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Drawing on the rhetorical/relational goal theory, this study examined the role of instructor clarity and non-verbal immediacy in affective learning through the mediation of instructor understanding. Data were gathered through closeended questionnaires from 756 Chinese and 715 Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) students, the factor structure and cross-cultural validity of which were supported via confirmatory factor analysis and testing measurement invariance, respectively. Path analysis results indicated that clarity and non-verbal immediacy positively predicted instructor understanding and affective learning; instructor understanding positively predicted affective learning; and understanding was a significant positive mediator in the relationship of non-verbal immediacy and clarity with affective learning. Except for the positive association of non-verbal immediacy with understanding which was significantly higher for the Iranian group, no significant difference was found between the Chinese and Iranian groups in all other associations, providing empirical support for the role of EFL teachers' positive interpersonal communication behaviors in EFL students' affective learning, irrespective of the cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the role of teacher academic optimism and self-efficacy seems pivotal in teacher education. Therefore, this study was set to explore the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and teacher academic optimism among a sample of Iranian EFL teachers. More specifically, the predictive influence of EFL teachers' academic optimism components consisting of academic emphasis, teacher trust, and teacher efficacy on the perceptions of their self-efficacy constituting student engagement, instructional practices, and classroom management was examined. In so doing, a total of 335 Iranian EFL teachers were recruited to fill out the measures of teacher self-efficacy and teacher academic optimism. Structural equation modeling was conducted to establish the hypothesized relationships. The results of confirmatory factor analysis on the dataset confirmed the fitness of all the employed measures and the structural model. In addition, inter-variable exploratory correlations were identified using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, and path analysis was used to examine the predictive powers of academic optimism factors on teacher self-efficacy. The research findings revealed positive and significant relationships among teacher self-efficacy and teacher academic optimism components. It was also found that academic emphasis, teacher trust, and teacher efficacy could positively predict teacher self-efficacy. These findings have significant implications for practicing EFL teachers, teacher educators, and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The better-than-average effect (BTAE) is a mechanism where people perceive oneself as better than others. The BTAE could be one of the phenomena explaining why people follow – in the moment of a global health crisis – guidelines (“I am superior to others, and I [will]) take extra precautions, e.g., a vaccine shot”). In this paper, we investigate the BTAE with 3,066 respondents. In Study 1, in all countries, across two measurements in time, the BTAE was present: Participants rated their involvement in self-protection as greater in comparison to others. Study 2 replicated this effect, proving its robustness. Participants estimated their willingness to vaccinate as higher than others. The BTAE was a significant predictor of willingness to vaccinate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess clinical characteristics, pathological findings, and therapeutic response in children with lupus nephritis (LN), we retrospectively studied 25 children under 16 years of age with LN at the Abozar children′s hospital from 1995 to 2006. The study included 13(65%) girls and 7(35%) boys. The mean age at the time of diagnosis of SLE was 10.2 (± 4.8) years. Eighteen patients (90%) were more than 8 years old. Sixty percent of the patients presented as nephritic-nephrotic syndrome. All the patients underwent percutaneous renal biopsy and were followed up for at least 36 months. The clinical and serologic parameters at the time of renal biopsy were recorded. Twenty patients were treated with the following regimens: one (class I) with low dose prednisone, 7 (class II, III) with high-dose of prednisone, 12 (class IV) with high-dose prednisone plus 13 intermittent intravenous cyclophosphamide (CTX) pulses (monthly for 6 months and then every 3 months), followed by mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) as maintenance therapy. Remission was achieved in 17 (85%) cases; one required hemodialysis and 2 died due to renal failure and central nervous system involvement. Among 12 cases with class IV, 11 responded to prednisone and intravenous CTX pulses. We conclude that i.v. pulses of CTX induced clinical remission of renal disease in the majority of children with severe LN. MMF maintenance therapy was effective after induction of remission in refractory cases. However, this study was performed in a small number of subjects, further studies to confirm the long-term efficacy and safety of CTX pulse therapy on larger numbers of patients are warranted.

With the rise of positive psychology (PP) and its emphasis on the affordances of positive emotions to second/foreign language teaching and learning, numerous studies have been conducted on different PP constructs all over the world. Nonetheless, the status of researching this school of psychology in L2 education is still imprecise. To fill this gap, the present state -of-the -art paper intends to flesh out the conceptualizations, premises, versatilities, emerging theories and methods, and research trends in PP and second language acquisition (SLA). Moreover, it elaborates on the seven PP factors, including optimism, immediacy, connectedness, commitment, academic buoyancy, immunity, and mindfulness. Such sample variables have also been supported by scientific evidence from different contexts. Additionally, some potential implications are drawn for stakeholders to enlighten the process and quality of L2 education. Finally, the study suggests some avenues for future studies to expand the scope of PP and SLA research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 15-year-old girl, a known case of Bartter′s syndrome (BS) for 7 years, developed severe pain in her right knee and right and left ankle. Her older sister had BS and developed end-stage renal disease (ESRD) at the age of 14 years. Her serum uric acid was 12.6 mg/dL, 6 months ago, and 15.4 mg/dL in her recent lab data. Hyperuricemia and gouty arthritis are commonly seen in adults with BS, but to our knowledge there is no report of gouty arthritis in pediatric literature.

• Micro energy Piles' load-bearing and cooling function in transformers is examined. • Various soils and micro pile configurations are examined numerically. • Numerical simulations are validated and used for the parametric studies. • Safety, cooling demand, and economic evaluations are conducted. • Optimal micro pile configurations are recommended for different soil types. The numerical assessment of Micro Energy Piles (MEPs) to enhance foundation bearing capacity (Q u) and cooling efficiency of 400-kV transformers is followed by economic evaluations. Findings show that increasing temperature-differential, MEP length, grout cohesion, and especially MEP diameter can increase Q u by 6–29 %, 25 %, 22–26 %, and 96–123 %, respectively. Optimal MEP configurations are recommended based on economic viability across different soils, with higher heat-exchange rates and grout cohesion yielding cost-effective solutions. Exploring viable options to improve Q u and cooling power demonstrates that utilizing MEPs is 26 % and 31 % more cost-effective than energy piles and helical energy piles, respectively, under comparable conditions. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of students' emotions in their academic performance has been widely endorsed in the literature after the rise of positive psychology. However, the scholarly context of English for academic purposes (EAP) has limitedly inspected the status of students' emotions while learning English. One such emotion is oral communication apprehension (OCA), which is a widespread pitfall among EAP students. However, the causing factors and coping strategies of OCA across cultural contexts have been overlooked, to date. To fill this gap, this mixed-methods study scrutinized the level of OCA, leading factors, and coping strategies among 1618 Chinese and Iranian EAP students via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The results of the measurement invariance test and independent samples t -test revealed a significant difference between Chinese and Iranian EAP students' OCA with Chinese participants having a higher OCA. Furthermore, the results of descriptive statistics and thematic analysis demonstrated that Chinese and Iranian EAP students had analogous perceptions regarding the causes and solutions of OCA. They enumerated several instructional and psychological factors that generated OCA and proposed similar coping strategies to curb it. The study provides some practical implications for EAP teachers, students, and teacher trainers, who can realize the criticality of emotions in EAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]