Materials and Methods: Institutional ethics approval and written

Materials and Methods: Institutional ethics approval and written informed consent were obtained. Thirty-two patients (30 women, two men; mean age, 52 years) with RA twice underwent MR of either the most symptomatic hand (n = 21) or wrist (n = 11), once performed with a 1.0-T extremity MR system and once with a find more 1.5-T conventional MR system. The MR examinations were independently assessed by two radiologists blinded to imaging platform and patient clinical information for erosions, synovitis, and bone marrow edema (BME), according to the Rheumatoid Arthritis MR Imaging Score (RAMRIS). One radiologist reevaluated all cases a second time to determine the intraobserver variability for each system. Patient comfort

was assessed with a questionnaire. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and smallest detectable differences (SDDs) were measured.

Results: ICCs for intermachine agreement were 0.97-0.99 for erosions, 0.88-0.97 for synovitis, and 0.98-0.99 for BME for both readers. The SDDs between the two systems, expressed buy VS-6063 as a percentage of the maximum score, ranged from 3.3% to 12.2% for erosions, from 7.4% to 14.8% for synovitis, and from 5% to 9.9% for BME for both readers. ICCs for interreader agreement ranged from 0.69 to 0.99 and for intrareader agreement, from 0.88 to 0.99. There were substantial differences in the subjective patient assessment of confinement,

system noise, and difficulty with immobilization, and 95.8% of patients preferred examinations performed with extremity MR.

Conclusion: The 1.0-T extremity MR system demonstrates synovial and osseous changes in RA equally as well as a 1.5-T conventional MR system and is preferred by patients. (C) RSNA, 2009″
“The thermal stability, magnetocaloric effect,

and refrigeration capacity (RC) of Gd-based Gd65Fe20Al15-xBx (x=0-7) glassy ribbons have been investigated. A relatively wide supercooled liquid region Delta T-x(Delta T-x=T-x-T-g) (50-80 K) and large reduced glass transition temperature T-rg(T-rg=T-g/T-m) (>0.63) are found in Gd65Fe20Al15-xBx glassy ribbons. The distinctive glass transition and sharp crystalline events as well as large values of Delta T-x and T-rg confirm the excellent glass forming ability of these alloys. The maximal magnetic entropy changes, -Delta S-M(max), and RC values of the specimens are about 4.80-5.21 J/kg K and 700-800 https://www.selleckchem.com/products/nu7441.html J/kg under 50 kOe, respectively. These -Delta S-M(max) values are comparable to or even higher than that of some reported bulk metallic glasses. Moreover, the larger RC values are due to the broad Delta S-M peak (similar to 200 K), which is caused by the glassy structure. The large Delta S-M and RC values make the Gd-based Gd65Fe20Al15-xBx glassy ribbons attractive candidates for magnetic refrigeration materials. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3335498]“
“Pruritus is a common symptom encountered by many different specialties.

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