DLC coatings are of enormous interest for biotribological applications due to their biocompatibility, auto-lubricious, and non-stick properties. The most demanding implant is the hip joint. Alternative materials to metal alloys are being increasingly investigated aiming low wear debris volume, in any case innocuous wear particles. Silicon nitride (Si3N4) ceramics are light, tough, mechanical re...

This paper evaluated the internal stresses of different diamond and diamondlike carbon DLC coatings. For the diamond coatings, the stresses were determined using micro-Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction XRD , while the stresses of DLC films were determined with bent plate method. The internal stress was related to the structural properties of the coatings. Direct current plasma jet, combu...

Diamond and diamondlike carbon (DLC) films exhibit a wide range of sometimes contradictory tribological behavior. Experimentally, isolating the influences of factors such as film structure, testing conditions, and environmental effects has proven difficult. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations were used to examine the effects of film structure, passivation, adhesion, tribochemistry, and...

Osteoarthritis-oriented synovial fluid (OASF), i.e., that typical of a patient with osteoarthritis, has different physical and biological characteristics than bovine serum (BS), a lubricant widely used in biotribological investigations. Micro-dimpled and diamond-like carbon- (DLC) coated surfaces are key emerging interfaces for orthopedic implants. In this study, tribological performances of di...

The Distributed Legible City (DLC) is an interactive multi-media art installation enabling a number of ‘cyclists’ to participate in a shared virtual environment and to tour together around three city representations. In this paper we describe the evolution of the DLC guided by ethnographic study. In particular we consider the implications and problems associated with designing a virtual environ...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Predicting technical difficulties in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in a small regional hospital increases efficacy, cost-benefit and safety of the procedure. The aim of the study was to assess whether it is possible to accurately predict a difficult LC (DLC) in a small regional hospital based only on the routine available clinical work-up parameters (patient history, ultraso...

An electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) capacitance diagnostic method was developed to measure the nanoporosity in DC magnetron-sputtered diamond-like carbon (DLC) films deposited on highly conductive silicon (111) substrates. The measurement was based on a calibration of artificial defects enclosed in a well-defined area. Films of known nanoporosity, as determined by EIS, were used to ...

Ultrafast relaxation dynamics of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films with embedded Ag nanoparticles (DLC:Ag) and photovoltaic properties of heterojunctions consisting of DLC:Ag and crystalline silicon (DLC:Ag/Si) were investigated by means of transient absorption (TAS) spectroscopy and photovoltaic measurements. The heterojunctions using both p type and n type silicon were studied. It was found tha...

In this paper, we investigate the sliding friction and wear behavior of a hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (DLC) film in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) and under partial pressures of water vapor, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. The initial friction coefficient of the film in UHV was 0.15, but decreased steadily to values as low as 0.03 after about 30 sliding passes. During longer duration tests, the fri...

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is a group of malignancies with heterogeneous genetic and epigenetic alterations. Discovery of molecular markers that better define NHL should improve diagnosis, prognosis and understanding of the biology. We developed a CpG island DNA microarray for discovery of aberrant methylation targets in cancer, and now apply this method to examine NHL cell lines and primary ...