The role of dietary factors in osteoporotic fractures (OFs) in women is not fully elucidated. We investigated the associations between incidence of OF and dietary calcium, magnesium and soy isoflavone intake in a longitudinal study of 48 584 postmenopausal women. Multivariable Cox regression was applied to derive hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) to evaluate associations between dietary intake, based on the averages of two assessments that took place with a median interval of 2⋅4 years, and fracture risk. The average age of study participants is 61⋅4 years (range 43⋅3–76⋅7 years) at study entry. During a median follow-up of 10⋅1 years, 4⋅3 % participants experienced OF. Compared with daily calcium intake ≤400 mg/d, higher calcium intake (>400 mg/d) was significantly associated with about a 40–50 % reduction of OF risk among women with a calcium/magnesium (Ca/Mg) intake ratio ≥1⋅7. Among women with prior fracture history, high soy isoflavone intake was associated with reduced OF risk; the HR was 0⋅72 (95 % CI 0⋅55, 0⋅93) for the highest (>42⋅0 mg/d) v. lowest (<18⋅7 mg/d) quartile intake. This inverse association was more evident among recently menopausal women (<10 years). No significant association between magnesium intake and OF risk was observed. Our findings provide novel information suggesting that the association of OF risk with dietary calcium intake was modified by Ca/Mg ratio, and soy isoflavone intake was modified by history of fractures and time since menopause. Our findings, if confirmed, can help to guide further dietary intervention strategies for OF prevention.

The impacts of training image sizes and optimizers on deep convolutional neural networks for weed detection in alfalfa have not been well explored. In this research, AlexNet, GoogLeNet, VGGNet, and ResNet were trained with various sizes of input images, including 200 × 200, 400 × 400, 600 × 600, and 800 × 800 pixels, and deep learning optimizers including Adagrad, AdaDelta, Adaptive Moment Estimation (Adam) and Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD). Increasing input image sizes reduced the classification accuracy of all neural networks. The neural networks trained with the input images of 200 × 200 pixels resulted in better classification accuracy than the other image sizes investigated here. The optimizers affected the performance of the neural networks for weed detection. AlexNet and GoogLeNet trained with AdaDelta and SGD outperformed Adagrad and Adam; VGGNet trained with AdaDelta outperformed Adagrad, Adam, and SGD; and ResNet trained with AdaDelta and Adagrad outperformed the Adam and SGD. When the neural networks were trained with the best-performed input image size (200 × 200 pixels) and the deep learning optimizer, VGGNet was the most effective neural network with high precision and recall values (≥0.99) in the validation and testing datasets. At the same time, ResNet was the least effective neural network for classifying images containing weeds. However, the detection accuracy did not differ between broadleaf and grass weeds for the different neural networks studied here. The developed neural networks can be used for scouting weed infestations in alfalfa and further integrated into the machine vision subsystem of smart sprayers for site-specific weed control.

Background: Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is the largest acute tertiary-care hospital in Singapore. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of acquiring COVID-19 in both the community and workplaces. SGH has a robust exposure management process including prompt contact tracing, immediate ring fencing, lock down of affected cubicles or single room isolation for patient contacts, and home isolation orders for staff contacts of COVID-19 cases during the containment phase of the pandemic. Contacts were also placed on enhanced surveillance with PCR testing on days 1 and 4 as well as daily antigen rapid tests (ARTs) for 10 days after exposure. Here, we describe the characteristic of HCWs with COVID-19 during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This retrospective observational study included all SGH HCWs who acquired COVID-19 during the third wave (ie, the 18-week period from September 1 to December 31, 2021) of the COVID-19 pandemic. Univariate analysis was used to compare characteristics of work-associated infection (WAI) and community-acquired infection (CAI) among HCWs. Results: Among a workforce of >10,000 at SGH, 335 HCWs acquired COVID-19 during study period. CAI (exposure to known clusters or household contact) accounted for 111 HCW infections (33.1%). Also, 48 HCWs (14.3%) had a WAI (ie, acquired at their work places where there was no patient contact). Among WAsI, only 5 HCWs had hospital-acquired infection (confirmed by phylogenetic analysis). The sources of exposure for the remaining 176 HCWs were unknown. Weekly incidence of COVID-19 among HCWs was comparable to the epidemiology curve of all cases in Singapore (Fig. 1 and 2). The mean age of HCWs with COVID-19 was 39.6 years, and most were women. At the time of positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test, 223 HCWs were symptomatic, and 67 (20.0%) of them had comorbidities. Only 16 HCWs (4.8%) required hospitalization, and all recovered fully with no mortality (Table 1). Being female was associated with community COVID-19 acquisition (OR, 4.6, P Conclusions: During the thrid wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a higher percentage of HCWs at SGH acquired the infection from the community than from the workplace. Safe management measures, such as universal masking, social distancing, and robust exposure management processes including prompt contact tracing and environmental disinfection, can reduce the risk of COVID-19 in the hospital work environment.

Funding: None

Disclosures: None

Sporadic clusters of healthcare-associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred despite intense rostered routine surveillance and a highly vaccinated healthcare worker (HCW) population, during a community surge of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.617.2 δ (delta) variant. Genomic analysis facilitated timely cluster detection and uncovered additional linkages via HCWs moving between clinical areas and among HCWs sharing a common lunch area, enabling early intervention.

We present a family of counterexamples to a question proposed recently by Moretó concerning the character codegrees and the element orders of a finite solvable group.

Prolonged parturition duration has been widely demonstrated to be a risk factor for incidence of stillbirth. This study evaluated the supply of dietary fibre on the parturition duration, gut microbiota and metabolome using sows as a model. A total of 40 Yorkshire sows were randomly given diet containing normal level of dietary fibre (NDF, 17·5 % dietary fibre) or high level of dietary fibre (HDF, 33·5 % dietary fibre). Faecal microbiota profiled with 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, SCFA and metabolome in the faeces and plasma around parturition were compared between the dietary groups. Correlation analysis was conducted to further explore the potential associations between specific bacterial taxa and metabolites. Results showed that HDF diet significantly improved the parturition process as presented by the shorter parturition duration. HDF diet increased the abundance of the phyla Bacteroidetes and Synergistetes and multiple genera. Except for butyrate, SCFA levels in the faeces and plasma of sows at parturition were elevated in HDF group. The abundances of fifteen and twelve metabolites in the faeces and plasma, respectively, markedly differ between HDF and NDF sows. These metabolites are involved in energy metabolism and bacterial metabolism. Correlation analysis also showed associations between specific bacteria taxa and metabolites. Collectively, our study indicates that the improvement of parturition duration by high fibre intake in late gestation is associated with gut microbiota, production of SCFA and other metabolites, potentially serving for energy metabolism.

If G is permutation group acting on a finite set $\Omega $ , then this action induces a natural action of G on the power set $\mathscr{P}(\Omega )$ . The number $s(G)$ of orbits in this action is an important parameter that has been used in bounding numbers of conjugacy classes in finite groups. In this context, $\inf ({\log _2 s(G)}/{\log _2 |G|})$ plays a role, but the precise value of this constant was unknown. We determine it where G runs over all permutation groups not containing any ${{\textrm {A}}}_l, l> 4$ , as a composition factor.

Due to less light scattering and a better signal-to-noise ratio in deep imaging, two-photon fluorescence microscopy (TPFM) has been widely used in biomedical photonics since its advent. However, optical aberrations degrade the performance of TPFM in terms of the signal intensity and the imaging depth and therefore restrict its application. Here, we introduce adaptive optics based on the genetic algorithm to detect the distorted wavefront of the excitation laser beam and then perform aberration correction to optimize the performance of TPFM. By using a spatial light modulator as the wavefront controller, the correction phase is obtained through a signal feedback loop and a process of natural selection. The experimental results show that the signal intensity and imaging depth of TPFM are improved after aberration correction. Finally, the method was applied to two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging, which helps to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and the accuracy of lifetime analysis. Furthermore, the method can also be implemented in other experiments, such as three-photon microscopy, light-sheet microscopy, and super-resolution microscopy.

Dongxiang wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) (DXWR) is the northernmost distributed wild rice found in the world. Similar to other populations of O. rufipogon, DXWR contains a large number of agronomically valuable genes, which makes it a natural gene pool for rice breeding. Molecular markers, especially simple repeat sequence (SSR) markers, play important roles in plant breeding. Although a large number of SSR markers have been developed, most of them are derived from the genome coding sequences, rarely from non-coding sequences. Meanwhile, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are derived from the transcription of non-coding sequences, play vital roles in plant growth, development and stress responses. In our previous study, we obtained 1655 lncRNA transcripts from DXWR using strand-specific RNA sequencing. In this study, 1878 SSR loci were detected from the lncRNA sequences of DXWR, and 1258 lncRNA-derived-SSR markers were developed on the genome-wide scale. To verify the validity and applicability of these markers, 72 pairs of primers were randomly selected to test 44 rice accessions. The results showed that 42 (58.33%) pairs of primers have abundant polymorphism among these rice materials; the polymorphism information content values ranged from 0.04 to 0.87 with an average of 0.50; the genetic diversity index of SSR loci varied from 0.04 to 0.88 with an average of 0.56; and the number of alleles per marker ranged from 2 to 11 with an average of 4.36. Thus, we concluded that these lncRNA-derived-SSR markers are a very useful source for future basic and applied research.

In this paper, we study the relation of the size of the class two quotients of a linear group and the size of the vector space. We answer a question raised in Keller and Yang [Class 2 quotients of solvable linear groups, J. Algebra 509 (2018), 386-396].

Calcifying pseudoneoplasm of the neuraxis (CAPNON) is a rare tumefactive lesion with unclear pathogenesis. It is diagnosed by pathological findings of the typical histological features that include granular amorphous cores with palisading spindle to epithelioid cells, variable fibrous stroma, foreign-body reaction with giant cells, and calcification/ossification occasionally with psammoma bodies. However, its histopathology may be variable and currently immunohistochemistry plays a limited role in its diagnosis and understanding the pathogenesis. In this study, we examined 6 cases of CAPNONs including 3 intracranial and 3 spinal epidural lesions (age range: 59–69 years; 3 males and 3 females). Immunohistochemistry revealed that all CAPNON cores contain abundant positive deposits of neurofilament protein (NFP), which was supported by electron microscopy finding of filaments (8–13 nm in diameter). In comparison, no NFP positivity was found in 5 psammomatous/metaplastic meningiomas or 7 intervertebral tissue lesions with calcification/ossification. In addition, CAPNON cellular areas showed variable numbers of CD8+ cytotoxic T-cells with less CD4+ T-cells and a decreased ratio of CD4/CD8+ cells, versus the intervertebral tissue lesions without CD8+ or CD4+ cells. Our findings suggest that NFP may be a principal constituent of CAPNONs, and thus involved in the pathogenesis of CAPNON. Given the decreased CD4/CD8 ratio, the pathogenic process of CAPNON is possibly immune- mediated.

Two new species of free-living marine nematode discovered from an intertidal sandy beach in the Bohai Sea and from a sublittoral region in the East China Sea are described. Deontolaimus holovachovi sp. nov. is characterized by short cephalic setae (2.5–3 μm long); ventrally-unispiral amphidial fovea; excretory pore located at the level with nerve ring; lateral alae present; two pairs of lateral cervical setae present; arcuate spicules 1.5–1.6 cloacal body diameter long, with the proximal half swollen and proximal end hooked, the distal half narrow; gubernaculum with dorso-caudal apophysis; postcloacal sensilla present in males; a midventral caudal papilla with a short seta situated at posterior third of tail length. Campylaimus zhoui sp. nov. is characterized by loop-shaped amphid with very long ventral limb extending along pharyngeal region to level of anterior part of intestine, 4.7–5.2 times the length of dorsal limb; excretory pore opening posterior to the pharyngo-intestinal junction; spicules symmetrical, slightly arcuate without proximal capitulum; gubernaculum with small dorsal apophysis; precloacal supplements absent.