Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Laser cooling with intermediate state of spin–orbit coupling of LuF molecule

Abstract This work presents a theoretical study of the laser cooling feasibility of the molecule LuF, in the fine structure level of approximation. An ab-initio complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF)/MRCI with Davidson correction calculation has been done in the Λ(±) and Ω(±) representations. The corresponding adiabatic potential energy curves and spectroscopic parameters have been investigated for the low-lying electronic states. The calculated values of the internuclear distances of the X3Σ0+ and (1)3Π0+ states show the candidacy of the molecule LuF for direct laser cooling. Since the existence of the intermediate (1)3Δ1 state cannot be ignored, the investigation has been done by taking into consideration the two transitions (1)3Π0+−(1)3Δ1 and (1)3Π0+ −X3Σ0+. The calculation of the Franck–Condon factors, the radiative lifetimes, the total branching ratio, the slowing distance, and the laser cooling scheme study prove that the molecule LuF is a good candidate for Doppler laser cooling