Development of a waste management protocol based on assessment of knowledge and practice of healthcare personnel in surgical departments

Background:Good healthcare waste management in a hospital depends on a dedicated waste management team, good administration, careful planning, sound organization, underpinning legislation, adequate financing, and full participation by trained staff. Hence, waste management protocols must be convenient and sensible.Aim of study:To assess the knowledge and practice related to waste management among doctors, nurses, and housekeepers in the surgical departments at Al-Mansoura University Hospital, and to design and validate a waste management protocol for the health team in these settings.Subjects and methods:This cross-sectional study was carried out in the eight surgical departments at Al-Mansoura University Hospital. All health care personnel and their assistants were included: 38 doctors, 106 nurses, and 56 housekeepers. Two groups of jury were included for experts’ opinions validation of the developed protocol, one from academia (30 members) and the other from service providers (30 members). Data were collected using a self-administered knowledge questionnaire for nurses and doctors, and an interview questionnaire for housekeepers. Observation checklists were used for assessment of performance. The researchers developed the first draft of the waste management protocol according to the results of the analysis of the data collected in the assessment phase. Then, the protocol was presented to the jury group for validation, and then was implemented.Results:Only 27.4% of the nurses, 32.1% of the housekeepers, and 36.8% of the doctors had satisfactory knowledge. Concerning practice, 18.9% of the nurses, 7.1% of the housekeepers, and none of the doctors had adequate practice. Nurses’ knowledge score had a statistically significant weak positive correlation with the attendance of training courses (r = 0.23, p < 0.05). Validation of the developed protocol was done, and the percent of agreement ranged between 60.0% and 96.7% for the service group, and 60.0% and 90.0% for the academia group.Conclusion and recommendations:The majority of the doctors, nurses, and housekeepers have unsatisfactory knowledge and inadequate practice related to health care waste management. The knowledge among nurses is positively affected by attendance of training programs. Based on the findings, a protocol for healthcare waste management was developed and validated. It is recommended to implement the developed waste management protocol for the surgical departments in the designed hospital, with establishment of waste management audits.     

Chemical and bacterial quality monitoring of the Nile River water and associated health risks in Qena–Sohag sector,Egypt

The River Nile is the primary source of freshwater for drinking, irrigation, and industrial purposes in Egypt. Thus, the water quality in this river concerns the health of local inhabitants. The present study reveals seasonal variations of various physicochemical and heavy metals parameters and microbial load of water at 15 sites from Qena to Sohag cities, Egypt. The water is fresh with TDS?≤?270 and 410 mg L^?1 in summer and winter, respectively. Fe, Mn, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn concentrations were within drinking water specification in both seasons except Cr and Cd in summer. Viable numbers of total coliform, fecal coliform, and fecal streptococci were recorded in both seasons with fecal streptococci's disappearing in winter. The concentrations of salts and ions in winter were higher than summer due to decreased water quantity and flow rate in this season. On the other hand, heavy metals and bacteria were higher in summer owing to the rain and weathering of upstream rocks and increasing of human activities during the summer. The calculated water quality index (WQI) depicted that the chemical quality of water was poor for drinking and treatment, especially biological treatment, which is required before the water is supplied for drinking. Human health risk assessment factors such as probable daily intake, hazard quotient, and carcinogenic risk indicated high risks of Cr, Cd, and Ni for adults and children in both seasons. The non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks are mainly posed by Cr. The WQI values for the other water uses indicated the marginal quality for aquatic life, fair for irrigation, and fair in summer to good in winter for livestock consumption. The irrigation water quality parameters indicated that the water could be used to irrigate all soils and crops except the hazard of biological contamination. The water–rock interaction controls water chemistry besides the contribution of human activities. The agricultural, industrial, and municipal wastewaters were the main contributors to water pollution and should be treated before discharge into the Nile River. Source and drinking water should be monitored continuously to prevent related human waterborne diseases.

     

Effects of low doses of bisphenol A and o,p ′- DDT on reproductive function of posthatching male Japanese quail

Forty-six posthatched male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were divided into five groups; Control (n = 8), Oil (n = 8), 2 mg Bisphenol A (BPA) (n = 12), 20 µg o, p′-DDT (n = 11) and Mix [BPA (2 mg) and o, p′-DDT (20 µg)/10 µL] (n = 7). Chemicals were given orally to the quail daily for about 100 days. At day 90 of the experiment, sexual behavior was studied. Moreover, one day before the quail were sacrificed, cloacal gland areas were measured. All birds were scarified at 100 days. Testicular weights as well as gonado-somatic index were recorded. Sperm concentration was analyzed by the computer-assisted sperm analysis system. The testes of each bird were subjected to histopathological examination and the diameter of 30 randomly selected seminiferous tubules was measured. Sexual maturity was significantly delayed in o, p′-DDT and Mix groups. In addition, quail that were given BPA and o, p′-DDT took a significantly longer time to perform the first sexual interaction. The diameters of seminiferous tubules were remarkably reduced in all treated groups. In conclusion, low doses of BPA, o, p′-DDT or a combination of these two agents affected reproductive functions in male Japanese quail, when administered at posthatching.     

Land classification used to select abandoned hazardous waste study sites

The biological effects of hazardous substances in the environment are influenced by climate, physiography, and biota. These factors interact to determine the transport and fate of chemicals, but are difficult to model accurately except for small areas with a large data base. The requirement for a large data base may be reduced locally if the regional influences of these factors were predetermined from existing data. Knowledge of the regional factors would also relax the restriction to considering only small areas. This paper advocates consideration of regional characteristics of the environment in the early stages of waste management strategy development. It presents as an example a procedure for selecting study sites from candidate-abandoned hazardous waste dumpsites in the southeastern United States. It uses small-scale maps of low resolution from the National Atlas to delineate the boundaries and to determine the environmental characteristics that prevail over units of land within the region. A computer map-overlay and graphic approach is used to facilitate the grouping of land types. Abandoned hazardous waste dumpsites found within land types that best represent the region are surveyed for selecting a study site. It is expected that environmental impact data obtained from a representative site would be useful for predicting impact potentials in similar remotely located areas within the same general region.     

Bioavailability to rats and toxicity in mice of carbofuran residues bound to faba beans.

14C-carbofuran penetrated readily into seeds of Vicia faba and the rate of penetration was found to be dose dependent. The percentage of bound residues was generally low and did not exceed 3% of the applied dose. When the bound residues were fed to rats 46% of the radioactivity was eliminated via CO2 and urine, while tissues contained 25%. Carbofuran phenol and 3-hydroxy carbofuran represented the main metabolites in the urine. These data indicate that bean-bound carbofuran residues are highly bioavailable to rats. Feeding mice with bound carbofuran residues for 90 days led to inhibition of erythrocyte cholinesterase activity after 30 days (35-40%) while the plasma enzyme remained unaffected. Serum transaminases and blood urea nitrogen were significantly elevated, indicating injury to hepatic and renal structures. The results strongly suggest that the bound residues can induce adverse biological effects in mice.     

Insight into the Adsorption Properties of Chitosan/Zeolite-A Hybrid Structure for Effective Decontamination of Toxic Cd (II) and As (V) Ions from the Aqueous Environments

Chitosan/zeolite-A hybrid structure (CS/Z.A) was synthesized and characterized as a multifunctional and environmental adsorbent for the Cd (II) and As (V) ions. The adsorption capacities of CS/ZA for Cd (II) and AS (V) are 170 mg/g and 125 mg/g, respectively which are higher values than several adsorbents in literature. The kinetic study demonstrates Pseudo-First-order behavior for the Cd (II) adsorption process and Pseudo-second order for the As (V) uptake reactions. The Cd (II) and As (V) uptake reactions follow the Freundlich equilibrium behavior with heterogeneous and multilayer adsorption properties. The kinetic and equilibrium studies in addition to the Gaussian energy {6.35 kJ/mol [Cd (II)] and 9.44 kJ/mol [As (V)]} demonstrate physical properties for the Cd (II) adsorption mechanism and more chemical behavior for the As (V) adsorption mechanism. The thermodynamic study declares exothermic, spontaneous, and favorable adsorption reactions for Cd (II) and As (V) by CS/Z.A composite. The CS/Z.A is of significant capacity for Cd (II) and As (V) ions in the existence of other competitive dissolved anions (PO₄^3?, NO₃^?, and SO₄^2?) and other metals [Zn (II), Co (II), and Pb (II)]. Finally, the CS/Z.A composite is a recyclable product and can be applied in effective Cd (II) and As (V) decontamination processes for five runs.

     

Molecular and serological study on congenital toxoplasmosis in newborn of Shiraz,Southern Iran

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by an obligatory intracellular parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. The congenital form of the disease is a...     

Chemistry,abundance, detection and treatment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water: a review

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) encompass a wide range of compounds containing carbon–fluorine bonds. Due the strength of this bond and the high electronegativity of fluorine atoms, PFAS display stability, wettability and other characteristics that are unique for industrial applications and products. However, PFAS induce adverse effects on the environment and human health. Here we review the chemistry, synthesis, properties, analysis, occurrence in water, filtration, removal and oxydation of PFAS.  We highlight emerging hybrid treatments to remove PFAS from water.