Investigating the impact of urban-environmental factors on air pollutants: a land use regression model approach and health risk assessment.

The presence of pollutants in the earth's atmosphere has a direct impact on human health and the environment. So that pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM) cause respiratory diseases, cough headache, etc. Since the amount of pollutants in the air is related to environmental and urban factors, the aim of the current research is to investigate the relationship between the concentration of CO, PM2.5 and PM10 with urban-environmental factors including land use, wind speed and wind direction, topography, traffic, road network, and population through a Land use regression (LUR) model. The concentrations of CO, PM2.5 and PM10 were measured during four seasons from 26th of March 2022 to 16th of March 2023 at 25 monitoring stations and then the information about pollutant measurement points and Land use data were entered into the ArcGIS software. The annual average concentrations of CO, PM2.5 and PM10 were 0.7 ppm, 18.94 and 60.76 µg/m3, respectively, in which the values of annual average concentration of CO and PMs were outside the air quality guideline standard. The results of the health risk assessment showed that the hazard quotient values for all three investigated pollutants were lower than 1 and therefore, they were not in adverse conditions in terms of health effects. Among the urban-environmental factors affecting air pollution, the traffic variable is the most important factor affecting the annual LUR model of CO, PM2.5 and PM10, and then the topography variable is the second most effective factor on the annual LUR model of the aforementioned pollutants.

Ergonomic risk factors and musculoskeletal disorders in bank staff: an interventional follow-up study in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Long-term use of computer in a static mode may cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in bank staff. Considering the high number of bank employees in different countries, such as Iran, the risk factors of these disorders should be investigated in order to implement interventions required to reduce the risk factors. This study aimed to examine the risk factors of MSDs using the Rapid Office Strain Assessment (ROSA) method and to perform an ergonomic intervention program with banking staff in Iran. METHODS: This interventional study was conducted on 277 bank employees in Iran. Subjects were randomly divided into three groups, including a control group (without any intervention), an educational intervention (EI) group, and a group receiving both educational and physical intervention (EPI). Before and after the intervention, the ROSA method and Nordic questionnaire were used to assess the risk factors of MSDs in office jobs and to investigate the prevalence of MSDs. Data were collected 2 weeks before and 9 months following the intervention. RESULTS: Before the intervention, the mean score of ROSA at workstations of all groups was above five with high risk. Nine months after the start of the intervention, there was a significant decrease in the mean ROSA score and its components in the two groups that received the intervention, which was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The results of the study of the prevalence of MSDs in the employees-before the intervention-indicate that the highest prevalence of MSDs in the control group was in areas of the neck (67.1%), back (64.4%), and lower back (63%). In the EI group, the highest prevalence of MSDs was in the neck (65.2%), lower back (61.6%), and back (60.7%) areas. In the EPI group, the discomfort areas were the neck (68.5%), shoulders (66.3%), and lower back (60.9%). Nine months after the intervention, there was a significant decrease in the prevalence of MSDs in the neck, shoulders, and lumbar regions of staff who received the intervention (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Nine months after performing the interventions, there was a relative improvement in workstations and prevalence of MSDs in various areas within the bodies of the bank staff. This study showed that using the ROSA method is appropriate for assessing the risk factors of office work and that it can identify deficiencies in workstations. These defects can be addressed by designing and implementing an EI program together with physical interventions according to the components of the ROSA method.

Modified wheat straw-derived graphene for the removal of Eriochrome Black T: characterization, isotherm, and kinetic studies.

A cost-effective and environment-benign adsorbent was prepared from an abundant agro-waste material. Wheat straw was reduced to graphene and then modified by crosslinking to epichlorohydrin. During the conversion process of wheat straw to graphene, the specific surface area increased more than 100 times (from 4 to 415 m2 g-1). The adsorption efficiency of raw wheat straw, graphene nanosheets, and modified graphene against Eriochrome Black T (EBT) were 8.0, 34.7, and 74.4%, respectively. The modified graphene was further investigated for the effect of environmental condition, i.e., pH (3 to 11), EBT concentration (25-100 mg L-1), adsorbent dosage (0.25-0.75 g L-1), contact time (5-60 min), and solution temperature (30-60 °C). The dye removal remained at a high level under a wide range of pH from 3 to 9. The EBT removal decreased from 87.3 to 54.5 by increasing dye concentration and increased from 38.2 to 85.4% by increasing adsorbent dose in the studied ranges. Dye removal also increased by mixing time from 5 to 30 min, whereas a slight drop was observed by continuing agitation up to 60 min. Conducting experiments at various temperatures revealed an endothermic process. Pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models were adequate to represent the adsorption kinetics. Isotherm models suggest a multilayer adsorption of EBT molecules on heterogeneous modified graphene surface with a maximum adsorption capacity of 146.2 mg g-1. The present work demonstrated that the modified graphene obtained from available and low-cost agro-wastes could be used effectively as adsorbent against EBT from aqueous media.

Occupational exposure to formaldehyde, lifetime cancer probability, and hazard quotient in pathology lab employees in Iran: a quantitative risk assessment.

Formaldehyde is a colorless and highly irritating substance that is used as a preservative and chemical fixative in tissue processing in pathological laboratories. Formaldehyde is mutagenic and is classified by the IARC as the definitive carcinogen (A1 group). This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was performed to determine the respiratory exposure of 60 employees of pathology labs with formaldehyde and to estimate carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk in Iran in 2018-2019. Occupational exposure to formaldehyde was assessed in summer season using the NIOSH 3500 method and a personal sampler with flow of 1 l/min connected to two Glass Midget Impingers containing 20 ml of 1% sodium bisulfate solution. The respiratory symptoms questionnaire provided by the American Thoracic Society was used to assess the health effects of formaldehyde exposure. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk assessment of inhaled exposure to formaldehyde was also performed using the USA Environmental Protection Agency (OEHHA) method. The mean respiratory exposure of employees to formaldehyde was 0.64 mg/m3 (range: 0.1474 to 1.3757). Occupational exposure in 28.3% (n = 17) of employees was above the OSHA recommended range. Wheezing (24%), burning eyes (25%), and cough (21.7%) were the most prevalent health problems. The mean ± SD of the carcinogenic risk among the employees was 3.45 × 10-4 ± 2.27 × 10-4. The highest mean of carcinogenic risk was found in lab workers (4.44 × 10-4). Given the high level of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk of respiratory exposure to formaldehyde in pathological employees, especially lab worker, the use of management controls, engineering controls, and respiratory protection equipment to reduce exposure levels of all workers to less than the allowed exposure limits seems necessary.

Frequency of HFE gene mutations in Iranian beta-thalassaemia minor patients.

OBJECTIVES: Beta-thalassaemia minor (BTM) alone does not lead to iron overload, however, some gene modifiers and acquired causes are reported. When it is inherited together with a mutation in the HFE (HLA-H) gene associated with hereditary haemochromatosis, iron overload may ensue. To analyse the relationship between iron status and HFE mutations in Iranian BTM patients, we compared the frequency of the C282Y and H63D HFE mutations and ferritin level in a group of BTM patients from the National Thalassaemia Transfusion and Care Centre with that of healthy individuals. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety-three (56 females) documented BTM cases and 104 (54 females) controls were enrolled in the study. Serum ferritin level was measured in all subjects by immuno-radiometric assay and HFE genotypes were determined using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of PCR-amplified HFE gene fragment. RESULTS: Eighteen (19.4%) BTM patients vs. 12 (11.5%) controls were H63D heterozygotes, while there were three (3.2%) cases and three (2.9%) controls with H63D homozygosity. All three C282Y mutations were found in BMT patients with one of them being a compound heterozygote. A significant difference was observed in the total number of HFE mutations in favour of BTM patients over the controls (P < 0.05, OR = 2.064). The H63D and C282Y allele frequencies were 12.9 and 1.61 in patients and 8.65 and 0 in controls, respectively. The mean ferritin level in cases with HFE mutations showed no significant difference from that of the patients without mutations (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that HFE mutations C282Y and H63D are more frequent in Iranian BTM patients than in the normal population, causing no significant changes in serum ferritin level.