masoumeh eslamifar

Azo dyes are present in the wastewater of most textile factories, and if they enter water resources, they pose risks to the health of humans and the living environment due to the effects of toxicity, biological accumulation, and mutagenicity. This study aimed to determine the removal of azo dye by a biological method using wastewater treatment plant sludge in aerobic and anaerobic conditions and isolation and identification of bacteria.

This experimental study, was conducted in the faculty of health, at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. In this study, the removal of reactive red azo dye 195 in the wastewater of textile factories was investigated using the activated sludge of the wastewater treatment plant. Experiments were carried out in batch mode in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions with 192 samples. The concentrations of azo dye in the range available in the wastewater of textile factories were 50, 65, and 80 mg/liter. The culture medium used in this study was a mineral medium containing glucose. Bottles containing culture medium, sludge, and azo dye were kept at 30°C in an incubator in aerobic and anaerobic conditions for 8 days. The effect of factors including contact time, amount of sludge, and concentration of color was investigated. Sampling was done at the contact times of 1, 2, 4, and 8 days and after centrifuge, the color concentration was measured by spectrophotometric method at a wavelength of 545 nm. The total organic carbon (TOC) concentration of the samples was measured by a TOC analyzer. After removing the color, the bacteria in the bottles were identified by the differential diagnosis method and using special culture media, gram staining techniques, and biochemical tests.

In anaerobic conditions and contact time of 8 days, the removal of azo dye in concentrations of 50 and 80 mg/liter by using 5 ml of biomass was obtained by 93 and 82%, respectively. In the aerobic condition, the removal of the dye was achieved to more than 90% within two days, and after that, the removal efficiency reached 100% with a gently increasing slope up to 8 days. By increasing the concentration of dye from 50 to 80 mg/liter, the removal efficiency decreased by about 10%. Increasing the volume of sludge from 5 to 10 ml in both cases did not have a significant effect on increasing the amount of dye removal. The amount of azo dye removal was higher in aerobic than in anaerobic conditions. In aerobic conditions, for all dye concentrations, the TOC removal rate was about 85-90%. There was no significant difference in the amount of TOC removal for 5 and 10 ml of sludge. The average TOC removal in aerobic was about 10% higher than in anaerobic conditions. In the aerobic condition, the identified bacteria included Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aerogenosa, and in the anaerobic condition, the identified bacterial species were Lactobacillus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Bacillus cereus.

Complete removal of azo dye from textile wastewater by sludge biomass under microaerophilic culture conditions is possible with a contact time of 8 days or more. The dye removal efficiency was higher in partial aerobic than in absolute anaerobic conditions. The identified azo dye-removing bacteria were mainly facultative anaerobic and microaerophilic.

The aim of this study was to removal of phenol and producing electricity in a microbial fuel cell using the microbial seed of the refinery wastewater.A dual chamber microbial fuel cell having Nafion proton exchange membrane and carbon cloth as anode and cathode was fabricated and operated in batch mode in the incubator at 30°C for a period of 12 weeks. Experiments were conducted in open and closed circuit mode. Anode was put in anaerobic chamber containing minimum growth medium and phenol in the concentration range of 50-1000ppm. Microbial seed from wastewater treatment plant of Tehran Petroleum Refinery was mixed with growth medium and added to anode chamber. Cathode was put in aerobic chamber containing Phosphate buffer. Phenol was analyzed by HPLC and electricity was measured by digital multi meter equipped by data logger. COD was measured by standard method. In all examined phenol concentrations, the maximum time to completely degrade of phenol was 96h. Maximum amount of phenol degradation and electricity generation was occurred in the first 24h of each run. Phenol degradation rate in closed circuit was higher than open circuit mode. The maximum voltage and power generated were 425mV and 36.86mWm-2 respectively. The columbic efficiency of fabricated microbial fuel cell was 5.3 percent and maximum COD removal was 95 percent. By using mixed bacterial of wastewater of oil refinery in a microbial fuel cell, it is possible to remove phenol and generate electricity.

Removal of low concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons from water by physico-chemical methods encounters many limitations. The aim of this study was thus isolation and identification of bacteria from soils contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). Removal efficiency of low concentrations of hydrocarbons from water using isolated bacteria was also determined.

TPH concentrations of 100, 500 and 1000 ppm in water were examined. Bacteria were identified and isolated from diesel-contaminated soil. Isolated bacteria were cultured separately in medium containing water with certain concentrations of TPH. At predetermined contact times (2, 5, 7 and 14 days), the total amount of TPH remained in the water was measured using standard methods.

At 100 ppm TPH in water and within 48 hours, the highest removal efficiency of TPH about 65% was obtained by Alkaligenes faecalis. Likewise, the lowest removal performance of TPH, approximately 20%, was obtained by Pseudomonas aeruginosa at this concentration. The highest and lowest removal efficiency of TPH from water at 500 ppm by was achieved by Enterobacter (40%) and Alkaligenes (20%) following 48 h, respectively. At the highest concentration of TPH in water (1000 ppm) and after 48 h, the highest removal rate about 30% was obtained by Enterobacter. for the removal efficiency appeared to increase with the increase of contact time, in which the maximum removal efficiency was about 90% (at 100 and 500 ppm concentrations) and about 50% (at 1000 ppm concentrations) after 14 days.

Bacteria isolated from contaminated soil can be used to remove low concentrations of petroleum compounds from water.

Flies have a high diversity and are able to transmit many pathogens due to their adaptation and close relationship with humans. Therefore, this study was performed to identify the fauna of medically important flies in the city of Joybar in northern Iran.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted twice a month in Juybar at selected sites, including hospital landfills, coastal waste, rural waste, municipal waste, and around a slaughterhouse in 2017. The flies were identified using valid identification keys and the species diversity parameters were evaluated based on Shannon index, Margalef index, and Evenness index.

In this study, seven species of medically important flies, including Muscina stabulans, Musca domestica, Lucilia caesar, Lucilia sericata, Calliphora vicina, Sarcophaga argyrostoma and Sarcophaga africa were caught from Muscidae, Calliphoridae, and Sarcophagidae families. According to Pearson correlation, the population of flies increases significantly (P<0.005) with increasing temperature and decreasing humidity. Shannon index showed the highest and lowest diversity values in coastal waste (H´=1.005) and urban waste (H´=0.27), respectively.

Mosca domestica, as the most common and abundant species could considerably affect the health of the region and cause changes in the species diversity of flies. The difference in diversity of flies in different areas is mainly due to changes in the species evenness in these areas. Also, the diversity of flies in the region can be a warning sign for the spread of diseases. Control measures such as appropriate waste management are necessary to prevent epidemic outbreaks transmitted by flies.

Flies due to transferring many of the pathogens, in different areas, especially in conditions temperate climates are medically important. The purpose of this study was to identify the species diversity of medically important flies in Ghaemshahr city.

This study was a descriptive-analytical survey from June of 2017 to May 2018 was carried out for one year. Plastic bottle traps With reverse span and insect netting were used for Captured flies. The flies were identified by validated keys after mounting.

In this study, eight species of medically important flies including Lucilia sericata (6/2%), Lucilia Ceasar (19/9%), Calliphora vicina (2/6%), Sarcophaga variegata (4/6%), Sarcophaga africa (1/8%), Sarcophaga lehmanni (1/2%), Muscina stabulans (4/6%), and Musca domestica (51%) were hunted from three families of Muscidae (1869 number), Calliphoridae (965 number) and Sarcophagidae (258 number). The highest number of flies captured was in June (15/8%) and July (15/9%) and the lowest was in February (3%) and March (4/4%). Also, the highest number of flies captured were from rural areas (38.6%).

The diversity of flies and their abundance is high especially in June and July in Ghaemshahr city and more precise control measures should be done during this time.

Head lice as external parasite contamination is one of the health-threatening issues that despite the upgrading of health, is still a health problem.

This clinical trial study was carried out on 3062 elementary school female students examined for head lice infection in Mashhad, Iran, using cluster-randomized sampling method. The infected individuals were divided into six treatment groups. Three types of drugs, including lindane 1%, permethrin 1%, and dimethicone 4%, along with vinegar were used in this study. The results of the treatment were recorded after 7, 14, and 21 days during the reanalysis of the students. The results were analyzed by the Chi-square test and logistic regression.

The results showed that 417 (13.6%) students were infected with head lice. The levels of efficacy in the treatment groups of permethrin 1%, lindane 1%, and dimethicone 4% were 27.2%, 31%, and 30.4% after 1 week of treatment, 83.2%, 69.8%, and 69.6% after 2 weeks, and 96%, 91.5%, and 91.4% after 3 weeks, respectively. The levels of the effectiveness of the shampoos with vinegar were 64.2%, 96.1%, and 67.6% after 1 week, 90.6%, 100%, and 100% after 2 weeks, and 100%, 100%, and 100 % after 3 weeks, respectively.

According to the obtained results of this study, permethrin 1% and dimethicone lotion are recommended for the elimination of head lice contamination in children. Moreover, the efficacy of permethrin 1%, lindane 1%, and dimethicone 4% after 3 week, compared to their use, along with vinegar was shown to be 100%.

The therapeutic and anti-infectious effects of Sambucus ebulus L. have been well documented in the traditional medicine. The purpose of this study was to identify the domestic herbal plant with insect repellent property. Leaf and fruit of Sambucus ebulus L. was collected from Kordkail Kola Sofla rural district and dried. To assess the repellent property, the concentrations of 50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, and 250 mg/kg) were prepared. Then 0.4 mL of each concentration was applied on an area of 4 × 6 cm on the shaved Albino (Indian pig) skin and exposed to the mosquito bite. After 30 minutes, the number of adult mosquito bites (three replications) was recorded and analyzed by ANOVA test at a probable level of 5%.The highest phenolic content in the leaf and fruit methanol extract was 155.925 mg/g and of 92.777 mg/g, respectively. Based on IC50, the highest level of antioxidant activity in the leaf and fruit methanol extract were 60.09μg/mL and 417.846μg/mL, respectively. The highest repelling property was correlated with the concentration of 250mg/kg of Sambucus ebulus. The repelling effects were 73.4% for the leaf and 78% for fruit extracts. Leaf and fruit extracts of Sambucus ebulus contained phenolic and flavonoid with strong antioxidant effects. The fruit hexane and methanol extracts were better repellent than the leaves, and the methanol extracts effect of these organs was greater.

Microbial fuel cell is one of the sustainable development technologies that can be used simultaneously for removal of many pollutants and generate electricity. The aim of this study was to determine the removal rate of high concentrations of phenol in a microbial fuel cell.

A dual chamber microbial fuel cell having Nafion proton exchange membrane and carbon cloth as anode and cathode was fabricated and operated in batch mode in incubator at 30°C for 12 weeks. Anode was put in anaerobic chamber containing minimum growth medium and phenol (50-1000ppm) was added as the sole carbon source. Phenol degrading bacterial seed that was supplied by wastewater treatment plant of Tehran Petroleum Refinery was adapted to phenol and used in anaerobic anode chamber. Cathode was put in aerobic chamber containing phosphate buffer. Concentration of remained phenol in different times was analyzed by HPLC method.

Maximum amount of phenol degradation occurred in the first 24h of each run. Phenol concentrations up to 800 ppm were completely removed during 96 h, but time to complete removal of 1000 ppm phenol was 120h.

By using sludge from wastewater treatment plant of oil refinery adapted to phenol in a microbial fuel cell, it is possible to remove 1000 ppm phenol.

Phenol and its derivatives are toxic to all living organism and are found in oil refinery wastewater. Isolation and identification of bacteria from oil refinery wastewater is important to identify aromatic compounds degrading bacteria. The aims of this study were isolation and identification of bacteria from Tehran oil refinery wastewater treatment system and determine amount of phenol degradation by these bacteria.

This experimental study was conducted by using two series of activated sludge samples collected from Tehran oil refinery wastewater treatment plant. Adaptation of bacteria to phenol was done by culturing in growth medium containing phenol at 30°C in incubator. After that isolation and identification of bacteria was done according to standard method. Isolated bacteria were cultured in growth medium containing different concentration (0.5- 1.2gL-1) of Phenol. Bacteria growth was assayed by measuring optical density at 600nm. Concentration of Phenol in the medium growth solution was measured by spectrophotometric method using 4- Amino antipyrine as color reagent at 510 nm.

Pseudomonas, Acintobacter, E.coli, Enterococcus and Enterobacter spps were isolated from oil wastewater treatment plant. Pseudomonas spp. completely removed 0.9gL-1 of Phenol, Acintobacter and E.coli removed 0.7 gL-1, Enterococcus and Enterobacter removed 0.5 gL-1 of Phenol from growth solution. 

Discussion and conculation:

 Pseudomonas spp. isolated from oil refinery wastewater treatment plant has highest phenol removal rate in shorter contact time than other isolated bacteria.

House flies are able to transmit pathogenic organisms from infected materials to human. The role of the flies in the transmission of many diseases has been demonstrated. This study was conducted to determine the bacterial contamination of M.domestica flies in various sources of Joybar city.  

A total of 384 household flies were collected from five sources including urban and rural solid wastes, hospital campus, coastal areas and slaughterhouses. Samples were transferred to the microbiology laboratory of the school of public health in some sterilized glass containers, and standard tests were carried out to isolate and identify bacterial species.  

Escherichia coli was the dominant species in the samples. From all of the samples, 46% E.coli, 19% Staphylococcus aureus, 9.98% Staphylococcus epidermidis and 16.66% Enterobacter Aerogenus were isolated.  

The results of this study confirmed that the presence of these insects in the public places and different parts of the environment is regarded as a disturbing agent, and vector of pathogens. Since public spaces should not be a source of contamination,  the implementation of the sanitation programs and control of these insects seems to be so necessary to create a safe and healthy environment.

Background and Research has shown that attending congregational prayer has constructive effects on spiritual guidance and mental relaxation of humans. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effective factors in the presence of university students attending congregational prayers of Masjid-Al-Nabi at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. Moreover, this study aimed to propose influential approaches to encourage participation in congregational prayer. This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on students studying at Payambar Aazam Complex of Mazandaran University of medical science, during 2016. A total number of 500 students were selected randomly out of 4000 students of this university. The data were collected using a questionnaire, which included demographic information and effecting factor on congregational prayer. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed and data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20). The survey showed that there was a significant relationship between the investigated variables (including family factors, friendship tendency, participation of authorities and teachers, coincidence of prayer and class time, personal motivation and education level) and the presence of students in congregational prayer. According to the results of this study, supporting students, adjustment of class time, and attendance of the instructors at the mosque will encourage students to participate in congregational prayer. University authorities can appropriately prepare the ground for the presence of students in congregational prayer.

Academic failure is one of the major problems is that not only increases costs but also cause psychological problems for students. This study was a cross-sectional studythat was conducted on 497 students at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. Demographic and educational information incoming students five consecutive semesters since 2011 to 2013 through its subsidiary Schools at different levels and questionnaires were collected. Data were analyzed by SPSS (version 18) . The most educational failure was obtained on undergraduate students and lowest was in graduate and professional doctorate. There was observed a
significant relation between age and gender of academic failure that the average decline in group of boys over girls. (P <0.05) There was a significant relation between obtaining a diploma to enter university, marital status and education on academic performance, while the correlation between the educational contents of parents, facilities, training, number of children, history of certain diseases, employment and economic conditions of students was not significant found. Conclusion: This study focuses on the number of students admitted with the needs of society. Identify factors influencing student academic failure and counseling students were the necessary steps to improve their academicachievement

Today, bottled water is used in many countries of the world due to its relatively low cost, better taste, ease of access and low levels of impurities. In unfavorable conditions, the maintenance of microorganisms due to hydrophobicity and adherence to bottles and as a result of increased lipolytic activity can lead to undesirable changes in color, taste and odor, and in cases of more severe load, microbial contamination may cause unhealthy water and flooding. In this study, the presence or absence of coliform in a number of bottled water brands was examined. The microbial quality of 10 markers of bottled water present in the market of Sari that was randomly selected from each mark and three samples was examined. The samples were analyzed using the coliform - presence/absence (P-A) test. The results were compared with national standards and the
World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24 and EXCEL. Samples showed no microbial contamination Also, coliform and fecal coliforms were not observed in any of the samples. Finally, it was revealed that all cases were in accordance with national standards and WHO guidelines. Increasing the health indexes of places, food supply and distribution centers, and maintaining health conditions and measures that have been considered especially in the recent years on the health of bottled water, have greatly reduced the problems

Mortality risk and therefore the likelihood of in-hospital death for a patient owing to nosocomial infection in health care centers has always existed. The majority of nosocomial infections are transmitted through direct contact, primarily with environmental surfaces or equipments. This study was aimed to determine the microbial contamination of environmental surfaces in two teaching hospitals of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. In this cross-sectional study and by kind permission of hospital managers, a total of 120 samples were collected from PICU, ICU, ENT units, Operating room, Burn ward and Recovery section in both studied hospitals. Identification of microbial agents was carried out using standard biochemical and microbiological methods. Data obtained were analyzed using Stata12 software & Chi- Square test. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. The results showed bacterial contamination in 48 cases (40%). ENT unit with 80% and Burn ward with 40% revealed the highest contamination rate in hospital (1) and hospital (2), respectively. Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterobacter aerogenes, Acinetobacter, and Enterococcus faecalis were the most common isolated bacteria A high percentage of bacterial contamination was found in both studied hospitals. Implementing prevention guidelines and collection of periodic culture are necessary to reduce the rate of bacterial contamination in these hospitals.

Background and Disinfection is one of the most important stages in water treatment. So far, various chemical disinfection methods such as chlorination have been widely used. However, these methods have serious disadvantages, like producing DBPs. The purpose of this research was to study the efficacy of nTiO2 photocatalyst process on removing E.Coli as a water microbial pollution index and effects of some parameters on its efficiency. Water was artificially contaminated with E.Coli. Culture method and counting were performed according to standard methods for water and wastewater and was reported as CFU/ml. The size of nTiO2 was 20 nm that was used in the presence or absence of UV for disinfection. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test was used to check the normality of the data. The ANOVA and T-Test were used for analyzing the data. The results indicated that the inactivation of Escherichia coli increased with increase of nTiO2 catalyst dose and contact time. However, the efficiency decreased when the number of colonies increased. Minimum, average and maximum percentage removal of nTiO2+UV process were 75.1, 88.9±12.7, and 100%, respectively, in 40 min contact time and 0.8 g/L catalyst dose. The bacteria mortality rate in the presence of UV alone was more than that of the nTiO2 alone process. However, the efficiency of the photocatalytic process (UV+nTiO2) was more than that of the UV alone or nTiO2 alone.

Background and

Safe drinking is water that does not have any chemical and microbial contamination. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline standards for drinking water total and fecal coliform the indicator of fecal contamination must not be detectable in any 100 ml samples. Pollution indicator bacteria such as coliforms and fecal coliforms were enumerated using a multiple-tube fermentation method. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the microbial quality of domestic water wells in rural areas around Sari, Iran with most probable number (MPN) test.

In this cross-sectional study, the microbial quality of water samples from 23 domestic water wells in some villages of Sari were randomly tested in twice to determine the presence of total coliform (TC) and fecal coliform (FC) by the MPN. Sampling and sample transportation and sample analysis were done according to water and wastewater standard methods.

The results showed that 87 and 70% of the samples presented total and fecal coliforms, respectively. Water samples of 16 wells were bacteriologically nonpotable. Besides, the results showed that the bacteriological quality of the 3 wells was within the acceptable limits set by WHO guidelines and therefore was safe for human consumption.

The results of the study suggested that the level of fecal contamination in domestic water wells was very high. The bacteriological quality of water was not according to the standard of WHO guidelines for drinking water. Therefore, using and drinking water from domestic water wells can pose a great threat and risk of waterborne epidemics by bacterial pathogens to the population consuming it. Water supplying authorities should consider this situation and take measures for the provision of contamination free drinking water to prevent waterborne disease outbreaks.