Journal of community health research

73-89

Authors: Mohammad Malakootian, Somaye Mohammadi, Najmeh Amirmahani, Zahra Nasiri, Alireza Nasiri

Abstract Introduction: Dyes are among the most hazardous chemicals in industrial wastes due to their toxicity for aquaculture, reduction of light permeability, and in turn development of disorders in photosynthesis process. The current study aimed to investigate the efficiency of coral in removing red reactive 198 from textile dye wastewater was investigated. Materials & Methods: In this experimental study, the adsorption process was completed performed on a synthetic sample in a batch system Optimal conditions was also performed on the real wastewater of Yazdbaf textile factory. The effects of such parameters as the pH, dye's concentration, contact time, sorbent's dose, and temperature were investigated, following this, adsorption isotherms were determined and then the process was examined kinetically and thermodynamically. Next, the study data was analyzed by SPSS (ver, 21), EXCEL 2007, applying Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The optimal conditions in removing the dye included pH=3, an equilibrium contact time of 120 min, 25 mg/L of the dye's concentration, and 3g/100mg of the sorbent's initial value. Under the optimal conditions, the dye's removal efficiency and the maximum adsorption capacity in the synthetic and real wastewater sample of Yazdbaf Company were 97.63%, 8.14 mg/g and 67.78%, 5mg/g respectively. The equilibrium data followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm with a correlation coefficient of R2=0.96 and the adsorption's kinetics followed pseudo-second-order model with a correlation coefficient of 1 (R2=1). The thermodynamic investigations also indicated that the adsorption is of physical process and endothermic. Conclusion: As the results revealed, the good performance of the coral sorbent in removing dyes in aquatic environments, enjoying suitable density, having quick precipitation properties, not needing activation, and environmental safety of the process can encourage the efficiency of this adsorbent in treatment of dye-containing wastewaters. Keywords: Adsorption; Coral limestone; Kinetics; Reactive Red 198; Thermodynamics;

98-109

Authors: Mohammad Hassan Lotfi, Fatemeh Farzaneh, Amir Houshang Mehrparvar, Hossein Fallahzadeh, Mohammad Reza Sadeghian

Abstract Introduction: Bladder cancer is regarded as the most common urinary malignancy in the world. As other cancers, its incidence has increased in recent years. Hence, the present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between smoking and opium and bladder cancer in residents of Yazd province. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 200 patients with bladder cancer and 200 matched healthy individuals in Yazd province. Research data was gathered through interview and administration of a researcher-made questionnaire. Furthermore, chi-square and regression tests were carried out with SPSS software (version 18). Results: The mean and standard deviation of age in case and control groups were reported to be 61.54 ± 13.61 and 61.45 ± 13.3 respectively. Education level, type of oil consumed, weekly frequency of smoking and fried foods, white meat, red meat consumption involve the predictive factors for bladder cancer; as consumption of hydrogenated fats, animal fats, fried foods more than 4 times per week and red meat had (OR=1.31;95% CL,0.63-2.71), (OR= 6.32;95% CL,2.03-19.8), (OR=2.86;95% CL,1.2-6.8) and (OR=51.18;95% CL,14.78-177.03) times greater risk for bladder cancer respectively and also low education level. White meat intake had a protective effect. Moreover, in line with increasing number of cigarettes per day, the risk of bladder cancer increased. Conclusion: The findings of the present study revealed that smoking and opium are risk factors of bladder cancer. Thus, appropriate training and intervention program need to be taken into account in order to prevent the cancer. Keywords: Bladder cancer; Case-control; Opium; Smoking; Yazd province

121-130

Authors: Soheila Bazm, Masoud Mirzaei, Hossein Fallahzadeh, Reihaneh Bazm

Abstract Introduction: eHEALS is an 8-item measure of eHealth literacy developed to measure consumers’ combined knowledge, comfort, and perceived skills at finding, evaluating, and applying electronic health information to the health problems. Hence, the current study aimed to measure validity and reliability of the Iranian version of eHEALS questionnaire in a population context. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 525 youth’s people, who were randomly chosen in Iran, Yazd. As a matter of fact, content validity, construct validity and predictive validity of the translated questionnaire were determined. Principal components factor analysis was used to determine the theoretical fit of the measures with the data. The internal consistency of the translated questionnaire was evaluated using Cronbach α coefficient and the results were analyzed applying SPSS software (ver, 16). Results: The principal component analysis (PCA) produced a single factor solution (70.48% of variance) with factor loading ranging from 0.723 to 0.862. The internal consistency of the scale was sufficient (alpha= 0.88 , P<0.001) and the test-retest coefficients for the items were reliable (r= 0.96, P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of the current study revealed that the items in the translated questionnaire were equivalent to the original scale .The Iranian version of the eHEALS questionnaire showed a good reliability and validity in regard with the screening of eHealth literacy of Iranian people. Key words: eHealth Literacy; eHEALS questionnaire; Reliability; Validity

140-148

Authors: Mohammad Hossein Salmani, Mohammad Abedi, Seyed Ahmad Mozaffari

Abstract Introduction: The Lead causes severe damage to several systems of the body, especially to bony tissues. Until now, several low-cost biosorbents have been studied for removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. In the present study, carbonized pomegranate peels were modified with Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions and then removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution was investigated. Materials & Methods: the washed granola of pomegranate peel was separately soaked with FeCl3 and FeCl2 solutions for 24 h. Then, the granules were carbonized at 400 ºC for 3 h in a programmable furnace in the atmosphere of nitrogen. The adsorption experiments were carried out for two types of iron-modified carbons by batch adsorption procedures using one variable at a time. Results: The optimum conditions included contact time 90 min, initial concentration 50 mg/l, and adsorbent dose, 1.0 g/100 ml solution. Maximum removal efficiency was calculated as 80% and 90% for Fe3+ and Fe2+ impregnated pomegranate peel carbons, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity estimated by means of the Langmuir model was 34.5 and 17.8 mg.g-1 for two adsorbents. Conclusion: The surfaces of iron treatment pomegranate peel carbons were well modified for adsorption of heavy metals. The results showed that chemical modification of the low-cost adsorbents originating from agricultural waste has stood out for lead removal capabilities. Keywords: Adsorption, Iron modified carbon, Pomegranate peel, Pb removal, Equilibrium Isotherm