Measurements of saturated basic and acidic rock electrical conductivities at lower crustal temperatures and high pressures

Abstract

Laboratory measurements of the electrical conductivity of brine saturated acidic and metabasic rocks were done at confining pressures up to 0.2 GPa, high pore pressures and temperatures of 900°C. Acidic rocks showed conductivities insufficient to explain the lower crustal high conductivity layer. Basic rocks, however, showed conductivities consistent with the high conductivity layer at those temperatures that the layer is thought to possess.     

Shock cooling of liquid nitrogen and superfluid helium

Abstract

Superfluid Helium (11) and liquid nitrogen are the only liquids which have been shown experimentally, to exhibit shock cooling. In the present paper we use the Landau model to demonstrate theoretically that the roton gap, which decreases with increasing density, plays the same role leading to shock cooling in liquid helium as the dissociation energy does in liquid nitrogen.     

Fast volumetric spatial-spectral MR imaging of hyperpolarized C-labeled compounds using multiple echo 3D bSSFP

Purpose

The goal of this work was to develop a fast 3D chemical shift imaging technique for the noninvasive measurement of hyperpolarized ¹³C-labeled substrates and metabolic products at low concentration.

Materials and Methods

Multiple echo 3D balanced steady state magnetic resonance imaging (ME-3DbSSFP) was performed in vitro on a syringe containing hyperpolarized [1,3,3-2H3; 1-¹³C]2-hydroxyethylpropionate (HEP) adjacent to a ¹³C-enriched acetate phantom, and in vivo on a rat before and after intravenous injection of hyperpolarized HEP at 1.5 T. Chemical shift images of the hyperpolarized HEP were derived from the multiple echo data by Fourier transformation along the echoes on a voxel by voxel basis for each slice of the 3D data set.

Results

ME-3DbSSFP imaging was able to provide chemical shift images of hyperpolarized HEP in vitro, and in a rat with isotropic 7-mm spatial resolution, 93 Hz spectral resolution and 16-s temporal resolution for a period greater than 45 s.

Conclusion

Multiple echo 3D bSSFP imaging can provide chemical shift images of hyperpolarized ¹³C-labeled compounds in vivo with relatively high spatial resolution and moderate spectral resolution. The increased signal-to-noise ratio of this 3D technique will enable the detection of hyperpolarized ¹³C-labeled metabolites at lower concentrations as compared to a 2D technique.     

Integrating modeling,algorithm design,and computational implementation to solve a large-scale nonlinear mixed integer programming problem

This paper describes the formulation of a nonlinear mixed integer programming model for a large-scale product development and distribution problem and the design and computational implementation of a special purpose algorithm to solve the model. The results described demonstrate that integrating the art of modeling with the sciences of solution methodology and computer implementation provides a powerful approach for attacking difficult problems. The efforts described here were successful because they capitalized on the wealth of existing modeling technology and algorithm technology, the availability of efficient and reliable optimization, matrix generation and graphics software, and the speed of large-scale computer hardware. The model permitted the combined use of decomposition, general linear programming and network optimization within a branch and bound algorithm to overcome mathematical complexity. The computer system reliably found solutions with considerably better objective function values 30 to 50 times faster than had been achieved using general purpose optimization software alone. Throughout twenty months of daily use, the system was credited with providing insights and suggesting strategies that led to very large dollar savings. This research was supported in part by the Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-78-C-0222, by the Center for Business Decision Analysis*, by the University of Texas at Austin, and by the David Bruton, Jr., Centennial Chair in Business Decision Support Systems. Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the U.S. Government. Center for Business Decision Analysis, Graduate School of Business — GSB 3.126, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.     

Biimidazol-2-yl–BF2 complexes

Nonfluorescent 4,4′,5,5′-tetramethyl- and 4,5,4′,5′-bistetramethylene biimidazol-2-yls 5 and 6 combined with boron trifluoride to give the tetramethyl and bistetramethylenebiimidazol-2-yl–BF₂ complexes 9 and 10 isolated as strongly fluorescent BF₃ salts, λ_f (dichloromethane): 377 nm Φ 0.93 and 386 nm Φ 0.90. Similarly, fluorescent bibenzimidazol-2-yl 7 , λ_f (ethanol), 370 nm Φ 0.14, gave a BF₂ complex 11 isolated as a BF₃ salt λ_f (ethanol), 417 nm Φ 0.68.     

Selection of solvent load and first-stage pressure to reduce interference effects in inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

In inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry the first-stage pressure and solvent characteristics can strongly influence spectral and nonspectroscopic interference effects. By manipulating the pressure and solvent load, one can regulate the degree of analyte signal suppression observed in the presence of high concentrations (> 10 mM) of concomitants. Importantly, the same operating conditions that eliminate the matrix effects maintain the analytical utility of the system. However, for some interferent-analyte combinations, the identity of the concomitant anion and subsequent pH of the solution determine whether the interference effects can be eliminated entirely. The first-stage pressure does not appear to significantly affect the oxide-ion and doubly charged ion ratios; the solvent characteristics are the dominant factors that dictate these ratios.     

The First in Vivo Observation of C–N Coupling in Mammalian Brain

[5-¹³C,¹⁵N]Glutamine, with ¹J(¹³C–¹⁵N) of 16 Hz, was observed in vivo in the brain of spontaneously breathing rats by ¹³C MRS at 4.7 T. The brain [5-¹³C]glutamine peak consisted of the doublet from [5-¹³C,¹⁵N]glutamine and the center [5-¹³C,¹⁴N]glutamine peak, resulting in an apparent triplet with a separation of 8 Hz. The time course of formation of brain [5-¹³C,¹⁵N]glutamine was monitored in vivo with a time resolution of 20–35 min. This [5-¹³C,¹⁵N]glutamine was formed by glial uptake of released neurotransmitter [5-¹³C]glutamate and its reaction with ¹⁵NH₃ catalyzed by the glia-specific glutamine synthetase. The neurotransmitter glutamate C5 was selectively¹³C-enriched by intravenous [2,5-¹³C]glucose infusion to ¹³C-label whole-brain glutamate C5, followed by [¹²C]glucose infusion to chase ¹³C from the small and rapidly turning-over glial glutamate pool, leaving ¹³C mainly in the neurotransmitter [5-¹³C]glutamate pool, which is sequestered in vesicles until release. Hence, the observed [5-¹³C,¹⁵N]glutamine arises from a coupling between ¹³C of neuronal origin and ¹⁵N of glial origin. Measurement of the rate of brain [5-¹³C,¹⁵N]glutamine formation provides a novel noninvasive method of studying the kinetics of neurotransmitter uptake into glia in vivo, a process that is crucial for protecting the brain from glutamate excitotoxicity.     

High dynamic range measurement of temporal shape and contrast of ultrashort UV pulses

This paper presents an experimental technique for measurement of the contrast ratio of ultrashort UV pulses. As a multiple-shot device based on the scheme of difference frequency generation this is, to our knowledge, the only cross correlator in the UV so far, which offers a dynamic range of 10⁷ and operates with input pulse energies as low as 5 μJ. By changing the cross correlator into single-shot mode, the temporal shape of the UV pulse can be measured. Received: 26 October 1998 / Revised version: 13 January 1998 / Published online: 28 April 1999     

Direct measurements of an increased threshold for stimulated brillouin scattering with polarization smoothing in ignition hohlraum plasmas

We demonstrate a significant reduction of stimulated Brillouin scattering by polarization smoothing in large-scale high-temperature hohlraum plasma conditions where filamentation is measured to be negligible. The stimulated Brillouin scattering experimental threshold (defined as the intensity at which 5% of the incident light is backscattered) is measured to increase by a factor of 1.7+/-0.2 when polarization smoothing is applied. An analytical model relevant to inertial confinement fusion plasma conditions shows that the measured reduction in backscatter with polarization smoothing results from the random spatial variation in polarization of the laser beam, not from the reduction in beam contrast.