General rules

General rules for using of the Microscopy unit of the LMH:

1. All users must complete mandatory training before using any equipment in the LMH.

Contact for Training

2. Users must book the equipment in advance through the laboratory's Booking system to gain access to it.
3. Restrictions may apply to the booking of heavily used instruments (e.g. confocal microscopes), such as the maximum number of hours a user may work with an instrument per week.
4. A fee is charged for the use of all instruments and software in the LMH according to the current price list.
5. The user assumes full responsibility for the equipment during measurements.
6. Users must handle the equipment responsibly to avoid any damage. If damage occurs, it must be reported immediately to the staff of the LMH.
7. All publications (including peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, conference posters and presentations, student theses) that contain data obtained and/or analyzed with the help of the LMH must mention this in the Acknowledgments section of the publication with the following statement: "We thank the Laboratory of Microscopy and Histology of the Institute of Entomology at the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences for the support and provision of instruments”.
8. All publications containing data obtained and/or analyzed using the LMH must be reported to the staff for archiving with the final full text of the publication.
9. The staff of the LMH provides basic technical assistance with experiments and data analysis on the basis of acknowledgement of the LMH.
10. The staff of the LMH provides creative input and technical support for all research steps, including experimental design, sample preparation, imaging experiments, and data analysis on a co-authorship basis. Please discuss with the Head of the LMH, Mgr. Hana Sehadová, Ph.D., early in the project the expected involvement of collaborators.
11. Payment for our services does not argue against authorship, as the financial fee is used to purchase consumables and cover instrument maintenance and operating costs.
12. The staff of the LMH is available for user assistance on working days during regular business hours.
13. The intellectual property of the data obtained and/or processed in the LMH remains with the users.
14. The LMH will settle all disputes between users and reserves the right to deny access to users in case of serious and/or repeated misconduct and non-compliance with the rules.
15. If another user arrives within two hours of finishing work on the microscope, the user leaves the instrument on, but makes sure that the user arriving after him actually arrives. If the next user does not begin work for more than two hours, the user must turn off the microscope. The last user of the day must switch off the instrument completely before leaving.
16. Data storage on the laboratory's microscopy equipment is for a short period of time only. The user will delete all files once they have been safely transferred to other systems. The LMH reserves the right to delete the user's data 10 days after it is collected. Long-term storage of original image data is the responsibility of the user.
17. If a user does not wish to use the booked slot, he/she is responsible for cancelling the booking as soon as possible. Uncancelled, unused bookings will be charged at the regular full price.

Safety rules and instrument usage:

1. No food and drinks are allowed in microscopy and laboratory rooms.
2. The user is responsible to check the equipment for cleanness and obvious damage before the use.
3. The user is obliged to immediately report problems with the equipment or its unusual   behavior to the staff of the LMH.
4. The users are not allowed to create, change or delete user accounts on the instruments at the LMH.
5. All experiments must comply with local regulations, particularly concerning cleaning and disinfection after the experiment.
6. No dangerous chemicals, samples or instrumentation can be brought into the LMH without explicit consent of its staff.
7. All experiments with human and animal material must comply with local ethics regulations.
8. Users must take utmost care to avoid improper instrument usage, e.g., immersion oil must be used only with appropriate objective lenses.
9. At the end of the user experiment, the equipment must be returned in exactly the same condition as it was in when the experiment began. All modifications made to the equipment by the user must be removed.