Aspera Drive makes the transfer of data from individuals’ storage and instruments into data collections in QRIScloud much faster and easier. A simple drag-and-drop interface on a desktop is all that’s needed to transfer files and to synchronise files between a local desktop folder and a QRIScloud collection.
With Aspera Drive’s two-way synchronisation turned on, what’s done in the local folder appears in the QRISdata collection, and vice versa.
Those generating data from an instrument can set the data to go into their local folder with Aspera Drive automatically uploading them to the QRISdata collection.
For sensitive data, Aspera Drive allows users to encrypt data using their own pass-phrase during the upload. Previously users would have had to encrypt their data using an external program prior to uploading.
Aspera Drive uses as much network bandwidth as is available meaning that data transfers are accomplished at the maximum speed possible.
QCIF Service Delivery Manager Stephen Bird said, “Aspera provides a strong alternative to other data movement methods as it’s easy to use, offers faster transfer speeds and allows users to encrypt their sensitive data on the fly. Current users of CyberDuck, Filezilla, WinSCP and other transfer software will find that Aspera offers much more.”
Aspera also offers Aspera Shares for those wanting to use a web browser to move data rapidly into or out of a collection. This enables users to access their data collection remotely from any web-enabled device.
Aspera’s ‘sync, share and collaborate’ capability has been very positively received by trial users, and is available for all users with data collections enabled for standard access mechanisms.
Become familiar with Aspera Shares and Aspera Drive with QRIScloud’s ‘
Getting Started Guide for Aspera’. For further information and assistance please contact the QRIScloud Help Desk:
support@qriscloud.org.au.
QRIScloud welcomes its first integrated collection storage and metadata management tool
Want a way to store and access data collections incorporating a far easier method to manage metadata, control access and expose a data collection on the web? Mediaflux on QRIScloud provides all those capabilities and more, including fast and easy data ingest and egress with drag-and-drop functionality.
According to QCIF Service Delivery Manager Stephen Bird, “If you’re wanting to move and store files with extra capabilities, such as metadata management, version control, flexible data sharing mechanisms, and web portal exposure for your data, then Mediaflux is for you.”
Earlier this year, QCIF successfully trialled Mediaflux with a few users who tested it extensively for ingesting, storing, sharing and searching their data. The tool is now available for general use.
Mediaflux stores the collection, manages all the metadata, and enables far greater flexibility on ways to access and collaborate with the underlying data than was possible before. During data ingest, metadata is automatically extracted for known file types and users can edit or add extra metadata. Mediaflux has in-built version control and can integrate with map servers to display geo-tagged content.
“QRIScloud previously lacked tools to assist users to curate and manage the metadata for their collections. For users who need to do this, then Mediaflux deserves serious consideration,” said Stephen.
Mediaflux offers the flexibility of multiple user interfaces, including a web browser-based tool called Mediaflux Desktop and a standalone desktop application called Mediaflux Asset Explorer. In addition, Mediaflux offers several other access methods, such as standard NFS, SMB, sFTP and S3 protocols (S3 is coming soon in a future release), as well as the ability to expose a collection through a web portal.
For those needing to store and manage sensitive data, Mediaflux enables users to upload their data to an encrypted data store so their data remain protected at rest.
For wider and even simpler exposure, Mediaflux can turn a data collection into a customisable web portal, complete with searchable metadata. Mediaflux automatically generates a URL for a collection and a user can choose which data to display or not display — all without having to employ or become a web developer.
Become familiar with Mediaflux with QRIScloud’s '
Getting Started Guide for Mediaflux'. For further information or assistance on using Mediaflux, please contact the QRIScloud Help Desk:
support@qriscloud.org.au.
Introducing the Cloud Power Users
Rowland Mosbergen (pictured) is a power user of the Nectar Research Cloud, managing five production-ready virtual machines as lead developer for
Stemformatics, a data service for stem cell researchers
After meeting other power users of the Nectar Research Cloud at a meeting on 6 May 2016 hosted by QCIF, the Queensland node of the Research Cloud, Rowland established a power users group. According to Rowland, a power user wants to build things that are “maintainable, extensible, scalable, reliable.”
Like other power users, Rowland wants the best experience for the more than 400 users they support, with limited resources. Nectar and QCIF’s QRIScloud “enabled us to save tens of thousands of dollars per year” compared to commercial cloud providers, and that money saved goes towards better serving the stem cell research community. “The national Nectar infrastructure has reduced our downtime,” Rowland said.
Read more
QFAB@QCIF to hold R workshops at QUT in August
QFAB@QCIF will hold four training sessions in August at QUT's Gardens Point Campus all related to the R software environment, for beginners to advanced users. The workshops include:
Click on the workshop titles above for more information and to register. All QCIF members are able to take advantage of a discount on the costs of courses. Any queries, please contact
training@qfab.org.
JCU joins UQ and Griffith in the Hacky Hour family
James Cook University’s Townsville Campus has joined the Hacky Hour family with sessions each Friday afternoon, 2pm–4pm.
HackyHour @ JCU began last month, an initiative of the university’s eResearch Centre, whose staff provide assistance at the sessions.
“We can help with Python, R, GIS, UNIX Command Line, HPC job submission, to name just a few,” said QCIF eResearch Analyst Dr Collin Storlie (pictured), who is based at JCU’s eResearch Centre. “We aim to create a relaxed environment, where researchers and students from all domains can come to get help with their tech-based questions. It’s a great chance to receive advice from experts, and meet other researchers with similar interests too.”
Hacky Hour is a meetup open to everyone with an interest in IT and research. It aims to improve researchers’ understanding and implementation of the technical aspects of research, as well as fostering collaboration and information sharing.
For the immediate future, HackyHour @ JCU will be located in room 065, building 17 on the Townsville Campus. However, best to follow Collin on Twitter (
@JCU_QCIF_eRA) for updates in case this location ever changes.
JCU joins UQ and Griffith University in providing regular Hacky Hours. UQ’s Hacky Hour is held each Tuesday at 3pm–4pm on the St Lucia Campus. It is currently held at Nano Café, but follow
@HackyHourStLuc on Twitter or the
blog in case this location changes.
Griffith’s
Hacky Hour is held each Thursday, 2pm–3pm, at G’s Wine Bar, alternating between the Nathan and Gold Coast campuses. Follow
@hackyhourGU on Twitter to check the location for that week.
August Tech Talk to focus on Imaging Analysis Tools
Date: Friday, 5 August
Time: 3–4pm AEST
Brisbane venue: Room 505A, level 5, Axon Building (47), UQ St Lucia Campus (or join remotely)
Register
Next month's Tech Talk will focus on imaging analysis tools with Dr Andrew Janke (pictured) from UQ's Centre for Advanced Imaging and Dr Grischa Meyer, a senior research programmer and data architect at Monash University, on the panel.
The monthly Tech Talk is an initative of ANDS, Nectar, QCIF, Intersect, VICNode, eRSA and Pawsey. All are welcome to join this informal discussion and networking event.
Eight Queensland locations for GovHack 2016
Eight Queensland locations will participate in this year's GovHack, an annual open data competition held across Australia and New Zealand, 29–31 July.
Official GovHack events will be held at UQ Brisbane, Griffith Gold Coast and in Toowoomba. GovHack node events will be held in Maroochydore, Ipswich, Rockhampton, Manunda and Eagle Farm in Brisbane. The GovHack website states: "Nodes may not have all the bells and whistles of an official event. They are unique though as they cater to our community groups."
GovHack involves teams working together over 46 hours to explore, mash up, ideate and communicate their concepts using open Government data.
Competing in GovHack is free, but please
register.
Apply to join the NCMAS committee
The National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme is calling for expressions of interest to join its committee.
NCMAS provides access, based on research and computational merit, for researchers at Australian universities and publicly-funded research agencies, to resource shares at the major national computational facilities. Resource allocations are made by an independent peer-review committee, the secretariat services for which are provided by the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) from its base at the Australian National University in Canberra.
Committee members will be appointed on an honorary basis for a four-year term with half of the Committee being renewed every two years. A Deputy Chair and Chair will be appointed for a two-year term from the Committee’s membership.
Applications are welcomed from appropriately qualified researchers (including early and mid-career researchers) in any computationally and data-intensive research fields of science and engineering.
Applications close 9am AEST on Monday, 1 August 2016. Visit the
NCMAS webpage for more information.
Call for volunteers for ResBaz 2017
The dates for next year's Brisbane Research Bazaar (ResBaz) have been announced, 7–9 February, and its organisers are calling for volunteers.
ResBaz 2017 will be held at The University of Queensland, St Lucia. Volunteers are required to help organise and run events, suggest activities, run stalls on the 'festival' day, do lightning talks and more. Register your interest by filling out this
form.
ResBaz 2017 planner Belinda Weaver of QCIF said, "After the great success of ResBaz 2016 at QUT, we want to make ResBaz 2017 an even more sensational event for researchers."
ResBaz is a worldwide festival promoting the digital literacy emerging at the centre of modern research.
Attendees at the Knowledge Bazaar as part of last year's Brisbane ResBaz held at QUT.
ANDS brings its '23 (research data) Things' course to Brisbane 
The Australian National Data Service is holding one of its “23 (research data) Things” crash courses in Brisbane on Thursday, 14 July, 9:30am–12:30pm, at Griffith University’s Nathan Campus.
The workshop is for those in roles where research data is, or will be, part of their workload, and who want to know lots about research data in a short period of time, for example, how research data is managed, discovered and described.
Click
here for more information and to register.
Mozilla Science Lab offers Fellowships for Science
The Mozilla Science Lab is offering worldwide Fellowships for Science targeted at early career researchers who want to influence the future of open science and data sharing within their communities.
To be eligible, researchers need to be specialising in the life sciences or natural sciences and already working to shift research practice to be more collaborative, iterative and open.
Fellows will spend 10 months starting September 2016 as community catalysts at their institutions, mentoring the next generation of open data practitioners and researchers and building lasting change in the global open science community.
Throughout their fellowship year, chosen fellows will receive training and support from Mozilla and a stipend of $USD 60,000.
Applications close Friday, 15 July 2016. Visit the
Mozilla Science Lab website for more information.
Join AURIN's open data webinars
The Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN), in conjunction with the NSW branch of the Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute, is running a series of webinars on open data and open collaborations
The webinar on Thursday, 21 July, 1–4pm, will showcase how AURIN and CSIRO have collaborated and opened previously closed energy and water data.
On Thursday, 4 August, 1–4pm, AURIN will discuss its online WhatIf? planning support system tool that has been designed to assist Australian cities and regions in understanding land use supply, demand and likely future land use change scenarios.
The webinars are $35 for SSSI members and $60 for non-members.
More information and please register.
More women featured at this year's UQ Winter School
Gender balance was a particular feature of this year’s Winter School in Mathematical and Computational Biology, held 4–8 July at UQ, with near parity in presenters and workshop organisers.
Of the 30 speakers — international and national bioinformatics leaders — 13 women were featured.
“Gender balance was something that was noted approvingly by many attendees,” said Dr Nick Hamilton of QCIF, RCC and IMB, who chaired this year's event.
“Generally the audience feedback has been great with one participant saying, ‘inspiring speakers, a great event, I’ve learned so much that will be useful in my research’.”
Most slides from the talks will be uploaded in the next week or two to the '
Program' page of the 2016 Winter School website.
QCIF was one of this year’s Winter School sponsors.
Speakers at the 2016 Winter School, L–R: Dr Siew Kee Amanda Low, Dr Kate Patterson and Alexandra Essebier.
QFAB@QCIF profile: Dr Anne Bernard
Dr Anne Bernard joined the
QFAB team in early 2014 as a senior biostatistician to provide research and clinical biostatistics competencies. She has expertise in genetic data analysis in large-scale population studies and is specialised in statistical methodologies (sparse multivariate methods and data integration) for variable selection in experiments using different technology platforms.
Anne has worked on a range of diverse projects such as:
- providing expertise in design, analysis and interpretation of clinical studies
- providing statistical support/consulting to a range of hospitals and research institutes in Queensland: from experimental design to multivariate analyses, survival analysis and mixed model analysis which led to the publication of nine papers in 2015/2016 as co-author, with more papers to come.
- providing analysis of high-throughput ‘omics’ data sets: supervised and unsupervised multivariate analysis ((s)PCA, (s)PLS, (s)PLS-DA, (s)MCA, CCA...) and analysis of methylation, proteomics, survival analysis, R programming, SNPs and gene expression data.
Anne received her doctorate from the CNAM (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
) of Paris for her work in developing statistical methods for high-dimensional genomic data to find links between skin ageing and genes. Contact Anne at:
a.bernard@qfab.org.
QRIScloud now has 659 registered users.