Diet and gastrointestinal signal on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of mice

In magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of small animals, the gastrointestinal contents may give rise to intense signals on T1-weighted images. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal dietary preparation to reduce gastrointestinal signals in mice and to evaluate the usefulness of this approach. Images of the mouse trunk were obtained using a T1-weighted, three-dimensional fast low-angle shot sequence under various dietary conditions and were compared with respect to the gastrointestinal signals and image quality. The dietary preparation studied included giving alternative diets for 24 h, intestinal cleansing, and 6-h fasting. Mice with and without dietary preparation underwent MR lymphography using gadofluorine 8, and the visualization of abdominal lymph nodes was compared. In the absence of dietary preparation, hyperintense areas were conspicuous in the gastrointestinal system, whereas on the images taken from mice fed potato or sweet potato for 24 h before imaging, gastrointestinal hyperintensity was less prominent. This preparation also reduced artifactual signals and resulted in higher-quality images of the kidneys. Intestinal cleansing, which consisted of 24-h fasting and laxative intake, did not reduce the gastrointestinal signals and caused signal changes that were indicative of fatty liver development. Some of the abdominal lymph nodes of the mice that did not receive dietary preparation were visualized on MR lymphography source images but not on maximum intensity projection (MIP) images. In contrast, on the MIP images of mice fed potato, all the lymph nodes delineated on the source images were successfully visualized. In conclusion, feeding mice potato or sweet potato for 24 h before MR imaging reduces the gastrointestinal signals and image degradation due to artifacts. Appropriate dietary preparations facilitate the display of target structures on MIP images and are expected to enhance the capabilities of small animal MR imaging.     

Current transport property in GdBCO coated conductor with artificial pinning centers in a wide range of temperature,magnetic field up to 27 T,and field angle

We have investigated current transport property in Gd₁Ba₂Cu₃O_7−δ coated conductor with artificial pinning centers in a wide range of temperature, magnetic field, B up to 27 T, and field angle. Due to the additional c-axis correlated pins, critical current density, J_c in B//c was enhanced and the improvement was observed in wide range of B. On the other hand, around B⊥c below 65 K, the angular dependence of n-value showed a valley-like behavior, although the J_c was increasing. In addition, the temperature dependence of the pinning force density defined as J_c × B was not scaled on an expected master curve. These results indicate the pinning in B⊥c is governed by different mechanism below 65 K and high magnetic field.     

Pulsed laser deposition synthesis of superconducting (Cu,C)Ba2CuOx thin films

(Cu, C)–Ba–O thin films have been deposited at low growth temperature of 450–570 °C by pulsed laser deposition method. A control of CO₂ gas pressure and the growth temperature, usage of BaCu_yO_x pellet target resulted in an expansion of twice c-axis length of BaCuO₂ structure (2c phase) and a significant rise of conductivity. Measurements of in-situ XPS suggest that the 2c phase should be (Cu, C)Ba₂CuO_x [(Cu, C)-1201]. The maximum temperature of onset of the superconducting transition and zero resistance state obtained so far were 60 and 47 K, respectively.     

In situ characterization of transport properties of superconducting (Cu, C)-system thin films

Transport properties of (Cu, C)Ba₂CuO_x [(Cu, C)-1201] thin films have been characterized by in situ temperature dependence of resistivity, without breaking vacuum from the deposition to the measurement. In in situ transport properties measurements, the obtained results reveal that (Cu, C)Ba₂CuO_x films exhibit T_c > 20 K on the cased of conductivity at 290 K (σ_[290 K]) > 4 × 10² S/cm and temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) > 1.5 × 10^?3 K^?1, and doping level of them should be in between under-doped and optimally-doped states. Their results suggest that there would be possible to further increases of T_c, and XPS data suggest that (Cu, C)-system should have the excellent dopability in their charge reservoir and the possibility of low anisotropy.     

Determination of Quality Factor for Highly Overcoupled EPR Resonators

We reported determination of the loaded quality factor (Q) of highly overcoupled (dielectric, loop-gap, and cavity) resonators used in time-domain electron paramagnetic resonance. We introduced a microwave absorber into resonators and achieved critical-coupling. Due to the deep “Q-dip” of critical-coupling, we can easily determine the loaded Q as low as 10. The loaded Q of resonators with and without the microwave absorber was examined under various overcoupling conditions. We found that the radiation Q (Q _r) can be calculated from the loaded Q of the resonator that contains the microwave absorber. We proposed a simple model that represents the loaded Q of the overcoupled resonator in terms of two parameters, Q ₀ and Q _r. Q ₀ is the effective unloaded Q of the resonator determined for the critically coupled resonator without the microwave absorber and is independent of a degree of coupling. The model can be applied to overcoupling in which the coupling parameter (Q ₀/Q _r) is in the range of 1 to ca. 20.     

Control of carrier concentration in Bi-2212

We realized highly underdoped Bi-2212 crystals by using a Bi substitution into a Sr site (x), together with the excess oxygen (δ) control. The samples with x = 0–0.3 were grown by a traveling solvent floating zone method. For each x, δ was varied using the precision annealing method [1]. Under several assumptions, the effective Bi valence was evaluated to be +2.2, which is much lower than the formal valence +3. This indicates that the Bi substitution accompanies additional uptake in excess oxygen. The x dependent δ-doping level p relation and the observed shrink in the c-axis length are consistent with this assumption. Based on the decomposition phase diagram obtained in this study, T_c of 22 K was realized by careful annealing treatments. The samples showed a superconducting volume fraction of over 50%.