Early ultrasound diagnosis of conjoined twins at eight weeks of pregnancy: A case report

BACKGROUND Conjoined twins are a rare occurrence,and the majority of these malformations are detected during second trimester screening.CASE SUMMARY Herein we report a case of conjoined twins,which was diagnosed by ultrasound at 8 wk gestation and was normal at 7 wk gestation.The two fetuses shared one heart and were diagnosed as thoracopagus twins.This is the first report of conjoined twins diagnosed at 8 wk gestation.The pregnancy was terminated electively at 9 wk gestation.Because some congenital malformations can be diagnosed earlier,a prenatal ultrasound examination at an early gestational stage cannot be dismissed.CONCLUSION This case demonstrates that a 7-8 wk gestation might be the earliest period when conjoined twins can be diagnosed by ultrasound.

Successful Separation of Conjoined Twins at the Conakry University Hospital Center

Introduction: The birth of conjoined twins is an event extremely rare that offers unique therapeutic challenges and circumstances. We must examine each situation with the many questions that arise and which sometimes require a long reflection. We report a case of separation of pygopages conjoined twins as well as a review of the literature. Patients and Observations: a pair of conjoined twins aged 11 days, weighing 3080 g between them, was referred to the neonatology department from the Faranah prefecture, 300 km from Conakry, for care. The mother, a 30-year-old housewife, multipara, eight gestures and nine parities, had not followed any prenatal consultation. The delivery took place at home in a village with the death of the mother immediately postpartum. The clinical and paraclinical investigation had concluded with the diagnosis of Siamese type pygopage. After multidisciplinary consultation, the surgical treatment by separation of the twins was carried out at the age of 50 days with success and preservation of the physiological functions. Conclusion: The birth of conjoined twins is extremely rare. Each pair of Siamese is different and the surgical strategy must be adapted according to the shared organs. The perfect multidisciplinary work of the medical staff has been the main contributor to our success.

Bipolar hip arthroplasty using conjoined tendon preserving posterior lateral approach in treatment of displaced femoral neck fractures

BACKGROUND Hip fractures account for 23.8%of all fractures in patients over the age of 75 years.More than half of these patients are older than 80 years.Bipolar hemiarthroplasty(BHA)was established as an effective management option for these patients.Various approaches can be used for the BHA procedure.However,there is a high risk of postoperative dislocation.The conjoined tendon-preserving posterior(CPP)lateral approach was introduced to reduce postoperative dislocation rates.AIM To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the CPP lateral approach for BHA in elderly patients.METHODS We retrospectively analyzed medical data from 80 patients with displaced femoral neck fractures who underwent BHA.The patients were followed up for at least 1 year.Among the 80 patients,57(71.3%)were female.The time to operation averaged 2.3 d(range:1-5 d).The mean age was 80.5 years(range:67-90 years),and the mean body mass index was 24.9 kg/m^(2)(range:17-36 kg/m^(2)).According to the Garden classification,42.5%of patients were typeⅢand 57.5%of patients were typeⅣ.Uncemented bipolar hip prostheses were used for all patients.Torn conjoined tendons,dislocations,and adverse complications during and after surgery were recorded.RESULTS The mean postoperative follow-up time was 15.3 months(range:12-18 months).The average surgery time was 52 min(range:40-70 min)with an average blood loss of 120 mL(range:80-320 mL).The transfusion rate was 10%(8 of 80 patients).The gemellus inferior was torn in 4 patients(5%),while it was difficult to identify in 2 patients(2.5%)during surgery.The posterior capsule was punctured by the fractured femoral neck in 3 patients,but the conjoined tendon and the piriformis tendon remained intact.No patients had stem varus greater than 3 degrees or femoral fracture.There were no patients with stem subsidence more than 5 mm at the last follow-up.No postoperative dislocations were observed throughout the follow-up period.No significance was found between preoperative and postoperative mean Health Service System scores(87.30±2.98 vs 86.10±6.10,t=1.89,P=0.063).CONCLUSION The CPP lateral approach can effectively reduce the incidence of postoperative dislocation without increasing perioperative complications.For surgeons familiar with the posterior lateral approach,there is no need for additional surgical instruments,and it does not increase surgical difficulty.

DNA Methylation Variation Is Identified in Monozygotic Twins Discordant for Congenital Heart Diseases

Aims:Multiple genes and environmental factors are known to be involved in congenital heart disease(CHD),but epigenetic variation has received little attention.Monozygotic(MZ)twins with CHD provide a unique model for exploring this phenomenon.In order to investigate the potential role of Deoxyribonucleic Acid(DNA)methyla-tion in CHD pathogenesis,the present study examined DNA methylation variation in MZ twins discordant for CHD,especially ventricular septal defect(VSD).Methods and Results:Using genome-wide DNA methylation profiles,we identified 4004 differentially methylated regions(DMRs)in 18 MZ twin pairs discordant for CHD,and 2826 genes were identified.Gene Ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)analysis revealed a list of CHD-associated pathways.To further investigate the role of DNA methylation in VSD,data from 7 pairs of MZ twins with VSD were analyzed.We identified 1614 DMRs corresponding to 1443 genes associated with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy,cyclic guanosine monopho-sphate-protein kinase G(cGMP-PKG)signaling pathway by KEGG analysis,and cell-cell adhesion,calcium ion transmembrane transport by GO analysis.A proportion of DMR-associated genes were involved in calcium signaling pathways.The methylation changes of calcium signaling genes might be related to VSD pathogenesis.Conclusion:CHD is associated with differential DNA methylation in MZ twins.CHD may be etiologically linked to DNA methylation,and methylation of calcium signaling genes may be involved in the development of VSD.

Origin of nucleation and growth of extension twins in grains unsuitably oriented for twinning during deformation of Mg-1%Al

A large number of anomalous extension twins,with low or even negative twinning Schmid factors,were found to nucleate and grow in a strongly textured Mg-1Al alloy during tensile deformation along the extruded direction.The deformation mechanisms responsible for this behaviour were investigated through in-situ electron back-scattered diffraction,grain reference orientation deviation,and slip trace-modified lattice rotation.It was found that anomalous extension twins nucleated mainly at the onset of plastic deformation at or near grain boundary triple junctions.They were associated with the severe strain incompatibility between neighbour grains as a result from the differentbasal slip-induced lattice rotations.Moreover,the anomalous twins were able to grow with the applied strain due to the continuous activation ofbasal slip in different neighbour grains,which enhanced the strain incompatibility.These results reveal the complexity of the deformation mechanisms in Mg alloys at the local level when deformed along hard orientations.

Exploring Alternatives to Create Digital Twins from and for Process Simulation

In this work,Digital Twins based on Neural Networks for the steady state production of styrene were generated.Thus,both the Aspen Technology AI Model Builder(alternative 1)and a homemade MS Excel VBA code connected to Aspen HYSYS and Aspen Plus(alternative 2)were used with this same aim.The raw data used for generating the Digital Twins were obtained from process simulations using Aspen HYSYS and/or Aspen Plus,which were connected through a recycle-like stream via automation for solving the entire simulation flowsheet.Aspen HYSYS was used for solving the pre-heating,reaction,and stabilization sections of the process whereas Aspen Plus ensured the computing of the separation and purification columns.Both alternatives led to an excellent prediction showing the capability of creating Digital Twins from and for process simulation.

Promoting hybrid twins structure to reduce yield asymmetry of rolled AZ31 plates by combining side-rolling and torsion

In this work,an as-rolled AZ31 square bar with c-axis//ND(normal direction)texture was used.Side-rolling and reciprocating torsion were performed to treat the bar.Microstructure evolution and tensile-compressive properties were investigated in detail.Initial rolled AZ31 bar exhibits a large yield asymmetry along the rolling direction(RD).Reciprocating torsion can generate extension twins to introduce twin boundaries and twin-texture.The twin structure can reduce yield asymmetry.However,only limited regions in the rolled AZ31 bar can be twinned during torsion.Pre-side-rolling along the transverse direction(TD)can generate two texture components(c-axis//TD texture and c-axis//ND texture)by introducing profuse{10–12}twins.Such dual texture components help increase the regions which are favorable for twinning during torsion.Finally,combining side-rolling and reciprocating torsion generates hybrid{10–12}twins structure on the entire cross-section,resulting in a remarkably low yield asymmetry.The relevant mechanisms were discussed in detail.

Design and Implementation of Secure and Reliable Information Interaction Architecture for Digital Twins

In order to improve the comprehensive defense capability of data security in digital twins(DTs),an information security interaction architecture is proposed in this paper to solve the inadequacy of data protection and transmission mechanism at present.Firstly,based on the advanced encryption standard(AES)encryption,we use the keystore to expand the traditional key,and use the digital pointer to avoid the key transmission in a wireless channel.Secondly,the identity authentication technology is adopted to ensure the data integrity,and an automatic retransmission mechanism is added for the endogenous properties of the wireless channel.Finally,the software defined radio(SDR)platform composed of universal software radio peripheral(USRP)and GNU radio is used to simulate the data interaction between the physical entity and the virtual entity.The numerical results show that the DTs architecture can guarantee the encrypted data transmitted completely and decrypted accurately with high efficiency and reliability,thus providing a basis for intelligent and secure information interaction for DTs in the future.

Modeling Methods of 3D Model in Digital Twins

To understand the current application and development of 3D modeling in Digital Twins(DTs),abundant literatures on DTs and 3D modeling are investigated by means of literature review.The transition process from 3D modeling to DTs modeling is analyzed,as well as the current application of DTs modeling in various industries.The application of 3D DTs modeling in the􀀀elds of smartmanufacturing,smart ecology,smart transportation,and smart buildings in smart cities is analyzed in detail,and the current limitations are summarized.It is found that the 3D modeling technology in DTs has broad prospects for development and has a huge impact on all walks of life and even human lifestyles.At the same time,the development of DTs modeling relies on the development and support capabilities of mature technologies such as Big Data,Internet of Things,Cloud Computing,Articial Intelligence,and game technology.Therefore,although some results have been achieved,there are still limitations.This work aims to provide a good theoretical support for the further development of 3D DTs modeling.

Regional Economic Development Trend Prediction Method Based on Digital Twins and Time Series Network

At present,the interpretation of regional economic development(RED)has changed from a simple evaluation of economic growth to a focus on economic growth and the optimization of economic structure,the improvement of economic relations,and the change of institutional innovation.This article uses the RED trend as the research object and constructs the RED index to conduct the theoretical analysis.Then this paper uses the attention mechanism based on digital twins and the time series network model to verify the actual data.Finally,the regional economy is predicted according to the theoretical model.The specific research work mainly includes the following aspects:1)This paper introduced the development status of research on time series networks and economic forecasting at home and abroad.2)This paper introduces the basic principles and structures of long and short-term memory(LSTM)and convolutional neural network(CNN),constructs an improved CNN-LSTM model combined with the attention mechanism,and then constructs a regional economic prediction index system.3)The best parameters of the model are selected through experiments,and the trained model is used for simulation experiment prediction.The results show that the CNN-LSTM model based on the attentionmechanism proposed in this paper has high accuracy in predicting regional economies.

On the strengthening and slip activity of Mg-3Al-1Zn alloy with pre-induced{1012¯}twins

{1012¯}twins were introduced into the magnesium(Mg)plate AZ31 via pre-rolling along its transverse direction.The plates,both with and without the pre-induced{1012¯}twins,were subjected to uniaxial tension along different directions.Using crystal plasticity modeling,we found that the strengthening effect of the pre-induced{1012¯}twins on the macroscopic flow stress primarily arised from the increased slip resistance caused by the boundaries,rather than the orientation hardening due to the twinning reorientation(although the latter did make its contribution in some specific loading directions).Besides,the pre-existing{1012¯}twins were found,by both experiments and simulation,to promote the activity of prismatic and pyramidal<c+a>in the parent matrix of the material.Further analysis showed that the enhanced non-basal slip activity is related to the{1012¯}twin boundaries’low micro Hall-Petch slope ratios of non-basal slips to basal slip.With the critical resolved shear stress(CRSS)obtained from crystal plasticity modeling and the orientation data from EBSD,a probability-based slip transfer model was proposed.The model predicts higher slip transfer probabilities and thus lower strain concentration tendencies at{1012¯}twin boundaries than that at grain boundaries,which agrees with the experimental observation that the strain localization was primarily associated with the latter.The present findings are helpful scientifically,in deepening our understanding of how the pre-induced{1012¯}twins affect the strength and slip activity of Mg alloys,and technologically,in guiding the design of the pre-strain protocol of Mg alloys.

A spatiotemporal intelligent framework and experimental platform for urban digital twins

Backgrounds This work emphasizes the current research status of the urban Digital Twins to establish an intelligent spatiotemporal framework.A Geospatial Artificial Intelligent(GeoAI)system is developed based on the Geographic Information System and Artificial Intelligence.It integrates multi-video technology and Virtual City in urban Digital Twins.Methods Besides,an improved small object detection model is proposed:YOLOv5-Pyramid,and Siamese network video tracking models,namely MPSiam and FSSiamese,are established.Finally,an experimental platform is built to verify the georeferencing correction scheme of video images.Result The MultiplyAccumulate value of MPSiam is 0.5B,and that of ResNet50-Siam is 4.5B.Besides,the model is compressed by 4.8times.The inference speed has increased by 3.3 times,reaching 83 Frames Per Second.3%of the Average Expectation Overlap is lost.Therefore,the urban Digital Twins-oriented GeoAI framework established here has excellent performance for video georeferencing and target detection problems.

Embryo-to-lamella transition of grain boundary twins in magnesium

A combined experimental and computational analysis is performed to investigate the less commonly studied embryo-to-lamella transition of deformation twins in magnesium. This work aims to understand the structural variables controlling the embryo-to-lamella transition from grain boundaries. Statistical analysis of hundreds of early-stage twins in the lightly deformed microstructure reveals a prevailing wedge shape,with a much thicker base along the grain boundary(GB) where they originate and a thinner tip terminating in the crystal. The analysis also shows that the GB base is super thick and identifies a minimum GB twin thickness among all early-stage twins that is about one micron. A crystal plasticity-based full-field model is employed to calculate the driving forces to migrate the boundary of a three-dimensional GB twin embryo. The stress analysis, considering a full range of embryo shapes and neighboring grain orientations, indicate that the twin embryo is most likely going to form a wedge shape when it first propagates. The calculations predict that the thickness of the embryo at the GB needs to be significantly larger than its length into the crystal in order to propagate into the crystal. The analysis finds that the more aligned the twin embryo variant is with basal slip in the neighboring grain, the thinner the twin embryo needed for propagation.

Distributed Edge Cooperation and Data Collection for Digital Twins of Wide-Areas

Digital twins for wide-areas(DT-WA)can model and predict the physical world with high fidelity by incorporating an artificial intelligence(AI)model.However,the AI model requires an energy-consuming updating process to keep pace with the dynamic environment,where studies are still in infancy.To reduce the updating energy,this paper proposes a distributed edge cooperation and data collection scheme.The AI model is partitioned into multiple sub-models deployed on different edge servers(ESs)co-located with access points across wide-area,to update distributively using local sensor data.To reduce the updating energy,ESs can choose to become either updating helpers or recipients of their neighboring ESs,based on sensor quantities and basic updating convergencies.Helpers would share their updated sub-model parameters with neighboring recipients,so as to reduce the latter updating workload.To minimize system energy under updating convergency and latency constraints,we further propose an algorithm to let ESs distributively optimize their cooperation identities,collect sensor data,and allocate wireless and computing resources.It comprises several constraint-release approaches,where two child optimization problems are solved,and designs a largescale multi-agent deep reinforcement learning algorithm.Simulation shows that the proposed scheme can efficiently reduce updating energy compared with the baselines.

Integration of Digital Twins and Artificial Intelligence for Classifying Cardiac Ischemia

Despite advances in intelligent medical care,difficulties remain.Due to its complicated governance,designing,planning,improving,and managing the cardiac system remains difficult.Oversight,including intelligent monitoring,feedback systems,and management practises,is unsuccessful.Current platforms cannot deliver lifelong personal health management services.Insufficient accuracy in patient crisis warning programmes.No frequent,direct interaction between healthcare workers and patients is visible.Physical medical systems and intelligent information systems are not integrated.This study introduces the Advanced Cardiac Twin(ACT)model integrated with Artificial Neural Network(ANN)to handle real-time monitoring,decision-making,and crisis prediction.THINGSPEAK is used to create an IoT platform that accepts patient sensor data.Importing these data sets into MATLAB allows display and analysis.A myocardial ischemia research examined Health Condition Tracking’s(HCT’s)potential.In the case study,75%of the training sets(Xt),15%of the verified data,and 10%of the test data were used.Training set feature values(Xt)were given with the data.Training,Validation,and Testing accuracy rates were 99.9%,99.9%,and 99.9%,respectively.General research accuracy was 99.9%.The proposed HCT system and Artificial Neural Network(ANN)model gather historical and real-time data to manage and anticipate cardiac issues.

A generic framework for qualifications of digital twins in maintenance

Digital twins have emerged as a promising technology for maintenance applications,enabling organizations to simulate and monitor physical assets to improve their performance.In Operation and Maintenance(O&M),digital twin facilitates the diagnosis and prognosis of critical assets,forming the basis for smart maintenance planning and reducing downtime.However,there is a lack of standardized approaches for the qualifications of digital twins in maintenance,leading to low trustworthiness and limiting its application.This paper proposes a novel framework for the qualifications of digital twins in maintenance based on five pillars,namely fidelity,smartness,timeliness,integration,and standard compliance.We demonstrate the effectiveness of the framework through two case studies,showing how it can be implemented on digital twins for preventive maintenance and condition-based maintenance.Our proposed framework can help organizations across different industrial domains develop and implement digital twins in maintenance more effectively and efficiently,leading to significant benefits in terms of cost reduction,performance improvement,and sustainability.

m^(6)AmTwins:基于深度学习和Twins网络的m^(6)A_(m)位点预测

N6,2′-O-二甲基腺苷(m^(6)Am)是一种常见的RNA分子的可逆修饰。部分研究已经说明m^(6)Am对mRNA的影响,但现阶段对m^(6)Am的生物学功能探索仍不够。所以我们提出了m^(6)AmTwins,一种新的端到端双胞胎网络,将Transformer(自动编码器)和双向门控循环单元(Bi-GRU)有机结合,简单利用RNA序列得到RNA的检测性。相比于现有的算法,本文亮点在于利用对比学习,构建新的损失函数来训练m^(6)AmTwins模型,提高了模型的泛化能力。基于Twins网络和简单编码方案,在两组正负比为1∶10的非平衡数据集下,其独立测试集上均取得了较好的结果,马修斯相关系数(MCC)分别得到0.53和0.545。同时,为增强m^(6)AmTwins模型的鲁棒性(robustness),本文在训练集上还进行了10折交叉验证,其MCC结果分别为0.562和0.567,说明该模型具有良好的泛化能力,可为生物医学在m^(6)Am上的研究提供一定的价值。

Preoperative preparation and surgical separation of conjoined pygopagus twins

Conjoined twins are very rare with an estimated ,incidence of about 1 in 200 000 births with a male-female ratio of 1：3 The separation ot conjolned twins presents a challenge to surgeons and also a test for comprehensive efficiency of a hospital. Recently, a rare pair of pygopagus twins were admitted to our hospital and a successful surgical separation was carded out.

一次大磁暴主相期间ENA氧与氢的分离及分布特征——TWINS卫星观测

本文采用基于ENA(Energetic Neutral Atoms)次生电子起始脉冲高度分布,统计拟合分离中能段ENA两种主要成分氢和氧的方法,研发了实现ENA氢与氧分离的TWINS卫星原始数据处理软件;其中所需要的脉高分布模型,参照已有理论公式,利用TWINS(Two Wide-angle Imaging Neutral-atom Spectrometers)卫星标定数据进行拟合确定未知参数,再加以计算得到.将上述方法用于TWINS卫星实测数据,分离得到一次大磁暴主相期间ENA-H和ENA-O微分通量随观测视线的分布及其随主相增长的变化.分析发现:(1)ENA-H与ENA-O微分通量的强度和随观测视线的分布特征都有明显差别,从某种角度反映出ENA之源的O^+与H^+离子强度和分布之间的差异;(2)接近主相极大时,ENA-H有很强的低高度发射(LAE,Low Altitude Emission),出现在磁地方时午夜前极光和亚极光纬度区,意味着该区域较强的等离子片和环电流质子沉降,进入到外层基底以下较低高度大气层;而ENA-O则未有明显LAE产生;ENA-O强通量观测视线主要穿过广大环电流区,磁地方时主要在午夜之后以及黄昏前和黎明前后;(3)在磁暴主相快速增长期,ENA-O平均总通量持续增大,而ENA-H同步减小,ENA-O与ENA-H平均总通量的比率随环电流指数Dst绝对值的增大而大致成正比增长.

利用差分体像素CT由TWINS卫星ENA成像反演暴时环电流离子三维分布

本文将体像素CT方法应用于TWINS卫星高能中性原子立体成像数据,重建环电流离子通量强度三维分布.为了克服卫星ENA成像可能存在的仪器偏差造成反演误差增大甚至迭代发散无解的问题,发展了差分ENA体像素CT反演方法.采用环电流离子分布理论模型和实际卫星观测几何构形进行模拟检验,证明了该方法的可靠性和优越性.利用此方法分析2012年7月15日磁暴(min Dst=-133nT)主相期间TWINS两颗卫星的实测ENA数据(能量范围4keV^50keV),反演得到环电流离子微分通量随L值/纬度/地方时的三维分布与能谱.所得离子通量呈现显著不对称的部分环电流特征,主要分布在低纬-赤道区磁午夜前后至黎明前数小时,L值约为3.5~6.5的区域;将反演得到的磁午夜后赤道区环电流离子通量能谱,与THEMIS卫星当地测量得到的此区域同时的能谱作比较,两者符合得很好;证明本文发展的差分体像素CT是由多卫星ENA二维图像重建暴时环电流离子分布的有效方法.