STRESS MANAGEMENT IN TAKING TESTS: THE ROLE OF EFL LEARNERS' STRESS COPING STRATEGIES IN THEIR TEST ANXIETY AND TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of some strategies (stress coping and test-taking strategies) in diminishing Iranian EFL learners’ test anxiety. The sample consisted of 152 adult participants, 48 males and 104 females aged 20 to 35 with Persian as their first language. The instruments used in this study consisted of three questionnaires, the coping inventory for stressful situations (CISS), test anxiety questionnaire, and test taking strategy questionnaire. The results of path analysis demonstrated that among the coping strategies, task (β= .35, t= 5.00) and avoidance (β= .32, t= 4.32) are positive predictors of test-taking strategies and emotion negatively predicted test-taking strategies (β= -.21, t=  -3.26). Test anxiety is influenced by task (β= -.17, t= -2.18) and avoidance (β=- .33, t= -4.25) negatively and positively by emotion (β= .23, t= 3.43). It was also found that test-taking strategies and test anxiety are negatively associated (β= -.25, t= -3.17). In addition, results of independent sample t-test showed that there is a significant difference between male and female students with respect to stress coping strategies, test taking strategies, and test anxiety. Finally, the findings were discussed with reference to the context of Iran.  Article visualizations

Effects of the Hydroalcoholic Extract of the Psidium guajava Fruit on Osteoporosis Prevention in Ovariectomized Rats

Background: Several plants have been shown to possess antioxidant and estrogenic properties that can be useful in postmenopausal bone-loss prevention. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-osteoporotic effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of the Psidium guajava (PG) fruit in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Methods: Sixty female Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: a control positive group, a sham-operated group, an OVX group given normal saline (OVX-only group), and 3 treatment groups comprising 2 OVX groups treated orally with 500 and 1000 mg/kg/d of the hydroalcoholic extract of the PG fruit respectively and an OVX group treated with an injection of 0.15 mg/kg of estradiol. The study was conducted over a 12-week period. Samples from the animals’ blood, femoral bones, and uteri were collected for stereological and biochemical analyses. The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 19. A P value equal to or less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The results revealed a significant decrease in the levels of calcium, total antioxidant capacity, and phosphorus as well as uterus weight, femoral ash density, femoral volume and weight, and numbers of osteocytes and osteoblasts. Moreover, there was an increase in the levels of alkaline phosphatase and urine deoxypyridinoline together with a rise in the number of osteoclasts in the OVX-only group compared to the control and treatment groups (P≤0.05). The hydroalcoholic extract of the PG fruit increased femoral weight and volume, femoral ash density, numbers of osteocytes and osteoblasts, and trabecular volume of the bones in comparison with the OVX-only group in a dose-dependent manner. No significant difference was observed between the groups in the levels of malondialdehyde and interleukin-6. Conclusion: The hydroalcoholic extract of the PG fruit prevented OVX-induced bone loss in the rats, with no proliferative effect on atrophic uteri; it should, therefore, be considered for treatment purposes

Bioengineering of green-synthesized silver nanoparticles: in vitro physicochemical, antibacterial, biofilm inhibitory, anticoagulant, and antioxidant performance

Green-synthesized nanobiomaterials can be engineered as smart nanomedicine platforms for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in medicine. Herein, we investigated the bioengineering of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and evaluated their physicochemical, antibacterial, biofilm inhibitory, anticoagulant, and antioxidant performance. Characterization of the AgNPs was performed utilizing UV–visible, transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The spherical shaped AgNPs were proven by TEM and SEM techniques. Moreover, the XRD diffraction patterns demonstrated that the nanoparticles were in a crystalline state. The DLS represented the hydrodynamic particle size of the NPs at 49.62 nm at a pH of 9. The calculated minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of AgNPs toward Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) was 8 μg mL−1, which was almost similar to tetracycline by the value of 4 μg mL−1. Moreover, the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of AgNPs was 64 μg mL−1, which was significantly less than the determined value of 256 μg mL−1 for tetracycline. Considering the pathogenic and standard S. aureus, the evaluated concentrations of AgNPs and tetracycline showed significant biofilm inhibitory performance. Furthermore, the bioengineered AgNPs exhibited significant anticoagulant activity at 500 μg mL−1 compared to saline (P < 0.001). In addition, the biogenic AgNPs inhibited 69.73 ± 0.56% of DPPH free radicals at 500 μg mL−1, indicating considerable antioxidant potential