Interaction between cavitation bubbles and plastrons on superhydrophobic surfaces.

The interaction between cavitation bubbles and plastrons on superhydrophobic surfaces was investigated using a low-voltage discharge device and high-speed photography techniques. The plastron adhered to the superhydrophobic surface acts as a liquid-gas interface, giving the boundary the ability to repel cavitation bubbles. The direction of bubble collapse is determined by the vector synthesis of the Bjerknes repulsive force from the plastron and the Bjerknes attractive force from the rigid wall when the bubble collapses for the first time. Various collapse behaviors were observed, including bubbles moving away from the plastron, bubbles orienting towards the plastron, and bubbles splitting into sub-bubbles in opposite directions. During the subsequent evolution of the bubbles, the expansion of the plastron led to the reversal of the downward jet or reduced the impact velocity of the jet. Seven jet patterns were identified based on the evolution of the cavitation bubble. Starting from the impact velocity of the jet, three jet patterns, namely, the jet away from the plastron (JA), the funnel-shaped jet away from the plastron (JAF), and the funnel-shaped jet away from the plastron with vortex shedding (JAFV), were found to have a weaker effect on the boundary. Three criteria for the design of plastrons on superhydrophobic surfaces were established: VP>0.25Vmax, HP>0.55Rmax, DP>1.2Rmax. Passive pulsation of the plastron in response to the cavitation bubble exhibited similar behaviors across seven jet patterns except for the JAF pattern: torus-shaped, dish-shaped, and skirt-shaped. The dimensionless wall distance, volume ratio, and plastron morphology parameters were identified as significant factors influencing the interaction between cavitation bubbles and the plastron.

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome induces metabolomic changes in expressed prostatic secretions and plasma.

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a complex disease that is often accompanied by mental health disorders. However, the potential mechanisms underlying the heterogeneous clinical presentation of CP/CPPS remain uncertain. This study analyzed widely targeted metabolomic data of expressed prostatic secretions (EPS) and plasma to reveal the underlying pathological mechanisms of CP/CPPS. A total of 24 CP/CPPS patients from The Second Nanning People's Hospital (Nanning, China), and 35 asymptomatic control individuals from First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University (Nanning, China) were enrolled. The indicators related to CP/CPPS and psychiatric symptoms were recorded. Differential analysis, coexpression network analysis, and correlation analysis were performed to identify metabolites that were specifically altered in patients and associated with various phenotypes of CP/CPPS. The crucial links between EPS and plasma were further investigated. The metabolomic data of EPS from CP/CPPS patients were significantly different from those from control individuals. Pathway analysis revealed dysregulation of amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, and the citrate cycle in EPS. The tryptophan metabolic pathway was found to be the most significantly altered pathway associated with distinct CP/CPPS phenotypes. Moreover, the dysregulation of tryptophan and tyrosine metabolism and elevation of oxidative stress-related metabolites in plasma were found to effectively elucidate the development of depression in CP/CPPS. Overall, metabolomic alterations in the EPS and plasma of patients were primarily associated with oxidative damage, energy metabolism abnormalities, neurological impairment, and immune dysregulation. These alterations may be associated with chronic pain, voiding symptoms, reduced fertility, and depression in CP/CPPS. This study provides a local-global perspective for understanding the pathological mechanisms of CP/CPPS and offers potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

Cavitation pit evolution process of epoxy and polyurea coatings on mortar substrates.

This study focuses on unraveling the failure mechanisms of three distinct polymer-coating structures applied to mortar substrates: an epoxy coating (MEP1), an epoxy coating with an intermediate epoxy mortar layer (MEP2), and a polyurea coating with an intermediate epoxy mortar layer (MPU). Ultrasonic cavitation experiments are conducted to investigate the initial stages of cavitation erosion. The damaged surfaces of these three coating structures are meticulously investigated and characterized. An in-depth analysis is performed on the distribution characteristics of cavitation pits and the evolutionary patterns of these pits. The results indicate that the introduction of epoxy mortar as an intermediate layer significantly enhances the material's cavitation resistance by improving its energy absorption capacity. This enhancement delays the formation of cavitation pits on the coating surface. Additionally, the superior adhesive properties of the intermediate epoxy mortar with the mortar substrate prevent direct cavitation erosion from forming on the substrate, even when brittleness failure occurs and coating erosion is observed on the surface epoxy polymer. The polyurea coatings demonstrate exceptional elastic-plastic deformation capabilities. When combined with the intermediate epoxy mortar layer, MPU can withstand prolonged and repetitive cavitation impacts, resulting in minimal coating erosion.

Identification of Immune-Related Subtypes and Construction of a Novel Prognostic Model for Bladder Urothelial Cancer.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between bladder urothelial cancer (BLCA) and immunity, to screen prognosis-related immune genes (PIGs), and to construct an immune-related prognosis model (IRPM). We processed the relevant data of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA-BLCA) and GSE13507 using R software and Perl. We divided BLCA into high-immunity and low-immunity subtypes. There were significant differences in the two subtypes. In addition, we identified 13 PIGs of BLCA by jointly analyzing the gene expression data and survival information of GSE13507 and TCGA-BLCA, and constructed IRPM through nine of them. The low-risk group had better survival outcome than the high-risk group. We also constructed a nomogram based on clinicopathological information and risk scores of the patients. Moreover, the prognosis of BLCA patients was significantly impacted by the expression of almost every gene used to calculate the risk score. The result of real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed that all the genes used to calculate the risk score were differentially expressed between BLCA and adjacent normal tissues, except PDGFRA. Our research provided potential targets for the treatment of BLCA and a reference for judging the prognosis of BLCA.

Female chronic posterior urethritis is underestimated in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms.

BACKGROUND: As one of the causes of urethral symptoms, female chronic posterior urethritis is a common and distressing disease; however, it is often neglected and misdiagnosed as overactive bladder (OAB) or interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). Currently, little is known about the urothelium and lamina propria of the bladder neck and proximal urethra. Thus, identifying urethral lesions is necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of female chronic posterior urethritis. Transurethral electroresection is an effective and safe approach for treating female chronic posterior urethritis. This study sought to determine if urethral lesions are necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of female chronic posterior urethritis, and evaluate the efficacy and safety of the transurethral electroresection of mucosa and submucosa in treating female chronic posterior urethritis. METHODS: A single-center, retrospective, observational study was conducted at a teaching and referral hospital. A total of 147 female patients who had been diagnosed with chronic papillary urethritis underwent transurethral electroresection between 2015 and 2018. Each patient underwent a follow-up examination. A chart review was also performed. RESULTS: Patients had a mean age of 54 years (range, 23-82 years), and the average follow-up period was 54.8 months (range, 6-600 months). Urinary frequency and urgency (51.7%) were the most common clinical manifestations of chronic posterior urethritis. Forty-two-point two percent of patients had positive urine culture results, most commonly with Mycoplasma genitalium. The cystoscopic findings revealed that chronic posterior urethritis has tuft-like, pseudopodia-like, finger-like, and follicular-like polyps and villi, and a pebble-like appearance with mucosal hyperemia. The success rate of the transurethral electroresection was 88.6%, and patients showed no apparent or serious complications. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that female chronic posterior urethritis is a cause that contributes to LUT symptoms. Its characteristic cystoscopic appearance and biopsy play a vital role in its diagnosis. The transurethral electroresection of urethral lesions is simple, effective, and minimally invasive without any apparent complications.

Numerical simulation of alga growth and control in Dalian Bay.

WAHMO model was used to simulate the distribution of pollutants in Dalian Bay, China as to predict well as the growth and control of alga. The observed and predicted values of main pollutants showed a good trend at all study locations and the different between them can be ignored. Simulation results illustrated that phosphate was one of limited factors to control algal growth at the location near the sewage outfall, meanwhile, away from the sewage outfall, the synergy of ammonium nitrogen and phosphate was the limited factor.