Search

Introduction: The number of incidental renal lesions identified in CT scans of the abdomen is increasing. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether hyperdense renal lesions without solid components in a portal venous CT scan can be clearly classified as vascular or non-vascular by material decomposition into iodine and water. Methods: This retrospective single-center study included 26 patients (mean age 72 years ± 9; 16 male) with 42 hyperdense renal lesions (>20 HU) in a contrast-enhanced Photon-Counting Detector CT scan (PCD-CT) between May and December 2022. Spectral decomposition into virtual non-contrast (VNC) images and iodine quantification maps was performed, and HU values were quantified within the lesions. Further imaging and histopathological reports served as reference standards. Results: Mean VNC values were 55.7 (±24.2) HU for non-vascular and 32.2 (±11.1) HU for vascular renal lesions. Mean values in the iodine maps were 5.7 (±7.8) HU for non-vascular and 33.3 (±19.0) HU for vascular renal lesions. Using a threshold of >20.3 HU in iodine maps, a total of 7/8 (87.5%) vascular lesions were correctly identified. Conclusion: This proof-of-principle study suggests that the routine use of spectral information acquired in PCD-CT scans might be able to reduce the necessary workup for hyperdense renal lesions without solid components. Further studies with larger patient cohorts are necessary to validate the results of this study and to determine the usefulness of this method in clinical routine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Increasing numbers of urban dwellers face housing precarity in cities worldwide. We conceptualize housing precarity as a multidimensional phenomenon, using five different dimensions: 1) housing affordability, 2) tenure security, 3) housing satisfaction, 4) neighborhood quality, and 5) community cohesion. By building on an original survey with 12,611 respondents from six cities (Berlin [Germany], Chicago [IL], London [United Kingdom], Los Angeles [CA], New York [NY], and Paris [France]), we examined how vulnerable residents—such as older residents, households with children, minorities, and renters—perceived the five dimensions of housing precarity compared with the rest of the population sample. We found first, that being a renter was negatively associated with all five dimensions of housing precarity, rendering renters more precarious than homeowners. Second, older residents did not seem to be more precarious than younger urban dwellers. Third, households with children and minorities had less tenure security and housing satisfaction than households without children or non-minorities. These results were largely robust across all cities. Further research is needed to analyze how local housing markets, planning and policy instruments, or land use conditions affect residents' perceived housing precarity outcomes. Takeaway for practice: This research can help city planners, urban practitioners, and policymakers to better understand the vulnerabilities of urban residents and the multidimensional manifestation of housing precarity. It calls for a resident-centered approach to urban planning that urges land use and planning interventions to be more sensitive to people's differing housing perceptions and needs. Specifically, the findings suggest that renters, households with children, and minorities need comprehensive policies (and the municipal authorities' strategic activation thereof) that stabilize their financial and legal housing situation, whereas older urban residents could benefit from community activation programs to support their neighborhood integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid the Covid‐19 pandemic, the food and grocery delivery sector became a multibillion‐dollar industry, making riders with squared backpacks visible in our urban landscapes. We explore the role of quick delivery platforms in spatial production—and especially the strategies platforms employed and the tactics of platform workers in relation to this production. By adopting a Lefebvrian perspective, we introduce the concepts of 'strategies of spatial abstraction' and 'spatial tactics of resistance'. We argue that strategies of platforms such as territorialization and digital Taylorism homogenize spatial relations, while platform workers use tactics to resist and to negotiate their everyday lives mediated by platforms. We draw on vignettes from Barcelona and Berlin to illustrate the spatial implications of these strategies and tactics. Territorialization anchors platforms to urban locations through physical infrastructure, while digital Taylorism utilizes algorithms to standardize spatial practices. These strategies contain contradictions: territorialization reduces worker atomization, while digital Taylorism catalyzes worker resistance tactics, especially logistical resistance around the platforms' dark stores and warehouses. This article contributes to the growing body of literature on platform urbanism, revealing the complex and often contradictory nature of platform‐mediated production of urban space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Photon-counting detector computed tomography (PCD-CT) is a groundbreaking technology with promising results for visualization of small bone structures. Purpose: To analyze the delineation of the thoracic spine in multiplanar reconstructions (MPR) on PCD-CT compared to energy-integrating detector (EID)-CT. Material and Methods: Two euthanized mice were examined using different scanners: (i) 20-slice EID-CT and (ii) dual-source PCD-CT at various CTDIVol values. Readers evaluated the thoracic spine and selected series with best visualization among signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)-matched pairs. Results: SNR was significantly higher in PCD-CT reconstructions (Br68) and lower in Hr98 reconstructions compared to EID-CT. Bone detail visualization was superior in PCD-CT (especially in Hr98 reconstructions) compared to EID-CT. Conclusion: MPR on a PCD-CT had a higher SNR and better bone detail visualization even at lower radiation doses compared to EID-CT. PCD-CT with bone reconstructions showed the best delineation of small bone structures and might be considered in clinical routine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]