Nutritional Quality of Soybean Seeds Relative to Canopy Portion

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seed quality (nutritional composition) is affected by genetic × environment × management (G × E × M) interactions. Even at the plant level, where differences might not be largely apparent, seed quality is known to change. This study aims to 1) compare seed yield and nutritional quality within the vertical profile of soybean plant canopy, and 2) explore potential interactions for different geno­types. A field experiment was conducted in Manhattan, KS, during the 2018 growing season. Treatments were composed by six genotypes and evaluated at four canopy portions: upper, middle, and lower sections of the main stem and branches. The study was set in a complete randomized block design with three replications. Seed yield and seed size were determined at physiological maturity, as well as seed quality (e.g., protein and oil concentrations). For seed yield, the contribution of the branches was directly affected by the genotype, while the other portions presented a similar yield across genotypes. Seed size was greater in the upper and middle portions of the plant canopy, and seed size of the branches was always comparable to the average of the main stem sections. Overall, oil concentration was lower in branches and did not differ along the sections of the main stem. On the other hand, the protein concentration was greater in the upper portion of the plant. Further research should explore seed quality responsive­ness to the timing of pod-setting and seed-filling within the soybean canopy

Evaluating Sorghum Senescence Patterns Using Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Multispectral Imaging

Grain sorghum is an important crop in cropping systems worldwide. Many different genetic lines are tolerant to post-flowering heat and drought stress because they express the “stay-green” trait which causes a delay in senescence patterns. Traditional methods of senescence identification are labor-intensive and time consuming. However, remote sensing is a proposed method of identifying sorghum senescence. A study using small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) as a remote sensing platform was conducted in Concordia, KS. Twenty sorghum varieties with 3 replications were sown in a random­ized block design. The aircraft used was a DJI S-1000 equipped with a MicaSense RedEdge 3 multispectral camera. Two successful flights were completed after the flow­ering period (September 13 and October 4, 2018). Subsequent ground-truthed senes­cence ratings were taken on both days, with each leaf of 4 sample plants being assigned a senescence score between 100 and 0 (100 indicating no visible leaf senescence and 0 indicating complete leaf senescence). Data processing was done using Agisoft Photoscan Pro to generate an orthomosaic image and ArcGIS Pro for vegetation index genera­tion and data extraction. Three vegetation indexes (VI) were generated: the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference red edge (NDRE), and soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI). The NDRE was the only significant VI of the three found to predict whole plant senescence. It also had the strongest correlation coeffi­cient when analyzed with ground-truthed senescence scores. When comparing NDVI, NDRE, and SAVI data, the NDRE index is the best indicator of grain sorghum senes­cence

Inoculation Timing Effect on Biological Nitrogen Fixation and Soybean Productivity

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], as other legume species, has the characteristic of fixing nitrogen (N) from the atmosphere via the biological N fixation (BNF) process. When a proper symbiosis relationship between soybeans and specific bacteria has been established, the plants can obtain up to 98% of the total N need. However, several factors can negatively affect BNF, impairing its contribution to nutrient demand and reducing crop productivity. In this scenario, additional inoculation could help the plant to overcome potential N gaps in BNF. Therefore, the goal of this project was to investigate if additional inoculation at different growth stages of the soybean growing season could increase nodulation, improve BNF (N contribution) and productivity of two varieties from maturity groups (MG) III and IV. To address this objective, different strategies for N supply were tested in a greenhouse and two field locations (Ashland Bottoms and Ottawa, KS) during the 2018 growing season. Trials were arranged in a complete randomized block design with four replications. The main outcomes of this study were that nodulation (total number of nodules per plant), plant dry biomass, rela­tive abundance of ureide (RAU (%), indirect measurement of BNF), and productivity did not differ between inoculated treatments

Co-Inoculation and Sulfur Fertilization in Soybeans

Soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rely on large nutrient uptake, especially nitrogen (N), to produce seeds with high nutritional value. Biological N fixation (BNF) supplies most of the plant N demand and enhancement of this process might improve cropping systems’ sustainability. Although seed inoculation with Bradyrhizobium spp. for soybean crop is a well-known management practice, co-inoculation with the freeliving N-fixer Azospirillum brasilense has not been deeply investigated in the US, to our knowledge. Thus, this research explores the effect of co-inoculation with A. brasilense on soybean yield and seed nutritional quality (protein, oil, essential and sulfur (S) amino acids concentration) under contrasting fertilizer S rates. Two-way factorial experiments were conducted in Manhattan and Topeka (KS, US) during the 2019 growing season. Sulfur rates of 0 and 20 lb/a were combined with four inoculation strategies: 1) non-inoculated, 2) seed inoculation with Bradyrhizobium japonicum, 3) A. brasilense, and 4) co-inoculation using both bacteria. The proportion of BNF was estimated via the relative abundance of ureide-N (RAU) at the R5 stage (beginning seed filling). Shoot dry mass was also assessed at R5, as well as seed yield and seed size (1000-seed weight) at harvest time (R8 stage). Dry basis concentration of seed components was also determined (protein, oil, essential and sulfur amino acids). None of the treatment factors significantly (P \u3c 0.05) influenced any observed trait. Overall, RAU averaged 80%, seed yield 65 bu/a, protein 42%, and oil 20%. Future research is necessary to eventually capture effects from co-inoculation and S fertilization in soybeans

Nitrogen and Sulfur Fertilization in Soybean: Impact on Seed Yield and Quality

Over time, plant breeding efforts for improving soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] yield was prioritized and effects on seed nutritional quality were overlooked, decreasing protein concentration. This research aims to explore the effect of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) fertilization on soybean seed yield, seed protein and sulfur amino acids concentration. In 2018, ten field trials were conducted across the main US soybean producing region. The treatments were fertilization at 1) planting (NSP); during 2) vegetative growth (NSV); and 3) reproductive growth (NSR) and 4) unfertilized (Control). Nitrogen fertilization was applied at the rate of 40 lb/a utilizing urea ammo­nium nitrate (UAN), and S at 9 lb/a via ammonium sulfate (AMS). A meta-analysis was performed to consider small variations among experimental designs. A summary of the effect sizes did not show effects for seed yield. However, fertilization at planting (NSP) increased seed protein by 1% more than the control across all sites. Overall, sulfur amino acid concentration increased by 1.5% relative to the control, but the most consistent benefit came from fertilization during the reproductive growth (NSR), increasing sulfur amino acids by 1.9%. Although N and S fertilization did not affect seed yields, applying N and S in different stages of the crop growth can increase protein concentration and improve protein composition, providing the opportunity to open new US soybean markets

Planting Date and Maturity Group Interaction for Soybean Productivity and Seed Quality in East Central Kansas

Soybean seed quality is an important component for soybean meal. Different factors affect seed quality, such as genetics, environment, and management (G × E × M). The objectives of this study were to 1) evaluate the effect of planting date and maturity group in soybean seed quality (protein and oil concentrations) and 2) investigate the relationship between soybean seed quality and productivity (seed weight and yield). Three field experiments were conducted during the 2018 growing season evaluating the combination of two factors, planting date and maturity group, with three levels of each one (early, medium, and late). Field measurements included: seed yield, seed weight, and seed quality, mainly represented by determination of seed protein and oil concen­trations. The main outcomes of this study were: 1) early planting date resulted in the highest protein and oil concentrations, while late planting date presented the lowest concentrations for those seed quality components; and 2) protein concentration was negatively correlated with seed yield (r = -0.66)

Cancer Biomarker Discovery: The Entropic Hallmark

Background: It is a commonly accepted belief that cancer cells modify their transcriptional state during the progression of the disease. We propose that the progression of cancer cells towards malignant phenotypes can be efficiently tracked using high-throughput technologies that follow the gradual changes observed in the gene expression profiles by employing Shannon's mathematical theory of communication. Methods based on Information Theory can then quantify the divergence of cancer cells' transcriptional profiles from those of normally appearing cells of the originating tissues. The relevance of the proposed methods can be evaluated using microarray datasets available in the public domain but the method is in principle applicable to other high-throughput methods. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using melanoma and prostate cancer datasets we illustrate how it is possible to employ Shannon Entropy and the Jensen-Shannon divergence to trace the transcriptional changes progression of the disease. We establish how the variations of these two measures correlate with established biomarkers of cancer progression. The Information Theory measures allow us to identify novel biomarkers for both progressive and relatively more sudden transcriptional changes leading to malignant phenotypes. At the same time, the methodology was able to validate a large number of genes and processes that seem to be implicated in the progression of melanoma and prostate cancer. Conclusions/Significance: We thus present a quantitative guiding rule, a new unifying hallmark of cancer: the cancer cell's transcriptome changes lead to measurable observed transitions of Normalized Shannon Entropy values (as measured by high-throughput technologies). At the same time, tumor cells increment their divergence from the normal tissue profile increasing their disorder via creation of states that we might not directly measure. This unifying hallmark allows, via the the Jensen-Shannon divergence, to identify the arrow of time of the processes from the gene expression profiles, and helps to map the phenotypical and molecular hallmarks of specific cancer subtypes. The deep mathematical basis of the approach allows us to suggest that this principle is, hopefully, of general applicability for other diseases

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Inoculation Timing Effect on Biological Nitrogen Fixation and Soybean Productivity

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], as other legume species, has the characteristic of fixing nitrogen (N) from the atmosphere via the biological N fixation (BNF) process. When a proper symbiosis relationship between soybeans and specific bacteria has been established, the plants can obtain up to 98% of the total N need. However, several factors can negatively affect BNF, impairing its contribution to nutrient demand and reducing crop productivity. In this scenario, additional inoculation could help the plant to overcome potential N gaps in BNF. Therefore, the goal of this project was to investigate if additional inoculation at different growth stages of the soybean growing season could increase nodulation, improve BNF (N contribution) and productivity of two varieties from maturity groups (MG) III and IV. To address this objective, different strategies for N supply were tested in a greenhouse and two field locations (Ashland Bottoms and Ottawa, KS) during the 2018 growing season. Trials were arranged in a complete randomized block design with four replications. The main outcomes of this study were that nodulation (total number of nodules per plant), plant dry biomass, rela­tive abundance of ureide (RAU (%), indirect measurement of BNF), and productivity did not differ between inoculated treatments

Nitrogen and Sulfur Fertilization in Soybean: Impact on Seed Yield and Quality

Over time, plant breeding efforts for improving soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] yield was prioritized and effects on seed nutritional quality were overlooked, decreasing protein concentration. This research aims to explore the effect of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) fertilization on soybean seed yield, seed protein and sulfur amino acids concentration. In 2018, ten field trials were conducted across the main US soybean producing region. The treatments were fertilization at 1) planting (NSP); during 2) vegetative growth (NSV); and 3) reproductive growth (NSR) and 4) unfertilized (Control). Nitrogen fertilization was applied at the rate of 40 lb/a utilizing urea ammo­nium nitrate (UAN), and S at 9 lb/a via ammonium sulfate (AMS). A meta-analysis was performed to consider small variations among experimental designs. A summary of the effect sizes did not show effects for seed yield. However, fertilization at planting (NSP) increased seed protein by 1% more than the control across all sites. Overall, sulfur amino acid concentration increased by 1.5% relative to the control, but the most consistent benefit came from fertilization during the reproductive growth (NSR), increasing sulfur amino acids by 1.9%. Although N and S fertilization did not affect seed yields, applying N and S in different stages of the crop growth can increase protein concentration and improve protein composition, providing the opportunity to open new US soybean markets