Working From Home as a CIF User
Some of you (and we as well !), while stuck at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, still need to work on their images. Or maybe you have some spare time you want to dedicate to a topic you’ve never had time to focus on before. Or you just have some practical questions you’d like some answers to. Here’s a collection of useful tips and links you might be interested in in order to continue your work at home, as a CIF user.
[wp-svg-icons icon=”thumbs-up” wrap=”i”] If you have other tips or links that might be of some interest to the CIF users, they are welcome too and will be added to this article.
General
The CIF Wiki
Let’s start with the basics first. The CIF website has a new section dedicated to all the questions you might ask yourself about imaging, analysis, software, tools and other CIF procedures. It is still starting so you might not find – yet – what you are looking for. If this is the case, do not hesitate to ask us to include your question, your topic, or your suggestions.
IT procedures
How to access to your files on the ATHENA server
Through the web
If you need to access your files on our Athena file server, you can use the web interface for this, even without going through the UNIL’s VPN, Pulse Secure or Crypto. See the tutorial on how to access your files with the web interface here:
You can also access your files directly as a remote folder ONCE you’ve been authenticated through the UNIL’s VPN
Once authenticated, use one of the following procedure to add the ATHENA remote folder if you’re using Windows or MacOS
Online processing
CIF’s Huygens Remote manager (HRM)
The CIF’s deconvolution server is still active and can be used to deconvolve images to enhance resolution and/or signal to noise ratio. If you’re not already a regular user, maybe it’s time to learn the benefits of this service and how to use it. Hop to the dedicated web page to learn more:
If you have trouble using the service or have questions, just ask yannick.krempp@unil.ch
Software download and usage
Software available for extended trials
Miscelleanous
Many microscope brands have free versions of their software. If you’re just looking for a way to view your files, and often export them to a more convenient file format, have a look at the links listed in the article from the Royal Microscopy Society (scroll down for proprietary software with special offers):
Imaris (General)
Imaris has put in place a virtual hub gathering every resources about its software, how to obtain it and how to use it :
Imaris (CIF specific)
Satellite license : In addition to these links we can provide a few Imaris satellite licenses for those who really need access to a complete solution. Please be aware these licenses are available in a very limited quantity and that we cannot fulfill every requests, so please make sure that there is no other solution for your processing needs before asking for this license.
Free Viewer : Many users actually just need a way to see their reconstructed multidimensional dataset in 3D. If this is your case, you can use the free Imaris viewer:
Nikon (CIF specific)
Nikon Switzerland has also provided a means to get a trial license valid until June for those using NIS-Elements. If you are interested in this solution, please contact us and provide this information:
- First name
- Name
- Email-adress (with the institutes domain, @bsse.ethz.ch, not @google.ch etc.)
- Institute
- Departement
- PI
For each user and each single licence requested. (More info here)
Zeiss
Zeiss has put in place some extended trials for those working at home:
Leica
Leica offers on-demand webinars:
Free and Open source software
The CIF has a section dedicated to free software in the downloads area. Have a look !
Learning
CIF’s recommended reading and viewing
This a curated list of some frequently referenced online material and courses that we regularly use in our trainings and workshops. You will also find links to courses from academia and companies in the field of bioimaging. This is a must-read !
As always, if you know of some nice tutorials or free online courses that could benefit other users, please share it with us and we’ll gladly add it to the list.
CIF workshops
You may have time to spare right now, but maybe you couldn’t attend to one of our workshops in the past. There are numerous workshop slides available for download :
If you don’t understand some parts or if you have questions, do not hesitate to ask the respective workshop authors for help or maybe for a one-to-one video session to explain more complex points.
E-learning with LinkedIn Learning for UNIL students/employees
The UNIL offers a free access to LinkedIn Learning (formerly known as Lynda.com) to every UNIL student or employee, as long as they have a UNIL account.
These courses differ from the likes of those available through other online platforms like EDX, Coursera, and Kahn Academy (for those who slept during that particular math course on vectors…) by being focused more on a specific software or tool, often commercial (Office, Adobe suite, etc…) but also some open source packages and even personal development which you won’t find on the other platforms.
Hit the link to get more information on how to access the service :
Here is a list of courses we think you may find useful when working in research and bioimaging :
There are obviously many other courses, ranging from Microsoft Office up to very specialized tools like Blender for 3D representation, but also on more personal skills like Project Management, Communication, and even Creativity …