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M R Halse

Publications and source records attributed to M R Halse.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

NMR stray-field analysis of oil drop size distribtuion in peanut cotyledons.

The technique of stray-field NMR has been applied to the study of an oil-bearing seed. It is found to provide additional information about the smallest size of oil drops within the cotyledon not easily measurable by other methods. A peanut was chosen as a convenient seed to investigate so as to allow comparison with previously published NMR pulsed field gradient data. We find a broad distribution of oil drop sizes ranging from a lower limit of order 0.26 microm up to a maximum of approximately 1.3 microm.

Algorithms↗

Diffusion-weighted imaging of bacteria colonies in the STRAFI plane.

Imaging colonies of bacteria in water suspension using NMR requires that the water inside the bacteria can be differentiated from the surrounding water. This is commonly carried out by using diffusion-weighted pulsed field gradient techniques. However, it is also possible to use the diffusion sensitivity inherent in stray field imaging (STRAFI). In STRAFI, the subject to be imaged is normally moved along the axis of a superconducting magnet so that it passes through the sensitive slice. However, by moving the sample in the transverse direction and by using a long copper strip in place of a surface induction coil, a diffusion-weighted one-dimensional projection profile can be obtained across the sensitive slice. Profiles from a water phantom and from a bacteria suspension show convincing discrimination between intracellular and extracellular water.

Bacteria↗

A three-dimensional NMR imaging scheme utilizing doubly resonant gradient coils.

A 3DFT gradient-echo technique has been developed which, in conjunction with series-resonant gradient-coil circuits, can produce three-dimensional NMR images with an echo time of less than 100 microseconds. The method involves a read-gradient waveform composed of two sinusoids of different frequencies. This is an improvement on previous imaging sequences using a single sinusoid where only half of k space was sampled and where the second half was calculated using conjugate symmetry. The inaccuracies involved in the necessary "cut and paste" of k space inevitably lead to artifacts in the final image. The important features of the new method are that with suitable phase encoding all octants of k space are sampled, the RF pulse is applied when the gradients are all zero, and the echo forms when the gradient is essentially constant. This method will allow more extensive application of solid imaging techniques to biological samples in vivo.

Adult↗

NMR studies of molecular mobility and diffusion in porous systems.

The uptake, partitioning, and release of ingredients such as water, oil, surfactant, and ions are important factors to understand and control in the design and manufacture of detergent and personal products. Although conventional pulse NMR (PNMR) spectroscopy continues to be used to analyse bulk molecular mobility and phase composition, more recently MR imaging techniques have created unique opportunities for gaining spatial information about these processes in ways that are noninvasive and potentially quantitative. This paper describes the evaluation of MRI and associated PNMR techniques to study transport in three relevant cases: ion diffusion (e.g., fluoride) in concentrated dispersions, oil transport through powders, and water ingress into porous powders (zeolite). Results are presented to illustrate the potential of multiple pulse and gradient echo MRI methods for dealing with the short T2 scenarios that represent a common problem in quantitative imaging of water in solid-containing composites involving, for instance, zeolite, or silica. Pore-size characterisation results are also presented.

Diffusion↗

Ingress of water into zeolite 4A powder plugs.

One dimensional profiles of the concentration of water absorbed from vapour diffusing into compacted type 4A zeolite powder have been obtained by broadline NMR imaging. After an induction period of approximately 6 h, a region of full hydration advances linearly with time into the zeolite plug. This behaviour is typical of Case II diffusion. A simple numerical simulation gives good agreement with the experimental results.

Diffusion↗