Magnetic Laboratory Research Articles

Consensus on the assessment of systemic sclerosis-associated primary heart involvement: World Scleroderma Foundation/Heart Failure Association guidance on screening, diagnosis, and follow-up assessment.

Heart involvement is a common problem in systemic sclerosis. Recently, a definition of systemic sclerosis primary heart involvement had been proposed. Our aim was to establish consensus guidance on the screening, diagnosis and follow-up of systemic sclerosis primary heart involvement patients. A systematic literature review was performed to investigate the tests used to evaluate heart involvement in systemic sclerosis. The extracted data were categorized into relevant domains (conventional radiology, electrocardiography, echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, laboratory, and others) and presented to experts and one patient research partner, who discussed the data and added their opinion. This led to the formulation of overarching principles and guidance statements, then reviewed and voted on for agreement. Consensus was attained when the mean agreement was ⩾7/10 and of ⩾70% of voters. Among 2650 publications, 168 met eligibility criteria; the data extracted were discussed over three meetings. Seven overarching principles and 10 guidance points were created, revised and voted on. The consensus highlighted the importance of patient counseling, differential diagnosis and multidisciplinary team management, as well as defining screening and diagnostic approaches. The initial core evaluation should integrate history, physical examination, rest electrocardiography, trans-thoracic echocardiography and standard serum cardiac biomarkers. Further investigations should be individually tailored and decided through a multidisciplinary management. The overall mean agreement was 9.1/10, with mean 93% of experts voting above 7/10. This consensus-based guidance on screening, diagnosis and follow-up of systemic sclerosis primary heart involvement provides a foundation for standard of care and future feasibility studies that are ongoing to support its application in clinical practice.

Case Series of Acute Peripheral Neuropathies in Individuals Who Received COVID-19 Vaccination

Background and Objectives: Vaccination has been critical to managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Autoimmunity of the nervous system, especially among a select set of high-risk groups, can be triggered or enhanced by the contents of vaccines. Here, we report a case series of acute peripheral neuropathies following vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We report on 11 patients (range: 30-90 years old) who presented at our center between January 2021 and February 2022. Methods: We obtained the patients' history and performed clinical neurological examination and electromyoneurography on all subjects. If necessary, magnetic resonance imaging and laboratory testing, including cerebrospinal fluid analysis and specific antibody testing, were performed. Results: Patients presented with peripheral neuropathies of acute onset between 1 and 40 days after vaccination with different types of COVID-19 vaccines. Most cases (9/11) resolved with a rapid, complete or partial recovery. Conclusions: We found acute peripheral neuropathies in a set of individuals after they received vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Albeit our observation shows that during extensive vaccination programs, negative side effects on the peripheral nervous system might occur, most of them showed benign clinical evolution. Thus, potential side effects should not hinder the prescription of vaccines. More extensive studies are needed to elucidate populations at risk of developing peripheral neuropathies and mechanisms of autoimmune response in the nervous system.

Experimentally verified optimal bi-loop re-located IMC strategy for unstable and integrating systems with dead time

Internal model controllers (IMCs) are popular strategies for controlling stable systems with dead time. The relocated IMC (RIMC) design reportedly achieves the expected performance-robustness tradeoff for stable processes. Hence, an attempt has been made in this work to modify the RIMC (as a bi-loop RIMC proportional-derivative (RIMC-PD)) strategy to make it applicable to a class of unstable and integrating systems involving dead time. The secondary-loop stabilisation is achieved with a PD controller constructed by Routh stability constraints. The primary loop contains a RIMC controller for reference following. Both primary, as well as secondary-loop controller parameters, are optimally tuned in the search space using the equilibrium optimiser subjected to minimal integral square error. The RIMC-PD control strategy delivers reasonable enhancement in performance measures when compared with some of the recently reported strategies. A robust stability investigation is also carried out. Finally, experimental verification of the RIMC-PD strategy is carried out using a magnetic levitation laboratory setup.

Effectiveness of blended physics laboratory experimentation on pre-service physics teachers’ understanding of the nature of science

The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of blended physics laboratory experimentation on pre-service physics teachers’ (PSPTs’) understanding of the nature of science (NOS) during an electricity and magnetism laboratory course. The study used a non-equivalent comparison group using a pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental design that contrasted blended, virtual, and real mode of physics experimentations. A total of 63 PSPTs, 16 in blended experimental group, 26 in virtual experimental group, and 21 in real experimental group, participated in the study. Except for the type of manipulatives, the experiments in all the three cases were the same. Quantitative Likert-type questions were administered before and after the intervention and open-ended questions were administered after the intervention. The quantitative data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and ANCOVA, while the qualitative data were categorized under naïve, mixed, and informed views. The results revealed that experimenting with blended, virtual, and real manipulatives were found to be ineffective in enhancing understanding of NOS on the PSPTs’. Apart from the type of experiment used, it was suggested that adequate consideration be paid to NOS issues in the laboratory courses in order to obtain well-educated and trained physics teachers.

A new approach to β-decays studies impacting nuclear physics and astrophysics: The PANDORA setup

Theory predicts that lifetimes of β-radionuclides can change dramatically as a function of their ionization state. Experiments performed in Storage Rings on highly ionized atom have proven nuclei can change their beta decay lifetime up to several orders of magnitude. The PANDORA (Plasmas for Astrophysics, Nuclear Decay Observation and Radiation for Archaeometry) experiment is now conceived to measure, for the first time, nuclear β-decay rates using magnetized laboratory plasma that can mimic selected stellar-like conditions in terms of the temperature of the environment. The main feature of the setup which is based on a plasma trap to create and sustain the plasma, a detector array for the measurement of the gamma-rays emitted by the daughter nuclei after the decay process and the diagnostic tools developed to online monitor the plasma will be presented. A short list of the physics cases we plan to investigate together with an evaluation of their feasibility will be also discussed.

Rectifying unexpected injection issues due to an elliptically polarizing undulator

Top-up operation requires high efficiency injection with insertion devices at small gaps. We present a case study of one elliptically polarizing undulator at the Canadian Light Source that unexpectedly began having a detrimental impact on injection efficiency after operating for many years without issue. By performing beam-based measurements in the storage ring and magnetic measurements in our magnetic measurement laboratory, we built a model that provided an explanation and a remedy. An unrelated change in the vertical limiting physical aperture coupled to an octupole resonance caused a loss of dynamic aperture that explained the decreased injection efficiency. The remedy was to change the on-axis tunes of the storage ring, avoiding the resonance. We hope this detailed and thorough case study may help other laboratories to maintain high injection efficiency while requiring a minimum of restrictions on insertion device operating ranges.

Pregnancy-Related Sacral Stress Fractures: A Single Center Experience of 23 Cases.

This study aims to find out the incidence, etiology, and risk factors, define clinical features, show the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and laboratory findings, and share the experience of treatment and clinical outcome of pregnancy-related sacral stress fractures (SSFs). In total, 29,291 (15,008 of them vaginal and 14,283 of them cesarean section delivery) women gave birth in our hospital between January 2016 and December 2021. Twenty-three of them (0.078%) who had low back and pelvic pain were diagnosed with SSFs using pelvic MRI. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) was used to rule out underlying osteopenia and osteoporosis and determine the type of SSFs. The incidence of pregnancy-related SSFs was 0.078% (23/29,291patients). Six patients (26%) experienced pain during the last trimester of pregnancy, remaining seventeen (74%) patients had pain during the postpartum period. 73.91% of the patients were primigravida. Thirteen patients (56.52%) were classified as fatigue SSFs, eight (34.78%) were insufficiency SSFs, and only two (8.7%) were defined as a mixed type of SSFs. MRI imaging showed that ninepatients (39.13%) had a left-sided fracture, sevenpatients (30.43%) had a right-sided fracture, and seven patients (30.43%) had bilateral fractures. Vitamin D deficiency (less than 20ng/mL) was detected in sevenpatients (30.44%). One case had hypothyroidism in which thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was 5.41 μIU/mL. Pregnancy-related SSFs are uncommon but should be considered by clinicians in the differential diagnosis of low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy and the postpartum period. We determined that first pregnancy is a risk factor for SSFs. The current study also revealed that laboratory investigation of vitamin D deficiency and DEXA investigation, which may lead to osteoporosis or osteopenia, were crucial in the diagnosis. Furthermore, some SSFs should be reclassified as mixed fractures, fatigue, and insufficiency fractures.

Relationship between the degree of myocardial damage according to contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and laboratory data in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Aim. To evaluate the information value of a complex of clinical and biochemical parameters of myocardial damage in predicting the development of transmural myocardial damage according to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Material and methods. The study included patients admitted to the emergency cardiology department with acute coronary syndrome. All patients underwent invasive coronary angiography, laboratory tests, and dynamic determination of cardiac biomarkers. In the interval of 6,1±4 days from admission to the hospital, patients underwent contrast-enhanced cardiac MRI. According to the pattern of delayed contrast enhancement, patients were divided into two groups: with a transmural and subendocardial pattern.Results. The mean age of patients was 62,5±10,5 years, while 27 (71,1%) had ST-segment elevation AMI. Among the risk factors for coronary artery disease, dyslipidemia (89,5%), hypertension (68,4%), and smoking (57,9%) were the most common. Creatine phosphokinase-MB (CPK-MB), serum high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and C-reactive protein (CRP) values after 24 h were significantly higher in patients with transmural hyperenhancement. Moderate positive relationship was found between the global size of left ventricular (LV) damage according to MRI data and the levels of CPK-MB after 24 h and 4 days, as well as with CRP after 24 h, 4 and 7 days, and cTnI level after 24 h and 4 days. In the group of patients with transmural pattern, the global size of LV damage was significantly higher. Patients of this group were characterized by higher prevalence of microvascular obstruction. In a univariate regression analysis, there were following significant predictors of transmural myocardial damage: CPK-MB after 4 days (p=0,023) and ST segment elevation (p=0,029). Multivariate regression analysis showed that the only independent predictor of transmural myocardial damage was an increase in CPKMB after 4 days (p=0,023).Conclusion. An independent predictor of LV transmural damage in AMI was an elevated level of CPK-MB after 4 days. However, this laboratory marker had unsatisfactory information completeness and predictive quality. In this regard, cardiac MRI in patients with AMI, compared with the standard clinical assessment, can be considered preferable for assessing the depth of myocardial damage, risk stratification, and prognosis.

Quasi-longitudinal propagation of nonlinear whistlers with steep electrostatic fluctuations

The quasi-longitudinal whistlers are recently reported in magnetized laboratory plasmas, i.e., at densities considerably higher than the space or magnetospheric plasmas. Given their oblique nature, these whistlers are known to be accompanied by density perturbations which undergo strong nonlinear steepening exclusively for their propagation close to resonant cone angle [Yoon et al., J. Geophys. Res. 119, 1851 (2014)]. This aspect is examined in the parameter regime of laboratory experiments where quasi-longitudinal whistler fluctuations are reported. A systematic study by a set of dedicated single mode numerical solution of the fully nonlinear model of quasi-longitudinally propagating whistlers is presented predominantly covering the high-density (low magnetic field) regime relevant to the laboratory whistler experiments. Following the recovery of existing computational results available for low-density cases, the computations in the newer regime are performed in the present study. The evolution recovered in both these regimes finds the sharp density structures or oscillations to be of resonant origin. While structures accompanying the whistlers' low-density resonant cone readily agree with the upper hybrid resonance frequency, the freshly covered high-density regime shows that the strong nonlinear nature of the whistler is capable of producing a modification in the resonant frequency, causing it to downshift from its linearly expected upper hybrid frequency.

Basal characteristics of the prospective spanish immunotherapy registry of cardiovascular toxicity: SIR-CVT

Abstract Background The immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have improved the prognosis of many cancers in the last years but concerning cardiovascular toxicity (CVtox) have been reported. Nowadays, specific surveillance protocols are lacking, and early diagnosis of toxicity may be challenging. Purpose To characterize the cardiovascular (CV) effects of immunotherapy and to seek for the mechanisms of CVtox of ICI in a protocolize surveillance program of cardio-oncology. Methods A multicentre national registry was developed by a research consortium of scientific societies of Cardiology and Oncology (SEC and SEOM) and the cardiovascular research centre (CNIC) in Spain (Figure 1). A total of 18 hospitals participate in recruiting since Q4 2021. A follow-up protocol was stablished with clinical, electrocardiographic (EKG), echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and laboratory assessment, including cardiac biomarkers, inflammatory panel and the expression of miR-721, a specific myocarditis biomarker. Toxicity management is performed at each institution following international guidelines. Results 53 patients were currently included. Median age was 68 [59, 75] years-old, 79% were male. 83% had at least 1 CV-risk factor (75% smoking history, 20% diabetes mellitus, 50% hyperlipemia, 57% hypertension, 19% chronic kidney injury) and up to34% had previous CV disease. 93% had at least one dose of COVID19 vaccine. Dyspnoea was referred by 23% of patients, 28% have abnormal EKG findings and one-third (33%) abnormal cardiac biomarkers (median Troponin I-hs 5.30 [2.60, 11.00]; NT-proBNP 199 [68, 736]). Mean LVEF (60% [56.15, 66.78]) and GLS (−18 [−19.75, −16]) were within the normal range but 26% showed LGE at baseline. Cancer characteristics are summarized in Table 1. Conclusion Real-world SIR-CVT patients show a high CV risk profile and frequent pre-existing CV diseases before ICI treatment. The prospective follow-up of this cohort will help to develop personalized surveillance protocols according to baseline CVtox risk and to define different grades of cardiotoxicity. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Sterowanie układem lewitacji magnetycznej w warunkach zakłóceń stochastycznych

This paper presents the possibility of reducing impact of stochastic disturbances on the quality of control by implementation of state estimation using the extended Kalman filter algorithm. Experiments were carried out on the Inteco magnetic levitation laboratory system, which mathematical model is nonlinear. A control method with the use of a state vector and a pole placement algorithm was adopted for the model which was linearized at the selected working point. For different levels of noise in the measurement signal, the operation of the system with a feedback from the measured and estimated state was tested. In order to assess the regulation, the quality of the algorithm was verified for both implementations of the feedback. The obtained time plots of each state variable were compared and the calculated integral quality indices, based on the control error, were compared. The quality of the estimation was assessed on the basis of the following mean square error and based on the errors between estimation and measurements indices. The controller was synthesized on thebasis of the continuous model, and then its discrete form was numerically implement as the extender Kalman filter algorithm. The executive blocks were synchronized with the selected sampling period. The results of the performed research allow to conclude about the advantage of control in the system in which the information about the state vector from the estimation is taken, in comparison with the direct feedback without Kalman filtering.

Ultrasound-guided microwave ablation for symptomatic abdominal wall endometriosis and treatment response evaluation with contrast-enhanced imaging: The first experience.

Abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE) is a relatively uncommon condition associated with diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties among all the extra pelvic endometriosis. The main therapies include surgery and oral contraceptive administration. Percutaneous cryoablation and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) are also proven to be valid alternatives. Microwave ablation (MWA) as one of the thermal ablation methods has not been applied in the treatment of AWE yet. Herein the feasibility of ultrasound (US) -guided MWA for AWE was explored and treatment response evaluation was carried out using contrast-enhanced imaging. Three consecutive patients who underwent US-guided MWA for AWE with typical symptoms were included in this retrospective study. US, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), laboratory tests, and US-guided core-needle biopsy were conducted for pre-treatment assessment and ruling out malignancy. The interventional procedure was carried out under local anesthesia with MWA and the output power was 60w. Post-treatment contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) was performed to evaluate the instant treatment response. The follow-up intervals were 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months after treatment. The clinical symptoms and condition of AWE lesions were recorded in each follow-up. The MWA procedure was completed in all the patients with no blood perfusion inside each lesion by instant CEUS after treatment. The mean ablation time was 687 seconds (s) for a single patient (ranged from 660s to 742s). Clinical symptoms were relieved evidently at the end of the follow-up. The pain according to the visual analogue scale (VAS) decreased from 4-6 before treatment to 0-2 after treatment. Mild to moderate complications included slightly abdominal pain and fat liquefaction occurred. In terms of technical outcomes, the volume of all six lesions reduced in different degrees at the end of follow-up (ranged: 16.6% to 100%). US-guided MWA may be a feasible and promising approach for symptomatic AWE.

Renewal of the Nondestructive Pulsed Magnetic Fields Generators of the LNCMI

The Laboratoire National des Champs Magnétiques Intenses (LNCMI) is a French host facility for experiments in high magnetic fields. Internal research is carried out in the lab and experimental time is allocated to external researchers. The LNCMI is a founding member of the European Magnetic Field Laboratory (EMFL) with the Hochfeld-Magnetlabor in Dresden (HLD) and the High Field Magnet Laboratory in Nijmegen (HFML). While static fields up to 37 T are produced in Grenoble, the Toulouse facility is dedicated to the generation of pulsed magnetic fields. It offers 98.8 T nondestructively and 209 T with a semi-destructive Megagauss installation. We focus here on the nondestructive activities. All the electromagnets that generate these high fields and their associated capacitor banks are developed in the laboratory. Here, we present the developments realized during the last five years with the complete reconstruction of the main capacitor banks of the laboratory.

Arterioectatic Spinal Angiopathy of Childhood: Clinical, Imaging, Laboratory, Histologic, and Genetic Description of a Novel CNS Vascular Pathology.

Pediatric patients with myelopathy expressing intradural spinal vascular ectasia without arteriovenous shunting were studied at four tertiary referral neuropediatric centers. Patients were identified by retrospective review of institutional records and excluded if spinal vascular pathology could be classified into a previously described category of spinal vascular malformation. Four patients meeting the study criteria were enrolled in the study. Clinical, magnetic resonance imaging, catheter-directed angiography, laboratory, histological and genetic data were analyzed to characterize the disease process and elucidate underlying pathomechanisms. Our study revealed a highly lethal, progressive multi-segmental myelopathy associated with a unique form of non-inflammatory spinal angiopathy featuring diffuse enlargement and tortuosity of spinal cord arteries, spinal cord hyperemia, and spinal cord edema (Arterioectatic Spinal Angiopathy of Childhood). The condition was shown to mimic venous congestive myelopathy associated with pediatric spinal cord arteriovenous shunts on MRI but to have distinct pathognomonic findings on catheter-directed angiography. Clinicopathological, genetic, and neuroimaging features, which are described in detail, closely overlap with those of mitochondrial disease.

Predicting disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis: An explainable machine-learning approach in the Mavenclad trials.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is among the most common autoimmune disabling neurological conditions of young adults and affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide. Predicting future disease activity in patients with MS based on their pathophysiology and current treatment is pivotal to orientate future treatment. In this respect, we used machine learning to predict disease activity status in patients with MS and identify the most predictive covariates of this activity. The analysis is conducted on a pooled population of 1935 patients enrolled in three cladribine tablets clinical trials with different outcomes: relapsing–remitting MS (from CLARITY and CLARITY‐Extension trials) and patients experiencing a first demyelinating event (from the ORACLE‐MS trial). We applied gradient‐boosting (from XgBoost library) and Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) methods to identify patients' covariates that predict disease activity 3 and 6 months before their clinical observation, including patient baseline characteristics, longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging readouts, and neurological and laboratory measures. The most predictive covariates for early identification of disease activity in patients were found to be treatment duration, higher number of new combined unique active lesion count, higher number of new T1 hypointense black holes, and higher age‐related MS severity score. The outcome of this analysis improves our understanding of the mechanism of onset of disease activity in patients with MS by allowing their early identification in clinical settings and prompting preventive measures, therapeutic interventions, or more frequent patient monitoring.

A novel desmoplakin mutation causes dilated cardiomyopathy with palmoplantar keratoderma as an early clinical sign.

BackgroundPPKs represent a heterogeneous group of disorders with hyperkeratosis of palmar and/or plantar skin. PPK, hair shaft abnormalities, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias can be caused by mutations in desmosomal genes, e.g. desmoplakin (DSP). PPK should trigger genetic testing to reveal mutations with possible related cardiac disease.ObjectivesTo report a large multigenerational family with a novel DSP mutation associated with early‐onset PPK and adult‐onset cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias.MethodsA custom‐designed in‐house panel of 35 PPK related genes was used to screen mutations in the index patient with focal PPK. The identified DSP mutation was verified by Sanger sequencing. DNA samples from 20 members of the large multigenerational family were sequenced for the DSP mutation. Medical records were reviewed. Clinical dermatological evaluation was performed, including light microscopy of hair samples. Cardiac evaluation included clinical examination, echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), electrocardiogram (ECG), Holter monitoring and laboratory tests.ResultsWe identified a novel autosomal dominant truncating DSP c.2493delA p.(Glu831Aspfs*33) mutation associated with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with arrhythmia susceptibility and focal PPK as an early cutaneous sign. The mutation was found in nine affected family members, but not in any unaffected members. Onset of dermatological findings preceded cardiac symptoms which were variable and occurred at adult age.ConclusionsWe report a novel truncating DSP mutation causing focal PPK with varying severity and left ventricular dilatation and ventricular extrasystoles. This finding emphasizes the importance of genetic diagnosis in patients with PPK for clinical counselling and management of cardiomyopathies and arrhythmias.

Combining Magnetic Resonance Diffusion-Weighted Imaging with Prostate-Specific Antigen to Differentiate Between Malignant and Benign Prostate Lesions.

BackgroundWe aimed to develop a combined model of quantitative parameters derived from 3 different magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diffusion models and laboratory data related to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for differentiating between prostate cancer (PCa) and benign lesions.Material/MethodsEighty-four patients pathologically confirmed as having PCa or benign disease were enrolled. All patients underwent multiparametric MRI before biopsy, added intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging, and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI). The following data were collected: quantitative parameters of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), IVIM, and DKI, preoperative total PSA, free/total PSA ratio, and PSA density (PSAD) values. A combined logistic regression model was established by above MRI quantitative parameters and PSA data to diagnose PCa. The Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2 (PI-RADS v2) was used to assess the lesions for comparison.ResultsThirty-two patients had PCa and 52 patients had benign lesions. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, only apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and PSAD were significant variables (P<0.05) and were thus retained in the model. The area under curve value of the combined model (0.911) was higher than that of ADC, PSAD, and PI-RADS v2 (0.887, 0.861, and 0.859, respectively) in univariate analysis, but without any statistically significant differences. The combined model generated greater clinical benefit than the independent application of ADC, PSAD, and PI-RADS v2.ConclusionsADC and PSAD were the 2 most important metrics for distinguishing PCa from benign lesions. The combined model of ADC and PSAD demonstrated satisfactory discrimination and improved clinical net benefit.

Использование градиентного магнитного поля в предпосевной обработке семян огурца

The purpose of these studies was to develop optimal modes of magnetization of cucumber seeds when cultivated in protected soil. The research task included the study of the effect of the gradient magnetic field (GrMP) on seed sowing qualities, growth processes and photosynthetic ac-tivity of cucumber plants, and crop productivity. The experiments were carried out in 2 stages, in-cluding laboratory and greenhouse soil tests. The study used generally accepted methods of estimat-ing seed quality, observing plant growth and development, taking into account the main indicators of phenophases, forming generative organs, determining crop and product quality. By experimental method positive effect of treatment of cucumber seeds with gradient magnetic field is confirmed. Stable stability of magneto-biological effects in cucumber seedlings was observed at a seed speed of 1-2 m/s in a magnetic field and its intensity in the range of 50-150 E. Plants formed from treated seeds were characterized by higher photosynthesis productivity, a large number of female flowers compared to control. Productivity growth in experimental versions by 7.6-15.3% was due to a larger number and mass of formed fruits. Magneto-biological effects in cucumber plants were observed throughout ontogenesis and culminated in an increase in its productivity. Keywords: GRADIENT MAGNETIC FIELD (GRMP), SEED OMAGNETIZATION, GERMINATION ENERGY AND LABORA-TORY GERMINATION OF CUCUMBER SEEDS, MORPHOMETRIC SEEDLINGS, PLANT GROWTH AND DE-VELOPMENT, YIELD

Primary Orthostatic Tremor in Adolescence

Tremor is an involuntary rhythmic muscle contraction, which causes a regular oscillation of a part of the body. Orthostatic tremor is a rare neurological movement disorder characterized by unsteadiness while standing that is relieved when sitting, walking, or lying down. Neurological examination of primary orthostatic tremor is reported to be normal. The pathophysiological mechanism of this condition is not entirely unknown. Symptoms usually start in the sixth decade. Clonazepam is widely used as a first-line medication in the treatment. A 14-year-old girl patient was admitted due to tremor activated on standing, absent while seated or lying, and improved by walking or leaning. Her brain magnetic resonance imaging and laboratory workup were normal. Tremor completely disappeared with clonazepam in 10 days. I report a case of primary orthostatic tremor in adolescence.

Liver MRI and clinical findings to predict response after drug eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization in hepatocellular carcinoma

To identify the gadoxetic acid (GA)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and laboratory findings that enable prediction of treatment response and disease-free survival (DFS) after the first session of drug eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 55 patients who underwent GA-enhanced MRI and DEB-TACE from January 2014 to December 2018 were included. All MRI features were reviewed by two radiologists. Treatment response was evaluated according to the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine predictive factors of treatment response and DFS, respectively. A total of 27 patients (49.1%) achieved complete response (CR) after one session of treatment. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of clinical and laboratory characteristics. Heterogeneous signal intensity in the hepatobiliary phase (HBP) was the only independent predictor of non-CR (odds ratio, 4.807; p = 0.048). Recurrent HCC was detected in 19 patients (70.4%) after CR. In the multivariate analysis, elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level (≥ 30 ng/mL) was the only significant parameter associated with DFS (hazard ratio, 2.916; p = 0.040). This preliminary study demonstrated that heterogeneous signal intensity in the HBP and high serum AFP were useful predictive factors for poor treatment response and short DFS after DEB-TACE, respectively.