Aim and Background: The main purpose of this study was to review the effectiveness of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) approach on symptoms of autistic children during a five-year period.Methods and Materials: In this quasi-experimental study, 20 autistic children (3-7 years of age) were intervened by ABA approach at Isfahan Center of Autism for a period of five years (2007-12). Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS) was filled out at baseline and at the end of the five-year period. Besides, the subjects were assessed by a checklist including cognitive comprehension, mathematical and verbal skills, and self-help at the beginning of the study and at the end of each year. After five years, all collected data was analyzed with SPSS19.Findings: Pretest and the posttest values of stereotypic behaviors, communication problems, social interactions, and GARS total scores were significantly different (P<0.001). Furthermore, significant improvements in cognitive comprehension, mathematical and verbal skills, and self-help were observed after each year and at the end of the five-year period (P<0.001).Conclusions: On the whole, it can be concluded that ABA-based interventions can effectively reduce symptoms of autism and increase skills.

In this paper, a novel risk-based, two-objective (technical and economical) optimal reactive power dispatch method in a wind-integrated power system is proposed which is more consistent with operational criteria.  The technical objective includes the minimization of the new voltage instability risk index. The economical objective includes cost minimization of reactive power generation and active power loss. The proposed voltage instability risk employs a hybrid possibilistic (Delphi-Fuzzy)-probabilistic approach that takes into consideration the operator’s experience, the wind speed and demand forecast uncertainties when quantifying the risk index. The decision variables are the reactive power resources of the system. To solve the problem, the modified multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm with sine and cosine acceleration coefficients is utilized. The method is implemented on the modified IEEE 30-bus system. The proposed method is compared with those in the previously published literature, and the results confirm that the proposed risk index is better at estimating the voltage instability risk of the system, especially in cases with severe impact and low probability. In addition, according to the simulation results compared to typical security-based planning, the proposed risk-based planning may increase the security and economy of the system due to better utilization of system resources.

Introduction: Given the high comorbidity of mental conditions and chronic pain in cancer, there is a need for development and administration of interventions for this population. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-integrated cognitive-behavioral therapy (MiCBT) in breast cancer pain management. Methods: In this clinical trial, 24 patients with breast cancer from Omid Hospital in Mashhad were selected via a purposive sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups of intervention (N = 12) and control (N = 12). The participants were assessed using the Short Cancer Pain Scale, Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, and Pain Catastrophizing Scale before, immediately after, and one month after the intervention. The participants in the intervention group received MiCBT for 8 weeks. The control group did not receive any intervention from the research team during the research period. Descriptive statistics (percentage, frequency, mean and standard deviation), chi-square tests, t-tests, and multivariate analysis of covariance were used for data analysis. Results: After controlling for the pretest scores, there were significant differences between control and intervention groups in perceived pain, pain catastrophizing, and pain self-efficacy immediately and one month after the intervention (P > 0. 001). The perceived pain, pain catastrophizing decreased and pain self-efficacy increased immediately and one month after the intervention (P > 0. 001). Eta square showed 0. 85, 0. 78 and 0. 70 change in perceived pain, pain catastrophizing, and pain self-efficacy immediately and one month. In the follow-up phase, Eta squre were 0. 87, 0. 75 and 0. 79 for perceived pain, pain catastrophizing, and pain self-efficacy respectively. Conclusion: MiCBT is effective in improving pain, pain self-efficacy, and pain catastrophe in patients with breast cancer. Therefore, considering the cost-effectiveness and availability, this program is recommended as a complementary treatment for breast cancer patients.