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Abstract The Museum of Sun Yat-sen University houses a collection of antique glass slides dating back to the 1940s. These historical artifacts not only serve as a record of the past but also bring history to life. During extended storage, the emulsion layer on glass slides may harden and become brittle, leading to cracking and buckling. This study suggests a method to enhance the physical property of the emulsion layer by using a combination of nonionic surfactant isomeric alcohol ethoxylates eight (TO-8) and waterborne epoxy resin (WER). We investigated the microscopic action mechanism of the two on the emulsion layer of glass slides using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), water contact angles, and other techniques. Our study revealed that TO-8 can significantly eliminate the spherulitic crystal structure of the emulsion layer, as well as improve its softness and hydrophilicity. The addition of the WER ensures that the cracking and warping of the emulsion layer film is fully corrected, resulting in a flat surface. Additionally, the size of the emulsion layer film remains stable even after wetting. The WER has minimal impact on the image information of glass slides. The emulsion layer of the glass slides, restored using the softening protection solutions developed in this study, showed almost full recovery of image information. This research holds significant theoretical and practical value for repairing cracked and warped emulsion layers on glass slides.

The Museum of Sun Yat-sen University houses a collection of antique glass slides dating back to the 1940s. These historical artifacts not only serve as a record of the past but also bring history to life. During extended storage, the emulsion layer on glass slides may harden and become brittle, leading to cracking and buckling. This study suggests a method to enhance the physical property of the emulsion layer by using a combination of nonionic surfactant isomeric alcohol ethoxylates eight (TO-8) and waterborne epoxy resin (WER). We investigated the microscopic action mechanism of the two on the emulsion layer of glass slides using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), water contact angles, and other techniques. Our study revealed that TO-8 can significantly eliminate the spherulitic crystal structure of the emulsion layer, as well as improve its softness and hydrophilicity. The addition of the WER ensures that the cracking and warping of the emulsion layer film is fully corrected, resulting in a flat surface. Additionally, the size of the emulsion layer film remains stable even after wetting. The WER has minimal impact on the image information of glass slides. The emulsion layer of the glass slides, restored using the softening protection solutions developed in this study, showed almost full recovery of image information. This research holds significant theoretical and practical value for repairing cracked and warped emulsion layers on glass slides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand-painted magic lantern glass slides frequently present significant conservation problems, mainly due to the painting's deterioration and detachment from the glass support surface. However, the study of these objects is a very recent field. This work reviews the materials and techniques applied to hand-painted slides until the nineteenth century in Europe and North America to follow their evolution throughout time and place, aiming to further our understanding of the slides' historical, cultural, and artistic impact. This review identifies 22 historical sources from five countries, written between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, containing information on the production of hand-painted slides, from the glass support to the painting materials and techniques. The production processes changed from the mid-seventeenth to the eighteenth century with the apparent transition from fired paints (enamels) to cold paints (watercolours, oil colours, and varnish colours). Different stages of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century production processes are explored. Concerning the glass support, crown and plate or ground-polished glass (later patent plate) were commonly advised. Although the paintings' palette was mainly restricted to transparent colours, around 70 colourants and 25 binding medium components are listed. Their chronological distribution unveiled a possible correlation between their evolution and the advent of the Industrial Revolution. The knowledge of the original materials and techniques will not only contribute to understanding the differences between locations, periods, and slides' producers, helping in future attributions, but will also support further investigations on the key factors and mechanisms that lead to the degradation of historical hand-painted slides, enabling the improvement of current conservation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: There is a common joke in pathology—put three pathologists in a room and you will obtain three different answers. This saying comes from the fact that pathology can be subjective; pathologists' diagnoses can be influenced by many different biases, and pathologists are also influenced by the presence or absence of animal information and medical history. Compared to pathology, statistics is a much more objective field. This study aimed to develop a probability-based tool using statistics obtained by analyzing 338 histopathology slides of canine and feline urinary bladders, then see if the tool affected agreement between the test pathologists. Four pathologists diagnosed 25 canine and feline bladder slides and they conducted this three times: without animal and clinical information, then with this information, and finally using the probability tool. Results showed large differences in the pathologists' interpretation of bladder slides, with kappa agreement values (low value for digital slide images, high value for glass slides) of 7–37% without any animal or clinical information, 23–37% with animal signalment and history, and 31–42% when our probability tool was used. This study provides a starting point for the use of probability-based tools in standardizing pathologist agreement in veterinary pathology. Inter-pathologist variation is widely recognized across human and veterinary pathology and is often compounded by missing animal or clinical information on pathology submission forms. Variation in pathologist threshold levels of resident inflammatory cells in the tissue of interest can further decrease inter-pathologist agreement. This study applied a predictive modeling tool to bladder histology slides that were assessed by four pathologists: first without animal and clinical information, then with this information, and finally using the predictive tool. All three assessments were performed twice, using digital whole-slide images (WSI) and then glass slides. Results showed marked variation in pathologists' interpretation of bladder slides, with kappa agreement values of 7–37% without any animal or clinical information, 23–37% with animal signalment and history, and 31–42% when our predictive tool was applied, for digital WSI and glass slides. The concurrence of test pathologists to the reference diagnosis was 60% overall. This study provides a starting point for the use of predictive modeling in standardizing pathologist agreement in veterinary pathology. It also highlights the importance of high-quality whole-slide imaging to limit the effect of digitization on inter-pathologist agreement and the benefit of continued standardization of tissue assessment in veterinary pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of pesticide usage has brought the matter of pesticide residues to the forefront, necessitating the development of effective detection methods as a crucial step towards addressing this issue. This study presents a novel approach for detecting pesticide residues in vegetables using glass slide-formula-ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). The approach enables swift analysis of 36 different pesticides across three vegetable species with glass slides. To establish a formula for calculating pesticide residues in vegetables using glass slides, the vegetable samples and glass slides were placed in a spray tower and evenly sprayed pesticides. The per unit area of glass slides was used to calculate the pesticide loading capacity and total pesticide loading area of vegetables. The original residues were analyzed with ultra high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The field experiment yielded consistent results between the model values of the formula and the actual measured values, with correlation coefficients (R2) ranging from 0.927 to 0.983. The slide-formula model-IMS method was found to be effective for field applications, as it proved to be simple, rapid, and accurate in predicting pesticide residue concentrations in vegetable samples. This approach could be a valuable tool for monitoring pesticide residues in vegetable cultivation globally. [Display omitted] • A medium for the determination of pesticide residues in vegetables was developed. • Rapid pretreatment of glass slides greatly reduces matrix and impurity interference. • Relationship between initial pesticide residues in crop and medium were clarified. • Modelling relationship and verify it effectiveness by field trials. • Rapid detection analysis combined with ion mobility spectrometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inter-pathologist variation is widely recognized across human and veterinary pathology and is often compounded by missing animal or clinical information on pathology submission forms. Variation in pathologist threshold levels of resident inflammatory cells in the tissue of interest can further decrease inter-pathologist agreement. This study applied a predictive modeling tool to bladder histology slides that were assessed by four pathologists: first without animal and clinical information, then with this information, and finally using the predictive tool. All three assessments were performed twice, using digital whole-slide images (WSI) and then glass slides. Results showed marked variation in pathologists’ interpretation of bladder slides, with kappa agreement values of 7–37% without any animal or clinical information, 23–37% with animal signalment and history, and 31–42% when our predictive tool was applied, for digital WSI and glass slides. The concurrence of test pathologists to the reference diagnosis was 60% overall. This study provides a starting point for the use of predictive modeling in standardizing pathologist agreement in veterinary pathology. It also highlights the importance of high-quality whole-slide imaging to limit the effect of digitization on inter-pathologist agreement and the benefit of continued standardization of tissue assessment in veterinary pathology.

Aims: The study is aimed to verify Aperio AT2 scanner for reporting on the digital pathology platform (DP) and to validate the cohort of pathologists in the interpretation of DP for routine diagnostic histopathological services in Wales, United Kingdom. Materials, Methods and Results: This was a large multicenter study involving seven hospitals across Wales and unique with 22 (largest number) pathologists participating. 7491 slides from 3001 cases were scanned on Leica Aperio AT2 scanner and reported on digital workstations with Leica software of e-slide manager. A senior pathology fellow compared DP reports with authorized reports on glass slide (GS). A panel of expert pathologists reviewed the discrepant cases under multiheader microscope to establish ground truth. 2745 out of 3001 (91%) cases showed complete concordance between DP and GS reports. Two hundred and fifty-six cases showed discrepancies in diagnosis, of which 170 (5.6%) were deemed of no clinical significance by the review panel. There were 86 (2.9%) clinically significant discrepancies in the diagnosis between DP and GS. The concordance was raised to 97.1% after discounting clinically insignificant discrepancies. Ground truth lay with DP in 28 out of 86 clinically significant discrepancies and with GS in 58 cases. Sensitivity of DP was 98.07% (confidence interval [CI] 97.57-98.56%); for GS was 99.07% (CI 98.72-99.41%). Conclusions: We concluded that Leica Aperio AT2 scanner produces adequate quality of images for routine histopathologic diagnosis. Pathologists were able to diagnose in DP with good concordance as with GS. Strengths and Limitations of this Study: Strengths of this study - This was a prospective blind study. Different pathologists reported digital and glass arms at different times giving an ambience of real-time reporting. There was standardized use of software and hardware across Wales. A strong managerial support from efficiency through the technology group was a key factor for the implementation of the study. Limitations: This study did not include Cytopathology and in situ hybridization slides. Difficulty in achieving surgical pathology practise standardization across the whole country contributed to intra-observer variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The way in which the Czech public learned about exotic countries at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries was dependent above all on the ability of travellers to convey their experience in literary form, as travelogue, or to communicate their experiences directly--in lecture form. From the 1890s lectures were accompanied by the projection of slides. One of the best-known travellers, and an excellent lecturer, was Enrique Stanko Vráza (1860--1932). The Náprstek Museum holds an extensive collection of glass slides from his estate. Náprstek filled the periods in between his various world travels with intensive lecture activity, and the themes of his lectures grew wider with the increasing number of journeys he undertook. Information gained from Náprstek lectures had a marked effect on the outlook of broad swathes of the population of the Czech lands on the life and cultures of non-European areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents investigations of the periphytic diatoms on artificial (glass slides) and natural substrates in the karstic, limnocrene spring of Bunica situated in the south of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Investigations were performed in summer 2010. Samples were collected every seven days for eight weeks. Physical and chemical characteristics of water, temperature, oxygen saturation, dissolved oxygen, electric conductivity and nutrients as well as fl ow velocity at sample site, were measured simultaneously with each sampling. Physical and chemical characteristics showed low temperature oscillations, good aeration and oligotrophic conditions. In general, greater diatom diversity was noted on natural substrate. A total of 104 diatom species were found on natural substrate and 82 on glass slides. The best represented genera on both types of substrate were Gomphonema and Navicula (each with eight species), Nitzschia (with six species), and Cocconeis (with five species). Achnanthidium exiguum, Achnanthidium minutissimum, Amphora pediculus, Cymbopleura amphicephala and Surirella minuta were recorded in all samples of natural substrate and Gomphonema minutum in artificial substrate samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of high‐speed, high‐resolution whole slide histology digital scanners, glass slides of tissue specimen can now be digitised at high magnification to create the whole slide image. Quantitative image analysis tools are then desirable to help the pathologist for their routine examination. Epidermis area is a very important observation area for the cancer diagnosis. Therefore, in order to build up a computer‐aided diagnosis system, segmentation of the epidermis area is often the very first and crucial step. An improved computer‐aided epidermis segmentation technique for the whole slide skin histopathological image is proposed in this study. The proposed technique first obtains an initial segmentation result with the help of global thresholding and shape analysis. A template matching method, with adaptive template intensity value, is then applied. Finally, a threshold is calculated based on the probability density function of the response value image. Experimental results show that the proposed technique overcomes the limitation of the existing technique and provides superior performance, with sensitivity of 95.68%, specificity of 99.41% and precision of 93.13%. The performance of the proposed technique is satisfactory for future clinical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic degradation of five β-blockers (acebutolol, atenolol, metoprolol, nadolol and propranolol) was investigated in aqueous media using immobilized TiO 2 as a photocatalyst. The analyzed parameters were pharmaceutical removal and non purgeable organic carbon. Two different types of photocatalyst incorporated in sol–gel matrix were compared; P25 exhibited a higher photocatalytic activity compared to P90 (both from Evonik Degussa). Besides, optimal photocatalyst concentration and light intensity were determined. According to the results obtained, after 120 min of treatment a complete removal was achieved for all compounds (initial concentration 25 mg/L) using P25. After 240 min of irradiation a mineralization degree ranged from 75% for acebutolol to 92% for propranolol. A longer illumination time was needed for complete removal of β-blockers in river water. Main intermediate compounds were identified by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a project by the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico to digitize its glass slide collection as an aid to the study of parasite structures. The Parasitology Department of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine scanned glass slides of protozoans, helminths and arthropods, and conducted a student survey to compare the virtual slides to regular microscope slides. It confirmed that the use of virtual microscopy aided students in their parasitology diagnostic skills.

Every microarray experiment is affected by many possible sources of variability that may even corrupt biological evidence on analyzed sequences. We applied a "Taguchi method" strategy, based on the use of orthogonal arrays to optimize the deposition step of oligonucleotide sequences on glass slides. We chose three critical deposition parameters (humidity, surface, and buffer) at two levels each, in order to establish optimum settings. A L8 orthogonal array was used in order to monitor both the main effects and interactions on the deposition of a 25 mer oligonucleotide hybridized to its fluorescent-labeled complementary. Signal-background ratio and deposition homogeneity in terms of mean intensity and spot diameter were considered as significant outputs. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to raw data and to mean results for each slide and experimental run. Finally we calculated an overall evaluation coefficient to group together important outputs in one number. Environmental humidity and surface-buffer interaction were recognized as the most critical factors, for which a 50% humidity, associated to a chitosan-covered slide and a sodium phosphate + 25% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) buffer gave best performances. Our results also suggested that Taguchi methods can be efficiently applied in optimization of microarray procedures [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown on glass slides using iron as a catalyst. By using 6kV voltage, iron wire with 0.5mm in diameter was sparked for 1, 2, 10 and 100 times to form iron dots/islands on the slides. CNTs were subsequently grown in a gas mixture of 10ml/s Ar and 0.1ml/s C2H2 at a temperature range of 700–900K for 300s (5min). In scanning and transmission electron microscopies, the CNTs grown on iron dots appear like flowers composed of carbon with hexagonal structure. In addition, the effects of oxide and gold sputtering on the growth of CNTs were studied. Both have no major influence on the growth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Undoped fluoride glass slides have been exposed to pulsed 193-nm ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Their absorption changes have been measured to evaluate UV-induced index changes using Kramers-Kronig relation. A layer-peeling polishing technique was applied to characterize the local UV-induced index change of highly absorbing glass. Index changes up to 1.75×10-4 have been evaluated with this method in fluorozirco-aluminate glass. Fluoroaluminate and fluorozirconate glass showed only small index changes of about 2.0×10-6 and 2.6×10-6 at a wavelength of 1550 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The double integrating sphere setup (DIS) measures diffuse reflectance, diffuse transmittance and collimated transmittance, from which the optical properties of tissue (the absorption coefficient μ a, the scattering coefficient μs and the anisotropy of scattering g) are estimated. The effect of light losses in the DIS and optical thickness on optical properties estimation by the inverse adding doubling algorithm (IAD) and uniqueness of measurement have been investigated using a Monte Carlo method. Results were obtained for optical properties in turbid tissues (0.80albedo0.99, 0.80anisotropy 0.99, 1.5optical thickness7.5) sandwiched between glass slides. At optical thickness=6.0 the loss of light through the glass slides is ranging from 13%±0.5% (at albedo=0.80) to 15%±0.5% (at albedo=0.98) of the incident power. The loss of light at the exit port in the transmittance sphere is increasing up to 50% of the incident power at highly forward scattering. These losses result in a dependency on optical thickness of the optical properties estimation by the IAD algorithm. Furthermore, because of these losses, the DIS setup measurement is found to be fundamentally nonunique, when simultaneously measuring the diffuse reflectance, diffuse transmittance and collimated transmittance [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In thin low-Z media irradiated by photon energies of several tens of keV, the presence of a high-Z additive can result in manifest locally modified secondary electron dose. Present study analyses the photoelectron dose enhancement resulting from nanometre thickness gold (atomic number Z = 78) coated on commercial borosilicate (B 2 O 3) glass microscope cover-slips. Two thicknesses of B 2 O 3 cover-slip have been utilized, 0.13 ± 0.02 mm and 1.00 ± 0.01 mm, with single-sided Au coatings of 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 nm. An additional uncoated glass slide has been kept as a comparator. The samples have been exposed to X-rays generated at kVp potentials, delivering a fixed dose of 2 Gy. Dose enhancement resulting from the 1.00 mm glass has been observed to be ~1.32 × that of the 0.13 mm thickness glass. The elemental composition of the samples has been obtained via Electron Dispersive X-ray (EDX), elemental content differences between the two thicknesses of glass leading to a difference in effective atomic number of less than 0.3%. The influence on photon yield of the gold coating and variations in elemental content has been modelled using Monte Carlo simulation, allowing comparison with the measured values of enhanced TL yield. • Photoelectron dose enhancement of 20 to 100 nm coated on borosilicate glass slide. • Two different thicknesses on borosilicate glass slides; 0.13 and 1.00 mm. • Dose enhancement from the 1.00 mm glass to be ~1.32 ? that of the 0.13 mm thickness glass. • Monte Carlo simulation has also been performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fluorescence-based detection of biological complexes on solid substrates is widely used in microarrays and lateral flow tests. Here, we investigate thiol-ene micropillar scaffold sheets ("synthetic paper") as the solid substrate in such assays. Compared to state-of-the-art glass and nitrocellulose substrates, assays on synthetic paper provide a stronger fluorescence signal, similar or better reproducibility, lower limit of detection (LOD), and the possibility of working with lower immunoreagent concentrations. Using synthetic paper, we detected the antibiotic enrofloxacin in whole milk with a LOD of 1.64 nM, which is on par or better than the values obtained with other common tests, and much lower than the maximum level allowed by European Union regulations. The significance of these results lays in that they indicate that synthetically-derived microstructured substrate materials have the potential to improve the performance of diagnostic assays. • "Synthetic paper" thiol-ene micropillar scaffolds form a superior substrate for fluorescence bioassays. • Synthetic paper has lower autofluorescence and results in a lower limit of detection than glass and nitrocellulose. • Using synthetic paper-based microarrays, we detected enrofloxacin in whole milk at levels below EU safety regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interactions between soluble carbohydrates and/or surface displayed glycans and protein receptors are essential to many biological processes and cellular recognition events. Carbohydrate microarrays provide opportunities for high-throughput quantitative analysis of carbohydrate-protein interactions. Over the past decade, various techniques have been implemented for immobilizing glycans on solid surfaces in a microarray format. Herein, we describe a detailed protocol for fabricating carbohydrate microarrays that capitalizes on the intrinsic reactivity of boronic acid toward carbohydrates to form stable boronate diesters. A large variety of unprotected carbohydrates ranging in structure from simple disaccharides and trisaccharides to considerably more complex human milk and blood group (oligo)saccharides have been covalently immobilized in a single step on glass slides, which were derivatized with high-affinity boronic acid ligands. The immobilized ligands in these microarrays maintain the receptor-binding activities including those of lectins and antibodies according to the structures of their pendant carbohydrates for rapid analysis of a number of carbohydrate-recognition events within 30 h. This method facilitates the direct construction of otherwise difficult to obtain carbohydrate microarrays from underivatized glycans.