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

A Comprehensive Experimental Study and Numerical Analysis of Coefficient of Friction of Nanocomposite Coatings

This paper presents a comprehensive study of nanocomposite coating friction behaviour in oscillating-reciprocating simulated condition with interfacing steel ball. A study on Nickel/Graphene (Ni/GPL) and pure Nickel (Ni) coatings has been conducted. Pre-test SEM, EDS and AFM analyses were performed to study the particle size, particle distribution, grain size and surface morphology of coatings. Furthermore, four types of tests were performed to compare the COF of pure Ni and Ni/GPL coatings subject to various test conditions. The post-tests revealed that Ni exhibited higher coefficient of friction (COF) compared to Ni/GPL which was evidenced by microscopic characterisation of wear tracks, wear on counter carbon steel ball and “U-shaped” wear depth profiles of wear tracks. The “U-shaped” profiles were utilised to calculate the energy distribution (Archard factor density) along the interface. A novel 2-D predictive numerical model integrating the wear concepts with the microstructural and lubrication concepts is developed to investigate the influences of intrinsic microstructural properties of nanocomposite coatings for instance porosity and surface stresses on COF. Predictions from newly developed model and the experimental results are in close agreement. In conclusion Ni/GPL showed better COF than Ni because of high strengthening properties in the presence of graphene. Although significant body of experimental research is available in terms of understanding frictional performance of various nanocomposite coatings, there is a need for the development of novel yet reliable predictive models to analyse the coefficient of friction (COF) of nanocomposite coatings within the context of design and industrial applications. The significance of this research is apparent from numerous applications which need precise modelling methods for predicting coatings failures owing to high COF and wear. The research will convey substantial impact to high-end manufacturing, renewable , automotive and aerospace industries in addressing several frictional failures

Comparison of lithium–ion battery cell technologies applied in regenerative braking system

This research presents the performance evaluation of four various type of top-of-the-line commercial and prototype lithium-ion energy storage technologies with an objective to find out the optimal cell technology which is suitable for the development of high power battery packs for regenerative braking system applied in next-generation demonstrator platform vehicles. The novel porotype lithium ion cell technology is developed using linear combined nanofibers and microfibers battery separators laden utilising wet nonwoven processes compared to the dry process laden multilayered porous film separators in commercial cell technologies. The performance comparison of all technologies has been conducted both at ‘cell-level’ and ‘pack level’ through the study of internal performance parameters such as capacity, resistance, self-discharge and battery temperature rise. This study also encompasses the differences in using external pack assembly and/or development parameters like the number of cells which are required to develop the pack, pack mass, pack volume and pack cost. Both the internal performance parameters and external pack assembly and development parameters have revealed that novel prototype cell technology is the most optimal technology amongst all four cell technologies for regenerative braking system which have been investigated during this research. The novelty of this work is the development of novel prototype cell technology and its performance comparison with commercially available cell technologies used in regenerative braking system of latest Hybrid /Electric Vehicles which is in-line with the global initiatives such as UK/EU transition to EVs, and UN sustainability goals. The significance of this work in terms of high-power pack development for regenerative braking of next generation vehicles is evident from various industrial applications. This work will influence decisions for both battery testing techniques and accurate battery comparison methods to automotive, locomotive, aerospace, battery manufacturers and wind turbine industries

Trackable CEMB-Klean Cotton Transgenic Technology: Afforadable Climate Neutral Agri-biotech Industrialization for Developing Countries

Background: Transgenic technology reflects the incorporation of novel useful traits in crop plants like cotton for economic benefits by overcoming the problems including insects' pests and weeds in special. The present study is the success story of the continuous effort of CEMB team started back in the 1990s. Methods: This study includes characterization of a large number of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strains taken from local soil and subjected to direct transformation of isolated BT genes into local cotton cultivars. Protocols for transformation into cotton plants were optimized and validated by the development of double gene codon optimized (Cry1Ac and Cry2A) transgenic cotton varieties. Results: The resulting GMOs in the form of CEMB-33, CA-12, CEMB-66 have been approved by Punjab Seed Council in 2013 and 2016 respectively. Double Bt and weedicide resistant cotton harboring CEMB-Modified and codon optimized cp4EPSPS (GTGene). These varieties can tolerate glyphosate spray @ 1900ml per acre without the appearance of necrotic spots/shedding and complete removal of all surrounding weeds in the cotton field is a significant advance to boost cotton production without spending much on insecticides and herbicides. Conclusion: In the current report, two unique sets of primers which amplify 1.1 Kb for CEMB-double Bt genes and 660 bp product for CEMB-Modified cp4EPSPS (GTGene) were tested. CEMB cotton variety CKC-01 is specially designed as low cost and easy to use by local farmer's technology has the potential to revolutionize the cotton growing culture of the country.Higher Education Commission (HEC) of PakistanOpen access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]