The Role and Effect of Music Therapy in Combination Therapy for Cancer Management.

Cancer is one of the major diseases that harm human health. Tumor patients face a series of problems, including tumor disease symptoms, side effects of treatment, potential complications of illness, financial problems, and even the threat of death. The majority of patients are aware of these problems. It often manifests as fear, anxiety, anger, complaining, and depression. This leads to the generation of negative emotions, such as insanity and loneliness. These complications, such as feelings and isolation, seriously affect the quality of life of patients. Conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy cause some side effects and adverse reactions or difficulty in controlling some symptoms generated by the tumor itself. Therefore, some complementary and alternative medicines based on conventional cancer treatment have been added. In recent years, music nursing, as a non-traumatic and psychological therapy, has been applied to cancer patients, which plays a good role in improving their negative emotions and improving their quality of life. Moreover, this review summarizes the evolution of music therapy (MT), exploring the mechanism of MT and its clinical application in cancer management. In addition, some challenges and perspectives e.g., artificial intelligence applications for music therapy, are discussed. This work aims to encourage the broader application of MT for cancer patients to improve the survival experience of cancer patients, which is low cost, easy to implement, low risk, and efficient method.

Field recovery from digital inline holographic images of composite propellant combustion base on denoising diffusion model.

Digital inline holography has gained extensive application in the optical diagnosis of solid propellant combustion. However, this method confronts several challenges. Firstly, the calculation time required for reconstruction and depth of field extension is excessively long. Secondly, the excessive smoke, airflow, and flame during combustion cause significant interference and poor reconstruction quality, which reduces the accuracy of particle identification. To address these issues, we have developed a holographic image reconstruction technique for aluminum particle combustion based on the Attention Mechanism, U-net, and Diffusion models. This approach enables end-to-end reconstruction of aluminum particle combustion holographic images, while effectively circumventing the interference of airflow combustion and flame.

In Situ Monitoring of Curing Reaction in Solid Composite Propellant with Fiber-Optic Sensors.

Curing activity in the preparation of solid composite propellants determines the performance of solid rocket motors in operation. Limited by the lack of effective monitoring tools, the complete curing behavior and thermal-induced curing kinetics are rarely disclosed. It is still a challenge to monitor in situ and in real-time the physical and chemical cross-linking reaction during the curing of propellant. Herein, we demonstrate a promising approach based on optical fiber capable of being implanted inside the propellant to monitor the internal stress evolution during the curing process, by taking hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene propellant as an example. Attributed to the strain and temperature sensitivity of a pair of optical fiber gratings, the thermal-assisted physico-chemical cross-linking states of curing process have been demonstrated in detail. By tracking the stress-induced wavelength shifts of fiber gratings and calculating the curing mechanism function, the complete curing roadmap, including the viscous flow stage, gel stage, hardening stage can be clearly revealed, and the curing completion times are obtained as 154, 81, and 40 h, at the curing temperatures of 60, 70, and 80 °C, respectively. The apparent activation energy of this curing system obtained by calculation is 73.88 kJ/mol. This flexible fiber-based sensor provides an effective tool for unraveling the cure kinetic mechanism, and paves a universal pathway to guide the preparation and applications of versatile composite materials for solid rocket motors.

Thermal behavior of graphene oxide and its stabilization effects on transition metal complexes of triaminoguanidine.

The graphene oxide (GO) was found to be able to stabilize organic molecules including energetic compounds. However, the inherent mechanisms of such stabilization effects are still not well-known. Herein, various transition metal complexes of triaminoguanidine nitrate (TAGN) using GO as a dopant have been prepared and evaluated. It has been shown that the presence of GO could great improve the thermal stability of the resulted TAG-based complexes. The physical models governing their thermolysis for their initial rate-limiting decomposition steps are obtained using the state-of-the-art evaluation methods. These physical models are further supported by analyses of the overall gaseous products. In addition, the reaction pathways are proposed to explain the stabilization mechanisms of GO. For instance, by interaction of GO, the release of N2 from TAG-Ni was greatly postponed. There is a broad secondary peak at temperature of 378 °C due to decomposition of the nickel nitrides, as the primary thermolysis intermediates of TAG-Ni. The formation of cobalt nitrides plays a significant role on decomposition of TAG-Co and G-T-Co, which results in much less heat release and mass loss in comparison to TAG-Ni.

Tuning the Reactivity of Metastable Intermixed Composite n-Al/PTFE by Polydopamine Interfacial Control.

The metastable intermixed composite (MIC) is one of the most popular research topics in the field of energetic materials (EMs). The goal is to invent EMs with tunable reactivity and desired energy content. However, it is very difficult to tune the reactivity of MIC due to its high reactivity and sensitivity caused by enlarged specific surface area and intimate contact between the oxidizers and fuels. Herein, we demonstrated a facile fabrication method that can be used to control the reactivity between the nanoaluminum (n-Al) and poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) using an in situ-synthesized polydopamine (PDA) binding layer. It was found that PDA can adhere to both n-Al and PTFE particles, resulting in integrated n-Al@PDA/PTFE MICs. In comparison with traditional n-Al/PTFE MICs, the n-Al@PDA/PTFE showed an increased energy release and reduced sensitivity and more importantly tunable reactivity. By regulating the experimental conditions of coating, the thickness of PDA could be well controlled, which makes the tunable reactivity of n-Al@PDA/PTFE possible. The PDA interfacial layer may increase the preignition reaction (PIR) heat of Al2O3/PTFE and therefore the overall reaction heat of n-Al/PTFE. It also reveals that the PDA interfacial layer postponed the PIR, leading to an increase in onset thermal decomposition temperature ( To). As To increased, a more complete reaction between PTFE and Al nanoparticles could be achieved.

Highly Reactive Metastable Intermixed Composites (MICs): Preparation and Characterization.

Highly reactive metastable intermixed composites (MICs) have attracted much attention in the past decades. The MIC family of materials mainly includes traditional metal-based nanothermites, novel core-shell-structured, 3D ordered macroporous-structured, and ternary nanocomposites. By applying special fabrication approaches, highly reactive MICs with uniformly dispersed reactants, "layer-by-layer" or "core-shell" structures, can be prepared. Thus, the combustion performance can be greatly improved, and the ignition characteristics and safety can be precisely controlled by using a certain preparation strategy. Here, the preparation and characterization of the MICs that have been developed during the past few decades are summarized. Traditional preparation methods for MICs generally include physical mixing, high-energy ball milling, sol-gel synthesis, and vapor deposition, while the novel methods include self-assembly, electrophoretic deposition, and electrospinning. Various preparation procedures and the ignition and combustion performance of different MIC reactive systems are compared and discussed. In particular, the advantages of novel structured MICs in terms of safety and combustion efficiency are clarified, based on which suggestions regarding the possible future research directions are proposed.

Ab Initio Calculations of the N-N Bond Dissociation for the Gas-phase RDX and HMX.

NO2 fission is a vital factor for 1,3,5-Trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) decomposition. In this study, the geometry of the gas-phase RDX and HMX molecules was optimized, and the bond order and the bond dissociation energy of the N-N bonds were examined. Moreover, the rate constants of the gas-phase RDX and HMX conformers, concerning the N-N bond dissociation, were evaluated using the microcanonical variational transition state theory (µVT). The calculation results have shown that HMX is more stable than RDX in terms of the N-N bond dissociation, and the conformers stability parameters were as follows: RDXaaa < RDXaae < HMX I < HMX II. In addition, for the RDX conformers, the N-N bond of the pseudo-equatorial positioning of the nitro group was more stable than the N-N bond of the axial positioning of the nitro group, while the results were opposite in the case of the HMX conformers. Moreover, it has been shown that the dissociation rate constant of the N-N bond is influenced by the temperature significantly, thus the rate constants were much lower (<10-10 s-1) when the temperature was less than 1000 K.

[Research on Measurement Method of Gas Velocity Combined Absorption Spectroscopy Technique and Cross-Correlation].

For the small frequency shift and large error of tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) velocity method based on Doppler Effect in measuring the gas velocity, velocity measurement method combined fixed wavelength absorption spectroscopy and cross correlation is proposed in this paper. Considering the characteristics of the hydrocarbon fuel combustion products, 7 158.597 cm(- 1) absorption line of H(2)O molecular was selected. Through arranging two beams of fixed wavelength absorption measurement point of upstream and downstream, the gas velocity can be calculated by analyzing the cross-correlation properties of the two signals. The flat flame burner experiment system was used in the experimental research of the velocity measurement. The change of gas velocity with time under variable working condition was obtained. Under the same condition, numerical calculation is carried out. And the measurement results are compared with the results of the numerical simulation with relative deviation less than 8%. Then the method is preliminarily applied to measure the high speed plume of the kerosene-fueled Rocket Based Combined Cycle (RBCC) engine, and the upstream and downstream fluctuant signals of detectors were obtained. The velocity of the plume was calculated with cross correlation analysis which verifies the feasibility of this method. The experimental results show that the gas velocity measurement method has a wide measuring range with high measuring accuracy and little environment interference. The method proposed in this paper provides a simple and reliable method for the measurement of engine gas velocity.

Association analysis of CD40 gene polymorphism with acute coronary syndrome.

Current evidence shows that the CD40-CD40 ligand (CD40-CD40L) system plays a crucial role in the development, progression and outcome of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The aim of this study is to investigate whether a CD40 gene (-1C/T) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is associated with ACS and CD40 expression. We included controls (n = 163) and patients with either ACS (n = 210) or stable angina (SA, n = 189) in the study. The gene polymorphism was measured using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and identified by sequencing. CD40 expression on platelets was detected by flow cytometry. The results showed that the frequency of the CC genotype of CD40 gene in the ACS group was significantly higher than in the SA and control groups (P < 0.001), while the TT genotype frequency in the ACS group was significantly lower than that of the SA and control groups (P < 0.001). The C-allele frequency of the ACS group was higher than that of the SA and control groups (P < 0.001). The C allele increased the risk of ACS when compared with the SA group (OR = 1.841, 95% CI: 1.390-2.437) and the control groups (OR = 1.877, 95% CI: 1.402-2.515). No significant differences in genotypes or allele frequencies were found between the SA and control groups. CD40 expression on platelets in patients with C-allele carriers was significant higher than in the T-allele carriers in each group. In conclusion, our results suggested that the CD40 gene (-1C/T) polymorphism was associated with ACS in Chinese people. The -1C-allele gene carriers had a higher expression of CD40 and an increased risk of suffering from ACS.

The clinical implications of increased OX40 ligand expression in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence show that OX40 ligand (OX40L), also known as tumor necrosis factor superfamily member 4 (TNFSF4), plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. We investigated whether expression levels of soluble OX40L in serum and of membrane OX40L on platelets were related to serum concentrations of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and stability of coronary atherosclerotic plaque in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS: We included healthy controls (n=30), patients with stable angina (SA) (n=40) and patients with ACS, including unstable angina (UA) (n=70) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (n=40). The expression of OX40L on platelets (pOX40L) was analyzed with flow cytometry whereas serum concentrations of soluble OX40L (sOX40L), MMP-9 and MMP-3 were determined with ELISA. All coronary stenoses with >or=30% diameter reduction were assessed by angiographic coronary stenosis morphology. RESULTS: The expression of OX40L on platelets were significantly higher in patients with ACS (61.5+/-11.5) compared with healthy controls (28.9+/-7.4) or with the group of patients with SA (31.2+/-8.1) (mean fluorescence intensity+/-SD) (p<0.001). Similarly, we observed higher sOX40L concentrations in patients with ACS (34.6+/-9.3) compared with controls (10.2+/-4.7) or patients with SA (11.4+/-5.8) (ng/ml+/-SD) (p<0.001). Serum MMP-3 and MMP-9 levels in patients were two times greater than those in the control group. A positive correlation was observed between OX40L expression on platelets and MMP-9 and MMP-3 serum concentrations. OX40L expression on platelets were furthermore correlated with soluble OX40L in serum and with complex coronary stenoses (r1=0.61, r2=0.57, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients with ACS show increased OX40L system (pOX40L and sOX40L) expression which may create a proinflammatory milieu for aggravating the development of atherosclerosis, and may be a valuable marker for predicting the severity of ACS.