Utilization of information and communication technology among undergraduate nursing students in Tanta university, Egypt

The use of ICT to enhance learning and teaching has become increasingly important. Information and communication technology in education is a modern, efficient and cost effective process which has created a need to transform how students and teachers from higher institutions learn and teach respectively. This study was conducted to assess the pattern and utilization of Information and Communication Technology among undergraduate Nursing students in Tanta University, Egypt. A descriptive cross sectional design was used for the study where 504 fourth year students enrolled in the 2015/2016 session participated in the study. A validated structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. The results indicated that 80% of the surveyed students utilized ICT in performing their study assignments and research. Majority of the female students (79.0%) self reported themselves as good in computer skills while only one fifth (21.0%) of the male students rated themselves as good in computer skills. Students whose parents had secondary education and above had their total score in self-rating of computer operation skills as significantly higher than those whose parents had below secondary education. The study concluded that majority of the students had good ICT utilization with variation to residence and family income. It is therefore recommended that the university should ensure strict compliance with the rules of e-learning courses for the students and ensure proper application by each student

Investigations on synthesis and electrical properties of the La 1.75 Nd 0.1 Ce 0.15 CuO 3.5 prepared by topotactic reduction with CaH 2

International audienc

Do Oil Price, Renewable Energy, and Financial Development Matter for Environmental Quality in Oman? Novel Insights from Augmented ARDL Approach

As an oil-exporting country, Oman traditionally relies on oil sources to meet its energy demand. The country has not been able to safeguard its environment from carbon emissions (CO2)-related adversities. In this context, this study evaluated the impacts of the price of oil, financial development, economic growth, and nonrenewable energy on the environmental quality in Oman. The research used the recently developed augmented autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to investigate annual data from 1980 to 2018. The outcomes revealed the following: (i) financial development negatively affected ecological quality in the short and long term; (ii) oil prices positively impact carbon emissions in the long term; however, the price of oil does not significantly influence CO2 emissions in the short term; (iii) nonrenewable energy is harmful for ecological quality over both the short and long term; (iv) there is a causal link among financial development, nonrenewable energy, and carbon emissions. The current research outcomes present valuable findings for Oman’s policymakers in heading toward sustainable financial and energy sectors

From n = 1 to n = 2 of the Ruddlesden−Popper Phases via Ca-doping and induced effects on electrical and optical properties of La 2-x Ca x CuO 4-δ

International audienc

Topochemical reduction of the oxygen-deficient Ruddlesden−Popper phase (n =1) La1.85Ca0.15CuO4− δ and electrical properties of the La1.85Ca0.15CuO3.5

International audienceThe present paper reports on the synthesis, structure and electrical properties of the La1.85Ca0.15CuO3.5 compound. The topotactic reduction of the tetragonal oxide T-La1.85Ca0.15CuO4-delta with CaH2 results in the formation of La1.85Ca0.15CuO3.5. The powder X-ray diffraction data have shown that La1.85Ca0.15CuO3.5 adopts a face-centered monoclinic crystal structure (A 2/m, a = 8.6224(6), b = 3.8446(2) angstrom, c = 13.0179(10) and beta = 109.690(5)degrees) with anion vacancies located within the CuO2 (CuO1.5 square(0.5), where square represents an anion vacancy) layer of the phase. The topotactic reduction of the complex transition metal La1.85Ca0.15CuO4-delta may lead to the preparation of novel anion-deficient phases with unique transition metal-oxygen sublattices which cannot be prepared via the reduction of all-oxide substrates. The structural and chemical selectivity of the reduction process by anion de-intercalation and oxidation by anion insertion are reviewed. The oxidative monoclinic (La1.85Ca0.15CuO3.5) to tetragonal (T'-La1.85Ca0.15CuO4-delta) transition occurs at 380 degrees C. The structural determination combined with accurate compositional and electrical characterization indicates a change in the charge-compensating mechanism with phase transition. (C) 2016 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University

Phase diagram and transition temperatures in the system (T-T’) La2-xNdxCuO4 (x ≤ 0.5)

International audienceLa2-xNdxCuO3.5 (x ≤ 0.5) compounds have been synthesized by a topotactic reduction reaction with calcium hydride at 280 °C for 48 h. Structural, thermal, vibrational and magnetic properties of La2-xNdxCuO3.5 (x ≤ 0.5) were studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and temperature dependent powder X ray diffraction (TDXD), by Raman spectroscopy and by electronic paramagnetic resonance. The oxidation of the compounds La2-xNdxCuO3.5 (x ≤ 0.5) at 400 °C for 24 h kinetically stabilizes the compounds La2-xNdxCuO4 (x ≤ 0.5) with an I4/mmm type structure. The phase relationship between T’ and T, ensured at high temperature, was followed and discussed by thermal and structural analysis

Swelling of Poly( n -butyl methacrylate) Films Exposed to Supercritical Carbon Dioxide: A Comparative Study with Polystyrene

International audienceWe report here the swelling and relaxation properties of confined poly(n-butyl methacrylate) (PBMA) films having thicknesses of less than 70 nm under supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) using the X-ray reflectivity technique. Swellability is found to be dominant in thinner films compared to thicker ones as a consequence of the confinement-induced densification of the former. Swellability is proportionately increased with the density of the film. PBMA films exhibit a more significant swelling than do PS films, and their differences become more prominent with the increase in film thickness. A comparison between the results obtained for polystyrene (PS) and PBMA ultrathin films reveals that the swellability is dependent upon the specific intermolecular interaction between CO2 and the chemical groups available in the polymers. Owing to strong Lewis acid–base interactions with scCO2 and the lower glass-transition temperature (bulk Tg ≈ 29 °C), PBMA films exhibit a greater amount of swelling than do PS films (bulk Tg ≈ 100 °C). Though they reach to the different swollen state upon exposition, identical relaxation behavior as a function of aging time is evidenced. This unprecedented behavior can be ascribed to the strong bonding between trapped CO2 and PBMA that probably impedes the release of CO2 molecules from the swollen PBMA films manifested in suppressed relaxation

Influence of nickel doping on oxygen-ionic conductivity of the n = 1 Ruddlesden-Popper Phases La1.85Ca0.15(Cu1−xNix)O4−δ (δ = 0.0905)

International audienceThe results of the synthesis and characterization of the optimally doped La1.85Ca0.15(Cu1−xNix)O4-δ solid solution with x = 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 are reported. The versatility of these La1.85Ca0.15(Cu1−xNix)O4−δ materials is explained on the basis of structural features and the ability to accommodate oxygen nonstoichiometry. According to powder X-ray and neutron diffraction data, La1.85Ca0.15(Cu1−xNix)O4−δ adopts the tetragonal structure with oxygen vacancies occurring preferentially at the Oap sites within the {(La/Ca)O} layers of the perovskite blocks and the oxygen deviation from stoichiometry δ was found to be δ=0.0905(6). The bulk conductivity indicated an Arrhenius-type thermally activated process and oxygen vacancies are the possible ionic charge carriers at T=270 °C. An increase of the conductivity was detected when Ni was introduced. With nickel ratio variation, a strong correlation was observed between the Cu(Ni)-Oap apical bond length variation and the conductivity variation through controlling the O2− ion migration