RE: [Histonet] ascp exam
Are you kidding!?! I have an AA in Histotechnology and still didn't pass my (HTL) written on the first round. I did pass my slide review though, thank you very much. :) I passed on the second try, which included 3 years of OJT and tons of studying after graduating school. (BTW, I also have a BS in Biology with a major in English) I think they have just made the test harder because they have gotten rid of the slide part of the test. And it sounds like the micrographs still suck. :p Claire Disclaimer: Chill out people. I'm not crabby, I'm just drawn that way. From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu on behalf of Brandi Higgins Sent: Wed 4/21/2010 6:18 PM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] ascp exam Hello, For those of you who are ASCP certified, either HT or HTL, did many of you have to take the exam more than once? I have not yet sat for the exam, but I see the pass rate is low, and average score is usually just slightly above the pass line. I have read a lot of comments on some message boards saying people don't even recognize the material in a lot of the questions, and how the images of stains are of very poor quality. I am just wondering if most of the people who don't pass are people who think because they work in a lab they will be able to pass the exam, and as a result they don't study for it the first time. Or, is it really that difficult and many people study hard but still cannot pass it. Any comments welcome! Thanks! Brandi Higgins ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
RE: [Histonet] Toluidine blue
Newcomer Claire From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu on behalf of zodia...@comcast.net Sent: Wed 4/21/2010 5:35 PM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] Toluidine blue Hello to all, I was wondering if anyone knows where to purchase toluidine blue (for mast cells) other than polyscientific. Thank you in advance for your replies, Jenny ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Charged Slides
Hi, If cost is a problem for charged slides, you could always silanize them yourself using whatever slides you want. It takes some time, (time=money) but the slides themselves are cheaper. There is a great description with procedures here: http://www.ihcworld.com/_technical_tips/prevent_section_fall.htm Good Luck, Amos Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:27:57 -0700 From: sris...@mail.holyname.org Subject: [Histonet] (no subject) To: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu, Message-ID: < of4a13f24e.175f330a-on8525770b.005f84cc-8825770b.006ff...@holyname.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Hi All, We are using Ventana XT for our immunostaining. We tried using "Plus" slides made by many vendors. The current vendor's pricing is way too high! With other vendors slides we have been having problems. Please let me know where to get some plus slides which are reasonable. I know the recommended slides come from erie but I am not quite sure about vendors who carry it and how much they charge. Thanks Nirmala Srishan Histology Holy Name Medical Center. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
RE: [Histonet] IHC Slides, Hotplate vs Oven
Eric, Some of my thoughts on your discussion questions: 1. How do you monitor the shortened baking time, especially when multiple racks of slides are cut throughout the day? We have timers set for when each rack goes into the oven. This might be an issue for labs with larger batches (we are a Children's hospital) 2. Assuming charged slides and cell conditioning/antigen retrieval are employed, are you seeing major problems with section adhesion? No, not usually. Problem sections tend to be those that are inadequately fixed (& therefore inadequately processed), brain and bone sections. They may tend to lift. 3. What if slides are received from another institution for staining, or slides get baked longer than 25 mins? Again, it is difficult to know the conditions that the tissues have undergone. In-built controls, if present are invaluable. We use a BondMax immunostainer, so the antigen retrieval temperature and time are better controlled than is possible with the manual procedure (or when I do it!). I believe that incomplete fixation causes more problems for morphology and immunohistochemistry than is commonly appreciated. "Fix the fixing and most problems are solved" - Hows that for a sweeping statement! Regards Tony Henwood JP, MSc, BAppSc, GradDipSysAnalys, CT(ASC) Laboratory Manager & Senior Scientist Tel: 612 9845 3306 Fax: 612 9845 3318 the children's hospital at westmead Cnr Hawkesbury Road and Hainsworth Street, Westmead Locked Bag 4001, Westmead NSW 2145, AUSTRALIA -Original Message- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Gagnon, Eric Sent: Thursday, 22 April 2010 5:31 AM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] IHC Slides, Hotplate vs Oven Tony's answer (62 degrees C for 25 mins) is the minimum to ensure section adheres to slide. We all have to stain slides that have been baked longer than 30 mins. However, especially for Her2, longer baking times can result in false negatives or at least diminished staining. The justification for baking longer is an attempt to prevent the section washing off or lifting. We are seeing evidence that section adhesion is not a good tradeoff for diminished staining. Ideally both can be achieved with no tradeoff. Tony or others who may wish to answer: 1. How do you monitor the shortened baking time, especially when multiple racks of slides are cut throughout the day? 2. Assuming charged slides and cell conditioning/antigen retrieval are employed, are you seeing major problems with section adhesion? 3. What if slides are received from another institution for staining, or slides get baked longer than 25 mins? Thanks in advance, Eric Gagnon MLT Histology Laboratory Kingston General Hospital Kingston, Ontario, Canada ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet * This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it and notify the sender. Views expressed in this message and any attachments are those of the individual sender, and are not necessarily the views of The Children's Hospital at Westmead This note also confirms that this email message has been virus scanned and although no computer viruses were detected, The Childrens Hospital at Westmead accepts no liability for any consequential damage resulting from email containing computer viruses. * ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] ascp exam
Hello, For those of you who are ASCP certified, either HT or HTL, did many of you have to take the exam more than once? I have not yet sat for the exam, but I see the pass rate is low, and average score is usually just slightly above the pass line. I have read a lot of comments on some message boards saying people don't even recognize the material in a lot of the questions, and how the images of stains are of very poor quality. I am just wondering if most of the people who don't pass are people who think because they work in a lab they will be able to pass the exam, and as a result they don't study for it the first time. Or, is it really that difficult and many people study hard but still cannot pass it. Any comments welcome! Thanks! Brandi Higgins ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Toluidine blue
Hello to all, I was wondering if anyone knows where to purchase toluidine blue (for mast cells) other than polyscientific. Thank you in advance for your replies, Jenny ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
RE: [Histonet] tape coverships
Thanks it worked Liz Elizabeth A. Chlipala, BS, HTL(ASCP)QIHC Manager Premier Laboratory, LLC PO Box 18592 Boulder, Colorado 80308 office (303) 682-3949 fax (303) 682-9060 www.premierlab.com Ship to Address: 1567 Skyway Drive, Unit E Longmont, Colorado 80504 -Original Message- From: Mike Pence [mailto:mpe...@grhs.net] Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 3:11 PM To: Liz Chlipala; histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: RE: [Histonet] tape coverships Just put the slide in xylene and coverslip with the tape containing the tissue. The you could put a couple small drops of mounting media on for good measure. Mike -Original Message- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Liz Chlipala Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 3:45 PM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] tape coverships Hello all I have a question on tape coverslips. We received a couple tape coverslipped slides in for scanning and the tape is completely removed from the slide. I would normally just coverslip with glass but the tissue is on the tape coverslip and not on the slide. How can I re attach the tape to the slide, can I use xylene and regular mounting media? Thanks in advance Liz Elizabeth A. Chlipala, BS, HTL(ASCP)QIHC Manager Premier Laboratory, LLC PO Box 18592 Boulder, Colorado 80308 office (303) 682-3949 fax (303) 682-9060 www.premierlab.com Ship to Address: 1567 Skyway Drive, Unit E Longmont, Colorado 80504 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
RE: [Histonet] tape coverships
Just put the slide in xylene and coverslip with the tape containing the tissue. The you could put a couple small drops of mounting media on for good measure. Mike -Original Message- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Liz Chlipala Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 3:45 PM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] tape coverships Hello all I have a question on tape coverslips. We received a couple tape coverslipped slides in for scanning and the tape is completely removed from the slide. I would normally just coverslip with glass but the tissue is on the tape coverslip and not on the slide. How can I re attach the tape to the slide, can I use xylene and regular mounting media? Thanks in advance Liz Elizabeth A. Chlipala, BS, HTL(ASCP)QIHC Manager Premier Laboratory, LLC PO Box 18592 Boulder, Colorado 80308 office (303) 682-3949 fax (303) 682-9060 www.premierlab.com Ship to Address: 1567 Skyway Drive, Unit E Longmont, Colorado 80504 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] tape coverships
Hello all I have a question on tape coverslips. We received a couple tape coverslipped slides in for scanning and the tape is completely removed from the slide. I would normally just coverslip with glass but the tissue is on the tape coverslip and not on the slide. How can I re attach the tape to the slide, can I use xylene and regular mounting media? Thanks in advance Liz Elizabeth A. Chlipala, BS, HTL(ASCP)QIHC Manager Premier Laboratory, LLC PO Box 18592 Boulder, Colorado 80308 office (303) 682-3949 fax (303) 682-9060 www.premierlab.com Ship to Address: 1567 Skyway Drive, Unit E Longmont, Colorado 80504 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
Re: [Histonet] Bone marrow trephine decalcification
Goodings & Stewarts also known as Formic/Formaldehyde fluid (10% formic acid, 5% formalin) for 6 hours should allow decal of fix BMT trephine Bx. " ... Smile it confuses people ..." On 21 Apr 2010, at 21:14, "Marinez" wrote: I'm in a bit of trouble. I work in the south of Brazil (Porto Alegre) for some years and now in my hospital a lot of bone marrow biopsies are being performed (leukemia and lymphomas). With decalcification with strong acids (nitric) I'm getting very poor results with the immunohistochemistry. I'm trying to use EDTA but we really are not getting speed or good results (we controled de pH but still precipitates). Could some one be kind enough to send me some formula (simple one please) that will work in reasonable time (24 or 48 hours) and perform well with immunohistochemistry? I would deeply grateful. M. Barra ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
RE: [Histonet] Bone marrow trephine decalcification
They have commercial rapid decals that are formic acid based that do not affect the immunohistochemistry. But it does affect some of the enzyme histochemistry. Loralee McMahon, HTL (ASCP) Immunohistochemistry Supervisor Strong Memorial Hospital Department of Surgical Pathology (585) 275-7210 From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Marinez [mbba...@uol.com.br] Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 4:14 PM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] Bone marrow trephine decalcification I'm in a bit of trouble. I work in the south of Brazil (Porto Alegre) for some years and now in my hospital a lot of bone marrow biopsies are being performed (leukemia and lymphomas). With decalcification with strong acids (nitric) I'm getting very poor results with the immunohistochemistry. I'm trying to use EDTA but we really are not getting speed or good results (we controled de pH but still precipitates). Could some one be kind enough to send me some formula (simple one please) that will work in reasonable time (24 or 48 hours) and perform well with immunohistochemistry? I would deeply grateful. M. Barra ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Bone marrow trephine decalcification
I'm in a bit of trouble. I work in the south of Brazil (Porto Alegre) for some years and now in my hospital a lot of bone marrow biopsies are being performed (leukemia and lymphomas). With decalcification with strong acids (nitric) I'm getting very poor results with the immunohistochemistry. I'm trying to use EDTA but we really are not getting speed or good results (we controled de pH but still precipitates). Could some one be kind enough to send me some formula (simple one please) that will work in reasonable time (24 or 48 hours) and perform well with immunohistochemistry? I would deeply grateful. M. Barra ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] IHC Slides, Hotplate vs Oven
Tony's answer (62 degrees C for 25 mins) is the minimum to ensure section adheres to slide. We all have to stain slides that have been baked longer than 30 mins. However, especially for Her2, longer baking times can result in false negatives or at least diminished staining. The justification for baking longer is an attempt to prevent the section washing off or lifting. We are seeing evidence that section adhesion is not a good tradeoff for diminished staining. Ideally both can be achieved with no tradeoff. Tony or others who may wish to answer: 1. How do you monitor the shortened baking time, especially when multiple racks of slides are cut throughout the day? 2. Assuming charged slides and cell conditioning/antigen retrieval are employed, are you seeing major problems with section adhesion? 3. What if slides are received from another institution for staining, or slides get baked longer than 25 mins? Thanks in advance, Eric Gagnon MLT Histology Laboratory Kingston General Hospital Kingston, Ontario, Canada ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] trigeminal
Kevin, This article has a nice photo showing mouse trigeminal ganglia. Google images is your friend-- Mike Nature Protocols 2, - 152 - 160 (2007) Production of dissociated sensory neuron cultures and considerations for their use in studying neuronal function and plasticity Sacha A Malin, Brian M Davis & Derek C Molliver --- Message: 14 Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:41:38 +0100 From: Kevin Gillinder Subject: [Histonet] Neonatal Mouse Brain Atlas To: "histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu" Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Hi Histo-lovers! I am planning on doing some nissl staining on neonatal mouse brain, to identify the trigeminal ganglion. Does anyone have a nissl stained atlas of mouse brain @ P0 (newborn) ? Has anyone had experience with this before? If so, would you mind sharing any tips? Kevin ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Histology in the news....
Along with the new CAP/ASCO ER/PR guidelines there was a front page article in the NY Times yesterday: "Cancer Fight: Unclear Tests for New Drug." It details the issues with interpreting Her2 staining and the continuing issue with disparate results from different labs when doing ER, PR and Her2 testing on the same sample. Nothing new to those in the field, but we are under continued scrutiny so better be sure your validation procedures are in order!! Tim Morken Supervisor, Histology / IHC UCSF Medical Center San Francisco, CA ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Charged Slides for IHC on Ventana
Message: 2 Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:27:57 -0700 From: sris...@mail.holyname.org Subject: [Histonet] (no subject) To: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu, Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Hi All, We are using Ventana XT for our immunostaining. We tried using "Plus" slides made by many vendors. The current vendor's pricing is way too high! With other vendors slides we have been having problems. Please let me know where to get some plus slides which are reasonable. I know the recommended slides come from erie but I am not quite sure about vendors who carry it and how much they charge. Thanks Nirmala Srishan Histology Holy Name Medical Center. Nirmala, We use Fisher's charged slides 12-550-15, which I'm sure are made by Erie. Pricing will depend upon your contract with a particular vendor. SurgiPath aka Leica has charged slides that work well also. If you want the etched Control Box Slides we purchase from Cardinal. Hope this helps! Walter Benton, HT(ASCP)QIHC Histology Supervisor University of Maryland Medical Center Anatomic Pathology 22 S. Greene St Room NBW65 Baltimore MD 21201 (Direct) 410-328-0930 (Lab) 410-328-5524 (Fax) 410-328-5508 This e-mail and any accompanying attachments may be privileged, confidential, contain protected health information about an identified patient or be otherwise protected from disclosure. State and federal law protect the confidentiality of this information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient; you are prohibited from using, disclosing, reproducing or distributing this information; you should immediately notify the sender by telephone or e-mail and delete this e-mail. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] CAP Checklist
Message: 10 Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:56:48 -0400 From: thisis...@aol.com Subject: [Histonet] CAP Checklist To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Message-ID: <8ccaee3211e306a-1c94-1...@webmail-m053.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Can someone tell me where on the CAP website I can get a copy of the checklist to prepare for an inspection (for all departments, not just Histology...etc. Cytology, FISH, PCR). Thank you, Ann Ann, You can access the checklist through www.cap.org under the Tab " Reference Resource and Publications" If you log in you will get the checklist for your facility. You can also purchase checklist as well on this website. Hope this helps. Walter Benton, HT(ASCP)QIHC Histology Supervisor University of Maryland Medical Center Anatomic Pathology 22 S. Greene St Room NBW65 Baltimore MD 21201 (Direct) 410-328-0930 (Lab) 410-328-5524 (Fax) 410-328-5508 This e-mail and any accompanying attachments may be privileged, confidential, contain protected health information about an identified patient or be otherwise protected from disclosure. State and federal law protect the confidentiality of this information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient; you are prohibited from using, disclosing, reproducing or distributing this information; you should immediately notify the sender by telephone or e-mail and delete this e-mail. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Chloroform Fume Monitoring
** Proprietary ** ** Reply Requested When Convenient ** Hi Histoneter, I was just wondering what kind Health and Safety of procedures do people use to monitor Chloroform Fume ? I was carrying an H&S audit for occupational exposure Xylene / Glutaraldehyde / Formaldehyde/ Chloroforms fumes using Surgipath Exposures monitoring badge on a 3 months interval. when I realised that we do not have any Chloroform Badges available, and will not be able to get some for a little while. Does anyone use these EMT's Chloroform Monitoring Kit available to purchase from this site http://www.emt-online.com/ProductPages/Chloroform.htm Or is there any better alternative ? Malika Malika Benatti Specialist BMS Camelia Botnar Laboratories Histopathology Department Great Ormond Street Hospital London WC1N 3JH Tel: +44 20 7405 9200 ext 5475 Fax: +44 20 7829 7875 ben...@gosh.nhs.uk * This message may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient please inform the sender that you have received the message in error before deleting it. Please do not disclose, copy or distribute information in this e-mail or take any action in reliance on its contents: to do so is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Thank you for your co-operation. * ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Neonatal Mouse Brain Atlas
Hi Histo-lovers! I am planning on doing some nissl staining on neonatal mouse brain, to identify the trigeminal ganglion. Does anyone have a nissl stained atlas of mouse brain @ P0 (newborn) ? Has anyone had experience with this before? If so, would you mind sharing any tips? -- Kevin ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
