Abstract

This study evaluates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers in Argentina, during the second wave in 2021.

The aim is to assess stress and burnout, incorporating the assessment of hair cortisol levels as a biomarker of chronic stress. A total of 496 healthcare workers from three different hospitals were included in this study. Two of these hospitals depend on the Buenos Aires City Ministry of Health and the third hospital belongs to Buenos Aires University.

Hair samples were obtained using scissors from the posterior vertex, as close to the scalp as possible. Each sample was weighed, and cortisol was extracted and then measured using an automated chemiluminescent method.

Notably, 10% of the population exhibited hair cortisol levels above 128 pg/mg. Associations were found between high hair cortisol levels and age, workload, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization. In addition, burnout, identified in 11% of participants, correlated with higher perceived stress and lower social support.

Binary logistic regression revealed associations between burnout and perceived stress, and age. Finally, mediation analysis showed depersonalization as a mediating variable in the relationship between hair cortisol concentration and emotional exhaustion.

In conclusion, this study highlights the complex relationships between stress, cortisol levels, and burnout. Prioritizing interventions and research is essential to support the well-being of frontline healthcare professionals, ensuring their resilience during challenging times.

Small patches of wildflowers sown in cities can be a good substitute for a natural meadow, according to a study which showed butterflies, bees and hoverflies like them just as much.

Councils are increasingly making space for wildflower meadows in cities in a bid to tackle insect decline, but their role in helping pollinating insects was unclear. Researchers working in the Polish city of Warsaw wanted to find out if these efforts were producing good results.

They found there was no difference in the diversity of species that visited sown wildflower meadows in cities compared with natural ones, according to the study published in the journal Ecological Entomology, and led by researchers from Warsaw University. The researchers said: “In inner-city areas, flower meadows can compensate insects for the lack of large natural meadows that are usually found in the countryside.”

Married since 2018.

The Vatican has blocked discussions over women’s rights at the UN climate summit following a row over gay and transgender issues, sources have told BBC News.

Pope Francis’ representatives have aligned with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and Egypt to obstruct a deal which would have provided more support, including financial help, for women at the forefront of climate change, Colombia’s environment minister told the BBC.

Charities including ActionAid said it is crucial a deal is reached as the UN estimates women and girls currently make up 80% of those displaced by climate change.

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Gleich zu Beginn legt Carsten Müller, Leiter des stillgelegten Kernkraftwerks, den Tenor fest: "Eine Rückkehr zum Leistungsbetrieb wird es nicht geben." Es folgen eine Präsentation über bereits abgebaute Anlagenteile, zerlegte Rohre und irreversible Leitungen – und Müllers Hinweis: "Damit ist es besonders schwierig geworden, eine Anlage wieder in den Ursprungszustand zu versetzen."

Schon Ende Oktober 2023, vor mehr als einem Jahr also, machen die Betreiber deutlich: "Wir sind am Ende." Technisch und organisatorisch könne die Anlage nicht mehr betrieben werden. Immer wieder wiederholen Vertreter von Preussen Elektra Botschaften wie diese gebetsmühlenartig – so auch an diesem Abend, sie scheinen notwendig.

Here is the report (pdf).

A joint report published by five rights group from Germany urges the European Union to ban advertising.

The EU has established important cornerstones to protect online users in the shape of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). At the same time, the reactions of large corporations to this legislation show that a paradigm shift in the online advertising market is still needed, as the advertising industry is persistently undermining efforts to prevent manipulative practices, the rights group Germanwatch writes on its website.

Alternative (e.g. contextual) advertising models create opportunities for reaching people beyond the omnipresent tracking and targeting, and thereby protecting them in data processing operations. To bolster alternative advertising models, the new European Commission should take digital fairness seriously and push for a ban on personalised advertising.

I think this would be a step in the right direction.

Yes, it is real: https://x.com/jinsprucker/status/1859460984861229335 (his first post in over a year)

Context: Infamous verbal slip on the Intelsat 35e launch webcast (T+4:07)

"Kein Mordversuch"... Gehen sie weiter, hier bleibt es nichts zu sehen

Digital end of life planning saves your loved ones from a little extra anguish Japan's National Consumer Affairs Center on Wednesday suggested citizens start "digital end of life planning" and offered tips on how to do it.…

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#C16 #CommodorePlus4 #TED #chiptune