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

Chemical resistance of some irradiated ceramic-glazes

514-524The effect of neutrons irradiation on the chemical durability of some ceramic-glazes with different compositions has been investigated with particular attention to the change in the corrosion rate. Different factors have been studied such as glaze composition, irradiation dose, concentration of the leaching solution, immersion time and temperature of leaching solution. It was found that zircon improved the chemical durability. Corrosion rate increased with increasing concentration of immersion solution up to 2N HNO3 then decreased, also it increased with increasing immersion time and raising the temperature of leaching solution. The amount of the silica released in solution showed a maximum weight loss percent up to 2N HNO3, and then decreased dramatically with increasing the concentration of the tested solution. The corrosion results have been explained in relation to the hydration, diffusion and selective dissolution. The density increases with successive increase of zirconium oxide content reaching the highest value of 2.59 g/cm3. The induced defects obtained on irradiating a glaze, either in the surface or in the bulk, have been assumed to result from neutron irradiation which decreases both the chemical durability and the density

Phenotypic characterization of Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from intensive care units at a tertiary-care hospital in Egypt ‫مرص‬ ‫يف‬ ‫الثالثية‬ ‫للرعاية‬ ‫مستشفى‬ ‫يف‬ ‫املركزة‬ ‫الرعاية‬ ‫وحدات‬ ‫من‬ ‫البومانية‬ ‫الراكدة‬ ‫دات‬ َ ‫ملستفر‬ ‫املظهرية‬

ABSTRACT Multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains of Acinetobacter baumannii are responsible for an increasing number of opportunistic infections in hospitals. This study determined the prevalence of MDR A. baumannii isolates from intensive care units in a large tertiary-care hospital in Ismailia, Egypt, and the occurrence of different beta-lactamases in these isolates. Biotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility profile was done for isolated strains. Respiratory, urine, burn wound and blood specimens were collected from 350 patients admitted to different units; 10 strains (2.9%) of A. baumannii were isolated. All isolates showed resistance to more than 3 classes of antibiotics. Among the isolates, 6 isolates were carbapenemase producers, 2 were AmpC beta-lactamase producers and no isolates were metallo-betalactamase producers. Despite the low prevalence of A. baumannii infection in this hospital, the antibiotic resistance profile suggests that prevention of health-care-associated transmission of MDR Acinetobacter spp. infection is essential. Parmi ces isolats, six produisaient des carbapénèmases, deux des bêta-lactamases AmpC mais aucun isolat ne produisait de métallo-bêta-lactamases. Malgré une faible prévalence de l'infection à A. baumannii dans cet hôpital, le profil de résistance aux antibiotiques laisse penser que la prévention de la transmission de l'infection à Acinetobacter spp. multirésistante associée aux soins de santé est essentielle

Study on small-scale family farming in the Near East and North Africa region. Focus country: Egypt

Others organizations: Cirad / CIHEAM-IAMMInternational audienceThe study relies on national data and accessible documents, including academic and nonacademic literature and documents from development projects. Additionally, interviews were conducted with key stakeholders to identify and analyse their experience with regard to the current and past state of affairs of public policies in support of SSFF. The final report draws conclusions and makes recommendations for future plans for sustainable development of SSFF in Egypt

Complexation and sequestration of BMP-2 from an ECM mimetic hyaluronan gel for improved bone formation

Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) is considered a promising adjuvant for the treatment of skeletal non-union and spinal fusion. However, BMP-2 delivery in a conventional collagen scaffold necessitates a high dose to achieve an efficacious outcome. To lower its effective dose, we precomplexed BMP-2 with the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) dermatan sulfate (DS) or heparin (HP), prior to loading it into a hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel. In vitro release studies showed that BMP-2 precomplexed with DS or HP had a prolonged delivery compared to without GAG. BMP-2-DS complexes achieved a slightly faster release in the first 24 h than HP; however, both delivered BMP-2 for an equal duration. Analysis of the kinetic interaction between BMP-2 and DS or HP showed that HP had approximately 10 times higher affinity for BMP-2 than DS, yet it equally stabilized the protein, as determined by alkaline phosphatase activity. Ectopic bone formation assays at subcutaneous sites in rats demonstrated that HA hydrogel-delivered BMP-2 precomplexed with GAG induced twice the volume of bone compared with BMP-2 delivered uncomplexed to GAG