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

Solar PV Panels-Self-Cleaning Coating Material for Egyptian Climatic Conditions

The electrical efficiency of photovoltaic panels is affected by many environmental parameters, which have a negative impact on system electrical efficiency and cost of energy, dust and increased panel temperatures being the most serious in the MENA region. In this work, a few organic-based self-cleaning coatings are developed, and their effects on PVs’ electrical efficiency re assessed for polycrystalline panels exposed to natural soiling conditions outdoors at El-Sherouk City. The results show that monolithic hydrophobic-based coatings using paraffine and dimethyl-siloxane show up to 14.3% improvement in the electrical efficiency of the PV panels, but the role of nanoparticles TiO2 and Al2O3 addition needs further investigation. Hydrophobic-based coatings using dimethyl-siloxane reduce the coated panels’ surface temperature compared with the uncoated panel

Solar PV Panels-Self-Cleaning Coating Material for Egyptian Climatic Conditions

The electrical efficiency of photovoltaic panels is affected by many environmental parameters, which have a negative impact on system electrical efficiency and cost of energy, dust and increased panel temperatures being the most serious in the MENA region. In this work, a few organic-based self-cleaning coatings are developed, and their effects on PVs’ electrical efficiency re assessed for polycrystalline panels exposed to natural soiling conditions outdoors at El-Sherouk City. The results show that monolithic hydrophobic-based coatings using paraffine and dimethyl-siloxane show up to 14.3% improvement in the electrical efficiency of the PV panels, but the role of nanoparticles TiO2 and Al2O3 addition needs further investigation. Hydrophobic-based coatings using dimethyl-siloxane reduce the coated panels’ surface temperature compared with the uncoated panel

Utilization of Foamed Glass as an Effective Adsorbent for Methylene Blue: Insights into Physicochemical Properties and Theoretical Treatment

This study reports a potential approach for the valorization of glass waste (GW) that is mainly composed of amorphous silica to prepare lightweight foamed glass (FG). The preparation of FG was achieved by mixing sodium hydroxide with GW powder followed by sintering at a temperature of 800 °C. As-synthesized FG was characterized and applied as an effective adsorbent for the removal of hazardous organic water contaminants, in particular, methylene blue (MB) dye. FG exhibited porosity of 91%, bulk density of 0.65 g/cm3, compressive strength of 4 MPa, and thermal conductivity of 0.27 W/m·K. Theoretical treatment indicated that a monolayer model with one energy site was the best in fitting the removal of MB molecules. The number of MB molecules per active site (n) ranged from 2.20 to 1.70, suggesting vertical orientation and a multi-molecular adsorption mechanism. The density of FG receptor sites (DM) increased with the temperature, and this parameter played a vital role in the adsorption process. The adsorption capacity (Qsat) increased from 255.11 to 305.58 mg/g, which signifies endothermic interactions. MB adsorption on FG was controlled by physical forces such as electrostatic interactions (i.e., the adsorption energies were <20 kJ/mol). The results of this study prove the feasibility of glass waste as an effective and low-cost adsorbent for water remediation