Physiochemical properties of TiO2 nanoparticle thin films deposited on stainless steel

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of TiO2 layer to improve hemocompatibility of 316LVM stainless steel. The TiO2 layers studied in this work were deposited from TiCl4 and H2O in a low-pressure Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) reactor taking into account number of cycles and process temperature. As a part of the research electrochemical studies of the layer after 28 days exposure to artificial plasma were carried out. In particular, potentiostatic, potentiodynamic and impedance studies were conducted. The obtained results were the basis for selection of surface treatment method dedicated to blood-contacting stainless steel implants

Superconducting Hair on Charged Black String Background

Behaviour of Dirac fermions in the background of a charged black string penetrated by an Abelian Higgs vortex is elaborated. One finds the evidence that the system under consideration can support fermion fields acting like a superconducting cosmic string in the sence that a nontrivial Dirac fermion field can be carried by the system in question. The case of nonextremal and extremal black string vortex systems were considered. The influence of electric and Higgs charge, the winding number and the fermion mass on the fermion localization near the black string event horizon was studied. It turned out that the extreme charged black string expelled fermion fields more violently comparing to the nonextremal one.Comment: RevTex, 16 pages, 12 figures, to be published in Phys.REvD1

Can Dirac fermions Destroy Yang-Mills Black Hole?

We study the four-dimensional Einstein-Yang-Mills black hole in the presence of Dirac fermion field. Assuming a spherically symmetric static asymptotically flat black hole spacetime we consider both massless and massive fermion fields. The (4+1)-dimensional Einstein-Yang-Mills system effectively reducing to Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs-dilaton model, was also taken into account. One finds that fermion vacuum leads to the destruction of black holes in question.Comment: 11 pages, RevTEx, to be published in Phys.Rev.D1

Functional properties of polyurethane ureteral stents with PLGA and papaverine hydrochloride coating

Despite the obvious benefits of using ureteral stents to drain the ureters, there is also a risk of complications from 80-90%. The presence of a foreign body in the human body causes disturbances in its proper functioning. It can lead to biofilm formation on the stent surface, which may favor the development of urinary tract infections or the formation of encrustation, as well as stent fragmentation, complicating its subsequent removal. In this work, the effect of the polymeric coating containing the active substance-papaverine hydrochloride on the functional properties of ureteral stents significant for clinical practice were assessed. Methods: The most commonly clinically used polyurethane ureteral Double-J stent was selected for the study. Using the dip-coating method, the surface of the stent was coated with a poly(D,L-lactide-glycolide) (PLGA) coating containing the papaverine hydrochloride (PAP). In particular, strength properties, retention strength of the stent ends, dynamic frictional force, and the fluoroscopic visibility of the stent during X-ray imaging were determined. Results: The analysis of the test results indicates the usefulness of a biodegradable polymer coating containing the active substance for the modification of the surface of polyurethane ureteral stents. The stents coated with PLGA+PAP coating compared to polyurethane stents are characterized by more favorable strength properties, the smaller value of the dynamic frictional force, without reducing the fluoroscopic visibility.Web of Science2214art. no. 770