Significant Improvement In Resilience Research Articles

Component‐based security system (COMSEC) with QoS for wireless sensor networks

ABSTRACTIn the last decade, many security solutions have been proposed to fulfil the security requirements of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). However, these solutions are specifically designed for particular security issues, based on different assumptions, and limited to certain WSNs applications. Can these security solutions work together to handle multiple problems at the same time? It is an interesting and difficult question. We believe good solutions in various security areas do not mean they can work together and deliver similar results, i.e. occurrence of any security weakness or attack in a particular security solution could expose the vulnerabilities of other solutions. Using these solutions together might also degrade WSN quality of service. To deal with the aforementioned issues, we therefore propose a novel component‐based security system (COMSEC) based on proactive and reactive components. Each component looks after a particular security issue and is integrated with others. The proposed system provides better secure communication, Sybil attack detection, secure data aggregation and resilience against node capture attacks and replication attacks. COMSEC has been evaluated and compared against existing schemes. Evaluation results show a significant improvement in resilience against node capture attacks, Sybil attack detection data confidentiality, privacy, memory overhead and connectivity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Influence of Occupational Therapy on Resilience in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

This quasi-experimental pilot study examined the impact of multidisciplinary care, with a particular focus on occupational therapy (OT), on resilience in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). Individuals with a diagnosis of MS who were receiving multidisciplinary care including outpatient OT at an MS center were invited to participate. A total of 36 individuals agreed to enroll and were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and the Resilience Scale (RS). After an 8-week period of multidisciplinary treatment, the 35 individuals who completed treatment were again asked to complete the RS. As a group they demonstrated statistically significant improvement in resilience. A cohort of participants unexpectedly did not follow through with OT but did follow through with their other referrals. These individuals completed the RS before and after the 8-week time period and became an ad hoc control group. The group receiving OT showed significant improvement in resilience, while the control group did not. This study shows that a multidisciplinary approach to care, especially when it includes OT, is effective in treating individuals with MS. Occupational therapy focuses on treating symptoms that specifically limit daily functioning and participation, and may be uniquely positioned to affect resilience. Because resilience plays an important role in functional recovery and maintenance, this study suggests that OT may be a critical component of MS care in developing characteristics that enhance resilience.

Stress Management and Resilience Training (SMART) Program to Decrease Stress and Enhance Resilience Among Breast Cancer Survivors: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial

IntroductionPatients with breast cancer experience stress and anxiety related to their diagnosis, with resulting lower quality of life. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a SMART (Stress Management and Resiliency Training) program for increasing resiliency and for decreasing stress and anxiety among mentors who themselves were previously diagnosed with breast cancer. Materials and MethodsThe program consisted of two 90-minute group training sessions, a brief individual session, and 3 follow-up telephone calls. Twenty-four mentors at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, were randomized in a single-blind, wait-list controlled clinical trial to either the SMART intervention or a control group for 12 weeks. Primary outcome measures assessed at baseline and at week 12 included the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Smith Anxiety Scale, and Linear Analog Self Assessment Scale. ResultsTwenty patients completed the study. A statistically significant improvement in resilience, perceived stress, anxiety, and overall quality of life at 12 weeks, compared with baseline was observed in the study arm. No significant difference in any of these measures was noted in the control group. ConclusionThis study demonstrates that a brief, predominantly group-based resilience training intervention is feasible in patients with previous breast cancer; also, it may be efficacious.

Stress Management and Resilience Training Among Department of Medicine Faculty: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial

Physician distress is common and related to numerous factors involving physicians' personal and professional lives. The present study was designed to assess the effect of a Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) program for increasing resiliency and quality of life, and decreasing stress and anxiety among Department of Medicine (DOM) physicians at a tertiary care medical center. Forty DOM physicians were randomized in a wait-list controlled clinical trial to either the SMART intervention or a wait-list control group for 8 weeks. The intervention involved a single 90 min one-on-one training in the SMART program. Primary outcome measures assessed at baseline and week 8 included the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CDRS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Smith Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Linear Analog Self Assessment Scale (LASA). Thirty-two physicians completed the study. A statistically significant improvement in resiliency, perceived stress, anxiety, and overall quality of life at 8 weeks was observed in the study arm compared to the wait-list control arm: CDRS: mean ± SD change from baseline +9.8 ± 9.6 vs. -0.8 ± 8.2, t(30) = 3.18, p = 0.003; PSS: -5.4 ± 8.1 vs. +2.2 ± 6.1, t(30) = -2.76, p = 0.010; SAS: -11.8 ± 12.3 vs.+ 2.9 ± 8.9, t(30) = -3.62, p = 0.001; and LASA: +0.4 ± 1.4 vs. -0.6 ± 1.0, t(30) = 2.29, p = 0.029. A brief training to enhance resilience and decrease stress among physicians using the SMART program was feasible. Further, the intervention provided statistically significant improvement in resilience, stress, anxiety, and overall quality of life. In the future, larger clinical trials with longer follow-up and possibly wider dissemination of this intervention are warranted.