COVID-19 in Renal Transplantation

During the end of 2019 a group of patients with pneumonia were described in Wuhan city of china with progression to ARDS with variable outcome. Mortality rate was higher in the oldest and in those with comorbid conditions. Kidney transplant recipients as a group of immunocompromised hosts are believed to be a high risk group in case of infection by SARS-CoV-19 virus with unfavorable outcome. On the other hand cytokine storm with its severe inflammatory response as a major risk factor of mortality may be prevented by ongoing immunosuppressive therapy .Our knowledge about the pathophysiology and treatment options of COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients are growing on daily bases and at the time being is derived mainly from the few published case reports, reviews and some society guidelines in the published literature

Identidad y compromiso profesional de profesorado chino de inglés y su asociación con su éxito profesional

The success of any educational context, including language classes, highly depends on teachers’ professional success. Thus, understanding the antecedents of this construct is of great importance. The importance of teacher professional success has inspired many practitioners and scholars worldwide to look into the potential predictors of this variable. Nonetheless, the function of teachers’ professional traits in predicting their professional success has scarcely been examined. In addition, the predictive role of professional identity and professional commitment has remained under-researched. Against this backdrop, the present inquiry inspected the connections between teacher professional identity, teacher commitment, and teacher professional success. This research also explored the effects of professional identity and commitment on Chinese English teachers’ success. To this aim, 300 Chinese English teachers were recruited from Henan, Hubei, Shanghai, Beijing, Jilin, and Shandong Province. Following the distribution of consent forms, three reliable inventories were sent to respondents. The evaluation of the collected data revealed close and positive links between professional identity, professional commitment, and professional success. Data analysis also represented that professional identity and professional commitment can directly influence Chinese English teachers’ success in professional environments. The outcomes of current research may have important implications for language instructors and teacher educators.El éxito de cualquier contexto educativo, incluidas las clases de idiomas, depende en gran medida del éxito profesional del profesorado. Por lo tanto, entender los antecedentes de este constructo es vital. La importancia del éxito profesional de los docentes ha inspirado a muchos profesionales y académicos de todo el mundo a investigar los potenciales predictores de dicha variable. Sin embargo, la función de las características profesionales de los docentes en la predicción de su éxito profesional apenas ha sido examinada. Además, el papel predictivo de la identidad profesional y el compromiso profesional sigue recibiendo escasa atención. En este contexto, el presente trabajo examina las conexiones entre la identidad profesional docente, el compromiso docente y el éxito profesional docente. Esta investigación también analiza los efectos de la identidad profesional y el compromiso en el éxito del profesorado chino de inglés. Con este objetivo, 300 profesores chinos fueron reclutados de las provincias de Henan, Hubei, Shanghái, Beijing, Jilin y Shandong. Tras la distribución de los formularios de consentimiento, se enviaron tres cuestionarios validados a los participantes. El análisis de resultados revela una relación positiva entre la identidad profesional, el compromiso profesional y el éxito profesional. Nuestros datos también demuestran que la identidad profesional y el compromiso profesional pueden influir directamente en el éxito del profesorado de inglés chino en entornos profesionales. Los resultados de este estudio pueden tener importantes implicaciones para los profesores de idiomas y los formadores de profesores

Aprecio y cuidado del profesor en deseos comunicativos en clase de alumnos chinos e iraníes

This mixed-methods cross-cultural study examined the role of instructor confirmation and care in EFL students’ willingness to attend classes (WTAC). For the quantitative phase, 1006 and 605 EFL university students were chosen respectively from Chinese and Iranian universities, and for the qualitative phase, sub-groups of 43 Chinese and 34 Iranian participants were selected. Three close-ended scales and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Results of confirmatory factor analysis approved the factor structure and validity of the three scales. Results of correlation and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses indicated the positive associative/predictive role of perceived teacher caring and confirmation in Chinese and Iranian students’ WTAC. The independent samples t-tests results showed significant differences in perceptions of caring, confirmation, and WTAC, with Chinese participants significantly outperforming Iranians. Frequency counts of qualitative data revealed that both Chinese and Iranian students believed in the facilitative role of confirmation and caring in WTAC. Further content analysis of the data through MAXQDA presented four themes of teacher-, student-, context, and task-related factors, among which the teacher-related factors theme and its teacher interpersonal factors sub-theme were deemed very influential by Chinese and Iranian students in predicting WTAC.El presente estudio mediante métodos mixtos investigó el papel del aprecio y cuidado del profesor en la voluntad comunicativa de los alumnos en clases de inglés como lengua extranjera. Para la fase cuantitativa, se eligieron 1006 y 605 alumnos universitarios chinos e iraníes respectivamente para el muestreo, y para la cualitativa, 43 chinos y 34 iraníes. Se utilizaron tres escalas y entrevistas semiestructuradas para recopilar datos. Los resultados aprobaron la estructura factorial y la validez de las tres escalas e indicaron el papel asociativo y predictivo positivo del aprecio y cuidado del profesor en el WTAC de los alumnos chinos e iraníes. Mientras tanto, mostraron diferencias significativas en las percepciones de cuidado, aprecio y WTAC, en que los participantes chinos superaron notablemente a los iraníes. El análisis también reveló que tanto los alumnos chinos como los iraníes creían en el papel facilitador del aprecio y del cuidado en WTAC. El análisis de los datos mediante MAXQDA presentó cuatro temas de factores relacionados con el profesor, el alumno, el contexto y la tarea, entre los cuales el tema del profesor y su subtema de factores interpersonales fueron considerados muy influyentes por los alumnos chinos e iraníes en la predicción de WTAC.&nbsp

El deseo de los profesores de inglés como lengua extranjera (ILE) chinos de asistir a programas de desarrollo profesional: Explorando el papel de la satisfacción laboral y el compromiso organizacional

The influence of teachers’ inner forces and factors in professional development (PD) has been highlighted in the past decades. However, little is written about the interplay of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ desires to attend PD programs and their perceived job satisfaction and organizational commitment. To fill this gap, this study used three questionnaires to inspect the relationships among these three constructs. It also aimed to showcase whether Chinese EFL teachers’ desire to attend PD programs is predicted by their job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Adopting a random sampling technique, a sample of 357 EFL teachers was recruited from different colleges and universities in China. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and correlation analysis revealed a positive and strong correlation between teachers’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and their desire to attend PD programs. Moreover, it was found that both job satisfaction and organizational commitment could collectively predict around 73% of changes in teachers’ desire to attend PD programs. The results are discussed and implications for the theory and practice of second/foreign language (L2) education in light of psycho-affective factors are enlisted. FUNDING INFORMATION. This work was supported by “Jiangsu Provincial Social Science Fund of China” (Grant No.: 22ZWD001).En las últimas décadas se ha destacado la influencia de las fuerzas y factores internos de los profesores en el desarrollo profesional (DP). Sin embargo, se ha escrito poco sobre la interacción entre el deseo de los profesores de inglés como lengua extranjera (ILE) chinos de asistir a programas de DP y su percepción de satisfacción laboral y compromiso organizacional. Para llenar esta brecha, este estudio utilizó tres cuestionarios para inspeccionar la relación entre estos tres constructos. También tuvo como objetivo mostrar si el deseo de los profesores de inglés como lengua extranjera (ILE) chinos de asistir a programas de desarrollo profesional está predicho por su satisfacción laboral y compromiso organizacional. Una muestra de 357 profesores de ILE participaron en la encuesta. Los resultados del Modelo de Ecuaciones Estructurales (SEM) y el análisis de correlación revelaron una correlación positiva y fuerte entre la satisfacción laboral de los profesores y su compromiso organizacional, y su deseo de asistir a programas de desarrollo profesional. Además, se encontró que tanto la satisfacción laboral como el compromiso organizacional podrían predecir conjuntamente alrededor del 73% de los cambios en el deseo de los profesores de asistir a programas de desarrollo profesional (β = .73, p < .002). Se discuten los resultados y las implicaciones para la teoría y la práctica de la educación en segundo/idioma extranjero (L2) a la luz de los factores psicoafectivos

Social Networks for Language Learning

Social networks play indispensable roles in fostering second language learning by providing a wide array of authentic materials. The purpose of this review is to consider social networks, such as Facebook, Electronic mail, Computer media which are proven to be effective to increase students’ learning English out of the classes. Social networks facilitate students’ interaction to share their ideas, and provide an opportunity for learners to experience online tools to foster their learning skills. It was realized that these online tools (e.g. Facebook, Email, and Computer media) can be used to improve students’ language skills especially writing skill. Internet tools help the second language learners to accelerate their learning by being up-to-date and self-directed. In this paper, the literatures were reviewed to find positive aspects of using Facebook to improve second language learning. The researchers also pointed out that second language is learned incidentally and directly from second language speakers of different culture via Emails. Students can use e-mail to communicate with their teachers and with second language speakers or native speakers.  Computer media are also useful means to guide those learners who are passively focused on English learning. The review would conclude that social interaction via social networks is a kind of stimulus for learners to communicate with others

Interlanguage Pragmatic Learning Strategies (IPLS) as Predictors of L2 Speech Act Knowledge : A Case of Iranian EFL Learners

Acknowledgments We acknowledge Golestan University that supported this study under grant number 992124. We are also grateful to the participants who took part in our study.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Natural occurrence and distribution of soil borne entomopathogenic fungi in shahrood region, northeast of Iran

The study investigated the occurrence of soil borne entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) in potato, wheat, sugar beet, alfalfa fields and orchards. A total of 150 soil samples were collected and EPF were isolated using Galleria method. Soil pH was rages from 6.8 to 8.1 and soil texture was sandy, loam, sandy- loam, clay and sandy-loam-clay. Soil borne EPF occurred at 78% of soil samples from which 40% Beauveria bassiana, 21% Metarhizium anisopliae and 17% had both species. Occurrence and distribution of EPF was not significantly affected by pH and texture of soil samples. Although Shahrood region is located at dry climate but this study showed that its soil is rich of EPF. Fungal pathogens collected from this soil survey will serve as a source of potential biological control agents of soil borne pests

The Contribution of General High-Frequency, Core-Academic, and Academic-Technical Words to ESP Reading Comprehension

Reading is recognized as being the most important skill needed by ESP learners in their field of study, and vocabulary knowledge is the most widely discussed component of effective ESP reading per se. However, research on how much the different types of words exert substantial influences over ESP reading comprehension remains scanty. To address this lacuna, the present study aimed to examine the degree of contribution made by general high-frequency, core-academic, and technical-academic words to 127 Iranian learners studying Psychology at three state universities in Tehran, Iran. Three researcher-made and validated tests were used to measure the three aforementioned types of vocabulary knowledge accompanied by an ESP reading test. Data analysis using multiple regression revealed that the core-academic words and technical-academic words significantly contributed to the ESP reading comprehension, explaining about 92% of the variance in reading scores, but knowledge of general high-frequency words was not a significant contributor. Moreover, teaching core-academic and technical-academic words did not have a significant effect on ESP reading comprehension in the short term, yet a low significant difference was observed for technical academic words in the long term. Findings of this study imply that direct teaching of the core-academic and technical-academic words can help ESP learners improve their reading over time. The article ends with pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research