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Abstract Background Liver disease is within the top five causes of premature death in adults. Deaths caused by complications of cirrhosis continue to rise, whilst deaths related to other non-liver disease areas are declining. Portal hypertension is the primary sequelae of cirrhosis and is associated with the development of variceal haemorrhage, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and infection, collectively termed hepatic decompensation, which leads to hospitalisation and mortality. It remains uncertain whether administering a non-selective beta-blocker (NSBB), specifically carvedilol, at an earlier stage, i.e. when oesophageal varices are small, can prevent VH and reduce all-cause decompensation (ACD). Methods/design The BOPPP trial is a pragmatic, multicentre, placebo-controlled, triple-blinded, randomised controlled trial (RCT) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Patients aged 18 years or older with cirrhosis and small oesophageal varices that have never bled will be recruited, subject to exclusion criteria. The trial aims to enrol 740 patients across 55 hospitals in the UK. Patients are allocated randomly on a 1:1 ratio to receive either carvedilol 6.25 mg (a NSBB) or a matched placebo, once or twice daily, for 36 months, to attain adequate power to determine the effectiveness of carvedilol in preventing or reducing ACD. The primary outcome is the time to first decompensating event. It is a composite primary outcome made up of variceal haemorrhage (VH, new or worsening ascites, new or worsening hepatic encephalopathy (HE), spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), hepatorenal syndrome, an increase in Child–Pugh grade by 1 grade or MELD score by 5 points, and liver-related mortality. Secondary outcomes include progression to medium or large oesophageal varices, development of gastric, duodenal, or ectopic varices, participant quality of life, healthcare costs and transplant-free survival. Discussion The BOPPP trial aims to investigate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of carvedilol in patients with cirrhosis and small oesophageal varices to determine whether this non-selective beta-blocker can prevent or reduce hepatic decompensation. There is clinical equipoise on whether intervening in cirrhosis, at an earlier stage of portal hypertension, with NSBB therapy is beneficial. Should the trial yield a positive result, we anticipate that the administration and use of carvedilol will become widespread with pathways developed to standardise the administration of the medication in primary care. Ethics and dissemination The trial has been approved by the National Health Service (NHS) Research Ethics Committee (REC) (reference number: 19/YH/0015). The results of the trial will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Participants will be informed of the results via the BOPPP website ( www.boppp-trial.org ) and partners in the British Liver Trust (BLT) organisation. Trial registration EUDRACT reference number: 2018–002509-78. ISRCTN reference number: ISRCTN10324656. Registered on April 24 2019.

In this study, developing a composite coating on the surface of a biodegradable Mg–5Zn alloy using friction stir process (FSP) is the goal to control biodegradation of the alloy. The experimental procedure starts with the alloy casting, followed by homogenization treatment. Rotational speeds of 800, 1000, and 1250 rpm and 1, 2, and 3 passes using hydroxyapatite (HA) powder are utilized to develop Mg–5Zn/HA composite coating on the surface of the alloy. Microstructure of the as-cast Mg–5Zn alloy and Mg–5Zn/HA composite coating is characterized. Biodegradation behavior of the as-cast and coated alloy is also assessed in simulated body fluid using electrochemical potentiodynamic polarization and impedance spectroscopy tests. The results show that FSP can always modify the surface layer through the dynamic recrystallization process, leading to at least 35% decrease in corrosion rate of the alloy. The potentiodynamic polarization curves of the alloys disclose a break, indicating the impact of passivating behavior. The results also reveal that the rotation speed of 1000 rpm, with the increase in the number of passes, generates more refined microstructure on the surface of Mg–5Zn alloy, which improves its corrosion resistance with decreasing the corrosion rate of the alloy from 28.64 mpy to 0.27 mpy after FSP for three passes at 1000 rpm. In contrast, FSP with the rotation speed of 800 rpm and one pass, besides providing the refined microstructure, develops better distribution of hydroxyapatite particles on the surface, which results in the highest corrosion resistance among the FSPed Mg–5Zn/HA composite coated alloy.

Skeletal muscle plays a critical role in metabolic diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Muscle atrophy, characterized by a decrease in muscle mass and function, occurs due to an imbalance between the rates of muscle protein synthesis and degradation. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms that lead to muscle atrophy in obese and T2DM mouse models. Additionally, the effect of nerve growth factor (NGF) on the protein synthesis and degradation pathways was examined. Male mice were divided into three groups: a control group that was fed a standard chow diet, and two experimental groups that were fed a Western diet. After 8 weeks, the diabetic group was injected with streptozotocin to induce T2DM. Each group was then further divided into NGF-treated or non-treated control group. In the gastrocnemius muscles of the Western diet group, increased expressions of myostatin, autophagy markers, and ubiquitin ligases were observed. Skeletal muscle tissue morphology indicated signs of muscle atrophy in both obese and diabetic mice. The NGF-treated group showed a prominent decrease in the protein levels of myostatin and autophagy markers. Furthermore, the NGF-treated group showed an increased Cyclin D1 level. Western diet-induced obesity and T2DM may be linked to muscle atrophy through upregulation of myostatin and subsequent increase in the ubiquitin and autophagy systems. Moreover, NGF treatment may improve muscle protein synthesis and cell cycling.

Introduction Increases in pain and interference with quality of life is a common concern among people with chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) who are tapering opioid medications. Research indicates that access to social and psychological support for pain self-management may help people to reduce their opioid dose without increasing pain and interference. This study evaluates the efficacy of a text messaging intervention designed to provide people with CNCP with social and psychological support for pain self-management while tapering long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) under the guidance of their prescriber.Methods and analysis A double-blind randomised controlled trial will be conducted. Patients with CNCP (n=74) who are tapering LTOT will be enrolled from across Australia. Participants will continue with their usual care while tapering LTOT under the supervision of their prescribing physician. They will randomly receive either a psychoeducational video and supportive text messaging (two Short Message Service (SMS) per day) for 12 weeks or the video only. The primary outcome is the pain intensity and interference assessed by the Pain, Enjoyment of Life and General Activity scale. Secondary outcomes include mood, self-efficacy, pain cognitions, opioid dose reduction, withdrawal symptoms, and acceptability, feasibility, and safety of the intervention. Participants will complete questionnaires at baseline and then every 4 weeks for 12 weeks and will be interviewed at week 12. This trial will provide evidence for the efficacy of a text messaging intervention to support patients with CNCP who are tapering LTOT. If proven to be efficacious and safe, this low-cost intervention can be implemented at scale.Ethics and dissemination The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Northern Sydney Local Health District (Australia). Study results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific and professional meetings.Trial registration number ACTRN12622001423707.

AimThere is growing interest in tailoring psychological interventions for distressing voices and a need for reliable tools to assess phenomenological features which might influence treatment response. This study examines the reliability and internal consistency of the Voice Characterisation Checklist (VoCC), a novel 10-item tool which assesses degree of voice characterisation, identified as relevant to a new wave of relational approaches.MethodsThe sample comprised participants experiencing distressing voices, recruited at baseline on the AVATAR2 trial between January 2021 and July 2022 (n = 170). Inter-rater reliability (IRR) and internal consistency analyses (Cronbach’s alpha) were conducted.ResultsThe majority of participants reported some degree of voice personification (94%) with high endorsement of voices as distinct auditory experiences (87%) with basic attributes of gender and age (82%). While most identified a voice intention (75%) and personality (76%), attribution of mental states (35%) to the voice (‘What are they thinking?’) and a known historical relationship (36%) were less common. The internal consistency of the VoCC was acceptable (10 items, α = 0.71). IRR analysis indicated acceptable to excellent reliability at the item-level for 9/10 items and moderate agreement between raters’ global (binary) classification of more vs. less highly characterised voices, κ = 0.549 (95% CI, 0.240–0.859), p

Abstract In this paper, a new configuration of a solar combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system is proposed to recover the waste thermal energy of a steam power plant, which provides the cooling and heating needs of an apartment complex located in Tehran. The required energy of the system is supplied by the parabolic trough solar collectors (PTCs) and, if necessary, an auxiliary heater is also used. An ejector refrigeration cycle (ERC) and a steam Rankine cycle are used for cooling and power generation, respectively. The cycle is dynamically modeled over a year using a TRNSYS‐EES co‐simulator. It is found that the highest Rankine cycle efficiency is obtained in the cold months (January) because of the decrease of turbine backpressure. With increasing the turbine inlet temperature from 190 to 210°C, the Rankine cycle and the overall cycle efficiencies increased about 1% and 2%, respectively. The maximum cooling, heating, and power generation, as well as the maximum solar fraction, are obtained at the turbine inlet temperatures of 210°C, which are 185.46, 598.65, 680.49 kW, and 70%, respectively. The annual overall performance and the solar fraction of the proposed CCHP system are 32.5% and 9.5%, respectively, based on 3000 m2 collector aperture area. The exergy analysis indicated that the maximum annual exergy destruction is related to the solar collectors, which have comprised 27% of the total exergy destruction. In addition, the yearly exergy efficiency of the proposed system is 39.9%.

Abstract Background Health systems need constant changes and reforms in their structure to adapt to changing conditions and meet the needs of society. One of the fundamental changes in the health system of Iran is the health transformation plan (HTP), the effects of which must be examined from different aspects. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of HTP on the performance indicators of public hospitals in Yazd city, Iran. Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out in all public hospitals in city of Yazd. Six performance indicators were examined monthly and in two time periods of 12 months before and 12 months after the implementation of Health Transformation Plan (HTP). The data was analyzed by SPSS software program version 22, using the paired T-test, and the Interrupted Time Series (ITS) model. Findings Findings showed that the performance indicators of the studied hospitals have improved after the implementation of the HTP. According to the ITS model, the implementation of HTP did not have a significant effect on the level and trend of the bed rotation distance, average length of stay and the ratio of surgical operations to bed indicators. However, it had a statistically significant effect on the level and trend of mortality and hospitalization rates. Moreover, the implementation of HTP had a significant effect on the level of the bed occupancy rate, but did not have a significant effect on the trend of this indicator. Conclusion Based on the research findings, all the selected indicators changed to some extent after the implementation of HTP, which showed the effect of this plan on the performance of hospitals. However, not all indicators were statistically significant as the findings sub-section revealed.

Abstract The yearly thermo‐economic performance is dynamically investigated for three solar heating and cooling systems: solar heating and absorption cooling (SHAC), solar heating and ejector cooling (SHEC), and heating and solar vapor compression cooling (HSVC). First, the effects of important design parameters on the thermo‐economic performance of the systems to supply the heating and cooling loads of the building are evaluated. The systems are parametrically analyzed with the weather conditions of Tehran, Iran. The results show that the life cycle costs (LCC) of the SHAC and HSVC systems are alike and much lower than those of the SHEC system. The HSVC system exhibits the best performance from exergetic and solar fraction viewpoints. The comparative analysis shows that the energy efficiencies of the SHAC and SHEC systems are higher in colder climatic conditions. However, the collector efficiency of the HSVC system declines in colder climates, mainly due to the lower solar intensities relative to in hotter climates. Further, the solar fraction of the SHAC system is higher than the SHEC technology under all climatic conditions. Moreover, higher values of solar fractions are obtained under colder weather conditions for the SHEC and HSVC systems. The best economic performance is observed for the SHAC and HSVC technologies, having significantly lower LCCs than the SHEC system. These lower LCCs under colder climatic conditions are due to the lower cost of supplying the heating load compared to the cooling load. Furthermore, all systems exhibit enhanced exergetic performance in colder weather conditions. The yearly thermo‐economic performance is dynamically investigated for three solar heating and cooling systems: SHAC, SHEC, and HSVC. In addition, the effects of important design parameters on the thermo‐economic performance of the systems to supply the heating and cooling loads of the building are evaluated.

Abstract In this research, it is investigated to numerically evaluate the performance of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The performance is investigated through the nonuniformity gradient loading at the catalyst layer (CL) of the considered PEMFC. Computational fluid dynamics is used to simulate a 2D domain in which a steady‐state laminar compressible flow in two‐phase for the PEMFC has been considered. In this case, a particular nonuniform variation inside the CL along the channel is assumed. The nonuniform gradient is created using a nonisothermal domain to predict the flooding effects on the performance of the PEMFC. The computational domain is considered as the cathode of PEMFC, which is divided into three regions: a gas channel, a gas diffusion layer, and a CL. The loading variation inside the catalyst is defined as a constant slope along the channel. In order to find the optimum slope, different slope angles are analyzed. The results point out that the nonuniform loading distribution of the catalyst (platinum) along the channel could improve the fuel cell performance up to 1.6% and 5% for power density and voltage generation, respectively. It is inferred that it is better to use more catalyst in the final section of the channel if the performance is the main concern.

Background: Air emergency medical services provide advanced medical care to patients and critically injured as soon as possible to reduce injuries and casualties. In this study, the status of the Medical Emergency and Accident Management Center in Yazd Province in terms of the necessary standards for air emergencies was investigated and compared with existing standards. Materials and Methods: The present research was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Using a researcher-made checklist, the required data, such as human resource requirements, physical and environmental space, time, communication equipment, medical equipment, equipment for traffic detection and management, and equipment for technical and safety services, were collected by asking relevant officials and experts. Finally, data analysis was performed using tables and descriptive statistics. Results: The study findings showed that in total, 2 items in the field of human resource requirements, 7 items in physical space and environmental requirements, 2 items regarding time requirements, 4 items regarding communication equipment requirements, 43 items regarding equipment and medicine requirements, including patient cabin equipment, emergency resuscitation kit and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), medicine and jump bag equipment, delivery set, triage bag, dressing equipment and technical and safety service equipment requirements were in accordance with the existing standards. Conclusion: Based on the existing standards, the air emergency in Yazd Province in most areas was satisfactory. Because of the importance of the issue, authorities must take the necessary measures to address the deficiencies and limitations so that the emergency missions be carried out in the best conditions.

Background:Despite the commitment of governments to improving health outcomes such as "life expectancy", "maternal mortality reduction", there are significant differences in the health status of different social groups within and between communities that can be prevented by appropriate interventions.In IRAN an important activity to move towards reducing health inequality was the establishment of a social deputy at the Ministry of Health and Medical Sciences Universities in 2016 which three years of activity, this department was dissolved. This study aimed to investigate the status of health socialization and its strategies and pillars in the current structure of the country in the field of health socialization and to examine the relationship between these pillars. Methods: This paper is a qualitative study conducted through documentation analysis and two in-depth semi-structured interviews with social deputies of two medical universities of Iran. Data were analyzed using content analysis method. Result: The study revealed that Iran has three strategies for socialization of health, and eight elements have been designated for their implementation. Currently, the implementation of the strategies has been distributed to various departments of the Ministry of Health and universities. They don’t have clear coordination and communication process. Conclusion: for achieving equity in socialization of health goals, it is better to clarify socialization of health stewardship in the whole country.

Think-pair-share (TPS) is a collaborative teaching activity first proposed by Frank Lyman of the University of Maryland in 1981. It can be used to help learners form individual ideas, discuss, and share with others in small groups. Willingness-to-communicate (WTC) can be defined as "an individual's volitional inclination towards actively engaging in the act ofcommunication in a specific situation, which can vary according to interlocutor(s), topic, and conversational context,among other potential situational variables" (Kang, 2005, p. 291). The adopted design for this study was a mixed-methods one in a small sample size and was conducted in Kish Language Institute. For this purpose, nine upper-intermediate female learners participated in the study. During five sessions, voice recording and a willingness-to-communicate questionnaire were used. It was found out that the number of turn-takings and interruptions fluctuated between groups during sessions, but the main inclination was toward elevation. Furthermore, in terms of the questionnaire, learners' perceptions were more promising in posttest in comparison with the pretest. Finally, the results of the statistical analyses revealed that the willingness-to-communicate of EFL learners in fifth session was significantly higher than their performance in the first session. At the end, some classroom implications are provided.

Background: The Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life (PAC-QOL) questionnaire is the most validated and the most specific tool for measuring the quality of life of patients with constipation. Over 120 million people live in countries whose official language is Persian. There is no reported Persian version of the PAC-QOL questionnaire yet. The aim of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the PAC-QOL questionnaire and to assess its reliability and validity among Persian patients with chronic constipation. Methods: Following the translation and cultural adaptation of the PAC-QOL questionnaire to Persian, 100 patients (mean±SD age=40.51±13.67) with constipation were recruited for validity measurement and 20 patients were re-examined for reliability. Content validity was assessed based on the opinions of an expert committee and the floor/ceiling effect. Construct validity was evaluated according to the hypothesis test. The SF-36 questionnaire was used for concurrent criterion validity, intra-class correlation coefficient for reliability, and Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency. Results: The content validity of the PAC-QOL questionnaire was proven, and there was no floor/ceiling effect. Construct validity also was confirmed based on the hypothesis test. The overall Cronbach’s alpha of the PAC-QOL questionnaire was 0.92 (range=0.72–0.92), and the overall intra-class correlation coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.88 (range=0.69–0.87). The correlation between the SF-36 and PAC-QOL questionnaires was moderate. Conclusion: The Persian version of the PAC-QOL questionnaire demonstrated good validity and reliability properties in chronic constipation. Accordingly, Persian researchers and clinicians can benefit from this questionnaire in further research and assessment of treatment outcomes.

In recent years, application of microwave dryer is expanding to speed up drying the agricultural products. Therefore, in this research a continuous band microwave dryer was fabricated and evaluated for drying paddy grains. In this experiments, drying process of two paddy varieties (Tarom Hashemi and Nemat) were studied in three levels of microwave power 90, 270 and 450 Watts, three different thicknesses of grain layer 6, 12 and 18 mm and five feeding speed 0.24, 0.3, 0.4, 0.6 and 1.2 mmin-1. The average slope of moisture ratio at the beginning of drying was -1.6×10-3, -1.47×10-3 and -3.16×10-3 for Tarom Hashemi and -2×10-3, -2.1×10-3 and -2.4×10-3 for Nemat at 6, 12 and 18 mm layer thickness, respectively. The finding reflected faster decreasing in the moisture content in the18 mm layer thickness compared to the two other examined layers. By evaluating all of the effective parameters of the fabricated microwave dryer on the moisture reduction and seed breakage percent, the power of 90 W, conveyor speed of 0.24 m/min-1, and layer thickness of 18 mm can be suggested for drying Tarom Hashemi paddy variety. The seed breakage percent in the proposed conditions for Tarom Hashemi was less than 10% for all of the conducted measurements.

Sol-gel modified Pechini's method was used to prepare WO3 nanopowders using dicarboxylic acid and polyethylene glycol as the chelating agent and polymeric source, respectively. WO3 powders were first prepared by calcination of resin precursor at 550ºC under various initial concentrations of metal ion (12.5-50 mmol), acid (125-500 mmol), a complexing agent (32-262 mmol), and polyethylene glycol (1-16.5 mmol) in the air atmosphere. The products were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The results revealed that the WO3 nanopowders prepared with different amounts of chelating agent and polyethylene glycol, crystallized in monoclinic phase. The nanopowders were impurity-free due to the presence of the complexing agent and polyethylene glycol as carbon sources. Morphological evolution indicated that the nanopowders evolved from rod-like to regular and spherical shapes, depending on complexing agent and polyethylene glycol amounts. Nanopowders with an average particle size of approximately 58 nm and a narrow size distribution were obtained.

This research is set to study scientific publications published by faculty members of Allameh Tabatab’i University in two international citation indexes including the Science Citation Index and Scopus. Duration of the study was 1987 till the end of 2015. Scientometrics methods were used to do the study. Searches in the mentioned databases were the main tool of data gathering. The results show that the growth rate was 29.49 and 32.51, and density indicator is 0.008 and 0.005 in the Science Citation Index and Scopus respectively. This indicates a low density and low collaboration among authors. Faculty of Management and Accounting was the most productive one. The United States of America and Switzerland were top countries in international scientific collaborations. In addition, scientific collaboration at national level was mostly done by authors from the Islamic Azad University, Tehran University and Amir Kabir University of Technology. There was an overlap of 21 percent among indexed publications by the two databases.

Introduction: Scientific collaboration is a process in which two or more scientists collaborate in a project or ‎write an article. The purpose of this study was the mapping of scientific collaboration among ‎Iranian researchers in the field of radiology in the Science Citation Index until the end of ‎‎2014. Methods: This applied research was conducted using scientometric and network analysis methods. The ‎study population consisted of all scientific publications in the field of radiology in the Science ‎Citation Index until the end of 2014. A total of 1938 documents were retrieved. Data were ‎analyzed using HistCite, VOSviewer, UCINet, PAJEK, and Excel software packages. Results: The scientific production growth rate was 11.3. The Tehran University of Medical Sciences ‎‎(661 documents) was the most prolific university in this field. The collaboration network ‎showed high density (63%). Conclusion: The collaboration network analysis showed that Saghari, Beiki, Eftekhari, Javadi, Assadi, and ‎Fallahi were the most important authors and the majority of scientific collaboration took place ‎among them. The clustering coefficient of the collaboration network was 0.52.

Background and purpose: The movement of spiritual leadership is a special kind of service-centered leadership which looks forward to progress and staff control. Job involvement also emphasizes timely attendance of staff, feeling successful at work, and sense of optimism and success about the future of the organization. Therefore, this study investigated the relation between spiritual leadership and job involvement of employees in the selected hospitals located in Isfahan. Materials and Methods: This study was descriptive–analytical and was conducted in 7 hospitals of Isfahan in 2010. The instrument used was a valid and reliable questionnaire consisting of three parts of demographic data, spiritual leadership questionnaire, and job involvement. Data was analyzed by SPSS .18 and analytical and descriptive statistics (t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation) were performed. Results: Results showed that the average score of spiritual leadership and job involvement in entire hospital cases were more than 3. There was a direct correlation between spiritual leadership and job involvement. Also there was a significant relation between the staff work experience and the two studied components. Conclusion: According to the results, it is recommended that organizations authorities involved in health issue provide conditions in addition to focusing on various aspects of spiritual leadership so that the health community rights and especially the staff of this sector be respected and have a sense of job security so that more improvement of job commitment and job involvement be provided for people by enjoying social supports.

Managing empty containers in shipping industry plays an important role to increase the profitability on marine shipping industry. This paper presents an empirical investigation to detect influential factors in container transportation and estimates the value of empty containers transportation. The study also evaluates and compares different strategies employed to reduce the charge of empty container transportation. By selecting three major passages including Trans-pacific, trans-Atlantic and Europe-Asia and considering the balance in transportation network, regardless of the origin of shipping companies, an optimistic estimation of empty container transportation would be possible; therefore, empty container transportation could be explained, quantitatively. Furthermore, since shipping companies organize the movement of containers in various routes, four different strategies are also proposed.

One of the important issues in port services is to evaluate the performance of the services. Without evaluating port services and their related components, these services cannot be considered desirable and its quality cannot be enhanced. However, the evaluation and the quality assurance of port services should be accomplished based on a scientific framework and a coherent framework to have desirable results. The importance-performance analysis model is an appropriate framework where each component is evaluated in terms of two dimensions of importance and performance. This study performs performance-importance analysis of ports’ services quality form perspective of containerized liner shipping in the Imam Khomeini port. In this exploratory study, 150 shipping lines experts are chosen, randomly in 2012. The study identifies 28 components of quality in port services and shipping lines’ experts are requested to evaluate these components in terms of two dimensions of importance and performance. Results reveal that there is a gap between the importance and performance of all port services components except three components of 6, 19 and 24. In addition, the results indicate that Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) model is capable of evaluating and assuring quality in port services and can precisely identify the strengths and weaknesses of the seaport system and provide guidance for strategy formulation for quality improvement.

Introduction: One of the common problems among older people is falling. Falling inside the houses and streets makes up a large incidence between Iranian elderly, then the effort to identify environmental factors at home and home modification can reduce falls and injury in the elderly. The aim of this study is identifying elderly at risk of fall with using screening tool (HOME FAST) and define reliability of this tool.Material and Methods: As a reliability, through the health housing of the town councils in five geographical regions of Tehran, 60 old person were selected. Participants aged 60 to 65 years and the HOME FAST tool was used in the two stages (inter rater and test-retest).Results: Test-retest reliability in the study showed that agreement between the items is over than 0.8, which shows very good reliability. The results showed that the relative of the each item in the Agreement between the domain is 1 - 0.65, which shows moderate to high reliability. And the results in this study showed that agreement between the items in Inter rater reliability is over than 0.8, which shows the level of reliability is very good. Also it showed that the relative of the each item in the agreement between the domain is 1 - 0.01, which shows poor to high reliability.Conclusion: This study shows that the reliability of the HOME FAST is high. The findings of these comments have been expected that the test objectives were appropriate to prevent falls and the tools showed acceptable reliability, then this test can be used as a tool for to professionals.

Effect of calcium addition on microstructure, hardness value and corrosion behavior of five different Mg-xCa binary alloys (x = 0.7, 1, 2, 3, 4 wt. (%)) was investigated. Notable refinement in microstructure of the alloy occurred with increasing calcium content. In addition, more uniform distribution of Mg2Ca phase was observed in a-Mg matrix resulted in an increase in hardness value. The in-vitro corrosion examination using Kokubo simulated body fluid showed that the addition of calcium shifted the fluid pH value to a higher level similar to those found in pure commercial Mg. The high pH value amplified the formation and growth of bone-like apatite. Higher percentage of Ca resulted in needle-shaped growth of the apatite. Electrochemical measurements in the same solution revealed that increasing Ca content led to higher corrosion rates due to the formation of more cathodic Mg2Ca precipitate in the microstructure. The results therefore suggested that Mg-0.7Ca with the minimum amount of Mg2Ca is a good candidate for bio-implant applications.

Background: Low Back Pain (LBP) is still a medical problem in 21 st century. Having back pain and being disabled by it are not the same thing. It is common to come across with patients who have simple back pain but surprisingly totally disabled and vice versa. In clinical practice, it is important to have a proper evaluation of disability and making a clear distinction between pain and disability. During the past two decades several selfreport measures and questionnaires have been developed to evaluate disability in LBP patients, however most of these questionnaire were designed in English language and based on European or American studies. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a translated and culturally adapt “Pain Disability Index (PDI)” and “Pain Disability Questionnaire (PDQ)” among Iranian patients with low back pain. Methods: The Persian versions of the PDI, PDQ were created through systematic translation and crosscultural adaptation of the original questionnaires. The Oswestry Disability Index and Visual Analogue Scale were used for validation studies. Patients were asked to complete these questionnaires initially and also at 7 days later as retest.Results: A total of 304 patients with acute and chronic LBP completed the Persian versions of PDI, PDQ,“Oswestry Disability Index” (ODI) and “Visual Analogue Scale” (VAS). Among patients 111 patients participated for retest after seven days. The Cronbach’s alpha (coefficient of reliability) for the PDI and PDQ was satisfactory. The PDI and PDQ showed high and very high test-retest reliability (ICC=0.8 and 0.92 respectively). The Pearson correlation coefficient among PDI, PDQ with ODI was 0.64 and 0.72, and for PDI, PDQ, ODI with VAS was 0.36, 0.47 and 0.57, respectively (P

Background: Regarding the variety of tests present for detecting and also screening prostate cancer and also bearing in mind the advantages and disadvantages of these tests we decided to re-evaluate these tests (total prostate specific antigen and all of its modifications) in detecting prostate cancer in men with intermediate serum PSAlevels. Methods: Following a cross sectional study, 100 consecutive men with intermediate serum PSA levels and normal digital rectal examination (DRE) were incorporated. Total and free PSA levels and TRUS-guided systematic prostate biopsy were performed. PSA density, percent free PSA and percent free PSA density were calculated and compared. Statistical analysis was carried out using STATA8 SE. Results: Overall, 27 patients had prostate cancer and 73 had benign prostate pathology. PSA density had the greatest area under the curve (AUC) which was significantly higher than percent free PSA density (0.685 vs. 0.448, p

Philosophy of religion is an intellectual and logical interpretation of religious experience and language. It merges in philosophy so far as its philosophical thinking about religion is concerned. Philosophical thought is always rational and very deeply intellectual. It is a rational analysis of religious experience and the problem of the language of religion. In the philosophy of religion as it has developed in the Western philosophy and Christian theology, two main questions may be identified as representing problems associated with the religious use of language. How we ought to understand the terms which we use to predicate certain things of God? Do these terms bear the same sense when used of God and of creatures? Another problem is that God is so fundamentally and so enormously different from human beings and other creatures that it seems impossible for terms to be true of God and of creatures in just the same sense. In recent years a number of analyses of theological discourse have been suggested. Thus, this paper analyses a reduction the problem of the language of religion by discussing symbolic interpretation which is alternatively a development of symbolism in religious texts and practices. Therefore, the first of this paper includes the review of the problem of the language of religion and philosophers’ and theologians’ reflections on it. Secondly, it surveys the correlation between symbolism and interpretation and their function in analyzing.

Background: A new kind of leadership, called spiritual leadership, emphasizes on serving to others, general attitude toward work, personal development, and collaborative decision making. Spiritual leadership has been developed based on the philosophy of servant leadership and includes staff participation and empowerment. This research aimed to survey the relationship between spiritual leadership and its seven dimensions on the quality of work life among the staff members of Hasheminejad Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Methods: This descriptive, applied research was carried out on 111 staff members of Hasheminejad Hospital in 2010. Data was collected by Fry's spiritual leadership survey and quality of work life questionnaire of Casio model. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics and Spearman test in SPSS. Results: There were significant and positive correlations between spiritual leadership and its seven dimensions (vision, altruistic love, hope, meaning, membership, organizational commitment, and performance feedback) and quality of work life among the staff of Hasheminejad Hospital. Conclusions: Spiritual leadership provides supporting backgrounds for staff and helps them meet the organizational goals by pursuing their aims and needs through using their potentials. Keywords: Spiritual Leadership; Hospitals; Teaching; Personnel; Quality of Life.

Effect of calcium addition on microstructure, hardness value and corrosion behavior of five different Mg-xCa binary alloys (x = 0.7, 1, 2, 3, 4 wt. (%)) was investigated. Notable refinement in microstructure of the alloy occurred with increasing calcium content. In addition, more uniform distribution of Mg2Ca phase was observed in a-Mg matrix resulted in an increase in hardness value. The in-vitro corrosion examination using Kokubo simulated body fluid showed that the addition of calcium shifted the fluid pH value to a higher level similar to those found in pure commercial Mg. The high pH value amplified the formation and growth of bone-like apatite. Higher percentage of Ca resulted in needle-shaped growth of the apatite. Electrochemical measurements in the same solution revealed that increasing Ca content led to higher corrosion rates due to the formation of more cathodic Mg2Ca precipitate in the microstructure. The results therefore suggested that Mg-0.7Ca with the minimum amount of Mg2Ca is a good candidate for bio-implant applications.