Optimized MEGA-SPECIAL for in vivo glutamine detection in the rat brain at 14.1 T.

Glutamine has multiple roles in brain metabolism and its concentration can be altered in various pathological conditions. An accurate knowledge of its concentration is therefore highly desirable to monitor and study several brain disorders in vivo. However, in recent years, several MRS studies have reported conflicting glutamine concentrations in the human brain. A recent hypothesis for explaining these discrepancies is that a short T2 component of the glutamine signal may impact on its quantification at long echo times. The present study therefore aimed to investigate the impact of acquisition parameters on the quantified glutamine concentration using two different acquisition techniques, SPECIAL at ultra-short echo time and MEGA-SPECIAL at moderate echo time. For this purpose, MEGA-SPECIAL was optimized for the first time for glutamine detection. Based on the very good agreement of the glutamine concentration obtained between the two measurements, it was concluded that no impact of a short T2 component of the glutamine signal was detected.

ABD Promos, June 2014, Vol. 14, no.6

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ABD Promos, July 2014, Vol. 14, no.7

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Iowa Crop Progress & Condition, July 14, 2014

Report produced by the The Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Climatology Bureau. Weather report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service. The report is released weekly from April through October. Formally titled: Iowa Crop and Weather Report

Quick Reads, July 14, 2014

IDPH Quick Reads is an electronic newsletter produced by the Director’s Office at the Iowa Department of Public Health. IDPH Quick Reads are published every three to four weeks.

ABD Promos, August 2014, Vol. 14, no.8

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Single spin-echo T 2 relaxation times of cerebral metabolites at 14.1 T in the in vivo rat brain.

OBJECT: To determine the single spin-echo T 2 relaxation times of uncoupled and J-coupled metabolites in rat brain in vivo at 14.1 T and to compare these results with those previously obtained at 9.4 T. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Measurements were performed on five rats at 14.1 T using the SPECIAL sequence and TE-specific basis-sets for LCModel analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The T 2 of singlets ranged from 98 to 148 ms and T 2 of J-coupled metabolites ranged from 72 ms (glutamate) to 97 ms (myo-inositol). When comparing the T 2s of the metabolites measured at 14.1 T with those previously measured at 9.4 T, a decreasing trend was found (p < 0.0001). We conclude that the modest shortening of T 2 at 14.1 T has a negligible impact on the sensitivity of the (1)H MRS when performed at TE shorter than 10 ms.

Diffusion tensor echo planar imaging using surface coil transceiver with a semiadiabatic RF pulse sequence at 14.1T.

Diffusion magnetic resonance studies of the brain are typically performed using volume coils. Although in human brain this leads to a near optimal filling factor, studies of rodent brain must contend with the fact that only a fraction of the head volume can be ascribed to the brain. The use of surface coil as transceiver increases Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), reduces radiofrequency power requirements and opens the possibility of parallel transmit schemes, likely to allow efficient acquisition schemes, of critical importance for reducing the long scan times implicated in diffusion tensor imaging. This study demonstrates the implementation of a semiadiabatic echo planar imaging sequence (echo time=40 ms, four interleaves) at 14.1T using a quadrature surface coil as transceiver. It resulted in artifact free images with excellent SNR throughout the brain. Diffusion tensor derived parameters obtained within the rat brain were in excellent agreement with reported values.

Iowa Agri-News, August 6, 2014, Vol. 14, no. 16

Crop and livestock summaries for the state of Iowa, produced by the Iowa Department of Agriculture. Previously Agri-News

Iowa Agri-News, August 7, 2014, Vol. 14, no. 17

Crop and livestock summaries for the state of Iowa, produced by the Iowa Department of Agriculture. Previously Agri-News

Iowa Agri-News, August 18, 2014, Vol. 14, no. 18

Crop and livestock summaries for the state of Iowa, produced by the Iowa Department of Agriculture. Previously Agri-News

ABD Promos, September-October 2014, Vol. 14, no.9/10

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Iowa Agri-News, August 28, 2014, Vol. 14, no. 19

Crop and livestock summaries for the state of Iowa, produced by the Iowa Department of Agriculture. Previously Agri-News

Quick Reads, August 14, 2014

IDPH Quick Reads is an electronic newsletter produced by the Director’s Office at the Iowa Department of Public Health. IDPH Quick Reads are published every three to four weeks.