As the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread globally, hundreds of thousands have been infected, among whom approximately 15% of COVID-19 patients develop severe disease, and 5 to 6% are critically ill [1]. Critical patients of COVID-19 have a dramatically higher case fatality rate than severe cases. Thus, it is increasingly urgent to develop early and effective predictors to distinguish critical patients from severe patients. Storms of inflammatory cytokines and blood clots were reported to associate with severe disease and fatality of COVID-19 patients [2, 3]. We aimed to identify a biomarker for the detection of COVID-19 progression from numerous cytokines and coagulation indicators. We conducted a retrospective study based on patients with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit in Beijing Ditan Hospital from January 20, 2020, to March 23, 2020. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Beijing Ditan Hospital. The severity of COVID-19 was defined according to the guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of new coronavirus pneumonia (version 7). All baseline medical record information including demographic, data, complications, and laboratory results were obtained within the first day after hospital admission. Blood samples were collected at baseline and once every 3-7 days during hospitalization. Forty-five cytokines/ chemokines/growth factors in serum were measured using Luminex multiplex assay. Random forests machine learning classifier in Python environment was used for

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The potential for using calcium silicate concrete to sequester CO2 and simultaneously develop strong and durable concrete building products is studied. It is the calcium compounds in cement that react with CO2 through the early-age carbonation curing, forming geologically stable calcium carbonates. Both type 10 and type 30 Portland cements were investigated as CO2 binders in concretes with 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% quartz aggregates and lightweight aggregates. The sequestration took place in a chamber under 0.5 MPa pressure at ambient temperature for a duration of 2 h; a 100% concentration of CO2 was used to simulate the recovered CO2 from flue gas. The CO2 uptake was quantified by direct mass gain and by infrared-based carbon analyzer, and the performance of the carbonated concrete was evaluated by its strength. A CO2 uptake of 9%–16% by binder mass was achieved in 2 h. The X-ray diffraction spectra showed the presence of strong calcite peaks and a total absence of Ca(OH)2. The 2 h carbonation strength exceeded the 7 d hydration strength. The calcium silicate concrete approach is shown to be feasible for CO2 sequestration and would result in technical, environmental, and economical benefits.Key words: CO2 sequestration, concrete, carbonation curing, calcium carbonates, strength.

The immature CD14CD16 monocytes might contribute to blood-circuit contact-induced acute lung injury by generating TNF-α-producing, mature monocytes. New strategies based on monocyte manipulation could be a promising therapeutic approach for minimising CPB-related lung injury.