Re: [Histonet] Bielschowsky questions, Luxol Fast Blue answers, and Protocol Drift.

2012-07-25 Thread Eric Eades
Hi Tim,

It is safe to consider "40% formaldehyde" to be a 100% solution, because
that is the maximum amount of formaldehyde that will dissolve into an
aqueous solution.

Happy Fixation,

-Eric Eades
Phenopath Laboratories
Seattle, WA



On Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 12:36 PM, Tim Wheelock  wrote:

> Hi Everyone:
>
> I had a few questions regarding Bielschowsky silver stains.
>
> (1) What adhesive (if any) or type of slide do you use for the stain?
> (2)  How do you clean the glassware?
> (3)  When diluting the 40% formaldehyde when making up the developer, do
> you consider the 40% formaldehyde as 100% and then dilute it down by using
> 1 part formaldehyde and 9 parts distilled water?
>   Or do you assume the 40% formaldehyde is 40% and then dilute it down
> using 1 part formaldehyde and 3 parts distilled water?
>   (My protocol may have inadvertently changed from the first method to
> the second; I am not sure.)
>
> By the way, I want to thank everyone for helping me solve the problem of
>  my Luxol Fast Blue staining the myelin too lightly.
> I discovered that somehow, I had started adding twice the amount of acetic
> acid to the Luxol staining solution as I should of.
> (This protocol "drift", where a mistake can actually find its way into a
> written protocol, can  be a real problem in a lab, especially  when working
> for  years by oneself, as  I have) .
>
> But I also found that even reducing the acetic acid, while helping a lot,
> did not completely fix the problem.
> I needed to switch from staining the tissue for 2 hours at 60C  to a full
> over-night (why I never needed to switch times before is a mystery). That
>  did the trick beautifully.
> The myelin is staining perfectly again.
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Tim Wheelock
> Harvard Brain Bank
> Belmont, MA
>
>
>
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Re: [Histonet] RE: Re:peggy wenk comments on HT/HTL practical

2011-08-31 Thread Eric Eades
It seems from these comments that not all schools are created equal.  I just
graduated from a one-year program in Histotechnology at Clover Park
Technical College in Lakewood, WA and I can assure you that no one graduated
unless they 1) Understood, and could preform by hand, every step in the
histology workflow from grossing to coverslipping.  2)  Completed a 300-hour
clinical rotation with exposure to a variety of automated instruments and
the production rate expected of a tech working in a clinical lab.  3)
Demonstrated a respect for the profession and the passion to continue
learning.

I pity the HT candidate who enters the workforce with a less thorough
preperation for what he's in for!

-Eric Eades




On Wed, Aug 31, 2011 at 11:22 AM, joelle weaver wrote:

>
> Yes, that was what I was aluding to. I try to imagine that they just don't
> realize or have any knowledge of this, like me trying to fly a plane, since
> you mentioned pilots. It is better for me to consider it this way than just
> gettig upset or frustrated.  From what I have seen in the education, the
> perception of some adminstrators is that histology is something that is
> quite simple and easily mastered, like "flipping burgers" . But the ones I
> know have never been in a histology lab, which sure didn't help.Maybe we
> need to educate some of the educators? In order to stay positive and forward
> looking, we can continue to try to develop though those that come in if we
> have the ability in staff, resources etc.
>
> Joelle Weaver MAOM, BA, (HTL) ASCP
>
>
> > From: thigg...@cddmedical.com
> > To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> > Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:07:21 -0500
> > Subject: [Histonet] RE: Re:peggy wenk comments on HT/HTL practical
>  >
> > How would the expression, "you need experience to get the job, and you
> need
> > the job to get experience" work if a person went through flight school to
> be
> > a pilot but did not receive any actual flight training but was then
> allowed
> > to get a job as a pilot flying a commuter plane in charge of peoples
> lives.
> > Maybe actual training is not as big a deal if you are flipping burgers
> but
> > Histology is slightly more important than that. At least I feel it is,
> > obviously the people running some of these "Approved" programs don't
> think
> > so.
> >
> > Scary!!
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Tim
> > - Original Message -
> > From: 
> > To: 
> > Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 12:03 PM
> > Subject: Histonet Digest, Vol 93, Issue 47
> >
> >
> > Send Histonet mailing list submissions to
> > histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> >
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> > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> > than "Re: Contents of Histonet digest..."
> >
> >
> > Today's Topics:
> >
> > 1. RE: Re:peggy wenk comments on HT/HTL practical - To stick a
> > Pin (joelle weaver)
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:41:25 +
> > From: joelle weaver 
> > Subject: RE: [Histonet] Re:peggy wenk comments on HT/HTL practical -
> > To stick a Pin
> > To: , , Histonet
> > 
> > Message-ID: 
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> >
> >
> > Yes, the old you need experience to get the job, and you need the job to
> get
> > experience
> >
> > Joelle Weaver MAOM, BA, (HTL) ASCP
> >
> >
> > > From: r...@leicester.ac.uk
> > > To: mlune...@luhcares.org; histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> > > Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:31:25 +0100
> > > Subject: RE: [Histonet] Re:peggy wenk comments on HT/HTL practical - To
> > stick a Pin
> > > CC:
> > >
> > > If you do not employ recently trained individuals, how on earth are
> they
> > going to obtain the experience that Matt craves, it's beyond me. My
> daughter
> > recently qualified as an Occupational Therapist, when she asked for the
> > reason that she was unsuccessful in obtaining a post, they said that as a
> > recently graduated student she had no experience, what
> rubbish!!.T

Re: [Histonet] HTL exam

2011-06-16 Thread Eric Eades
René is correct.  IHC stains are named according to the primary antibody
used, but it would be useless to ask questions about individual antibodies
because new ones are continuously developed.  Study the general method and
how it might vary (pretreatments, detection systems, chromogens.)

-Eric

On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 1:24 PM, Rene J Buesa  wrote:

> I believe that "IHC stains" (by the way, they are not stains but detectable
> immunohistochemical reactions) refers to the method itself and its
> methodology.
> René J.
>
> From: Karla Arrington 
> To: Histonet 
> Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2011 3:32 PM
> Subject: [Histonet] HTL exam
>
> Histonetters:
>
> I have a co-hort that is going to be taking the HTL exam shortly.  As far
> as
> studying goes, what content of IHC does
> he need to know... example IHC stains.  The list just states IHC stains.
> There
> are lots of them so I would like some
> information as to how much of stains are on the exam if anyone can enlighte
> me
>
>
> Thanks!!
> Karla
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Re: [Histonet] How to keep paraffin sections from sticking to blade/blade holder.

2011-04-26 Thread Eric Eades
Hi Bret,

If you grab the first section as it comes off the blade with a pair of
forceps, then your ribbon never needs to touch the blade holder at all.
Just don't use your fingers!

Good luck,
-Eric

On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 12:07 PM, Clough, Bret
wrote:

> While sectioning paraffin embedded tissue on a rotary  microtome I noticed
> the sections sticking to the blade holder and bunching up. What do I need to
> do so that my section come off the blade in a ribbon? Please note that this
> is my first time in sectioning tissue and this is a learning exercise  for
> me.
>
> Thanks in advance for your suggestions .
>
> Bret
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