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Background Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is closely related to the short-term and long-term health outcomes of the mothers and offspring. Pre-pregnancy BMI is strongly associated with GDM, nevertheless, it does not distinguish between body fat content and fat distribution. Only using it to assess obesity is flawed. Normal weight obesity (normal BMI but body fat percentage above 30%) and normal weight with central obesity (normal BMI but visceral fat area above 80 cm2) show different degree of metabolic dysregulation. However, those population are usually overlooked in clinical practice and there is a paucity of research on those population and GDM. Objective To explore the correlation between body composition in early pregnancy and GDM in a population of normal pre-pregnancy BMI, and to investigate the relationship between fat distribution and GDM. Methods We performed a study that included 1 938 singleton pregnant women registered in the obstetric out-patient clinic of Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University from October 2018 to October 2022. They voluntarily underwent nutritional assessment in early pregnancy and had regular pregnancy check-ups until 24-28 weeks of gestation, who underwent body composition testing in early pregnancy (6-16 weeks) and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24-28 weeks. According to the OGTT results, the study population were divided into the GDM group (n=382) and the normal group (n=1 556). We estimated the relationship between body composition and fat distribution with GDM in early pregnancy with binary Logistic regression. Results Body fat mass (BFM), visceral fat area (VFA), percentage body fat (PBF), and fat mass index (FMI) in the GDM group were higher than in the normal group (P

Objective To investigate the value of the combined score of Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in predicting the prognosis of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and the influencing factors for the prognosis of patients with ACLF. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of the patients with ACLF who were admitted to The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University and The Qingdao Sixth People’s Hospital from September 2015 to September 2021, and according to the prognosis on day 90 after diagnosis, they were divided into survival group and death group. The influencing factors for the prognosis of ACLF patients were analyzed, as well as the performance of serum AFP level, MELD score, and MELD-AFP combined score in predicting the short-term prognosis of patients. Results A total of 159 patients with ACLF were enrolled; 129 patients survived and 30 patients died on day 28 after diagnosis, while 111 patients survived and 48 patients died on day 90 after diagnosis. Serum AFP level, lactate dehydrogenase level, red blood cell count, hemoglobin level, alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase ratio, urea nitrogen/creatinine ratio, and MELD score were independent influencing factors for the prognosis of ACLF patients on day 90 after diagnosis. Compared with MELD score, MELD-AFP combined score had better performance in predicting the prognosis of ACLF patients on day 90 after diagnosis, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.81. Conclusion Increases in serum lactate dehydrogenase level, urea nitrogen/creatinine ratio, alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase ratio, red blood cell count, serum AFP level, and serum hemoglobin level are closely associated with the prognosis of ACLF patients on day 90 after diagnosis. MELD-AFP combined score significantly optimizes the performance of traditional MELD score in predicting the short-term prognosis of ACLF patients.

Extracting water from air offers a promising route to address the global challenge of water scarcity. However, bionic engineering surfaces for water harvesting often struggle with efficiently coordinating droplet nucleation and desorption. The recently emerging triboelectric effect at the liquid–solid interface offers a novel approach for developing bionic fog harvesting surfaces. In this study, inspired by Namib Desert beetles and lotus leaves, a biomimetic superhydrophobic surface with nanoscale hydrophilic domains is prepared via interfacial self‐assembly, exhibiting heterogeneous wettability for effective water harvesting. The essence of interfacial self‐assembly lies in the synergy of non‐covalent interaction forces, driving the self‐assembly of nanoparticles into surface micro‐nano hierarchical structures, thereby regulating wettability and increasing potential nucleation sites. Additionally, the triboelectric effect can directly utilize the triboelectric charges to facilitate droplet migration. The triboelectric effect can be generated by flexible mechanical input induced by walking, which enhances interfacial mass transfer, thereby rapidly improving droplet removal and achieving a 39.02% increase in water harvesting efficiency. This study has opened up a new breakthrough for the design of portable and efficient water harvesting systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper utilizes the improved delayed detached-eddy simulation method to investigate an aerodynamic braking technique involving blunting the streamlined portion of a high-speed train (HST) at Re = 5.0 × 105. The accuracy of the numerical simulation method was validated through reduced-scale wind tunnel experiments at the same Reynolds number level. The study compares aerodynamic drag, pressure distribution, boundary layer, and wake flow characteristics between the original configuration and the braking configuration of the HST. Additionally, the impact of aerodynamic braking plates on the flow characteristics around the key components of the HST has also been discussed. The results indicate a significant increase in the pressure drag experienced by the HST with the application of aerodynamic braking plates to its streamlined sections, while there is a slight decrease in viscous drag. This leads to a remarkable 235.4% rise in the overall aerodynamic drag of the entire HST. The aerodynamic braking plates also have a substantial impact on the turbulent wake flow topology, significantly increasing turbulence levels in the near-wake region. Furthermore, the implementation of aerodynamic braking plates may affect pantograph current collection by significantly altering stream-wise and vertical velocity components, notably increasing velocity fluctuation around the contact position between the pantograph and power supply lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]