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Managing COVID risk at YNiC from July 19th
by Rebecca Lowndes 15 Jul '21

15 Jul '21

Hello all, With the Government removing legal restrictions on Monday, we thought we would clarify our position on COVID policies and procedures for the foreseeable future. *Mask wearing* As Charlie Jefferies outlined in his 'Our journey out of lockdown' email, consideration for our colleagues is the most important thing. Some of your colleagues may be keen to return to 'normal', whilst others may be anxious about the easing of restrictions. We strongly encourage you to continue wearing a mask wherever possible around the building and in common areas at YNiC. For operators of all modalities, please be aware that mask wearing is still *mandatory *whilst dealing with participants and in the entire research corridor. This is alongside the PPE we have been wearing for this last year. Please make your participants aware, particularly now, that refusal to wear a mask in the building is a *contraindication* to participation in your study, just like a pacemaker or metallic implants would be. *Access to YNiC* Those who have assigned desks at YNiC can continue to come in as usual. If you have been working remotely, and need to come in for a specific reason (ie to test a stimuli script, analysis that cannot be done on remote access etc), can request to do this through support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk . You will be asked to come in through reception, and have your temperature taken, before coming in to open plan. *Master's Students* We understand that this has been a frustrating year for students and that they have missed out on the opportunity to collaborate and work in YNiC as the cohorts before them did. We have allocated a group workspace in a section of open plan which can be booked for four hour slots from Tuesday to Friday. Please email support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk to book a slot. *Moving Forward* We understand that this is a frustrating and difficult time, and that many of you will have wanted us to remove more COVID procedures, whilst others would want us to be more strict. We hope this clarifies what our position is for now, as we look towards a more 'normal' future. Best wishes Becky -- Rebecca Lowndes Research Technician York Neuroimaging Centre

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Sending General Consent form to YNiC
by Joe Lyons 17 Jun '21

17 Jun '21

Hello We've put together a new system to allow participants to upload their General Consent forms directly to us over the Internet. We hope this will provide an easier and more secure way for you to get participants registered. I've attached 2 documents, one which includes details for the Project Investigator (/YNiC Upload System Instructions.pdf/) and one you can send to the participant (/YNIC_Document_Upload_Guide_for_participants//.pdf/) with instructions on how to upload their form. We do specify that you need to print out the General Consent form so it can be completed by hand and signed. We realise that not everyone has a printer at home and so it can be tricky to obtain a printed out copy. *_Online PDF Editors_* We're looking at a better way to get the form completed online without the need to print. Online PDF editors must **not** be used. Most require you to upload the form to be completed, potentially leaving a signed consent form full of personal details with an unknown third party. Some software packages like *Adobe Acrobat Reader* allow you to fill in and sign the form then export it as a pdf. University students/staff should have access to this on the VDS (Virtual Desktop Service). There is also a mobile/tablet version called *Adobe Fill & Sign* which also allows you to fill in and sign the form. Please do **not** use Microsoft Word as it will mess up the formatting. As before, you can still bring the form into YNiC or send it in the post and the form should reach us 24 hours before the session. If you have any questions, please email support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk. Thanks Joe -- Thanks Joe Lyons, York Neuroimaging Centre (YNiC), University of York joe.lyons(a)ynic.york.ac.uk - 01904 435343

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Some updates from YNiC
by Andre Gouws 08 Jun '21

08 Jun '21

Hi all, Its been great seeing so many of you at the centre again - we look forward to seeing more of you soon! On that note: *Access to YNIC* We are all at the mercy of the government and university review of restrictions and with increasing case numbers the guidance given to us is going to come relatively slowly (I expect). So please bear with us. For now, access to the centre remains restricted to those who have an allocated workspace here and investigators who are attending for scanning. *You sharing information with us - securely* We have a new system in place where you can share confidential docs with us via a secure upload site (e.g. your participant could take a photo of their registration form and upload it directly to us from their phone). Please see the follow up email from Joe Lyons later this week. *Us sharing information with you - securely* If you require participant information, please email us at support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk and leave us a phone number to call you back on - we will call you as soon as we can. Hope to see you all soon The team @ YNiC -- André ************************************************************************ *André Gouws PhD* *Operations Manager * *CQC Registered Manager* *York Neuroimaging Centre and York Diagnostic Imaging* *University of York* *The Biocentre* *York Science Park* *Heslington* *YO10 5NY* *Tel: +44 (0) 1904 435327* *Fax: +44 (0) 1904 435356 *

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Important: What to do if you need a R-number for your participant
by Andre Gouws 20 May '21

20 May '21

If you need an R-number(s) for your participant(s) DO NOT EMAIL US PARTICIPANT NAME(S)! Please send an email to support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk Just tell us that you need some R-number / participant information and give us a phone number to call you on. We will call you ASAP on the number you have provided and get the name(s) from you over the phone. Please , DO NOT EMAIL US PARTICIPANT NAMES. (sorry for shouting - this is really important). -- André ************************************************************************ André Gouws PhD CQC Registered Manager Operations Manager York Neuroimaging Centre and York Diagnostic Imaging University of York The Biocentre York Science Park Heslington YO10 5NY Tel: +44 (0) 1904 435327 Fax: +44 (0) 1904 435356

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YNiC General consent forms
by Richard Aveyard 22 Apr '21

22 Apr '21

Dear YNiC users, As scanning resumes we are continuing to follow cautious covid-19 procedures, and for this reason we are not accepting general consent forms from participants in person. Instead, researchers should provide general consent forms to their prospective participants, and then the researcher should deliver the completed forms to YNiC themselves. In the unusual circumstance that no-one is available to receive the forms in person, the forms should be left in the grey letterbox next to the reception door. We realise this is inconvenient, and we are working on a secure electronic solution, so this should only be a temporary stop-gap measure. *Please do not email completed general consent forms.* It is important that general consent is completed more than 24 hours before the scan time as this constitutes a part of your ethical responsibility to provide informed consent and allow the subject time to reconsider their participation. If absolutely unavoidable, general consent forms can be signed on the day of a scan but the researcher should contact us in advance at support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk to let us know this will happen, and must still talk the participant through the form in advance. Best wishes, Rich -- Dr Richard Aveyard Senior Research Technician York NeuroImaging Centre University of York, UK

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Scanning at YNiC from April 12th.
by Andre Gouws 12 Apr '21

12 Apr '21

Hi all, Further to our previous communications, scanning services have now resumed at YNiC. We have procedures in place to do this safely, and continue to monitor the situation and adapt as we all begin to resume day to day activities. Note that while a great deal of effort has gone into this, we will inevitably have overlooked a couple of details so please work with us to get things going smoothly. Operator slots are being added to the booking system, and you can book non-operator time if you have qualified operators. You can now recruit participants from outside your research group as long as the Dept of Psychology's face to face testing procedures have been followed, and you work within the guidelines of using the centre. These procedures are relatively unchanged from those we sent you in October/November 2020 (when we had a brief period of research activity). As a reminder, here are the requirements and processes in place (these first 3 have always been standard practice): - In advance of the visit, you should make sure your participant is registered at YNiC by completing and submitting to us the YNiC general consent form : - https://www.ynic.york.ac.uk/forms?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=GeneralCo… - We also advise that you go through the MRI safety screening form with them in advance of the date to ensure that it is safe to scan them in MRI - https://www.ynic.york.ac.uk/forms?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=sMRISessi… - You should complete your study-specific consent forms as submitted and approved by the ethics committee. Additional requirements relating to Covid-19 measures: - Before being given access to resume scanning at YNiC your lab will sign a form to confirm: - You have read, understood the YNIC participant journey document: - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A1Jh-JJ21o0WoxqAvIR9CntyN5MyAsxq/view?usp=… - You have read, understood the YNIC MRI specific research risk assessment: - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cAAGZM0X-AxFvEJMdaObYDrxx9LZKqBE/view?usp=… - You have read, understood and followed the steps in the Dept of Psychology's "Face-to-Face Testing in Psychology" guidelines at: - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SftgbpdU8dkImMMHEt5nY7lOIH1-7Rse5o38rFi… - As part of that process will need to complete, and have certified by the HoD, the “Face to Face Research Activity COVID-19 Secure Check Sheet” - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hl-TXlkGnC87JF4AkYxAg5pfj7wDzn286wlAghr… - As part of the safety screening of the subject on their scan day, they will complete an additional Covid-19 specific screening and information form: - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jNvsW1hV5yWMisPLhmL5qCQv48tBGYoI/view?usp=… <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jv51X_wJe50FBSjwbBPADrKpFHIAcSomkWh0uxz…> If you have any queries please contact us at support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk See you soon! -- André ************************************************************************ *André Gouws PhD* *Operations Manager * *York Neuroimaging Centre and York Diagnostic Imaging* *University of York* *The Biocentre* *York Science Park* *Heslington* *YO10 5NY* *Tel: +44 (0) 1904 435327* *Fax: +44 (0) 1904 435356 *

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Status of MEG scanning at YNiC
by Andre Gouws 07 Apr '21

07 Apr '21

Please see the MEG status update, prepared by Richard Aveyard, below: Dear YNiC users, With the anticipated resumption of research at YNiC in the coming months, we will once again be offering time on the MEG system. While doing so, we are keen to make sure that all researchers are aware of the status of the MEG equipment. The new MEG system was installed in the autumn/ winter of 2019 and trialled on MSc projects through February 2020. The trials were largely successful, with good quality data recorded. However, a small number of recordings had to be aborted due to issues with the power supply to the signal processing electronics. At around the same time, the manufacturer of the system ceased trading, so can no longer offer support. To resolve the problem with an increasingly unreliable power supply, custom electronics were installed by YNiC staff through 2020. The modification work is now complete, and the MEG system is once again ready to make recordings. We are doing everything within our power to ensure the ongoing quality of MEG recordings: the stability of the power supply is constantly being monitored, and regular quality assurance recordings are being performed. As such, we are now offering MEG recording facilities with the proviso that the system has not yet undergone long-term testing, so we are unable to guarantee reliability. In the coming weeks a number of projects will begin making recordings on the MEG system, and we welcome any further projects. We understand that in some cases, researchers may prefer to defer starting a project until more data has been successfully acquired. However, we can offer the assurance that in the event that recordings are spoiled due to equipment failures, projects will be reimbursed all charges. If you would like any further information regarding MEG at YNiC, please contact us at support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk <mailto:support@ynic.york.ac.uk> . -- André ************************************************************************ André Gouws PhD CQC Registered Manager Operations Manager York Neuroimaging Centre and York Diagnostic Imaging University of York The Biocentre York Science Park Heslington YO10 5NY Tel: +44 (0) 1904 435327 Fax: +44 (0) 1904 435356

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Resuming scanning at YNiC
by Andre Gouws 12 Mar '21

12 Mar '21

** *(apologies for cross posting on ynic-users and all@psych)* * Hi all, We have (again) been working in the background to get the procedures and environment at YNiC optimized to allow us to return to safe and effective data collection. We had few weeks of practice of running Covid -safe research scanning in Oct/Nov 2020, prior to the current lockdown, and have refined things further. Although we are all aware things could change, we are working optimistically to the scheduled changes in national lockdown. We want to be as ready as we can be to start collecting data from April 12th to coincide with the proposed “Step 2” relaxation of lockdown rules that will allow us to scan colleagues, students and members of the general public again. Over the next 4 weeks at YNiC we will dedicate most of our resources to 1. Facilitate site visits to YNiC by researchers to see how things are going to work 2. Assisting existing projects to be technically set up so that they are ready to book and start testing from April 12th 3. Training / renewing training of operators to assist YNiC operators during scanning or even scan independently. *What do we need from you? *- each lab should email us at support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk <mailto:support@ynic.york.ac.uk>and let us know * what projects you have that are ready to run (or continue running from before) * which scanner you need * what your training requirements are - for MRI, at least one of your team members who is routinely coming to the center during scanning should be a level 0 for example Please bear in mind that we will be running masters projects this year also (as things stand) so the period of April through July will see particularly high demand on staff to run the scanners. Also note that use of YNiC computing services will remain remote for now, and access (other than when scanning) is limited to staff who have allocated workspace at YNiC. Thank you all for your help and patience. We look forward to seeing you all soon! * -- André ************************************************************************ André Gouws PhD CQC Registered Manager Operations Manager York Neuroimaging Centre and York Diagnostic Imaging University of York The Biocentre York Science Park Heslington YO10 5NY Tel: +44 (0) 1904 435327 Fax: +44 (0) 1904 435356

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Research scanning at YNiC
by Andre Gouws 15 Jan '21

15 Jan '21

Hi all, We have had many queries about current and planned arrangements for scanning at YNiC. The short answer therefore to anyone asking this question is: There are no absolute answers at the moment but we are working on it. I'm sure you will all be aware that putting policies and procedures in place with the seemingly ever-changing guidance and restrictions is challenging. We would love to be able to facilitate safe, legal and socially responsible use of the facilities, but it is difficult and we are taking advice and collaborating with other sites and to agree best practices. So please bear with us - I will update you as soon as we have more information. Best wishes and hope to see you all soon, -- André ************************************************************************ André Gouws PhD Operations Manager - York Neuroimaging Centre CQC Registered Manager - York Diagnostic Imaging University of York The Biocentre York Science Park Heslington YO10 5NY Tel: +44 (0) 1904 435327 Fax: +44 (0) 1904 435356

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Update on mask policy
by Rebecca Lowndes 09 Dec '20

09 Dec '20

Hello all, Following recent guidance, we are no longer recommending that participants wear a mask whilst they are being scanned. The steps regarding masks are now as follows: Please ask them to replace their mask with an MRI safe mask of ours at the door as usual. When they are settled into the head coil (but without padding or the front part in place) sanitize your hands and ask them to remove their mask. Place their mask in the yellow square on the workbench. Sanitize your hands again. When removing the participant, sanitize your hands and give them back the mask. Sanitize your hands again. Ensure you thoroughly clean the yellow square area the mask was in. Thank you all for being flexible and understanding as guidelines and advice are ever changing. The YNiC team -- Rebecca Lowndes Research Technician York Neuroimaging Centre

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