A mathematical model to predict the composition and generation of hospital wastes in Iran

The aim of this study is to investigate the quality and quantity of hospital wastes in Iran. The generated hospital wastes have been estimated by the number of hospitals and the number of active beds in each province of Iran in 2001. All data and information have been gathered from: (i) Iran Statistics Center, (ii) literature review, and (iii) hospital waste investigations for an average hospital. Physical analyses have been conducted in terms of various materials (plastic, textile, paper, metal, and others) and components (biological, infectious, medical, and regular wastes). Based on the above-mentioned investigation and information, a mathematical model has been developed to calculate the generation of (infectious) hospital wastes for any desired year. Utilizing the model, generated infectious hospital wastes has been estimated as 698,937 tones for 2008 (short-term) and 3,494,387 tones for 2028 (long-term period). If the real infectious wastes are collected separately, then the generated infectious wastes will be reduced by 15.1% of the above-mentioned amount (139,787 tones for 2008, and 698,877 tones for 2028). Results of physical analysis show the components of the hospital waste as: (a) infectious, 67.3%; (b) medical, 8.8%; (c) biological, 1.8%; and (d) common municipal wastes, 22.1%. An appropriate collection method requires training the staff at hospitals along with preparation of the required facilities. Of course, both of these requirements are cost intensive.     

Occupational Cognitive Failures and Safety Performance in the Workplace

Introduction. The majority of industrial accidents occur because of human errors. Human error has different causes, however, in all cases cognitive abilities and limitations of human play an important role. Occupational cognitive failures are cognitively-based human errors that occur at work. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between occupational cognitive failures and safety consequences. Method. Personnel of a large industrial company in Iran filled out an occupational cognitive failure questionnaire (OCFQ) and answered questions on accidents. Univariate and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to determine the relationship between cognitive failures and safety consequences. Results. According to developed regression models, personnel with a high rate of cognitive failure, in comparison to low rate, have a high risk of minor injury involvement (OR 5.1, 95% CI [2.62, 10.3]); similar results were for major injury and near miss. Discussion. The results of this study revealed usefulness of the OCFQ as a tool of predicting safety-related consequences and planning preventive actions.     

Multiple dimensions of work-related risk factors and their relationship to work ability among industrial workers in Iran

Objectives. The present study was designed to investigate the simultaneous effects of physical, psychosocial and other work-related risk factors on the work ability index (WAI) score among industrial workers. Methods. This study used a cross-sectional design with a questionnaire survey. A total of 280 workers were included in the study. Data were collected using three questionnaires including the Persian version of the WAI, the Persian version of the job content questionnaire and an author-developed measure (to assess work-related factors, health-related factors and socio-demographic characteristics). Results. The majority of the participants were young, but they had poor WAI scores (mean 37.3?±?6.4) and 44.3% of them had poor or moderate work ability. Occupational accidents and injuries were found to be the strongest predictors of WAI scores. Additionally, there was a strong association between WAI scores and supervisor support, skill discretion, occupational training, sleep quality, work nature and educational level. Conclusions. Intervention programs should focus on improving supervisor support, sleep quality, job skills and knowledge and on decreasing physical and mental work demands. Additionally, implementing a comprehensive occupational health and ergonomics program for controlling and reducing hazardous working environments and occupational injury rates should be considered.     

Optimizing stabilization of waste-activated sludge using Fered-Fenton process and artificial neural network modeling (KSOFM,MLP)

Sludge management is a fundamental activity in accordance with wastewater treatment aims. Sludge stabilization is always considered as a significant step of wastewater sludge handling. There has been a progressive development observed in the approach to the novel solutions in this regard. In this research, based on own initially experimental results in lab-scale regarding Fered-Fenton processes in view of organic loading (volatile-suspended solids, VSS) removal efficiency, a combination of both methods towards proper improving of excess biological sludge stabilization was investigated. Firstly, VSS removal efficiency has been experimentally studied in lab-scale under different operational conditions taking into consideration pH [Fe²⁺]/[H₂O₂], detention time [H₂O₂], and current density parameters. Therefore, the correlations of the same parameters have been determined by utilizing Kohonen self-organizing feature maps (KSOFM). In addition, multi-layer perceptron (MLP) has been employed afterwards for a comprehensive evaluation of investigating parameters correlation and prediction aims. The findings indicated that the best proportion of iron to hydrogen peroxide and the optimum pH were 0.58 and 3.1, respectively. Furthermore, maximum retention time about 6 h with a hydrogen peroxide concentration of 1,568 mg/l and a current density of 650–750 mA results to the optimum VSS removal (efficiency equals to 81 %). The performance of KSOFM and MLP models is found to be magnificent, with correlation ranging (R) from 0.873 to 0.998 for the process simulation and prediction. Finally, it can be concluded that the Fered-Fenton reactor is a suitable efficient process to reduce considerably sludge organic load and mathematical modeling tools as artificial neural networks are impressive methods of process simulation and prediction accordingly.     

Benzene removal by nano magnetic particles under continuous condition from aqueous solutions

Benzene removal evaluated using Fe304 nano continuous condition. A 44 initial benzene concentration, from aqueous solutions was magnetic particles （NM） in factorial design including NM dose, contact time and pH was investigated in 16 experiments （Taguchi OA design）. The results indicated that all factors were significant and the optimum condition was： pH 8, NM dose of 2000 mg.L-1, benzene concentrations of 100 mg.L-1 and contact time of 14min. The maximum benzene uptake and distribution ratio in the optimum situation were 49.4mg.g-1 and 38.4L.g-1, respectively. The nano particles were shown to capture 98.7% of the benzene in optimum batch condition and 94.5% in continuous condition. The isotherm data proved that the Bmnauer-Emmett-Teller model fit more closely and produced an isotherm constant （b） less than one, indicating favorable adsorption. Regeneration studies verified that the benzene adsorbed by the NM could be easily desorbed by temperature, and thereby, NM can be employed repeatedly in water and wastewater management.     

Hydraulic characteristics of open-channel flow with partially-placed double layer rigid vegetation

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - Vegetation in watercourses can influence different aspects of flow structure, subsequently affecting many processes of flow, such as pollutant transportation,...     

The cut-off point for tympanic temperature as a heat strain index for evaluation of outdoor workers: a field study

Objectives. The aims of this study were (a) to assess the agreement coefficient between tympanic temperatures and the most popular and valid heat stress index, wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), in outdoor environments; (b) to determine a cut-off point for tympanic temperature as a heat strain index for evaluation of outdoor workers. Methods. 1452 measurements of WBGT index and tympanic temperature were recorded for outdoor workers from nine different climatic regions. Consistency of the WBGT and tympanic temperature were tested. The cut-off point for tympanic temperature in outdoor environments regarding WBGT evaluation was suggested based on obtained sensitivity and specificity from a receiver operating characteristic curve. Results. The results showed that there were numerous situations in which WBGT exceeded the reference value, whilst the measured values of tympanic temperature rarely reached a permissible value for core temperature (38?°C). Therefore, appropriate consistency of results between the heat stress and strain indices was not achieved. Conclusion. The criterion of tympanic temperature equaling 37?°C was suggested as a cut-off point for tympanic temperature as a heat strain index for outdoor environment evaluation.     

A new method for calculating saddle seat height with an emphasis on optimal posture based on trigonometric relations

Introduction. Based on the literature, the ergonomic saddle chair provides the most appropriate posture for users. Determination of the seat height is critical to establish the proper posture, carried out using various methods of anthropometry. This study aimed to develop a simple and applied method for determining the saddle seat height with an emphasis on appropriate posture. Methods. In this study, anthropometric dimensions including weight, body height, popliteal height and seat height at 135° knee angle in 150 male and female dentists were measured. In the laboratory, to determine the ‘acetabuloischial number’, 25 male and female natural hip bones were measured. The mean saddle-chair height with knee angle of 135° was then compared by two different methods, field measurement and the new calculation method. Results. The results showed a strong correlation between data gathered from the two different methods, the field measurement and the new calculation method (98%), and Cronbach’s α from the intraclass correlation was equal to 0.994 (p?<?0.05). This indicated that the two methods produced similar results. Conclusion. The new method can be applied to calculate the optimal height of the saddle seat based on body height and popliteal height.     

Non-point source contribution and dynamics of soluble and particulate phosphorus from main tributaries of the Zarivar Lake watershed,Iran

The temporal variability of phosphorus (P) transport and the relationships between discharge, suspended sediment concentration and particulate (PP), and soluble (SP) phosphorus were examined. The study was conducted at the event scale in seven tributaries of the Zarivar Lake watershed in Kurdistan Province (Iran) from March 2011 to April 2012. Based on eight runoff events, 82% of the total P was the PP carried out by suspended sediment. Results showed a high variability of P transport during different runoff events. It was found that soil erosion was the source of the high P load. For all tributaries, PP was linearly related to both discharge and suspended sediment concentration. However, the relationships of SP and PP with discharge and suspended sediment concentration showed different hysteresis patterns. The relationship between PP and discharge was generally characterized by a clockwise pattern (i.e., lower part contribution of the sub-watersheds) but the patterns between SP and discharge were mainly anticlockwise (i.e., upper part contribution of the sub-watersheds or perhaps due to a subsurface flow contribution).