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This study sought to investigate the probable relationships among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' active/passive motivation, their sense of efficacy, and burnout. To this end, the Active/Passive Motivation Scale (APMS), Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were administered to 245 Iranian EFL teachers. Next, in order to substantiate the construct validity of the APMS, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted. Moreover, correlational analyses and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were employed to explore the relationships among the variables. The results indicated significant relationships between active/passive motivation and all subconstructs of TSES, between active motivation and all subconstructs of burnout, and between passive motivation and two burnout subscales, namely emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment. Additionally, while no significant relationship was found between age and the three constructs, the results demonstrated that teaching experience and teacher’s sense of efficacy were positively correlated. Female teachers were also found to be less likely to feel depersonalized. Moreover, mediated by active motivation, teacher efficacy was a significant negative predictor of teacher burnout. Finally, the implications of the study for administrators and teachers were discussed and suggestions were made for further research.

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Drying characteristics of green pea (Pisum satium) with an initial moisture content of 76% (db) was studied in a fluidized bed dryer assisted by microwave heating. Four drying air temperatures (30, 40, 50 and 60ºC) and five microwave powers (180, 360, 540, 720 and 900W) were adopted. Several experiments were conducted to obtain data for sample moisture content versus drying time. The results showed that increasing the drying air temperature resulted in up to 5% decrease in drying time while in the microwave-assisted fluidized bed system, the drying time decreased dramatically up to 78.8%. As a result, addition of microwave energy to the fluidized bed drying is recommended to enhance the drying rate of green pea. Furthermore, in this study, the application of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for predicting the drying time (output parameter) was investigated. Microwave power, drying air temperature, and green pea moisture content were considered as input parameters for the model. An ANN model with 50 neurons was selected for studying the influence of transfer functions and training algorithms. The results revealed that a network with the logsig (Log sigmoid) transfer function and trainrp (Resilient back propagation; Rprop) back propagation algorithm made the most accurate predictions for the green pea drying system. In order to test the ANN model, the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and standard error (SE) were calculated and showed that the random errors were within and acceptable range of ±5% with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 98%.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of production of a functional half-fat synbiotic stirred yogurt using Panirak (Malva neglecta) and lactulose (as a prebiotic compound) with an acceptable physicochemical and sensory properties. To produce half-fat synbiotic stirred yogurt samples, Lactobacillus fermentum SL163-4 from a fermented food (Ashkardeh) was isolated and used as probiotic bacteria. Panirak at four levels (0, 5, 10, 15%) and lactulose at three levels (0, 1 and 2%) were used as prebiotic substances. Physicochemical and sensory properties of the yogurt samples were investigated during 21 days of refrigerated storage. Based on the results obtained from the data analysis, it was found that as the level of Panirak enhanced, pH increased and acidity decreased (p<0.05) while by increasing the amount of lactulose and with passing the storage time, pH decreased and acidity increased (p<0.05). Also, by increasing the amount of Panirak and lactulose and with passing the storage time, the extent of syneresis of the yogurt samples decreased (p<0.05). Based on the sensory results, it was found that by addition of Panirak up to 10% level, taste and acceptability of yogurt samples improved (p<0.05), but lactulose caused a significant reduction in these sensory attributes (p<0.05). Furthermore, there were no differences between yogurt samples containing 10 and 15% Panirak and samples having 0 and 1% lactulose. Therefore, according to the results obtained from this study, the use of 15% Panirak and 1% lactulose to produce a functional stirred yoghurt with an acceptable quality is recommended.