The Use of Hydrophobic Adhesive Tape to Produce Miniature Wells on Microscope Slides

Hydrophobic adhesive tape was used to produce miniature wells on microscope slides for staining several sections of tissue with minimal amounts of cytochemical reagents. The wells could be tailored to individual specifications and the method allowed coverslips to be mounted close to the sections using either aqueous or xylene based mounting media. This method was especially useful for multiple immunolabelling of serial semithin cryosections.     

The importance of microscopic examination in the management of desquamative diseases of the scalp

After determining the usual malassezic biota of the scalp in adult, normal persons, 259 patients with different desquamative diseases were studied by a simple adhesive tape technique. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of this technique to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Most patients with seborrhoeic dermatitis and sebopsoriasis demonstrated large numbers of {it Malassezia} spp. cells corresponding to the so called ``pityrosporosis'. Only 43.6% of patients with pityriasis capitis (dandruff) presented with such a diagnosis. Symptomatic pityrosporosis of the scalp should be treated with imidazolic derivatives or other antifungal substances. Patients with psoriasis of the scalp showed a typical microscopic picture represented by parakeratosic (nucleated) keratinocytes with absence of lipophilic yeasts which should be attributed to the usual dryness of the scales .Microbial epidermitis (eczema) of the scalp revealed another characteristic picture constituted by abundant leukocytes and bacteria without the presence of yeasts. The different microscopic pictures seen with this simple technique for diseases of the scalp, offer an adjunct to make a proper diagnosis and to establish a convenient treatment in cases which are not clinically well defined. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A simplified touch tape preparation from tube cultures for microscopic examination of filamentous fungi

Cellophane touch tape preparation provides reproducible results in minimal time when compared to tease mount and slide culture techniques for the identification of fungi from culture plates, but it is difficult to perform from tube cultures. Here, we describe an easy to perform touch tape preparation method that provided a better result from fungal tube culture.     

A simple method for studying whole sections of rice grain

We developed a new and simple method to collect sections of a whole brown rice kernel for investigation of histological properties. A single kernel of rice was dehydrated through a graded ethanol series, transferred to xylene, and embedded in paraffin. During sectioning of the blocks using a rotary microtome, we used a special adhesive tape to collect and place the sections on slides so they remained flat. The use of the adhesive tape technique combined with autofluorescence characteristics allowed us to visualize cell walls throughout an entire longitudinal or transverse section of a whole rice kernel. We obtained scanning electron microscopy images of the sections to determine section quality.     

Effectiveness of taping on functional performance in elite athletes: A systematic review

Taping has been showing its effect on the rehabilitation aspect with numerous reviews. However, there is lack of evidence on the effect of taping on functional performance, espectially in elite sports settings. This review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of taping intervention on sports-related functional performance among the elite athlete population. Online databases such as Ovid MEDLINE, ProQuest, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science were searched. Eligibility criteria were listed as follows: (i) English, (ii) academic journal, (iii) research article, (iv) elite or professional athletes, (v) experimental research design, (vi) sport, (vii) taping, and (viii) functional performance. Specific emphases were targeted on within-subject comparison and healthy subjects. The PEDro scale was utilized for appraising on the statistical information, as well as internal and external validity. The Cohen's d effect size with 95 percent confidence intervals was used to compare taped versus not-taped condition. Nine studies were included in this review and 25 comparisons were extracted. Positive effects were found on balance performance with rigid tape, and horizontal jump performance with elastic tape. Alternatively, negative effects were found on vertical jump performance. An interesting finding was noted on the effect of taping applied after 24 h. Overall, taping could be a beneficial practice for elite sports performance.     

一种简便快速鲜叶表皮制片技术

用透明胶带夹粘住适当大小的新鲜植物叶片,经轻轻挤刮,撕开两胶带,上、下表皮粘附在两胶带上,经NaOCl溶液处理3～5min,以离析粘附在表皮上的叶肉细胞,在流水下用软刷刷洗,凉干后,放在载玻片上盖上盖玻片,即可在显微镜下观察,摄影.该法简便、快速,更适用于叶片较小的植物叶表皮制片.     

Tape transfer sectioning of tissue microarrays introduces nonspecific immunohistochemical staining artifacts

Abstract

Tissue microarrays place tens to hundreds of formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissue cores into a paraffin block in a systematic grid pattern that permits their simultaneous evaluation in a single section. The fragmented nature of the tissue cores often makes sectioning of tissue microarrays difficult so that the resulting disks of tissue lose their shape, fracture or fall out of the paraffin section altogether. We have evaluated an alternative sectioning protocol for stabilizing the tissue microarray surface by placing an adhesive tape “window” over the face of the paraffin block prior to sectioning. Once sectioned, the tape/sections are transferred directly onto coated microscope slides, thereby avoiding routine floating of sections on a water bath. After sectioning with either the tape transfer or standard protocols, slides were stained either using hematoxylin and eosin or immunohistochemistry using antibodies to S-100 protein and the tissue specific antigens, keratin (AE1/3) and the leukocyte common antigen CD45. We found that the tape method produced thicker sections that were darker and more densely packed with loss of tissue definition compared to sections prepared using water bath flotation. Quantitative image analysis of immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that the tape method produced a higher incidence of nonspecific staining, which raised the potential for false positive staining.     

Influence of skin aging effects on the skin surface profile and the correlated distribution of topically applied sunscreens

The surface profile of human skin influences characteristically the distribution pattern of topically applied formulations and consequently the efficacy of sunscreens. The volumes of furrows and the spectroscopically determined factors of inhomogeneity are investigated for three sunscreens. A clear correlation between both measurands exists. The average values for younger (<32 years) and older (≥51 years) volunteers do not show statistically significant differences. Systematic variations found for the individual values are due to a reduced elasticity of the skin with age improving the homogeneity of the sunscreen distribution. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)