New developments in molecular neuropathology have evoked increased demands for postmortem human brain tissue. The New South Wales Tissue Resource Centre (TRC) at The University of Sydney has grown from a small tissue collection into one of the leading international brain banking facilities, which operates with best practice and quality control protocols. The focus of this tissue collection is o...

Spectral signatures represent complex physical and biophysical relationships. Consideration and documentation of potential variables affecting these signatures are essential in obtaining meaningful spectra. A lack of standardised procedures and metadata collection has limited the transfer of spectra from one application to another. Here we describe the design and implementation of a standard me...

Semen is usually collected from bulls by use of an artificial vagina (AV) or by electroejaculation (EE). Semen collected by EE is often more dilute and may appear to be less motile than that collected by AV, although total sperm per ejaculate and sperm viability should be essentially similar (assuming the EE collection has been successful and complete). As fresh semen is very susceptible to env...

Analyses for trace elements in biological fluids are uniquely susceptible to extreme errors unless special precautions are taken during collection, storage, and analysis. The integrity of the specimen may be compromised before it is analyzed, by contamination during collection and processing or by attenuation of the analyte concentration during storage. If this happens, determined values are ...

The design principles and collection procedures behind a speech synthesis corpus directly impact the performance of the resulting text-to-speech system. This paper describes the design and collection of the Victoria corpus, created to support speech synthesis research and development at Apple Computer. This corpus is composed of ve constituent parts, each designed to cover a speci c aspect of s...

BACKGROUND Reduced cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentration of amyloid-β1-42 (Aβ1-42) reflects the presence of amyloidopathy in brains of subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD). OBJECTIVE To qualify the use of Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40 for improvement of standard operating procedures (SOP) for measurement of CSF Aβ with a focus on CSF collection, storage, and analysis. METHODS Euroimmun ELISAs for CSF A...

Modern evolutionary study of wild ape populations requires the collection of genomic DNA from individuals living in their natural habitat. In order to be maximally useful, these samples must be robust enough for the amplification and subsequent assembly of genomic sequences, which are driving much of modern evolutionary research. Additionally, conservation efforts require that these samples be ...

The collection, processing and certification of a new sediment Standard Reference Material (SRM), SRM 2704, is described. Collected from the bottom of the Buffalo River in New York State during the fall of 1986, SRM 2704 is certified for 25 elements with information provided on another 22 elements. Improvements in analytical methods as well as the application of well-defined quality-control pro...

Background: The complexity of the preanalytical (PA) phase has precluded standardisation of PA processes, despite its impact on sample quality, laboratory effi ciency, or patient & healthcare worker safety. The BD Laboratory Consulting Services™ Preanalytical Review audits PA procedures and practices in hospitals in diff erent countries. Processes were assessed from storage of blood collection ...