First-principles investigation of oxidized Si- and Ge-terminated diamond (100) surfaces.

Diamond is a semiconductor material with remarkable structural, thermal, and electronic properties that has garnered significant interest in the field of electronics. Although hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) terminations are conventionally favored in transistor designs, alternative options, such as silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge), are being explored because of their resilience to harsh processing conditions during fabrication. Density-functional theory was used to examine the non-oxidized and oxidized group-IV (Si and Ge)-terminated diamond (100) surfaces. The (3 × 1) reconstructed surfaces feature an ether configuration and show relative stability compared with the bare surface. Hybrid-functional calculations of the electronic properties revealed reduced fundamental bandgaps (<1 eV) and lower negative electron affinities (NEAs) than those of H-terminated diamond surfaces, which is attributed to the introduction of unoccupied Si (Ge) states and the depletion of negative charges. Furthermore, oxidation of these surfaces enhanced the stability of the diamond surfaces but resulted in two structural configurations: ether and ketone. Oxidized ether configurations displayed insulating properties with energy gaps of ∼4.3 ± 0.3 eV, similar to H-terminated diamond (100) surfaces, whereas bridged ether configurations exhibited metallic properties. Oxidization of the metallic ketone configurations leads to the opening of relatively smaller gaps in the range of 1.1-1.7 eV. Overall, oxidation induced a shift from NEAs to positive electron affinities, except for the reverse-ordered ketone surface with an NEA of -0.94 eV, a value comparable to the H-terminated diamond (100) surfaces. In conclusion, oxidized group-IV-terminated diamond surfaces offer enhanced stability compared to H-terminated surfaces and display unique structural and electronic properties that are influenced by surface bonding.

Phase dependent structural and electronic properties of lanthanum orthophosphate (LaPO4).

We study the phase-dependent structural and electronic properties of bulk LaPO4, using density functional theory (DFT). The applicability of conventional semi-local and hybrid functionals in predicting structural and electronic properties of monoclinic and hexagonal LaPO4 is evaluated by comparing results to available experimental data. The monoclinic LaPO4 was found to be more stable than the hexagonal phase in ambient conditions with a small energy difference, suggesting a possibility of a phase transition. Both the phases in the bulk form are found to be diamagnetic with indirect energy gaps. These results are consistent with available experimental results. In the monoclinic phase, the hybrid functionals predict indirect band gap at about 8 eV. Furthermore, the calculated indirect-direct transition energy offset (ΔE) in the hexagonal phase was three times lower than the monoclinic phase. Our calculations based on hybrid functionals also reveal that the states near the conduction band edge in the hexagonal LaPO4 are strongly hybridized between La and PO4 states. By analyzing the band dispersion around the band edges, we show that the hexagonal phase has lighter electron effective mass, as compared to the monoclinic phase. With a larger energy gap, smaller ΔE, and smaller electron effective mass, the hexagonal LaPO4 might be a promising candidate material as an n-type transparent oxide.

Aerobic Bacteria in the Diaphragmatic Portion of Stethoscope of Medical Professionals of Tertiary Care Hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Hospital environment is a reservoir of wide varieties of microorganisms which are frequently reported colonizing in medical equipment. Stethoscopes are essential tools and of universal use in the medical profession, which might be a source of spreading nosocomial infections. This research project was conducted with an aim to assess the presence of aerobic bacteria in the stethoscope of the medical doctors working at Patan Hospital and students of Patan Academy of Health Sciences. METHODS: It is a cross sectional study based on structured questionnaire and sample assessment from the stethoscope of doctors and students of Patan Hospital and Patan Academy of Health Sciences. The stethescopes used by the doctors of five major departments of Patan Hospital and students of clinical years were included in this study. RESULTS: Total of 99 stethoscope owned by different level of professionals (positions) and different departments were examined for bacterial contamination. Out of them, 36 were found to be considerably contaminated. Single strain of bacteria was grown from a single stethoscope. Among them 34 were Gram positive and remaining were Gram negative. Out of 34 gram postive bacteria, 29 were identified as Staphylococcus aureus, six were identified as Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus and remaining were Gram positive bacilli. CONCLUSIONS: There is presence of aerobic bacteria in diaphragmatic portion of stethoscope of medical professional of which the gram positives were the commonest.