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

The burden of proof in co-management and results-based management: the elephant on the deck!

Results-based management requires that outcomes can be demonstrated by industry and verified by managers on behalf of society. The core questions are: what outcomes, and how can they be proved? Existing fishery approaches to reversing the burden of proof are examined with focus on how proof is demonstrated. Outcomes can be measured in situ (on the vessel) or ex situ (at the stock or ecosystem level). In situ measures are preferable because they give direct measurements, although they can be invasive and costly. Ex situ results are only observable on scales that make it difficult to attribute them to specific management measures, or they may be influenced by external factors. Three main environmental impacts caused by fishing are assessed with respect to how industry can assume the burden of proof. The combined use of vessel-monitoring systems and benthic-impact models may offer a practical solution to the problem of managing fishery impacts on the benthos. Three Irish fisheries are assessed in terms of the feasibility of reversing the burden of proof. There are limits to the extent to which industry can assume the burden of proof, and the concept of sharing the burden of proof could be more realistic

Do big boats tow big nets?

Fishing vessel capacity for trawlers is generally expressed in terms of length, tonnage, and engine power, assuming that a larger vessel has a greater fishing power. Management uses effort-control measures such as kW-day limits based on this assumption. Many studies have shown a weak and noisy relationship between effort and modelled catches, and explanatory models often require the inclusion of a skipper or vessel effect to explain the variance. A key element in this effect is the choice of gear size. Relationships are investigated between metrics of the vessel (length, tonnage, and power) and the gear towed (length of groundgear, or circumference of the net opening) in Scottish and Irish whitefish, Nephrops, and pelagic otter trawlers. Often, the vessel size did not correlate with that of the gear, or did so only for smaller vessels (<1000 hp). The key implication is that effort management based on vessel metrics alone is not appropriate, because it is a poor predictor for gear size, and hence for fishing power. Effort restrictions may actually encourage the adoption of larger gears for a given vessel, to maximize the value of a limited-time resource

Electrochemical corrosion behavior of X52 and X60 steels in carbon dioxide containing saltwater solution

X52 and X60 high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels are widely used in the construction of petroleum pipelines. This paper discusses the corrosion resistance of X52 and X60 steels in CO2 containing saltwater at pH 4.4 and 50 ºC. A circulating flow loop system inside an autoclave was used for conducting the experimental work. The rotating impeller speed was 2000 rpm. The corrosion rate was monitored using in situ electrochemical methods such as potentiodynamic sweep, linear polarization resistance, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. Results indicated that the corrosion rate of X60 steel is relatively higher than that of X52 steel

Lost and abandoned nets in deep-water gillnet fisheries in the northeast atlantic: retrieval exercises and outcomes

The methods used and the results, including estimates of ghost catches present at the time of retrieval, from Irish and UK (England and Wales) gillnet retrieval exercises carried out in deep-water gillnet fisheries west of the British Isles are described. Summaries of the exercises are currently found only in the grey literature, and there is a need to make them more widely available to the scientific community. The fisheries are currently principally for anglerfish (mainly Lophius piscatorius), along with a small bycatch of deep-water sharks [mainly leafscale gulper shark (Centrophorous squamosus) and Portuguese dogfish (Centroscymnus coelolepis)]. The methods used and the results from retrieval exercises in the Norwegian Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossus) gillnet fishery are also presented. It is suggested that the efficiency of the Norwegian retrieval gear (which was used in all but one of the retrieval exercises described) be investigated under a range of conditions using an attached underwater camera. The outcomes from this could be used to improve the design of retrieval gear and future gillnet retrieval survey/mitigation exercises. Suggestions are made to improve the format and interpretation of results from future retrieval surveys and to enhance their value to fishery managers and stock assessment scientists. The importance of the continued need for structured gillnet retrieval exercises in deep-water gillnet fisheries is emphasized, and suggestions are made for conducting future studies

Circumventing Practical Difficulties in Determination of Threshold Stress Intensity for Stress Corrosion Cracking of Narrow Regions of Welded Structures

Determination of the threshold stress intensity for stress corrosion cracking (KIscc) of narrow areas such as weld and heat-affected zone (HAZ) of a weldment is a nontrivial task because of the requirements of large specimens in testing by the traditional techniques and the difficulty of restricting crack propagation to narrow regions in such specimens. This article describes a successful application of the circumferential notch tensile (CNT) technique to determine the KIscc of narrow regions of the weld and HAZ. Also, the microstructure of the HAZ of the manual metal arc-welded steel was simulated over a relatively small length of specimens and its KIscc in a hot caustic solution was determined successfully. Intergranular stress corrosion cracking was confirmed with a scanning electron microscope