Bias field inconsistency correction of motion-scattered multislice MRI for improved 3D image reconstruction

A common solution to clinical MR imaging in the presence of large anatomical motion is to use fast multislice 2D studies to reduce slice acquisition time and provide clinically usable slice data. Recently, techniques have been developed which retrospectively correct large scale 3D motion between individual slices allowing the formation of a geometrically correct 3D volume from the multiple slice stacks. One challenge, however, in the final reconstruction process is the possibility of varying intensity bias in the slice data, typically due to the motion of the anatomy relative to imaging coils. As a result, slices which cover the same region of anatomy at different times may exhibit different sensitivity. This bias field inconsistency can induce artifacts in the final 3D reconstruction that can impact both clinical interpretation of key tissue boundaries and the automated analysis of the data. Here we describe a framework to estimate and correct the bias field inconsistency in each slice collectively across all motion corrupted image slices. Experiments using synthetic and clinical data show that the proposed method reduces intensity variability in tissues and improves the distinction between key tissue types.     

Effect of Thermal Treatment on Selected Cereals and Millets Flour Doughs and Their Baking Quality

Selected cereals (rice and sorghum) and millets (finger millet and pearl millet) were steamed for 20 min at ambient pressure. The rheological properties of doughs, made from these steamed as well raw grain flours, were characterized in addition to examining their baking quality. The two-cycle compression test was employed and instrumental values were correlated with sensory attributes (color, aroma, taste, stickiness, chewiness, tearing strength, cohesiveness, and rollability) using principal component analysis (PCA). Rice doughs made from both raw as well as thermally treated flour imparted maximum hardness (96.6–99.3 N) and least cohesiveness (0.05–0.09) with highest stickiness values (105–110°) among all the dough samples at the same moisture content. Pearl millet and raw sorghum flour doughs possessed the least instrumental hardness, adhesiveness, and stickiness and were the easiest to flatten. The PCA biplot showed that sensory and instrumental cohesiveness formed a cluster on the left side on the x axis while shear force, and sensory attributes like tearing strength, chewiness, stickiness, and rollability formed another cluster on the other side of the axis. Raw rice and finger millet doughs were associated with the high extent of instrumental and sensory stickiness. Thermally treated pearl millet and sorghum doughs were the best followed by treated rice and finger millet samples to give the desirable dough characteristics, and were quite close to wheat chapathi in texture.     

Room‐temperature synthesis of TiO2 nanospheres and their solar driven photoelectrochemical hydrogen production

Highly monodisperse and crystalline anatase phase TiO₂ nanospheres have been synthesized at room temperature from organometallic precursor, titanocene dichloride and sodium azide. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting performance on the TiO₂ nanospheres was studied under illumination of AM 1.5G. The optimized photocurrent density and photoconversion efficiency of TiO₂ NSPs were observed ~0.95 mA cm^?2 at 1.23 V and 0.69%, respectively. The transient photocurrent response measurements on the TiO₂ NSPs during repeated ON/OFF visible light illumination cycles at 1.23 V vs RHE show that both samples exhibited fast and reproducible photocurrent responses. The TiO₂ NSPs show excellent catalytic stability, and significant dark current was not observed even at high potentials (2.0 V vs RHE). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.