BACKGROUND Model-based analysis of data from quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) is potentially more powerful and versatile than traditional methods. Yet existing model-based approaches cannot properly deal with the higher sampling variances associated with low-abundant targets, nor do they provide a natural way to incorporate assumptions about the stability of control genes direct...

Objective. Low gene expression in rare cell subpopulations can make it difficult to identify transcripts using real time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). Transcript number can be increased using linear amplification, but this technique amplifies the 3’ end of mRNA, imposing severe limitations on qRT-PCR primer design. Artifacts such as primer-dimers, introduced by these limitations, may interfere...

OBJECTIVE Detection of disseminated tumor cells in mediastinoscopic biopsies could improve staging and might be helpful concerning indications for neoadjuvant therapy regimens. This prospective study was performed to evaluate a simple and observer-independent polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for the detection of disseminated tumor cells in regional lymph nodes. METHODS Lymph nodes...

We report here on a quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) assay for assessing drug efficacy against the intracellular pathogen Cryptosporidium parvum. The qRT-PCR assay detects 18S rRNA transcripts from both parasites, that is, the cycle threshold for 18S rRNA from parasites (C(T)([P18S])) and host cells (C(T)([H18S])), and evaluates the relative expression between parasite...

Purpose: To investigate the effect of miR-493-5p in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced ATDC5 chondrogenic cells.
 Methods: The MTT assay was used to determine viability LPS-induced cells. ENCORI (starbase.sysu.edu.cn/) predict target miR-493-5p. Quantitative reverse-transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) expression controlled cells and treated with various combinations LPS, negat...

Recently the area of tropical geometry has introduced the concept of the tropical elliptic group law associated with a tropical elliptic curve. This gives rise to a notion of the tropical QRT mapping. We compute the explicit tropically birational expressions that define the tropical QRTmapping for some arbitrary set of parameters. We consider this a new integrable ultradiscrete system. This als...