COPD burden on sexual well-being.

BACKGROUND: Sexual function is often affected in patients suffering from chronic diseases especially chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the effect of COPD on sexual satisfaction is underappreciated in clinical practice. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of COPD on patient's sexuality and the explanatory variables of sexual dissatisfaction. METHODS: Questionnaires were emailed to participants and they submitted their responses on the Santé Respiratoire France website. Data about sexual well-being (Arizona Sexual Experience Scale, ASEX), Quality of life (VQ11), anxiety, depression (Hospitalized anxiety and depression, HAD) and self-declared COPD grade were collected. RESULTS: Seven hundred and fifty one subjects were included and were characterized as follows: women-51%, mean age-61 years, in a couple-62% and 70%-retired. Every grade of COPD was represented. Out of 751 participants, 301 participants (40%) had no sexual activity and 450 (60%) had sexual activity. From the 450 participants, 60% needed to change their sexual life because of their disease (rhythm, frequency and position). Subjects often used medications to improve sexual performance (43% used short-acting bronchodilator and 13% -specific erectile dysfunction drugs). ASEX questionnaire confirmed patients' dissatisfaction (diminution of sexual appetite for 68% and sexual desire for 60%) because of breathlessness and fatigue. Eighty one percent of the responders had an altered quality of life (VQ11 mean score 35) and frequent suspected anxiety or depression (HAD mean score 10.8). Ninety percent declared that sexual dysfunction had never been discussed by their doctors, while 36% of patients would have preferred to undergo a specialized consultation. CONCLUSION: Sexual dysfunction is frequent among COPD patients and leads to an altered well-being, however being a cultural taboo, it remains frequently neglected. Sexual guidance should be a part of patient's consultations improve quality of sexual life.

TRU waste absorbent addition project at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.

ABSTRACT In order to meet a commitment to ship 3,100 m3 of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) developed a process to add absorbent to TRU waste drums that did not meet WIPP waste acceptance criteria. The development, implementation, and safe completion of this project contributed to the INEEL's success in meeting the commitment three months early.

Nursing station order entry for hospital computers.

Tired of illegible labels, unlabeled specimens, and frantic phone calls asking what happened to specimens? This lab was and devised a system to allow test ordering and label printing from nurse stations.

Determination of extracellular pH and tissue temperature in transplantable rat tumors by use of inductive loop telemetry.

Radiotelemetry was used to determine changes in extracellular pH and tissue temperature during tumor development in rats of an inbred WAB substrain. A progressive decrease in the pH of the tumor tissue compared with the pH level in control tissue was observed, so that by 4 days after tumor implantation the tumor tissue was about 0.4 pH units lower than control values. Thereafter, tumor pH rose progressively to reach a value comparable with control levels at 8 days, when the experiment was terminated. No significant difference was detected between the temperature in the tumor tissue and the temperature in the control tissue. Therefore, the observed changes in pH appeared to be independent of temperature. Studies on the rate of tumor cell proliferation during the experiments demonstrated a significant inverse relationship between tumor cell mitotic rate and pH, with the highest rates of cell proliferation occurring at the time of lowest pH values.

Jejunal motility in patients with functional abdominal pain.

A radiotelemetric system using dual pressure pills was used to record the jejunal motility in man. Prolonged recordings were made under relatively physiological conditions. Six patients with functional abdominal pain and six age/sex matched normal subjects were studied. Motility patterns varied markedly both within and between subjects. No differences were detected between the two groups. In particular, the occurrence of characteristic pain in the patients bore no relation to the recorded motor activity. The wide range of jejunal motility patterns in normal subjects needs to be appreciated before conclusions can be drawn about possible abnormalities in gut diseases or disorders.

An accurate, long-term, pH-sensitive radio pill for ingestion and implantation.

The design of a new radiotelemetry capsule (26 mm long X 7.6 mm diameter), with an in vivo life of 1 month is described in the context of previous work in this field. In vitro evaluation of the capsule indicates an accuracy and performance comparable with a conventional pH meter. Several clinical applications are described, including measurements of gastrointestinal pH in humans and the measurement of extracellular pH in laboratory animals.