فهرست مطالب

Jundishapur Journal of Health Sciences - Volume:11 Issue: 1, Jan 2019

Jundishapur Journal of Health Sciences
Volume:11 Issue: 1, Jan 2019

  • تاریخ انتشار: 1397/10/22
  • تعداد عناوین: 9
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  • Sadegh Ghasemi , Ehsan Derikvand*, Saeb Khoshnavaz , Saeed Boroomand Nasab , Mohsen Solimani Babarsad Page 1
    Background
    The phosphorous as one of the agricultural, industrial, and urban pollutants has an important role in the eutrophication phenomenon of the surface waters.
    Objectives
    In this research, the effect of three species of aquatic plants, including Salicornia (Persica), Typha, and Juncus, were investigated and compared with the potential of phosphate uptake.
    Methods
    After preparing the condition and cultivation of plants, they were irrigated by synthetic wastewaters with various phosphate concentrations (7, 18, and 28 mg. L-1) for 28 days. In this test, the adsorbed phosphate was calculated based on mg. g-1 of the plant dry tissues weight using two methods mass balance and wet digestion methods.
    Results
    The results showed that increase in the pollutants concentration and passing time had a significant effect on the accumulative increase in phosphate uptake in all three plants at 5% level. Thus, the maximum adsorption capacity was obtained on the 28th day in high concentration of pollutant which was measured for Salicornia, Juncus, and Typha as 9.68, 6.37, and 7.68 mg. g-1 of plant dry tissues weight, respectively. Also based on the reported regression coefficients values and the obtained equations, it can be concluded that the variable ‘time' was more effective than the ‘concentration' variable in terms of adsorbed phosphate by the studied plants. The results of the measurement of phosphate uptake in the terrestrial and aerial parts showed that the maximum uptake was measured as 6.35 and 10.33 mg. g-1 of terrestrial and aerial parts dry weight in Salicornia plant, respectively. Moreover, the results showed that the translocation factor in Salicornia, Juncus, and Typha plants were 1.54, 1.12, and 1.46, respectively, as Salicoenia was maximum and Juncus was minimum.
    Conclusions
    Finally, according to the obtained results from research, all three plants can be known as the hyper-accumulate plants, and they can be used for phytoremediation of phosphate from the agricultural soils according to the high capacity of these plants and prevent these pollutants from entering to the surface waters.
    Keywords: Aquatic Plant, Phosphate Uptake, Translocation Factor, Phytoremediation
  • Azam Hatami , Davood Afshari * Page 2
    Background
    Occupational stress is one of the factors affecting social life and is known as a serious threat to the workforce health in the world. Firefighters are subject to frequent occupational stress due to their working conditions and tasks.
    Objectives
    The current study aimed at investigating the effect of occupational stress dimensions on the work ability index of firefighters in a petrochemical company in Iran.
    Methods
    A total of 130 shift-working and day-working firefighters were selected from a petrochemical company using the census method. Occupational stress was evaluated using the health and safety executive (HSE) indicator tool, and the work ability index (WAI) was used to assess the work ability among firefighters. Pearson chi-square test was used to examine the correlation between the various dimensions of occupational stress and the WAI.
    Results
    The mean of occupational stress in the shift-working group was significantly higher than that of the day-working group (P = 0.029). The results of the Pearson correlation test showed a significant relationship between the mean score of occupational stress and that of the WAI (P = 0.01). Among the stressors, the perceived role and managerial support (R = +0.51), and colleagues support (R = +0.50) had the highest correlation with the work ability of firefighters.
    Conclusions
    The obtained results showed that occupational stress can affect the work ability of firefighters. Hence, to improve working conditions, identification of various dimensions of occupational stress, especially among shift workers, and implementation of constructive and managerial interventions should be prioritized.
    Keywords: Job Stress, Work Capacity Evaluations, Firefighter
  • Amir Mansouri , Esmaeil Kavi , Seyede Fatemeh Ahmadpoori , Ehsan Amin , Mohammad, Rafi Bazrafshan*, Aliyar Piroozi , Mozhgan Jokar , Fatemeh Zare Page 3
    Background
    Stress is a universal phenomenon experienced by all human beings. Stress can result from both positive and negative experiences, and it can have physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual consequences. Stress and strategies to cope with it are considered as two important factors in smoking.
    Objectives
    The purpose of this study was to investigate strategies for coping with stress in young adults smokers.
    Methods
    This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on the male population in Lar city in south of Iran, from 23 October, 2014 to 19 April, 2015. After screening based on the inclusion criteria, 348 smoker males aged 20 to 40 years old, were selected. In order to collect the data, the Farsi version of Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) was used. Descriptive and analytical statistical tests, such as one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), t-pair, independent t test, Kruskal-Wallis, chi-square, and Pearson correlation coefficient with significance level of P ≤ 0.05 were used to achieve the study objectives.
    Results
    The mean age of the samples was 29.53 ± 5.92 years, and they consumed an average of 10.52 ± 1.47 cigarettes per day. In terms of educational level, 39 (11.2%) of the subjects were illiterate and most of them had primary (37.4%) and middle school education (31.6%). The mean score of coping strategies in the problem-focused and the emotion-focused group were 25.30 ± 5.34 and 39.24 ± 11.75, respectively. There was a statistically significant correlation between the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the type of emotion-focused coping strategies (r = 0.153 and P = 0.003). There was no significant correlation between the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the problem-focused coping method (r = -0.065 and P = 0.223).
    Conclusions
    The results of this study indicate that smokers are more likely to use emotional-focused strategies, and higher education in smokers may lead to increased use of problem-solving strategies. Therefore, it is recommended to encourage awareness and education in urban planning.
    Keywords: Coping Strategies, Young Adults, Smoking, Stress
  • Payam Safaei*, Zahra Sadeghi , Gholamreza Jahed Khaniki Page 4
    Background
    Fruit leathers are nutritional products that are made by dehydrating a thin layer of fruit puree or juice under specific conditions, to obtain a chewy snack. Usually, the sun drying system is used to make traditional leathers, consequently takes a relatively long time and infections may occur during this period.
    Objectives
    The aim of this work was to assess the chemical and microbial quality of traditional fruit leathers.
    Methods
    In this study, 30 traditional sample leathers were obtained from the local market of Tehran. The pH, moisture, and microbiological load were measured in calculated samples. The pH was determined using a pH meter and moisture content values of all fruit leather samples were determined using the AOAC official method. For the assessment of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, yeast, and mold, dilutions were prepared and inoculated, followed by incubation for two and seven days at 37°C and 25°C, respectively. Also, this research used Green Bile Broth Brilliant Culture medium and most probable number (MPN) method for E. coli detection.
    Results
    The measured pH of the samples was in the range of 2.3 to 3.6 and 56% of the samples had a higher moisture content than the standard. Measuring the microbial load of the samples showed that they were over-contaminated in 16% of cases. Also, E. coli was identified in four samples.
    Conclusions
    This study showed that the high microbial load of traditional leathers, due to unhealthy production, is predictable. Thus, the correction of the traditional method for this product is recommended.
    Keywords: Fruit Leather, Dehydration, Physical Properties, Microbial Properties
  • Hossein Rahbari , Asadollah Akram*, Maryam Pazoki , Mortaza Aghbashlo Page 5
    Background
    Increases in fossil fuel consumption after industrial revolution has caused environmental problems and human diseases, and it is vital to replace fossil fuels by biofuels, not only for sustainable energy production, but also for the survival of earth and human lives.
    Objective
    Today, algae have become a potential source of biofuels to supply sustainable energy. Sargassum species are among the most predominant brown macro-algae in seas. Hydrothermal liquefaction is a promising process in biofuel production from biomass, which uses less energy to produce biofuel compared to other biofuel production techniques. The main objective of this paper, is the extraction of bio-oil from Sargassum macro-algae.
    Methods
    The hydrothermal liquefaction of Sargassum sp. was performed under three temperature conditions of 250, 300 and 350°C, both with and without using NiFe2O4 as a catalyst. The GC-MS and FTIR analysis performed to analyze the obtained bio-oil.
    Results
    Maximum liquefaction yield for the non-catalytic and catalytic process was 6.85 and 7.20%, which occurred at 300 and 350°C respectively. The obtained bio-oil has zero sulfur and low nitrogen (~4%) and oxygen (~10%) content, which implies that in terms of human health, the bio-oil will be healthy with some upgrading. The bio-oil was mainly composed of n-Hexadecanoic acid (57.86%) followed by tetradecanoic acid (5.12%).
    Conclusions
    According to the obtained results from this research, obtained the bio-oil requires upgrading to be useful as biofuel. Also, NiFe2O4 nanoparticles increased the bio-oil yield and are useful to produce magnetic bio-char.
    Keywords: Fossil Fuel, Sargassum, Macro-Algae, Biofuel, Hydrothermal Liquefaction
  • Roghaye Savari , Mohammad Shafiei*, Hamid Galehdari , Mahnaz Kesmati Page 6
    Background
    Phenytoin is one of the most important chemical drugs used for the treatment of skin wound.
    Objectives
    In the present study, the molecular effect of phenytoin on the expression of VEGF and TGF-β genes was investigated.
    Methods
    This study was conducted on 30 male rats with approximately equal body mass. Skin wounds were generated with an area of 2 cm and a depth of 0.5 mm on the back of the necks. The rats were divided into two case and control groups (15 rats in each group). Topical phenytoin was administered to the two groups 2 times a day (1%) and Vaseline (as control group). Each of control and treated groups were divided into three subgroups and the rats were euthanized with chloroform on days 7, 14, and 21 of post-wounding. The wounds were harvested from control and treated rats. After homogenization of the tissues, RNA was extracted, purified, converted to cDNA, and the relative expression of VEGF and TGF-β genes in phenytoin and control groups was evaluated by real-time PCR. The gene expression was evaluated on days 7, 14, and 21.
    Results
    Increased expression of VEGF and TGF-β in the first week and decreased expression of both genes in the third week were observed in the phenytoin-treated group compared with the control group (P < 0.001).
    Conclusions
    Regarding the results of the expression of both TGF-β and VEGF genes, there is a significant relationship between the expression of these two genes and the rate of wound healing in rats.
    Keywords: Topical Phenytoin, TGF-?, VEGF, Angiogenesis, Wound Healing
  • Mahmoud Rahdar*, Salman Abolfazli, Karizi , Hootan Pedram Page 7
    Background
    The most frequent protozoan in the buccal cavity is Entamoeba gingivalis and more than 50% of the world population are infected with it. The exact role of E. gingivalis in periodontal diseases remains uncertain.
    Objectives
    This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to compare the presence of E. gingivalis in healthy individuals and patients.
    Methods
    Twenty-five patients with periodontitis and 25 healthy controls were selected and their saliva and plaque samples were examined by microscopy and PCR methods.
    Results
    Only 3 out of the 25 patient samples were positive in microscopy examination, and four patient and two control group samples were positive in the PCR technique. There were no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05) using Chi-square test.
    Conclusions
    : In the current study, E. gingivalis was not found to cause periodontal diseases. Studies with larger sample sizes are required to define the exact pathogenic role of E. gingivalis.
    Keywords: Amoebiasis, Periodontitis, Oral Cavity, PCR
  • Seyed Mohammad Hossein Fayaz , Roya Mafigholami*, Fatemeh Razavian , Karim Ghasemipanah Page 8
    Background
    Various suspended organic and inorganic contaminants including biological deposits, different types of algae and barnacles and causative factors of water turbidity result in irreparable damages to pretreatment systems and membranes in reverse osmosis systems.
    Objectives
    In this study, the effect of injection of disinfectant materials such as calcium hypochlorite on the reduction of silt density index (SDI) value at the inlet of reverse osmosis system has been investigated.
    Methods
    In this research, correlations between fundamental parameters in pretreatment system such as turbidity, chlorine injection, residual chlorine content and SDI values were thoroughly analyzed and evaluated at one of the desalination plants located in Persian Gulf.
    Results
    The results indicated that there is a close link between the amount of chlorine injection and SDI inlet value. By adjusting the nephelometric turbidity unit values in specific ranges of 35 - 55, 55 - 80 and 80 - 150 and oxidation reduction potential in the ranges of 280 - 680, 315 - 680 and 420 - 680 mV, favorable SDI value of inlet water was obtained.
    Conclusions
    SDI control via chlorine injection increased the lifetime of cartridge filters at reverse osmosis input units and reduced the operation costs significantly.
    Keywords: SDI, ORP, Turbidity, Reverse Osmosis, Fouling, Persian Gulf, Saline Water, Cartridge Filter