[Prevalence of burnout syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors]. / Prevalencia y factores de desgaste profesional en radiólogos durante la pandemia COVID-19.

Background: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic spread throughout the world from the beginning of 2020, increasing healthcare professionals' workloads and levels of physical and emotional stress. Aims: To determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome in Spanish radiologists during the COVID-19 pandemic and the factors associated with the development of this syndrome, and to compare these findings with those obtained before the pandemic. Methods: This observation study took place between April 2020 and August 2020 (during the pandemic) through an online survey. A total of 150 responses were obtained. Demographic and work-related information was compiled. Burnout syndrome was measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). The prevalence and characteristics of burnout syndrome obtained in this survey were compared with those of the same survey done in 2019. We performed a statistical analysis to identify possible risk factors and protective factors associated with this syndrome and to determine the homogeneity of the two samples. Results: The prevalence of burnout syndrome increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (49.3% vs. 33.6%, p = 0.002). No risk factors or protective factors that were valid both before and after the pandemic were identified. No correlations were identified between sociodemographic or work-related characteristics and burnout syndrome. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that burnout syndrome increased significantly in radiologists during the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting nearly half of all those who responded to the survey. These results underline the need to assess support for professional wellbeing of radiologists in Spain. No correlations were identified between burnout and gender, age, number of calls, years in the job, annual income, teaching, marital status, number of children, or type of contract.

Prevalence of burnout syndrome in Spanish radiologists.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The primary objective was to analyze the prevalence and degree of professional burnout in radiologists in Spain. Secondary objectives were to identify possible factors that increase or decrease the risk of burnout to enable preventive and corrective measures, decrease the stress associated with this condition, and thereby increase radiologists' performance and satisfaction at work. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross-sectional observational study used a voluntary, anonymous online survey of attending radiologists and residents through Google Forms®. The survey was structured into three sections: a qualitative assessment of the degree of professional burnout with the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), a series of sociodemographic and work-related questions, and a final section centered on possible causes of stress and improvements to the working environment. The results of the survey were analyzed statistically to determine which variables were associated with burnout syndrome as well as to identify possible risk factors and protective factors. RESULTS: After disseminating the survey through social networks and email contacts, we received a total of 226 responses (175 from attending radiologists and 51 from residents; 52% men; mean age, 41 ± 11 years; age range, 25-68). The prevalence of the syndrome was 33%, without significant differences between attending radiologists and residents. No risk factors associated with burnout were identified. Teaching in the workplace was the only protective factor. CONCLUSIONS: One-third of the respondents had burnout syndrome. Because the consequences of this syndrome can affect professionals' personal life and their ability to do their jobs, early detection and intervention should be prioritized.

Prevalence of burnout syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic spread throughout the world from the beginning of 2020, increasing healthcare professionals' workloads and levels of physical and emotional stress. AIMS: To determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome in Spanish radiologists during the COVID-19 pandemic and the factors associated with the development of this syndrome, and to compare these findings with those obtained before the pandemic. METHODS: This observation study took place between April 2020 and August 2020 (during the pandemic) through an online survey. A total of 150 responses were obtained. Demographic and work-related information was compiled. Burnout syndrome was measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). The prevalence and characteristics of burnout syndrome obtained in this survey were compared with those of the same survey done in 2019. We performed a statistical analysis to identify possible risk factors and protective factors associated with this syndrome and to determine the homogeneity of the two samples. RESULTS: The prevalence of burnout syndrome increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (49.3% vs. 33.6%, p = 0.002). No risk factors or protective factors that were valid both before and after the pandemic were identified. No correlations were identified between sociodemographic or work-related characteristics and burnout syndrome. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that burnout syndrome increased significantly in radiologists during the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting nearly half of all those who responded to the survey. These results underline the need to assess support for professional wellbeing of radiologists in Spain. No correlations were identified between burnout and gender, age, number of calls, years in the job, annual income, teaching, marital status, number of children, or type of contract.

Near-critical fluid boiling: overheating and wetting films.

The heating of coexisting gas and liquid phases of pure fluid through its critical point makes the fluid extremely compressible, expandable, slows the diffusive transport, and decreases the contact angle to zero (perfect wetting by the liquid phase). We have performed experiments on near-critical fluids in a variable volume cell in the weightlessness of an orbiting space vehicle, to suppress buoyancy-driven flows and gravitational constraints on the liquid-gas interface. The high compressibility, high thermal expansion, and low thermal diffusivity lead to a pronounced adiabatic heating called the piston effect. We have directly visualized the near-critical fluid's boundary layer response to a volume quench when the external temperature is held constant. We have found that when the system's temperature T is increased at a constant rate past the critical temperature T(c), the interior of the fluid gains a higher temperature than the hot wall (overheating). This extends previous results in temperature quenching experiments in a similarly prepared system when the gas is clearly isolated from the wall. Large elliptical wetting film distortions are also seen during these ramps. By ray tracing through the elliptically shaped wetting film, we find very thick wetting film on the walls. This wetting film is at least one order of magnitude thicker than films that form in the Earth's gravity. The thick wetting film isolates the gas bubble from the wall allowing gas overheating to occur due to the difference in the piston effect response between gas and liquid. Remarkably, this overheating continues and actually increases when the fluid is ramped into the single-phase supercritical phase.

[Interference of chloramphenicol with some cytoplasmatic enzyme systems]. / Interferenta cloramfenicolului cu unele sisteme enzimatice citoplasmatice

The activity of alkaline phosphatase was determined in a lot of Wistar white rats which had received during 8 days therapeutical doses of chloramphenicol hemisuccinate, the enzyme being investigated in the circulating granulocytes and the liver. In the neutrophil granulocytes evidence was found of a marked decrease in alkaline phosphatase activity (40% presented a positive activity in the injected animals as against 70% in the controls). In the liver the histochemical test used did not allow for a discrimination between the experimental and control animals. The biochemical test, however, showed depression of alkaline phosphatase activity in the liver of rats receiving chloramphenicol (216.72 muM PO4 mean value as against 267.36 muM PO4).

Toxoplasmosis prevalence parasitologically evaluated in meat animals.

The frequency of Toxoplasma gondii infection in the meat provided by two abattoirs, as well as the pathogenicity of the isolated strains were studied. The parasite carriage was investigated on 299 pools of diaphragmatic muscle (1 pool = 10 animals) from 740 swine, 910 cattle and 1340 sheep: the methods used were bioassays on mice and the precocious identification of the tachyzoites in the peritoneal exudate and after 30 days the cerebral cysts. There were obtained 27 positive results (9.01%), in the examined pools of meat, without significant differences as concerns the frequency in relation to the animal species. Out of these strains two were virulent for mice and rabbits.