We describe the use of Java Pattern Finder (JaPaFi) to identify short (<100 nt) highly conserved sequences in a series of poxvirus genomes. The algorithm utilizes pattern matching to identify approximate matches appearing at least once in each member of a set of genomes; a key feature is that the genomes do not need to be aligned. The user simply specifies the genomes to search, minimum length ...

We have investigated the formation of nanoripples on the surface of germanium, Ge(100), due to the effect of 100-keV Ar (+) ion irradiation. The irradiation was carried out at different incidence angles from 0° to 75° in steps of 15° with respect to the surface normal with a fixed ion fluence of approximately 3 × 10(17) ions/cm(2). Atomic force micrographs show an increase in surface roughness ...

Salamanders have the remarkable ability to regenerate many body parts following catastrophic injuries, including a fully functional spinal cord following a tail amputation. The molecular basis for how this process is so exquisitely well-regulated, assuring a faithful replication of missing structures every time, remains poorly understood. Therefore a study of microRNA expression and function du...

For decades the relationships of twinning and alterations in body patterning, such as laterality and asymmetry, have been investigated. However, the tools to define and quantify these relationships have been limited and the majority of these studies have relied on associations with subjectively defined phenotypes. The emerging technologies of 3-dimensional (3D) facial scanning and geometric mor...

Pattern formation in the early development of many organisms relies on localized cytoplasmic proteins, which can be prelocalized as mRNAs. The Drosophila oskar gene, required both for posterior body patterning and germ cell determination, encodes one such mRNA. Localization of oskar mRNA is an elaborate process involving movement of the transcript first into the oocyte from adjacent interconnec...

Our understanding of the evolution of organismal diversity is restricted by the current resolution of the genotype-phenotype map. In particular, the genetic basis of environmentally relevant phenotypic variation among natural populations remains poorly understood. Trichomes are single-cell outgrowths on the surface of plant leaves and other above-ground organs. Consistent with trichomes' sugges...

The patterning of stomata plays a vital role in plant development and has emerged as a paradigm for the role of peptide signals in the spatial control of cellular differentiation. Research in Arabidopsis has identified a series of epidermal patterning factors (EPFs), which interact with an array of membrane-localised receptors and associated proteins (encoded by ERECTA and TMM genes) to control...

The proper function of the craniofacial skeleton requires the proper shaping of many individual skeletal elements. Neural crest cells generate much of the craniofacial skeleton and morphogenesis of skeletal elements occurs in transient, reiterated structures termed pharyngeal arches. The shape of individual elements depends upon intrinsic patterning within the neural crest as well as extrinsic ...

1. The effect of the timing between nasal airflow and ongoing tracheal respiration on single-unit activity in the olfactory bulb (OB) of the rat was examined. Nasal and tracheal breathing were dissociated with the use of a double tracheal cannulation technique that allowed independent control of nasal airflow and control of the synchronization of nasal airflow and tracheal breathing. 2. When am...