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From cost and management perspectives, the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent countermeasures adversely affected labor-intensive construction companies owing to the restrictive guidelines. Following a systematic literature review, this study developed a theoretical framework to assess the impacts of COVID-19 and its countermeasures on construction sites. Based on a developed framework reflecting abroad cases, we explored the Republic of Korea (ROK) situation. Questionnaires were utilized to detect this impact, and were then analyzed using the relative importance index. Through interviews with site managers in the ROK, combined with text-mining and network analysis, this study aimed to pinpoint effective countermeasures and validate the framework. Results revealed that despite policy changes, construction sites in the ROK were not seriously affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, while foreign investment remained steady owing to robust financial contracts, labor shortages and cooperative challenges hindered productivity. Additionally, beyond telecommuting and inspections, changing hygiene regulations prompted the adoption of smart technologies. Further, site managers requested the optimization of worker management and smart systems with governance, hygiene, and quarantine policies. Although impacts from other countries have been studied, the experiences of industries in the ROK remain unanalyzed. In addition, the existing literature has only examined the economic viability of the construction industry; therefore, this study assessed the impacts and countermeasures of COVID-19 from the perspective of managers using a unified theoretical framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) is a type of global ischemic reperfusion injury that occurs after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). The procalcitonin to albumin ratio (PAR) has been studied as an independent prognostic factor of various diseases. There are no previous studies of PAR in patients with PCAS. We assessed if PAR is more effective than procalcitonin (PCT) in predicting prognosis for patients with PCAS. (2) Methods: This retrospective cohort study included a total of 187 patients with PCAS after non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) between January 2016 and December 2020. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between PAR and PCAS prognosis. The predictive performance of PAR was compared with PCT via the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and DeLong test.; (3) Results: PAR at 24 and 48 h after hospital admission were independently associated with one-month neurological outcome (OR: 1.167, 95% CI: 1.023–1.330; OR: 1.077, 95% CI: 1.012–1.146, p < 0.05). By ROC analysis, PAR showed better performance over PCT at 48 h after admission in predicting one-month CPC (0.763 vs. 0.772, p = 0.010). (4) Conclusions: Our findings suggest that PAR at 48 h after admission is more effective in predicting a one-month neurological outcome than PCT at 48 h after admission in patients with PCAS after OHCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A disaster in the hospital is particularly serious and quite different from other ordinary disasters. This study aimed at analyzing the activity outcomes of a disaster medical assistance team (DMAT) for a fire disaster at the hospital. Methods: The data which was documented by a DMAT and emergent medical technicians of a fire department contained information about the patient's characteristics, medical records, triage results, and the hospital which the patient was transferred from. Patients were categorized into four groups according to results of field triage using the simple triage and rapid treatment method. Results: DMAT arrived on the scene in 37 minutes. One hundred and thirty eight (138) patients were evacuated from the disaster scene. There were 25 patients (18.1%) in the Red group, 96 patients (69.6%) in the Yellow group, and 1 patient (0.7%) in the Green group. One patient died. There were 16 (11.6%) medical staff and hospital employees. The injury of the caregiver or the medical staff was more severe compared to the family protector. Conclusions: For an effective disaster-response system in hospital disasters, it is important to secure the safety of medical staff, to utilize available medical resources, to secure patients' medical records, and to reorganize the DMAT dispatch system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a new green phosphorescent iridium (III) complex, bis[2‐(9‐ethyl‐9H‐carbazol‐3‐yl)‐1‐methyl‐1H‐benzo[d]imidazole]iridium(III) acetylacetonate [(Bic)2Ir(acac)], which functions as a solution‐processable dopant for organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs). 2‐(9‐Ethyl‐9H‐carbazol‐3‐yl)‐1‐methyl‐1H‐benzo[d]imidazole was incorporated as the main ligand, while acetylacetone was introduced as an ancillary ligand in the heteroleptic iridium (III) complex. The molecular structure of the synthesized (Bic)2Ir(acac) was characterized by 1H‐ and 13C‐NMR. In addition, it was well soluble in common organic solvents, suitable for solution processible dopant material. The Ir (III) complex exhibited a green emission in solution state (dichloromethane) with an emission maximum at 503 nm. The solution‐processed OLED device using (Bic)2Ir(acac) as a green dopant achieved an external quantum efficiency of 6.85%, with a power efficiency of 14.96 lm/W, a maximum luminous efficiency of 23.00 cd/A, and Commission Internationale de Eclairage coordinates of (0.30, 0.61) at 7 wt% doping concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]