1. Introduction Weakening is the process by which a sound is turned into a sound of lesser degree of stricture or duration. Among different forms of weakening, DELETION is the most complete form. DELETION is a phonological process that often occurs in continuous speech. In the sense that whenever the combination of phonemes result in creating an ill-form linguistic unit which is not in agreement with the phonological system of the language, a phonetic unit of the speech chain is deleted to resolve this problem. This process changes the structure of the syllable and creates an acceptable syllabic or lexical pattern coincided with the phonotactics rules and restrictions of a language. The current study aimed to shed light on the process of DELETION in Standard Persian language in view of the optimality theory. The following questions were addressed in this research: 1. In what phonetic environment does the DELETION process arrive in standard Persian language? 2. Among consonants and vowels, which of them is exposed to the DELETION process? 3. What is the category and kind of words in which the DELETION process appeared?...

This study looks at the effects of changing the DELETION direction and ratio on the validity and reliability of the C-test. For this purpose, a cluster sampling procedure was used to select 324 English students with different levels of proficiency. The subjects were then randomly assigned to three experimental groups. Each group took a TOEFL test and a C-test version. The three C-test versions were all based on the same texts. Immediately after completing the C-test, subjects received a ten-item questionnaire about issues such as face validity, suitability, and possible functions of the C-test. The findings indicated that changing the DELETION ratio from 2 to 3 can result in an easier C-test with a higher discrimination power and a better criterion-related validity. On the other hand, changing the DELETION direction (from right to left) can result in a more difficult C-test with a lower discrimination power and a worse concurrent validity -a C-test which might be a The effects of changing the DELETION....completely different test that measures a different construct. However, the changes to the DELETION technique probably do not result in any changes to the reliability.

Introduction. Autosomal Dominant Polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is defined as one of the most common genetic disorders and the cause of kidney failure or end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Several studies have shown that renin-angiotensin system has an important role in pathogenesis of ADPKD. The aim of this study was to examine the association between the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene DELETION/DELETION (D/D) polymorphism and risk of ADPKD among Iranian patients from west Azerbaijan province of Iran. Methods. This case-control study was conducted on 40 patients and 72 controls. Genetic polymorphism of the ACE gene was determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and electrophoresis. Result. The frequency (frequency%) of ACE gene I/I, I/D, D/D genotypes were 5 (12. 5%), 12 (30%), 23 (57. 5%) in cases and 16 (22. 22%), 30 (41. 67%), 26 (36. 11%) in controls, respectively. The frequency (frequency%) of ACE gene I and D alleles were 22 (27. 5%) and 58 (72. 5%) in cases and, 62 (43. 06%) and 82 (56. 94%) in controls, respectively. Statistical analysis indicated that there were significant differences among the cases and controls regarding ACE gene D/D genotypes (P =. 028). The ACE gene D/D genotype was associated with increased ADPKD susceptibility with an OR of 2. 39, (95%) CI = (1. 09–5. 28), and P =. 028. But in the case of ACE gene, I/I and I/D genotypes, there were no statistically significant differences between cases and controls (P >. 05). Considering allelic comparison, the ACE gene D allele was associated with ADPKD susceptibility with an OR of 1. 99, (95%) CI = (1. 1–3. 6), and P =. 021. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that ACE gene D/D genotype was associated with ADPKD.