Alzahra University

The instruction of prayer (Salat) and encouraging its performance among pre-adolescents is of significant importance from an educational perspective, as it is one of the key religious behaviors. The education for performing prayer encompasses cognitive, behavioral, and motivational dimensions that must be tailored to the age of the audience. The present study was conducted with the aim of developing an educational package for performing prayer based on a “Good-Choosing” approach, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods. In the qualitative phase, the process involved preparing age-appropriate propositions from the term ‘Salat’ in Quranic verses, conducting a content analysis of prayer-related texts to enrich the package’s content, and designing and compiling the educational package itself. This design was specifically tailored to the developmental process of ‘good-choosing’ in children aged 10 to 12. Ultimately, the package was reviewed and modified by a panel of five experts. In the quantitative phase, the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and the Content Validity Index (CVI) were calculated to assess the protocol’s content. The content validity assessment by experts revealed that the total CVR for the protocol was 0.99 and the CVI for the sessions was 0.98, indicating that they meet the minimum acceptable threshold.This package, by fostering critical thinking and providing engaging strategies for instructors, aims to teach prayer as the ultimate good to girls aged 10 to 12.

Sexual education in Iranian society is a sensitive yet insufficiently organized area within the educational system, facing various cultural, social, and familial challenges. This study aimed to develop and validate a family-centered sexual education Curriculum. The research adopted a developmental–applied design with a qualitative approach. Participants included experts in education, psychology, counseling, educational sciences, Islamic jurisprudence, and Islamic law. Data were collected through document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and expert judgment questionnaires, and analyzed using thematic analysis. The guideline development process was conducted in four stages: extraction of theoretical foundations, consensus building, content validity assessment, and finalization of the Curriculum. Findings showed that the guideline was structured around four main components: objectives, principles, educational content, and target audiences. Objectives were defined at individual, familial, and social levels. The principles emphasized compatibility with Islamic-Iranian values, developmental appropriateness, and family-centeredness. Educational content included sexual identity, sexual health, parenting skills, prevention of sexual abuse and harm, and promotion of a healthy environment. Specialized educators and social facilitators were identified as the primary target groups. The findings suggest that implementation of this Curriculum can help standardize sexual education, enhance awareness and empowerment among parents and educators, reduce social harms, and strengthen family foundations by providing a coherent framework for culturally appropriate sexual education in the Islamic-Iranian context.

The present study aimed to explore the lived experiences of the families of martyrs from the Twelve-Day Sacred Defense between Iran and Israel regarding the concepts of resistance and martyrdom. The research employed an interpretative phenomenological approach. Using purposive sampling, interviews were conducted with 15 families of martyrs from the Twelve-Day War, and data were analyzed following the method proposed by Diekelmann, Tanner, and Allen (1989). The findings were organized into main and subthemes clustered around core thematic categories. The main themes derived from the concepts of resistance and self-sacrifice included: the philosophy of life centered on truth; insight and conscious choice; agency and the desire to establish justice; self-sacrifice and prioritizing the welfare of others; the origin and essence of martyrdom; living in a martyr-like manner; the martyr’s family as a school and nucleus of moral upbringing; complementary factors in the culture of martyrdom; and obstacles to self-sacrifice and martyrdom-seeking. These themes were integrated around the central core of a God-centered lifestyle based on divine ontology. Such studies can contribute to understanding the worldview and lifestyle of martyrs as enduring cultural archetypes and serve as a guide for structuring and implementing programs aimed at promoting the culture of self-sacrifice and martyrdom in revolutionary Iranian society.

Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are zinc metalloenzymes responsible for the catalysis of the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide and play pivotal roles in many physiological and pathological processes. The complexity of CA isoforms with distinct expression patterns and catalytic characteristics has aroused fierce interest in the development of isoform-selective inhibitors and activators for therapeutic purposes and diagnostics. In this review, a systematic overview of computational and theoretical methods utilized to determine the structure, mechanism, inhibition, and activation of CAs was given. It reviews the evolution and utilization of computational methods in deciphering catalytic and proton transfer mechanisms as well as active-site interactions into atomic resolution and also features recent developments in drug design and screening strategies engineered for CA isoforms, particularly those involved in cancers and Alzheimer’s disease. This study can be a reference for multidisciplinary researchers and inspire the future rational design of CA modulators. This review summarizes the literature that employed QM and QM/MM by using like B3LYP, BE0-D3BJ, and MD simulations, GROMACS and Desmond packages, and various force fields: OPLS-AA, AMBER14, and CHARMM36. Molecular docking was performed using such as Glide, AutoDock Vina, and GOLD. Machine learning and AI techniques including SVM, LightGBM, SHAP, and neural networks were also reviewed. This review addresses the limitations in these models as well as prospects with newly emerging instruments such as polarizable force fields and real-time DFT as well as explainable AI frameworks, too. Incorporating data-driven insights with physics-based simulations, the next era of work is primed to provide predictive, scalable platforms for rational design of next-generation CA modulators.

Mindfulness during sexual activity has demonstrated several beneficial effects on both sexual and relational experiences. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which sexual mindfulness enhances an individual's experience. This study investigated the role of sexual assertiveness as a mediator in the relationship between sexual mindfulness and relational quality among a sample of Iranian women. Using a multi-stage cluster sampling method, the questionnaires were completed by 307 women aged between 20 and 45 years. The results indicated significant positive associations between sexual mindfulness and relational quality, sexual mindfulness and sexual assertiveness, and sexual assertiveness and relational quality. Beyond the direct model, a reduced path coefficient in the mediation model showed that sexual assertiveness partially mediates the relationship between sexual mindfulness and relational quality. Thus, these findings may help identify a pathway, namely, sexual assertiveness, through which sexual mindfulness operates. This study provides psychologists and counselors with evidence that both sexual mindfulness and sexual assertiveness are positive skills likely to enhance the quality of their clients' relationships.