A 2.91-billion base pair (bp) consensus sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome was generated by the whole-genome shotgun sequencing method. The 14.8-billion bp DNA sequence was generated over 9 months from 27,271,853 high-quality sequence reads (5.11-fold coverage of the genome) from both ends of plasmid clones made from the DNA of five individuals. Two assembly strategies—a whole-genome assembly and a regional chromosome assembly—were used, each combining sequence data from Celera and the publicly funded genome effort. The public data were shredded into 550-bp segments to create a 2.9-fold coverage of those genome regions that had been sequenced, without including biases inherent in the cloning and assembly procedure used by the publicly funded group. This brought the effective coverage in the assemblies to eightfold, reducing the number and size of gaps in the final assembly over what would be obtained with 5.11-fold coverage. The two assembly strategies yielded very similar results that largely agree with independent mapping data. The assemblies effectively cover the euchromatic regions of the human chromosomes. More than 90% of the genome is in scaffold assemblies of 100,000 bp or more, and 25% of the genome is in scaffolds of 10 million bp or larger. Analysis of the genome sequence revealed 26,588 protein-encoding transcripts for which there was strong corroborating evidence and an additional ∼12,000 computationally derived genes with mouse matches or other weak supporting evidence. Although gene-dense clusters are obvious, almost half the genes are dispersed in low G+C sequence separated by large tracts of apparently noncoding sequence. Only 1.1% of the genome is spanned by exons, whereas 24% is in introns, with 75% of the genome being intergenic DNA. Duplications of segmental blocks, ranging in size up to chromosomal lengths, are abundant throughout the genome and reveal a complex evolutionary history. Comparative genomic analysis indicates vertebrate expansions of genes associated with neuronal function, with tissue-specific developmental regulation, and with the hemostasis and immune systems. DNA sequence comparisons between the consensus sequence and publicly funded genome data provided locations of 2.1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A random pair of human haploid genomes differed at a rate of 1 bp per 1250 on average, but there was marked heterogeneity in the level of polymorphism across the genome. Less than 1% of all SNPs resulted in variation in proteins, but the task of determining which SNPs have functional consequences remains an open challenge.

Anopheles gambiae is the principal vector of malaria, a disease that afflicts more than 500 million people and causes more than 1 million deaths each year. Tenfold shotgun sequence coverage was obtained from the PEST strain of A. gambiae and assembled into scaffolds that span 278 million base pairs. A total of 91% of the genome was organized in 303 scaffolds; the largest scaffold was 23.1 million base pairs. There was substantial genetic variation within this strain, and the apparent existence of two haplotypes of approximately equal frequency (“dual haplotypes”) in a substantial fraction of the genome likely reflects the outbred nature of the PEST strain. The sequence produced a conservative inference of more than 400,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms that showed a markedly bimodal density distribution. Analysis of the genome sequence revealed strong evidence for about 14,000 protein-encoding transcripts. Prominent expansions in specific families of proteins likely involved in cell adhesion and immunity were noted. An expressed sequence tag analysis of genes regulated by blood feeding provided insights into the physiological adaptations of a hematophagous insect.

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Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity among 23 elite Lentinula edodes strains in China. A total of 138, 77 and 144 bands were detected by 16 RAPD primers, 5 ISSR primers and 23 SRAP primer combinations, among which 58.8%, 73.5% and 56.3% was polymorphic, respectively. By UPGMA clustering, a dendrogram was constructed based on each analysis. The three dendrograms showed that 23 L. edodes strains were clustered into three or four groups. The grouping exhibited similar structure and was generally consistent with their pedigrees. Twenty-three L. edodes strains shared great similarity indicated that the low level of genetic diversity of L. edodes strains and their relationship between each other. The important source of breeding material, such as wild and exotic types, must be introduced in order to broaden genetic base and decreases genetic vulnerability of L. edodes.

Nursing informatics has become a useful tool for worldwide patient care and management; however, its implementation greatly varies according to specialty, healthcare setting, and nation. The purpose of this study was to determine nursing informatics implementation in Qiqihar, China. Questionnaires evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of nursing informatics implementation and hospital information system knowledge were distributed among three hospitals in Qiqihar. A convenient sample of 50 nurses from each hospital (total N = 150) was selected to participate in this study. Responses indicated that despite a relatively brief training period, nursing informatics was adequately implemented, and nurses were knowledgeable about hospital information systems. Respondents identified several key advantages of nursing informatics implementation, particularly its usefulness in aiding patient care for data management. Finally, respondents identified hospital information system instability as a major obstacle to nursing informatics implementation. Our study results may help clinical nursing practitioners improve their technology skills and help nursing administrators improve information programs. These findings provide an important reference for both nursing informatics practice and further studies.