GA4GH: International policies and standards for data sharing across genomic research and healthcare.

The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) aims to accelerate biomedical advances by enabling the responsible sharing of clinical and genomic data through both harmonized data aggregation and federated approaches. The decreasing cost of genomic sequencing (along with other genome-wide molecular assays) and increasing evidence of its clinical utility will soon drive the generation of sequence data from tens of millions of humans, with increasing levels of diversity. In this perspective, we present the GA4GH strategies for addressing the major challenges of this data revolution. We describe the GA4GH organization, which is fueled by the development efforts of eight Work Streams and informed by the needs of 24 Driver Projects and other key stakeholders. We present the GA4GH suite of secure, interoperable technical standards and policy frameworks and review the current status of standards, their relevance to key domains of research and clinical care, and future plans of GA4GH. Broad international participation in building, adopting, and deploying GA4GH standards and frameworks will catalyze an unprecedented effort in data sharing that will be critical to advancing genomic medicine and ensuring that all populations can access its benefits

Abstracts from the 8th International Conference on cGMP Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications

This work was supported by a restricted research grant of Bayer AG

Going Beyond the Specifics: Generalization of Single Actions, But Not Temporal Order, at 9 Months

We examined generalization in 9-month-old infants after a 24-hour delay using deferred imitation. Infants flexibly applied their knowledge of sequence actions across changes in props even though they had no opportunity for immediate imitation

Sleep and Mental Health in Undergraduate Students with Generally Healthy Sleep Habits

<div><p>Whereas previous research has indicated that sleep problems tend to co-occur with increased mental health issues in university students, relatively little is known about relations between sleep quality and mental health in university students with generally healthy sleep habits. Understanding relations between sleep and mental health in individuals with generally healthy sleep habits is important because (a) student sleep habits tend to worsen over time and (b) even time-limited experience of sleep problems may have significant implications for the onset of mental health problems. In the present research, 69 university students with generally healthy sleep habits completed questionnaires about sleep quality and mental health. Although participants did not report clinically concerning mental health issues as a group, global sleep quality was associated with mental health. Regression analyses revealed that nighttime sleep duration and the frequency of nighttime sleep disruptions were differentially related to total problems and clinically-relevant symptoms of psychological distress. These results indicate that understanding relations between sleep and mental health in university students with generally healthy sleep habits is important not only due to the large number of undergraduates who experience sleep problems and mental health issues over time but also due to the potential to intervene and improve mental health outcomes before they become clinically concerning.</p></div

Sleep problems and recall memory in children with Down syndrome and typically developing controls

BackgroundResearch conducted with typically developing (TD) infants and children generally indicates that better habitual sleep and sleep after learning are related to enhanced memory. Less is known, however, about associations between sleep and recall memory in children with Down syndrome (DS).AimsThe present study was conducted to determine whether parent-reported sleep problems were differentially associated with encoding, 1-month delayed recall memory, and forgetting over time in children with DS and those who were TD.Methods and proceduresTen children with DS (mean age = 33 months, 5 days) and 10 TD children (mean age = 21 months, 6 days) participated in a two-session study. At each session, recall memory was assessed using an elicited imitation paradigm. Immediate imitation was permitted at the first session as an index of encoding, and delayed recall was assessed 1 month later. In addition, parents provided demographic information and reported on child sleep problems.Outcomes and resultsAlthough parents did not report more frequent sleep problems for children with DS relative to TD children, regression-based moderation analyses revealed that more frequent sleep problems were associated with increased forgetting of individual target actions and their order by children with DS. Evidence of moderation was not found when examining encoding or delayed recall.Conclusions and implicationsAlthough group differences were not found when considering parent-reported sleep problems, more frequent sleep problems were positively associated with increased forgetting by children with DS relative to those who were TD. Although future experimental work is needed to determine causality, these results suggest that improved sleep in children with DS might reduce forgetting, ultimately improving long-term recall memory

Insomnia and behaviorally induced sleep syndrome in undergraduates tested during the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with health, stress, and GPA.

Study objectivesThis study was conducted to determine (1) whether the distribution of undergraduates who endorse insomnia or behaviorally induced insufficient sleep syndrome (BIISS) varied during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic relative to normal sleepers and in comparison to values reported pre-pandemic and (2) whether group (insomnia, BIISS, and normal sleepers) was differentially associated with health, stress, and academic achievement mid-pandemic.MethodsTwo hundred ninety-three undergraduates completed online questionnaires assessing demographics, global sleep quality, insomnia severity, health, and perceived stress; cumulative grade point averages (GPAs) were also collected for each participant.ResultsThe proportion of participants in each group did not differ from the pre-pandemic values reported in Williams et&nbsp;al (2020). Relative to the normal-sleepers group, the insomnia group reported poorer sleep quality, greater insomnia severity, poorer functioning on measures of physical health, and increased stress; only 1 significant difference was found concerning the BIISS group. Group differences were not found on GPA.ConclusionsDespite the various challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the distribution of participants by group was similar to those reported pre-pandemic. The insomnia group fared most poorly in terms of sleep quality, insomnia severity, physical health, and stress. As such, additional effort should be devoted to identifying undergraduates with insomnia to provide treatment that may improve their sleep and their health.CitationLukowski AF, Kamliot DZ, Schlaupitz CA. Insomnia and behaviorally induced sleep syndrome in undergraduates tested during the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with health, stress, and GPA. J Clin Sleep Med. 2024;20(2):261-269

Descriptive Statistics for Primary Study Measures (N = 69).

<p>Descriptive Statistics for Primary Study Measures (N = 69).</p

Correlations among Continuous Sleep Measures and Self-Reported Mental Health.

<p>Correlations among Continuous Sleep Measures and Self-Reported Mental Health.</p