Change orders issued during the construction of the second national highway in Taiwan have been categorized depending on whether they originate from owner, design consultant, on-site contractor unit, or external parties. A total of 34 change order causes are found for this construction project. Grey relation analysis (GRA) was used in this study, and change orders in the second national highway construction project in Taiwan are characterized by the following conclusions: (1) poorly executed design drawings, policy changes and new management requirements are not important causes of change orders; and (2) more roadways should be designed as viaducts to avoid levying more land and negotiating with landowner.Change orders, entropy method, Grey relation analysis, highway construction, Taiwan,
Purpose
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of methylprednisolone in treating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was conducted, and all COVID-19 patients were recruited who were admitted to the Yichang Third People’s Hospital from February 1st to March 31st, 2020. One-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) was used for minimizing confounding effects. The primary outcome was hospital mortality, with the secondary outcomes being the time needed for a positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test to turn negative and the length of hospital stay.
Results
Totaling 367 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized at the Yichang Third People’s Hospital were identified, of whom 276 were mild or stable COVID-19, and 67 were serious or critically ill. Among them, 255 patients were treated using methylprednisolone, and 188 did not receive any corticosteroid-related treatment. After PSM, no statistically significant difference was found in the baseline characteristics between the two groups. Regarding the outcomes, there also were no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Patients without the use of methylprednisolone were more quickly to obtain negative results of their nasopharyngeal swab tests of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid after treatment, compared to those receiving methylprednisolone.
Conclusion
Methylprednisolone could not improve the prognosis of patients with COVID-19, and the efficacy and safety of the use of methylprednisolone in patients with COVID-19 still remain uncertain, thus the use of corticosteroids clinically in patients with COVID-19 should be with cautions.
Using a text analysis of Chinese newspaper articles covering 1321 proposed mergers during 2008-2018, this study proposes attribution theory to examine how the media is susceptible to stereotype bias. Evidence reveals that the media pays considerable attention to and exhibits favourable sentiments toward overseas-experienced acquirers, which is found only in non-state-owned enterprises. Further analyses on the amplifying effect of stereotype bias show that the media slant more positively on large-scale overseas experiences. Results indicate that the media is biased, referring to impression migration from merger and acquisition experience.
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