Principles of psychotherapeutic strategy.

Argues that strategy fills a real need in psychotherapeutic thinking. An attempt is made to define strategic rules for (1) choosing and defining goals, (2) locating strategic points, (3) actively searching for the client's responses, (4) dealing with resistance, (5) exploiting or creating propitious timings, (6) mobilizing allies, (7) concentrating the therapeutic influence, (8) stabilizing partial achievements, (9) dealing with competing demands, (10) retreating after failure, and (11) changing the therapeutic framework when needed. Each principle is illustrated by interventions from different therapeutic orientations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A 2-D orientation-adaptive prediction filter in lifting structures for image coding.

Lifting-style implementations of wavelets are widely used in image coders. A two-dimensional (2-D) edge adaptive lifting structure, which is similar to Daubechies 5/3 wavelet, is presented. The 2-D prediction filter predicts the value of the next polyphase component according to an edge orientation estimator of the image. Consequently, the prediction domain is allowed to rotate +/-45 degrees in regions with diagonal gradient. The gradient estimator is computationally inexpensive with additional costs of only six subtractions per lifting instruction, and no multiplications are required.     

Farnesyltransferase inhibitors versus Ras inhibitors

BACKGROUND: Intra-arterial regional anaesthesia (IARA) may be useful for ambulatory hand surgery in patients with poor veins. This randomized, double-blind study assessed which of the three doses of lignocaine gives the optimal analgesia with a minimum of adverse effects. METHODS: A preservative-free, alkalinized 0.5% lignocaine 1, 2 or 2.89 mg/kg body weight was injected into the radial arteries of 60 adult patients, allocated to three equal groups, to produce anaesthesia for carpal tunnel releases, capsulotomies, tenosynovectomies, palmar fasciectomies, Z-plastics, arthroplastics, arthrodeses etc. RESULTS: Surgical analgesia and motor block were best in group 3 (P < 0.01), whereas injection and tourniquet pain scores were similar in the three groups. Onset of analgesia was similar in all groups, and varied between 2 and 15 min. Cannulation time, surgery start time and tourniquet time were also similar in all groups, as were operating conditions and patient's acceptance of the method. No significant cardiovascular changes were observed after tourniquet release in any of the groups. Plasma lignocaine concentrations were lowest in group 1 (1 mg/kg) (P < 0.001). Five patients in group 1, seven in group 2 and seventeen in group 3 developed small bruises at the cannulation site (P < 0.001). Six patients (two in group 1, three in group 2 and one in group 3) had minor symptoms of lignocaine toxicity after tourniquet release (NS). No other complications were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The highest dose of lignocaine produces best surgical analgesia, without increasing the risk of toxicity. However, many patients receiving this dose will develop bruises at the injection site, and an occasional patient may need supplemental analgesia.     

Understanding and countering chronic processes with mental patients: An interpersonal model.

Presents a broad-focus model for conceptualizing and treating chronic processes with psychiatric patients that integrates behavioral social-competence approaches and systemic-interactive ones. The events that originate and sustain dysfunctional behaviors involve a cycle of repetitive failure, rejection and hurt, self-isolation and segregation by others, mutual guilt and anger, psychiatric labeling, and giving up. The rehabilitation center in which the mapping of and training in social competences occurs serves as the context for systemic interactions that counter these chronic processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A unified analytical framework for distributed variable step size LMS algorithms in sensor networks

Internet of Things (IoT) is helping to create a smart world by connecting sensors in a seamless fashion. With the forthcoming fifth generation (5G) wireless communication systems, IoT is becoming increasingly important since 5G will be an important enabler for the IoT. Sensor networks for IoT are increasingly used in diverse areas, e.g., in situational and location awareness, leading to proliferation of sensors at the edge of physical world. There exist several variable step-size strategies in literature to improve the performance of diffusion-based Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm for estimation in wireless sensor networks. However, a major drawback is the complexity in the theoretical analysis of the resultant algorithms. Researchers use several assumptions to find closed-form analytical solutions. This work presents a unified analytical framework for distributed variable step-size LMS algorithms. This analysis is then extended to the case of diffusion based wireless sensor networks for estimating a compressible system and steady state analysis is carried out. The approach is applied to several variable step-size strategies for compressible systems. Theoretical and simulation results are presented and compared with the existing algorithms to show the superiority of proposed work.     

Modulation of extraction variables of pectin from Manilkarazapota fruit peel,its bio characterization,and comparative study using dynamic light scattering studies

Influence of variables has a great impact upon yield of pectin. The present study was organized to harmonize these variables and examine the extracted pectin. In view of this, bio-characterizion and structure analysis of pectin through FTIR was performed. Additionally, a polydispersity and particle size study was also conducted using dynamic light scattering (DLS) of the Manilkarazapota fruit peel. The best extraction variables according to the response optimization predicted model were noted as pH of 5 at 61.11°C for 90 min of heating time, which lead to a 3.7% yield. Bio-characterization revealed that pectin extracted at pH 5 has characteristics similar to HM pectin influence of methoxyl content, degree of esterification, and Galacturonic acid content at 5.11%, 73. 63%, and 77.7%, respectively. The FTIR spectrum depicted a similar surface structure to food-grade pectin. DLS studies revealed that extracted pectin at pH 5 has a particle size in the range of 390.21–421.17 nm and polydispersity (?) of 28.2%-29.3%. These findings indicate that sapodilla is a potential source of pectin for food and pharmaceutical preparation.     

Determining optimum carob powder adsorbtion for cleaning wastewater: intelligent optimization with electro-search algorithm

Wireless Networks - In this study, effective and fast removal efficiency of carob powder (as an absorbent material from liquid phase) was investigated by focusing on the dangerous paint methylene...     

A secure and provable multi-server authenticated key agreement for TMIS based on Amin et al. scheme

The security for Telecare Medicine Information Systems (TMIS) has been crucial for reliable dispensing of the medical services to patients at distant locations. Security and privacy element needs to be there for any physician or caregiver to make certain an appropriate diagnosis, medical treatment or any other exchange of critical information. In this connection, many relevant TMIS-based authentication schemes have been presented, however various forms of attacks and inefficiencies render these schemes inapplicable for a practical scenario. Lately, Amin et al. proposed a scheme based on a multi-server authentication for TMIS. However, the Amin et al., scheme has been found vulnerable to user and server impersonation attacks. We have proposed an improved model with higher performance and efficiency, as evident from the forthcoming sections. Besides, the scheme has been backed up by formal security analysis using BAN logic to ensure the resilience of the proposed scheme.