Iranian Journal of Health, Safety and Environment (IJHSE)
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Educational Interventions Relating to Breakfast Consumption among Students: A Systematic Review
Get PDFImplementing interventions in the field of breakfast consumption and subsequently evaluating them is an appropriate solution to promote healthy breakfast consumption and improve health status. The present study aims to systematically investigate the educational interventions in relation to breakfast consumption among students.
In this study, the SID, IRANMEDEX, IRANDOC, ISI Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were systematically searched for the period from January 2000 to March 2018. The selection criteria for final articles include having as their topics education and intervention relating to breakfast consumption among pre-school and other school students as well as the availability of the full text of the articles.
In general, 3742 articles were identified, out of which 17 articles—containing educational intervention relating to breakfast consumption among the students—were selected after removing duplicate articles and articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria. However, 5451 students had participated in the 17 investigated articles. The main emphasis in these interventions was on increasing breakfast consumption and knowledge and changing attitudes towards breakfast and its benefits.
The use of theories and models for intervention increased the frequency of breakfast consumption among the students in all the reviewed studies. Accordingly, it seems necessary to design, implement, and assess more educational and interventional programs. More attention should be devoted to different theories and models of health education and promotion and to some lesser noteworthy factors, such as the role of schools, teachers, and parents in education, and modern communication technologies
The Role of School Backpack and Training Habits on Development of Spinal Pain among Iranian Primary Student
Get PDFIn the recent studies, some variables such as weight of the school backpack, how to carry it or backpack features are currently under study in relation with low back pain (LBP) among students. The present study aimed to assess the role of school backpack and training habits on the development of spinal pain among Iranian students.
A current cross-sectional study was performed between November 2015 and April 2016 on 616 primary school children with age between 11-13 years in Karaj city, Iran. We gathered information on demographic characteristics and ergonomic data on backpacks via a specific checklist. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) to determine the prevalence of spinal complaints was used among the participants. To assess the ergonomic status of backpacks, the students were asked to carry with the consistent and conventional method.
Study findings showed that unfortunately, only 1.9% of students carried their bags correctly. Musculoskeletal complaints in the neck region were significantly higher among students who do their homework on the floor in compare with students that doing their homework behind the desk. Musculoskeletal complaints in the shoulder region of students had a significant association with Bag handle type, TV & game time, doing homework position, Bag use with 2 ropes and Bag weight/body weight.
Findings of the present study recommended that we need to step up public health strategies and develop a monitoring system that is both preventative and proactive
Investigating Intra-Rater and Inter-Rater Reliability of Three Upper-Limb Risk Assessment Methods
No full textThere are several methods for assessing the risk of upper-limb disorders in occupational health studies. The goal of present study is to determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of three risk assessment methods of SI, OCRA Checklist and ART in repetitive tasks and exposure to upper-limb risk factors. First, 9 raters used SI, OCRA Checklist and ART to assess the physical exposure level of the upper limb in workers 30 tasks with different levels of profession for two assessment periods. In the results of inter-rater reliability using ICC, the risk classifications were ρ = 0.54, ρ = 0.74 and ρ = 0.77 for SI, OCRA Checklist and ART, respectively. And the intra-rater reliability for the final score of the OCRA Checklist, SI and ART methods was κ = 0.59, κ = 0.66 and κ = 0.67, respectively. The inter-rater reliability for risk classification and final score of ART, OCRA Checklist and SI methods using ICC) obtained as moderate to good. However, the overall results showed that the reliability of ART method was higher than two other methods. The findings demonstrated that all three methods are appropriate for assessment in workplaces. These methods should be used based on assessment objectives, rater experience and required time for assessing the tasks
Investigating the Effect of UV Radiation Changes and Bed Temperature in Photocatalytic Destruction of Toluene in a Circular Fluid Bed Reactor
Get PDFIncrease the system efficiency in photocatalytic systems is necessary for economic aspects. In this study, for photocatalytic destruction of toluene in a circular fluid bed or substrate reactor, the effect of UV radiation changes and bed temperature was investigated. The Efficiency of the photocatalytic system was studied in various conditions of relative humidity variables, UV intensity and bed temperature. This study showed by increasing the photocatalyst loading percentage of more than 20%wt., there is no significant change in the efficiency of toluene degradation. In a steady state of all other parameters, when the intensity of the UV radiation rises from 5 w/m2 to 17 w/m2, Toluene degradation efficiency also has an increasing trend. Also, we found that with increasing temperature, the efficiency of photocatalytic oxidation of toluene is increasing. The independent effect of each of the variables on the efficiency of toluene removal are interdependent and mutually influential, and in order to have the appropriate efficiency, all variables should be examined together in the appropriate conditions
The Effects of Maximum Aerobic Capacity and Ratings of Perceived Exertion on Muscular Strength and Endurance
Get PDFGrip and pinch strength are the most important factors affecting the hand’s performance. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship among maximum aerobic capacity (Vo2max) and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) with grip and pinch strength and endurance and their impact on these factors. This cross-sectional study was performed among 83 male students and office workers by means of simple random sampling. To assess the Vo2max, RPE, grip and pinch strength and endurance the Step Test, Borg scale, dynamometer and pinch gauge were used, respectively. The findings of the study indicate that there is a direct relationship between the Vo2max with grip strength and endurance, pinch strength and endurance and BMI. On the other hand, there is an indirect relationship between RPE with grip and pinch strength and Vo2max. Moreover, there was no relationship between RPE with grip and pinch endurance. It was also found that there is a direct relationship between the BMI with grip and pinch strength, pinch endurance, and Vo2max. Finally, no relationship was observed between BMI and grip endurance. Moreover, the Vo2max was found to have no influence on the grip and pinch strength and pinch endurance, but it has an influence on the grip endurance. In jobs that require high grip and pinch strength and endurance employed those with high Vo2max so that work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) would be prevented
Alternative Method for the Analysis of Water-Based Metalworking Fluids Using Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy
Get PDFMists of water-based metalworking fluids (MWFs) as a kind of lubricants mineral oil are reported as a respiratory irritant with having carcinogenic compounds such as formaldehyde. Due to the widespread exposure of Iranian metal machining workers to water-based MWFs and limitations of advanced analytical balance in Iran, which is required by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conventional method No5524, the purpose of this study was set to develop a new analytical method using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry instead. In this study, the spiked standards in the range of 0.96 to 960 µg/sample were dried and extracted with carbon tetrachloride and scanned by FTIR in the range of 2700 to 3200cm-1 for the best absorption. FTIR and Gas chromatography analysis of formaldehyde as a toxic ingredient of MWFs was examined and its presence was confirmed. For establishing the validation, the merits of the analysis of the FTIR and NIOSH method No.5524, such as precision, accuracy, LOD, LOQ, and bias were obtained that were 1.49%, 103%, 0.0004, 0.0014 µg/sample, -3%, and 10.87%, 111%, 14.9, 49.1µg/sample and 11% respectively. Regression coefficients (r2) of the calibration line with the spiked standards (0.96-960µg/sample) were in the range of 0.997 to 0.999. Since the merits of the analysis of the FT-IR method for water-based MWFs were comparable to the respective NIOSH method, the developed method could be very useful in monitoring lathe workers, especially in developing countries. However, collaborative examination for full validation of the method is recommended
The Comparison of Toluene Removal Rate in Two Photocatalytic Oxidation Systems of ZnO and TiO2 Nanoparticles on SiO2 bed
Get PDFVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one of the main group of air pollutants. Photocatalytic oxidation is one of the destructive methods for gaseous pollutants and has been received more attention in the past years. In this study investigated the comparison of the toluene removal efficiency by Photocatalytic Oxidation of Toluene by ZnO/SiO2 and TiO2/SiO2. In this study, the effect of parameters such as the amount of relative humidity, initial concentration of pollutant, the apparent speed of gas and the minimum speed of fluidizing of bed on the process of photocatalytic oxidation of Toluene is examined by comparison between TiO2/SiO2 and ZnO/SiO2 catalysts in a fluidized bed reactor. as it was explained, by absorption of water molecules on the surface of the catalyst and converting them to hydroxyl active radicals, these radicals act as a pushing factor in the reaction. The study also showed that an increase in the relative humidity in the 15–45% range would increase the efficacy of toluene oxidation. Conversion percentages between TiO2/SiO2 and ZnO/SiO2 catalysts were not significantly different (pv>0.05), while the reaction rate of ZnO/SiO2 catalyst was higher than TiO2/ SiO2 catalyst (p
On Modeling for Prediction of the Effects of Carbon-Monoxide on Humans Operating under Continuous and Periodic Exposures
Get PDFThe advancements in technological innovations and the utilizations of some technological products or research outcomes have adversely affected the environment and in consequence, continuously pose serious threats to future survival of humans. To counter these assaults of the resultant environmental pollution and the threats of further degradation of the environment, the basic recommended approach for predicting the impact of the pollution and for the determination of the risk assessment strategies is through the use of mathematical models. In the list of various pollutants, carbon monoxide has been established as a major pollutant that seriously affects human health by converting the Oxyhemoglobin (O2Hb) in the blood to carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). Therefore, this paper presents mathematical models for the computations of carbon-monoxide and carboxyhemoglobin in the blood for the cases of humans under environmental and occupational exposures i.e. operating under continuous and periodic exposures to the pollutant. The developed models are solved analytically using Laplace transforms. The computed results show good agreement with the established experimental results. Using the percentage of COHb in the blood as a good index of health effects of carbon monoxide (CO) on humans, the computed COHb from the developed models is used to predict the effects of CO on human health. On the validation of the developed models, the computed results show good agreement with experimental results. Also, effects of the models parameters on the amount of COHb in the blood. This work will assist in evaluating the technological injuries, effectively controlling our pollutants emissions and also as a tool for designing and developing better equipment and engines with lower or zero emissions
Oral Temperature Changes among Overweight and Normal-Weight Subjects during Exercise under Hot Climatic Conditions
Get PDFThe overweight and obesity are considered as a risk factor for the heat strain. This study was planned to assess the oral temperature changes among overweight and normal-weight subjects during light and moderate exercises under exposure to hot and very hot conditions. An experimental study was conducted on 35 subjects with normal-weight and 35 subjects who had overweight. The subjects rested for 30 minutes. Then, each subject performed a light exercise (2.8 kilometers per hour on the treadmill) under exposure to very hot and moderately humid conditions for 60 minutes. In the next phase, subjects performed a moderate exercise (4.8 kmph on the treadmill) under exposure to hot and moderately humid conditions for 60 minutes after 30 minutes of rest. The oral temperature was measured every 4 minutes. The rest oral temperature of overweight subjects with body mass index more than 27kg/m2 was significantly higher than that of normal-weight subjects in both conditions (
Ergonomic Risk Factors Evaluation of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders by PATH and MMH in a Construction Industry
Get PDFOne of the prevalent injurious factors and disabilities is work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The aim of this study is to evaluate the risks of ergonomic factors inducing musculoskeletal disorders consequent from industrial construction by means of PATH (Posture, Activity, Tools and Handling) risk evaluation and MMH (Manual Material Handling). A cross-sectional study was conducted on 357 construction workers working in 21 different jobs of construction industry in Parand New City, south-west of Tehran, Iran. Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (NMQ) was used to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. PATH was served to assess different body part postures such as back, feet, hands, also weight of tools and equipment and catching by hand (hand-catch). Most prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was around back (30.5%) and knee (28.9%), and in opposed side elbow (4.2%) respectively. The results of Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (NMQ) showed that there is meaningful relation through pain of neck, wrist, hand, back and knee with workers age and working experience (