static public long SpecimenIDFromBarcode(string barcode)
{
string ToDecode = barcode.Trim().ToUpper().Substring(1); // always uppercase, first character is material-type
return(Base36.Decode(ToDecode));
}
static public string BarcodeFromSpecimenID(long specimen_id)
{
return("1" + Base36.Encode(specimen_id)); //note: material=-type prefix for specimens is 1
}