Aims: Deep frying of foods at high temperatures results in an increase in the unique sensorial properties of fried food including fried flavor, golden brown color, and crispy texture, which ultimately leads to changes in the physical and chemical properties of the oil. This study was conducted to evaluate the quality of oils used in 60 centers of fast food distribution in Mashhad city. Materials and Methods: A validated questionnaire based on the instruction from the Ministry of Health and Medical Sciences was used to collect the data and to investigate the health status of the places and foods. Total polar material (TPM), temperature, and acidity of the oil were measured using oil test portable device (DOM-24 model) while the peroxide value (PV) was measured by iodometry method. The data were analyzed by SPSS software V.16 via statistical tests including t-test, ANOVA, and Chi-squared tests.Results: The mean values of TPM, acidity and PV in the studied oils were 31.8 ± 7.2 %, 3.7 ± 0.8, 4.7 ± 6.7 meq/kg, respectively. There was a significant relationship between TPM value with acidity, temperature and duration of oil use based on Pearson correlation test (P > 0.005). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between the PV and area, the type of oil, and sanitation of instruments. Conclusion: The levels of hydrogen peroxide, polarity, and acidity of oils in fast food shops were higher than the guideline values. We recommend that health inspectors systematically monitor the oils fried in these centers.

Aims: Attention to physical, health, and safety factors in educational environments is the most effective and fundamental factor for physical and mental growth of the students and their learning. Hence, one of the most important and influential school health issues is environmental health and safety. Accordingly, this study was conducted to study the environmental health and safety of Evaz district schools. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 2017 and the conditions of environmental health and safety of 16 schools (elementary, secondary, and high schools) were studied in Evaz County. For this purpose, a checklist with 48 questions was prepared. The checklist was prepared based on the Iranian environmental health of schools standards codes and completed by means of observing and interviewing the authorities and the obtained data were analyzed using the SPSS version 16. Results: The conditions of the schools were in an unfavorable status in terms of the healthy storeroom, controlling the insects and rodents, installation electrical safety (insulating) mat under the electrical panels, and installation of handwashing guide. The results showed that there were no pool and fountain, laboratory and workshop, and balcony and terrace in some of those schools. The statistical analysis depicts the significant correlation between the school area and the places for fuel storage and teachers' rest (P = 0.03). Conclusion: Based on the results the schools of Evaz city were in a favorable status in terms of equipment safety and the building sanitary rules, while the status of individual health and building safety was lower than the standard level. So, such items should be considered for health promotion of such schools.

Aims: This study was carried out to understand the awareness, attitude, and practices about needle prick injuries and postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) against human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B (surface antigen), and hepatitis C virus among health-care workers (HCWs) of the tertiary care center. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive hospital-based, cross-sectional study carried out over a period of 1½ year. After informed consent and ethical clearance from the institutional ethics committee, patients were interviewed; previous records about needle prick injuries and PEP were analyzed. HCWs from Queen Mary's Hospital and Trauma Center of King Georges Medical University, Lucknow, India, were evaluated for needle prick injuries and PEP. During the study period, 140 hospital staffs including 74 resident doctors, 40 nurses, and 26 fourth-class employees were interviewed. Data were obtained from predetermined questionnaire regarding knowledge, attitude, and practices about needle prick injury types, precautions, reporting to the nodal officer, and delay in PEP if accidentally needle pricked. Results: Out of 140 participants, 105 (75%) were aware about PEP and 93 (66.42%) HCWs had positive attitude toward PEP. A total of 34 (24.28%) patients were injured, including 10 doctors, 16 nurses, and 8 fourth-class employees. 100% doctors, 50% nurses, and 42.3% fourth-class employees had knowledge about PEP. Out of 13 deep penetrating needlestick injuries, 4 injuries occurred during injection administration, 4 of them during suturing, and 5 during recapping. After exposure, all 13 cases had received PEP and all were seronegative after 6 months of follow-up. Conclusion: Needlestick injuries and sharp object injuries represent a major health problem to HCWs. Prevention should be based on immunization, education of HCWs, and proper training about biomedical waste management.

Aims: Organophosphates are well-known as an important group of poisons. The aim of the current study is to investigate acetylcholinesterase enzyme (ACHE) level in workers' blood of a poison-producing industry and its relationship with annual poison production and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during 2012–2015 on 84 workers from different units of a poisons-producing industry and a 20-person control group. The PPE used during the years of study includes Asphalt gloves, rubber gloves, and mask felt. The AChE level was detected based on the modified Ellman method. Results: The maximum AChE level was observed in the control group. In addition, the minimum was found in the workers in 2015. The mean AChE level in the control group was significantly higher than that in the worker (P < 0.05). The mean AChE level in the workers based on the study years was significantly different, but this was not significant between the blood samples taken in the years of 2014 and 2015. Furthermore, it was found that both poisons-producing amount and PPE distribution were enhanced more during the past year of the study, while the poison amount entering to the body decreased. Conclusion: It was deduced that the AChE level in workers' blood was lowered with increasing at the exposure years due to irreversible effects. It is also observed that growth at the PPE application acted as an important parameter to decline exposure to poisons and subsequently various health complications.

Aims: Nitrates in drinking water which may come from nitrogen fertilizers applied to crops are a potential health risk. The present study was conducted to investigate the application of alternating current (AC) in electrocoagulation (EC) process for nitrate removal from aqueous solution and linear and nonlinear isotherm modeling.Materials and Methods: The experiments were performed in pilot scale. The effective parameters including solution pH, the initial concentration of nitrate, total dissolved solids, contact time, and current density were studied. Results: The obtained results showed that with increasing solution pH from 3 to 10, the sinusoidal removal efficiency was observed. With increasing current density from 0.5 to 2 A/cm², the nitrate removal efficiency was ascended from 32% to 58%. The optimum electrolyte was 2 g/L of NaCl. With increasing contact time and decreasing initial nitrate concentration, the nitrate removal efficiency was enhanced. In addition, the adsorption NO₃by AC EC was preferably fitted with Langmuir isotherm. Conclusion: The results showed that the EC process could remove the nitrate to less than Iranian standard limit. The solution pH, current density, and contact time were showed the direct effect and initial concentration of nitrate depicted the reverse effect on nitrate removal efficiency.

Aims: Comparing to strong traditional oxidation, the persulfate and sulfate radicals was characterized by relatively low cost and easy application. The present study aimed to investigate the performance of sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation process (SR-AOP) for pretreatment of compost leachate in order to improvement of its biodegradability. Materials and Methods: The sulfate radicals was used for pretreatment of compost leachate in the batch reactor followed by aerobic and anaerobic biological reactors. Results: the results of combination of SR-AOP with biological treatment showed that BOD5/COD ratio was increase. However, the different trend was observed in COD removal by sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR). Comparing to SR-AOP with ASBR, the SR-AOP with SBR substantially improved final COD removal efficiency up to 70%. Although pretreatment of compost leachate with the SR-AOP clearly improved the BOD5/COD ratio of entering raw leachate into ASBR (from 0.4 to 0.65), but, the COD removal efficiency was ranging between 25% and 27%. Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that the BOD5/COD ratio cannot be suggested as biodegradability improvement indicator without considerations of changing of substrate nature during pretreatment.