An interdisciplinary approach to data management

Many scientific issues involve interdisciplinary approaches that demand scientists with diverse skills and research fields. For the design and fabrication of new materials, this is especially true since new materials with macroscopically observable properties must be proposed based on changes at the molecular level. Research projects of this kind pose particular challenges for efficient execution and documentation, as research data management (RDM) tools usually fit very well to a specific research area, but cannot provide solutions for interdisciplinary topics. In order to guarantee consistent research and its documentation across disciplines, different tools, which may be used in several groups, must be used cooperatively. In the context of the Science Data Center MoMaF, among other things, strategies are being developed to enable research data management across scales. The RDM tools used for this are Chemotion and Kadi4Mat. The systems cover research at the molecular level (chemotion ELN) as well as simulation activities on the meso- and macroscopic scale (Kadi4Mat), and will be extended within the Science Data Center to enable cooperative use of the systems for work across scales. A first use case shows how Chemotion ELN can be used to document necessary parameters at the molecular level, in order to then be able to manage simulations of phase separation processes on their basis in a further step with the help of Kadi4Mat. For this purpose, the procedure and documentation method of already completed projects were first analysed in order to be able to propose a concept for future processes. Chemotion ELN is used in the presented procedure to document molecular descriptions, the performance of polymerization reactions and their outcome, as well as the properties obtained experimentally and from the literature. Kadi4Mat manages and transfers the parameters from the molecular description as input for mesoscopic simulations that describe the phase separation process in a time-dependent manner. Finally, by applying analysis tools on the time-dependent data via Kadi4Mat, macroscopic properties can be derived across scales as a function of the molecular composition

Draft Methodology for FAIR-by-Design Learning Materials

This document describes a methodology for FAIR-by-design production of learning materials based on the backward instructional process that is extended with additional activities focusing on the implementation of the FAIR guiding principles. A general discussion on important aspect of implementation such as granularity, scope, metadata schema, interoperability and publication in relevant repositories is provided together with a step by step six stage workflow and checklists that help implement the FAIR-by-design process. The outlined methodology will be used as a blueprint for a train-the-trainer course aiming to present the practical FAIR-by-design instructional design

D2.2 Methodology for FAIR-by-Design Training Materials

This document describes a methodology for FAIR-by-design production of learning materials based on the backward instructional process that is extended with additional activities focusing on the implementation of the FAIR guiding principles. A general discussion on important aspects of implementation such as granularity, scope, metadata schema, interoperability and publication in relevant repositories is provided together with a step by step six stage workflow and checklists that help implement the FAIR-by-design process. The outlined methodology will be used as a blueprint for a train-the-trainer course aiming to present the practical FAIR-by-design instructional design

Peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and infants: NEonate and Children audiT of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe: A prospective European multicentre observational study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about current clinical practice concerning peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and small infants. Guidelines suggest transfusions based on haemoglobin thresholds ranging from 8.5 to 12 g dl-1, distinguishing between children from birth to day 7 (week 1), from day 8 to day 14 (week 2) or from day 15 (≥week 3) onwards. OBJECTIVE: To observe peri-operative red blood cell transfusion practice according to guidelines in relation to patient outcome. DESIGN: A multicentre observational study. SETTING: The NEonate-Children sTudy of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe (NECTARINE) trial recruited patients up to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age undergoing anaesthesia for surgical or diagnostic procedures from 165 centres in 31 European countries between March 2016 and January 2017. PATIENTS: The data included 5609 patients undergoing 6542 procedures. Inclusion criteria was a peri-operative red blood cell transfusion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary endpoint was the haemoglobin level triggering a transfusion for neonates in week 1, week 2 and week 3. Secondary endpoints were transfusion volumes, 'delta haemoglobin' (preprocedure - transfusion-triggering) and 30-day and 90-day morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Peri-operative red blood cell transfusions were recorded during 447 procedures (6.9%). The median haemoglobin levels triggering a transfusion were 9.6 [IQR 8.7 to 10.9] g dl-1 for neonates in week 1, 9.6 [7.7 to 10.4] g dl-1 in week 2 and 8.0 [7.3 to 9.0] g dl-1 in week 3. The median transfusion volume was 17.1 [11.1 to 26.4] ml kg-1 with a median delta haemoglobin of 1.8 [0.0 to 3.6] g dl-1. Thirty-day morbidity was 47.8% with an overall mortality of 11.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate lower transfusion-triggering haemoglobin thresholds in clinical practice than suggested by current guidelines. The high morbidity and mortality of this NECTARINE sub-cohort calls for investigative action and evidence-based guidelines addressing peri-operative red blood cell transfusions strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02350348

Electronic Lab Notebooks - Support from data acquisition to publication

Laboratory notebooks play an important role in planning, conducting and analysing scientific experiments. Due to digitalisation, electronic versions of the classic laboratory notebooks are becoming more and more common. These Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) have the advantage that they can be connected directly to measuring devices, analysis programs or storage systems, making results easier to understand and research more efficient. In this module you will learn the basics of ELNs, we will support you in selecting the right ELN for your research. Two ELNs (Chemotion and Kadi4Mat) are presented for self-testing

Electronic Lab Notebooks - Support from data acquisition to publication

Laboratory notebooks play an important role in planning, conducting and analysing scientific experiments. Due to digitalisation, electronic versions of the classic laboratory notebooks are becoming more and more common. These Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) have the advantage that they can be connected directly to measuring devices, analysis programs or storage systems, making results easier to understand and research more efficient. In this module you will learn the basics of ELNs, we will support you in selecting the right ELN for your research. Two ELNs (Chemotion and Kadi4Mat) are presented for self-testing

FAIR-by-Design Learning Materials Methodology Training of Trainers

The main goal of this ToT is to provide guidance and instructions on how to use the proposed FAIR-by-Design Methodology for development of FAIR learning materials in practice. The training will take you through all steps in the methodology and showcase their implementation using practical examples and developed templates