Hello All,
For the start of the new academic year we're making changes that will
require some downtime on the systems here at YNiC. The reason for this
downtime is that we will be implementing some major changes to the
software that helps us run and administer the Centre. Hopefully many of
these changes will go unnoticed, but there will be one or two things
that we hope will make your lives easier. The most significant change
will be the introduction of a new booking system that can be accessed
off site and will allow users to make their own bookings for MRI, TMS
and MEG. This will be part of a new and improved database that will also
allow investigators to track their projects' progress and help us ensure
that the right projects get the appropriate support at the appropriate
time. The upgrades will also include a uniform login and security
system across all the computers (this will be invisible to most users
but does have some major advantages) and a better, more equitable use of
quotas on the filesystems. We will also add more disc space to help with
the current overloading of the existing systems. To do all this we need
to change the servers that run the whole system.
As a result, YNiC will be closed from 5:00 p.m. on Friday the 3rd of
October and will reopen at 9:00 a.m. on Monday the 13th of October.
This version of the database will be released as v0.9, and we already
have some ideas about what will be going into v0.95 and v1.0, but early
next term, when people have had a chance to play with it, we'll be
asking for your input on additional functionality that you'd find
useful. Look out for the Annual Users' Meeting that will provide an
opportunity for users to contribute to planning the next stages of
development.
We will need some additional information for some projects to allow
investigators to take advantage of the new booking procedure, and in the
next couple of days principal investigators will be getting an email
requesting those details. It is very important that we get this
information by the end of the month or some projects will no longer be
able to book time on the scanners.
One unfortunate side effect of some of the changes is that all passwords
will have to be reset. First thing on Monday the 13th when we reopen,
new passwords will be provided which will enable you to login and reset
you password to something more memorable. Hopefully though, that will be
the only disruption and from the 13th normal (and improved) service will
resume.
So, to reiterate, YNiC will be closed between:
17:00 Friday 3rd October and
09:00 Monday 13th October.
If you have any questions about these changes, please contact Sam
Johnson <sam.johnson(a)ynic.york.ac.uk> or Mark Hymers
<mark.hymers(a)ynic.york.ac.uk>.
Thanks, and sorry for any inconvenience,
Sam
Dear colleagues
I am sorry to have to report that MEG is not available due to another,
different, fault.
4D Neuroimaging will be on site tomorrow (Thursday) and will replace a
set of electronics.
I will report when it is available again.
--
Gary Green
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5DG
http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
tel. 01904 435349
fax 01904 435356
mobile 07986 778954
Dear Users
I am sorry to have to tell you that MEG is down.
We have an intermittent fault that causes the system to fail such that
either the coil information cannot be captured and/or the channels all
flat line.
We have worked with 4D all week to try and isolate the cause of the
fault but it appears that whatever it is creates a variety of different
fault conditions depending on where in the process stream one has
reached. It is likely that it is due to a processor board problem in the
DAS rack.
4D will be arriving early next week to rectify the matter and will be
replacing a number of cards in the main acquisition rack (the DAS).
I am very sorry for the serious disruption this is causing some of you
at such a critical time in your research studies.
As soon as MEG is available again I will email you.
Gary
--
Gary Green
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5DG
http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
tel. 01904 435349
fax 01904 435356
mobile 07986 778954
The Canon printer is now back in operation. It should be used for
printing documents that for some reason cannot be read on screen.
Please note that it is not to be used for thesis printing. Students are
responsible for the cost of printing their reports and downloaded
scientific papers.
Please do not use the Xerox printer. This costs more than 50p per sheet!
Gary
--
Gary Green
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5DG
http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
tel. 01904 435349
fax 01904 435356
mobile 07986 778954
I am sorry to have to report that the printer at YNiC (Canon) has jammed
and is out of operation until an engineer can visit.
I will inform you when it becomes available again
Gary
--
Gary Green
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5DG
http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
tel. 01904 435349
fax 01904 435356
mobile 07986 778954
Dear all,
an interesting and brief article on the relationship between fMRI and
electrophysiology.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2008.03.042
Michael
--
Dr Michael Simpson
Science Liaison Officer
York Neuroimaging Centre
Innovation Way
York
YO10 5DG
Tel: 01904 567614
Web: http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
Dear users
TAKE HOME MESSAGE: A FRONT-SILVERED MIRROR HAS NOW BEEN MOUNTED IN MRI
IMPROVING IMAGE QUALITY
Many of you will be aware that the visual stimulus delivery setup in
MRI relies on back-projection onto a screen which the participant then
views via a mirror mounted in front of their face.
We have always been aware that standard mirrors are sub-optimal for this
type of setup: as soon as a standard mirror is tilted internal
reflection and refraction of light causes slight blurring of the image
.. sometimes this is perceived as a 'double edge' when viewing object
binocularly.
This effect can be minimised by using a minimum glass thickness in front
of the reflective surface of the mirror. Thus, to date, we have used a
2mm thick mirror to aid image quality. Unfortuantely many of you have
expressed concerns that this is still not as good as you would like.
We have thus decided to fit a custom cut front-silvered mirror in place
of the previous setup. These mirrors have effectively no glass thickness
since it is the front surface of the mirror that is the reflective one.
This (for the money) is as close as we can get to perfect reflection and
should resolve your problems.
Unlike standard mirrors, front-silvered ones have no protection of the
reflective surface and are highly sensitive to scratching and marking.
The mirror can only be cleaned of dust with special products and oily
stains may be impossible to remove. As such all users / operators must
avoid handling the mirror surface directly and should place the mirror
array in place / store with care to avoid scratching of the mirror
surface by other objects.
We hope the improved quality will benefit us all.
Contact me if you have any queries.
Kind regards,
Andre'
--
************************************************************************
Andre Gouws
User Support Manager
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Heslington
YO10 5DG
Tel: +44 (0) 1904 435328
Fax: +44 (0) 1904 435356
Dear users,
Thanks for reading!
I am a new user about freesurfer, after learning it a little while, I
have got some problems:
1. I have used "recon-all" successfully to process the sMRI data, which
generated the "lh.pial". And, I used "mris_convert lh.pial lh.pial.asc",
get text mesh "lh.pial.asc". May I ask how can I view this with visible
mesh associated with the vertices and triangle?
2. I have read the Manual v 0.8. It seems all of the interface has not
supported in our new Freeserfer version...do you have some good
suggestion about the materials for beginner to learn?
I really appreciate your help!Looking forward to your reply!
Kind regards,
Jing
*N.B. Today's seminar will be held in A202 in Psychology and not in YNiC*
Dear Users
Today's seminar (Thursday 4 pm in the Venables room, A202 ) will be
given by Ole Jensen from FC Donders.
http://oase.uci.ru.nl/~olejen/
The title of his talk will be "How slow event-related fields are created
from cognitive modulations in oscillatory brain activity".
Everyone is welcome to attend and there will be wine and soft drinks
available after the talk.
Best wishes
Rebecca
--
************************************************************************
Dr. Rebecca E. Millman
Science Liaison Officer
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Heslington
YO10 5DG
Tel: +44 (0) 1904 567614
Fax: +44 (0) 1904 435356
