I have recently run into some rather obnoxious comments from a reviewer
of one of my manuscripts, who implied that we had been less than honest
in our presentation of our images.  So I put the question to you all.
How much enhancement is too much?  What is acceptable?
 
In this particular case, we had a double labelled FISH sample, using
propidium iodide and FITC.  The image was enhanced by setting all
green pixels below ca. 40 to 0 (to remove backgound FITC) and then enhancing
contrast by mapping the remaining pixel values over the entire 256 range for
each channel.  No other manuipulation was carried out.
 
If we are out of line with this approach, I would appreciate some
guidance.  If the approach is appropriate, I would like to see your
comments. I hope to get back to the editor by weeks end.
 
Thanks:
 
Kem Rogers
Department of Anatomy
University of Western Ontario