The Impact of the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic on University Staff Dietary Behaviours, Sleeping Patterns, and Well-Being: An International Comparison Study

This study assessed the impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on well-being by measuring the changes to food security, dietary behaviour, and sleeping patterns of university staff in England, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and China. Using a cross-sectional study design, participants in four universities in the respective countries were surveyed between June and July 2020. The mean age of the 902 participants was 42 years old and 67% were female. The findings indicate a reduction in emotionally driven food behaviour [t (901.00) = −20.87, p <  0.001], food acquisition location [t (901.00) = −51.55, p < 0.001], skipping meals [t (901.00) = −24, p < 0.001], and consumption of canned fruit and vegetables [t (901.00) = −10.18, p < 0.001]. However, home cooking [t (901.00) = 36.61, p < 0.001] and the food shopping experience [t (901.00) = 4.53, p <  0.001] markedly increased during lockdown. The participants had higher levels of well-being during the pandemic and experienced a significant increase in sleeping hours (p < 0.001). Increased age and sleeping hours were positively associated with overall well-being. Conversely, emotionally driven food behaviour (i.e., buying and eating more food out of boredom/fear or anxiety) and skipping meals decreased the overall well-being. Lockdown had beneficial effects on dietary behaviours, sleeping patterns, and well-being, but there were variations between countries

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

Genome-wide Association Study Identifies Five New Susceptibility Loci For Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma

Primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) is a major cause of blindness worldwide. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) followed by replication in a combined total of 10,503 PACG cases and 29,567 controls drawn from 24 countries across Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. We observed significant evidence of disease association at five new genetic loci upon meta-analysis of all patient collections. These loci are at EPDR1 rs3816415 (odds ratio (OR) = 1.24, P = 5.94 x 10(-15)), CHAT rs1258267 (OR = 1.22, P = 2.85 x 10(-16)), GLIS3 rs736893 (OR = 1.18, P = 1.43 x 10(-14)), FERMT2 rs7494379 (OR = 1.14, P = 3.43 x 10(-11)), and DPM2-FAM102A rs3739821 (OR = 1.15, P = 8.32 x 10(-12)). We also confirmed significant association at three previously described loci (P < 5 x 10(-8) for each sentinel SNP at PLEKHA7, COL11A1, and PCMTD1-ST18)(1), providing new insights into the biology of PACG.485556+Singapore Ministry of Health's National Medical Research Council under its Translational and Clinical Research (TCR) Flagship Programme Grant Stratified Medicine for Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma [NMRC/TCR/008-SERI/2013]Singapore Translational Research (STaR) Investigator Award Singapore Angle Closure Glaucoma Program Characterization, Prevention, and Management [NMRC/STAR/0023/2014]Biomedical Research CouncilAgency for Science, Technology and Research (A-STAR), SingaporeUniversiti Sains Malaysia [RUI 1001/PPSP/812101, RUI 1001/PPSP/812152]Program of Beijing ScholarsLeading Talents-High-Level Talents of the Health System of Beijing [2009-1-05]National Major Scientific and Technological Special Project for 'Significant New Drugs Development' [2011ZX09302-007-05]National Natural Science Foundation of China [81570837

Genome-wide association study identifies five new susceptibility loci for primary angle closure glaucoma.

Primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) is a major cause of blindness worldwide. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) followed by replication in a combined total of 10,503 PACG cases and 29,567 controls drawn from 24 countries across Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. We observed significant evidence of disease association at five new genetic loci upon meta-analysis of all patient collections. These loci are at EPDR1 rs3816415 (odds ratio (OR) = 1.24, P = 5.94 × 10(-15)), CHAT rs1258267 (OR = 1.22, P = 2.85 × 10(-16)), GLIS3 rs736893 (OR = 1.18, P = 1.43 × 10(-14)), FERMT2 rs7494379 (OR = 1.14, P = 3.43 × 10(-11)), and DPM2-FAM102A rs3739821 (OR = 1.15, P = 8.32 × 10(-12)). We also confirmed significant association at three previously described loci (P < 5 × 10(-8) for each sentinel SNP at PLEKHA7, COL11A1, and PCMTD1-ST18), providing new insights into the biology of PACG

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially