Culture

MONTRÉAL (October 19, 2015)- Researchers from the University at Buffalo at The State University of New York examined the effects of pre-existing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on mechanically ventilated veterans during ICU hospitalization. This retrospective cohort study found that mechanically ventilated patients with PTSD had higher sedation requirements.

MONTRÉAL (October 19, 2015)-Researchers from the Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Disorders and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, studied the effects of yoga as a form of pulmonary rehabilitation on markers of inflammation in the body. Results from this study showed yoga exercises provide improvements that are just as effective as traditional pulmonary rehabilitation methods in improving pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and indices of systemic inflammation.

MONTREAL (October 19, 2015)-- Researchers from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, evaluated the rapid response system (RRS) training program on call rates and code blue events and found significant improvements were made in staff awareness and patient outcomes. The study was developed by the knowledge that critical deterioration in patients is often preceded by measurable signs of physiological worsening hours prior to the event.

MONTRÉAL (October 19, 2015)- Researchers from Northwest Hospital and Lifebridge Critical Care in Randallstown, Maryland, conducted a study of patients with sepsis admitted in the ICU and found that a significant decrease in mortality, ICU length of stay, and intermediate care unit-to-ICU transfers occurred when a collaborative culture was created between the ED and ICU.

MONTRÉAL (October 19, 2015)-- Researchers from Hospital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal, the Montreal Chest Institute, and Concordia University in Montréal, Canada, conducted a 12-week supervised aerobic exercise program for patients with asthma and found that exercise yielded significant improvements in asthma control. This study was designed using the ORBIT framework to assess the impact of aerobic exercise on asthma control.

MONTRÉAL (October 19, 2015)-- Researchers from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, have found patients awaiting lung transplant often suffer from stress, anxiety, or depressive symptoms, and these symptoms are not isolated to patients with pre-existing psychiatric diagnoses. Pre-existing psychiatric diagnoses have been investigated previous to lung transplant. Little is known about the prevalence and burden of active depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms pretransplant.

MONTRÉAL (October 19, 2015)- Researchers from Toronto East General Hospital and Seamless Mobile Health have found that the use of text message reminders and having patients log post-operative progress significantly reduces the risk of cancellations for procedures and decreases post-op ER visits.

MONTRÉAL (October 19, 2015)- Researchers from Mount Sinai Beth Israel, in New York, New York, created a quality improvement initiative in 2012, recommending a restrictive approach to ordering chest x-rays (CXRs) compared with ordering them routinely. They hypothesized that this restrictive approach would significantly reduce patients' exposure to radiation and reduce ICU operating costs without adversely affecting patient outcomes.

October 19, 2015 - Advances in ultrathin films have made solar panels and semiconductor devices more efficient and less costly, and researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory say they've found a way to manufacture the films more easily, too.

Typically the films--used by organic bulk heterojunction solar cells, or BHJs, to convert solar energy into electricity--are created in a solution by mixing together conjugated polymers and fullerenes, soccer ball-like carbon molecules also known as buckyballs.

MONTRÉAL (October 19, 2015)- Researchers from Baylor Scott & White Health and Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in Temple, Texas, found no increased risk of mortality for patients with severe sepsis who were stabilized in the ED prior to ICU admission.

New research indicates that low levels of a growth factor called stem cell factor (SCF)--which is thought to be important for blood vessel repair--are linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Among 96 former Swiss indentured child laborers, 22 individuals showed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and 53 reported having experienced childhood trauma. Men reported a significantly higher prevalence of both sexual concerns and dysfunctional sexual behavior compared with women.

It will be important to further explore the relative role of traumatization and PTSD on sexual behavior and well-being, especially to improve sexual therapy for patients who have experienced trauma.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (October 19, 2015)--Everyone knows that exercise is good for you, regardless of your age. But a new study coming out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and presented earlier this month at the 2015 annual meeting of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) shows that some types of physical activity have a greater impact on body composition in postmenopausal compared to premenopausal women.

Highlights

Burdens related to poor sleep may put men with sleep apnea at increased risk of erectile dysfunction.

In a study of 713 male patients who visited Seoul National University Hospital for snoring and/or daytime sleepiness from 2006 to 2014, depressive symptoms and a low quality of life due to sleep problems were clearly linked to erectile dysfunction.

The findings suggest that psychological interventions may improve the sexual health of men with sleep apnea.