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

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

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

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

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. 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. 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]. 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