پرستو قاسمی

The purpose of the study was to development and validation of a Perceived Balance Scale for older adults. Two samples each consist of 300 subjects participated in the research. Data collected with Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC), Fall Self-Efficacy-International (FSE-I) form. The data were analyzed with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and principal components with varimax rotation, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with structural equations modeling, Pearson correlation coefficient, and t-student test, and with SPSS-16 and LESREL softwares. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in extraction two factors “Simple Tasks” and “Hard Tasks”, explaining 76.92% and 5.66% of variances, respectively. Results of first rank of CFA indicated that measurement model of Perceived Balance Scale for Older Adults was relatively fit and all measures and parameters were significant. CFI, IFI, and TLI measures were above 0.95, indicating these measures were excellent. There were significant correlations between Perceived Balance Scale for Older Adults and ABC (r=0.91, P≤0.0001) and FES-I (r= -0.83, P≤0.0001), confirming convergent validity of the new scale. Results of t-student test indicated that perceived balance mean score of subjects without fall history in past year than with fall history counterparts was higher significantly. Interclass correlation coefficient confirmed test-retest reliability (P≤0.01). Internal consistency for total score with Cronbach,s Alpha was 0.88. These results confirm validity and reliability of “Perceived Balance Scale for Older Adults”.

The increase in the human population, the need to develop human cultural and social spaces on the one hand, and the need to create public spaces with identity, on the other hand, has led to more attention to the topic of cultural identity in public spaces in recent decades. Library Garden, as a public and spatial institution, plays a vital role in the process of cultural and social development in the field of urban space. Books and reading and the tendency to study are some of the characteristics of the development and promotion of the cities. It is possible to advance the cultural and social goals of the society through reading books. With this approach, the present article tries to study the feasibility of creating a library garden in Sabzeh Meydan Square of Zanjan with the approach of promoting the culture of reading. The methodology of this research was a descriptive survey and was applied in terms of purpose. To evaluate the preference of indicators in creating a library garden, the weight of each of them was determined, and finally, the amount of compatibility of the best-worst model has been used to evaluate how to implement indicators in terms of importance/performance and amount of compliance. The results showed that creative designing, with a large difference compared to other factors with a value of 0.14, has been ranked first, and creating this space has been a priority over other indicators. An environment that, like the pleasant qualities of the Persian gardens, enriches the sense of place with its psychological effects, but with a different reading, and can complement the closed spaces of the library in the design by using open spaces and flexibility of collective creative spaces that pave the way for social dynamism and subconscious education. On the distant horizon, using recreational, cultural, and tourist opportunities, according to the goals and vision of the Sabzeh Meydan project, to become a policy to promote the culture of reading and show the importance of rich Iranian culture to tourists. It is expected that the opinions and views of users and their participation will be used to create a place for social activities, the formation of collective memories, and the identification of residents.

Social and religious beliefs and values have always influenced architecture, urban planning and arts. After Islam, inspiration from Islamic values and beliefs are evident in the creation of artworks. Since the Safavid era, the Shia faith became the official faith of the Persians; the relationship between the faith and different fields (especially arts) grow stronger. Religious concepts and beliefs in the Safavid and Qajar periods are reflected on various objects including metal, pottery, tiles, paintings and even textiles. One of its effects has been in the decoration of weapons, especially swords and this effect is more obvious in the field of inscription of data. In these two periods, artists have used a variety of ornamental motifs such as floral, geometric, human, animal and epigraphic motifs to adorn the swords. The focus of the present study was on inscriptions containing religious themes on swords. Inscription or calligraphy can be considered as one of the most important decorative motifs of Islamic art, especially in metalworking where the manifestation of the spirit of Islamic art and its religious aspects have added to the value and importance of such designs among Islamic artists and craftsmen. Sword making is one of the industries that has been widespread in the Safavid and Qajar periods. Epigraphic motifs are one of the decorative components in the art of Islamic metalworking, and the Iranian artist and craftsman, in addition to registering the owner and the creator (artist), using Qur'anic verses and prayers, etc., has used calligraphy as a decorative element. The selection of swords from different types of weapons in this study is intended to limit the scope of the subject, as well as the considerable variety of inscriptions used on this weapon. The main purposes of this study have been to classify the characteristics of the swords' Inscriptions in terms of form and content in these periods, and to explain the relationship between the content of inscriptions and religious beliefs in the Safavid and Qajar periods. It should be noted that in these periods, the sword has had ceremonial, symbolic and military uses. During the Qajar period, with the expansion of the use of firearms, the ceremonial use of white arms, especially the sword, became more prominent, but this feature didn't diminish its combat effectiveness. The authors are concerned with answering two questions: what kinds of religious inscriptions have been used on the Safavid and Qajar swords, and what writing scripts and techniques have been used on swords? And finally, what was the relationship between the inscription's content and religious beliefs in the Safavid and Qajar periods? The present study uses a descriptive – comparative – analytical approach. The information is collected through library research (studying library resources) and field study (investigating the samples of various inside and outside museums) as well as studying 50 distinctive samples (of the 70 inscribed samples, 25 samples were selected from each period) from two periods which are mainly kept in museums inside of the country such as the National museum, Reza Abbasi, Mostazafan Foundation, Golestan Palace, Kerman Military Museums, Bandar Anzali, Afifabad Shiraz, as well as using the website of some of the museums and collections outside of the country such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, Hermitage Museum, Qatar Museum, Caravana Collection, Christie's Auction in the United States and Bonhams in London. According to the findings of the research, the religious inscriptions of the Safavid and Qajar swords indicate types of Qur'anic verses, qualified names of God, prayer and talisman, chivalrous narration, seeking help of prophets and Imams and Baduh that are often written in Naskh and Thuluth scripts; using inlaying and engraving techniques. The type of selected script is not related to the type of inscription. The importance and effect of religious inscriptions regarding the choice of these methods of working on metals, which had characteristics such as strength and resistance to wear and tear, as well as the ability to function with elegance and beauty, should not be ignored. According to the studies conducted on the selected samples, in terms of quantity, the use of different types of religious inscriptions on the swords of the Safavid and Qajar periods, Qur'anic inscriptions, prayer and talisman and qualified names of God had the highest statistical distribution. The early inscriptions, Baduh, seeking help of prophets and Imams and chivalrous narration had the next highest importance. The use of these types of inscriptions with talisman and protective aspect have been influenced by the religious beliefs and attitudes of the swords' artists and the owners, for the psychological support of warriors, as well as for association of God’s presence as a supporter and helper in war; even if the wars weren't aimed at strengthening religious and Islamic rites. Since the advent of Islam, up to present day, the Shiites and the followers of Imams have been trying to show their devotion and reverence for them in various forms, especially in artifacts.

The biological activity of protein hydrolysis products is affected by the enzyme type, protein type and enzymatic hydrolysis conditions including temperature, time and enzyme/substrate ratio and pre-treatment process.The protein pretreatment process can cause improving the enzymatic hydrolysis and production of antioxidant peptides by affecting the spatial structure of the protein and increasing the enzyme access to the peptide bounds. In this study, The protein extracted from lentils was first subjected to heat pretreatment (65,75, 85°C, for 15 min) and freeze-thaw (3 freezing cycles at -20 °C and thawing at room temperature). It was then exposed to hydrolysis for 3 hr by alcalase (with an E/S of 90 AU / kg protein, 55°C). Over time, the progress of enzymatic hydrolysis and antioxidant activity were investigated by O-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) assay and DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging methods and compared with the control sample (without pretreatment). Pre-treatment at 75°C causes the highest value of free amino groups .The maximum DPPH (63.57%) and ABTS (36.24%) radical scavenging activity were observed respectively, for samples pre-treated at 65°C and by freeze-thaw process. Heat pretreatment and freezing-thawing before enzymatic hydrolysis have a positive effect on the development of enzymatic hydrolysis and production of antioxidant peptides. Based on the results of this study, the process of heat treatment of lentil protein at 65°C or freezing-thawing and enzymatic hydrolysis by enzyme alcalase was identified as an effective method in the production of lentil protein hydrolysis for use in the formulation of functional foods.

After developments in military technologies in Qajard period, the importance of warm weapons was added and cold weapons found less use in wars, but their production continued in limitted quantity because of other side applications. During this period, various kinds of cold weapons were used in battlefields, such as bladed weapons, knockers and pounders, throwing wapons, and some tools for capturing castles. The focus of research is on daggers, knives and PishQabzes which all of them have sharped bladed but short ones. The main purpose of this article is investigating features of the daggers, knives and PishQabzes, and function of these weapons, the possible relationship between their decorations and their warlike or ceremonial functions, in order to have better understanding and recognition all of these weapons and their evolutions during Qajar period. In this regard, answering these questions was considered: what are the characteristics of forms; motifs, themes and techniques decorations in the daggers, knives and PishQabsez in Qajar period? How is the relationship between the quality and quantity of decorations with the function of those weapons? This research was conducted by a historical-descriptive and analytical approach; and the founding methodology based on library resources and field studies on 17daggers, 17knives and 3PishQabzes Which are mainly from museums inside and outside of country. The results of research show that these weapons vary by scales and levels of curvature of blades. The various parts of these weapons are decorated with vegetal-geometrical, human-animal and inscriptive motifs, and decorated mostly by gilded and metal emboss working and enamel techniques. Vegetable-geometrica and human-animal motifs have feast and party themes and inscriptive motifs have religious, diatribe, charm and literary themes.The execution of decorations motifs mostly by costly and magnificent techniques such as enameling or inlaying on daggars and knives(which didn’t use these techniques on PishQabzes) suggests that these two weapons were used mostly for decoration and not for real use on battlefields in Qajar period.

Iran was always vulnerable to foreign attacks due to the strategic and geometrical features of the country. Therefore, having a powerful army was vital for rulers since their stability or decline relied heavily on the power of the forces and the way they utilized their military tools. During the Islamic era, the weapons industry thrived thank to the stability and peace brought by the Safavid government. Time period studied in this research is the Qajar period; Qajar kings ruled over Iran after the Zand dynasty from 1925 to 1794 A.D. In Qajar period, despite the increasing use of fire arms and the more appropriate use of them, past combat weapons were still produced in limited quantity. During this period, various kinds of cold weapons were used in battlefields, such as bladed weapons, knockers and pounders, throwing weapons, and some tools for capturing castles. The subject matter of the research is examining and classification of swords in this period. Sword is one of the most important and most effective arm of cold weapons during the historical and Islamic era, which was used in various forms and decorations with different motifs and techniques in wars and official celebrations. The purpose of this article is introduction and classification of Qajar’s swords; studying their motifs, themes and their decorative techniques; studying distinction aspects of war and ceremonial swords; and use of paintings and photos of this period in comparative studies. In this regard, these questions were considered that are included: How is the typology of the Qajar’s swords in term of form? What decorative motifs, themes and techniques were used for beautification of Qajar’s swords? What kinds of the functions were for swords and what differences are between the war and the ceremonial swords of this period? How the remained paintings and photos help us in recognizing the swords? This research was conducted by a historical - descriptive and comparative approach; and by combining the method of studying library resources and field studies on 50 distinctive samples of the swords, which are mainly held in interior museums and some museums and collections abroad. Based on the findings of the research, blade of the swords in term of curvature contains curved, semi - curved, straight and almost straight with low curvature. Circular and conical shapes were common forms of quillon; and almond shape were common form of scabbard fittings. The swords are decorated with vegetal - geometrical, human - animal and inscriptive motifs with various themes, and often decorated by gilded working, engraving and etching techniques. The expensive decorative techniques (for examples: inlaying and enameling) of some swords show their use at official ceremonies as ceremonial weapons that in this context, paintings and photos can help us to increase information.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is caused by thedestruction of myelin in central nervous system which leads to functional disabilities. Balancing problems are the most common dysfunctions and dizziness is known as its first sign in these patients.This study aimed to assessthe effects of vestibular rehabilitation by Cawthorne & Cooksey exercises on balance and the following disabilities caused by dizziness in patients with MS.
This study was a semi-experimental research with pre-test and post-test. Subjects of this study were 30 women with Multiple sclerosis regardless of the type of MS and dizziness that were divided into control and experimental groups. Experimental group performed the exercise protocol for a 12 week period and 3 times per day for 5-15 minutes. Berg balance scale (BBS) was used to access the balance and (Dizziness Handicap Inventory) DHI questionnaire was used to accessing the dizziness before and after intervention.
The results showed that, after finishing exercise protocol, in experimental group there was a significant difference in patient with MS, whereas there was no significant difference between pre and post-test in control group.
Cawthorne & Cooksey exercises as a non-invasive method can be an effective therapy to improving the balance and disability caused by dizziness in patients with MS.