Background: The occurrence of heavy metals in the environment is of important concern due to their toxicity and health effects on humans, including cancer. Because metals have been extensively used for centuries in commerce, environmental contamination is widespread; moreover, exposure to metals and metal compounds continues to be a significant public health problem. Electroplating sludge contains heavy metals. Solidification/Stabilization can be used to avoid leaching of these metals to the environment. The aim of this study was evaluating the effectiveness of the application of dicalcium phosphate (DCP) and sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) on Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn immobilization in dewatered metal plating sludge.Methods: The ratios of STPP and DCP per dry plating sludge were determined to be 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.5% by weight. Metal leaching from the solidified plating wastes was assessed using the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). The results showed that the concentration of metals in untreated sludge were appropriate to classify this sludge as a hazardous waste as described in The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 40 CFR 261.24.Results: DCP and STPP lowered the concentration of metal in the effluent. Increasing DCP concentration from 0.1 to 0.5% decreases the contaminant concentration in the effluent. F or Cd, Pb, Cu and Ni increasing the percentage of STPP in the sludge increases the contaminant’s concentration resulting from TCLP extraction.Conclusion: Immobilization of heavy metals was more effective through application of DCP rather than STPP. Moreover, it may minimize the potential risk of groundwater eutrophication connected with the application of highly soluble phosphate like STPP.

Introduction: Modeling energy demand in different energy consuming sectors is a crucial measure for effective management of the energy sector and appropriate policies to increase productivity. The rising importance of energy resources in economic development is evident. Sustainable energy use is crucial for environmental protection and social progress. Understanding the factors affecting energy consumption is essential for effective energy management. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to investigate the impact of environmental factors on household electricity consumption in Yazd city. Materials and Methods: In the present research, various environmental factors affecting electricity consumption, including air pollution, air temperature in homes, ground surface temperature, and green space were investigated. The effects of these factors on electricity consumption of subscribers were investigated with ANN and  apriori methods. Results: Among the environmental factors, the distance to the regional park, the area of the park, and the amount of vegetation at a distance of 300m have the greatest impact, respectively, and the average summer air temperature, the amount of vegetation at a radius of 500 m, the distance from the local park, and the average summer NDVI have had the smallest effect. Unlike neural network methods, apriori presents relationships between parameters affecting electricity consumption transparently in the form of rules. Conclusion: It's used to identify the most frequently occurring elements and meaningful associations in a dataset. Greenspace can be a mitigation strateegy for reduction of energy consumption.

Two fly ashes from municipal solid waste incineration were selected to study their heavy metal leaching behavior. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the characteristics of fly ashes and compare the leaching of heavy metals in different leaching environment. pH and acid neutralization capacity analysis showed that fly ashes were highly alkaline. Fly ashes also contained a variety of heavy metals including Pb, Cu, Cr, Zn, Cd and Ni etc. Leaching studies showed that the alkalinity of fly ashes raised the pH of leaching solution from acidic to basic. Ni, Cu and Zn were strongly bound to ashes and manifested low leaching. In contrast, Cr and Cd had high mobility but their leaching was inhibited by the low solubility of carbonate Cr and Cd. Pb was highly leachable in the alkaline environment with concentration in the leaching solution reached as high as 9.74 mg/L. In addition, the presence of EDTA in the environment also increased leaching. Pb concentration was raised to 16.63 mg/L. This could be attributed to the chelating capacity of EDTA which means that the presence of organics in natural environment should be taken into consideration.

Solidified samples of fuel oil combustion bottom ash with two sets of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Pozzolan added OPC were investigated with three sets of chemical leaching tests. Toxicity characteristic leaching test (TCLP) results classified waste material and its solidification products as hazardous. Although Ni and Cr have over-leached, but their close examination with Sequential Chemical Extraction (SCE) test revealed new insights as follows. Nickel fixation in cement matrix has shifted over 20% of leachable Ni from first 4 fractions of SCE test to residual fraction with less likelihood of leaching. Chromium fixation in matrix has made shifts on leachable fractions that are not generally in favor of a successful fixation in matrix. In the case of Cd leaching, the only obvious finding from SCE test is that solidification processes have made a slight shift between fractions in bound to Iron and Manganese oxide and fraction in bound to carbonates. Compared to TCLP results for different mixtures, it can be concluded that Cd fixation has been done properly and significant change in leaching probability was not caused by solidification processes. Results of “Alkalinity, Solubility and Release as a function of pH” test indicate over regulation in the case of Pb and Cr leaching in different pHs. Results indicate need for more delicate interpretation of TCLP test results when several management scenarios are available and practical.

The aim of this research was to use a variety of leaching methods to see how different parameters affected the amount of lead leaching from tailings. Synthetic precipitation leaching procedure, toxicity characteristic leaching procedure, leachate extraction procedure, and field leach test protocols were utilized to assess the toxicity of the tailings. The impact of the liquid-solid ratio, particle size, contact time, and pH on lead release from tailings was also investigated. According to the findings, pH entirely effects on the release of lead from the tailings, and amphoteric leaching behavior was observed. The tailings were classified as hazardous material as a result of the TCLP leaching protocol's findings. S1 and S2 samples had lead mobility indexes of 51% and 5.6%, respectively. The solubility process influenced the discharge of lead from the tailings. In the particle size ranges of 0.3-0.5 mm and 0.6-1.0 mm, respectively, the maximum amount of lead was released from S1 and S2 samples. Various experiments have shown that the interaction between different factors will have complex and strong effects on the leaching process. To that end, managing of tailings and preventing lead emission into the environment necessitates a unique technique. Leachability is affected by a number of factors and often multiple factors can produce synergistically different releases than would be predicted by each factor alone. However, validation of the leaching approaches to field-collected and monitored cases indicates that combined effects are either captured by the test data or can be considered through fate and transport modeling.

Background and Aim: The jurisdiction of the International Courts, including the International Court of Justice, to enforce regulations on the peaceful settlement of disputes, through existing definitions, necessitates the existence of a dispute. Identifying a "legal dispute" does not depend solely on the subject matter of the litigation submitted to the court, nor does it rely solely on the subjective purpose of the States concerned, but rather on a purely technical process involving both the court and the parties to the dispute. Materials and Methods: This research is of theoretical type and the research method is descriptive-analytical and the method of data collection is library and has been done by referring to documents, books and articles. Results: The standard purpose of a dispute, whether with the former or the new approach of the Court, is to protect the judicial performance of the Court. Determining whether there is a difference in the Court's transferable function, as noted in the Northern Cameroon case. Arguments made to deny the existence of a dispute, or in particular a legal dispute, have seldom been accepted. Therefore, objecting to jurisdiction based on the refusal of a dispute between the plaintiffs is not a promising and successful policy. Ethical considerations: In order to organize this research, while observing the authenticity of the texts, honesty and fidelity have been observed. Conclusion: Looking at the Court's previous approach in some of the cases under consideration, the Court as to establish a dispute has rendered flexible and expansive interpretation, so that it has not even acted strictly in the application of formalities and procedure as well as to refer to real and material sources of the legal system. However, the new procedure is based on the method of establishing a dispute based on objective proof of the dispute.

Investigating the leaching amount of trace elements from environmental pollutants such as tailings is very crucial for determining the risk of these materials and sustaining environmental quality. This research was carried out to determine the concentration, risk level and leaching behavior of lead from Zn-Pb mine tailing of Zanjan. For this purpose, two composite samples (0-20 cm) were taken from both types of tailings from the Zn-Pb mine and the pH, time, particle size and liquid to solid ratio was determined using a batch leaching test. Determination of elemental composition and mineralogical characterization of mine tailings were performed using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analytical techniques respectively. The morphology of tailing particles was determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). For evaluation of tailings risk level, leaching protocols such as Field Leaching Test (FLT), Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP), Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and Leaching Extraction Procedure (LEP) were used. Also, for identification of lead distribution among different fractions of tailings, the sequential extraction method was applied. The concentration of lead in all extracts was measured by ICP-OES. The results showed that the time, particle size, pH and the liquid to solid ratio are more effective on the concentration of lead leaching from tailings and the maximum concentration of lead discharged from the tailings occurred in a different range of particle size. The maximum amounts of lead in the studied tailings were respectively observed in residual, carbonaceous, exchangeable, organic, iron and manganese oxides and solution parts. The results of the leaching protocols also made it clear that both types of waste have great environmental effects and are considered to be hazardous waste residues. Therefore, special measures should be taken to safely store these substances in the environment and prevent lead leaching.

Anguran-Zanjan lead and zinc mine is the largest producer of lead and zinc in Iran and the Middle East. The volume of tailings produced by this mine is very large, which unfortunately is accumulated in different parts of Zanjan province without any protection operations. These tailings contain a variety of heavy metals, especially cadmium, whose disposal or spread into the environment can have very hazardous effects on soil and water resources. The present study investigates the concentration, distribution, leaching behavior and release of cadmium from Zn-Pb mine tailings (S1 and S2). In order to investigate the distribution of cadmium among different tailings components sequential extraction method and to classify the tailings in terms of environmental risk level, leaching protocols include toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP), synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP), field leach test (FLT) and leaching extraction procedure (LEP) was used. The effect of contact time, particle size, liquid to solid ratio and pH on cadmium release from tailings was also studied. The results showed that the cadmium release was the same in different particle size ranges and with the increase in leaching time, the release of cadmium almost reaches a constant value. It was also found that the cadmium release behavior was cationic and solubility controls the concentration of cadmium in the leaching solution. Both tailings were classified as highly hazardous residues based on the mobility index. The results of the TCLP test also show that tailings are one of the substances that should be protected by very good management practices because they have a high potential for contaminating the soil and water resources.

Background: Foot ulceration and lower limb amputation are still common complications of Diabetes mellitus (DM). Diabetic foot problems account for more hospitalization days than any other diabetic problem. The main etiologic factors are diabetic neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease. An easy, simple to use and low cost method for screening of diabetic peripheral neuropathy will be very useful.Methods: From May 2003 to May 2004, all diabetic patients (type 1) referred to endocrine clinic of Namazi Hospital were evaluated for diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), using the bedside scoring procedure. A score of 3-5 indicated mild, 6-8 moderate, and 9- 10 severe DPN. The perception of vibration, temperature, pinprick and ankle reflex was examined. Tuning fork (128 Hz), neuropen, cold and warm water and reflex hammer were used for evaluation.Findings: In this study we evaluated 80 patients (34 male and 46 female) with type 1 DM, with the age range of 6-31 years (Mean±SD 18.16±5.22 yr). The overall prevalence of DPN was 13.75%: mild in 7.5%, moderate in 5% and severe in 1.25% of the patients. The most common physical finding was the absence of ankle reflex. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the presence of DPN. The prevalence of DPN was significantly associated with age, duration of DM and BMI (P< 0.05). There was no significant correlation with sex, HbAlc, puberty, parental consanguinity and family history of DM.Conclusions: Bedside scoring procedure is a simple, low cost and easy method for screening of DPN in patients with type 1 DM in outpatient clinic. Examination of ankle reflex is very important.It is concluded that the diabetic patients need better follow-up and more education.