The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of using portulaca oleracea as a source of plant antioxidants for feeding fattening male lambs, on carcass traits, meat quality, and oxidative stability. Twenty-one male lambs with an average weight of 24±1.5 kg and 150±15 days old were fed with one of the experimental rations included a diet without portulaca oleracea as control, a diet containing 7.5%, and a diet containing 15% portulaca oleracea, for 84 days. The muscle (Longissimus dorsi) samplewas used to determine pH, chemical composition, colorimetric properties, and oxidative stability of meat. Meat lipid oxidation was determined after 1, 7, and 30 days of refrigerated storage using thiobarbituric acid (TBARS). The use of portulaca oleracea in diets improved meat color characteristics such as L, chroma, and Hue. The highest ash concentration and the lowest meat moisture were observed in the treatment of 15% portulaca oleracea (P<0.05). Meat pH was the lowest in the first hour after slaughter but did not differ at 24 h. Compared to the control, in both treatment groups feeding the lambs with portulaca significantly reduced the concentration of Malondialdehyde in the meat of the lambs and increased the meat oxidative stability (P<0.05). The results of this experiment showed that feeding portulaca oleracea by improving properties such as color and increasing the meat oxidative stability improves meat quality, which may have lead to an increase in its nutritional value in terms of human health.

1The aim of present research in the first stage was to extract astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis using acid-acetone method and then nanoencapsulation of the pigment using maltodextrin-sodium caseinate coating. In the next step, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of nanocapsules carrying astaxanthin and the free form of the pigment was evaluated. In order to evaluate antibacterial activity of the samples, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus iniae, Bacillus subtilis (Gram positive), Yersinia ruckeri, Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes (Gram negative) were used. The results showed that the antioxidant activity of nanocapsules carrying astaxanthin is significantly higher than the free form of pigment (p<0.05); In addition, this activity was improved by increasing the concentration of samples from 100 to 200 µg/ml (p<0.05). By astaxanthin nanoencapsulation, the diameter of non-growth zone of the studied bacteria increased (p<0.05), but minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the pigment and its carrier nanocapsules decreased (p<0.05). According to the results of zone of inhibition, Gram positive (except Listeria monocytogenes) and Gram negative bacteria were resistant up to concentrations of 60 and 80 µg/ml of samples, respectively. In the following, the MIC and MBC of the pigment (free and nanoencapsulated forms) for the seven bacteria ranged from 50 to 400 and 100 to 500 µg/ml, respectively. The results of evaluation the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of nanocapsules carrying astaxanthin during storage period (30 days at 4ºC) indicated stability and no significant change of these properties (p>0.05). According to the values of diameter of non-growth zone, MIC and MBC, Listeria monocytogenes was the most sensitive bacteria against astaxanthin and its carrier nanocapsules. Based on the findings, astaxanthin extracted from Haematococcus pluvialis has antioxidant and antibacterial activities, and these properties are improved by the pigment nanoencapsulation using maltodextrin-sodium caseinate coating.

Sluggish Cognitive Tempo is used to describe a particular type of attention deficit, concentration, and slowness in information processing. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Scale (SCTS) of the parent form among Iranian children. The present study is a descriptive study. A sample of 1700 people was selected from the provinces of Tehran, East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Fars and Khorasan using cluster sampling method. 122 subjects were excluded from statistical analysis due to incomplete answers to the questionnaires and thus the final sample was reduced to 1578 parents. The confirmatory factor analysis method and internal consistency were used to compute the Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Scale factorial validity and reliability, respectively. Also, in order to examine the construct validity of the Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Scale, we computed correlations between different dimensions of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Scale with Attention Deficit Subscale of Mental Health Assessment Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents. The results of statistical results showed that this scale has structural validity, criterion and convergence in Iranian society. The results indicate that the scale is three factors and also the validity of the scale using Cronbach's alpha method and retest test after Approved two weeks. According to the findings of the present study, the parent form of the Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Scale (SCTS) has a good validity and reliability and it can be used in research related to slow cognitive multiplication in Iranian society.