1. A ribbed suture anchor formed by a process comprising the steps of:
placing at least one piece of suture in a mold;
molding a suture anchor body around the suture by delivering an uncured polymer into the mold, the suture anchor body comprising a plurality of adjacent truncated cones and a round cylindrical drive head at a proximal end; and
causing the polymer to cure.
2. The ribbed suture anchor of claim 1, wherein the suture forms a loop outside the proximal end of the suture anchor body.
3. A method of producing an insert-molded ribbed suture anchor, the method comprising the steps of:
placing at least one piece of suture in a mold;
molding a suture anchor body around the suture by delivering an uncured polymer into the mold, the mold being arranged and configured to produce ribs comprising adjacent truncated cones and a round cylindrical drive head; and
causing the polymer to cure.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the ribbed suture anchor is formed at least partially from bioabsorbable material.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the suture is placed in the mold so as to form a loop at the proximal end of the ribbed suture anchor.
6. The ribbed suture anchor of claim 1, wherein the drive head is tapered.
7. The method of claim 3, wherein the drive head is tapered.
8. The ribbed suture anchor of claim 1, wherein a distal end of the anchor body is a truncated cone.
9. The method of claim 3, wherein a distal end of the anchor body is a truncated cone.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for managing a biological database, comprising:
a. receiving a set of biological sequences;
b. querying a plurality of databases with the set of biological sequences;
c. receiving query results corresponding to the set of biological sequences from the plurality of databases wherein each of the query results corresponds to a sequence in the set of biological sequences and comprises immunohistological data, in situ hybridization data, functional data, expression data, structural data, complementary deoxyribonucleic acid data, expressed sequence tag data, and pharmacology data, wherein
immunohistological data comprises data relating to binding of antibodies to tissues;
in situ hybridization data comprises data relating to localization of a specific segment of a nucleic acid within a tissue section;
functional data comprises data that identifies a putative or commonly accepted function;
expression data comprises gene expression data or messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression data;
structural data comprises data relating to three-dimensional macromolecular structures of proteins and polynucleotide;
sequence tag data comprises data relating to gene expression in a given tissue and at a given time; and
pharmacology data comprises data relating to properties of therapeutic compositions or drugs;
d. storing the query results in a biological database, wherein each sequence in the set of biological sequences is associated with a record comprising a respective query result from each of the plurality of databases;
e. periodically performing steps b-d;
f. receiving, from a user, a request to view a record of one of the set of biological sequences; and
g. displaying an executive summary of the record comprising the respective query result of step (c).
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of biological sequences comprises a nucleic acid sequence, an amino acid sequence, or a combination thereof.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the set of biological sequences comprises receiving the set of biological sequences from the user.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of databases comprises two or more databases selected from a group consisting of one or more National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) databases and one or more other externally curated and maintained specialized databases.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein periodically performing steps b-d comprises performing steps b-d daily.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing one or more bioinformatics functions on the set of biological sequences or the query results.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more bioinformatics functions comprise a sequence alignment, a gene identification, a protein identification structure prediction, a motif comparison, a biological text analysis, or a combination thereof.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the executive summary of the requested record comprises formatting the requested record for output to the user.
9. A method for managing a biological database, comprising:
a. providing a plurality of databases;
b. determining a version of each of the plurality of databases;
c. determining if the version of each of the plurality of databases is a current version;
d. downloading the current version of any of the plurality of databases that is not the current version;
e. periodically performing steps b-d;
f. receiving a set of biological sequences;
g. querying the plurality of databases with the set of biological sequences;
h. receiving query results corresponding to the set of biological sequences from the plurality of databases wherein each of the query results corresponds to a sequence in the set of biological sequences and comprises immunohistological data, in situ hybridization data, functional data, expression data, structural data, complementary deoxyribonucleic acid data, expressed sequence tag data, and pharmacology data, wherein
immunohistological data comprises data relating to binding of antibodies to tissues;
in situ hybridization data comprises data relating to localization of a specific segment of a nucleic acid within a tissue section;
functional data comprises data that identifies a putative or commonly accepted function;
expression data comprises gene expression data or messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression data;
structural data comprises data relating to three-dimensional macromolecular structures of proteins and polynucleotide;
expressed sequence tag data comprises data relating to gene expression in a given tissue and at a given time; and
pharmacology data comprises data relating to properties of therapeutic compositions or drugs;
i. storing the query results in a biological database, wherein each sequence in the set of biological sequences is associated with a record comprising a respective query result from each of the plurality of databases;
j. periodically performing steps b-d;
k. receiving, from a user, a request to view a record of one of the set of biological sequences; and
j. displaying an executive summary of the record comprising the respective query result of step (h).
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of databases comprises two or more databases selected from a group consisting of one or more National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) databases and one or more other externally curated and maintained specialized databases.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein periodically performing steps b-d comprises performing steps b-d daily.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the set of biological sequences comprises a nucleic acid sequence, an amino acid sequence, or a combination thereof.
13. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the set of biological sequences comprises receiving the set of biological sequences from the user.
14. The method of claim 9, further comprising performing one or more bioinformatics functions on the set of biological sequences or the query results.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more bioinformatics functions comprise a sequence alignment, a gene identification, a protein identification structure prediction, a motif comparison, a biological text analysis, or a combination thereof.
16. The method of claim 9, wherein displaying the executive summary of the requested record comprises formatting the requested record for output to the user.
17. A system for managing a biological database, comprising:
a target database node, comprising a first memory and a first processor, wherein the first processor is configured to receive and store query results in the biological database, the biological database comprises a set of biological sequences, each sequence in the set of biological sequences is associated with a record comprising a respective query result, each of the query results corresponds to a sequence in the set of biological sequences and comprises immunohistological data, in situ hybridization data, functional data, expression data, structural data, complementary deoxyribonucleic acid data, expressed sequence tag data, and pharmacology data, wherein
immunohistological data comprises data relating to binding of antibodies to tissues,
in situ hybridization data comprises data relating to localization of a specific segment of a nucleic acid within a tissue section,
functional data comprises data that identifies a putative or commonly accepted function,
expression data comprises gene expression data or messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression data,
structural data comprises data relating to three-dimensional macromolecular structures of proteins and polynucleotides,
expressed sequence tag data comprises data relating to gene expression in a given tissue and at a given time, and
pharmacology data comprises data relating to properties of therapeutic compositions or drugs,
further wherein the target database node is configured to receive, from a user, a request to view a record of one of the set of biological sequences and display an executive summary of the record comprising the respective query result;
a query node, comprising a second memory and a second processor, wherein the second processor is configured to periodically download and store a plurality of databases from an external network;
a functional node, comprising a third memory and a third processor, wherein the third processor is configured to periodically query the plurality of databases on the query node with the set of biological sequences from the target database node and send the query results to the target database node; and
a network switch node, comprising a fourth memory and a fourth processor, wherein the fourth processor is configured to direct the receipt and storage of the query results in the biological database, the periodic download and storage of the plurality of databases, and the periodic query of the plurality of databases on the query node.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the set of biological sequences comprises a nucleic acid sequence, an amino acid sequence, or a combination thereof.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein the functional node is further configured to perform one or more bioinformatics functions on the set of biological sequences or the query results and update the target database node.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the one or more bioinformatics functions comprise a sequence alignment, a gene identification, a protein identification structure prediction, a motif comparison, a biological text analysis, or a combination thereof.
21. The system of claim 17, wherein the plurality of databases comprises two or more databases selected from a group consisting of one or more National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) databases and one or more other externally curated and maintained specialized databases.
22. The system of claim 17, wherein the query node is further configured to periodically download and store the plurality of databases from the external network daily.
23. The system of claim 17, wherein the target database node is further configured to format the requested record for output to the user.