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

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Effect of Day-lighting Strategies on Thermal Performance in HistoricalBuildings

The city of Cairo in Egypt, as it was inscribed on the world heritage list in 1997 under the title of “Islamic Cairo” , recognizing its absolutely unquestionable historical, archaeological and urbanistic importance, on the recommendation of the International Council for Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). Historical Cairo proved overtime to be one of the distinctive cities that contains a group of spatial relations, environmental and climatic solutions, which made its urban fabric and architectural compositions able to interact efficiently with climate and local environment. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the day lighting design strategies that made “Islamic Cairo” a distinctive sustainable environmental city, one day lighting strategy evaluated simultaneously in terms of indoor environmental quality; to reach the design criteria used by architects at that era. The erformance of ahistorical building evaluated using computer simulation. This research process led to deriving a mathematical relation that link permitted day lighting with its accompanied thermal impact. The research findings led also to performative design guidelines, introducing a contemporary interpretation for using historical elements.Building Simulation Cairo 2013 Conference - Towards Sustainable & Green Built Environmen

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

Usage and attitude of medical students towards mobile medical applications during and after COVID-19 lockdown: repeated cross-sectional study

Abstract Background COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift toward e-learning, particularly in medical education. Mobile medical applications (apps) have become integral tools for e-learning due to the prevalence of smartphones among medical students. Therefore, we aim to assess the usage and attitude of undergraduate Egyptian medical students towards mobile medical apps during and after the COVID-19 lockdown. Methods This is a two-phase repeated cross-sectional study using an online, pilot-tested, and self-administered survey conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Egypt. Phase 1 was during the academic year 2019–2020 (during lockdown), and phase 2 was during the academic year 2021–2022 (after lockdown). Out of the 4800-target population for each phase, a sample size of 140 medical students was randomly selected from each study year, resulting in a total sample size of 840 students for all six academic and clinical years for each phase. Results A total of 566 students in phase 1 and 616 students in phase 2 responded to the survey, with response rates of 67.62% and 73.33%, respectively. In phase 1, 55.7% of students reported using medical apps, with no significant difference between males and females (60.1% vs. 53.8%; p = 0.17) or between academic and clinical years (56.3% vs. 54.7%; p = 0.7). In phase 2, the percentage increased to 70.9%, with a significant difference between males and females (80% vs. 62.9%; p < 0.001) and between academic and clinical years (79.8% vs. 63%; p < 0.001). Medical dictionaries were the most commonly used apps, whereas medical calculators were the least common in both phases. Regarding their attitude, most students (65.1% and 73.9% in phases 1 and 2, respectively) expressed confidence in using medical apps, while 81.3% in phase 1 and 88.1% in phase 2 agreed that using medical apps is a flexible method of learning. Lack of knowledge regarding which app to download was the most reported cause of limitation in medical app usage by 37.8% of the students in phase 1 and 40% in phase 2. Conclusion Our study revealed that the COVID-19 lockdown led to a significant increase in the use of mobile medical apps among Egyptian medical students. Despite the positive attitude of students towards these apps, multiple challenges still need to be addressed to ensure their optimal utilization in medical education

Multiplicity dependence of light (anti-)nuclei production in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV

The measurement of the deuteron and anti-deuteron production in the rapidity range −1 < y < 0 as a function of transverse momentum and event multiplicity in p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV is presented. (Anti-)deuterons are identified via their specific energy loss dE/dx and via their time-of- flight. Their production in p–Pb collisions is compared to pp and Pb–Pb collisions and is discussed within the context of thermal and coalescence models. The ratio of integrated yields of deuterons to protons (d/p) shows a significant increase as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity of the event starting from values similar to those observed in pp collisions at low multiplicities and approaching those observed in Pb–Pb collisions at high multiplicities. The mean transverse particle momenta are extracted from the deuteron spectra and the values are similar to those obtained for p and particles. Thus, deuteron spectra do not follow mass ordering. This behaviour is in contrast to the trend observed for non-composite particles in p–Pb collisions. In addition, the production of the rare 3He and 3He nuclei has been studied. The spectrum corresponding to all non-single diffractive p-Pb collisions is obtained in the rapidity window −1 < y < 0 and the pT-integrated yield dN/dy is extracted. It is found that the yields of protons, deuterons, and 3He, normalised by the spin degeneracy factor, follow an exponential decrease with mass number

Pseudorapidity densities of charged particles with transverse momentum thresholds in pp collisions at √ s = 5.02 and 13 TeV

The pseudorapidity density of charged particles with minimum transverse momentum (pT) thresholds of 0.15, 0.5, 1, and 2 GeV/c is measured in pp collisions at the center of mass energies of √s=5.02 and 13 TeV with the ALICE detector. The study is carried out for inelastic collisions with at least one primary charged particle having a pseudorapidity (η) within 0.8pT larger than the corresponding threshold. In addition, measurements without pT-thresholds are performed for inelastic and nonsingle-diffractive events as well as for inelastic events with at least one charged particle having |η|2GeV/c), highlighting the importance of such measurements for tuning event generators. The new measurements agree within uncertainties with results from the ATLAS and CMS experiments obtained at √s=13TeV.

Nuclear modification factor of light neutral-meson spectra up to high transverse momentum in p–Pb collisions at sNN=8.16 TeV

International audienceNeutral pion (π0) and η meson production cross sections were measured up to unprecedentedly high transverse momenta (pT) in p–Pb collisions at sNN=8.16TeV. The mesons were reconstructed via their two-photon decay channel in the rapidity interval −1.3&lt;y&lt;0.3 in the ranges of 0.4&lt;pT&lt;200 GeV/c and 1.0&lt;pT&lt;50 GeV/c, respectively. The respective nuclear modification factor (RpPb) is presented for pT up to of 200 and 30 GeV/c, where the former was achieved by extending the π0 measurement in pp collisions at s=8TeV using the merged cluster technique. The values of RpPb are below unity for pT&lt;10 GeV/c, while they are consistent with unity for pT&gt;10 GeV/c, leaving essentially no room for final state energy loss. The new data provide strong constraints for nuclear parton distribution and fragmentation functions over a broad kinematic range and are compared to model predictions as well as previous results at sNN=5.02TeV

Measurements of inclusive J/ψ\psi production at midrapidity and forward rapidity in Pb−-Pb collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} = 5.02 TeV

International audienceThe measurements of the inclusive J/$\psi$ yield at midrapidity ($\left | y \right | < 0.9$) and forward rapidity (2.5 $< y <$ 4) in Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported. The inclusive J/$\psi$ production yields and nuclear modification factors, $R_{\rm AA}$, are measured as a function of the collision centrality, J/$\psi$ transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$), and rapidity. The J/$\psi$ average transverse momentum and squared transverse momentum ($\langle p_{\mathrm{T}}\rangle$ and $\langle p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{2}}\rangle$) are evaluated as a function of the centrality at midrapidity. Compared to the previous ALICE publications, here the entire Pb$-$Pb collisions dataset collected during the LHC Run 2 is used, which improves the precision of the measurements and extends the $p_{\rm T}$ coverage. The $p_{\rm T}$-integrated $R_{\rm AA}$ shows a hint of an increasing trend towards unity from semicentral to central collisions at midrapidity, while it is flat at forward rapidity. The $p_{\rm T}$-differential $R_{\rm AA}$ shows a strong suppression at high $p_{\rm T}$ with less suppression at low $p_{\rm T}$ where it reaches a larger value at midrapidity compared to forward rapidity. The ratio of the $p_{\rm T}$-integrated yields of J/$\psi$ to those of D$^{0}$ mesons is reported for the first time for the central and semicentral event classes at midrapidity. Model calculations implementing charmonium production via the coalescence of charm quarks and antiquarks during the fireball evolution (transport models) or in a statistical approach with thermal weights are in good agreement with the data at low $p_{\rm T}$. At higher $p_{\rm T}$, the data are well described by transport models and a model based on energy loss in the strongly-interacting medium produced in nuclear collisions at the LHC