مطالب

In recent years, the enrollment of English as a foreign language (EFL) has increased significantly in higher education. The aim of this study is investigating the impact of a group learning program which is implemented as online on learning motivation of English among Iranian university students. Forty four undergraduate university students (25 males and 19 females) with the age range of 18 to 30 participated in this study. The Dornyei theoretical framework (2005; 2009) was used to measure the three aspects of motivation (ideal L2 self, ought-to L2self, and L2 learning experience). A pre- and posttest survey and a semi-instructured interview were used as the main instruments. For identifying the differences of the scores of three aspects of motivation, a paired sample T-test was used. The findings showed that there was a significant difference in L2 learning experience prior to and after the program administration and no significant difference were observed regarding the two other aspects. The findings also showed the most motivating feature was interesting learning recourses and tools and the most demotivating feature was technology barriers. Moreover, the findings of the interviews showed that most of the students had positive experience of this project. With the increasing role of English in Iran in all aspects of teaching and learning as an international language, it is crucial for teachers and program developers to care about the motivational drives of learners due to the positive feedback of some programs as the project under the study.

Purpose: Osteoporosis is a decrease in bone density among older adults that can cause painful fractures and disability. One of the most important effective non-pharmacological interventions is having appropriate and continuous physical activity.  The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase with femur bone mineral density in active and inactive men. Method: This study was semi-experimental. 35 active and 35 inactive elderly men aged 65 to 80 years with medical records were selected. Anthropometric characteristics, serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase of subjects were used as effective indicators of osteoporosis. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to find the relationship between femur mineral density and serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase, data analysis was done using SPSS version 26 Software. Results: The results of this research showed that in both groups of active and inactive men, there was a significant relationship between serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase and femur mineral density (P≤0.05). No significant relationship was found between the height index and mineral density of the femur (P≥0.05). Conclusions: In general, the results show that there is a significant relationship between bone density and weight, age, calcium, phosphorus, and serum alkaline phosphatase of all subjects, and the effect of exercise on other bone density indicators can be investigated.

Background: Sports facilities are one of the most commonly used services in the city with a significant role in improving the physical and mental health condition of citizens thus a proper procedure is required to locate and distribute them. Aim : The purpose of this study is to design a comprehensive model for the optimal location of sports facilities. Materials and Methods: The research method is descriptive-analytic based on information gathering and is applied research based on objectives. The opinions of 20 experts have been used to design the model using the Delphi method, and weighting the effective criteria in the sports facilities location. The weight of each criterion has been obtained as population density (0.47), access (0.31), development potential (0.14), and adjacency (0.08); furthermore, the Kendall coefficient of concordance (0.74) in the third step of the Delphi method shows the strong agreement between the experts, regarding the proposed model. The proposed model consisted of six steps: 1. Aim; 2. Verification of the functional area of the existing sport facilities and specific restrictions of the area; 3. Introducing and weighting the important criteria in the sports facilities location; 4. Identifying the most suitable locations for constructing the sports facilities; 5. Evaluating the needs of users; 6. Selecting the best spaces and prioritizing them. Results: The results of the model showed that the most important criteria for locating sport facilities are population density, access, development potential, and adjacency. Additionally, it was indicated that the agreement between the experts increased over time. Conclusion: According to the proposed model, it is possible to identify the points that are suitable for constructing the new sports facilities.

Background: Telomerase activity plays a key role in preserving telomere length which is important in cellular aging. There is evidence showing the link between sirt6, irisin, and telomerase activity.   Aim : The aim of this study was to compare the effect of 8 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and aerobic continuous training (ACT) on telomerase activity, sirt6, and irisin levels of healthy older adults. Materials and Methods: Thirty healthy males (age: 60-70 years, weight: 68-72 kg) participated voluntarily to follow the 8-week program including 3 sessions per week. Rest ratio in HIIT training was 1:2 and the intensity corresponded to 90% of HRR. ACT intensity was progressive starting with 50% of HRR and finishing with 70% of HRR. Blood samples were taken in a 12-hour fasting situation, before and after the program. Results: Results showed a significant effect of training on serum telomerase and sirt6 in training groups, not the control group. Also, in comparison to ACT and the control group, serum irisin was significantly higher in the HIIT group. Conclusion: We concluded HIIT training is safe and efficient for older adults in terms of telomerase activity, sirt6, and irisin level and can be followed as a time-efficient training protocol.

Background: Drop landing is one of the tasks performed in many sports skills. Lower limb injuries have the highest prevalence in sports where jump landing is repeated frequently. One of the most common landing injuries is an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, which increases knee valgus and may contribute to an increased risk of ACL injury in athletes. In this situation, fatigue is one of the components that can affect various parameters of the landing task. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the acute and delayed effects of fatigue on the time to stability (TTS) of female gymnasts with and without dynamic knee valgus (DKV) during the landing task. Materials and Methods: In this semi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design, 42 female gymnasts were selected through purposive and available sampling and divided into two groups of 21: a control group without DKV and an experimental group with DKV. The TTS in these individuals was measured before, after, and 24 hours after the fatigue protocol using the Kistler force plate device. The data was analyzed using SPSS software and statistical methods of analysis of covariance with repeated measures at a significance level of P ≥0.05. Results: According to the findings of this study, it showed that there is a significant difference in the variable of TTS in three time periods (before, after, 24 hours after fatigue) in the control and experimental groups ( P = 0.026). Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that plyometrics on the TTS are significantly different between people with DKV and without DKV, and people with DKV are necessarily at a greater risk of injury during landing tasks.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise combined with health literacy training on liver fat grade and body mass index in sedentary middle-aged men. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was a pretest-posttest with a control group.  22 sedentary middle-aged man with a liver grade higher than 1 were purposefully selected and randomly divided into intervention (n = 11) and control (n = 11) groups. The subjects in the intervention group participated in the exercise training protocol for 8 weeks along with the health literacy training program, the control group did not have any intervention. Data were collected through liver ultrasound, blood sampling and body mass index measurement before and after the intervention and analyzed using ANCOVA test and SPSS20 software. Results: The results showed that exercise along with health literacy training improves liver fat content and reduces body mass index in the experimental group compared to the control group (P <0% 5). Conclusion: This study showed that performing two interventions of exercise and health literacy simultaneously is effective in improving the fat content of the liver and body mass index of sedentary middle-aged men and prevents the development of advanced fatty liver.