Evaluation of the trophic status in three reservoirs in Algeria (north west) using physicochemical analysis and rotifers structure

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of this study is to examine the trophic state of three reservoirs located in the northwest of Algeria based on the physicochemistry of water...     

Acrylamide in bread: a review on formation,health risk assessment,and determination by analytical techniques

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Acrylamide is a water-soluble toxicant found in high-protein and carbohydrate-containing foods exposed to high temperature like bread as the staple...     

Evaluation of practicing safety features for hospital waste collection among Iran’s public hospitals

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Hospital waste management is imperative due to its impending health hazards. This study was meant to evaluate the strong safety awareness of...     

Synthesis of 2,5‐diaryl‐2,4‐pentadienenitriles and their spectral,fluorescence and mutagenic properties

The condensation of substituted cinnamaldehydes and arylacetonitriles using sodium ethoxide in ethanol at room temperature afforded 2,5‐diaryl‐2,4‐pentadienenitriles in good yield. The structure of the reaction products was established on the basis of their infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance and elemental analysis data. Two representative compounds were studied for their mutagenic activity. One of them showed a weak mutagenicity while the second showed a high mutagenic activity in TA97a Salmonella strain. Both were negative in TA100. Some of these pentadienenitriles showed fluorescence in solutions.     

Management of household waste in sanitary landfill of Mostaganem district (Western Algeria)

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The management of solid waste in Mostaganem district was limited to collection and transportation to open dumpsites. By the end of 2010, the...     

Chemical and biological release of 14C‐bound residues from soil treated with 14C‐p,p'‐DDT

Abstract

¹⁴C‐p,p'‐DDT‐bound residues in soil can be released by treatment with concentrated sulphuric acid at ambient temperatures. Within 6 days, about 70% of the bound residues was released. Bound residues released after 9 months incubation with ¹⁴C‐DDT showed the presence of DDT and DDE only while bound residues released after 18 months, contained in addition 13% DDD.

Release of bound ¹⁴C‐residues also occurs readily following inoculation of the soil‐bound residues with fresh soil or with individual microorganisms. Almost complete release of bound residues was observed after incubation for 45 days. The rate of release was rapid during the first two weeks and decreased thereafter. TLC and HPLC analysis showed that the released residues contained DDE (about 80%) and a smaller amount of DDD. The disappearance of DDT from the released residues may be attributed to its microbiological degradation to DDE and DDD, shortly after its release.     

Indigenous knowledge on use values of Karvan district plants,Iran

Traditional and indigenous knowledge on plants usage is a valuable source of information from cultural and natural perspectives, reflecting society’s complicated and close relationship with the environment. Communities have a valuable source of traditional knowledge on the utilization of natural resources, and it is worth to be documented and preserved for current and future applications. We conducted this research to collect and identify plant species of Karvan District and document the traditional knowledge on their use and consumption values. Regarding the results, 150 plant species are used by local communities, more than 30 % of which are directly consumed as food, 24 % (37 species) are used as medicinal plants, and 16.3 % are applied for decoration purposes; 58.6 % of the species are consumed in the raw form, and the remaining is processed before consumption. Leaves (35 %), seeds (21 %) and flowers (21 %) are the most frequent parts of the plants that are used. High number of young emigrants to industrialized areas in seek of job opportunities is threatening this precious source of indigenous knowledge. Attempts to preserve this empirical source of information by encouraging trans-generational knowledge transmission would help to maintain it for future applications.     

Report: The assessment of hospital waste management:a case study in Tehran

Hospital waste management is an important process that must be dealt with diligently. The management of hazardous waste material requires specific knowledge and regulations and it must be carried out by specialists in the field. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed the main stages of hospital waste management including separation, containment, removal and disposal of waste materials in public hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). We selected 108 units of six hospitals (three general hospitals and three subspecialty hospitals) from those hospitals supervised by TUMS using the cluster sampling method. The measurement was conducted through a questionnaire and direct observation by researchers. Association analysis was done by statistical tests; Fisher exact test and chi-squared using SPSS software. According to the results obtained by the questionnaire, most of the studied wards scored moderately in terms of quality of their performance in all stages of waste management. About one-fifth of the wards were suffering from poor management of their medical waste and only a minority of wards obtained good scores for managing their waste materials. The findings also revealed significant associations between temporary waste storage and collection and the level of education of the managers (P = 0.040, P = 0.050, respectively). In summary, the study indicated a moderate management in all processes of separation, collection, containment, removal and disposal of waste materials in hospitals with several observed problems in the process.     

The relationship between zooplankton community and environmental factors of Ghrib Dam in Algeria

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The effect of environmental factors on zooplankton diversity, abundance, and distribution in the Ghrib Dam water body was investigated for...     

Increased urinary arsenic concentration in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus: a gender-independent,smoking-dependent exposure biomarker in older adults in Tehran

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Arsenic is ranked in the top ten environmental toxicants but its impact on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its association with other human health...