Here we present the first diploid genome sequence of an Asian individual. The genome was sequenced to 36-fold average coverage using massively parallel sequencing technology. We aligned the short reads onto the NCBI human reference genome to 99.97% coverage, and guided by the reference genome, we used uniquely mapped reads to assemble a high-quality consensus sequence for 92% of the Asian individual's genome. We identified approximately 3 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) inside this region, of which 13.6% were not in the dbSNP database. Genotyping analysis showed that SNP identification had high accuracy and consistency, indicating the high sequence quality of this assembly. We also carried out heterozygote phasing and haplotype prediction against HapMap CHB and JPT haplotypes (Chinese and Japanese, respectively), sequence comparison with the two available individual genomes (J. D. Watson and J. C. Venter), and structural variation identification. These variations were considered for their potential biological impact. Our sequence data and analyses demonstrate the potential usefulness of next-generation sequencing technologies for personal genomics.

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Key generation from the randomness of wireless channels is a promising alternative to public key cryptography for the establishment of cryptographic keys between any two users. This paper reviews the current techniques for wireless key generation. The principles, performance metrics and key generation procedure are comprehensively surveyed. Methods for optimizing the performance of key generation are also discussed. Key generation applications in various environments are then introduced along with the challenges of applying the approach in each scenario. The paper concludes with some suggestions for future studies.

Aim: To explore whether coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with diabetes and secondary hyperglycaemia have different clinical characteristics and prognoses than those without significantly abnormal glucose metabolism. Materials and methods:We retrospectively analysed 166 COVID-19 patients at Tongji Hospital (Wuhan) from 8 February to 21 March 2020. Clinical characteristics and outcomes (as of 4 April 2020) were compared among control (group 1), secondary hyperglycaemia (group 2: no diabetes history, fasting plasma glucose levels of ≥7.0 mmol/L once and HbA1c values <6.5%) and patients with diabetes (group 3).Results: Compared with group 1, groups 2 and 3 had higher rates of leukocytosis, neutrophilia, lymphocytopenia, eosinopenia and levels of hypersensitive C-reactive protein, ferritin and d-dimer (P < .05 for all). Group 2 patients had higher levels of lactate dehydrogenase, prevalence of liver dysfunction and increased interleukin-8 (IL-8) than those in group 1, and a higher prevalence of increased IL-8 was found in group 2 than in group 3 (P < .05 for all). The proportions of critical patients in groups 2 and 3 were significantly higher compared with group 1 (38.1%, 32.8% vs. 9.5%, P < .05 for both). Groups 2 and 3 had significantly longer hospital stays than group 1, which was nearly 1 week longer. The composite outcomes risks were 5.47(1.56-19.82) and 2.61 (0.86-7.88) times greater in groups 2 and 3 than in group 1.Conclusions: Hyperglycaemia in both diabetes and secondary hyperglycaemia patients with COVID-19 may indicate poor prognoses. There were differences between patients with secondary hyperglycaemia and those with diabetes. We recommend that clinicians pay more attention to the blood glucose status of COVID-19 patients, even those not diagnosed with diabetes before admission.

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Marine drugs have developed rapidly in recent decades. Cone snails, a group of more than 700 species, have always been one of the focuses for new drug discovery. These venomous snails capture prey using a diverse array of unique bioactive neurotoxins, usually named as conotoxins or conopeptides. These conotoxins have proven to be valuable pharmacological probes and potential drugs due to their high specificity and affinity to ion channels, receptors, and transporters in the nervous systems of target prey and humans. Several research groups, including ours, have examined the venom gland of cone snails using a combination of transcriptomic and proteomic sequencing, and revealed the existence of hundreds of conotoxin transcripts and thousands of conopeptides in each Conus species. Over 2000 nucleotide and 8000 peptide sequences of conotoxins have been published, and the number is still increasing quickly. However, more than 98% of these sequences still lack 3D structural and functional information. With the rapid development of genomics and bioinformatics in recent years, functional predictions and investigations on conotoxins are making great progress in promoting the discovery of novel drugs. For example, ω-MVIIA was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004 to treat chronic pain, and nine more conotoxins are at various stages of preclinical or clinical evaluation. In short, the genus Conus, the big family of cone snails, has become an important genetic resource for conotoxin identification and drug development.

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