مطالب

Purpose: Osteoporosis usually starts at a young age and progresses slowly over time. Therefore timely diagnosis of this disease plays an effective role in raising the level of health and public health in the society. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between some indicators of osteoporosis and bone mineral density of the pelvis in active elderly men. Methods: This study was semi-experimental. 25 active elderly men with the age range of 60 to 85 years were selected as available and with medical records. Anthropometric characteristics and serum indices of subjects were used as effective indices of osteoporosis. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to find the relationship between bone mineral density of the pelvis and effector indices, data analysis was done using SPSS version 26 software. Results: The results of this research showed that in the active elderly men, there is a significant relationship between age (P=0.044), body mass index (BMI) (P=0.021), serum calcium (P=0.037) and phosphorus levels (P=0.046) and alkaline phosphatase (P=0.016), with bone mineral density (BMD) of the pelvis. No significant relationship was found between vitamin D with BMD of the pelvis (P=0.055). Conclusion: In general, the results show that there is a significant relationship between bone density and body mass index, calcium and serum alkaline phosphatase indices in active elderly men. Therefore, it is possible to use the serum levels of these indicators in predicting this disease, and exercise may also be one of the influencing factors, so the effect of exercise on other bone density indicators can be investigated.

Poetry therapy, a form of creative art therapy, utilizes poetry and other stimulating forms of literature to achieve therapeutic goals and promote personal growth. Research has shown the effectiveness of positive and negative symptom control and treatment in schizophrenia, highlighting the need for non-pharmacological interventions. Poetry therapy has emerged as one such intervention in this domain. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of group poetry therapy on positive and negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. This experimental study employed a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of the study were hospitalized patients in treatment and rehabilitation centers in Ardabil city. Using cluster random sampling, 22 participants were selected and randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group received eleven sessions of group poetry therapy, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Data were collected using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and analyzed through one-way analysis of covariance. The results indicated that, after accounting for the pretest effect, the mean of posttest scores of the experimental group participants were lower than those of the control group in positive and negative symptoms (P<0.05), confirming the effectiveness of group poetry therapy intervention. This study demonstrated that group poetry therapy is an effective non-pharmacological treatment for individuals with chronic schizophrenia and can be implemented by clinical professionals in treatment centers.  

This study was an attempt to examine the relationship between the academic degree and teaching experience of Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and their reliance on student engagement. To this end, eight EFL teachers (male and female) with different teaching experiences and academic degrees and a number of 40 students in their respective classes were selected through convenience sampling. First, the teachers and the students filled out consent forms, including their personal information, such as gender, age, academic degree, and years of teaching experience. Second, the students answered Skinner et al.'s (2008) 'Engagement vs. Disaffection with Learning: Student-report' Questionnaire, a valid scale for measuring language learners' engagement with teaching-learning tasks and their satisfaction with their learning activities. Then, Pearson's product-moment correlation between teachers' teaching experience and academic degree, as well as the students' self-expressed ratings of their engagement or disaffection with classroom learning activities, was calculated. The results showed significant positive correlations between teaching experience and behavioral and emotional engagement and significant negative correlations between teaching experience and behavioral and emotional disaffection.