Health and Development Journal
Year:2014 | Volume:3 | Issue:1|Papers Count:8

Background: One of the main dilemmas of the human community has been municipal waste landfills. Various methods have been developed to manage municipal wastes in which landfills are the final destination apart from the used technologies. Given the sensitivity of this issue, identifing areas approriate for landfilling requires the application of comprehensive techniques. The objective of the present research is to select the most appropriate place for municipal wastes landfilling using geographical information systems, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and fuzzy TOPSIS.Methods: Initially the effective factors in choosing landfill location was inquired from various institution and were standardized and analysed using geographical information systems. Then every criterion was weighted according to expert opinion and FAHP (Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process). Then, FTOPSIS (Fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) method was used to prioritize the options. Each method was programmed in MATLAB.Results: Thirty six suitable options were calculated through running the above mentioned methods. Then, two options that were located in the south east of the current landfilling (in Kulik) and Pakdasht city were selected as the best location for landfilling.Conclusion: Results showed that the selected landfills are located at a better position compared to the current one. And this integrated approach, showed a better performance than others due to taking into account the inexact nature of the phenomena both at weighting and ranking stages.

Background: Chromium is one of the most common pollutants that has been noticed in recent years due to its accumulation in human tissues and health risks. The aim of this study is to magnetize powdered activated carbonby Nano zero-valent iron (NZVI) particles and use it as the adsorbent for removal of Cr (VI) from aquatic solutions.Methods: In this study, reduction and co-precipitation methods were used for converting divalent iron into zero-valent iron and depositing zero-valent iron particles on powdered activated carbon in order to induct magnetic effect, respectively. Adsorbent characteristics were analyzed using SEM and XRD techniques. The pH, contact time, stirring rounds, adsorbent dose and the concentration of chromium was determined in optimal condition by Regression coefficient (R2). Then the isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic equations of adsorption were investigated based on optimum conditions. Statical analysis was done by Design Expert software.Results: The highest removal efficiency was observed in pH=3, 60 minutes contact time and 0.5 g/L of adsorbent dose in the initial concentration of 4 mg/l chromium. Isotherm and kinetic studies also showed that adsorption process of chromium follows the Freundlich model (R2>0.991) and pseudo-second order model kinetics (R2>0.982) respectively. In evaluating the reaction thermodynamic, values of ΔHo and ΔSo was equal to 146.99 and -0.452 respectively, which illustrates reactions are endothermic and spontaneous.Conclusion: Powdered activated carbon modified by zero-valent iron has the ability to remove chromium effectively and could be separated from the sample by magnet simply due to its magnetic property.

Background: Some dyes are toxic and even carcinogenic and require separation and advanced treatment of textile effluents before being discharged into conventional systems. The objective of this study was to remove direct blue 71 dye from aqueous solutions using activated red mud.Methods: Red mud was activated by nitric acid and was used in the adsorption experiment. Direct blue 71 removal, using activated red mud was studied as a function of contact time, pH, and initial dye concentration. The adsorption isotherms were analyzed using the Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherms. Kinetics data were fitted with Pseudo-first-order and Pseudo-second-order models.Results: The adsorption rate increases with pH decrease, contact time increase, and increase initial dye concentrations. The Freundlich isotherm (R2=0.9737) was the best-fit adsorption isotherm model for the experiment. The adsorption data, followed a pseudo-second-order model (R2=0.9902).Conclusion: Based on the result of the study, the use of activated red mud, as an efficient low-cost adsorbent, can be considered for (pre-) treating direct blue 71 contaminated wastewater.

Background: Welding is one of the most common industries in the world and welders are estimated to make up more than 1% of the work force in industrialized countries. The aim of this research was to study the respiratory index changes in these workers after four years working in this industry.Methods: This study included all welders working in one of the water heater making factories in Neyshabur who were 63 persons. Demographic information and respiratory complaints were collected by a questionnaire. Each worker's recent spirometry results were compared with his results from four years before using paired-samples t-test. Data analysis was performed using SPSS16 software.Results: The mean respiratory indices had all decreased after 4 years. The mean of FEV1 had decreased 0.12 L, ranging from 0.04 to 0.19, FVC had decreased 0.12 L, ranging from 0.03 to 0.2 and FEVI/FVC had decrease 77%, ranging from 0.11 to 1.31. This decrease was significant in all non-smoking welders, but not significant in smoking welders. Mucopurulent cough was the most common respiratory complaint among the welders.Conclusion: The findings may imply that welding is a high risk job that can negatively affect respiratory indices. Therefore it seems necessary to pay attention to preventive measures such as proper ventilation, using proper respiratory masks and environment health in this industry.

Background: Driving accidents are one of the most serious causes of mortality and disability in Iran. Since the main cause of these accidents are human factors, the present study aimed at studying the role of driving behaviors and influencing factors among drivers in Kerman province.Methods: A total of 730 drivers participated in this cross-sectional study. Data gathering instruments were a questionnaire consisting of demographic variables and driving experience, Manchester Driving Behavior Questionnaire, personality characteristics assessment questionnaire (NEO PI-R) and perceived Locus of control questionnaire. Data were analyzed through SPSS16 software and using t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation test.Results: About 36% of drivers sometimes use safety belts and 3% of them never use it. Almost all participants (96.4%) reported some non-intentional violations. There was a significant moderate reverse correlation between attitudes about driving laws and both aspects of driving behaviors. Some of personality characteristics had significant reverse relationship with intentional violations. Relationship between perceived internal locus of control and driving violation was negative.Conclusion: Identifying high-risk drivers, providing them with counseling and specific counseling and training by psychologists and police as well as primary evaluation of psychological characteristics of applicants at the time of getting or renewing driving license and other drivers at regular intervals can help to reduce risks of traffic accidents.

Background: Unexpected events and disasters are often uncontrollable events occurring around the world, including Iran. Health care delivery centers, especially hospitals play the most important role in treating injured and wounded people and accomplishing the mission in the time of crisis. They need to be in a proper level of readiness. This study aimed to evaluate the readiness of hospitals affiliated with Tabriz University of Medical Sciences for dealing with crisis and disaster.Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in six hospitals affiliated with Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2011. Data is collected using a checklist that it’s reliability and validity was estimated at an acceptable level. The gathered information was analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS version 16.Results: In all of six hospitals, reception units only meet 30% of standards and were the least ready for dealing with disasters. There was an average level of readiness in the fields of emergency (54%), support (57%) and traffic (58%) while they were in a readier condition than other fields. Scores concerning human resources (77%) and organization and structure (66%) represent a satisfactory level of readiness. There was an average level of readiness regarding physical space (47%), performance chart (44%) and protocols (40%).Conclusion: According to the average standard necessary requirements for disaster management in emergencies, the studied hospitals need improvement in the fields of transportation, traffic, communication, safety, training, support, human resources and administration and especially reception, and it is recommended to implement a holistic policy for promoting the current situation.

Background: Humic substances in drinking water react with chlorine and form carcinogenic compounds. The adsorption process, as a simple and cost-effective process, has attracted great attention in pollutant removal. The aim of this research was kinetic and isotherm study of humic acid adsorption by silicon nanoparticles in water.Methods: This experimental study was conducted on a synthetic and then a real water sample collected from Alavian Dam in Maragheh city. The effects of pH, absorbent amount and time on the removal of humic acid were evaluated. In order to get a better insight into the process of adsorption, the adsorption kinetic and equilibrium isotherm and thermal energy were determined. Data analysis was performed through SPSS16 and using regression and Pearson coefficient of correlation.Results: The highest percentage of Humic acid adsorption was observed at pH=4, retention time of 10 minutes and absorbent amount of 0.25 g/L with removal efficiency of 88.4% and 86.7% for synthetic and real samples respectively. Meanwhile, the removal of humic acid followed Langmuir isotherm and its rate followed the second order kinetic model. Optimal capacity of adsorbent was 1.56 mg/g based on Langmuir model. The obtained RL (0.1) shows efficient silicon nanoparticles adsortion capacity in humic acid removal. Thermodynamic study showed that humic acid adsorption on silicon nanoparticle is a spontaneous and thermal process.Conclusion: The adsoption of humic acid by nanoparticles depends on the initial concentration of the compounds and as the initial concentration increases the adsorption time decreases. This is an appropriate method for eliminating humic acid.

Background: Organization environment obliges managers to choose proper leadership style matched with the current situation and their own and subordinates personality types at any time to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between personality type and leadership style among senior and middle managers in teaching hospitals of Shiraz city.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the sample included 34 senior and middle managers in teaching hospitals of Shiraz. Data were collected by a 60-item questionnaire that was valid and reliable. Analyses were performed using Spearman Correlation, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal Wallis in SPSS 16.Results: In terms of personality type, most managers tended to have type A personality and none of the surveyed managers had strong tendency to type B personality. In terms of leadership style, managers were medium in human-oriented dimension and more than average in Task-oriented dimension. There was a statistically significant relation between personality type and human-oriented leadership style.Conclusion: The studied managers were more interested in task-oriented leadership style and most of them had type A personality. Therefore implementation of measures such as greater attention to the human dimension and managers training is emphasized.