Global disparities in surgeons’ workloads, academic engagement and rest periods: the on-calL shIft fOr geNEral SurgeonS (LIONESS) study

: The workload of general surgeons is multifaceted, encompassing not only surgical procedures but also a myriad of other responsibilities. From April to May 2023, we conducted a CHERRIES-compliant internet-based survey analyzing clinical practice, academic engagement, and post-on-call rest. The questionnaire featured six sections with 35 questions. Statistical analysis used Chi-square tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression (SPSS® v. 28). The survey received a total of 1.046 responses (65.4%). Over 78.0% of responders came from Europe, 65.1% came from a general surgery unit; 92.8% of European and 87.5% of North American respondents were involved in research, compared to 71.7% in Africa. Europe led in publishing research studies (6.6 ± 8.6 yearly). Teaching involvement was high in North America (100%) and Africa (91.7%). Surgeons reported an average of 6.7 ± 4.9 on-call shifts per month, with European and North American surgeons experiencing 6.5 ± 4.9 and 7.8 ± 4.1 on-calls monthly, respectively. African surgeons had the highest on-call frequency (8.7 ± 6.1). Post-on-call, only 35.1% of respondents received a day off. Europeans were most likely (40%) to have a day off, while African surgeons were least likely (6.7%). On the adjusted multivariable analysis HDI (Human Development Index) (aOR 1.993) hospital capacity > 400 beds (aOR 2.423), working in a specialty surgery unit (aOR 2.087), and making the on-call in-house (aOR 5.446), significantly predicted the likelihood of having a day off after an on-call shift. Our study revealed critical insights into the disparities in workload, access to research, and professional opportunities for surgeons across different continents, underscored by the HDI

The influence of relative humidity on adaptive thermal comfort

Buildings generate nearly 30% of global carbon emissions, primarily due to the need to heat or cool them to meet acceptable indoor temperatures. In the last 20 years, the empirically derived adaptive model of thermal comfort has emerged as a powerful alternative to fixed set-point driven design. However, current adaptive standards offer a simple linear relationship between the outdoor temperature and the indoor comfort temperature, assumed to sufficiently explain the effect of all other variables, e.g. relative humidity (RH) and air velocity. The lack of a signal for RH is particularly surprising given its well-known impact on comfort. Attempts in the literature to either explain the lack of such a signal or demonstrate its existence, remain scattered, unsubstantiated and localised. In this paper we demonstrate, for the first time, that a humidity signal exists in adaptive thermal comfort using global data to form two separate lines of evidence: a meta-analysis of summary data from 63 field studies and detailed field data from 39 naturally ventilated buildings over 8 climate types. We implicate method selection in previous work as the likely cause of failure to detect this signal, by demonstrating that our chosen method has a 56% lower error rate. We derive a new designer-friendly RH-inclusive adaptive model that significantly extends the range of acceptable indoor conditions for designing low-energy naturally-conditioned buildings all over the world. This is demonstrated through parametric simulations in 13 global locations, which reveal that the current model overestimates overheating by 30% compared to the new one

Electrically Detected Magnetic Resonance of Donors and Interfacial Defects in Silicon Nanowires

We report our work on the characterization by electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) measurements of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) produced by different top-down processes. SiNWs were fabricated starting from SOI wafers using standard e-beam lithography and anisotropic wet etching or by metal-assisted chemical etching. Further oxidation was used to reduce the wire cross section. Different EDMR implementations were used to address the electronic wave function of donors (P) and to characterize point defects at the SiNWs/SiO2 interface. The EDMR spectra of as produced SiNWs with high donor concentration ([P] = 1018 cm−3) show a single line related to delocalized electrons. SiNWs produced on substrates with lower donor concentration ([P] < 1016 cm−3) reveal the doublet related to substitutional P in Si, as well as lines related to interfacial defects such as Pb0, Pb, E', and E'-like. The EDMR spectra of samples produced by metal-assisted chemical etching exposed to post production oxidation reveal a disordered and defective interface and the disappearance of the P related signal. Forming gas annealing, on the other hand, reduces the contribution of interfacial defects and allows a better resolution of the P related doublet

Electrically Detected Magnetic Resonance of Donors and Interfacial Defects in Silicon Nanowires

We report our work on the characterization by electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) measurements of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) produced by different top-down processes. SiNWs were fabricated starting from SOI wafers using standard e-beam lithography and anisotropic wet etching or by metal-assisted chemical etching. Further oxidation was used to reduce the wire cross section. Different EDMR implementations were used to address the electronic wave function of donors (P) and to characterize point defects at the SiNWs/SiO(2) interface. The EDMR spectra of as produced SiNWs with high donor concentration ([P]= 10(18) cm(-3)) show a single line related to delocalized electrons. SiNWs produced on substrates with lower donor concentration ([P] < 10(16) cm(-3)) reveal the doublet related to substitutional P in Si, as well as lines related to interfacial defects such as Pb(0), Pb, E', and E'-like. The EDMR spectra of samples produced by metal-assisted chemical etching exposed to post production oxidation reveal a disordered and defective interface and the disappearance of the P related signal. Forming gas annealing, on the other hand, reduces the contribution of interfacial defects and allows a better resolution of the P related doublet