Blat

About: Blat is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 43 publications have been published within this topic receiving 10564 citations.

BLAT—The BLAST-Like Alignment Tool

Abstract: Analyzing vertebrate genomes requires rapid mRNA/DNA and cross-species protein alignments A new tool, BLAT, is more accurate and 500 times faster than popular existing tools for mRNA/DNA alignments and 50 times faster for protein alignments at sensitivity settings typically used when comparing vertebrate sequences BLAT's speed stems from an index of all nonoverlapping K-mers in the genome This index fits inside the RAM of inexpensive computers, and need only be computed once for each genome assembly BLAT has several major stages It uses the index to find regions in the genome likely to be homologous to the query sequence It performs an alignment between homologous regions It stitches together these aligned regions (often exons) into larger alignments (typically genes) Finally, BLAT revisits small internal exons possibly missed at the first stage and adjusts large gap boundaries that have canonical splice sites where feasible This paper describes how BLAT was optimized Effects on speed and sensitivity are explored for various K-mer sizes, mismatch schemes, and number of required index matches BLAT is compared with other alignment programs on various test sets and then used in several genome-wide applications http://genomeucscedu hosts a web-based BLAT server for the human genome

Russia's Economy of Favours: Blat, Networking and Informal Exchange

Abstract: List of cartoons List of figures and tables Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Blat: the unknown phenomenon 2. Understanding blat 3. The Soviet order: a view from within 4. The use of personal networks 5.Blat as a form of exchange: between gift and commodity 6. Networking in the post-Soviet period Appendix Bibliography Index.

Blat and Guanxi : Informal Practices in Russia and China

Abstract: This paper compares informal practices used to obtain goods and services in short supply and to circumvent formal procedures in Russia and China, and assesses their changes and continuities during the market reforms. I divide my presentation into four parts. The first tackles similarities between blat and guanxi under socialism: language games and idioms that referred to these practices; similar pressures of the shortage economy that forced individuals to satisfy their needs through informal exchanges; and the contradictory role of informal practices—they supported but also subverted the socialist systems. In the second part I shift my focus to the differences between blat and guanxi that stem from different cultural traditions in the two societies. These traditions determine the moral force of reciprocity, the degree of codification of informal practices, and their legitimacy. The third part illustrates differences in market reforms in China and in Russia. Finally, I compare blat and guanxi practices as responses to these reforms and discuss both intriguing similarities and significant differences in the new forms of guanxi and blat. Thus, the post-Soviet reforms have changed informal practices so much that blat has almost lost its relevance as a term that describes the corrupt use of personal networks in contemporary Russia. In contemporary Chinese society, by contrast, guanxi has deeper roots in kinship structures and traditions, and both the term and guanxi practices continue to be important.1 The partial nature of reforms in China and the persistence of communist rule may account for some of this difference, but we must also consider a range of historical and cultural factors that shape and help reproduce informal practices.