Electronic Communication Technologies Research Articles

AgNWs/Fe3O4@NC Conductive Network Hierarchical Assembly to Prepare Flexible EMI Shielding Textile.

With the rapid development of high-power electronic instruments and communication technology, efficient electromagnetic shielding materials with strong absorption of electromagnetic waves and low reflection characteristics have become the focus of the world's attention. This study designs and synthesizes N-doped carbon-coated hollow Fe3O4 nanospheres (Fe3O4@NC) by spraying Ag nanowires (AgNWs) on textiles as conductive networks. Because of the high permeability and hollow structure Fe3O4@NC, electromagnetic wave goes through a unique process of "absorption, reflection, and reabsorption" when it passes through the surface of the composite textile. In X-band (≈8.2-12.4GHz), the average electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) reaches 50.1dB, while the reflectance shielding efficiency (SER) is only 2.6dB, and the average reflectance power coefficient (R) is as low as 0.45. The composite fabric has excellent properties and provides an effective strategy for electromagnetic interference shielding based on absorption.

Advances in Bioelectrode Design for Developing Electrochemical Biosensors.

The critical performance factors such as selectivity, sensitivity, operational and storage stability, and response time of electrochemical biosensors are governed mainly by the function of their key component, the bioelectrode. Suitable design and fabrication strategies of the bioelectrode interface are essential for realizing the requisite performance of the biosensors for their practical utility. A multifaceted attempt to achieve this goal is visible from the vast literature exploring effective strategies for preparing, immobilizing, and stabilizing biorecognition elements on the electrode surface and efficient transduction of biochemical signals into electrical ones (i.e., current, voltage, and impedance) through the bioelectrode interface with the aid of advanced materials and techniques. The commercial success of biosensors in modern society is also increasingly influenced by their size (and hence portability), multiplexing capability, and coupling in the interface of the wireless communication technology, which facilitates quick data transfer and linked decision-making processes in real-time in different areas such as healthcare, agriculture, food, and environmental applications. Therefore, fabrication of the bioelectrode involves careful selection and control of several parameters, including biorecognition elements, electrode materials, shape and size of the electrode, detection principles, and various fabrication strategies, including microscale and printing technologies. This review discusses recent trends in bioelectrode designs and fabrications for developing electrochemical biosensors. The discussions have been delineated into the types of biorecognition elements and their immobilization strategies, signal transduction approaches, commonly used advanced materials for electrode fabrication and techniques for fabricating the bioelectrodes, and device integration with modern electronic communication technology for developing electrochemical biosensors of commercial interest.

An Optimized Decision Model for Electric Vehicle Aggregator Participation in the Electricity Market Based on the Stackelberg Game

With the growing popularity of charging pile infrastructure and the development of smart electronic devices and 5G communication technologies, the electric vehicle aggregator (EVA) as a bidding entity can aggregate numerous electric vehicle (EV) resources to participate in the electricity market. Moreover, as the number of grid-connected EVs increases, EVA will have an impact on the nodal marginal prices of electricity market clearing. Aiming at the bidding and offering problem of EVA participation in the day-ahead and intra-day electricity markets, based on the Stackelberg game theory, this paper establishes a bilevel optimization model for EVA participation in the two-stage electricity market as a price-maker. In the proposed bilevel model, the upper-level and lower-level models are constructed as an operational problem for EVA and a market-clearing problem for independent system operator (ISO), respectively. In the day-ahead stage, EVA is optimized to maximize its own expected benefits, and ISO aims to improve the social benefits. In the intra-day stage, EVA is optimized to maximize its self-interest, and the ISO aims to make it possible to minimize the cost of expenditures to maintain the system’s supply–demand balance. Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) conditions and dual theory are used to transform the nonlinear bilevel programming model into a mixed-integer single-level linear programming model. In order to verify the validity of the proposed bilevel model as well as to comparatively analyze the impact of EVA’s participation in the electricity market on the market clearing results. Two scenarios are set up where EVA is seen as the price-taker in Scenario 1 and EVA is seen as the price-maker in Scenario 2. ISO’s revenue under Scenario 2 increased by USD 2262.66 compared to Scenario 1. In addition, the EVA acts as an energy consumer in Scenario 1 with a charging cost of USD 26,432.95, whereas in Scenario 2, the EVA can profit by participating in the electricity market with a revenue of USD 26,432.95, at which point the EVA acts like a virtual power plant. The simulation examples verify that the proposed bilevel optimization model can improve the benefits of ISO and EVA at the same time, achieving mutual benefits for both parties. In addition, the simulation analyzes the impact of abandonment penalty price on ISO and EVA intra-day revenues. Comparing the scenarios where the abandonment penalty price is 0 with USD 10/MW, the ISO’s revenue in the intra-day market decreases by USD 197.5. Correspondingly, EVA’s reserve capacity is dispatched to consume wind power in the intra-day market, and its revenue increases by USD 197.5. The proposed two-stage bilevel optimization model can provide a reference for EVA to develop scheduling strategies in the day-ahead and intra-day electricity markets.

Fabrication of MWCNTs/rGO/PPy ternary composites for excellent electromagnetic absorption

With the development of radar stealth technology and electronic communication technology, electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbing materials with lightweight and broad absorbing bandwidth are widely expected. In this study, the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/polypyrrole (PPy) ternary composites were prepared by in-situ polymerization under hydrothermal conditions. The effects of carbon substrate of MWCNTs/rGO and the content of PPy on the microwave absorption (MWA) properties of the ternary composites and the corresponding attenuation mechanism were investigated. The results showed that MWCNTs and rGO nanosheets interweave together to form a relatively uniform micro-network structure with even wrapping of PPy on the surface of MWCNTs/rGO substrate. The adjustable amount of PPy optimizes the impedance matching and EM wave attenuation capacity. The composites achieve effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 4.6 GHz at 2.1 mm, and the minimum reflection loss (RLmin) value of −57 dB at 15.8 GHz. The multi-void network structures formed by MWCNTs and lamellar rGO and the interfacial polarization between MWCNTs/rGO composite carbon substrate and PPy can effectively decay EM wave absorption, thus improving the MWA performance of the composites. This work provides an effective reference for the application of multi-component carbon composites in the field of microwave absorption.

Effectiveness of electronic communication teaching mode in mitigating learning anxiety among university students

BackgroundLearning anxiety disorder detrimentally impacts both academic performance and the mental well-being of university students. This study aims to investigate whether the integration of electronic communication technology into teaching methods within universities can alleviate students’ learning anxiety and assess the efficacy of this approach.Subjects and MethodsParticipants were selected from a university and divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group underwent classroom teaching using electronic communication technology, encompassing online teaching platforms, virtual laboratories, and other relevant tools. In contrast, the control group received traditional face-to-face teaching. Anxiety questionnaires and academic performance metrics were employed as data collection instruments. Data were analyzed using Stata 8.0 statistical software.ResultsThe learning anxiety scores of students in the experimental group were notably lower compared to those in the control group. Specifically, the average anxiety score for the experimental group was 3.82, while the control group had an average anxiety score of 4.96. Statistical analysis utilizing appropriate methods confirmed a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05).ConclusionsEmpirical evidence from this study substantiates that the integration of electronic communication technology effectively mitigates symptoms of learning anxiety among students and enhances their learning outcomes. Utilizing online teaching platforms, virtual laboratories, and similar tools empowers students to engage in more self-directed and proactive learning, consequently reducing anxiety that may arise from face-to-face teaching scenarios.AcknowledgementThe Philosophy and Social Science Research Project of Higher Education of Jiangsu Province (No. 2021SJA2140).

Effective electromagnetic interference shields based on cellulose nanofibers-carbon nanotubes layered composites

The rapid development of electronic devices and communication technologies has inadvertently led to the production of significant amounts of Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and radiation, necessitating the development of sustainable, low-density, affordable, and high-performance EMI shielding materials. The present study involves fabricating a layered composite material comprising alternating substrate and conducting layer made primarily of TEMPO-mediated oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TCNF) and carbon nanotubes (CNT). For the substrate layer, TCNF is modified with optimized polydopamine and Fe3+ concentrations to produce mechanically strong film with a tensile modulus of 12.3 GPa. Furthermore, two CNT/TCNF ratios are used in the conducting film: 60% and 80%. In addition to absorption and reflection, the presence of TCNF in the conducting layer creates an impedance mismatch, resulting in a zigzag reflection mechanism for EMI losses. For a thickness of 212 μm, the 5-layered composite exhibited a notable tensile strength of 58 MPa and an efficient EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of 39 dB in X-band. The prepared composites meet the requirements for a commercial EMI shielding material, namely >20 dB, and outperform the mechanical strength of many other EMI shielding materials.

Radio frequency identification review and development prospect research

Based on the existing literature and data, this paper starts from the principle of radio frequency identification technology, analyses the situation of the application field of RFID and predicts its development prospect. The results show that RFID technology is a kind of technology that uses the transmission characteristics of RF signals through space alternating electromagnetic coupling to identify targets and thus realize rapid automatic identification. Since it was developed and used in warfare in the mid-twentieth century, RF identification technology has developed rapidly and developed a variety of applications. Today, with the development of electronic technology and communication technology, RF identification technology already has a wide and irreplaceable role in medicine, military and food safety. It is not difficult to imagine that with more joint applications of new technology, radio frequency-related algorithm improvement, radio frequency tag price reduction, and other conditions, the technology will have a more extensive and profound application in the future.

Polybenzoxazine/organosilicon composites with low dielectric constant and dielectric loss

The evolution of electronic communication technology raises higher requirements for low dielectric constant (low-k) materials. For this, a benzoxazine functional organosilicon (HP-aptes) with dense Si—O—Si crosslinking networks and large sterically hindered tert-butyl groups was prepared by the sol–gel method. Then, a series of polybenzoxazine composites (PPHP) were prepared from intrinsically low dielectric constant bis-functional benzoxazine monomer (P-aptmds) and HP-aptes. The double crosslinking networks of polybenzoxazine and organosilicon further increased the crosslinking density and decreased the dipole density of composites, which endowed the composites with enhanced low-k properties. When the content of HP-aptes is 30% (mass), the crosslinking density was 2.05 × 10−3 mol·cm−3, while that of PP-aptmds was 3.31 × 10−3 mol·cm−3. In addition, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of PPHP composite at 1 MHz could reach 2.61 and 0.0056, respectively.

Teledermatology in India During the Peri–COVID-19 Outbreak Period: Advantages, Shortcomings, and Challenges

Background Telemedicine is defined as the use of electronic information and communication technologies for health care professionals to provide care to patients. Although available since the pre–COVID-19 era, a huge surge in teledermatology consultations occurred during the COVID-19 outbreak. As access to health care became limited and difficult due to repeated lockdowns, teledermatology helped us provide health care to our patients. Moreover, as dermatology is a visual field, it was even more suitable for teleconsultations. Objective The objectives of this study were to investigate the advantages, shortcomings, and challenges of teledermatology in India during the peri–COVID-19 outbreak period. Methods This was a single-center, retrospective, observational study conducted at a tertiary care hospital in India. Teledermatology consultation data from April 1, 2020, till September 2021 (18 months) were included. All modes, including real-time (RT) video, asynchronous store and forward (SAF), and hybrid, were used to conduct teledermatology consultations. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software (IBM Corp). Results During these 18 months, a total of 4280 patients took teledermatology consultations at our center. The mean age of the patients was 34.19 years, with most of them (36.4%) in the age group of 31-40 years. The patient population comprised a mix of urban (55%) and rural (45%) individuals. Overall, 70% of consultations were conducted in the SAF mode; hybrid mode, 16%; and RT video consultations, 14%. Diagnosis was established in 89.1% of the cases, and the most common diagnosis was superficial fungal infection (28%), followed by eczema (16%) and acne (8.6%). Hospital visits were required in the remaining 10.9% of cases for the following reasons: lack of clear pictures and technical errors (5.57%). Additional diagnostic tests were required in 1.3% of cases, physical examination in 1.05% of cases, and 0.39% of patients had life-threatening conditions requiring hospitalization. The advantages of teledermatology include decreased need for hospital visits among 89.1% of patients, which played a very important role in decreasing overcrowding. Also, this helped us provide expert health care to the rural population of India. Owing to shortcomings including the lack of good-quality pictures (4.2%; more so in SAF teleconsultations) and technical errors (1.37%), teledermatology cannot be used to manage life-threatening conditions (0.39%), and, in particular, RT video consultations are more time-consuming (14%). Challenges faced by dermatologists during teledermatology consultations were mainly operational, such as the lack of good internet access leading to interrupted consultations (1.37%), poor quality of pictures (4.2%), and difficulty in extracting history in cases of SAF consultations. Conclusions Teledermatology serves as a triage platform and helps reduce hospital visits. It helps to cater to the rural population, which otherwise has limited access to health care. Some technical challenges are the dependence of teledermatology on pictures and information sent by the patient for establishing the diagnosis. Also, sometimes patients faced difficulty in conveying problems clearly to the doctors. Because of the ease and advantages, several dermatologists have continued to use teledermatology along with the physical consultations in the post–COVID-19 era. With a few advancements, teledermatology will certainly remain a successful and useful model for consultations, more so for catering to the population with the lack of access to specialist services. Conflicts of Interest None declared.

Promoting Residents’ Willingness to Recycle Electronic ICT Waste in China: An Empirical Study Using Conjoint Analysis

Initiated by the Chinese government to mitigate pollution arising from informal recycling, the Internet + Recycling model has been evolving and yielding significant results in China over the past few years. However, due to the large amount of users’ personal information contained in electronic information and communication technology waste, residents are concerned about privacy leaks, leading to a lower willingness to recycle. This study aims to enhance people’s willingness to recycle electronic waste by testing the impacts of various factors through a nationwide survey and analysis. Prior research evaluated e-waste collection attributes separately, thus provoking potential validity concerns. Addressing this concern, our study, based on 184 valid entries, employs conjoint analysis to determine the effects of different attributes on residential recycling choices. Among the considered attributes, recycling trust emerged as paramount, followed by compensation methods, recycling price, and recycling methods. The high-utility attributes included government certification and monitoring, cashback, high prices, and door-to-door service. Transcending the core research aim, our study forecasts market shares for diverse recycling combinations. The results indicate that there is no single dominant strategy, as several combinations are substantially influential. Consequently, businesses are advised to adopt a multi-pronged approach using diverse combinations for optimal results.

Unveiling Post Engagement Rate Using Predictive Analytics Model for Instagram Accounts of Coffee Shops in West Jakarta

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, telemedicine has had a high use rate since the government issued a policy limiting people's movement to reduce transmission. It is because telemedicine can be a way to solve this issue since it can provide and support health care when distance separates the users only using electronic communication technologies. However, through this remote assessment, patients and physicians lose the opportunity to interact in person, which might impact doctor-patient communication. Furthermore, covid-19 cases in Indonesia have shown a downward trend, making the government have no regulation limiting people's movement. Now, people can see their physicians directly for some conditions. Therefore, this research will analyze factors influencing customer intention to consult through telemedicine applications and determine which factors more significantly influence customer intention. This research is conducted through a qualitative approach by semi-structured interviews and a quantitative approach by an online survey of customers who ever experience using telemedicine applications. The researcher uses open coding to analyze the interview result and descriptive statistics and PLS-SEM to analyze the survey result. The author gets seven respondents from interviews and 317 from online surveys. The results indicate that perceived benefit, satisfaction, saving time, saving cost, and performance expectancy influence customer intention to use telemedicine applications continuously. Furthermore, satisfaction and saving costs are the factors that significantly influence customer intention to use telemedicine applications continuously. The finding of this research is expected to give insight into telemedicine applications in Indonesia about making their strategies to enhance their customer intention to use continuously.

Factors That Affecting Customer Intention To Use Telemedicine Applications Continuously After Covid-19 Pandemic In Indonesia

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, telemedicine has had a high use rate since the government issued a policy limiting people's movement to reduce transmission. It is because telemedicine can be a way to solve this issue since it can provide and support health care when distance separates the users only using electronic communication technologies. However, through this remote assessment, patients and physicians lose the opportunity to interact in person, which might impact doctor-patient communication. Furthermore, covid-19 cases in Indonesia have shown a downward trend, making the government have no regulation limiting people's movement. Now, people can see their physicians directly for some conditions. Therefore, this research will analyze factors influencing customer intention to consult through telemedicine applications and determine which factors more significantly influence customer intention. This research is conducted through a qualitative approach by semi-structured interviews and a quantitative approach by an online survey of customers who ever experience using telemedicine applications. The researcher uses open coding to analyze the interview result and descriptive statistics and PLS-SEM to analyze the survey result. The author gets seven respondents from interviews and 317 from online surveys. The results indicate that perceived benefit, satisfaction, saving time, saving cost, and performance expectancy influence customer intention to use telemedicine applications continuously. Furthermore, satisfaction and saving costs are the factors that significantly influence customer intention to use telemedicine applications continuously. The finding of this research is expected to give insight into telemedicine applications in Indonesia about making their strategies to enhance their customer intention to use continuously.

Review of Polymer-Based Composites for Electromagnetic Shielding Application.

The rapid advancement of electronic communication technology has greatly aided human productivity and quality of life, but it has also resulted in significant electromagnetic pollution issues. Traditional metals and alloys are often used for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding due to their excellent electrical conductivity. However, they have drawbacks such as being heavy, expensive, and having low corrosion resistance, which limits their application in electromagnetic shielding. Therefore, it is crucial to develop novel EMI shielding materials. Polymers, being highly flexible, corrosion-resistant, and possessing high specific strength, are frequently employed in electromagnetic shielding materials. In this review, we firstly introduce the basic theory of electromagnetic shielding. Then, we outline the processing methods and recent developments of polymer-based electromagnetic shielding composites, including uniform-, foam-, layered-, and segregated structures. Lastly, we present the challenges and prospects for the field, aiming to provide direction and inspiration for the study of polymer-based electromagnetic shielding composite materials.

Accounting paradigm in application conditions of electronic information technologies

Introduction. The widespread introduction of modern electronic information and communication technologies into the economy requires a rethinking of the theoretical foundations of accounting. The current accounting methodology, based on the documentation of economic transactions, their reflection on accounts by double entry, balance sheet summarization, was initiated several centuries ago. With the development of automated systems, the latest information technologies for the formation, processing and transmission of information, there is a need of developing of a new accounting paradigm that would reflect not only the new information requests of a wide range of information consumers, but also take into account radical changes in accounting techniques.Purpose. The purpose of the study is to generalize the existing developments regarding the paradigmatic development of accounting science and to provide proposals for the development of a new accounting paradigm, based on modern information and communication technologies, the new role of accounting as an important economic institution.Methods. General scientific and empirical methods of knowledge and generalization of past and present processes and phenomena are used to reveal the purpose of the article.\Results. The existing developments regarding the paradigmatic development of accounting science are summarized. The main features and criteria of each stage of accounting development are defined. The need for the formation of a new accounting paradigm based on the current circumstances in the world economy and society is substantiated. The main criteria that characterize the modern accounting paradigm and distinguish it from the previous ones are the new purpose and tasks of accounting, the introduction of intellectual resources into the accounting system, new approaches to resource assessment. However, the development and introduction of electronic accounting and information systems, which have a significant impact on the methodological and organizational foundations of accounting, collection, registration, processing, storage and transmission of accounting and reporting information, can be considered the main factor in the change of the accounting paradigm.Perspectives. Further research can be aimed at improving methodological, organizational and technical tools for the practical implementation of a new accounting paradigm based on modern electronic accounting and information systems.

CONSUMER PROTECTION FROM UNWANTED ELECTRONIC COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING UNDER LAW NO. 18-05

The technological development of the current era in various fields has led to the emergence of electronic commerce, which has become carried out through the Internet, which does not recognize geographical borders or the principles known by traditional trade, and this has increased its importance and danger at the same time. Electronic commercial advertising is considered one of the most important aspects of electronic commerce through which electronic promotion of products and services takes place, as it plays an important role in directing the will of the public and influencing the psyche of consumers, inviting them and urging them to contract with them to acquire certain products and services at the expense of others, and given the low cost of these electronic advertisements and the possibility of sending it via e -mail messages, electronic suppliers take advantage of this feature, and send it to the largest possible number of consumers, in an intensive manner, whether they have previously been dealt with or not, and whether they wish to do so or not, which increases the pressure on the consumer. These advertisements are often not accepted and welcomed by the consumer public, and therefore they are called “Spam " or " Spamming ", because they restrict the freedoms of individuals, interfere with their privacy and invade the consumer's private life, as soon as he opens his e-mail he gets surprised by it without any consent from him, and it is difficult for him to remove it from his e-mail, in addition to the damage it causes to consumers. Thus, consumer protection has become an important priority in all electronic transactions, especially protecting it from unwelcome commercial advertisements that the consumer receives via the Internet in order to avoid messages sent to him without his desire. Therefore, national and international legislation has resorted to limiting this phenomenon and combating unwanted advertisements, enacting legal texts regulating electronic commercial advertisements, and approving penal liability when violating them. Similar to the legislation of other countries, the Algerian le gislator issued Electronic Commerce Law No. 18-05 to regulate electronic commercial transactions in this new type of trade, which depends on electronic communication technology, as it stipulated through it the regulation of electronic commercial advertising

Colorectal cancer screening disparities in Asian Americans: the influences of patient-provider communication and social media use.

We examined the role of patient-provider communication (PPC) during in-person visits and via electronic communication and social media use on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among Asian Americans (AAs) and Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs) aged 50 and older. Health Information National Trends Survey 2017-2020 data were analyzed. AAs tended to evaluate the quality of PPC during their in-person visits to a health care provider lower than NHWs. AAs' CRC screening rate was lower than the rate of NHWs (78.8% vs. 84.4%). After adjusting for sociodemographics, healthcare access, and health status, the quality of PPC was the only significant predictor associated with a lower probability of CRC screening among AAs (Adjusted OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.56, 0.96); while the Internet to communicate with a health care provider was the only significant predictor of CRC screening among NHWs (Adjusted OR 1.76; CI 1.11, 2.79). AAs were more likely to use YouTube to watch a health-related video than NHWs (43.5% vs, 24%). However, social media use was not associated with CRC screening in both AAs and NHWs. Use of electronic communication technology may contribute to improve health information literacy and reduce the disparity. On-line communication may empower the culturally and linguistically diverse AAs by improving their confidence in communication with health care providers. Thus, communication technologies need to be strategically utilized and tailored to better meet the communication needs of racial/ethnic minorities. Online communication technologies may reduce the disparities in PPC related to cancer screening and cancer burden experienced by AAs.

Characterizing patent big data upon IPC: a survey of triadic patent families and PCT applications

Research objectiveTriadic patent (TP) families and Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications are often used as datasets to measure innovation capability or R&D internationalization, but their concordance is unclear, which is the main issue in this study.MethodsWe collect the global TP and PCT data from the Derwent Innovations Index (DII), and a total of 1,589,172 TP families and 4,067,389 PCT applications are retrieved. Based on International Patent Classification (IPC) codes, we compare these two big datasets in three parts: IPC distribution, IPC co-occurrence network, and nation-IPC co-occurrence network. In order to understand the overall similarities and differences between TP and PCT, we make the basic statistics of the global data and w-core defined based on the w-index. Furthermore, the w-cores are visualized and the global similarities are calculated for the detailed concordance and differences.FindingsThe result shows that the w-core is suitable to select the core part of big data and TP and PCT get high concordance. Meanwhile, in technological convergence, some specific technical fields (e.g. chemistry, medicine, electronic communication, and lighting technology) and countries/regions (e.g. Germany, Japan, China, and Korea), there are a few differences.Practical implicationsTP families are very similar to PCT applications in terms of reflecting innovation capability or R&D internationalization at a macro level, but when it comes to technological convergence, specific research topics, and countries/regions, the choice may depend on the purpose of the research.

Nano metal oxide-intercalated MXene in-situ prepared by irradiation as effective electromagnetic wave absorbents

With the rapid development of electronic communication technology, electromagnetic pollution has become increasingly severe, leading to a growing need for absorption materials with excellent absorption performance. Herein, nano-sized oxide-intercalated Ti3C2T x MXene composites were synthesized via γ-radiation in an aqueous system. The synthesis was conducted in a reducing environment at room temperature, which effectively prevented the oxidation of MXene. Nano-oxides (Fe2O3 and Cu2O) were formed in situ between the MXene layers, forming a homogeneous oxide-intercalated structure. Compared with the original MXene, the intercalated structure significantly enhanced the electromagnetic wave absorption (EMA) performance of the MXene/Fe2O3 composite in the frequency range of 2–18 GHz, with smaller reflection loss (RL) (−58.7 dB), thinner thickness (2.35 mm). The RLmin value of the MXene/Cu2O composite was −50.9 dB (2.55 mm) and the effective frequency width was 4.88 GHz at a thickness of 1.3 mm. Compared with ordinary chemical methods, the γ-radiation is a facile and ‘green’ method that is suitable for large-scale preparation. The absorption mechanism was attributed to conductive loss, polarization loss, and magnetic loss, which contributed to efficient EMA. This work demonstrates that γ-radiation is a promising method for preparing nano metal oxide-intercalated MXene with enhanced EMA performance.

Electronic Waste Management and Institutional Theory: Any Lessons for Nigeria?

Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) and/or Information Communication Technology (ICT) has enabled great changes in the modern ways of living all over the world, and Nigeria is not an exception. The usage of EEE and/or ICT has also brought exponential increase in electronic waste (e-waste) and has become the fastest growing waste stream in the world. It is hazardous to the human health and the environment when handled in a crude informal manner and a material of great value when handled in both informal and formal environmentally sound manners. The current way EEE and/or ICT is produced and consumed in Nigeria comes with externalities that include wastage of resources, release of greenhouse gases and toxic substances during informal management of e-waste. This is because at present Nigeria does not have adequate formal facility for the separation, storage, transport and disposal of e-waste. This article discusses e-waste management in Nigeria by using primary and secondary materials and the lessons Nigeria can learn by the deployment of institutional theory for the environmentally sound management of this genre of waste, as an approach that can be utilised to enhance the structures, schemas, rules, routines and norms as authoritative processes that are coercive, normative and mimetic for the environmentally sound management of electronic waste in Nigeria.

Interprofessional Consultations: Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Coverage

Interprofessional consultations are reported when a treating physician or other qualified health care professional (QHP) consults another physician or QHP for their recommendation on managing a patient’s specific condition or problem by telephone, internet, or other electronic communication technology.