Assessment of Female Student’s Satisfaction with the Quality of Food And Environmental Health at Food Services in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 2013

ensure students are satisfied with the quantity and quality of food as well as hygienic condition in the university’s food services. For this reason, the present study was conducted to investigate female student’s satisfaction with the quality of food and environmental health at food services in Tehran University of Medical Sciences. A number of one hundred of female students, studying at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, were randomly selected. All the selected students were proved to be customers of food services located in one the Medicine, Public Health, Pharmacy, paramedical Sciences, Dentistry, Rehabilitation and Nursing schools. A questioner was prepared as a tool for data collection and its validity and reliability was determined. Afterwards, data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 23). Results showed that 22% of female students expressed their satisfaction with the quantity of food as “excellent” and 47% as “moderate”. 28% of students rated the food diversity as “moderate” ok”. Seven percent of students reported at least on a case of food poisoning caused by the consumption of food at the university. On average, the overwhelming majority of students expressed their satisfaction as “good” or “medium” with environmental health in at food services in the university, respectively. All the students were aware of the importance of the presence of insects and animals outside the food services and 95%of students reported the presence of insects like beetle, housefly and mosquito and animals like cats, outside the food services. It was concluded that the majority of female students were satisfied with the quantity of food and ranked the quality of food as “medium”. However, they reported some problems regarding hygienic condition inside and outside the dining services and personal health of staff and stated that more attention should be paid by responsible authorities of the university. The student views can be used by these authorities to improve the quality and quantity of food and hygienic condition at food services in Universities

Development of heavy metal passivators in residue fluid catalytic cracking process

The advancement of residual fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) is significantly influenced by the development of heavy metals passivation technology. Resids often include larger concentrations of heavy metals (Ni, V, and Fe) than gas oils, primarily in the form of porphyrin complexes and salts of organic acids. Under cracking conditions, metals, especially Ni and V in residues and gas oil deposit on the cracking catalyst and induce adverse dehydrogenation reactions. The catalyst's zeolite component is destroyed by these metals. While reducing the yield of gasoline, active metals increase the yields of coke and hydrogen. Because most cracking FCC units can only tolerate limited amounts of coke and hydrogen, the level of heavy metals on the catalyst needs to be kept under control in order to achieve maximum productivity and profit. Metal passivation enhances catalytic activity and/or selectivity to more desired products by minimizing the detrimental effects of contaminating metals. In this study, we will review heavy metals deactivation mechanism in RFCC process and the potential technological solutions to the catalyst deactivation concern

Cholesterol Ester Transfer Protein Taq1B Polymorphism and Its Association with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients Undergoing Angiography in Yazd, Eastern Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Several studies assessed the relationship between the cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) Taq1B gene polymorphism (rs708272) with risk factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, their findings were inconsistent. The present study investigated the relationship between CVD risk factors and the Taq1B variant in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 476 patients aged 30-76 years old of both sexes from 2020-2021, in Yazd (Iran). The Taq1B polymorphism genotypes were evaluated using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) on DNA extracted from whole blood. Standard protocols were used to measure cardio-metabolic markers. To determine the association between CVDs risk factors and the rs708272 variant, binary logistic regression was used in crude and adjusted models.Results: Taq1B polymorphism genotype frequencies were 10.7% for B1B1, 72.3% for B1B2, and 17% for B2B2. There was no significant association between abnormal levels of CVDs risk factors and different genotypes of the Taq1B variant, Gensini score (P=0.64), Syntax score (P=0.79), systolic blood pressure (P=0.55), diastolic blood pressure (P=0.58), and waist circumference (P=0.79). There was no significant association between genotypes of the rs708272 variant and any abnormal serum lipid levels. After adjusting for confounders, the results remained non-significant.Conclusion: There was no significant association between CVDs risk factors and CETP rs708272 polymorphism. The relationship between CETP gene variants and CVD occurrences varied across groups, implying that more research in different regions is required. A preprint version of this manuscript is available at https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-2575215/v1 with doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2575215/v1

Phytoremediation of Urea Plant Wastewater by Timber Tree Seedlings

Urea plant generates huge amount of nitrogen-rich wastewater. Excessive nitrogen in water is toxic to human and aquatic organisms and induces eutrophication that damages water ecosystem and affects adversely economic activities. Among all available technologies, phytoremediation is considered as an eco-friendly technique for nitrogen removal. Reed plants (Phragmites australis) are conventional phytoremediation plants which have the disadvantages of invasive nature, limited nitrogen removal and regular harvesting requirement

How Virtual Reality can be used as educational support in Swedish schools

Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that has grown in popularity within recent years. Not only is it widely used as a gaming entertainment but now the use of the technology is increasing in other areas. VR within school is still a relatively new phenomenon. This report examines the advantages and disadvantages of VR in education and in what contexts it is appropriate to implement. To answer the report’s questions, semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers and initiators who work with VR in Swedish schools. All respondents are working on different projects in varying age groups, this report focuses on elementary school and high school. The results show that all teachers and initiators that were interviewed are positive about the use of VR in education. The advantages are many. VR provides educational support for students with learning difficulties and disabilities; the improved memory experience is also mentioned which confirms the results of previous studies. The respondents also believe that VR is suitable for all types of lessons

How Virtual Reality can be used as educational support in Swedish schools

Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that has grown in popularity within recent years. Not only is it widely used as a gaming entertainment but now the use of the technology is increasing in other areas. VR within school is still a relatively new phenomenon. This report examines the advantages and disadvantages of VR in education and in what contexts it is appropriate to implement. To answer the report’s questions, semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers and initiators who work with VR in Swedish schools. All respondents are working on different projects in varying age groups, this report focuses on elementary school and high school. The results show that all teachers and initiators that were interviewed are positive about the use of VR in education. The advantages are many. VR provides educational support for students with learning difficulties and disabilities; the improved memory experience is also mentioned which confirms the results of previous studies. The respondents also believe that VR is suitable for all types of lessons

Demyelinating Changes Alike to Multiple Sclerosis: A Case Report of Rare Manifestations of COVID-19

COVID-19, as a global concern and pivotal issue in the healthcare system, could have various presentations, leading to difficulty in diagnosis and management. Neuroinvasive potency, as claimed by preliminary studies, is a considerable pathogenesis. Serious neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS) were out of the blue to be the first demonstration of COVID-19. This report highlights the representation of MS in a young woman, which resulted in a COVID-19 diagnosis

In-vessel co-composting of yard waste and food waste: an approach for sustainable waste management in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Abstract Purpose Huge amount of yard waste is produced in cities with excessive agricultural activities like Cameron Highlands, Malaysia where most of the time the yard waste is being managed poorly and big portion of it ends in dump sites. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the applicability of converting yard waste generated in Cameron Highlands Malaysia into high-quality and fast compost via in-vessel method. Methods In-vessel composting technique was applied for speedy biotransformation of yard waste. Addition of food waste, effective microorganisms (EM) and Shimamoto Enzyme® (SE) were investigated for improvement of compost quality. Four compositions of feedstock with different yard waste (YW) and food waste (FW) ratios were tested. The compositions were 70%YW + 30%FW, 80%YW + 20%FW, 90%YW + 10%FW and 100%YW. Physicochemical properties of compost including pH, moisture content and C/N ratio were monitored throughout the experiment. Furthermore, quality of compost and its potential for direct application after production were evaluated based on germination index (GI) and nutrient content (NPK). Results The compost samples had pH ranging from 7 to 9 and moisture content of 15.45–32.13%. Initial C/N ratio of all feedstock was decreased throughout the composting process by more than 50%. Seed germination test showed that only 70%YW + 30%FW feedstock produced immature compost with GI < 80%. The highest GI of 130% was obtained when FW represented in 10% of the feedstock with addition of EM. Average concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were 1.73, 1.21 and 1.66% in case of EM additive and 1.47, 0.56 and 1.74% in case of SE additive. Conclusion Application of in-vessel composting can improve solid waste management in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia and yield a high-demand product. The approach used in this study can be a good practice for the societies have difficulties in managing their yard waste