Alterations in the Cellular Composition of the Mouse Bladder Following Ovariectomy, Partial Bladder Outlet Obstruction, and Aging

Detrusor underactivity (DU) increases susceptibility to urinary retention and accordingly further complicates the management of urinary incontinence. Bladder muscle stretch, a lack of estrogen, and aging are 3 notable DU risk factors. The aim of this research is to better characterize the changes in cellular composition of the bladder that result from these 3 risk factors to gain a better understanding of DU pathogenesis and pathobiology. This research focuses on the effects of a lack of estrogen while also providing an outline for determining the effects of bladder muscle stretch and aging on the cellular composition of the bladder.

The Effect of Broadleaf Canopies on Survey-grade Horizontal GPS/GLONASS Measurements

A study was conducted to empirically determine the degradation of survey-grade GPS horizontal position measurements due to the effects of broadleaf forest canopies. The measurements were taken using GPS/GLONASS-capable receivers measuring C/A and P-codes, and carrier phase. Fourteen survey markers were chosen in central Connecticut to serve as reference markers for the study. These markers had varying degrees of sky obstruction due to overhanging tree canopies. Sky obstruction was measured by photographing the sky with a 35mm reflex camera fitted with a hemispherical lens. The negative was scanned and the image mapped using an equal- area projection to remove the distortion caused by the lens. The resulting digital image was thresholded to produce a black-and-white image in which a count of the black pixels is a measure of sky-area obstruction. The locations of the markers were determined independently before the study. During the study, each marker was occupied for four 20-minute sessions over the period of one week in mid-July, 1999. The location of the study markers produced relatively long baselines, as compared with similar studies. We compared the accuracy of GPS-only vs. GPS&GLONASS as a function of sky obstruction. Based on our results, GLONASS observations did not improve or degrade the accuracy of the position measurements. There is a loss of 2mm of accuracy per percent of sky obstruction for both GPS only and GPS&GLONASS.