Assessment of Copper Pollution in the Surface Layer of Vineyard Soils in Malayer, Iran

Background and Aims: Soil contamination by copper (Cu) very often occurs in the soil surface layer of vineyard cultivations, due to the heavy use of copper fungicides in order to protect against fungal grape diseases. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate copper concentration in the superficial layer of vineyard cultivation in Malayer, Iran, and also to prepare the pollution map of copper in this region.Materials and Methods: Twenty five surface soil samples (0-20 cm) of Malayer vineyard region were collected and consequently were subjected to Cu concentration assessment. Soil samples were air dried and sieved, and the categorized <0.149 mm fraction was used in subsequent digestion operation. The concentrations of Cu in extracted solutions were determined by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The inverse distanceweighting (IDW) method was used to interpolate copper concentrations in the whole study area owing to the limited amount of data.Results: The low concentrations of copper in the range of 3.95 to 15.09 mg/kg with a mean value of 7.36 mg/kg were noticed in the studied vineyard soils. The total Cu concentrations were generally similar to those reported for natural soils.Conclusion: Observed low concentrations of copper in studied vineyard cultivations and indeed homogeneous distribution of copper in the soil, implies that the copper concentrations were controlled by geological processes. Heterogeneous distribution of Cu in the small part of southern region could be linked with anthropogenic impacts.Key words: Copper, Malayer, Vineyard soil

Causes of delay in construction projects: The case of oil and gas projects

Successful implementation of construction projects is one of the key factors for economic development of every country. Every year, a major part of the countries’ capital is allocated to civil and infrastructure projects, most of which are implemented with delay. Construction projects are often criticized for overrunning time and budgets. Analyzing the factors causing delay is essential with the aim of omitting them and timely implementation of these projects. Research to identify the reasons and causes of delays have been conducted in different countries and by various researches. In this paper, various research has studied different factors affecting construction projects delays have been studied. These factors have been identified in four groups consisted of owner, consultant, conductor, and other factors. Moreover, on account of the importance of oil and gas projects, the mentioned factors for these kinds of projects are taken into consideration. The results showed that change orders and changes in scope of work by owner, delay in reviewing of documents by consultant, inadequate experience and knowledge and errors during construction by contractor, and low productivity of laborer have been indicated as key factors comparing with the other as crucial factors causing delay in the oil and gas construction projects

Engineers in a Leadership Flexibility Space that Use Data Envelopment Analysis

The current paper uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) to benchmark the leadership efficiency of civil engineers based on the leadership flexibility space diagram. Since the traditional DEA model does not fit for this problem, a simple modification has been made to enhance the L1-Norm and CCR models to tackle the problem. The engineers are considered to be the decision making unit (DMU). Questionnaires were prepared and responses were received from engineers in an Iranian construction company (MD-2 Corporation) as a case study. The leadership flexibility space diagram uses two basic parameters: (1) a decision-making authority and; (2) data input to a group for decision-making. These parameters are considered as the output, and the model has no input-parameter. The assessment of DEA measures the proximity of the DMUs from the active management. Finally, a correlation among the attributes with leadership efficiency has been considered

The right to the environment in Islam

From the point of view of Islam, as a comprehensive and complete religion, there is a relationship between man and nature. The relationship between man and nature, if he has studied and preserved his existential value and is the trustee of God Almighty, it is a relationship of conquest, which means that all nature is at the disposal of man in order to make reasonable use of it and refrain from wasting and destroying it. Such a right has been identified in the Holy Quran and it has been discussed in various aspects, and environmental principles from the perspective of the beloved Messenger of Islam (PBUH) have a royal quality to the observance of these principles by humans. It is because he is the caliph of God, and the caliph must put the Sunnah and the manners of his successor as his own. It is recommended to use the environment and nature as a divine trust, and man can never have ownership of what he has and consider them his own, and in order to benefit himself as much as possible, he pollutes nature and does any damage to the environment. Therefore, in Islamic sources, such as the Quran, Sunnah, intellect, and numerous jurisprudential rules regarding the right to the environment and nature, we will investigate, research and analyze them in this article so that the rights of future generations are respected

A new potentiometric sensor based on a high-performance composite for nanomolar determination of mercury (II) in environmental samples

<div><p>A new potentiometric sensor for the rapid determination of Hg²⁺ based on modified carbon paste electrode consisting of room temperature ionic liquid, 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIM-PF₆), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), alumina nanoparticles and a synthetic macrocyclic diamide ‘7,10,13-triaza-1-thia-4,16-dioxa-6,14-dioxo-2,3;17,18-dinaphtho-cyclooctadecane’ as an efficient ionophore was constructed. Prepared composite is an ideal paste because it has low drift of potential, high selectivity and fast response time (10 s), which leads to a more stable potential signal. The morphology and properties of electrodes surface were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A linear dynamic range of 2.01–2.01 × 10⁷ µg L⁻¹ with detection limit of 1.40 µg L⁻¹ Hg²⁺ was obtained at pH range of 2.5 to 4.5. The prepared modified electrode shows several advantages such as simple preparation method, high stability of the composite paste, high sensitivity, long-term life time (at least 13 weeks) and remarkable potentiometric reproducibility. The modified electrode was successfully applied for the accurate determination of trace amounts of Hg ²⁺ in environmental samples.</p></div

The relationship between health-promoting lifestyle and sleep quality in postmenopausal women

Background: Menopausal women are widely reported to have poor sleep quality and sleep problems. It is not clear whether increases in sleep disturbance are brought about by hormone changes associated with menopause or due to psychosocial and physical problems. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 600 menopausal women aged between 40 and 60 without any known severe illnesses in the city of Qaen, Iran, from April 2015 to May 2016. Data were collected by Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Main outcome measures: This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between health-promoting lifestyle and sleep quality in Iranian postmenopausal women. Data were analyzed using an independent t-test, Mann-Whitney, Chi-square, Spearman and univariate logistic regression. Result: The univariate logistic regression suggested that the physical activity dimension of lifestyle (OR = 1.095, 95% CI: 1.035-1.158, P < 0.006), non-smoking status (OR = 0.549, 95% CI: 0.331-0.912, P < 0.021) and occupation (women who were farmer compared with housewives) (OR = 0.239, 95% CI (0.074-0.775), P < 0.017) were associated with sleep quality. Conclusion: Postmenopausal women in this study were at high risk for poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality was associated with low levels of physical activity, smoking and being a housewife compared to being a farmer. Therefore, there is an essential need to educate women about health-promoting behaviors including daily physical activity and avoiding smoking which are associated with quality of sleep

The Effect of Diazoxide on Ultrastructural Changes Following Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury of Rat Brain

A B S T R A C T Introduction: Even today there is no effective drug therapy to prevent neuronal loss after brain stroke. In the present study we studied the effect of mitochondrial KATP channel regulators on neuronal ultrastructure after ischemia reperfusion in the rat. Materials & Methods: Rats temporarily subjected to four vessels occlusion for 15 minutes followed by 24 hours reperfusion with or without K-ATP channel regulators. Results: Neuronal ultrastructure significantly improved in K-ATP channel opener (diazoxide) treated ischemia-reperfusion group compared with control group. Discussion: Our results showed that dizoxide treatment after ischemia reperfusion leads to better preservation of cortical neurons in rat

The Effect of Diazoxide on Ultrastructural Changes Following Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury of Rat Brain

A B S T R A C T Introduction: Even today there is no effective drug therapy to prevent neuronal loss after brain stroke. In the present study we studied the effect of mitochondrial KATP channel regulators on neuronal ultrastructure after ischemia reperfusion in the rat. Materials &amp; Methods: Rats temporarily subjected to four vessels occlusion for 15 minutes followed by 24 hours reperfusion with or without K-ATP channel regulators. Results: Neuronal ultrastructure significantly improved in K-ATP channel opener (diazoxide) treated ischemia-reperfusion group compared with control group. Discussion: Our results showed that dizoxide treatment after ischemia reperfusion leads to better preservation of cortical neurons in rat