Evaluation of Sonocatalytic and Photocatalytic Processes Efficiency for Degradation of Humic Compounds Using Synthesized Transition-Metal-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles in Aqueous Solution

The existence of a humic substance in water causes the growth of microorganisms and reduces the quality of water; therefore, the removal of these materials is crucial. Here, the ZnO nanoparticles doped using transition metals, copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn), were used as an effective catalyst for photocatalytic removal of humic substances in an aqueous environment under ultraviolet, visible light, and light-emitting diode irradiations. Also, we study the effect of the sonocatalytic method. A solvothermal procedure is used for doping, and the Cu- and Mn-doped ZnO nanocatalyst were characterized by means of FTIR, XRD, AFM, SEM, and EDAX analyses. We investigate the effect of operational variables, including doping ratio, initial pH, catalyst dose, initial HS content, and illuminance on the removal efficiency of the processes. The findings of the analyses used for the characterization of the nanoparticles illustrate the appropriate synthesis of the Cu- and Mn-doped ZnO nanocatalysts. We observe the highest removal efficiency rate under acidic conditions and the process efficiency decreased with increasing solution pH, when we tested it in the range of 3–7. Photocatalytic decomposition of HS increases with a rise in catalyst dose, but an increase in initial HS content results in decreasing the removal efficiency. We observe the highest photocatalytic degradation of humic acid while using the visible light, and the highest removal efficiency is obtained using Cu.ZnO. The Cu.ZnO also shows better performance under ultraviolet irradiation compared to other agents

Decolorization of the dye reactive black 5 using Fenton oxidation

Study on the effect of Fenton process on decolorization and mineralization of RB-5 in aqueous solution is presented in this work. Batch experiments were carried out to find the optimal operational conditions including pH, temperature, H2O2 dosage, FeSO4 dosage and RB-5 concentration at low cost. Degradation of RB-5 dye as an organic pollutant was monitored based on decolorization and mineralization extents of the model solution determined by UV-vis spectrophotometric and chemical oxygen demand (COD) analysis respectively. Optimum pH and temperature for 250 mg/L RB-5 were observed at 3.0 and 40°C respectively and using 50 mg/L of FeSO4 and 300 mg/L of H2O2 resulted in generation of 58.9% COD and 97% color removal after 10 min reaction by Fenton. It is concluded that Fenton process can provide better result for decolorization compared to COD removal in the treatment of textile effluent.Keywords: Decolorization, black 5, Fenton oxidation, dyeAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(26), pp. 4115-412

Chronic Constrictive Pericarditis

Constrictive pericarditis (CP) is a rare clinical entity that can pose diagnostic problems. The diagnosis of CP requires a high degree of clinical suspicion. The gold standard for diagnosis is cardiac catheterization with analysis of intracavitary pressure curves, which are high and, in end diastole, equal in all chambers. We present a patient with unexplained dyspnea, recurrent right-side pleural effusion, and ascites. Analysis of the ascitic fluid revealed a high protein content and an elevated serum-ascites gradient. Echocardiography, computed tomography, and cardiac catheterization revealed the diagnosis of CP. He underwent complete pericardiectomy and to date hasmade a good recovery.The diagnosis of CP is often neglected by admitting physicians, who usually attribute the symptoms to another disease process. This case exemplifies the difficulty in diagnosing this condition, as well as the investigation required, and provides a discussion of the benefit and outcomes of prompt treatment

The nitrate content of fresh and cooked vegetables and their health-related risks

Background Vegetables are the most important source of nitrates in the human diet. During various processes in the body, nitrates are converted into nitrites, which causes various diseases, such as blue baby syndrome and cancer. This study aimed to determine the concentration of nitrates in several vegetable farms in Sanandaj city and to evaluate their health-related risks. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2017 to July 2018. A total of 90 samples were taken from nine farms. Soil and water sampling was also carried out. All stages of sample preparation and extraction were carried out according to Food Standards 2-16721, and the nitrate measurements were performed using ion chromatography (Compact IC Plus 882 Model, Metrohm, Switzerland). A health risk assessment was performed using the non-carcinogenic risk assessment. Results This study's results showed that the nitrate concertation in all vegetables was less than National Iranian Vegetable Nitrate Standard. Nitrate levels in leafy vegetables were higher than in root vegetables, and the root vegetables levels were higher than those in Fruit vegetable. The nitrate level in vegetables in autumn was higher than in spring. The cooking process reduced the raw vegetables' nitrate content from 4.094% to 13.407%, while the frying process increased the vegetables' nitrate content from 12.46% to 29.93%. The highest health risk level in raw, cooked and fried vegetables was parsley, parsley and beet leaves, respectively, and the lowest in all categories was tomatoes. Generally, the highest health risk was related to fried beet leaves, and the lowest was raw tomatoes. In addition, each of the abovementioned relationships between vegetables' nitrate levels and the harvest season, type of processing procedure and type of vegetables was significant (p < 0.05). The irrigation water's nitrate concentration in all fields was between 12.36 and 33.14 mg/l. The soil contained nitrate levels of between 4.35 and 9.7 mg/kg. Conclusion Based on this study, we can conclude that the amount of nitrates in raw vegetables was lower than the standard limit's level and that this level does not cause health problems for consumers

Study on the Efficiency of the Different units for Removing Metallic ions in Isfahan Water Treatment Plant

In this study, removal efficiency of heavy metals such as iron, manganese, copper and nickel were surveyed in various units of water treatment plant in IsfahanCity. Samples were taken from influent, before and after sedimentation and after filtration under standard condition. Concentration of heavy metals in each sample was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results showed that removal efficiency of iron, manganese, copper and nickel were 71, 60, 79 and 40 percent, respectively. Experimental results currently showed low efficiency for the suitable removal of aluminum. So, the aluminum concentration in all the samples from the influent (2.03 mg l-1) and effluent (2 mg l-1) of the water treatment plant exceeded the EPA drinking water standard (50 \u3bcg l-1). It is concluded that using conventional treatment technology can reduce metal concentrations conform to internationally approved guidelines except for aluminum. @ JASE

Investigation of cadmium content in Iranian rice (Oryza Sativa):

Cadmium is one of the dangerous heavy metals which its presence in nature and entrance to humans food chain, causes the serious damage in kidneys, lungs, bones, and also anemia and sometimes hypertension. The major source of cadmium intake is rice for rice eating countries such as Iran. Cadmium in rice comes from soil through plant roots. Thus, Rice may be the best indicator for the environment mentoring of cadmium especially in rice eating countries. The most important sources of soil pollution to cadmium are industrial sludge sewage discharge for increasing its fertility, applying superphosphate fertilizers and etc. At this investigation surveyed Cd content of tarrom rice. A total of 60 samples were collected from four areas of Qaemshahr region in north of Iran (Mazandaran province). The samples were collected in during harvesting of rice in filed. The first step, grains of rice were digested by acid digestion method then were analyzed for cadmium by atomic absorption spectrometer. The results showed that average concentration of Cd in rice was 0.41\ub10.17 mg/kg dry wt. Notably the Cd content in the rice samples was found to be upper the FAO/WHO Guidelines. We concluded that a substantial exists in Cd contents in the rice of four areas and hence health risk is maximum and this risk will increase to eating other foods such as vegetable, fish and etc and also the situation could worsen in the future. Treatment and remediation of polluted soils and environment, decreasing easing of fertilizer using could reduce Cd intake by plant and consequently health risk

Isotretinoin; A review on the Utilization Pattern in Pregnancy

Purpose: Isotretinoin is the most effective anti-acne drug with a long-term remission. However; it contains severe teratogenic effects with serious adverse drug reactions, which limits the use of medication. Methods: To review the use of isotretinoin during pregnancy, we carried out a comprehensive search of literature in Google Scholar, Scopus and PubMed/Medline from their inception until April 2015. Results: Database searching identified 277 records, of which, 38 articles were retrieved according to abstract and title assessment. After full-text review, 17 articles were excluded and finally, a total of 21 studies met the inclusion criteria. Data showed an increased pattern in the use of isotretinoin. In some studies, health care providers were not fully adhered to the risk reduction programs in pregnancy. Exposing to isotretinoin among pregnant women has still occurred due to detrimental adherence to risk reduction programs which resulted in live-born infants with different kinds of abnormalities. Conclusion: Despite the known serious adverse effect of isotretinoin, the use of drug was not based on the guidelines in some cases, which needs more attentions to prevent the severe drug related problems

Assessing the efficiency of Fe:TiO2 nanoparticles in removal of Cat Blue 41 using sunlight irradiation in aqueous media using Response surface method (RSM)

Nowadays, protecting environment, especially aqueous medium is a crucial task in modern world. Because of their nature, dyes have not only negative impacts on the aesthetic aspects of the environment, but also result in serious biological and chemical side effects on the environment. Various processes have been applied for removal of dyes from effluent. The aim of this research was to assess the removal of Cat Blue 41 from aqueous media using Fe:TiO2 in the presence of sunlight. Based on a descriptive-laboratory scale experiment using RSM design experiment, the effect of independent variables of pH, nanoparticles dosage, initial dye concentration, H2O2 concentration and contact time on the photodegradation of the dye was carried out through 26 experimental run. Analysis of the proposed model was performed using ANOVA. The proposed model for the removal of dye was statistically significant at the 95 percent confidence level. The removal efficiency was function of the independent variables of nanoparticles dosage, initial dye concentration, and contact time. The photodegradation of Cat Blue 41 showed high photodegradation efficiency of Fe:TiO2 nanoparticles under sunlight irradiation. It was found that increasing the nanomaterials dosage, contact time, and H2O2 concentration results in increasing removal efficiency so that increasing nanomaterials dosage from 0.3 to 3 g/l resulted in increasing dye removal efficiency from 48.6 to 88.9% respectively. In addition, increasing pH and initial dye concentration led into reducing removal efficiency so that increasing dye concentration from 25 to 200 mg/l resulted in decreasing its removal efficiency from 69.8 to 35.5% respectively. Therefore, design of experiment suitably optimized the removal process and reducing the number of runs resulted in increasing efficiency of the pollutant removal

Evaluation of Non-emergency Cases Using Emergency Department Services

مقدمه: بخش اورژانس به منظور ارایه خدمت به بیمارانی طراحی شده که از نظر شرایط فیزیولوژیک ناپایدار بوده و نیاز به بررسی و درمان مداوم براساس سیر بیماری دارند. از این رو بخش عمده ای از مراقبتهای بحرانی برای بیماران نیز در این بخش انجام می گیرد. با این حال تعدادی از بیماران مراجعه کننده به این بخش نیازی به اینگونه خدمات ندارند. مطالعه حاضر با هدف بررسي علل استفاده موارد غیر اورژانس از خدمات بخش اورژانس طراحی و اجرا شد. روش کار: این مطالعه مقطعی در بخش اورژانس بیمارستان امام حسین، تهران، ایران، از مردادماه سال 1393 تا مرداد ماه سال 1394 انجام گرفت. نمونه گیری به روش سرشماری انجام شد و کلیه بیمارانی که در بخش اورژانس پذیرش گردیدند بر اساس الگوریتم دپارتمان اورژانس دانشگاه نیویورک به موارد نیازمند خدمات اورژانس و سایر موارد تقسیم شدند. مواردی که بر اساس نتایج بررسی ها علت مراجعه نوعی بیماری بوده که نیازمند اقدامات اورژانس درمانی نبوده و از نظر سطح تریاژ در سطح چهارم و پنجم قرار داشتند پس از تایید پزشک وارد مطالعه شدند. جمع آوری اطلاعات توسط یک پرستار آموزش دیده و از طریق یک چک لیست انجام گرفت. يافته ها: در مطالعه حاضر 1500 بیمار با میانگین سنی 34/17±0/40 سال وارد مطالعه شدند (47/54 درصد زن). در نهایت 601 (1/40 درصد) مورد مراجعه غیراورژانسی بر اساس تعاریف مطالعه حاضر شناخته شد. تجدید نسخه به دلیل مخدوش بودن (7/16 درصد) و در دسترس نبودن پزشک معالج (07/14 درصد) شایعترین علل مراجعات غیر اورژانس به بخش اورژانس بودند. نتيجه گيری: بر اساس یافته های مطالعه حاضر به نظر می رسد که حدود 40 درصد موارد مراجعه کننده به بخش اورژانس مرکز مورد مطالعه را موارد غیراورژانس تشکیل دادند. تجدید نسخه بدلیل مخدوش بودن و در دسترس نبودن پزشک معالج شایعترین علل مراجعات غیر اورژانس بودند. جنسیت، زمان و ساعت مراجعه و همچنین داشتن سابقه بیماری به عنوان متغیرهای موثر بر مراجعات غیراورژانس مشخص شدند (001/0&gt;p).Introduction: Emergency department (ED) has been designed to provide services for patients that are physiologically unstable and need continuous evaluation and treatment according to the process of their illness. Therefore, a major part of critical care is provided for patients in this department. However, a number of patients visiting ED do not need these kinds of services. The present study was done aiming to evaluate the causes of non-emergency cases using ED services. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in ED of Imam Hossein Hospital, Teran, Iran, from August 2014 to August 2015. Convenience sampling was used and all the patients admitted to ED were divided into groups of in need of emergency services and other, based on the algorithm of New York University ED. Cases that visited due to an illness that did not need emergency services based on the evaluations and were in levels 4 and 5 of triage were included in the study after approval of a physician. Data gathering was done by a trained nurse using a pre-designed checklist. Results: In the present study, 1500 patients with the mean age of 40.0 ± 17.34 years were evaluated (54.47% female). Finally, 601 (40.1%) cases were non-emergency visits based on the definitions of this study. Rewriting the prescriptions due to distortion (16.7%) and unavailability of their physician (14.07%) were the most common causes of non-emergency visits to ED. Sex, time of visit and positive past medical history were identified as variables influencing non-emergency referrals. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, it seems that about 40% of visits to the studied ED were non-emergency cases. Rewriting the prescriptions due to distortion and unavailability of their physician were the most common causes of non-emergency visits. Sex and history of illness were found to be effective variables of non-emergency visits.