BACKGROUND Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most common forms of sequence variations in the human genome. They contribute to the human phenotypic spectrum and are associated with variations in response to pathogens, drugs and vaccines. Recently, SNPs in three human genes involved in kidney development (RET, PAX2 and ALDH1A2) have been reported to be associated with variation in re...

High density BaZrO3 ceramic crucibles have been successfully fabricated and used to grow high quality YBa2Cu3O7-x single crystals by the BaO-CuO self flux method. The ceramic crucibles are inert and insoluble in the Y2O3-BaO-CuO melt, have a long lifetime, and can be used repeatedly for crystal growth runs. The crystals grown using the crucibles have not only high chemical purity (99.99-99.995%...

Pathogen genotyping of polyclonal infections is limited by 2 major drawbacks: (1). how to establish whether multiple mutations detected in 1 gene belong to the same clone and (2). how to evaluate the proportion of different genotypes in a given sample. For drug-resistance genotyping in Plasmodium falciparum malaria, we address these problems by using a fluorogenic assay that combines fluorescen...

Deformation of 3D shapes usually requires the use of a deformation tool. The freeform deformation technique requires the use of a lattice of control point for deforming an object. This may require a synchronized movement of the lattice control points in order to obtain the desired effects. The axial deformation technique allows an object to be deformed by manipulating an axial curve. However, u...

The existence of partial melt is frequently invoked to explain geophysical anomalies such as low seismic wave velocity and high electrical conductivity. I review various experimental and theoretical studies to evaluate the plausibility of this explanation. In order for a partial melt model to work, not only the presence of melt, but also the presence of appropriate amount of melt needs to be ex...