BACKGROUND Expiratory flow limitation (EFL) is seen in some patients presenting with a COPD exacerbation; however, it is unclear how EFL relates to the clinical features of the exacerbation. We hypothesized that EFL when present contributes to symptoms and duration of recovery during a COPD exacerbation. Our aim was to compare changes in EFL with symptoms in subjects with and without flow-limit...

As most traditional classroom environments in English as Foreign Language (EFL) still restrict learners’ collaboration and interaction in college writing classes, today, the majority of EFL learners are accessing Social Networking Sites (SNSs) as online communities of practice (CoPs) for adopting informal collaborative learning as a way of practicing English beyond the classroom. This study aim...

This paper considers theoretical issues and practical applications of teaching critical thinking in Asian EFL contexts (e.g., Japanese and Korean). In the first section, I present a definition of ‘critical thinking’ and argue that misconceptions regarding this definition have limited the teaching of critical thinking skills in Asian EFL contexts. The second section focuses on a specific critica...

A major gene for the number of days from sowing to appearance of the first flower (time of flowering) was identified in a cross between an extrashort duration chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) variety, ICCV 2, and a medium duration variety, JG 62. The F2 population was advanced through the single-seed-descent method to develop random recombinant inbred lines (RILs). Time of flowering was recorded f...

BACKGROUND Morbidly obese subjects, who often complain about breathlessness when lying down, breathe at low lung volume with a reduced expiratory reserve volume (ERV). Therefore, during tidal breathing the expiratory flow reserve is decreased, promoting expiratory flow limitation (EFL), which is more likely to occur in the supine position, when the relaxation volume of the respiratory system, a...

When expiratory flow is maximal during tidal breathing and cannot be increased unless operative lung volumes move towards total lung capacity, tidal expiratory flow limitation (EFL) is said to occur. EFL represents a severe mechanical constraint caused by different mechanisms and observed in different conditions, but it is more relevant in terms of prevalence and negative consequences in obstru...

Tidal expiratory flow limitation (EFL) may promote dynamic hyperinflation and contribute to chronic dyspnoea. The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of EFL to chronic dyspnoea in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). The presence of EFL was determined in 102 adults with stable CF (forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) 17.3-91.5% predicted) and 20 age-matched control subjec...

Student ratings of instruction can be a valuable indicator of teaching because the quality measurement of instruction identifies areas where improvement is needed. Student ratings of instruction are expected to evaluate and enhance the teaching strategies. Evaluation of teaching effectiveness has been officially implemented in Taiwanese higher education since 2005. Therefore, this research inve...

Various vocabulary learning systems have been developed to assist students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in acquiring the knowledge of vocabulary. By using the electronic dictionary, people only acquire vocabularies on a superficial. Most corpus-based system focuses on lexical explanation, such as giving synonyms and antonyms. Only a few studies have attempted to use lexical structures...

This study investigated EFL teachers’ and students’ perspectives towards Audiotaped Oral Dialogue Journals (ATODJs), as a computer-mediated communication (CMC) and a Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) task. The data came from 202 entries of ATODJs, gathered from15 female Iranian intermediate EFL learners. Teachers and students’ evaluations of the whole program comprised of the qualitative...