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

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding dengue infection among urban community residents in Barangay Anabu II-F, Imus, Cavite

This study used cross-sectional design. Stratified random sampling was utilized to randomly select 304 residents out of the total average of 1800 residents. Data was collected using a modified, adapted and validated close ended questionnaire to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding dengue infection. After data collection, the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentage and frequency of distribution). In conclusion, the practices of the residents are deemed positive where 46.2% of them would go see the doctor immediately after the first symptom appeared, 79.3% answered yes with regards to maintaining a clean environment around their home and their barangay, and 51% answered yes on using home. The only significant negative results gathered were: 89.5% of them answered no when asked if they wear long-sleeved shirts and full pants during daytime and 46.4% have less knowledge about dengue management where gastrointestinal bleeding. Awareness about dengue was found to be lower on only these regarding dengue mechanism, transmission, signs and symptoms, and management principles. All remaining answers had positive indications on knowledge, attitude and practices. Therefore, the residents of Phase 1 and 2, Golden City Subd., Barangay Anaby II-F, Imus, Cavite have good knowledge, attitude and practices regarding dengue infection which might be because the respondents got their information about dengue in the news. Nevertheless, sustaining the knowledge and attitudes on dengue and continuing the application of preventive practices is still a necessity since it is a growing community

The relationship between visual acuity impairment and studying medicine among second year medical students of DLSHSI College of Medicine A.Y. 2016-2017

The study used a case-control type of research design, wherein the baseline data that was used were the results of the physical examination specially the visual acuity part during the first year of medical school. Non-probability purposive sampling was utilized. All of the second-year medical students were asked permission via consent form with regard to reviewing their chart. Based on the McNemar test results, it can be said that there was an association between studying medicine and the development of visual acuity impairment. Furthermore, the odds ratio of 2.16 indicated that there was a causative relationship between visual acuity impairment and studying medicine

Retrotransposons Are the Major Contributors to the Expansion of the Drosophila ananassae Muller F Element

The discordance between genome size and the complexity of eukaryotes can partly be attributed to differences in repeat density. The Muller F element (∼5.2 Mb) is the smallest chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster, but it is substantially larger (>18.7 Mb) in D. ananassae. To identify the major contributors to the expansion of the F element and to assess their impact, we improved the genome sequence and annotated the genes in a 1.4-Mb region of the D. ananassae F element, and a 1.7-Mb region from the D element for comparison. We find that transposons (particularly LTR and LINE retrotransposons) are major contributors to this expansion (78.6%), while Wolbachia sequences integrated into the D. ananassae genome are minor contributors (0.02%). Both D. melanogaster and D. ananassae F-element genes exhibit distinct characteristics compared to D-element genes (e.g., larger coding spans, larger introns, more coding exons, and lower codon bias), but these differences are exaggerated in D. ananassae. Compared to D. melanogaster, the codon bias observed in D. ananassae F-element genes can primarily be attributed to mutational biases instead of selection. The 5′ ends of F-element genes in both species are enriched in dimethylation of lysine 4 on histone 3 (H3K4me2), while the coding spans are enriched in H3K9me2. Despite differences in repeat density and gene characteristics, D. ananassae F-element genes show a similar range of expression levels compared to genes in euchromatic domains. This study improves our understanding of how transposons can affect genome size and how genes can function within highly repetitive domains