Andreas Brech Electron Microscopical Unit for Biological Sciences Department of Biology, University of Oslo. P.O.Box 1062 Blindern N-0316 Oslo 3 Norway Tel.: + 43-22 85 61 89 (work) + 43-22 43 83 23 (privat) Fax.: + 43-22 85 47 26 e-mail.: abrech-at-bio.uio.no
Comments: Authenticated sender is {wesleysm-at-biology.und.ac.za}
Dear Fred
On the cryo side I recommend Patrick Echlin's James Wesley-Smith Electron Microscope Unit George Campbell Building University of Natal Durban, South Africa
Comments: Authenticated sender is {wesleysm-at-biology.und.ac.za}
Ooops. Let's try again! Dear Fred On the cyo side I recommend Patick Echlin's Low Temperature Microscopy and Analysis (Plenum Press) as an "all rounder" reference textbook on the subject, including a chapter on cryomicrotomy.
Wish you and membres of this listeserver a prosperous and aberration-free 1996.
James Wesley-Smith Electron Microscope Unit George Campbell Building University of Natal Durban, South Africa
I am trying to sell our TEM. I have advertised in Microscopy Today and Journal of the Microscopies and have had some interest, but I have not gotten any bids. Our scope is five years old and in great condition. I have heard that there is a flood of TEMs on the market, so the value of TEMs has dropped. I would be interested in talking to anyone who has sold or bought a scope resently. Duke has told us that we should take bids. Would it be better for us if we set a price we could advertise?
Happy New Year to Everybody! - Does anyone have a reference for karyotyping rat cells? Any reference would be welcome! Thanks in advance. Peter P. Molnar, M.D., Ph.D. molnarp-at-lib.dote.hu
For the past few months we have been archiving information from this mail server, and other sources, that related to biological microscopy. There are now 45 topics available. We hope that others can make good use of this information.
go to: http://www.biotech.ufl.edu/~emcl. Then click the Wizard on the Tips and Tricks block.
We will include any contributions that you might want to make and will appreciate any comments that you might have. -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at- Greg Erdos Phone: 352-392-1295 Scientific Director, ICBR Electron Microscopy Core Lab 218 Carr Hall Fax: 352-846-0251 University of Florida E-mail: gwe-at-biotech.ufl.edu Gainesville, FL 32611 -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at-
Recently there was a thread about both commercial and home-made Polaroid negative clearing tanks/racks. I apparently didn't keep a copy of the thread. Could someone point me to the listserver archives or email me a copy of the thread?
Thanks,
Henk Colijn
Henk Colijn colijn.1-at-osu.edu OSU Campus Electron Optics Facility ------------------------------------------------------------------- An optimist believes that we live in the best of all possible worlds. A pessimist fears this is true.
Although not strictly a microscopy question, perhaps someone has an answer for me. We are considering buying a scanner for a Macintosh computer. I have a catalog that lists them from $300 to $3000. Obviously, there must be differences. Has anyone had any experience with scanners (Relisys, Umax, Epson, Microtek)? Color vs B&W? Scan speed? DPI? How about software? What's a good OCR program? Etc?
Bob
Robert R. Wise, PhD Department of Biology University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI 54901 (414) 424-3404 tel (414) 424-1101 fax wise-at-vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu
For several years now three SEM labs here at the Univ of Michigan have not been using sulfite baths for treating Poloroid P/N negatives. Instead, they merely rinse them for an hour or so in warm running water (only a slow flow is needed-just enough to keep the water lukish) and then hang them up by the corner to drain and dry on spring-clip-type clothespins that are strung on a piece of rope or wire. This eliminates the cost of the sulfite bath, the problems of disposing of the spent bath liquor, and the ungodly mess that students always produce by splashing the sulfite solution all over the lab. Try it, you might find it satisfactory for your purposes. Wil Bigelow (bigelow-at-umich.edu)
Can anyone provide a few micrographs showing the gross presence/distribution/morphology of mitochondria in the human hair shaft? For teaching and demonstration purposes only.
I am studying the microfractographic network and the mineral content of bricks. In doing so it is my hope to use confocal microscopy to analyse the microfractographical network of the bricks. However, I am not certain of the common techniques used to identify the minerals that make up the bricks and how to associate different mineral grains to the fissures that may traverse them. It is my hope that I can develope a multi-digital image analysis of the bricks' fracture network and its mineral composition. For mineral identification I have found a number of techniques discussed in the literature such as polarised light microscopy, acoustic microscopy, SEM (Backscattered electron imaging and energy diepersive X-Ray mapping) and uranium -induced fission tracked micro-mapping. I would like to request any information on these techniques or any such others that may be used in conjunction with CLSM for mineral identification of the composition of clay bricks as to form a multi-image analysis technique.
Thank-you,
Felicity Lawrence e-mail : f.lawrence-at-qut.edu.au
} To all, } } Although not strictly a microscopy question, perhaps someone has an } answer for me. We are considering buying a scanner for a Macintosh } computer. I have a catalog that lists them from $300 to $3000. Obviously, } there must be differences. Has anyone had any experience with scanners } (Relisys, Umax, Epson, Microtek)? Color vs B&W? Scan speed? DPI? How } about software? What's a good OCR program? Etc? } } Bob } } } Robert R. Wise, PhD } Department of Biology } University of Wisconsin Oshkosh } Oshkosh, WI 54901 } (414) 424-3404 tel } (414) 424-1101 fax } wise-at-vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } We are running a Umax Power-look with a transparency scanner for doing negatives. It come with all the right software including Adobe Photoshop for either PC or MAC. I think it was about $2600. directly from Umax. We have been very happy with it so far. Another lab has the same scanner running on an SGI Indy. Apparently the software is more tricky on that platform but the results have been very good. -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at- Greg Erdos Phone: 352-392-1295 Scientific Director, ICBR Electron Microscopy Core Lab 218 Carr Hall Fax: 352-846-0251 University of Florida E-mail: gwe-at-biotech.ufl.edu Gainesville, FL 32611 -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at-
I am using a Hewlett Packard ScanJett IIc, about 800 dpi with some interpolation, color / bw. This is an "older" model, so I bought a used one for 500 sFr. (swiss franks).
- OCR even for small printed text (as in journals) is satisfying with OmniPage. - Microscopic slides *can* be scanned, resulting in about a 30 fold magnification.
Personally I am very satisfied with this device. Good Luck, Wolf.
} To all, } } Although not strictly a microscopy question, perhaps someone has an } answer for me. We are considering buying a scanner for a Macintosh } computer. I have a catalog that lists them from $300 to $3000. Obviously, } there must be differences. Has anyone had any experience with scanners } (Relisys, Umax, Epson, Microtek)? Color vs B&W? Scan speed? DPI? How } about software? What's a good OCR program? Etc? } } Bob } } } Robert R. Wise, PhD } Department of Biology } University of Wisconsin Oshkosh } Oshkosh, WI 54901 } (414) 424-3404 tel } (414) 424-1101 fax } wise-at-vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu
MSA is seeking nominations for its major annual awards, to be presented at the 1996 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, MN in August. Nominations must be received by January 15, 1996, and should consist of a brief description of why the nominee is deserving of the award and, if possible, a CV or resume. Additional notes of support from colleagues are also helpful.
The major MSA awards are as follows:
MSA Distinguished Scientist Awards (Physical and Biological): given for unique and distinguished contributions to microscopy, imaging, and/or compositional analysis.
Burton Medal: given for the most important contribution(s) in the fields of microscopy, imaging, and/or compositional analysis during the last five years by a person under the age of 35 on June 30, 1996. Preference will be given for work carried out in North America.
Morton D Maser Distinguished Service Award: given to honor significant volunteer service to MSA over a period of years and generally in more than one area.
Outstanding Technologist Award: given to honor outstanding contributions by a technologist.
Nominations or questions can be addressed to:
Ernie Hall MSA Physical Sciences Director GE CRD, PO Box 8 (1 Research Circle), Schenectady, NY 12301 e-mail: hallel-at-crd.ge.com fax: 518-387-6972 phone: 518-387-6677
Conly Rieder MSA Biological Sciences Director Wadsworth Center, Emipre State Plaza, PO Box 509, Albany, NY 12201 e-mail: rieder-at-wadsworth.org fax: 518-486-4901 phone: 518-474-6774
The Ocular Cell Transplantation Laboratory in the Department of Ophthalmology at UMDNJ, New Jersey Medical School has the following job openings:
ELECTRON MICROSCOPIST: The individual will be expected to perform all aspects of TEM from harvesting animal tissue to preparation of publication prints. In addition, some specialized EM techniques will be performed such as immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization. Animal work is required and will involve assisting in surgeries and euthanasia. We are seeking a skilled electron microscopist with a minimum of three years experience after receiving a bachelor's degree.
RESEARCH TEACHING SPECIALIST: This individual will be expected to harvest tissue and prepare it for light and electron microscopy. Embedding media will mainly involve epon, JB4, or lowicryl. Animal work is required. A bachelor's degree plus one year of relevant experience after receipt of the degree are the minimum requirements for this position. Individual must have experience embedding and sectioning tissue embedded in epon and JB4. Experience with black and white photography highly desirable.
MICROSCOPIST: Medjet, Inc., a biotech company specializing in the development of ophthalmic instruments is seeking a skilled microscopist to conduct animal studies. This position requires an individual with skills in both TEM and SEM. The individual will be expected to work independently and prepare and present data at weekly meetings. The position requires commuting between UMDNJ in Newark to the Medjet facilities in Edison, NJ (about an hour drive). A PHD or MA is required with a minimum of 3 years relevant experience.
Interested individuals should mail or fax their resumes to:--
Does anyone have a reference to a description of the actual method of making coverslips? Is it true that they are float glass? Wouldn't that mean that one side might be different from another (not optically, but maybe chemically)? Inquiring minds need to know...
Bob, we are using extensively flatbed scanners for digital imaging of our negatives (fluorescence and histology color LM, TEM and old Polaroids from my FSEM). My suggestion: Buy an Agfa Arcus II for true 8-12 bit graytone or 24-48 bit color "output" in TIFF. AGFA is experienced, has excellent color handling and will be around for a long time for support. The street price of US$ 2,000 (any US catalog company, i.e., The Mac/PC Zone 1-800-248-0800) includes a "full version" of Photoshop 3.04 which reads and writes 8-12 bit Tif files. TIFF is the MSA standard. Both versions (PC and Mac) of Photoshop 3.04 are now available and allow us to work with 12-bit Tiff's (at my microscope on a PC and at my networked office with a Mac). The scanner comes with AGFA's FOTOLOOK acquisition software which is opened from within Photoshop: Files-Acquisition.
Please consider: Not spatial resolution but "contrast resolution" is important for the acquisition of digital image data, i.e., if you read more intensity steps you can work with more intensity levels per pixels and can "see" smaller contrasts. Our experience is that all microscopes can deliver 12-14 bit contrast resolution. The jump from 8-bit to 12-bit gives you an increase in contrast resolution of 1:16 which is adequate for utilizing the full range of contrasts found in (TEM, Polaroid) negatives. Their is already some software out for the handling of 12-bit image data and I believe that soon many other software packages will available for working at the level of 12-bit contrast resolution already available in many microscopes, e.g. AFM microscopes, good CCD cameras for TEM and several SEM acquisition systems. Even, if you cannot handle 12-bit data at this time and may have to wait for an upgrade of NIH image, a foreseeing investment in adequate hardware will pay of very soon when 12-bit contrast resolution will have a common place in microscopy imaging.
Optimal scanning of negatives requires that the negatives are exposed 1-2 stops more than for ordinary photographic printing (high lights should be "covered" and not be empty, dark areas should be very dark. Good scanners can handle more than 3.0 optical density which is "very dense" for a photographic negative). Also the scanning procedures must be adapted in order to take advantage of the full contrast transfer function of the negatives as well as the scanner. I am in the process of putting a report together at my WWW site on our experience with 8-bit versus 12-bit negative scanning.
I am looking for a protocol for the embedding of yeast for TEM. I made a few attempts and the results have been mixed. The biggest problem is that the cut sections look like Swiss cheese. Where yeast should be there are holes. The fixation appears to be fine in the yeast that do not fall out. I am treating the cells with KMnO4. Over weekend infiltrations with Spurr's or Epon 812 have not worked. Any suggestions would be helpful.
} We are running a Umax Power-look with a transparency scanner for doing } negatives. It come with all the right software including Adobe Photoshop } for either PC or MAC. I think it was about $2600. directly from Umax. We } have been very happy with it so far. Another lab has the same scanner } running on an SGI Indy. Apparently the software is more tricky on that } platform but the results have been very good.
Dear Greg, What is the resolution of this scanner? How accurate is the quan- titation of the OD's? Would it be a suitable substitute for the Perkin- Elmer flatbed microdensitometer? TIA. Yours, Bill Tivol
If black and white prints are to be scanned, the Apple one Scanner (up to 1200 dpi) cost now less than 700 dollars and is very good with OFOTO software. Equivalent scanners (e.g. LaCie are just a good), but I am not sure about PC equivalent and would certainly like to know the outcome of recommendations. Images in the page below were scanned with the Apple one scanner at 300dpifrom black and white prints without any manipulation (filtering, etc).
****************************************************************** *Cesar D. Fermin, Ph.D \|T|/ Fax (504) 587-7389 * *Tulane Medical School /|M|\ Voice Mail (504) 584-2618 * *Pathology/SL79 \|C|/ Secretary (504) 584-2436 * *New Orleans La 70112-2699 /|*|\ Lab/Techn. (504) 584-2521 * * {Fermin-at-tmc.tulane.edu} Prof. Pathology & Otolaryngology * * http://www1.omi.tulane.edu/departments/pathology/fermin/cdftop.html * ******************************************************************
} I am looking for a protocol for the embedding of yeast for } TEM. I made a few attempts and the results have been } mixed. The biggest problem is that the cut sections look } like Swiss cheese. Where yeast should be there are holes. } The fixation appears to be fine in the yeast that do not } fall out. I am treating the cells with KMnO4. } Over weekend infiltrations with Spurr's or Epon 812 have } not worked. Any suggestions would be helpful. } } Thanks, Greg Rudomen } Greg-at-umic.umic.sunysb.edu
RESPONSE:
Hi Greg, I've worked with Candida albicans and Saccharomyces over the years and rarely had problems using KMnO4 fixation and embedding in either Spurr's or Epon-type resins. Check that the cells are completely dehydrated (is the alcohol or acetone really absolute?) and that there is no water in the resins.
I have used the following protocol: After fixation, rinse 3x in distilled water 20 min ea. If individual cells, suspend the cells in 2% agarose at 45 C, pour onto glass slide and allow to solidify. Cut into small cubes. Suspend briefly in dist water and then dehydrate in ethanol series (25 min ea), 25, 50, 75, 95, ABS x 3 changes. Prop oxide 3 x 25 min. I use a l:l mix of Epon/Spurr's resin made up for long pot life. Infiltrate as follows: 2 PO/1 resin for 1 day, equal parts PO/resin for 1 day. Pure resin in capped container at RT 3 changes at 1 day each. Transfer specimens into capsules and polymerize at 60 C for 48 hr.
CALL IF YOU NEED MORE INFO.
############################################################################# John J. Bozzola, Director Center for Electron Microscopy Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL 62901-4402 U.S.A. Phone: 618-453-3730 Fax: 618-453-2665 Email: bozzola-at-siu.edu Web: http://www.siu.edu/departments/shops/cem.html #############################################################################
I am looking for an iris diaphragm for a Nikon SMZ-10 Stereo microscope. They have discontinued this item, it is a double diaphragm wafer that goes in the microscope stack. The Part number is 76270. I am also looking for a fine focus attachment for the Nikon camera UFX. It fits over the eyepiece of the camera. Larry Albright 419 Sunset Avenue Venice, California 90291 Phone 310-399-0865...Fax 310-392-9222 or albrite-at-netcom.com
Comments: Authenticated sender is {wesleysm-at-biology.und.ac.za}
Dear Greg You may also want to try freeze-substitution. Although it sounds like more than you bargained for, it works superbly for yeast (personal experience). Because of their small size, they freeze and substitute well, and the preservation attained is worth the effort.
Try and get hold of the article by Baba and Osumi in the Journal of Electron Microscopy Technique, March 1987, Vol 5, number 3, p249.
Good luck.
James Wesley-Smith Electron Microscope Unit George Campbell Building University of Natal Durban, South Africa
One user's opinions: 1. Consider the media you will be scanning. Some scanners do better at transparencies than others (nikon has a slide scanner for 3K$), some are designed for large format (Umax has a 17 x 12 inch for 7k$), some do black and white on the cheap (HP has one B&W for $400).
2. Consider the destination of the image. There is no use buying a 30 bit high definition scanner if all you will do is newsprint. A 300dpi 256 gray scanner goes a long way with laser printers and costs $400.
3. Consider the resolution you need. If you are going to scan stamps that are 1 inch, and display them at poster size, you need a very high res scanner (1200 dpi or more) if you are going to scan 8 x 10 positives and display them in a small window, then 600 is plenty, 300 adequate.
4. Consider the speed. Some scanners take 30 seconds to scan one page. This can be a real pain if you have any number of images to scan. Some are available with a document feeder, which is a nice thing to have, but not if all your scans will be of pictures (which must be hand fed anyway) "Single pass" scanning means that all 3 colors (red green blue) are captured simultaneously--this is faster (HP scanjet 4 offers this)
5. Real Res. Most scanners interpolate the dpi at high res. This is ok, but non-interpolated scans are better. Be willing to pay more for a hardware 600dpi than a software 600dpi.
Does anyone have any experience or advice on substrates suitable for ultramicrotomy of settled organisms for TEM?
We have someone culturing small marine sea-squirts (Ascideans) who wants to cut ultrathin sections. These form spreading colonies about 1 mm in height. I have seen references somewhere to Mercox/Mercanox? but do not know its source/supplier. Also can this be cut on glass knives - marine organisms are notorious harbourers of small sand particles which do not go well with diamond knives!
Any comments welcome.
Keith Ryan Plymouth Marine Laboratory Citadel Hill Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK
I am prepared to purchase a microtome for LM. I have info on the Zeiss HM 315 and Zeiss HM 325 (the one with specimen retraction. I also have info on the Leica Histocut 820. I wish to section chick embryos from very early stages, in paraffin blocks for immunostaining purposes. I have been using a very old AO Spencer. I am interested in "bang for the buck" value. Is the specimen retraction feature worthwhile for paraffin block sectioning? Are the disposable blades as stable as the stainless steel knives or can one get sectioning artifacts when using very small block faces? Any advice or suggestions? Darrell Wiens University of Northern Iowa
} I am looking for a protocol for the embedding of yeast for } TEM. I made a few attempts and the results have been } mixed. The biggest problem is that the cut sections look } like Swiss cheese. Where yeast should be there are holes. } The fixation appears to be fine in the yeast that do not } fall out. I am treating the cells with KMnO4. } Over weekend infiltrations with Spurr's or Epon 812 have } not worked. Any suggestions would be helpful. } } Thanks, Greg Rudomen } Greg-at-umic.umic.sunysb.edu } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } }
Greg, See: Anderson et al., 1991 J EM Tech. 18:172 for a protocol using periodate treatment of the wall.
and, Byers & Goetsch, 1991 Methods in Enzymology 194:602 for a method using enzymatic treatment of the wall. -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at- Greg Erdos Phone: 352-392-1295 Scientific Director, ICBR Electron Microscopy Core Lab 218 Carr Hall Fax: 352-846-0251 University of Florida E-mail: gwe-at-biotech.ufl.edu Gainesville, FL 32611 -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at-
} Optimal scanning of negatives requires that the negatives are exposed 1-2 } stops more than for ordinary photographic printing (high lights should be } "covered" and not be empty, dark areas should be very dark. Good scanners } can handle more than 3.0 optical density which is "very dense" for a } photographic negative). Also the scanning procedures must be adapted in } order to take advantage of the full contrast transfer function of the } negatives as well as the scanner. I am in the process of putting a report } together at my WWW site on our experience with 8-bit versus 12-bit negative } scanning. } } Best regards Klaus } } ****************************************************************************** } * : * } * Klaus-Ruediger Peters, Ph.D. : WWW Home Page: * } * Director, Molecular Imaging Laboratgory : * } * Biomolecular Structure Analysis Center : Molecular Imaging Laboratory * } * University of Connecticut Health Center : http://panda.uchc.edu/ * } * 263 Farmington Ave. : htklaus/index.html * } * Farmington, CT 06030-2017; U.S.A : Differential Hysteresis * } * : Processing Demo at http:// * } * Tel: (203) 679-3977; Fax: (203) 679-1989 : panda.uchc.edu./htbit/indiv/ * } * e-mail: Peters-at-BSAC.UCHC.EDU : /software_docs/dhp.html * } * : * } **************************************************************************** } ** } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } we have partially overcome this problem by overlaying negatives with photographic contrast filters or neutral density filters. This may not be appropriate for very high res. work but is no problem for video display and printing to a laser printer -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at- Greg Erdos Phone: 352-392-1295 Scientific Director, ICBR Electron Microscopy Core Lab 218 Carr Hall Fax: 352-846-0251 University of Florida E-mail: gwe-at-biotech.ufl.edu Gainesville, FL 32611 -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at-
Our department has about a dozen old Spencer light microscopes--monoccular, black laquer with lots of brass, probably pre-WWII. Does anyone know if there is a market for such things out there? Are there 'antique' microscope dealers who might be interested in these? They are not very functional but too nice to throw away.
Bob
Robert R. Wise, PhD Department of Biology University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI 54901 (414) 424-3404 tel (414) 424-1101 fax wise-at-vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu
In response to Klaus Peter's eloquent plea for 12-bit versus 8-bit scanners:
While I would not want to be thought of against precision, it must be admitted that there are some limitations to using 12-bit data, namely greater storage (and display?) requirements. So one should consider this step carefully.
Assuming that it is done correctly, 12-bit data is digitized to 1 part in 4,000 while 8-bit data is digitized to only 1 part in 256. Therefore, to make proper use of such precision one must have data of similar precision. Although many considerations can reduce the precision of recorded data: measurement noise, low contrast, it can never be better than the statistical limitations placed by quantum mechanics on the number of events counted (grains of silver (assuming that they are all of the same size which whey aren't)/pixel or photons/pixel or electrons/pixel). Clearly, this all depends on the size of a pixel: larger pixels imply the chance to count more quanta (but they also mean lower scanner resolution) so you may need less intensity resolution if you have greater real (non interpolated) spatial resolution.
Now it is clear that, for instance, in STM, where a 0.05 nm height resolution can be detected and the piezo may have a height sensing range of many microns, there is no difficulty in obtaining 12-bit data (or even 16-bit data) although you may have trouble displaying all of this "depth" to a human observer at one time. Likewise, CCD sensors having noise levels of +/- 3-4 RMS electrons/pixel and full-well signal levels of 300,000 electrons/pixel easily satisfy the 4,000:1 (more like 100,000:1 possible) requirement as long as you use a long enough exposure to actually record at least 20,000 electrons/pixel. However, in confocal microscopy, 256 photons/pixel is often quite a high signal and digitizing from a color slide of a fluorescent image recorded on high speed film (depending on original magnification and pixel size. Remember, 1200 DPI implies 20 micron pixels.) one may find it difficult to find even 10 distinguishable levels.
So far we have only spoken of linear digitization (as is appropriate to scanners which usually make every effort to be linear). However, for signals degraded mainly by statistical noise and recorded by the direct digitization of electron signals, the separation between "meaningful" grey levels (those separated in intensity from neighboring levels by an amount at least equal to their standard deviation?) the difference between the first two such levels (1 event/pixel and 4 events/pixel) is 3 event/pixel whereas that between the 15th level and the 16th is 31 events/pixel. In other words, if we are only interested in recording the INFORMATION in a signal limited only by quantum noise (SEM? Confocal?), we could first take its square root and then digitize this. This could be done using only one half of the number of bits that would have been necessary to preserve the information in a linear signal and each SQRTBit would be a "real" grey level.
All this said, one must admit that getting real 8-bit data requires more than the use of an 8-bit DAC (0.4% illumination stability, low-noise detector, freedom from digital electronic interference, proper bandwidth for sampling rate in both the electron and optical parts of the information path, etc) and many scanners may not provide the performance they claim. This might explain much of the difference claimed to exist between 8-bit and 12-bit results.
(To any owners who have read this far: have you any MEASUREMENTS on scanner performance on known images?)
SEM might provide a good case in point: The SE signal variation associated with small features is often less than 1% of the total signal. As "seeing" a small feature with only 1% contrast requires collecting at least 1/0.01 x0.01 = 10,000 electrons/pixel, it might seem worthwhile to use 12-bits to preserve these small variations. However, unless there are "holes" in your specimen from which virtually no signal is obtained (i.e. if your signal does not have "important" high contrast), little would be lost if one digitized only the 256 levels nearest in intensity to those of the small feature and a positive improvement would be gained (all the information that could possibly be coded in up to 65,000 detected electrons vs. 10,000) by digitizing the square-root of the signal into only 8 bits. In either case you would have to "process" the signal before you displayed it on the screen.
Just some thoughts. Sorry that they were so long but I felt a trend to Digital-One-up-man-ship...
Jim Pawley
**************************************** Prof. James B. Pawley, Ph. 608-263-3147 Room 1235, Engineering Research Building, FAX 608-265-5315 1500 Johnson Dr., Madison, WI, 53706 JBPAWLEY-at-FACSTAFF.WISC.EDU
Dear Colleages, I'm having trouble locating a simple item - those plastic ball and stick models for making models of simple crystals. I need some models for a course I'm teaching in the spring, and so far the models I've seen in the scientific/lab products catalogs I've looked in are a bit disapointing. By that, I mean they are more oriented toward molecular models, and the emphasis in the models are on the bonds, not the arrangement of the atoms, which is what I'd rather stress for this class (intro to semiconductors). Does anyone out there know of any good sources for ball and stick models? Thanks
} } I am looking for a protocol for the embedding of yeast for } TEM. I made a few attempts and the results have been } mixed. The biggest problem is that the cut sections look } like Swiss cheese. Where yeast should be there are holes.
Dear Greg, I had the same problem with pollen grains, and it arises from the difference in hardness between the specimen and the resin. Our solution was to experiment with different proportions of the constituents of the resin until its hardness matched that of the specimen. Of course, this has to be a trial-and-error process. Good luck. Yours, Bill Tivol
} } K.-R. Peters wrote: } } } } Optimal scanning of negatives requires that the negatives are exposed 1-2 } } stops more than for ordinary photographic printing (high lights should be } } "covered" and not be empty, dark areas should be very dark. Good scanners
} Greg Erdos responded: } } we have partially overcome this problem by overlaying negatives with } photographic contrast filters or neutral density filters. This may not be } appropriate for very high res. work but is no problem for video display and } printing to a laser printer } -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at- } Greg Erdos Phone: 352-392-1295 } Scientific Director, } ICBR Electron Microscopy Core Lab } 218 Carr Hall Fax: 352-846-0251 } University of Florida E-mail: gwe-at-biotech.ufl.edu } Gainesville, FL 32611 } -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at-
Thanks Greg, you make an important point concerning acquisition and display:
The application of contrast or neutral filters in photography shifts the brightness (level) or contrast (slope) of the image data to a range at which the eye is more perceptive (details in high lights may be preserved, but reduced in the shadows or visa versa, or both may be compressed). These procedures do not produce more "image detail" than the negative contains but modifies the display of the details. If during image acquisition (negative exposure) the highlights in the negatives were underexposed (or the shadows overexposed) then the possibly lost detail information can not be recovered, neither analog nor digitally.
It is therefore important (for both analog as well as digital imaging of the negative) to the set the brightness level of the negative so that it captures as much information as possible. Generally, the contrast transfer function (slope) is not changed, i.e., through variation of developing conditions or change of film/developing combination. But why don't we normally care much about optimal exposures (or acquisition)?
Photography (analog) had long accepted that there is more information in a negative (raw data) than the eye can "see" ("image" being that part of the displayed image data which the eye can perceive and recognize). It developed many useful tools for enhancing the contrast of certain image components of the negative so that they become visible, but consider our following findings. Measurments of the intensity ranges of contrast patterns in digitized EM negatives and the contrast ranges required for visual display of these contrast patterns (as images) indicates that an optimally exposed TEM negative has an information depth of approximately 12 bit, or a 12-bit contrast resolution whereas the "image" has merely an approximate 6-bit contrast resolution. We find in digital image data from nearly all microscopies that the detail contrasts (structures of lowest contrast levels) occupy only 1-10 % of the overall contrast range of the image data whereas we need about 25% of the contrast range of an image for visual recognition (not perception) of a contrast pattern (in an amorphous environment). This means, most of the low-contrast data components (which constitute the high-resolution details) are not visible in a conventional image of the data. Unfortunately, we have adapted to this fact and tend to acquire images at an insufficiently low contrast resolution level equal to that of our visual system because we are not missing anything in the "empty" high-lights or empty shadows although our microscopes can acquire images at much higher contrast resolution. On the other hand, these facts underline why digital acquisition (from the imaging sensor or from the negative) should be done at a 12-bit level instead of an conventional 8-bit level. Many manufactures of acquisition and processing equipment start to provide a 12-bit "output" level, 12-bit scanners are now offered at catalog firms, and Photoshop is now available for PCs and Macs with 12-bit TIFF capabilities (version 3.04).
The basic idea of scanning negatives is to "preserve" all information of the negative with a linear transfer function, irrespectively if the eye on the negative or print can see it or not, and then use digital imaging for the display of all the available image information. Thus, when exposing a negative for digital scanning, we should capture the contrasts of interest with the largest possible contrast range. Since good scanners can penetrate the darkest black of a negative (max. OD = 3-3.5) capturing the details in the shadows, we should expose more than conventionally done in order of acquiring also as much detail as possible in the high-lights.
Additionally, one should consider that laser printing (HP LaserJet 4 providing 5-bit gray levels and 100 lines/inch) combined with the LazarPrint expansion can print 8-bit gray levels at 300 lines/inch, thus provides a good output for detail rich images at the 1Kx1K level (I tested recently several printers and reported the results in my home page).
I got a number of good responses on my question regarding flatbed scanners. Everybody seemed pleased with the particular one they owned--there were no clear favorites. A couple of tips: 1) Make sure your computer has the right output. All of the scanners I have looked at have a SCSI 2 output while my 2.5-year-old Mac only has a SCSI. I have been told that I have to upgrade my computer in order to even hook it up to a SCSI 2 scanner. I'm still investigating this. 2) Make sure you get the software you need to manipulate the scanned image or text. A lot of scanners come with software bundles. 3) Look into warranties. Some devices have none--others are up to 2 years (longer?). 4) Photoshop comes in two versions--LE and 3.1. The latter is more powerful (and expensive) than the former. 5) Transparency adapters and document feeders are usually extra. Both can be useful.--if you need them. 6) Read the first response (from {sco.umc2-at-Mail.health.ufl.edu} ). It contains a lot of good basic advice. 7) Good luck.
Bob ________________
One user's opinions:
1. Consider the media you will be scanning. Some scanners do better at transparencies than others (nikon has a slide scanner for 3K$), some are designed for large format (Umax has a 17 x 12 inch for 7k$), some do black and white on the cheap (HP has one B&W for $400).
2. Consider the destination of the image. There is no use buying a 30 bit high definition scanner if all you will do is newsprint. A 300dpi 256 gray scanner goes a long way with laser printers and costs $400.
3. Consider the resolution you need. If you are going to scan stamps that are 1 inch, and display them at poster size, you need a very high res scanner (1200 dpi or more) if you are going to scan 8 x 10 positives and display them in a small window, then 600 is plenty, 300 adequate.
4. Consider the speed. Some scanners take 30 seconds to scan one page. This can be a real pain if you have any number of images to scan. Some are available with a document feeder, which is a nice thing to have, but not if all your scans will be of pictures (which must be hand fed anyway) "Single pass" scanning means that all 3 colors (red green blue) are captured simultaneously--this is faster (HP scanjet 4 offers this)
5. Real Res. Most scanners interpolate the dpi at high res. This is ok, but non-interpolated scans are better. Be willing to pay more for a hardware 600dpi than a software 600dpi. __________________
Sender: bob-at-befvax.uchicago.edu
What resolution do you need. Many of the inexpensive scanners have a very small numerical aperature which leads to line broadening. So a step size of (for example) 5 microns will not resolve a 5 micron line in single (or two) pixels but rather 10 or more. The requirement for a large numerical aperature coupled with dimensional stability is what makes high resolution cost so much.
Bob J. ______________
Response from John Bozzola:
We use a Mac IIci attached to a LaCie 600 dpi color scanner (it's equivalent to an Epson 300) to occasionally digitize prints. It cost $1,800 - a similar unit may now be purchased for around $600. I have used it for over 3 years now with no problems whatsoever. 97% of the scanning is done in the bw mode set to no more than 300 dpi. The program most often used to drive the scanner is Adobe PhotoShop. As an OCR program, I use WordScan Plus. It's OK, a bit slow, but it is also 3 years old and a newer version may be better. I rarely use this program. However, when the documents are of high quality (typed characters no smaller than 9 point) then it is a great time saver. There are better OCR programs out there than this one. _________________
Our Graphics Artist uses a Macintosh computer with a Hewlett Packard scanner which he likes very much. The one we have is color and has a 400 optical DPI, although the new Hewlett Packard has a 600 optical DPI. It comes with Deskscan software and a limited version of PhotoShop. If you want to use color, though, you need to have the full version of PhotoShop.
Hope this is helpful.
Kathy Stangenberg Ted Pella, Inc. _______________
I have a AGFA StudioScan IIsi scanner with Transparency module. I think that it is a very good scanner. I using it every day. Some technical data:
- Max. res. 400(H) x 800(V) optical 2400(H) x 2400(H) ppi through interpolation
MAC PC SM QM SM QM Preview colour 16 16 15 15 A4 colour 200 ppi 54 54 32 39 A4 colour 400 ppi 96 104 86 126 15x10 cm colour 400 ppi 44 54 30 38 A4 grey 200 ppi 17 18 12 12 A4 grey 400 ppi 39 42 39 65 A4 line art 400 ppi 20 34 20 34
SM=Speed mode (in seconds) QM=Quality mode (in seconds)
Software:
- OmniPage Direct OCR (I suggest you to buy Recognita OCR software, because it is the best as I think) - FotoTune - PhotoShop LE
The one chosen to be included in the Kodak Imaging Station is the high end EPSON with or without the transparency adapter. I have seen the output from this equipment rated at an interpolated 4800dpi , and it is very impressive. When prints are made on a dye-sub printer (Kodak or Codonics), it is hard to tell that they were not made from a negative in a conventional darkroom.
Regards, Skip ___________________
We are running a Umax Power-look with a transparency scanner for doing negatives. It came with all the right software including Adobe Photoshop for either PC or MAC. I think it was about $2600. directly from Umax. We have been very happy with it so far. Another lab has the same scanner running on an SGI Indy. Apparently the software is more tricky on that platform but the results have been very good.
We have an HP Scanjet 3c/T scanner on a Powermac 9500 used for image analysis and presentation purposes. It is a superb accessory. You can scan virtually anything that is 8.5 X 11 or smaller with it, although it does not substitute for a good slide scanner. Since it has the transparency adapter gels come out very nicely. It has its own miniprogram for image adjustment, but if you are doing serious work we have an Adobe suite (Illustrator, Pagemaker & Photoshop) installed on the Mac and that is what just about everyone uses. For many types of text (but definitely not all) you do not even need OCR. If you can afford it, it seems to be the way to go. I am a user and do not have any financial connection to Hewlett - Packard.
Bruce Cutler, Microscopy Laboratory, Univ. Kansas, Lawrence. _________________
We have experience with some HP-IIcx's. One is on a Mac, the other on a IBM PS/1. Both seem to work quite well. They ran about $1000 over a year ago. I think they support 1200 dpi.
They came with minimal software. The software allowed scanning images well enough. But optical character recognition required third-party software. That may all have changed.
Warren E. Straszheim E-Mail: wes-at-ameslab.gov (or: wesaia-at-iastate.edu) ___________________
I am using a Hewlett Packard ScanJett IIc, about 800 dpi with some interpolation, color / bw. This is an "older" model, so I bought a used one for 500 sFr. (swiss franks).
- OCR even for small printed text (as in journals) is satisfying with OmniPage. - Microscopic slides *can* be scanned, resulting in about a 30 fold magnification.
Personally I am very satisfied with this device. Good Luck, Wolf. ______________
We use a UMAX 1260 color flatbed scanner, which will scan to 3000 dpi, and we love it. It is a three pass color scanner, but the speed isn't slow enough to justify another $1000 for a one pass scanner. It works as a plugin to Photoshop.
Also, we use OmniPage Pro for OCR, and again, it's great!
Any questions, just email me.
Scott ________________
Bob, we are using extensively flatbed scanners for digital imaging of our negatives (fluorescence and histology color LM, TEM and old Polaroids from my FSEM). My suggestion: Buy an Agfa Arcus II for true 8-12 bit graytone or 24-48 bit color "output" in TIFF. AGFA is experienced, has excellent color handling and will be around for a long time for support. The street price of US$ 2,000 (any US catalog company, i.e., The Mac/PC Zone 1-800-248-0800) includes a "full version" of Photoshop 3.04 which reads and writes 8-12 bit Tif files. TIFF is the MSA standard. Both versions (PC and Mac) of Photoshop 3.04 are now available and allow us to work with 12-bit Tiff's (at my microscope on a PC and at my networked office with a Mac). The scanner comes with AGFA's FOTOLOOK acquisition software which is opened from within Photoshop: Files-Acquisition.
Please consider: Not spatial resolution but "contrast resolution" is important for the acquisition of digital image data, i.e., if you read more intensity steps you can work with more intensity levels per pixels and can "see" smaller contrasts. Our experience is that all microscopes can deliver 12-14 bit contrast resolution. The jump from 8-bit to 12-bit gives you an increase in contrast resolution of 1:16 which is adequate for utilizing the full range of contrasts found in (TEM, Polaroid) negatives. Their is already some software out for the handling of 12-bit image data and I believe that soon many other software packages will available for working at the level of 12-bit contrast resolution already available in many microscopes, e.g. AFM microscopes, good CCD cameras for TEM and several SEM acquisition systems. Even, if you cannot handle 12-bit data at this time and may have to wait for an upgrade of NIH image, a foreseeing investment in adequate hardware will pay of very soon when 12-bit contrast resolution will have a common place in microscopy imaging.
Optimal scanning of negatives requires that the negatives are exposed 1-2 stops more than for ordinary photographic printing (high lights should be "covered" and not be empty, dark areas should be very dark. Good scanners can handle more than 3.0 optical density which is "very dense" for a photographic negative). Also the scanning procedures must be adapted in order to take advantage of the full contrast transfer function of the negatives as well as the scanner. I am in the process of putting a report together at my WWW site on our experience with 8-bit versus 12-bit negative scanning. _____________
If black and white prints are to be scanned, the Apple one Scanner (up to 1200 dpi) cost now less than 700 dollars and is very good with OFOTO software. Equivalent scanners (e.g. LaCie are just a good), but I am not sure about PC equivalent and would certainly like to know the outcome of recommendations. Images in the page below were scanned with the Apple one scanner at 300dpifrom black and white prints without any manipulation (filtering, etc).
KMnO4 fixation? This is interesting, why are you using KMnO4?
Back in the early 1980's we did a pretty frightening study on KMnO4 fixation in fungi (T. M. Hammill, et al. refs available), in which it was found that at concentrations of upto 8.5% KMnO4 the test fungi (Mucor mucedo) continued to grow! (Albeit, abnormally, but ransfer to fresh media resulted in a return to normal growth). So if these fungi continue to GROW at 8.5% KMnO4 how good of a "fixative" is 1-3%?
Additionally, Greg, I agree with Bill Tivol's suggestion that the "swisscheese" effect is due to the fact your resin (1) is too soft - the chitin cellwalls of fungi are hard, and (2) you are seeing poor infiltration of your resin - try a lower viscosity resin, I've had excellent results with fungi using Spurr's Hard or Quetol 651/MNA (Kushida, 1975).
Richard E. Edelmann Electron Microscopy Facility Supervisor 352 Pearson Hall Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056 Ph: 513-529-5712 Fax: 513-529-4243 E-mail: edelmare-at-muohio.edu
I would like to add a couple of comments to the recent thread about negative scanning.
Several people have mentioned using moderately priced flat-bed scanners with transparency adapters. My evaluation of one of these (Epson Scantastic) was that it was useful for quick prints of light (density 1 or less) negatives to show qualitative microstructure. This unit had a non linear response to density, especially over 1. This made the output unsuitable for quantitative analysis and often resulted in "posterization", where large areas with visible contrast differences were all mapped to the same gray level. Check for this by scanning a density step tablet. Scanning periodic features in the negative (i.e. lattice images) resulted in moire patterns (check the FFT of some of your images).
As a result, we chose not to purchase this scanner and added a new PC interface to our old Optronics P1000 rotating drum scanner. With the addition of a new module for the log amplifier that permits a wider range of gain and DC offsets, we can select linear ranges of density of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 with a variable offset of up to 1.5 density units. (This all was supplied by CSI, a small company in England). This provides the ability to get the most significant 8 bits of data per pixel and is free from interference effects.
For the highest resolution, we send the negatives to another lab which has a Perkin Elmer flatbed microdensitometer. These scans are very slow, but have the potential of very high resolution (we have scanned down to 5 microns t0o be certain we oversampled the film).
Best Regards, John
John R. Minter, Ph. D. Phone: (716) 722-3407 Eastman Kodak Company FAX: (716) 477-3029 Analytical Technology Division email: minter-at-kodak.com Rochester, NY 14562-3712
A colleague needs to accurately determine the water content of very small tissue samples (fish embryos at various stages of development). What would be the best way to do this? Thanks for any suggestions. Grace
Registered-mail-reply-requested-by: Ronald.Cohn-at-SYNTEX.COM MR-Received: by mta RVAX.MUAS; Relayed; Fri, 05 Jan 1996 10:05:53 -0800 MR-Received: by mta MEDEC; Relayed; Fri, 05 Jan 1996 10:05:54 -0800 MR-Received: by mta CHUB1; Relayed; Fri, 05 Jan 1996 10:03:19 -0800 Disclose-recipients: prohibited
Microscopists,
Does anyone on the list have tried-and-true methods for eliminating or minimizing background while immunolabeling paraffin-embedded lung tissue? My attempts to label a protein in rat lung using the Vector avidin-biotin alkaline phosphatase kit and the Vector Red substrate development kit have resulted in what I suspect is specific labeling, but also unacceptably high background. Control experiments in which 1) primary antibody has been omitted, 2) spurious avidin binding has been blocked by use of an avidin/biotin blocking kit, and 3) the potential presence of endogenous alkaline phosphatase was blocked by levamisole, have not reduced the background. The background appears to be primarily over connective tissues, and develops simultaneously with specific label.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. If you would respond directly to me, I will compile all reponses and post a summary in a few days. Thanks in advance!
Ron Cohn Roche Bioscience ronald.cohn-at-syntex.com
Subject: Time: 12:09 PM OFFICE MEMO TEM and ID of G+/G- bacteria Date: 1/5/96
To all: Is there a definitive EM method of determining whether an unknown bacterium (in this case a plant pathogen) is G+ or G-? This one gives ambiguous results at the LM level. TIA.
Doug Davis doug_davis-at-maillink.berkeley.edu EML UC Berkeley
} To: William Tivol {tivol-at-wadsworth.org} } From: delannoy-at-welchlink.welch.jhu.edu (Michael Delannoy) } Subject: Re: TEM of yeast } } } } } } } I am looking for a protocol for the embedding of yeast for } } } TEM. I made a few attempts and the results have been } } } mixed. The biggest problem is that the cut sections look } } } like Swiss cheese. Where yeast should be there are holes. } } } } Dear Greg, } } I had the same problem with pollen grains, and it arises from the } } difference in hardness between the specimen and the resin. Our solution } } was to experiment with different proportions of the constituents of the } } resin until its hardness matched that of the specimen. Of course, this has } } to be a trial-and-error process. Good luck. } } Yours, } } Bill Tivol } } } } Greg, } I've got a protocol that works well with yeast (infiltration/embedding): } } 1)Fix in suspension 4%pf/2%ga 3hrs rotating. Spin after ~13K 10 sec. } 2)Rinse in buffer 3 x 10 min (last rinse should be cacodylate) } 3)Postfix 2-4% KMNO4 in caco, on ice 1 hr } 4)3 X 5 min D-H2O } 5)en-bloc 2%UA filtered aq 1hr dark } 6)Quick 50% ETOH then break up pellet into poppy seed size granules } 7)50-70-90% ETOH 5 min ea } 8)3 x 100% ETOH } 9)1:1 Spurrs:ETOH overnight rotating } 10)Vac infiltrate 15 psi fresh Spurrs R.T. 2 hrs } 11)Rotate fresh Spurrs 2 hrs } 12)Repeat step 10 } 13)Change Spurrs and vac infiltrate 15 psi 30 min } 14)Turn on oven cure o\n 60 degrees 15 psi } } You will need an oven that can be pumped down, if not use house vac. } The KMNO4 extracts some ribosomes so that you can see organelles better } than you would with Osmium. Don't fix too many cells, a 1-3 mm pellet } in a 1.5 ml eppy is plenty. Of course your adding a 2x fix at equal } vol to the suspension to get the final concentration in step 1. Not } all samples will fix optimaly so you can play with fix conc. and time. } Microwave fixation is an option to cut time down. } Good Luck } Mike D. } }
I forgot to mention in my former query that the obvious method of weighing, drying, weighing again is not practical with these samples. They are too small and delicate to accurately removes excess water from the outside--the gross error is too large. Thanks Grace
POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND MATERIALS SCIENCE OF CATALYTIC MATERIALS
Corporate Research Laboratory Exxon Research and Engineering Company.
The position will involve the use of high resolution and analytical electron microscopy for understanding model supported catalysts, and for developing new catalysts used in refining or chemical production. Requirements include expertise with high resolution electron microscopy, electron holography, field-emission analytical microscopy, and scattering physics. Experience with the materials science of catalysts is desirable for this rapidly advancing research program. Research in this area involves a multidisciplinary team approach which provides an excellent learning environment. Our laboratory offers advanced instrumentation for structure-property studies of catalysts, including a new field-emission TEM equipped with a rotatable electron biprism for electron holography. We have extensive software and computer systems available for the computational component of this research. Candidates should have experience with digital imaging using CCD systems, and experience with or knowledge of the analytical methods for processing electron holograms.
The term of the position is one year beginning early in 1996 with a likely extension to two years. Our research lab in rural New Jersey offers convenient access to Philadelphia, Princeton and New York City. Exxon offers an excellent working environment, salary commensurate with skills and experience, and excellent benefits.
Applicants for this position who meet the majority of the qualifications outlined above should forward a resume, publication list and two or three letters of reference to:
Dr. Mark M. Disko Corporate Research Laboratory Exxon Research and Engineering Company 1545 Route 22 East Annandale, New Jersey 08801
(908) 730-2503 FAX (908) 730-3314
Please do not respond directly to this list server. In the event you need further information rapidly, forward electronic mail to me at mmdisko-at-erenj.com .
} From: kennedy-at-nsi.edu (grace kennedy) } Subject: tissue water content } } A colleague needs to accurately determine the water content of very small } tissue samples (fish embryos at various stages of development). What would } be the best way to do this? Thanks for any suggestions. Grace }
Gross Analysis: Weigh, Freeze Dry Weigh again.
The difference in weights = H2O Content.
Regards,
Ed Monberg, GM em-at-mediacity.com LMDC (Laser Motion Development Company) 3101 Whipple Road Union City, CA 94587-1216 510-429-1060 voice 510-429-1065 fax
The recent mail threads concerning flatbed scanners and negative scanning provided very good information on the resolution and contrast requirements needed to satisfy various imaging formats. I would like to provide for informational purposes only technical specifications on two Nikon scanners that have not been mentioned.
If you do not wish this to view this information please don't download the attached file.
SCANTOUCH: $1,535 SRP =0D Gives Your Images That Professional Touch =0D If you spend a lot of time scanning, you'll appreciate Nikon's fast, versatile, and affordable high-resolution color scanner. Backed by Nikon'= s renowned design and quality, the ScanTouch flatbed scanner offers the hig= h level of performance and value you demand. Take for instance its outstand= ing 1,200 dpi resolution with a super-fast scanning method. And professional scanning software for both Macintosh and IBM computers. Plus other rich, image-enhancing features ideal for your professional-quality layouts and publications using both images and text. =0D High resolution: 1,200 x 1,200 dpi Featuring 24-bit full color with an optical resolution of 565 x 1,200 dpi= , the Nikon ScanTouch offers an impressive 1,200 x 1,200 dpi hardware interpolated resolution. If you require finer image detail for line art a= nd graphics, its integrated powerful driver software provides a software interpolated resolution of 2,400 by 2,400 dpi or higher. =0D 10-bit internal processing per color When it comes to detailed color reproduction, the Nikon ScanTouch makes n= o compromises. A 10-bit A/D conversion for each color (R, G, B) with ColorS= ync compatibility ensures that your photos and artwork are accurately reprodu= ced with fine color gradations. =0D Three scanning modes Because requirements vary from job to job, the ScanTouch offers three versatile modes for speed and quality (A4-size, 300 dpi full color): Norm= al Mode (approx. 60 sec.); Fast Mode (30 sec.); and High-Quality Mode (appro= x. 120 sec.). =0D Compatibility with your personal computer The ScanTouch comes ready to use with popular scanning packages - Photosh= op plug-in for Mac and PC and TWAIN compliant drivers (for PC only). =0D Fastest-class color preview Just as important to productivity as great image quality is being able to=
preview your scanned images quickly. At 12 sec. per page (A4), ScanTouch provides one of the fastest color preview times in its class. =0D Wide scanning area A wide surface scanning area of 8.5 x 14 in. lets you use the ScanTouch f= or most standard paper sizes such as A4, US Letter, and Legal. =0D Multifunctional, easy-to-use driver software Supports four types of output: line art, halftone, grayscale and full col= or. Available with automatic exposure, manual gamma compensation, manual gamm= a simulation, as well as cropping. You can also customize resolution and im= age specifications and adjust sharpness processing to emphasize contours and blurring processing to prevent moire effect when scanning printed materia= ls. =0D SCSI-II compatibility For fast transfer rate of image data to your computer, this high-quality scanner supports the advanced SCSI-II standard. =0D High character resolution for OCR applications When used with standard commercial OCR (optical character recognition) software, ScanTouch provides quick and accurate character reading. =0D Bundled software Comes with Caere's OmniPage Direct OCR software and Light Source's Ofoto,= an imaging application featuring automated scanning functions, color calibra= tion and image editing capabilities. (Note: Nikon will temporarily be providin= g Photoshop LE instead of Ofoto for the Macintosh model Scantouch. Ofoto wi= ll be made available at a later date, free of charge. However, use of Ofoto = will require a modification to Scantouch. There will be a service fee for this=
modification. Please contact Nikon's Service Department -at- 516-547-4351 fo= r further information). =0D Specifications - Original Document: Reflective original (printed/photo), max. 8.5 x 14 i= n.; Transparency or negative original (35mm to 5 x 5.7 in. film, at up to 1,200 dpi), Max. size with full rotation: 4 x = 5 in. - Reading Method: Fixed original, moving optical unit flatbed scanning - Sensor: CCD linear image sensor - Light Source: Fluorescent lamp - Color Separation: 3-pass RGB - Effective Reading Area: Reflective Original 8.5 x 14 in. (216 x 356mm);=
Optical Resolution: 565 x 1200 dpi; Interpolated Resolution: 1,200 x 1,20= 0 dpi (hardware), 2,400 x 2,400 dpi (software) - A/D Conversion: 10 bits/color - Output Data: Line Art, Halftone: 1-bit/pixel; Grayscale: 8 bits/pixel; = Full Color: 24 bits/pixel - Reference Reading Time (A4 300 -dpi Full Color): Approx. 30 sec. (Fast Mode, without exposure compensation) - Interface: SCSI (Complies with SCSI-II) - Dimensions (W x H x D): 14.8 x 6.3 x 23.6 in. (376 x 159 x 599mm) - Weight: Approx. 26.5 lbs. (12kg) - Power Requirements: AC 100 - 240V, 50/60Hz, max. 50W - Environmental Conditions - Temperature: +50xF to +95xF (+10xC to +35xC)=
=0D
Optional Transparency Unit AT-45: $675 SRP To scan transparencies and negative film (35mm to 5 x 5.7 in. film, at up= to 1,200 dpi), Nikon offers a low-profile, lightweight transparency unit tha= t's remarkably easy to use. =0D
All names of companies and products are trademarks or registered trademar= ks of their respective holders. =0D Specifications and equipment are subject to change without notice or obligation on the part of the manufacturer. June, 1994. =0D LS-4500AF Multi-format Film Scanner SRP: $11,295 =0D New Technology for Enhanced Productivity =0D * Supports formats from 35mm to 4x5 in. * Scanning head with dual-optical system * Precision 12-bit A/D conversion maintains wide dynamic range =
* Autofocus ensures consistently sharp scans * 360x-rotation film carriers with masks for all popular frame sizes streamlines production =
* Easy-access front-loading design simplifies film handling =0D One scanner for multiple formats =0D The new Nikon multi-format scanner can handle popular film sizes from 35m= m up to 4x5 in. It features 12-bit A/D conversion, 3000 dpi resolution on 35m= m and 1000 dpi on 4x5, and it's small enough to fit on your desktop! The LS-4500AF has an automatic energy-saving cycle and can handle your most demanding high-end film scanning requirements. =
=0D Dual-optical CCD scanning heads support multiple formats =0D Now, a single device can fulfill your multi-format needs. Nikon solved t= he challenge of matching film size to scanning engine by combining two scann= ing systems within the same device. The result is a scanner with high resolu= tion and performance, giving you the quality you need for all of its formats. =0D High-performance signal processing and mechanical accuracy =0D Preserving the wide dynamic range found on commercial transparencies, the=
LS-4500AF is ideal for professional applications. Color accuracy is tigh= tly controlled through 3D color matrix processing in hardware. The LS-4500's=
DSPs provide the power to scan and process any final size up to 3000 dpi = in 1 dpi increments, even from panorama formats! Its native scanner intellige= nce handles a wide array of positive and negative film types, formats, color masks and dye sets. =
The LS-4500's unique illumination path ensures a compact desktop footprin= t, and provides uniform edge-to-edge brightness, regardless of the film form= at, or its particular angle of rotation in the film carrier. High-definition=
optics overcome the problem of geometric distortion, enabling 3000/1000 d= pi high-quality output. With a precision-machined ballscrew drive, LS-4500A= F
delivers remarkably accurate color registration. =0D Easy-to-use front loading design =0D Film handling with the LS-4500AF is a streamlined operation cutting hours=
from your scanning production time. With a versatile carrier and mask se= t, film can be quickly mounted, rotated to a precise angle, and inserted int= o the autoloading slot. It is positioned by a special servo system to precisely locate the film in the optical path. You can be scanning withi= n seconds, confident that the alignment and focus are accurate. =0D High-speed scanning and preview =0D The LS-4500AF scans fast - 120 seconds for full-frame 35mm at 3000dpi, an= d 180 seconds for full-frame 4x5 at 1000 dpi. Prescan is only 30 seconds o= n 4x5 and 20 seconds on 35mm. In addition to precise servo-controlled manu= al focus, Nikon's autofocus takes care of precision focusing for you. This scanner is suited to large-volume pre-press scanning operations. LS-4500= AF can breeze through complex assignments, putting the profit back into your=
scanning operation.Easy-to-use Nikon software =0D The LS-4500AF is also an easy scanner to use, giving you the comprehensiv= e controls you need for professional results. Bundled with the scanner, Ni= kon introduces a completely re-architected Photoshopx plug-in for Mac OS, and=
TWAIN source for Windows users. The new Nikon Scan driver runs with any Photoshop or TWAIN-compatible image editing software, or standalone, usin= g the Nikon Control application shell. =0D Nikon Scan Driver Software Requirements =0D Operating System Mac OSr / Macintosh Windowsr Computer Platform 68xxx CPU without FPU, or PowerPCx CPU IBMr PC-AT compatibles (386, 486, or Pentiumx CPU RAM Plug-in requires a minimum of 2MB free RAM, Virtual Memory and Modern=
Memory Manager compatible. Image editing applications typically require = a minimum of 5-8MB RAM. With system memory requirements exceeding 2MB, tot= al recommended RAM should be greater than 16MB for productive scanning. TWAI= N module requires a minimum of 2MB free RAM, Virtual Memory compatible. Im= age editing applications typically require a minimum of 5-8MB RAM. With syst= em memory requirements exceeding 2MB, total recommended RAM should be greate= r than 16MB for productive scanning. Hard Disk Installation requires a minimum of 1MB free space. 300 MB or larger disk is recommended for scanning operation Installation requires a=
minimum of 1MB free space. 300 MB or larger disk is recommended for scan= ning operation Display 640 x 400 (or larger) full color (24-bit) display recommended 640= x 480 VGA (or larger) full color (24-bit) display recommended Interface SCSI-II ASPI compliant board supporting WINASPI.DLL OS Version System 7.0 or later, in English, German, French versions * MS-DOSr version 5.0 or later (requires enhanced mode) * IBMr-DOS version 5.0 or later (requires enhanced mode) * MSr-Windows version 3.1 or later (Win16 environment), English, German, French versions =0D Nikon Scan Driver Software Features =0D Scanner source selection, source image type selection, resizable dialog b= ox, resizable preview, autoexpose, autofocus, manual focus, crop, zoom, resolution, resize, fiducial reference scale, pixel address coordinate display, on screen densitometer, sharpening, analog exposure, analog colo= r balance, contrast, brightness, color balance, white point, gamma curve ed= it, histogram, black point, final scan, eject, instant screen update on densi= ty and color adjustment, interactive helpLS-4500AF Specifications =0D 1. Reading System/Optics =0D Film types: 4x5 in.; 40mm, 65mm, 75mm, and120/220 formats, including 6x4.= 5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9, up to panorama formats; 35mm film (single frame, 6-frame strip, mounted film) Transparency, positive or negative, color or monochrome Reading resolution: 5000-pixel monochrome linear CCD x 2 [A]: 1000 dpi reading resolution [B]: 3000 dpi reading resolution Note: Dual-optical system modes are indicated by [A] and [B] in this docu= ment No. of pixels [A]: Maximum 5000 x 12000 pixels [B]: Maximum 5000 x 18000 pixels Effective scanning area [A]: 5 in. (Main scan) x 6 in. (Sub-scan) [B]: 42mm (Main scan) x 6 in. (Sub-scan) Light source: 12V- 20W halogen lamp Color separation: RGB frame sequential Film carrier: The following film formats are supported by three types of = film carriers, and masks are used to mount the film according to aperture/fram= e size. All carriers can be manually rotated for exact alignment during sc= an, except the 35mm 6-frame strip carrier; 4x5 in. sheet film; 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x= 7, 6x9cm cut frames; 35mm cut frames (three-up) 35mm mounted slides (four-up= ); 35mm x 6 frame strip Imaging optics: [A]: 8 lenses in 4 groups [B]: 6 lenses in 4 groups Autofocus: Contrast detection by CCD, focusing area selectable, manual focusing by software-controlled servo =0D 2. Scanning/Signal processing =0D Image scanning Three-pass RGB Main scan: 5000-pixel monochrome linear CCD [A]: 5000 pixels (hardware-interpolated to 10000) [B]: 5000 pixels Sub-scanning: stepper driven film stage [A]: 3 steps / line (2000 dpi) [B]: 3 steps / line (3000 dpi) Scan time: [A] Pre-scan: Approx. 30 seconds; Final scan: Standard mode - Approx. 210=
sec, Medium-speed mode - approx. 180 sec (-at- 1000 dpi, 4500 x 3600 pixels for approx. 46.3MB) [B Prescan: Approx. 20 seconds; Final scan: Standard mode - Approx. 200 s= ec, Medium-speed mode - approx. 120 sec (-at- 3000 dpi, 3900 x 2600 pixels for approx. 29MB) Scanning spatial density: Pixel density: [A]: maximum 2000 dpi interpolated from 1000 dpi [B]: maximum 3000 dpi Pixel size: [A]: 12.7um square [B]: 8.5um square A/D conversion: 12-bits per color channel Output data: 8-bits per color channel =0D 3. Data transfer =0D Panel indicators:READY, BUSY, and ERROR states indicated by LED Scanning software: Photoshop plug-in for Mac OS and TWAIN source for Wind= ows. NikonScan application supports Photoshop plug-in and TWAIN source on both= Mac OS and Windows platforms Interface: SCSI-II Image transfer: Three-pass RGB frame sequential Maximum transfer rate: 1 MB/sec, or better =0D 4. Operating conditions =0D Power requirements: 100 - 120VAC/200 - 240VAC; 0.8A/0.4A, 50/60Hz Environmental Temperature: 10xC - 35xC (50xF - 95xF) Relative Humidity: 30 - 85% (non-condensing) Dimensions and weight: =
295 (W) x 420 (D) x 250 (H)mm; approx. 13kg 11.6 (W) x 16.5 (D) x 9.8 (H) in.; approx. 28.7 lb. =0D Macintosh is a registered trademark and Mac OS is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. MS, MS-DOS and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation=
Photoshop is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Incorporated IBM is a registered trademark, and PowerPC is a trademark of Internationa= l Business Machines Corporation Pentium is a trademark of Intel Corporation =0D Contacting Nikon is Easy! =0D In the US, for product literature and the name and number of a dealer nea= r you, call 800-52-NIKON. For Marketing, Technical and Service support for=
Nikon Electronic Imaging Products in North, Central, and South America pl= ease contact Nikon EID personnel at: =0D Nikon Inc. Electronic Imaging Department 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747-3064 Attention: Marketing, Technical Support or Sales =
Phone: 516-547-4355 Fax: 516-547-0305 800: 800-52-Nikon America Online: Keyword Nikon CompuServe: Go Nikon =0D For all other regions, consult the list below to find the Nikon subsidiar= y closest to you: =0D Nikon Corporation Electronic Image Engineeering Division Fuji Bldg., 2-3 Marunouchi 3-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, Japan Phone: 81-3-3216-1034 Fax: 81-3-3214-8193 =0D Nikon Canada Inc. 1366 Aerowood Drive, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L4W 1C1 Phone: 416-625-9910 Fax: 416-625-0103 =0D Nikon AG Kaspar-Fenner Strasa 6, 8700 Kunacht/ZH, Switzerland Phone: 41-1-913-61-11 Fax: 41-1-913-63-63 =0D Nikon GmbH Tiefenbroicher Weg 25, 40472 Dusseldorf, Germany Phone: 49-211-9414-0 Fax: 49-211-9414-330 =0D Nikon UK Ltd. Nikon House 380 Richmond Road, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, KT2 5PR, United Kingdom Phone: 44-181-541-4440 Fax: 44-181-541-4584 =0D Nikon France S.A. 191, rue du Marche Rollay, 94504 Champigny-sur-Mame, France Phone: 33-1-45-16-46-00 Fax: 33-1-45-16-00-33 =0D Anam Instruments Co., Ltd. 197-7 Guro 3-Dong, Guro-Ku, Seoul, Korea Phone: 82-2-460-5032 Fax: 82-2-861-4895 =0D Lin Trading Co., Ltd. 2F. No. 270, Sec 3., Nanking E. Road, =
Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China Phone: 886-2-740-3366 Fax: 886-2-773-5577 =0D Shriro (H.K.) Ltd. 2nd Floor, Hutchison House, 10 Harcourt Road (G.P.O. Box 181), Hong Kong Phone: 852-2524-5031 Fax: 852-2810-6586 =0D Shriro (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Shriro House 11 Chang Cham, Singapore 0315 Phone: 65-472-7777 Fax: 65-472-1792 =0D Shriro (Malaysia) SDN BHD Lots 22 & 24Julan 225, Section 51A, 46100 Petaling, Jaya, Selangor, Daryl Ehsan, Malaysia (P.O. Box 10571, 50718 Kula Lumpur) Phone: 60-3-774-9842 Fax: 60-3-775-2463/775-2400 =0D Maxwell Optical Industries Pty Ltd. Unit 27, Level A, 100 Harris Street Pyrmont N.S.W 2009 Australia Phone: 61-2-660-7088 Fax: 61-2-660-8739 =0D T.A. Macalister Limited Private Bag 92146, Aukland, New Zealand Phone: 64-9-303-4334 Fax: 64-9-309-6502
Best wishes for this new year, hope that you will receive nice pictures...
There is a guy here in Strasbourg, who wishes to have a look on his oligodentrocytes in culture by SEM. For these purpose he uses antibodies coupled to gold to label the cells.
My question is, what is the minimal size of the gold particles to have a chance to see them by SEM and the best way to prepare the sample (metallisation or not, carbon spputering, tension etc...) for SEM.
The SEM we have is a XL 20 from Philips.
Any related litterature is welcome as we are novice in this field.
TIA
Marc Schmutz
______________________________________
Dr. SCHMUTZ Marc Electron microscopy lab. IGBMC BP 163 F67404 ILLKIRCH Cedex France
There is a method of estimating water content of specimens if you can do TEM with X-ray microanalysis and work carefully; after the method of Ingram FD & Ingram MJ (1986) Cell volume regulation studies with the elctron microprobe. In: The Science of Biological Specimen Preparation for Microscopy and Microanalysis (eds. J-P Revel, T Barnard and GH Haggis) pp.139-146. SEM Inc. Chicago.
It means working on sections and may be too detailed for what you need.
I did something similar, using the chlorine peak of Spurr's resin to represent 100% hydration, and then lesser peak counts to represent replacement of the water by tissue components. Tissue chlorine is normally pretty labile and is lost in processing.
Keith Ryan PLymouth Marine laboratory Citadel Hill Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK
I am looking for advice and pointers in the realm of image transfer and manipulation, and I know this forum has a wealth of people's experiences available.
The department here has a number of instruments which can generate images of various sorts - optical (light microscope), element maps (SEMs/EMPA), secondary/back-scattered electron (SEMs/EMPA), isotope maps(SIMS).
Any one sample may pass through several of these instruments, so that the same area can be examined using different techniques. At the moment images are transferred as hardcopy photographs or plots. We are starting to investigate the possibilities of storing images electronically, transferring them between instruments by wire rather than as hardcopy, then redisplaying them and relocating areas of interest. (We are also going to have to consider the problem of longer term image archiving, which has recently been subject to useful discussion on the list.)
Obvious questions immediately occur:
In what format should the images be stored? TIFF seems to be a current common standard for this sort of work, but are there better alternatives? Are there any reviews/publications which would help? (We are also going to have to consider the problem of longer term image archiving, which has recently been subject to useful discussion on the list.)
Each instrument's specimen stage has its own particular coordinate system. Relating coordinate systems should be possible, given reference locations on the samples, but how to define such reference points - using distinctive features, or by marking the specimen somehow?
Other laboratories must be doing this sort of thing - how have they got on, what are the problems? If they could start again, how would they change things? What do we need to look out for, and take particular care of?
This posting is one of the first steps on what is clearly going to be a long term project. I look forward to the sort of interesting responses and discussion which commonly arise in this mailing list.
Norman Charnley
====================================================================== Dr. Norman Charnley Tel: +44 1865 272012 (Laboratory) Electron Microprobe Laboratory +44 1865 272053 (Office) Department of Earth Sciences Fax: +44 1865 272072 University of Oxford Oxford OX1 3PR, UK. E-mail:Norman.Charnley-at-earth.ox.ac.uk
We have a technical paper available on colloidal gold immunolabelling and SEM at our Web site. The URL is: http://www.mwrn.com/ebs/ebs.htm I hope you find it helpful. Steven Slap, Vice-President
Good morning. For your information, there is a society which I belong to that is called The Microscope Historical Society, 14 Tall Acres Dr., Pittsford, NY 14534 that can help you. Also, there are dealers which focus on antique microscopes . Contact Conrad Schure at 908.431.5191 about their next instrument fair in February at Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick, NJ.
--------------------------------------
Bob
Robert R. Wise, PhD Department of Biology University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI 54901 (414) 424-3404 tel (414) 424-1101 fax wise-at-vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu
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Thank you for all the responses to my request regarding possible home for used light microscopes. Apparently, there is a market for reasonbly priced scopes. I received several names of people to contact and 20 requests (18 email, one phone and one fax) for the 12 scopes we have. Many of the respondents wanted more than one scope. I have kept all requests and will talk to our purchasing agent to see what can be done. I'll get back to you all when I know more.
Bob
Robert R. Wise, PhD Department of Biology University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI 54901 (414) 424-3404 tel (414) 424-1101 fax wise-at-vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu
Hello, It seems that one of our EDS detectors consumption of LN2 has increased as of late. I am making the assumption that possibly the vacuum needs regeneration in the dewar. Does anyone know where one might acquire the fitting to interface a vacuum system to the dewar of a Kevex detector? Thank you in advance, Randy Nessler
} } } Obvious questions immediately occur: } } In what format should the images be stored? TIFF seems to be a current } common standard for this sort of work, but are there better alternatives? } Are there any reviews/publications which would help? (We are also going } to have to consider the problem of longer term image archiving, which has } recently been subject to useful discussion on the list.)
Well, for my two cents worth, my opinion is that format is almost irrelevant, except for a couple of points. The reason for this is that there are numerous utilities for moving between formats, both public domain (such as the pbmplus and netpbm libs) and commercial.
Some formats have standardized compression methods, and many don't, but even that doesn't really matter in most cases since you can compress things without relying on the format. For instance, you can use LZW compression as a part of the TIFF file, or you can save it unformatted and then compress the file using a compression routine. For my images, the difference in efficiency between the two approaches has been small. Certainly, some methods incorporate more efficient compression than others, but still, I have found the practical effect of, say, 45% compressions versus 40% compression to be of little importance for the number of images I manipulate. You can certainly obsess over each little bit of efficiency, and there are a number of religious arguments for a number of methods, but I have found the differences of little practical value for my archives.
With the differences between the formats of minimal interest to me (with a few exceptions listed below), then the most important thing to me becomes what *manipulation* software I use for which set of images. For instance, I have one package that can read and write TARGA files easily, but reads and writes TIFF images slowly and with occasional errors. For images I use this software on, I use TARGA files. A different program does a better job with Sun raster format.
I tend to save all my images in TARGA, but that is because it seems to be read and written faster and with fewer errors for the software I use. But, frankly, it really doesn't matter. I suggest you first decide on what software you plan to use to manipulate your images and *then* worry about format.
With all of this, there are a couple of things that become important quickly:
1) Make sure you can save your images with enough depth. I generally use 24-, 32- and 48-bit images. Thus, formats which do not support at least 24 bit "truecolor" representation are useless for me. On the other hand, if you are going to be happy with 8-bit images, then you have greater flexibility. I don't think there is a 24-bit GIF format, for instance, and relatively few formats will easily allow you go move to 32-bits (Targa supports it well).
2) Make sure you use lossless compression if you plan to do any image enhancement. Lossy compression, such as jpeg, can destroy an image for enhancement -- you end up enhancing the compression artifacts instead of the data. Jpeg and fractal compression are notorious for this.
Given these two caveats, then, I suggest you first look at the software you plan to use for image manipulation, and then choose a format that fits that software nicely.
we have a Phillips EM300 from 1971 to sell. It was well serviced throughout its existence in our department. It is perfectly suited for routine checking for biologist or medicine personal. There is a high resolution bridge and a standart goniometer available. We will be able to offer this microsope on a negotiational base. Transfer of the equipment must be handled by the buyer. For futher details contact me through email or by fax. DEADLINE is 31.01.96
Andreas Loewe
Guten Tag Freunde der Elektronenmikroskopie,
in unserer Abteilung ist ein Phillips EM300 aus dem Jahr 1971 zu verkaufen. Das Ger=E4t wurde w=E4hrend der gesamten Zeit durch einen Wartungsvertrag gepflegt und ist in sehr gutem Zustand. Dieses Mikroskop ist ideal f=FCr Routinearbeiten von Biologen und Medizinern. Es ist sowohl mit einer Hochaufl=F6sungsplattform als auch mit dem normalen Goniometer ausgestattet. Transport und die Transportkosten =FCbernimmt der K=E4ufer. Preis ist Verhandlungssache. F=FCr weitere Informationen schreiben Sie mich bitte unte= r meiner email-Adresse oder per Fax an. EINSENDESCHLUSS f=FCr Interessenten ist der 31.01.96
Andreas Loewe
______________________________________________________________ Andreas Loewe Tel: +49-228-550-355 University of Bonn Fax: +49-228-678-413 Insitute for Inorganic Chemistry email: loewe-at-uni-bonn.de Inorganic Material Research Roemerstr. 164 53117 Bonn Germany http://www.elmi.uni-bonn.de/ ______________________________________________________________
I can only emphasize what Bill Oliver wrote: Start with the basic question and ask at what precision you want to set up your digital lab. The acquisition precision (contrast resolution) of most microscopes (except some operation modes for confocal, see Jim Pawley's recent remarks at "RE: Flatbed scanners: 12-bit versus 8-bit") is far more than 8-bit. Most hardware and new software is already available for 12-16 bit graytone and color (per channel). If you plan for the future, start with 16-bit uncompressed raw data handling. Every thing else may change monthly. You may start using what is available now for handling } 8-bit data and expand as new software and hardware becomes available. And don't spend much money for a "good" printer, a HP LaserJet is just fine when expanded with one of the available high resolution boards. I started to put many comparative image data from my own experience in designing a "Precision Digital Imaging Laboratory" in a WWW page at http://panda.uchc.edu/htklaus/index.html. May be this is of help to you. Best regards Klaus
Regarding Randy Nessler's question about a valve to interface with the vacuum jacket of an EDS detector.
I have an old valve that is manufactured by Cryolab, 159 Santa Fe Rd., San Luis Obispo, CA. This is an old valve and the company may be gone/moved. I have no connection with this company whatsoever.
I too have a detector with high LN2 consumption and am considering doing the job myself. I assume that one would need the appropraite valve, a high vacuum station, leak detector and bakeout blank/tape. Is anyone familiar with the procedure for regenerating the EDS cyrostat?
Thanks, Owen P. Mills Michigan Technological University Metallurgical & Materials Engineering Rm 512 MME Building Houghton, MI 49931 906-487-2002 906-487-2934 FAX opmills-at-mtu.edu
We are thinking about a new printer and are looking at the Tektronix 340+ Phaser. The quote that we received lists costs associated with printing as "20% fill of color is $0.13 per page". Does anyone know the actual costs per page? Is this the maximum if "1% of color is $0.01 per page"? How much does it vary with size/color of image? What does this really mean? Anyone tried this machine yet?
Any/all help will be greatly appreciated. TIA.
C. Michael Stanley, Ph.D. Coordinator, Associate Director Molecular Cytology Core Facility Molecular Biology Program 2 Tucker Hall University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO. 65211 (314) 882-4895 fax= 314-882-0123
After my reply about file formats, I got a bunch of requests about this mysterious pbmplus/netpbm library routine package.
Here's the story:
Way back when, there was this truly great dude by the name of Jef Poskanzer, who decided to write a little library to convert between formats. He decided to create his own simple, easily editable and readable ascii format for greyscale, binary, and color images. The idea was to concentrate on making the format simple to poke around in rather than being space-efficient since any image would be in the simple format only "in transit". This would make it easier for folk to write specific routines to convert their pet formats to and from these simple forms rather than worrying about trying to figure out every possible combination.
These simple formats were called Portable GreyMap, Portable BitMap,and Portable PixMap images respectively, or pgm, pbm, and ppm images. He and his buddies then wrote a ton of routines to go to and from these simple formats. Thus, for instance, to convert from GIF to TIFF, one would go from GIF to ppm using the routine giftoppm, and then from ppm to TIFF by the routine ppmtotiff.
A number of simple manipulation routines were added (rotation, scaling, smoothing, etc.) as well as some other sophisticated and useful things. In addition, a number of routines attempted to make the distinction between pgm, ppm, and pbm transparent, and rolled them into the "Portable aNyMap" or pnm format. Thus, one could also go from GIF to TIFF by using giftopnm and pnmtotiff routines without having to know if the image was greyscale or palette-based color. The pnm format wasn't really a new format, but was used to denote those routines which could accept pgm, pbm, and ppm format images and figure out which "real" conversion routine to call.
This work of public service, called the "pbmplus" library became too much of a time sink, and Jef Pokanzer stopped putting out updates in 1991. It nonetheless represents a public service effort right up there with GNU and the Fish disks. All Hail these folk.
After this work, a number of other community-minded authors added newer formats and other routines to the library. Since these sometimes did not conform to Pokanzer's structural and stylistic conventions and verification requirements, they represented a superset over the pbmplus library rather than an extension of it. This was labeled the netpbm library. Thus, new stuff like SGI formats, are found in the netpbm libraries, but not the pbmplus libraries.
I am including the beginning of the README file from the last distribution I have installed on my system. I am sure that things have been added since.
There are some formats, particularly the vector-based things, that are not handled. If you are using Wavefront, 3DS, DXF, and other CAD-type formats, you might want to look elsewhere. One such place is the old Avalon site. The Avalon site was a repository of 3D format convertors, models, etc. for 3D and VR software. This site, originally maintained at a US Government military base, was discontinued and was picked up by Viewpoint, a company which makes 3D model datasets. It can be found at http://www.viewpoint.com. Viewpoint has gotten mixed reviews for its stewardship; some have attempted to set up alternate repositories and others have applauded Viewpoint's effort if not it's accomplishment. I neither endorse nor criticise Viewpoint or the Viewpoint site, but simply state that it is still currently the most complete site for finding public domain 3D format conversion routines. If you are interested in the alternate sites, I suggest you look at the 3D news groups and mailing lists. It is a common topic of conversation on the Autodesk 3D studio newsgroup and list.
Sites for these and other routines can also be found in the FAQs for the graphics newsgroups.
One final note: Some of these routines are in turn dependent on other library distributions. For isntance, the tiff routines are dependent on the libtiff libraries which are a separate distribution. A libtiff library *is* included in the standard netpbm distribution, but the libtiff development history is rather independent. Thus, you will want to keep these libraries current if you want to be able to read and write newer flavors of tiff.
Now, here's the start of the netpbm README, which gives the sites as of early 1994 for the packages:
This README is dated 1993, but was current as of MARCH 1994.
N E T P B M Release 7 December 1993
Netpbm is a toolkit for conversion of images between a variety of different formats, as well as to allow a few basic image operations. The package is intended to be portable to many platforms. It has been tested under UNIX (BSD and SYSV, e.g. SGI, Sun4, Sun386i, DEC and Apollo DN 3500), VMS and Amiga OS. There are also compiler directives in it for MS-DOS.
You'll find the latest release of Netpbm at the following sites: * wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4), directory /graphics/graphics/packages/NetPBM * ikaros.fysik4.kth.se (130.237.35.2), directory /pub/netpbm. * ftp.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de (134.106.1.9). This site also carries binaries for the Amiga. * peipa.essex.ac.uk (155.245.115.161), directory ipa/src/manip * ftp.rahul.net (192.160.13.1), directory /pub/davidsen/source * ftp.cs.ubc.ca, directory /ftp/archive/netpbm
You'll also find a mirror site at the BBS: * sixhub.tmr.com, phone +1 518 3468033, in the "source" area.
Hope you find this useful.
billo
Any opinions are mine, and not necessarily those of Uncle Sam, or any of his kith, kin, minions, or functionaries.
that format is almost } irrelevant, except for a couple of points. The reason for this is } that there are numerous utilities for moving between formats, both } public domain (such as the pbmplus and netpbm libs) and commercial.
} 1) Make sure you can save your images with enough depth. I generally } use 24-, 32- and 48-bit images. Thus, formats which do not support } at least 24 bit "truecolor" representation are useless for me.
and relatively few formats will easily allow } you go move to 32-bits (Targa supports it well). } } 2) Make sure you use lossless compression
Thanks, that you came forward and stressed the same points I try to emphasis.
A quick question to you: I started to do my digtal DH imaging on a Silicon Graphics workstation and of cause there is Tara File Format at home. However, most of my PC and Mac based image acquisition is still in MSA-Standard TIFF. You mentioned free software for file conversion. Could you please provide a source for me?
I'm preparing a presentation on polarized light microscopes that are equipped for epi-fluorescence illumination, and need information from microscope manufacturers regarding instruments purchased thus equipped and retro-fitted with vertical fluorescence attachments.
I'm assuming that microscope manufacturers monitor this list. Please reply directly to me. Thanks.
James Martin Director of Analytical Services and Research Williamstown Art Conservation Center Williamstown, MA
We have used critical point drying for many years in our laboratory to dry biological samples for SEM. Recently I decided to purchase some Peldri II to test as an alternative to critical point drying, however when I contacted Ted Pella they informed me that they are no longer selling it. Instead they are selling two substitutes: tetramethylsilane and hexamethyldisilazane. Does anyone have any experience with these yet? How do they compare to Peldri and critical point drying? Why was Peldri discontinued?
Jim Romanow Electron Microscopy Facility Physiology and Neurobiogy Department The University Of Connecticut Storrs bsgphy3-at-uconnvm.uconn.edu
______________________________________________ Preliminary Announcement: THIRD WORKSHOP ON INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF SCANNED PROBE MICROSCOPY May 2-3 1996 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY Gaithersburg MD 20899 ______________________________________________
A third Workshop on Industrial Applications of Scanned Probe Microscopy (IASPM) will be held at NIST on May 2-3 1996. The purpose is to continue exploring SPM standardization and development needs anticipated for the next decade, with a focus on industrial SPM users and hurdles that limit broader use of SPM for industrial problem solving.
For more information, contact: Dr. John Dagata National Insitute of Standards and Technology 220-A117 Gaithersburg MD 20899 301-975-3597 voice 301-869-0822 fax john.dagata-at-nist.gov
Are there any EM people heavy into Image processing and analysis. Currently I am using a Kontron IBAS (version 2.0) and a KS400 Image analysis system. Soon we will be incorporating a Telepathology system for communications between the US, Switzerland, and Japan. Current Image imput for our routine analysis come from EM micrographs, stored images, Kodak digital camera, from the light microscope, and any source that allows us to capture, store, and process images. We have several video camera, including a Sony 960 color camera, B&W camera. We currently use PAL and NTSC formats.
I would be interested in knowing how people use computerized Image Analysis for Stereology and Morphometry. Would be interested in knowing how to get around point counting techniques with Electron Micrographs.
I would be willing to share IBAS macros with interested parties. Gregory Argentieri Sandoz Electron Microscopy lab East Hanover, NJ 07936 201-503-8617 Greg2NJ-at-AOL.COM
Would welcome interested parties to exchange macros, ideas, image processing tips etc.
Are there any EM people heavy into Image processing and analysis. Currently I am using a Kontron IBAS (version 2.0) and a KS400 Image analysis system. Soon we will be incorporating a Telepathology system for communications between the US, Switzerland, and Japan. Current Image imput for our routine analysis come from EM micrographs, stored images, Kodak digital camera, from the light microscope, and any source that allows us to capture, store, and process images. We have several video camera, including a Sony 960 color camera, B&W camera. We currently use PAL and NTSC formats.
I would be interested in knowing how people use computerized Image Analysis for Stereology and Morphometry. Would be interested in knowing how to get around point counting techniques with Electron Micrographs.
I would be willing to share IBAS macros with interested parties. Gregory Argentieri Sandoz Electron Microscopy lab East Hanover, NJ 07936 201-503-8617 Greg2NJ-at-AOL.COM
Would welcome interested parties to exchange macros, ideas, image processing tips etc.
We have a Hitachi HU-11E (~1968) which has to make way for new developments. It was in regular use until about 2 years ago, now needs reference batteries and a kick-start. If anyone has a use for spares or the complete unit then please make contact with us ASAP. No reasonable offer refused !! It has to be cleared by March.
Tony Bruton Electron Microscope Unit University of Natal Pietermaritzburg Kwa-Zulu Natal South Africa Phone 0331 2605155 or fax 0331 2605776
If you are in need of vaccum pumping of an EDS detector, you might give contact;
Doug Conners TN Analyzer Service 608-798-2005
Scott D. Davilla Phone: 919 489-1757 (tel) 4pi Analysis, Inc. Fax: 919 489-1487 (fax) 3500 Westgate Drive, Suite 403 email: davilla-at-4pi.com Durham, North Carolina 27707
Message-Id: {199601101604.KAA28262-at-BCM.TMC.EDU} X-Sender: joiner-at-bcm.tmc.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Version 2.1.1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Bob -
There is, or was, a wonderful shop called Historical Technology in Marblehead, Mass. that buys and sells old microscopes as well as other pieces of technology. I haven't delt with them in a long time, and they may no longer be in business. But it would be worth the effort to contact them just to get one of their catalogs. They are:
Historical Technology 6 Mugford St. Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945 (617) 631-2275
Sorry that this reply is so late, but I had to go mining in a closet to find the catalog.
Joiner ************************************
At 02:07 PM 1/4/96 +0000, you wrote: } Our department has about a dozen old Spencer light microscopes--monoccular, } black laquer with lots of brass, probably pre-WWII. Does anyone know if } there is a market for such things out there? Are there 'antique' } microscope dealers who might be interested in these? They are not very } functional but too nice to throw away. } } Bob } } } Robert R. Wise, PhD } Department of Biology } University of Wisconsin Oshkosh } Oshkosh, WI 54901 } (414) 424-3404 tel } (414) 424-1101 fax } wise-at-vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu } } } }
Jim Romanow asked: } We have used critical point drying for many years in our laboratory to dry } biological samples for SEM. Recently I decided to purchase some Peldri II } to test as an alternative to critical point drying, however when I } contacted Ted Pella they informed me that they are no longer selling it. } Instead they are selling two substitutes: tetramethylsilane and } hexamethyldisilazane. Does anyone have any experience with these yet? How } do they compare to Peldri and critical point drying? Why was Peldri } discontinued? }
Peldri II was dropped because it is a Freon - restrictions are becoming tighter - and because Pelco is an environmentally conscious company (I have no financial or emotional connection to Pelco). In our facility, we have used HMDS and it gives similar results as Peldri and CPD. Since your results will be highly dependent upon the type of specimen and processing (fixation, dehydration, etc) it is best to run a comparative trial using HMDS, TMS and CPD. I suspect that HMDS will be fine. Contact me if you need more info.
############################################################################# John J. Bozzola, Director Center for Electron Microscopy Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL 62901-4402 U.S.A. Phone: 618-453-3730 Fax: 618-453-2665 Email: bozzola-at-siu.edu Web: http://www.siu.edu/departments/shops/cem.html #############################################################################
I posted this some time ago and got not a single response. Someone here approached me about a fixative called K11 that I never used. Please let me know what you know about it or give a reference for starter. Thanks. ****************************************************************** *Cesar D. Fermin, Ph.D \|T|/ Fax (504) 587-7389 * *Tulane Medical School /|M|\ Voice Mail (504) 584-2618 * *Pathology/SL79 \|C|/ Secretary (504) 584-2436 * *New Orleans La 70112-2699 /|*|\ Lab/Techn. (504) 584-2521 * * {Fermin-at-tmc.tulane.edu} Prof. Pathology & Otolaryngology * * http://www1.omi.tulane.edu/departments/pathology/fermin/cdftop.html * ******************************************************************
} We have used critical point drying for many years in our laboratory to dry } biological samples for SEM. Recently I decided to purchase some Peldri II } to test as an alternative to critical point drying, however when I } contacted Ted Pella they informed me that they are no longer selling it. } Instead they are selling two substitutes: tetramethylsilane and } hexamethyldisilazane. Does anyone have any experience with these yet? How } do they compare to Peldri and critical point drying? Why was Peldri } discontinued? } } Jim Romanow } Electron Microscopy Facility } Physiology and Neurobiogy Department } The University Of Connecticut } Storrs } bsgphy3-at-uconnvm.uconn.edu } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } }
We frequently use HMDS instead of critical point(CPD) It does not work well on all samples. Plants generally require CPD. Many microbes, insects, cells cultures and animal tissues can be successfully dried via HMDS. We only briefly tested Peldri and were not impressed. It showed no advantage over HMDS and was more tedious to use. We have not tried the Tetramethylsilane, but I suspect it would perform much the same as HMDS. -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at- Greg Erdos Phone: 352-392-1295 Scientific Director, ICBR Electron Microscopy Core Lab 218 Carr Hall Fax: 352-846-0251 University of Florida E-mail: gwe-at-biotech.ufl.edu Gainesville, FL 32611 -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at-
} We have used critical point drying for many years in our laboratory to dry } biological samples for SEM. Recently I decided to purchase some Peldri II } to test as an alternative to critical point drying, however when I } contacted Ted Pella they informed me that they are no longer selling it. } Instead they are selling two substitutes: tetramethylsilane and } hexamethyldisilazane. Does anyone have any experience with these yet? How } do they compare to Peldri and critical point drying? Why was Peldri } discontinued? } } Jim Romanow } Electron Microscopy Facility } Physiology and Neurobiogy Department } The University Of Connecticut } Storrs } bsgphy3-at-uconnvm.uconn.edu } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } }
We frequently use HMDS instead of critical point(CPD) It does not work well on all samples. Plants generally require CPD. Many microbes, insects, cells cultures and animal tissues can be successfully dried via HMDS. We only briefly tested Peldri and were not impressed. It showed no advantage over HMDS and was more tedious to use. We have not tried the Tetramethylsilane, but I suspect it would perform much the same as HMDS. -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at- Greg Erdos Phone: 352-392-1295 Scientific Director, ICBR Electron Microscopy Core Lab 218 Carr Hall Fax: 352-846-0251 University of Florida E-mail: gwe-at-biotech.ufl.edu Gainesville, FL 32611 -at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at--at-
} A colleague needs to accurately determine the water content of very small } tissue samples (fish embryos at various stages of development). What would } be the best way to do this? Thanks for any suggestions. Grace
Dear Grace, Can your colleague measure the weights and/or volumes of both the hydrated and lyophylized embryos? ESEM could give you the hydrated volumes, and coating the residue and using SEM might be adequate for the dehydrated volume as long as the residue packs with no voids. It might be easier simply to weigh both specimens. I realize, of course, that volatile salts will be lost during lyophylization, so that may not give accurate enough results. On another tack, is there a measure--such as osmotic activity-- which could be used? If so, one could put the embryos in a solution of PEG or some other macromolecular or impermient solute and note the concentration at which the embryos neither swell nor shrink. That might give enough infor- mation to determine the water content if there are a series of tissue samples of differing contents to use as standards. Good luck. Yours, Bill Tivol
Message-ID: {199601101405.JAA22696-at-IndyNet.indy.net} To: SPM List {spm-at-di.com} , Microscopy list {microscopy-at-Sparc5.Microscopy.Com}
Dear Lynn:
I got your round robin e-mail about Scanning 96. I am submitting two papers but find there is an ambiguity in the instructions for preparing the abstracts. Please advise ASAP tp pe13-at-cus.cam.ac.uk whether the abstract should be only about 750 words long OR whether I can write an abstract which nearly fills the two pages on the Instructions to Authors. I would prefer the latter as I have a lot I want to cram in. Rest assured the two abstracts will be wih you by the end of the month OR when you have dug your self out of the snow drifts
Best wishes
Patrick Echlin
On Wed, 10 Jan 1996, Lynn Savino wrote:
} To all those interested in participating in SCANNING 96 } } Deadline for abstracts is February 1, 1996. }
} We have used critical point drying for many years in our laboratory to dry } biological samples for SEM. Recently I decided to purchase some Peldri II } to test as an alternative to critical point drying, however when I } contacted Ted Pella they informed me that they are no longer selling it. } Instead they are selling two substitutes: tetramethylsilane and } hexamethyldisilazane. Does anyone have any experience with these yet? How } do they compare to Peldri and critical point drying? Why was Peldri } discontinued? } } Jim Romanow } Electron Microscopy Facility } Physiology and Neurobiogy Department } The University Of Connecticut } Storrs } bsgphy3-at-uconnvm.uconn.edu } } } Jim, We have used HMDS(hexamethyldisilazane) in the past with good result. I still like to CPD the non-repeateble samples but have found HMDS to be suitable for most samples. Hope this helps
} It seems that one of our EDS detectors consumption of LN2 has } increased as of late. I am making the assumption that possibly the vacuum } needs regeneration in the dewar. Does anyone know where one might acquire } the fitting to interface a vacuum system to the dewar of a Kevex detector? } Thank you in advance,
Dear Randy, When this occurred with our Kevex, after a few times sending the whole thing back for regeneration, I had our shop make a back plate with a 1/2" copper tube attached. A swagelok fitting and valve allowed me to attach to the column vacuum, and I've been able to use that for the rege- neration ever since. The resolution is still reasonable after } 10 years-- 155 ev, as I remember--so this method works for us. If you have a very clean column vacuum, you can attach a turbo or ion pump (possibly a cold- trapped DP will do, but ask Kevex) to the tubing and not foul up the column. ~10^-6 or so will regenerate the cryosorbant. Good luck. Yours, Bill Tivol
hello fellow digital microscopists. from snow bound Philly comes a query for advice on color image processing of images. does anyone use a package that can quantify/image process color data instead of just greyscale?
please post replies directy and I will share summary with all.
._____________________ | Peter J. Hahn | ------------- | Thomas Jefferson University 3401 Spring Garden Street Philadelphia, PA. 19104 tel : 215-349-0099 | fax : 610-356-3451 | peter.hahn-at-mail.tju.edu | -------------+-----------------+----+------+
The Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA has announced the following course. More information and applications can be obtained at http://www.mbl.edu/html/guide/guide.home.html or by writing admissions-at-mbl.edu
Cell and Molecular Imaging Using Cryotechniques
Courses Dates: May 28-June 5, 1996
Course Description: An eight-day comprehensive course/workshop on cryotechniques for cell and molecular imaging and analysis. Lecture and special discussion sessions in the mornings and hands-on lab sessions in the afternoons and evenings will form the heart of the course. Limited to 24 participants.
Topics will include freezing methods (including high pressure freezing), freeze-substitution, cryosectioning, immunogold localization, freeze-fracture, Low Temperature SEM, cryo microscopy (TEM), image processing and X-ray microanalysis. Lectures and labs will be conducted by experts in the field from universities and industry.
Attendees will be expected to have a basic knowledge of electron microscopy. The class will attend common lecture sessions and will divide into groups for lab sessions and discussions on special topics. Attendees will be encouraged to consult with the course director about bringing their own specimens for use during lab sessions.
Director: M.V. Parthasarathy, Cornell University.
Faculty: Frank Booy, National Institutes of Health; Patrick Echlin, Cambridge University, UK; Kent McDonald, University of California, Berkeley; Martin Mueller, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland; Klaus-Ruediger Peters, University of Connecticut Health Center; E. B. Prestridge, Princeton Gamma-Tech, Inc.; John Rash, Colorado State University; Daniel Studer, University of Bern, Switzerland; William Wergin, ARS-USDA; Karl Zierold, Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology, Germany; and others to be named.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- David Remsen Marine Biological Laboratory
You need to be a bit more specific. When some folk talk about "image processing," they mean the kind of things you do to get an image ready for presentation or publication -- annotation, a little contrast buffing, etc. Other folk mean playing with point spread functions and such for image regularization. Still others mean doing image manipulation for data extraction -- segmentation, object recognition, metrics of various sorts, etc. Finally, 2D and 3D products are rather different.
The type of package you might want depends upon the specific task and the platform you like. For instance, in my work with forensic image processing, I use AVS (Advanced Visualization Systems) as a programming environment, and incorporate libraries and code from a number of academic insititutions (for instance, DIAL and /usr/image from University of North Carolina and the University of Utrecht). AVS, and its big brother AVS Express, use a dataflow paradigm which takes the UNIX pipe to extremes. In this paradigm, you program little modules, say fft, and then plunk an icon for that module on the screen. You then connect other modules to it (say, a "read image" module) using little pipes. You can then build up larger applications by linking these little modules in networks. AVS comes with a set of supported modules, and there is a large set of community-donated public domain modules.
This is specific to UNIX-based systems, however. Most specific platforms have their own image processing libraries that you can buy. I know that Sun has something, SunVision, I think, and SGI also has its image processing toolbox. SGI also incorporates some image processing into its Explorer package, which uses the same kind of dataflow paradigm as AVS.
Excellent public domain Unix image processing packages which include advanced routines include Khoros from U. New Mexico, and IRAF. Khoros is both a toolbox and/or development environment which incorporates a dataflow paradigm much like AVS and Explorer. The AVS-like front end for Khoros is called Cantata. IRAF, which is the common platform for academic astronomical image processing, has some very nice tools for deconvolution and image restoration, but it is geared heavily towards astronomical models and is a true bear to install.
NIH has a package called, I think, NIH Image, but I have never used it. I have heard good things, but I think it is specific to Macs, is for greyscale only, and is 8-bit only.
For some of the cellular morphometric stuff, we tend to use PC-based software such as Optimas. There are, however, two or three other relatively good systems for doing metrics and more advanced image processing such as ImagePro and there's this French program by Noesis called, I think, Visilog. Each of these have routines for most common simple, intermediate and advanced image processing and 2D measurement tasks. I like the programming interface for Optimas. Visilog has, as far as I can see, a larger set of ready-to-use tools for mathematical morphologic manipulation, which you would expect from the French, I suppose. All of these systems allow, in one way or another, incorporation of home-brewed routines either as a link to compiled code or by using a macro language.
For annotation and aesthetic stuff, I prefer Picture Publisher by Micrografx. Many like Photoshop, and I have used it occasionally, but I still prefer Picture Publisher. Photostyler (Aldus) and Corel are also good products. I find Picture Publisher to be more intuitive and easier to use. It has a harder time successfully importing images, however. Our PCs are on a network with Unix boxes, and the images get to the PCs via nfs. My installation of Picture Publisher has problems often with reading large images over the network and with decoding large or compressed images. I often read an image from the network in using Photostyler, save it locally, and then manipulate it using Picture Publisher. I have found the Corel product a memory hog, and gets really slow with big (40 Mbyte) images.
Aside from the memory and importing hassles, the biggest differences with these artistic manipulators from that point on involve specific tools -- how you want to set brush sizes, how you want to play with overlays, how the gui is set up (whether you prefer type-in widgets, etc.). For instance, Picture Publisher has a slider transparency control on a toolbar for interactively playing with overlays, and allows you to play with overlay parameter during a paste. Other programs require multilevel menu selection to set transparency, which is not as easy. The (rather old) version of Photostyler I have used has a pretty primitive file requestor for loading images. Picture Publisher has a requestor that does thumbprints. This is a mixed blessing with a heterogeneous network -- it makes browsing easier, but the thumbprints can eat up disk space, they can "get lost" when the unix directories get mapped to DOS names, etc. Which set of widgets and approaches is most intuitive or easiest to learn is a matter of personal taste. Fractal Paint and associated tools have really nice interfaces for doing true "artistic" manipulation in the sense of having results that look like true artistic media (charcoal, oils, etc.) and "natural" textures. There is another package called {something - I forget} Matisse, which also attempts the "true" artistic approach. The {something} Matisse product, however, can get really slow with larger images. I have found it useless for work but a gas to play with.
There are a number of public domain systems which do limited image manipulation -- scaling, rotating, cropping, etc. Some of these have their own little areas of surprise. I have already discussed the pbmplus/netpbm libraries. There are others, such as ImageMagick, Utah Raster Toolkit, etc. which provide similar routines.
For integration of images into presentations and some buffing for publication (cropping, playing with backgrounds, etc.) I use Corel, though many also like Harvard Graphics. I just happened to have Corel at home, and never wanted to bother with the learning curve for Harvard Graphics or PowerPoint. My wife uses Harvard Graphics and I have helped her on occasion -- it is fairly intuitive.
For 3D modeling work, I have worked with AutoCAD, 3d Studio, and Lightwave 3D. Each has specific strengths and weaknesses, but I bet you aren't interested in these, so I will spare you reviews. For high-end production on UNIX boxes, there are Wavefront, Alias, SoftImage, and ElectroGig. I have worked with Wavefront and Gig, if you want reviews.
Finally, there are specific tools for such things as texture generation, 3D painting, titling, etc. For PCs, for instance, Kai's Power Tools is an excellent product. For UNIX boxes, Xaos has recently released a number of good tools.
3D visualization tools for medical images which incorporate some measurement capability include some commercial products which have been discussed ad-nauseum on the confocal list, so I won't discuss them here. There is a pseudo-commercial product out of Mayo called Analyze which is primarily a 3D visualization tool with some measurement capability. Last I heard, Rich Robb was charging about 5000 bucks for it. There is a relatively cheap tool from UPenn (Jay Udupa's lab) called 3DViewnix which runs about a thousand bucks which again is primarily a visualization tool with some measurement capability. There is a free tool out of Arie Kaufmann's lab at SUNY called VolVis which is, again, primarily a visualization tool with some measurement capability. I have heard good things about a program called Confocal Assistant, but have never seen or tried it. I believe it is freely distributable, but I am not sure.
hope this helps,
billo
All opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the US Govt, Army, Uncle Sam, yada, yada, yada.
On Thu, 11 Jan 1996 HAHNP-at-JEFLIN.TJU.EDU wrote:
} hello fellow digital microscopists. } from snow bound Philly comes a query for advice on color image processing of } images. does anyone use a package that can quantify/image process color data } instead of just greyscale? } } } please post replies directy and I will share summary with all. } } } } ._____________________ } | Peter J. Hahn } | ------------- } | Thomas Jefferson University } 3401 Spring Garden Street } Philadelphia, PA. 19104 } tel : 215-349-0099 | } fax : 610-356-3451 | } peter.hahn-at-mail.tju.edu | } -------------+-----------------+----+------+ } }
Our facility has been requested to examine a series of artificial heart valves made of high-tech graphite utilizing the SEM. We will need to initially examine the valves prior to the first test to establish a baseline of the surface. They will be returned to the testing site for further testing for wear then returned to us for re-examination. We will be unable to sputter coat the valves with any type of conducting material.
I would like any suggestions for proper examination of graphite. Since this is my first experinece with graphite, my first choice would be to examine the valves at a low Kv (5, 10, or 15) and at a long working distance of 39. My instrument is a JEOL JSM-35 SEM.
Any suggestions and/or comments may be forwarded to my direct e-mail address: aandrews-at-fdant.nctr.fda.gov Thank you.
Thanks to all who responded. _______________________________________________________________________________
Cesar, I use an aldehyde-based fixative called 'KII'. It is a dilute Karnovsky's fixative containing: 2% formaldehyde, 2.5% glutaraldehyde, 0.025% calcium chloride in 0.1 M sodium cacodylate buffer, pH 7.4.
Gary Login
In message {n1390845623.57279-at-msmail.tmc.tulane.edu} "Fermin, Cesar" writes: } I posted this some time ago and got not a single response. Someone here } approached me about a fixative called K11 that I never used. Please let me } know what you know about it or give a reference for starter. Thanks. } ****************************************************************** } *Cesar D. Fermin, Ph.D \|T|/ Fax (504) 587-7389 * } *Tulane Medical School /|M|\ Voice Mail (504) 584-2618 * } *Pathology/SL79 \|C|/ Secretary (504) 584-2436 * } *New Orleans La 70112-2699 /|*|\ Lab/Techn. (504) 584-2521 * } * {Fermin-at-tmc.tulane.edu} Prof. Pathology & Otolaryngology * } * http://www1.omi.tulane.edu/departments/pathology/fermin/cdftop.html * } ****************************************************************** }
Gary R. Login, D.M.D., D.M.Sc. Assistant Professor of Oral Pathology Beth Israel Hospital Department of Pathology 330 Brookline Avenue Boston, Massachusetts, 02215
Dear Colleagues, I recall recently people "advertizing" used optical microscopes on this list. I didn't need one at the time, so I did not save the messages, but I now find myself in need of a optical microscope. I specifically need one that has a calibrated focus knob so that I can make thickness meaurements in the 1-50 micron range by focusing on the front and back surfaces of our (transparent) samples. Please contact me if you know where I might find an inexpensive (used is fine, especially if it's inexpensive) microscope for the above task.
Has anyone run into a problem printing grayscale images on a Kodak/Codonics printer?
Ours have started looking tinged with green/yellow right out of the printer. I have read that the formulation of the ribbons may have changed and that the result is this sick green color.
I would like to avoid swapping color/grayscale ribbons if possible but my users don't like the color cast to their pictures. Any ideas for a solution?
Jonathan Krupp Microscopy and Imaging Lab University of California Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (408) 459-2477 jmkrupp-at-cats.ucsc.edu
I was leafing through Macworld the other day and realized that they had reviewed several scanners in the last 6 months. The recommendes ones were (4 or more stars out of 5):
Flatbed scanners:
HP Scanjet 3c 30 bit dynamic range, 600 dpi optical resolution, list $1179, street ~$700 208-323-2551
PixelCraft Pro Imager 8000 30 bit, 1200 dpi optical, list $13k 510-562-2480
35 mm negative scanner:
Polaroid SprintScan 35 30 bit, interpolated 2700 dpi, list $2495, street ~$1600
-Kirk _____________________________________________ Kirk Rogers krogers-at-materials.ecn.purdue.edu OR kirk.a.rogers.1-at-purdue.edu Purdue University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, 1289 MSEE building, W. Lafayette, IN 47907-1289 OFFICE: 317-494-8751 FAX: 317-494-1204 http://materials.ecn.purdue.edu/~krogers
} NIH has a package called, I think, NIH Image, but I have never used it. I } have heard good things, but I think it is specific to Macs, is for } greyscale only, and is 8-bit only.
I believe NIH Image supports 4, 8 and 16 bit TIFF (as well as PICT, pics, macpaint) images in both color and grayscale and 24 bit color images. Image will also open, edit, compare frames, average frames, etc. on captured video or quicktime movies. NIH Image now (v. 1.59) includes several built-in fast fourier transforms, although these run rather slowly on 68k Macintoshes. And heck, it's free!!
{ftp://zippy.nimh.nih.gov/pub/nih-image/}
The 8-bit part is in the way Image handles adjacent pixels. In other words, all contiguous pixels are counted during operations, not just the 4 pixels (4-bit) that share a side with the pixel in question. In doing microstructural analysis of some acicular structures we found our $50k workstation-based image analysis system was not able to analyze the microstructure as well as NIH Image because it was a 4-bit system.
For those interested in doing 2D image analysis and reconstruction, The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at UIUC, has a program called NCSA Image. I just visited their web site,
{http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/NCSAHome.html}
and found that Image is now called Collage, and is available for Macintosh and X-Windows for FREE. Collage uses a proprietary data format, HDF, but you can get Import2HDF, which will convert FITS, TIFF, GIFF, Pict, ascii and rastor files to HDF. NCSA Collage also supports real time interaction between scientists working on the same data sets at remote locations according to the readme file.
NCSA GelReader, which automates the measurement of DNA length using digitized electrophoretic gels is also available for free from NCSA, and is only available for the Macintosh.
(Insert standard disclaimer about not being intimately involved with these products here.)
-Kirk _____________________________________________ Kirk Rogers krogers-at-materials.ecn.purdue.edu OR kirk.a.rogers.1-at-purdue.edu Purdue University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, 1289 MSEE building, W. Lafayette, IN 47907-1289 OFFICE: 317-494-8751 FAX: 317-494-1204 http://materials.ecn.purdue.edu/~krogers
In response to recent discussion on this listserver regarding image analysis, I am forwarding description of newly available, FREE image analysis software, that was specifically designed to do for Windows users what NIH Image does for Mac users, and much more. I recently saw a demonstration of it and was impressed. Most impressive is that it is available absolutely FREE. It can be downloaded on the web from the Dental Diagnostic Science Dept of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (ddxds.uthscsa.edu). This program was released the same day as Windows95 & has already been distributed worldwide. (This is not a commercial message. Even the creators of the software are not benefitting financially from its distribution). Soon to be released is a portion of the program that will make possible quantitation of the gels that molecular biologists love to run. =20 } } Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 16:03:08 -0500 (CDT) } From: "S. Brent Dove" {dove-at-uthscsa.edu} } Subject: Re: Image Analysis } To: "Nancy K.R. Smith" {smithn-at-uthscsa.edu} } } Hello Nancy, } } Here is a basic description of UTHSCSA ImageTool. Feel free to distribute this to any colleagues in the microscopy world. } } UTHSCSA } IMAGETOOL } } OVERVIEW } } UTHSCSA ImageTool (IT) is a free image processing and analysis program for Microsoft Windows 95=81 or Windows NT=81. IT can acquire, display, edit, analyze, process, compress, save and print gray scale and color images. IT can read and write over 22 common file formats including BMP, PCX, TIF, GIF and JPEG. Image analysis functions include dimensional (distance, angle, perimeter, area) and gray scale measurements (point, line and area histogram with statistics). ImageTool supports standard image processing functions such as contrast manipulation, sharpening, smoothing, edge detection, median filtering and spatial convolutions with user-defined convolution masks. IT also has built-in macro capabilities that allow the user to record repetitive tasks and playback saved macros to automate image analysis. } } ImageTool was designed with an open architecture that provides extensiblity via a variety of plug-ins. Support for image acquisition using either Adobe Photoshop plug-ins or Twain scanners is built-in. Custom analysis and processing plug-ins can be developed using the software development kit (SDK) provided (with source code). This approach makes it possible to solve almost any data acquisition or analysis problem with IT. } } ImageTool provides for geometric transformations such as rotate, flip vertical, flip horizontal and magnification up to four levels. All analysis and processing functions are available at any magnification factor. The program is a multiple document interface (MDI) application supporting any number of windows (images) simultaneously. =20 } } Spatial calibration is available to indicate real world dimensional measurements such as millimeters, microns, feet, miles, etc. for linear and area. Density or gray scale calibration can be done relative to radiation or optical density (OD) standards. } } IT version 1.1 now provides for object analysis and classification with over 20 morphological descriptors such as: area/perimeter, roundness, ferret diameter, compactness, major/minor axis length, centroid and many others. Any of these factors can be used automatically categorized and count objects within the image. } } ImageTool ver 1.1 supports the Data Translation DT3155 frame grabber for Windows NT. Other frame grabber board will be added in the coming months.= =20 } } ImageTool was written using Borland's C++ version 4.5 and the source code for the executable is available free of charge. IT was developed in the Department of Dental Diagnostic Science at The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas. The program was developed by C. Donald Wilcox, S. Brent Dove, W. Doss McDavid and David B. Greer. } } } } } S. Brent Dove Voice: (210) 567-3333 } Diagnostic Sciences Fax: (210) 567-3334 } University of Texas Email: dove-at-uthscsa.edu } Health Science Center Web: ddxds.uthscsa.edu } San Antonio, TX USA ftp: maxrad6.uthscsa.edu } }
HAHNP-at-JEFLIN.TJU.EDU Once again, my opinions only:
You need to be a bit more specific. When some folk talk about "image processing," they mean the kind of things you do to get an image ready for presentation or publication -- annotation, a little contrast buffing, etc. Other folk mean playing with point spread functions and such for image regularization. Still others mean doing image manipulation for data extraction -- segmentation, object recognition, metrics of various sorts, etc. Finally, 2D and 3D products are rather different.
The type of package you might want depends upon the specific task and the platform you like. For instance, in my work with forensic image processing, I use AVS (Advanced Visualization Systems) as a programming environment, and incorporate libraries and code from a number of academic insititutions (for instance, DIAL and /usr/image from University of North Carolina and the University of Utrecht). AVS, and its big brother AVS Express, use a dataflow paradigm which takes the UNIX pipe to extremes. In this paradigm, you program little modules, say fft, and then plunk an icon for that module on the screen. You then connect other modules to it (say, a "read image" module) using little pipes. You can then build up larger applications by linking these little modules in networks. AVS comes with a set of supported modules, and there is a large set of community-donated public domain modules.
This is specific to UNIX-based systems, however. Most specific platforms have their own image processing libraries that you can buy. I know that Sun has something, SunVision, I think, and SGI also has its image processing toolbox. SGI also incorporates some image processing into its Explorer package, which uses the same kind of dataflow paradigm as AVS.
Excellent public domain Unix image processing packages which include advanced routines include Khoros from U. New Mexico, and IRAF. Khoros is both a toolbox and/or development environment which incorporates a dataflow paradigm much like AVS and Explorer. The AVS-like front end for Khoros is called Cantata. IRAF, which is the common platform for academic astronomical image processing, has some very nice tools for deconvolution and image restoration, but it is geared heavily towards astronomical models and is a true bear to install.
NIH has a package called, I think, NIH Image, but I have never used it. I have heard good things, but I think it is specific to Macs, is for greyscale only, and is 8-bit only.
For some of the cellular morphometric stuff, we tend to use PC-based software such as Optimas. There are, however, two or three other relatively good systems for doing metrics and more advanced image processing such as ImagePro and there's this French program by Noesis called, I think, Visilog. Each of these have routines for most common simple, intermediate and advanced image processing and 2D measurement tasks. I like the programming interface for Optimas. Visilog has, as far as I can see, a larger set of ready-to-use tools for mathematical morphologic manipulation, which you would expect from the French, I suppose. All of these systems allow, in one way or another, incorporation of home-brewed routines either as a link to compiled code or by using a macro language.
For annotation and aesthetic stuff, I prefer Picture Publisher by Micrografx. Many like Photoshop, and I have used it occasionally, but I still prefer Picture Publisher. Photostyler (Aldus) and Corel are also good products. I find Picture Publisher to be more intuitive and easier to use. It has a harder time successfully importing images, however. Our PCs are on a network with Unix boxes, and the images get to the PCs via nfs. My installation of Picture Publisher has problems often with reading large images over the network and with decoding large or compressed images. I often read an image from the network in using Photostyler, save it locally, and then manipulate it using Picture Publisher. I have found the Corel product a memory hog, and gets really slow with big (40 Mbyte) images.
Aside from the memory and importing hassles, the biggest differences with these artistic manipulators from that point on involve specific tools -- how you want to set brush sizes, how you want to play with overlays, how the gui is set up (whether you prefer type-in widgets, etc.). For instance, Picture Publisher has a slider transparency control on a toolbar for interactively playing with overlays, and allows you to play with overlay parameter during a paste. Other programs require multilevel menu selection to set transparency, which is not as easy. The (rather old) version of Photostyler I have used has a pretty primitive file requestor for loading images. Picture Publisher has a requestor that does thumbprints. This is a mixed blessing with a heterogeneous network -- it makes browsing easier, but the thumbprints can eat up disk space, they can "get lost" when the unix directories get mapped to DOS names, etc. Which set of widgets and approaches is most intuitive or easiest to learn is a matter of personal taste. Fractal Paint and associated tools have really nice interfaces for doing true "artistic" manipulation in the sense of having results that look like true artistic media (charcoal, oils, etc.) and "natural" textures. There is another package called {something - I forget} Matisse, which also attempts the "true" artistic approach. The {something} Matisse product, however, can get really slow with larger images. I have found it useless for work but a gas to play with.
There are a number of public domain systems which do limited image manipulation -- scaling, rotating, cropping, etc. Some of these have their own little areas of surprise. I have already discussed the pbmplus/netpbm libraries. There are others, such as ImageMagick, Utah Raster Toolkit, etc. which provide similar routines.
For integration of images into presentations and some buffing for publication (cropping, playing with backgrounds, etc.) I use Corel, though many also like Harvard Graphics. I just happened to have Corel at home, and never wanted to bother with the learning curve for Harvard Graphics or PowerPoint. My wife uses Harvard Graphics and I have helped her on occasion -- it is fairly intuitive.
For 3D modeling work, I have worked with AutoCAD, 3d Studio, and Lightwave 3D. Each has specific strengths and weaknesses, but I bet you aren't interested in these, so I will spare you reviews. For high-end production on UNIX boxes, there are Wavefront, Alias, SoftImage, and ElectroGig. I have worked with Wavefront and Gig, if you want reviews.
Finally, there are specific tools for such things as texture generation, 3D painting, titling, etc. For PCs, for instance, Kai's Power Tools is an excellent product. For UNIX boxes, Xaos has recently released a number of good tools.
3D visualization tools for medical images which incorporate some measurement capability include some commercial products which have been discussed ad-nauseum on the confocal list, so I won't discuss them here. There is a pseudo-commercial product out of Mayo called Analyze which is primarily a 3D visualization tool with some measurement capability. Last I heard, Rich Robb was charging about 5000 bucks for it. There is a relatively cheap tool from UPenn (Jay Udupa's lab) called 3DViewnix which runs about a thousand bucks which again is primarily a visualization tool with some measurement capability. There is a free tool out of Arie Kaufmann's lab at SUNY called VolVis which is, again, primarily a visualization tool with some measurement capability. I have heard good things about a program called Confocal Assistant, but have never seen or tried it. I believe it is freely distributable, but I am not sure.
hope this helps,
billo
All opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the US Govt, Army, Uncle Sam, yada, yada, yada.
On Thu, 11 Jan 1996 HAHNP-at-JEFLIN.TJU.EDU wrote:
} hello fellow digital microscopists. } from snow bound Philly comes a query for advice on color image processing of } images. does anyone use a package that can quantify/image process color data } instead of just greyscale? } } } please post replies directy and I will share summary with all. } } } } ._____________________ } | Peter J. Hahn } | ------------- } | Thomas Jefferson University } 3401 Spring Garden Street } Philadelphia, PA. 19104 } tel : 215-349-0099 | } fax : 610-356-3451 | } peter.hahn-at-mail.tju.edu | } -------------+-----------------+----+------+ } }
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**** Very Important !!!! My Telphone and Fax Numbers have been changed recently !!!
Zhen Quan Liu, Director, Ph.D Tel (86) 10 275 1427 (Office) Physics Building Tel (86) 10 275 3727 (Home) Electron Microscope Laboratory Fax (86) 10 275 1615 (Office) Peking University Beijing 100871, China E-mail(Office): zqliu-at-pku.edu.cn Email (Home) wl-at-ibmstone.pku.edu.cn
What exactly you want to know? _____________________________________________________________________________ Francisco Javier Hernandez Blazquez * Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 1524 Departamento de Histologia e Embriologia * 05508-900 Sao Paulo Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas * e-mail fjhblazq-at-spider.usp.br Universidade de Sao Paulo * fjhblasq-at-biomed.icb2.usp.br ______________________________________________________________________________
I am looking for references which contain detailed information about how the magnification changes with working distance, spot size and voltage. On our Cambridge Stereoscan II, I have noticed a "curious" behaviour, that is, for a given set of microscope conditions, if we plot the real magnification as a function of nominal magnification, we get maxima and minima which seem reproducible. The range of magnification investigated is 100x to 10000x, no sample tilt, secondary electrons signal, linear micrometer with 10 micron spacings.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Antoine Ghanem e-mail address : ghanem-solvay-at-e-mail.com
Extra X400 information begins: Originator Name: Antoine (AGM) GHANEM Org Units: AC : NOH : LC-AN001 Organisation: NOHX400DEC Domain: BE/RTT/SOLVAY Node.Userid: IBMX400.184470
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I am looking for a small format (3-4" x 4-5" images, i.e. Polaroid size) grey scale printer, that is NOT restricted to screen dumps or Video dumps, but will function like a 'normal' printer output device. It can be parallel port, serial port or SCSI.
Richard E. Edelmann Electron Microscopy Facility Supervisor 352 Pearson Hall Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056 Ph: 513-529-5712 Fax: 513-529-4243 E-mail: edelmare-at-muohio.edu
Message-Id: {199601121214.HAA16084-at-cpcug.org} X-Sender: jlibert-at-cpcug.org X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Version 1.4.3 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" William R Oliver {oliver-at-ipas4.afip.mil}
At 10:40 PM 1/11/96 -0500, Kirk Rogers wrote: } } NIH has a package called, I think, NIH Image, but I have never used it. I } } have heard good things, but I think it is specific to Macs, is for } } greyscale only, and is 8-bit only. } } I believe NIH Image supports 4, 8 and 16 bit TIFF (as well as PICT, pics, } macpaint) images in both color and grayscale and 24 bit color images. } Image will also open, edit, compare frames, average frames, etc. on } captured video or quicktime movies. NIH Image now (v. 1.59) includes } several built-in fast fourier transforms, although these run rather slowly } on 68k Macintoshes. And heck, it's free!! } } {ftp://zippy.nimh.nih.gov/pub/nih-image/} ----------------------------------------------------- Response: ** Actually, I believe that NIH Image currently cannot process color images and cannot acquire color images except as single 8-bit channels. Possible that someone has written some color extensions, but I am not aware of it. Check before buying a new computer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ } The 8-bit part is in the way Image handles adjacent pixels. In other } words, all contiguous pixels are counted during operations, not just the 4 } pixels (4-bit) that share a side with the pixel in question. In doing } microstructural analysis of some acicular structures we found our $50k } workstation-based image analysis system was not able to analyze the } microstructure as well as NIH Image because it was a 4-bit system. ----------------------------------------------------------------} Response: **This is not correct. The 4, 8, 24 bit designation describes the number of bits the program uses to represent the intensity value of each pixel, and has nothing to do with how the pixel neighborhoods are processed. The number of bits used to represent a numerical value in the computer is important to how well the system can represent the image information and derived information. The number of bits determine the range of values possible and specifies the power of 2 topping the range. For example, with 4 bits one can only represent 2^4 or 16 different values. With 8 bits the system can represent 2^8 or 256 values. Generally, color images are represented as three channels, each using 8-bits to quantize each pixel. Your old workstation may have also had algorithm deficiencies in doing neighborhood operations on images -- probably to save computation cost, but the main problem may have been in allowing only 4 bits to represent the entire dynamic range of your data.
** A second, but related, problem would arise if the system limits the bits assigned to represent derived images. The best systems will use floating point, or at least long integer, to represent intermediate values before the derived image. If you wanted to average images or do some transformation, you could run into serious problems if the values could be stored using 4 or even 8 bits. Once truncated, the image information is lost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ } For those interested in doing 2D image analysis and reconstruction, The } National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at UIUC, has a } program called NCSA Image. I just visited their web site, } } {http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/NCSAHome.html} } } and found that Image is now called Collage, and is available for Macintosh } and X-Windows for FREE. Collage uses a proprietary data format, HDF, but } you can get Import2HDF, which will convert FITS, TIFF, GIFF, Pict, ascii } and rastor files to HDF. NCSA Collage also supports real time interaction } between scientists working on the same data sets at remote locations } according to the readme file. } } NCSA GelReader, which automates the measurement of DNA length using } digitized electrophoretic gels is also available for free from NCSA, and is } only available for the Macintosh. } } (Insert standard disclaimer about not being intimately involved with these } products here.) } } } -Kirk } _____________________________________________ } Kirk Rogers krogers-at-materials.ecn.purdue.edu } OR } kirk.a.rogers.1-at-purdue.edu } Purdue University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, } 1289 MSEE building, W. Lafayette, IN 47907-1289 } OFFICE: 317-494-8751 FAX: 317-494-1204 } http://materials.ecn.purdue.edu/~krogers } } } }
Hi, We are looking to purchase a used scanning microscope such as an AMR100 on which we can install a cold stage. We must take delivery and pay for the microscope by the end of March 1996. If anyone can tell us who could supply us with such a microscope this quickly please reply to me directly. We are located in Ottawa Canada. Thank you. Gisele Larocque larocqueg-at-em.agr.ca
} I specifically need one } that has a calibrated focus knob so that I can make thickness meaurements in } the 1-50 micron range by focusing on the front and back surfaces of our } (transparent) samples.
Dear Joyce, There are also thickness gauges which can do the job, if the samples are flat and the thickness uniform (some can also measure samples of non- uniform thickness). These may or may not be more expensive than used micro- scopes. Yours, Bill Tivol
Greg -- I have been using a PC based image analysis package from Imaging Research Inc.(no relation)to do morphometry and automated gold particle counting on digitized EM negs for a couple of years. The use of digital image analysis (IA) vs. point counting is highly dependant on your images and what information you want to extract from them. If the structures of interest can be easily segmented from the rest of the image, then IA is the way to go. But if the measurement involves structures which need a human eye and brain (still the best image analysis system avaliable) to pick them out then point counting may be a much more efficient method. An example of the latter would be measuring lengths of plasma membrane sub-domains or the limiting membrane of non-descript organelles. While you can trace the membranes using the cursor of an IA system and get good data, its VERY tedious. You can do alot more sampling with point counting techniques. If the specimen was immuno-gold labeled, then IA would work well to count the gold particles along those membranes since the computer can recognize the particles quite well because they are very dense and have a very circular profile. But I would still count them manually if there weren't too many. There are IA systems out there that allow you to use point counting methods on digital images. Imaging Reserch has an add-on to their systems that does stereology, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I suspect that the ability to segment out the structures of interest will still be crucial, at least for automated measurements. But as long as you can manually define "hits" of the sampling grid on the specimen these systems may be pretty useful. Sorry for being long-winded, I'm alone in a snow-bound lab.
Greg Martin Dept. Cell Biology and Anatomy Johns Hopkins School of Medicine gmartin-at-welchlink.welch.jhu.edu On Tue, 9 Jan 1996 Gargent-at-aol.com wrote:
} Are there any EM people heavy into Image processing and analysis. Currently } I am using a Kontron IBAS (version 2.0) and a KS400 Image analysis system. } Soon we will be incorporating a Telepathology system for communications } between the US, Switzerland, and Japan. Current Image imput for our routine } analysis come from EM micrographs, stored images, Kodak digital camera, from } the light microscope, and any source that allows us to capture, store, and } process images. We have several video camera, including a Sony 960 color } camera, B&W camera. We currently use PAL and NTSC formats. } } I would be interested in knowing how people use computerized Image Analysis } for Stereology and Morphometry. Would be interested in knowing how to get } around point counting techniques with Electron Micrographs. } } I would be willing to share IBAS macros with interested parties. } Gregory Argentieri } Sandoz Electron Microscopy lab } East Hanover, NJ 07936 } 201-503-8617 } Greg2NJ-at-AOL.COM } } } } Would welcome interested parties to exchange macros, ideas, image processing } tips etc. }
Greg -- I have been using a PC based image analysis package from Imaging Research Inc.(no relation)to do morphometry and automated gold particle counting on digitized EM negs for a couple of years. The use of digital image analysis (IA) vs. point counting is highly dependant on your images and what information you want to extract from them. If the structures of interest can be easily segmented from the rest of the image, then IA is the way to go. But if the measurement involves structures which need a human eye and brain (still the best image analysis system avaliable) to pick them out then point counting may be a much more efficient method. An example of the latter would be measuring lengths of plasma membrane sub-domains or the limiting membrane of non-descript organelles. While you can trace the membranes using the cursor of an IA system and get good data, its VERY tedious. You can do alot more sampling with point counting techniques. If the specimen was immuno-gold labeled, then IA would work well to count the gold particles along those membranes since the computer can recognize the particles quite well because they are very dense and have a very circular profile. But I would still count them manually if there weren't too many. There are IA systems out there that allow you to use point counting methods on digital images. Imaging Reserch has an add-on to their systems that does stereology, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I suspect that the ability to segment out the structures of interest will still be crucial, at least for automated measurements. But as long as you can manually define "hits" of the sampling grid on the specimen these systems may be pretty useful. Sorry for being long-winded, I'm alone in a snow-bound lab.
Greg Martin Dept. Cell Biology and Anatomy Johns Hopkins School of Medicine gmartin-at-welchlink.welch.jhu.edu On Tue, 9 Jan 1996 Gargent-at-aol.com wrote:
} Are there any EM people heavy into Image processing and analysis. Currently } I am using a Kontron IBAS (version 2.0) and a KS400 Image analysis system. } Soon we will be incorporating a Telepathology system for communications } between the US, Switzerland, and Japan. Current Image imput for our routine } analysis come from EM micrographs, stored images, Kodak digital camera, from } the light microscope, and any source that allows us to capture, store, and } process images. We have several video camera, including a Sony 960 color } camera, B&W camera. We currently use PAL and NTSC formats. } } I would be interested in knowing how people use computerized Image Analysis } for Stereology and Morphometry. Would be interested in knowing how to get } around point counting techniques with Electron Micrographs. } } I would be willing to share IBAS macros with interested parties. } Gregory Argentieri } Sandoz Electron Microscopy lab } East Hanover, NJ 07936 } 201-503-8617 } Greg2NJ-at-AOL.COM } } } } Would welcome interested parties to exchange macros, ideas, image processing } tips etc. }
Gooday all! I am seeking some help with locating a source of 'low viscosity nitrocellulose (LVN)'. I have used it some years ago to embed large specimens (approx. 10cm x 12cm x 10cm) for histology. LVN was obtainable from BDH but apparently they stopped selling it in 1991. I wish to find an alternative source of LVN or a suitable alternative embedding material. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Brett Cockman Brett W. Cockman Technologist in Charge School of Dentistry University of Western Australia 179 Wellington st., Perth, W.A. 6000 Voice: (619-2205834) Fax: (619-2213829) e-mail; bcockman-at-uniwa.uwa.edu.au
Lonely electrons: I think it was John Armstrong of Caltech who once pointed out to me that the number of microscope beam electrons in your TEM specimen at any one time is so small that the odds of such electrons interfering with each other to form diffraction patterns is quite small. Under some illumination conditions there may be no more than 1 beam electron in the column at a time! Hence diffraction patterns in the TEM are basically formed by individual electrons interfering with themselves! As you know, such interference will occur only if we don't take steps to determine the path of individual electrons through the specimen! If we look too closely at these paths, the diffraction patterns would disappear (cf. a Sci. Amer. ariticle in the past year or so on quantum erasure).
Fat electrons: The transverse coherence widths of electrons which make possible electron phase contrast (HREM) lattice imaging and probably electron holography might also be seen as lateral broadening of individual electron wave-packets via the uncertainty principle, which results because we know too much about their transverse momentum! My intuition tells we that we're talking about lateral wave-function spreads of say 15 Angstroms in a LAB6 HREM to more than 100 Angstroms in field emission gun system. Are these numbers reasonable? By increasing the spread of electron angles in the incident beam, this transverse coherence width can presumably be decreased (e.g. you want it small for Z-contrast imaging, I think), or varied as in the variable coherence-width strategies of Murray Gibson at U. of I.
Long electrons: The tight tolerences on high voltage stability and the emitted spread in electron energies means that our uncertainty in the longitudinal momentum of TEM electrons is quite small, and hence again by the uncertainty principle that the wave-packet spread in the direction of motion for TEM electrons can be quite large. Distances of say 1000 Angstroms come to mind! The associated tight distribution of incident electron energies decreases chromatic and instability damping of fine details in CTEM and HREM images, so that for most applications you may want your electrons "as long as possible". An exception might be in variable-coherence strategies (mentioned above), where shorter electrons might provide sensitivity to shorter-range vertical correlations.
Fast electrons: a back of the envelope calculation for 300 keV electrons gives gamma = (300+511)/511 = 1.587, so that they travel at w = c Sqr[1-(1/gamma)^2] = 0.777 c or [lightyears per inertial year] of elapsed time. However, if we consider traveler (i.e. electron or proper) time for such a speeding electron, this would give that they travel u = gamma*w = 1.232 [lightyears per traveler year] of elapsed time! With this spatial 4-vector velocity well over c, we're dealing with relativity in action! I wonder how many g's of acceleration they experience in the electron gun in order to get up to speed? For more on this subject, you might want to check our browser-interactive relativistic Accel-One problem solver at {http://newton.umsl.edu/~run/index.html} , and the theory pages attached.
The foregoing thoughts on lonely, fat, long and fast electrons are not really things I've had time to think much about, but they are interesting, and hence I would enjoy other perspectives on them, as well as suggestions for other "remarkable TEM facts" to add to the list!
Cheers. /philf :)
//\/\/\/\---} // Phil Fraundorf Physics & Astronomy/CME 314+5165044 philf-at-newton.umsl.edu \\ B503 U.Missouri-SL St.Louis MO 63121 USA http://newton.umsl.edu/~philf \\/\/\/\/\/\/\/---}
Greg -- I have been using a PC based image analysis package from Imaging Research Inc.(no relation)to do morphometry and automated gold particle counting on digitized EM negs for a couple of years. The use of digital image analysis (IA) vs. point counting is highly dependant on your images and what information you want to extract from them. If the structures of interest can be easily segmented from the rest of the image, then IA is the way to go. But if the measurement involves structures which need a human eye and brain (still the best image analysis system avaliable) to pick them out then point counting may be a much more efficient method. An example of the latter would be measuring lengths of plasma membrane sub-domains or the limiting membrane of non-descript organelles. While you can trace the membranes using the cursor of an IA system and get good data, its VERY tedious. You can do alot more sampling with point counting techniques. If the specimen was immuno-gold labeled, then IA would work well to count the gold particles along those membranes since the computer can recognize the particles quite well because they are very dense and have a very circular profile. But I would still count them manually if there weren't too many. There are IA systems out there that allow you to use point counting methods on digital images. Imaging Reserch has an add-on to their systems that does stereology, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I suspect that the ability to segment out the structures of interest will still be crucial, at least for automated measurements. But as long as you can manually define "hits" of the sampling grid on the specimen these systems may be pretty useful. Sorry for being long-winded, I'm alone in a snow-bound lab.
Greg Martin Dept. Cell Biology and Anatomy Johns Hopkins School of Medicine gmartin-at-welchlink.welch.jhu.edu On Tue, 9 Jan 1996 Gargent-at-aol.com wrote:
} Are there any EM people heavy into Image processing and analysis. Currently } I am using a Kontron IBAS (version 2.0) and a KS400 Image analysis system. } Soon we will be incorporating a Telepathology system for communications } between the US, Switzerland, and Japan. Current Image imput for our routine } analysis come from EM micrographs, stored images, Kodak digital camera, from } the light microscope, and any source that allows us to capture, store, and } process images. We have several video camera, including a Sony 960 color } camera, B&W camera. We currently use PAL and NTSC formats. } } I would be interested in knowing how people use computerized Image Analysis } for Stereology and Morphometry. Would be interested in knowing how to get } around point counting techniques with Electron Micrographs. } } I would be willing to share IBAS macros with interested parties. } Gregory Argentieri } Sandoz Electron Microscopy lab } East Hanover, NJ 07936 } 201-503-8617 } Greg2NJ-at-AOL.COM } } } } Would welcome interested parties to exchange macros, ideas, image processing } tips etc. }
Received: from pkuns.PKU.EDU.CN by pccms.pku.edu.cn with SMTP id AA10706 (5.67b8/IDA-1.5 for zqliu); Sat, 13 Jan 1996 09:43:01 +0800 Received: from elaine12.Stanford.EDU by pkuns.PKU.EDU.CN with SMTP id AA11721 (5.67b8/IDA-1.5 for zqliu-at-pccms.pku.edu.cn); Sat, 13 Jan 1996 09:54:27 +0800 Received: (from wendyliu-at-localhost) by elaine12.Stanford.EDU (8.7.3/8.7.3) id SAA05523; Fri, 12 Jan 1996 18:12:05 -0800 (PST)
**** Very Important !!!! My Telphone and Fax Numbers have been changed recently !!!
Zhen Quan Liu, Director, Ph.D Tel (86) 10 275 1427 (Office) Physics Building Tel (86) 10 275 3727 (Home) Electron Microscope Laboratory Fax (86) 10 275 1615 (Office) Peking University Beijing 100871, China E-mail(Office): zqliu-at-pku.edu.cn Email (Home) wl-at-ibmstone.pku.edu.cn
If you haven't received many replies to your magnification problem, it may be because there are many sources of possible error in SEM magnification. What the mag circuit does is define the current through the scan coils and these establish a maximum scan ANGLE that raster will have as it leaves the final lens. How big an AREA this raster will cover on the specimen depends on how far the specimen is below the lens (the working distance, WD) and the square-root of the energy of the electrons in the beam.
Old SEMs where designed to only work at one working distance to eliminate the WD variable. Later it was found that one could get a measure of the WD (at a given beam energy and assuming no hysteresis in the magnetic circuit of the objective lens) by measuring the current in the final lens and later instruments used this information internally to compensate the scan current. Likewise the scan-currents were normalized to provide the same scan angles first at a few, and then later at a large variety of beam voltages.
To make all of this compensation work, there are a number of potentiometers in the scanning amplifier to allow the magnification to be adjusted in x and y under a number of standard conditions (certain Mags, WDs and kVs). It would seem at first glance that these pots may not be prperly adjusted on your instrument.
Normally SEMs are adjusted so that the magnification refers to the ratio of the length of a feature on a photograph (usually a Polaroid) produced by the microscopy divided by the length of the same feature in real life on the specimen. You have added the additional complication of a video printer. These can be useful but often only operate at video-scan-rate where SEM image distortion is high and where the printer makes specific assumptions aboutthe dimensions of the TV raster (number of lines, ration of H to V) that the SEM Manufacturer does not fulfill (and this is particularly true if you use a mixture of PAL (625 line) and NTSC (525 lines) equipment). You may also be using a computer-based image capture system that has a video-rate display which you print with your printer. On the assumption that this image-capture system is active (generates the scanning signals) rather than passive (listens to the scan signals generated by the microscope electronics) it seems likely that the misadjustments are in the scan-generation software of your image capture system rather than in the potentiometers noted above.
A lot of this information can be found a good basic SEM text.
Good LUck,
Jim Pawley
**************************************** Prof. James B. Pawley, Ph. 608-263-3147 Room 1235, Engineering Research Building, FAX 608-265-5315 1500 Johnson Dr., Madison, WI, 53706 JBPAWLEY-at-FACSTAFF.WISC.EDU
I realized that my first message about maxima and minima in SEM magnification might have been misleading, so I would like to provide some details. What we plot is the ratio of measured and nominal magnifications as a function of nominal magnification. The measured values come from black and white videoprints (Sony UP-850). The ratio ranges betwwen 0.75 and 0.94, depending on the microscope setting. The average and standard deviation of 73 ratios are 0.83 and 0.05, respectively. The curves exhibit the following behaviour : increase to a maximum about 200x, followed by a decrease to a mimium about 1000x, then an increase to about 3000x followed by a decrease down to 10000x. Please note that the resolution of the curve is rather low (8 data points in total), and it's not always easy to measure the magnification below 200x with a 10 micron spacing micrometer (which means the maximum at 200x is only observed when there are data points below 200x).
I hope this rings a bell to somebody...
Regards,
Antoine Ghanem ghanem-solvay-at-e-mail.com
Extra X400 information begins: Originator Name: Antoine (AGM) GHANEM Org Units: AC : NOH : LC-AN001 Organisation: NOHX400DEC Domain: BE/RTT/SOLVAY Node.Userid: IBMX400.184470
Message Id: 65239051106991/91343 MHS Importance: Normal Sent by Name: Antoine (AGM) GHANEM Org Units: AC : NOH : LC-AN001 Organisation: NOHX400DEC Domain: BE/RTT/SOLVAY Node.Userid: IBMX400.184470 Free Fmt Name: Antoine GHANEM Phone Number: 3422 Subject: SEM magnigication Recipients Name: INTERNET INTERNET Domain: GB/IBMX400/IBMMAIL Node.Userid: IBMMAIL.INTERNET Free Fmt Name: INTERNET INTERNET
I realized that my first message about maxima and minima in SEM magnification might have been misleading, so I would like to provide some details. What we plot is the ratio of measured and nominal magnifications as a function of nominal magnification. The measured values come from black and white videoprints (Sony UP-850). The ratio ranges betwwen 0.75 and 0.94, depending on the microscope setting. The average and standard deviation of 73 ratios are 0.83 and 0.05, respectively. The curves exhibit the following behaviour : increase to a maximum about 200x, followed by a decrease to a mimium about 1000x, then an increase to about 3000x followed by a decrease down to 10000x. Please note that the resolution of the curve is rather low (8 data points in total), and it's not always easy to measure the magnification below 200x with a 10 micron spacing micrometer (which means the maximum at 200x is only observed when there are data points below 200x).
I hope this rings a bell to somebody...
Regards,
Antoine Ghanem ghanem-solvay-at-e-mail.com
Extra X400 information begins: Originator Name: Antoine (AGM) GHANEM Org Units: AC : NOH : LC-AN001 Organisation: NOHX400DEC Domain: BE/RTT/SOLVAY Node.Userid: IBMX400.184470
Message Id: 50704151106991/92175 MHS Importance: Normal Sent by Name: Antoine (AGM) GHANEM Org Units: AC : NOH : LC-AN001 Organisation: NOHX400DEC Domain: BE/RTT/SOLVAY Node.Userid: IBMX400.184470 Free Fmt Name: Antoine GHANEM Phone Number: 3422 Subject: SEM magnification Recipients Name: INTERNET INTERNET Domain: GB/IBMX400/IBMMAIL Node.Userid: IBMMAIL.INTERNET Free Fmt Name: INTERNET INTERNET
Nancy - There is an error in the Web address listed - it should be ddsdx.uthscsa.edu, not ddxds.uthscsa.edu. It took me almost an hour to find it, then I realized what was wrong. Hope everyone else finds it ok -
BTW - I have tried to subsribe to the ,mail list for IT as listed on the Web page, but I keep getting error messages back - Any ideas?
Greg -- I have been using a PC based image analysis package from Imaging Research Inc.(no relation)to do morphometry and automated gold particle counting on digitized EM negs for a couple of years. The use of digital image analysis (IA) vs. point counting is highly dependant on your images and what information you want to extract from them. If the structures of interest can be easily segmented from the rest of the image, then IA is the way to go. But if the measurement involves structures which need a human eye and brain (still the best image analysis system avaliable) to pick them out then point counting may be a much more efficient method. An example of the latter would be measuring lengths of plasma membrane sub-domains or the limiting membrane of non-descript organelles. While you can trace the membranes using the cursor of an IA system and get good data, its VERY tedious. You can do alot more sampling with point counting techniques. If the specimen was immuno-gold labeled, then IA would work well to count the gold particles along those membranes since the computer can recognize the particles quite well because they are very dense and have a very circular profile. But I would still count them manually if there weren't too many. There are IA systems out there that allow you to use point counting methods on digital images. Imaging Reserch has an add-on to their systems that does stereology, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I suspect that the ability to segment out the structures of interest will still be crucial, at least for automated measurements. But as long as you can manually define "hits" of the sampling grid on the specimen these systems may be pretty useful. Sorry for being long-winded, I'm alone in a snow-bound lab.
Greg Martin Dept. Cell Biology and Anatomy Johns Hopkins School of Medicine gmartin-at-welchlink.welch.jhu.edu On Tue, 9 Jan 1996 Gargent-at-aol.com wrote:
} Are there any EM people heavy into Image processing and analysis. Currently } I am using a Kontron IBAS (version 2.0) and a KS400 Image analysis system. } Soon we will be incorporating a Telepathology system for communications } between the US, Switzerland, and Japan. Current Image imput for our routine } analysis come from EM micrographs, stored images, Kodak digital camera, from } the light microscope, and any source that allows us to capture, store, and } process images. We have several video camera, including a Sony 960 color } camera, B&W camera. We currently use PAL and NTSC formats. } } I would be interested in knowing how people use computerized Image Analysis } for Stereology and Morphometry. Would be interested in knowing how to get } around point counting techniques with Electron Micrographs. } } I would be willing to share IBAS macros with interested parties. } Gregory Argentieri } Sandoz Electron Microscopy lab } East Hanover, NJ 07936 } 201-503-8617 } Greg2NJ-at-AOL.COM } } } } Would welcome interested parties to exchange macros, ideas, image processing } tips etc. }
Received: from pkuns.PKU.EDU.CN by pccms.pku.edu.cn with SMTP id AA10706 (5.67b8/IDA-1.5 for zqliu); Sat, 13 Jan 1996 09:43:01 +0800 Received: from elaine12.Stanford.EDU by pkuns.PKU.EDU.CN with SMTP id AA11721 (5.67b8/IDA-1.5 for zqliu-at-pccms.pku.edu.cn); Sat, 13 Jan 1996 09:54:27 +0800 Received: (from wendyliu-at-localhost) by elaine12.Stanford.EDU (8.7.3/8.7.3) id SAA05523; Fri, 12 Jan 1996 18:12:05 -0800 (PST)
**** Very Important !!!! My Telphone and Fax Numbers have been changed recently !!!
Zhen Quan Liu, Director, Ph.D Tel (86) 10 275 1427 (Office) Physics Building Tel (86) 10 275 3727 (Home) Electron Microscope Laboratory Fax (86) 10 275 1615 (Office) Peking University Beijing 100871, China E-mail(Office): zqliu-at-pku.edu.cn Email (Home) wl-at-ibmstone.pku.edu.cn
Microscopy & Microanalysis '96, the joint 54th Annual Meeting of the Microscopy Society of America, 30th of the Microbeam Analysis Society and the 23rd of the Microscopical Society of Canada / Societe de Microscopie du Canada, will be held August 11-15, 1996, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The deadline for receipt of papers (extended abstracts) is March 15, 1996. The Registration Bulletin / Call for Papers will be mailed automatically to members of the three Societies by the end of January.
For information contact:
Microscopy & Microanalysis '96 4 Barlows Landing Rd., Suite 8 Pocasset, MA 02644
I posed the following questions to the nih-image mailing list to clear up some of the current discussion. More info on the mailing list can be found at the bottom of the page. The response is from wayne Rasband, the author of NIH Image.
} Date: Fri, 12 Jan 1996 13:03:30 -0600 (CST) } Reply-To: nih-image-at-Soils.Umn.EDU } Originator: nih-image-at-soils.umn.edu } Sender: nih-image-at-Soils.Umn.EDU } Precedence: bulk } From: wayne-at-helix.nih.gov (Wayne Rasband) } To: Multiple recipients of list {nih-image-at-Soils.Umn.EDU} } Subject: Re: Import/processing questions } X-Comment: NIH Image Distribution List } Mime-Version: 1.0 } Status: O } } } Hey- } } } } On the microscopy list server (Microscopy-at-MSA.Microscopy.Com) we are } } currently having a discussion about Image's capabilities. They are as } } follows. } } } } 1. NIH Image supports 4, 8 and 16 bit TIFF (as well as PICT, pics, } } macpaint) images in both color and grayscale and 24 bit color images. Is } } that right? } } NIH Image can read 4, 8 and 16 bit grayscale TIFF files as well as 24 bit } color TIFF files. It can't read compressed TIFF fles. } } } has any one written macros for importing 30 bit (or more) color } } (or Greyscale) TIFF images? } } Not that I know of. Do such TIFF files exist? } } } I looked in the macros file on zippy, but none } } of them seem to do just this? } } } 2. Image processes 8 pixel neighborhoods surrounding the central pixel. } } The built-in filters process 3x3 (8 pixel) neighborhoods. The Convolve } command supports user defined kernels up to 63x63 (3968 pixel } neighborhoods). } } } } } 3. Image uses either 8 or 16 bit integers, depending on the input image, } } when doing image math, yes or no? } } The Image Math command uses real operations but scales the result to } 8-bits. V1.59 adds the ability to process 32-bit real images. } } } 4. UTHSCSA ImageTool for Windows sounds very much like Image, does it use } } NIH Image source code? } } I doubt it uses any nih-image source code since it's written in C++ } (nih-image is written in Pascal) and it doesn't look much like nih-image. } It does, however, appear to be in the spirit of nih-image. There is a link } to the Image Tool home page on the nih-image home page } (http://rsb.info.nih.gov/nih-image/). } } --wayne
Join the NIH-Image mailing list. by sending a message to listproc-at-soils.umn.edu with subscribe nih-image {first name} {last name} in the message body.
archived email (since 09/93) is available at the following:
Browse messages by date: {ftp://ftp.soils.umn.edu:pub/info/email-lists/nih-image/} {gopher://gopher.soils.umn.edu:10082/11/email-lists/nih-image}
-Kirk _____________________________________________ Kirk Rogers krogers-at-materials.ecn.purdue.edu OR kirk.a.rogers.1-at-purdue.edu Purdue University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, 1289 MSEE building, W. Lafayette, IN 47907-1289 OFFICE: 317-494-8751 FAX: 317-494-1204 http://materials.ecn.purdue.edu/~krogers
Hopefully the attached message from Brent Dove will clarify instructions for downloading Image Tool (IT), free image analysis software for Windows 95 and Windows NT....nkrs
} Return-path: {DOVE-at-uthscsa.edu} } Date: Fri, 12 Jan 1996 11:03:30 -0500 (CDT) } Date-warning: Date header was inserted by uthscsa.edu } From: "S. Brent Dove" {dove-at-uthscsa.edu} } Subject: IMAGETOOL } To: Nancy Smith {smithn-at-uthscsa.edu} } } Hello Nancy, } } I am being inundated with email. Please update your listserver with the following information. About how to get UTHSCSA ImageTool IT is available via anonymous ftp at=20 } } ftp://maxrad6.uthscsa.edu } } Please do not send email to dove-at-uthscsa.edu } } I have enclosed the original write up including the ftp address at the bottom. Sorry that was my fault for not including the ftp address. Thank you for getting the information to other microscopist. } } UTHSCSA } IMAGETOOL } } OVERVIEW } } UTHSCSA ImageTool (IT) is a free image processing and analysis program for Microsoft Windows 95=81 or Windows NT=81. IT can acquire, display, edit, analyze, process, compress, save and print gray scale and color images. IT can read and write over 22 common file formats including BMP, PCX, TIF, GIF and JPEG. Image analysis functions include dimensional (distance, angle, perimeter, area) and gray scale measurements (point, line and area histogram with statistics). ImageTool supports standard image processing functions such as contrast manipulation, sharpening, smoothing, edge detection, median filtering and spatial convolutions with user-defined convolution masks. IT also has built-in macro capabilities that allow the user to record repetitive tasks and playback saved macros to automate image analysis. } } ImageTool was designed with an open architecture that provides extensiblity via a variety of plug-ins. Support for image acquisition using either Adobe Photoshop plug-ins or Twain scanners is built-in. Custom analysis and processing plug-ins can be developed using the software development kit (SDK) provided (with source code). This approach makes it possible to solve almost any data acquisition or analysis problem with IT. } } ImageTool provides for geometric transformations such as rotate, flip vertical, flip horizontal and magnification up to four levels. All analysis and processing functions are available at any magnification factor. The program is a multiple document interface (MDI) application supporting any number of windows (images) simultaneously. =20 } } Spatial calibration is available to indicate real world dimensional measurements such as millimeters, microns, feet, miles, etc. for linear and area. Density or gray scale calibration can be done relative to radiation or optical density (OD) standards. } } IT version 1.1 now provides for object analysis and classification with over 20 morphological descriptors such as: area/perimeter, roundness, ferret diameter, compactness, major/minor axis length, centroid and many others. Any of these factors can be used automatically categorized and count objects within the image. } } ImageTool ver 1.1 supports the Data Translation DT3155 frame grabber for Windows NT. Other frame grabber board will be added in the coming months.= =20 } } ImageTool was written using Borland's C++ version 4.5 and the source code for the executable is available free of charge. IT was developed in the Department of Dental Diagnostic Science at The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas. The program was developed by C. Donald Wilcox, S. Brent Dove, W. Doss McDavid and David B. Greer. } } UTHSCSA ImageTool is availabel via anonymous ftp at= ftp://maxrad6.uthscsa.edu } } S. Brent Dove Voice: (210) 567-3333 } Diagnostic Sciences Fax: (210) 567-3334 } University of Texas Email: dove-at-uthscsa.edu } Health Science Center Web: ddxds.uthscsa.edu } San Antonio, TX USA ftp: maxrad6.uthscsa.edu } }
Message-Id: {199601160327.UAA00999-at-ns1.indirect.com} Comments: Authenticated sender is {earosen-at-indirect.com}
Hi! Our graduate assistant had this floating around the school, not sure where he found it. I thought you might appreciate this considering you're working on your thesis.
150 THINGS (NOT) TO DO OR SAY AT OR FOR YOUR THESIS DEFENSE } 1) "Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for the singing of our National Anthem..." 2) Charge 25 cents a cup for coffee. 3) "Charge the mound" when a professor beans you with a high fast question. 4) Describe parts of your thesis using interpretive dance. 5) "Musical accompaniment provided by..." 6) Stage your own death/suicide. 7) Lead the specators in a Wave. 8) Have a sing-a-long. 9) "You call THAT a question? How the hell did they make you a professor?" 10) "Ladies and Gentlemen, as I dim the lights, please hold hands and concentrate so that we may channel the spirit of Lord Kelvin..." 11) Have bodyguards outside the room to "discourage" certain professors from sitting in. 12) Puppet show. 13) Group prayer. 14) Animal sacrifice to the god of the Underworld. 15) Sell T-shirts to recoup the cost of copying, binding, etc. 16) "I'm sorry, I can't hear you - there's a banana in my ear!" 17) Imitate Groucho Marx. 18) Mime. 19) Hold a Tupperware party. 20) Have a bikini-clad model be in charge of changing the overheads. 21) "Everybody rhumba!!" 22) "And it would have worked if it weren't for those meddling kids..." 23) Charge a cover and check for ID. 24) "In protest of our government's systematic and brutal opression of minorities..." 25) "Anybody else as drunk as I am?" 26) Smoke machines, dramatic lighting, pyrotechnics... 27) Use a Super Soaker to point at people. 28) Surreptitioulsy fill the room with laughing gas. 29) Door prizes and a raffle. 30) "Please phrase your question in the form of an answer..." 31) "And now, a word from our sponsor..." 32) Present your entire talk in iambic pentameter. 33) Whine piteously, beg, cry... 34) Switch halfway through your talk to Pig Latin. Or Finnish Pig Latin. 35) The Emperor's New Slides ("only fools can't see the writing...") 36) Table dance (you or an exotic dancer). 37) Fashion show. 38) "Yo, a smooth shout out to my homies..." 39) "I'd like to thank the Academy..." 40) Minstrel show (blackface, etc.). 41) Previews, cartoons, and the Jimmy Fund. 42) Pass the collection basket. 43) Two-drink minimum. 44) Black tie only. 45) "Which reminds me of a story - A Black guy, a Chinese guy, and a Jew walked into a bar..." 46) Incite a revolt. 47) Hire the Goodyear Blimp to circle the building. 48) Release a flock of doves. 49) Defense by proxy. 50) "And now a reading from the Book of Mormon..." 51) Leave Jehovah's Witness pamphlets scattered about. 52) "There will be a short quiz after my presentation..." 53) "Professor Walcerz, will you marry me?" 54) Bring your pet boa. 55) Tell ghost stories. 56) Do a "show and tell". 57) Food fight. 58) Challenge a professor to a duel. Slapping him with a glove is optional. 59) Halftime show. 60) "Duck, duck, duck, duck... GOOSE!" 61) "OK - which one of you farted?" 62) Rimshot. 63) Sell those big foam "We're number #1" (sic) hands. 64) Pass out souvenir matchbooks. 65) 3-ring defense. 66) "Tag - you're it!" 67) Circulate a vicious rumor that the Dead will be opening, making sure that it gets on the radio stations, and escape during all the commotion. 68) Post signs: "Due to a computer error at the Registrar's Office, the original room is not available, and the defense has been relocated to (Made-up non-existent room number)" 69) Hang a pinata over the table and have a strolling mariachi band. 70) Make each professor remove an item of clothing for each question he asks. 71) Rent a billboard on the highway proclaiming "Thanks for passing me Professors X,Y, and Z" - BEFORE your defense happens. 72) Have a make-your-own-sundae table during the defense. 73) Make committee members wear silly hats. 74) Simulate your experiment with a virtual reality system for the spectators. 75) Do a soft-shoe routine. 76) Throw a masquerade defense, complete with bobbing for apples and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. 77) Use a Greek Chorus to highlight important points. 78) "The responsorial psalm can be found on page 124 of the thesis..." 79) Tap dance. 80) Vaudeville. 81) "I'm sorry Professor Smith, I didn't say 'SIMON SAYS any questions?'. You're out." 82) Flex and show off those massive pecs. 83) Dress in top hat and tails. 84) Hold a pre-defense pep rally, complete with cheerleaders, pep band, and a bonfire. 85) Detonate a small nuclear device in the room. Or threaten to. 86) Shadow puppets. 87) Show slides of your last vacation. 88) Put your overheads on a film strip. Designate a professor to be in charge of turning the strip when the tape recording beeps. 89) Same as #88, but instead of a tape recorder, go around the room making a different person read the pre-written text for each picture. 90) "OK, everybody - heads down on the desk until you show me you can behave." 91) Call your advisor "sweetie". 92) Have everyone pose for a group photo. 93) Instant replay. 94) Laugh maniacally. 95) Talk with your mouth full. 96) Start speaking in tongues. 97) Explode. 98) Implode. 99) Spontaneously combust. 100) Answer every question with a question. 101) Moon everyone in the room after you are done. 102) "Laugh, will you? Well, they laughed at Galileo, they laughed at Einstein..." 103) Hand out 3-D glasses. 104) "I'm rubber, you're glue..." 105) Go into labor (especially for men). 106) Give your entire speech in a "Marvin Martian" accent. 107) "I don't know - I didn't write this." 108) Before your defense, build trapdoors underneath all the seats. 109) Swing in through the window, yelling a la Tarzan. 110) Lock the department head and his secretary out of the defense room. And the coffee lounge, the department office, the copy room, and the mail room. Heck, lock them out of the building. And refuse to sell them stamps (NOTE: This is an inside gripe, based on conditions that existed in the ME department at WPI while we were there. Sorry.) 111) Roll credits at the end. Include a "key grip", and a "best boy". 112) Hang a disco ball in the center of the room. John Travolta pose optional. 113) Invite the homeless. 114) "I could answer that, but then I'd have to kill you" 115) Hide. 116) Get a friend to ask the first question. Draw a blank-loaded gun and "shoot" him. Have him make a great scene of dying (fake blood helps). Turn to the stunned audience and ask "any other wise-ass remarks?" 117) Same as #116, except use real bullets. 118) "Well, I saw it on the Internet, so I figured it might be a good idea..." 119) Wear clown makeup, a clown wig, clown shoes, and a clown nose. And nothing else. 120) Use the words "marginalized", "empowerment", and "patriarchy". 121) Play Thesis Mad Libs. 122) Try to use normal printed paper on the overhead projector. 123) Do your entire defense operatically. 124) Invite your parents. Especially if they are fond of fawning over you. ("We always knew he was such an intelligent child") 125) Flash "APPLAUSE" and "LAUGHTER" signs. 126) Mosh pit. 127) Have cheerleaders. ("Gimme an 'A'!!") 128) Bring Howard Cosell out of retirement to do color commentary. (NOTE: Because of recent events, this has to be changed to "Bring Howard Cosell back from the dead to do color commentary.") 129) "I say Hallelujah, brothers and sisters!" 130) Claim political asylum. 131) Traffic reports every 10 minutes on the 1's. 132) Introduce the "Eyewitness Thesis Team". Near the end of your talk, cut to Jim with sports and Alison with the weather. 133) Live radio and TV coverage. 134) Hang a sign that says "Thank you for not asking questions" 135) Bring a microphone. Point it at the questioner, talk-show style. 136) Use a TelePrompTer 137) "Take my wife - please!" 138) Refuse to answer questions unless they phrase the question as a limerick. 139) Have everyone bring wine glasses. When they clink the glasses with a spoon, you have to kiss your thesis. Or your advisor. 140) Offer a toast. 141) Firewalk. 142) Start giving your presentation 15 minutes early. 143) Play drinking thesis games. Drink for each overhead. Drink for each question. Chug for each awkward pause. This goes for the audience as well. 144) Swoop in with a cape and tights, Superman style. 145) "By the power of Greyskull..." 146) Use any past or present Saturday Night Live catchphrase. Not. 147) Stand on the table. 148) Sell commercial time for your talk and ad space on your overheads. 149) Hold a raffle. 150) "You think this defense was bad? Let me read this list to show you what I COULD have done..." } (FINAL NOTE: Depending on the subject of your thesis, some of these things, such as tap dance, virtual reality, or reading from the Book of Mormon might be entirely appropriate, of course.) }
} On 15 Jan 1996 Hans Brinkies wrote: } } } Is there any evidence available that the extensive use of TEM's } } and/or SEM's may lead to the development of cataracts ? } } } } } } Hans Brinkies } } This is an interesting point. Some time ago someone asked a similar } question but I cannot remember seeing any discussion on the issue. Does } anyone know about the long term health effects of EM usage? Have any studies } been done on any aspect of this (eyesight, radiation exposure, anything else } I haven't thought of)? } } Ian MacLaren,
EMSA (now MSA) published a "Handbook of X-ray safety for Electron Microscopists" by D.F} Parsons, V.A. Phillips, and J.S. Lally in 1973. Its a short pamphlet and I don't know if it is still available. A few points from the handbook:
In regards to the need to perform an annual survey for x-ray leaks: "It should be noted that about 50% of those monitoring their microscopes found detectable leaks once or more". They reccomend film badges but I have never been at an institution that did this for their EM people.
Under the Health Checks chapter: "An annual eye exam is desirable. Vision defects should be recorded and the lenses checked for opacities (cataracts)". No references or data supporting this statement are given.
Thomas E. Phillips, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Director, Molecular Cytology Core Facility 3 Tucker Hall University of Missouri Columbia, MO 65211 (314)-882-4712 (voice) (314)-882-0123 (fax)
Dear Phil, } } Lonely electrons: [snip] } Under some illumination conditions there may be no more than 1 beam electron } in the column at a time!
With our HVEM (1.2 MV) and its ~3m column this turns out to be cor- rect--especially since we use low-dose conditions for ED work.
} Hence diffraction patterns in the TEM are } basically formed by individual electrons interfering with themselves!
But wait; there's more! The electrons are boiled off our W filament as particles, interfere with themselves as waves when scattering off the crystal, then strike a film grain as particles. ED is the quintessential demonstration of the particle-wave duality.
} Fat electrons: The transverse coherence widths of electrons which make } possible electron phase contrast (HREM) lattice imaging and probably } electron holography might also be seen as lateral broadening of individual } electron wave-packets via the uncertainty principle, which results because } we know too much about their transverse momentum! [snip]
What are the predictions for hollow-cone illumination where we know the magnitude of the transverse momentum, but not its direction?
} [snip] } Fast electrons: a back of the envelope calculation for 300 keV electrons } gives gamma = (300+511)/511 = 1.587, so that they travel at w = c } Sqr[1-(1/gamma)^2] = 0.777 c or [lightyears per inertial year] of elapsed } time.
Of course, for 1.2 MeV electrons the speed is even closer to c. Yours, Bill Tivol
Sorry for bugging once again all those helpful people who have given advice on the conversion of image file formats. I specifically have a question about AUTOCAD drawings. If anyone knows how to convert these to more common image files, please get in touch with me directly. Thanks, Alfred
Alfred Kracher akracher-at-iastate.edu http://www.public.iastate.edu/~akracher
Yes, the ribbons have changed. If you complain enough and to the right person at Kodak, Kodak will send you a disk with new color look uop tables that can be downloaded to the printer. Your b/w prints will come out with a slight blue tint instead of the green tint, but the blue tint is less objectionable. -Michael Cammer {null signature file}
On Thu, 11 Jan 1996, Jon Krupp wrote:
} Hi: } } Has anyone run into a problem printing grayscale images on a Kodak/Codonics } printer? } } Ours have started looking tinged with green/yellow right out of the } printer. I have read that the formulation of the ribbons may have changed } and that the result is this sick green color. } } I would like to avoid swapping color/grayscale ribbons if possible but my } users don't like the color cast to their pictures. Any ideas for a } solution? } } } Jonathan Krupp } Microscopy and Imaging Lab } University of California } Santa Cruz, CA 95064 } (408) 459-2477 } jmkrupp-at-cats.ucsc.edu } } }
Yes, the ribbons have changed. If you complain enough and to the right person at Kodak, Kodak will send you a disk with new color look uop tables that can be downloaded to the printer. Your b/w prints will come out with a slight blue tint instead of the green tint, but the blue tint is less objectionable. -Michael Cammer {null signature file}
On Thu, 11 Jan 1996, Jon Krupp wrote:
} Hi: } } Has anyone run into a problem printing grayscale images on a Kodak/Codonics } printer? } } Ours have started looking tinged with green/yellow right out of the } printer. I have read that the formulation of the ribbons may have changed } and that the result is this sick green color. } } I would like to avoid swapping color/grayscale ribbons if possible but my } users don't like the color cast to their pictures. Any ideas for a } solution? } } } Jonathan Krupp } Microscopy and Imaging Lab } University of California } Santa Cruz, CA 95064 } (408) 459-2477 } jmkrupp-at-cats.ucsc.edu } } }
Does anyone have any experience with Technovit resin? Someone here has heard about it, but we don't have any "real" info from users. They want to use it for LM immuno...enzyme-based, as the tissue is massively autofluorescent. Thanks for the help! Tamara Howard
The Department of Biological Sciences is seeking applications for Director of the Electron Microscope (EM) Facility as an academic staff appointment. Broad experience with a diversity of biological systems and EM techniques and Ph.D. in the Biological Sciences required, postdoctoral experience preferred. Responsibilities include: 1) management of the Biological Science EM facility, 2) research support for and collaboration with university faculty, 3) instruction of faculty and students in the use of EM. An independent funded research program is desirable. The Biological Sciences Electron Microscopy Facility consists of two laboratories totaling 2000+ square feet, SEM and TEM scopes and support equipment.
Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, statement of professional interests, and three letters of reference to:
Chairperson, EM Director Search Committee Department of Biological Sciences University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201.
The deadline for receipt of applications is February 16,1996.
Additional information about the Biological Sciences Department is available at http:\www.uwm.edu\Dept\Biology\. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Women and minority scientists are encouraged to apply for these positions. The names of those nominees and applicants who have notrequested that their identities be withheld and the names of finalists will be released upon request.
The Department of Biological Sciences is seeking applications for Director of the Electron Microscope (EM) Facility as an academic staff appointment. Broad experience with a diversity of biological systems and EM techniques and Ph.D. in the Biological Sciences required, postdoctoral experience preferred. Responsibilities include: 1) management of the Biological Science EM facility, 2) research support for and collaboration with university faculty, 3) instruction of faculty and students in the use of EM. An independent funded research program is desirable. The Biological Sciences Electron Microscopy Facility consists of two laboratories totaling 2000+ square feet, SEM and TEM scopes and support equipment.
Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, statement of professional interests, and three letters of reference to:
Chairperson, EM Director Search Committee Department of Biological Sciences University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201.
The deadline for receipt of applications is February 16,1996.
Additional information about the Biological Sciences Department is available at http:\www.uwm.edu\Dept\Biology\. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Women and minority scientists are encouraged to apply for these positions. The names of those nominees and applicants who have notrequested that their identities be withheld and the names of finalists will be released upon request.
MSA published an updated verion of the Safety Handbook edited by Joe Mascorro and Vernon Barber in 1994. It is available from San Francisco Press, Inc. Box 426800, CA 94142-6800. I believe it costs $17.00.
In our central facility, all of our electron microscopes are evaluated by radiological professionals annually (as mandated by state law) who use extremely sensitive detection devices. They have never detected x-rays above background levels. Nonetheless, best to be safe and cautious.
} } On 15 Jan 1996 Hans Brinkies wrote: } } } } } Is there any evidence available that the extensive use of TEM's } } } and/or SEM's may lead to the development of cataracts ? } } } } } } } } } Hans Brinkies } } } } This is an interesting point. Some time ago someone asked a similar } } question but I cannot remember seeing any discussion on the issue. Does } } anyone know about the long term health effects of EM usage? Have any studies } } been done on any aspect of this (eyesight, radiation exposure, anything else } } I haven't thought of)? } } } } Ian MacLaren, } } } EMSA (now MSA) published a "Handbook of X-ray safety for Electron } Microscopists" by D.F} Parsons, V.A. Phillips, and J.S. Lally in 1973. Its } a short pamphlet and I don't know if it is still available. A few points } from the handbook: } } In regards to the need to perform an annual survey for x-ray leaks: "It } should be noted that about 50% of those monitoring their microscopes found } detectable leaks once or more". They reccomend film badges but I have } never been at an institution that did this for their EM people. } } Under the Health Checks chapter: "An annual eye exam is desirable. Vision } defects should be recorded and the lenses checked for opacities } (cataracts)". No references or data supporting this statement are given.
############################################################################# John J. Bozzola, Director Center for Electron Microscopy Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL 62901-4402 U.S.A. Phone: 618-453-3730 Fax: 618-453-2665 Email: bozzola-at-siu.edu Web: http://www.siu.edu/departments/shops/cem.html #############################################################################
JOB DESCRIPTION: Sample preparation of semiconductor materials and devices, both plan view and cross-section, for TEM. Develop improved methods of sample preparation. TEM operation to facilitate this development will be encouraged. Photographic processing and filing of TEM negatives and prints. Maintenance of sample preparation and dark room equipment and supplies
JOB REQUIREMENTS: 2+ years experience in TEM sample preparation and photographic processing required. Familiarity with tripod, dimpling and FIB techniques desired. This position requires strong organizational skills, and in particular, the ability to work on multiple tasks while maintaining precise records and tracking procedure. Experience in microelectronics industry a plus.
Associate degree in physics, chemistry or related subject.
We are considering establishing an image archiving proceedure based on CD's. In addition the CD burner would be used by an electronic publishing class for prototype CD's.
The choices in hardware seem to have increased a lot recently and prices have really fallen.
If you have any sage advice concerning general guidelines or specific choices, I would like to hear from you.
Thanks,
Jonathan Krupp Microscopy and Imaging Lab University of California Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (408) 459-2477 jmkrupp-at-cats.ucsc.edu
Message-Id: {199601161813.LAA18691-at-ns2.indirect.com} Comments: Authenticated sender is {earosen-at-indirect.com}
To the list Here is something else for you to peruse through if you are not busy and are interested in a laugh
How do you like this?? A friend mailed it to me. Its long.
FORREST in EVERYONE'S LIFE
Forrest Gump Life is like a Box of chocolates... Forrest Dahmer People are like a box of chocolate, YUM! Forrest Simpson Mmmmm, choolate Forrest the Hun Chocolate all mine! Forrest Simmons Chocolate is bad!, EXERCISE EXERCISE! Forrest Rivera People who like Chocolate..Next on 'Forrest' Forrest Jackson Little kids like my box of chocolates Forrest Hefner Keep the chocolate, lose the box. Forrest Shakespeare Chocolate, or no chocolate that's the question Forrest Of Borg All chocolates must be assimilated Forrest Presley Hunk a hunk of milk chocolate Forrest Zen I am one with the chocolate Forrest McClain I used to be a box of Chocolates Forrest Ventura Chocolates..Alll-Riighty then... Forrest Lauper People just wanna have chocolate Forrest Turner What's chocolate gotta do, gotta do with it? DR.Forrest McCoy Dammit jim, I'm a Dr., not a box of chocolate Forrest Spock Logically speaking, we are all chocolate Forrest Scotty The box, she's breaking apart Capt'n Forrest Christ Let he without sin, eat the first chocolate Forrest Rooney Why is it, that we are all chocolates? Forrest Butler Frankly Scarlett, I don't like chocolate Forrest O'Hara Tommorrow, is another box of chocolates. Forrest Lee Fight with your inner chocolate Forrest Clinton I didn't inhale the cream centers Forrest Doo Roinks Raggy, Rocolates! Forrest Pig Life is a box of chok-choa-che..candy Forrest Marx That's the weirdest box of chocolates I've ever seen.... Forrest Nicholson You want chocolate, you can't handle chocolate Forrest Copperfield Poof, the chocolates are gone! Forrest X We didn't land in the box of chocolate The box of chocolate landed on us! Forrest Hitler White Chocolates only! Forrest the Frog Someday we'll find it, The chocolate connections The plain ones, The cream filled....and me... Forrest Eastwood I know what your thinking.. Did he eat five chocolates, or did he eat six Well let me ask you... Do you feel hungry PUNK?..well...DO YOU? Forrest Barney I'm cream filled, your with nuts. We're a box of chocoluts Forrest Adam and Eve ADAM=Chocolates are forbidden EVE=Just eat one.... Forrest Moses I command the chocolates to seperate! Forrest Noah 2 creams, 2 nuts, 2 coconuts, 2 peanut butter Forrest Ali I am the chocolate boxer! Forrest on phonics Lief es lyk a boks uv chakolets Forrest PsychicLine Yes, I knew you were a chocolate 1-900-FORREST oooh, can I suck your cream filled chocolates? Forrest DatingGame Bacholer number two... if I was a piece of chocolate.. What would you fill me with? Forrest Alimony The Box is mine! Forrest Adultry You just can't have just one chocolate. The Forrest plague Ewww..these Chocolates are bad Chief Justice Forrest Thomas I never touched her milk-duds! Forrest Andrews The Hills are alive..like a box of chocolates Forrest Allen Chocolate, huroof.. Forrest Costello Whose eating chocolates? Forrest Abbot No, who is not eating chocolate Forrest Vader Luke, I am your chocolate Forrest Yoda There is a dark chocolate, and a light chocolate.. Forrest Butthead Uh...life is like a box of um..chocolates Forrest Beavis Heh heh, you said Box Forrest Frued Is life really a box of chocolate.. or is it your mother you want? Forrest SkeeLo I wish I had a box of Chocolates Forrest Trebeck The answer:This is like a box of Chocolate The Question:What is Life... Forrest Hillary Hey Bill...those are my Chocolates! Forrest Fudd Wife is wike a box uv chocowates Forrest Calvin It's not a box of chocolates, It's a transmorfgorizing ray!! Forrest Tannen Chocolates...McFly Dr. Forrest Ruth Chocolate is nice, but sex is better! The Forrest Zone There is another dimension, beyond that which is known to man, It's a dimension of cream-filled bon-bons, Or nutty carmel turtles, and it lies in the white cardboard box, in the pit of my lap. It is a candy coated center of comparision, And it is a place we call, The Forrest Zone. Forrest Latin ifela sia a oxba foa hocolatesa Forrest Lincoln Forescore and several chocolates ago, Forrest Satan Life is a box of melted chocolates (Sign) Forrest Churchlady Chocolates...well, isn't that special Forrest Wayne Sh-yeah..and life is like a box of chocolates as if... Forrest Garth Hey mister chocolate man..whose trying to kill you?...I don't know but her better not... Forrest Bond Lifes a box of exploding chocolate Forrest Smurf Smurf is a smurf of smurfs Forrest '95 The box is the same, The chocolates are upgraded.... Forrest Lennon Imagine there's no chocolate. Forrest Hall Will you take the Box of Chocolates... or what's behind CURTAIN NUMBER TWO? Forrest Press your Luck Box of Chocolates! No Whammies...STOP! Forrest of Fortune LIFE I_ LIKE _ __X _F CH_C_L_TE_ Forrest Popeye I yam a box of Chocolets...eg eg eg eg Forrest Ice If you got a chocolate, Yo I'll box it. Check out my life, As my D.J Rocks it! Forrest Ross Life is a happy little box of chocolates Forrest Bill and Ted Dude, Life's totally a box of Chocolate! ---EXCELLENT!---- ___AIR GUITARS TRIUMPHANTLY_____ Forrest Fife This Box of Chocolates is a lethal weapons! Forrest Stooges Look Chocolates....nyuk nyuk nyuk Scram Wise guy **BOink** Leave him ALone Moe! Oh you want in on it too...**SLAP**/CRASH/ Forrest Reagan Life is a box of um..... Forrest Bush This will not be another Box of Chocolates! Forrest Limbaugh Life may be a box of Chocolates... But the Democrats are all nuts... Forrest COPS on location Bon bons-bon bons whatcha going to do, whatcha gonna do, when someone eats you! Forrest Fued Life is like a? Box of Chocolates... Oh Good ANswer..Good Answer! Box of chocolates...SURVEY SAYS? XX|BOX OF CHOCOLATES|XX=} 54 Forrest Native Americans These chocolates are moving to a smaller box.
It depends on what you have and what you want. If you have a flat line drawing in AutoCAD and just want to get it in a form you can print out, then you just need to choose Export from the File menu (in R13 for Windows) and export it as an EPS (encapsulated Postscript) file. This will print directly on most Postscript printers. You can also save it as a BMP file.
If you have a flat line drawing in a DXF file, then you will need to convert it from a geometry file (which is what DXF is) to an image. You can do this by loading it into AutoCAD and then exporting it as above, you can use a file conversion program such as HiJaak Pro, or you can use one of the DXF utilities at the Viewpoint/Avalon site I mentioned before.
If you are in AutoCAD, have a 3D object, and want to save a rendering, then you have a couple more options. You can render in AutoCAD, either with the native renderer or with RenderMan (I can't remember whether or not R13 comes with RenderMan bundled or not), and save it as a BMP or EPS. You can export the geometry file into another geometry format, load that file into a different renderer, render there, and save the file as an image. I, for instance, do much of my modeling in AutoCAD, and render using 3D Studio or Lightwave 3D. There are a number of fairly good public domain renderers as well; the best known among the folk I travel with is POV.
If you have a geometry saved as a DXF file and want a rendered image, remember that DXF is a *geometry* not *image* file. While, for line drawings, many convertors will just do a simple projection (which is how HiJaak Pro and others work), if you really want an image with shaded graphics, you will have to make a rendering and save the image as an image from your renderer.
On Tue, 16 Jan 1996, Alfred Kracher wrote:
} Sorry for bugging once again all those helpful people who have given advice } on the conversion of image file formats. I specifically have a question } about AUTOCAD drawings. If anyone knows how to convert these to more common } image files, please get in touch with me directly. } Thanks, Alfred } } Alfred Kracher } akracher-at-iastate.edu } http://www.public.iastate.edu/~akracher } } }
Has anybody using Ralph knives to cut resin sections, used ultramicrotome -quality glass for making their knives? A sales person has tried to convince me that using this quality of glass 'should' provide good knives as opposed to 'histology - grade' glass. I pose this dilemma as I have found that 'ultramicrotome - grade' glass is locally cheaper. Does anyone on the list have an opinion and/or advice as to a good source of reliable glass for the Ralph knives. Regards,
Brett- I guess I qualify as a salesperson, since we manufacture Ralph Knife Makers, and also sell glass for them. However, I am a professional manager, not a salesman, and I am interested primarily in selling equipment, not consumables, and it is important to me that the equipment we sell works properly. With that "introduction," let me give you my opinion. "Ultramicrotome glass" and "histology glass" are labels that any vendor can put on any glass- that is, there are no rules governing how these terms are applied. According to conventional wisdom, "ultramicrotome glass" should be the highest quality, since cryoultramicrotomes are much more sensitive to glass quality than are the rotary microtomes used in histology. In our catalog, the ultramicrotome glass is of higher quality than the histology glass, although both begin life as "float glass" and then are cut for use in microscopy. That all being said, there can be tremendous quality differences between glass obtained from different sources.If you are concerened, I would recommend that you ask your salesperson for a sample piece of glass. Steven Slap, Vice-President Energy Beam Sciences, Inc.
Message-Id: {199601171524.JAA19206-at-BCM.TMC.EDU} X-Sender: joiner-at-bcm.tmc.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Version 2.1.1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
At 01:36 PM 1/16/96 +0000, you wrote: } Disregard the forrest gump humor I was supposed to send it to a } single person and not to the whole group} } } } } Cheers ;o) :o) %o) } Eric } ************************ Oh, sure we're gonna disregard it now!
Hello, I was wondering if anyone is using a Macintosh-based software for image aquisition and manipulation that they are happy with? I have been using Metamorph (Love it!) but now need something for the Mac. Thanks in advance.
Ruth Hughes Central Institute for the Deaf 818 S. Euclid St. Louis, MO 63110 e-mail RMH-at-CIDMV1.WUSTL.EDU
Does anyone have a source for amorphous Ge grids at { { $100's? If not, does anyone know a good source for Ge--not necessarily the ultra- pure stuff? TIA. Yours, Bill Tivol
A veterinarian friend of mine has a son who wants a good stereomicroscope for examining insects. Any offers would be appreciated under $200, especially if it is a zoom model.
Dear Thomas, } } EMSA (now MSA) published a "Handbook of X-ray safety for Electron } Microscopists" by D.F} Parsons, V.A. Phillips, and J.S. Lally in 1973. Its } a short pamphlet and I don't know if it is still available.
It was still available about a year ago from San Francisco Press.
} A few points } from the handbook: } } In regards to the need to perform an annual survey for x-ray leaks: "It } should be noted that about 50% of those monitoring their microscopes found } detectable leaks once or more". They reccomend film badges but I have } never been at an institution that did this for their EM people.
We wear them routinely at the HVEM, and our users carry dosimeters on themselves in the scope room. We have had only one incident where } ~1mr was measured, and that was apparently not from the scope. Yours, Bill Tivol
The amount of radiation exposure from Probes, SEMs and all, is minimum, but it still has to be monitored by certified individuals. Most states consider the equipment as minimumal threat devices and do not require any testing...
You must be careful, in some states like Texas and Colorado, you must be a RSO (radiation safety officer) for that specific piece of equipment (i.e. Cameca, JEOL, ARL, ISI, .....) to do a survey or monitor the equipment. You must have a minimum of 5 years in repair and calibration and take a course in radiation safety and in certain cases you must take a test.
Some other states like California, they would like you to also have Hazwoper/Hazmat certification also, but is not required by law. It is incase their is a lawsuit. You could be taken to the cleaners without it.
After coming back to work and seeing this on my email, it was a welcome treat. There were bats in the belfry from staying in the house after all the snow we had here in Baltimore. Yes, I do know there are people out there who will get more snow in one month than we usually get all winter. So, thanks for your mistake.
We are thinking about purchasing a Dage DSP-2000 processor for image processing of light microscopic video images. Several features seem useful for our images: averaging (particularly useful), integration, and gating. It's about $6,000, and I'd like to look at similar signal averagers for video before ordering the Dage product. Any suggestions from readers of this list? Thanks for your help.
-- Nancy L Desmond, Ph.D. nld-at-virginia.edu Department of Neurosurgery 804.924.5607 (voice) 804.982.3829 (fax) University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Box 420 Charlottesville, VA 22908
I'm just about to put a work study student on a project to digitize our standards' library. Once digitized, my libray might then be put on the web (with other libraries ???? ) But, before I do I can well imagine at least a hundred different formats for the database entry. Has this been done before?? Can anyone suggest the most useful format for searching the database??
cheers, shaf {\/} /\ {\/} /\ {\/} /\ {\/} cognito, ergo zZOooOM {\/} /\ {\/} /\ {\/} /\ {\/} Michael Shaffer, R.A. - University of Oregon Electron Probe Facility mshaf-at-oregon.uoregon.edu -or- mshaf-at-darkwing.uoregon.edu http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mshaf/epmahome/
To those of you who are replying to people complaining about a post. PLEASE PLEASE try and remember to post the reply to the sender and not to the list. Some mailers are dumb and assume the list IS the sender, but others are not. Please check the configuration of your email software.
Many thanks.
John Mansfield North Campus Electron Microbeam Analysis Laboratory 413 SRB, University of Michigan 2455 Hayward, Ann Arbor MI 48109-2143 Phone: (313)936-3352 FAX (313)936-3352 jfmjfm-at-engin.umich.edu, John.F.Mansfield-at-umich.edu or jfmjfm-at-umich.edu they all reach me! URL: http://wwwpersonal.engin.umich.edu/~jfmjfm/jfmjfm.html
The best place to start for Macintosh imaging is NIH Image. It is public domain software from NIH and is available by anonymous FTP from:
zippy.nimh.nih.gov
There is a WWW home page, as well:
http://rsb.info.nih.gov/nih-image/
It can inherently acquire images via frame grabbers (NTSC,PAL) as well as a host of other video-type inputs if you have the appropriate Photoshop plug- in modules (PIM). There are also SEM/EDS interfaces (4pi analysis) for digital acquistion using PIMs. It is able to open TIFF and PICT files directly, any 8- or 16-bit bitmap file and "many" other formats through import PIMs. A wide range of spatial and intensity information extraction is available as well as image processing functions. The software is inherently very useful and becomes extremely useful with the built-in Pascal-like macro language, PIMs and source level programming (the Pascal source code is public domain, as well). The manual includes a fairly comprehensive list of commercial imaging products as well. Best of all, getting up and running is very straightforward, particularly for someone who has already been using imaging software. Even better than best of all is the worldwide support network available through the NIH Image listserver.
My personal rule-of-thumb commercial value of the software would be in the $1000 to $2000 price range, based on the feature set of NIH Image and the comparable feature set for commercial software (Mac,Wintel, etc).
Have fun.
Bill ========================== Bill Heeschen/Analyt. Sci.- Mat. Char. ----- 1897-F Building / The Dow Chemical Co. --- --- Midland, MI 48667 U.S.A. --- D O W --- phone: (517)636-4005 fax: (517)636-5453 --- --- Email: waheeschen-at-dow.com ----- ========================== R
I received this job description from someone who is not on the net. If any one is interested all the pertinent facts are listed below.
Position description
A Research Assistant position is available in a research laboratory in the Gerontology Division at the VA Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA. Studies carried out in this laboratory focus on cell biology questions relating to lipid pathways in cells and on age-related changes in cells. The position will be available in April or May of 1996, and some overlap with the retiring research assistant is desired. The position requires someone with well grounded electron microscope (EM) skills with experience and an interest in carrying out related morphological techniques including immunocytochemistry (at the light microscope level and EM level using cryoultramicrotomy), fluorescence microscopy, and in situ hybridization methodology. Persons applying for this job must also have basic biochemical skills, be adept at problem solving, flexible in working on several projects simultaneously, and willing to learn new techniques and use new equipment when necessary.
Employment will be through the Palo Alto Institute for Research and Education (PRAIRIE). Salary and hours are negotiable and dependent on training and experience. Please send resumes to Eve Reaven, PhD, VA Medical Center, (GRECC, 182B), 3801 Miranda Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304. (FAX = (415) 855-9437; telephone = (415) 493-5000 x64144)
Mei Lie Wong Department of Biochemistry HHMI-UCSF Ph. 415-476-4441 Fax 415-476-1902 email wong-at-msg.ucsf.edu
If you have questions about the opening described below, contact me by e-mail, but all application letters and resumes should be sent as hardcopy to be considered. Note that the position involves physical sciences and that we do not intend to consider applicants with a biological sciences background.
--------------------------------------
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
The Materials Characterization Laboratory at Penn State is seeking candidates for a staff position in transmission electron microscopy. The successful applicant will take direct responsibility for use and support of the laboratory's 200 kV field-emission instrument, which is equipped with EDS and PEELS detectors and a SS-CCD camera for digital acquisition. The person selected will be expected to work with users from a variety of disciplines on a wide range of materials problems. In addition, candidates should be prepared to give advice on and assistance with sample preparation, technique selection, and analysis of images, diffraction patterns, and spectra. The person hired will also be able to pursue collaborative or independent research as other duties allow.
Requirements include a B.S. and preferably an M.S. in Materials Science or a related field, and additional experience beyond the degree is preferred. The position is not intended to be a postdoctoral appointment, although this may be considered if other suitable candidates are not found. Candidates should have extensive experience with transmission electron microscopy and must be skilled in one or more of the following areas: high-resolution imaging and simulation, quantitative EDS, PEELS, electron holography, field-emission TEM operation.
The position will be filled initially on a two-year appointment, but it is intended that the position will be made permanent if performance is satisfactory. Respond to Prof. A. H. Carim, 118 Steidle Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Prof. Altaf H. Carim tel.: (814) 863-4296 Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering fax: (814) 865-0016 118 Steidle Building e-mail: carim-at-ems.psu.edu The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear All, As I understand it, the concern over cataracts in an EM lab was from the UV radiation from the evaporator, not X-rays from the EMs. The Safety in the EM Handbook has a discussion of various eye hazards from lasers and UV sources, but we always use a pair of welders goggles when evaporating carbon, since the arc is dangerous to the eyes, as is a welder's arc. A few years ago I tested my sputter coater for UV light while it was operating and was dismayed at how much UV was coming out of the thick glass. I advise people not to stare intently at their samples while they are coating.
A few months ago several people on the Listserver tried to see if their physical ailments were common to other microscopists, problems such as shoulder joint and neck pains. There were many different ailments, but no common threads. We're all just getting older, I guess. Hope this helps, Mary
Mary Mager Electron Microscopist Metals and Materials Eng, UBC 309 - 6350 Stores Rd. Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z4 CANADA tel: 604-822-5648, fax: 604-822-3619 email: mager-at-unixg.ubc.ca
Yes. An excellent package for color image acquisition and analysis for the Macintosh is made by Signal Analytics. I can send you a demo disk and literature if you are interested. I represent Signal as well as several other software companies.
John Libert
At 11:19 AM 1/17/96 -0500, Ruth Hughes wrote: } Hello, } I was wondering if anyone is using a Macintosh-based software for } image aquisition and manipulation that they are happy with? I have been } using Metamorph (Love it!) but now need something for the Mac. } Thanks in advance. } } Ruth Hughes } Central Institute for the Deaf } 818 S. Euclid } St. Louis, MO 63110 } e-mail RMH-at-CIDMV1.WUSTL.EDU } } }
The old email address ( go4pi-at-applelink.apple.com) is no longer valid.
Scott D. Davilla Phone: 919 489-1757 (tel) 4pi Analysis, Inc. Fax: 919 489-1487 (fax) 3500 Westgate Drive, Suite 403 email: davilla-at-4pi.com Durham, North Carolina 27707-2534
If you are willing to use a computer as part of your video averaging scheme, there are a number of boards which will do video-rate signal averaging (e.g., Scion 301-695-7870, D1887-at-applelink.apple.com for Mac and probably Wintel "soon"; Matrox 800-804-6243, imaginginfo-at-matrox.com for Wintel). You could also consider on-chip integration, but that is camera specific.
Bill ========================== Bill Heeschen/Analyt. Sci.- Mat. Char. ----- 1897-F Building / The Dow Chemical Co. --- --- Midland, MI 48667 U.S.A. --- D O W --- phone: (517)636-4005 fax: (517)636-5453 --- --- Email: waheeschen-at-dow.com ----- ========================== R
Regarding the thread about radiation safety and electron microscopes:
Don't assume that your state doesn't require some type of registration and periodic inspection of your electron microscope for radiation safety. It could cost you a hefty fine from the government agency in your state responsible for such matters if you don't register your instruments and have a program in place to assure compliance with the regulations.
The instrument manufacturers generally don't mention anything about the requirements to register their instruments when you purchase and install them. It's your responsibility to find out what your state requires.
Hope this saves somebody some headaches and some money.
Jim Stets Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Allentown, PA stetsjr-at-ttown.apci.com
By measuring the intensity distribution around a Debye - ring over a range of goniometer tilt positions I can produce a partial pole figure of the selected specimen area. The diffracted intensity in a certain direction is taken as the difference between the reading at the ring and reading just inside it. The readings can be accurate to about 2 (azimuth angle).
Now, as the specimen is tilted through a decided range it becomes necessary to make some corrections to the measured intensities since the specimen thickness increase, as do the illuminated volume. Absorption and extinction changes should be taken into account.
It is possible to estimate such a correction by some simple experiments. However, what I would like to know is if there exist any software that can calculate the needed corrections. If so, is this calculation/software available free of charge?
Yours sincerely
P. Baggethun Manchester Materials Science Centre UMIST
Message-ID: {MAPI.Id.0016.00683536202020204437333230303030-at-MAPI.to.RFC822} Read-Receipt-To: Jean-Louis Beek {ah56-at-solo.pipex.co.za} Priority: Normal To: microscopy-at-Sparc5.Microscopy.Com MIME-Version: 1.0
Dear Bill,
You replied to:
[snip] } } Under some illumination conditions there may be no more than 1 beam electron } } in the column at a time! } With our HVEM (1.2 MV) and its ~3m column this turns out to be cor- } rect--especially since we use low-dose conditions for ED work. Wow! The current of electrons hitting the specimen must be quite low. How do you estimate it?
[snip] } What are the predictions for hollow-cone illumination where we know } the magnitude of the transverse momentum, but not its direction? I haven't thought about it yet, but I think hollow-cone illumination was being used by Dr. Murray Gibson's group at U. of I. (Champaign-Urbana) to vary the coherence widths (and lengths?) of their electrons. Check with them.
I should add for listserver readers as well, that I am interested in developing these informal observations on fast, lonely, fat and long electrons a bit further, and of course to add new ones as well. Feedback is invited! Some of you may see a bit more of this on paper in days ahead, but in the meantime we're sponsoring a (hopefully ever-improving) version of the list through our "relativity rap" web page at {http://newton.umsl.edu/~run/rap.html} .
Cheers. /philf :)
//\/\/\/\---} // Phil Fraundorf Physics & Astronomy/CME (314)5165044 philf-at-newton.umsl.edu \\ B503 U.Missouri-SL St.Louis MO 63121 USA http://newton.umsl.edu/~philf \\/\/\/\/\/\/\/---}
} we make diamond grids. We could make amorphous Ge grids if you want. } What do you want them for? Is there a general demand for these grids? } Dear Richard, I want the grid for measuring spherical aberration from the zeros of the contrast transfer function by Krivanek's method. I saw this described in Ultramicroscopy 38 (1991) 225-233--which was more easily obtained than Krivanek's paper in Optik 45 (1976) 97ff. There may be some general demand for these grids, but I cannot tell you how much. Yours, Bill Tivol
By measuring the intensity distribution around a Debye - ring over a range of goniometer tilt positions I can produce a partial pole figure of the selected specimen area. The diffracted intensity in a certain direction is taken as the difference between the reading at the ring and reading just inside it. The readings can be accurate to about 2 (azimuth angle).
Now, as the specimen is tilted through a decided range it becomes necessary to make some corrections to the measured intensities since the specimen thickness increase, as do the illuminated volume. Absorption and extinction changes should be taken into account.
It is possible to estimate such a correction by some simple experiments. However, what I would like to know is if there exist any software that can calculate the needed corrections. Is it possible by theoretical means to evaluate this quantitatively?
Yours sincerely
Paul Baggethun Manchester Materials Science Centre UMIST
} [snip] } } } Under some illumination conditions there may be no more than 1 beam electron } } } in the column at a time! } } With our HVEM (1.2 MV) and its ~3m column this turns out to be cor- } } rect--especially since we use low-dose conditions for ED work. } Wow! The current of electrons hitting the specimen must be quite low. } How do you estimate it? } Dear Philip, For the 100 micrometer C2 aperture, we get ~10^-11 amps, for the 30 micrometer C2 aperture (which is better because the spot at crossover is ~350 nm--the size of the P1 aperture) the current is too low to show up on the screen current meter or the second Faraday cage. We made a high-precision Faraday cage which goes on the bottom of the column, and we measure the beam current with an electrometer. Yours, Bill Tivol
About Macintosh-based software for image capture and manipulation -- We use the Prism image analysis & measurement package (Analytical Vision, Raleigh NC) together with a RasterOps graphics display & video image capture board on our Macintosh Quadra. We acquire color images with Adobe Photoshop. Works well and yes we're happy with it. (Usual disclaimer...)
Thor Bostrom
At 11:19 AM 1/17/96 -0500, Ruth Hughes wrote: } Hello, } I was wondering if anyone is using a Macintosh-based software for } image aquisition and manipulation that they are happy with? I have been } using Metamorph (Love it!) but now need something for the Mac. } Thanks in advance. } } Ruth Hughes } Central Institute for the Deaf } 818 S. Euclid } St. Louis, MO 63110 } e-mail RMH-at-CIDMV1.WUSTL.EDU } }
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Dr Thor Bostrom Analytical EM Facility Queensland University of Technology (QUT) GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia Ph: +61 7 3864-2351 FAX: +61 7 3864-5100 http://www.sci.qut.edu.au/aemf/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Nancy Desmond asked about signal averagers similar to the Dage DSP-2000. Our company has been making for many years a box called the OMNEX which is a stand-alone real time processor in some ways similar to the Dage.
The OMNEX has a lot of features. It can average, and integrate video frames. Integration comes in 4 flavors including some automatic modes. A unique feature is that it can control integrating cameras for long exposure in cases of low light. It can do background subtraction, dynamic subtraction, psuedocolor. It has a measurement section for linear measurements, area, path, counting, stopwatch. It has a built-in clock calender which may be displayed on the screen. It can zoom, too. 4 labels may be put on the screen. The whole thing is mouse controlled and extremely easy to use. There is even an onscreen help facility.
Very useful: complete digital contrast enhancement including histogram equalization and 4 custom lookup tables.
A very powerful feature is that it can do matrix operations like sharpening, gradient, edge detection, etc. Two color overlay is also possible.
It has a section to store 4 images and sequence them like a slide show (but up to 30 times per second.)
I am sure that there are other features that I am forgetting.
The Dage unit does not do most of these things. It is designed more for precise control of the video parameters like black level, etc.
The OMNEX costs $5350. It is also sold by Zeiss.
I can send you a brochure if you send along your address. Please call or Email with any questions.
We also have a very powerful video marking and measuring system called the XR-2000.
When I took my legally required training for radiation protection a few decades ago, I learned the (approximate) formula
d.r. = (0.3*(U**2)*I*Z)/r**2
where:
d.r. dose rate in [r/h] (roentgen per hour) U accelerating voltage in [kV] I electron beam current in [mA] Z (mean) atomic number of the target, r distance from the target in [cm]
Since practically all electrons that come out of the source are accelerated to U and hit something somewhere inside the instrument, setting I equal to the emission current (for which there is a meter on most instruments) will give you an upper limit on the electrons that produce x-rays. Most guns are designed for emission in the 0.1 A range. What most electrons hit is made out of stainless steel or brass, although some also hit Pt or W apertures, so setting Z=40 or 50 should be high enough to overestimate x-ray production by a bunch. Assuming that it takes, say, 8mm of steel to keep a small electron beam instrument from imploding under its own vacuum, we can calculate that under the worst case conditions no measurable x-rays can escape for "low voltage" work typical of SEMs. Although there are a lot of x-rays generated, the vacuum enclosure is necessarily a very efficient shield.
The instrument I work with, an ARL SEMQ microprobe, actually has a half-inch steel enclosure, and its 30kV power supply cannot be cranked up high enough to measure x-rays outside the instrument. Since we, too, have a law requiring annual inspections, we have verified by actual measurements under different conditions that this is true. To be on the safe side, the manufacturer has also specified that in the case of modifications no enclosure parts are to be made from aluminum (shielding efficiency goes with a high power of Z).
However, the above formula also tells you that the situation quickly changes if you use higher voltages. X-ray generation goes with the square of U, and I typically increases as well when the voltage increases, so that the "net" dose rate increases with something around 2.5 to 3rd power of U, and the shielding efficiency of metal decreases as the generated x-rays get more energetic. With 100 or 200 keV instruments, i.e. most TEMs, I would definitely start to worry about x-ray leakage, and require people to wear film badges or (perhaps preferably) dosimeter rings.
P.S.: Mid-Iowa temperature minus 9, wind chill index minus 60.
Alfred Kracher akracher-at-iastate.edu http://www.public.iastate.edu/~akracher
Message : I'm interested in suggestions for embedding media for polymeric thin films, typically automotive coatings, which will be cryomicrotomed in the -60 to -90C range. Most coatings will originate from a water based system.
I'm also interested in suggestions for cryomicrotomy courses which would include bulk and embedded polymeric materials (elastomers, coatings, alloys, and composites).
Thanks for your help.
Question :
How thin do you want the sections to be?
Paul Webster Center for Cell imaging Yale School of Medicine 333 Cedar Street New Haven, CT 06520.
I am interested in using image analysis to count bacteria, measure fungal hyphal lengths, and estimate bacterial and fungal biovolumes in soil samples. I am currently trying to use NIH-image for this purpose. If you are using NIH-image or another software package for this or a similar purpose, I would be interested in hearing from you. I am just getting started and have a number of questions.
Thanks,
Serita Frey
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Serita Frey Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory Colorado State University Ft. Collins, CO 80523 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
} This may be a naive suggestion but, wouldn't amorphous C work as well?
Dear John, It's not a naive suggestion; however, since I am applying the method for a 1.2 MV scope, the contrast is too low with a C film. I'm prepared for the possibility that even a Ge film might not be quite good enough. What I will need to do is to take an optical or computer trans- form of the image and find the zeros of the CTF, so the better the con- trast, the more accurate the results. Yours, Bill Tivol
As part of our action-oriented programs under our Affirmative Action Plan, this letter serves as notification that we are seeking minority and female candidates for the following open position, but all qualified candidates will be considered:
Senior Engineer, Mechanical Properties
- This position will be located at our Corporate Technology Center in Latrobe, PA, working in Research and Development.
- The Sr. Engineer position requires a Masters degree, with a Ph.D. preferred, in engineering science or materials related discipline and 2-8 years experience, dependent on the applicants degree, in the study of structure/property relationships. Effective communication, interactive and supervisory skills are required to work with other research personnel and the academic community on both short and long term R&D projects.
- This responsibilities for this position are:
Utilizing TEM (STEM), SEM, EDS, and related instrumentation, provides microstructural, physical property and mechanical property expertise on materials including but not limited to powder and sintered, carbide, cermet, and superhard materials.
Conducts mechanical property testing including tensile, compressive, fracture toughness, transverse rupture and wear at room and elevated temperatures.
Liaisons with outside organizations, universities and other laboratories involved in joint material related research programs.
Investigates and recommends purchase of new analytical instrumentation.
Conducts validation studies of testing procedures using SPC techniques and recommend solutions to resolve discrepancies.
Documents new and existing testing methods with specific procedures.
Represents Kennametal through technical presentations/publications, organizational memberships, serving on committees and elected offices.
- Kennametal Inc. offers an excellent relocation and benefits package and a salary range for this position from $3,920 per month to $5,880 per month dependent on the candidates qualifications and experience.
All candidates for whom resumes are submitted must acknowledge their referral source. Resumes should be sent directly to: Kennametal Inc. Attn: Dennis B. Harr Manager, Human Resource Services P.O. Box 231 Latrobe, PA 15650-0231 (412) 539-5434
Please respond ONLY to the above. DO NOT respond to the originator of this e-mail message.
Please ask your questions. I would be pleased to try to answer them as would others on the listserve.
John Libert
At 02:20 PM 1/19/96 -0700, Serita Frey wrote: } } I am interested in using image analysis to count bacteria, measure } fungal hyphal lengths, and estimate bacterial and fungal biovolumes in } soil samples. I am currently trying to use NIH-image for this purpose. } If you are using NIH-image or another software package for this or a } similar purpose, I would be interested in hearing from you. I am just } getting started and have a number of questions. } } Thanks, } } Serita Frey } } ------------------------------------------------------------------------ } Serita Frey } Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory } Colorado State University } Ft. Collins, CO 80523 } ------------------------------------------------------------------------ } }
} Hello ImageTool Users, } } First we would like to thank all of you for your patience and suggestions } for improving ImageTool. The reception for a image analysis and } processing package for Microsoft Windows has been great. We have } distributed over 1,000 copies world wide to major research institution } since our initial release on August 24, 1995. } } Extra! Extra! ImageTool NEW RELEASE Verion 1.1 } } Version 1.1 of ImageTool is presently available from our ftp site } ftp://maxrad6.uthscsa.edu The new version includes all bugs reported as } of 12/22/95 and some really nice features. We have developed a complete } object analysis and classification plug-in. This plug-in provides for } automated object counting and analysis with over 20 unique measurements. } These include: area, perimeter, x, y center, feret diameter, roundness, } compactness, major/minor axis length, slope and endpoints. Also included } are integrated density, binary and gray centroid. Using Objects } Classification, objects can be categorized into sub groups based on any } of the above object measurements. } } Also new in version 1.1 is support for the Data Translation DT3155 } High-Accuracy Monochrome PCI Bus Frame Grabber. The driver that is } shipping presently supports Windows NT and not Windows 95. Data } Translation will release the Win95 driver for this acquisition board in } February 1996. } } We hope that this new version will help many of you do your research. } Please keep those suggestions of new features and any bug reports coming. } Also please send information about how you are using ImageTool in your } research and what features you would like to see in the next release. We } hope to have a new release sometime in February. } } Thank you again for your support. } } S. Brent Dove } Diagnostic Sciences } University of Texas } Health Science Center } San Antonio, TX USA } Voice: (210) 567-3333 } Fax: (210) 567-3334 } Email: dove-at-uthscsa.edu } Web: ddsdx.uthscsa.edu } ftp: maxrad6.uthscsa.edu } } } ---------- } From: nih-image } To: Multiple recipients of list } Subject: Windows version } Date: Saturday, January 20, 1996 2:36AM } } Does anyone know if there is a Windows version of Image, or a program } similar. } } Thanks } } Candy } } }
Due to the government furlough, the deadline for submitting applications to NIST for postdoctoral positions has been revised as shown below.
POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS AT NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is interested in receiving applicants for National Research Council (NRC) postdoctoral positions. In particular, applicants with interests in electron microscopy are welcomed for work in the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory. Projects can be proposed in the fields of material science, chemistry, mineralogy or other related fields using a variety of techniques including high-resolution TEM, EDS, PEELS, holography, and electron energy loss imaging, etc.
INSTRUMENTATION AVAILABLE: A Philips CM300 FEG equipped with a Gatan Imaging Filter and a Philips CM30 with a PEELS unit are the primary TEM instruments. There are a variety of associated instruments available including scanning electron microscopes, secondary ion microprobes, x-ray diffraction units, etc.
SALARY: $45,500 per year (2 year appointments)
APPLICATION (WITH DRAFT OF PROPOSAL) DUE BY: February 1, 1996
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS AND FINAL PROPOSAL DUE BY: February 15, 1996
EXPECTED STARTING DATE: Fall 1996 (PhD must be complete by this time)
FOR MORE INFORMATION: contact Eric Steel (301) 975-3902, eric.steel-at-nist.gov or Shirley Turner (301) 975-3923, shirley.turner-at-nist.gov.
I am looking for information on a company which I believe is called AMT. I have been told they make interface flanges for cameras on TEMs. In particular, I need to connect a camera to a 100CXII - either below the camera chamber or on the 35 mm port, and to a CM20 below the camera chamber.
The cameras will not be used for high resolution work, but for training purposes.
If anybody knows of the company or any other sources please let me know.
Keith Moulding.
Materials Characteristion Preparation Centre, Hong Kong Univeristy of Science and Technology,
In reply to Paul Webster from Yale about any Cryomicrotomy Courses. Suggest contacting David Remsen on e-Mail address dremsen-at-aaem.amc.anl.gov who is organizing a course on Cryomicroscopy and related techniques at Woods Hole MBL May 29-June5 1996.
Patrick Echlion Multi-Imaging Centre Cambridge University
On 19 Jan 1996, Paul Webster wrote:
} Message : } I'm interested in suggestions for embedding media for polymeric thin films, } typically automotive coatings, which will be cryomicrotomed in the -60 to -90C } range. Most coatings will originate from a water based system. } } I'm also interested in suggestions for cryomicrotomy courses which } would include bulk and embedded polymeric materials (elastomers, coatings, } alloys, and composites). } } Thanks for your help. } } Question : } } How thin do you want the sections to be? } } Paul Webster } Center for Cell imaging } Yale School of Medicine } 333 Cedar Street } New Haven, CT 06520. } }
Hi all, I am considering buying Image-Pro plus software to do some of the things a lot of you have mentioned in the past : feature counting on prints/images, digitalization of negatives, image enhancement and printing.
The system we are thinking of will be attached to a Nomarski microscope for optical work ( defect counting of etched wafer surfaces ), and to a seperate camera mounted on a light-box to digitalize negatives and prints. We have not made a final decision on : 1. resolution of cameras to buy. 2. black and white vs. color. 3. type of printer/s to have available ( the company suggests a Kodak for high quality work )
Anyone out there using a similar setup to count/size and digitalize ? Anyone using Image Pro Plus ?
thanks
Lucio
*********************************************************************** Lucio Mule'Stagno Physics Dept & Center for molecular electronics Univ. of Missouri- St.Louis tel 314 - 516 5933 fax : 314-516 6152 e- mail LUCIOM-at-NEWTON.UMSL.EDU
Hi all, I am considering buying Image-Pro plus software to do some of the things a lot of you have mentioned in the past : feature counting on prints/images, digitalization of negatives, image enhancement and printing.
The system we are thinking of will be attached to a Nomarski microscope for optical work ( defect counting of etched wafer surfaces ), and to a seperate camera mounted on a light-box to digitalize negatives and prints. We have not made a final decision on : 1. resolution of cameras to buy. 2. black and white vs. color. 3. type of printer/s to have available ( the company suggests a Kodak for high quality work )
Anyone out there using a similar setup to count/size and digitalize ? Anyone using Image Pro Plus ?
thanks
Lucio
*********************************************************************** Lucio Mule'Stagno Physics Dept & Center for molecular electronics Univ. of Missouri- St.Louis tel 314 - 516 5933 fax : 314-516 6152 e- mail LUCIOM-at-NEWTON.UMSL.EDU
It has been my experience that a camera mounted below the camera chamber subjects the final image to a magnification of at least twenty (20)times that of a film.If this is not desired I suggest you install the camera above the camera chamber where the magnification is a more reasonable five (5) times. Kate Connolly
In reply to Paul Webster from Yale about any Cryomicrotomy Courses. Suggest contacting David Remsen on e-Mail address dremsen-at-aaem.amc.anl.gov who is organizing a course on Cryomicroscopy and related techniques at Woods Hole MBL May 29-June5 1996.
Patrick Echlion Multi-Imaging Centre Cambridge University
On 19 Jan 1996, Paul Webster wrote:
} Message : } I'm interested in suggestions for embedding media for polymeric thin films, } typically automotive coatings, which will be cryomicrotomed in the -60 to -90C } range. Most coatings will originate from a water based system. } } I'm also interested in suggestions for cryomicrotomy courses which } would include bulk and embedded polymeric materials (elastomers, coatings, } alloys, and composites). } } Thanks for your help. } } Question : } } How thin do you want the sections to be? } } Paul Webster } Center for Cell imaging } Yale School of Medicine } 333 Cedar Street } New Haven, CT 06520. } }
I am looking for information about EELS analyser makers, for implementation on a 300 KV TEM. I heard of Gatan analyser or image filtering system, but would like to know if there are any other makers providing this kind of apparatus.
Thank you in advance for providing any fax number or E-mail address,
Yves MANIETTE Universitat de Barcelona Serveis Cientifico Tecnics Unitat ESCA TEM Carrer Luis Sole i Sabaris E-08028 BARCELONA
Regarding magnification: The Gatan camera mounted below our HF-2000 and our 4000EX instruments has a magnification factor over the film of 1.44 times the width of the displayed image in inches (since the chip is about 1 inch on a side). For an image displayed on a hard-copy output that is say 7 inches wide, this give a final image magnification of 10 times the microscope magnification.
May I also add to this that I was not the one requesting information about cryomicrotomy or courses. I was responding to an anonymous contributor from Dupont (ratyrg-at-ESVAX.DNET.DUPONT.COM) including the original message with my question. Since then we have had a short discussion on the subject away from the BBS.
Someone in our depeartment would like to know what type of Mac they are using, or would recommend to use, to run NIH-Image?? They are typically dealing with images that are 1kbx1kb 24 bit colour. They are contemplating buying a new Mac to run Image and would like input as to what people are using and how well they run Image before buying a new computer. Any and all comments would be appreciated.
Mark Elliott Research Associate UBC-Pulmonary Research Lab
Detection of features in Nomarski (DIC) images can be tricky. Although your eye will see them, thresholding may be difficult because of the "shadowing effect" that DIC has. Even selection by color can be difficult. I had poor results thresholding transmitted light DIC (biological); better results with reflected light DIC (ceramics).
We use Optimas, an alternative to Image-Pro for Windows based image processing (color and b/w). You should also do a serious evaluation of frame grabber boards, including how well they work with your I.A. system. Our first system has an Imaging Technology CFG board, which was pricey but worked well. Our second system has a Coreco TCX, which has some timing delays with Optimas.
No commercial endorsement should be implied.
David Rothbard
} Hi all, } I am considering buying Image-Pro plus software to do some of the } things a lot of you have mentioned in the past : feature counting on } prints/images, digitalization of negatives, image enhancement and printing. } } The system we are thinking of will be attached to a Nomarski } microscope for optical work ( defect counting of etched wafer surfaces ), } and to a seperate camera mounted on a light-box to digitalize negatives and } prints. We have not made a final decision on : } 1. resolution of cameras to buy. } 2. black and white vs. color. } 3. type of printer/s to have available ( the company suggests a Kodak } for high quality work ) } } Anyone out there using a similar setup to count/size and digitalize ? } Anyone using Image Pro Plus ? } } thanks } } Lucio }
I'm at present trying to visualize through TEM an atypical form of growth of a dimorphic fungus, Mucor rouxii, which under normal conditions grows as mycelia and when cAMP analogs are added to the growth media grows iso- diametrically; germ tube emission is impaired, but growth is not impaired. Cells , under these growth conditions are very fragile, and even tend to explode when being under a coverslip. The cell wall is several times wider than the normal cell wall. The microscopic preparations for TEM are not good; the cell looks completely collapsed and detached from the wall. We have already tried adding sorbitol 0.5 M and KCl 0.6 M at the end of the growth period, before isolating the cells, with no success. Can someone give me a suggestion, or indicate me a reference . We obviously are no experts in electronic microscopic observations. Thank you very much. -- Silvia Moreno smoreno-at-kinase.uba.ar
Does anyone in this list know the e-mail address or the FAX number of prof. Ernst H. K. Stelzer at European Molecular Biology Lab? Please reply to me directly. Thanks!
About a year ago, after using EM's for 27 years and having developed cataracts in both eyes at an unusually early age (49), I asked the question through this medium about eye damage resulting from long-term use of electron microscopes. As in the current discussion some interesting comments were made. There is definitely evidence that radiation from a variety of sources causes cataracts, typically in the posterior capsule of the lens - not the nucleus where senile cataracts usually develop. However, modern electron microscopes should be adequately screened to prevent this. In my case the cataracts were apparently typical of radiation-induced cataracts although when and where the irradiation took place is anyone's guess. Someone has mentioned UV radiation from vacuum evaporators. This could be a possibility because I know of little in the way of precautions which are routinely taken to prevent this.
Robin Cross Director : EM Unit, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa eurc-at-giraffe.ru.ac.za (tel: +27 461 318168 - fax: +27 461 24377)
Subject: Time: 7:20 AM Charging for Services Date: 1/23/96
This request is made in the context of a U.S. university laboratory run as a 'recharge center' with a 'revolving account' where most of the users are funded by NSF or NIH. The laboratory provides a range of services in light and electron microscopy for researchers from several departments. Service contract costs for the instruments are recovered through hourly usage charges. Consumable supplies are charged at replacement cost or are replaced 'in kind' by the users. Other services are provided at cost. The university requires that, over time, the account will not make a profit and will not carry a continued balance greater than 10% of the operating costs of the facility.
There has been increasing interest in devising a system whereby users could be charged a fixed sum that would provide 'unlimited' access to one or more instruments/services for a specified time. My understanding is that such a system would violate granting agency prohibitions against prepayment for services, and would similarly violate current university regulations governing recharge centers.
I am interested, therefore, in hearing from anyone who has a system in place that provides in some way for 'lump sum' payments for instrument access/laboratory services. Since the university's recharge regulations will be revised this year, I would also like to hear from anyone whose laboratory appears to operate under less stringent university regulation.
Thank you.
Edward J. King king-at-bioscience.utah.edu Department of Biology University of Utah
We are looking for algorithms to process EDS spectra. The algorithms should include background subtration and calculation of k-ratios from unknown specimens (standardless analysis). Any information would be very helpfull.
Joe Geller Geller MicroAnalytical Lab. 426e Boston St. Topsfield, Ma 01983-1212 508 887-7000 fax 887-6671
The Electron Microscopy Center at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center has an EM Technician II position open. Basic requirements are a bachelor's degree and one year experience with EM. The bachelor's degree can be substituted with an associate's degree from a 2 year EM program or a MSA accreditation and 3 years of experience. Any combination of experience in EDXA, morphometry, image analysis, light microscopy, confocal, histology, and/or flow cytometry would be a plus. Please reply before January 31, 1996 to: TTUHSC Office of Human Resources, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock, Texas 79430 TTUHSC IS AN EEO/AA EMPLOYER
Charles J. Butterick (Chuck) Electron Microscopy Center Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center 3601 4th Street Lubbock, Texas 79430
vox (806) 743-1633 fax (806) 743-1219 email emccjb-at-ttuhsc.edu or chuck-at-micron1.lubb.ttuhsc.edu
The PowerMacs (PPC601 or 604 based) are generically the best way to go for running NIH Image. I have been using the 7500 (which is a PCI-bus based system) and the PCI Scion LG-3 frame grabber (PAL version). The PCI version is very fast for video capture, although it sounds like your user has an alternate source of images. (Also, they need to be aware that NIH- Image is not a true 24-bit color package - It handles the three color planes as a stack of 8-bit images. They should consider something like IP- lab Spectrum for true-color quantification or Photoshop for "graphic arts type" image massaging and printing.) I have also used the built-in video on the 7500. It is a reasonable image quality, but lacks the "scientific" capabilities that the Scion has (grayscale quality, gain/level adjust, analog out, digital I/O, etc.).
The 7500/8500/9500 PowerMacs all have high-speed internal SCSI, so disk I/O is very good. The 7500 is probably the best "bang/buck" system right now. It also uses a daughterboard processor card, so it can be upgraded to a PPC 604, in principal. If I had the budget and had to spend it right now, I would look very hard at the 132 MHz 9500. Of course, this family has now been out long enough that it is likely Apple will introduce a new even- faster Mac family soon. My impression has been that the best value has been on the model which is two steps back and within the same family as the most-recent top model (Current model example: high end is the 9500, hence the 7500 is the best value - i.e., affordable on tight budget, but excellent performance. Most recent past example: the 950 high-end/650 best buy). The clones have some VERY IMPRESSIVE specifications, (combination PCI/NuBus, high processor speed, etc) but may require optional hardware that is already in the Mac, depending on your use environment.
Hope this helps
Bill ========================== Bill Heeschen/Analyt. Sci.- Mat. Char. ----- 1897-F Building / The Dow Chemical Co. --- --- Midland, MI 48667 U.S.A. --- D O W --- phone: (517)636-4005 fax: (517)636-5453 --- --- Email: waheeschen-at-dow.com ----- ========================== R
As I am in one of the facilities who used to have a "pre-paid, lump-sum" system in place that appeared to make everybody happy, only to have a federal audit come in and SEVERLY penalize us for doing so, I would also be interested in what other recharge facilities are doing. Please keep this dialog going, or post a compilation of replies!
Mahalo, Tina
***************************************** Tina (Weatherby) Carvalho * Biological Electron Microscope Facility * University of Hawaii * (808) 956-6251 * tina-at-ahi.pbrc.hawaii.edu * http://www.pbrc.hawaii.edu/bemf/ * *****************************************
Years ago John Russ published a couple of dozen algorithms for carrying out various tasks involved in processing EDS spectra in the "EDAX EDITor", a publication of the EDAX Company. Although these are now several years old, they still might be useful as a starting point, and are certainly of some historical interest. If you are interested in them, John can probably help you with this; otherwise, I still have copies of a number of issues of the EDAX EDITor, and could let you borrow them. W. C. Bigelow (bigelow-at-umich.edu)
Look at the nih-image web site, http://rsb.info.nih.gov/nih-image/ which you can also find using "Net Search" for "nih image", in your favorite web browser like Netscape.
This is an interesting web site even if you don't want to use NIH Image.
(NIH Image runs on power macs as well as the 68k macs).
-- [ From: Charles A. Garber, Ph. D. * EMC.Ver #2.10P ] --
Someone wrote recently:
"I'm interested in suggestions for embedding media for polymeric thin films, typically automotive coatings, which will be cryomicrotomed in the -60 to -90C range. Most coatings will originate from a water based system"
Could you be more specific as to whether you are interested in the dispersion of additives within the thin film (of which there are typically high loadings in many "automotive" coatings) or if you are interested in the air interface surface detail. In either case, you do have to think about "passivating" the top (and bottom) surfaces in order to keep the embedding resin, what ever it is you eventually use, from possibly swelling or other wise changing in some subtle way the polymer layer of interest. We have found that a thin film of sputtered gold works fine, Pt slightly better. For the opposite size, we like to coat with Al so that there is never any question as to which side is which once in the TEM.
If interested primarily in the dispersion of additives in the layer, then the best approach is to embed completely the now both-side passivated film and section.
If interested primarily in the top layer, we "back embed" only (e.g. the bottom surface but after Al coating), gold sputter the top surface but do not embed the top surface. That way, by following the gold layer one can fairly easily discriminate between fact and artifact, that is, surface disruption that was there to begin with vs. surface disruption caused by the knife. We find that additive particles tend to be more likely to be pulled out of the section when using this variation of the approach.
We have found overall several of the so-called "Epon substitutes" are ideal for this particular application, such as our own "SPI-Pon 812" resin. Since the hardness of the final block has to be made to reflect the "hardness" of inorganic additives, if present, the "Epon 812" type systems permit what we find to be the very widest latitude in terms of hardness levels. The fact the system was once "water based" should not make any difference in terms of your choice of embedding system since by the time the resin "sees" the sample, any water has long since disappeared. If your sections do not come out perfect that first time, then varying the hardness of the block might be the first next thing you would want to try. But don't lose confidence in the resin system.
And assuming you are the cost conscious type, the "Epon 812 substitute" resins are about the lowest cost of any resin.
Chuck
====================================================== Charles A. Garber, Ph. D. Ph: 1-(610)-436-5400 President 1-(800)-2424-SPI SPI SUPPLIES FAX: 1-(610)-436-5755 PO BOX 656 e-mail: GVKM07A-at-prodigy.com West Chester, PA 19381-0656 USA Customer Service: SpiSupp-at-aol.com
We have the following 23 filaments which were purchased for an ETEC Autoscan, they are free to anyone who would like them for an ETEC or similar instrument: "EBTEC rebuilt filaments for ETEC, MR 73" (Probing and Structure) - 13 filaments "VL-EO-R" (Energy Beam Sciences) - 10 filaments
Regards
Richard Easingwood South Campus Electron Microscope Unit Otago Medical School PO Box 913 Dunedin NEW ZEALAND
Message-Id: {199601232339.AA19555-at-lucy.swin.edu.au} Comments: Authenticated sender is {hbrinkies-at-gpo.swin.edu.au}
This message might be mainly of interest to the Australian EM community, however, I did not receive any reply to my advertisement in the latest Australian EM Newsletter (48).
So let's try again:
For sale (very cheap). Preloved ED-System. Ortec EEDS-II (needs attention). Consisting of Si(Li) horizontal detector (refurbished by HNU Systems in 1993). Two consoles: Mark I (1981) + Mark II (1983). Epson Printer. Software on 8" floppies, circuit diagrams, manuals, spare 8" disk drives, several spare boards. Best offer accepted.
Hans G Brinkies SWINBURNE, University of Technology Mechnical and Manufacturing Engineering P.O.Box 218 - HAWTHORN, 3122 - Australia Phone: + 61 3 9214 8657 Fax: + 61 3 9214 8264
The Electron Microscopy Center at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center has an EM Technician II position open. Basic requirements are a bachelor's degree and one years experience with EM. The bachelor's degree can be substituted with an associate's degree from a 2 year EM program or a MSA accreditation and 3 years of experience. Any combination of experience in EDXA, morphometry, image analysis, light microscopy, histology, and/or flow cytometry would be a plus. Please reply before January 31, 1996 to: TTUHSC Office of Human Resources, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock, Texas 79430 TTUHSC IS AN EEO/AA EMPLOYER
Charles J. Butterick (Chuck) Electron Microscopy Center Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center 3601 4th Street Lubbock, Texas 79430
vox (806) 743-1633 fax (806) 743-1219 email emccjb-at-ttuhsc.edu or chuck-at-micron1.lubb.ttuhsc.edu
If not, please update your e-mail address list with my new location:
dbd1-at-uclink4.berkeley.edu
Thank y'all.
Doug Davis EML Berkeley
=F8=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5= =B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=F8 =F8 Doug Davis =F8 =F8 Staff Research Associate =F8 =F8 Electron Microscope Facility =F8 =F8 University of California =F8 =F8 Berkeley, CA 94720 =F8 =F8 (510) 642-2085 =F8 =F8 dbd1-at-uclink4.berkeley.edu =F8 =F8=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5= =B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=B5=F8
To do this experiment correctly you must energy filter the diffraction pattern to correctly determine the diffracted intensities. This filtering removes all the inelastic scattering. It is not sufficient to simply measure the intensity just inside the ring to correct for "background". You had best check the literature before doing alot more work.
There are some very good papers by David Cockayne & Colleagues at the University of Sydney. Circa late 1980's in Acta Crys.
I would suggest you look them up before continuing.
Message-ID: {MAPI.Id.0016.00683536202020204434454530303237-at-MAPI.to.RFC822} Read-Receipt-To: Jean-Louis Beek {ah56-at-solo.pipex.co.za} Priority: Normal To: microscopy-at-Sparc5.Microscopy.Com MIME-Version: 1.0
The Association Vaudoise des Chercheurs en Physique organizes a
**** Winter School****
M=E9thodes modernes de diffusion et de diffraction des neutrons, =E9lectrons= et RX
in Grimentz (Valais) Switzerland (nice for skiing, isn't it?) Feb. 25 to March 2 1996
It is intended for people who are not specialized in (all) these methods and who would like to get a general knowledge of the similarities, the differences and the potential applications of these techniques. You can get all the information on Internet
http://cimewww.epfl.ch/avcp/index.html
The lectures will be approx. 60% in French and 40% in English (25 hours at total, 15 lecturers) The deadline for registration is Feb. 3
__________________________________________________________________ Philippe Buffat Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) Centre Interdepartemental de Microscopie Electronique Address: EPFL-CIME, Batiment MX-C, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland Phone: +41(21)693 29 83 Fax: +41(21)693 44 01 (Central European Time) E-mail: philippe.buffat-at-cime.uhd.epfl.ch // pabuffat-at-cimesg1.epfl.ch ______________________________ Eudora F2.1 ___________________________
The Association Vaudoise des Chercheurs en Physique organizes a
**** Winter School****
M=E9thodes modernes de diffusion et de diffraction des neutrons, =E9lectrons= et RX
in Grimentz (Valais) Switzerland (nice for skiing, isn't it?) Feb. 25 to March 2 1996
It is intended for people who are not specialized in (all) these methods and who would like to get a general knowledge of the similarities, the differences and the potential applications of these techniques. You can get all the information on Internet
http://cimewww.epfl.ch/avcp/index.html
The lectures will be approx. 60% in French and 40% in English (25 hours at total, 15 lecturers) The deadline for registration is Feb. 3
__________________________________________________________________ Philippe Buffat Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) Centre Interdepartemental de Microscopie Electronique Address: EPFL-CIME, Batiment MX-C, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland Phone: +41(21)693 29 83 Fax: +41(21)693 44 01 (Central European Time) E-mail: philippe.buffat-at-cime.uhd.epfl.ch // pabuffat-at-cimesg1.epfl.ch ______________________________ Eudora F2.1 ___________________________
I am looking for the fax number (or even E-Mail address) of the company AREMCO products, OSSINING,NY. They sell Aremco crystalbond 509 glue, that we use for preparing samples.
thank you in advance
Yves MANIETTE Universitat de Barcelona Serveis Cientifico Tecnics Unitat ESCA TEM Carrer Luis Sole i Sabaris E-08028 BARCELONA
Please complete/return form below to remain/get on our lists.
Scanning Microscopy International Post Office Box 66507, Chicago (A.M.F. O'Hare), IL 60666-0507, U.S.A. Telephone: (708) 529-6677 / FAX: (708) 980-6677 E.mail: 73211.647-at-compuserve.com
Scanning Microscopy 1996 meeting May 11-16, 1996, Bethesda, Maryland (suburb of Washington, DC)
Symposium on: Scanning Probe Microscopies and Related Techniques for the Biological and Materials Sciences
Note: A number of SPM papers will also be presented durin the program on "Pattern Formation and Nanoscaled Structures in Thin Film Formation" at the same time at same venue. THOSE PAPERS ARE NOT LISTED BELOW. Please request / see a separate flier on that.
Program organizers: Dr. David P. Allison, Oak Ridge Natl. Lab., TN (E-mail: allisondp-at-ornl.gov); Prof. Chunli Bai, Chinese Acad. Sci., Beijing (E.mail: clbai-at-infoc3.icas.ac.cn); Prof. Lawrence A. Bottomley, Georgia Inst. Tech., Atlanta (E.mail: lawrence.bottomley-at-chemistry.gatech.edu); Prof. Masamichi Fujihira, Univ. Yokohama, Japan (phone: 81 22 2152021 / FAX: 81 22 2152020 / E.mail: mfujihira-at-bio.titech.ac.jp); Dr. Heinrich J.K. Hoerber, European Molec. Biol. Lab., Heidelberg, Germany (E.mail: hoerber-at-embl-heidelberg.de); and Prof. Douglas J. Thomson, Univ. Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada (E.mail: thomson-at-ee.umanitoba.ca).
Following up on the past SPM meetings, this symposium will provide a nice occasion to present novel discoveries as well as reviews of recent developments in theory, instrumentation, and applications of scanning tunneling microscopy and related techniques, including atomic force microscopy, magnetic force microscopy, near field optical microscopy, etc. Applications of STM and other scanning probe techniques should emphasize the studies of adsorbates as well as physical and chemical process at solid surfaces. Topics of interest include: studies of processes on metal, semiconductor, and other solid surfaces: imaging of molecules, especially biomolecules; imaging of cells and other biological structures; tip-induced effects; etc.
Papers can still be offered: please contact one of the organizers or Dr. Om Johari at Scanning Microscopy International.
List of presentations (as of January 23, 1996) in alphabetical order
M.J. Allen, Digital Instruments, Santa Barbara, CA et al.: The Chromatin Structure of Well-Spread Demembranated Human Sperm Nuclei Revealed by AFM
D.P. Allison et al., Oak Ridge National Lab., TN: High Resolution Physical Mapping of EcoRI restriction Sites on Intact Cosmids by AFM Imaging
P.C. Zhang, C. BAI, P.K.H. Ho, Q. Li, Y. Dai, Y.S. Wu, B.F. Sheng, Chinese Acad. Sci., Beijing: AFM Study of Interactions Between Tumor Necrosis Factor and Its Monoclonal Antibodies
J. Bereiter-Hahn et al., Univ. Frankfurt, Germany: Regulation of Cell Surface Motility, as Revealed by Scanning Acoustic Microscopy
G. Collins, Topomatrix, Santa Clara, CA: (1) A Novel High Resolution NSOM; (2) Polymer Science Applications of a Scanning Thermal Microscope Having a Resistively Heatable Probe; (3) Applications of a Combined SPM/SEM
E.D. Dahlberg et al., Univ. Minn, Minneapolis: Review: Magnetic Force Microscopy and Magnetotactic Bacteria
O. Enea, Univ. Poiters, France: Topographic Studies of TiO2 and SnO2 Ceramics by Environmental SEM, SEM and AFM
R. ESCHRICH, Max-Planck-Inst. Biochem., Martinsried, Germany; G.L. Kumar, T.A. Keil, R. Guckenberger: AFM on the Olfactory Dendrites of Giant Silkmoth Antheraea
M. Fujihara, Tokyo Inst. Tech., Japan: Review: AFM of Solid Surfaces in Aqueous Solutions
D. Goddard, Br. Nucl Fuels, Preston, UK: AFM of Bacterial Biofilms with Application to Microbially Influenced Corrosion
H. Hansma, Univ. Calif., Santa Barbara: Review: Atomic Force Microscopy of Biomaterials
M. HARA, W. Knoll, RIKEN, Saitama, Japan: Review: STM and AFM Studies of Self-Assembled Monolayer Growth
D.O. HENDERSON, Y.S. Tung, R. Mu, Fisk Univ., Nashville, TN; W.A. Curby, M. Mercado, Fed. Aviation Rech. Ctr., Atlantic City, NJ: Optical and Atomic Force Microscopy of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate Nanoclusters on Si(100)
E. Henderson, Iowa State Univ., Ames: Biomolecular Detection with the AFM (Tentative Title)
H. Hoerber, European Molecular Biology Lab., Heidelberg, Germany: Measuring Surface Forces with the AFM
D. HUANG, Y. Yamamoto, Yamamoto Quantum Fluctuation Project, Tokyo, Japan and Stanford Univ., CA: Hydrogen Atom Extraction and Redeposition on the Monohydride Si(100)-2x1:H Surface
A. Ikai, Tokyo Inst. Tech., Japan: Review: Measurements of Mechanical Parameters of Proteins and Chromosomes with AFM
M.D. JOHNSON, Univ. Oklahoma, Norman, and H.W.M. Salemink: Review: Cross-Sectional STM on Semiconductor Heterostructures (to be presented during the Semiconductors program)
G.L. KUMAR, Max-Planck-Inst. Verhaltenphysiol., Seewiesen, Germany; R. Eschrich, R. Guckenberger, T.A. Keil: In Search for Putative Pheromone Receptors on the Membrane of Olfactory Dendrites in Silkmoths (A. polyphemus and A. pernyi) Using the AFM and SEM
L. Kuutti, VTT Biotech. Food Res., Espoo, Finland: Identification and Surface Structure of Crystalline Cellulose Studied by AFM
G. LEE, A.D. MacKerell, L.A. Chrisey, R.J. Colton, US Naval Res. Lab., Washington, DC: Measuring Inter- and Intramolecular Forces in Biomolecules
Y. Lyubchenko, Arizona State Univ., Tempe: AFM Studies of RecA-DNA Complexes
J.F. Marchiando, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD:: Methods for Interpreting Measurements from a Scanning Capacitance Microscope (to be presented during the Semiconductors program)
M. McDermott, Univ. Alberta, Edmonton, Canada et al.: Review: Chemical Mapping with Force Microscopy
M. Rivera, M. MILES et al., Univ. Bristol, UK: Phase Transitions in Liquid Crystals Observed by SPM
W. MIZUTANI, M. Motomatsu, H. Ogiso, H. Tokumoto, Nat. Inst. Adv. Interdiscpl. Res., Tsukuba, Japan: STM with Local Non-Linearity Detection of Organic Thin Films and Ion Irradiated Graphite
D.J. MUELLER, F. Schabert, A. Engel, Univ. Basel, Switzerland: Review: Structural Changes of Native Membrane Proteins Monitored at Subnanometer Resolution with the AFM
H. MURAMATSU, Seiko Instruments, Chiba, Japan; T. Ataka, N. Chiba, K. Nakajima, M. Fujihira Review: Fluorescence Imaging and Spectroscopy of Biomaterials in Air and Liquid by SNOM/AFM
P. Nagy, MTA KFKI Res. Inst., Budapest, Hungary: Review: SPM Image Reconstruction
R. Perez, Univ. Cambridge, UK: First Principles Simulations of Atomic Resolution in Non-Contact AFM (to be presented during the Fundamental Physics Program)
R. RAITERI, H.-J. Butt, Max-Planck-Inst. Biophy., Frankfurt, Germany: Changes in Surface Stress Measured with an AFM
B. Samori, Univ. Calabria, Bologna, Italy: DNA Imaging by SFM (exact title to come)
W. Haiss and J.K. SASS, Fritz-Haber-Inst., Berlin, Germany: STM Surface Stress Measurements in Electrochemistry
Y. Shirane, Univ. Tokushima, Japan: Surface Observation of Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate Crystals by FE- SEM and AFM (to be presented during the Stones and Crystals program)
R.P. Singh, Indian Min. Sci. Tech., New Delhi: STM and Application Possibilities
V. Snitka et al., Kaunas Univ., Lithuania: Acoustic Waves Investigation by Atomic Force Microscopy
I. Stangel, McGill Univ., Montreal, Canada: The Applications and Limitations of AFM to Complex Biomaterials Surfaces: Effects of Acid Demineralization on Human Dentin
M.S. UNLU, B.B. Goldberg, Boston Univ., MA: Review: Characterization of Materials and Devices by Near Field Optical Scanning Microscopy (to be presented during the Semiconductors program)
J. Vesenka, Calif. State Univ., Fresno: Review: The Diameter of Duplex and Quadruplex DNA Measured by SPM
VU THIEN BINH, F. Feschet, V. Semet, S.T. Purcell, Univ. Lyon, France: Fresnel Projection Microscopy: Theory and Experiment: Electron Microscopy with Nanometer Resolution at ~ 200 eV
J.W. Wu, J.H. GU, J.H. Fang, Z.H. Lu, Southeast Univ., Nanjing, China: A New Phenomenon at a Small Gap Resistance When Using STM to Modify Gold Surface
T. WU, Z. Ai, Southeast Univ., Nanjing, China: Autostereogram: A New Method for Scanning Probe Microscopy
Z.D. Xiao et al., Southeast Univ., Nanjing, China: A New STM System Using Radioactive Tip
F. Zenhausern, IBM Watson Research Ctr., Yorktown Hts., NY: New Developments in Near Field Optical Microscopy and Spectroscopy
---
Other related programs at the same venue (*: Fliers available):
*Fundamental Physics in Microscopy and Microanalysis,
*Pattern Formation and Nanoscaled Structures in Thin Film Formation
*Scanning Microscopy and Semiconductors: Metrology and Diagnostics;
Several Biological programs including: Microanalysis and Imaging, *Immunolabelling, *Radiation Effects, Apoptosis, *Dentistry, Corrosion Casting, *Inner Ear, *Bone Biology, *Stones and Crystals, etc.);
Several Biomaterials Related Programs organized under "*Cells and Materials": (1) Skeletal Tissue / Biomaterials; (2) Foreign Body Reactions; (3) Biointerfacial Reactions at Biomaterial Surfaces; (4) Innovative Drug Delivery Systems; (5) Blood-Related Biomaterials; (6) and (7) Dental Biomaterials.
and Food Structure
----------------
For more information, please complete and return the form below to
__ I wish to present at the Scanning Microscopy 1996 meeting (tentative title and summary on a separate sheet), please send a Letter of Intent form.
__ I cannot present, but am likely to attend the 1996 meeting, please keep me informed and send me: ___ 1996 Registration / Hotel form.
__ I can neither present nor attend; please add/keep my name on your mailing list. ___ Send me a mailing list form.
Please send: 1996 program fliers (*list programs here):
___ Instructions for Authors / ___ Major subject index / Table of Contents for: ___ Scanning Microscopy / ___ Cells and Materials / ___ Food Structure;
Flier on Scanning Microscopy:
___ Supplement 6, 1992 ("Signal and Image Processing in Microscopy and Microanalysis");
___ Supplement 7, 1993 ("Physics of Generation and Detection of Signals Used for Microcharacterization");
___ Supplement 8, 1994 ("Science of Biological Microanalysis")
___ Flier on the special issue: Interface Formation and Dynamics in Layered Structures (Scanning Microscopy, Vol. 8, no. 4, 1994).
___ Flier on 1996 Pfefferkorn Conference on Electron Image and Signal Processing, May 18-22, 1996 at Silver Bay, New York
Scanning Microscopy International P.O. Box 66507, Chicago (AMF O'Hare), IL 60666, USA Telephone: (708) 529-6677 / FAX: (708) 980-6677 E.mail:73211.647-at-compuserve.com
Fifteenth Pfefferkorn Conference on Electron Image and Signal Processing
May 18-22, 1996 at Silver Bay Association, Silver Bay, NY
The Conference will provide a forum for discussion of the current status, recent advances and prospects of many aspects of image and signal processing in electron and near-field microscopy and microanalysis. The principal themes are three-dimensional reconstruction, image restoration, enhancement and analysis (including morphological and algebraic approaches in particular), electron holography, the phase problem, processing image sets (from STEM detectors and from defocus and tilt series, for example), image simulation, and hardware and software for image acquisition and processing and for microscope control. Please see below for a list of speakers.
The organizers are: Dr. Peter W. Hawkes, CNRS Lab. Opt. Elect., B.P. 4347, 31055 Toulouse Cedex, France (Phone: 33-62-257884 / FAX 33-62-257999 / E.mail: hawkes-at-cict.fr); Dr. W. Owen Saxton, Univ. Cambridge, U.K. (FAX: 44-1223-334 567 / E.mail: wos1-at-cus.cam.ac.uk); and Dr. Joachim Frank, NYS Dept. Health, Wadsworth Center, Albany, NY 12201-0509, USA (Phone: 518 474 7002 / FAX: 518 474 8590 / E.mail: joachim-at-wadsworth.org). Interested contributors should contact either of the organizers with a title and a one page summary; please also include other relevant information (e.g., time desired, reprints of relevant publications, etc.).
Full-length papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings to be issued as Scanning Microscopy Supplement 11, 1997.
Conference Information: Registration begins at 6 PM on Friday, May 17. The first lecture will be at 8:30 AM on Saturday, May 18; the Conference will end at lunch on Wednesday, May 22. Sessions will be daily in mornings (from 8:30 to 1), afternoons (about 4:30-7), and evenings (about 8:45 to 10). Ample discussion time will be allowed; active participation by attendees is invited. Because of the limited number of attendees, the Pfefferkorn Conferences provide an excellent opportunity for in-depth discussions and personal contacts. Conference attendance is by application or invitation only. Qualified registrants will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. To apply: please submit name, mailing and E.mail addresses, phone (work and home) and FAX numbers, and a 50-100 statement about your qualification relative to the theme (and topics) of the conference, accompanied by the full registration fee of US $200 (includes attendance to sessions, coffee-breaks, and a copy of the Conference Proceedings).
Conference Location: The sessions will take place at one of the conference rooms at Silver Bay Association (SBA), Silver Bay, NY 12874 (phone: 518 543 8833 / FAX: 518 543 6733 / E.mail: sbaconf-at-aol.com), located 80 miles north of Albany, NY. This 600 acres beautiful, peaceful, registered historical place, located on Lake George and in the Adirondack mountains, offers dozens of water and land sports, gym programs, hiking, etc. and is filled with gardens, rolling lawns and gentle streams. It is ideal for a family vacation or retreat. The room rates (all rates include three full meals daily!) range from $40 per person (in two and four bed-room cottages ideal for four and eight persons, respectively), to $55 and $65 per person (based on two persons to a room) in rooms without and with private baths, respectively. Accompanying children aged 4 to 12 pay half of these rates. Single rooms are available at a cost of $69 (without private bath) or $80 (with private bath). It is expected that all attendees will stay at this location. To make accommodation reservations, please contact SBA directly and inform us of your travel details (mode and day/time). Details about getting to Silver Bay will be sent to all attendees: nearest airports are Albany (New York) and Burlington (Vermont); foreigners may find it easier to fly to Montreal, Canada (about 150 miles north) or New York (about 200 miles south). There is one daily train each way from New York and Montreal which stops in Ticonderoga, NY (about 20 miles from Silver Bay); some bus service is available too. Appropriate van transportation from Albany (at costs ranging from $50 per van for less than 4 people, or $10 per person for more than 5 persons) will also be arranged by SBA. Attemps will also be made to form car pools with those driving.
Past Conferences: Started in 1982, in honor of the late Prof. Gerhard E. Pfefferkorn, these Conferences present an in-depth discussion of fundamental topics in scanning microscopy and related techniques. Two conferences on topics directly related to the theme of the 1996 Conference were held in 1987 and 1991; registrants to the 1996 Conference can obtain those proceedings [containing original peer-reviewed, full-length papers published as Scanning Microscopy Supplements 2 (1998) and 6 (1992)] at special package prices (including uninsured cheapest rate mail delivery) of $95 (for US delivery) and $105 (for outside US delivery).
Scanning Microscopy International (SMI), a not-for-profit organization, sponsors the annual Scanning Microscopy, Cells and Materials, and Food Structure meetings: 1996 meeting will be from May 11 to 16 at Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bethesda, Maryland (suburb of Washington, D.C.]; publishes the international journals: Scanning Microscopy (previously Scanning Electron Microscopy till 1986), Food Structure, Cells and Materials (from 1991), and Scanning Microscopy Supplements (Proceedings of the Pfefferkorn Conferences); and issues publications devoted to selected topics derived from its journals. Details of the programs planned for the Scanning Microscopy 1996 meeting, a complete current list of publications, samples Tables of Contents of publications, etc. are available on request. The topics of this 1996 Conference are relevant to the themes of our journals; papers for publication are invited (Instructions for Authors are included in our journals or available on request).
For more information, please contact Dr. Om Johari, at SMI.
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List of speakers as of January 22, 1996 (note: * = invited but not formally accepted as yet; when there are multiple authors, speakers name is in CAPITALS).
G. ADE, Physikal.-Techns. Bundes., Braunschweig, Germany: (1) A Digital Method for Noise Reduction in Holographic Reconstructions and Electron Microscopical Images (2) Coma-Free Alignment of Electron Microscopes and Digital Determination of Aberration Coefficients (with R. Lauer)
G. Anstis, Univ. Technol., Sydney, Australia; C.R. Birkeland, S.C. Anderson, D.J.H. Cockayne: Computation and Quantitative Analysis of HAADF Lattice Images of GaAs
N. Boisset, J.C. Taveau, V. You, F. de Haas, J. Lamy, URA CNRS, Tours, France: Refinement of Single Particle 3D Reconstruction (Art Method) Based on Topological Selection of EM Views
N. Bonnet, Univ. Reims, France: Multi-Dimensional Spectrum and Image Processing
C.B. Boothroyd, Univ. Cambridge, U.K.: Recent Results on Energy Filtered Image Quantification
C. BURMESTER, Max-Planck-Inst. Mol. Physiol., Dortmund, Germany; K.C. Holmes, R.R. Schroeder (Max-Planck-Inst. Med. Forschung, Heidelburg, Germany): Feasibility of the Multiple Isomorphous Replacement Method in Protein-Electron-Diffraction
H. CHENG, T. Baker, Purdue Univ., W. Lafayette, IN: The Correlation Approach to Virus Phasing
*M. Coster, Univ. Caen, France: Morphology and SEM Image Analysis: Recent Progress
C. DINGES, H. Rose, Tech. Hochsch., Darmstadt, Germany: Simulation of TEM Images and Diffraction Patterns Considering Phonon and Electronic Excitations
J. Frank, NYS Dept. Health, Albany, NY: Three-Dimensional Reconstruction (exact title to come)
S. Swaminathan, I.P. Jones (Univ. Birmingham, UK), N.J. Zaluzec (Argonne Natl. Lab.), D.M. Maher (No. Carolina State Univ., Raleigh), H.L. FRASER, Ohio State Univ., Columbus: Determination of Accurate Low Order Structure Factors for Si and TiAl Using Energy Filtered CBED
D.R. Beniac, G.J. Czarnota(1), F.P. Ottensmeyer(1), G. HARAUZ, Univ. Guelph, Canada; (1 = Ontario Cancer Institute, Toronto): Challenges of Three Dimensional Reconstruction of Nucleoprotein Complexes from Electron Spectroscopic Images
P. Kruit, B.M. Mertens, Delft Univ. Technol., Netherlands: Image Acquisition by Scanning in Fourier Space
M.K. KUNDMANN, Gatan EELS Software, Downers Grove, IL; S.L. Friedman, A.J. Gubbens, O.L. Krivanek: Characterization and Correction of TEM Energy Filter Aberrations
P.L. Bellon, S. LANZAVECCHIA, Univ. Milan, Italy: The Moving Window Shannon Reconstruction in Real and Fourier Domain. Applications in Tomography
H. Lichte, Univ. Dresden, Germany: Pitfalls on the Road to 0.1 nm with Electron Holography
M. MANKOS, IBM Watson Res. Ctr., Yorktown Hts., NY; M.R. Scheinfein, J.M. Cowley (Arizona State Univ.): Holography and the STEM
M.R. McCartney, Arizona State Univ., Tempe: Recent Applications of Electron Holography
D.G. MORGAN, D.J. DeRosier, Brandeis Univ., Waltham, MA: Analysis of Disordered Helices Using Correlation Methods
P.D. NELLIST, S.J. Pennycook, Oak Ridge Natl. Lab., TN: Probe and Object Function Reconstruction in Incoherent STEM Imaging
M.A. O'Keefe, Lawrence Berkeley Lab., Univ. Calif., Berkeley: On-Line Remote-Control Electron Microscopy with Emphasis on the Image and Signal Processing
P.A. PENCZEK, J. Zhu, R. Schroeder, J. Frank, NYS Dept. Health, Albany, NY: Three-Dimensional Reconstruction with CTF Compensation from Focus Series
T. Plamann, Univ. Bristol, U.K.: Three-Dimensional Propagation Effects in Fourier-Resolved Ptychography
G. Matteucci, G.F. Missiroli, G. POZZI, Univ. Bologna, Italy: Electron Holography and Electrostatic Fields
M. RADERMACHER, C. Lawrence, NYS Dept. Health, Albany, NY: Radon Transform Techniques for Alignment and Three-Dimensional Reconstruction from Random Projections
D. VAN DYCK, M. Op de Beeck, Univ. Antwerp, Belgium: From Image to Atomic Structure: How Far Are We?
M. VAN HEEL, E. Orlova, P. Dube, H. Stark, F. Zemlin, M. Schatz, Fritz Haber Inst., Berlin, Germany: Angular Reconstitution: High-Resolution Three-Dimensional Structure From Single Particles
E. VOELKL, L.F. Allard, Oak Ridge Natl. Lab., TN, B. Frost (Univ. Tennessee): Electron Holography: Recent Developments and Applications
H.S. von Harrach, VG Scientific, E. Grinstead, U.K.: Maximum Entropy Reconstruction of STEM Images
Z.L. Wang, Georgia Inst. Tech., Atlanta: Thermal Diffuse Scattering in Energy Filtered Electron Diffraction and Imaging
This conferences follows the Scanning Microscopy 1996 meeting in Bethesda, Maryland from May 11-16 (contact Om Johari at SMI for more information).
Papers can still be offered, please contact one of the organizers (see above).
Yves Maniette wrote: } } Dear all, } } I am looking for the fax number (or even E-Mail address) of the company } AREMCO products, OSSINING,NY. They sell Aremco crystalbond 509 glue, that } we use for preparing samples. } } thank you in advance } } Yves MANIETTE } Universitat de Barcelona } Serveis Cientifico Tecnics } Unitat ESCA TEM } Carrer Luis Sole i Sabaris } E-08028 BARCELONA } } Tel +34 3 402 16 95 } Fax +34 3 402 13 98
Aremco Products, Inc. P.O. Box 429 Ossining, NY 10562-0429 (914)762-0685 (914)762-1663 (FAX)
I do not have e-mail address.
--
Naresh Shah CFFLS, 341 Bowman Hall University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506-0059 e-mail: naresh-at-pop.uky.edu (606) 257-5119 (606) 257-4027 (Dept. office) (606) 257-7215 (FAX)
Crystalbond is available from AREMCO. Their phone is 914 762-0685 fax: 914 762-1663.
Joe Geller Geller Microanalytical Lab 426e Boston St. Topsfield, MA 01983-1212
On Wed, 24 Jan 1996, Yves Maniette wrote:
} } Dear all, } } I am looking for the fax number (or even E-Mail address) of the company } AREMCO products, OSSINING,NY. They sell Aremco crystalbond 509 glue, that } we use for preparing samples. } } thank you in advance } } } } Yves MANIETTE } Universitat de Barcelona } Serveis Cientifico Tecnics } Unitat ESCA TEM } Carrer Luis Sole i Sabaris } E-08028 BARCELONA } } Tel +34 3 402 16 95 } Fax +34 3 402 13 98 }
Those of you interested in callculations such as those involved in processing EDS spectra should by all means get a copy of the book "Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences" by P. R. Bevington, McGraw-Hill, 1969 It contains about a dozen self-consistent FORTRAN programs for carrying out many of the basic mathematical operations involved in such calculations. W. C. Bigelow (bigelow-at-umich.edu)
} I'm trying to get in touch with TSL TexSEM Laboratories Incorporated a } company that makes EBSP software for Windows. I have a phone number } 801-467-9930, but nobody answers. Anyone know how to get in touch with } them?
I am looking for any manuals and/or technical data, i.e. circuit diagrams, on a Hitachi S-310A field emission SEM. We have the column and vacuum control/power supplies unit but no scan/display unit and I want to find out how to connect a computer-based scanning/image acquisition system in its place for a project.
I have been having a problem during "drop" staining of grids for TEM: I place my slot grid on a drop of stain. Sometimes the formvar which holds the sections in place detach from the grid - the formvar (and sections) float on the drop of stain and the grid sinks to the bottom.Has anyone out there been having a similar problem? Do you know of any solution. I have taken a number of "remedial" measures but I am not sure whether they have worked since the problem re-occurs from time to time. For example I have : - stained grids after allowing them to "stand" for at least 24 hours after sectioning. - tried multiple grid staining - used a glue pen - pre-dipped grids in formvar before picking up sections - cleaned grids thoroughly in acetone-HCl- DW -used acetone-stored grids -left grids with sections (on formvar plates) in a desiccator for extended periods I would appreciate any suggestions.
} One of my courses will discuss in length the contrast } theory used for the TEM. } Since I've never ever worked with these beasts I wonder if there is a } S/W simulator or some other means that wouldmake the digestion of the } theory a little easier ??? } } I have to start from electron diffraction, white field, dark field, } Kikuchi pattern etc... all new to me ! to get to the contrast theory.
Dear CFILION, The Academic Press volumes, Principles of Electron Optics, by Hawkes & Kasper, go into this in great detail in Vol. 3. Good luck. Yours, Bill Tivol
********** PLEASE RESPOND BY EMAIL TO:jbpawley-at-facstaff.wisc.edu: **********
LIMITED SPACE STILL AVAILABLE. ________________________________________________________________________________
Second announcement:
An intensive, 8-day course on
"3D MICROSCOPY OF LIVING CELLS"
will be given at the
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
July 27 - August 4, 1996
THE PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
Modern methods of 3D light microscopy promise a revolutionary improvement in our ability to view living cells. To help convert this promise to reality for a wider selection of biological scientists, an intensive eight day residential course concentrating on all aspects of the 3D Microscopy of Living Cells will be introduced at the University of British Columbia, in the summer of 1996. Covering everything from basic microscopy to the technical considerations that define the highest levels of performance of the confocal microscope, this course will include:
* Quantitative confocal microscopy * Pixelation: The Nyquist Criterion * Lasers and laser tweezers * Objectives and aberrations * Scanning-systems * Wide field/deconvolution techniques * Detectors: operation and performance * Optimal pinhole size & photon efficiency * Dye design, characteristics and use * How to keep your cells alive * Two-photon excitation * Video-rate confocal imaging * Measuring ion concentrations * Display and measurement of 3D data * Digital hard copy and storage * Fluorescent & gold labeling of living cells * Backscattered light imaging.
Lecture demonstrations will be interspersed with hands-on laboratory exercises that will utilize all of the currently available commercial instruments for 3D microscopic imaging. Students will work in groups of three throughout the discussion and laboratory sessions, and will complete a live-cell 3D study on a specimen of their choice. At least seven, separate 3D microscopical workstations, attended by a technical staff of 15, will be available for student use. Overall, the teacher/student ratio will be more than 2:1.
International Academic Faculty:
* Jon Art University of Illinois * Milton Charlton University of Toronto * Rachel Errington Oxford University * Jim Pawley University of Wisconcon-Madison * Wallace Marshall U. of California, San Francisco * Ernst Stelzer EMBL, Heidelberg * Roger Tsien University of California, San Diego * Pavel Vesely Academy of Sciences, Prague * Watt Webb Cornell University * Michael Weis University of British Columbia * Nick White Oxford University
International Commercial Faculty:
* Ernst Keller Carl Zeiss, NY * Paul Millard Molecular Probes, OR * Sigrid Myrdal Bristol-Myers Squibb, WA * K. Sam Wells Bio-Rad,,CA
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
The course is designed for biological research scientists and advanced graduate students who use, or plan to apply 3D microscopy to studies involving living cells. No previous experience in advanced light microscopy is required but applicants will be asked to outline how they plan to use 3D microscopy and describe a short research project that they plan to carry out during the course. Most projects will If space permits, students with other interests in 3D light microscopy will be welcomed.
PLAN OF INSTRUCTION
Classes will meet from 8:30 -12:30 and 1:30 - 5:30 and will alternate between lecture-demonstrations and laboratory sessions. From Monday to Friday, facilities and supervision will be available until 11:00 pm, for students to work on their projects. On average, only two topics will be covered in each morning or afternoon session. There will be enough 3D microscopy setups to permit students in groups of three, to "learn-by-doing" following each demonstration. Lab handouts will include detailed questions to stimulate group discussions. Prior to the course, students will be organized into groups and encouraged to communicate by email/phone, about the "Living-cell" group projects that they will pursue in the evenings and that will be presented to the class on the last day of the course. Students must contact the Course Organizer to make necessary arrangements for the transport and maintenance of cell lines etc. needed for their projects.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Campus accommodations border on the luxurious and arrangements can easily be made for accompanying family members. Rooms and suites will be situated in the Walter Gage Residence located centrally, a few blocks from either the lecture-lab facilities or the Student Union Building which contains a large cafeteria, lounge, bank, etc. Many of the rooms in the Gage Residence have breathtaking views of the mountains of North and West Vancouver, and the Pacific Ocean. A variety of accommodation types are available:
- Single room with shared washroom $24
- Single room with private bath $41
- Double suite (kitchenette, private bath, TV, phone, double bedroom plus separate sitting room) $63
- Triple suite (twin bedroom and queen Murphy bed in sitting room, balcony, kitchen, bath, TV, phone) $74 (All fees are $ US per night. Add 15% VAT)
Students are encouraged to bring family members to enjoy the pristine beauty of the Vancouver area and the miles of sandy beaches that surround the campus.
TUITION
Tuition is $1,500 US. On receipt of the deposit, all students will receive preliminary assignments and a copy of the textbook, "Handbook of Biological Confocal Microscopy," (Plenum, 1995). The tuition fee includes one ticket for the opening reception and the banquet, the textbook and all handouts. Accommodations and meals are not included in the tuition fee.
APPLICATIONS
Applicants will complete a questionnaire to assess knowledge level and field of interest. Enrolment will be limited to 20 participants. Selection will be made on the basis of background and perceived need. Those without previous LM experience will be provided with basic texts to read before the course begins. Application packages may be obtained from
Prof. James Pawley, Rm. 1235, 1500 Johnson Dr., Madison, WI, USA 53706. Phone: 1-608-263-3147, Fax 1-608-265-5315, Email: jbpawley-at-facstaff.wisc.edu
Application deadlines:
Applications forms requesting information on field of interest and level of experience must be received for screening by March 1, 1996. Successful applicants will be notified by April 1, and a deposit of 50% must be received by April 15, 1996. In general, refunds of the deposit will not be possible.
Applications must be received by Mar. 1/96 50% deposit due Apr. 15/96 Registration 3:00 - 5:00 pm Sat., July 27/96 Last class will end with lunch Sun., Aug. 4/96
*****************************************
**************************************** Prof. James B. Pawley, Ph. 608-263-3147 Room 1235, Engineering Research Building, FAX 608-265-5315 1500 Johnson Dr., Madison, WI, 53706 JBPAWLEY-at-FACSTAFF.WISC.EDU
**************************************** Prof. James B. Pawley, Ph. 608-263-3147 Room 1235, Engineering Research Building, FAX 608-265-5315 1500 Johnson Dr., Madison, WI, 53706 JBPAWLEY-at-FACSTAFF.WISC.EDU
Message-Id: {199601242132.PAA23101-at-BCM.TMC.EDU} X-Sender: joiner-at-bcm.tmc.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Version 2.1.1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
At 08:55 AM 1/23/96 -1000, you wrote: } As I am in one of the facilities who used to have a "pre-paid, lump-sum" } system in place that appeared to make everybody happy, only to have a } federal audit come in and SEVERLY penalize us for doing so, I would also } be interested in what other recharge facilities are doing. Please keep } this dialog going, or post a compilation of replies! } } Mahalo, } Tina } ************************ Tina -
I am also in a fee-for-service situation. I get no support from grants, except that investigators use funds from their grants to pay me for the electron microscopy I do for their research projects. We have a fee structure that basically prices our services depending upon what we are called on to do, and whether there is a signed report that goes into a patient's file in clinical cases. Some time ago when I was setting this up and was curious what other service EM labs, especially medical labs like my own, charged for their work, I was told that asking other labs what they charged was illegal and amounted to price fixing. I am not sure what agency enforces that, probably Medicare; and I am not sure if it is still true. But if you have medical cases, you might inquire about this.
Joiner Cartwright, Jr., Ph.D.
Director, Electron Microscopy tel.: (713)798-4658 Department of Pathology, Rm.286-A FAX: (713)798-3945 Baylor College of Medicine Internet: joiner-at-bcm.tmc.edu One Baylor Plaza Compuserve: 71555,1206 Houston, Texas 77030 U.S.A.
About a year ago, after using EM's for 27 years and having developed cataracts in both eyes at an unusually early age (49), I asked the question through this medium about eye damage resulting from long-term use of electron microscopes. As in the current discussion some interesting comments were made. There is definitely evidence that radiation from a variety of sources causes cataracts, typically in the posterior capsule of the lens - not the nucleus where senile cataracts usually develop. However, modern electron microscopes should be adequately screened to prevent this. In my case the cataracts were apparently typical of radiation-induced cataracts although when and where the irradiation took place is anyone's guess. Someone has mentioned UV radiation from vacuum evaporators. This could be a possibility because I know of little in the way of precautions which are routinely taken to prevent this.
Robin Cross Director : EM Unit, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa eurc-at-giraffe.ru.ac.za (tel: +27 461 318168 - fax: +27 461 24377)
} Dear Dr. Cheng, } } Thank you for your reply. } } I have not had good success with the E.mails publicity. I provide the } latest flier below. Can you please help me by having it posted? Any other } help you can give to publicize the conference will be most appreciated. } ----
-- [ From: Dr. Om Johari * EMC.Ver #2.0 ] --
Please Circulate
Scanning Microscopy International P.O. Box 66507, Chicago (AMF O'Hare), IL 60666, USA Telephone: (708) 529-6677 / FAX: (708) 980-6677 E.mail:73211.647-at-compuserve.com
Fifteenth Pfefferkorn Conference on Electron Image and Signal Processing
May 18-22, 1996 at Silver Bay Association, Silver Bay, NY
The Conference will provide a forum for discussion of the current status, recent advances and prospects of many aspects of image and signal processing in electron and near-field microscopy and microanalysis. The principal themes are three-dimensional reconstruction, image restoration, enhancement and analysis (including morphological and algebraic approaches in particular), electron holography, the phase problem, processing image sets (from STEM detectors and from defocus and tilt series, for example), image simulation, and hardware and software for image acquisition and processing and for microscope control. Please see below for a list of speakers.
The organizers are: Dr. Peter W. Hawkes, CNRS Lab. Opt. Elect., B.P. 4347, 31055 Toulouse Cedex, France (Phone: 33-62-257884 / FAX 33-62-257999 / E.mail: hawkes-at-cict.fr); Dr. W. Owen Saxton, Univ. Cambridge, U.K. (FAX: 44-1223-334 567 / E.mail: wos1-at-cus.cam.ac.uk); and Dr. Joachim Frank, NYS Dept. Health, Wadsworth Center, Albany, NY 12201-0509, USA (Phone: 518 474 7002 / FAX: 518 474 8590 / E.mail: joachim-at-wadsworth.org). Interested contributors should contact either of the organizers with a title and a one page summary; please also include other relevant information (e.g., time desired, reprints of relevant publications, etc.).
Full-length papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings to be issued as Scanning Microscopy Supplement 11, 1997.
Conference Information: Registration begins at 6 PM on Friday, May 17. The first lecture will be at 8:30 AM on Saturday, May 18; the Conference will end at lunch on Wednesday, May 22. Sessions will be daily in mornings (from 8:30 to 1), afternoons (about 4:30-7), and evenings (about 8:45 to 10). Ample discussion time will be allowed; active participation by attendees is invited. Because of the limited number of attendees, the Pfefferkorn Conferences provide an excellent opportunity for in-depth discussions and personal contacts. Conference attendance is by application or invitation only. Qualified registrants will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. To apply: please submit name, mailing and E.mail addresses, phone (work and home) and FAX numbers, and a 50-100 statement about your qualification relative to the theme (and topics) of the conference, accompanied by the full registration fee of US $200 (includes attendance to sessions, coffee-breaks, and a copy of the Conference Proceedings).
Conference Location: The sessions will take place at one of the conference rooms at Silver Bay Association (SBA), Silver Bay, NY 12874 (phone: 518 543 8833 / FAX: 518 543 6733 / E.mail: sbaconf-at-aol.com), located 80 miles north of Albany, NY. This 600 acres beautiful, peaceful, registered historical place, located on Lake George and in the Adirondack mountains, offers dozens of water and land sports, gym programs, hiking, etc. and is filled with gardens, rolling lawns and gentle streams. It is ideal for a family vacation or retreat. The room rates (all rates include three full meals daily!) range from $40 per person (in two and four bed-room cottages ideal for four and eight persons, respectively), to $55 and $65 per person (based on two persons to a room) in rooms without and with private baths, respectively. Accompanying children aged 4 to 12 pay half of these rates. Single rooms are available at a cost of $69 (without private bath) or $80 (with private bath). It is expected that all attendees will stay at this location. To make accommodation reservations, please contact SBA directly and inform us of your travel details (mode and day/time). Details about getting to Silver Bay will be sent to all attendees: nearest airports are Albany (New York) and Burlington (Vermont); foreigners may find it easier to fly to Montreal, Canada (about 150 miles north) or New York (about 200 miles south). There is one daily train each way from New York and Montreal which stops in Ticonderoga, NY (about 20 miles from Silver Bay); some bus service is available too. Appropriate van transportation from Albany (at costs ranging from $50 per van for less than 4 people, or $10 per person for more than 5 persons) will also be arranged by SBA. Attemps will also be made to form car pools with those driving.
Past Conferences: Started in 1982, in honor of the late Prof. Gerhard E. Pfefferkorn, these Conferences present an in-depth discussion of fundamental topics in scanning microscopy and related techniques. Two conferences on topics directly related to the theme of the 1996 Conference were held in 1987 and 1991; registrants to the 1996 Conference can obtain those proceedings [containing original peer-reviewed, full-length papers published as Scanning Microscopy Supplements 2 (1998) and 6 (1992)] at special package prices (including uninsured cheapest rate mail delivery) of $95 (for US delivery) and $105 (for outside US delivery).
Scanning Microscopy International (SMI), a not-for-profit organization, sponsors the annual Scanning Microscopy, Cells and Materials, and Food Structure meetings: 1996 meeting will be from May 11 to 16 at Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bethesda, Maryland (suburb of Washington, D.C.]; publishes the international journals: Scanning Microscopy (previously Scanning Electron Microscopy till 1986), Food Structure, Cells and Materials (from 1991), and Scanning Microscopy Supplements (Proceedings of the Pfefferkorn Conferences); and issues publications devoted to selected topics derived from its journals. Details of the programs planned for the Scanning Microscopy 1996 meeting, a complete current list of publications, samples Tables of Contents of publications, etc. are available on request. The topics of this 1996 Conference are relevant to the themes of our journals; papers for publication are invited (Instructions for Authors are included in our journals or available on request).
For more information, please contact Dr. Om Johari, at SMI.
---
List of speakers as of January 22, 1996 (note: * = invited but not formally accepted as yet; when there are multiple authors, speakers name is in CAPITALS).
G. ADE, Physikal.-Techns. Bundes., Braunschweig, Germany: (1) A Digital Method for Noise Reduction in Holographic Reconstructions and Electron Microscopical Images (2) Coma-Free Alignment of Electron Microscopes and Digital Determination of Aberration Coefficients (with R. Lauer)
G. Anstis, Univ. Technol., Sydney, Australia; C.R. Birkeland, S.C. Anderson, D.J.H. Cockayne: Computation and Quantitative Analysis of HAADF Lattice Images of GaAs
N. Boisset, J.C. Taveau, V. You, F. de Haas, J. Lamy, URA CNRS, Tours, France: Refinement of Single Particle 3D Reconstruction (Art Method) Based on Topological Selection of EM Views
N. Bonnet, Univ. Reims, France: Multi-Dimensional Spectrum and Image Processing
C.B. Boothroyd, Univ. Cambridge, U.K.: Recent Results on Energy Filtered Image Quantification
C. BURMESTER, Max-Planck-Inst. Mol. Physiol., Dortmund, Germany; K.C. Holmes, R.R. Schroeder (Max-Planck-Inst. Med. Forschung, Heidelburg, Germany): Feasibility of the Multiple Isomorphous Replacement Method in Protein-Electron-Diffraction
H. CHENG, T. Baker, Purdue Univ., W. Lafayette, IN: The Correlation Approach to Virus Phasing
*M. Coster, Univ. Caen, France: Morphology and SEM Image Analysis: Recent Progress
C. DINGES, H. Rose, Tech. Hochsch., Darmstadt, Germany: Simulation of TEM Images and Diffraction Patterns Considering Phonon and Electronic Excitations
J. Frank, NYS Dept. Health, Albany, NY: Three-Dimensional Reconstruction (exact title to come)
S. Swaminathan, I.P. Jones (Univ. Birmingham, UK), N.J. Zaluzec (Argonne Natl. Lab.), D.M. Maher (No. Carolina State Univ., Raleigh), H.L. FRASER, Ohio State Univ., Columbus: Determination of Accurate Low Order Structure Factors for Si and TiAl Using Energy Filtered CBED
D.R. Beniac, G.J. Czarnota(1), F.P. Ottensmeyer(1), G. HARAUZ, Univ. Guelph, Canada; (1 = Ontario Cancer Institute, Toronto): Challenges of Three Dimensional Reconstruction of Nucleoprotein Complexes from Electron Spectroscopic Images
P. Kruit, B.M. Mertens, Delft Univ. Technol., Netherlands: Image Acquisition by Scanning in Fourier Space
M.K. KUNDMANN, Gatan EELS Software, Downers Grove, IL; S.L. Friedman, A.J. Gubbens, O.L. Krivanek: Characterization and Correction of TEM Energy Filter Aberrations
P.L. Bellon, S. LANZAVECCHIA, Univ. Milan, Italy: The Moving Window Shannon Reconstruction in Real and Fourier Domain. Applications in Tomography
H. Lichte, Univ. Dresden, Germany: Pitfalls on the Road to 0.1 nm with Electron Holography
M. MANKOS, IBM Watson Res. Ctr., Yorktown Hts., NY; M.R. Scheinfein, J.M. Cowley (Arizona State Univ.): Holography and the STEM
M.R. McCartney, Arizona State Univ., Tempe: Recent Applications of Electron Holography
D.G. MORGAN, D.J. DeRosier, Brandeis Univ., Waltham, MA: Analysis of Disordered Helices Using Correlation Methods
P.D. NELLIST, S.J. Pennycook, Oak Ridge Natl. Lab., TN: Probe and Object Function Reconstruction in Incoherent STEM Imaging
M.A. O'Keefe, Lawrence Berkeley Lab., Univ. Calif., Berkeley: On-Line Remote-Control Electron Microscopy with Emphasis on the Image and Signal Processing
P.A. PENCZEK, J. Zhu, R. Schroeder, J. Frank, NYS Dept. Health, Albany, NY: Three-Dimensional Reconstruction with CTF Compensation from Focus Series
T. Plamann, Univ. Bristol, U.K.: Three-Dimensional Propagation Effects in Fourier-Resolved Ptychography
G. Matteucci, G.F. Missiroli, G. POZZI, Univ. Bologna, Italy: Electron Holography and Electrostatic Fields
M. RADERMACHER, C. Lawrence, NYS Dept. Health, Albany, NY: Radon Transform Techniques for Alignment and Three-Dimensional Reconstruction from Random Projections
D. VAN DYCK, M. Op de Beeck, Univ. Antwerp, Belgium: From Image to Atomic Structure: How Far Are We?
M. VAN HEEL, E. Orlova, P. Dube, H. Stark, F. Zemlin, M. Schatz, Fritz Haber Inst., Berlin, Germany: Angular Reconstitution: High-Resolution Three-Dimensional Structure From Single Particles
E. VOELKL, L.F. Allard, Oak Ridge Natl. Lab., TN, B. Frost (Univ. Tennessee): Electron Holography: Recent Developments and Applications
H.S. von Harrach, VG Scientific, E. Grinstead, U.K.: Maximum Entropy Reconstruction of STEM Images
Z.L. Wang, Georgia Inst. Tech., Atlanta: Thermal Diffuse Scattering in Energy Filtered Electron Diffraction and Imaging
This conferences follows the Scanning Microscopy 1996 meeting in Bethesda, Maryland from May 11-16 (contact Om Johari at SMI for more information).
Papers can still be offered, please contact one of the organizers (see above).
Message-Id: {9601242300.AA00507-at-zell.enk.ks.se} X-Sender: martin-at-136.155.21.21 X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Priority: 2 (High)
Equipment for "UNCAGING OF CAGED SUBSTANCES"?
I wonder what equipment is used or should be used for uncaging (photolysis) of caged (photoactivable) compounds.
Background: Caged compounds usually seems to be optimally activated by a short (millisecond) pulse of {365 nm light. To get this light one may use light sources like lasers, flash lamps or maybe arclamps with fast shutter. The light may reach the sample either through the objective (light through epifluorescence port of the microscope) or by leading an optical fibre directly to the cell.
Questions about instrumentation:
- What light sources are used (types of lasers, Xenon arc lamps, Mercury arc lamps, flash lamps)?
- How is the exact light path to the cell/cells/subcells? What types of optics and components are used?
- What effect or energy is needed?
- What companies provide necessary parts (like Oriel, Newport, Melles Griot, Hamamatsu)?=20
- What complete commersial systems are available for this, and how are their performance?
Thanks in beforehand for your answers, Martin
----------------------------------------------- Martin K=F6hler Department of Molecular Medicine Rolf Luft Center for Diabetes Research L6B:1 Karolinska Hospital S-171 76 STOCKHOLM SWEDEN phone 46-8-7295732 46-8-7295725 fax 46-8-7293658 E-mail mk-at-enk.ks.se ---------------------------------------------
Here is another message about glues for sample preparation. Hope it helps. YM.
I saw your message om the Crystalbond. Please note that we sell the Crystalbond in our catalog and at very competitive prices. If you are interested please see page 147 of catalog XII. If you do not have this catalog please let me know and we will send you one. I hope this information helps.
Stacie Kirsch Electron Microscopy Sciences. Tel: 215-646-1566 Fax: 215-646-8931
Just a note of thanks to all those who provided their views and recommendations regarding the use of ultramicrotome quality glass (UMG) v's histology quality glass. The upshot is that UMG should be more than adequate for the purpose of making Ralph knives. Thanks again for your interest.
Brett. Brett W. Cockman Technologist in Charge School of Dentistry University of Western Australia Voice: (619-2205834) Fax: (619-2213829) e-mail; bcockman-at-uniwa.uwa.edu.au
I got an interesting piece of information about glues for TEM sample preparation, from D. Henriks, South Bay Technology. So I am sending it to the list, as it might be of interest. Particularly I know that it is quite difficult to get the AREMCO 509 glue in Europe, because it has to go through a network of distributors and sub-distributors, so that the price comes to be quite elevated.
-- MESSAGE --
We can supply it to you in the same 7" long sticks that you get from Aremco or you can buy a package of 20 3" long x 1/4" x 1/4" Unwrapped sticks. These are ideal for sample preparation. I absolutely guarantee that you will be 100% satisfied with the product.
Below, I have listed quantity pricing and alternative packaging for the QuickStick 135. This material is the same as "Crystalbond 509".
20 x 3.5" Sticks per tray (360 grams per tray) - this is our standard package. Minimum order is 1 tray.
1 x .875" diameter x 7" long wrapped in cardboard tube (5 sticks = 450 grams). Minimum order is 10 sticks.
10 x .875" diameter x 7" long unwrapped in plastic tray (1 tray = 900 grams). Minimum order is 1 tray.
1 pound bulk pack trays Minimum order is 10 pounds
Sizes and gross weights for above are approximate.
David Henriks TEL: 800-728-2233 (toll-free in USA) South Bay Technology, Inc. 714-492-2600 1120 Via Callejon FAX: 714-492-1499 San Clemente, CA 92673 USA e-mail: 73531.1344-at-compuserve.com sbt-at-msa.microscopy.com
Manufacturers of Precision Sample Preparation Equipment and Supplies for Metallography, Crystallography and Electron Microscopy.
Detachment of formvar films from grids during staining is a common problem. We recommend use of the SynapTek grid stick kit, which holds the grids during staining in the same plane as the solution flow, minimizing the chances of losing the films (or collecting surface debris). The grids are held to the grid stick with a special adhesive which is not attacked by solvents, and which will not remain on the grid once it is removed from the stick. Please contact me directly for specific ordering information. Steven Slap, Vice-President Energy Beam Sciences, Inc 75767,640-at-compuserve.com
I used the Crystalbond 509 glue forTEM prep initially, but about a 2 years ago I switched to quick-bond nail glue (for cosmetic fingernails - a cyanoacrylate formula, like SuperGlue) for several reasons: 1. specimens do not have to be heated, which seemed to be a problem with the specimen mounts for the dimpler I was using
2. the glue thickness is about half of what I could achieve with Crystalbond, which increased my success rate at preparing copper-sapphire interface specimens
3. specimen adhesion is nearly instantaneous - instant gratification!
4. I can walk across the street and purchase more instead of waiting 3 weeks for the purchase order to get through purchasing
5. Crystalbond properties seemed to degrade during our humid summers.
The only real problems with the stuff are that it takes ~2 hours of soaking in acetone to remove specimens from the dimpler mount, and when not capped tightly an entire bottle will cure in about 2 weeks.
For larger jobs, I use a homemade version of the Crystalbond glue (found in an old Handbook of Chemistry and Physics) which can be made by mixing equimolal quantities of phthalic anhydride and ethylene glycol for 24 hours at 200 deg. C in a covered beaker, stirring every couple of hours. Pour into some sort of flexible mold to make shapes and store in a cool dry place.
-Kirk _____________________________________________ Kirk Rogers krogers-at-materials.ecn.purdue.edu OR kirk.a.rogers.1-at-purdue.edu Purdue University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, 1289 MSEE building, W. Lafayette, IN 47907-1289 OFFICE: 317-494-8751 FAX: 317-494-1204 http://materials.ecn.purdue.edu/~krogers