A study was performed to diagnose tuberculosis by smear, culture, and nucleic acid amplification. The study was comprised of two independent arms. Each arm used a different specimen processing method; in one arm, all specimens were processed with N-acetyl-l-cysteine-sodium hydroxide, and in the other arm, all specimens were processed with C(18)-carboxypropylbetaine and lytic enzymes. In each ar...

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most abundant form of DNA polymorphism. These polymorphisms can be used in plants as simple genetic markers for many breeding applications, for population studies, and for germplasm fingerprinting. The great increase in the available DNA sequences in the databases has made it possible to identify SNPs by "database mining", and the single most impor...

Mucoviscidosis is the most common genetic autosomal recessive disease in Caucasian populations, with an incidence of 1/2200 – 2500 live birth and a carrier frequency of 1 in 25 – 30 persons. The disease is caused by mutations of the CFTR gene (cystic fibrosis transductance conductance regulator), which is located on chromosome 7 in locus q31.2. The CFTR gene is a large gene (250 kpb) with 27 ex...

The survival of the tiger (Panthera tigris) is seriously threatened by poaching to provide raw materials for Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs). Most highly prized are the tiger's bones, which are used in combination with other animal and plant derivatives in pills and plasters for the treatment of rheumatism and other ailments. Hundreds of patent remedies have been produced which claim to co...