Projects

Projects are the highest organizational level in LOGS, providing a structured framework to organize data. Datasets and samples can be assigned to multiple projects, and user permissions can be set based on projects. For more information, refer to projects.

Samples

The LOGS organizational structure contains samples. Every measurement is conducted on a sample and consequently, all datasets should be connected to samples. Explore more details: samples.

Datasets

Datasets form the central component of LOGS, representing the result of every measurement. The composition of a dataset depends on the data format, ranging from a single file to multiple files, including raw data and additional information required for data interpretation. Multiple-track datasets are also possible. Learn more about datasets.

Structure your datasets

The following LOGS content will help categorize and describe datasets more precisely.

In short, an Instrument corresponds to a physical instrument in your lab (e.g., a gel documentation system). A measuring methods, which in this example would be an image, can be configured. An experiment can be defined optionally. In this example it could be a agarose gel, a SDS gel, and more.

• Data Format: A data format corresponds to one format parser that reads a specific type of file (or files) from one vendor. Different data formats can be grouped to one measuring methods, e.g. NMR: Bruker, JEOL, Varian, etc. New data formats can only be added by our developers. You can request a data format by using this form. You can find a list of all data formats that are supported by LOGS under More:Content:Supported data formats.

• Measuring Method: A measurement method can be a group of data formats and is like a tag that can automatically apply to all datasets from a specific data source (or manually apply when uploading datasets in the browser).

• Instrument: With instruments you can organize your physical instruments in your lab and describe them with all relevant information about the instrument, like the name, the location, vendor and responsible persons.

• Experiment: An experiment is part of a measuring methods which can be used to as more precise tag for datasets. One measuring methods can have different experiments assigned to.

• Suppl. equipment: Supplementary Equipment can be exchangeable parts of an instrument, for e.g. lasers, rotors and more. Suppl. equipment is an additional tag which describes a variable set up of an instrument in more detail.

 

Data format

A data format is used for importing a dataset into LOGS, something like "EPR (Bruker)". It contains the file pattern LOGS uses for identifiying a dataset (here, one .DTA and one .DSC file) and a parser extracting information from the dataset. This allows us to extract additional information like acquisitional parameters and to show the data in the viewer. The format is set in the data source settings or when doing a manual upload. New formats can be added by installing a newer LOGS release. 

 

Method

The method is the general scientific method used for acquiring a dataset, like EPR or NMR. It is only a name you can use for filtering the dataset table. Admins can create new ones on their own. They are set for each instrument and then inherited by datasets acquired by this instrument. This mechanism might change a little in future LOGS releases. 

  

Instrument

An instrument is the specific device used for acquiring a dataset. So it is not "NMR" or "NMR spectrometer" in general but "the Bruker Avance Neo 1200 MHz NMR spectrometer in sector 7G" - but usually the instrument names are not that specific. Instruments are defined by the local admin and have a method assigned to them. 

 

Data Source  

When the local admin adds a data source for importing datasets, he has to select the instrument. This automatically implies a method. He also selects the data format there. The specifics for uploading data, like the data directories, the interval how long to wait to look for new datasets again as well as additional rules to apply after a datasets has been uploaded to LOGS (metadata mappings) are selected here too. 

  

Data Bridge

The other part of uploading datasets is the "Bridge". It defines the way how to get to the data. It can either via LOGS client software, running on an instrument PC or data server and pushing data to the LOGS server. Or it can be an SSH based autoload logging in from the LOGS server to the instrument PC and pulling datasets. 

We recommend using the client based method, since it is a lot faster and more reliable. 

  

All of those entities can be edited or created in their respective section of the "more" menu - by admins only.