Factors Affecting Forage Quality of Native Species in Iranian Rangelands

Animal performance is closely correlated with the nutrient value of the forage available and this is affected by different factors (Arzani et al., 2001). Crude protein content (CP), digestible dry matter (DDM) and metabolisable energy (ME) were considered particularly appropriate for evaluation of range forage quality. This paper reports on factors affecting the forage quality of range species grown in Iran

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS): translation and validation study of the Iranian version

BACKGROUND: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a widely used instrument to measure postnatal depression. This study aimed to translate and to test the reliability and validity of the EPDS in Iran. METHODS: The English language version of the EPDS was translated into Persian (Iranian language) and was used in this study. The questionnaire was administered to a consecutive sample of 100 women with normal (n = 50) and caesarean section (n = 50) deliveries at two points in time: 6 to 8 weeks and 12 to 14 weeks after delivery. Statistical analysis was performed to test the reliability and validity of the EPDS. RESULTS: Overall 22% of women at time 1 and 18% at time 2 reported experiencing postpartum depression. In general, the Iranian version of the EPDS was found to be acceptable to almost all women. Cronbach's alpha coefficient (to test reliability) was found to be 0.77 at time 1 and 0.86 at time 2. In addition, test-rest reliability was performed and the intraclass correlation coefficient was found to be 0.80. Validity as performed using known groups comparison showed satisfactory results. The questionnaire discriminated well between sub-groups of women differing in mode of delivery in the expected direction. The factor analysis indicated a three-factor structure that jointly accounted for 58% of the variance. CONCLUSION: This preliminary validation study of the Iranian version of the EPDS proved that it is an acceptable, reliable and valid measure of postnatal depression. It seems that the EPDS not only measures postpartum depression but also may be measuring something more

Discovering the causes of mental weakness among conscript soldiers: a sample of qualitative research

Background and Aim: Military service is one of the important steps before entering the working life for many young men in Iran, who usually have many worries about it. Some of the concerns are related to the complaints that other soldiers have about this period. Therefore, this study was to discover the causes of mental weakness of service soldiers. Method: This study was conducted with a qualitative method and thematic analysis method (Clark and Bravan, 2006) in the year 1400-1401 in Isfahan city and in order to answer the question that the causes of mental weakness of conscript soldiers are. The statistical population was all conscript soldiers of Isfahan city, from whom 13 soldiers were selected based on the entry and exit criteria and were interviewed by targeted sampling method. The research tool was semi-structured interview. Results: The collected data were analyzed with the help of thematic analysis. The results showed four main categories: intrapersonal weaknesses (external sources of happiness, high expectations, negative motivation, low self-esteem), family component (causes related to one of the parents and causes related to family conditions), interpersonal causes (weakness communication skills, weakness in managing communication problems) 3) environmental causes (perception of military personnel's weakness in establishing authoritative communication, perception of the environment's indifference to the current needs of soldiers). Conclusion: According to the results, it can be said that a large part of the causes of mental weakness is related to their life history, which can be managed well in the beginning days of military service with the help of increasing skills and awareness. and helped their mental enrichment