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

A Survey of 1000 Respondents on the Polish Population’s Knowledge and Attitudes about Tissue/Organ Donation and Transplantation in Times of Allogeneic Tissue Shortage

Tissue-engineered human allogeneic skin grafts retrieved from a deceased donor play an important role in the therapy of extensive and deeply burned patients. However, there is a vital deficit of allogeneic skin donors, and the reserves of human allogeneic skin grafts are not sufficient. The goal of this work was to analyze the level of knowledge and attitudes of Polish society in the field of transplantation, with particular emphasis on allogeneic skin transplantation. The study used a self-made questionnaire comprised of 23 questions. 1000 respondents took part in this research. The respondents were a diverse group in terms of age, sex, education, and place of residence. The obtained results show a general positive attitude of the respondents towards the idea of transplantology. However, people with lower education presented a more negative attitude towards the donation of tissues and organs. Additionally younger people were not able to clearly declare readiness for organ procurement. What is more data analysis revealed certain gaps in more detailed knowledge and surprising attitudes. In that respect, the lack of awareness about the criteria for determining brain death could be mentioned. There was also a lack of acceptance for skin procurement in specific population groups. It can therefore be concluded that a key role in the success of the idea of transplantation in Poland is the broad and systematic education of the society

Global matrix 3.0 physical activity report card for children and youth: a comparison across Europe

Objectives: The Global Matrix of report card grades on physical activity serves as a public health awareness tool by summarising the status of child and youth physical activity prevalence and action. The objectives were to: (1) provide a detailed examination of the evidence informing the ‘School’ and ‘Community and Environment’ indicators across all participating European Global Matrix 3.0 countries; (2) explore the comparability of the grades for these two indicators across Europe; (3) detail any limitations or issues with the methods used to assign grades; and (4) provide suggestions on how future grading of the indicators could be improved.Study design: A comparative review of published methods on the grading of Global Matrix 3.0 indicators across European countries.Methods: Key documents relating to the European countries involved in the 2018 Global Matrix 3.0 were collated and a template used to extract data for both the ‘School’ and ‘Community and Environment’ indicators.Results: Seventeen of the 20 European Report Card countries (85%) had a grade for schools, and 15 countries (75%) had a grade for community and environment. All countries considered between one and five factors when assigning the grade for these indicators. There were wide disparities in the number and sources of evidence used to assign the grades for both indicators, limiting the comparability of the evidence between different countries.Conclusion: To enable comparability, the authors recommend moving towards an agreed standardised set of metrics for grading each indicator. Furthermore, it would be useful to develop and share common tools, methods and instruments to collect data in a uniform way across countries, where possible. Such action will ultimately make the Global Matrix a more robust and useful tool for the future</div

Viral Interference Between Hepatitis B, C, and D Viruses in Dual and Triple Infections in HIV-Positive Patients

Objective: To investigate the reciprocal inhibitory effects of hepatitis B virus (HBV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV)/hepatitis D virus (HDV) infections in naive and previously antiretroviral-experienced HIV-positive patients. Design: This retrospective Study involved 72 consecutive patients of the Italian Cohort Naive Antiretroviral cohort: 21 coinfected with HBV/HCV (group IBC), 18 infected with HBV (group 2B), and 33 infected with HCV (group 3C). Methods: Viral interference between HBV and HCV was assessed by means of the qualitative detection, quantification, and genotyping of each virus; HDV infection was assessed by means of genomic amplification. Results: Univariate analysis showed that HBV DNA was less frequently detected in group I BC than in group 213 (16 of 21 vs 18 of 18; P = 0.02), their HBV load was significantly lower (median 3.9 vs 5.4 log(10) HBV DNA copies/mL; P = 0.002), and they more frequently carried HBV genotype D (12 of 13 vs 4 of 11; P = 0.0071). HCV RNA was less frequently detected in group I BC than in group 3C (12 of 21 vs 33 of 33; P 0.0001), and HDV RNA was more frequently detected in group IBC than in group 213 (9 of 21 vs 2 of 18; P = 0.028). Multivariate analysis of the, HBV-infected subjects showed that the risk of HCV coinfection was associated with older age [relative risk 0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.09 to 0.90; P = 0.033 for every 10 years older] and intravenous drug use (relative risk 73, 95% CI: 2.4 to >999.999; P = 0.013). The only predictor of HBV coinfection in HCV-infected individuals was a lower HCV load (relative risk 0.30, 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.79 for every additional log(10) HCV RNA; P = 0.015). Conclusion: HBV and HCV showed alternative dominant replication in the I.Co.N.A. cohort, with HBV having a more unfavorable effect on HCV replication