Effects of meaning-based psychotherapy on post-traumatic growth and death anxiety in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality in the world which imposes numerous psychological burdens on the patients. Psycho-spiritual interventions such as meaning-based therapies may help decrease these challenges. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to investigate the effects of meaning-based psychotherapy on post-traumatic growth and death anxiety of patients with cancer. METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, Proquest, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched until 30 September 2023. The Cochrane Collaboration's tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. A random-effect model was preferred, and statistical analysis was performed by STATA software version 17. RESULTS: A total of 17 studies were included in the systematic review. Eleven articles examined the impact of meaning-based interventions on death anxiety and six articles examined post-traumatic growth in cancer patients. Ten studies with a total of 555 participants were included for analysis of the effect of logotherapy versus routine care on death anxiety. Analysis showed a significant decrease effect of logotherapy versus routine care on death anxiety (SMD, - 4.05 (- 6.20, - 1.90); I2, 98.38%). Three studies with a total of 364 participants were included for analysis of the effect of logotherapy versus routine care on post-traumatic growth in patients with cancer. Analysis showed a positive but non-significant effect of logotherapy versus routine care on post-traumatic growth (SMD, 2.05 (- 0.91, 5.01); I2, 99.08%). CONCLUSION: The qualitative analysis showed the positive impact of meaning-based psychotherapy interventions on death anxiety and post-traumatic growth in cancer patients, but the results of the meta-analysis on post-traumatic growth were not statistically significant. The review shows the need for more clinical trial studies in larger and more diverse samples in terms of cancer types and cultural background.

Kinetic Modeling and Degradation Study of Liquid Polysulfide Resin-Clay Nanocomposite.

Kinetic modeling and degradation study of liquid polysulfide (LPS)/clay nanocomposite is possible through Ozawa-Flynn-Wall (OFW) and Kissinger methods. Comparing the results of these models with experimental data leads to provide an accurate degradation kinetic evaluation of these materials. To this aim, the morphology and distribution of clay nanoparticles (CNPs) within the LPS matrix were investigated using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). To evaluate the interaction between the LPS and the CNPs, the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) identification was utilized. Furthermore, to investigate the kinetics of degradation, the thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) of the samples were used in the nitrogen atmosphere with the help of Kissinger and Ozawa-Flynn-Wall (OFW) models. The characterization results confirmed the homogenous dispersion of the CNPs into the LPS matrix. In addition, the presence of CNPs increased the thermal stability and activation energy (Ea) of the samples at different conversion rates. Moreover, the OFW method was highly consistent with the experimental data and provided an appropriate fit for the degradation kinetics.