The relationship between intakes of fluoride (F) from drinking water and blood pressure has not yet been reported. We examined the relationship of F in ground water resources (GWRs) of Iran with the blood pressure of Iranian population in an ecologic study. The mean F data of the GWRs (as a surrogate for F levels in drinking water) were derived from a previously conducted study. The hypertension prevalence and the mean of systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP & DBP) of Iranian population by different provinces and genders were also derived from the provincial report of non-communicable disease risk factor surveillance of Iran. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between the mean concentrations of F in the GWRs and the hypertension prevalence of males (r = 0.48, p = 0.007), females (r = 0.36, p = 0.048), and overall (r = 0.495, p = 0.005). Also, statistically significant positive correlations between the mean concentrations of F in the GWRs and the mean SBP of males (r = 0.431, p = 0.018), and a borderline correlation with females (r = 0.352, p = 0.057) were found. In conclusion, we found the increase of hypertension prevalence and the SBP mean with the increase of F level in the GWRs of Iranian population.
Lake Urmia is the second largest hypersaline lake in the world in terms of surface area. In recent decades, the drop in water level of the lake has been one of the most important environmental issues in Iran. At present, the entire basin is threatened due to abrupt decline of the lake's water level and the consequent increase in salinity. Despite the numerous studies, there is still an ambiguity about the main cause of this environmental crisis. This paper is an attempt to detect the changes in the landscape structure of the main elements of the whole basin using remote sensing techniques and analyze the results against climate data with time series analysis for the purpose of achieving a more clarified illustration of processes and trends. Trend analysis of the different affecting factors indicates that the main cause of the drastic dry out of the lake is the huge expansion of irrigated agriculture in the basin between 1999 and 2014. The climatological parameters including precipitation and temperature cannot be the main reasons for reduced water level in the lake. The results show how the increase in irrigated agricultural area without considering the water resources limits can lead to a regional disaster. The approach used in this study can be a useful tool to monitor and assess the causality of environmental disaster.
Awareness of the structure, function, and value of vegetation and green space in cities can improve management decisions related to human health and the condition of the environment. In 2015, an assessment of the vegetation in the Tehran urban vegetation was done. The i-Tree Eco model was used to evaluate data from 36 field plots situated throughout District 16 of Tehran Municipality. This study assimilates the i-Tree Eco model to assess the value of vegetation ecosystem services in D16, one of the greenest areas. Based on public trees managed by the district municipality, eliminated about 67 tons of pollutants in one year. This pollution reduction includes about 5 tons of CO, 13 tons of NO2, 8 tons of O3, 35 tons of PM10, and 15 tons of SO2. Two factors, including tree cover and concentrations of air pollutions, significantly affect air pollution removal. Urban trees have a critical role in mitigating air pollution. However, the limitations and increasing sources of production of pollutants, especially air pollutants, are not the only key to this trouble. Therefore, it is advised to increase the per capita and principled maintenance of public urban green space, along with indicators such as environmental characteristics, adjacent urban structures, street design, climate, and the most important plant species compatible with the region.
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