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Aim: Benefits of Skin-to-Skin Contact (SSC) between mother and her newborn, specifically when it is conducted immediately after birth, have been recognized for more than 40 years. To determine why SSC is not conducted, the present study considers the opinions of the labor working midwifes about the reinforcing factors in SSC immediately after birth in Tehran's hospitals in 2012-2013. Methods: In this descriptive study, we have employed the reinforcing factors of the phase 3 of PRECEDE-PROCEED model. The samples consisted of 292 midwifes who were responsible for delivery or for newborns immediately after birth in 18 hospitals of Tehran. The sampling was firstly performed using stratified and then simple random manner. They were classified into educational, social security, and private hospitals. Data collection instrument was a self-developed questionnaire consisting of demographic characteristics, social support and midwifes' motivation to conduct the reinforcing factors in the SCC at birth. It was derived from a qualitative study. Internal consistency of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data analysis was conducted through applying the SPSS version 18. Findings: The results show that 93.8% of midwifes had a good idea about social support of the midwifes with Cronbach's alpha 0.744 and 96.6% of them believed in the Midwifes ' motivation in skin contact effects with Cronbach's 0.773. Conclusions: The midwives believed in the key role of reinforcing factors such as social support and their own motivation in successful and standard SSC. Therefore, further studies are suggested on exploring the opinions of pediatric, obstetrics and anesthesia specialists, midwives, mothers and their husbands concerning the SSC.

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Aim: Despite the evidence suggesting the positive impact of the immediate mother-newborn Skin-to-Skin Contact (SCC), it has not yet been adopted to use for healthy newborn in Iran. No study has explained the reasons. This study aimed to survey midwives' opinions about the predisposing factors in SCC at birth in Tehran hospitals in 2014.
Method: The samples, in this cross sectional descriptive study, were 292 midwives who worked in labour wards, and a multi- stage cluster sampling was applied. First we applied stratified and simple random approaches. Then they were classified into educational, social security, and private groups. Data collection instrument was a self- developed questionnaire consisting of 9 demographic characteristics and 38 items concerning the predisposing factors in SCC. We applied face/content validity and item impact method for the instrument's validity. For assessing the internal consistency of the instrument, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used. All statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS-18.
Findings: The findings showed that 95.5% of the midwives possessed good knowledge of SSC, 93.2% had positive attitudes, 96.6% believed in SSC effects, and 94.9% had a good self-efficacy perception. The Cronbach‟s alpha coefficient of the 38-item instrument showed excellent internal consistency (α=0.88), and it was valid and reliable to measure predisposing factors in SSC.
Conclusion: The knowledge and attitudes of conducting SSC at birth were evaluated at “good” and “positive”, respectively. Therefore, we suggest further analytic studies to determine how these factors could affect on midwife behaviour.

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Aims: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of married women in promoting sexual and reproductive health behaviors.
Participants & Methods: This qualitative study was conducted from December 2019 to March 2022 in Sanandaj, Iran. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews with 23 married women of reproductive age. In order to enhance the information gathered from participant interviews, some interviews with 6 experts were also conducted. Data were analyzed using the conventional content analysis approach of Graneheim and Lundman.
Findings: Through the process of combining overlapping phrases and eliminating similar and duplicate codes, a final set of 76 codes, 23 subcategories, 6 categories and 3 themes were detected which all categorized under the umbrella of personal empowerment
Conclusion: Women adopt various behaviors to enhance their fertility and sexual health. These behaviors include self-regulation, improved communication with spouses and relatives, and maintaining a healthy sexual life.

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One of the dysarthria features is inaccurate articulation of consonants and vowels, which is the main cause of speech unintelligibility. However, it is not clear what acoustic measures are more related to speech intelligibility in dysarthria. On the other hand, the number of vowels, their articulation and acoustic characteristics are various in different languages. As far as we know, no study investigated vowels articulation in developmental dysarthria in Persian, so there is not enough information about movement details which make their inaccuracies articulation. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate some acoustic measures including vowel formants, vowel space area (VSA), formant centralization ratio (FCR) and vowel articulation index (VAI) and aim to study their correlation with speech intelligibility in Persian speaking children with dysarthria due to spastic cerebral palsy. In this cross ـ sectional study, 11 monolingual children with dysarthria aged 3 ـ 9 years and their typically developing matched peers were selected through convenience sampling. For each of the six Persian vowels, two monosyllable words were acoustically analyzed using PRAAT software. To determine intelligibility of words and vowels, the percentage of correct detected ones was calculated. Results showed a significant difference between the two groups in the third formant of the vowels /a/ and /u/ and the second formant of the vowel /o/. The vowel space area and intelligibility were significantly reduced in dysarthria. VAS was more correlated with intelligibility and is a good acoustic measurement to assess speech intelligibility in dysarthria. However all three studied acoustic indices had moderate significant correlation with intelligibility.

1. Introduction
Abnormalities in power, speed, range, muscle tone, stability, and accuracy of movements necessary for respiration, phonation, production, articulation, or prosodic aspects of speech lead to dysarthria (Duffy, 2019). Depending on the location of the damage in the nervous system, there are different types of dysarthria and each creates different speech characteristics (Duffy, 2019). Cerebral palsy is one of the main causes of dysarthria in children. One of the main and distinctive features of dysarthria is imprecise production, which is the main factor for low speech intelligibility (De Bodt et al., 2002). However, there is limited information on the motor features that cause this inaccuracy in children’s production, and awareness of these motor events is a prerequisite for providing appropriate therapeutic approaches (Allison et al., 2017). If we consider syllables as speech motor units (Yunusova et al., 2008) and vowels as the core components of syllables, vowel distortion can affect the structure of syllables and consequently speech. Describing the vowels of a language has more auditory aspects than articulatory ones. However, gradually linguistics realized that if the vowels of a language are displayed based on F1 and F2 features, the result will be a two-dimensional space that they named vowel space. Since speech intelligibility is the primary goal of clinical interventions, and since vowels are a good predictor of speech intelligibility in dysarthria, it is necessary to accurately determine the correctness and accuracy of vowels with the help of appropriate diagnostic or perceptual tools to assess the effects of direct and indirect therapies on the proper production of vowels and the improvement of speech intelligibility. This diagnosis guides therapists in selecting appropriate treatment methods or continuing therapy.
Research Question(s)
Is the formant of each of the 6 vowels in Persian-speaking children with spastic dysarthria different from that of typically developing children? Are speech intelligibility, acoustic parameters of vowel space, vowel production indices, and formant centralization ratio different in children with dysarthria based on age? Is there a correlation between some acoustic parameters of vowels and speech intelligibility?


2. Literature Review
In 2019, a study was conducted in China on the Mandarin language with the aim of determining acoustic parameters for speech evaluation in children with dysarthria due to cerebral palsy. Thirty children aged 5 to 15 with cerebral palsy and 13 typically developing children participated in the study. Formants F1 and F2 were calculated for vowels /a, i, u/. The VSA, VAI, and FCR indices were also calculated and analyzed. In children with cerebral palsy, there were significant differences in F1 and F2 for the vowel /a/ and F2 for the vowel /i/, while there were no significant differences in F1 and F2 for the vowel /u/ and F1 for the vowel /i/. There were significant differences between the two groups in the FCR, VAI, and VSA indices (Mou et al., 2019). In another study in 2017 aimed at improving the understanding of speech characteristics related to dysarthria in English-speaking children with cerebral palsy in the United States, formants were analyzed at the word and sentence levels. The speech of 10 children with dysarthria due to cerebral palsy was compared to 10 typically developing children. The results showed that children with dysarthria had a smaller vowel space compared to typically developing children at both the word and sentence levels (Allison et al., 2017). The same researchers conducted another study in 2018 with the aim of determining acoustic characteristics of connected speech in children with dysarthria due to cerebral palsy and typically developing children. Twenty children with dysarthria were matched with typically developing children in terms of age and gender. The results showed that children with dysarthria differ from typically developing children in terms of speech-segmental and suprasegmental features (Allison & Hustad, 2018). In 2016, a study titled “Vowel Intelligibility in Children with or without Dysarthria” was conducted. Researchers in this exploratory study examined the vowel intelligibility of American English vowels in American children. Generally, children with dysarthria had lower vowel intelligibility compared to typically developing children, but there was no statistically significant difference in intelligibility among different vowels. These studies highlight the significance of focusing on the vowel system during therapy to enhance intelligibility (Levy et al., 2016).

3. Methodology
In the present cross-sectional study, 11 children with spastic dysarthria due to cerebral palsy were selected from rehabilitation clinics in Semnan city, and 11 typically developing age- and gender-matched children from preschools and primary schools in the same city. The inclusion criteria for children with cerebral palsy in the study were mild to moderate dysarthria due to spastic cerebral palsy, aged 3 to 9 years, and the ability to produce single words. Exclusion criteria were the presence of sensory or motor problems, bilingualism, dysphagia, and difficulties in producing consonants present in test words. Initially, 12 monosyllabic words with a CVC structure including 2 words for each of the 6 vowels in the Persian language were selected by a linguist and a speech-language pathologist, which were simple to produce in terms of consonants and did not affect the central vowel. Each word was uttered twice, so 4 words were spoken for each vowel, with 3 of them selected for formant analysis using PRAAT software. Subsequently, the spoken words by each child were presented to adults unfamiliar with the child, who were free of hearing or language issues, to write down the words after hearing them. The researchers determined the number of correct words and the vowels identified by adults to establish the percentage of vowel and speech intelligibility for each child. Finally, the two groups of children were compared in terms of vowel space and speech intelligibility.

4. Results
In this study, each group of children with normal speech and dysarthria included 4 girls and 7 boys with a minimum age of 3.5 and a maximum age of 9 years. The mean age in children with dysarthria was 1.9 ± 5.6 years and in the group with normal speech was 1.8 ± 5.7 years, with no significant difference between them (p > 0.05). Since results in speech production change with age due to vocal tract lengthening and children’s motor skill development, the children in this study were categorized into 2 subgroups of 3.6 to 6 years and 6 to 9 years. Comparison of vowels in children with dysarthria and their age-matched typically developing peers using the Mann-Whitney test showed a significant difference between the two groups only in 6 to 9-year-old children in the first formant of /i/ and /æ/ vowels, the second formant of /æ/ vowel, and also the third formant of /e/ and /a/ vowels. Speech intelligibility at the single-word and vowel level, acoustic parameters of vowel space, vowel production indices, and formant centralization ratio were compared between the two groups of children with dysarthria at different ages using the Mann-Whitney test, which showed a significant difference in word and vowel intelligibility between the two groups. All acoustic indices also showed a significant difference between the two groups. Vowel space, calculated based on the /a/, /i/, and /u/ side vowels in this study, was smaller in the group of children with dysarthria compared to the normal group. In both age groups, the dispersion of vowel production in the dysarthric group was higher compared to the normal children. The results of the Spearman correlation coefficient test showed a significant moderate relationship between all indices of vowels and speech intelligibility. This relationship was direct for the Vowel Space Area (VSA) and Vowel Articulatory Index (VAI) and inverse for the Formant Centralization Ratio (FCR).
 

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As the demand for new protein sources increases, research is needed to extract and develop protein isolates with desirable functional properties. Sesame protein can be used as a new plant protein source due to its high amino acid content. In this study, the effect of sodium chloride salt concentration (0, 18 and 22% w / v) and drying temperature (25, 45 and 180 °C) as two important parameters affecting the functional properties of protein isolates extracted from sesame were investigated. Protein solubility tests at pH 4, 5, 7, 9 and 11, foam stability and emulsion stability at pH 11 and water holding capacity (WHC) and oil holding capacity (OHC) were performed. The lowest protein solubility was observed at pH 5 and with increasing pH, protein solubility increased. With increasing temperature from 45 to 180 °C at constant salt concentration, protein solubility and foam and emulsion stability increased and WHC and OHC decreased. An increasing in salt concentration from 18 to 22 % at constant temperature caused to increase in protein solubility and decrease in WHC and OHC. Foam and emulsion stability was lowest at 18% of salt concentration. In general, drying temperature of 45 degrees Celsius and salt concentration of 18% for preparation of protein isolate with maximum water and oil holding capacity and drying temperature of 180 ^°C and salt concentration of 22% for production of sesame protein isolate with maximum solubility, Emulsion stability and foam stability are recommended.
 

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of adding balango seed antioxidant extract on some properties of low-fat stirred yogurt. In this regard, the antioxidant extract of balango seeds was extracted by three traditional methods (immersion) for 24 hours, microwave for 3, 12 and 24 minutes and ultrasound for 30, 60 and 90 minutes and tests such as total phenol, DPPH scavenging activity and iron reducing power were performed on them, and according to the results of this part, the best extract was selected and added to low-fat yogurt in different concentrations (0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 g/liter). The results showed that the extract obtained after 30 minutes of ultrasound had the highest amount of total phenol, DPPH scavenging activity, and the power of reducing iron. On the other hand, it was determined that the highest and lowest pH and acidity of the produced yogurts, respectively, belonged to the control sample that did not contain the antioxidant extract of balango seeds, and with the increase of the extract in the samples, the pH decreased but the acidity increased, and the sample without the extract had the lowest amount. Watering (28.52%) was among the samples and with the addition of Balango extract to the formulation of manufactured yogurts, the number of Lactobacillus acidophilus increased. Finally, according to the findings of the general acceptance and properties of low-fat stirred yogurt, it can be said that the addition of 0.2 g/liter of balango seed extract leads to the improvement of the qualitative and sensory properties of low-fat stirred yogurt.
 

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One of the most important issues in monetary and fiscal policy analysis is their efficiency or effectiveness, which tells policymakers about effectiveness of policies. In general, the effectiveness or effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policies refers to the extent to which they affect equilibrium national output or income.  Therefore, in order to achieve its goals, the policymaker should be able to respond appropriately to the production gap and inflation accordingly, a policy rule covering the goals of the central bank should be used. In this study, in the framework of Taylor rule, the response of monetary and fiscal policies to the output gap has been investigated in the Iranian economy using the Quantile regression method over the period 1976-2018. The results show that by increasing the output gap in different quantities, monetary authorities do not show any reaction to the output gap. But government policymakers pursue an expansionary policy toward the output gap, which is contrary to Taylor's rule, and the results confirm that government policymakers make policy at their will.

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