Metadata Conventions

The following sections describes the variables used in the different metadata tables. All tables should be machine-readable. Having key variables consistently named across tables make it possible to automatically bring them together

beamtimes_codebook.csv

Variable_name Description
Facility_institution Name or acronym of any overarching organization hosting the facility used for data acquisition (e.g. university hosting core facility; radiation research organization)
Facility_country Country where the facility is located
Facility_name Name or acronym of the facility used for data acquisition (e.g. core facility; synchrotron)
Facility_subunit Name or acronym of the subunit of the facility used for data acquisition (e.g. beamline of a synchrotron)
Beamtime_start_date Date of the first official day of the synchrotron beamtime allocation. This does not include any days prior of official beamtime start used for preparation. Format YYYY-MM-DD
Beamtime_proposal_number Official proposal number assigned by the synchrotron to the allocated beamtime. This should correspond the number used in the synchrotron databases etc.
Beamtime_project_description Shorthand description of the research question investigated during this experiment
Preparation Indicator whether the experiment was in vivo, ex vivo, post mortem or peri mortem
Number_of_samples Number of samples imaged during the beamtime experiment (e.g. number of animals; number of tissues)
Mean_photon_energy Mean photon energy of the X-ray beam
Monochromator Type of monochromator used for narrowing the energy spectrum of the X-ray beam
Effective_voxel_size Effective voxel size of the data. This value derives from the lens magnification and Detector_pixel_size. It is usually measured independently for validation
Projections_width_in_pixel Width of the acquired X-ray projection in pixels
Projections_height_in_pixel Height of the acquired X-ray projection in pixels
Field_of_View_width Width of the acquired X-ray projection in millimeters
Field_of_View_height Height of the acquired X-ray projection in millimeters
Exposure_time Amount of time that the camera chip used in the X-ray detector setup is exposed to light and collecting photons
Overhead_time_per_projection Additional amount of time required on top of the exposure time for the complete acquisition of an X-ray projection (e.g. for readout or rotation stage movements)
Number_of_projections The number of X-ray projections collected at multiple angles for the purposes of tomographic reconstruction
Stage_rotation_angle_range Indicates the angle the rotation stage was rotated during the full scans. Typical values are 180 ° and 360 °
Propagation_distance Distance between the detector and the sample. This value has impacts the amount of edge enhancement seen in the X-ray images
Detector_model Name identifying the camera used in the detector setup
Detector_pixel_size Pixel size of the physical pixels on the camera chip without magnification
Detector_width_in_pixel Width of the camera chip array in number of pixels. This reflects the technical specifications of the camera chip and not the number of pixels used in imaging
Detector_height_in_pixel Height of the camera chip array in number of pixels. This reflects the technical specifications of the camera chip and not the number of pixels used in imaging
Lens_type Type of lens used for magnification of visible light in the X-ray detector setup
Lens_f-number The f-number of a camera lens used for magnification in the X-ray detector setup. Indicated as N/A for microscope objectives where the numerical aperture is provided instead
Lens_numerical_aperture The numerical aperture of a microscope objective used for magnification in the X-ray detector setup. Indicated as N/A for camera lenses where the f-number is provided instead
Scintillator Material and thickness of the scintillator used to convert X-rays to visible light in the X-ray detector setup
Radiation_dose_rate Radiation dose rate measured or estimated for in vivo experiments. This metric is not measured for ex vivo or post mortem experiments
Table_date_csv_export Date of exporting the .xlsx table used for editing to .csv for upload to the FABRIC4 Portal.
N/A Not applicable
Unavailable This information has not been collected
Variable This information is different for different scans within the beamtime session. It is provided in this table for overview purposes only

Mouse_list_codebook.csv

Variable Description
Subject_ID Unique identifier for each animal
Date Date of the experiment. Format YYYY-MM-DD
Preparation Indicator whether the experiment was in vivo, ex vivo, post mortem or peri mortem. This reflects the state of the animal at the beginning of the scan (e.g. animals that are scanned first in vivo but are scanned again post mortem are indicated as in vivo. Those post mortem scans will be indicated as such on the Scan_List)
Contrast_agent_Injection_location Anatomical region where X-ray contrast agent was injected for the experiment
Comments Text comments indicating additional information
Sex Sex of the animal
Body_weight Body weight of the animal on the date of the experiment
Date_of_birth Date of birth of the animal. Format YYYY-MM-DD
Strain Strain from which the mouse line is derived (e.g. C57BL/6J; C57BL/6JJmsSlc; B6D2F1/J)
Genetic_strain_type Strain type of transgenic animals. Indicated as wild-type if non-transgenic
Pathology Description of pathology or treatment group if experiment investigates disease model
Stereotactic_coordinates_shorthand Shorthand for a set of stereotactic coordinates used for intraventricular contrast agent injection. Refers to the place coordinates were first used by the FABRIC4 consortium (e.g. TKI; Spring-8; CLS)
Stereotactic_coordinate_X Stereotactic coordinate on the lateral-medial axis. Indicates offset of the injection location from the bregma. Negative values point to the right and positive values point to the left direction of the animal. In the context of injecting the right ventricle: right = lateral; left = medial
Stereotactic_coordinate_Y Stereotactic coordinate on the posterior-anterior axis (or caudal-rostral axis). Indicates offset of the injection location from the bregma. Negative values point to the posterior (caudal) and positive values point to the anterior (rostral) direction of the animal
Stereotactic_coordinate_Z Stereotactic coordinate on the ventral-dorsal axis. Indicates depth of the injection from the skull surface as determined by stereotact. Negative values point to the ventral and positive values point to the dorsal direction of the animal
Infusion_cannula_length Length of the needle part of plastic infusion cannulas used for contrast agent infusions. This corresponds to the depth of the infusion site with respect to the skull surface
Contrast_agent_concentration Concentration of the main X-ray absorbing element in the contrast agent (e.g. mg I/ml; mg Ba/ml)
Contrast_agent_infusion_rate Amount of contrast agent volume per time unit infused for the main experiment
Contrast_agent_maintenance_infusion_rate Amount of contrast agent volume per time unit infused after the main infusion. Low infusion rates are maintained to avoid backflow into the contrast agent cannula.
Contrast_agent_infusion_volume Overall amount of contrast agent volume infused for the main experiment. Volume of maintenance infusion are not included in that number
Contrast_agent_infusion_start_time Time of day when contrast agent infusion was started. Format HH:MM
Contrast_agent_infusion_started_before_scan_name Filename of first scan after contrast agent infusion was started
Anesthesia_induction Anesthetic regimen used for anesthesia induction
Anesthesia_maintenance Anesthetic regimen used for anesthesia maintenance during surgery or imaging
Analgesia Analgesia regimen used
Artificial_ventilation Artificial ventilation used (e.g. tracheotomy; intubation)
Research_group_institution University affiliation of the group(s) who collected the data. (Unibas = University of Basel; Unibe = University of Bern; UZH = University of Zurich)
Research_group Abbreviation describing the group(s) who collected the data. (BMC = Biomaterials Science Center; TKI = Theodor Kocher Institute; TIG = The Interface Group)
Table_date_csv_export Date of exporting the .xlsx table used for editing to .csv for upload to the FABRIC4 Portal.
N/A Not applicable
Unavailable This information has not been collected

Scan_list_Synchrotron_codebook.csv

Variable Description
Preview_Image Preview thumbnail of the dataset provided on the FABRIC4 Portal for navigating data
Preview_Image_Slice_Number Preview thumbnail is typically a single slice of a 3D image stack. Slice number indicates the location of the 2D image slice in the 3D stack.
Date Date of the data acquisition. Format YYYY-MM-DD
Subject_ID Unique identifier for each animal
Tissue_ID Unique identifier for each sample. A single animal may provide multiple tissue samples
Anatomical_location Anatomical location of the scan or of the tissue source
Filename Name of file or folder containing the data
Filename_changes Filename may occasionally be incorrectly assigned during the experiment. Changes made to the original filename are indicated here.
Number_of_subscans_in_file Number of scans included in the file or folder indicated in the Filename column
Comments Text comments indicating additional information
Preparation Indicator whether the experiment was in vivo, ex vivo, post mortem or peri mortem
Strain Strain from which the mouse line is derived (e.g. C57BL/6J; C57BL/6JJmsSlc; B6D2F1/J)
Genetic_strain_type Strain type of transgenic animals. Indicated as wild-type if non-transgenic
Pathology Description of pathology or treatment group if experiment investigates disease model
Tomography_acquisition_scheme Description of acquisition scheme used impacting the field of view (e.g. half-acquisition; mosaic tomography)
Tomography_scan_type Description of the type of scan impacting reconstruction (e.g. height steps; time series; gated scan)
Repository Name of the public repository where the data indicated in Filename can be downloaded
Repository_URL URL linking to the entry in the public repository where the data indicated in Filename can be downloaded
Mean_photon_energy Mean photon energy of the X-ray beam
Monochromator Type of monochromator used for narrowing the energy spectrum of the X-ray beam
Effective_voxel_size Effective voxel size of the data. This value derives from the lens magnification and Detector_pixel_size. It is usually measured independently for validation
Projections_width_in_pixel Width of the acquired X-ray projection in pixels
Projections_height_in_pixel Height of the acquired X-ray projection in pixels
Projections_width Width of the acquired X-ray projection in millimeters
Projections_height Height of the acquired X-ray projection in millimeters
Exposure_time Amount of time that the camera chip used in the X-ray detector setup is exposed to light and collecting photons
Overhead_time_per_projection Additional amount of time required on top of the exposure time for the complete acquisition of an X-ray projection (e.g. for readout or rotation stage movements)
Number_of_projections The number of X-ray projections collected at multiple angles for the purposes of tomographic reconstruction
Stage_rotation_angle_range Indicates the angle the rotation stage was rotated during the full scans. Typical values are 180 ° and 360 °
Stage_position_z Absolute motor position of the motor used for translating the height of the sample. This value is useful if height steps are not acquired sequentially
Height_step_size Absolute motor position of the motor used for translating the height of the sample between different height steps
Propagation_distance Distance between the detector and the sample. This value has impacts the amount of edge enhancement seen in the X-ray images
Detector_model Name identifying the camera used in the detector setup
Detector_pixel_size Pixel size of the physical pixels on the camera chip without magnification
Detector_width_in_pixel Width of the camera chip array in number of pixels. This reflects the technical specifications of the camera chip and not the number of pixels used in imaging
Detector_height_in_pixel Height of the camera chip array in number of pixels. This reflects the technical specifications of the camera chip and not the number of pixels used in imaging
Lens_type Type of lens used for magnification of visible light in the X-ray detector setup
Lens_f-number The f-number of a camera lens used for magnification in the X-ray detector setup. Indicated as N/A for microscope objectives where the numerical aperture is provided instead
Lens_numerical_aperture The numerical aperture of a microscope objective used for magnification in the X-ray detector setup. Indicated as N/A for camera lenses where the f-number is provided instead
Scintillator Material and thickness of the scintillator used to convert X-rays to visible light in the X-ray detector setup
Radiation_dose_rate Radiation dose rate measured or estimated for in vivo experiments. This metric is not measured for ex vivo or post mortem experiments
Facility_name Name or acronym of the facility used for data acquisition (e.g. core facility; synchrotron)
Facility_subunit Name or acronym of the subunit of the facility used for data acquisition (e.g. beamline of a synchrotron)
Facility_institution Name or acronym of any overarching organization hosting the facility used for data acquisition (e.g. university hosting core facility; radiation research organization)
Facility_country Country where the facility is located
Beamtime_start_date Date of the first official day of the synchrotron beamtime allocation. This does not include any days prior of official beamtime start used for preparation. Format YYYY-MM-DD
Beamtime_proposal_number Official proposal number assigned by the synchrotron to the allocated beamtime. This should correspond the number used in the synchrotron databases etc.
Beamtime_project_description Shorthand description of the research question investigated during this experiment
Disk_ID_Projections Unique identifier for the physical harddisk used to store the raw X-ray projection data of the scan indicated in Filename. Format Synchrotron_MonthYear_Disk#
Disk_ID_Reconstructions Unique identifier for the physical harddisk used to store the reconstructed 3D data of the scan indicated in Filename. Format Synchrotron_MonthYear_Disk#
Disk_Basel_Physical_Location Description of the physical location of the harddisks stored at the Biomaterials Science Center at the University of Basel
Disk_Bern_Physical_Location Description of the physical location of the harddisks stored at the Theodor Kocher Institute at the University of Bern
Disk_Zurich_Physical_Location Description of the physical location of the harddisks stored at The Interface Group at the University of Zurich
Research_group_institution University affiliation of the group(s) who collected the data. (Unibas = University of Basel; Unibe = University of Bern; UZH = University of Zurich)
Research_group Abbreviation describing the group(s) who collected the data. (BMC = Biomaterials Science Center; TKI = Theodor Kocher Institute; TIG = The Interface Group)
Table_date_csv_export Date of exporting the .xlsx table used for editing to .csv for upload to the FABRIC4 Portal.
N/A Not applicable
Unavailable This information has not been collected
Back to top