Mascot Integra - Data Management for Proteomics
Mascot Integra is a complete solution for managing and automating proteomics research.
It will scale to the largest projects, yet has a very affordable entry level,
making it a practical choice for laboratories of all sizes.
| Mascot Integra was developed in collaboration with
LabVantage Solutions Inc.,
building on their 20+ years of LIMS knowledge and experience. This collaboration
also enables Mascot Integra functionality to be added to an enterprise-wide
LabVantage Sapphire™ LIMS. |
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Mascot Integra supports all of the experimental protocols used in proteomics research,
including 1D gels, 2D gels, multi-dimensional chromatography, and both on-line
and off-line mass spectrometry.
An intuitive drag & drop interface is used to model the experimental workflow.
Experiments and tasks can be saved as templates to avoid the need to key in information repeatedly.
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The extent to which you use Mascot Integra for sample tracking is entirely up to you.
Entering sample and task information is a powerful way to record, share and schedule experiments.
On the other hand, if you prefer to start from the mass spectrometry data files, that’s fine.
Complex instruments, such as mass spectrometers, robotics, and chromatographs,
invariably have dedicated data systems. Mascot Integra doesn’t attempt to duplicate
or replace the functionality of the instrument data system. It simply makes data
exchange as flexible and simple as possible.
To take an extreme example, you can even design custom MALDI targets!
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The same is true for software applications. In particular, gel analysis software
provides a sophisticated interface for viewing and processing gel images. Mascot
Integra uses XML files to exchange data with gel analysis applications such as
Phoretix™ and Progenesis™ from
Nonlinear Dynamics.
Matrix Science is independent and vendor-neutral. Our goal is to get the best
from your data, whatever instrument or software it originates from.
Mascot Daemon clients are used to automate local processing of raw mass spectrometry
data into optimized peak lists. The preferred processing software is Mascot Distiller,
which provides a uniform interface to all of the popular binary file formats. Using Mascot
Integra, the Mascot
Daemon clients can be monitored and controlled from a remote web browser.
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The peak lists are then assembled into searches and submitted to the specified
Mascot Server. Once a search is complete, the results are automatically parsed
into the tables of the Mascot Integra database.
The way in which information is parsed from the search results and stored in the
tables of the Mascot Integra database is critical. As the developers of Mascot,
we have a unique understanding of how best to structure the information so as to
provide total flexibility in querying and reporting the results.
All of the standard Mascot reports can be generated from the information in
the tables. Plus, you can approve individual hits and annotate
the results with persistent comments.
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Data mining is the "must have" feature of Mascot Integra. We have made it
as easy as possible to generate custom reports. For example:
- Find all the searches that contain a match to a particular peptide
- Tabulate which proteins are common to a set of searches
- Cluster and align matches from different sequence databases into a single report
- Filter the results from a huge search so as to view the hits a few at a time
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The system comes with a number of report templates, which can be used as models
for your own custom reports. Simple queries can be created using a wizard, more complex
queries require some knowledge of elementary
SQL.
The user interface for viewing and formatting custom reports is
Microsoft Excel,
chosen because of its powerful features and easy learning curve
Mascot Integra has a true multi-tier architecture. All of its functionality is
accessed through a standard web browser.
The underlying database engine is
Oracle®,
ensuring that the system will
scale to the largest and most demanding requirements. The system has been
specified to use Oracle Standard Edition, so the Oracle licensing
costs are minimal.
Comprehensive, role-based security allows access to pages and projects
to be restricted. For example, this could be used to limit clients to their own project
data or prevent casual access to setup and administrative pages. Mascot
Integra is CFR21 part 11 ERES compliant.
Mascot Integra ships as a turn-key system, including installation and 1 day
end-user training. Choose from either an IBM System x3500 (tower)
or x3650 (rack-mount), with the following base hardware specification:
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- Xeon 5150 2.66 GHz dual core processor
- 4 Gb RAM
- 4 x 146.8 GB 15K SAS hard
drives configured for RAID 5
- DDS/5 tape drive
- Redundant power supplies
- Windows Server 2003
(standard edition)
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The system comes with a 1 year software warranty and a 3 year,
on-site, next business day hardware support from IBM. The software warranty covers
WebEx support and all updates.
Pricing is based on the number of concurrent user seats.
This presentation
provides a short
overview of Mascot Integra, (Acrobat PDF format, 4.3 MB).
There are a number of
Macromedia Flash
movies, which illustrate the look and feel of Mascot Integra.
Study these movies to get a better understanding of how Mascot Integra operates.
Having studied the Flash Movies, you may wish to perform a detailed evaluation of Mascot Integra.
This can be achieved by accessing a dedicated demonstration system, including a Mascot server, via the web.
You and your colleagues will have secure and exclusive access to a
Mascot Integra system for a period of a day or two, just as if it was installed in your laboratory.
To request a quotation or arrange an evaluation, please contact us
by phone or email.
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