BACKGROUND Multiplexed amplicon melting is a closed-tube method for genotyping that does not require probes, real-time analysis, asymmetric PCR, or allele-specific PCR; however, correct differentiation of homozygous mutant and wild-type samples by melting temperature (T(m)) analysis requires high-resolution melting analysis and controlled reaction conditions. METHODS We designed 4 amplicons b...

BACKGROUND HIV diversity may be a useful biomarker for discriminating between recent and non-recent HIV infection. The high resolution melting (HRM) diversity assay was developed to quantify HIV diversity in viral populations without sequencing. In this assay, HIV diversity is expressed as a single numeric HRM score that represents the width of a melting peak. HRM scores are highly associated w...

Several real-time PCR procedures for the detection and genotyping of oocysts of Cryptosporidium parvum were evaluated. A 40-cycle amplification of a 157-bp fragment from the C. parvum beta-tubulin gene detected individual oocysts which were introduced into the reaction mixture by micromanipulation. SYBR Green I melting curve analysis was used to confirm the specificity of the method when DNA ex...

Ehrlichia canis is a small pleomorphic gram-negative, coccoid, obligatory intracellular bacterium and the cause of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis. A real-time fluorescence resonance energy transfer polymerase chain reaction (real-time FRET PCR) coupled with melting curve analysis was established for detection of E. canis infection in canine blood samples. The VirB9 gene was amplified using one p...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Invasive candidiasis is a major fungal infection occurring in patients who have prolonged hospital admissions. The rapid detection and confirmation of Candida spp. in clinical specimens is essential for efficient management and improved prognosis of these patients. The purpose of this study was to develop a real-time LightCycler polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for t...

In the evaluation of cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity measurements, it is often assumed that the diameter of the large intracranial arteries insonated by transcranial Doppler remains unaffected by changes in arterial CO2 partial pressure. However, the strong cerebral vasodilatory capacity of CO2 challenges this assumption, suggesting that there should be some changes in diameter, even if very sma...

High-pressure melting anchors the phase diagram of a material, revealing the effect of pressure on the breakdown of the ordering of atoms in the solid. An important case is molybdenum, which has long been speculated to undergo an exceptionally steep increase in melting temperature when compressed. On the other hand, previous experiments showed nearly constant melting temperature as a function o...