Anxiety in Second Language in Relation to Students’ Speaking Performance

Language anxiety is thought to hinder language learning, and if the learners are truly anxious in class, they are probably not fully engaged, if at all. With the help of the Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Scale (FLSAS) and a free-speaking exercise, this study intends to ascertain the association between language anxiety and speaking performance among undergraduate and graduate students. Frequency count, percent, mean, and Kruskal Wallis were used as statistical techniques to total, tabulate, and further analyze and interpret scores. An extensive, unstructured phenomenological interview with the students was undertaken to ascertain the causes of their language anxiety, and the thematic analysis was carried out using Giorgi's phenomenological method. Students did less satisfactorily in speaking performances and were found to be moderately worried. Language anxiety and speaking abilities, particularly in vocabulary and comprehension, are significantly correlated. This is ascribed to error-causing factors such as the impact of the native language on the second language, lack of confidence, anxiety about communicating, and fear of being evaluated. This study concluded that speaking performance could be predicted using linguistic anxiety. Particularly in understanding and vocabulary, the worried learner frequently performed worse than the native speaker when speaking in English. According to this study, students who are really worried about language should receive training. Teachers can provide straightforward, captivating, varied, and entertaining oral tasks that will give pupils the chance to speak English freely

Anxiety in Second Language in Relation to Students’ Speaking Performance

Language anxiety is thought to hinder language learning, and if the learners are truly anxious in class, they are probably not fully engaged, if at all. With the help of the Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Scale (FLSAS) and a free-speaking exercise, this study intends to ascertain the association between language anxiety and speaking performance among undergraduate and graduate students. Frequency count, percent, mean, and Kruskal Wallis were used as statistical techniques to total, tabulate, and further analyze and interpret scores. An extensive, unstructured phenomenological interview with the students was undertaken to ascertain the causes of their language anxiety, and the thematic analysis was carried out using Giorgi's phenomenological method. Students did less satisfactorily in speaking performances and were found to be moderately worried. Language anxiety and speaking abilities, particularly in vocabulary and comprehension, are significantly correlated. This is ascribed to error-causing factors such as the impact of the native language on the second language, lack of confidence, anxiety about communicating, and fear of being evaluated. This study concluded that speaking performance could be predicted using linguistic anxiety. Particularly in understanding and vocabulary, the worried learner frequently performed worse than the native speaker when speaking in English. According to this study, students who are really worried about language should receive training. Teachers can provide straightforward, captivating, varied, and entertaining oral tasks that will give pupils the chance to speak English freely

Outcomes in antiretroviral-naive HIV-infected patients initiating therapy with TDF/FTC plus either atazanavir/r or another third recommended drug

POSTER PRESENTATIONInternational audienceN.

Virological outcomes in ARV-naïve patients switching or not from a first successful boosted PI-regimen to efavirenz, nevirapine or abacavir regimens

International audiencen.

Statistical Methods in Recent HIV Noninferiority Trials: Reanalysis of 11 Trials

Background: In recent years the ‘‘noninferiority’ ’ trial has emerged as the new standard design for HIV drug development among antiretroviral patients often with a primary endpoint based on the difference in success rates between the two treatment groups. Different statistical methods have been introduced to provide confidence intervals for that difference. The main objective is to investigate whether the choice of the statistical method changes the conclusion of the trials. Methods: We presented 11 trials published in 2010 using a difference in proportions as the primary endpoint. In these trials, 5 different statistical methods have been used to estimate such confidence intervals. The five methods are described and applied to data from the 11 trials. The noninferiority of the new treatment is not demonstrated if the prespecified noninferiority margin it includes in the confidence interval of the treatment difference. Results: Results indicated that confidence intervals can be quite different according to the method used. In many situations, however, conclusions of the trials are not altered because point estimates of the treatment difference were too far from the prespecified noninferiority margins. Nevertheless, in few trials the use of different statistical methods led to different conclusions. In particular the use of ‘‘exact’ ’ methods can be very confusing. Conclusion: Statistical methods used to estimate confidence intervals in noninferiority trials have a strong impact on th

Tumor Necrosis Factor α Inhibits Expression of the Iron Regulating Hormone Hepcidin in Murine Models of Innate Colitis

Background: Abnormal expression of the liver peptide hormone hepcidin, a key regulator of iron homeostasis, contributes to the pathogenesis of anemia in conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Since little is known about the mechanisms that control hepcidin expression during states of intestinal inflammation, we sought to shed light on this issue using mouse models. Methodology/Principal Findings: Hepcidin expression was evaluated in two types of intestinal inflammation caused by innate immune activation—dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in wild-type mice and the spontaneous colitis occurring in T-bet/Rag2-deficient (TRUC) mice. The role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) $\alpha$ was investigated by in vivo neutralization, and by treatment of a hepatocyte cell line, as well as mice, with the recombinant cytokine. Expression and activation of Smad1, a positive regulator of hepcidin transcription, were assessed during colitis and following administration or neutralization of TNF$\alpha$. Hepcidin expression progressively decreased with time during DSS colitis, correlating with changes in systemic iron distribution. TNF$\alpha$ inhibited hepcidin expression in cultured hepatocytes and non-colitic mice, while TNF$\alpha$ neutralization during DSS colitis increased it. Similar results were obtained in TRUC mice. These effects involved a TNF$\alpha$-dependent decrease in Smad1 protein but not mRNA. Conclusions/Significance: TNF$\alpha$ inhibits hepcidin expression in two distinct types of innate colitis, with down-regulation of Smad1 protein playing an important role in this process. This inhibitory effect of TNF$\alpha$ may be superseded by other factors in the context of T cell-mediated colitis given that in the latter form of intestinal inflammation hepcidin is usually up-regulated

Largest ancient fortress of South-West Asia and the western world?:Recent fieldwork at Sasanian Qaleh Iraj at Pishva, Iran

The article presents recent works at Qale Iraj, near Varamin, Iran. My short contribution is on the Middle Persian ostraka found at the site

Effectiveness of Mechanisms and Models of Coordination between Organizations, Agencies and Bodies Providing or Financing Health Services in Humanitarian Crises: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Effective coordination between organizations, agencies and bodies providing or financing health services in humanitarian crises is required to ensure efficiency of services, avoid duplication, and improve equity. The objective of this review was to assess how, during and after humanitarian crises, different mechanisms and models of coordination between organizations, agencies and bodies providing or financing health services compare in terms of access to health services and health outcomes. METHODS: We registered a protocol for this review in PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews under number PROSPERO2014:CRD42014009267. Eligible studies included randomized and nonrandomized designs, process evaluations and qualitative methods. We electronically searched Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and the WHO Global Health Library and websites of relevant organizations. We followed standard systematic review methodology for the selection, data abstraction, and risk of bias assessment. We assessed the quality of evidence using the GRADE approach. RESULTS: Of 14,309 identified citations from databases and organizations' websites, we identified four eligible studies. Two studies used mixed-methods, one used quantitative methods, and one used qualitative methods. The available evidence suggests that information coordination between bodies providing health services in humanitarian crises settings may be effective in improving health systems inputs. There is additional evidence suggesting that management/directive coordination such as the cluster model may improve health system inputs in addition to access to health services. None of the included studies assessed coordination through common representation and framework coordination. The evidence was judged to be of very low quality. CONCLUSION: This systematic review provides evidence of possible effectiveness of information coordination and management/directive coordination between organizations, agencies and bodies providing or financing health services in humanitarian crises. Our findings can inform the research agenda and highlight the need for improving conduct and reporting of research in this field

Antiretroviral-naive and -treated HIV-1 patients can harbour more resistant viruses in CSF than in plasma

Objectives The neurological disorders in HIV-1-infected patients remain prevalent. The HIV-1 resistance in plasma and CSF was compared in patients with neurological disorders in a multicentre study. Methods Blood and CSF samples were collected at time of neurological disorders for 244 patients. The viral loads were >50 copies/mL in both compartments and bulk genotypic tests were realized. Results On 244 patients, 89 and 155 were antiretroviral (ARV) naive and ARV treated, respectively. In ARV-naive patients, detection of mutations in CSF and not in plasma were reported for the reverse transcriptase (RT) gene in 2/89 patients (2.2%) and for the protease gene in 1/89 patients (1.1%). In ARV-treated patients, 19/152 (12.5%) patients had HIV-1 mutations only in the CSF for the RT gene and 30/151 (19.8%) for the protease gene. Two mutations appeared statistically more prevalent in the CSF than in plasma: M41L (P = 0.0455) and T215Y (P = 0.0455). Conclusions In most cases, resistance mutations were present and similar in both studied compartments. However, in 3.4% of ARV-naive and 8.8% of ARV-treated patients, the virus was more resistant in CSF than in plasma. These results support the need for genotypic resistance testing when lumbar puncture is performe