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ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the impact of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on fetal heart structure and function using a technique called fetal heart quantification (Fetal HQ), with a focus on mitochondrial dynamics, which employs advanced imaging technology for comprehensive analysis.MethodsA total of 180 fetuses with normal heart structures, aged 24–40 weeks of gestation, were examined. A 2–3 s cine loop in the standard four-chamber oblique view was captured and analyzed using the speckle-tracking technique with Fetal HQ. Various echocardiographic parameters were evaluated, including four-chamber view (4CV), global spherical index (GSI), global longitudinal strain (GLS), 24-segment spherical index (SI), ventricular fractional area change (FAC), cardiac output (CO), and stroke volume (SV). These parameters were compared between the GDM group and the control group during two gestational periods: 24+0 to 28+0 weeks and 28+1 to 40+1 weeks. Statistical analysis was performed using independent samples t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests to identify significant differences.ResultsTwenty fetuses from mothers with GDM and 40 from the control group were recruited at 24+0 to 28+0 weeks. At 28+1 to 40+1 weeks, 40 fetuses from mothers with GDM and 80 from the control group were recruited. The fetal left ventricular global longitudinal function was similar between the GDM and control groups. However, compared to the controls, right ventricular function in the GDM group was lower only at 28+1 to 40+1 weeks. In the GDM group, the global spherical index (GSI) was lower than in the control group at 28+1 to 40+1 weeks (1.175 vs. 1.22; p = 0.001). There were significant decreases in ventricular FAC (38.74% vs. 42.83%; p < 0.0001) and 4CV GLS for the right ventricle (−22.27% vs. −26.31%; p = 0.005) at 28+1 to 40+1 weeks.ConclusionOur findings suggest that GDM is associated with decreased right ventricular function in the fetal heart, particularly during the later stages of pregnancy (28+1 to 40+1 weeks), compared to fetuses from healthy pregnancies. The Fetal HQ technique represents a valuable tool for evaluating the structure and function of fetal hearts affected by GDM during the advanced stages of pregnancy.

With the development of salt cavern gas storage technology, the construction of large-scale salt cavern gas storage using sediment voids is expected to solve the problems of low effective volume formation rate and poor construction economy of high-impurity salt mines. At present, there are few studies on the long-term operational mechanical behavior of salt cavern gas storage under the influence of sediment accumulation. The present paper studies the influence of sediment height, particle gradation, and operating pressure on the stability of salt caverns by constructing a coupling model of sediment particle discontinuous medium and surrounding rock continuous medium. The continuous–discontinuous coupling algorithm is suitable for analyzing the influence of sediment height and particle gradation on the creep shrinkage of salt caverns. The increase in sediment height slows down the creep shrinkage of the cavern bottom, which strengthens the restraining effect on the surrounding rock of the cavern. As a result, the position of the maximum displacement of the surrounding rock moves to the upper part of the cavern. The sediment particle gradation has little effect on the cavern volume shrinkage rate. The greater the coarse particle content, the smaller the cavern volume shrinkage rate. The greater the operating pressure, the more conducive to maintaining the stability of the cavern. This situation slows down the upward movement of the sediment accumulation and increases the gas storage space in the upper part of the cavern. The obtained results can provide a reference for evaluating the long-term operational stability of sediment-type high-impurity salt cavern gas storage.