Sajedeh Ashineh Gar; Mohamad Reza Salehi Salmi; Mohamad Hosein Daneshvar; Saman Abdanan Mehdizadeh
Abstract
Abstract Background and Aim: Population growth and increased urban migration in the past decades have led to an increase in population density and size of major cities. Unfortunately, this kind of pollution has mostly gone unnoticed. To prevent these effects and achieve recommended standards, ...
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Abstract Background and Aim: Population growth and increased urban migration in the past decades have led to an increase in population density and size of major cities. Unfortunately, this kind of pollution has mostly gone unnoticed. To prevent these effects and achieve recommended standards, the use of plants as noise barriers in cities is mandatory. Trees offer a range of ecosystem services and remain important in providing human benefits. The aerodynamic effect of trees was identified as a major reason for the change of pollutant distribution in near-road parks, where trees can act as porous barriers and decrease noise pollution. Although not yet fully developed, planting strategies aiming to benefit from the negative effects of vegetation on noise pollution should be encouraged in future park design. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted to investigate the absorption of noise pollution by one of the plants in the landscape of Ahvaz, Dodonaea viscosa L., in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan. The experiment was conducted as a completely randomized design with different distances between the sound source and the green wall (5, 10, and 15 m) and green wall width (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 0 m as control). After receiving the sound by the receiver, the data were transferred to MATLAB (2015) software. Then, the properties of the sound level were measured including minimum, maximum, elongation, skewness, mean, and variance. Results:The results showed that with increasing the distance from the sound source, the minimum sound intensity decreased and finally, the green wall with one-meter width at 15-meters distance had the minimum intensity (68.4 dB). It was also found that the maximum sound decreased with increasing distance of the sound source from the green wall so that the maximum was related to the distance of 5 meters (91.6 dB) and the lowest was related to the distance of 15 meters (76.3 dB). Also, the analysis of the data showed that in the control and other thicknesses of the green wall, the average sound intensity decreased with increasing distance from the sound source. The highest variance of sound intensity was found in 1 m width green wall and 5 m away from the sound source and the lowest variance of sound intensity was related to the thickness of the control at a distance of 5 meters from the sound source. Conclusion: Basically, the sound waves are absorbed by the leaves and branches of trees. The higher the density of the tree and the shorter the distance from the sound source to the tree, the greater the reducing effect. With the shorter distance from the green wall, the sound gradually decreases because it creates an angle at the deflection path of the wave and therefore, the wave has to travel a greater distance to the receiver. According to the obtained results, it is suggested for landscape designers to use this shrub as a green wall and sound barrier, pruning it with a width of one meter and also its distance from a sound source close to about 5 meters.
Rayhaneh Shahmohammadi; Tayebeh Rasolevandi; Hossein Azarpira
Abstract
Abstract Background and Aim: Healthy food and nutrition play a key role in overcoming COVID-19 and achieving sustainable development. In most low- and middle-income countries, small companies, especially traditional food suppliers, have a fundamental role in the food supply chain, resulting in food and ...
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Abstract Background and Aim: Healthy food and nutrition play a key role in overcoming COVID-19 and achieving sustainable development. In most low- and middle-income countries, small companies, especially traditional food suppliers, have a fundamental role in the food supply chain, resulting in food and nutrition security. Materials and Methods: A checklist with 113 questions was designed including 57 questions on the conditions of COVID-19 derived from the second step guideline of fighting COVID-19 and 56 questions derived from regulation 111/920318. The total number of bakeries was 158 and the answers to the questions were recorded and analyzed as yes, no and not applicable. Results: In this study, based on the results obtained from the analysis of checklists, compliance of health status of different types of bakeries with regulations 111/920318 in Sangak, Barbari, Taftoon, Lavash and Baget (Nan Fantezie) bakeries, was 73%, 79%, 87%, 76%, and 81% respectively Also, the percentage of compliance to the second step of the fight against Covid 19, was 65%, 71%, 69%, 73%, and 84%, respectively, and the compliance of the health status with final checklist in these bakeries was 69%, 75%, 78%, 74.5%, and 82.5%, respectively. Conclusion: Health education and equipment hygiene were the least desirable in Sangak bakeries, food hygiene and health education were the least desirable in Barbari bakeries, food hygiene and health education were the least desirable in Taftoon bakeries, and in Lavash bakeries personal hygiene, food hygiene, and health education were least desirable. In Baget (Nan Fantezie) bakeries, the health conditions were significantly better than in traditional bakeries. Keywords: COVID-19; Pandemic; Checklist; Bakery; Health
Abdolhamid Gohari; Hossein Alidadi; Aamazan Mirzaei
Abstract
Introduction: Swimming pools are one of the most important sport and recreational areas where health tips must be followed, or adverse results would threaten the health of the whole society. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the health and hygienic status of the swimming pools ...
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Introduction: Swimming pools are one of the most important sport and recreational areas where health tips must be followed, or adverse results would threaten the health of the whole society. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the health and hygienic status of the swimming pools as well as water health status in public pools in Mashhad in the first nine months of 2018. Methods: This practical research has been carried out to identify the relevant risks, as field observations for assessing the hygienic condition of indoor areas in 64 swimming pools For data collection in the present study, valid and reliable questionnaires of general information and human resources (14 question), health assessment (37 questions), and water quality control of Mashhad’s swimming pools were used. Parametric analysis of variance was utilized for normal data, and non-normal data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test by considering P <0.05. Results: The results of the evaluation of water quality by health centers indicated that the desirability amount of the residual chlorine, water pH, water temperature, water turbidity, microbial thermophile coliforms, heterotrophic bacteria, and water chemical quality was 86%, 96%, 95.44%, 92.44%, 96.49%, 94.96%, and 95.31%, respectively. Amount of the residual chlorine, water turbidity, and heterotrophic bacteria was below the expected level of 95%. The outcomes of the tests administered by Mashhad health and hygiene centers (supervision organization), and pool managers' self-control examinations revealed that the results of water pH, water temperature, thermophile coliform, and water chemical tests were in total accordance with standards (P <0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that most of the health risks were related to the residual chlorine, turbidity, and microbial contamination of water by heterotrophic bacteria. Training swimmers and hygiene culture development have a pivotal role in controlling health risks