Severe weather has always threatened human health. However, climate change is now recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the leading global health threats of the 21^st century (WHO 2009). In recent years, the many countries have experienced record-breaking summer heat. Climate change models forecast increasing India temperatures and more frequent heat waves in coming years. This scoping review summarizes research findings that characterize morbidity and mortality due to summer heat and identifies gaps in the existing research literature. Exposure to environmental heat is a significant, but overlooked, this small cross-sectional retrospective study found the incidence of illnesses due to summer heat and outcomes.

Aim: Application of composting process for the management of organic solid waste led to the production of leachate, which causes many problems to environment. This study was aimed at investigation of ferro-sonication (FS) process in composting leachate degradation. Materials and Methods: Leachate samples were collected in composting factory located in Isfahan. In each run, 400 ml of leachate was sonicationed through an ultrasonic homogenizer in a cylindrical glass reactor. Ferrous sulfate was added to the reactor as accelerator agent. The effect of various parameters including pH, ferrous sulfate doses, sonication times, and ultrasonic intensity was studied in the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) from composting leachate. Results: The results showed that the COD and BOD removal rate was increased by increasing ferrous sulfate dosages, sonication time, and ultrasonic intensity. In addition, lower pH was favored for leachate degradation. In general, the optimum conditions for pH, ferrous sulfate dosage, irradiation time, and ultrasonic intensity were 3, 8 mmol, 180 min, and 150 W, respectively. Approximately 46% of COD and 33% of BOD were removed in optimum condition. Conclusion: These results revealed that FS can be effective in degradation of compost leachate and can be presented as a good choice for pretreatment of leachate.

Aims: The ability of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production was observed in many species of heterotrophic microorganisms through the biological wastewater treatment systems. Materials and Methods: The batch experiments at different carbon/nitrogen and solid retention time (SRT) were carried out to investigate the effects of initial nitrogen concentration and SRT on EPS production and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency. The artificial neural network (ANN) was developed to modeling of obtained data. Results: The results showed that: (i) with increasing SRT, the COD removal improves; (ii) initially, the amount of carbohydrate increases as SRT increases; however, with further increase of SRT, it declines; (iii) the protein/carbohydrate ratio improves as SRT decreases; (iv) the carbohydrate and protein concentration of soluble EPS increased with increasing initial nitrogen concentration from 0 to 10 mg/L; and (v) further increase of initial nitrogen concentration lead to depletion of carbohydrate production. Conclusion: The highest yield (Y) value was calculated at low sludge age and deficient initial nitrogen concentration, which may be due to the application of EPS production mechanism. The ANN model moderately predicted effluent COD concentration, carbohydrate, and protein production.

Aims: Phthalates (e.g., diethylhexyl phthalate) act as one of the endocrine disruptive compounds and can have adverse effects on different biological pathways including hormonal receptors, affecting the synthesis, secretion, or metabolism of hormones. The aim of this study was, method development of the dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME), to determine the monoesters of diethylhexyl phthalate in children and adolescents in Isfahan city, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in 2016 (during a year) on 242 children and adolescents, aged 6–18 years, living in Isfahan, Iran. In this method, acetonitrile and chlorobenzene were used as disperser and extractant, respectively, to extract the investigated monoesters. The analytes were determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Results: Acetonitrile (as disperser) and chlorobenzene (as extractant) were used for monoester phthalates extraction (750 μl of acetonitrile and 80 μl of chlorobenzene). The results indicated that the recovery and relative standard deviation (RSD) of the utilized method were 55–109 and 6.3%–13.2%, respectively. The limit of detection and limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method were 0.024–0.088 and 0.05–0.48 μg/L, respectively. Monoethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP), monoethyl oxo-hexyl-phthalate (MEOHP), and monoethyl hydroxyl-hexyl-phthalate (MEHHP) were observed in 99.6%, 95.87%, and 96.28% of the studied samples, respectively. The mean concentration of MEHP, MEOHP, and MEHHP in the study population was 151.7 ± 143.8, 258.26 ± 143.07, and 194.17 ± 147.3 μg/L, respectively. Conclusion: Acetonitrile (as disperser) and chlorobenzene (as extractant) were suitable solvents for phthalate monoesters extraction in method development of DLLME. On the other hand, the mean concentrations were very high values in comparison with other similar studies that require the attention and legislation regarding limitation of the application of phthalate compounds.

Aims: Health-care waste is one of the most crucial issues in solid waste management due to its adverse effects on human health and the environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the present situation of health-care waste management in Sajadieh Hospital in Torbat-e Jam to find the major challenges and offer the best practice regarding this issue. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Sajadieh hospital in Torbat-e Jam in 2017. The total amount of waste produced in hospital was measured for 3 months. Waste management pattern was carried out based on a checklist obtained from the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Iran. Excel software was employed for data analysis. Results: In total, the mean amount of wastes generated in studied hospital was 658.9 kg/day, including domestic waste (397.6 kg/day) and hazardous waste (261.4 kg/day). The highest amount of hazardous wastes was generated in operating room with 32.9 kg/day. Quantity analysis of total waste showed that food wastes (25%) comprise the highest fraction. Based on MOH checklist, the status of the waste management practices was determined as fair. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that despite the segregation of hospital wastes, the amount of hazardous wastes were higher than recommended guidelines. Therefore, more attention of the authorities and the correction of hospital waste management are required.

Glyphosate is the most widely used agricultural herbicide in the world and in the United States. In this study, we measured glyphosate levels in water, foods, and human urine samples. We also specifically examined possible correlations between urinary glyphosate levels and physiological, dietary, or behavioral factors. The results show that water samples obtained from both Lake Erie and tap water contained nondetectable or very low levels of glyphosate (≤0.08 ppb). On the other hand, food samples showed various levels of glyphosate contamination. In particular, tea products (40–728 ppb in five samples), coffee powder (11 and 26 ppb in two samples), and honey (20 ppb) had higher glyphosate concentrations in comparison to other foods. Glyphosate was also detected in human urine samples, in particular at elevated levels (~2 fold) from participants who consumed tea in the past 24 h.