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Background: The addicts, especially injecting drug users (IDUs), are one of the hard-to-reach groups in society; therefore, it is necessary to estimate the size of their population to conduct harm reduction and other intervention programs for them. Accordingly, this study was conducted to estimate the population size of IDUs in Sanandaj during 2015. Materials and Methods: A capture-recapture analysis based on three sources of information was used which included drop-in center (DIC) of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in Sanandaj, DIC of State Welfare Organization of Sanandaj, and Triangle clinic of central prison of Sanandaj. The population of IDUs was estimated using the capture-recapture method, Bailey s Modification, and Chapman and Peterson-Lincoln estimators. Results: Totally, 27, 59, and 65 IDUs registered in DIC of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, DIC of State Welfare Organization of Sanandaj, and Triangle clinic of central prison of Sanandaj, respectively. Finally, the total size of the IDUs was estimated to be 559. It indicates that 24.3% of the cases are under the coverage of harm reduction programs. Conclusions: The prevalence of drug injection in Sanandaj is still high; therefore, it is important to conduct harm reduction programs for this group.

Background: Couple burnout has an undesirable effect on marital quality. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine couple burn out and its related factors among couples referring to comprehensive health services centers in marginalized rural areas of Birjand during 2016. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 200 couples (400 persons) referring to comprehensive health services centers in marginalized rural areas of Birjand were randomly selected as research population during 2016. The data were collected using a two-part questionnaire with personal information and the Pines Couple Burnout Measure (CBM). Data analysis was done in SPSS software (version18) through ANOVA and independent t-test. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean score of total couple burnout was 57.04 ± 17.86 (range: 21-115). The highest percentage of couple burnout was related to grade 2 or couple burnout line (46.5%). There was a significant difference between the scores of couple burnout and gender, age, number of children, duration of marital life and couples residency in a same place (P<0.05). There was no significant statistical relationship between the mean scores of couple burnout and other related factors (P>0.05). Conclusions: With regard to the high rate of couple burnout among couples referring to comprehensive health services centers in marginalized rural areas of Birjand, it is necessary to conduct training sessions in terms of couple burnout and counseling for at-risk couples.

Background: Surgical masks are usually used to protect surgeons from the transmission of disease and germs, as well as preventing the transmission of infectious agents to the environment and others. The mask may not be a suitable environment for the growth and reproduction of microbes. Regarding this, the present study aimed to investigate the feasibility of making antibacterial mask substrate providing high efficiency and low pressure drop. Materials and Methods: For the purpose of the study, nanofiber substrates containing variable amounts of polyethylene terephthalate and copper nitrate were produced using an electrospinning device. The efficiency and pressure drop of antibacterial nanofiber substrates were measured at a particle size range of 260 nm to 1.6 µ. Measurement of the particle number density was accomplished by placing two condensation particle counters on both sides of the filter. Results: Examination of the scanning electron microscope images revealed that the optimal sample contained 25% polymer and 1.5% copper nitrate and had the best morphology at 16 kV. The samples were subjected to electrospinning at different times to examine their efficiency and pressure drop. As the electrospinning time increased from 15 to 60 min, the substrates became thicker, and consequently their efficiencies increased from 13% to 94%; furthermore, the pressure drop increased from 10 to 20 psi. Electrospinning of 60 min resulted in the highest quality factor. Conclusion: As the findings indicated, with increasing of electrospinning time, the efficiency of the substrates will be increased and the particle penetration rate of the substrates will be reduced, which is due to increased thickness of substrates by increasing the electrospinning time.

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of alginate coating incorporated with Bunium persicum essential oil (BPEO) and Lactoperoxidase system (LPOS) individually and in combination to control the growth of inoculated Listeria monocytogenes in fresh chicken breast stored at 4±1°C. Materials and Methods: In vitro antibacterial activity of L. monocytogenes was evaluated using the microdilution method. Chicken breast fillets were inoculated with a cocktail of L. monocytogenes culture, treated with BPEO (0.5 and 1% w/v) and LPOS (5% v/v) as natural antimicrobials, and counted during 20 days of storage at 4±1°C. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (Version 21) through repeated measure ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post- hoc tests. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Both individual and combinational use of BPEO and LPOS could significantly inhibit the growth of inoculated L. monocytogenes. However, the combinational use of them had higher effects, compared to control. The results also indicated that the application of alginate coating with no antimicrobial agent significantly supported the growth of inoculated L. monocytogenes on chicken breast samples at 4±1°C. Conclusions: The combinational use of BPEO and LPOS can be practically applied to food systems, especially in the meat industry to ensure the safety of the product.

Background: Frying is the cooking of food in fat, which involves heat and mass transfer simultaneously. During frying, moisture loss creates cavities or pores as well as passageways in the food. These cavities are known as capillary pores and the oil penetrates through them during frying. Materials and Methods: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of chitosan on mass transfer during deep-fat frying of Kurdish cheese nuggets. Moreover, the effect of chitosan level (0, 0.5, and 1.5%), frying temperature (150, 170, and 190°C), and frying time (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 min) on mass transfer in the breading coating and the core parts were determined in this study. The data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA and Duncan post-hoc test in SPSS software (Version 21.0). In addition, MATLAB software was utilized to fit the equations. Results: The results showed an interaction effect of these processing conditions on mass transfer. Batter- coated samples with 1.5% chitosan had the lowest oil content in core and breading among all formulations. The model based on Fick’s law was used to describe moisture transfer data. The oil absorption rate constants in the breading and core parts were within the range of 0.19-0.27 s-1- 0.22-0.41 s-1, respectively. Activation energy obtained from the Arrhenius plot ranged between 13.65 and 54.93 kJ/mol. Conclusions: Moisture loss during frying increased with the increase of frying time and temperature and was significantly affected by batter formulation. The kinetic models gave a good fit for moisture diffusion and oil transfer.

Background: Water is one of the most important and fundamental needs in the lives of all living creatures. Owing to the recent drought around the world and reduction of surface water resources, groundwater resources are gaining more significance. Distribution and spread of contamination in groundwater resources make them unusable and thus aggravate the drought crisis in arid and semi-arid regions. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to protect groundwater resources from the input of pollutants and to reduce the amount of contaminants in them. Materials and Methods: In this research, the transmission of pollution, identification of transmission and diffusion processes, and its modeling were studied in order to assist the practitioners in adopting appropriate strategies. Also, the Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin method was used to solve the transmission equation of the porous medium, while moving the least squares was used as its approximation function. For verification purposes, the results of the numerical solution were compared with the exact solution. This comparison indicated the acceptable accuracy of the Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin method for solving the transmission equation for porous media. Results: The results of the numerical solution were compared with the calculated values of Agata s exact solution at different times for the one-dimensional equation of pollution in the porous medium. The calculated total error was 0.03, indicating that the Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin method has an acceptable precision in simulating one-dimensional contamination in the aquifer. Conclusions: This study showed that the numerical method of Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin is suitable for modeling the transmission of pollutants in groundwater in one-dimensional mode and has acceptable accuracy.

Background: Industrial wastewater contains several harmful chemicals, such as textile dyes, that are toxic to human and biological life. Accordingly, the wastewater from textile industry must be treated to minimize hazardous effects, including carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, coloring agent prior to disposal. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of electrocoagulation (EC) process for reactive blue 19 dye removal from aqueous solutions. Materials and Methods: In the current experimental study the electrocoagulation process was employed to remove reactive blue dye from aqueous solution using laboratory scale batch reactor. The electrodes were positioned vertically and parallel to each other. Two iron and two aluminum electrodes were used as anode and cathode, respectively. Different operating parameters, including current density (0.2, 0.5, 1.3, 2.6, 5.2 mA/cm2), initial pH (3, 5, 7, 9, 11), initial dye concentration (10, 20, 30, 50, 100, 200 mg/l), and reaction time (10, 20, 30, 60 min), were tested with the synthetic wastewater in order to determine the optimal parameters. Results: The best-operating conditions were achieved at the current density of 0.5 mA/cm2, initial pH of 3, and the dye concentration of 30 mg/l. The optimum parameters at the batch-stirred EC system led to 92.26 % and 98.93% of decolorization after 20 and 60 min of operation, respectively. Conclusions: The results clearly showed that EC was an effective and operational process for reactive blue 19 removals.