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Finding environmentally friendly methods for the bioremediation of the environment, including water, contaminated with heavy metals is of utmost significance. The ability of 50 Cyperus longus species, harvested from Shadegan International Wetland, Iran, for the phytoremediation of heavy metals in contaminated water was investigated. The plants were transplanted in the aquariums contaminated with one of the heavy metals (0–20 mgL-1) at the pHs of 4 and 7 for 30 days. Plant removal of heavy metals was determined. The single and double interactions of plant tissue, heavy metal type and concentration, and pH significantly affected the absorption of plant heavy metals. The highest removal of heavy metals including Pb (45.9 %) > Zn (36.1 %) > Cr (32.8 %) > Cd (27.5 %) > Ni (25.9 %) was related to the 20 mgL-1 and pH4 treatments by the order of root> stem> leaf> flower. The 5–10 mgL-1 concentration resulted in the highest removal efficiency by stems (Ni, 44.12 %), flowers (Zn, 44.00 %), leaves (Cr, 44.14 %) and roots (Cr, 44.36 %). The highest bioconcentration (BCF) and translocation factors (TF) of 4.106 and 2 (Zn), 2.124 and 1.461 (Cd), 1.815 and 1.289 (Ni), 5.291 and 2.460 (Pb), and 2.811 and 1.885 (Cr) were resulted. Although with increasing heavy metal concentrations, the plant absorbed higher heavy metals, its removal efficiency decreased as it was the highest at the heavy metal concentration of 5–10 mgL-1. According to plant removal efficiency and the BCF and TF factors, it is possible to efficiently bioremediate water contaminated with heavy metals using C. longus.

Background: The reduced use of herbicides such as glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine), as an effective method for weed control in the field, is an important goal, which may be achieved by using sustainable strategies for crop production. In the arid and semi-arid areas due to the use of ground water for crop production, water hardness may affect glyphosate efficiency, which is of economic and environmental significance. Objectives and Methods: The objective was to investigate how water hardness (0 (W1), 200 (W2), 300 (W3) and 400 mg l-1 (W4)) affect the efficiency of glyphosate (0 (G1), 100 (G2), 150 (G3), 200 g ha-1 (G4)) (0, 75, 112.5, 150 g ha-1 acid equivalent) on weed growth (Convolvulus arvensis, Malva sylvestris and Cynodon dactylon) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) yield in the field using a factorial experiment on the basis of a complete randomized block design with three replicates. Results: The single and the interaction effects of water hardness and glyphosate significantly affected different weeds (158 g weed weight for W2G1, and 25.3 g for W1G4) and tomato plant measured parameters. Increasing water hardness decreased glyphosate efficiency in controlling weeds, but it enhanced plant height. Higher water hardness increased tomato leaf area, however, higher glyphosate rates decreased it. Treatments W1G2 (1617 g plot-1) and W1G4 (220.8 g plot-1) resulted in the highest and the least tomato yield, respectively. At the highest level of glyphosate, W2 resulted in the highest tomato yield, compared with the other treatments. The highest and the least plant dry weight was resulted by W4G2 (232.7 g) and W1G4 (196.8 g), respectively. Conclusion: The proper concentrations of water hardness and glyphosate may efficiently control weeds and results in optimum tomato yield in the arid and semi-arid areas.

Background: As a public health priority, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with some factors like sleep disorders. Taking this into consideration, this study aimed at investigating the relationship between sleep duration and sleep quality with HRQoL in patients on hemodialysis. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 176 patients on hemodialysis who were admitted to the dialysis ward of 22 Bahman hospital and a private renal clinic in Neyshabur (a city in North-East of Iran) in 2021. Sleep duration and quality were measured using an Iranian version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and HRQoL was evaluated with the Iranian version of a 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12). To analyze the data and examine the independent association of sleep duration and quality with HRQoL, multiple linear regression model was performed. Results: The mean age of the participants was 51.6 ± 16.4 and 63.6% were male. Moreover, 55.1% and 5.7% of subjects reported a sleep duration shorter than 7 h and equal to or more than 9 h, respectively, and the value prevalence of poor sleep quality was reported as 78.2%. Furthermore, the reported overall score of HRQoL was 57.6 ± 17.9. According to the adjusted models, poor sleep quality was negatively associated with the total HRQoL score (B = −14.5, P

This study used sodium sulfate decahydrate (Na2SO4.10H2O) with different masses as a PCM. Thermal conductivity was improved by using rigid blades and heated sinks instead of flexible blades behind the panel. The results show a positive effect of fixed blades and heatsinks on temperature parameters and panel efficiency. The test was performed in the radiation range of 800 W/m2 at an angle of 35° to the horizon. During the last 70 min of the test, the panel containing phase change material and fixed blades, even after the test was over, had the same temperature as the standard panel. The temperature difference was 11.5 °C compared to the standard panel. In addition, the maximum efficiency difference between the panel with the material of the phase change and the panel with a fixed blade of the phase-changing material with a conventional panel was 3.05% and 6.17%, respectively. Furthermore, mass analysis of PCM reveals that the melting point increases by 50% of the initial mass of the phase material, resulting in a maximum temperature difference of 7.5 °C on the panel surface, a maximum efficiency difference of 2.34%.

Background: The previous articles have shown that the almond might reduce the serum concentration of inflammatory mediators. Therefore, the studies reported in this article aimed to assess the almond effect on serum concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in adults. Method and materials: To find the related English-language studies, an electronic search was run in databases including Web of Science, PubMed, SCOPUS, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Cochrane library with no time limit (up to August 2022). The effect sizes were calculated based on the mean changes for both intervention and comparison groups. DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model was used to determine the summary of overall effects and their heterogeneity. Cochran's Q test and I-squared statistic were used to explore the statistical heterogeneity. Results: In total, eleven studies were included in this study. The overall estimate indicated that the almond consumption had no significant effect on serum CRP level (weighted mean difference (WMD) = −0.28 mg/l, 95 % confidence interval (CI): − 0.81, 0.25; p = 0.29). Regarding IL-6, almond consumption significantly decreased serum IL-6 level (WMD = −0.1 pg/ml, 95 % CI: −0.15, −0.05; p

The immiscibility of oil and alcohol is a severe issue in biodiesel production as it causes a low mass transfer rate and long reaction time. This problem can be overcome by incorporating the intensification method, which significantly increases the contact surface area of oil and alcohol through various techniques. In recent years, ultrasonic cavitation has emerged as one of the most effective ways for this purpose. However, it is still unclear whether this technology will provide the industry with an economically profitable process. This paper attempts to assess the potential of ultrasonic cavitation from a techno-economic viewpoint. Two plants based on the conventional mechanical stirring and ultrasonic cavitation processes were designed using Aspen HYSYS V8.4. Total investment, costs of products, net present value, and internal rate of return were used to compare the two processes together. The total investment in the ultrasonic cavitation process was lower than that of the mechanical stirring process by approximately 20.8%. Compared to the conventional process, using ultrasonic reactors also caused products’ costs to reduce by 5.2%. Owing to a positive net present value and an internal rate of return of 18.3%, the ultrasonic cavitation process was a better choice. Moreover, ultrasonic cavitation resulted in a meaningful decrease in both consumed energy and the production of wastes. The overall energy consumption was reduced by 6.9% when ultrasonic cavitation was employed. The amount of waste produced in the ultrasound-assisted process was one-fifth of that in the mechanical stirring process.

Background: Chronic inflammation has been classified as one of the most important threats to health. Scientists suggested that tart cherry (TC) can reduce plasma levels of inflammatory mediators. Therefore, the aim of this study was to summarize the effect of TC on circulating C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) among adult participants in non-exercise randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Methods and materials: The eligible English-language RCTs were found by searching databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and clinical Trials.gov up to May 2022, with no time limit. We used the mean change from baseline and its standard deviation for both intervention and comparison groups to calculate the effect size. The random-effects model proposed by DerSimonian and Laird was used to estimate the overall summary effect and the heterogeneity. We used PRISMA 2020 guidelines to report this study. Results: Ten RCTs were included in this study. The results demonstrated that TC had a significant decreasing effect on plasma CRP level compared with the comparison group (weighted mean differences (WMD) = −0.55 mg/L; 95% confidence interval (CI): − 1.03, − 0.06; p = 0.029), but had no significant effect on plasma IL-6 compared with comparison group (WMD = 0.08 pg/mL; 95% CI: −0.02, 0.17; p = 0.10). The effect of TC consumption on plasma TNF-α level was evaluated in only three studies that showed no significant effects (p>0.05). Conclusion: Our results confirmed a significant decreasing effect of TC on CRP. Regarding IL-6 and TNF-α, our study did not present any significant effect of TC.

Background: Soy protein in combination with soy isoflavones might reduce the serum concentration of inflammatory mediators. In this study, we attempted to summarize the effect of soy protein combined with soy isoflavones on circulating E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in adults. Methods: Clinicaltrials.gov, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Scopus were searched for English articles with no time limit regarding publication up to December 2020. Thereafter, the mean changes from baseline and their standard deviations (SDs) for both intervention and comparison groups were used to calculate the effect size. We used DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model if the heterogeneity test was statistically significant. Cochran's Q test and I-squared statistic were also used to calculate the statistical heterogeneity of the intervention effects. Results: Eight articles were found as eligible for this study. The treatment duration was between 6 and 24 weeks. Soy isoflavones dose was in a range of 30–112 mg/day and soy protein dose was in a range of 11.25–52 g/day. Overall, taking soy protein supplements containing soy isoflavones was not associated with changes in cell adhesion molecules, E-selectin, ICAM-1, or VCAM-1 (WMD = 0.65, 95 % CI: -2.58, 3.89; p = 0.692; WMD = 2.68, 95 % CI: -0.98, 6.34; p = 0.151; WMD = 2.66, 95 % CI: -6.28, 11.61; p = 0.559, respectively). Conclusion: The combination of soy protein and soy isoflavones was not significantly associated with changes in levels of E-selectin, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1. However, we need more studies with a large sample size and more participants with different age categories in this regard.

Background: Scientists suggest that soy isoflavones or the combination of soy isoflavones and soy protein may have beneficial effects on inflammation. Thus, the present study aims at conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which the effect of soy isoflavones and the combination of soy isoflavones and soy protein on serum concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP) among postmenopausal women is assessed. Methods and materials: A literature searching was done to identify a breadth of related references in PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Clinicaltrials.gov up to December 2020. The mean change from baseline in the CRP concentrations and its standard deviation (SD) for both intervention and comparison groups were used to calculate the effect size. The summary of the overall effects and heterogeneity was estimated by using the DerSimonian and Laird random effects model. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (No. CRD42020166053). Results: This study considered 23 articles for systematic review and 19 articles for meta-analysis. The overall effect presented a non-significant effect of soy isoflavones on serum CRP concentrations (WMD = 0.08 mg/L, 95 % CI: -0.08, 0.24; p = 0.302) and the overall effect of the combination of soy isoflavones and soy protein indicated non-significant effect in serum levels of CRP (WMD= -0.02 mg/L 95 % CI: -0.12, 0.08; p = 0.715). Conclusion: Published RCTs did not provide strong evidence regarding beneficial effect of soy isoflavones or the combination of soy isoflavones and soy protein on serum CRP concentration among postmenopausal women.

This study examines the trends in vegetation cover using the Growing Season NDVI (GSN) time series in moderate spatial resolution (250 m) over Khorasan Razavi province, in northeast Iran, during the period 2004–2015. The province is largely desert, with extra-arid, arid, and semi-arid de Martonne climate zones dominating, while rangelands, shrublands and deserts cover most areas, making it an ideal territory for monitoring vegetation trends and implement future restoration projects. Most parts of the province and land-cover classes show no trends in vegetation cover, but large decreasing trends occur in areas covered by sand dunes, previously reforested lands and clay pit areas. Trends in various land-cover types are also examined as functions of the climatic class and the Terrain Niche index (TNI), which is characteristic of the topography, revealing large decreasing trends in the extra-arid climatic zone. In addition, most of the areas exhibit Hurst exponent values around 0.5, implying stochastic time series without any consistency and a likelihood of random vegetation and land cover changes in the future. This study also aims to determine likely future vegetation status and the most favourable areas for restoration projects through analysis of two indexes (Future Restoration Dispersal Index, FRDI and Future Uncertainty Dispersal Index, FUDI). The results show that reforestation, sand dunes and clay pits areas are the most favourable for implementing restoration projects, while the spatial distribution of the potential restoration classes reveals that the southern and northeastern parts of Khorasan Razavi province are the most favourable areas for establishing environmental restoration activities in order to avoid further degradation of ecosystems.

Background: Inflammation is the main cause in the development of chronic diseases. The enhancement of pro-inflammatory factors, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is the main risk factor in chronic diseases. Resistant starch type 2 (RS2) is non-gelatinized granules which their enzymatic hydrolysis is very low. RS2 might be able to reduce inflammatory mediators, therefore; our aim for this study was indicating RS2 effects on inflammatory mediators such as IL-6, TNF-a, and CRP among healthy and unhealthy subjects. Methods: Articles which assessed RS2 effect on IL-6, TNF-α, and hs-CRP were found by advanced search methods. Electronic databases including Google scholar, ISI web of science, SCOPUS, and PubMed, were searched up to October 2019. Treatment effect was the mean difference between changes in serum levels of inflammatory biomarkers in each arm of the clinical trials. To pool the effect of resistant starch on inflammatory biomarkers, we used random effects model. Results: We included eight articles in systematic review and meta-analysis. The overall effect illustrated no significant change in serum levels of hs-CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α in intervention group compared with the control group (WMD: -7.18 pg/mL, 95% CI: −27.80, 13.45; P = 0.495, I2 = 100.0%, WMD: -0.003 pg/mL, 95% CI: −0.07, 0.06; P = 0.919, I2 = 98.1%, WMD: -0.003 pg/mL, 95% CI: −0.004, -0.001; P < 0.0001, I2 = 98.0% respectively). Conclusion: In conclusion, we found that RS2 could not reduce inflammatory mediators, but we still need more RCTs with longer intervention duration, higher dose, and studies in different countries.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in physical activities during pregnancy and the relationship between physical activity and unplanned caesarean sections (CSs). Materials and methods: A cohort study design was carried out. A cohort of 2029 pregnant women was established when they received prenatal care at 18–22 weeks of gestation in a medical center in southwest Iran. Participants were asked to recall their levels of physical activity during pre-pregnancy. The data were processed using Statistics/Data Analysis. To compare activities the chi-square was used to identify significant differences between the groups. A multiple logistic regressian was used to identify the association between activities and delivery mode as well as controlling potential confounding variables. In the analyses, the level of significance was set at P