mohammad hajaghazadeh

Musculoskeletal problems can develop due to the work conditions of nurses and laboratory technicians. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how much time nurses and laboratory technicians spent on high strain postures.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 32 nurses (from internal medicine and general surgery wards) and 20 laboratory technicians in a hospital located in Tabriz, northwestern Iran. The Nordic questionnaire and the rapid entire body assessment (REBA) method, with a new scoring algorithm, were used for ergonomic assessment. The 90th percentile was calculated for REBA components to determine the time spent by participants working in stressful postures in the upper extremity, upper quadrant, and trunk/lower extremity. One-way analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis.

Musculoskeletal symptoms of the neck (63.5%) and back (55.8%) were the most common. The time spent in high strain postures of upper extremity and trunk/lower extremity was statistically different between nurses and laboratory technicians. Internal medicine nurses and laboratory technicians were observed in high strain postures for 11% and 8% of their work hours, respectively.

Internal medicine nurses are subjected to more biomechanical stress than general surgery nurses, particularly in the upper body. On the other hand, laboratory technicians work with biomechanical stress on their trunk and lower extremities. Ergonomic interventions are proposed to correct nurses' upper body postures and laboratory technicians' lower body postures.

Assessing farmers’ knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding paraquat usage, provides insights into the safe application of paraquat, and emphasizes the necessity of implementing educational programs for farmers if their level of knowledge, attitude, and practice are low. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the status of knowledge, attitude and practice of farmers toward the use of paraquat.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 288 farmers using multi-stage cluster sampling. Data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire comprising demographic information and questions assessing knowledge, attitude, and practice toward paraquat. Descriptive and analytical statistics were employed for data analysis.

Among the surveyed farmers, 71.9% had poor knowledge, 22.4% had medium knowledge, and 5.7% had good knowledge. Regarding attitude, 11.0% were classified as poor/negative, 44.5% as medium/neutral, and 44.5% as good/positive. In terms of practice, 10.3% exhibited poor, 27.0% medium, and 62.7% good practices in the safe use of paraquat. Significant relationship were observed between education levels with knowledge, attitude and practice, history of participating in educational programs related to pesticides and knowledge and attitude, as well residence and knowledge.

Given the poor knowledge of the surveyed farmers, which can lead to poor attitude and practice, it seems necessary to design and implement educational interventions aimed at improving their knowledge, attitude, and practice in the field of safe and correct use of paraquat. Designing and implementing programs to enhance farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices in the safe and correct use of paraquat is imperative.

The production of hand-made shoes exposes workers to ergonomic stressors that may result in musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremities. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of ergonomic risk factors in hand-made shoes workers.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 218 hand-made shoes workers employed in small traditional workshops in Tabriz, northwestern Iran. The Nordic questionnaire was used to record the symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders.  Revise strain index (RSI) and the ACGIH hand activity level threshold limit value (HAL-TLV) were applied to assess the risk level using videotaping and direct observation of work cycles.  For data analysis, the independent t-test, Spearman correlation, and Kappa statistics were employed.

The most prevalent symptom was observed in the neck of the workers (90.7-98.4%). The mean score of RSI and HAL-TLV exceeded the safe level (RSI>10 and HAL-TLV>0.78) in upper makers and shoemakers but not in the sewing operators. The mean scores of the right hands of upper makers and shoemakers were statistically different and greater than the score of the left hand. The EM and IM were identified as the most contributing multipliers of RSI. The scores of RSI and HAL-TLV were highly correlated and classified workers with good agreement.

According to RSI and HAL-TLV, the biomechanical stress in the hands of upper makers and shoemakers should be reduced. Ergonomic interventions are proposed to decrease the repetitive actions and the intensity of forces during upper making and shoemaking tasks.

The correlation between silicosis and elevated susceptibility to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and autoimmune disorders is well-established. Hence, it is imperative to thoroughly analyze the potential health risks posed by exposure to crystalline silica within the foundry industry. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the mortality rate associated with silicosis and lung cancer among workers in a foundry industry located in Urmia city in 2021.

The concentration of crystalline silica in the air was determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in accordance with NIOSH 7602. Estimating the excess lifetime risk of mortality and rate of silicosis-related mortality was performed using Rice et al. and Mannetje et al. models.

The average concentration of crystalline silica in six occupational groups ranged from 0.029 to 0.064 mg.m-3. Among the six occupational groups studied, sand preparation workers were the most exposed to crystalline silica. According to the model of Mannetje et al., the cumulative exposure of 87% of people exposed to crystalline silica is in the range of 0 to 0.99, which indicates the death of one person per thousand people. Also, in this industry, the risk of dying from lung cancer was 15 per thousand people.

The findings indicate that the average concentration of crystalline silica in all occupational groups exceeded the permissible occupational exposure limit of 0.025 mg.m-3 recommended by the Occupational Health Committee of Iran. Additionally, the estimated risk of death due to silicosis and lung cancer is also higher than the acceptable risk level. Therefore, the implementation of control measures against exposure to silica is highly recommended.

Municipal gas is a hazardous substance with high flammability, the creation of unsafe acts and conditions in its transmission and distribution of it can lead to many accidents. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the main aim of modelling the effect of individual, occupational, and organizational factors in the occurrence of occupational accident in the West Azerbaijan gas company.

In this cross-sectional study, a validated researcher-made questionnaire was used to identify influencing factors on the occurrence of occupational accidents. A questionnaire was distributed among 500 employees of the company and a total of 379 acceptable questionnaires (79.4%) were received for analysis. The relationship between the study variables was analyzed using SPSS software. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted using in AMOS software

The results of the present study showed that the average score of the questionnaire factors was 2.84 (±0.82). Examining the scores of different factors of the questionnaire indicated that the average score of the organizational factor is 3.21 was greater than the average score of the individual (2.53) and job factors (2.79). In the SEM model, the effect of job factor on the individual factor (0.54) was higher than effect of organizational factor on the individual factor (0.24), but different factors did not have a significant effect on the occurrence of occupational accidents.

The management of the organization must control the organizational factors as the most important influencing factor with appropriate monitoring and planning.

Occupational exposure of bakers to flour dust beyond the standard level leads to lung problems and allergies. The present study aimed to determine and compare the flour dust concentration in various bakeries in Urmia, Iran, in 2021.

In this study, three types of bakeries (Lavash, Barbari, and Sangak) with two baking methods (traditional and machine) were selected. The breathing air of 160 bakery workers was collected according to the MDHS 4/14 method by an IOM sampler at a flow rate of 2 liters per minute, and the flour dust was determined by the gravimetric method. Descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance were used to present and analyze data using SPSS statistical software (version 22).

The mean (±SD) for age and working experience of the bakers were 40.39 ± 10.17 and 15.13 ± 9.49, respectively. The concentration of flour dust in the air of all types of bakeries was higher than the occupational exposure limit (0.5 mg/m3). Traditional Lavash and machine Sangak bakeries had the highest (8.61 mg/m3) and the lowest (1.35 mg/m3) flour dust concentrations in the air, respectively. The traditional baking method produces more air pollution than the machine. The average concentration of flour dust in all types of bakeries showed a statistically significant difference (P<0.05).

The workers of different bakeries in Urmia are exposed to flour dust higher than the occupational exposure limit. Due to less contamination, baking bread with a machine is preferable to the traditional method. Lavash, Berberi, and Sangak bakeries are respectively the priority of occupational health control interventions. Educating workers regarding the effects of flour dust on health and proper working practices, application of general and local ventilation and health surveillance are suggested for all types of bakeries with the mentioned priority.

Employee health is one of the important factors in organizational success, and the lack of coordinated use of ergonomic principles and the safety climate in designing suitable work systems in organizations can increase the risk of occupational and work-related injuries. This study aimed to investigate the relation between safety climate and the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among employees in manufacturing companies in Urmia County.

The participants were 359 employees working in manufacturing companies. The data were collected using the Safety Climate Scale and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and the chi-square test.

In the present study, the most and least frequent MSDs were reported by the participants in the neck and elbow, respectively. Safety management methods obtained the highest score (3.88±0.71) and employee participation and training obtained the lowest score (3.42±0.81). The findings also showed that the participants who gained a higher safety climate score reported a lower prevalence of MSDs in the neck, hand, wrist, upper and lower back areas, and one or both thighs.

Safety climate is one of the important factors affecting the prevalence of MSDs. Thus, managers of manufacturing companies should constantly try to improve the safety climate in the workplace to contribute to reducing occupational injuries, especially MSDs.

Respiratory complications arised from exposure to flour dust are among most common work-related diseases. This study was conducted to investigate flour dust exposure and its respiratory complications in bakery workers in Urmia in 2021.

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2021. The statistical population of the study consists of 166 bakers in Urmia. An standard questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in workers. Data analysis was performed at two levels of descriptive and analytical statistics by SPSS 22 software using t-test, chi-square and one-way ANOVA at the significant level of P <0.05.

The mean and standard deviation of age obtained 40.39 and 10.17 years and mean and standard deviation of work experience obtained 15.13 and 9.49 years. The most common complication in the studied people were chest sputum (22.3%) and cough (16.9%). According to the results, there were significant relationships between respiratory complications with the type of bakery (P= 0.0001), the type of contact with dust (P= 0.0001), and also with the type of job (P= 0.000).

The results of this study showed the existence of respiratory complications in the bakers of Urmia. Therefore, in order to reduce respiratory complications, it is necessary to do actions such as providing appropriate personal protective equipment, adequate ventilation, and reducing the duration of exposure.

Workers in many industries (oil, gas, petrochemicals, cement, steel, glass, and textile) and even at home, offices are exposed to various noises with different frequencies causing hearing and non-hearing impairments. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of noise at different frequencies on physiological responses and cognitive functions of oil drilling industry personnel and urban gas pressure reducing station.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2019 with the participation of 50 employees of oil drilling rigs (low frequency noise) and city gas pressure reducing stations (high frequency noise). Physiological parameters examined included (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and tympanic body temperature). The participantschr cognitive functions were assessed using advanced reaction timer, continuous performance and working memory tests before, during and after the activities. Also, the relationship between variables was investigated using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The study results indicated that was exposed to noise at high and low frequencies, physiological responses, including heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and tympanic temperature increase, and this increase was statistically significant (p <0.001). Exposure to noise also has a negative effect on cognitive functions (such as working memory, sustained attention, and advanced reaction timer).

Low frequency noise has a greater effect on physiological responses and cognitive function than high frequency noise. Obviously, further research in this area is suggested in the industry.

Antinoplastic drugs are used to treat cancers and nurses are exposed to these drugs during their working hours. These drugs can cause many health problems in nurses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of oncology nurses in hospitals of East Azerbaijan province about handling antineoplastic drugs.

The present study was a descriptive cross-sectional study that carried out with the participation of 129 nurses of oncology wards in East Azerbaijan province in 2019. A standard knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) questionnaire with 33 questions and Likert scale was used for data collection by census sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Kruskal Wallis test using SPSS software.

The mean age and chemotherapy work experience of nurses were 33.8±6.7 and 5.91±5.5 years, respectively. All nurses handled at least 3 medications in their work shift. The mean score for knowledge, attitude, and practice were 58±4.46 (out of 65), 30.76±3.98 (out of 40), and 47.41±5.79 (out of 60), respectively. Nurses over 40 years of age and with work experience higher than 5 years significantly gained higher knowledge, attitude, and practice scores (P-Value<0.05).

The workload reported by nurses may be a possible cause of the reported health symptoms. Increasing nurseschr('39') awareness in the areas of handling, accident management, and waste disposal of drugs could increase their knowledge and improve their attitude and practice. Training the nurses with less work experience should be prioritized by safety management of hospitals.

Insomnia and sleepiness are common sleep disorders in various societies, especially among students. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sleep quality of students at school of Health, Urmia University of Medical Sciences. This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2017 with the participation of 207 students with an average age of 22.91 years. The study tools were Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Descriptive and analytic tests such as independent t-test, chi-squared, and Pearson correlation were used for data analysis. The mean score of sleep quality, sleepiness, and insomnia severity were 5.10 (0-21), 10.39 (0-24), and 8.87 (0-28), respectively. The sleep quality did not differ significantly between male and female students (P-value> 0.05). About 36.2% of students had poor sleep quality, 45% of students reported mild insomnia, and 50% of them reported daily sleepiness? Listening to the music before bed and also the stress did not affect the sleep quality of students significantly (P-value> 0.05), while they significantly increased the students' sleepiness (P-value <0.05). Daytime sleepiness was high among students (regardless of gender and residence status) and its severity was higher among students with stress and the habit of listening to music before bedtime. Therefore, appropriate measures should be taken to increase the quality of sleep and decrease the daytime sleepiness of all health science students.

Physical workload is one of the main risk factors in developing of musculoskeletal disorders in construction workers. The current study was carried out to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and its relationship with demographic characteristics and physical work load index (PWLI)in construction workers.
Material and This investigation was a descriptive and cross-sectional study in which 162 subjects including 75 rebar and 87 bricklayer workers were participated. Nordic musculoskeletal and physical workload questionnaires were employed as the tools of this study. Chi-squared and logistic regression tests were used for statistical analysis in SPSS 21 software. The mean of age and working experience of construction workers were 34.6±8.6 and 11.2±6.8 years, respectively. The most prevalent symptoms were in the body regions of upper back (57.4%), lower back (35.8%), and neck (30.2%). In the univariate analysis, the musculoskeletal symptoms of shoulders, low back, feet, knees, and thighs with PWLI and the upper back pain with age, working experience, and working hours had significant relationships (P<0.05). According to logistic regression analysis, with the increase of the value of PWLI to more than 90 percentile, the chance of having symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders in low back, knees, and feet and also with the increase of working hour to more than 8 hours, the chance of having symptoms in low back and feet increased significantly. The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was high in the studied construction workers. Most of the musculoskeletal symptoms were correlated with PWLI. Therefore, PWLI could be used to determine the construction jobs with the high risk of musculoskeletal disorders. To reduce the symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders in construction workers, the reduction of sources of physical workloads such as heavy material handling and awkward postures are proposed. It is also recommended that the working hours be limited to less than 8 hours.

Foot anthropometry will enhance the fit and comfort of shoes. There are limited published data on the foot anthropometry of Iranians. Therefore, this study aimed to collect foot anthropometric data in northwest Iran to compare dimensions between the two genders and also with the corresponding data from other populations. A total of 21 dimensions of the right foot were measured in 290 males and 290 females using a digital caliper and a tape. Digital patterning and different percentile values were calculated. Independent t-test was applied to test the effect of gender on foot dimensions. Cohen’s d was computed to express the magnitude of dimensional differences between the participants of the current study and others. The absolute foot dimensions of males were significantly larger than those of females. After normalization to the foot length, however, some foot dimensions of females were found to be larger. The relative proportion of digital patterning of I and II were 78% and 22% respectively. Digital patterning and the main dimensions such as foot length and width were different among the participants of the current study and those of other populations, especially the East Asian communities. The data of this study could be utilized by local footwear designers. In accordance with the relative foot dimensions, the female foot was not a scale-down of the male foot. Therefore, women’s data should be used in designing their footwear. Compared with other populations, the participants of this study had individual foot morphology, which should be considered in the design and import of footwear.

The lack of fit between tools and human hand could result in musculoskeletal disorders and decrease efficiency. Designing hand tools, anthropometric data of target population is necessary. A few studies have reported the hand anthropometric dimensions of Iranians. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to measure the most important anthropometric dimensions of hand in a population of office staffs in Urmia.
In this study, 20 dimensions of dominant hand were measured in 345 participants (217 males and 128 females) using a digital caliper and a plastic tape. The important percentiles were reported by gender. Independent t-test was used to compare the mean of male and female hand dimensions. The length and width of hand were compared with the corresponding data from published literature.
The values of 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles were calculated and tabulated by gender. The hand dimensions of men were larger than those of women. The mean of hand dimensions of men was statistically different from those of women (P=0.001). In contrast to women, the hand length and breadth of the men of this study were significantly different from those of the most of the other communities.
The results of this study could be used by designers or importers of hand tools and gloves. Considering the significant differences of hand dimensions between men and women, it is recommended to use hand dimensions of each gender for designing their related products.

Repetitive movements and overexertion during occupational activities can lead to musculoskeletal disorders in the upper limbs. The aim of this study was to assess the ergonomic risk factors of the upper limb extremities using modified strain index (RSI) and threshold limit value for hand activity level (TLV-HAL) methods in hand-swen shoe workers in Tabriz city.
The ergonomic exposure of 218 hand-swen shoe workers was assessed by RSI and TLV-HAL method in this cross-sectional study. Direct observation and videotaping of the work-cycles were used to calculate the study variables. Data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical methods such as one-way ANOVA, Spearman correlation, and Kappa statistics.
Two hundred and eighteen workers were recruited involved in three tasks including preparation (69), sewing (63) and shoemaking (86). The average score of RSI for sewing, preparation, and shoemaking workers was 9.30, 46.10, 95.91, respectively while the average score of TLV-HAL for these tasks was 0.27, 0.81 and 1.70, respectively. Almost all workers in preparation and shoemaking tasks were categorized in the hazardous level of exposure while sewing workers were categorized in the safe exposure level. The scores of TLV-HAL had a significant and high correlation with the scores of RSI.
According to the results, the workers in preparation and shoemaking tasks were at a higher risk of upper limbs musculoskeletal disorders due to repetitive actions and overexertion. Therefore, ergonomic interventions are suggested for these tasks to reduce the level of these risk factors.

Hairdressers in their occupation are exposed to different chemicals and sensitizers that may cause adverse skin effects such as hand eczema. The current investigation aimed to determin the self-reported hand eczema prevalence in a sample of hairdressers of Urmia city and its associated factors in 2015.
The study was a cross-sectional case control design in which 385 hairdressers and 385 women from general population were selected as case and control groups, respectively. One-year prevalence of hand eczema was detemined using Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire by the face to face interview. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 version using descriptive and analytical statistics such as chi-squered, T-test, and logistic regression.
The mean and standard deviation for age and work experience of hairdressers were 33.16±7.2 and 8.72 ±7/5, respectively.One-year prevalence of hand eczema in hairdressers and control group were %27.8 (CI=23.32-32.28) and %13.2 (CI=9.02-15.58). The odds ratio (OR) for hand eczema in hairdressers (their control group as the reference) was 2.52 (CI=1.72-3.64). Base on the logistic regression analysis, smoking (OR=3.44 (1.73-6.85)), age less than 30 years (OR=1.76 (1.04-2.96)), and work experience less than 10 years (OR=3.14 (1.63-6.04)) increased the chance of having hand eczema in hairdressers.
According to this study, it could be concluded that hairdressers, compared to the general population, are at a higher risk of hand eczema. Therefore, occupational protective measures should be applied in this occupation to decline and control of hand eczema. It is proposed that young hairdressers would be more careful to prevent skin problems such as hand eczema.

Antineoplastic drugs (ANDs) for the treatment of cancers could result in occupational exposure of nurses and consequent side effects. This study aimed to evaluate knowledge, attitude, and performance of oncology nurses and to survey nurses’ chemotherapy workload and the experienced side effects. A cross-sectional study was conducted at four hospitals of Urmia University, Iran. Two self-reported questionnaires were distributed among 54 oncology nurses to collect information on nurses’ workload and side effects as well as to evaluate their level of knowledge, attitude, and performance. Totally 54 nurses were participated in the study. The mean age and chemotherapy work experience of nurses were 32.4±6.5 and 4.3±3.5 years, respectively. About 52% and 36% of nurses reported the lack of safety guideline and training program at their workplaces, respectively. Hair loss, headache, and period abnormalities were the most reported side effects of exposure with ANDs. All nurses prepared ANDs in biological safety cabinet but 85.5% and 37% of nurses used respirator and eye protection during drug preparation. The mean score of knowledge, attitude, and performance of nurses were 9.43±1.5 out of 12, 39.14±6.5 out of 60, and 13.41±4.7 out of 23, respectively. The result clearly point to the fact that there is a need for implementation of guidelines and training in studied oncology units. Through provision of proper personal protection and regarded training, hospitals could demonstrate organizational support leading to improvement of knowledge and performance as well as decrease of nurses’ concerns in exposure with ANDs.

Safety climate is the perception of personnel about the priority of safety in an organization. The objective of this study was to evaluate safety climate using Nordic questionnaire in a hospital.
Material and In this cross-sectional study, 92 nurses working in different wards of a hospital in uromia city, Iran, filled out the NOSACQ-50 questionnaire. The responses of nurses were recorded with a 4-point Likert scale. The results were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics.
Seventy-two percent of nurses were female and the remainders (28%) were men. The mean score of safety climate dimensions was different. “Management safety priority, commitment, and competence” and “Safety communication, learning, and trust in co-workers safety competence” dimensions obtained the lowest and the highest scores by nurses, respectively. The mean score of safety climate ranged 2.49 to 2.67 in different wards of the hospital. What is more, the mean safety climate was not statistically differed among nurses of various age and work experience categories (P-value> 0.05).
According to the results, it can be noted that the level of safety climate in the hospital was fairly good from the nurses’ viewpoint. However, attempts should be made to improve it, especially in the safety management related dimensions. Corrective control measures should be implemented in all wards of the hospital for all personnel with any age and work experience.

Foot anthropometric dimensions could be useful in design of comfortable footwear. The objective of this study was the measurement of foot anthropometric dimensions in a group of students.
This study was a descriptive one in which 21 dimensions of foot for 580 men and women were measured manually. To measure the foot dimensions a digital caliper and a tape were used. The measured dimensions included the important lengths, widths, heights and girths of foot. Descriptive statistics such as percentiles, mean and standard deviation were calculated for the collected data. To test and survey of the mean of foot dimensions between men and women, statistics such as independent T-test and effect size (Cohen’s d) were used.
The values of mean, standard deviation, the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles were calculate and were tabulated for the total studied population and for gender. In the all measured foot dimensions, men had bigger dimensions than women. Gender had different impacts on the measured foot dimensions. The mean of all foot dimensions was significantly different between men and women (Pvalue=0.001). Digital pattering of I and II were observed in 78% and 22% of the studied population, respectively.
In the present study, important anthropometric data of foot were collected for a group of students. Presented percentiles could be used in design of male and female shoes. Conducting similar studies in children population with different age categories could help completion of the anthropometric database.

Outbreaks of legionellosis may be a side effect of institution-water treatment. However, the long-term outcomes and the predictive factors of Legionella prevalence in such systems have still not been fully studied. This study was therefore conducted to investigate the prevalence of Legionella spp. and to evaluate the role of bacteriological water quality parameters on its prevalence and removal in hospital water systems. A total of 45 samples were collected from distinct sites at seven hospitals in Tehran, Iran. The prevalence of this bacterium was assayed through a sensitive and specific technique for DNA detection using PCR. Multivariable stepwise regression analysis was used to explore the independent effects of the baseline factors on the incidence of Legionella. Two positive samples were also identified for species by DNA sequencing. Legionella were detected in 31.1% of samples. Showerheads and cold-water taps were the most and the least contaminated sources with 55.3 and 9 percent positive samples, respectively. Total mean of residual chlorine was 0.38 mg/L, with the peak value of 1.7 mg/L. Legionella detection was proportional to the residual chlorine content of water and the results indicated that residual chlorine content is a critical factor in the incidence and proliferation of Legionella (r=-0.33). The prevalence of Legionella also coincided with the prevalence of HPC and amoeba cysts. The high positive rate of Legionella colonization shows that hospital-acquired legionellosis might be under diagnosed in studied hospitals. Further, Legionella colonization is independent of the type of water, system characteristics and of preventive maintenance measures.

Nowadays the tendency of understanding how effective management practices and organizational factors have highly developed and activities mostly focus on safety culture and climate. Despite extensive studies in the field of safety climate in different countries, few attempts have been made in Iran which in most of them the toolkit of Loughborough university has been used. The aim of present study was safety assessment of an Iranian commercial port, which was for the first time, by Nordic questionnaire. In this cross-sectional study 75 workers, which had 7 different occupations in that port, were selected and completed the questionnaire. For determination of validity and reliability of the questionnaire, 25 copies were completed and the coefficient of internal consistency was calculated. Seventy five copies of the finalized questionnaire were given to the safety management section of the port to be completed by self reporting system. The safety climate profile showed the average dimensions were in the range of 3.25 to 4.22. The highest score was for dimension of worker's trust in efficacy of safety systems (4.05) and the lowest was for dimension of worker's safety priority and non-acceptance risk (3.32). The highest and lowest score for safety climate were given by groups of cleaners (4.22) and staff (3.25) respectively. The differences of mean score between occupational groups were significant and between age, years of experience, and level of education groups were not significant. Because the worker's perception of safety does not depend on their age, years of experience, and level of education, then safety training is not implemented. Not significance of the average score of safety climate with the level of education means that the safety education in schools and universities is not good.

In this study the cytotoxicity to human epithelial lung cells of single-walled carbon nanotubes، multi-walled carbon nanotubes and chrysotile was compared based on the following cytotoxicity indices: no observable adverse effect concentration (NOAEC)، inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50)، and Total Lethal Concentration (TLC).

Human epithelial lung cells were exposed to different concentrations (1 to 1500 µg/ml) of carbon nanotubes and chrysotile for 6 and 24 hours. Cytotoxicity was assessed using the MTT assay. NOAEC، IC50، and TLC idices were determined by probit analysis.

The results showed statistically significant correlations (p<0. 001) between cytoxicity and exposure concentration in the case of all the three compounds. The NOAEC and IC50 indices were lowest for the multi-walled carbon nanotubes، while the single-walled carbon nanotubes showed the lowest TLC index.

Cytotoxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes at low concentrations was higher than that of single-walled carbon nanotubes and chrysotile. This would mean that exposure to this compound occurs at low concentrations. Thus، cytotoxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes is a cause for concern. It can be concluded، then، that، like chrysotile fibers، crabon nanotubes are also considerably toxic to human epithelial lung cells.

Furniture industry is known as a part of semi-heavy industry in Iran. The role of labour force is inevitable in production processes. Therefore risk factors affecting occupational musculoskeletal disorders in this industry must be evaluate. Identification and assessment of these factors is important measure to prevention and controlling of musculoskeletal disorders. Production performance in the furniture manufacturing activities is almost accompanied by transportation (heavy, large and rigid load). Since there are so many furniture makers in Qom, this study was chosen for the evaluation and determination of risk factors inducing musculoskeletal disorders in this industry.

In this cross- sectional study, after identifying work stations and work tasks in furniture manufacturing workplaces, Nordic and demographics questionnaires were used for the determination of prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and individual characteristics, respectively. Also, for evaluation of risk factors inducing musculoskeletal disorders was used Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method. After all, the obtained data were analyzed using statistical methods including: t-test, and chi-square and fisher’s exact tests.

The results demonstrated that the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in this industry is high. Also, job tenure and work duration are the main important factors in prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. On the other hand, evaluation of work postures indicated that duty type and work posture were the main important factors in prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, too. Finally, by applying the standard tables of REBA method, action categories of correction strategies were determined and after identifying risk factors, control strategies were recommended.

The results of this study demonstrated that the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in back, knee, leg, hand and hand wrist has been high and body postures of these workers should be improved. More training and instructions are needed to have good position in the workplaces. Therefore, it is suggested that by performing correction strategies in order to optimization of work stations design, ergonomic condition, and periodic training of workers for a long time, improve their workplaces.

 The aim of this study was the investigation of musculoskeletal disorders risk factors among building demolition workers. 

 Posture, activity, tools, and handling (PATH) method as a work sampling method was applied to record the postures, activities, and handling of building demolition workers in four tasks. The percentage of working time is reported for each item to compare the risk factors in tasks. Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire also was used to study the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders over 12 months. 

 Trunk, leg(s), and arm(s) postures differed significantly among tasks. Neutral arm posture and non-neutral leg(s) and trunk postures were observed frequently. Manual materials handling (MMH) activities are distributed differently among tasks. Moving was the most observed (35%) and carrying was the less observed (11.8%) MMH activity. Gross grasp was the most observed (78.5%) hand activity in building demolition workers. The most observed weight category was 0 kg≤load<5 kg. Low back had the highest prevalence of MSDs symptoms (91.1%) and hip had the lowest prevalence of symptoms (6.7%). 

 PATH is applicable to building demolition process. Ergonomic intervention is necessary in high prevalence body regions such as lower back and wrist to decrease the symptoms. With respect to the results of PATH method, ergonomic interventions for trunk and leg(s) are necessary in all tasks, but only task #3 is in the priority of arm(s) intervention.