Correction to: Two years later: Is the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still having an impact on emergency surgery? An international cross-sectional survey among WSES members

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is still ongoing and a major challenge for health care services worldwide. In the first WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey, a strong negative impact on emergency surgery (ES) had been described already early in the pandemic situation. However, the knowledge is limited about current effects of the pandemic on patient flow through emergency rooms, daily routine and decision making in ES as well as their changes over time during the last two pandemic years. This second WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey investigates the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on ES during the course of the pandemic. Methods: A web survey had been distributed to medical specialists in ES during a four-week period from January 2022, investigating the impact of the pandemic on patients and septic diseases both requiring ES, structural problems due to the pandemic and time-to-intervention in ES routine. Results: 367 collaborators from 59 countries responded to the survey. The majority indicated that the pandemic still significantly impacts on treatment and outcome of surgical emergency patients (83.1% and 78.5%, respectively). As reasons, the collaborators reported decreased case load in ES (44.7%), but patients presenting with more prolonged and severe diseases, especially concerning perforated appendicitis (62.1%) and diverticulitis (57.5%). Otherwise, approximately 50% of the participants still observe a delay in time-to-intervention in ES compared with the situation before the pandemic. Relevant causes leading to enlarged time-to-intervention in ES during the pandemic are persistent problems with in-hospital logistics, lacks in medical staff as well as operating room and intensive care capacities during the pandemic. This leads not only to the need for triage or transferring of ES patients to other hospitals, reported by 64.0% and 48.8% of the collaborators, respectively, but also to paradigm shifts in treatment modalities to non-operative approaches reported by 67.3% of the participants, especially in uncomplicated appendicitis, cholecystitis and multiple-recurrent diverticulitis. Conclusions: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still significantly impacts on care and outcome of patients in ES. Well-known problems with in-hospital logistics are not sufficiently resolved by now; however, medical staff shortages and reduced capacities have been dramatically aggravated over last two pandemic years

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Data Management and Processing in Seismology: An Application of Big Data Analysis for the Doublet Earthquake of 2021, 03 March, Elassona, Central Greece

On 3 March 2021 (10:16, UTC), a strong earthquake, Mw 6.3, occurred in Elassona, Central Greece. The epicenter was reported 10 km west of Tyrnavos. Another major earthquake followed this event on the same day at Mw 5.8 (3 March 2021, 11:45, UTC). The next day, 4 March 2021 (18:38, UTC), there was a second event with a similar magnitude as the first, Mw 6.2. Both events were 8.5 km apart. The following analysis shows that the previous events and the most significant aftershocks were superficial. However, historical and modern seismicity has been sparse in this area. Spatially, the region represents a transitional zone between different tectonic domains; the right-lateral slip along the western end of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) in the north Aegean Sea plate-boundary structure ends, and crustal extension prevails in mainland Greece. These earthquakes were followed by rich seismic activity recorded by peripheral seismographs and accelerometers. The installation of a dense, portable network from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki team also helped this effort, installed three days after the seismic excitation, as seismological stations did not azimuthally enclose the area. In the present work, a detailed analysis was performed using seismological data. A seismological catalogue of 3.787 events was used, which was processed with modern methods to calculate 34 focal mechanisms (Mw > 4.0) and to recalculate the parameters of the largest earthquakes that occurred in the first two days

Data Management and Processing in Seismology: An Application of Big Data Analysis for the Doublet Earthquake of 2021, 03 March, Elassona, Central Greece

On 3 March 2021 (10:16, UTC), a strong earthquake, Mw 6.3, occurred in Elassona, Central Greece. The epicenter was reported 10 km west of Tyrnavos. Another major earthquake followed this event on the same day at Mw 5.8 (3 March 2021, 11:45, UTC). The next day, 4 March 2021 (18:38, UTC), there was a second event with a similar magnitude as the first, Mw 6.2. Both events were 8.5 km apart. The following analysis shows that the previous events and the most significant aftershocks were superficial. However, historical and modern seismicity has been sparse in this area. Spatially, the region represents a transitional zone between different tectonic domains; the right-lateral slip along the western end of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) in the north Aegean Sea plate-boundary structure ends, and crustal extension prevails in mainland Greece. These earthquakes were followed by rich seismic activity recorded by peripheral seismographs and accelerometers. The installation of a dense, portable network from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki team also helped this effort, installed three days after the seismic excitation, as seismological stations did not azimuthally enclose the area. In the present work, a detailed analysis was performed using seismological data. A seismological catalogue of 3.787 events was used, which was processed with modern methods to calculate 34 focal mechanisms (Mw > 4.0) and to recalculate the parameters of the largest earthquakes that occurred in the first two days

Effect of Buildings on the Radiation Characteristics of MF Broadcast Antennas

This study aims to investigate the impact of the presence of buildings on the radiation characteristics of MF broadcast antennas. Two different antennas are considered: a monopole operating at 1494 kHz and a two-element linear array radiating at 1008 kHz. The buildings were modeled as wire-grids and the total electric field intensity was calculated as the sum of the scattered field by the wire-grid and the field radiated from the antenna in free space. The radiation pattern of the antennas, when one or two buildings were situated in their vicinity, were the end result of the analysis, and they were compared to the corresponding patterns in free space. The results demonstrate that the radiation characteristics of antennas are mostly affected by the heights of buildings. If these heights are less than a critical value, the buildings do not significantly obstruct the operation of the antenna, despite the value of other parameters, such as the length and the width of the buildings, as well as their distance from the antenna

Electromagnetic Wave Scattering by a Multiple Core Model of Composite Cylindrical Wires at Oblique Incidence

A complex cylindrical structure consisting of a group of parallel stratified circular lossy dielectric cylinders, embedded in a dielectric circular cylindrical region and surrounded by unbounded dielectric space, is considered in this paper. The scattering of electromagnetic (EM) plane waves by the aforementioned configuration was studied; the EM waves impinged obliquely upon the structure and were arbitrarily polarized. The formulation used was based on the boundary-value approach coupled with the generalized separation of variables method. The EM field in each region of space was expanded in cylindrical wave-functions. Furthermore, the translational addition theorem of these functions was applied in order to match the EM field components on any cylindrical interface and enforce the boundary conditions. The end result of the analysis is an infinite set of linear algebraic equations with the wave amplitudes as unknowns. The system is solved by the truncation of series and unknowns and then matrix inversion; thus, we provide a semi-analytical solution for the scattered far-field and, as a consequence, for the scattering cross section of the complex cylindrical structure. The numerical results focus on calculations of the electric- and magnetic-field intensity of the far-field as well as of the total scattering cross section of several geometric configurations that fall within the aforementioned general structure. The effect of the geometrical and electrical characteristics of the structure on the scattered field was investigated. Specifically, the cylinders’ size and spacing, their conductivity and permittivity as well as the incidence direction were modified in order to probe how these variations are imprinted on scattering. Moreover, comparisons with previously published results, as well as convergence tests, were performed; all tests and comparisons proved to be successful

Electromagnetic Wave Scattering by a Multiple Core Model of Composite Cylindrical Wires at Oblique Incidence

A complex cylindrical structure consisting of a group of parallel stratified circular lossy dielectric cylinders, embedded in a dielectric circular cylindrical region and surrounded by unbounded dielectric space, is considered in this paper. The scattering of electromagnetic (EM) plane waves by the aforementioned configuration was studied; the EM waves impinged obliquely upon the structure and were arbitrarily polarized. The formulation used was based on the boundary-value approach coupled with the generalized separation of variables method. The EM field in each region of space was expanded in cylindrical wave-functions. Furthermore, the translational addition theorem of these functions was applied in order to match the EM field components on any cylindrical interface and enforce the boundary conditions. The end result of the analysis is an infinite set of linear algebraic equations with the wave amplitudes as unknowns. The system is solved by the truncation of series and unknowns and then matrix inversion; thus, we provide a semi-analytical solution for the scattered far-field and, as a consequence, for the scattering cross section of the complex cylindrical structure. The numerical results focus on calculations of the electric- and magnetic-field intensity of the far-field as well as of the total scattering cross section of several geometric configurations that fall within the aforementioned general structure. The effect of the geometrical and electrical characteristics of the structure on the scattered field was investigated. Specifically, the cylinders’ size and spacing, their conductivity and permittivity as well as the incidence direction were modified in order to probe how these variations are imprinted on scattering. Moreover, comparisons with previously published results, as well as convergence tests, were performed; all tests and comparisons proved to be successful

Two years later: Is the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still having an impact on emergency surgery? An international cross-sectional survey among WSES members

Background The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is still ongoing and a major challenge for health care services worldwide. In the first WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey , a strong negative impact on emergency surgery (ES) had been described already early in the pandemic situation. However, the knowledge is limited about current effects of the pandemic on patient flow through emergency rooms, daily routine and decision making in ES as well as their changes over time during the last two pandemic years. This second WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey investigates the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on ES during the course of the pandemic. Methods A web survey had been distributed to medical specialists in ES during a four-week period from January 2022, investigating the impact of the pandemic on patients and septic diseases both requiring ES, structural problems due to the pandemic and time-to-intervention in ES routine. Results 367 collaborators from 59 countries responded to the survey. The majority indicated that the pandemic still significantly impacts on treatment and outcome of surgical emergency patients (83.1% and 78.5%, respectively). As reasons, the collaborators reported decreased case load in ES (44.7%), but patients presenting with more prolonged and severe diseases, especially concerning perforated appendicitis (62.1%) and diverticulitis (57.5%). Otherwise, approximately 50% of the participants still observe a delay in time-to-intervention in ES compared with the situation before the pandemic. Relevant causes leading to enlarged time-to-intervention in ES during the pandemic are persistent problems with in-hospital logistics, lacks in medical staff as well as operating room and intensive care capacities during the pandemic. This leads not only to the need for triage or transferring of ES patients to other hospitals, reported by 64.0% and 48.8% of the collaborators, respectively, but also to paradigm shifts in treatment modalities to non-operative approaches reported by 67.3% of the participants, especially in uncomplicated appendicitis, cholecystitis and multiple-recurrent diverticulitis. Conclusions The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still significantly impacts on care and outcome of patients in ES. Well-known problems with in-hospital logistics are not sufficiently resolved by now; however, medical staff shortages and reduced capacities have been dramatically aggravated over last two pandemic years