Using Explicit Instruction of the International Phonetic Alphabet System in English as a Foreign Language Adult Classes

<p style="text-align: justify;">The effects of international phonetic alphabet (IPA) instruction on English as a foreign language (EFL) adult learners’ pronunciation have been well-recognized. However, not many studies on the topic were conducted in the Vietnamese context. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate (1) the impact of IPA learning on Vietnamese EFL adult learners’ pronunciation and (2) adult learners’ perceptions of the effects of learning the IPA system on their pronunciation. The study was designed as an experimental study, following a mixed-methods approach, using the pre-and-post-tests, questionnaires, and interviews to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Thirty-eight adult learners took part in this investigation; they were divided into two groups, nineteen in the control and nineteen in the experimental group. The experimental study lasted ten weeks before the questionnaires and interviews were administered with the participants in the experimental group. The results demonstrated a significant improvement in adult learners’ pronunciation in the experimental group. The participants in the experimental group also highly perceived the positive effects of learning the IPA system on their pronunciation. Pedagogical implications and suggestions were presented at the end of the paper.</p>

APPLICATION OF EXERCISE COMBINED WITH LUNG REHABILITATION IN RESPIRATORY DISEASE

ABSTRACT Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a respiratory disease characterized by incomplete reversibility of airflow obstruction and persistent respiratory symptoms. Objective: To explore the therapeutic effect of physical exercise on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in pulmonary rehabilitation. Methods: Forty-eight experimental subjects were divided into control group, experimental group 1, and experimental group 2 for research. The control group received normal medical-related treatment without any other means of intervention. In addition to normal medical-related treatment, experimental group 1 received breathing training and educational interventions and experimental group 2 received exercise, breathing training and educational interventions. Results: The vital capacity of female subjects before and during the experiment ranged from 2.23±0.01 to 2.26±0.04, the FVC ranged from 2.00±0.02 to 2.01±0.03, the FEV1 ranged from 1.03±0.01 to 1.03±0.01,the FEV1% ranged from 55.50±1.29 to 55.25±1.71,the FEV1/FVC ranged from 51.44±0.24 to 50.84±1.00, andthe heart rate ranges from 65.00±0.82 to 65.50±1.29. Conclusions: Exercise training can increase the exercise tolerance of patients with COPD, relieve dyspnea, and improve the quality of life. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment results.

Moderating the Neuropsychological Impact of Online Learning on Psychology Students

<p style="text-align: justify;">The purpose of the study was to identify what neuropsychological effect online learning had on psychology students and how it could be moderated. The study was descriptive and combined qualitative and quantitative methods to address the research questions. The study relied on three phases such as baseline study, experiment, and reporting. The experiment utilised neuropsychology tests adopted from the NeurOn platform. It was found that the Psychology students’ perceptions of e-learning and their emotional reaction to them were found not to be appreciative. The practices in breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga were proved to be able to moderate the impact of online learning on the experimental group students’ attentional capacities, memory processes, and cognition abilities. The above findings were supported by the results obtained for the neuropsychology tests and the experimental group students’ self-reflections yielded from the use of the MovisensXS App. The students confirmed that breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga reduced study stress and burnout caused by e-learning and improved their academic performance. The focus group online discussion also showed that integration of breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga helped the experimental group students keep emotional balance, concentrate on their studies easier, remember more information, and meet deadlines in completing assignments. The education scientists are suggested to study how the e-learning curriculum could be reshaped so that it used relaxation practices on regular basis.</p>

Detecting Fear of Heights Response to a Virtual Reality Environment Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

To enable virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) that treats anxiety disorders by gradually exposing the patient to fear using virtual reality (VR), it is important to monitor the patient's fear levels during the exposure. Despite the evidence of a fear circuit in the brain as reflected by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), the measurement of fear response in highly immersive VR using fNIRS is limited, especially in combination with a head-mounted display (HMD). In particular, it is unclear to what extent fNIRS can differentiate users with and without anxiety disorders and detect fear response in a highly ecological setting using an HMD. In this study, we investigated fNIRS signals captured from participants with and without a fear of height response. To examine the extent to which fNIRS signals of both groups differ, we conducted an experiment during which participants with moderate fear of heights and participants without it were exposed to VR scenarios involving heights and no heights. The between-group statistical analysis shows that the fNIRS data of the control group and the experimental group are significantly different only in the channel located close to right frontotemporal lobe, where the grand average oxygenated hemoglobin Δ[HbO] contrast signal of the experimental group exceeds that of the control group. The within-group statistical analysis shows significant differences between the grand average Δ[HbO] contrast values during fear responses and those during no-fear responses, where the Δ[HbO] contrast values of the fear responses were significantly higher than those of the no-fear responses in the channels located towards the frontal part of the prefrontal cortex. Also, the channel located close to frontocentral lobe was found to show significant difference for the grand average deoxygenated hemoglobin contrast signals. Support vector machine-based classifier could detect fear responses at an accuracy up to 70% and 74% in subject-dependent and subject-independent classifications, respectively. The results demonstrate that cortical hemodynamic responses of a control group and an experimental group are different to a considerable extent, exhibiting the feasibility and ecological validity of the combination of VR-HMD and fNIRS to elicit and detect fear responses. This research thus paves a way toward the a brain-computer interface to effectively manipulate and control VRET.

MANFAAT METODE INQUIRY TERHADAP PENGAMATAN HASIL PRAKTIKUM LAS LISTRIK DI LABORATORIUM MANUFAKTUR POLITEKNIK META INDUSTRI CIKARANG

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to determine student achievement in the manufacturing process subject before giving treatment, to determine student achievement in the manufacturing process course after treatment, to determine whether there was an effect of the inquiry method on student achievement in the manufacturing process course and to find out whether there is a difference in learning achievement after treatment on the use of the inquiry method and the demonstration method. The type of research conducted by the researcher is Quasi Experiment. The research design used is Non Equivalent Control Group Design. The subjects of this study were third semester students (Industrial Engineering) at the Cikarang Industrial META Polytechnic. Data collection techniques were carried out through objective tests, observations of the welding process and assessment of welding results with performance. The results showed that the learning achievement of electric arc welding subjects before being given treatment in the control group and the experimental group had the same initial ability and the data results showed that there were still many students who had not finished. Learning achievement after being given treatment increased in both the control group and the experimental group. After learning with the inquiry method there is an influence on student learning achievement. Besides the effect, there are also differences in learning achievement after being given treatment, namely by comparing the results of the pretest and post-test, after the application of the demonstration method the test results have a significant percentage difference. Keywords: Inquiry Method, Learning Achievement, Electric Arc Welding ABSTRAKTujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui prestasi belajar mahasiswa pada mata kuliah proses manufaktur sebelum pemberian perlakuan, mengetahui prestasi belajar mahasiswa pada mata kuliah proses manufaktur setelah pemberian perlakuan, mengetahui ada tidaknya pengaruh metode inquiry terhadap prestasi belajar mahasiswa pada mata mata kulaih proses manufaktur dan mengetahui ada tidaknya perbedaan prestasi belajar setelah perlakuan pada penggunaan metode inquiry dan metode demonstrasi. Jenis penelitian yang dilakukan oleh peneliti adalah Quasi Eksperimen. Desain penelitian yang digunakan adalah Non Equivalent Control Group Design. Subjek penelitian ini adalah mahasiswa semester III (Teknik Industri) di Politeknik META Industri Cikarang. Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui tes objektif, observasi terhadap proses pengelasan dan penilaian hasil las dengan unjuk kerja. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa prestasi belajar mata pelajaran las busur listrik sebelum diberikan perlakuan pada kelompok kontrol dan kelompok eksperimen memiliki kemampuan awal yang setara dan hasil data menunjukkan masih banyak mahasiswa yang belum tuntas. Prestasi belajar setelah diberikan perlakuan mengalami kenaikan baik pada kelompok kontrol maupun kelompok eksperimen. Setelah pembelajaran dengan metode inquiry terdapat pengaruh pada prestasi belajar mahasiswa. Selain pengaruh terdapat juga perbedaan prestasi belajar setelah diberikan perlakuan yaitu dengan membandingkan hasil pretest dan post-test, setelah penerapan metode demonstrasi hasil tes memiliki persentase perbedaan yang cukup berarti .Kata kunci: Metode Inquiry, Prestasi Belajar, Las Busur Listrik

Tracking Study on the Relapse and Aftercare Effect of Drug Patients Released From a Compulsory Isolated Detoxification Center

Background and AimsThere are no accurate statistical data on the relapse rate of drug abstainers after compulsory detoxification in China. This study aimed to collect relapse data for drug abstainers through follow-up visits, verify the effectiveness of professional social worker services and explore significant factors affecting relapse.Design and SettingThe drug abstainers released from Guangzhou T Compulsory Isolated Detoxification Center were randomly divided into two groups. The difference between the experimental group and the control group is that assistance services were provided by social workers to the former.ParticipantsThe study included 510 drug abstainers released from T Center, including 153 in the experimental group and 357 in the control group.MeasurementsDemographic information, history of drug abuse, and motivation for drug rehabilitation (SOCRATES) were collected 1 month prior to drug abstainer release from compulsory detoxification. Then, the relapse situation after their release was tracked according to fixed time points.FindingsThe overall relapse rate of 510 drug abstainers after their release from compulsory detoxification was 47.6%. The average survival time to relapse based on survival analysis was 220 days (N = 486), as calculated with Bayesian estimation by the MCMC method. The average survival times to relapse of the experimental group and control group were 393 and 175 days, respectively. By taking the specific survival time as the dependent variable and the group as the control variable (OR = 25.362), logistic regression analysis showed that marital status (OR = 2.666), previous compulsory detoxification experience (OR = 2.329) and location of household registration (OR = 1.557) had a significant impact on the survival time to relapse.ConclusionsThe occurrence of relapse among drug patients released from compulsory detoxification can be delayed effectively through the intervention of professional social worker services. Regardless of whether patients receive aftercare after compulsory detoxification, drug-using patients who are single, have multiple detoxification experiences and whose households are registered in other provinces deserve special attention. Relevant suggestions to avoid relapse are provided.

Benefits of breast milk for prevention of sore nipple & association with their demographic variables: A quasi-experimental study

A newborn baby has only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of his mother, food from her breasts and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastfeeding satisfies all three. While breastfeeding may not seem the right choice for every parent, it is the choice for every baby because it fulfills the physical needs as well as psychotic complementary of the child. The study aimedto find out the association of nipple soreness in experimental group and comparison group in terms of sample characteristics of postnatal mothers. A quasi experimental study was conducted on 70 postnatal mothers, (35 in experimental group and 35 in the comparison group) who breast feeds their babies were selected conveniently. Feeding pattern was assessed by LATCH scale four times in a day followed by the application of hind milk minimum four times in a day for three or four days as per discharge day of mother. The mother was asked to rub hind milk on nipples after feeding the baby and letting it air dry in front of researcher and nipple soreness scale was used to check the sore nipple at third and fifth day or at the day of discharge. Follow up of postnatal mothers was done telephonically by using interview questionnaire on day 15 in both groups. Study findings revealed that on 3rd day, the mean nipple soreness score was higher in comparison group (1.45) than experimental group (0.10) and thus there was significant difference (t value = 3.87) in nipple soreness score.Study concluded that breast milk application was effective in preventing sore nipples among postnatal mothers. Hence, it can be recommended to use breast milk for the prevention of sore nipple.

The Impact of Telegram on Syntactic Complexity of the Saudi Female EFL Undergraduates’ Argumentative, Classification, and Reaction Essays

The aim of this exploratory experimental quantitative is to investigate the impact of the learning environment and text types on the syntactic complexity of female Saudi students majoring in English language. Specifically, the study seeks to explore how and when the syntactic complexity of these students increases/decreases as a whole and across the fourteen measures of syntactic complexity (MLS, MLT.MLC.C/S, VP/T, C/T, DC/C, DC/T, T/S, CT/T, CP/T, CP/C, CN/T, CN/C) in two learning contexts: traditional learning context (TLC) and blended learning context (BLT) across three writing tasks (argumentative, classification ,and reaction). It purports, also, to find out when and which learning context leads to the most/least increase/decrease in the syntactic complexity (as a whole and across specific measures) of Saudi undergraduate in the three writing tasks. To answer such questions, 48 female Saudi EFL undergraduate students were recruited from the pool of level six students. The participants were randomly divided into the control and experimental groups. The control group consisted of 28 students; while the experimental group was comprised of 20 students. The 288 students’ writing productions were analyzed according to the fourteen measures of syntactic complex by using a paired t-test and an independent t test. For the first question, the results of this study show that there was no increase/decrease in syntactic complexity, either as a whole or partially across individual measures, for the control group for the three writing tasks (argumentation, classification, and reaction). This would suggest that traditional learning method does not reach to level to be significant to the participants in the control group. For the second research question, the t-tests showed that the syntactic complexity of the participants in the experimental group increased as a whole in both the classification and reaction essays. An increase in complexity was shown across the following measures for the classification essay: MLS, MLT, MLC, CN/T/VP/T, and CN/C. For the reaction essay, an increase in complexity was shown across MLS, MLT, MLC, and CN/T measures. Although the syntactic complexity of these participants did not increase/decrease as a whole for the argumentation essay, the CN/T measure did show some increase. Finally, the comparison between the results of the two groups revealed that, although the experimental group in this study showed more improvement in syntactic complexity than the control group, the degree of difference between the two groups was too small to draw any definite conclusion about the relative effectiveness of the two methods. This may be due to the comparatively short duration of the study: ten weeks. The findings of this research have significant implications for academic research and for Saudi EFL teachers at the university level.

The effect of educational intervention based on the theory of planned behavior on improving physical and nutrition status of obese and overweight women

Background Regarding the high rate of obesity and overweight among women, develop a comprehensive and effective program it seems necessary to improve their nutritional behaviors and physical activity. This study aims to survey the effect of educational intervention based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on improving physical and nutritional activities of obese and overweight women. Methods This experimental study was performed on 400 obese and overweight women over the age of 20. The sampling method was A simple random sampling. The data collection was valid and reliable self-reports measure, questionnaires. This tools was including demographic information, questionnaire based on the constructs of the theory of planned behavior, physical activity performance questionnaire and nutritional performance questionnaire that individuals completed before and 6 months after the educational intervention. The training intervention for the experimental group consisted of 12 sessions of 50–55 min. Data analyzed by SPSS22 and by using chi-square test, independent t-test and paired t-test. Results Findings showed that before the educational intervention, was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of education, household monthly income, occupation, mean age, marital status, awareness, attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, physical activity and nutritional behavioral intentions, and physical activity and nutritional performance, weight and BMI. However, six months after the training intervention, there was a significant increase in each of the TPB contracts, weight and BMI in the experimental group, while no significant difference was observed in the control group. The meaningful level was considered 0.05. Conclusion Our findings partially support of applying theory of planned behavior in reducing the weight, BMI and improved nutritional performance and physical activity of the study subjects. TPB could be an important strategy for effective future educational interventions.

The Effects of Low-Level Helium–Neon (He–Ne) Laser Irradiation on Lipids and and Fatty Acids, and the Activity of Energetic Metabolism Enzymes and Proteome in the Blastula Stage and Underyearlings of the Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar: A Novel Approach in Salmonid Restoration Procedures in the North

The effect of He–Ne laser irradiation on fishery parameters as well as on biochemical state, including the lipids and fatty acids, the activity of energy metabolism enzymes and the proteome in the blastula stage and in underyearlings of wild Atlantic salmon after irradiation at the cleavage stage/early blastula (considered as the stages when the cell has a high potential for differentiation) was studied. Low mortality rates of eggs were determined during embryogenesis, as well as increased weight gain and lower morality rates of underyearlings in the experimental group. This is confirmed by changes in a number of interrelated indicators of lipid metabolism: a decrease in total lipids content, including diacylglycerols, triacylglycerols, cholesterol esters, and the phospholipids content remained unchanged. The embryos in the blastula stage (experimental group) had higher aerobic capacity and an increase in pentose phosphate pathway activity. The proteome profiles of eggs in the blastula stage were 131 proteins, of which 48 were significantly identified. The major protein was found to be phosvitin. The proteomes of underyearlings were represented by 2018 proteins, of which 49 were unique for the control and 39 for the experimental group. He-–Ne laser irradiation had a strong effect on the contents of histone proteins.