اکبر بهرامی

The phonological awareness is individual's knowledge of language constructive units or sensitivity to language sounds and it’s an important predictor of reading skill in children with autism spectrum. In this way, previous studies have shown that children with autism have problems with learning phonological awareness skills. The purpose of this study was to determine the pattern of phonological awareness skills in children of autism spectrum and comparison with normal children.
In this descriptive-analytical study, 10 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and 10 normal children were matched in terms of age and gender. The phonological awareness skills of the subjects were evaluated using the Auditory Test of ASHA-5 Phonological Awareness Skills and the results were recorded in the checklist.
In this research, the mean and standard deviation of the individual’s response were compared with each other, separated by gender. There was a significant difference between syllable, rhyming and phonological awareness in the two groups (p Based on the results of this study, children with autism spectrum had lower level of phonological awareness than normal children. Also, the results showed that, as in normal children, in all subtests of the phonological awareness skills were not the same in the study group and did not develop to the same extent.

The study of biochemical characteristics and metabolic activity of Lactobacilli is necessary for selecting strains to be used as starter cultures for bread production. In this study، biochemical characteristics، acidification and probiotic properties of Lactobacillus strains (Lactobacillus plantarum، L. curvatus، L. paralimentarius) isolated from traditional sourdoughs were evaluated. All three Lactobacillus strains showed growth at 15ºC and different levels of NaCl (2، 4، 6. 5%) and pH (4. 4، 9. 6). Lactobacillus plantarum was capable of growing at 45°C. The Lactobacillus strains had capacity to ferment a large spectrum of carbohydrates. Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus curvatus was able to ferment pentoses (xylose and arabinose). Lactobacillus curvatus and Lactobacillus paralimentarius did not ferment rhamnose. The lactobacillus strains showed a proper acidifying ability after 9 h of incubation at 30°C، with pH values between 4. 5 and 4. 9. The results showed that Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus paralimentarius have potential probiotic value according to acid and bile tolerance tests.

Autism is a complicated developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life as a result of a neurological disorder affecting performance. The present study aimed at studying significant developmental events happening to autistic children compared to those occurring for normal ones. 50 autistic children and 50 normal children with an age range of 4 to 11 years participated in this descriptive-analytic study which was conducted in Isfahan-Iran. Important developmental factors related to pre-, peri- and post-natal periods were collected from literature and a tailor-made questionnaire was designed to be later completed by children's mothers. The data was statistically analyzed via Chi-Square, Fischer Exact and Mann-Whitney test. The results indicated that the factors which occurred significantly more frequently among children with autism were as follows: advanced maternal and paternal age, maternal stress, allergic signs during pregnancy, familial marriages, having a history of communication and/or speech-language disorders in the family, cesarean delivery, high fever after birth, seizures and head trauma (P < 0/05). Although this study cannot determine decisive causes of development of autism in children, it can introduce possible risk factors. In fact, our findings suggest that pre-natal, neonatal and post-natal factors contributing to deviant growth are important in the pathogenesis of the disorder.

On the importance of the formant frequency, it is enough to say that the first three formants of a vowel and their internal relationships are the major components in detection of vowel type by listener. Moreover, the quality of a vowel depends on its factorial frequencies. The main application of measuring factorial frequency is for description of vowel errors because recognizing abnormal vowels, based on the listener's perception, is not as exact and accurate as measuring their frequency by instrumental assessments. This study aimed at investigating first three formants of vowels in Farsi language among 7-to-9-year-old children with cleft lip and palate in IsfahanIt was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Participants were twenty-three children with cleft lip and palate with an age ranging from 7 to 9 years. The raw data was gathered directly by the interviewer, and then the subjects underwent the Persian Vowel Test. first formant (F1), second formant (F2), and third formant (F3) of all six vowels of Farsi Language was obtained via Real analysis and Dr. Speech software and the apparatus Speech Studio. the scores relevant to each sample was recorded in separate data sheet designed for this study. Statistical analysis was performed on all data of interest.The highest average amounts for of F1, F2, and F3 were respectively in /æ/ (685 Hz), /i/ (1542 Hz), and /i/ (3264 Hz). The lowest average amount of these formants was for /i/ (422 Hz), /u/ (953 Hz), and /æ/ (2565 Hz), respectively.Discussion and The results of present study showed that F1 increased in vowels /i/ and /e/ implicating decreased height of tongue. It is also observed that F2 decreased in vowels /i/ and /e/ showing a backward movement of tongue during production of these vowels.

Nowadays, auditory perception is not a complete method to assess vowels quality and we need to use more objective instruments. In this study we want to determine and compare the persian vowels formants in normal and hearing Impaired students in 7ـ9 year old children of Isfahan. This cross sectional study was performed on 64 normal and hearing impaired students. Background information was by interview and then, vowel production test was performed. First three formants of each vowel were obtained and recorded by speech studio soft ware and Dr. Speech device Data were compared between groups. Mean F1 and F2, and F2/F1 and F3/F1 ratio of Persian vowels between these three studied groups were different significantly. Mean F3 of /o/, /e/ and /a/ in all groups was different significantly. Although we could not find such a significant differences for /u/, /i/ and /æ/ between these groups (p<0. 05). The most important difference between normal and hearing impaired children is their vowel Space, and we found that, the more sever the hearing impairment is, the closer vowel space will be seen. The hearing impaired children rely mostly on their proprioceptive sense because of their hearing deficiency and it causes less movement of the tongue, so they usually substitute vowels which have similar F1 and F2.

This study aimed to investigate first three formants of Persian language among 18-24 years old university students. In a descriptive and cross-sectional study, 60 students (30 males and 30 females) aged 18-24 years were selected from school of Persian language and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The data were gathered directly by the interviewer; and the Persian vowel producing test was performed on the samples. Then first, second, and third formants of every six vowels were obtained by the Real analysis program of Dr. Speech software and Speech Studio, and their scores were recorded in the table, and investigated finally based on the goals and questions of the study. The greatest mean amount of F1, F2, and F3 were for vowel /æ/ 767 Hz, vowel /i/ 2244 Hz, and vowel /i/ 3129 Hz, respectively; and the least amount was for vowel /i/ 255 Hz, /u/ 734 Hz, and /u/ 2317 Hz, respectively, among the male students.The greatest mean amount of F1, F2, and F3 was for vowel /æ/ 876 Hz, vowel /i/ 2688 Hz, and vowel /i/ 3339 Hz, respectively; the least amount was for vowel /u/ 376 Hz, /u/ 731 Hz, and /u/ 2412 Hz, respectively, among the female students. The vowels /i/ and /u/ are close and the vowels /æ/ and /a/ are open and two vowels /o/ and /e/ are located between these two groups. The vowels /i/, /e/, and /æ/ are anterior and vowels /a/, /o/, and /u/ are posterior. The vowels /i/, /æ/ are expanded and the vowel /e/ is semi-expanded. The vowels /a/ and /u/ are circular and the vowel /o/ is semi-circular.

•Formant structure is one of the most important acoustic characteristics of Sounds.We can differentiate Vowels according to their first three Formants. Objective measurements of Vowel Formants are more valid than auditory perception in pathologic circumstances including children with hearing impairment. •In this analytical-descriptive and cross-sectional study we compared the Persian Vowel Formants between 64 Normal and hearing impaired students ranged from 15-18 years Old in Esfahan high school. •The mean of F1, F2, F2/F1 and F3/F1 of Persian vowels in all groups were significantly different (P