Ab initio investigation of electron-phonon interaction in LaSn3 and CaSn3

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordWe present results for the structural, electronic, vibrational, and electron-phonon coupling properties of LaSn and CaSn adopting the simple cubic AuCu-type structure obtained using the the generalised gradient approximation of the density functional theory and plane wave ab initio pseudopotential method. Our electronic results show that both materials display metallic character with several bands, which have mainly Sn 5p character, crossing the Fermi level. The calculated phonon spectrum of LaSn accords very well with reported experimental measurements. The weights of the peaks in the Eliashberg spectral function of both compounds are enhanced with the use of experimental lattice constant in our electron-phonon calculation, increasing the value of average electron phonon coupling parameter from 0.876 to 0.937 for LaSn (by 7) and from 0.642 to 0.725 for CaSn (by 13). The use of experimental lattice constant also improves the agreement between theoretical and experimental values of the superconducting temperature for both compounds

Reproductive health and access to healthcare facilities: risk factors for depression and anxiety in women with an earthquake experience

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The reproductive and mental health of women contributes significantly to their overall well-being. Three of the eight Millennium Development Goals are directly related to reproductive and sexual health while mental disorders make up three of the ten leading causes of disease burden in low and middle-income countries. Among mental disorders, depression and anxiety are two of the most prevalent. In the context of slower progress in achieving Millennium Development Goals in developing countries and the ever-increasing man-made and natural disasters in these areas, it is important to understand the association between reproductive health and mental health among women with post-disaster experiences.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 387 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) randomly selected from the October 2005 earthquake affected areas of Pakistan. Data on reproductive health was collected using the Centers for Disease Control reproductive health assessment toolkit. Depression and anxiety were measured using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25, while earthquake experiences were captured using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. The association of either depression or anxiety with socio-demographic variables, earthquake experiences, reproductive health and access to health facilities was estimated using multivariate logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Post-earthquake reproductive health events together with economic deprivation, lower family support and poorer access to health care facilities explained a significant proportion of differences in the experiencing of clinical levels of depression and anxiety. For instance, women losing resources for subsistence, separation from family and experiencing reproductive health events such as having a stillbirth, having had an abortion, having had abnormal vaginal discharge or having had genital ulcers, were at significant risk of depression and anxiety.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The relationship between women's post-earthquake mental health and reproductive health, socio-economic status, and health care access is complex and explained largely by the socio-cultural role of women. It is suggested that interventions that consider gender differences and that are culturally appropriate are likely to reduce the incidence.</p

Theoretical investigation of superconductivity in the non-centrosymmetric SrPtGe3 and CaPtSi3 compounds

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordFirst-principles calculations are made to investigate structural, elastic, electronic, vibrational and electron–phonon interaction properties of non-centrosymmetric superconductors SrPtGe3 and CaPtSi3. Electronic structure calculation results show that the density of states at the Fermi level for both compounds mainly comes from the p electrons of Ge (or Si), which considerably hybridise with Pt d states. The calculated Eliashberg spectral function with and without spin–orbit interaction reveals that while all phonon branches are involved in the process of scattering of electrons near the Fermi level, the average electron–phonon coupling parameter values of 0.47 for SrPtGe3 and 0.49 for CaPtSi3 indicate that these compounds are phonon-mediated BCS-type superconductors with a weak strength. By using a reasonable value of (Formula presented.) = 0.11 for the effective Coulomb repulsion parameter, the superconducting transition temperatures for SrPtGe3 and CaPtSi3 are found to be 1.3 K and 2.4 K, respectively, which compare very well with the corresponding experimental values of 1.0 K and 2.3 K.Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırmalar Kurumu-TÜBİTA