterized by wide-angle XRD, FESEM, UV DRS, FT-IR, AFM, and TEM spectroscopies. The Co-ZIF/WO3 heterostructures shift the temperature corresponding to the maximum conversion around 50 °C towards lower temperatures. The maximum conversion is substantially enhanced from 55% at 400 °C to 78% at 350 °C. The enhanced activity is attributed to better interaction and synergic effect of WO3 incorporated into ZIF-67 and also the electron transfer facility between the WO3 and Co species in Co-ZIF/WO3 heterostructures. Moreover, Co-ZIF/WO3 results in a distinct effect on the production of carbon monoxide (CO) in the product gas stream. The current study highlights some of the challenges in the development of semiconductor-based heterostructures for a decrease in air pollution.

Parametric study and process modeling for metronidazole removal by rhombic dodecahedron ZIF-67 crystals.

Metronidazole (MNZ) is an extensively used antibiotic against bacterial infections for humans and farm animals. Prevention of antibiotics discharge is essential to prevent adverse environmental and health impacts. A member of metal-organic frameworks, zeolite imidazole framework-67 with cobalt sulfate precursor (ZIF-67-SO4) and exceptional physio-chemical properties was prepared via room temperature precipitation to adsorb MNZ. The study framework was designed by Box-Behnken Design to evaluate the effect of pH, ZIF-67-SO4 dose, and contact time on adsorption efficiency. The polynomial model fitted the adsorption system indicated the optimal condition for 97% MNZ removal occurs at pH = 7, adsorbent dosage = 1 g/L, and mixing time = 60 min. The model also revealed that the removal increased with contact time and decreased at strong pH. Equilibrium and kinetic study also indicated the adsorption of MNZ followed the intra-particle diffusion model and the Langmuir isotherm model with a qmax = 63.03 mg/g. The insignificant loss in removal efficacy in use-reuse adsorption cycles reflected the practical viability of ZIF-67-SO4.

Fabricating modified carbon sesame straw for adsorption of acetaminophen and ibuprofen from aqueous media: isotherm and kinetic models.

As acetaminophen (ACT) and ibuprofen (IBP) have serious environmental impacts, despite their widespread use in many countries, the present research examined the effectiveness of activated carbon made from straw and sesame stubble in removing ACT and IBP from water. To that end, the as-synthesized adsorbent was functionalized using zinc chloride. The maximum adsorption capacities were found to be 51.7 mg g-1 for ACT and 63.7 mg g-1 for IBP. The adsorption kinetics and isotherm results showed that the pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetics and Langmuir isotherm fit the data obtained from this study better than the other experimental models do. Also, the adsorption reached equilibrium within 120 min, and the optimal adsorbent dose and temperature were obtained as 1.0 mg and 25 °C, respectively. The mechanisms involved in the adsorption process would include acid-base, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic forces, and π-π interaction. Reusability studies revealed that the adsorbent still preserved about 89% and 82% of the adsorption performance for ACT and IBP, respectively, after seven repeated adsorption cycles. As the findings indicated, CSS/Zn could be accepted as a hopeful adsorbent to be used in pharmaceutical treatment.

Molecular Epidemiology and Recycling of Staphylococcus aureus Resistant to Methicillin Among the Staff, Patients, and Surfaces in University Hospital in West Iran, Ilam.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is a human pathogen causing nosocomial infections and increased hospitalization and mortality among human communities. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains are considered a severe threat in nosocomial infections and cause complications in the remedy process of bacterial infections. In this study, 137 samples were collected from different departments, staff, and patients in Ilam hospital. METHODS: Eighty-eight samples of these strains were examined to test antibiotic resistance and diffusion. MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) were performed on the samples resistant to oxacillin. 36 (40.9%) strains were MRSA, and 52 (59.1%) isolates were MSSA. 44.4% of MRSA strains with IV SCCmec type. RESULTS: Fourteen different spa types were found using spa typing, of which the most abundant types were t037, t030, and t701, and three new types, including t15471, t15474, and t17470, were identified among the strains. The molecular analysis by MLST showed that the strains are classified into 11 different sequence types. Sequence type 239 and clonal complexes of 329 and 22 were dominant. ST239- spat037-SCCmec III was also identified as the most frequent clone of MRSA. The most identified clones were MRSA ST239-spa t037-SCCmec III. CONCLUSION: The results show the spa-type distribution between samples of patients, personnel, and surfaces, demonstrating MRSA circulation between patients and the environment. The results show the need to control environmental health.

Application of health belief model to predict COVID-19-preventive behaviors among a sample of Iranian adult population.

BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected nearly 9.5 million people in 216 countries, areas, or territories in the world. The fight against the COVID-19 has become a very serious international challenge. The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of COVID-19-preventive behaviors using the health belief model (HBM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 558 samples from the adult population of Iran. The online convenience sampling was conducted in this research. The online 68-item questionnaire link was published all over Iran through social networks including Telegram and WhatsApp, which are common in Iran. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 19. Descriptive statistics, bivariate Pearson's correlation test, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 33.3 ± 10.01 years. The participants were often female (61.3%), married (57.9%), and resident of the city (81.0%) with university educational level (78.8%). The results showed that the HBM structures predicted 29.3% of the preventive behaviors of COVID-19 in the subjects. The perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy significantly predicted the preventive behaviors, but the perceived susceptibility and perceived severity were not significant in the regression model. The internet and virtual social networks (49.8%), broadcast (33.5%), and healthcare providers (15.8%) were the most important sources of information related with COVID-19. In response to COVID-19-related internal cues to action, 36.6% did not pay attention and 34.7% tried to self-medicate. Only 28.5% of the subjects referred to the hospital, healthcare center, or physician. CONCLUSION: Self-efficacy, perceived barriers, and perceived benefits were the key determinants of COVID-19-preventive behaviors in the subjects. It can be concluded that the HBM is a good tool to predict COVID-19-preventive behaviors in Iranian population.

Simultaneous monitoring of SARS-CoV-2, bacteria, and fungi in indoor air of hospital: a study on Hajar Hospital in Shahrekord, Iran.

The novel SARS-CoV-2 outbreak was declared as pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. Understanding the airborne route of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is essential for infection prevention and control. In this study, a total of 107 indoor air samples (45 SARS-CoV-2, 62 bacteria, and fungi) were collected from different wards of the Hajar Hospital in Shahrekord, Iran. Simultaneously, bacterial and fungal samples were also collected from the ambient air of hospital yard. Overall, 6 positive air samples were detected in the infectious 1 and infectious 2 wards, intensive care unit (ICU), computed tomography (CT) scan, respiratory patients' clinic, and personal protective equipment (PPE) room. Also, airborne bacteria and fungi were simultaneously detected in the various wards of the hospital with concentrations ranging from 14 to 106 CFU m-3 and 18 to 141 CFU m-3, respectively. The highest mean concentrations of bacteria and fungi were observed in respiratory patients' clinics and ICU wards, respectively. Significant correlation (p < 0.05) was found between airborne bacterial concentration and the presence of SARS-CoV-2, while no significant correlation was found between fungi concentration and the virus presence. This study provided an additional evidence about the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the indoor air of a hospital that admitted COVID-19 patients. Moreover, it was revealed that the monitoring of microbial quality of indoor air in such hospitals is very important, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, for controlling the nosocomial infections.

Removal of Penicillin G from aqueous solutions by a cationic surfactant modified montmorillonite.

Nowadays, antibiotics have been found in the effluents of many pharmaceutical industries and hospitals, sanitary sewage, surface water and groundwater. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of using Hexadecyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide modified montmorillonite (HDTMA-Mt) as an inexpensive and suitable adsorbent for the removal of Penicillin G from aqueous solutions. The experiments were conducted in a batch system. The effects of different variables including surfactant loading onto the clay, solution pH, contact time, adsorbate concentration and temperature were investigated on the removal of Penicillin G. Surface properties of the clay were evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) techniques. Various isotherms (Langmuir and Freundlich) and kinetics (pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion models) of adsorption were studied for the data evaluation. The findings indicated that the sorption capacity of the modified clay was found to be 88.5 mg/g over 60 min contact time at pH 9. The pseudo-second kinetic (R2 = 0.999) and Freundlich isotherm (R2 = 0.915) models best fitted the experimental data of Penicillin G by the adsorbent. The negative values of ΔG at higher temperature and positive value of ΔH showed the endothermic and spontaneously sorption of the drug by the clay. It can be concluded that the modified clay can be considered as a cheap and eco-friendly sorbent for the removal of Penicillin G from water and wastewater.

Evaluation of phosphate removal from aqueous solution using metal organic framework; isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic study.

BACKGROUND: Phosphate (PO4 3-) is the main etiological factor of eutrophication in surface waters. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are novel hybrid materials with amazing structural properties that make them a prominent material for adsorption. METHODS: Zeolitic imidazolate framework 67 (ZIF-67), a water stable member of MOFs, with a truncated rhombic dodecahedron crystalline structure was synthesized in aqueous environment at room temperature and then characterized using XRD and SEM. PO4 3- adsorption from synthetic solutions using ZIF-67 in batch mode were evaluated and a polynomial model (R2: 0.99, R2 adj: 0.98, LOF: 0.1433) developed using response surface methodology (RSM). RESULTS: The highest PO4 3- removal (99.2%) after model optimization obtained when ZIF-67 dose, pH and mixing time adjusted to 6.82, 832.4 mg/L and 39.95 min, respectively. The optimum PO4 3- concentration in which highest PO4 3- removal and lowest adsorbent utilization occurs, observed at 30 mg/L. PO4 3- removal eclipsed significantly in the presence of carbonate. The equilibrium and kinetic models showed that PO4 3- adsorbed in monolayer (qmax: 92.43 mg/g) and the sorption process controlled in the sorption stage. Adsorption was also more favorable at higher PO4 3- concentration, according to the separation factor (KR) graph. Thermodynamic parameters (minus signs of ∆G°, ∆H° of 0.179 KJ/mol and ∆S° of 44.91 KJ/mol.K) demonstrate the spontaneous, endothermic and physisorption nature of the process. CONCLUSION: High adsorption capacity and adsorption rates, make ZIF-67 a promising adsorbent for PO4 3- removal from aqueous environment.

Food Safety Knowledge and Practices of Male Adolescents in West of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Every year many people around the world become infected with food-borne infections. Insufficient knowledge and skills related to food safety and hygiene are among the factors affecting the incidence of food-borne diseases, especially in adolescents. AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and practices associated with food safety and hygiene in Ilam city male adolescents. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three hundred and eighty of male adolescents aged 13 to 19 were selected randomly and entered the cross-sectional study. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire From December 2016 to February 2017. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data in SPSS software (version 19.0). RESULTS: The findings of the study showed a positive and significant relationship between knowledge and practices related to food safety and hygiene (r = 0.122; p = 0.018). Also, the findings showed that food safety knowledge and practice of adolescents were significantly affected by the level of their education, parental education level, parental employment status and household economic conditions, (p < 0.005). Also, the results showed that the participants generally obtained 57.74% of the knowledge score and 57.63% of practices score. The subjects had the most knowledge about food supply and storage (60%), and the highest practice was related to personal and environmental hygiene, (61.73%). CONCLUSION: The inadequacy of knowledge and performance of adolescents about food safety and hygiene shows the need for implementation of health education interventions in this area.

Preparation, characterization and Cr(VI) adsorption evaluation of NaOH-activated carbon produced from Date Press Cake; an agro-industrial waste.

Date Press Cake (DPC) is an inevitable by-product of date processing industries and may pose environmental problems if not managed properly. In this study, DPC was converted into activated carbon using solid NaOH under various activation conditions. The prepared activated carbon showed high specific surface area (2025.9 m2 g-1) and microporous texture (86.01%). It was successfully applied for the adsorption of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions with maximum monolayer adsorption capacities as high as 282.8 mg g-1 (pH = 2) and 198.0 mg g-1 (pH = 5). The kinetic and isotherm experimental data of Cr(VI) adsorption onto the activated carbon were best described by Elovich and Redlich-Peterson models, respectively. It was found that the Cr(VI) adsorption onto the DPC-derived activated carbon was predominantly a chemisorption process with limited desorption rates (below 50%). Overall, Date Press Cake could be considered as an abundant and renewable agro-industrial precursor for the production of high quality activated carbon.

A time series analysis of environmental and metrological factors impact on cutaneous leishmaniasis incidence in an endemic area of Dehloran, Iran.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the environmental and metrological variables and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) transmission and its prediction in a region susceptible to this disease prevalence using a time series model. The accurate locations of 4437 CL diagnosed from 2011 to 2015 were obtained to be used in the time series model. Temperature, number of days with temperature over 30 °C, and number of earthquake were related to CL incidence using the Seasonal Auto-correlated Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model according to the Box-Jenkins method. In addition, the relationship between land use and surface soil type in 500- and 1000-m radius around the CL patients were investigated. The SARIMA models showed significant associations between environmental and meteorological variables and CL incidence adjusted for seasonality and auto-correlation. The result indicated that there are need more robust preventive programs in earthquake-prone areas with high temperature and inceptisol soil type than other areas. In addition, the region with these characteristics should be considered as high-risk areas for CL prevalence.

The Effect of Dust Storm on the Microbial Quality of Ambient Air in Sanandaj: A City Located in the West of Iran.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The presence of pathogenic microorganisms in the dust storm can cause diseases such as Asthma, Pneumonia, and respiratory infections. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between air-borne particles with airborne microorganisms in normal and dusty days in Sanandaj, a city located in the west of Iran. MATERIALS & METHODS: Air sampling was conducted during the normal and dusty days through Andersen single-stage impactor (28.3 L/min) for 2.5 min. Air particles concentration (PM10) was measured daily and microbial sampling was also conducted on every six days and on the dusty days. Finally, the data was analyzed by SPSS-16 (ANOVA and paired T-tests). RESULTS: The concentration of airborne microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) was increased by an increase of the airborne particles. Particles concentration in May, June and July (twice per month) was more than of the standard value. The predominant species of bacteria and fungi during the occurrence of Dust storm was Bacillus spp. (56.2% of total bacteria) and Mycosporium spp. (28.6% of total fungi), respectively. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The results showed that the number of airborne microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) increased during the dust storm. Therefore, the microorganisms in the dust storm can cause biological harmful effects on human health.

Investigation on the lung function of general population in Ilam, west of Iran, as a city exposed to dust storm.

BACKGROUND: Dust storm is one of the most important natural sources of air pollution in the Middle East that has caused a major concern in recent years. The aim of this study was to evaluate the respiratory tract function of people living in Ilam city (Iran) during dust storm. METHODS: A sample size of 250 people was selected and the cluster sampling was randomly used from 13 health centers in Ilam city. Pulmonary function test (PFT) was determined via a standard spirometry apparatus. Vital capacity (VC), Forced Vital capacity (FVC), FVC in first second (FEV1), FEV1/VC, FEV1/FVC, peek expiratory flow (PEF), forced expiratory flow (FEF25-75%), forced expiratory flow (FEF25-75%), forced expiratory flow (FEF75-85%), forced mid flow time (FMFT) and maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) were measured. RESULTS: Mean values of respiratory capacities measured in all participants excluding FEV1/VC and FMFT were less than predicted mean values by ECCS reference. 21.6% of the population suffered from obstructive lesions. This value among males (24.1%) was more than females (19.6%). This could be related to more exposure (outdoor jobs) of males with dust storms. CONCLUSION: The results also showed a negative significant relationship between duration of inhabitance in Ilam city and all respiratory capacities. Further studies are needed for confident confirmation of whether reduction of respiratory capacities among Ilamian people is only related to dust storms.

Toluene removal from sandy soils via in situ technologies with an emphasis on factors influencing soil vapor extraction.

The integration of bioventing (BV) and soil vapor extraction (SVE) appears to be an effective combination method for soil decontamination. This paper serves two main purposes: it evaluates the effects of soil water content (SWC) and air flow rate on SVE and it investigates the transition regime between BV and SVE for toluene removal from sandy soils. 96 hours after air injection, more than 97% removal efficiency was achieved in all five experiments (carried out for SVE) including 5, 10, and 15% for SWC and 250 and 500 mL/min for air flow rate on SVE. The highest removal efficiency (>99.5%) of toluene was obtained by the combination of BV and SVE (AIBV: Air Injection Bioventing) after 96 h of air injection at a constant flow rate of 250 mL/min. It was found that AIBV has the highest efficiency for toluene removal from sandy soils and can remediate the vadose zone effectively to meet the soil guideline values for protection of groundwater.

Investigation on the trophic status of Ekbatan reservoir: a drinking water supply reservoir in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Eutrophication is one of the detrimental environmental problems in water reservoirs dye to the irregular introducing nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen). This study aimed to explore the eutrophication state of Ekbatan Reservoir, Hamadan, western Iran. METHODS: Monthly sampling was conducted during April 2010 to March 2011. Seven sampling stations were selected in the various locations of the reservoir and the samples were collected in the depth of 50 cm. The grab sampling of water for nitrogen, phosphorous and chlorophyll-a was carried out at all localities by Hatch sampler. The trophic state of the dam was determined by Carlson's Trophic State Index (TSI) and Chapra's classification. RESULTS: The highest concentrations of phosphorus and chlorophyll-a were measured in August and the lowest concentration for both of the parameters was determined in February. The TSI index according phosphorus concentration showed that the reservoir was in eutrophic status during May to November and was in mesotrophic status over November to May. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that the eutrophication process in the lake was resulted from the rural wastewaters and agricultural fertilizers. Therefore, using long term management methods including prevent of uncontrolled discharge of agricultural wastewaters is recommended in order to reduce the eutrophication in the reservoir. Decrease of phosphorus concentration in the dam by 50% can convert the eutrophic state to mesotrophic state.

Application of Glycyrrhiza glabra root as a novel adsorbent in the removal of toluene vapors: equilibrium, kinetic, and thermodynamic study.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the removal of toluene from gaseous solution through Glycyrrhiza glabra root (GGR) as a waste material. The batch adsorption experiments were conducted at various conditions including contact time, adsorbate concentration, humidity, and temperature. The adsorption capacity was increased by raising the sorbent humidity up to 50 percent. The adsorption of toluene was also increased over contact time by 12 h when the sorbent was saturated. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Freundlich model fitted the adsorption data better than other kinetic and isotherm models, respectively. The Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherm also showed that the sorption by GGR was physical in nature. The results of the thermodynamic analysis illustrated that the adsorption process is exothermic. GGR as a novel adsorbent has not previously been used for the adsorption of pollutants.