Background: Heavy metals are the main air pollutants in cities. Therefore, assessment of the risk of exposure to these metals through inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact on inhabitants of contaminated areas of the world is of great importance. Methods: A weekly sampling of air particles smaller than 10 microns was performed in a residential area of Zanjan for two years. Risk assessment in the face of heavy metals from inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact for were measured for two children and adults. After fingerprinting high-risk metals, the air pollutants of the region were analyzed according to the PMF5 model. Results: The results showed that children at risk assessment (1.40 × 1000) at the highest concentration of manganese. The PMF5 model results of fingerprinting 15 heavy metals showed that predominant pollutants in the region, included lead and zinc industries with 42.3%, suspended soil with 26.4%, industrial activities with 23.5%, and combustion and fuel with 7.8% of contamination. It was also found that 55.5 percent of manganese emission was associated with lead and zinc industries and 22.4 percent were related to suspended soil. Conclusion: Risk assessment showed that children were exposed to non-cancerous diseases due to inhalation of manganese particles.

Background: Heavy metals are the main air pollutants in cities. Therefore, assessment of the risk of exposure to these metals through inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact on inhabitants of contaminated areas of the world is of great importance. Methods: A weekly sampling of air particles smaller than 10 microns was performed in a residential area of Zanjan for two years. Risk assessment in the face of heavy metals from inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact for were measured for two children and adults. After fingerprinting high-risk metals, the air pollutants of the region were analyzed according to the PMF5 model. Results: The results showed that children at risk assessment (1.40 × 1000) at the highest concentration of manganese. The PMF5 model results of fingerprinting 15 heavy metals showed that predominant pollutants in the region, included lead and zinc industries with 42.3%, suspended soil with 26.4%, industrial activities with 23.5%, and combustion and fuel with 7.8% of contamination. It was also found that 55.5 percent of manganese emission was associated with lead and zinc industries and 22.4 percent were related to suspended soil. Conclusion: Risk assessment showed that children were exposed to non-cancerous diseases due to inhalation of manganese particles.

"Background: Nowadays, the reduction of incidents, their effects and their consequences have become one of the priorities of organizations. Despite all the efforts made in various sectors to reduce events, every year, there are many events that threaten industrial societies. In order to mitigate the effects of these incidents, prediction and planning are critical to dealing with them. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk of explosion of 1-butane reservoir in a polymer complex based on an analysis of the outcome using the PHAST software. Methods: This study was conducted in one of the Kermanshah petrochemical complexes in 2016. Necessary geographic information and other basic information were collected. 16 probable scenarios were selected and consequences modeling was done by PHAST software. Results: The modeling results showed that full rupture scenarios and leakage scenarios from the 150 mm hole are the most dangerous scenarios. Conclusion: The results of modeling showed that the larger the leakage size, the associated consequences would be more dangerous and consequently more losses. Due to the capabilities of studied company and the readiness level of the company, it has the ability to respond to the first scenario to some extent."

"Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of knowledge, attitude and practice of the households on the prevention and control Cutaneous Leishmaniasis. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, analytical. The population consisted of the residents in the south of Shiraz. The sample size was 300 and they were selected randomly. For analyzed using the descriptive indices as well as in-depended T-test, chi-square test and ANOVA. The SPSS software 16 was used for analysis. Results: The mean age of the participants was 36.1±13.6. The mean and standard deviation scores of knowledge, attitude and practice were 16.85 ±3.5, 34.38 ±6.43 and 5.6 ±1.9, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficient showed that the mean awareness (r = 0.13, P-value = 0.02) was more correlated with the mean practice compared to the mean attitude (r = 0.17, P-value = 0.00). However, both variables of knowledge and attitude had a significant relationship with practice (p-value = 0.00). Conclusion: Generally, the results of our study showed that the scores of knowledge and practice were lower than the mean score, and the attitude score was better than the two other scores."

"Background: In the present study, the photocatalytic (TiO2/UV) batch process has been used for the methyl orange (MO) degradation. Methods: In the catalyst range from 0.25 to 1.5 g/L, the optimum concentration of TiO2 was found to be 0.5 g/L. The kinetic behavior of MO degradation has been evaluated using the non-linear form of pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order models. Results: The goodness of the fit was evaluated using the correlation coefficient R2 value and the mean square error (MSE) function. Conclusion: The kinetic studies revealed that the pseudo-first order model (k1 = -0.0593 min-1) is more suitable to fit the experimental data (R2 = 0.957, MSE = 0.00271) of MO degradation."

"Background: Since students spend a lot of time in classrooms and in steady state, many of them may experience signs of musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and its related risk factors among students. Methods: This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted among 129 students of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in 2016. In order to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, Nordic questionnaire was used. The relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and risk factors was evaluated in SPSS20 software. Results: The highest incidence of musculoskeletal discomfort (80%) was observed in the waist area. The neck (38.3%) and shoulder (35%) were the most prevalent at the next levels. Marital status, age, weight, educational level, job, exercise and stress were identified as risk factors affecting the musculoskeletal disorders in the students. Conclusion: It is possible to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders by the necessary trainings to declare the risk factors and their modifications to the students, considering appropriate time between the classes and the use of ergonomic equipment and furniture in the classes. With these actions also can prevent from stress and consequently can increase the concentration and learning power in this group."

"Background: The best way to assure the quality of drinking water is implementing a comprehensive and integrated management system with cooperation of all the related organizations Therefore, the purpose of this study is the assessment of safety in drinking water supply system of Zanjan. Methods: This investigation was performed by WSP-QA Tool software and WHO and IWA manual of water safety plan on water supply of Zanjan city in 2016. For this purpose, software checklist (containing 85 questions) were provided and completed according to the history of Zanjan Water and Wastewater Company and interviewing the experts of this company. Results: Data indicated that from all phases investigated, 52.95% was adjusted with WSP. System Description with the highest score, showed highest percentage of adjustment with the water safety plan (100%) and the phase related to verification and control with the lowest score, showed lowest percentage of adjustment with the water safety plan. Conclusion: Meanwhile, water distribution system is provided with a relatively average safety level and there is the potential of various pollutions caused by identified risks in water distribution system, therefore changing the present approach is suggested."

"Background: The genus of Acanthamoeba is an opportunistic protozoan parasite with a worldwide distribution where it is able to cause fatal granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) and amoebic keratitis (AK). This organism inhabits in the wide range of natural and man-made aquatic environments. The present study was carried out to evaluate the presence of Acanthamoeba spp. in the various water resources of Zanjan province, northwest Iran, using both morphological and molecular methods. Methods: The Water samples were randomly collected from 30 water sources in different parts of Zanjan, Iran, between April 2015 and May 2016. Then, the samples were cultured on non-nutrient agar and the Acanthamoeba genus identified by morphological characters. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using the 18S rRNA gene as a molecular marker. Results: The obtained data showed that, out of the 60 water samples collected, 30 (50%) were positive for Acanthamoeba spp. According to morphological and molecular approaches. Conclusion: The present investigation is the first report of the distribution of Acanthamoeba spp. in the various water sources of Zanjan province, gives baseline knowledge regarding water contamination with Acanthamoeba spp. in these areas and emphasizes the necessity of more attention to water sources in order to prevent infections associated with Acanthamoeba spp."

"Background: Since students spend a lot of time in classrooms and in steady state, many of them may experience signs of musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and its related risk factors among students. Methods: This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted among 129 students of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in 2016. In order to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, Nordic questionnaire was used. The relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and risk factors was evaluated in SPSS20 software. Results: The highest incidence of musculoskeletal discomfort (80%) was observed in the waist area. The neck (38.3%) and shoulder (35%) were the most prevalent at the next levels. Marital status, age, weight, educational level, job, exercise and stress were identified as risk factors affecting the musculoskeletal disorders in the students. Conclusion: It is possible to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders by the necessary trainings to declare the risk factors and their modifications to the students, considering appropriate time between the classes and the use of ergonomic equipment and furniture in the classes. With these actions also can prevent from stress and consequently can increase the concentration and learning power in this group."

Background: Occupational incidents still account for a high percentage of causes of death and disability. A study was designed to determine the relationship between employee safe behavior and safety culture. Methods: In this analytical study, all employees of an industrial livestock units of Tehran participated (n = 200). The data on the employee behavior was evaluated using the safety sampling technique based on the ANSI Dangerous Acts List (Modified Form). A standard questionnaire was used to assess the safety culture. Data were analyzed by the SPSS software, at the significance level of 0.05. Results: The mean safety score of people (138) was acceptable. The rate of unsafe behaviors was 35%. The most unsafe behaviors were due to improper manual handling (83%). A reverse correlation between unsafe behavior and safety culture score (P value = 0.001) was seen. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that there is a significant negative reciprocal relationship between safety culture and unsafe behavior, that is, with the increase in the safety culture, the rate of unsafe behavior decreases. As a result, by promoting the level of safety culture, the rate of unsafe behavior can be reduced.