Clinical and radiological characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 before and after the Omicron outbreak: a multi-center study

IntroductionThe emergence of the Omicron variant has seen changes in the clinical and radiological presentations of COVID-19 in pediatric patients. We sought to compare these features between patients infected in the early phase of the pandemic and those during the Omicron outbreak.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on 68 pediatric COVID-19 patients, of which 31 were infected with the original SARS-CoV-2 strain (original group) and 37 with the Omicron variant (Omicron group). Clinical symptoms and chest CT scans were examined to assess clinical characteristics, and the extent and severity of lung involvement.ResultsPediatric COVID-19 patients predominantly had normal or mild chest CT findings. The Omicron group demonstrated a significantly reduced CT severity score than the original group. Ground-glass opacities were the prevalent radiological findings in both sets. The Omicron group presented with fewer symptoms, had milder clinical manifestations, and recovered faster than the original group.DiscussionThe clinical and radiological characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 patients have evolved with the advent of the Omicron variant. For children displaying severe symptoms warranting CT examinations, it is crucial to weigh the implications of ionizing radiation and employ customized scanning protocols and protective measures. This research offers insights into the shifting disease spectrum, aiding in the effective diagnosis and treatment of pediatric COVID-19 patients

Theoretical analysis of serrated chip formation based on ideal models in high speed cutting

In this paper, two ideal formation models of serrated chips, the symmetric formation model and the unilateral right-angle formation model, have been established for the first time. Based on the ideal models and related adiabatic shear theory of serrated chip formation, the theoretical relationship among average tooth pitch, average tooth height and chip thickness are obtained. Further, the theoretical relation of the passivation coefficient of chip's sawtooth and the chip thickness compression ratio is deduced as well. The comparison between these theoretical prediction curves and experimental data shows good agreement, which well validates the robustness of the ideal chip formation models and the correctness of the theoretical deducing analysis. The proposed ideal models may have provided a simple but effective theoretical basis for succeeding research on serrated chip morphology. Finally, the influences of most principal cutting factors on serrated chip formation are discussed on the basis of a series of finite element simulation results for practical advices of controlling serrated chips in engineering application

Single layer bismuth iodide: Computational exploration of structural, electrical, mechanical and optical properties

Layered graphitic materials exhibit new intriguing electronic structure and the search for new types of two-dimensional (2D) monolayer is of importance for the fabrication of next generation miniature electronic and optoelectronic devices. By means of density functional theory (DFT) computations, we investigated in detail the structural, electronic, mechanical and optical properties of the single-layer bismuth iodide (BiI3) nanosheet. Monolayer BiI3 is dynamically stable as confirmed by the computed phonon spectrum. The cleavage energy (Ecl) and interlayer coupling strength of bulk BiI3 are comparable to the experimental values of graphite, which indicates that the exfoliation of BiI3 is highly feasible. The obtained stress-strain curve shows that the BiI3 nanosheet is a brittle material with a breaking strain of 13%. The BiI3 monolayer has an indirect band gap of 1.57 eV with spin orbit coupling (SOC), indicating its potential application for solar cells. Furthermore, the band gap of BiI3 monolayer can be modulated by biaxial strain. Most interestingly, interfacing electrically active graphene with monolayer BiI3 nanosheet leads to enhanced light absorption compared to that in pure monolayer BiI3 nanosheet, highlighting its great potential applications in photonics and photovoltaic solar cells

Substantial bandgap tuning and strain controlled semiconductor to gapless/band-inverted semi-metal transition in rutile lead/stannic dioxide

By first-principle calculations, we have systematically studied the effect of strain/pressure on the electronic structure of rutile lead/stannic dioxide (PbO₂/SnO₂). We find that pressure/strain has a significant impact on the electronic structure of PbO₂/SnO₂. Not only can the band gap be substantially tuned by pressure/strain, but also a transition between a semiconductor and a gapless/band-inverted semimetal can be manipulated. Furthermore, the semimetallic state is robust under strain, indicating a bright perspective for electronics applications. In addition, a practical approach to realizing strain in SnO₂ is then proposed by substituting tin (Sn) with lead (Pb), which also can trigger the transition from a large-band-gap to a moderate-gap semiconductor with enhanced electron mobility. This work is expected to provide guidance for full utilization of the flexible electronic properties in PbO₂ and SnO₂

Graphene-like two-dimensional ionic boron with double dirac cones at ambient condition

Recently, partially ionic boron (γ-B₂₈) has been predicted and observed in pure boron, in bulk phase and controlled by pressure [ <cite>Nature</cite><span class="NLM_x"><x xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:ACS="http://namespace.acs.org/2008/acs" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xml:space="preserve"> </x></span>2009<span class="NLM_x"><x xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:ACS="http://namespace.acs.org/2008/acs" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xml:space="preserve">, </x></span><em>457</em><span class="NLM_x"><x xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:ACS="http://namespace.acs.org/2008/acs" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xml:space="preserve">, </x></span>863]. By using ab initio evolutionary structure search, we report the prediction of ionic boron at a reduced dimension and ambient pressure, namely, the two-dimensional (2D) ionic boron. This 2D boron structure consists of graphene-like plane and B₂ atom pairs with the <i>P</i>6/<i>mmm</i> space group and six atoms in the unit cell and has lower energy than the previously reported α-sheet structure and its analogues. Its dynamical and thermal stability are confirmed by the phonon-spectrum and ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. In addition, this phase exhibits double Dirac cones with massless Dirac Fermions due to the significant charge transfer between the graphene-like plane and B₂ pair that enhances the energetic stability of the <i>P</i>6/<i>mmm</i> boron. A Fermi velocity (<i>v</i>_f) as high as 2.3 × 10⁶ m/s, which is even higher than that of graphene (0.82 × 10⁶ m/s), is predicted for the <i>P</i>6/<i>mmm</i> boron. The present work is the first report of the 2D ionic boron at atmospheric pressure. The unique electronic structure renders the 2D ionic boron a promising 2D material for applications in nanoelectronics

Predicting a new phase (T'') of two-dimensional transition metal di-chalcogenides and strain-controlled topological phase transition

Single layered transition metal dichalcogenides have attracted tremendous research interest due to their structural phase diversities. By using a global optimization approach, we have discovered a new phase of transition metal dichalcogenides (labelled as T′′), which is confirmed to be energetically, dynamically and kinetically stable by our first-principles calculations. The new T′′ MoS2 phase exhibits an intrinsic quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect with a nontrivial gap as large as 0.42 eV, suggesting that a two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator can be achieved at room temperature. Most interestingly, there is a topological phase transition simply driven by a small tensile strain of up to 2%. Furthermore, all the known MX2 (M = Mo or W; X = S, Se or Te) monolayers in the new T′′ phase unambiguously display similar band topologies and strain controlled topological phase transitions. Our findings greatly enrich the 2D families of transition metal dichalcogenides and offer a feasible way to control the electronic states of 2D topological insulators for the fabrication of high-speed spintronics devices