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Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a self-care educational package on patients suffering from hypertension in Khatamolanbia Hospital of Iranshahr. Self-care includes a set of healthy behaviors as well as the choice of correct lifestyle, which will prevent from disease and result in effective treatment in case of disease through proper knowledge. Since hypertension is one of the most important modifiable factors by self-care, prevention and treatment of this disease should be considered by the authorities.
Method: A self-care educational package was used within six months to assess its impact on hypertensive patients using a researcher-made questionnaire. The target population included 50 mainly female hypertensive patients admitted to Khatamolanbia Hospital of Iranshahr in 2015 who were studied in pre-test post-test groups. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software (version 16).
Findings: It was indicated that the self-care education program had a significant impact on the participants' knowledge, attitudes, health behaviors and blood pressure control (p<0.05) so that effective reduction in mean blood pressure from 150.90 to 130.80 was observed.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the self-care program could be used as an effective approach to practically reduce and control blood pressure.

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To challenge the authority of Grand Narratives is a dominant feature of postmodernism and, naturally, postmodern writing. Amongst these grand narratives is History. Historiographic metafictional novels – as postmodern works of fiction – challenge the objectivity of History and reinterpret (or, better said, demystify) the historical record. The writers of these novels seek to show the multiplicity and textuality of history. Therefore, history in these works of fiction is a discursive construct and has an intertextual nature; and as a discourse it is constructed in and through language and is thus open to rewriting and recontextualization. The present paper examines two historiographic metafictional novels in both English and Persian literatures, namely, Graham Swift's Waterland (1983) and Hamidrezā Shāhābādi's Dilmāj (2006), in order to reveal the extent these novels have transformed the conventions of historical fiction.

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The purpose of this article is to critically examine two plays, namely Cambises (1569) by Thomas Preston and The Sophy (1641) by John Denham, through the lens of Edward Said’s theoretical framework. These works, although relatively unfamiliar in our country, offer valuable insights into the prevailing political and cultural discourse of Renaissance England, during which the nation's expansionist policies were beginning to form. In line with the prevailing tendencies among writers of their era, Preston and Denham, whether deliberately or indeliberately, practiced Stereotyping and Othering, because their knowledge of the East was neither objective nor direct; it was merely a reproduction of the stereotypical images in previous texts. Through misrepresenting the East and its people, their works became a part of the broader political and cultural discourse of their country, reflecting a thirst for superiority. It is crucial to recognize that such cultural misrepresentations played a significant role in shaping public sentiments, laying the groundwork for expansionism and colonialism. Through a contrapuntal reading of these dramatic works, we can uncover the intricate relationship between cultural artifacts and the underlying power dynamics at play, which provides us with a nuanced understanding of their impact.

 

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Kilka fish oil is highly susceptible to oxidation due to high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. One of the methods used to protect unsaturated oils from environmental damage is the encapsulation process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of encapsulation process on reduction of Kilka fish oil oxidation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of type and concentration of wall materials on encapsulated fish oil properties. The mixture of xanthan and lepidium sativum (Shahi) seed gum was used in 100: 0, 50:50 and 0: 100 ratios as the continuous phase of emulsion. Concentration of solid material in wall solution was chosen at 30, 40 and 50%. A homogenizer ultraturax was used to prepare nanomulsions and a high pressure homogenizer was used to produce microemulsion. The results showed that the size of the capsules prepared with mixture wall in all concentration, xanthan gum at 40 and 50% concentration and capsules with shahi seed gum at 30% concentration was in the range of nano (below 100 nm). All microcapsules had a size below 10 micrometers. Zeta potential was negative for microcapsules and nanocapsules and the lowest and highest zeta potentials were related to capsule with mixture and shahi seed gum walls respectively. The nanocapsules showed higher efficiency of Kilka fish oil encapsulation than microcapsules. The images of the Scanning Electron Microscope represent a suitable network and uniform wall cover around the capsules, and structural fractures were not observed. The results of this study suggest using of fish oil microcapsules with shahi gum wall at 40% concentration, fish oil nanocapsules with mixture of xanthan and shahi gum wall at 40% concentration, and fish oil nanocapsules with 30% xanthan gum due to good properties for oil storage.
 

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sheep meat has a high potential for degradation due to high protein, fat and moisture. In this study, the antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of kiwi peel extract in two types of common and nano coatings based on basil seed gum, perfoliatum seed gum and their composition in increasing shelf life of sheep meat were investigated. Hydroalcoholic extracts of kiwi peel were obtained using ultrasound assisted technique the total phenolic content and total flavonoid  being 342.0 ± 3.12 mg GA/g E and 6.39 ± 1.02 mg QE /g E respectively. Different concentrations of kiwi peel extract (500, 1000, 1500, 2000 and 2500 ppm) showed high antioxidant activities due to phenolic and flavonoid compounds in both DPPH free radical scavenging and beta carotene: linoleic acid bleaching assay. The minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum bactericidal concentration of the extract for Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aerogenes and Escherichia coli were determined that 2000 ppm of extract used in coating. The particle size of the nano-coatings was in the range of 81.53 to 176.15 nm, and the zeta potential of all nano-coatings was negative. Meat samples were kept at 4 ° C for 25 days and peroxide value, thiobarbituric acid value and total count of bacteria were performed at 5-day intervals, indicating that the chemical and microbial growth rates in control sample were higher than coated samples. The use of nanotechnology in reducing the size of coating resulted in improved antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. According to the results of this study, the composite nano-coating of basil seed gum: alyssum seed gum containing kiwi extract of 2000 ppm can be used in meat packaging industries.
 

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In recent years, multiple drug resistance in human pathogenic microorganisms have developed due to indiscriminate use of commercial antimicrobial drugs commonly used in the treatment of infectious diseases. This situation forced scientists for searching new antimicrobial substances from various sources, like medicinal plants, which are the good sources of novel antimicrobial chemotherapeutic agents. In this study, the antibacterial effect of Cardin leaf was investigated. Hydroalcoholic extract of this plant was prepared at concentrations of 0.390 to 100 mg/ml and antimicrobial effect of extract were tested with disk diffusion and agar-well diffusion diffusion method against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enteritidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the Cardin extract were investigated by dilution method. In the disk and well diffusion methods, the highest effect of extract on the bacteria was observed at concentration of 100 mg / ml, with the highest diameter of deterioration hole. Of course, the effect on gram-positive bacteria was more than gram negative. The inhibitory concentration of extract (MIC) on Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enteritidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was 12.5, 25 and 50 mg/ml and the MBC was 50, 100 and 100 mg/ml, respectively. The results showed that effect of Cardin extract on gram-positive bacteria was more than gram negative and the diameter of the non-growth halo increased with increasing concentrations of the extract.
 

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Quality and nutritional properties of oils are the most important factors in food technology. Olive oil is fairly nutritious. Apart from its beneficial fatty acids, it contains modest amounts of phytosterols. Thus, this research studies the efficiency of the determinations of fatty acids and phytosterols in the detection of adulteration of olive oil with certain vegetable oils. The fatty acid composition of oil samples was carried out by Liquid-Gas chromatography and the amount of phytosterols was measured through TLC sheets. Results showed that the main fatty acids in the olive oils were Oleic acid (C18:1), Palmitic acid (C16:0), and Linoleic acid (C18:2). In general, the addition of Sunflower and Soybean oils to Olive oil increased the amount of Linoleic acid, PUFA, PUFA/SFA, Iodine value, Cox value, Campestrol, and Stigmasterol but decreased Oleic acid, MUFA, MUFA/PUFA, OSI, IPpv, β-sitosterol, and Delta 5-avenasterol. It can be conducted that low amount of Campestrol is the most effective factor in identifying adulteration of Olive oil with Sunflower and Soybean oils.
 

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Gilan’s black tea is obtained via the fermentation of the fresh leaves of Camelia sinensis var. assamica. In this study, the effect of tea production process and brewing methods, microwave and conventional methods were studied on their phenolic and flavonoid content and antioxidant activity (DPPH radical scavenging assay, iron atom reducing power). The results showed that due to the fermentation process, the antioxidant properties and phenolic content of tea were changed and also the tea brewing method was effective on these properties and the highest phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity were determined in the rolling step on the microwave brewing method. While the lowest phenolic and flavonoid contents were observed in the withering step on microwave brewing method and the lowest antioxidant activity was related to the tea treatment under conventional brewing. Therefore, the microwave method with high extraction capability and reduced the processing time can be an alternative to the conventional methods in the food industry.

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In this research, the design of an electrochemical sensor based on a carbon paste electrode modified with nanoparticles and ionic liquid was studied. The sensor modified with graphene-quantum dot and ionic liquid nanoparticles was studied for Sunset yellow analysis and for this purpose, various parameters such as ionic liquid ratio, the amount of graphene-quantum dot nanoparticles and the pH were studied. The optimum content of 5% graphene-quantum dot  nanoparticles and 10% ionic liquid and pH 6 was obtained. The best performance was observed in the modified carbon paste sensor of graphene-quantom dot nanoparticles and ionic liquid. This sensor in optimal conditions with a linear amplitude of 3 nM to 150 μM and a detection limit of 1 nM could be well used to determine the amount of Sunset Yellow. The sensor designed to analyze the desired color was used in fruit juice samples and the results showed its high ability to analyze real samples.

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In this work, the physicochemical properties of commercial guar gum powder were investigated after air atmospheric pressure cold plasma treatment at three different times (5, 10 and 15 min). The results of steady shear flow test showed that behavior of both control and cold plasma treated samples was pseudoplastic. Among the rheological models, the Hershel bulkley model had higher coefficient of determination (R²). The n_H in the control and treated samples was less than 1. Also, K_H decreased significantly with time (except 5 minutes). In strain sweep, storage module G′ and loss module G″ decreased significantly as the time increased. The crossover point (G′=G″) of 5 minutes treated sample for 5 minutes was higher than the control samples, which decreased with increasing the treatment time. In the low frequency range of frequency sweep, G″ module of the control and treated samples was higher than G′ module. From the frequency of 0.1 to 1 Hz, the G′ and G″ modules depended on the frequency. After crossover, the G″ module prevailed over the G′ module and the guar gum showed weak gel behavior. The value of tanδ in samples was less than 1 and higher than 0.1. The complex viscosity (η*) significantly decreased, as the time of treatment increased. The slope of complex viscosity decreased with the increasing time. The FTIR data demonstrated that the absorption spectrum of the treated samples was similar to the control one.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the color and antioxidant activity of anthocyanin extract of pomegranate peel extracted with solvent. In this study, acidified ethanol and also the combination of water with acidified ethanol was used as a solvent. Anthocyanin content was evaluated by differential pH, phenolic compounds by Folin-Ciocalteu method, as well as color stability at temperature, pH, and time, and antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH test. The highest extraction efficiency was related to solvent extraction (ethanol-water) with %76.350±1.445. The results showed that the highest amount of total anthocyanin measured related to solvent extraction (ethanol-water) was 3.146 ±0.035 mg cyanidin-3 glucoside per gram of pomegranate peel powder. The results showed that acidified ethanol as a solvent is more effective than the combination of water and acidified ethanol in extracting phenolic compounds from pomegranate peel powder. The highest amount of total phenol compounds measured was related to the extraction of solvent (ethanol) equal to 589.310±4.246 mg gallic acid in 100 g of extract. Color stability decreased with increasing pH and less stability was observed in solvent anthocyanin extract (ethanol-water). The results showed more color changes in solvent anthocyanin extract (ethanol) than temperature. Solvent anthocyanin extract (ethanol-water) had higher DPPH free radical scavenging power than solvent anthocyanin extract (ethanol).

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In this study, the antioxidant and antimicrobial effect of nano coating of basil gum with black cumin essential oil (Bunium persicum) was investigated in order to increase the shelf life of rainbow trout fillets. For this purpose, black cumin essential oil was prepared using Clevenger device and the antioxidant activity of different concentrations of it (200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 ppm) was investigated. According to the results, black cumin essential oil has high antioxidant properties, and as the concentration increased, antioxidant properties were increased too. The cumin essential oil was then nanocapsulated with a basil gum coating. The nano coating, along with the essential oil (according to the electron microscope image), had a spherical and uniform surface with a low porosity percentage. Then, in order to investigate the effect of nano-coating with essential oil on the shelf life of rainbow trout fillet during a 16-day refrigeration period, 4 treatments including control and nano-coating with different concentrations of black cumin essential oil (1, 1.5 and 2 %) produced and periodic chemical parameters (peroxide, thiobarbiotic acid and volatile nitrogen bases) and microbial (total bacterial and total psychrotrophic count) were studied. The results of chemical and microbial analysis showed that, the nano-coating along with the essential oil slowed down the increasing process of oxidation and microbial indices compared to the control treatment. Until the end of the storage period, they had the allowed chemical and microbial range. Therefore, it seems that this treatment can be used as a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial in the meat and fisheries industry.

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The use of edible coatings can help reduce the undesired effects caused by the drying process of fruits and vegetables. In this study, the influence of two different edible coatings including basil and chitosan (0, 0.5 and 1 %) on drying kinetic, color, texture and antioxidant activity of apple slices were evaluated at different temperatures (40, 50 and 60 ˚C) in hot air oven and vacuum drying. The results showed that the use of different coatings in both drying methods increased the drying time. Fitting of different mathematical models on the experimental data showed that the Midili model for basil coatings and the approximation of diffusion model for chitosan coatings are able to predict the moisture content more accurately than other models. With increasing coating concentration or decreasing drying temperature the lightness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness and antioxidant activity enhanced. But, the redness, yellowness, brownness, total color difference and hardness diminished. Generally, basil and chitosan coating pretreatment could be considered as an effective approach to improve the quality of the dried apple fruit in drying industry.

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Cake as a popular snack among different people in the community, especially children and adolescents. This high-energy product should have a porous texture, small holes with narrow border to have an acceptable marketability. Therefore, research and investment to achieve the desired quality and increase shelf life through the use of additives such as enzymes, emulsifiers, etc. seems necessary. In this regard, in order to improve the quality of cupcakes, which have a faster preparation than other cakes, the effect of two factors, glucose oxidase (0, 10, 50 and 100 ppm) and DATEM (0, 0.5 and 1%) was investigated. The results showed that the samples containing DATEM increased the moisture content, decreased the weight loss after baking and improved the volume and texture of the cake in terms of reducing firmness and increasing the cohesiveness and springiness. On the other hand, glucose oxidase addition decreased the firmness of the treatments caused by DATEM. However, the addition of glucose oxidase enzyme to the cake formulation improved the crust color parameters and sensory evaluation. So, the effect of glucose oxidase and DATEM, improved the sensory and quality characteristics of cupcake.

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In this study, extracts of mountain tea were obtained by maceration, supercritical fluid, ultrasound assisted, subcritical water and microwave. The highest extraction efficiency (22.55%) and total phenolic content (80.50 mg GA/g DM) was observed in extract obtained via ultrasound assisted extraction. Antioxidant activity of different concentrations of extracts was compared with 100 ppm TBHQ synthetic antioxidant and an increased in concentration of extract increased antioxidant activity. Type and percentage of wall materials (0, 50 and 100), the ratio of extracts to wall materials (0.1, 0.25 and 0.4 w/w), and sonication time (2, 4 and 6 min) as independent variable levels and encapsulation efficiency of phenolic compounds, particle size of nanocapsule and zeta potential were considered as a response to optimization of encapsulation conditions of the extract. An increase in sonication time resulted in increased encapsulation efficiency and decreased particle size of capsule. As the ratio of extract to wall materials increased, the encapsulation efficiency of extract increased and particle size decreased. Type of wall materials has effect on encapsulation efficacy, zeta potential, and particle size of capsule.  The optimum conditions for encapsulating of mountain tea extract were 6 min ultrasound; the ratio of extract to wall 0.4 and the amount of Arabic gum and alginate were 30.3% and 69.7% respectively. In optimum conditions, the encapsulation efficiency, Zeta potential and particle size were 57.43%, -52.1 mV and 82.06 nm. The amount of sedimentation and release of extract during the storage period was increasing. Nanocapsule has a smooth and interconnected structural that due to high encapsulation efficiency this nanocapsule can be added to food as an antioxidant compound.
 

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The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of basil, sage and chitosan edible coatings on the physicochemical properties of microwave-dried apple slices. In this study, apple fruit slices were coated with basil, sage and chitosan in three concentrations (0, 0.5 and 1%) and dried at different microwave powers (90, 180 and 360 W). The drying kinetics, color, texture and antioxidant activity of apple slices were investigated. The analysis of the data indicated that the drying of the apple slices happened only in the range of the descending speed period. These data were fitted with 7 different experimental models, among the models, the most suitable models for basil, sage and chitosan coatings were Midili, Approximation of diffusion and Verma, respectively. Midili was able to predict moisture content more accurately than other models. Also, the amount of brightness, adhesivenes, cohesiveness and antioxidant activity increased with the increase of coating concentration and microwave power, but the amount of redness, yellowness, browning, general color change and hardness decreased. In general, edible coating is one of the new methods that increases the shelf life and quality of the final product. Therefore, it is recommended to treat fruits using edible coatings to increase the appearance quality and improve the color at the end of the drying process.
 

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The stability of curcumin and its encapsulation efficiency in emulsion are among the most important factors determining its bioavailability and absorption in the body. For this purpose, parameters affecting these two factors, including time, pH, and cellulose concentration, were used as input variables in the present study. Curcumin stability and encapsulation efficiency were used as response variables in artificial neural networks and decision tree algorithms. In this regard, cellulose nanocrystal obtained from acid hydrolysis was used to prepare curcumin Pickering emulsion with oil:water ratio of 5:95 and cellulose concentration 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3% (w/v) and the encapsulation efficiency and stability of curcumin were measured during 8 days. The results showed that the encapsulation efficiency significantly increased as cellulose concentration increased. Encapsulation efficiency at pH 7 was higher than at pH 2 (p≤0.05). The curcumin content in the emulsions prepared at pH 2 drastically decreased during storage, while it was less degraded in emulsions at pH 7 after 8 days of storage. The modelling results for curcumin stability and encapsulation efficiency based on R² and RMSE% statistics showed that MLP 3-6-1 (R²=0.99; RMSE%=10.00) and RBF 2-6-1 (R²=0.99; RMSE %=9.99) were had more accuracy than other models. Finally, the results showed that the artificial neural network algorithm performed better than the decision tree in predicting cellulose Pickering emulsions' encapsulation efficiency and curcumin stability.

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Honey has been in the interest of mankind for a long time due to its favorable nutritional, medicinal and organoleptic properties. The reputation, price and high demand for this complex matrix of nutrients with antioxidant properties have increased the possibility of adulteration. In this study, 12 samples of natural honey were collected from the farms of Mazandaran province, and their physicochemical and antioxidant properties were compared with 12 commercial honey samples purchased from market in Sari. Honey samples were compared in terms of pH, acidity, moisture, and ash content, electrical conductivity, hydroxymethyl furfural, sucrose content, glucose, fructose, fructose to glucose ratio, refractive index, viscosity, content of total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. The results showed that in terms of average pH, acidity, total phenol, moisture, electrical conductivity and ash, almost all natural and commercial samples were within the standard range. The sucrose content and hydroxymethylfurfural in none of the commercial samples was within the standard range. Only three natural honey samples had sucrose content less than 5%. Ten samples of natural honey had less than 40 % hydroxymethylfurfural. Although total reducing sugars in natural and commercial honey samples had no statistically significant difference (p<0.05), all of the natural honey samples and three commercial honey samples had fructose to glucose ratio higher than 0.9. Considering the lower quality of commercial honeys, it is suggested that the inspection organizations pay more attention to the production units of this product.
 

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The consumer demand to use natural preservatives in food products instead of synthetic ones and awareness about not using plastic is increasing. In this research, chitosan-potato starch film containing celery seed extract was prepared at different concentration levels (0.5, 2 and 8%) and the physical properties of the film (thickness, moisture content and solubility), mechanical properties and antioxidant activity also determined. Then, the chicken fillet wrapped by the film was kept in the refrigerator for 15 days and the microbial growth and primary and secondary oxidation compounds formation with peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid and sensory evaluation was also monitored during the storage time. The results showed that the total phenol and flavonoid content of celery seed extract was 70.67±7.8 mgGA/g of extract and 62.81±5.65 mg Quercetin/g of extract, respectively. Addition of celery seed extract (2 and 8%) decreased the moisture content and solubility of the film due to the increase of the film hydrophobicity. Also, by adding the celey seed extract, the elongation at break of the film increased, while the tensile strength and elastic modulus decreased. With the increase in the concentration of the celery seed extract in the film, the DPPH free radical inhibition increases from 14.69 to 73.94%. According to the results of microbial and oxidation tests as well as sensory evaluation, coating a chicken fillet with a chitosan-potato starch film containing 8% celery seed extract would increase its shelf life by up to 15 days.
 

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Medicinal plant extracts contain effective compounds such as phenolic, antioxidant and antimicrobial. To extract the extracts from plants, traditional methods such as soxhlet and maceration or new nonthermal technologies such as ultrasound can be used. The type of extraction method affects the quantity and quality of the extract. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of using ultrasound in the aqueous extraction of phenolic and antioxidant compounds of Capparis spinosa leaves and roots. Response surface methodology (RSM) and Box–Behnken design were used to optimize the extraction factors, including extraction time (10, 25, 40 min) and sound intensity (40, 70, 100 %) with aqueous solvent. The results showed sound intensity was more effective factor than time. By increasing of sound intensity and the time of extraction the yield increased. The optimum conditions for extraction of phenolic and antioxidant compounds were as follows: extraction time 36 min and sound intensity 91 percent. Total phenolic content was obtained 21.80 mg/g in leaf and 14.96 mg/g in root and IC₅₀ was obtained 11.75 µg/mg in leaf and 52.17 µg/mg in root.