Assessment of hospitalization and mortality from exposure to PM10 using AirQ modeling in Ilam,Iran

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aims of this study were to assess the health impact of PM10 on inhabitants and to investigate the trend of PM10 concentrations in Ilam, Iran, from...     

Chemometric Analysis of Surface Water Quality Data: Case Study of the Gorganrud River Basin, Iran

Canonical correlation analysis (CCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and principal factor analysis (PFA) have been adopted to provide ease of understanding: interpretation of a large complex data set in the Gorganrud River monitoring networks, evaluation of the temporal and spatial variations of water quality, and finally identification of monitoring stations and parameters which are most important in assessing annual variations of water quality in the river. In accomplishing the research, 11 surface water quality data related to both of physical and chemical parameters have been collected from seven monitoring stations from 1996 to 2002. In general, our results from CCA method indicated strong relationship between physical and chemical parameters in the Gorganrud River. In addition, analyzing data through the PCA and PFA techniques revealed that all monitoring stations are important in explaining the annual variation of data set. From the point of view of the degree of importance of parameters contributing to water quality variations, further investigations by running two scenarios (rotated factor correlation coefficient value equal to 0.95 and 0.90 for the first and second scenarios, respectively) showed that the important parameters in one season may not be important for another season. For example, unlike in summer, water temperature, total suspended solids, total phosphorous, and nitrate parameters were important, electrical conductivity, and turbidity parameters had been realized as important parameters in spring through the first scenario.     

From Iran: Does Improvement in Corporate Environmental Performance Affect Corporate Risk Taking?

Superior corporate environmental performance (CEP) has become essential to the competitive advantage and financial success of businesses. However, the main reasons managers pay attention to environmental performance are improved reputation in the capital market and profitability, as well as reductions in operating costs and risks. This article describes the findings of a study that examines the relationship between CEP, using a reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions as a measure, and corporate risk taking. In addition to indicating a significant negative relationship between CEP and firm risk, the study results also show that a 1% improvement of CEP decreases corporate risk by 3%.     

Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 in Indoor Air of Sina and Shahid Beheshti Hospitals and Patients' Houses

Food and Environmental Virology - Side by side air sampling was conducted using a PTFE filter membrane as dry sampler and an impinger containing a suitable culture medium as a wet sampler. Most of...     

Synthesis of carboxylic dithiocarbamic anhydride and substituted thiourea derivatives in water

The use of water as a solvent has sometimes benefits such as improving reactivities and selectivities, simplifying work-up procedures, and environmentally benign. Many carboxylic dithiocarbamic anhydride products are valuable building blocks in heterocycles and natural products. Here we present a simple one-pot synthesis of carboxylic dithiocarbamic anhydride by condensation of amines, carbon disulfide, acyl halide, or acetic anhydride in water. We obtained a variety of biologically important acyl dithiocarbamate derivatives in 82–93% yields in 10–30 min. This procedure can be used for the synthesis of thioureas from dithiocarbamates. Here, the sequential, one-pot three-component reaction of amines, carbon disulfide, and isothiocyanates provides unsymmetrical substituted thioureas in 81–91% yields.     

Changes in plasma taurine concentration during a period of heroin detoxification

Taurine is one of the most abundant sulpho-amino acids in the body. Hypertaurinemia has already been reported following different stress states. A previous study demonstrated a significant increase of serum taurine concentration in heroin addicts. Therefore, we hypothesized that taurine could be a possible biomarker of recovery during detoxification from opiates. For this purpose, 30 heroin addicts who went under the 5-day heroin detoxification process were recruited for the study. Three blood samples (5 mL each) were taken from each patient in the first, third, and fifth days. They were collected in heparinized glass tubes and after centrifuging, the plasma was separated and kept in the ?20°C freezer until analysis using a previously developed HPLC method with fluorescence detection. The data were statistically analyzed using the Student t-test and ANOVA. Plasma taurine concentration in addicts was significantly more than that of the healthy controls (p < 0.0001). However, there were no changes in the plasma taurine concentration in the addicts during the 5-day study period (p > 0.05). Therefore, we can conclude that the plasma taurine concentration could not be considered as a biomarker of recovery in a 5-day detoxification period of heroin addiction.     

Metabolic and endocrine effects of bisphenol A exposure in market seller women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the synthetic monomer which can be found in the environment. Limited animal and human studies have demonstrated that BPA alters endocrine and or metabolic functions. The aims of the present study were to evaluate serum BPA level in marketing seller women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and hormonal and metabolic effects of this exposure compared to a control paired group. In a case-control study, 62 PCOS women who work as marketing sellers and 62 healthy women with similar jobs were included. The two groups were body mass index (BMI)- and age-matched. Serum samples were analyzed for BPA content, fasting blood sugar (FBS), triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL and LDL levels, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration, and LH:FSH ratio. Significant higher serum BPA content (0.48 ± 0.08 vs. 0.16 ± 0.04 ng/ml), triglyceride (103.05 ± 13.10 vs. 91.65 ± 12.52 mg/dl), cholesterol (165.05 ± 10.79 vs. 161.21 ± 10.31 mg/dl) levels and LH:FSH ratio (3.64 ± 0.86 vs. 0.62 ± 0.14) and significant lower TSH concentration (1.56 ± 0.68 vs. 2.15 ± 1.09 IU/ml) were detected in case against control group, respectively (P < 0.05). No significant differences were detected in FBS, LDL, and HDL levels between the two groups. Also, there were no significant associations between serum TSH concentration and BPA level neither in case (P = 0.269) nor in control (P = 0.532) groups. In BPA-exposed PCOS women, BPA level was higher than healthy women and this difference maybe the cause of significant differences in levels of triglyceride, cholesterol, TSH, and LH:FSH ratio. These observations confirm the potential role of BPA in PCOS pathophysiology.     

Rethinking assessment of drought impacts: a systemic approach towards sustainability

Although impacting primarily economic sectors, droughts may also initiate dynamic mechanisms that have socio-environmental consequences on sustainability of the impacted areas. To date, most research has dealt with the economic impacts of droughts, with minimal attention being paid to the dynamics of damaging mechanisms associated with socio-environmental impacts. Using a systemic approach, this paper develops a method of identifying the dynamic structures responsible for the consequences of drought. Considering the impacts of recent droughts in Iran, the paper presents a conceptual model, underpinned by a Limits to Growth archetype to explain how different drought impacts are triggered. Moreover, adopting the Viability Loops concept, a range of strategies and indices are suggested as monitoring tools to sustain socio-economic life in a drought-impacted area. The provinces of Hamadan (with water abundance), and Yazd and Isfahan (with water scarcity) in Iran have been selected to illustrate the proposed methodology. Results show a higher vulnerability to droughts in the water-rich region due to dependence on water abundance as opposed to the water-poor regions, which are well adapted to water scarcity conditions.     

Presenting a conceptual pattern of HSE performance of oil trucks

Accidents are among the main problems in the oil product supply chain. The most important effective factors in these events are the kind of trucks used and their health, safety, and environment (HSE) condition. The aim of this study was to present a conceptual pattern of the HSE performance of oil trucks in oil industries. In this study, 20 truck models (with fixed tanks), in use over different periods of time, were investigated. In this regard, the criteria and sub-criteria were first determined in two parts—carrier and tank—and weighted by fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). The results showed that the most important sub-criteria regarding the HSE factors of the carrier were resistance and strength of the front and rear shields, the brake system, and the ventilation system. The most important sub-criteria regarding the HSE factors of the tank were tank shell thickness and a good tank design shape with respect to portable material. It should be noted that the weight of the criteria with each other and sub-criteria with each other are not equal. This issue is important for decision-making. The main reason for the use of trucks with the lowest score in developing countries is the lack of attention by managers to safety issues and international standards and agreements such as the ADR.     

A rapid determination of histamine and 3-methylhistamine in human plasma by high performance liquid chromatography

Histamine plays an important pathophysiological role in allergy, inflammation, gastric acid secretion, microcirculation and neurotransmission. 3-Methylhistamine is a prominent metabolite of histamine. Different methods for determination of histamine in biological fluids have been developed. In the present study, a simple, simultaneous determination of histamine and 3-methylhistamine by HPLC (precolumn derivatization with fluorescamine) was developed in human plasma using fluorescence detection with 1-methylhistamine as the internal standard. Linear regression analysis of the ratios of the concentrations of histamine and 3-methylhistamine (X) against peak height ratios (Y) yielded the following: y = 0.0073x ? 0.0096 (R ² = 0.990) and y = 0.0077x ? 0.0111 (R ² = 0.989). In conclusion, it was possible to detect histamine and 3-methylhistamine below 5 ng mL^?1 in 1 mL plasma.