Smooth muscle cells in the urinary bladder are involved in the control of urine filling and emptying. We have used mice to study the contractile regulation of urinary bladder smooth muscle during the fetal period. We found that nerve-induced contractions are mainly dependent on muscarinic receptor activation in the newborn whereas adult bladders are equally dependent on muscarinic and purinergic r

Group III-V nanowires offer the exciting possibility of epitaxial growth on a wide variety of substrates, most importantly silicon. To ensure compatibility with Si technology, catalyst-free growth schemes are of particular relevance, to avoid impurities from the catalysts. While this type of growth is well-documented and some aspects are described, no detailed understanding of the nucleation and t

The examination of blood flow inside the body may yield important information about vascular anomalies, such as possible indications of, for example, stenosis. Current medical ultrasound systems suffer from only allowing for measuring the blood flow velocity along the direction of irradiation, posing natural difficulties due to the complex behaviour of blood flow, and due to the natural orientatio

Thermal breakdown products from four different fire extinguishing agents have been analysed. The agents studied were: bromotrifluoromethane (Halon 1301), pentafluoroethane (HFC 125), heptafluoropropane (HFC 227ea) and dodecafluoro-2-methyl-pentane-3-one (C6F-ketone). In the tests, the studied agent was introduced into a propane flame in a diffusion flame burner. The combustion products were analys

The limitations of PSA as a screening marker for diagnosis and prostate cancer treatment are well known. The low specificity of PSA results in many unnecessary prostate biopsies, furthermore high rates of over-detection and overtreatment affect patients' quality of life. New assays measuring different molecular forms of PSA have resulted only in a moderate improvement of specificity especially bey

Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is implicated in cognitive functions. Altered concentrations of the compound are found in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Further studies to determine whether KYNA serves as a biomarker for cognitive decline and dementia progression are required. In this study, we measured CSF KYNA levels in AD patients (n = 19), patients with de

Second harmonic generation is analyzed from a microscopical point of view using a non-equilibrium Green's function formalism. Through this approach the complete on-state of the laser can be modeled and results are compared to experiment with good agreement. In addition, higher order current response is extracted from the calculations and together with waveguide properties, these currents provide t

In order to describe the influence of Pleistocene glaciations on the genetic structure and demography of a highly mobile, but specialized, passerine, the Savi’s Warbler (Locustella luscinioides), mitochondrial DNA sequences (ND2) and microsatellites were analysed in c.330 individuals of 17 breeding and two wintering populations. Phylogenetic, population genetics and coalescent methods were used to

Objective: To explore the feasibility of using low-cost motion interactive games as a home-based intervention for children with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods: Fourteen children with CP, 6-16 years old, practiced with the EyeToy for PlayStation2 (R) in their homes during 4 weeks. Outcome measures were physical activity monitors, Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (mABC-2), Bruininks-Oseretsk

New functional electrode materials, based on polypyrrole, were prepared by potentiostatic electro-copolymerization of pyrrole with two different pyrrole monomers, functionalized with carboxylic group: 3-(1-pyrrolyl)-propanoic acid and 4-oxo-4(1H-pyrrole-3-yl)butanoic acid. The properties of the polymeric electrode materials depend mainly on the synthesis method, monomers ratio, reaction time, and

Two-color pump-probe measurements of the peripheral light harvesting complex LH2 of Rb.sphaeroides reveal strong temperature dependence of the annihilation rate. The experimental results were modeled via multi-exciton density matrix theory. Based on available literature data we can set an upper limit for the feasible intramolecular internal conversion rate. We show that this also restricts the pos

Coupling between electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom in Rhodamine 800 has been studied using fluorescence line narrowing (FLN) and three-pulse photon echo peak shift (3PEPS). From the FLN measurement we extract the Huang-Rhys S-factors and frequencies of 16 Franck-Condon active vibrations clustered in two groups centred around 350 cm(-1) and 1400 cm(-1). The five modes below 500 cm(-1) cover

We propose to install a storage ring at an ISOL-type radioactive beam facility for the first time. Specifically, we intend to setup the heavy-ion, low-energy ring TSR at the HIE-ISOLDE facility in CERN, Geneva. Such a facility will provide a capability for experiments with stored secondary beams that is unique in the world. The envisaged physics programme is rich and varied, spanning from investig