The Analysis of Iranian EFL Learners' Acquisition of the American, British and Australian Accents

Farsi and English are both Indo-European languages with similarities in their roots. As such, this experiment was conducted to understand which English accent (i.e. American, British or Australian accents) would be easier for Iranians to adapt. To answer this question, 30 medical students performed three different activities of (I) listening to audio texts in three accents, (II) taking part in an oral interview and (III) completing an attitude questionnaire. The activities examined comprehensibility of the accents the participants were subjected to, type of accent they themselves produced and their attitude toward the accents under study. As for the audio texts, the order of presenting the three accents to the subjects was counterbalanced in order to control the order effect. The data on audio materials were analyzed for comprehensibility, accentedness, intelligibility and acceptability. Regarding comprehensibility, American accent was the most comprehensible (85%). Considering accentedness, intelligibility and acceptability, the participants found American accent the least accented (70%), the most intelligible 80% and the most acceptable (95%). In the interviews, students' accents were closer to the American accent. 85 percent of the participants used American accent in their conversational exchanges. Those with British and Australian accents formed 10% and 5% respectively. Regarding attitude, also, the participants mostly (90%) preferred American accent over the British or Australian accents. Students' tendency to adapt American accent more openly is mainly rooted in a mentality that American accent is easiest for the brain to digest.

The effect of forward head posture on cervical joint position sense

A number of studies have investigated the effect of age, trauma, disease and fatigue on cervical joint position sense. However, there is an absence in data regarding the role of posture on proprioception. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of Forward Head Posture (FHP) on cervical joint position sense. Twenty Forward Head Posture volunteers (14 women, 6 men), with the mean age of 23.94 (SD=3.26) years, and 17 normal head posture volunteers (8 women, 9 men) with the mean age of 23.50 (SD=2.68) years were asked to perform the Cervicocephalic relocation test (CRT) to the neutral head position (NHP). The aim of this test was to evaluate the participants' ability to relocate the head to neutral position after they actively rotated it to left and right sides. Three trials were performed for each rotation to the left and right. In order to assess cervical joint repositioning accuracy, Absolute, Constant and Variable errors were used. No significant difference in repositioning errors was observed between experimental and control group in absolute and constant errors (P>0.05); however, compared to normal group, Forward Head Posture subjects manifested significantly higher levels of variable errors (P<0.05). Forward Head Posture can significantly affect the positioning consistency of cervical proprioception. Nonetheless, further investigation on the effect of Forward Head Posture on cervical proprioception in altered situations is recommended.

The effect of regular physical activity on exercise tolerance: a school-based intervention

Please cite this article as: Sohrabi MR, Davoudi-Monfared E, Tayefi B, Hajihashemi Z, Sajjadi E. The effect of regular physical activity on exercise tolerance: a school-based intervention. Novel Biomed 2013;1(2):34-38.Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to assess the effects of daily physical activity on exercise tolerance ability using the six minute walk test in healthy female students.Methods: The participants in this field study were 252 healthy girls, 9-12 years old, studying in an elementary school in Tehran from March to June 2011. A three months daily physical activity protocol, with 15 minutes exercise per day, was designed as a curricular-based exercise intervention program. The six minute walk test was used as a tool to measure exercise tolerance ability before and after the intervention. Paired t-test, ANOVA and correlation tests were used when appropriate.Results: The participants, with mean age of 10.6 (SD = 1.1), formed different body mass index groups known as underweight, normal, at risk and overweight with 8.3, 60.7, 18.7, and 12.3% respectively. The mean of the distances moved along in a six minute walk test, before and after the intervention, increased from 833.4 meter to 923.3 meter , indicating 10% increase and the difference was found to be statistically significant (P<0.001). However, analysis of mean differences of the walked distances, before and after the intervention, showed no statistically significant difference for the body mass index groups (P> 0.05).Conclusion: A 15-minutes daily physical activity could enhance the exercise tolerance of school-age girls; the activity, as an easy and inexpensive form of intervention, is recommended to students

Using ROC surface to predict preterm delivery based on hemoglobin level in the first trimester of pregnancy

Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves have numerous applications for identifying a cut-off point in diagnostic tests. Nonetheless, given that sometimes two cut-off points have to be specified simultaneously, the ROC curve can be used to identify such points. The Volume under the ROC Surface (VUS) serves as a criterion for the accuracy of diagnostic tests. One of the unfortunate outcomes in pregnancy is pre-term delivery; it has been noted that an increase in the level of hemoglobin in the first trimester of pregnancy could result in preterm delivery in weeks 34 to 37 and that an ongoing hemoglobin increase could result in the delivery of a premature fetus before the 34th week of pregnancy. In this regard, in order to separate three groups of on-time delivery, pre-term delivery and immature delivery two cut-off points have to be identified, simultaneously. A suitable measure to identify such points is the ROC surface. In the current study, the hemoglobin information of the first trimester of pregnancy and delivery time of 623 pregnant ladies referring to Milad Hospital in Tehran in 2009-2010 was obtained. ROC surface was adopted to draw two ideal cut-off points for the first trimester of pregnancy. The optimal points for hemoglobin of the first trimester computed with the ROC surface were 12.54 and 13.2. While a hemoglobin rate less than 12.54 indicated an on-time delivery, a rate between the two cut-off points referred to pre-term delivery and hemoglobin more than 13.2 showed a premature fetus. The three-dimensional ROC surface is a useful tool that can visually summarize the ability of a biological marker to classify individuals between more than two groups.

A simple micropreparative gel electrophoresis technique for purification of proteins, nucleic acids, and bioconjugates

The biochemical and biomedical fields hinge on the ability to effectively separate and purify biological macromolecules. Though this need is largely addressed with a variety of chromatographic and electrophoretic purification techniques, such techniques are usually laborious, time-consuming, and often require complex and costly instalments that are inaccessible to most laboratories. In this work, we introduce a simple micro-preparative (MP) method based on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) to purify biological samples containing proteins, nucleic acids, and complex bioconjugates. Using a conventional vertical slab system, we demonstrate the extraction of purified DNA, proteins, and DNA-protein bioconjugates from their respective mixtures using MP-PAGE. We apply this system to recover DNA from a ladder mixture with yields of up to 90%, compared to the 58% yield obtained using specialized commercial devices. We also demonstrate the purification of folded enhanced yellow fluorescence protein (EYFP) from crude cell extract with 90% purity, comparable to purities achieved using a two-step size exclusion and immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography purification procedure. Finally, we demonstrate the successful isolation of an EYFP-DNA bioconjugate sample that otherwise could not be processed using the two-step chromatography procedure. MP-PAGE thus offers a rapid and versatile means of purifying a variety of biomolecules without the need for specialized equipment

Autophagy, Apoptosis, Mitoptosis and Necrosis: Interdependence Between Those Pathways and Effects on Cancer

Cell death is a fundamental ingredient of life. Thus, not surprisingly more than one form of cell death exists. Several excellent reviews on various forms of cell death have already been published but manuscripts describing interconnection and interdependence between such processes are uncommon. Here, what follows is a brief introduction on all three classical forms of cell death, followed by a more detailed insight into the role of p53, the master regulator of apoptosis, and other forms of cell death. While discussing p53 and also the role of caspases in cell death forms, we offer insight into the interplay between autophagy and apoptosis, or necrosis, where autophagy may initially serve pro-survival functions. The review moves further to present some details about less researched forms of programmed cell death, namely necroptosis, necrosis and mitoptosis. These “mixed” forms of cell death allow us to highlight the interconnected nature of cell death forms, particularly apoptosis and necrosis. The interdependence between apoptosis, autophagy and necrosis, and their significance for cancer development and treatment are also analyzed in further parts of the review. In the concluding parts, the afore-mentioned issues will be put in perspective for the development of novel anti-cancer therapies

Increasing efficiency in MCĀBOLS.

Bakalaura darba tēma ir “Efektivitātes paaugstināšana uzņēmumā MCĀBOLS”. Šobrīd efektivitāte ir aktuāla tēma visu nozaru uzņēmējiem, jo, mūsdienās, izmantojamie resursu veids ir ierobežots. Bakalaura darba mērķis ir i izanalizēt ietekmējošos faktorus, kuri ietekmē efektivitāti uzņēmumā un izstrādāt priekšlikumus tās paaugstināšanai. Mērķu sasniegšanai veikts teorijas apkopojums, darbinieku apmierinātības aptaujas, regulāras pārrunas ar vadību, un iesaiste ražošanas procesā, lai, sasniegtu izvirzīto mērķi. Bakalaura darbs izveidots trijās nodaļas. Pirmajā nodaļā apkopota teorija, otrajā nodaļa veikts uzņēmuma raksturojums un iekšējās, ārējās vides analīze. Trešajā nodaļā ir efektivitāte analīze, un piedāvātie risinājumi. Darba beigās izveidoti secinājumi un priekšlikumi efektivitātes paaugstināšanai.The theme of the bachelor’s work is “Increasing efficiency in MCĀBOLS”. Currently efficiency is topical issue for entrepreneurs in all sectors, because the type of resources to be used today is limited. The goal of the bachelor’s work is to identify the disturbing factors for efficiency in McĀbols and to develop proposals how to increase efficiency. For achieving the goal used a summary of the theory, employee satisfaction surveys, regular discussions whit companies boss, and involvement in the production process to achieve the target. Bachelor’s work is created in tree main chapters. The first chapter contains information about theory, the second chapter describes the company and the internal, external environment analysis. The third chapter contains efficiency analysis and proposed solutions. Conclusions and proposals how to improve efficiency are inserted in the end of the work

REVIEW Autophagy, Apoptosis, Mitoptosis and Necrosis: Interdependence Between Those Pathways and Effects on Cancer

Abstract Cell death is a fundamental ingredient of life. Thus, not surprisingly more than one form of cell death exists. Several excellent reviews on various forms of cell death have already been published but manuscripts describing interconnection and interdependence between such processes are uncommon. Here, what follows is a brief introduction on all three classical forms of cell death, followed by a more detailed insight into the role of p53, the master regulator of apoptosis, and other forms of cell death. While discussing p53 and also the role of caspases in cell death forms, we offer insight into the interplay between autophagy and apoptosis, or necrosis, where autophagy may initially serve pro-survival functions. The review move