The Effect of Text Authenticity on the Performance of Iranian EFL Students in a C-Test

As part of growing efforts to understand factors affecting c-test this study aims to investigate the effect of text authenticity on the performance of Iranian EFL students in a C-Test. The C-Test is an integrative testing instrument that measures overall language competence, very much like the cloze test. In this study the rule of two has been applied: "the second half of every second word has been deleted, beginning with the second word of the second sentence; the first and last sentences are left intact" (Katona and Dornyei 1993: 35). The research involves 60 college students in their third year, majoring in English Literature at Ershad-Damavand College. This group were randomly selected applying multi-stage sampling. Since the present study intended to investigate the role of two different formats, i.e. authentic and inauthentic texts (text translated from Persian into English), two different tailored C-Tests were made to measure and compare the performances of the participants. Two C-Tests, one with Authentic Text and the other, with Inauthentic Text were administered to this homogenized group comprising 30 subjects. The findings of this study suggest that authenticity has an effect on the performance of learners in c-tests and we should control this variable while devising a c-test

Establishing and Characterizing Patient-Derived Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Commercial cancer cell lines have long been extensively used as an important platform to study cancer. They have contributed to a plethora of discoveries in the field of cancer research. However, there are limitations with using these cell lines, such as induced mutations over the long-term in vitro culture. These mutations cause incorrect exhibition of the in vivo characteristics of the cancer cells. Here, we focused on establishing Patient-derived breast cancer cell lines and attempted to characterize them in terms of several biomarkers that are shown to be overexpressed in breast cancer cells. Patient-derived breast cancer cell lines are more reliable tools to study the molecular and cellular processes taking place in vivo, since they are freshly isolated from the tumor biopsy and do not undergo induced immortalization. We explored the CK19, Ki67, vimentin, EpCAM, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin expression in three successfully established patient-derived breast cancer cell lines

Survival from skin cancer and its associated factors in Kurdistan province of Iran

Background: We explored survival of skin cancer and its determinants in Kurdistan province of Iran. Methods: In a retrospective cohort design, we identified all registered skin cancer patients in Kurdistan Cancer Registry from year 2000 to 2009. Information on time and cause of death were obtained from Registrar's office and information on type, stage and anatomic locations were extracted from patients' hospital records. Additional demographic information was collected via a telephone interview. We calculated the 3 and 5 years survival. Survival experiences in different groups were compared using log rank test. Cox proportional hazard model was built and hazard ratios and their 95 confidence intervals were calculated. Results: Of a total of 1353, contact information for 667 patients were available, all of which were followed up. 472 telephone interviews were conducted. Mean follow-up time was 34 months. We identified 78 deaths in this group of patients and 44 of them were because of skin cancer. After controlling for confounding, tumour type, anatomical location, and diseases stage remained significantly associated with survival. Hazard ratios for death because of squamous cell carcinoma was 74.5 (95CI: 4.8-1146) and for melanoma was 24.4 (95CI: 1.3-485) compared with basal cell carcinomas. Hazard ratio for tumours in stage 4 was 16.7 (95CI: 1.8-156.6) and for stage 3 was 16.8 (95CI: 1.07-260) compared with stage 1 and 2. Conclusion: Tumour stage is independently associated with survival. Relatively low survival rates suggest delayed diagnosis. Increasing public awareness through media about the warning signs of skin cancers could increase the chance of survival in these patients

On Fuzzy Portfolio Selection Problems: A Parametric Representation Approach

Fuzzy portfolio selection problem is a major issue in the financial field and a special case of constrained fuzzy-valued optimization problems (CFOPs). In this respect, the present paper aims to investigate the CFOP with regard to the features of the parametric representation of fuzzy numbers named as convex constraint function (CCF) which is proposed by Chalco-Cano et al. in 2014. Furthermore, relying on this parametric representation, some proper conditions are provided for the existence of solutions to a CFOP. To this end, by the increasing representation of CCF, the main problem is converted to a parametric multiobjective programming problem and some solution concepts from a similar framework in the multiobjective programming are proposed for the CFOP. Eventually to illustrate the proposed results, the fuzzy portfolio selection problem is discussed

Challenges in the design, conduct, analysis, and reporting in randomized clinical trial studies : A systematic review

This study was funded by Iran University of Medical Sciences (grant number 97-01-27-33259).Peer reviewedPublisher PD