maryam zabihi

Ajaib al-makhluqat wa-gharaib al-mawjudat (The Wonders of Creation, or literally “the Marvels of Created Things and the Miraculous Aspects of Existing Things”) by Zakariya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (circa 1203−83) is among the best known texts of the Islamic world. It is often referred to as “The Cosmography”. The work begins with an introduction, and is followed by two sections; the first on supra-terrestrial, and the second on terrestrial creatures. Al-Qazwini concludes his work with a section on monsters and angels. The genre of Ajaib al-makhluqat (The Wonders of Creation), of which al-Qazwini’s work is the most famous example, includes texts in Arabic and Persian that describe the marvels of the heavens and the earth. Knowing the styles of character design in the art of miniature, and study of its conception and evolution can be an inspiration for contemporary artists and open up new perspectives for them. In this way, the images of the amazing version of the Wonders of Creation by Zakariya al-Qazwini are a suitable case to study the character design in the central Asian imagery tradition. The selection of two distinctive versions from two different eras of the Ilkhanid miniature in Iran (Ilkhanid version from Munich Library-No.464) and the Mughal School in India (Mughal version from the library of Astan Quds Razavi-Mashhad-No.47893), from the beginning of authorship and painting of this version to the end of the dynamic miniature schools of the central Asia, can demonstrate the evolution of this style of portraiture. The purpose of this research is to know the fixed and variable factors in designing the fantasy-fictional characters from the 13th to the 17th century AD, with a focus on two indexes and with a form-based attitude. This research is looking for answers to the following questions: What are the representational characterizations of imaginary-synthetic beings in the early version of The Wonders of Creation of Qazwini in the Ilkhanid School, and the version in the Mughal School? What are their communalities and differences? The method of the study is analytic-comparative and the method of collecting information is library research. Statistical population of this study, in the first step and for analysis of general characteristics, is all of the pictures of imaginary-synthetic beings in the two versions, and in the last step and for the sake of analysis of professional characteristics, consists of five miniatures which are shared and equal in both versions. The general results of the study show that the percentage of realistic images is higher in comparison with the fantastic ones in both versions. Among the images of the fantastic creatures in both versions, the special creatures of the sea possess a higher percentage, while the lowest percentage of the fantastic images in the Ilkhanid version is dedicated to constellations, and the lowest percentage of the fantastic images in the Mughal version to the special creatures of the land, angels and stars. Also, the commonality of characterization of imaginary-synthetic beings in the early version of The Wonders of Creation of Qazwini in Ilkhanid School, and in its counterpart in Mughal School, is derived from the style of Persian miniature and its explicit way in application of colors. The Mughal version of the above-mentioned manuscript is painted with more saturated colors in comparison with the Ilkhanid version, which bestows more energy and dynamism to its characters. The texture in the miniatures of the Mughal version is much more obvious and apparent as well, which lead to richness and high pictorial value in the miniatures of this version. The images in both versions have been well imbued with a type of extra-terrestrial and inorganic exaggeration and hybridization and manifest a mixture of heterogeneous elements. It is also noteworthy to add that the lines, compositions as well as low saturated colors are taken from the Chinese art, while the omission of the characteristic empty background in the Chinese painting has added an idealistic effect to the miniatures. In the Mughal-era version of The Wonders of Creation, the imaginary-synthetic figures suggest the inclination of artists to depiction of unrealistic themes and imagination. In the majority of the Mughal images, the tendency to use intense colors, attention to chiaroscuro and perspective are apparent, thus the colors are mature and dark, and the figures seem more corporeal. Finally, qualities such as the application of color and line, use of surrounding frame, realism or foreshortening are the obvious differences of these versions, which also emphasize the quality of portraiture in the Ilkhanid version in comparison with the Mughal one.

Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the elderly population of the world. Fear of falling and balance disruptions are most important of side effects of a stroke leading to mental disorders in some cases. In assessing the balance issues, collecting data about the effect of the disorderon the lifestyle of the patient and perception of the disability by the handicapped seems necessary, which can be obtained using questionnaires.  The purpose of this study was to investigate reliability of two Persian versions of activities-specific balance confidence (ABC) scale and fall efficacy scale-international (FES-I) questionnaires. This analytical-descriptive study, was evaluated Elderly (n =150) with stroke greater than six months ago, between the ages of 60 to 94 years and able to walk with or without assistance, without aphasia, were studied. The sampling method was non-random and available. Only subjects who completed both questionnaires were included in the data analysis. So, data analysis was conducted by Cronbach’s alpha and intraclass correlation. Notably, internal consistency in both the Persian versions of ABC and FES-I questionnaires was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.98 and 0.96 and repeatability was confirmed by the Intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.94 and 0.99. Due to the present results, the Persian versions of the ABC scale and FES-I probably have acceptable reliability for the Iranian aged people with stroke experience. Using these questionnaires, we can find information about fear of falling and activity specific balance in elderly with stroke.

One of the most important problems in metropolises is slum and marginalized areas which affected by social issues and also affect them. Purpose of this article is to report community social work intervention with local development model based on antidiscrimination theory, in Farahzad area of Tehran.
Case: In order to conduct community internship, the social worker conducted his activities in Farahzad during the six stages of assessment; choosing the model of community-based social work intervention, holding a social mobilization meeting, forming a local team and holding weekly meetings, designing and implementing local projects, and evaluation. These interventions were based on the local development model and anti-discrimination theory. The main problems of the neighborhood were identified with the participation of the members of the neighborhood, and after choosing the appropriate solution, measures were taken to reduce the identified problems. Based on rapid situation analysis of Farahzad, the most important problems included drug use and distribution, the presence of street children, the lack of security, cultural poverty, health problems, roadside problems, the educational problems of children and domestic violence. Based on the nominal group technique, the problems were; personal and environmental hygiene, domestic violence, educational problems, and group strategies include education for children and education for families. The details of these interventions are described as a case report in this article.

Community-based interventions in marginalized areas of metropolitan cities can lead to sensitize locals to their problems and increase their participation; so that they can change what they are dissatisfied with.

Objective- The aim of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy MSCs transplantation in combination with low level laser irradiation (low level laser irradiation) in repair of experimental acute spinal cord injury.
Design- Experimental study.
Animals- 28 adult male Wistar Rats.
Procedures- A ballon- compression technique was used to produce an injury at the T8-T9 level of spinal cord applying Fogarty embolectomy catheter. In group-1, the autologous MSCs were transplanted to the spinal cord lesion; and followed by treatment with low level laser irradiation during 15 consecutive days in group-2. The injured rats in third group were treated by LLLI alone. The functional recovery was assessed using the Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) locomotion scoring along 5 weeks.
Results-In these three treatment groups, the score was significantly higher than control group. The differences among group-2 and two other treatment groups were statistically significant during all five weeks after treatment. There were no significant differences in BBB score between group-1(MSCs) and group-3(LLLI) at 3rd, 4th and 5th weeks of treatment. According to histopathological findings, the best response was observed in group-2(MSCsⲲ) that repair of injured parts of dorsal funiculi and less cavitation were occurred by proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells and their differentiation to glial cells especially oligodendrocytes resulting in axon regeneration and relatively spinal cord recovery.
Conclusion and Clinical Relevance- The findings of present study, demonstrate that concurrent use of LLLI and local transplantation of MSCs exhibits profound effects on axon regeneration and revealed remarkable functional improvement. These results suggest that MSCs characteristics could be influenced by low level laser irradiation, so this treatment may be as a useful procedure for neural regeneration, although further detailed investigations needs to be carried out particularly in clinical cases.

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is one of the most prominent urban development approaches that have appeared over the past few decades. It mainly focuses on the relationship between public transportation and urban development. The cornerstones of this approach include enhancing the quality of local urban designs, increasing mixed-use areas, expanding social interactions, encouraging people to drive less and use other mediums that are more compatible with public transportation services such as bicycles and commuting on foot. A look at the first generation of TODs in developed countries has revealed many barriers that are believed to have strongly undermined the effectiveness of this approach. However, the lack of a comprehensive understanding of this approach and therefore ignoring its principles through urban development regulations still remains as its main challenges.This article briefly introduces TOD and its underlying tenets. It then brings into the spotlight the general guidelines for planning TOP projects by discussing the four pivotal principles like compactness, mixed-use areas,pedestrian-oriented development and mobility alternatives.

The purpose of this study is to examine the dynamic effects of some macroeconomic variables: money stock, gross domestic product, consumer price index and exchange rates on determining housing price index behavior in Iran using the error correction model. Using seasonal data, the model is estimated by Johansen-Juselius cointegration approach during 1990-2007. The results reveal that all variables have a significant and positive relationship with housing price index. Forecast error variance decomposition shows that a large amount of house price changes can be explained by the variable itself until the fifth period, and with the increase of lag periods, share of gross domestic product, exchange rates, money and consumer price index would increase in explaining housing price index fluctuations. Furthermore, the response of housing price index to one standard deviation impulse in the aforementioned variables results in housing price index increase, and it returns to the permanent level after ten periods. The value of error correction coefficient is equal to -0.17 and is statistically significant; therefore, about 17 percent of housing price disequilibrium would be adjusted in each period. With regard to the nature of housing sector in Iran, such slow adjustment seems to be quite rational.