Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in very low fields isfundamentally limited by untruncated concomitant gradients which causesevere distortions in image acquisition and volume selection if thegradient fields are strong compared to the static field. In this paper,it is shown that gradient fields oscillating in quadrature can be usedfor spatial encoding in low fields and provide substantial improvementsover conventional encoding methods using static gradients. In particular,cases where the gradient field is comparable to or higher than theexternal field, Gmax/B0>1, are examined. It is shown thatundistorted slice selection and image encoding is possible because ofsmaller geometric phase errors introduced during cyclic motions of theHamiltonian. In the low field limit (Gmax/B_0 ->infinity) sliceselection is achieved with a combination of soft pulse segments and acoherent train of hard pulses to average out concomitant fields over thefast scale of the rf Hamiltonian.

Product life-cycle optimization addresses the reduction ofenvironmental burdens associated with the production, use, andend-of-life stages of a product s life cycle. In this paper, we offer anevaluation of the opportunities related to product life-cycleoptimization in California for two key products: personal computers (PCs)and concrete. For each product, we present the results of an explorativecase study to identify specific opportunities for greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions reductions at each stage of the product life cycle. We thenoffer a discussion of the practical policy options that may exist forrealizing the identified GHG reduction opportunities. The case studiesdemonstrate that there may be significant GHG mitigation options as wellas a number of policy options that could lead to life-cycle GHG emissionsreductions for PCs and concrete in California.