Sexualmedizinische Behandlungsfälle – Entwicklungen 1980 – 1990 – 2004

Sexual dysfunctions can adversely affect men's and women's satisfaction with life over a prolonged period. Besides sexual medicine services in primary medical care, in Switzerland there exist specialized consultation services at University Hospitals. The assessment of the case histories of three years (1980, 1990, and 2004) of the Sexual Medicine Consultation Service at Zurich University Hospital provided the following results: the most common disorders are lack/loss of libido in women and erectile dysfunction in men. Treatment options for sexual disorders have become more differentiated in recent years. The collaboration between the doctors making the referral and the sexual medicine specialists improved markedly between 1980 and 2004. After a diagnostic assessment and a primary treatment in the specialized consultation service, many patients are referred back to the referring doctors for further treatment. Basic and further training in sexual medicine ought to be intensified and improved

An all-optical trap for a gram-scale mirror

We report on a stable optical trap suitable for a macroscopic mirror, wherein the dynamics of the mirror are fully dominated by radiation pressure. The technique employs two frequency-offset laser fields to simultaneously create a stiff optical restoring force and a viscous optical damping force. We show how these forces may be used to optically trap a free mass without introducing thermal noise; and we demonstrate the technique experimentally with a 1 gram mirror. The observed optical spring has an inferred Young's modulus of 1.2 TPa, 20% stiffer than diamond. The trap is intrinsically cold and reaches an effective temperature of 0.8 K, limited by technical noise in our apparatus.Comment: Major revision. Replacement is version that appears in Phy. Rev. Lett. 98, 150802 (2007

Atmosphere-snow transfer function for H2O2: microphysical considerations

H2O2 analyses of polar ice cores show an increase in concentration from 200 years to the present. In order to quantitatively relate the observed trend in the ice to atmospheric levels, the atmosphere-snow transfer behavior and postdepositional changes must be known. Atmosphere-snow transfer was studied by investigating uptake and release of H2O2 in a series of laboratory column experiments in the temperature range −3°C to −45°C. Experiments consisted of passing H2O2-containing air through a column packed with 200-μm diameter ice spheres and measuring the change in gas phase H2O2 concentration with time. The uptake of H2O2 was a slow process requiring several hours to reach equilibrium. Uptake involved incorporation of H2O2 into the bulk ice as well as surface accumulation. The amount of H2O2 taken up by the ice was greater at the lower temperatures. The sticking coefficient for H2O2 on ice in the same experiments was estimated to be of the order of 0.02 to 0.5. Release of H2O2 from the ice occurred upon passing H2O2-free air through the packed columns, with the time scale for degassing similar to that for uptake. These results suggest that systematic losses of H2O2 from polar snow could occur under similar conditions, when atmospheric concentrations of H2O2 are low, that is, in the winter

Glucagon-like peptide-1 enhances cardiac L-type Ca2+ currents via activation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A pathway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a hormone predominately synthesized and secreted by intestinal L-cells. GLP-1 modulates multiple cellular functions and its receptor agonists are now used clinically for diabetic treatment. Interestingly, preclinical and clinical evidence suggests that GLP-1 agonists produce beneficial effects on dysfunctional hearts via acting on myocardial GLP-1 receptors. As the effects of GLP-1 on myocyte electrophysiology are largely unknown, this study was to assess if GLP-1 could affect the cardiac voltage-gated L-type Ca²⁺current (I_Ca).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The whole-cell patch clamp method was used to record I_Caand action potentials in enzymatically isolated cardiomyocytes from adult canine left ventricles.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Extracellular perfusion of GLP-1 (7-36 amide) at 5 nM increased I_Caby 23 ± 8% (<it>p </it>< 0.05, n = 7). Simultaneous bath perfusion of 5 nM GLP-1 plus 100 nM Exendin (9-39), a GLP-1 receptor antagonist, was unable to block the GLP-1-induced increase in I_Ca; however, the increase in I_Cawas abolished if Exendin (9-39) was pre-applied 5 min prior to GLP-1 administration. Intracellular dialysis with a protein kinase A inhibitor also blocked the GLP-1-enhanced I_Ca. In addition, GLP-1 at 5 nM prolonged the durations of the action potentials by 128 ± 36 ms (<it>p </it>< 0.01) and 199 ± 76 ms (<it>p </it>< 0.05) at 50% and 90% repolarization (n = 6), respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data demonstrate that GLP-1 enhances I_Cain canine cardiomyocytes. The enhancement of I_Cais likely via the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A mechanism and may contribute, at least partially, to the prolongation of the action potential duration.</p

LRAD soil surface contamination monitor test and demonstration at the Savannah River Site

The Savannah River Site (SRS) Solid Waste Management (SWM) organization requested Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) / Analytical Development Section (ADS) assistance in evaluating a Long Range Alpha Detector (LRAD) as a soil surface contamination monitor. Solid Waste Management also contracted TMA NcClean to bring the equipment to SRS and to operate it during the demonstration. For the demonstration, we measured LRAD signals above different surface materials including asphalt, concrete, clay soil, sandy soil, gravel, and a plywood sheet. This report describes the tests conducted at SRTC in the period August 22, 1995 through August 24, 1995. In order to put the data that were acquired in these tests in perspective, the physical principals on which LRAD is based are discussed

NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS APPLICATIONS AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE USING AN ISOTOPIC NEUTRON SOURCE

NAA using {sup 252}Cf is used to address important areas of applied interest at SRS. Sensitivity needs for many of the applications are not severe; analyses are accomplished using a 21 mg {sup 252}Cf NAA facility. Because NAA allows analysis of bulk samples, it offers strong advantages for samples in difficult-to-digest matrices when its sensitivity is sufficient. Following radiochemical separation with stable carrier addition, chemical yields for a number methods are determined by neutron activation of the stable carrier. In some of the cases where no suitable stable carriers exist, the source has been used to generate radioactive tracers to yield separations

A blind hierarchical coherent search for gravitational-wave signals from coalescing compact binaries in a network of interferometric detectors

We describe a hierarchical data analysis pipeline for coherently searching for gravitational wave (GW) signals from non-spinning compact binary coalescences (CBCs) in the data of multiple earth-based detectors. It assumes no prior information on the sky position of the source or the time of occurrence of its transient signals and, hence, is termed "blind". The pipeline computes the coherent network search statistic that is optimal in stationary, Gaussian noise, and allows for the computation of a suite of alternative statistics and signal-based discriminators that can improve its performance in real data. Unlike the coincident multi-detector search statistics employed so far, the coherent statistics are different in the sense that they check for the consistency of the signal amplitudes and phases in the different detectors with their different orientations and with the signal arrival times in them. The first stage of the hierarchical pipeline constructs coincidences of triggers from the multiple interferometers, by requiring their proximity in time and component masses. The second stage follows up on these coincident triggers by computing the coherent statistics. The performance of the hierarchical coherent pipeline on Gaussian data is shown to be better than the pipeline with just the first (coincidence) stage.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Triple Michelson Interferometer for a Third-Generation Gravitational Wave Detector

The upcoming European design study `Einstein gravitational-wave Telescope' represents the first step towards a substantial, international effort for the design of a third-generation interferometric gravitational wave detector. It is generally believed that third-generation instruments might not be installed into existing infrastructures but will provoke a new search for optimal detector sites. Consequently, the detector design could be subject to fewer constraints than the on-going design of the second generation instruments. In particular, it will be prudent to investigate alternatives to the traditional L-shaped Michelson interferometer. In this article, we review an old proposal to use three Michelson interferometers in a triangular configuration. We use this example of a triple Michelson interferometer to clarify the terminology and will put this idea into the context of more recent research on interferometer technologies. Furthermore the benefits of a triangular detector will be used to motivate this design as a good starting point for a more detailed research effort towards a third-generation gravitational wave detector.Comment: Minor corrections to the main text and two additional appendices. 14 pages, 6 figure

X-ray emission during the muonic cascade in hydrogen

We report our investigations of X rays emitted during the muonic cascade in hydrogen employing charge coupled devices as X-ray detectors. The density dependence of the relative X-ray yields for the muonic hydrogen lines (K_alpha, K_beta, K_gamma) has been measured at densities between 0.00115 and 0.97 of liquid hydrogen density. In this density region collisional processes dominate the cascade down to low energy levels. A comparison with recent calculations is given in order to demonstrate the influence of Coulomb deexcitation.Comment: 5 pages, Tex, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter