In this work, we report a case study of a stroke model in animals using two methods of quantification of the deviations from Gaussian behaviour: diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and log-normal distribution function imaging (LNDFI). The affected regions were predominantly in grey rather than in white matter. The parameter maps were constructed for metrics quantifying the apparent diffusivity (evaluated from conventional diffusion tensor imaging, DKI and LNDFI) and for those quantifying the degree of deviations (mean kurtosis and a parameter σ characterising the width of the distribution). We showed that both DKI and LNDFI were able to dramatically enhance the visualisation of ischaemic lesions in comparison with conventional methods. The largest relative change in the affected versus healthy regions was observed in the mean kurtosis values. The average changes in the mean kurtosis and σ values in the lesions were a factor of two to three larger than the relative changes observed in the mean diffusivity. In conclusion, the applied methods promise valuable perspectives in the assessment of stroke.

No abstract

Chain dynamics in a series of styrene-butadiene rubbers (SBR) was studied with the aid of the dipolar correlation effect (DCE) and field-cycling NMR relaxometry (FCR). The typical time scales of the two techniques are t>10−4 s and t<10−3 s, respectively, and therefore complementary. The crosslink density of the polymer networks was varied in a wide range. In order to prevent sinusoidal undulations of the stimulated-echo attenuation curves due to spin exchange between groups with different chemical-shift offsets, the DCE of the samples was examined using a modified radio frequency pulse sequence with additional π pulses inserted in the free-evolution intervals. Residual dipolar couplings can thus be probed in samples where chemical-shift and dipolar interactions are of the same order. The dipolar correlations probed with the DCE in SBR networks turned out to exist on a time scale exceeding 300 ms. The short-time fluctuations (probed by FCR) and the long-time dynamics (probed by DCE) can be approached by power-law dipolar correlation functions with exponents −0.78±0.02 and −1.5±0.1, respectively. The crossover time is in the order of 1 ms. In contrast to FCR, the DCE data strongly depend on the crosslink density but not on the temperature in a range from 30 to 80 °C. On this basis determinations of the crosslink density may be possible as an alternative to the usual mechanical torsion modulus measurements.

No abstract