I'm glad that Dr. Minggeng Wang, the president of Suzhou Sinoera Chemical 
Co., responded to my note about the Alcian dyes.

I think it is a very good thing that the world has two independent makers of 
Alcian blue and Alcian yellow. I would hope that an evaluation of the two 
products will soon appear in the refereed literature.

Suzhou is of course the correct (pinyin) Chinese spelling of the name of that 
part of China. I did not realize that a citation of the older English 
transliteration "Soochow" for the benefit of English-speaking readers might 
be offensive to a Chinese reader. (I can only learn of such problems by 
asking.) In the USA mapmakers do not always use the standard pinyin 
transliteration of Chinese place names, and this lack of standardization is 
sometimes a difficulty for us. (I wouldn't care to have to spell "Tennessee" 
in Bopomofo.)

Ian Montgomery notes that >>Very touchy subject, the American version of 
English. After the  numerous postings regarding vendors let's not spark a 
trans Atlantic 
sparring contest. -  About to stain for the presence of a ciliate in the 
tissue of 
Norwegian lobster. Any suggestions for a suitable stain?<< Melted butter, if 
it's anything like a Maine lobster. Oyster sauce for a Chinese lobster.

Bob Richmond
Samurai Pathologist
Knoxville, Tennessee USA