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

Antipathogenic effects of structurally-related Schiff base derivatives: Structure–activity relationship

Eighteen structurally-related Schiff base derivatives, which belong to salicylidenebenzylamine and 2-hydroxy-1-naphthylidenebenzylamine families were prepared and characterized by spectroscopic techniques. All the synthesized compounds were screened in vitro for their antibacterial and antifungal activities. Human pathogenic gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens), gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis), and fungi (Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium roqueforti, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were evaluated based on their toxicity to different concentrations of Schiff base compounds. For assessment of toxicity to pathogens, a disc diffusion assay was used to test the antimicrobial properties. The results revealed some antimicrobial activities of some of the synthesized compounds. Among the tested pathogens, the synthesized salicylidinaniline derivatives show highly potent action towards Alternaria alternata. Interestingly, a compound which contains the –Cl group is only effective against gram negative bacteria, but not gram positive bacteria. No remarkable antibacterial or antifungal activities were observed in the presence of –CH3 or –Br group. Furthermore, most of the naphthalene-containing compounds show no growth retardation towards bacterial or fungal pathogens. On the other hand, the presence of –OH or –SH group at para or ortho position, respectively, on the aniline site is correlated with an increased inhibitory drug effect on all pathogens. The importance of our findings to the drug research and developments is discussed in the context of finding a correlation between the structural properties of the new drugs and their biological activities

MULTISCIENTIFIC-BASED APPROACH TO DIAGNOSIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HISTORIC STONE-MASONRY WALLS: THE MAUSOLEUM OF AL-IMAM AL-SHAFI’I, CAIRO (EGYPT)

The purpose of this research is to carry out a scientific-based characterization of one of the most important historic masonry building in Egypt, the mausoleum of al-Imam al-Shafi’I, which is considered one of the few buildings still surviving dated to Ayyubid period (13th century). The study aims at determining not only the characteristics of the building materials’ components, their relative proportions and morphological features, but also the causes of damage, decay and alteration phenomena occurred, in order to relate the structural and mechanical behavior of the construction materials depending on their compositional and microstructural nature and finally to set-up proper restorations protocols. Comprehensive studies have been implemented on stone masonry walls through an interdisciplinary procedure including in-situ investigations, and experimental testing on extracted core-samples together with the updated measurements and documentations of the current state of the mausoleum. The followed integrated diagnostic approach based upon field survey data allowed the identification of the mineralogical characteristics, fabric morphology, physical and mechanical properties of the construction materials including limestone and lime-based mortars of the inner and outer leaves of the stone-masonry walls, which give very important information for conservation and restoration strategies. Methods employed included X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX), petrographic microscopy and thin sections