The Experiences of Newly Graduated Nurses during Their First Year of Practice.

The present study aimed to explore the experiences of newly graduated nurses during their first year of practise. A qualitative descriptive design was employed in this study. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with newly graduated nurses to gather detailed descriptions and experiences during their transition to the workplace in the first year after graduation. Thematic analysis was utilised to identify patterns and themes in the collected data. Ethical considerations were strictly enforced throughout the study. There are two main themes: factors contributing to the integration of new nurses into the workplace and the difficulties faced by new nurses in a work environment. Within the first theme, three subthemes emerged: the positive role of trainers, the gradual handling of patients, and the benefit of pre-employment training and volunteering. The theme of difficulties faced included three subthemes: difficulty dealing with the health system and devices, fear of dealing with new patients, and difficulty applying policies and procedures in the workplace. The study provides insights into the challenges faced by newly graduated nurses and the factors that contribute to their integration into practise settings. Educational departments in hospitals' support and efficient access to policies are crucial for these nurses as they begin their early professional years.

Neutron attenuation features and elastic properties of silicate glasses containing Ta2O5, and Li2O.

In this investigation, the elastic properties and neutrons attenuation factors for some optical glasses containing Ta2O5, SiO2, and Li2O were reported. The present glasses were also consisted of ZrO2 and Nb2O5 in very small concentrations. The glasses are chemically defined as 26.47Li2O-5.88ZrO2-(20-x)Ta2O5-xNb2O5-47.06SiO2, where, x takes the values: 0, 2.94, 5.88, and 11.77 mol%. The elastic properties of these glassy specimens were determined by employing Makishima-Mackenzie's theory (M.M.T). By using the same method, moreover, the micro-hardness and Poisson's ratio were assessed. Cross sections for slow, moderated, and fissile neutrons were computed through standard expressions and models. In addition, the influence of the partial replacement of Ta2O5 by Nb2O5 on the parameters were also analysed. The glass with the lowest Nb2O5 content presented the highest cross sections for fast, moderated, and slow neutrons. The neutron-absorption ability of included glasses declined as glass density declined and Nb2O5 molar concentration increased in the glasses. Therefore, the sample with the highest Ta2O5 content is recommended for neutron absorption applications.

Radiation shielding ability and optical features of La2O3+TiO2+Nb2O5+WO3+X2O3 (X=B, Ga, and In) glass system containing high-entropy oxides.

Three high entropy materials (La2O3+TiO2+Nb2O5+WO3+X2O3 coded as LTNWM1, LTNWM2, and LTNWM3 for X = B, Ga, and In) produced by aerodynamic containerless processing were evaluated for optical attributes, and their gamma-radiation absorption abilities were investigated in this report. Optical related parameters such as the molar refractivity ( R m ), optical transmission ( T ), molar polarizability ( α m ), metallization criterion ( M ), reflection loss ( R L ), static ( ε s t a t i c ), and optical ( ε o p t i c a l ) dielectric constants were estimated through standard expressions, while photon attenuation parameters were estimated from data from photon transmission simulations in FLUKA code and XCOM software. The attenuation parameters were calculated for a wide energy photon spectrum (15 keV-15 MeV). LTNWM1, LTNWM2, and LTNWM3 had R m values of 18.94 cm3/mol, 21.45 cm3/mol, and 26.09 cm3/mol respectively. The α m has a value of 7.52 × 10-24 cm3 for LTNWM1, 8.51 × 10-24 cm3 for LTNWM2, and 10.35 × 10-24 cm3 for LTNWM3. The photon shielding parameters evaluated by FLUKA and XCOM are compatible. The mass attenuation coefficient for the glasses was between 0.0338 and 52.8261 cm2/g, 0.0336-58.0237 cm2/g, and 0.0344-52.1560 cm2/g for LTNWM1, LTNWM2 and LTNWM3, respectively. The effective atomic number at 1.5 MeV was 18.718, 20.857, and 22.440 for LTNWM1, LTNWM2, and LTNWM3, respectively. The shielding parameters of the HMOs compared to traditional gamma radiation absorbers are exceptional and highlight the potential of using them as optically transparent gamma-shields.

Radiation shielding competence of chalcogenide alloys with high Te content.

In this research paper, we report on the radiation shielding ability of five newly developed chalcogenide alloys described by the chemical compositions of Ge20Sb6Te72Bi2 (GTSB1), Ge20Sb6Te70Bi4 (GTSB2), Ge20Sb6Te68Bi6 (GTSB3), Ge20Sb6Te66Bi8 (GTSB4), and Ge20Sb6Te64Bi10 (GTSB5). The simulation (Monte Carlo) technique is systematically utilized to understand the problem of radiation propagation through the chalcogenide alloys. The maximum deviation between the theoretical values and simulations outcomes for each alloy sample corresponds to circa 0.525, 0.517, 0.875, 0.619, and 0.574% for GTSB1, GTSB2, GTSB3, GTSB4, and GTSB5, respectively. The obtained results indicate that the rapid decline in the value of the attenuation coefficients is mainly due to the main photon interaction process with the alloys for E≤500 keV. Additionally, the charged particle and neutron transmission properties are assessed for the involved chalcogenide alloys. Comparing the MFP and HVL with those of the conventional shielding glasses and concretes, the present alloys are good photon absorbers and they could be used to replace some conventional shields in radiation protection applications.

Radiological monitoring in some coastal regions of the Saudi Arabian Gulf close to the Iranian Bushehr nuclear plant.

We studied the concentrations of terrestrial and anthropogenic radionuclides in seawater and shore sediment/sand of three selected regions; Khafji, Safaniyah and Menifah along the Saudi Arabian Gulf coast. The mean activity concentrations of the 228Ra, 226Ra, and 40K in the analyzed sand samples are 5.9, 3.5 and 113.5 Bq/kg, and the respective values in seawater samples are 1.6, 0.8 and 10.4 Bq/L. All data show lower than the corresponding UNSCEAR (2000) reported world average values of 35, 30 and 400 Bq/kg for soil matrix. A few relevant radiological hazards were quantified by the estimation of the absorbed dose rate, and the results are compared with the prescribed limits set by international regulatory bodies. Measured data indicates that the studied coastal regions pose a negligible radiological hazards to the public, and show an insignificant radioactive loading to this coastal region by the Busher nuclear power plant.

Gamma-Ray Attenuation and Exposure Buildup Factor of Novel Polymers in Shielding Using Geant4 Simulation.

Polymers are often used in medical applications, therefore, some novel polymers and their interactions with photons have been studied. The gamma-ray shielding parameters for Polymethylpentene (PMP), Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), Polyoxymethylene (POM), Polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF), and Polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) polymers were determined using the Geant4 simulation and discussed in the current work. The mass attenuation coefficients (µ/ρ) were simulated at low and high energies between 0.059 and 1.408 MeV using different radionuclides. The accuracy of the Geant4 simulated results were checked with the XCOM software. The two different methods had good agreement with each other. Exposure buildup factor (EBF) was calculated and discussed in terms of polymers under study and photon energy. Effective atomic number (Zeff) and electron density (Neff) were calculated and analyzed at different energies. Additionally, the half-value layer (HVL) of the polymers was evaluated, and the results of this parameter showed that PCTFE had the highest probability of interaction with gamma photons compared to those of the other tested polymers.

Enhancement of Bentonite Materials with Cement for Gamma-Ray Shielding Capability.

The gamma-ray shielding ability of various Bentonite-Cement mixed materials from northeast Egypt have been examined by determining their theoretical and experimental mass attenuation coefficients, µm (cm2g-1), at photon energies of 59.6, 121.78, 344.28, 661.66, 964.13, 1173.23, 1332.5 and 1408.01 keV emitted from 241Am, 137Cs, 152Eu and 60Co point sources. The µm was theoretically calculated using the chemical compositions obtained by Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX), while a NaI (Tl) scintillation detector was used to experimentally determine the µm (cm2g-1) of the mixed samples. The theoretical values are in acceptable agreement with the experimental calculations of the XCom software. The linear attenuation coefficient (µ), mean free path (MFP), half-value layer (HVL) and the exposure buildup factor (EBF) were also calculated by knowing the µm values of the examined samples. The gamma-radiation shielding ability of the selected Bentonite-Cement mixed samples have been studied against other puplished shielding materials. Knowledge of various factors such as thermo-chemical stability, availability and water holding capacity of the bentonite-cement mixed samples can be analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the materials to shield gamma rays.

Peak Efficiency of NaI Detector and Coincidence Summing Factor for Different Cylindrical Sources Using Geant4 Simulation.

ABSTRACT: Geant4 simulation is used to calculate peak efficiency and correct the effect of coincidence summing in detecting volumetric gamma-ray sources; this simulation was applied to a standard 152Eu source with different volumes as a test case. The source is a liquid cylindrical shape of various volumes. Peak efficiency was calculated using two tracks in the Geant4 simulation: single-energy track and "monoenergetic Track" without coincidence summing. Here, the energy of the source is known, and the track of radionuclides, including the coincidence summing, depends on the decay scheme of the radioactive source. The ratio between the peak efficiency of the two tracks gives us the correction factor (CF). The experimental method was used to calculate the peak efficiency and was amended by the correction factor computed with Geant4 tracks. The results showed a good agreement between experimental efficiency after correction and free-summing simulated efficiency. The comparison indicated that the present method is valid and useful for voluminous gamma-ray sources.