Oracle Database 10g: a platform for BLAST search and Regular Expression pattern matching in life sciences

As database management systems expand their array of analytical functionality, they become powerful research engines for biomedical data analysis and drug discovery. Databases can hold most of the data types commonly required in life sciences and consequently can be used as flexible platforms for the implementation of knowledgebases. Performing data analysis in the database simplifies data management by minimizing the movement of data from disks to memory, allowing pre-filtering and post-processing of datasets, and enabling data to remain in a secure, highly available environment. This article describes the Oracle Database 10g implementation of BLAST and Regular Expression Searches and provides case studies of their usage in bioinformatics. http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/index.htm

Mother Positivity and Family Adjustment in Households with Children with a Serious Disability

Only limited attention has been given to parent coping resources in the positive adjustment of families of children with a disability. This study is the first to explore maternal positivity as a psychological coping resource related to family adjustment in these families. Consistent with broaden-and-build theory and prior positivity research, positivity was operationalized through a ratio of positive to negative affect scores. We employed longitudinal tracking over a 1 year interval. Children’s diagnostic categories included developmental conditions or impairments, mental health disorders, complex health conditions, physical/motor conditions or impairments, sensory impairments, and provisionally diagnosed conditions or impairments. We used a computer assisted telephone survey to gather psychological, family, and demographic information from 152 mothers in Alberta, Canada. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated mothers’ level of positivity and age, when controlled for family adjustment at Time 1, accounted for 46% of the variance in family adjustment at Time 2. That is, older mothers with higher positivity scores were found to live in households with higher levels of family adjustment after 1 year. These findings provide promising support for broaden-and-build theory, which posits that positive experienced emotions can offset and diminish the negative health and relationship impacts of chronic stress. Study findings support the salience of mothers’ positivity as a psychological coping resource, which is related to enhanced family adjustment in situations of childhood disability

Experimental approach for the identification of protein–protein interactions using ODM BLAST

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Oracle Database 10: a platform for BLAST search and Regular Expression pattern matching in life sciences"</p><p>Nucleic Acids Research 2004 ;33(Database Issue):D675-D679.</p><p>Published online 17 Dec 2004 </p><p>PMCID:PMC540068.</p><p>Copyright © 2005 Oxford University Press</p

A sample of the protein–protein interaction results gained from ODM BLAST analysis

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Oracle Database 10: a platform for BLAST search and Regular Expression pattern matching in life sciences"</p><p>Nucleic Acids Research 2004 ;33(Database Issue):D675-D679.</p><p>Published online 17 Dec 2004 </p><p>PMCID:PMC540068.</p><p>Copyright © 2005 Oxford University Press</p