Effectiveness of Medical Cannabis for the Treatment of Depression: A Naturalistic Outpatient Study.

Background: There is a lack of studies on the course and effectiveness of medical cannabis in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: Retrospective longitudinal (18 weeks) study of n=59 outpatients with MDD, treated with medical cannabis via a telemedical platform. Previous treatment with antidepressant medication was required for inclusion into the study.

Medical Cannabis Alleviates Chronic Neuropathic Pain Effectively and Sustainably without Severe Adverse Effect: A Retrospective Study on 99 Cases.

Introduction: Medical cannabis may provide a treatment option for chronic neuropathic pain. However, empirical disease-specific data are scarce.

Methods: This is a retrospective observational study including 99 patients with chronic neuropathic pain.

Characterizing and utilizing oxygen-dependent promoters for efficient dynamic metabolic engineering.

Promoters adjust cellular gene expression in response to internal or external signals and are key elements for implementing dynamic metabolic engineering concepts in fermentation processes. One useful signal is the dissolved oxygen content of the culture medium, since production phases often proceed in anaerobic conditions. Although several oxygen-dependent promoters have been described, a comprehensive and comparative study is missing.

Diagnosis of Uric Acid-Based Urine Sedimentation in the Bladder Using Dual-Energy CT.

Urine sedimentation in the bladder can occur in various circumstances and can lead to urinary obstruction/stasis with associated pain. It is usually diagnosed with an ultrasound; however, CT is also used to assess the amount and to further check for urinary stones. Depending on the composition, urine sedimentation and stones can be treated medically by alkalinisation of the urine with potassium sodium hydrogen citrate in the case of uric acid-based sedimentation/stones.

Association of Phantomless Dual-Energy CT-based Volumetric Bone Mineral Density with the Prevalence of Acute Insufficiency Fractures of the Spine.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate the bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine derived from dual-energy CT (DECT)-based volumetric material decomposition and its association with acute insufficiency fractures of the thoracolumbar spine.

Materials And Methods: L1 of 160 patients (77 men, 83 women; mean age 64.3 years, range, 22-94 years) who underwent third-generation dual-source DECT between January 2016 and December 2021 due to suspected insufficiency fractures was retrospectively analyzed.

Farnesyl pyrophosphate compartmentalization in the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii during heterologous (E)-α-bisabolene production.

Background: Eukaryotic algae have recently emerged as hosts for metabolic engineering efforts to generate heterologous isoprenoids. Isoprenoid metabolic architectures, flux, subcellular localization, and transport dynamics have not yet been fully elucidated in algal hosts.

Results: In this study, we investigated the accessibility of different isoprenoid precursor pools for C sesquiterpenoid generation in the cytoplasm and chloroplast of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii using the Abies grandis bisabolene synthase (AgBS) as a reporter.

Dual-Energy CT for the Detection of Portal Vein Thrombosis: Improved Diagnostic Performance Using Virtual Monoenergetic Reconstructions.

Purpose: To investigate the diagnostic performance of noise-optimized virtual monoenergetic images (VMI+) in dual-energy CT (DECT) of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) compared to standard reconstructions. Method: This retrospective, single-center study included 107 patients (68 men; mean age, 60.1 ± 10.

Diagnostic accuracy of color-coded virtual noncalcium reconstructions derived from portal venous phase dual-energy CT in the assessment of lumbar disk herniation.

Objectives: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of color-coded contrast-enhanced dual-energy CT virtual noncalcium (VNCa) reconstructions for the assessment of lumbar disk herniation compared to unenhanced VNCa imaging.

Methods: A total of 91 patients were retrospectively evaluated (65 years ± 16; 43 women) who had undergone third-generation dual-source dual-energy CT and 3.0-T MRI within an examination interval up to 3 weeks between November 2019 and December 2020.

Diagnostic accuracy of quantitative dual-energy CT-based volumetric bone mineral density assessment for the prediction of osteoporosis-associated fractures.

Objectives: To evaluate the predictive value of volumetric bone mineral density (BMD) assessment of the lumbar spine derived from phantomless dual-energy CT (DECT)-based volumetric material decomposition as an indicator for the 2-year occurrence risk of osteoporosis-associated fractures.

Methods: L1 of 92 patients (46 men, 46 women; mean age, 64 years, range, 19-103 years) who had undergone third-generation dual-source DECT between 01/2016 and 12/2018 was retrospectively analyzed. For phantomless BMD assessment, dedicated DECT postprocessing software using material decomposition was applied.

Accuracy and precision of volumetric bone mineral density assessment using dual-source dual-energy versus quantitative CT: a phantom study.

Background: Dual-source dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) offers the potential for opportunistic osteoporosis screening by enabling phantomless bone mineral density (BMD) quantification. This study sought to assess the accuracy and precision of volumetric BMD measurement using dual-source DECT in comparison to quantitative CT (QCT).

Methods: A validated spine phantom consisting of three lumbar vertebra equivalents with 50 (L1), 100 (L2), and 200 mg/cm (L3) calcium hydroxyapatite (HA) concentrations was scanned employing third-generation dual-source DECT and QCT.

Virtual non-calcium dual-energy CT: clinical applications.

Dual-energy CT (DECT) has emerged into clinical routine as an imaging technique with unique postprocessing utilities that improve the evaluation of different body areas. The virtual non-calcium (VNCa) reconstruction algorithm has shown beneficial effects on the depiction of bone marrow pathologies such as bone marrow edema. Its main advantage is the ability to substantially increase the image contrast of structures that are usually covered with calcium mineral, such as calcified vessels or bone marrow, and to depict a large number of traumatic, inflammatory, infiltrative, and degenerative disorders affecting either the spine or the appendicular skeleton.

Impact of Intravenously Injected Contrast Agent on Bone Mineral Density Measurement in Dual-Source Dual-Energy CT.

Purpose: To assess the influence of intravenously injected contrast agent on bone mineral density (BMD) assessment in dual-source dual-energy CT.

Methods: This retrospective study included 1,031 patients (mean age, 53 ± 7 years; 519 women) who had undergone third-generation dual-source dual-energy CT in context of tumor staging between January 2019 and December 2019. Dedicated postprocessing software based on material decomposition was used for phantomless volumetric BMD assessment of trabecular bone of the lumbar spine.

Comprehensive comparison of dual-energy computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for the assessment of bone marrow edema and fracture lines in acute vertebral fractures.

Objectives: To compare dual-energy CT (DECT) and MRI for assessing presence and extent of traumatic bone marrow edema (BME) and fracture line depiction in acute vertebral fractures.

Methods: Eighty-eight consecutive patients who underwent dual-source DECT and 3-T MRI of the spine were retrospectively analyzed. Five radiologists assessed all vertebrae for presence and extent of BME and for identification of acute fracture lines on MRI and, after 12 weeks, on DECT series.

Assessment of thoracic disk herniation by using virtual noncalcium dual-energy CT in comparison with standard grayscale CT.

Objectives: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of dual-energy CT (DECT) virtual noncalcium (VNCa) reconstructions for assessing thoracic disk herniation compared to standard grayscale CT.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 87 patients (1131 intervertebral disks; mean age, 66 years; 47 women) who underwent third-generation dual-source DECT and 3.0-T MRI within 3 weeks between November 2016 and April 2020 were included.

Performance of an Artificial Intelligence-Based Platform Against Clinical Radiology Reports for the Evaluation of Noncontrast Chest CT.

Rationale And Objectives: Research on implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in radiology workflows and its impact on reports remains scarce. In this study, we aim to assess if an AI platform would perform better than clinical radiology reports in evaluating noncontrast chest computed tomography (CT) scans.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients who had undergone noncontrast chest CT were retrospectively identified.

Development and evaluation of a computer-based decision support system for diffuse lung diseases at high-resolution computed tomography.

Background: High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is essential in narrowing the possible differential diagnoses of diffuse and interstitial lung diseases.

Purpose: To investigate the value of a novel computer-based decision support system (CDSS) for facilitating diagnosis of diffuse lung diseases at HRCT.

Material And Methods: A CDSS was developed that includes about 100 different illustrations of the most common HRCT signs and patterns and describes the corresponding pathologies in detail.

Engineering Biocatalytic Solar Fuel Production: The PHOTOFUEL Consortium.

The EU Horizon2020 consortium PHOTOFUEL joined academic and industrial partners from biology, chemistry, engineering, engine design, and lifecycle assessment, making tremendous progress towards engine-ready fuels from CO via engineered photosynthetic microbes. Technical, environmental, economic, and societal opportunities and challenges were explored to frame future technology realization at scale.

Incremental diagnostic value of color-coded virtual non-calcium dual-energy CT for the assessment of traumatic bone marrow edema of the scaphoid.

Objectives: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of color-coded dual-energy CT virtual non-calcium (VNCa) reconstructions for the assessment of bone marrow edema (BME) of the scaphoid in patients with acute wrist trauma.

Methods: Our retrospective study included data from 141 patients (67 women, 74 men; mean age 43 years, range 19-80 years) with acute wrist trauma who had undergone third-generation dual-source dual-energy CT and 3-T MRI within 7 days. Eight weeks after assessment of conventional grayscale dual-energy CT scans for the presence of fractures, corresponding color-coded VNCa reconstructions were independently analyzed by the same six radiologists for the presence of BME.

Incremental Diagnostic Value of Virtual Noncalcium Dual-Energy Computed Tomography for the Depiction of Cervical Disk Herniation Compared With Standard Gray-Scale Computed Tomography.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigative the diagnostic accuracy of colored dual-energy computed tomography (CT) virtual noncalcium (VNCa) series for analyzing cervical disk herniation compared with standard gray-scale CT images, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) serving as standard of reference.

Materials And Methods: Data from 57 patients who underwent noncontrast dual-source CT and 3.0-Tesla (T) MRI within 2 weeks between January 2017 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.

Diagnostic accuracy of quantitative dual-energy CT-based bone mineral density assessment in comparison to Hounsfield unit measurements using dual x-ray absorptiometry as standard of reference.

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of phantomless dual-energy computed tomography (DECT)-based volumetric material decomposition to assess bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine for the detection of osteoporosis compared to Hounsfield unit (HU) measurements with dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as reference standard.

Method: A total of two hundred lumbar vertebrae in 53 patients (28 men, 25 women; mean age, 52 years, range, 23-87 years) who had undergone clinically-indicated third-generation dual-source DECT and DXA within 30 days were retrospectively analyzed. For volumetric BMD assessment, dedicated DECT postprocessing software using material decomposition was applied, which enables color-coded three-dimensional mapping of the trabecular BMD distribution.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Radiology: Current State and Considerations for Routine Clinical Implementation.

Although artificial intelligence (AI) has been a focus of medical research for decades, in the last decade, the field of radiology has seen tremendous innovation and also public focus due to development and application of machine-learning techniques to develop new algorithms. Interestingly, this innovation is driven simultaneously by academia, existing global medical device vendors, and-fueled by venture capital-recently founded startups. Radiologists find themselves once again in the position to lead this innovation to improve clinical workflows and ultimately patient outcome.

Carotid and cerebrovascular dual-energy computed tomography angiography: Optimization of window settings for virtual monoenergetic imaging reconstruction.

Purpose: Dedicated post-processing of dual-energy computed tomography angiography (DE-CTA) datasets has been shown to allow for increased vascular contrast. The goal of our study was to define optimal window settings for displaying virtual monoenergetic images (VMI) reconstructed from dual-energy carotid and cerebrovascular DE-CTA.

Methods: Fifty-seven patients who underwent clinically-indicated carotid and cerebrovascular third-generation dual-source DE-CTA were retrospectively evaluated.

Diagnostic accuracy of color-coded virtual noncalcium dual-energy CT for the assessment of bone marrow edema in sacral insufficiency fracture in comparison to MRI.

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of color-coded dual-energy CT virtual noncalcium (VNCa) reconstructions for the assessment of traumatic bone marrow edema in sacral insufficiency fracture (SIF).

Method: Data from 52 consecutive patients (28 women, 24 men; mean age, 61 ± 13 years; range, 49-94 years) who had undergone third-generation dual-source CT and 3-Tesla (T) MRI due to low back pain without adequate trauma were retrospectively evaluated. Five radiologists, blinded to MRI and clinical information, independently analyzed conventional grayscale dual-energy CT series for sacral fractures according to the Denis classification.

Fast Magnetic Resonance Enterography Protocol for the Evaluation of Patients with Crohn's Disease: A Pilot Study.

Objective: Magnetic resonance enterography has achieved an increasingly importance in the evaluation of patients with Crohn's disease, although it is limited by high costs and prolonged scanning times. The aim of our work was to design a "fast" abbreviated MRE protocol and to compare it with the standard one.

Materials And Methods: A single-center retrospective study was performed on 73 patients with Crohn's disease who underwent MRE with standard protocol over a 7-month period.

Machine Learning/Deep Neuronal Network: Routine Application in Chest Computed Tomography and Workflow Considerations.

The constantly increasing number of computed tomography (CT) examinations poses major challenges for radiologists. In this article, the additional benefits and potential of an artificial intelligence (AI) analysis platform for chest CT examinations in routine clinical practice will be examined. Specific application examples include AI-based, fully automatic lung segmentation with emphysema quantification, aortic measurements, detection of pulmonary nodules, and bone mineral density measurement.