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The present study explored the development of language teacher immunity among Iranian in-service English as a Foreign/Second Language (EFL) teachers (N=15) working at public high schools. Drawing on semi-structured interview data, the study found that low self-confidence, students' demotivation, low income, limited facilities, lack of enough time to teach English, parental expectations, and negative attitudes toward English were the main triggers of language teacher immunity among the participants. Reflecting on those disturbances, the participants employed certain coping strategies such as prior preparation, establishing a good rapport with learners, and exercising agency in providing required facilities and negotiating objectives with learners' parents. The strategies adopted by the participants revealed that reflective practice should be an integrated undertaking involving reflection on personal, sociocultural, and educational factors rather than being limited to practice per se. The study introduced "imposed maladaptive immunity" as a transitional stage from exercising agency to setting into a state of complete indifference due to lack of support from macro-level educational policy makers. Finally, the study implied that language teacher education programs should raise EFL teachers' awareness of the developmental stages of language teacher immunity as an integrated reflective practice.

In the last three decades, growth in the education of women in Iran has led to a significant increase in demand for women professionals and administrators in Iranian universities. However, the path to the top is not easy and numerous challenges must still be overcome. This study explored the challenges of women's participation in senior administrative positions from the perspective of Iranian women administrators in higher education. Data were collected based on semi-structured interviews with 20 women academician in administrative positions. Thematic analysis was conducted to examine the themes that emerged to represent their experience and perspective. The findings indicated that challenges ranged from organizational to societal and individual factors. Individual factors were related to personality traits such as work-family balance issues and a lack of self-confidence. At the organizational levels, difficult relationships at work and the old boys' network, and organizational practices were perceived to be a hindrance, while at the societal level, gender role stereotypes and social attitudes towards women were viewed as key challenges to the participation of women in senior administrative positions. The implication for women who aspire to the top position of organizations is that they should be aware of and understand the visible and invisible challenges in relation to their career advancement.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the simple and multiple relationships between academic optimism and organizational-citizenship behavior amongst high school teachers in Ramhormoz, Iran. The sample consisted of 250 (125 female and 125 male) teachers, selected by stratified random sampling in 2016- 2017. The measurement tools included Hoy's Academic Optimism Questionnaire (2006), and Organ and Kanosky Organizational-Citizenship Behavior Questionnaire (1996). Pearson correlation, multiple regression, multivariate variance analysis (MANOVA), and single variable variance analysis in MANOVA, were used in the analysis of the data.

The impact of the non-native speaker's (NNS) language proficiency on their personal teaching performance has often been an issue in TESOL teacher education programmes. To explore this issue a study was conducted to investigate the link between language teachers' language proficiency and their teaching effectiveness. Classes taught by eight NNS teachers teaching the same or similar content were observed. Teaching effectiveness and teacher language proficiency were measured both through self-ratings and by independent raters. Teachers were compared in terms of such criteria as the quantity and quality of input provided, the amount and accuracy of metalanguage used, the extent and quality of feedback offered as well as classroom management skills. The results suggest that while language proficiency contributes to teaching effectiveness, other aspects of teaching are unrelated to a teacher's command of their second language (L2).

Recent research has identified a direct link between language teachers' self and motivation, and their relationship with conceptual change and professional development. A better understanding of the exact manner in which language teachers' perceptions of self interact with their motivation, however, requires further empirical evidence from a variety of contexts employing various research methods. Drawing upon possible selves theory and Activity Theory, the present mixed-methods research explored language teacher vision and its relationship with motivation in the Iranian state sector language education context. In the first qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 teachers on their vision and motivation to teach English. In the second quantitative phase, a researcher-developed questionnaire informed by the interview data was electronically administered to in-service language teachers (N = 211). Data analysis identified a typology of English language teacher vision and a positive relationship (r = 0.59) between vision and motivation. A coefficient determination of around 35% showed the degree of covariance between the two constructs. Furthermore, the study indicated that some contradictions among the rules, tools, community, and division-of-labour components of language teacher motivation activity system mediated the motivational force of vision. The study implies that teacher education programmes should raise English language teachers' awareness of the positive motivational force of vision.

Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere syndrome (BVVLS) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder of childhood. According to the previous reports, it has various primary signs and symptoms. Because of the simple treatment with riboflavin supplementation, it is important to have suspicious to this disease and begin treatment even before genetic test confirm. We report a five-year-old girl with BVVLS that manifest with hearing problems, first. There was obvious improvement in her disease clinical signs with riboflavin supplementation treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current study was (a) to assess the effectiveness of the lexical-set (LS) and the semantically-unrelated (SU) vocabulary instruction, separately and relative to each other, and (b) to assess the differential effects of the two methods for students of lower and upper English proficiency levels. Two intact EFL classes were assigned randomly to the LS or the SU treatment. Each treatment group then received special instruction in vocabulary. The students' gains of target words were measured in terms of vocabulary breadth (VB) and vocabulary depth (VD) knowledge, using the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS). The study provided some initial evidence to suggest that although students in both instructional methods significantly gained in their knowledge of target words with regard to their VB and VD knowledge, both upper and lower level LS students reached a significantly higher level than their peer SU ones. The upper level students, however, made greater gains than their peer lower level ones. (Contains 7 figures and 9 notes.)

Objectives Epilepsy is the most prevalent chronic neurologic disorder in children. One-third of patients with epilepsy do not respond to antiepileptic drugs. This condition is known as intractable epilepsy. Previous studies have shown the beneficial effects of curcumin in the treatment of epilepsy. There are no randomized controlled clinical trials assessing the use of curcumin in epilepsy. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of nanomicelle curcumin on intractable pediatric epilepsy. Materials & Methods This double-blinded randomized crossover clinical trial was performed by a consecutive sampling to select 22 patients with intractable epilepsy divided into two groups. Patients received a daily dose of 4 mg/kg of curcumin or placebo as add-on therapy for 4 weeks. After a 2-week washout period, the treatment was replaced, and the new treatment was given for another 4 weeks. The SPSS software version 16 was used for statistical analysis. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Results A total of 22 children were enrolled in this study, 11 of which were boys. The mean age of the patients was 4.28±5 years. A female patient taking a placebo was excluded in the first week of the trial due to parental dissatisfaction. The most common type of seizure among our patients was a generalized myoclonic seizure (42.9%). The mean number of seizure attacks among the subjects was 68.76±69.26 preintervention and 39.85±39.41 at the end of the intervention, which represents a statistically significant difference (P=0.01). Conclusion Nanomicelle curcumin reduced the number of seizures significantly. Our results imply that curcumin treatment can help treat patients with intractable pediatric epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Whole exome sequencing (WES) is a new molecular diagnostic test, used in pediatric medicine, especially pediatric neurology. The diagnostic yield of WES is higher than conventional methods. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the diagnostic yield of WES in a pediatric neurology clinic and to report positive results. Materials & Methods This retrospective study was performed on patients, presenting to the pediatric neurology clinic of Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, between March 2015 and March 2017, with various neurological disabilities and unrevealing workup before WES. The patients' clinical features and molecular diagnoses based on the WES results were reported in this study. Results The overall diagnostic yield of WES was 82.71% (67/81 patients). Two patients were excluded for the lack of data. Sixty-five patients with pathogenic or possibly pathogenic variants exhibited various abnormalities, including intellectual disability/developmental delay (n=44), seizure (n=27), developmental regression (n=11), myopathy (n=9), microcephaly (n=8), neuropathy (n=2), autism spectrum disorder (n=2), and neuromuscular disease (n=2). Overall, 93.84% of the patients were born to consanguineous parents. Also, 62 patients had an autosomal recessive disorder, and three patients had an autosomal dominant disorder. Conclusion The present findings indicating the high diagnostic yield of WES, besides the important role of this test in determining the etiology of non-specific and atypical presentations of genetic disorders, support the use of WES in pediatric neurology practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Self-care is a major factor in managing diabetes. This study aimed to determine the self-care status of Iranian patients with diabetes and to estimate the percentage of self-care in these individuals through a systematic review and meta-analysis.Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis 53 domestic articles published in Farsi and English were evaluated. We conducted database searches in domestic and foreign databases of Scientific Information Database (SID), MagIran, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Pub Med, and Scopus with no time limit. Data analysis was performed in Stata version 12 using meta-analysis method and the random effects model.Results: A total of 50 articles (53 groups) with a sample size of 9565 were systematically reviewed. The percentage of self-care in patients with diabetes was reported to be 48.86 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 43.79-53.94). According to the results, the percentage of self-care score was higher in patients with type I diabetes (55.53) when compared with patients with type II diabetes (49.26).Conclusions: Since patients with diabetes obtained only half of the self-care score and given the importance of self-care in controlling and treating diabetes, it is necessary to perform actions to improve self-care such as benefiting from health facilities, and social and family support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study aimed at comparing the effect of a newly approved drug leveitiracetam (LEV) versus carbamazepine (CBZ) in the treatment of childhood focal epilepsy. Materials & Methods The study population included newly diagnosed children with focal epilepsy (1-16 years old) referring to the Pediatric Neurology Ward of Quaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran from May 2013 to March 2014. The subjects were randomly treated with LEV or CBZ. Patients were followed for seizure control and drug side effects throughout six months. We assessed liver function and complete blood count for all patients through one month and they were asked about significant side effects, such as drowsiness, restlessness, and skin reaction. Eventually, they were assigned in two groups (n=25) receiving LEV and CBZ. Results In our study, two cases in the LEV group were excluded because of severe agitation. Relapsing seizures were observed in 3 (13%) and 10 (40%) patients in LEV and CBZ groups, respectively. The seizure was not repeated in 15 cases (60%) in the CBZ group and 20 cases (87%) in the LEV group. The results of the Chisquared test showed significant differences in the responses to treatment between the groups (P=0.03). Agitation was the most prevalent complication in the LEV group, whereas drowsiness was more common in the CBZ group. Fortunately, liver enzyme dysfunction and blood cell disturbances were not observed in the subjects. Conclusion According to the findings, there were significant differences in controlling seizures between two groups that indicated the effectiveness of LEV (87%) in the suppression of focal seizure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic immune-mediated disease. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is an important microvascular complication of T1DM. One of the most important risk factors for the development of DPN is poor glycemic control. We evaluated the prevalence of DPN among T1DM patients and determined the association between DPN and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level. Materials & Methods The subjects were recruited prospectively upon initial evaluation at Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad, Iran from Jan 2013 to Jan 2015. Patients with T1DM were selected based on the inclusion criteria (i.e., age of 6≤yr and absence of other co-morbidities). DPN was assessed through electrodiagnostic studies and neurological examinations, while diabetes control was evaluated by measuring the HbA1c level. Results Fifty patients with T1DM were enrolled in this study. The mean diabetes duration of patients was 8.38±3.79 yr (mean age16.68±6.68 yr). The mean HbA1c level was 8.6±2.1% in patients without DPN and 10.5±3 in those with DPN (P=0.016). Overall, 24% of the subjects were presented with DPN according to nerve conduction velocity study (NCV) findings. A positive correlation was found between NCV and clinical symptoms with signs (P<0.001, r=0.45 and P<0.001, r=0.644, respectively). Sensitivity and specificity of neurological examination for DPN diagnosis were 91.7% and 63.2%, respectively. Poor diabetes control is associated with DPN. Moreover, HbA1c level was used as an index for glycemic control over the past 3 months. Conclusion Rigid blood glucose control and periodic neurological examinations were the best strategies to prevent DPN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wilson's disease (WD) is a rare autosomal recessive disease due to copper metabolism disturbance. The clinical presentation spectrum of Wilson's disease is wide and initial findings of the disease depend on the organ involved. Neurologic disorders can develop insidiously or precipitously with intention tremor, dysarthria, rigid dystonia, Parkinsonism, deterioration in school performance or behavioral changes. This article is presenting an 11-yr old boy with chief complaint of falling and upper limb spasm. He referred to the Neurology Department, Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, northeastern Iran in 2016. His symptoms began from 6 months earlier as mood instability (prolonged spontaneous crying). He was also suffering from occasionally tremor and micrographia. Initial investigations were normal and with diagnosis of depression and psychiatric problems, he had undergone treatment with fluoxetine and risperidone. Wilson's disease should be considered in the diagnosis of all children with psychiatric and musculoskeletal symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the serum zinc level of the patients with simple febrile seizure and compare them with febrile children without seizure. Materials & Methods This prospective case - control study was performed on 60 patients aged 6 months to 6 years from Apr. 2009 to Jan.2010 in Ghaem, Imam Reza and Dr. Sheikh Hospitals in Mashhad. The serum zinc level was assessed and compared between the cases (30 individuals who suffered from simple febrile seizure) and the controls (30 individuals who had fever without seizure). Results: Mean serum zinc level was 663.7 μ/l and 758.33 μ/l in the case group and the control group, respectively (P<0.001). Conclusion: It was revealed that the serum level of zinc was significantly lower in children with simple febrile seizure in comparison with febrile children without seizure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]