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Rationale: Some patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapidly develop respiratory failure or even die, underscoring the need for early identification of patients at elevated risk of severe illness. This study aims to quantify pneumonia lesions by computed tomography (CT) in the early days to predict progression to severe illness in a cohort of COVID-19 patients. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included confirmed COVID-19 patients. Three quantitative CT features of pneumonia lesions were automatically calculated using artificial intelligence algorithms, representing the percentages of ground-glass opacity volume (PGV), semi-consolidation volume (PSV), and consolidation volume (PCV) in both lungs. CT features, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE-II) score, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and d-dimer, on day 0 (hospital admission) and day 4, were collected to predict the occurrence of severe illness within a 28-day follow-up using both logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models. Results: We included 134 patients, of whom 19 (14.2%) developed any severe illness. CT features on day 0 and day 4, as well as their changes from day 0 to day 4, showed predictive capability. Changes in CT features from day 0 to day 4 performed the best in the prediction (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.87~0.99; C-index=0.88, 95% CI 0.81~0.95). The hazard ratios of PGV and PCV were 1.39 (95% CI 1.05~1.84, P=0.023) and 1.67 (95% CI 1.17~2.38, P=0.005), respectively. CT features, adjusted for age and gender, on day 4 and in terms of changes from day 0 to day 4 outperformed APACHE-II, NLR, and d-dimer. Conclusions: CT quantification of pneumonia lesions can early and non-invasively predict the progression to severe illness, providing a promising prognostic indicator for clinical management of COVID-19.

2D transition metal carbide materials called MXene have attracted significant interest in the field of electrochemical energy storage due to their high electrical conductivity and high volumetric capacity.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:The management of intracranial pseudoaneurysms is controversial. The purpose of this study was to provide a preliminary evaluation of the clinical efficacy of a Willis covered stent specially designed for the intracranial vasculature in the management of a pseudoaneurysm of the cranial internal carotid artery (CICA).

The solid-state Li–S batteries using N-CNs/S cathode and composite polymer electrolyte added IL@ZrO2can work at the human body temperature of 37 °C.

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Graphical abstract

The metal-CO batteries, especially Na-CO, batteries come into sight owing to their high energy density, ability for CO capture, and the abundance of sodium resource. Besides the sluggish electrochemical reactions at the gas cathodes and the instability of the electrolyte at a high voltage, the final discharge product NaCO is a solid and poor conductor of electricity, which may cause the high overpotential and poor cycle performance for the Na-CO batteries. The promotion of decomposition of NaCO should be an efficient strategy to enhance the electrochemical performance. Here, we design a facile NaCO activation experiment to screen the efficient cathode catalyst for the Na-CO batteries. It is found that the CoMnO nanowire-decorated carbon fibers (CMO@CF) can promote the NaCO decomposition at the lowest voltage among all these metal oxide-decorated carbon fiber structures. After assembling the Na-CO batteries, the electrodes based on CMO@CF show lower overpotential and better cycling performance compared with the electrodes based on pristine carbon fibers and other metal oxide-modified carbon fibers. We believe this catalyst screening method and the freestanding structure of the CMO@CF electrode may provide an important reference for the development of advanced Na-CO batteries.