Fast spin echo sequences for BOLD functional MRI

At higher field strengths, spin echo (SE) functional MRI (fMRI) is an attractive alternative to gradient echo (GE) as the increased weighting towards the microvasculature results in intrinsically better localization of the BOLD signal. Images are free of signal voids but the commonly used echo planar imaging (EPI) sampling scheme causes geometric distortions, and T ₂* effects often contribute considerably to the signal changes measured upon brain activation. Multiply refocused SE sequences such as fast spin echo (FSE) are essentially artifact free but their application to fast fMRI is usually hindered due to high energy deposition, and long sampling times. In the work presented here, a combination of parallel imaging and partial Fourier acquisition is used to shorten FSE acquisition times to near those of conventional SE-EPI, permitting sampling of eight slices (matrix 64 × 64) per second. Signal acquisition is preceded by a preparation experiment that aims at increasing the relative contribution of extravascular dynamic averaging to the BOLD signal. Comparisons are made with conventional SE-EPI using a visual stimulation paradigm. While the observed signal changes are approximately 30% lower, most likely due to the absence of T ₂* contamination, activation size and t-scores are comparable for both methods, suggesting that HASTE fMRI is a viable alternative, particularly if distortion free images are required. Our data also indicate that the BOLD post-stimulus undershoot is most probably attributable to persistent elevated oxygen metabolism rather than to delayed vascular compliance.     

Effect of Concentration of SH U 555A Labeled Human Melanoma Cells on MR Spin Echo and Gradient Echo Signal Decay at 0.2, 1.5, and 3T

In the current study the effect of increasing concentrations of superparamagnetic iron oxide labeled cells on the MRI signal decay at magnetic field strengths of 0.2, 1.5, and 3 T was evaluated. The spin echo and gradient echo cellular transverse relaxivity was systematically studied for various concentrations (N = 1, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 cells/μl_gel) of homogeneously suspended SH U 555A labeled SK-Mel28 human melanoma cells. For all field strengths investigated a linear relationship between cellular transverse relaxation enhancement and cell concentration was found. In the spin echo case, the cellular relaxivities [i.e., d(ΔR ₂)/dN] were determined to 0.12 s⁻¹ (cell/μl)⁻¹ at 0.2 T, 0.16 s⁻¹ (cell/μl)⁻¹ at 1.5 T, and 0.17 s⁻¹ (cell/μl) at 3 T. In the gradient echo case, the calculated cellular relaxivities (i.e., d(ΔR ₂ ^* )/dN) were 0.51 s⁻¹ (cell/μl)⁻¹ at 0.2 T, 0.69 s⁻¹ (cell/μl)⁻¹ at 1.5 T, and 0.71 s⁻¹ (cell/μl)⁻¹ at 3 T. The proposed preparation technique has proven to be a simple and reliable approach to quantify effects of magnetically labeled cells in vitro. On the basis of this quantification well suited tissue specific models can be derived.     

Functional MRI at 3T using intermolecular double-quantum coherence (iDQC) with spin-echo (SE) acquisitions

Object To reinvestigate the dependence of the signal and contrast on sequence parameters and tissue relaxation times for intermolecular double-quantum coherence (iDQC) signals, and to explore the possibility to use a spin-echo (SE)-iDQC sequence for detecting activation signals at 3T. Materials and methods Brain activations were detected in five human volunteers in a visual simulation study using a SE-iDQC sequence, in addition to a GE-iDQC and a conventional single-quantum coherence (SQC) blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) sequence. A brain phantom was also used for some quantitative measurements. Results By choosing an optimal echo time TE (~T2) and iDQC evolution time τ(~20 ms), robust brain activations were detected using the SE-iDQC sequence, in addition to the GE-iDQC and a conventional single-quantum coherence (SQC) BOLD sequence. A higher percentage signal change due to activation was observed for both the iDQC-based measurements in comparison to the conventional SQC acquisition. Conclusion Even though a phenomenological analysis consistent with the experimental results was provided, a detailed model is still needed for the contrast mechanism at microscopic level to guide potential applications of brain functional imaging based on the SE-iDQC.     

Diffusion-weighted imaging of the spine using radialk-space trajectories

Introduction Diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) of the spine requires robust imaging methods, that are insensitive to susceptibility effects caused by the transition from bone to soft tissue and motion artifacts due to breathing, swallowing, and cardiac motion. The purpose of this study was to develop a robust imaging method suitable for DWI of the spine. Methods and subjects A radialk-space spin echo sequence has been implemented, which is sell-navigating because each acquisition line passes through the origin ofk-space. Influence of cardiac motion and associated flow of cerebrospinal fluid is minimized by cardiac gating with a finger photoplethysmograph. The sequence has been tested on a 1.5T system. Diffusion-weighted images of six normal volunteers were acquired in the sagittal plane with 4b values between 50 and 500 s mm⁻². Because of the symmetries of the cord, diffusion measurements in the head-foot (HF) or left-right (LR) directions were sufficient to measure the dominant effects of anisotropy. Results The apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) measured, respectively, in the LR and HF directions were (0.699 ± 0.050) × 10⁻³ and (1.805 ± 0.086) × 10⁻³ mm² s⁻¹ in the spinal cord. (1.588 ± 0.082) × 10⁻³ and (1.528 ± 0.052) × 10⁻³ mm² s⁻¹ in the intervertebral disks, and (0.346 ± 0.047) × 10⁻³ and (0.306 ± 0.035) × 10⁻³ mm² s⁻¹ in the vertebrae of the cervicothoraeic spine. Conclusion Diffusion-weighted spin echo sequences with radial trajectories ink-space provide a means of achieving robust, high quality diffusion-weighted imaging and measuring ADCs in the spine. The application of the diffusion-weighting gradients in different directions allows diffusion anisotropy to be measured.     

Water proton T 1 measurements in brain tissue at 7, 3, and 1.5T using IR-EPI, IR-TSE, and MPRAGE: results and optimization

Method This paper presents methods of measuring the longitudinal relaxation time using inversion recovery turbo spin echo (IR-TSE) and magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo (MPRAGE) sequences, comparing and optimizing these sequences, reporting T ₁ values for water protons measured from brain tissue at 1.5, 3, and 7T. T ₁ was measured in cortical grey matter and white matter using the IR-TSE, MPRAGE, and inversion recovery echo planar imaging (IR-EPI) pulse sequences. Results In four subjects the T ₁ of white and grey matter were found to be 646±32 and 1,197±134ms at 1.5T, 838±50 and 1,607±112ms at 3T, and 1,126±97, and 1,939±149ms at 7T with the MPRAGE sequence. The T ₁ of the putamen was found to be 1,084±63ms at 1.5T, 1,332±68ms at 3T, and 1,644±167ms at 7T. The T ₁ of the caudate head was found to be 1,109± 66ms at 1.5T, 1,395±49ms at 3T, and 1,684±76ms at 7T. Discussion There was a trend for the IR-TSE sequence to underestimate T ₁ in vivo. The sequence parameters for the IR-TSE and MPRAGE sequences were also optimized in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the fitted T ₁. The optimal sequence for IR-TSE in terms of SNR in the fitted T ₁ was found to have five readouts at TIs of 120, 260, 563, 1,221, 2,647, 5,736ms and TR of 7 s. The optimal pulse sequence for MPRAGE with readout flip angle = 8° was found to have five readouts at TIs of 160, 398, 988, 2,455, and 6,102ms and a TR of 9 s. Further optimization including the readout flip angle suggests that the flip angle should be increased, beyond levels that are acceptable in terms of power deposition and point-spread function.     

Signal enhancement through heteronuclear polarisation transfer in in-vivo <Superscript>31</Superscript>P MR spectroscopy of the human brain

Significant ³¹P NMR signal enhancement through heteronuclear polarisation transfer was obtained in model solutions and in vivo on a 1.5-T whole-body MR scanner equipped with two RF channels. The much higher population differences involved in proton Zeeman energy levels can be transferred to the ³¹P levels with the refocused INEPT (insensitive nucleus enhancement by polarisation transfer) double-resonance experiment by means of a series of simultaneously applied broadband RF pulses. INEPT achieves a polarisation transfer from ¹H to ³¹P spin states by directly reordering the populations in spin systems with heteronuclear scalar coupling. Thus, only the ³¹P NMR signal of metabolites with scalar ¹H–³¹P coupling is amplified, while the other metabolite signals in the spectra are suppressed. Compared to Ernst-angle excitation, a repetition-time-dependent signal enhancement of η=(29±3)% for methylene diphosphonic acid (MDPA) and η=(56±1)% for phosphorylethanolamine (PE) was obtained on model solutions through optimisation of the temporal parameters of the pulse experiment. The results are in good agreement with numerical calculations of the theoretical model for the studied spin systems. With optimised echo times, in-vivo ³¹P signal enhancement of the same order was obtained in studies of the human brain.     

Measurement of activation-related changes in cerebral blood volume: VASO with single-shot HASTE acquisition

Object The recently developed vascular space occupancy (VASO) fMRI technique is gaining popularity as it facilitates the measurement of cerebral blood volume (CBV) changes concomitant with brain activation, without the use of contrast agents. Thus far, VASO fMRI has only been used in conjunction with a GE-EPI (gradient-echo echo planar imaging) sequence, which is proceeded by an inversion recovery (IR) experiment to selectively null the blood signal. The use of GE-EPI has potential disadvantages: (a) the non-zero TE may lead to BOLD contamination and (b) images suffer from the EPI-typical inhomogeneity artefacts. Materials and methods Here, we propose the use of VASO based on an IR-HASTE (inversion recovery half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin echo) sequence. Results Results from a visual stimulation study (n = 8) show a 43% higher functional contrast-to-noise (CNR) of HASTE compared to EPI, with a strongly increased count of active voxels at the same significance threshold. Sensitivity to inflow effects was investigated and found to be similar for both methods. Conclusion As HASTE VASO yields essentially artefact-free images, it appears to be the method of choice for measuring relative CBV changes with VASO.     

Semi-quantitative approach to estimating GFR by magnetic resonance imaging

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare a semi-quantitative approach to estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by magnetic resonance imaging with radionuclide calculation of GFR, and to investigate whether spin echo or gradient echo is more suitable for estimating GFR.Methods and patients: Fourteen kidneys of seven patients (GFR ranging from 26 to 57 ml/min) were studied. Spin echo and gradient echo sequences interleaving each other at every excitation were used. After intravenous injection of gadopentetate dimeglumine, serial scans were performed. The signal intensities measured in the regions of interest were converted to time-transverse relaxation rate changes for both spin echo (ΔR2) and gradient echo (ΔR2^*). The areas under the time-ΔR2 and time-ΔR2^* curves were calculated as a semi-quantitative index of GFR for both spin echo and gradient echo images, and the results were compared by GFR measured by radionuclide imaging.Results: The semi-quantitative index of the GFR calculated from spin echo images showed a significant correlation with the GFR measured by radionuclide imaging (r=0.85,P<0.001). On the other hand, the semi-quantitative index of the GFR calculated from gradient echo images showed no such correlation (r=0.46,P=0.10).Conclusion: Spin echo sequences may be more suitable than gradient echo sequences for the evaluation of GFR.     

Oxygen exchange and transport properties of yttria-stabilized zirconia coated with LaCrO3

The oxygen permeation flux through YSZ (Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia) in reducing Po ₂ is mostly controlled by the surface-exchange kinetics in spite of very high temperature [1]. In order to study the kinetics, the YSZ surface was coated with LaCrO₃ on feed side, permeate side, or two sides, and the oxygen fluxes were measured under controlled Po ₂ gradient generated by different CO/CO₂ mixtures (permeate side: ∼3 × 10⁻¹² atm, feed side: 2 × 10⁻¹⁰∼2 × 10⁻⁸ atm) at 1600^∘C. The oxygen flux was determined by measuring the change in CO₂ content of the permeate-side gas. When both feed and permeate surfaces were coated, the oxygen flux increased by ∼6 times. For either permeate- or feed-side coating, the increases were ∼4 times and ∼1.5 times, respectively. A model was proposed in order to estimate the surface-exchange coefficient ( ) of feed and permeate side with or without coating.     

Breathhold imaging of the upper abdomen using a circular polarized-array coil: comparison with standard body coil imaging

Current studies emphasize the use of array coils to decrease noise and increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). We applied Tl-weighted and T2-weighted standard nonbreathhold spin echo (SE) sequences and Tl-weighted FLASH, TurboFLASH, T2-weighted spin-echo time (TSE), and heavily T2-weighted half Fourier acquisition single-shot TSE (HASTE) sequences during breathhold for abdominal imaging in 15 normal volunteers. The breathhold scans were performed using both a standard coil and a circular polarized array coil. We analyzed the signal intensity (SI), SNR, and CNR of abdominal organs in all sequences. SNRs increased in all cases by an overall factor of 3 due to an 8% increase in overall Sis and a 50% decrease in noise when applying the array coil. Although the array-coil FLASH sequence performed at least as well as the respective SE sequence, the SNRs of the array-coil TurboFLASH, TSE breathhold, and HASTE sequences were generally lower. We conclude that array-coil imaging significantly improves fast imaging of the abdomen.     

Quantitation of intermolecular dipolar effects in NMR spectroscopy and high order MSE MR imaging

An analytical expression for intermolecular dipolar effects was derived for the CRAZED sequence with an arbitrary flip angle of the second RF pulse and time-varying gradients. A combination of the demagnetizing field theory and product operator formalism was utilized in the derivation. It is demonstrated that the time-averaged, not instantaneous, orientation of the applied gradients determines the contributions of long-range intermolecular dipole effects. An imaging sequence to detect intermolecular dipolar effects was designed. The second- and third-order multiple spin echo (MSE) NMR signals of swine muscle were observed and were found to be in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. MSE images of a water phantom withnth orders (n=−2, −3, −4, and − 5) were also obtained, and their relative signal intensities and optimized TE values were elucidated and compared with the theoretical prediction.     

Determination of in vivo rat muscle Gd-DTPA relaxivity at 6.3 T

For the in vivo relaxivity of Gd-DTPA at 6.3 T in rat muscle a value of 2.7±0.5 (mM s)⁻¹ was found, and for the in vitro value in water 3.00±0.56 (mM s)⁻¹ at 37°C. The temperature dependence of the in vitro relaxivity was −0.087 (mM s °C)⁻¹. The relation between1/T ₁ and the tissue Gd-DTPA concentration is linear for the normally used in vivo Gd-DTPA concentration range     

Use of spin echo T2 BOLD in assessment of cerebral misery perfusion at 1.5 T

Inadequate blood supply relative to metabolic demand, a haemodynamic condition termed as misery perfusion, often occurs in conjunction with acute ischaemic stroke. Misery perfusion results in adaptive changes in cerebral physiology including increased cerebral blood volume (CBV) and oxygen extraction ratio (OER) to secure substrate supply for the brain. It has been suggested that the presence of misery perfusion may be an indication of reversible ischaemia, thus detection of this condition may have clinical impact in acute stroke imaging. The ability of single spin echo T₂ to detect misery perfusion in the rat brain at 1.5 T owing to its sensitivity to blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast was studied both theoretically and experimentally. Based on the known physiology of misery perfusion, tissue morphometry and blood relaxation data, T₂ behaviour in misery perfusion was simulated. The interpretation of these computations was experimentally assessed by quantifying T₂ in a rat model for cerebral misery perfusion. CBF was quantified with the H₂ clearance method. A drop of CBF from 58 ± 8 to 17 ± 3 ml/100 g min in the parieto-frontal cortex caused shortening of T₂. from 66.9 ± 0.4 to 64.6 ± 0.5 ms. Under these conditions, no change in diffusion MRI was detected. In contrast, the cortex with CBF of 42 ± 7 ml/100 g min showed no change in T₂. Computer simulations accurately predicted these T₂, responses. The present study shows that the acute drop of CBF by 70% causes a negative BOLD that is readily detectable by T₂ MRI at 1.5 T. Thus BOLD may serve as an index of misery perfusion thus revealing viable tissue with increased OER.     

Conductivity and expansion at high temperature in Sr0.7La0.3TiO3−α prepared under reducing atmosphere

Sr_0.7La_0.3TiO_3−α specimens were prepared in reducing atmosphere, and the structural and electrical properties were studied. The lattice parameter of Sr_0.7La_0.3TiO_3−α at room temperature was larger than that expected from Vegard’s law between SrTiO₃ and LaTiO₃ due to the reductive expansion. The conductivity of this specimen was 100 S cm⁻¹ at 1000°C, p_O2 = 10⁻¹³ Pa. However, the conductivity was not preserved after an oxidation-reduction cycle. Over p_O2 = 10² Pa, the conductivity drastically dropped with increasing p_O2. The thermal expansion coefficient of Sr_0.7La_0.3TiO_3−α was 11.8 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ in 9% H₂/N₂ (room temperature – 1000°C). In this Sr_0.7La_0.3TiO_3−α, the chemical expansion on oxidation reached Δl/l_o = 0.51%, when changing p_O2 from 10⁻¹¹ Pa to 2 × 10⁴ Pa (air) at 1000°C.     

1H-NMRD and17O-NMR assessment of water exchange and rotational dynamics of two potential MRI agents: MP-1177 (an extracellular agent) and MP-2269 (a blood pool agent)

The parameters that govern water proton magnetic relaxation (e.g. water exchange rates, and rotational and electronic correlation times) of representatives of two classes of Gd(III) complexes have been estimated, using two different approaches and the results compared with those derived for known analogs. The complexes studied are: (i) the non-ionic GdDTPA-bis(methoxyethyl-amide) [Gd(DTPA-BMEA)], a typical small-molecule extracellular MR agent, and (ii) the ionic Gd(III) complex of 4-pentylbicyclo[2.2.2]octane-1-carboxyl-di-l-aspartyl-lysine-derived-DTPA [GdL]⁴⁻, a prototype MR blood pool agent, which binds to serum albumin in vivo through non-covalent hydrophobic interactions. An¹⁷O-NMR study of [Gd(DTPA-BMEA)] gives a water exchange rate constant ofk _ex ²⁹⁸ =(0.39±0.02)×10⁶ s⁻¹, identical to that for the bismethylamide analog [Gd(DTPA-BMA)]. Both approaches yield longer rotational correlation times for [Gd(DTPA-BMEA)], consistent with its higher molecular weight. An¹⁷O-NMR study of [GdL]⁴⁻ gives a water exchange rate constant ofk _ex ²⁹⁸ =(4.2±0.1)×10⁶ s⁻¹, identical to that for [Gd(DTPA)]²⁻. The water exchange rate on [GdL]⁴⁻ did not decrease considerably when bound to albumin, the lowest limit isk _ex,GdL-BSA=k _ex,GdL/2. Both approaches yield identical rotational correlation times for [GdL]⁴⁻, however, it was difficult to derive a consistent rotational constant for the albumin-bound [GdL]⁴⁻ using the different approaches (values ranged between 1.0 and 23.0 ns).     

Synthesis and sintering properties of (La0.8Ca0.2−x Sr x )CrO3 perovskite materials for SOFC interconnect

Synthesis and sintering properties of the (La_0.8Ca_0.2−x Sr _x )CrO₃ samples doped by two alkaline earth metals in comparison to the doped only by one alkaline earth metal were evaluated by phase analysis, sintering properties, thermal expansion behaviors, and electrical conductivity. The sintered (La_0.8Ca_0.2−x Sr _x )CrO₃ (x = 0, 0.05, and 0.1) and (La_0.8Ca_0.2−x Sr _x )CrO₃ (x = 0.2) were found to have orthorhombic and rhombohedral symmetries, respectively. Relative density of the (La_0.8Sr_0.2)CrO₃ sample sintered at 1500^∘C for 5 h was lower than that of the (La_0.8Ca_0.2−x Sr _x )CrO₃ (x = 0, 0.05, and 0.1) sample. TECs of the (La_0.8Ca_0.2−x Sr _x )CrO₃ (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2) in air were 11 × 10⁻⁶/^∘C, 11.2 × 10⁻⁶/^∘C, 11.2 × 10⁻⁶/^∘C, and 11.3 × 10⁻⁶/^∘C, respectively. The electric conductivity of the (La_0.8Ca_0.2−x Sr _x )CrO₃ sample was determined.     

Liver and spleen enhancement after intravenous injection of carboxydextran magnetite: effect of dose,delay of imaging,and field strength in anex vivo model

It has been predicted that liver and spleen enhancement after administration of superparamagnetic contrast agents may be different, depending on the strength of the main magnetic field. With the use of anex vivo model, we investigated at 0.3, 0.5, and 1.5 T the effects on liver and spleen signal intensity of 5, 15, and 45 µmol/kg body weight of dextran magnetite (SHU 555A) in 54 rats. Nine rats served as controls. At different time delays since injection, the animals were killed, and after perfusion with saline, the liver, brain, and spleen were fixed in formalin. The specimens were embedded in an agar gel matrix and imaged with inversion recovery T1-weighted, proton density spin echo, and T2*-weighted gradient recalled echo (GRE) sequences. At each magnetic field strength, peak liver and spleen signal loss increased with increasing dose of the contrast medium. Signal loss was significantly more conspicuous after a dose of 15 than 5 µmol/kg body weight, but not after a dose of 45 compared with 15 µmol/kg. No signal change was observed in the brain. GRE images showed higher enhancement than proton density-weighted spin echo and inversion recovery images but were noisier. The enhancement showed a plateau between 30 min and 24 hours. Only the signal decrease of the liver after a low dose of contrast medium on GRE images was significantly higher (p<0.01) at 1.5 than at 0.5 and 0.3 T. Other differences in respect to the field strength were less significant (p<0.05) or nonsignificant. Differences in the spleen enhancement were nonsignificant. SHU 555A at a dose of 15 µmol/kg is an efficient intracellular contrast agent for liver and spleen at low, mid, and high field strength. Proton density spin echo images are probably the sequence of choice to exploit SHU 555A contrast effects and a wide time window for imaging after its intravenous injection does exist.     

Study of bulk and grain-boundary conductivity of Ln<Subscript>2+x</Subscript>Hf<Subscript>2−x</Subscript>O<Subscript>7−δ</Subscript> (Ln = Sm-Gd; x = 0, 0.096) pyrochlores

The electrical conductivity of new solid electrolytes Eu_2.096Hf_1.904O_6.952 and Gd₂Hf₂O₇ have been compared with those for different pyrochlores including titanates and zirconates Ln_2+xМ_2−xO_7−δ (Ln = Sm-Lu; M = Ti, Zr; x = 0−0.81). Impedance spectroscopy data demonstrate that Eu_2.096Hf_1.904O_6.952 and Gd₂Hf₂O₇ synthesized from mechanically activated oxides have high ionic conductivity, comparable to that of their zirconate analogues. The bulk and grain-boundary components of conductivity in Sm_2.096Hf_1.904O_6.952 (Т_synth = 1600oС), Eu_2.096Hf_1.904O_6.952 and Gd₂Hf₂O₇ (Т_synth = 1670oС) have been determined. The highest bulk conductivity is offered by the disordered pyrochlores prepared at 1600oC and 1670oC: ~1.5 × 10⁻⁴ S/cm for Sm_2.096Hf_1.904O_6.952, 5 × 10⁻³ S/cm for Eu_2.096Hf_1.904O_6.952 and 3 × 10⁻³ S/cm for Gd₂Hf₂O₇ at 780oС, respectively. The conductivity of the fluorite-like phases at the phase boundaries of the Ln_2+xМ_2−xO_7−δ (Ln = Eu, Gd; M = Zr, Hf; x ~ 0.286) solid solutions, as well as that of the high-temperature fluorite-like phases Ln_2+xМ_2−xO_7−δ (Ln = Eu, Gd; M = Zr, Hf; x = 0−0.286), is lower than the conductivity of the disordered pyrochlores Ln_2+xМ_2−xO_7−δ (Ln = Eu, Gd; M = Zr, Hf; x = 0−0.096).     

Thermoelectric properties of Bi and Cu co-doped Ca3Co2O6single crystals

Single crystals of Bi and Cu-doped Ca₃Co₂O₆were synthesized in a molten K₂CO₃flux. Using an obtained single crystal of (Ca_0.985(5)Bi_0.015(5))₃(Co_0.990(3)Cu_0.010(3))₂O₆elongated to the c-axis direction of the crystal structure, the electric resistivity (ρ) and Seebeck coefficient (S) were measured from room temperature to over 1000 K in air. The single crystal showed p-type semiconducting behavior with ρ values of 1.8 Ω cm at 303 K and 0.017 Ω cm at 1000 K. The S values were +254 μ VK^{− 1} at 325 K, +360 μ VK^{− 1} at 420 K, and +214 μ VK^{− 1} at 1000 K. The power factor (S ² ρ ^{− 1}) increased with an increase of temperature and attained 2.70 × 10^{− 4} Wm^{− 1}K^{− 2} at 1000 K.     

ESMRMB 2009 Congress,Antalya, Turkey, 1–3 October: Abstracts,Thursday

Object  To determine whether glycine can be measured at 7 T in human brain with ¹H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Materials and methods  The glycine singlet is overlapped by the larger signal of myo-inositol. Density matrix simulations were performed to determine the TE at which the myo-inositol signal was reduced the most, following a single spin-echo excitation. ¹H MRS was performed on an actively shielded 7 T scanner, in five healthy volunteers. Results  At the TE of 30 ms, the myo-inositol signal intensity was substantially reduced. Quantification using LCModel yielded a glycine-to-creatine ratio of 0.14 ± 0.01, with a Cramér–Rao lower bound (CRLB) of 7 ± 1%. Furthermore, quantification of metabolites other than glycine was possible as well, with a CRLB mostly below 10%. Conclusion  It is possible to detect glycine at 7 T in human brain, at the short TE of 30 ms with a single spin-echo excitation scheme.