Food safety knowledge and practice and its relationship with literacy: The case of rural women in Iran

Background: It is widely understood that most food-borne illness is associated with the inner home environment, and that therefore, the role of women in providing, storage and preparation of healthy food is very important. Given the lack of research on home food safety in Iran, this study focused on the knowledge and behavior towards food safety and its relationship with literacy among rural women. Methods: Data of this cross-sectional survey were collected through questionnaires. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by referring to university experts. The questionnaire reliability was evaluated by Cronbach's test (a=0.782). The study population consisted of rural women in the areas of Gonbad-e Kavous County in Golestan province, north of Iran. Using random cluster sampling, 385 women from 77 villages were studied. Descriptive statistics and t-test were used for analysis. Results: Knowledge and behavior of the studied rural women towards food safety could be assessed as good and fair respectively. There was no difference between literate and illiterate women in regard to food safety knowledge (t=1.72; P>0.05), but literate compared with illiterate rural women have in general better food safety behavior (t=2.16; P<0.05). Conclusion: The findings showed that literacy education can activate mechanisms that lead to food safety behavioral changes. However, there was no difference between literate and illiterate women in regard to food safety knowledge. It suggests that illiterate rural women, despite their inability to read and write, can find appropriate methods to learn about food safety issues

Design of the transition system for sequestration of CO2 from flue gas into microalgal biomass in a photobioreactor

Magistritöö Tootmistehnika erialalKäesoleva magistritöö eesmärgiks on konstrueerida siirdesüsteem, mis võimaldab siduda korstnagaasis leiduva süsihappegaasi mikrovetika biomassi. Töös antakse ülevaade biokütuste liikidest, korstnagaasi koostisest ja korstnagaasi mõjudest mikrovetikate kasvule. Käesolevas töös keskendutakse kolmanda põlvkonna biokütuste tootmissüsteemile, mis kasutab korstnagaasis olevat CO2. Püstitatud eesmärgi saavutamiseks koostati vajalikud mudelid ja tehti arvutused, mille alusel konstrueeriti esmane siirdesüsteem töö autori poolt varasemalt konstrueeritud fotobioreaktorile. Siirdesüsteemi puhul on kriitilise tähtsusega veesamba kõrgus fotobioreaktoris ja põlemise materjal katlas. Vastava siirdesüsteemi konstrueerimisega saab läbi vaid üks etapp suuremast tööst. Nimelt on edaspidi kavas vastava süsteemi efektiivsuse testimine ja arendamine valitud mikrovetikate kasvatamisel.The aim of the master´s thesis "Design of the transition system for sequestration of CO2 from flue gas into microalgal biomass in a photobioreactor" was to design transition system, which allows sequestration of carbon dioxide from the flue gas into microalgal biomass. In literature review we described biofuel generations, flue gas composition, it´s influence on microalgae growth and suitable microalgae for biofuel production and flue gas sequestration. Present study concentrates on third biofuel generation, which is based on microalgae, suitability to sequestrate carbon dioxide, which is found in flue gas. To accomplish set goal, calculations were done and some models were drawn, on which basis was designed primary transition system for the photobioredactor constructed previously by the same author. The most important fo the trasition system was water column height and material of the fuel in the boiler. Respective design of the transition system is only one phase of the bigger work. Next phase would be to test and develop the given system and the connected photobioreactor

Analysis of knowledge and attitude towards food safety among university students in Gorgan city

Food hygiene is considered as an indication of community health. For this reason, consumers need to have enough information about the safe methods of providing, storage and preparation of foods. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude towards food safety among university students. The survey research was used to study 400 students at the four universities of Gorgan city during 2013. The universities included Gorgan Azad University, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan Medical University and Golestan University. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire which its validity and reliability were verified by face validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficient, respectively. The results showed that for the university students, families and TV programs are the main sources for gaining information about food safety. Furthermore, knowledge and attitude of students towards food safety was determined as "fairly good" and "good" respectively. Female students had more knowledge and favorable attitudes towards food safety than male students. Based on results, food safety knowledge was not related to age, place of birth and residence and the type of housing; however it is associated to the level of parents' education and occupation. Attitude towards food safety also was found to be associated with birthplace and studying degree. It was concluded that it is necessary to deliver the educational programs about food safety for the university students along with the installation of food borne disease surveillance system

Farm Food Safety Practices in the North of Iran

Food safety begins on the farms and farmers play a crucial role in producing healthy food. Several factors were investigated here including water quality, labor health, health facilities, packaging and storage, transportation, fertilizers and solid organic materials, and field sanitation to reach more comprehensive results. So, 380 farmers were selected from 77 villages of rural areas of Gonbad-e Kavus County, north of Iran, using multistage random sampling. Data were collected by a questionnaire and analyzed with the SPSS18 software. Results showed that the score of the food safety practice index was above average and could be evaluated at a good level. Farmers had the best practice in “field sanitation” and the worst practice in “labor health”. Literate farmers had better food safety practices than illiterate farmers. The food safety practice index showed positive correlations with educational level and farmer income from other jobs. However, negative correlations were observed regarding farmer age, job experience and income from husbandry. It is suggested that educational programs and essential facilities are needed to enable farmers to adhere to farm food safety practices

Farm Food Safety Practices in the North of Iran

Food safety begins on the farms and farmers play a crucial role in producing healthy food. Several factors were investigated here including water quality, labor health, health facilities, packaging and storage, transportation, fertilizers and solid organic materials, and field sanitation to reach more comprehensive results. So, 380 farmers were selected from 77 villages of rural areas of Gonbad-e Kavus County, north of Iran, using multistage random sampling. Data were collected by a questionnaire and analyzed with the SPSS18 software. Results showed that the score of the food safety practice index was above average and could be evaluated at a good level. Farmers had the best practice in “field sanitation” and the worst practice in “labor health”. Literate farmers had better food safety practices than illiterate farmers. The food safety practice index showed positive correlations with educational level and farmer income from other jobs. However, negative correlations were observed regarding farmer age, job experience and income from husbandry. It is suggested that educational programs and essential facilities are needed to enable farmers to adhere to farm food safety practices

Evaluating the Performance of the Basirat Development Co-operative Company of Maraveh Tappeh County, Golestan Province, Using Stakeholder Analysis Model

This study aimed to assess performance of the Basirat Development Cooperative Company (BDCC) in Maraveh Tappeh County in Golestan Province.The descriptive-survey research was used. The target populations of the study consisted of 1100 members of BDCC. Using random sampling, 285 of them were selected as research samples. Data gathered through a questionnaire and its face validity was confirmed by experts of extension and cooperation. The reliability analysis was conducted with Cronbach’s alpha method and coefficient was 0.91. Data were analyzed using SPSSwin19 software. The results showed in the social field, Cooperative Company has had a more successful performance in better and stronger relationship between people and the government. In the economics fild, it has had a more successful performance in improving the quality of products in the region (agriculture, horticulture, livestock, etc.) and in the environmental fild; it has had a more successful performance in reducing the untapped use of resources (water, fuel, etc.). The results of the mean comparison showed that older members, who had more income and more agricultural experience and more livestock, assessed the overall performance of the cooperative more successfully. There was also a significant difference between the assessment of cooperative members about the extent to which social, economic and environmental objectives were achieved by the cooperative and they consider the most successful co-operative in the field of social goals and its least success in terms of environmental objectives

The Impact of Environmental Values, Attitudes and Ethics on the Environmental Behaviors of Ranchers’Members of Rangeland Cooperatives in Gonbad Kavous County

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of environmental values, attitudes and ethics with environmental behaviors among ranchers’ members of rangeland cooperatives in Gonbad Kavous. The statistical population was 644 operators who were members of rangeland cooperatives in 17 conventional systems, of which 240 were selected by stratified random sampling using Krejcie and Morgan table. A questionnaire was used to collect information. The content and appearance validity of the questionnaire were confirmed by experts, and its reliability was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha method. Data were analyzed using mean comparison, correlation and regression tests. The results of the mean comparison test showed that there is a significant difference between different groups of respondents according to the level of education regarding the component of environmental ethics, based on the history of animal husbandry, regarding the component of environmental value, based on the second job, regarding the components of attitude, ethics and environmental behavior, and based on the frequency of participation in training courses on value components and environmental behavior. The results of correlation test showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between the variables of attitude, and environmental ethics, and the environmental behavior of the respondents. The results of regression analysis showed that having ethics and environmental attitude has a positive effect on environmental behavior, and ethics has a greater effect. This study recommended increasing the use of cooperative capacity of ranchers by creating and supporting environmental organizations of ranchers to protect the environment

DFT STUDY ON THE MECHANISTIC, ENERGETIC AND STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF ADSORPTION OF TIRAPAZAMINE ONTO PRISTINE AND FUNCTIONALIZED CARBON NANOTUBES

Using density functional theory, noncovalent interactions and two mechanisms of covalent functionalization of drug tirapazamine with pristine, COOH and COCl functionalized carbon nanotube (NT, NTCOOH and NTCOCl) have been investigated. Quantum molecular descriptors of noncovalent configurations were studied. It was specified that binding of drug tirapazamine with NTCOOH has more binding energy than NTCOCl and NT, so NTCOOH can act as a favorable system for tirapazamine drug delivery within biological and chemical systems (noncovalent). NTCOOH and NTCOCl can bond to the amino group of tirapazamine through OH (COOH mechanism) and Cl (COCl mechanism) groups, respectively. The activation parameters of two pathways were calculated and compared with each other. The activation parameters related to COOH mechanism are higher than those related to COCl mechanism and therefore COCl mechanism is suitable for covalent functionalization. These results could be generalized to other similar drugs

Structural and Mechanistic Studies of γ-Fe2O3 Nanoparticle as Hydroxyurea Drug Nanocarrier

In this study, the noncovalent interactions and four mechanisms of covalent functionalization of hydroxyurea have been examined using the density functional theory. Quantum molecular descriptors were also studied in noncovalent interactions. Hydroxyurea is an anticancer drug that, when loaded onto the γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles, will have additional properties and efficacy in the medical applications. The Lumo-Homo energy gap of hydroxyurea is greater than that of noncovalent configurations, indicating the high reactivity of hydroxyurea. Hydroxyurea can bond to the γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles through various functional groups such as the CO (k1 mechanism), the NH2 (k2 mechanism), the OH (k3 mechanism) and the NH (k4 mechanism). These reactions were considered to calculate the activation energies, the activation enthalpies and the activation Gibbs free energies. Using these calculations, the product of k4 mechanism was found to be a thermodynamic and kinetic product. These results can be applied to other similar medications. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v11i3.1367 </p

Mean flow, secondary currents and bed shear stress at a 180-degree laboratory bend with and without enhanced permeable groins as an Eco-friendly river structure

River restoration aims to apply environmentally-friendly structures for bank protection in meandering rivers to restore their natural habitat. Enhanced Permeable Groin (EPG) is a novel river restoration technique that can improve the fish habitat environment in a river system by creating a series of eco-friendly scour pools. This study reports the results of two groups of 3D velocity measurements in a 180-degree channel bend in cases with and without an EPG for clear water conditions to characterize the mechanisms leading to the primary stages of the scouring phenomenon. The analysis revealed that the presence of an EPG amplified the velocity magnitude in the regions near the tip of the vane and increased its value in the middle of the channel 1.13 times the bend without the structure. In addition, the comparison showed that the EPG reduced the velocity magnitude in the recircu-lation zone by an average of 38%. Secondary currents including main and outer bank cells were observed in the case without the structure. The presence of the EPG in the flow field effectively increased the outer-bank cell strength by 11 times compared to that without the structure. The low-value contours of the bed shear stresses were observed in the zone downstream of the structure for a distance of 6 times the effective length of the structure. Based on the results of this study, the generation of a recirculation zone with low-velocity and shear stress values can provide suitable conditions for aquatic habitats, deep-bodied fish assemblages, aquatic vege-tation, shrub roots, and tree roots along the outer bank