The effectiveness of social work intervention based on an integrated approach (integrated couple therapy and positive psychotherapy) on marital adjustment and forgiveness among couples who have extramarital affairs.

The effectiveness of integrated couple therapy and positive psychotherapy on marital adjustment and forgiveness in couples Experiencing Infidelity Masoomeh Mayeli , Talat Allahyari , Faramarz sohrabi , Mohammad taghi Karami The present study examined the effectiveness of designed intervention (integrated couple therapy and positive psychotherapy) on forgiveness and increasing marital adjustment. The research design is semi-experimental with pre-test, post-test and control group. Among the couples referred to the counseling centers and social work clinics in Eslamshahr, couples (30 couples) were selected as available and then randomly divided into two groups of 15 couples (experimental group). And control group). Spinner's marital adjustment questionnaire and Ray et al.'s forgiveness questionnaire were used to collect data. In performing the therapeutic intervention, the experimental group was Attended at fifteen sessions (one session per week) individually, with a combined approach, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated measurement analysis in SPSS software. The results showed the effectiveness of the intervention approach on increasing marital adjustment and increasing forgiveness between couples. The Eta square indicates that %97.9 of the variance of the forgiveness variable and %93.3 of the variance of the adjustment variable is explained by the social work intervention approach

Proceedings of the 36th ECMS International Conference on Modelling and Simulation ECMS 2022 May 30th – June 3rd, 2022, Ålesund, Norway

Finding the optimal distribution of exerted effort by an athlete in competitive sports has been widely investigated in the fields of sport science, applied mathematics and optimal control. In this article, we propose a reinforcement learning-based solution to the optimal control problem in the running race application. Well-known mathematical model of Keller is used for numerically simulating the dynamics in runner's energy storage and motion. A feed-forward neural network is employed as the probabilistic controller model in continuous action space which transforms the current state (position, velocity and available energy) of the runner to the predicted optimal propulsive force that the runner should apply in the next time step. A logarithmic barrier reward function is designed to evaluate performance of simulated races as a continuous smooth function of runner's position and time. The neural network parameters, then, are identified by maximizing the expected reward using on-policy actor-critic policy-gradient RL algorithm. We trained the controller model for three race lengths: 400, 1500 and 10000 meters and found the force and velocity profiles that produce a near-optimal solution for the runner's problem. Results conform with Keller's theoretical findings with relative percent error of 0.59% and are comparable to real world records with relative percent error of 2.38%, while the same error for Keller's findings is 2.82%.</p

An Extension of the Kinetic Battery Model for Optimal Control Applications

Optimal control of electric vehicle (EV) batteries for maximal energy efficiency, safety and lifespan requires that the Battery Management System (BMS) has accurate realtime information on both the battery State-of-Charge (SoC) and its dynamics, i.e. energy supply capacity, at all times. However, these quantities cannot be measured directly from the battery, and, in practice, only SoC estimation is typically carried out. Moreover, the so-called Equivalent Circuit Models (ECM) commonly utilized in BMS solutions only display a memoryless algebraic dependence of voltage and current on SoC, without an ability to predict battery energy supply capacity based on its recent charge/discharge history. In this article, we propose a novel parametric algebraic voltage model coupled to the well-known Manwell-McGowan dynamic Kinetic Battery Model (KiBaM), which is able to predict both battery SoC dynamics and its electrical response. We present an offline model parameter identification procedure that yields SoC-dependent model parameters from standard dynamic battery tests, and we introduce an algorithm based on the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) for standard SoC estimation on the proposed model. Numerical simulations, based on laboratory measurements, are presented for prismatic Lithium-Titanate Oxide (LTO) battery cells. Such cells are prime candidates for modern heavy offroad EV applications

Ultrasonography in distinguishing optic neuritis from nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy

Background and Objectives: Optic neuritis (ON) and nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) have some overlapping clinical profiles. We evaluated the usefulness of B-scan ultrasonography in distinguishing ON from NAION by measuring diameter of the optic nerve. Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients with an acute noncompressive unilateral optic neuropathy with relative afferent pupillary defect and onset of visual loss during the last 2 weeks were included. Diagnosis of ON was based on age ≤ 35 years, orbital pain associated with eye movement, and no disk edema, and diagnosis of NAION was based on age ≥ 60 years, no orbital pain associated with eye movement, and presence of disk edema. Age- and gender-matched subjects without ocular disease were selected for comparison. The diameter of the optic nerve was measured by a single radiologist with B-scan ultrasonography. Results: In ON patients, the mean diameter of the affected nerve was significantly larger than that of the unaffected nerve and also larger than that of the right nerve of young controls; P < 0.05. In NAION patients, however, there was no significant difference between the mean diameter of the affected nerve and of the unaffected nerve or the right nerve of elderly controls; P > 0.05. Also, the diameter of the affected nerve was significantly larger in ON than in AION patients; P < 0.05. Conclusion: B-scan ultrasonography is helpful in the early stages of optic neuropathy to distinguish ON from NAION in those cases for which the diagnosis is still uncertain after clinical evaluation

Combination iron chelation therapy with deferiprone and deferasirox in iron-overloaded patients with transfusiondependent β-thalassemia major

There are few papers on the combination therapy of deferiprone (DFP) and deferasirox (DFX) in iron-overloaded patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia major (β-TM). A total of 6 patients with β-TM (5 males and 1 female) with a mean age of 23.8±5.8 years (ranging from 17 to 31) used this treatment regimen. The mean doses of DFP and DFX were 53.9±22.2 and 29.3±6.8 mg/kg/day, respectively. The duration of treatment was 11.5±4.6 months. Their serum ferritin levels were measured to be 2800±1900 and 3400±1600 ng/mL before and after treatment, respectively (p<0.6). Their cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2* values were 16.69±15.35 vs 17.38±5.74 millisecond (ms) before and after treatment, respectively (p < 0.9). Although there was no significant difference between their cardiac MRI T2* values before and after treatment statistically, the values improved after combination therapy with DFP and DFX in most of the patients. Liver MRI T2 * values were changed from 2.12±0.98 to 3.03±1.51 ms after treatment (p < 0.01); Further, their liver T2* values and liver iron concentration (LIC) were improved after treatment. Our study found that cardiac MRI T2* values, liver MRI T2* values, and LIC were improved after combination therapy with DFP and DFX in β-TM patients and that DFP and DFX combination therapy could be used to alleviate cardiac and liver iron loading

Impact of Health Information Prescription on Self-care of Women with Breast Cancer

Background: Women with breast cancer experience various challenges. Prescription of health information provides appropriate information at appropriate time to the appropriate person and plays a role in empowering self-care and improving health. The current research aims to evaluate the effect of health information prescription on self-care power of women with breast cancer. Materials and Methods: This semi-experimental quantitative study was done using pretest and posttest method in one group of 61 women with breast cancer selected from the Women's Cancer Center of Khatamolanbia Hospital using purposive sampling method. Data were collected by an author-made self-care questionnaire and patients' self-care score was calculated at the first visit (before health information prescription) and the second visit (after health information prescription). Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 23 software and analysis of variance at a statistical significance level of P < 0.05. Results: Total mean score of self-care in women with breast cancer was 40.97 and 115.3 before and after health information prescription, respectively. Increase of mean was observed in all subscales of self-care score from pretest to posttest so that change in posttest was higher in subscales of effective implementation of treatment and prevention from disabilities and personal functioning regulation (39.44), specialized knowledge on breast cancer (30.46), searching medical services and cooperation with treatment group (28.59), and awareness and attention to impacts and results of breast cancer (16.81). Conclusion: Health information prescription improves self-care power of women with breast cancer, and it is necessary to provide health information services in order to support women's self-care by the health authorities

Using information sources by breast cancer women treated with mastectomy

BACKGROUND: Awareness of sources of information of mastectomy patients has an important role in accessibility of reliable health information sources, thus, when they get information, they can be effective in the treatment and self-care. The present study aimed to identify the sources of information used by women underwent mastectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current practical research methodology was qualitative, and research method was conventional qualitative content analysis was performed on 17 patients with breast cancer undergone mastectomy. The sample targeted two hospitals were selected based on criteria of Shaeid Mohammadi and the Persian Gulf and Omid Central chemotherapy in Babdar Abbas. Data were collected by face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted in winter 2015. Qualitative content analysis of data was performed at the same time of data collection. RESULTS: Three themes were seemed (medical, interpersonal, and media) sources for explaining the sources of information searching. Subcategories derived from the content of medical (physicians, surgeons, and health workers of health facility centers), interpersonal sources (Family and friends, peers), and media sources (printed, electronic, and Internet). CONCLUSION: Given the importance of information on women underwent mastectomy, and their priority in the use of medical sources, necessitates more attention of health system managers and planners in providing essential information and their accessibility