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

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Utilizing robot-tutoring approach in oral reading to improve Taiwanese EFL students’ English pronunciation

AbstractAlthough the existing research on educational robots has exhibited the assistance for EFL learners’ English skills, the evidence which shows robot-assisted systems’ effect on adult learners’ English read-aloud is still rare. Nevertheless, read-aloud is still treated as a useful approach in English classes for speech pronunciations in particular in Asia. This study aims at the design of a system that uses a robot as a tutor equips automatic speech recognition to diagnose learners’ errors while they are reading aloud the English passages. The learner is able to practice and improve pronunciations via the diagnosis. An experiment designed with a pretest, a posttest, and a delayed posttest was conducted to evaluate the proposed robot-tutoring system. 19 university students in Taiwan enrolled in the experiment, and learned with the system for 90 minutes per round, with a total of 2 rounds of self-learning. The results showed the participants’ accuracy of read-aloud in the delayed posttest was significantly better than those of the pretest and immediate posttest. In addition, when looking into the investigation of the participants’ perceptions of the system, most were impressed by the system, and also agreed the system was a useful and helpful tool to help reading English passages aloud. Therefore, this study provides evidence of the effects of robot-tutoring approach on adults’ English read-aloud in Taiwan

Nursing students\u27 attitudes towards mental illness: A multi-national comparison

Accessible Summary What is known on the subject Health professionals, including nurses, are shown to have stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness. For nursing students who are in their formative years of professional development, mental illness stigma can severely impact the care they provide. Little research has investigated multi-national comparisons of nursing students\u27 attitudes towards mental illness. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This study shows that between countries, there were substantial differences amongst nursing students in stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness. Cultural perspectives may explain some of these differences. What are the implications for practice Regardless of location, stigmatizing attitudes are present at varying levels. Each nation can take steps to reduce these by acknowledging the presence of stigmatizing attitudes amongst nurses, educating nurses regarding the negative impacts of stigma on patient outcomes, and decrease stigmatizing attitudes by facilitating opportunities for nurses (particularly student nurses) to have direct contact with people with lived experiences of mental illness. Abstract: Introduction: Stigmatizing attitudes perpetuated by nursing professionals are a pervasive problem for people experiencing mental health issues. This global issue has detrimental consequences; inhibiting one\u27s life chances and help-seeking behaviours. To date, few studies have compared nursing students\u27 attitudes towards mental illness from a multi-national perspective. Aim: To compare undergraduate nursing students\u27 attitudes towards mental illness across six countries: Australia, India, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and USA. Method: In a cross-sectional design, data were collected from undergraduate nursing students (N = 426) using the Social Distance Scale. A one-way analysis of variance was used to compare differences between countries. Results: Nursing students\u27 attitudes to mental illness differed between countries. Social Distance Scores were highest amongst nursing students from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Students from Taiwan and India possessed moderate stigma scores. Social Distance Scores from the USA and Australia were lowest. Discussion: Clear differences in stigmatizing attitudes emerged between countries; these are discussed in relation to possible cultural influences. Implications for Practice: It is suggested that educating nurses, combined with direct contact with people with lived experiences of mental illness, can reduce stigmatizing attitudes regardless of country, location or educational institution