Current assays for quantification of HIV-1 virions rely on real-time reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR detection of conserved regions of HIV-1 RNA and can be limited by detection of contaminating viral or plasmid DNA. We developed a novel RT-PCR assay using a reverse primer that hybridizes with the poly(A) tail of HIV-1 mRNAs, anchored by conserved viral nucleotides at the most distal region of th...

BACKGROUND It has been estimated that 15%-20% of human tumours are driven by infection and inflammation, and viral infections play an important role in malignant transformation. The evidence that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) could be involved in the aetiology of oral cancer varies from weak to persuasive. This study aimed to investigate by nested PCR (NPCR) the prevalence of HSV-1 in sam...

TO THE EDITOR: Francescato et al. (1) contrast the lack of interindividual correlation between the phosphocreatine (PCr) time constant ( PCr) and the ADP concentration ([ADP]) change from rest to steady state ( [ADP]S) during moderate aerobic exercise with the fact that “. . .ADP concentration is commonly thought to be one of the main feedback signals controlling mitochondrial respiration” (1),...

Shigellosis is the severest form of bacillary dysentery, a disease limited to humans and certain other primates. Conventional microbiological techniques used for the isolation and biochemical identification of microbes are timeconsuming as well as labour intensive. Due to the fastidious nature of Shigella and the lengthy culture time, a rapid and sensitive system for the detection of bacteria i...