Iranian Journal of Health, Safety and Environment (IJHSE)
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Climate Change Intervention and Adaptation in Ethiopia: A Critical Appraisal of Systematic Review
Get PDFClimate Change affects the agricultural sectors of different countries differently and several studies confirm climate change’s negative impact on food security. Ethiopia has experienced repeated famine for a century.
The rationale of this paper is to analyze, report, and discuss the results of a critical appraisal of a systematic review looking at climate change intervention and adaptation in Ethiopia.
This paper systematically appraises methodological aspects of literature reviews examining the relationship between climate change and adaptation published in peer reviewed journal between 2000 to 2016.Systematically, twenty-five relevant articles were examined.
The overall effect of response and adaptation was aware the key informants and participant’s awareness creation on Ethiopians climatic change facilitation availability and improves climate change adaptation.
Conclusion: This systematic review reveals that the role of climate change adaptation is crucial for food security in Ethiopia. Thus, sustaining climate change is so important to attain food security in Ethiopia
Effects of Fuel Type and Fuel Delivery System on Pollutant Emissions of Pride and Samand Vehicles
Get PDFThis research was aimed to study the effect of the type of fuel delivery system (petrol, dedicated or bifuel), the type of consumed fuel (petrol or gas), the portion of consumed fuel and also the duration of dual-fuelling in producing carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and unburned hydrocarbons from Pride and Samand. According to research objectives, data gathering from 2000 vehicles has been done by visiting Hafiz Vehicle Inspection Center every day for 2 months. The results of this survey indicated that although there is no significant difference between various fuel delivery systems in terms of producing the carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and unburned hydrocarbons by Samand, considering the emission amount of carbon dioxide, the engine performance of Pride in bifuel and dedicated state in GTXI and 132 types is more unsatisfactory than that of petrol state by 0.3 and 0.4%, respectively. On the other hand, consuming natural gas increases the amount of carbon monoxide emission in dual- fuel Pride by 0.18% and decreases that in dual-fuel Samand by 1.2%, which signifies the better design of Samand in terms of fuel pumps, used kit type and other engine parts to use this alternative fuel compared to Pride. Since the portion of consumed fuel and also duration of dual-fuelling does not have a significant effect on the amount of output pollutants from the studied vehicles, it can be claimed that the output substances from the vehicle exhaust are more related to the vehicle’s condition than the fuel type
Investigating the Influence of Mass Media on Cosmetics Usage among Women in Kashan during 2015
Get PDFThe use of cosmetics is very common among women in Iran. Given the importance of the use of mass media and the impact on the consumption of cosmetics, this study attempted to consider the influence of mass media on the use of cosmetics among women in Kashan. Using a standard designed questionnaire, the data were obtained from 800 women. Multi-stage cluster sampling was randomly carried out. The data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. The findings showed that 59.9% of the participants believed that satellite programs have the greatest impact on the use of cosmetics. 33% of the participants who believed that mass media had significant influence in this regard; they had a constant tendency to use cosmetics. Mass media advertisements encourage women to consume cosmetics; therefore, introducing the real and appropriate cultural models via advertisements on mass media may have positive impacts on women to consume cosmetics properly
Prediction of Water Level Fluctuations of Chahnimeh Reservoirs in Zabol Using ANN, ANFIS and Cuckoo Optimization Algorithm
Get PDFForecasting changes in level of the reservoir are important in Construction, design and estimate the volume of reservoirs and also in managing of supplying water. In this study, we have used different models such as Artificial Neutral Network (ANN), Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) and Cuckoo Optimization Algorithm (COA) for forecasting fluctuations in water level of Chahnimeh reservoirs in south-east of Iran. For this purpose, we applied three most important variables in water levels of the reservoir including evaporation, wind speed and daily temperature average to prepare the best entering variables for models. In addition, none accuracy of error in estimation of hydrologic variables and none assurance of exiting models are the result of their sensitivity to the educational complex for teaching of models and also preliminary decoration before beginning general education has been estimated. After comparing exiting and confidence interval of the ANN and ANFIS has been found that the result of ANFIS model is better described than other model because it was more accurate and does have lesser assurance
Calcium and Magnesium in Ilam Drinking Water Sources during 2009-2013 using Geographic Information System (GIS)
Get PDFPhysicochemical quality of water from the acceptability point of view is essential for consumers; protecting the health of consumers and maintenance of water supply systems. The aim of this study is to determine temporal and spatial variations of Calcium and Magnesium in Ilam drinking water sources using the GIS system.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 20 drinking water sources in Ilam city and the 5 years results by water and wastewater company archive GIS software version 3.9 were analyzed via SPSS version 16 as well as one-way variance analysis. Water and wastewater sampling and measurement were conducted in order to verify the data by researchers according to standard methods.
Based on interpolation map, the maximum calcium and magnesium contents are related to western and central regions. ANOVA test showed that there no a significant difference between the mean calcium variable verification test in summer during 2009-2013 and at 95% level. (P=0.760>0.05). The one-way analysis of variance showed that there is a significant difference between the average magnesium variable in summer during 2013-2009 years and the verification test at 95% level. (P=0.01
Knowledge and Behavior Assessment about the Use of Disposable Plastic Containers amongst Medical Sciences Students in Northeastern Iran in 2016
Get PDFDisposable Plastic Containers (DPCs) are widely in use in our daily life in many locations and times. Despite their great advantages including low cost, easy access, convenient transferring and no need to clean up, the indiscriminate use of them can be a concern, if they are not applied in the correct way of usage. This study aimed to assess the students' knowledge, and behavior regarding the correct use of DPCs. A questionnaire was designed using scientific literatures and health expert consultation. The resulting 26-item scale which included questions for sample characteristics (N=4), knowledge (N=19), and behavior (N=3) was approved in terms of reliability regarding Cronbach's alpha score of 0.8. Developed instrument was administered to a cross section of 200 students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in mid-2016. Data was analyzed using SPSS 16.0. Results indicated that 59.3% of the individuals had used DPCs more than once. Only 5.8% of the respondents were familiar with safety codes on the bottom of DPCs. The differences in the mean score of knowledge were not statistically significant in terms of gender, marriage status, level of education, and college. Considering total knowledge score of 18 on the designed scale, the maximum score of knowledge was observed in men (5.88±2.26), in married ones (6.11±2.55), in PhD students (6.5±2.39), and in dental college (6.31±2.65). According to the results, the students’ knowledge regarding the safe use of DPCs was very low (less than one third of the ideal knowledge) and their usage behavior was also relatively false
Influence of Air Pollution on Chemical Quality of Wet Atmospheric Deposition: a Case Study in Urmia, Iran
Get PDFIncreased combustion of fossil fuel owing to the energy requirement is a main cause of air pollution throughout the world. Atmospheric precipitation is considered as a major water resource for indoor, municipal, industrial and agricultural uses. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of air pollution on chemical quality of rain and snow in Urmia, a city in northwest of Iran.
Sampling was performed during the wet seasons from October to March at six sampling stations in different locations of the city. Acidity, alkalinity, NO3- , SO42-, Cl- and pH contents of the collected samples were analyzed.
All samples showed a pH value of more than 6.8, and lower acidity than alkalinity, therefore, the precipitations were not acidic. Maximum concentrations of SO42- and NO3- in the samples were 5 and 8.8mg/L, respectively. Chloride was varied from 1 to 11.5 mg/L with the highest measures observing in autumn.
According to the results, concentrations of the analyzed parameters in wet precipitations in Urmia were within the natural ranges except chloride ions, which was higher than its common level in the atmosphere. This phenomenon may be the result of desert dusts which transfers by wind from the west border to Iran.
A Neural Network Classifier Model for Forecasting Safety Behavior at Workplaces
Get PDFThe construction industry is notorious for having an unacceptable rate of fatal accidents. Unsafe behavior has been recognized as the main cause of most accidents occurring at workplaces, particularly construction sites. Having a predictive model of safety behavior can be helpful in preventing construction accidents. The aim of the present study was to build a predictive model of unsafe behavior using the Artificial Neural Network approach.
A brief literature review was conducted on factors affecting safe behavior at workplaces and nine factors were selected to be included in the study. Data were gathered using a validated questionnaire from several construction sites. Multilayer perceptron approach was utilized for constructing the desired neural network. Several models with various architectures were tested to find the best one. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to find the most influential factors.
The model with one hidden layer containing fourteen hidden neurons demonstrated the best performance (Sum of Squared Errors=6.73). The error rate of the model was approximately 21 percent. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that safety attitude, safety knowledge, supportive environment, and management commitment had the highest effects on safety behavior, while the effects from resource allocation and perceived work pressure were identified to be lower than those of others.
The complex nature of human behavior at workplaces and the presence of many influential factors make it difficult to achieve a model with perfect performance
Treatment of Petroleum Drill Cuttings Using Stabilization/Solidification Method by Cement and Modified Clay Mixes
Get PDFHigh organic content in petroleum drill cuttings is a substantial obstacle which hinders cement hydration and subsequently decreases the clean-up efficiency of the stabilization/solidification (S/S) process. In this study, a modified clayey soil (montmorillonite with low to moderate polarity) was used as an additive to cement. Because of its high adsorption capacity, the clay is capable of mitigating the destructive role of organic materials and preventing their interference with the hydration process. Mixes containing different ratios of cement, waste and modified clay were prepared and tested for their mechanical and chemical characteristics. Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and Pb content of the samples were analyzed as well. For this purpose, the mixes were subjected to unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) tests. The results indicated that the specimens with 28-day curing time at a cement/waste ratio of 25% or higher (w/w) and 10% modified clay (w/w) met the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criterion for compressive strength. Moreover, a reduction of 94% in the leaching of TPH was observed with the specimens undergoing the TCLP with a cement/waste ratio of 30% (w/w) and a clay/waste ratio of 30% (w/w). Finally, the specimens with 30% cement/waste and 10% clay/waste ratios showed the least concentration (6.14%) of leached Pb
A Study on Impact of Work Stress among Mat Factory Workers in Kano – Nigeria in 2015
Get PDFThe focus of this study is to find out the level of work stress and the major causes of work stress among mat factory workers in Kano - Nigeria. 140 sets of questionnaire were distributed to the mat workers and 121 questionnaires come back to the researchers (response rate: 86.43%). 106 workers were male representing 87.60%. Their average age was 32.52 ±4.50 and average working experience was 10.4±6.4. The data collected were analyzed using Henry Garrett ranking method the results of the study identifies management attitude towards worker (difficult relationships with administrators and/ or coworkers, managerial bullying, harassment, etc.) as one of the major cause of stress among mat factory workers. Others include and not limited to toxic work environment, negative workload, types of hours worked, role conflict, lack of autonomy, career development barriers, and organizational climate. Some of the symptoms of stress shows that feeling tired, depressed and anxious rank first (65.04), experiencing headache and blood pressure rank second (55.70), unable to relax, concentrate and sleep third (54.62), others are distressed and irritable 951.64), low back pain, Joint & neck pain 951.45), increased absenteeism (42.80), increase alcohol and smoking (42.09), decrease commitment to work (41.12), lastly was the moodiness and feeling lonely 940.36). From the results it shows that mat factory workers in Kano – Nigeria are working under heavy stress