Superconducting receiver coils for sodium magnetic resonance imaging

Presents the results from sodium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiments using high-temperature superconducting (HTS) receiver coils. Sodium imaging has been shown to have great potential for the assessment of cell integrity but suffers from substantially lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) than that of hydrogen imaging. The use of an HTS receiver coil was found to significantly increase the SNR relative to an equivalent copper receiver coil at room temperature. The SNR gains afforded by HTS coils can also be used to decrease the imaging time.published_or_final_versio

Development of a Small-Scale Natural Gas Liquefier. Final Report

This final report describes the progress during the contract period March 1, 1998 through April 30, 2003, on the design, development, and testing of a novel mixed-refrigerant-based 1000 gal/day natural gas liquefier, together with the associated gas cleanup equipment. Based on the work, it is concluded that a cost-effective 1000 gal/day liquefaction system is technically and economically feasible. A unit based on the same developed technology, with 5000 gal/day capacity, would have much improved economics

Pretreatment dropout as a function of treatment delay and client variables

Utilizing a retrospective analysis we examined factors correlated with preintake dropout in patients phoning to make intake appointments for cocaine treatment. Inquiries of 235 individuals calling our outpatient cocaine treatment program over a 7-month period were analyzed for relationships between patient age and gender; residence in the city where the program is located; marital status; referral source; reported problems with alcohol, marijuana, and heroin; reported last use of cocaine or other illicit stimulants; assigned counselor gender; person who made the appointment; days to the intake appointment; and attending the scheduled intake session. Only days to appointment was significantly (Wald = 12.4587, df = 1, p \u3c .05 and χ2 = 17.7, df = 8, p \u3c .05) correlated with attending the scheduled intake session. Appointments scheduled the same day differed significantly (χ2 = 4.3, n = 235, df = 1, p \u3c .05) from appointments scheduled later. This suggests that client and situational variables are not significantly related to initial attendance and enhances the significance of systemic variables that are under a clinic\u27s control, such as appointment delay. The results indicate that the longer the delay between the initial phone contact and the scheduled appointment, the less likely a client is to attend an appointment. Further, they suggest that the greatest decrease in initial attendance occurs in the first 24 hours following the phone inquiry. Taking a \u27microscopic\u27 look at the appointment delay variable is valuable in understanding and addressing preintake dropout