A simple method for the formalin fixation of lungs in toxicological pathology studies

Abstract A simple method for staining non-hemoglobin iron in erythrocytes, normoblasts, macrophages, and other cells containing particulate iron in new or old films of cellular fluids or imprints of tissues and organs is presented. This method consists in using the prussian blue reagent as a type of counterstain; no separate decolorization is necessary. The preparations obtained resemble the original preparations except that iron stands out as a vivid blue-green material. The method is particularly useful in studying conditions accompanied by varying degrees of iron excess or hemosiderosis of the marrow. The stainable iron is all virtually the same color. The diffuse blue-green color of the cytoplasm of macrophages might be attributed to the more soluble form of iron, ferritin. Stainable iron is visible in normoblasts and erythrocytes as well as in macrophages in sections subjected to the prussian blue reaction. A prussian blue method using formalin fixation on fresh films of marrow7 has also been shown to be useful in the demonstration of particulate iron in previously stained films of marrow and blood. The formalin fixation appears to bring about a higher percentage of siderocytes.

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A simple way for producing holographic filters suitable for image improvement

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100108271 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 226-227

Author(s):

K.-H. Herrmann ◽

E. Reuber ◽

P. Schiske

Keyword(s):

Transfer Functions ◽

Diffraction Order ◽

Lateral Position ◽

Simple Method ◽

Spatial Frequencies ◽

Resolution Electron ◽

Wiener Filters ◽

Image Improvement ◽

Optical Reconstruction ◽

Set Up

Aposteriori deblurring of high resolution electron micrographs of weak phase objects can be performed by holographic filters [1,2] which are arranged in the Fourier domain of a light-optical reconstruction set-up. According to the diffraction efficiency and the lateral position of the grating structure, the filters permit adjustment of the amplitudes and phases of the spatial frequencies in the image which is obtained in the first diffraction order.In the case of bright field imaging with axial illumination, the Contrast Transfer Functions (CTF) are oscillating, but real. For different imageforming conditions and several signal-to-noise ratios an extensive set of Wiener-filters should be available. A simple method of producing such filters by only photographic and mechanical means will be described here.A transparent master grating with 6.25 lines/mm and 160 mm diameter was produced by a high precision computer plotter. It is photographed through a rotating mask, plotted by a standard plotter.

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Rotary Beveling for In Situ Thin-Section Microscopy of Cell Cultures

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100099192 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 550-551

Author(s):

Dean A. Handley ◽

Jack T. Alexander ◽

Shu Chien

Keyword(s):

Cell Growth ◽

Cell Cultures ◽

Molecular Interactions ◽

Convenient Method ◽

Petri Dish ◽

Simple Method ◽

Thin Section Microscopy ◽

Thin Sectioning ◽

Organic Fluids

In situ preparation of cell cultures for ultrastructural investigations is a convenient method by which fixation, dehydration and embedment are carried out in the culture petri dish. The in situ method offers the advantage of preserving the native orientation of cell-cell interactions, junctional regions and overlapping configurations. In order to section after embedment, the petri dish is usually separated from the polymerized resin by either differential cryo-contraction or solvation in organic fluids. The remaining resin block must be re-embedded before sectioning. Although removal of the petri dish may not disrupt the native cellular geometry, it does sacrifice what is now recognized as an important characteristic of cell growth: cell-substratum molecular interactions. To preserve the topographic cell-substratum relationship, we developed a simple method of tapered rotary beveling to reduce the petri dish thickness to a dimension suitable for direct thin sectioning.

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