Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is now increasingly being used for fast imaging applications such as real-time cardiac imaging, functional brain imaging, contrast enhanced MRI, etc. Imaging speed in MRI is mainly limited by different imaging parameters selected by the pulse sequences, the subject being imaged and the RF hardware system in operation. New pulse sequences have been developed in order to decrease the imaging time by a faster k-space scan. However, they may not be fast enough to facilitate imaging in real time. Parallel MRI (pMRI), a technique initially used for improving image SNR, has emerged as an effective complementary approach to reduce image scan-time. Five methods, viz., SENSE [Pruesmann, 1999], PILS [Griswold, 2000], SMASH [Sodickson, 1997], GRAPPA [Griswold, 2002] and SPACE RIP [Kyriakos, 2000]; developed in the past decade have been studied, simulated and compared in this research. Because of the dependence of the parallel imaging methods on numerous factors such as receiver coil configuration, k-space subsampling factor, k-space coverage in the imaging environment, there is a critical need to find the method giving the best results under certain imaging conditions. The tools developed in this research help the selection of the optimal method for parallel imaging depending on a particular imaging environment and scanning parameters. Simulations on real MR phased-array data show that SENSE and GRAPPA provide better image reconstructions when compared to the remaining techniques.

L'augmentation continue de la population urbaine s'accompagne d'une augmentation de la taille des villes et de l'apparition de mégapoles, particulièrement en Asie du sud-est. Ces agglomérations sont des sources intenses de pollution et en particulier de particules atmosphériques. Pour en étudier les différents impacts (sur le climat, l'environnement ou la santé) il est important de documenter les sources et les transformations rapides des polluants, ce que permettent les mesures en temps quasi-réel de leur composition chimique. C'est dans ce cadre que ce travail de thèse se propose de développer et qualifier un parc instrumental de terrain capable de documenter la chimie de l'aérosol sur des pas de temps court (au moins horaires). Cet ensemble permet la mesure des ions majeurs par technique PILS (Particle-Into-Liquid-Sampler), de la fraction carbonée (EC-OC) par technique thermo-optique (EC-OC Sunset Field Analyzer) et celle de la fraction organique hydrosoluble également par technique PILS. La masse totale de l'aérosol est obtenue sans artefact avec un TEOM-FDMS. L'optimisation et la qualification des instruments sont abordées, et le potentiel du parc (à différents stades de son développement) est évalué à partir de résultats obtenus pour les mégapoles contrastées Paris (Mai-Juin 2007) et Pékin (Août 2007). Cet ensemble instrumental permet de reconstruire la masse (PM2.5) et les propriétés optiques des aérosols sur des pas de temps horaires, d'aider à l'identification et à la déconvolution des sources d'aérosols (sources locales/régionales ou primaires/secondaires) ainsi que d'affiner la connaissance de l'aérosol organique à travers sa fraction insoluble/soluble.

This thesis improves the understanding of the fate and transport of aerosols in North America. Aerosols play an important role climate modification, visibility, human health, and regulatory compliance. Through multiple aircraft-based and ground-based field campaigns, in situ ambient bulk aerosol concentrations will be determined across geographically diverse regions of the United States. By examining aerosol composition - specifically, inorganic ions and water-soluble organic carbon - as they are transported across the Pacific Ocean, we can observe background concentrations that may contribute to aerosol loading observed in many US communities. Furthermore, the aerosol continues to be modified by anthropogenic and biogenic emissions, dry and wet deposition, and secondary formation and transformation as it is transported across the continent. To capture some of these dynamic changes, aerosol will be extensively measured near the east coast of the US and Canada, and results may show significant anthopogenic, biogenic, and secondary transformation. Many results from the Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada will be presented, and a special case study discussing acid-catalyzed formation of secondary organic aerosol in the region of northern Georgia, US is discussed. Lastly, through laboratory- and field-based instrument development, a commonly-deployed instrument is modified for improved measurement of organic carbon and results are presented herein.

An existing method for the measurement of atmospheric gaseous species was modified to collect data on aerosol concentrations. Data from biomass burning events in different regions (Canada, the Arctic and California) were collected during April to July, 2008 and the concentrations and evolution of secondary organic aerosols were discussed. And finally, data on the light absorbing properties of water soluble organic aerosols were collected in Atlanta, GA and compared with filter data for the same properties. The results presented in this thesis showed that a negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS), can be modified by the addition of a thermally denuded inlet to measure aerosol phase sulfuric acid. This system can also be used to measure other aerosol phase organic acids. In the biomass burning plumes studied in the second part, no clear indication of formation of secondary aerosol or gaseous species was observed, except for peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN). Filter data collected from FRM sites in the Southeastern U.S. showed that biomass burning is the most dominant source of water soluble light absorbing carbonaceous aerosol in this region. The data from a study in Atlanta, GA showed that the online PILS-LWCC-WSOC system might be used for measurements of light absorbing properties of aerosols and WSOC.