On- and off-resonance spin-lock MR imaging of normal human brain at 0.1 T: possibilities to modify image contrast

The aim of the present investigation was to determine spin lock (SL) relaxation parameters for the normal brain tissues and thus, to provide basis for optimizing the imaging contrast at 0.1 T. 68 healthy volunteers were included. On-resonance spin lock relaxation time (T_1ρ) and off-resonance spin lock relaxation parameters (T_1ρ^off, M_e/M_o), MT parameters (T_1sat, M_s/M_o), and T₁, T₂ were determined for the cortical gray matter, and for the frontal and parietal white matters. The T_1ρ for the frontal and parietal white matters ranged from 110 to 133 ms and from 122 to 155 ms with locking field strengths from 50 μT to 250 μT, respectively. Accordingly, the values for the gray matter ranged from 127 to 155 ms. With a locking field strength of 50 μT, T_1ρ^off for the frontal and parietal white matters were from 114 to 217 ms and from 126 to 219 ms, and for the gray matter from 136 to 267 ms with the angle between the effective magnetic field (B_eff) and the z-axis (θ) ranging from 60° to 15°, respectively. The T_1ρ of the white and gray matters increased significantly with increasing locking field amplitude (p < 0.001). The T_1ρ^off decreased significantly with increasing θ (p < 0.001). T_1ρ and T_1ρ^off with θ ≥ 30° were statistically significantly shorter in the frontal than in the parietal white matters (p < 0.05). The duration, amplitude and θ of the locking pulse provide additional parameters to optimize contrast in brain SL imaging.     

Viscoelastic properties of cationic starch adsorbed on quartz studied by QCM-D

The adsorption and viscoelastic properties of layers of a cationic polyelectrolyte (cationic starch, CS, with 2-hydroxy-3-trimethylammoniumchloride as the substituent) adsorbed from aqueous solutions (pH 7.5, added NaCl 0, 1, 100, and 500 mM) on silica were studied with a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D). Three different starches were investigated (weight-average molecular weights M(w) approximately 8.7 x 10(5) and 4.5 x 10(5) with degree of substitution DS = 0.75 and M(w) approximately 8.8 x 10(5) with DS = 0.2). At low ionic strength, the adsorbed layers are thin and rigid and the amount adsorbed can be calculated using the Sauerbrey equation. When the ionic strength is increased, significant changes take place in the amount of adsorbed CS and the viscoelasticity of the adsorbed layer. These changes were analyzed assuming that the layer can be described as a Voigt element on a rigid surface in contact with purely viscous solvent. It was found that CS with low charge density forms a thicker and more mobile layer with higher viscosity and elasticity than CS with high charge density. The polymers adsorbed on the silica even when the ionic strength was so high that electrostatic interactions were effectively screened. At this high ionic strength, it was possible to study the effect of molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the CS on the properties of the adsorbed film. Increasing the molecular weight of CS resulted in a larger hydrodynamic thickness. CS with a narrow molecular weight distribution formed a more compact and rigid layer than broadly distributed CS, presumably due to the better packing of the molecules.     

Determination of platinum and rhodium in dust and plant samples using microwave-assisted sample digestion and ICP-MS

The platinum group elements (PGEs), particularly platinum, palladium and rhodium, are nowadays increasingly emitted into the environment from automotive catalytic converters. Thus, a method for the determination of PGEs (especially platinum and rhodium) in dust and plant samples was developed. The developed method was based on microwave-assisted sample digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) determination. Spectral interferences in ICP-MS determination were corrected using mathematical correction equations based on signal ratio measurement. In addition, platinum and rhodium concentrations in the digested dust samples were also determined after Te coprecipitation without correction of the interferences. The results for platinum and rhodium in reference materials (NIST SRM 2557, recycled monolith autocatalyst and BCR-723, road dust) were in good agreement with the certified values. Preliminary results for the anthropogenic platinum and rhodium emissions in Oulu, northern Finland, based on dust and plant samples, indicated a common traffic-related source of these metals.     

Pointwise behaviour of semicontinuous supersolutions to a quasilinear parabolic equation

A kind of supersolutions of the so-called p-parabolic equation are studied. These p-superparabolic functions are defined as lower semicontinuous functions obeying the comparison principle. Incidentally, they are precisely the viscosity supersolutions. One of our results guarantees the existence of a spatial Sobolev gradient. For p = 2 we have the supercaloric functions and the ordinary heat equation. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 35K55     

Pointwise behaviour of <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Superscript>1,1</Superscript> Sobolev functions

Our main objective is to study Haj?asz type Sobolev functions with the exponent one on metric measure spaces equipped with a doubling measure. We show that a discrete maximal function is bounded in the Haj?asz space with the exponent one. This implies that every such function has Lebesgue points outside a set of capacity zero. We also show that every Haj?asz function coincides with a Hölder continuous Haj?asz function outside a set of small Hausdorff content. Our proofs are based on Sobolev space estimates for maximal functions.     

Absorption and photoluminescence properties of 4-substituted Alq3 derivatives and tris-(4-hydroxypyridinoanthrene)aluminum

A series of 4-substituted Alq₃ derivatives have been synthesized. Photophysical properties of the complexes in solution have been studied in detail. The results show that Hammett σ_p constants of the substituents have a linear correlation with the emission maximum values of the aluminum complexes. Substitution at the 4-position improves the color purity of the emission and it has also a strong influence on the quantum yields. A new type of Alq₃ derivative, tris-(4-hydroxypyridinoanthrene)aluminum, has a good quantum yield and high emission color purity.     

Dynamic MR imaging of brain tumors in low field using undersampled projection reconstruction

A new application of the projection reconstruction method was developed, enabling dynamic T(1)-weighted contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance image (MRI) of brain tumors in a low-field imager. Two undersampled projection reconstruction spin echo sequences were implemented in an open low-field (0.23-T) MR imager, one with 64 and another with 42 projections in [0,pi], repetition time 150 ms, echotime 15 ms, and six slices were used in both sequences. The possibility of using these sequences to image dynamic contrast enhancement of brain tumors was studied in laboratory experiments and in two patient cases, one with fibrotic and the other with meningothelial meningioma. The laboratory experiments showed a nearly linear response in signal intensity to the concentration of gadopentetate dimeglumine in purified water up to 1.25 mM. Increasing concentrations up to 5.0 mM did not significantly affect the signal intensity, though starting from 3.0 mM concentration T(2) shortening decreased intensities slightly. The patient cases showed results consistent with an earlier study performed in a high-field imager. The results show that the studied sequences can be used to follow dynamic contrast enhancement in a low-field imager.     

Soft X-ray contact microscopy of nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Soft X-ray Contact Microscopy (SXCM) of Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes with typical length m and diameter m has been performed using the PALS laser source of wavelength m and pulse duration ps. Pulsed soft X-rays were generated using molybdenum and gold targets with laser intensities W/cm². Images have been recorded on PMMA photo resists and analyzed using an atomic force microscope operating in contact mode. Cuticle features and several internal organs have been identified in the SXCM images including lateral field, cuticle annuli, pharynx, and hypodermal and neuronal cell nuclei.Received: 18 February 2004, Published online: 29 June 2004PACS: 42.62.Be Biological and medical applications - 07.85.Tt X-ray microscopes - 87.59.Bh X-ray radiographyA color version of the figures is available in electronic form at .     

Smooth quasiregular mappings with branching

We give an example of a -smooth quasiregular mapping in 3-space with nonempty branch set. Moreover, we show that the branch set of an arbitrary quasiregular mapping in n-space has Hausdorff dimension quantitatively bounded away from n. By using the second result, we establish a new, qualitatively sharp relation between smoothness and branching.     

Source localization in complex listening situations: selection of binaural cues based on interaural coherence

In everyday complex listening situations, sound emanating from several different sources arrives at the ears of a listener both directly from the sources and as reflections from arbitrary directions. For localization of the active sources, the auditory system needs to determine the direction of each source, while ignoring the reflections and superposition effects of concurrently arriving sound. A modeling mechanism with these desired properties is proposed. Interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD) cues are only considered at time instants when only the direct sound of a single source has non-negligible energy in the critical band and, thus, when the evoked ITD and ILD represent the direction of that source. It is shown how to identify such time instants as a function of the interaural coherence (IC). The source directions suggested by the selected ITD and ILD cues are shown to imply the results of a number of published psychophysical studies related to source localization in the presence of distracters, as well as in precedence effect conditions.