History and Objectives: Lead poisoning is a major public hazard. Determination of lead in blood is expensive and time-consuming in recent leads poisoning exposures.

Materials and Methods: We studied the relation between the concentration of lead in blood and erythrocyte protoporphyrin in blood in the 857 subjects. Blood lead concentration was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. Cut off points was 0.68 micromol/L. Erythrocyte protoporphyrin was determined by spectrofluorometric procedure, cut off points was 0.53 micromol/L. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, the positive predictive value and the negative predictive value and correlation for erythrocyte protoporphyrin and atomic absorption method.

Results: Sensitivity, specificity, the positive predictive value and the negative predictive value for erythrocyte protoporphyrin method and atomic absorption method were 98%, 97%, 97%, 98% and 74%, 68%, 69% and 72% respectively.

Conclusion: The present study describes application of a simple, sensitive and economical detection method of lead poisoning. The data indicate that the erythrocyte protoporphyrin value obtained by this method could be used as a screening test for lead poisoning.

History and Objectives: Due to the prevalence and importance of diagnosis of fungi in Iran and considering the difficulties and the economic cost of providing different stains and culture media, the present study was undertaken.

Materials and Methods: A descriptive study on 10 strains of fungi including opportunistic, dermatophytes and yeast were performed. The effects of culture media and staining techniques were studied on the modified water agar, saboraud’s agar, mycobiotic agar, corn meal agar, nutrient agar with methods of Riddle, Microslide, Hole making, Scotch tape, Gram, Giemsa, Wright Giemsa, PAS, Wright, Lactophenole catton blue, Kinyoun’s acid fast, Methylene blue, Calcofour white, Congo red and Acridine organ.

Results: The present study showed that Sepedonium, Trichotheclum, Microsporum gypseum, Candida albicans, Aspergillus fungi were etiologic agents in the modified water agar and in the microslide, epidermophyton fluccosum modified water agar and Trichophyton mentagrophyton in Riddle method were grown better than other procedures.

Conclusion: Due to the results of the present study, both Gram and Giemsa stains were better than other staining techniques and water agar is selective medium for better identification of fungi.

Background : The nutrition role of phosporous to macroscopic and microscopic plants is well known. Discharge a source of phosphorous to surface water sources ultimately results in eutrophication. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of electrochemical process on phosphorous removal from activated sludge effluent. Samples were collected from wastewater treatment plant effluent of Kashan University of Medical Science Campus.

Materials and methods : The study was carried out as a bench scale experimental type using batch system and the effects of electrical current, type of electrodes, reaction time and initial characteristics of samples (temperature, pH, and electro conductivity) were investigated. Ineach run, 1500ml secondary effluent was placed in an electrolytic cell equipped with magnetic stirrer. The anode and cathode was each made of 4 pieces of still (or aluminium) 1.5cm apart, which both were submerged in the sample. The total effective area of used electrodes was 336cm² and the input power was controlled by an ammeter and voltmeter. Reduction of total phosphorous to less than 1mg/L-P (as standard) was considered as the desired removal.

Results : The results showed that by increment in direct current and reaction time the phosphorous removal efficiency will increased and the still electrodes are slightly more efficient than aluminum ones. Adjustment of temperature, pH and electroconductivity of samples, each in a special range, improve s the efficacy. To obtain best results the required electrical current density and reaction time are recommended to be in the range of 1.78-3.57 mamp/cm² and 10-30 minutes, respectively.

Conclusion: Electrochemical process by using steel electrode can successfully remove total phosphorous that is remained in activated sludge effluent, of course, there is no need to adjust temperature, pH, and electro conductivity.

Background: Androctonus crassicauda is one of the dangerous scorpions in the world and also in Iran. This kind of scorpion in tropical regions stinges a lot of people resulting in dangerous side effects and sometimes death. The study of the effects of this scorpion venom on some laboratory animals can determine the rate of clinical manifestations and help us protect people stung by scorpion. So this study has been done to examine the effects of Androctonus crassicauda venom on r at.

Materials and Methods: An experimental study has been done on 82 rats of the same race and with approximate age of 2-3 months, and 200-250 gr weight. 82 rats were divided into two groups: 40 in control and 42 in experimental group. 0.1cc physiologic serum was injected to each of the control group skin and 0.1 cc physiologic serum with one microlitre of fresh Androctonus crassicauda venom to each of experimental group. The clinical manifestations before death and mortality rates in two groups were compared and analyzed with statistical test of Fisher.

Results: The injection of Androctonus crassicauda venom into rats caused the death of 88% of experimental group. The clinical manifestations were paralysis (66%) irregular pulse (81%), twitching (55%), rhinorrhea (78.5%), salivation (40.5%), hemorrhage from eyes (71.5%) and nosebleeds (52.5%).

Conclusion: Androctonus crassicauda venom has some roles in appearing clinical manifestations. The study of clinical manifestations in other laboratory animals can help to diagnose the effect of this venom in human being and find a suitable treatment for injured patients.

Background: Poisoning is one of the significant causes of mortality and hospitalization in children. This problem occurs mostly under the age 2 and is due to accidental ingestion of drug and poisons. Since there is not any study in this field in Kashan, this study was done to evaluate the epidemiology of poisoning in children admitted at Kashan's Shaheed Beheshti Hospital during 1997-2001.

Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 119 hospitalized children due to poisoning. Patient's data such as age, sex, type of toxin, living site and clinical findings were recorded in preplanned questionnaires, then they were analyzed with c ² test.

Results: The frequency of poisoning was 1.03%. 66.4% of the patients were boys. The most common age of children with poisoning was 1 to 4 years. The most frequent types of intoxication was drugs (42%), kerosene (31.1%) and food poisoning (10.9%). 68% of children were from urban and the others from rural areas. The most common clinical symptoms appeared in gasterointestinal tract. However, in Kerosene poisoning, the respiratory symptoms (70.2%) and in the drug intoxication the neurological symptoms (80%) were predominant.

Conclusion: Although the frequency of poisoning is low in children, it is more common in boys, children under 5 and with drugs. So the preventive measures are necessary in this field

Background: Iatrogenic meningitis is an important complication in neurosurgery. This infection is not common. This paper presents the first report of recurrent shunt meningitis caused by drug resistant Enterococcus fecalis in Iran.

Case report: We report a case with recurrent shunt meningitis caused by Enteroccocus fecalis in a 9-year old girl with ventriculoperitoneal shunt which did not recover by antibiotic therapy until the removal of the infected shunt.

Discussion and Conclusion: Patients with hydrocephalus who are treated with ventriculoperitoneal shunts are susceptible to bacterial infections. The rate of this nosocomial infection varies from 2% to 22%. It is suggested to pay more attention to symptoms of CNS infections among patients with cerebrospinal fluid drainage. 

Background: Hypoxia following electroconvulsive therapy(ECT) causes hemodynamic instability and increases the threshold of convulsion. In this study we evaluated the effects of  laryngeal and face masks ventilation on oxygen saturation, hemodynamic changes and duration of convulsion after ECT.

Materials and Methods: Sixty-six patients with chronic depression aged 20-60 scheduled for ECT were randomly divided into two groups of 33. In both groups anesthesia was induced with intravenous sodium thiopental 2 mg/kg and succinylcholine 0.5 mg/kg. Ventilation with %100 oxygen was carried out by laryngeal mask in group I and face mask in group II. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, heart rate, oxygen saturation and convulsion duration before and after ECT in all patients were measured and recorded.

Results: Oxygen saturation after ECT was higher in group I compared with group II (p<0.05). In both groups systolic and diastolic blood pressures 3 and 5 min after ECT were higher than those before ECT. Increased diastolic blood pressures 3 and 5 min after ECT, and systolic blood pressure 3 min after ECT were higher in group I (p<0.05). The duration of convulsion in group II (38.8 ± 11 seconds) was longer than that in group I (30.2 ± 11 seconds) (p<0.05).

Conclusion: the results of the current study revealed that laryngeal mask decreases convulsion duration and increases oxygen saturation during ECT so it is recommended that ventilation to be performed by laryngeal mask rather than the face mask.

Background: Phosphatidate phosphohydrolase enzyme (PAP) catalyzes the transformation of phosphatidic acid to P_i and diacylglycerol. Two different forms of PAP have been reported in rat hepatocytes PAP₁ which participates in the synthesis of phospholipids and triacylglycerols, and PAP₂ which involved in lipid signaling transduction. PAP₂ has two isoforms namely PAP_2a and PAP_2b. In this study the role of essential histidine residues in PAP_2b was assessed.

Material and Methods: The rat liver plasma membrane was solved using n-octyle glucoside and PAP_2b purified during several chromatography steps. The kinetics parameters were assessed based on surface kinetic dilution model. Discontinuous gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was performed on purified enzyme in order to evaluate its purity and to measure the molecular weight of the enzyme subunit in gel 10%. The number of mol histidine residues modified per mol enzyme was determined based on the formation of N-carbetoxy histidine.

Results: The specific activity of purified enzyme was 7350mU/mg protein. PAP_2b showed only a single band on SDS-PAGE with a mass weight of 33.8 kDa by electrophoresis. The PAP_2b was inactivated by DEPC. The inhibition was competitive with respect to phosphatidate and the maximum 6 moles of histidine residues were modified per mole PAP_2b.

Conclusion: The data have shown that the incubation of PAP_2b by DEPC plus phosphatidate can prevent the inhibitory effect of DEPC on enzyme activity. Our findings also revealed the role of histidine in the active site of PAP_2b .This enzyme is likely to have a similar hydrolysis catalytic mechanism as its super family through a phosphohistidine intermediate.

Background: Although the predictive criteria for duration of mechanical ventilation may help to evaluate the right time of disconnecting a patient from the ventilator, the efficacy of the APACHE ( Acute physiology, Age and Chronic Health Evaluation) or IPS (Infection Probability Score) systems in the prediction of the need to ventilator and its duration needs further evaluation. The study was performed in Alzahra Medical Center of Isfahan in 2006 – 2007 to evaluate the efficacy of the predicting power needing intubation (NI), mechanical ventilation (NMV), and duration of MV.

Materials and Methods: One hundred eighty critically ill patients were included in this evaluative diagnostic study. On admission day in the ICU, patients' data were collected to compare the APACHE II and III, and IPS scores. The necessity of mechanical ventilation and its duration were recorded for each patient. Sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve and corrected prediction of outcome for each cut-off point were calculated for three scores.

Results: The best cut-off points for prediction of NI were 50 for APACHE III, 12 for APACHE II and 12 for IPS. The Youden index had best cut-off points for APACHE III=0.62, APACHE II=0.36 and IPS=0.4. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.63, 0.77 and 0.83 for APACHE III, APACHE II and IPS respectively. There were statistical differences between APACHE III , APACHE II and IPS in terms of Youden index and the area under the ROC curve (P<0.05). For the prediction of NMV, APACHE III yield significantly better results in the area under the ROC curve and Youden index than those of APACHE II or IPS (p<0.05). In the prediction of more than 5 days respiratory support under MV none of the three scoring systems could provide a good discrimination.

Conclusion: To predict for NI or NMV, the APACHE III had better accuracy than the APACHE II or IPS. Concerning estimation of the requirement of mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients although the APACHE III showed to be sufficiently accurate the sensitivity and calibration of the scoring systems should be improved.

Bacground: There are different methods for surgical management of sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease (SPD), each a different outcome. The present study compares the outcome of surgical excision and simple suture with that of rhomboid excision and the Limberg flap procedure in patients with primary SPD.

Materials and Methods: One hundred SPD patients were randomly allocated to undergo either surgical excision and simple suture (group 1, n=50) or rhomboid excision and the Limberg flap procedure (group 2, n=50). Duration of operation, postoperative pain, time for first mobilization, postoperative complications, time for disease recurrence were recorded for all patients.

Results: Duration of operation was longer in group 2 patients compared to group 1 (P< 0·001). However, postoperative pain was less (P<0·001), mobilization earlier (P<0·001) and postoperative complications fewer (P<0·001) in group 2.

Conclusion: Because of its low complication and acceptable long-term results, rhomboid surgical excision and Limberg flap procedure is preferable for simple surgical excising and suturing in the treatment of SPD.

Background: The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of antibiotic resistant enterococci colonization in the intestinal tract of hospitalized patients and define the risk factors.

 Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was carried out on a group of patients (No=198) hospitalized for at least 48h at a teaching hospital. Resistance to vancomycin was detected by the E-test method. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Epidemiological data recorded for all patients were used for risk factor analysis.

Results: A total number of 198 hospitalized patients were enrolled in this study. One-hundred out of 198 patients (50.5%) were colonized with enterococci spp. E-test revealed that 27% of patients were colonized with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) more than 32 mg/ml). The disk diffusion test showed that 96 out of 100 strains were resistant to streptomycin, 82% to erythromycin, 70% to ciprofloxacin, 60% to nitrofurantoin and ampicillin, 44% to gentamicin, 38% to tetracycline, 34% to penicillin-G vancomycin, 33% to linezolid and 20% to levofloxacin. Isolation of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) was not significantly associated with age, sex, use of total parenteral nutrition (TPN), use of central venous catheter, long-term hospitalization period and antibiotic usage. However, it was significantly associated with the underlying disease (P=0.008).

Conclusions: Urgent infection control measures are required to prevent the emergence of VRE outbreaks in hospital settings. Moreover, since the occurrence of VRE is increasing, the optimization of laboratory facilities to detect vancomycin resistant strains seems vital.

Background: Quality control of drinking water is important for healthy consumers. Having a high total dissolved solid (TDS) in water causes a salty taste. Reverse osmosis is one among the membrane processing methods currently used for lowering TDS in water. As during the recent years several desalination plants were set into operation by private sectors in Kashan, the study was carried out for the evaluation of the quality control of inlet and outlet water of the mentioned plants.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out using samples taken from the inlet and outlet water of plants during a six-month period in summer and winter seasons of the year 2008. A total number of 128 samples taken from 16 desalination plants were analyzed for water chemical quality.

Result: The average concentration of chemical parameters in treated water were: TDS= 245, total hardness=118, nitrate=2.5 mg/l, fluoride=0.2 mg/l, sulfate=24 mg/l, chloride=63 mg/l and pH range = 6.8-7.

Conclusion: Based on findings on desalinated water, except for fluoride, other parameters were in accordance to the optimum concentration for drinking water. For the prevention of dental caries, addition of fluoride should be considered in future program. While pH of outlet water was relatively decreased with respect to the raw water, but none of them were compatible with drinking water standards.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most prevalent autoimmune diseases in the world. Some of the researches have suggested that the serum vitamin D level may relate to disease activity. The current study was designed to identify the correlation between serum vitamin D level and the disease activity index (DAI).

Materials and Methods: In this sectional study, 108 patients (diagnosed based on the American Committee of Rheumatology criteria) were enrolled. In all cases after determining the serum vitamin D level and ESR, complete joint examination were done. The normal range of vitamin D was 47.7 - 144 nm/lit. Then, the specified disease activity form (DAS-28) and visual analog scales (VAS) were filled out. The correlation between disease activity index, (based on VAS, tendered or swelled joints and ESR) and serum vitamin D was analyzed using Chi square, Mann Whitney and t-tests.

Results: Seventy nine (73.14%) out of 108 patients had normal serum vitamin D and 29 (26.86%) had low serum vitamin D level. The mean age of patients with normal and low serum vitamin D level were 52.22±11.6 and 48.48±12.51, respectively (P=0.075). The mean DAI in normal and low vitamin D patients were 3.75±1.37 and 5.19±1.56, respectively (P=0.00). The mean number of swollen joints in normal and low vitamin D patients was 1.24±1.39 and 3.65±3.3, respectively (P=0.001). The mean number of tender joints in normal and low vitamin D patients were 6.84±4.41 and 9.44±3.62, respectively (P=0.042). The mean ESR in normal and low vitamin D patients were 19.40±12.40 and 37.91±21.72, respectively (P=0.002). Moreover, the mean VAS in normal and low vitamin D patients was 23.29±19.42 and 50.68±30.78, respectively (P=0.003).

Conclusion: The more active the RA, the less serum vitamin D level.

Background: Increased frequency and length of hospital stay in schizophrenic patients in psychiatric hospitals lead to many problems including the increased hospital costs for the health care system and their families. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of nursing process education on the nursing care quality of schizophrenic patients.

Materials and Methods: In this semi-experimental study 30 nurses in psychiatric ward of Shahid Lavasani Hospital in Tehran were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The nursing care quality in both groups was evaluated using the quality patient care scale (Qual PacS). The experimental group was trained for nursing process of schizophrenic patients. After one month the quality of nursing care was assessed again.

Results: The results of this study indicated that the rate of the nursing care quality in experimental group after training improved from poor to good in physical needs (P<0.0001), from poor to moderate in psychological needs (P<0.0001), from poor to moderate in the relationship with the patient (P=0.002) and poor to good in the presented cares (P<0.0001). The overall nursing care quality improved from poor to good (P<0.0001), but there was no statistically significant difference in the control group before and after training (P<0.80).

Conclusion: Nursing process education can improve the nursing care quality of patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Demyelination in central nervous system is usually followed by remyelination however, chronic lesions with subsequent functional impairment result from the eventual failure of remyelination process, as seen in multiple sclerosis. Remyelination is the process through which oligodendrocyte-progenitor cells (OPCs) restore new myelin sheathes around demyelinated axons. This study aimed to investigate the effect of A1 receptor agonist, N6-cyclohexyladenosine (CHA), on the demyelination and remyelination processes in rat optic chiasm following lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC)-induced demylination.

Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, LPC was injected into the optic chiasm of three groups of rats (n=6). Control group received aCSF on different days following LPC injection. Two groups of animals received CHA on days 0-14 or 14-28 post-lesion. Demyelination and remyelination levels were evaluated by recording visual evoked potential (VEP) from the scalp.

Results: The highest level of demyelination was occurred on day 7 post-lesion LPC injection and gradually reduced during the days 7-28. The P-wave latency was significantly increased on day 7 and then partially restored during the days 7-28 post-lesion. CHA administration during the days 0-14 attenuated demyelination process. In addition, CHA administration in remyelination phase (days 14-28) was able to potentiate the endogenous myelin repair.

Conclusion: Injection of CHA could prevent the lysolecithin-induced variations in VEP. The effects of CHA may be mediated through increment of OPCs proliferation and their differentiation into myelinating oligodendrocytes.

Background: Phosphorus compounds are among the potential water pollutants which enter the water resources through different ways such as wastewater discharge. Although there are physical, chemical and biological treatment methods for phosphorus removal from the wastewater, much attention has been focused on the use of electrochemical process.

Materials and Methods: This bench-scale study was conducted on synthetic wastewater samples containing organic phosphorus using a closed batch system. The effects of reaction time and initial concentration of organic phosphorus on the electrochemical process of phosphorus removal were studied. In this study, the effect of steel electrodes, an electric current of 0.6 A, a reaction time of 10-60 minutes and also the initial phosphorus concentrations (2 to 32 mg/l) were investigated.

Results: The results of this study showed that the concentration of residual organic phosphorus after the electrochemical process at different initial concentrations was reduced to less than 1 mg/l (equivalent to the effluent discharge standard to receptive water in Iran) at a reaction time of 50 minutes. Moreover, the phosphorus removal efficiency was between 93.73-98.72% at different initial concentrations and a reaction time of 60 minutes.

Conclusion: The electrochemical process, using the steel electrodes at an electric current of 0.6 A, can reduce the phosphorus concentration to less than 1 mg/l. Moreover, the optimum reaction time for the removal of organic phosphorus is 50 minutes.

Background: Microsporidia infections occur in all invertebrate and vertebrate hosts. The most common microsporidia infecting humans and animals are Enterocytozoon bieneusi. This study aimed to characterize the zoonotic isolates of E. bieneusi using a molecular method among the slaughtered cattle in Tehran.

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, 126 fecal samples from slaughtered cattle in Tehran were analyzed for Enterocytozoon bieneusi. A transcribed spacer region (500 bp) for rRNA gene of E. bieneusi was amplified using a nested PCR technique. For genotyping, positive samples were sequenced and the phylogenetic tree was reconstructed to determine the relationship between the isolates from human, animal and zoonotic isolates.

Results: Nineteen out of 126 E. bieneusi PCR-positive samples were sequenced. A high degree of genetic polymorphism, represented by four genotypes (IREb4, IREb5, D, M), was found among the E. bieneusi isolated from cattle. In this study, the most common genotypes were D (38.6%), M and IREb4 (26.3%), respectively followed by IREb5 (10.5%) in the next stage. In phylogenetic analysis, 89.5 percent of the isolates (D، IREb4 و IREB5) formed a distinct cluster consisting of genotypes from humans and other domestic animals, but one genotype clustered as E. bieneusi genotypes taken from cattle and pig.

Conclusion: Only some E. bieneusi isolates taken from cattle may be of public health importance. However, further studies should be conducted on cattle and other hosts to determine the role of animals in the transmission of infection to human.

Background: Dicroceliosis is a hepatic parasitic disease of clinical and financial significance for both human health and animal breeding. Considering the health and economic importance of the disease, this study aimed to determine the morphological and molecular characterization of 28S rDNA for Dicrocoelium isolated from sheep in the north and center of Iran during 2010-11.

Materials and Methods: A total number of 200 trematodes were collected during an abattoir inspection from livers of naturally infected sheep in East Azerbaijan, Razavi Khorasan, Mazandaran and Tehran provinces in Iran. Adult worms were morphologically identified based on morphometric characterization and 60 specimens were characterized molecularly by sequencing. For molecular study, DNA was extracted and 28S rDNA region was amplified by PCR. Then, Tru1I fastdigest restriction enzyme and also RFLP technique were used to identify the parasite species. Finally, the PCR product was sequenced.

Results: A remarked morphological characteristic was that the orientation of testes in all isolates, were in tandem. The homological comparison of sequences showed that 28S rDNA in all isolates of Dicrocoelium had 963 bp and were similar to standard strain registrated in Genbank. RFLP pattern from D.dendriticum, which had 4 cut sites, produced 116, 145, 293 and 409 bp fragments. Although the morphological characterization in various provinces was significanly different, molecular identification showed that all specimens were identical (D.dendriticum) and there was not a significant difference between sequences of the collected parasites.

Conclusion: Morphological and molecular assays show that Dicrocoelium dendriticum is the only species of Dicrocoelium among sheep in the north and center of Iran.

Background: Nowadays, 1.1 billion people in the world do not have access to a safe and adequate water supply. So, seeking more efficient water treatment methods are a critical need. This study designed to compare the effects of the electrochemical process (EP) and Alum coagulation on turbidity and coliform bacteria removal from the synthetic wastewater (SW).

Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted on five SW samples in a batch system. First, the optimum Alum dosage and pH were determined by Jar-test. Thereafter, samples were subjected to coagulation and 10 samples were taken before and after the process. The EP was accomplished on each five SW samples. In each run, a 600 mA DC was applied on 1700 ml of SW using aluminum electrodes for 1 hour and one sample was taken every 10 minutes (35 samples). The turbidity and most probably numbers of total coliforms were confirmed and the fecal coliforms as well as the heterotrophic plate count (HPC) were determined for all samples according to the standard methods book instructions (21st edition).

Results: The optimum Alum dosage and pH range for coagulation were 16mg/L and 7 pH units, respectively. Using coagulation, the removal efficiencies for the total, confirmed and fecal coliforms were 80.57%, 48.89%, and 65.59%, respectively. Moreover, the removal efficiencies for HPC and turbidity were 89.92% and 91.11%, respectively. The EP not only removed 100% of the coliforms, but also reduced both HPC and turbidity to 91.05% and 96.31%, respectively.

Conclusion: The EP is more effective than Alum coagulation in the removal of turbidity and bacteriological indicators from the synthetic wastewater.

Background: Today, global concerns about nitrate in groundwater and its adverse impact on health have increased. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of Nitrate reduction by Fe/H2O2 process and adsorption on the activated carbon.

Materials and Methods: In this experimental-laboratory study, Nitrate oxidation by the advanced oxidation process Fe°/FeІІ/FeШ/H2O2 at pH 2-10, contact time 10-90 min, Nitrate concentrations of 50-300 mg/L was considered. A spectrophotometer was used to measure Nitrate in the effluent.

Results: Results showed that the optimal parameters in the Fenton process in order to remove nitrate include: pH 3 and the contact time 15 min. By applying these conditions, the Nitrate removal efficiency in the retention time (90 min), initial nitrate concentration in 100 mg/L, iron concentration 10 mg/L and pH 4 for FeШ، FeІІ، Fe°، FeІІ/Fe°/H2O2 and FeШ/Fe°/H2O2 were 10.5%, 27.6%, 36.5%, 62.3% and 74%, respectively.

Conclusion: According to the results, it was determined that the corrective fenton process with zero iron nano-particles can effectively reduce Nitrate under optimal conditions and this method can be used for the removal of similar compounds. Moreover, it was determined that the use of iron compounds in the presence of hydrogen peroxide can have a desirable effect on the decomposition of Nitrate and this method can be used for the removal of similar compounds.