A COVID-19 risk score combining chest CT radiomics and clinical characteristics to differentiate COVID-19 pneumonia from other viral pneumonias.

With the continued transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) throughout the world, identification of highly suspected COVID-19 patients remains an urgent priority. In this study, we developed and validated COVID-19 risk scores to identify patients with COVID-19. In this study, for patient-wise analysis, three signatures, including the risk score using radiomic features only, the risk score using clinical factors only, and the risk score combining radiomic features and clinical variables, show an excellent performance in differentiating COVID-19 from other viral-induced pneumonias in the validation set. For lesion-wise analysis, the risk score using three radiomic features only also achieved an excellent AUC value. In contrast, the performance of 130 radiologists based on the chest CT images alone without the clinical characteristics included was moderate as compared to the risk scores developed. The risk scores depicting the correlation of CT radiomics and clinical factors with COVID-19 could be used to accurately identify patients with COVID-19, which would have clinically translatable diagnostic and therapeutic implications from a precision medicine perspective.

High-resolution computed tomography manifestations of COVID-19 infections in patients of different ages.

PURPOSE: We aimed to compare chest HRCT lung signs identified in scans of differently aged patients with COVID-19 infections. METHODS: Case data of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 infection in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province in China were collected, and chest HRCT signs of infected patients in four age groups (<18 years, 18-44 years, 45-59 years, ≥60 years) were compared. RESULTS: Small patchy, ground-glass opacity (GGO), and consolidations were the main HRCT signs in 98 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infections. Patients aged 45-59 years and aged ≥60 years had more bilateral lung, lung lobe, and lung field involvement, and greater lesion numbers than patients <18 years. GGO accompanied with the interlobular septa thickening or a crazy-paving pattern, consolidation, and air bronchogram sign were more common in patients aged 45-59 years, and ≥60 years, than in those aged <18 years, and aged 18-44 years. CONCLUSIONS: Chest HRCT manifestations in patients with COVID-19 are related to patient's age, and HRCT signs may be milder in younger patients.

Chest CT of COVID-19 in patients with a negative first RT-PCR test: Comparison with patients with a positive first RT-PCR test.

To compare clinical and imaging features between patients with an initial negative reverse-transcription-polymerase chain-reaction (RT-PCR) test and patients with an initial positive RT-PCR test. CT follow-up analysis in the negative RT-PCR group is also described.Thirty-three patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by RT-PCR, with 216 lesions upon CT, were included. Demographic information and chest CT imaging features were collected.The average age in the whole study group was 46.9 ±â€Š11.1 years, with 18 males and 15 females. Patients in the positive RT-PCR test group were more likely to have a fever than patients in the negative RT-PCR test group (85.7% vs 50%, P < .05). Lesions in the positive group were more likely to be located in the peripheral area than lesions in the negative group (83.6% vs 68.2%, P < .05). Regarding the appearance of 216 lesions, ground-glass opacities (GGOs) with consolidation (43.2%) was the most common appearance in the negative group, followed by pure GGOs (31.8%), while in the positive group, pure GGOs (32%) and GGOs with interlobular septal thickening (32.8%) were both most frequent, and the difference between them was evident (P < .05). For the follow-up analysis, the largest short-axis of a lesion was smaller upon follow-up (median size 13.6 mm vs 14 mm), albeit by a smaller margin. Pure GGOs decreased in frequency, from 31.3% to 21.3%, while consolidation increased in frequency, from 7.5% to 12.5%.The manifestations of COVID-19 in patients with a first negative RT-PCR test and patients with a positive first RT-PCR test are different to some extent. The consolidation component may increase after follow-up.

Preparation of a Hierarchically Porous Lead/Carbon Composite and Its Application in Lead-Carbon Batteries.

A novel and scalable lead-modified phenolic resin-based carbon material (Pb/PRC) has been successfully prepared by using lead-modified phenolic resin (Pb/PR) as a precursor, toluene as a pore-forming agent, and KOH as an activating agent. The Pb/PRC composite presents a hierarchically porous nanosphere structure, and this structure contributes to prolong its cycling life under high-rate partial state-of-charge (HRPSoC) operation. Pb/PRC with nano-lead can effectively inhibit hydrogen evolution and provide pseudocapacitance. Compared with a blank negative plate, a lead-carbon battery with Pb/PRC displays 18 000 cycles under HRPSoC operation and exhibits a capacity of 100 mA h g-1 at 2 C discharge rate.