Re: [Histonet] Super cold cryostat cutting head temperatures

Cryo-electron microscopy cuts thin sections at temperatures colder than that. It is used to preserve antigenicity in certain situations. However, a cryostat is not used. An ultramicrotome fitted with specific cryo attachments is used. Sincerely, Paula Sicurello Sent from my iPhone >

Re: [Histonet] slide printers

Hi Jessica, Slide writers don't have to be linked to a LIS but without that you really don't save any time. All the information will be typed in manually. On the plus side-you don't have to worry about trying to read someone's hand writing if you use a slide writer. Sincerely, Paula

Re: [Histonet] microtome blades and wax

Hi Jessica, Happy Friday. Do you use the same EM-400 paraffin for processing? If you use different paraffins that might contribute to your sectioning problems. If the waxes are different the tissue and the rest of the block are not one continuous unit in the "eyes" of the knife. The

[Histonet] Sakura microtomes

Hello everyone, Has anyone used, or is familiar with, the Sakura SRM 300 LT microtome? Sincerely, Paula Sicurello Sent from my iPhone ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu

Re: [Histonet] combining cytology and histology

Hi Pam, When I worked in a combined lab the cytology specimens were accessioned separately. The cyto staff were also separate but were trained in some of the histology tasks (loading processors and accessioning). They could help out with those tasks if the histology lab was short staffed.

[Histonet] UCSD Moore's Cancer Center needs a HIstotech

Good Morning Listers, I have been asked by my lab manager to post this position. It appears they are having trouble finding a Histotech. Go to UCSD Title and Pay Information to find out the pay range. Here is the link: UC San Diego Jobs | search | 107387 (ucsd.edu)

Re: [Histonet] CAP inspection

Hi Samantha, Have "fun" with your first inspection. A few pointers: try not to compare the place you are inspecting with your lab, try to stay focused on the task at hand (many new inspectors are easily influenced), walk around and get a feel for the lab- sure they are going to be tense because

[Histonet] Delay in embedding?

Good Morning Listers, How many out there will process tissue and then leave the cassettes at room temperature and embed it at a later time (hours or the next day)? Please send me your opinions about doing this. I think it’s a bad idea, others I speak with disagree. Sincerely, Paula

[Histonet] Leica Peloris Question

Hello Listers, Does anyone know why the recommended processing for the Peloris is 47o C? I was taught (back in the dark ages) that high temperatures during processing were not good for the tissue. With the exception of the paraffins, the processing temperatures were usually around 27 - 37o C.

Re: [Histonet] Flammable Sprays in Cryostats

This was copied from the Centers for Disease Control's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (January 2012) *5.9.2. Work at the open bench* Frozen sections — Frozen sectioning is performed on fresh tissue and is a high-risk procedure for infectious exposure. Freezing tissue does not kill

Re: [Histonet] Flammable Sprays in Cryostats

It's not safe to use any type of spray in a cryostat. It creates aerosols of who knows what (tuberculosis) from potentially infectious patient biopsies. I would not recommend it, just as a universal precaution. Sincerely, Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM Histotechnology Specialist UC San Diego

Re: [Histonet] Fridge temp

Mary Ann, First I would call the vendor of the antibodies and detection kits and ask them if they have any data about their reagents being warmed up for those time periods. If they can't provide an answer, then I suggest testing every single one of the antibodies and detection kits to see if

Re: [Histonet] Roche "bashing"

It's not Roche "bashing", these are messages come from concerned histology professionals to inform the Histology world that there are issues with a product from a certain vendor. Born out of frustration with the vendor who does nothing about the problem and suggests that the issue lies with the

Re: [Histonet] [External] Re: New York Qualifications for Histology Supervisor

I need to clarify my comment about California. What Histotechs (certified or not, but not licensed by CA) cannot do is supervise or manage those who have licenses through the state (Cyotechs, CLS', Phlebotomists, etc.). Unlicensed personnel are not allowed to supervise/manage licensed personnel.

[Histonet] HistoMATE mold cleaner

Happy Friday! We pulled our HistoMATE mold cleaner out of the closet and we can't find the user manual. If anyone has one can you send me a copy? I tried looking online and couldn't find anything. It looks pretty simple but I still want to know what it is capable of doing. Thanks oodles and

Re: [Histonet] New Lab

Hi Tasha, How fun! All I can say is ventilation, ventilation, ventilation. If you can't get proper ventilation I recommend Sentry Air Systems. They have portable fume extractors that use a series of carbon filters, to suck up the xylene or formaldehyde vapors. Sincerely, Paula Sicurello, HTL

[Histonet] Ventana BenchMark Special Stainer

Happy Christmas Eve, I sit here reading several replies about the failure of GMS stains. There is one theme that pretty much everyone has mentioned, and I can say we agree with them, Ventana/Roche blames the user and does nothing to help correct this problem. We have heard the same as everyone

[Histonet] GMS Failures on Ventana BMSS

Happy Solstice, Happy Friday, We are having a lot of GMS staining run failures on our BenchMark Special Stainers. The problem is not predictable. It's not slide position related because one day position 2 (example) works, the next run it doesn't. This is only happening with the GMS stains.

Re: [Histonet] We are Brainstorming on Promoting the Field of Histology and We Need Your Help!

If we could get support for licensure in the state of California, that would help. Pathologists and CLS's have fought to keep CLIA qualified, ASCP certified HT/HTLs from being licensed in this state. Licensing increases visibility and will help increase the pay as well. Sincerely, Paula

[Histonet] H for H. pylori?

Good Morning Listers, Has anyone out there optimized an H for H. pylori? Sure we can run a giemsa or and IHC but what fun is that? Send me your ideas and make the day of our GI pathologists. Thanks oodles. Sincerely, Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM Histotechnology Specialist UC San Diego

[Histonet] I have another question for the collective

Good Afternoon Listers, Here's a question for those who work in the academic clinical arena. Background: We have researchers who have IRBs in place. They sign a patient up for their study. The researcher wants slides cut on patient tissue to use for their study. They want it right away (of

Re: [Histonet] Elephant Tissues

Jennifer, I have worked on mouse, rat, rabbit, sea lion, harbor seal, killer whale, giraffe, and even human mummy tissues. With the exception of the mummy tissue being a bit dry, they all embedded and cut like human tissue. What is it that is making them hard to cut? Sincerely, Paula

Re: [Histonet] Unstained slides

How about frozen sections cut for immunofluorescence stored at -20? Sincerely, Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM Histotechnology Specialist UC San Diego Health 200 Arbor Drive San Diego, CA 92103 (P): 619-543-2872 *Confidentiality Notice*: The information transmitted in this e-mail is

[Histonet] Unstained Slides - results

Good Afternoon Listers, Thanks to all who answered my question about retention of unstained slides. I had several people weigh in on the topic and we have created an unstained slide policy based on their advice and the literature that was kindly sent to me. The consensus is antigenicity

[Histonet] Are you a Histotech working in California?

Good Evening Listers, I'm trying to find out how many histotechs there are in California, certified or not, clinical or research. I'm trying to gather numbers to present to the state in an effort to get us licensed by the state. It's an uphill battle but we have to start somewhere. Please

[Histonet] Unstained slides - how long are they good for?

Hello My Fellow Histologists, Happy Friday Eve. The question has come up.. How long are *unstained* slides good for? Not for H but tests like IHC and molecular testing. These slides have been cut, stored at room temperature, not sealed in anyway, and kept in a cardboard box. Please let me

Re: [Histonet] benchtop fume hoods

We are using a portable fume extractor from Sentry Air Systems for removing xylene fumes from our coverslipper. It's called the SS-200-WS, it has adjustable 'wings' and you can also buy one with shielding. We like it so much we bought another 5. The carbon filters make all the difference, our

[Histonet] Service person for Zeiss 10C TEM

Good Afternoon, Does anyone know of a service engineer that works on old electron microscopes? I have a Zeiss 10C and someone else I know has one too and they both broke at the same time. If you know of someone, please send me their contact information. Thank you and have a nice weekend.

[Histonet] HistoMATE

Good Morning from Slightly Cloudy California, I hope you are all safe and warm. Thanks to all who sent me information about the HistoMATE. I do believe we are going to buy one. For those you have one and use it regularly-- do you have any pointers/tips to share? Sincerely, Paula Sicurello,

[Histonet] Embedding Mold Cleaning Device

Good Morning Listers, There used to be on the market a small gizmo that cleaned embedding molds. Does anyone have one and can tell me where or who to buy it from? I know we can use the processors to clean them, but for our circumstances it would be more convenient to have one of those table-top

[Histonet] Hard water and Prisma stainer

Good Morning Listers, I am very interested in this topic but I can't find the thread for this topic, does someone have it? What is error 90 on a Prisma and what does it mean? Sincerely, Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM Histotechnology Specialist UC San Diego Health 200 Arbor Drive San Diego,

Re: [Histonet] Protocols for cryostat trimming and sectioning

Hi Bernard, If memory serves me correctly, a cryostat is like a microtome and does not need validation - CAP requires a function check (look in the All Common Checklist) and verification from the vendor that it was installed correctly and it operates as it should. Does it turn on? Does it get

[Histonet] LANA (HHV-8) control tissue?

Hello Listers, Does anyone have control tissue for LANA? Perhaps we can trade for something you need. Thanks in advance. Sincerely, Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM Histotechnology Specialist UC San Diego Health 200 Arbor Drive San Diego, CA 92103 (P): 619-543-2872 <#> *Confidentiality

[Histonet] Recut rates

Good Morning Listers, What is the recut rate you all are experiencing? You can include deepers in that count, though I'm more interested in recuts due to the first H not being good enough. Not faced into well enough to expose all the tissue in the block, that type of thing. I'm trying to

Re: [Histonet] Roche-Ventana Special Stainer

HI Cassie, We have a 2014 Ventana Benchmark Special Stainer and it works great. As much as we use it (and we have been told by Ventana that we are pushing it to its upper limits) and we use it a lot, it still works with little to no problems. The stains are consistent, the silver stains do not

Re: [Histonet] VIP 5 VS. VIP 6

Hi Andy, I prefer the VIP6. It is easier to program, can have more programs and is slightly easier to use than the VIP5. The VIP6 is more computerized than the VIP5 and can generate reports such as error logs, tissue processing runs (to name a few) that you can put on a flash drive for further

[Histonet] Adenovirus antibody?

Hello Listers, I am listing to starboard on this one. We are using the Ventana Ultra staining platform and have had a bit of trouble with our Adenovirus stains. We have used Abcam and Millipore to no avail. Do you have suggestions about another vendor to try? We are a clinical lab so we only

[Histonet] Adenovirus Control Block Source?

Good Morning Listers, Does anyone have a source for a good Adenovirus control block for IHC? Thank you in advance. Sincerely, Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM Histotechnology Specialist UC San Diego Health 200 Arbor Drive San Diego, CA 92103 (P): 619-543-2872 <#> *Confidentiality

Re: [Histonet] A Question About Paraffin Times

y > evening. > > > > Regards, > > > > > > Shannon H. Logan B.S., HTL (ASCP) > > Pathology Department > > > > Bellin Health Memorial Hospital > > 744 South Webster Avenue > > Green Bay, WI 54305-3400 > > 920-433-3653 X3727 <(920)%2

[Histonet] A Question About Paraffin Times

Good Morning Listers, I am asking the collective wisdom of the Histonet this question: Is it better to remove baskets from the processor on Saturday morning and: A. Let the cassettes freeze, then melt them down and embed Monday morning? OR B. Leave the cassettes in molten paraffin and embed

[Histonet] Microwave for EM?

Good Morning Listers, Happy Friday Eve! Who out there is microwave processing tissue for EM? Which microwave processor are you using? Are there any limitations (can’t process certain tissues, tissues look significantly different than traditional processing, makes a mess-that type of

[Histonet] CEs for EM techs?

Good Morning, Does anyone know if there are CEs available for electron microscopists? I tried sending this question to the MSA listserver but my email was rejected. Sincerely, Paula Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM Histotechnology Specialist UC San Diego Health 200 Arbor Drive San Diego,

[Histonet] In need of a temporary histotech in San Diego

Good Afternoon, We are looking for an experienced histotech (HT/HTL certified) who can work as a temp full-time. We need this person to start the week of November 14, 2016. If this is you, please contact me. My work email is psicure...@ucsd.edu, my phone # is 619-543-2872. Sorry for the short

[Histonet] Histology Supervisor Position at UC San Diego Health

Happy Friday Listers, We have an opening for a Histology supervisor. This person will supervise a staff of 13 (and growing) in Histology, IHC and EM. We would like: 1. At east 3 years of experience as a supervisor in a high volume academic setting. 2. HT/HTL certified 3. Experience with all

[Histonet] Water for H Stainers?

Good Morning Everyone, What type of water do you use with your automated H stainers? House or deionized/distilled? We cannot buy one of the waterless, fancy schmancy H stainers at this time. L Thank you in advance. Sincerely, Paula Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM Histotechnology

[Histonet] UCSD Hiring a Histology Supervisor

Good Morning Netters,UC San Diego Health is opening a new hospital and is actively looking for a supervisor for the Histology, IHC and EM labs. You will be supervising a staff of 12 (soon to be 13). This is the job code: #JMC83529. This is the job title: Histotechnologist Supervisor Go to

[Histonet] CPT code for indirect IF

Good Afternoon Netters, Is there a CPT code to use for indirect IF? I see the one for direct, but I'm not sure if the CPT code book labels indirect IF as multiplex testing. How do you all code for the indirect IF? Sincerely, Paula Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM Histotechnology Specialist

[Histonet] Thank you --VIP 6 Manual

Thanks to all who sent me the VIP 6 manual. Now we have something we can thumb through! Sincerely, Paula Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM Histotechnology Specialist UC San Diego Health 200 Arbor Drive San Diego, CA 92103 (P): 619-543-2872 *Confidentiality Notice*: The information

Re: [Histonet] Glassware Cleaning

We use the bromocresol and it does stay yellow if the pH is correct. We also use a narrow range pH strip. You might want to check the pH of your DI water. Sincerely, Paula Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM Histotechnology Specialist UC San Diego Health 200 Arbor Drive San Diego, CA

[Histonet] Paraffin sectioning for DNA analysis

Hello Listers, Which techniques are you all using to avoid cross contamination when cutting multiple sections from multiple blocks for DNA analysis? Way back I used to use DEP-C treated water, wore gloves, changed the blade between blocks and wiped down the surface of the knife holder plate

Re: [Histonet] Microtomy statisitcs

Rene' has a really good paper that discusses this topic. http://www.histosearch.com/ADP9ProductivityStandards.pdf The larger issues are how to track the number cut per hour. It's easy to get a daily rate, but breaking it down to blocks/hour when techs are doing multiple tasks makes it a bit more

[Histonet] Elastic Stain on Ventana BenchMark Special Stainer

Hello Histoes, I've got a Ventana BenchMark Special Stainer and the best I am getting so far is purple. Does anyone have a protocol they have worked out that makes the elastic fibers black? If you have a protocol will you share it with me please? Thank you, Paula UCSanDiego Health System

[Histonet] Elastic Stain on the Benchmark Special Stainer (BMSS)?

Hi Netters, Has anyone out in Histoland achieved blackness with the BMSS Elastic stain? All I'm getting are purple elastic fibers. If you have crossed over to the darker side of staining and have a protocol you'd be willing to share, by all means let me know. I want to join the darkside too!

[Histonet] Elastic on the Ventana BenchMark Special Stainer

Good Morning Netters, Has anyone had any luck running the Elastic program and getting the elastic fibers to be black? All I'm getting is purple no matter how I modify the program. Even one of the application specialists told me that he can't get the fibers to turn black either. If you have a