مریم رفعتی

Species richness is one of the biodiversity parts calculated by counting the number of species present in a given area. In this study, the species richness of the birds in Bushehr Province was examined to identify biodiversity hotspots and assess their conservation status. To achieve this, bird presence data were collected, and the conservation status of each species was determined. Subsequently, using a grid system with one-by-one-kilometer cells, table of distribution of birds species richness was prepared, and biodiversity hotspots were calculated using the Getis-Ord Gi statistic in a geographic information system (GIS). The results indicated that out of 320 bird species with continuous observation records in Bushehr Province, none were categorized as critically endangered according to the 2021 IUCN Red List. However, three bird species included saker falcon(Falco cherrug), Steppe Eagle(Aquila nipalensis), and Egyptian Vulture(Neophron percnopterus) were classified as Endangered, and Marbled duck(Marmaronetta angustirostris), Common pochard(Aythya ferina), Long-tailed duck(Clangula hyemalis), Macqueen's Bustard(Chlamydotis macqueenii), Socotra cormorant(Phalacrocorax nigrogularis), Pallid Harrier(Circus macrourus), and Eastern Imperial Eagle(Aquila heliaca) were considered as vulnerable. Furthermore, the study of species richness revealed that 21.58% of the study area was covered by the presence of these 320 species, with species diversity ranging from one to 26 birds per cell. The calculation of hotspots at the province level also identified the presence of 30 hotspots, covering a total area of 151311.90 hectares (6.33% of the province's area). These hotspots were mostly located in close proximity to major rivers, rangelands, and agricultural lands, particularly date palm orchards, emphasizing the need for greater attention to these habitats for bird conservation.

Intruduction:

Increasing industrial activities with the production of pollutants, including heavy metals, is one of the serious problems of modern communities, which has led to their accumulation in the environment. Heavy metals are also one of the important pollutants in landfill leachate. Plants and soil near the landfill may be contaminated by the leachate. Landfilling is the oldest method of solid waste disposal which can be a threat to the environment and health. Due to its easy operation and cost-effective, landfill is the most widely used method of municipal solid waste disposal in the world. Pollution cleaning technologies to reduce the harmful effects in the locations contaminated with heavy metals can be done by physical, chemical and biological methods. Phytoremediation, as a biological method, uses the green plants to extract, sequester, and detoxify pollutants. This method is a low-cost technique, environmentally friendly, and due to the non-production of by-products, is non-destructive for natural ecosystems. Considering the high moisture of wastes in Iran and their potential to produce leachate, as well as the possibility of contamination of water and soil in the landfill, especially with heavy metals, this study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the accumulation of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) heavy metals in the soil, shoots and roots of artiplex (Atriplex sp.) and oleander (Nerium olander) plants in Aradkooh landfill of Tehran.

This study was conducted in Aradkooh landfill which is located in the south of Tehran in the Kahrizak region. About 5200 tons of municipal solid waste were sent to this landfill every day. A part of the solid waste in Aradkoh was placed in various processes to energy and compost, and about 2500 tons of the solid waste was landfilled. According to previous reports, it is estimated that 250 cubic meters of leachate are produced daily in the Aradkoh landfill. In the studied landfill, there is an atriplex plant in four areas and a hand-planted oleander in one area. Ten samples of soil, root, and shoot, totaling 120 total were randomly selected from each growing area of the atriplex plant. Oleander shoots and soil were also tested from 10 different plants for a total of 40 samples. Then the levels of Cd and Pb in the soil, roots, and shoots were assessed. In this study, the outcomes were analyzed employing four key indices: the bioconcentration factor (BCF), the translocation factor (TF), the pollution index (PI), and PINemerow. The BCF and TF indices were employed to assess the phytoextraction and phytostabilization capabilities of plants, while the PI and PINemerow methods were used to pinpoint the most environmentally hazardous heavy metal in the soil.

 According to the results, the concentration of Pb and Cd in  shoots of atriplex  area 2 (with an average of 19.7 and 5.75 mg/kg, respectively) were significantly higher than in other areas, while the concentration of these metals in root of oleander (with an average of 8.17 and 1.06 for Pb and Cd, respectively) were higher than the shoot. The amount of Pb element in soil of the oleander plant (with an average of 35.13 mg/kg) and Cd in soil of the atriplex area 2 (with an average of 3.78 mg/kg) were significantly higher than other areas. Additionally, the levels of heavy metals in the soil of two plants were higher than the Nemerow index, which indicated high levels of pollution in the sampling areas, but still below the safe levels that was set by national standards (3.9 and 300 mg/kg for Cd and Pb respectively) and the World Health Organization (5 and 40 mg/kg for Cd and Pb, respectively). In addition, bioaccumulation factor of shoot in all growth atriplex areas for Pb and Cd (with an average of 1.44 and 1.3, respectively) were higher than 1.0 while, the root bioaccumulation factors of this plant in any of the growth areas, were not higher than 1.0. In the case of oleander, the shoot and root bioconcentration factors  for Pb and Cd were not reported more than one.

In general, it appears that atriplex, a native plant in the Aradkooh landfill, exhibits superior capabilities for absorbing heavy elements compared to oleander. Therefore, atriplex seems well-suited for the extraction of Pb and Cd from the soil, as it can accumulate these metals in its shoots. In contrast, oleander is not well-suited for phytostabilization or phytoextraction of these elements, as it exhibits limited ability to accumulate these heavy metals in its roots and shoots. Consequently, atriplex can be a valuable choice as a resilient species for phytoremediation projects in landfills and areas near mines. It is worth noting that the Pb content in the soil is higher than that of Cd. Although both metals fall within the permissible limits of national and WHO standards, the soil in the Aradkooh landfill is considered to be significantly polluted based on the Nemerow index.

Soil is one of the most important components of the ecosystem and environment for storing nutrients and performing biological, physical, and chemical processes and activities. Earth may be infected by the accumulation of heavy elements. These metals are ubiquitous, highly persistent, and non-biodegradable. The concentration of heavy metals increases due to the natural weathering of rocks, the disposal of waste, and the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and industrial effluent. It includes nickel, which is released by car brake abrasion, vehicle corrosion (especially the car oil pump), and electronic wastes in the urban environment and its accumulation in the body causes kidney complications, lung damage, high blood pressure, and it became vascular diseases. Nickel has no toxic effect on the plant at low concentrations and acts as a micronutrient, but in high concentrations, it reduces the growth and appearance of toxic symptoms in the plants. In agricultural fields, chemical fertilizers are used to increase the production of agricultural products, which despite their benefits, their excessive use reduces crop quality and the entry of toxic pollutants into the soil. In this context, organcic amendments such as biochar and vermicompost could be useful to sustainably maintain or increase soil organic matter, preserving and improving soil fertility and crop yield. Biochar is a carbon-rich material obtained from the thermochemical conversion of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment. Biochar has been described as a possible tool for soil fertility improvement, potential toxic element adsorption, and climate change mitigation. Vermicompost is considered as a high-nutrientbiofertilizer with diverse microbial communities. It plays a major role in improving the growth and yield of different field crops, vegetables, flowers, and fruit crops. Vermicomposting is the process of conversion of organic wastes into finely degraded peat-like substances using earthworms. It is an alternative method for waste management through which vermicompost is produced with a relatively high nutrient content than compost and manures. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of biochar and vermicompost on an accumulation of nickel metal in soil and tomato fruit.

Materials and Methods :

For this purpose, the seeds were caught from a greenhouse in the south of Tehran, and the pots were filled with 3 kg of soil derived from the same place. This soil was mixed well before being placed in the pots. The test was performed as a factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design in which nickel nitrate was applied to the soil with 6 different concentrations (75 ppm nickel nitrate with 10% biochar, 150 ppm nickel nitrate with 10% biochar, 75 ppm nickel nitrate with 5% biochar, 150 ppm nickel nitrate with 5% biochar, 75 ppm nickel nitrate and 150 ppm nickel nitrate), and compared with pots that were only hydrated with tap water (control). All measurements were taken with three independent replicates for metal concentration. Pots were placed outdoors with tap water irrigation (five times a week) and two days a week (Monday and Friday) with nickel nitrate for 4 months. Then the concentration of nickel in the shoot (fruit), the nickel concentration in the soil, and the wet and dry weight of the fruit were measured. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) was also calculated using the ratio of total nickel concentration in fruit to the soil. Based on this, plants that have a bioconcentration factor of more than once, especially in their shoots, are suitable for metal extracting from the soil and translocating it to the fruit.

In general conclusion, it can be stated that planting cherry tomatoes in nickel containing soil or irrigation with municipal and industrial wastewater containing nickel should be accompanied by more considerations. Also, if biochar or vermicompost is used in the soil of cherry tomato pots, nickel can be extracted from the soil with a bioconcentration coefficient

Lead and cadmium are among the most important heavy metals which have entered the life cycle of the earth as a result of human activities.  In this study, in order to evaluate the ability of Indian mustard to uptake heavy metals (cadmium and lead), a survey was performed as randomized complete block design in which each metal was added  to the plant in four concentrations zero (a control), 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg soil. The results showed that the highest concentration of lead in the root and shoot (aerial parts) of Indian mustard was 278.4 and 61.8 mg/kg, respectively, in the 200 mg/kg treatment, while the highest amount of cadmium in these two organs was 14.5, and 10.9 mg/kg respectively in the treatment of 100 mg/kg soil. Also, with the increase of lead concentration in the soil, the amount of this element in Indian mustard increased linearly with a high correlation coefficient, and the bio-concentration coefficient of lead in the plant roots was greater than one in all studied treatments. Finally, it was found that Indian mustard can be used as a bio-indicator of lead and stabilized it in its root, but it is not able to stabilize or extract significant amounts of cadmium from soil.

The Kan River is the largest and most important river that enters the Tehran plain. The river water quality (in Tehran city), is affected by agricultural and industrial activities and population spots. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of the Kan River using Iran Water Quality Index for Surface Water to protect the environment. For selecting sampling stations, the study area was divided into eight longitudinal ranges, and sampling was done in two periods of minimum and maximum flow. Kan River is of poor to relatively bad quality. The pH was at standard level but some parameters such as BOD in 2 stations (minimum flow‌ rate) and 9 stations (maximum flow rate), TSS in 4 stations (minimum flow rate) and 5 stations (maximum flow rate), DO in all samples except station S1(minimum flow rate) and coliform in all samples were more than permissible level of the national standard for river water quality. Entering industrial, municipal, and agricultural wastewater is the most important reason for the decrease in water quality. In terms of the standard classification base of the Iran Department of Environment for Protection of aquatic life, class 2 (suitable for Cyprinid (is recommended.

Due to its significant volume and pollution, the extracting and processing of wastewater from crude oil is a serious challenge in oil industries. The discharge of these wastewaters to the acceptor environment or to reuse them requires the provision of environmental standards. Therefore, the study of different wastewater refine methods is of great importance. 

In this study, the different processes of wastewater refinery produced in oil industry units included the first, second (physicochemical methods), and third stages of refinery methods (biological) were studied.

The first refinery stage is used as the most widely used method based on water weight dispute, oil, and sand, and its biggest drawback is the lack of gathering particles smaller than 150 microns. The second refinery stage included flocculation and air flotation methods and the efficiency of this method for water polluted by oil is 95%, and one of the most disadvantages of this method are high costs of chemical supplies and maintenance. The third refinery stage is the biological method which has the highest efficiency in wastewater refinery, and disadvantages of this method including high electrical and mechanical equipment, and also high costs due to high energy consumption.

The second and third refinery stages are expensive and one can be stated that the combination of the second or third method with the first stage is achieved as the most efficient method in extracting and processing of crude oil.

In arid and semi-arid regions such as Iran, where the average annual rainfall is less than one-third of the world's average annual rainfall, groundwater is an important source of drinking water. Quantitive and irregular rainfall, limited surface water resources, and its absence in many parts of the country have led to the widespread use of groundwater. Today, increasing agricultural, horticultural and livestock activities on the one hand and industrial and workshop activities and population development along with population growth, on the other hand, excessive use of natural resources and expansion of industrial and agricultural activities and mass production of waste and scrap, groundwater resources are threatened. Seriously and has caused a lot of pollution. Qualitatively, most groundwater reservoirs are vulnerable to ministerial sources. Point sources of pollution from domestic and industrial wastewater and non-point sources of pollutants result from improper and excessive consumption of fertilizers and pesticides and their leaching into groundwater. Widespread groundwater pollution and the growth and awareness of human societies about the importance of these vulnerable resources have led to extensive efforts to protect groundwater. The process of regenerating aquifers on a regional scale in a reasonable time frame is not possible because groundwater flows very slowly. Vulnerability assessment is a way to zoning areas that are most prone to contamination; therefore, to prevent contamination and effective groundwater management, it is necessary to assess the vulnerability of aquifers because vulnerability can help determine practical and practical policies for the management of groundwater resources in the path of sustainable exploitation. In our country, in the last decade, the assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution has grown significantly and has had good results. Vulnerability assessment is a low-cost and powerful way to identify areas prone to contamination. Vulnerability assessment is a low-cost and powerful way to identify areas prone to contamination. In the Aisin plain of Hormozgan, due to its small area, low annual rainfall, and lack of water resources in this area, the use of groundwater resources is very important. Due to population growth, industrial activities and agricultural development, and the use of agricultural pesticides and chemical fertilizers in this plain and due to lack of knowledge or understanding of the exact level of groundwater vulnerability in this area, the need for rapid techniques to identify and assess vulnerabilities. It is underground in this area. The purpose of this research is was to map the vulnerability of groundwater in the Aisin plain of  Hormozgan using DRASTIC and GODS methods and with the help of GIS.

This research was carried out by DRASTIC and GODS methods with the help of GIS. The DRASTIC method is the most important rating method for determining vulnerability, which is more common among researchers and experts and has been used. The DRASTIC method consists of a combination of seven measurable and effective hydrogeological features effective in transferring contamination to groundwater, including groundwater depth, net recharge, aquifer, soil environment, Topography, Impact of the vadose zone, and hydraulic conductivity. Aisin plain based on available data extracted from Hormozgan Regional Water Company in GIS environment and after ranking and weighing them between 1 to 10 and superimposing them, the final vulnerability map of Aisin aquifer based on the DRASTIC model obtained Came. The GODS model, which is a very simple, practical, and experimental method for rapid assessment of groundwater pollution potential, also has four characteristics of aquifer type, unsaturated area, groundwater depth, and soil type, which were used in this study. The data used in the above models were extracted from 19 piezometric wells located in Aisin plain, which were available from 1987 to 2018. In the GODS method, like the DRASTIC method for each of the hydrogeological characteristics based on the available data, in the GIS environment, a map was prepared and ranked between 1 and 5, then after superimposing them, vulnerability maps of Aisin plain with GODS model obtained.

Since in the DRASTIC model index, the minimum possible vulnerability is 23 and the maximum is 230; However, the results of the final Aisin aquifer vulnerability map by the DRASTIC method, which is almost the most complete indicator for assessing groundwater vulnerability, Showed that the range of DRASTIC index values is between 59 and 163. The map of this index has been extracted in 6 categories from non-vulnerability to high vulnerability. Most of the area (33.66%), which covers the northeastern parts, from the center to the south of the plain, has low to moderate vulnerability. After that, moderate vulnerability (19.29%) was located in parts of the center and northwest, respectively, and also very low vulnerability (14.75%) in parts of the south and east, in parts of the east and south without vulnerability (29 11.11%), in the northern and part of the center and south with low vulnerability (10.15%) and finally, high vulnerability (10.84%) in the central and western parts were in the next categories in terms of area. In fact, according to the DRASTIC model, most of the aquifer sections of the Aisin plain were in low and medium to medium vulnerability classes in terms of vulnerability potential. Also, the results of the GODS model showed that the study area is divided into three parts including low, medium, and high vulnerability. Most of the Aisin plain (66.83%) is in the range of moderate vulnerability with ranks between 0.5 to 0.3 And the lowest level (11.31%) is related to the high vulnerability potential with a rank of 0.5 to 0.7.

In general, in both methods, the inherent vulnerability of the Aisin aquifer has been evaluated in low to high vulnerability ranges, but the extent of expansion of their vulnerability ranges has been different and the DRASTIC model of different vulnerability zones due to more characteristics and different weights based on these characteristics are different. Contamination is more accurately identified.

In this study, the accumulation of heavy metals included lead and nickel in Albizia lebbeck ((L.) Benth) tree, and Conocarpus erectus (L.) shrubin urban green spacewere investigated. To this, two areas with low and high traffic intensity with three replications were selected in Ahwaz, and random samples were collected from tree leaves (from 2 to 3 meters height above the ground level) and soil at the bottom of the species (depth 0 to 10 cm). The results showed that in the low traffic area, the concentrations of both heavy metals in two species were significantly different, in the case of lead, the concentration of this metal in the leaf of C. erectus was significantly higher than that of A. lebbeck, but the concentration of nickel in the leaf of A. lebbeck was significantly higher than that of C. erectus. Concentrations of lead and nickel in the soil of both species in the high traffic areas were significantly higher than the low traffic areas. The bioconcentration factor for the lead metal in both species was less than 1; But, for nickel metal, the mean of bioconcentration factor for both species is greater than 1; indicating that the two species are able to extract nickel from the soil. In summary, it can be stated that according to the findings of this study, C. erectus is more capable of absorbing nickel than Albizia lebbeck and can be used in phytoremediation projects in similar areas.

Functional evaluation models are the basis for measuring and improving management systems. The purpose of this research was to meet the needs of dry milk factory in Pegah Shahr E Kord to assess the performance of the HSE system in terms of compliance considering the company's strategies.

Methodology and Materials:

 In this research, with close investigation on standards and models in the field of performance of the HSE management system, the functional evaluation model of this factory was designed in the framework of a Balanced Scorecard Card (BSC). In this model, four layers of Financial, Customer, Internal business processes and Learning- growth were identified and classified with 14 function evaluation criteria and 43 sub-indicators.

The results of the balanced scorecard model showed that the highest and lowest scores among the studied layers were internal processes with an average of 69.28 and learning-growth with an average of 56.66 respectively. Also, the overall average score of the company in all four layers calculated 64.2 out of 100 which, according to a standard score, the scores over 60, reflects the relatively good Function of the organization in the field of HSE management.

According to the results, Value Indicators presentable for Customers, Audit and Improvement of HSE Performance Indicators, Policy Development and Strategic goals, organization and provision of resources for HSE management, risk management for HSE, system planning and designing in order to establish the principles of HSE in the organization, are the most important strengths and information sources, also human capital and presentable value to society and government are the most important improvable parts of the HSE system in studied organization.

In this study, the accumulation of heavy metals included iron, manganese, lead, and cadmium in a native species of Christ's thorn jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) was investigated. To this, random samples were collected from tree leaves and soil at the bottom of the trees from five stations in Khouzestan Oxin Steel Company. Station 1 was located in the company center and adjacent to the source of pollution. Station 2 was situated 100 m away from the company and in the path of wind direction. Stations 3 and 4 were located approximately 200 meters from the source of pollution . Station 5 was placed three kilometers from the company in the opposite direction of the prevailing wind. The results showed that the lowest concentrations of all elements in the leaves of the trees and the soil of the trees were found to be at station 5 and the highest at station 1, therefore, it can be concluded that the distance from the company and the dominant wind direction were effective for this results. The calculation of the bioconcentration factor for four heavy metals showed that the trees were only able to absorb cadmium from the soil with a BCF value of more than one. Considering the usefulness of this tree in fore absorption of cadmium and direct use of fruit and leaves of trees, it is suggested that this tree can be used in areas with cadmium contamination in Khuzestan and areas with similar climate and soil conditions with considering environmental conditions.

By considering the lack of high-quality water resources, the use of refined sewage as cheaply available water resources can reduce the challenge for water demand in Iran. This research aimed to investigate the accumulation of lead and cadmium in soil and seed of wheat and barley crops that are irrigated by refined sewage and a mixture of unrefined sewage and well water, respectively, in Qods city. During two growth months (March and May 2017), every ten days, one sample of each treatment was investigated to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of incoming water (totally nine samples per treatment). Sixty samples (30 samples from each plant) were randomly harvested. For soil measurement, 30 samples were randomly sampled in each filed (May 2017). The results showed that the values of EC, biological and chemical oxygen demands, lead and cadmium concentrations were more in the mixture of well water and unrefined water than refined water. There was no significant difference between the cadmium concentrations in the seeds of the two plants; however, the lead concentration in the seeds of barely was significantly more than wheat. The differences in the mean of lead and cadmium concentrations in the soil of two plants were not significant. The results of the bioconcentration factor i showed that none of the plant’s ability to extract lead and cadmium. Only the concentration of lead metal in barley is higher than the World Health Organization standard, which indicates that the grain produced in this field is harmful to human consumption.

Although the physical and mental health of workers and, as a result, the productivity of organizations are influenced by the stress in the working environment, this issue has rarely been addressed in the literature. This research was therefore conducted to quantify the effects of stress on work ability, the incidents rate, and the performance of Takhte Jamshid hospital in Karaj.

The main variables were work stress (an independent variable), work ability index and the work-related incidents (as mediator variables), and hospital performance (as the dependent variable). Based on Cochran equation, 240 employees out of the total population of 636 were selected and then surveyed using the standard questionnaires developed by Agiuns regarding work ability index, work stress, and the employee work performance.

Based on the results, mean values of work stress, working ability, and the hospital performance were 3.06, 22.2, and 3, respectively. According to the structural equation modeling, work stress significantly affected both working ability (R2 = -0.87) and work-related incidents (R2= 0.68). It was also found that the work ability affected the incidents rate (R2= -0.34). Finally, the work incident rate had a substantial effect on the hospital performance (R2= -0.62).

Based on this study, work stress clearly affected the work ability of employees and the resulting performance of the hospital. Then, it is expected that mitigation of work stress can lead to a lower rate of work incidents and higher quality of hospital performance.

The aim of this study was to evaluate contamination of the soils around Venarch manganese mine in Qom with heavy metals such as manganese, nickel and lead. It is also attempted to compare the Muller’s and Karbassi’s methods for determining the pollution index and the natural and anthropogenic share of the mentioned elements in the study area.  in of Geoaccumulation index (Igeo) and (Ipoll), heavy metals of natural and anthropotogenic fase contribution in the region. To perform this study, 3 samples were systematically collected from soil at the depths of 5 - 25 cm and mixed together to make a compound sample which was transferred to the laboratory. The concentrations of manganese, nickel and lead were measured using a spectrophotometer. Then the Muller’s Geoaccumulation index (Igeo) and the Karbassi’s Pollution Index (Ipoll) were employed to determine the intensity of pollution in the study area. The results of bulk digestion showed that concentrations of Mn and Ni are lower and concentration of Pb is higher than the maximum average concentrations in the Earth’s crust and shale. Igeo was in the range of 0-1 and Ipoll was in the range of 1-2 for all metals, respectively showing that soil pollution is classified as unpolluted and slightly polluted.
Karbassi’s Ipoll was found to be more efficient than Muller’s Igeo in determining the amount of contamination in the region. The share of heavy metals in anthropogenic phase was determined as the following order: Pb (16%)> Ni (8%)> Mn (5%).

In this study,Cd, Ni and Pb concentrations in okra and soils of Upper and lower part of Ramin Power Plant in Ahraz were investigated.Samples of okra and agricultural soil were taken in the summer of 1395 and results showed that, average concentration of Cd, Pb and Ni in okra wererespectively 6.82, 5.74 and 22.76 mg/kg in lower farmlands and 6.23, 5.68 and 15.53 in upper one of Ramin power plant that all these amountswere so higher than WHO and FAO standards. Also, Cd, Pb and Ni concentrations in lower agricultural soils were respectively 0.09, 1.00 and 2.52 and in upper soils 0.08, 0.80 and 1.86 mg/kg, which according to the standard limit, these amounts were lower than standard levels. The general pattern of heavy metals concentrations in vegetables and soil is Ni> Pb> Cd and Cd and Ni concentrations were significantly different between lower and upper farms only in okra (P< 0.05). Considering on the BCF amounts that were higherthan onein all three metals and low concentrations of them in soils, impacts of atmospheric dry precipitation in the region is too critical, so focusing on the prevention of heavy metals contaminationof agricultural products in around Ramin power plants for food safety and human health is very necessary.

Sewage, as a permanent source of agricultural water, in addition to supplying some of the water needs of the agricultural sector, contributes to saving and sustaining water resources in the country. The aim of this research was to investigate the accumulation of cadmium in soil and seed of wheat irrigated by refined sewage, and the barley crops irrigated by a mixture of unrefined sewage and well water in Qods city. For this purpose, nine samples of each irrigation treatment, 60 samples of wheat and barley (30 samples from each plant) and 30 soil samples in the each plant (from a depth of zero to 20 cm) were randomly collected to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of incoming water. The results showed that the amounts of electrical conductivity, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and cadmium concentrations were more in the mixture of well water and unrefined water than the refined water. The mean of Cadmium concentration in wheat and barley grains was 0.018 and 0.012 mg/kg, respectively, and there was no significant difference between the Cadmium concentrations in the seeds of the two plants. The mean of cadmium concentrations in the soil of wheat and barley were respectively 0.070 and 0.058 mg/kg, which does not indicate a significant difference in this regard between the soils of the two plants. The results of the bioconcentration factor in wheat and barley seeds (0.020 and 0.242, respectively) showed that the ability of the barley plant to extract cadmium was higher than the wheat plant, but none of them demonstrated an ability to extract Cadmium with a coefficient higher than one.

Nowadays pesticides are extensively used to protect food security worldwide. Due to their undesirable effects, they are considered as important environmental pollutants. Methods for pest biological control are enumerated as an alternative for chemical pesticide. This study was performed to isolate and identify the antifungal-compound-producing Actinobacteria againstAspergillus nigerfungi (stored product pest)and Bipolaris sp.(responsible for root and crown rot disease) from wheat farms of Hajiabad region, Hormozgan province. Three farming sites were sampled in this study. Actinobacteria were isolated by soil extract agar and starch casein agar media. Antifungal activities were evaluated by well diffusion agar method. Potent isolates were identified through morphological, physiological, biochemical, and genetic analysis. Findings: Approximately a total number of 207 Actinobacteria isolates were isolated. From two isolation media, the soil extract agar yielded 125 isolates and exhibited more efficacy. Results of physical treatments showed that heat treatment could isolate 85 colonies and followed by desiccation and UV treatments by 57 and 46 colonies respectively. Evaluation of the antifungal activities of 100 morphologically distinct isolates revealed that only two isolates exhibited antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Bipolaris sp. Identification of potent isolates according to morphological, biochemical and physiological properties showed that these isolates belong to Streptomyces genus. Genetically, identification and phylogenetic analysis based on16srRNA gene revealed a high similarity between Streptomyces sp.MG-11and Streptomyces albus (similarity: 99%) and between Streptomyces sp.MG-21 and Streptomyces griseus (similarity: 99%). Discussion and Conclusions: Results of this study suggest that Streptomyces sp. MG-11 and Streptomyces sp.MG-21can be considered as appropriate candidates for biological control studies against the selected fungal diseases in wheat farms.

In order to evaluate the communication attitude of preschool children, we need a standard and reliable instrument appropriate to the goals. One of the most reliable tools for measuring communicative attitude of children is the KiddyCAT test. The purpose of the present study was to translate this test into Persian and investigation of its validity and reliability.
The study was conducted on 30 stuttering children between the ages of 3-6 years. After the translation and equivalence of the test into the Persian language, content and face validity of the test were determined by experts. Also, in order to investigate the test reliability, Cronbach alpha coefficient was used.
Results showed that the all the questions in the test had easy translation with appropriate quality. The data analysis indicated that the Persian version of the test has an accepted validity for assessment of the communication attitude in preschool children who stutter. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the total test was 0. 83 (P The results of this study showed that the equivalent Persian version for the communication attitude test has high validity and reliability for Persian language-children.

Now-a-days in the educational systems، a special attention is given to the development of the thinking skills. In such systems the children learn how to use their thoughts in their daily life. Therefore it seems that knowing thinking styles (as an individual’s preferred procedure in reasoning، assessment and judgment) and its applications can be conductive in the daily life. The purpose of this study also was to understand the relationship between the thinking styles and the Grasha-Reichmann learning styles. The participants in this study were the high school students of Tehran. 533 students (258 girls and 275 boys) were selected from this community and answered to the Thinking Style Inventory (TSI) (Zhang and Sternberg، 2005) and Grasha and Reichmann Student Learning Style Scale (GRSLSS) (Grasha & Reichmann، 1996). Findings of this study indicated that the thinking styles have significant relationship with the learning styles. The findings also indicated that the thinking styles could anticipate any of the learning styles with different patterns. It seems that the students with type-I thinking style prefer the independent learning styles، while ones with type-II and type-III thinking styles lean towards the other thinking styles.

As a result of human activities, Metal pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problems today. Phytoremediation utilizes plants to uptake contaminants and can potentially be used to remediate metal-contaminated sites. A pot experiment was conducted to compare the phytoextraction and phytostabilization potential of two plant species (Populus alba and Morus alba) for some elements. Thus, Cd (40, 80, and 160 mg/kg), Cr (60, 120, and 240 mg/kg) and Ni (120, 240, and 480 mg/kg) were added to the soil, shoots and roots of studied species. Associated soil samples were collected and analyzed by measurement of total concentration of Cd, Cr and Ni and then bioconcentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (TF) calculated for each element. Our results show that none of the plants were suitable for phytostabilization of studied elements with root BCF<1 and TF>1. In addition, Populus alba with the shoot BCF>1 for Cd in all studied treatments and Ni in 240 and 480 mg/kg treatments were suitable for phytoextraction while Morus alba was suitable for phytoextraction of Ni with the shoot BCF>1 in all studied treatments.Keywords: Bioconcentration, Phytoextraction, Phytoremediation, Phytostabilization, TranslocationAbstractAs a result of human activities, Metal pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problems today. Phytoremediation utilizes plants to uptake contaminants and can potentially be used to remediate metal-contaminated sites. A pot experiment was conducted to compare the phytoextraction and phytostabilization potential of two plant species (Populus alba and Morus alba) for some elements. For this purpose, Cd (40, 80, and 160 mg/kg), Cr (60, 120, and 240 mg/kg) and Ni (120, 240, and 480 mg/kg) were added to the soil and shoots and roots of studied species and associated soil samples were collected and analyzed by measurement of total concentration of Cd,Cr and Ni and then bioconcentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (TF) parameters calculated for each element. Our results show that none of the plants were suitable for phytostabilization of all elements with root BCF<1 and TF>1. In addition, Populus alba with the shoot BCF>1 for Cd in all studied treatments and Ni in 240 and 480 mg/kg treatments were suitable for phytoextraction of these elements while Morus alba was suitable for phytoextraction of Ni with the shoot BCF>1 in all studied treatments.

Heterocycles play a vital role in pharmacological, agricultural and synthetic fields [1]. Particularly these compounds are important because of the wide variety of physiological activities associated with this class of substances [2]. The paramount importance of heterocycles in nature product chemistry and pharmacology constantly drive the search for new methods for the construction of heterocyclic unit viz., isoxazoles and pyrazoles [2]. Isoxazole derivatives are interesting objects for synthesis in the search for various sorts of biological activity and exhibit a wide array of biological activities and many of them have found application in therapy [2]. The immunosuppressive or anti-inflammatory properties are most characteristic among that group of compounds [2] Isoxazoles possess interesting medicinal properties and have some industrial utility [3]. This research work describes the synthesis of new compound of isoxazole family. First 2-bromobenzaldehyde was transformed to 2-bromobenzaldoxime by using NH2OH in pyridine. The in situ generated nitriloxide from reaction between and NaOCl was reacted with propargylalcohol to produce 3-(2- bromophenyl)-5-hydroxymethyl isoxazole in a cycloaddition procedure. The required nitro derivative of the synthesized isoxazole was obtained from nitration of with mixture of nitric acid and sulphuric acid in high yield. The structure of all the synthesized compounds was characterized and confirmed by FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy techniques.

Proper industrial sitting for preventing probable environmental constraints and alsosustainable and deserve use of whole land facilities is an important concept that manyIranian organizations are nowadays interested in.As a matter of fact industrial spatial planning can be considered as a giant leap inenvironment and industrial development in the country and correct and logical growthof city and rural areas. With respect to these objectives and removing the concentrationof industries in Tehran, industrial site selection in province of Ghazvin has been doneby systematical analysis method, based on Boolean Algebra in the 1:250000 scale,using map overlaying method.So environmental resources were studied, analyzed, classified in 2 categories:Ecologic and Social-Economic, then measuring the ecological capacity of the land wasdone after overlaying the layers in GIS. As a result after removing areas in whichindustrial plantation was prohibited, 2 areas with the capacity of 1 and 11 areas withthe capacity of 2 were selected.At last, prioritizing of the sites was done in a quantitative way by considering socioeconomicalcharacteristics in GIS. finally sites with priority of 1 up to 4 wererecognized. As a result industrial development with respect to environmental and socioeconomical criteria can be done in these areas. The proposal of locating industries inthe industrial estates and eco industrial parks will give rise to the environmentalconservation concepts.