Genetic Analysis of Soybean Flower Size Phenotypes Based on Computer Vision and Genome-Wide Association Studies.

The dimensions of organs such as flowers, leaves, and seeds are governed by processes of cellular proliferation and expansion. In soybeans, the dimensions of these organs exhibit a strong correlation with crop yield, quality, and other phenotypic traits. Nevertheless, there exists a scarcity of research concerning the regulatory genes influencing flower size, particularly within the soybean species. In this study, 309 samples of 3 soybean types (123 cultivar, 90 landrace, and 96 wild) were re-sequenced. The microscopic phenotype of soybean flower organs was photographed using a three-eye microscope, and the phenotypic data were extracted by means of computer vision. Pearson correlation analysis was employed to assess the relationship between petal and seed phenotypes, revealing a strong correlation between the sizes of these two organs. Through GWASs, SNP loci significantly associated with flower organ size were identified. Subsequently, haplotype analysis was conducted to screen for upstream and downstream genes of these loci, thereby identifying potential candidate genes. In total, 77 significant SNPs associated with vexil petals, 562 significant SNPs associated with wing petals, and 34 significant SNPs associated with keel petals were found. Candidate genes were screened by candidate sites, and haplotype analysis was performed on the candidate genes. Finally, the present investigation yielded 25 and 10 genes of notable significance through haplotype analysis in the vexil and wing regions, respectively. Notably, Glyma.07G234200, previously documented for its high expression across various plant organs, including flowers, pods, leaves, roots, and seeds, was among these identified genes. The research contributes novel insights to soybean breeding endeavors, particularly in the exploration of genes governing organ development, the selection of field materials, and the enhancement of crop yield. It played a role in the process of material selection during the growth period and further accelerated the process of soybean breeding material selection.

Identifying the Soybean microRNAs Related to Phytophthora sojae Based on RNA Sequencing and Bioinformatics Analysis.

Phytophthora root rot in soybeans is caused by a pathogen called Phytophthora sojae (P. sojae), which results in a significant decrease in soybean production within affected regions. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNA molecules that play a key post-transcriptional regulatory role in eukaryotes. In this paper, the miRNAs that respond to P. sojae were analyzed from the gene level to complement the study of molecular resistance mechanisms in soybean. The study utilized high-throughput sequencing of soybean data to predict miRNAs that respond to P. sojae, analyze their specific functions, and verify regulatory relationships using qRT-PCR. The results showed that the miRNAs in soybean respond to P. sojae infection. MiRNAs can be transcribed independently, suggesting the presence of transcription factor binding sites in the promoter regions. Additionally, we performed an evolutionary analysis on conserved miRNAs that respond to P. sojae. Finally, we investigated the regulatory relationships among miRNAs, genes, and transcription factors, and identified five regulatory patterns. These findings lay the groundwork for future studies on the evolution of miRNAs responsive to P. sojae.

Exploring Soybean Flower and Pod Variation Patterns During Reproductive Period Based on Fusion Deep Learning.

The soybean flower and the pod drop are important factors in soybean yield, and the use of computer vision techniques to obtain the phenotypes of flowers and pods in bulk, as well as in a quick and accurate manner, is a key aspect of the study of the soybean flower and pod drop rate (PDR). This paper compared a variety of deep learning algorithms for identifying and counting soybean flowers and pods, and found that the Faster R-CNN model had the best performance. Furthermore, the Faster R-CNN model was further improved and optimized based on the characteristics of soybean flowers and pods. The accuracy of the final model for identifying flowers and pods was increased to 94.36 and 91%, respectively. Afterward, a fusion model for soybean flower and pod recognition and counting was proposed based on the Faster R-CNN model, where the coefficient of determinationR2 between counts of soybean flowers and pods by the fusion model and manual counts reached 0.965 and 0.98, respectively. The above results show that the fusion model is a robust recognition and counting algorithm that can reduce labor intensity and improve efficiency. Its application will greatly facilitate the study of the variable patterns of soybean flowers and pods during the reproductive period. Finally, based on the fusion model, we explored the variable patterns of soybean flowers and pods during the reproductive period, the spatial distribution patterns of soybean flowers and pods, and soybean flower and pod drop patterns.

Do job stress, health, and presenteeism differ between Chinese healthcare workers in public and private hospitals: a cross sectional study.

To determine if job stress, health, and presenteeism differ between healthcare workers at Chinese public and private hospitals. This cross-sectional study analyzed the records of 1080 healthcare workers in eastern, central, and western China for the period from January2015 through November2015. Data on challenge stress, hindrance stress, health, and presenteeism were collected. Using univariate and multivariate regression and SPSS, we investigated differences between Chinese public and private hospitals in China. Challenge stress, hindrance stress, and presenteeism, but not health status, significantly differed between healthcare workers at public and private hospitals in China. Challenge stress and hindrance stress were significantly higher in public hospitals, while presenteeism was significantly lower in private hospitals. The significant differences between public and private hospitals are attributable to differences in the business practices and management of public and private hospitals. To achieve successful long-term medical reform in China, the adverse effects of psychosocial factors should be considered in future research plans and policies. Chinese hospitals urgently require improvements in management and leadership. Reform efforts should encompass fields such as management science, psychology, and the behavioral sciences.

A retrospective and prospective assessment of the zero-markup drug reform in China from the perspective of policy diffusion.

The zero-markup drug policy is an important component of the new round of Chinese health care reform that began in 2009 to promote the separation between medical and pharmaceutical services, reduce patients' medical burden, and improve the medical supply security system. Over the past 8 years, the zero-markup drug reform policy has been carried out in 4 pilot rounds (a policy diffusion model with Chinese characteristics) and has been promoted throughout the mainland China. At this critical point, it is necessary to review this policy systematically. Therefore, based on the literature, government documents, and interview records, this study analyzed the characteristics, progress, achievements, challenges, and recommendations of zero-markup drug reform by using the policy diffusion theory. The study found that zero-markup drug reform has completed its initial diffusion by use of the "policy experiment" method and has reduced drug prices and patients' burden to a certain extent. However, in the next phase of policy diffusion, the reform still requires adjustment and innovative measures to respond to future challenges. Generally speaking, as China's unique health care reform practice, the experience of zero-markup drug reform could be used as a reference for other countries to control drug prices, separate medical and pharmaceutical services, and establish a modern system of hospital operation.

Job Stress and Presenteeism among Chinese Healthcare Workers: The Mediating Effects of Affective Commitment.

BACKGROUND: Presenteeism affects the performance of healthcare workers. This study examined associations between job stress, affective commitment, and presenteeism among healthcare workers. METHODS: To investigate the relationship between job stress, affective commitment, and presenteeism, structural equation modeling was used to analyze a sample of 1392 healthcare workers from 11 Class A tertiary hospitals in eastern, central, and western China. The mediating effect of affective commitment on the association between job stress and presenteeism was examined with the Sobel test. RESULTS: Job stress was high and the level of presenteeism was moderate among healthcare workers. Challenge stress and hindrance stress were strongly correlated (ß = 0.62; p < 0.05). Affective commitment was significantly and directly inversely correlated with presenteeism (ß = -0.27; p < 0.001). Challenge stress was significantly positively correlated with affective commitment (ß = 0.15; p < 0.001) but not with presenteeism. Hindrance stress was significantly inversely correlated with affective commitment (ß = -0.40; p < 0.001) but was significantly positively correlated with presenteeism (ß = 0.26; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides important empirical data on presenteeism among healthcare workers. Presenteeism can be addressed by increasing affective commitment and challenge stress and by limiting hindrance stress among healthcare workers in China.

Characterization of acylated pepsin-solubilized collagen with better surface activity.

A new kind of acylated collagen with water solubility and better surface activity was prepared via reaction of pepsin-solubilized calf skin collagen with lauroyl chloride and succinic anhydride in this paper. The equilibrium surface tension and the isoelectric point were 55.92 mN/m and 4.93 respectively, suggesting that acylated collagen had surface activity as well as water solubility. Meanwhile, the results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses and electrophoresis patterns demonstrated that the triple helix conformation of collagen was not destroyed, but the subunits of acylated collagen shifted to higher molecular weight than those of native collagen. Scanning electron microscope and differential scanning calorimeter measurements revealed that lyophilized acylated collagen exhibited relatively well-distributed pore structure and its denaturation temperature was about 9.0 °C higher than that of native collagen. Additionally, the increase of the diameter of the fibrils was observed by atomic force microscopy. Acylated collagen with water solubility and better surface activity might broaden the application of collagen-based materials to cosmetics, drug delivery and pharmacotherapy.

The influence of chondroitin 4-sulfate on the reconstitution of collagen fibrils in vitro.

Collagen fibrils were in vitro reconstituted from the aggregated collagen solution in the presence of a wide range of collagen/chondroitin 4-sulfate (Col/C4S) ratios. As revealed by turbidimetric measurement, the collagen fibril formation is significantly accelerated by C4S. The turbidity values of both the solution after 30 min preincubation at 4°C and the gels after 60 min preincubation at 37°C become larger with the increase of C4S amount. According to the results obtained from turbidimetric measurement and atomic force microscopy observation of solutions, it is predicted that the preincubation of Col/C4S blends at 4°C is necessary to initiate the Col/C4S binding and then promote the further lateral fusion of collagen aggregates in solution. The interactions between collagen and C4S are also vital in the growth phase of collagen self-assembly. Collagen quantitation data show that the amounts of collagen incorporated into self-assembled cofibrils increase a lot as a result of the presence of C4S. Differential scanning calorimetry measurement shows that the thermal stability of cofibrils keeps increasing with the ascending amount of incorporated C4S. It is suggested that the bound C4S might be captured inside the cofibrils acting as promoter and stabilizer. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy observations of self-assembled fibrils indicate that the size increase of the self-assembled cofibrils depends on the lateral accretion of small collagen fibrils, while the self-assembly mode of collagen is not affected.

Effect of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose on collagen fibril formation in vitro.

Collagen and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) were mixed to obtain blends and the effect of HPMC on collagen self-assembly was studied. As deduced from atomic force microscopy (AFM), the amount of nuclei in collagen-HPMC solutions was changed with the addition of HPMC. Under physiological conditions, the kinetics curves of fibril formation showed that the turbidity of blends at 313 nm was higher than that of native collagen. More HPMC was involved in the hydrogel network for blends with higher HPMC/collagen. However, both the thermal stability and the storage moduli of hydrogels, which was evaluated by UV and rheological measurements respectively, reached the maximum just when HPMC/collagen=0.25. Furthermore, it was showed by AFM that denser fibrils with smaller diameter would be obtained as HPMC/collagen<0.25, while more addition of HPMC (HPMC/collagen>0.25) would bring about fibrils with larger diameter. However, HPMC did not significantly affect the characteristic D-periods of the fibrils for all blends.

[Study on the effect of temperature on the conformation of cross-linked collagen by two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy].

The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and two dimensional correlation analysis method were applied to study a denaturing process of uncross-linked collagen and cross-linked collagen during varying temperature. It was found that the intensity of typically characteristic absorptions of collagen decreased and its peak shifted to low frequency, The amide II central absorbance peak moved to a lower frequency by about 10 cm(-1), which indicated that the inter-chain hydrogen bonds which stabilized the triple helix conformation of collagen were disrupted during thermal denaturation, resulting in a conformational change. The intensity of auto-peak at 1 515 cm(-1) was maximum, which suggested that the temperature had a big impact on amide II. In comparison with uncross-linked collagen, the intensity of cross-peaks of cross-linked collagen was weaker, which demonstrated that the effect of temperature on the structure of cross-linked collagen was smaller, and the thermal stability properties of collagen solution could be improved by cross-linking. While the order of second structure changes of cross-linked collagen was different. These fundamental data should provide available information for understanding the relationship between the structure and function of cross-linked collagen.

Interaction study in homogeneous collagen/chondroitin sulfate blends by two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy.

The neutral homogeneous collagen/chondroitin sulfate (Col/CS) blends were prepared when using 0.25 mol/L NaCl to stabilize the blends. Composition-dependent Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) spectra were analyzed by generalized two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy to investigate the conformational changes of collagen and the specific interactions between collagen and CS. When adding CS to the collagen solution, C-H bending vibration of collagen varies firstly, then collagen skeleton, and finally the specific interactions between collagen and CS. The Col/CS ratios influence the kinds of specific interactions. Only hydroxyl groups of CS interact with CO group of collagen owing to the charge shielding effect of NaCl when the CS content is less than 50 wt%. Besides hydrogen bond, the electrostatic interactions between ionized carboxyl group or sulfate group of CS and ɛ-amino group of lysine or guanidine group of arginine appear when the CS content is more than 50 wt%.