Author: jjchambers
TECH TIP: HOW CAN I GET MY DATA?
When imaging, be sure to save your data to the local data drive (usually D, E, F, G, or H) on every microscope PC. NEVER save to C-drive. ALWAYS back up your data to a location you fully control. When done, you can upload your data to your cloud service, email it to yourself, or…
TECH HIGHLIGHT: SLIDE SCANNING
We can now scan slides in an automated fashion on most of the scanning confocals, spinning disk (SD and CrestV2), or wide field fluorescence (HCA). We can have the system detect tissue slices automatically using 4x and then collect high resolution tiles/z-stacks/etc. for focusing and stitching. It can then text you when done with the…
TECH TIP: AVOIDING SATURATED DATA
Much like a glass left out in the pouring rain, the glass will eventually overflow. Like that glass, digital detectors (PMTs on the scanning confocals, cameras on the other microscopes) can only hold so much signal; 0-4095 for 12-bit and 0-65535 for 16-bit. If the detector is full and you “pour” in more photons like…
TECH HIGHLIGHT: FLIM NOW EASY ON NIS-ELEMENTS
With the addition of a new module inside of NIS-Elements on the A1SP, you can now make use of our awesome 4 laser, dual single-photon detector FLIM system right inside of NIS-Elements. Thus, doing time lapses, z-stacks, or other multiplexed FLIM experiments is as simple as running a green/red experiment now. You can also do…
TECH FAQ: “DUDE, WHERE’S MY DATA?”
One perpetual question that we get is, “How can I get my data?” Here is the answer and what I consider Best Practice. 1) SAVE your data during acquisition to a local data drive (usually D or E, NEVER C as it may be deleted automatically) 2) At session end, COPY that data to a…
TECH HIGHLIGHT: MULTIDIMENSIONAL IMAGING
Did you know that it is quite easy to make your time on LMF microscopes much more efficient? On most of our microscopes, you will find “ND acquisition” which is a module that allows you to combine various dimensions such as multicolor, time-lapse, z-stacks, and numerous x-y-z positions. Thus, instead of running a time-lapse on…
No more office hours….BUT….
To get scheduled help, give this a try! https://calendly.com/jjchambe/30min
Easy way to contact LMF staff…
Did you know that we have a catch-all email address for all current LMF staff? When you have a question, feel free to initiate a MS-Teams chat message or email with LMFStaff@ads.umass.edu That message will go to all of us and will likely get your question answer quicker than just emailing on of us.
EDITED 2/7/24 – MONTHLY office hours confirmed – first Wed of each month, 12:30-2 in LSL S515/Zoom@4135774580
Monthly office hours – first Wednesdays! Since about 10 folks showed up on 1/24 (but no one on the subsequent weeks), it seems that office hours are still worth doing, but not so frequently. Come by with questions about imaging and/or analysis or just sit and listen to absorb some new info or new ways…
So, you say you want to learn more about microscopy?
Webinars, Workshops, and Courses Overview of All Euro-BioImaging Trainings Euro-BioImaging Virtual Pub Every Friday, 13:00 CET Image.sc LIVE! around the world, Jan 18-19, 2024, Virtual HCBI Tissue Clearing Workshop, Jan 22 – 24 at Harvard Bio Labs, Harvard, University, Cambridge, MA, USA. ** Pair-Up Workshop, January 22-26, 2024, ZEISS Headquarters, Dublin, CA, USA Microscopy: improve…
Back by popular demand…OFFICE HOURS! (experiment begins 1/24, 12:30-2 LSL S515)
I’ll be in LSL S515 and on Zoom (meetingID 4135774580) on Wed 1/24 from 12:30 – 2 to answer every imaging-related question i can! As I always say, there are NO STUPID QUESTIONS in microscopy…and there is so much to learn, so swing on by even if you don’t have a question! Bring your laptop…and…
Apps for QFM2024 course are open. $3000 of funding available!
[pdf-embedder url=”https://umasslmf.dev/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Quantitative-Microscopy-Course-Applicaiton-2024.pdf” title=”Quantitative Microscopy Course Applicaiton 2024″]
Free training for IALS members
[pdf-embedder url=”https://umasslmf.dev/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CoreFacilitiesTrainingFunds-Fall2023.pdf”]
Chatbot updated – it can now report problems to LMF Staff!
Give it a try next time you run into a problem or have a question. Bottom right of this window.
Workstation status
Last week, IT team and I needed to reconfigure WS0, WS1, and WS4. We are still recovering from a few unforeseen technical difficulties, but WS0 and WS1 and up (fresh installs) and WS4 should be back on Monday. We are also working on investing in more modern rack server hardware….stay tuned on some big improvements…
Imaging analysis workshops – LAST SPOT FOR 2023 OPEN.
ONE SLOT OPEN FOR NEXT WEEK! 9:30-11, MWF. email Jim if interested. Watch for 6+ person workshops coming in 2024… UPDATED 11/29 4.5 hrs of your time will get you from beginner to expert. After two successful runs, I am scheduling an updated version of my image analysis workshop. This is focused on the use…
Sept 13, Seminar on multielectrode recording
2-3PM in LSL S340 We are hosting a special seminar by MaxWell Biosystems. They will discuss their high density multi-electrode array devices that can be used for label-free, sub-cellular recording of electrically active tissues. See PDF below for more info and I hope to see you at the seminar. No need to RSVP! There will…
Reservation times
Remember to only reserve the time you will use. CORUM is now set to charge for reservation time plus anything beyond that time. The reason for this is to allow everyone fair access to the instruments and have less booked but unused time slots.
Another hard drive dies…
Please be sure that you are constantly and consistently copying your data off of our microscope PCs. If you need ideas on backing up your data, reach out to us and we can make suggestions. If you don’t have your data in a place that YOU 100% control, your data is at 100% risk. It…
Need more Lens tissue?
Send us a message on Teams! If you are shy, you can send an anonymous message on this popup. It’s helpful for us to know when supplies are low 🙂 If we aren’t around, you can take a couple of sheets from another microscope but please keep the booklet at the original microscope.
Chatbot updates and improvements
Did you know that the chatbot is a dynamic learner? When it can’t answer your question, we get a report and then teach it, so it can answer that question in the future! Cool, huh? So, the more you ask it, the smarter it gets! So much for job security…
A1R-TIRF users
We updated the software on the scope. Please follow instructions Jim posted on the A1R-TIRF channel on Microsoft Teams.
Fun with microscopy…
In case you are also addicted to Wordle, I figured I’d give you an alternative to the regular Wordle game. A microscopy-themed one that I will post here and there: mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=bctxd
A1 confocal schedule got you down?
Did you know that the UMass LMF actually has 5 (yes, FIVE) scanning confocals? All 5 can do the standard gamut of blue, green, red, and far-red. So, if you are interested in moving to a less cluttered microscope schedule, contact LMF staff and we can discuss.
2/22/22 (if I only waited until 2:22)
Have you tried our chatbot? It is available to you by just clicking the icon at the bottom right of this page. It can solve about 80% of the common questions we get, so if you are stuck outside of business hours, give the ole chat bot a go!
Old newsletters – still useful info!
Old newsletters: [pdf-embedder url=”https://umasslmf.dev/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210701_LMF_newsletter.pdf”] [pdf-embedder url=”https://umasslmf.dev/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210601_LMF_newsletter.pdf”] [pdf-embedder url=”https://umasslmf.dev/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210501_LMF_newsletter.pdf”]
