Thank You for Your Support [President’s Message]

By the time this issue of IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Magazine is published, I will have completed my term as president of the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Society. My two-year service coincided with an unprecedented time—the COVID-19 crisis. During the past two years, the pandemic has dramatically changed the lives of everyone on Earth and, most certainly, greatly impacted how the ITS Society operates. Fortunately, our colleagues have made substantial efforts to adapt to the new reality of the pandemic and created opportunities and environments for the Society to innovate and grow.

Thank You to All Volunteers [President’s Message]

The IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Society’s flagship conferences take place in summer and fall each year. In July, the 32nd IEEE Intelligent Vehicle Symposium (IV) was successfully organized in Nagoya, Japan, through virtual means with great support from Nagoya University and a number of Japanese partners and organizations. The conference committee, led by Kazuya Takeda, Nagoya University, planned a large-scale demonstration of connected and automated vehicle technologies. Many of us were excited for the opportunity to experience cutting-edge intelligent vehicle technologies showcased at the Tokyo Olympics. Unfortunately, with the COVID-19 pandemic persisting, the demonstration could not happen. The Organizing Committee worked hard to transition the conference into a virtual event that offered engaging interactive experiences. IV’21 received 446 papers;220 papers plus additional invited talks were given. The presentations are available on YouTube for easy access.

Prognostic Nomogram on Admission Predicting Progression for Patients with Nonsevere COVID-19

The present study aimed to establish a prognostic nomogram to stratify high-risk patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) who progressed from the nonsevere condition on admission to severe during hospitalization. This multicenter retrospective study included patients with nonsevere COVID-19 on admission from Jan 10, 2020 to Feb 7, 2020. In the training cohort, independent risk factors associated with disease progression were identified by univariate and multivariate analyses. The prognostic nomogram was established and then validated externally using C-index. The study included 351 patients (293 and 58 in the training and validation cohorts, respectively), with 27 (9.2%) and 5 (8.6%) patients progressed, respectively. In the training cohort, older age (OR 1.036, 95% CI 1.000-1.073), more lobes involved on chest CT (OR 1.841, 95% CI 1.117-3.035), comorbidity present (OR 2.478, 95% CI 1.020-6.018), and lower lymphocyte count (OR 0.081, 95% CI 0.019-0.349) were identified as independent risk factors. The prognostic nomogram was established in the training cohort with satisfied external prognostic performance (C-index 0.906, 95% CI 0.806-1.000). In conclusion, older age, comorbidity present, more lobes involved on chest CT, and lower lymphocyte count are independent risk factors associated with disease progression during hospitalization for patients with nonsevere COVID-19.