Novel electron microscopic staining method using traditional dye, hematoxylin.

Uranyl acetate (UA) has been routinely used as a staining solution for ultrathin sections used in biological electron microscopy. As a radioactive nuclear material, UA is subject to strict international regulations. To develop an alternative and easy-to-use staining method for ultrathin sections, we examined various commercial light microscopic dyes. We found that Mayer's hematoxylin followed by Reynold's lead citrate solution showed staining results comparable to UA and Reynold's lead citrate solution, and this method is therefore suggested as a reliable and promising alternative to UA staining.

[A study on the influence of daily life habits on people's health symptoms].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to understand the relation between daily life habits and subjective symptoms and to gather basic data about improvement of the quality of life and its influence on a person's health. METHOD: The subjects were middle-aged (including all residents, males and female, all between the ages of 20 and 59. n = 2,520) in an agricultural village near a large urban center on the main island of Japan. A total of 1,834 villagers who responded to the survey in 1995 could be followed until 1998. The contents of the questionnaire covered age, sex, past history, daily life habits, mental condition, and activities of daily living. Using the method chi 2 verification and multiplex logistic analysis the village residents daily life habits their relation with subjective symptoms after 3 years were investigated. RESULTS: According to the analysis focusing on factors which had effects on subjective symptoms, the odds ratio were as follow: people who often skip breakfast-shortness of breath: 3.37 people who often eat between meals-toothache: 2.06 smokers-headache: 0.39, nausea: 18.89, urination problem: 0.03 people with insufficient sleep-eye fatigue: 1.76, diarrhea: 4.07 people with a BMI value less then 18.5-dizziness: 1.82 The results showed a significant relationship between people's daily life habits and their health condition. (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: From the results of this study, we can clearly see the tendency to minimize the subjective symptoms by desirable daily habits and that there is a possibility to prevent some of the through even slight improvement of habits. The study also indicates that it is necessary to stimulation a more diverse life style to maintain good health.