Design and Implementation of the first Generic Archive Storage Service for Research Data in Germany

Research data as the true valuable good in science must be saved and subsequently kept findable, accessible and reusable for reasons of proper scientific conduct for a time span of several years. However, managing long-term storage of research data is a burden for institutes and researchers. Because of the sheer size and the required retention time apt storage providers are hard to find. Aiming to solve this puzzle, the bwDataArchive project started development of a long-term research data archive that is reliable, cost effective and able store multiple petabytes of data. The hardware consists of data storage on magnetic tape, interfaced with disk caches and nodes for data movement and access. On the software side, the High Performance Storage System (HPSS) was chosen for its proven ability to reliably store huge amounts of data. However, the implementation of bwDataArchive is not dependant on HPSS. For authentication the bwDataArchive is integrated into the federated identity management for educational institutions in the State of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The archive features data protection by means of a dual copy at two distinct locations on different tape technologies, data accessibility by common storage protocols, data retention assurance for more than ten years, data preservation with checksums, and data management capabilities supported by a flexible directory structure allowing sharing and publication. As of September 2019, the bwDataArchive holds over 9 PB and 90 million files and sees a constant increase in usage and users from many communities

Construction and commissioning of a technological prototype of a high-granularity semi-digital hadronic calorimeter

A large prototype of 1.3m3 was designed and built as a demonstrator of the semi-digital hadronic calorimeter (SDHCAL) concept proposed for the future ILC experiments. The prototype is a sampling hadronic calorimeter of 48 units. Each unit is built of an active layer made of 1m2 Glass Resistive Plate Chamber(GRPC) detector placed inside a cassette whose walls are made of stainless steel. The cassette contains also the electronics used to read out the GRPC detector. The lateral granularity of the active layer is provided by the electronics pick-up pads of 1cm2 each. The cassettes are inserted into a self-supporting mechanical structure built also of stainless steel plates which, with the cassettes walls, play the role of the absorber. The prototype was designed to be very compact and important efforts were made to minimize the number of services cables to optimize the efficiency of the Particle Flow Algorithm techniques to be used in the future ILC experiments. The different components of the SDHCAL prototype were studied individually and strict criteria were applied for the final selection of these components. Basic calibration procedures were performed after the prototype assembling. The prototype is the first of a series of new-generation detectors equipped with a power-pulsing mode intended to reduce the power consumption of this highly granular detector. A dedicated acquisition system was developed to deal with the output of more than 440000 electronics channels in both trigger and triggerless modes. After its completion in 2011, the prototype was commissioned using cosmic rays and particles beams at CERN.Comment: 49 pages, 41 figure

Celsius: a community resource for Affymetrix microarray data

Celsius is a new system that serves as a warehouse by aggregating Affymetrix files and associated metadata, and containing the largest publicly available source of Affymetrix microarray data

The Role of Investment Treaties and Investor–State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in Renewable Energy Investments

Achieving our global goals of universal access to clean energy and averting a climate crisis will require a mass scale-up of investments in renewable energy infrastructure, redirecting capital from carbon intensive energy and transport systems. The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that the transformation of the energy system alone will need cumulative investments to reach USD 110 trillion by 2050 to keep the rise in global temperatures to well below 2°C and towards 1.5°C during this century. Of that amount, over 80% will need to be invested in renewables, energy efficiency, end-use electrification, and power grids and flexibility. The private sector and private finance will play an important role in scaling renewable energy generation, transmission, and storage. Much of this investment will be cross-border, as capital and technology must flow to developing and emerging economies to bridge the widening regional differences in the rate and amount of renewable energy investments. To help accelerate a shift of finance into renewable investments by foreign companies, it is critical to address the key constraints that hinder the scale-up of renewable investment, as well as the key determinants that would accelerate the necessary capital for a sustainable energy transition. Understanding these factors is a critical input to policy-making across a range of government agencies and functions, for development finance institutions, and for other international organizations