Effect of water softening on the colour intensity of routine haematoxylin and eosin stain

ABSTRACT Haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) is the most popular routine stain used in pathology laboratories for highlighting cellular structures. To study the effect of tap water 'softening' (i.e. calcium extraction) on H&E stains, 5 sets of slides from 30 different paraffin-embedded human pathologic tissue blocks were prepared in the same way except for washing with 5 different types of water. Slides washed in untreated tap water showed the best results concerning differentiation and colour intensity, while slides washed with softened or other treated water showed poorer degrees of differentiation and colour intensity. The worst results were obtained from slides washed with water containing sodium bicarbonate. Low calcium and magnesium ions and high sodium ions in soft water adversely affect the results of routine H&E stain

Influence of band width on the scattered ion yield spectra of a He + Ion by resonant or quasi-resonant charge exchange neutralization

The influence of the band structure, especially the bandwidth, on the scattered ion yield spectra of a He+ ion by the resonant or quasi-resonant neutralization was theoretically examined using quantum rate equations. When calculating the scattered ion yield spectra of He+ to simulate the experimental data, we observed that the band structure, especially the bandwidth, had a strong influence on the spectra at relatively low incident He+ ion energies of less than several hundred eV. Through many simulations, it was determined that theoretical calculations that include bandwidth calculation can simulate or reproduce the experimentally observed spectra of He+-In, He+-Ga, and He+-Sn systems. In contrast, simulations not including bandwidth simulation could neither reproduce nor account for such spectra. Furthermore, the calculated ion survival probability (ISP) at low incident ion energies tended to decrease with increasing bandwidth. This decrease in ISP probably corresponds to the relatively small scattered ion yield usually observed at low incident ion energies. Theoretically, such a decrease indicates that a He+ ion with a low incident energy can be easily neutralized on the surface when the bandwidth is large

Novel case-control observational method for assessing effectiveness of red-light cameras

Conventional methods for estimating the effect of an intervention suffer from selection bias, where the units that receive the treatment have different characteristics from those in the control group. This paper proposes a novel method that provides a specific criterion for selecting the control group. The method, called propensity score matching (PSM), was applied to the evaluation of red-light cameras (RLC) and its performance was compared with conventional cross-sectional and empirical Bayes methods. The application was performed using field data from the City of Ottawa involving 30 RLC intersections and 89 non-camera intersections observed for a period of 15 years. All three methods yielded fairly consistent results, indicating an increase in property damage collisions and a decrease in injury and fatal collisions. Given the strong theoretical basis of the PSM method and its ability to produce a more stable and reliable estimator, the method is recommended as a viable alternative to the conventional methods

Recent records and distribution of the Indian Brown Mongoose Herpestes fuscus Gray, 1837 (Mammalia: Carnivora: Herpestidae) from the southern Western Ghats, India

We are reporting four new records of Brown Mongoose Herpestes fuscus Gray, 1837 from four protected areas in Western Ghats including Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Periyar Tiger Reserve and Pampadum Shola National Park and one new site record outside a protected area from Pambanar Tea plantation in Idukki dt. situated in Kerala part of southern Western Ghats. An updated distribution map of Brown Mongoose in Western Ghats is presented here.  </p