RADAR: Building a FAIR and Community Tailored Research Data Repository

The research data repository RADAR is designed to support the secure management, archiving, publication and dissemination of digital research data from completed scientific studies and projects. Developed as a collaborative project funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) (2013-2016), the system is operated by FIZ Karlsruhe - Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure - and currently serves as a generic cloud service for about 20 universities and non-university research institutions. Since its launch, RADAR has witnessed significant changes in the landscape of research data repositories and the evolving needs of researchers, research communities and institutions. In our presentation within the “Enabling RDM” Track, we will show how RADAR is responding to these dynamic changes. In order to create a sufficiently large user base for the sustainable operation of the system, we have moved RADAR away from its previous single focus on a discipline-agnostic cloud service and towards a demand-driven functional optimisation. In 2021, we introduced an additional operating model for institutions (RADAR Local), where we operate a separate RADAR instance locally at the institution site exclusively using the institutional IT-infrastructure. In 2022 we opened up RADAR to new target groups with community-specific service offerings, in particular in the context of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). Beside the expansion of the functional scope, our ongoing development work focuses also on strengthening the system's support for the FAIR principles [1] and the concepts of FAIR Digital Objects (FDO) [2] and Schema.org. Our presentation will outline recent RADAR developments and achievements as well as future plans thus providing solutions and synergy potential for the scientific community and for other service providers

Mechanically activated metathesis reaction in NaNH2–MgH2 powder mixtures

The present work addresses the kinetics of chemical transformations activated by the mechanical processing of powder by ball milling. In particular, attention focuses on the reaction between NaNH2 and MgH2, specific case studies suitably chosen to throw light on the kinetic features emerging in connection with the exchange of anionic ligands induced by mechanical activation. Experimental findings indicate that the mechanical treatment of NaNH2–MgH2 powder mixtures induces a simple metathetic reaction with formation of NaH and Mg(NH2)2 phases. Chemical conversion data obtained by X-ray diffraction analysis have been interpreted using a kinetic model incorporating the statistical character of the mechanical processing by ball milling. The apparent rate constant measuring the reaction rate is related to the volume of powder effectively processed during individual collisions, and tentatively connected with the transfer of mechanical energy across the network formed by the points of contact between the powder particles trapped during collisions.H2020-MSCA-IF-2015 Grant Number #70795

Sorption properties and reversibility of Ti(IV) and Nb(V)-fluoride doped-Ca(BH4)2-MgH2 system

Ajuts: The authors are grateful to the Marie-Curie European Research Training Network (Contract MRTN-CT-2006-03 5366/COSY)In the last decade, alkaline and alkaline earth metal tetrahydroborates have been the focuses of the research due to their high gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen densities. Among them, Ca(BH4)2 and the Ca(BH4)2 + MgH2 reactive hydride composite (RHC), were calculated to have the ideal thermodynamic properties which fall within the optimal range for mobile applications.In this study, the addition of NbF5 or TiF4 to the Ca(BH4)2 + MgH2 reactive hydride composite system was attempted aiming to obtain a full reversible system with the simultaneous supression of CaB12H12. Structural characterization of the specimens was performed by means of in-situ Synchroton Radiation Power X-ray diffraction (SR-PXD) and 11B {1H} Solid State Magic Angle Spinning-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (MAS-NMR). The evolution of the chemical state of the Nb- and Ti-based additives was monitored by X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES). The addition of NbF5 or TiF4 to the Ca(BH4)2 + MgH2 system have not supressed completely the formation of CaB12H12 and only a slight improvement concerning the reversible reaction was displayed just in the case of Nb-doped composite materia

Digital research data: from analysis of existing standards to a scientific foundation for a modular metadata schema in nanosafety

Background: Assessing the safety of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) is an interdisciplinary and complex process producing huge amounts of information and data. To make such data and metadata reusable for researchers, manufacturers, and regulatory authorities, there is an urgent need to record and provide this information in a structured, harmonized, and digitized way. Results: This study aimed to identify appropriate description standards and quality criteria for the special use in nanosafety. There are many existing standards and guidelines designed for collecting data and metadata, ranging from regulatory guidelines to specific databases. Most of them are incomplete or not specifically designed for ENM research. However, by merging the content of several existing standards and guidelines, a basic catalogue of descriptive information and quality criteria was generated. In an iterative process, our interdisciplinary team identified deficits and added missing information into a comprehensive schema. Subsequently, this overview was externally evaluated by a panel of experts during a workshop. This whole process resulted in a minimum information table (MIT), specifying necessary minimum information to be provided along with experimental results on effects of ENMs in the biological context in a flexible and modular manner. The MIT is divided into six modules: general information, material information, biological model information, exposure information, endpoint read out information and analysis and statistics. These modules are further partitioned into module subdivisions serving to include more detailed information. A comparison with existing ontologies, which also aim to electronically collect data and metadata on nanosafety studies, showed that the newly developed MIT exhibits a higher level of detail compared to those existing schemas, making it more usable to prevent gaps in the communication of information. Conclusion: Implementing the requirements of the MIT into e.g., electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) would make the collection of all necessary data and metadata a daily routine and thereby would improve the reproducibility and reusability of experiments. Furthermore, this approach is particularly beneficial regarding the rapidly expanding developments and applications of novel non-animal alternative testing methods

Der Einfluss von Übergangsmetall-Flouriden auf die Sorptionseigenschaften von Ca(BH4)2 und dem Komposithydrid Ca(BH4)2 + MgH2

Die vorliegende Arbeit umfasst eine umfassende Untersuchung der Wirkung von ausgewählten Übergangsmetall-Fluoriden auf die Sorptionseigenschaften von Ca(BH4)2 und dem Ca(BH4)2 + MgH2-Verbundsystem. Eine signifikante Verbesserung der Kinetik der (Re-) Hydrierung durch Zugabe von Übergangsmetall-Fluoriden wurde erreicht. Die Bildung von Übergangsmetallborid-Nanopartikeln ist entscheidend für die heterogene Keimbildung von CaB6 während der Wasserstoffdesorptionsreaktion. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass partielle Reversibilität bei den in dieser Arbeit vorliegenden experimentellen Bedingungen durch die Bildung von CaB12H12möglich ist. Im Falle des Ca(BH4)2 + MgH2-Kompositsystems wird die Reversibilität ohne weitere Zugabe von Zusatzstoffen erreicht. Mg wird daher als die treibende Kraft für die heterogene Keimbildung während der CaB6-Zersetzung des Ca(BH4)2 + MgH2-Verbundsystems betrachtet. Der Einfluss des verwendeten Wasserstoffdrucks und der Temperatur auf die Desorptionsreaktion wurde untersucht. Die Rolle des CaB12H12 während des Zyklisierens und seine Gegenwirkung bei der (Re-)Hydrierung werden beurteilt.A comprehensive investigation of the effect of selected transition metal fluorides on the sorption properties of Ca(BH4)2 and Ca(BH4)2 + MgH2 composite system is performed in detail. A significant kinetic improvement upon (re)hydrogenation is achieved by addition of transition metal fluorides. Formation of transition metal boride nanoparticles is observed to be essential to promote heterogeneous nucleation of CaB6 during hydrogen desorption reaction. Formation of CaB12H12 limits the reversibility at the experimental conditions reported in this study. In case of the Ca(BH4)2 + MgH2 composite system, the reversibility is achieved without further addition of additives. Mg acts as heterogeneous nucleation agent of CaB6 during decomposition of the Ca(BH4)2 + MgH2 composite system. The effect of the applied hydrogen pressure and temperature on the desorption reaction is studied. An assessment of the role of CaB12H12 during cycling and its counteractive effect upon (re)hydrogenation reaction is provided

Current Developments in the Research Data Repository RADAR

RADAR is a cross-disciplinary internet-based service for long-term and format-independent archiving and publishing of digital research data from scientific studies and projects. The focus is on data from disciplines that are not yet supported by specific research data management infrastructures. The repository aims to ensure access and long-term availability of deposited datasets according to FAIR criteriaWilkinson et al. 2016 for the benefit of the scientific community. Published datasets are retained for at least 25 years; for archived datasets, the retention period can be flexibly selected up to 15 years. The RADAR Cloud service was developed as a cooperation project funded by the DFG (2013-2016) and started operations in 2017. It is operated by FIZ Karlsruhe - Leibniz-Institute for Information Infrastructure.As a distributed, multilayer application, RADAR is structured into a multitude of services and interfaces. The system architecture is modular and consists of a user interface (frontend), management layer (backend) and storage layer (archive), which communicate with each other via application programming interfaces (API). This open structure and the access to the APIs from outside allows integrating RADAR into existing systems and work processes, e. g. for automated upload of metadata from other applications using the RADAR API. RADAR's storage layer is encapsulated via the Data Center API. This approach guarantees independence from a specific storage technology and makes it possible to integrate alternative archives for the bitstream preservation of the research data.The data transfer to RADAR takes place in two steps: In the first step, the data is transferred to a temporary work storage. The ingest service accepts individual files and packed archives, optionally unpacks them while retaining the original directory structure and creates a dataset. For each file found, the MIME Type (see Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions specification)) is analysed and stored in the technical metadata. When archiving and publishing, a dataset is created in the second step. The structure of this dataset - the AIP (archival information package) in the sense of the OAIS standard - corresponds to the BagIt standard. It contains, in addition to the actual research data in original order, technical and descriptive metadata (if created) for each file or directory as well as a manifest within one single TAR ("tape archive", a unix archiving format and utility) file as an entity in one place. This TAR file is stored permanently on magnetic tapes redundantly in three copies at different locations in two academic computing centres.The FAIR Principles are currently being given special importance in the research community. They define measures that ensure the optimal processing of research data, accessibility for both humans and machines, as well as reusability for further research. RADAR also promotes the implementation of the FAIR Principles with different measures and functional features, amongst others:Descriptive metadata are recorded using the internal RADAR Metadata Schema (based on DataCite Metadata Schema 4.0), which supports 10 mandatory and 13 optional metadata fields. Annotations can be made on the dataset level and on the individual files and folders level. A user licence which rules re-use of the data, must be defined for each dataset. Each published dataset receives a DOI which is registered with DataCite. RADAR metadata uses a combination of controlled lists and free text entries. Author identification is ensured by using an ORCID ID and funder identification by CrossRef Open Funder Registry. More interfacing options, e.g. ROR and the Integrated Authority File (GND) are currently implemented. Datasets can be easily linked with other digital resources (e.g. text publications) via a “related identifier”. To maximise data dissemination and discoverability, the metadata of published datasets are indexed in various formats (e.g. DataCite and DublinCore) and offered for public metadata harvesting e.g. via an OAI-provider.These measures are - to our minds - undoubtedly already significant, but not yet sufficient in the medium to long term. Especially in terms of interoperability, we see development potential for RADAR. The FAIR Digital Object (FDO) Framework seems to offer a promising concept, especially to further promote data interoperability and to close respective gaps in the current infrastructure and repository landscape.RADAR aims to participate in this community driven approach also in its role within the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). As part of the NFDI, RADAR already plays a relevant role as a generic infrastructure service in several NFDI consortia (e.g. NFDI4Culture and NFDI4Chem). With RADAR4Chem and RADAR4Culture, FIZ Karlsruhe for example offers researchers from chemistry and the cultural sciences low-threshold data publication services based on RADAR. We successively develop these services further according to the needs of the communities, e.g. by integrating and linking them with subject-specific terminologies, by providing annotation options with subject-specific metadata or by enabling selective reading or previewing options for individual files in existing datasets.In our presentation, we would like to describe the present and future functionality of RADAR and its current level of FAIRness as possible starting points for further discussion with the FDO community with regard to the implementation of the FDO framework for our service

NFDI4Chem - Deliverable D3.3.1: Gap analysis report for selected repositories

The deliverable 3.3.1 “Gap analysis report for selected repositories” aims both to identify gaps in the coverage regarding data types or disciplines and to close them through adjustments or, if necessary, new developments. In order to accomplish that, the TA3-team performed a gap analysis of the existing relevant repositories by means of individual interviews with the repository leaders. The interview consisted of a series of questions ranging from general information up to metadata standards and ontology, data contents, technical information about Authorisation and Authentication Infrastructure (AAI), API, services and functionality, operating environment as well as software architecture and workflows. The interviews will serve to establish the current degree of maturity as well as the operational fitness of the selected repositories and to derive suitable recommendations aiming to fulfil the yet missing requirements

Current Developments in the Research Data Repository RADAR

Effective research data management solutions and infrastructures are crucial for ensuring the long-term preservation, accessibility, and reusability of research data, not only to facilitate the verification and validation of discoveries but also to reduce or even avoid experimental redundancy. We present our first implementation steps of the Fair Digital Object Framework for RADAR, a generic research data repository, and discuss our experience with several approaches as well as their benefits and shortcomings. By embedding signposted typed link headers in our landing pages we increased the interoperability by making them machine-readable and -actionable, enabling the new data visiting paradigm additionally to metadata harvesting using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting