Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Study on Establishing Reference Safe Concentrations of MRI Contrast Agents for Optimized Images: Paramagnetic Gd-DTPA-BMEA and Superparamagnetic Ferucarbotran

The purpose of this study is to establish the minimal injection doses of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents that can achieve optimized images while improving the safety of injectable MRI drugs. Gadolinium-diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (Gd-DTPA) and ferucarbotran, commonly used in clinical practice, were selected and evaluated with in vitro and in vivo experiments. MRI was acquired using T1-weighted (T1W) and T2-weighted (T2W) sequences, and the results were quantitatively analyzed. For in vitro experiments, results showed that T1W and T2W images were optimal when Gd-DTPA-bisamide (2-oxoethyl) (Gd-DTPA-BMEA) and ferucarbotran were diluted to a volume percentage of 0.6% and 0.05%; all comparisons were significant differences in grayscale statistics using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). For in vivo experiments, the contrast agent with optimal concentration percentages determined from in vitro experiments were injected into mice with an injection volume of 100 μL, and the images of brain, heart, liver, and mesentery before and after injection were compared. The statistical results showed that the p values of both T1W and T2W were less than 0.001, which were statistically significant. Under safety considerations for MRI contrast agent injection, optimized MRI images could still be obtained after reducing the injection concentration, which can provide a reference for the safety concentrations of MRI contrast agent injection in the future