2025
Journal article
Open Access
Empowering collaborative and reproducible large-scale data analytics with D4Science
Assante M., Lettere M., Oliviero A., Pagano P.
The D4Science platform is advancing reproducible research by providing scientists with robust, cloud-based tools for large-scale data analysis such as the Cloud Computing Platform (CCP). CCP enhances collaboration, allowing researchers to share, reuse, and build on each other’s work across diverse scientific disciplines.Source: ERCIM NEWS, vol. 140, pp. 11-12
Assante M., Lettere M., Oliviero A., Pagano P.
The D4Science platform is advancing reproducible research by providing scientists with robust, cloud-based tools for large-scale data analysis such as the Cloud Computing Platform (CCP). CCP enhances collaboration, allowing researchers to share, reuse, and build on each other’s work across diverse scientific disciplines.Source: ERCIM NEWS, vol. 140, pp. 11-12
See at:
ercim-news.ercim.eu 
| CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS 
2025
Journal article
Restricted
NAVIGATOR: a regional multimodal imaging biobank initiative powered by AI tools for precision medicine in oncology
Aghakhanyan G., Barucci A., Pascali M. A., Assante M., Bagnacci G., Bertelli E., Caputo F. P., Cuibari M. E., Carlini E., Carpi R., Caudai C., Cioni D., Colantonio S., Colcelli V., Dell'Amico A., Vecchio V. D., Gangi D. D., Faggioni L., Formica V., Francischello R., Frosini L., Kotsa C., Lipari G., Manghi P., Martino V. D., Marzi C., Mazzei M. A., Mangiacrapa F., Meglio N. D., Miele V., Molinaro E., Paiar F., Pagano P., Panichi G., Pasquinelli F., Peccerillo B., Perrella A., Piccioli T., Oliviero A., Olivoni M., Rucci D., Tampucci M., Tumminello L., Volpini F., Zanuzzi A., Fanni S. C., Neri E.
The NAVIGATOR project established an Italian regional imaging biobank and interactive research platform designed to support precision oncology through the integration of multimodal imaging, clinical, and omics data. The platform goes beyond a static repository, offering a secure Virtual Research Environment (VRE) where users can upload data, test AI algorithms, and execute complete analytical pipelines. The platform incorporates artificial intelligence (AI)-driven radiomics and deep learning methodologies to enable biomarker extraction, disease stratification, and predictive modeling. This manuscript presents the development and implementation of the NAVIGATOR infrastructure, including its data governance framework, ethical and legal considerations, and application to three oncological use cases: prostate, rectal, and gastric cancers. To date, the biobank has collected imaging and clinical data from over 700 patients across these cohorts. AI models were deployed within a dedicated VRE to facilitate image analysis, feature extraction, and classification tasks. The project addresses critical challenges related to data harmonization, regulatory compliance, privacy safeguards and fairness in AI systems. NAVIGATOR demonstrates the feasibility of integrating AI methodologies within imaging biobanks and provides a scalable framework to advance oncological research and support clinical decision-making.Source: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY, vol. 191 (issue 112327)
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2025.112327
Project(s): An Imaging Biobank to Precisely Prevent and Predict cancer, and facilitate the Participation of oncologic patients to Diagnosis and Treatment
Metrics:
Aghakhanyan G., Barucci A., Pascali M. A., Assante M., Bagnacci G., Bertelli E., Caputo F. P., Cuibari M. E., Carlini E., Carpi R., Caudai C., Cioni D., Colantonio S., Colcelli V., Dell'Amico A., Vecchio V. D., Gangi D. D., Faggioni L., Formica V., Francischello R., Frosini L., Kotsa C., Lipari G., Manghi P., Martino V. D., Marzi C., Mazzei M. A., Mangiacrapa F., Meglio N. D., Miele V., Molinaro E., Paiar F., Pagano P., Panichi G., Pasquinelli F., Peccerillo B., Perrella A., Piccioli T., Oliviero A., Olivoni M., Rucci D., Tampucci M., Tumminello L., Volpini F., Zanuzzi A., Fanni S. C., Neri E.
The NAVIGATOR project established an Italian regional imaging biobank and interactive research platform designed to support precision oncology through the integration of multimodal imaging, clinical, and omics data. The platform goes beyond a static repository, offering a secure Virtual Research Environment (VRE) where users can upload data, test AI algorithms, and execute complete analytical pipelines. The platform incorporates artificial intelligence (AI)-driven radiomics and deep learning methodologies to enable biomarker extraction, disease stratification, and predictive modeling. This manuscript presents the development and implementation of the NAVIGATOR infrastructure, including its data governance framework, ethical and legal considerations, and application to three oncological use cases: prostate, rectal, and gastric cancers. To date, the biobank has collected imaging and clinical data from over 700 patients across these cohorts. AI models were deployed within a dedicated VRE to facilitate image analysis, feature extraction, and classification tasks. The project addresses critical challenges related to data harmonization, regulatory compliance, privacy safeguards and fairness in AI systems. NAVIGATOR demonstrates the feasibility of integrating AI methodologies within imaging biobanks and provides a scalable framework to advance oncological research and support clinical decision-making.Source: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY, vol. 191 (issue 112327)
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2025.112327
Project(s): An Imaging Biobank to Precisely Prevent and Predict cancer, and facilitate the Participation of oncologic patients to Diagnosis and Treatment
Metrics:
See at:
European Journal of Radiology | Archivio della Ricerca - Università di Pisa | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS | Archivio della Ricerca - Università di Pisa
2025
Other
Open Access
ISTI-day 2025 Proceedings
Del Corso G., Pedrotti A., Federico G., Gennaro C., Carrara F., Amato G., Di Benedetto M., Gabrielli E., Belli D., Matrullo Z., Miori V., Tolomei G., Waheed T., Marchetti E., Calabrò A., Rossetti G., Stella M., Cazabet R., Abramski K., Cau E., Citraro S., Failla A., Mesina V., Morini V., Pansanella V., Colantonio S., Germanese D., Pascali M. A., Bianchi L., Messina N., Falchi F., Barsellotti L., Pacini G., Cassese M., Puccetti G., Esuli A., Volpi L., Moreo A., Sebastiani F., Sperduti G., Nguyen D., Broccia G., Ter Beek M. H., Ferrari A., Massink M., Belmonte G., Ciancia V., Papini O., Canapa G., Catricalà B., Manca M., Paternò F., Santoro C., Zedda E., Gallo S., Maenza S., Mattioli A., Simeoli L., Rucci D., Carlini E., Dazzi P., Kavalionak H., Mordacchini M., Rulli C., Muntean Cristina Ioana, Nardini F. M., Perego R., Rocchietti G., Lettich F., Renso C., Pugliese C., Casini G., Haldimann J., Meyer T., Assante M., Candela L., Dell'Amico A., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Peccerillo B., Procaccini M., Mannocci A., Manghi P., Lonetti F., Kang D., Di Giandomenico F., Jee E., Lazzini G., Conti F., Scopigno R., D'Acunto M., Moroni D., Cafiso M., Paradisi P., Callieri M., Pavoni G., Corsini M., De Falco A., Sala F., Saraceni Q., Gattiglia G.
ISTI-Day is an annual information and networking event organized by the Institute of Information Science and Technologies "A. Faedo" (ISTI) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR). This event features an opening talk of the Director of the Dept. DIITET (Emilio F. Campana) as well as an overview of the Institute's activities presented by the ISTI Director (Roberto Scopigno). Those institutional segments are complemented by dedicated presentations and round tables featuring former staff members, as well as internal and external collaborators. To foster a network of knowledge and collaboration among newcomers, the 2025 ISTI Day edition also includes a large poster session that provides a comprehensive overview of current research activities. Each of the 13 laboratories contributes 1–3 posters, highlighting the most innovative work and offering early-career researchers a platform for discussion. Thus these proceedings include the posters selected for ISTI-Day 2025, reflecting the diverse and innovative nature of the Institute's research.
Del Corso G., Pedrotti A., Federico G., Gennaro C., Carrara F., Amato G., Di Benedetto M., Gabrielli E., Belli D., Matrullo Z., Miori V., Tolomei G., Waheed T., Marchetti E., Calabrò A., Rossetti G., Stella M., Cazabet R., Abramski K., Cau E., Citraro S., Failla A., Mesina V., Morini V., Pansanella V., Colantonio S., Germanese D., Pascali M. A., Bianchi L., Messina N., Falchi F., Barsellotti L., Pacini G., Cassese M., Puccetti G., Esuli A., Volpi L., Moreo A., Sebastiani F., Sperduti G., Nguyen D., Broccia G., Ter Beek M. H., Ferrari A., Massink M., Belmonte G., Ciancia V., Papini O., Canapa G., Catricalà B., Manca M., Paternò F., Santoro C., Zedda E., Gallo S., Maenza S., Mattioli A., Simeoli L., Rucci D., Carlini E., Dazzi P., Kavalionak H., Mordacchini M., Rulli C., Muntean Cristina Ioana, Nardini F. M., Perego R., Rocchietti G., Lettich F., Renso C., Pugliese C., Casini G., Haldimann J., Meyer T., Assante M., Candela L., Dell'Amico A., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Peccerillo B., Procaccini M., Mannocci A., Manghi P., Lonetti F., Kang D., Di Giandomenico F., Jee E., Lazzini G., Conti F., Scopigno R., D'Acunto M., Moroni D., Cafiso M., Paradisi P., Callieri M., Pavoni G., Corsini M., De Falco A., Sala F., Saraceni Q., Gattiglia G.
ISTI-Day is an annual information and networking event organized by the Institute of Information Science and Technologies "A. Faedo" (ISTI) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR). This event features an opening talk of the Director of the Dept. DIITET (Emilio F. Campana) as well as an overview of the Institute's activities presented by the ISTI Director (Roberto Scopigno). Those institutional segments are complemented by dedicated presentations and round tables featuring former staff members, as well as internal and external collaborators. To foster a network of knowledge and collaboration among newcomers, the 2025 ISTI Day edition also includes a large poster session that provides a comprehensive overview of current research activities. Each of the 13 laboratories contributes 1–3 posters, highlighting the most innovative work and offering early-career researchers a platform for discussion. Thus these proceedings include the posters selected for ISTI-Day 2025, reflecting the diverse and innovative nature of the Institute's research.
See at:
CNR IRIS | www.isti.cnr.it | CNR IRIS
2025
Other
Open Access
GreenDIGIT D5.3: Design and operation of a federated data management infrastructure for open science workflows
Assante M., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Oliviero A., Panichi G.
This short report accompanies the deliverable “Design and Operation of a Federated Data Management Infrastructure for Open Science Workflows”, classified as a “DEM” (Demonstrator). It provides a concise overview of the design and deployment of the key software components constituting the Federated Data Management Infrastructure (FDMI), developed to meet the current operational needs of the GreenDIGIT community in support of open science workflows.DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17210872
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17210871
Project(s): Greener Future Digital Research Infrastructures
Metrics:
Assante M., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Oliviero A., Panichi G.
This short report accompanies the deliverable “Design and Operation of a Federated Data Management Infrastructure for Open Science Workflows”, classified as a “DEM” (Demonstrator). It provides a concise overview of the design and deployment of the key software components constituting the Federated Data Management Infrastructure (FDMI), developed to meet the current operational needs of the GreenDIGIT community in support of open science workflows.DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17210872
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17210871
Project(s): Greener Future Digital Research Infrastructures
Metrics:
2025
Contribution to conference
Open Access
Deploying Conversational Agents in Virtual Research Environments: Approaches and Lessons Learned
Massimiliano Assante, Leonardo Candela, Andrea Dell’amico, Luca Frosini, Francesco Mangiacrapa, Alfredo Oliviero, Pasquale Pagano, Giancarlo Panichi, Biagio Peccerillo, Marco Procaccini
The rapid progress of conversational artificial intelligence and Large Language Models (LLMs) has opened new opportunities to enhance user interaction, support, and accessibility in Virtual Research Environments (VREs). This poster presents the approaches, challenges, and lessons learned from a multi-year e!ort to design, develop, and deploy conversational agents within the D4Science infrastructure. Through three successive implementation cycles—Janet, D4Science AI Agent, and DAVE—the poster traces a process of iterative refinement aimed at improving flexibility, extensibility, usability, and integration with existing VRE services. Janet, the first prototype, explored modular NLP components but revealed limitations in adaptability and feedback integration. The second approach, based on the Cheshire Cat framework, improved modularity and LLM interoperability but remained constrained by a single-agent design. The latest solution, DAVE (D4Science Assistant for Virtual research Environments), introduces a multi-agent architecture built with Google’s Agent Development Kit, enabling secure and context-aware interaction with multiple D4Science services. DAVE combines specialized agents for tasks such as document analysis, catalogue navigation, social interaction summarization, and algorithm deployment within D4Science’s computational platform. Integrated feedback mechanisms and a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) knowledge base further enhance its learning and personalization capabilities. The findings demonstrate that conversational agents can lower barriers to VRE adoption, streamline workflows, and foster user engagement by o!ering intuitive, natural language interfaces. Lessons learned from this evolution suggest key design principles for future research infrastructure agents, emphasizing modularity, interoperability, and data security. Future work will involve usability evaluations, the integration of user-driven feedback, and experimentation with locally-hosted LLMs to strengthen privacy and operational sustainability.
Massimiliano Assante, Leonardo Candela, Andrea Dell’amico, Luca Frosini, Francesco Mangiacrapa, Alfredo Oliviero, Pasquale Pagano, Giancarlo Panichi, Biagio Peccerillo, Marco Procaccini
The rapid progress of conversational artificial intelligence and Large Language Models (LLMs) has opened new opportunities to enhance user interaction, support, and accessibility in Virtual Research Environments (VREs). This poster presents the approaches, challenges, and lessons learned from a multi-year e!ort to design, develop, and deploy conversational agents within the D4Science infrastructure. Through three successive implementation cycles—Janet, D4Science AI Agent, and DAVE—the poster traces a process of iterative refinement aimed at improving flexibility, extensibility, usability, and integration with existing VRE services. Janet, the first prototype, explored modular NLP components but revealed limitations in adaptability and feedback integration. The second approach, based on the Cheshire Cat framework, improved modularity and LLM interoperability but remained constrained by a single-agent design. The latest solution, DAVE (D4Science Assistant for Virtual research Environments), introduces a multi-agent architecture built with Google’s Agent Development Kit, enabling secure and context-aware interaction with multiple D4Science services. DAVE combines specialized agents for tasks such as document analysis, catalogue navigation, social interaction summarization, and algorithm deployment within D4Science’s computational platform. Integrated feedback mechanisms and a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) knowledge base further enhance its learning and personalization capabilities. The findings demonstrate that conversational agents can lower barriers to VRE adoption, streamline workflows, and foster user engagement by o!ering intuitive, natural language interfaces. Lessons learned from this evolution suggest key design principles for future research infrastructure agents, emphasizing modularity, interoperability, and data security. Future work will involve usability evaluations, the integration of user-driven feedback, and experimentation with locally-hosted LLMs to strengthen privacy and operational sustainability.
2025
Other
Restricted
InfraScience research activity report 2024
Angioni S., Artini M., Assante M., Atzori C., Baglioni M., Bardi A., Bosio C., Bove P., Calanducci A., Candela L., Casini G., Castelli D., Cirillo R., Coro G., De Bonis M., Debole F., Dell'Amico A., Frosini L., Ibrahim Ahmed, La Bruzzo S., Lelii L., Manghi P., Mangiacrapa F., Mangione D., Mannocci A., Molinaro E., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Teresa M. T., Pavone G., Peccerillo B., Piccioli T., Procaccini M., Straccia U., Vannini G. L., Versienti L.
InfraScience is a research group within the Institute of Information Science and Technologies (ISTI) of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), based in Pisa. This activity report outlines the group's research achievements and initiatives throughout 2024. InfraScience focused its efforts on key challenges in the areas of Data Infrastructures, e-Science, and Intelligent Systems, maintaining a strong synergy between research and development and a firm commitment to open science principles. In 2024, the group played a leading role in the development and evolution of two major Open Science infrastructures: D4Science and OpenAIRE. InfraScience researchers contributed significantly to the scientific community through the publication of peer-reviewed papers, active participation in EU-funded research projects, organization of international conferences and training activities, and engagement in various working groups and task forces. This report highlights these contributions and underscores the group's ongoing dedication to advancing open, collaborative, and impactful science.DOI: 10.32079/isti-ar-2025/001
Metrics:
Angioni S., Artini M., Assante M., Atzori C., Baglioni M., Bardi A., Bosio C., Bove P., Calanducci A., Candela L., Casini G., Castelli D., Cirillo R., Coro G., De Bonis M., Debole F., Dell'Amico A., Frosini L., Ibrahim Ahmed, La Bruzzo S., Lelii L., Manghi P., Mangiacrapa F., Mangione D., Mannocci A., Molinaro E., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Teresa M. T., Pavone G., Peccerillo B., Piccioli T., Procaccini M., Straccia U., Vannini G. L., Versienti L.
InfraScience is a research group within the Institute of Information Science and Technologies (ISTI) of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), based in Pisa. This activity report outlines the group's research achievements and initiatives throughout 2024. InfraScience focused its efforts on key challenges in the areas of Data Infrastructures, e-Science, and Intelligent Systems, maintaining a strong synergy between research and development and a firm commitment to open science principles. In 2024, the group played a leading role in the development and evolution of two major Open Science infrastructures: D4Science and OpenAIRE. InfraScience researchers contributed significantly to the scientific community through the publication of peer-reviewed papers, active participation in EU-funded research projects, organization of international conferences and training activities, and engagement in various working groups and task forces. This report highlights these contributions and underscores the group's ongoing dedication to advancing open, collaborative, and impactful science.DOI: 10.32079/isti-ar-2025/001
Metrics:
2025
Other
Open Access
IRISCC D6.4 - Report on deployed and launched IRISCC interoperability framework with guidance documentation for service developers
Assante M., Candela L., Dell'Amico A., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Peccerillo B., Piccioli T.
The Deliverable D6.4 - Report on deployed and launched IRISCC interoperability framework with guidance documentation for service developers provides a high-level overview of the IRISCC Interoperability Framework, deployed under Work Package 6 (WP6) of the IRISCC project. The interoperability framework is built on the D4Science Virtual Research Environment (VRE). It supports collaborative research by offering a unified platform for data management, computational tools, and reproducibility. At its core, the framework is accessible through the IRISCC VRE Gateway, a web portal available at https://iriscc.d4science.org. This gateway acts as a centralised access point for all services and resources, providing functionalities such as a Shared Workspace for collaborative file management, tailored Virtual Labs (VLabs) for the integration of research demonstrator tools, and user-friendly tools like Jupyter Notebooks, RStudio, Shiny Apps, and the Cloud Computing Platform (CCP) to facilitate advanced computational workflows. The framework is supported by a robust Identity and Access Management (IAM) service that ensures secure and federated access through widely adopted protocols. Integration with external systems, such as the EGI Check-in service, enables cross-institutional collaboration, while secure access controls ensure consistency and compliance across all services. The report also provides guidance for service developers, such as the IRISCC WP4 Demonstrators, on effectively leveraging the framework. Developers can utilise advanced tools to deploy customised services, containerised applications, and automated workflows. By relying on the framework’s infrastructure for critical functions such as authentication, authorisation, resource monitoring, and scalability, developers can focus on innovation and the creation of impactful solutions. Furthermore, the framework simplifies integration with external resources, enhances collaboration, and reduces operational complexity.DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14777921
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14777920
Project(s): Integrated Research Infrastructure Services for Climate Change risks
Metrics:
Assante M., Candela L., Dell'Amico A., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Peccerillo B., Piccioli T.
The Deliverable D6.4 - Report on deployed and launched IRISCC interoperability framework with guidance documentation for service developers provides a high-level overview of the IRISCC Interoperability Framework, deployed under Work Package 6 (WP6) of the IRISCC project. The interoperability framework is built on the D4Science Virtual Research Environment (VRE). It supports collaborative research by offering a unified platform for data management, computational tools, and reproducibility. At its core, the framework is accessible through the IRISCC VRE Gateway, a web portal available at https://iriscc.d4science.org. This gateway acts as a centralised access point for all services and resources, providing functionalities such as a Shared Workspace for collaborative file management, tailored Virtual Labs (VLabs) for the integration of research demonstrator tools, and user-friendly tools like Jupyter Notebooks, RStudio, Shiny Apps, and the Cloud Computing Platform (CCP) to facilitate advanced computational workflows. The framework is supported by a robust Identity and Access Management (IAM) service that ensures secure and federated access through widely adopted protocols. Integration with external systems, such as the EGI Check-in service, enables cross-institutional collaboration, while secure access controls ensure consistency and compliance across all services. The report also provides guidance for service developers, such as the IRISCC WP4 Demonstrators, on effectively leveraging the framework. Developers can utilise advanced tools to deploy customised services, containerised applications, and automated workflows. By relying on the framework’s infrastructure for critical functions such as authentication, authorisation, resource monitoring, and scalability, developers can focus on innovation and the creation of impactful solutions. Furthermore, the framework simplifies integration with external resources, enhances collaboration, and reduces operational complexity.DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14777921
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14777920
Project(s): Integrated Research Infrastructure Services for Climate Change risks
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | zenodo.org | ZENODO | ZENODO | CNR IRIS
2025
Other
Open Access
Blue-Cloud2026 D5.4 - Blue Cloud VRE Common Services 2nd Release
Assante M., Candela L., Dalla Torre G., Dell'Amico A., Fernandez E., Frosini L., Lettere M., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Mugnaini M., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Peccerillo B., Piccioli T.
This deliverable documents the design principles and software architecture characterising the release and development of the Blue-Cloud Virtual Research Environment (VRE) common services, namely the analytics computing framework, the catalogue framework, the storage framework and the enabling framework components. This report is the second of two versions, each one describing the design associated with a specific version of the VRE. This deliverable D5.4 provides the updated and extended version of D5.1 “Blue-Cloud VRE Common Services 1st Release” [8]. The document presents the current state of the Blue-Cloud Virtual Research Environment (VRE) common services, detailing both the new components introduced in the period M13 to M36 and the enhancements applied to the existing ones to ensure compliance with interoperability, scalability, and robustness requirements. Overall, deliverable D5.4 provides a consolidated, fully up-to-date view of the Blue-Cloud VRE common services architecture, covering functional capabilities, API exposure, deployment configuration, and integration status as of the end of the second reporting period. The deliverable consists of six sections. ● Section 1 briefly introduces the role of this deliverable in the development and delivery of the Blue-Cloud VRE common services. ● Section 2 describes the Blue-Cloud VRE logical architecture of the common services and how they relate to the other services available in the VRE. ● Section 3, 4, 5 and 6 document the release of the Blue-Cloud VRE common services available at M36, reporting the design principles and reference software architecture of the released solutions. Specifically, Section 3 describes the analytics computing framework which includes the Analytics Engine, Galaxy workflows, the RStudio and the Jupyter Notebooks via JupyterHub. Section 4 presents the VRE Catalogue framework and its components, and section 5 reports on the Storage framework. ● Finally, section 6 concludes the report by illustrating the services composing the Enabling framework, which is used as a common ground for all the above-mentioned frameworks.DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18189109
Project(s): A federated European FAIR and Open Research Ecosystem for oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters, Blue-Cloud+2026
Metrics:
Assante M., Candela L., Dalla Torre G., Dell'Amico A., Fernandez E., Frosini L., Lettere M., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Mugnaini M., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Peccerillo B., Piccioli T.
This deliverable documents the design principles and software architecture characterising the release and development of the Blue-Cloud Virtual Research Environment (VRE) common services, namely the analytics computing framework, the catalogue framework, the storage framework and the enabling framework components. This report is the second of two versions, each one describing the design associated with a specific version of the VRE. This deliverable D5.4 provides the updated and extended version of D5.1 “Blue-Cloud VRE Common Services 1st Release” [8]. The document presents the current state of the Blue-Cloud Virtual Research Environment (VRE) common services, detailing both the new components introduced in the period M13 to M36 and the enhancements applied to the existing ones to ensure compliance with interoperability, scalability, and robustness requirements. Overall, deliverable D5.4 provides a consolidated, fully up-to-date view of the Blue-Cloud VRE common services architecture, covering functional capabilities, API exposure, deployment configuration, and integration status as of the end of the second reporting period. The deliverable consists of six sections. ● Section 1 briefly introduces the role of this deliverable in the development and delivery of the Blue-Cloud VRE common services. ● Section 2 describes the Blue-Cloud VRE logical architecture of the common services and how they relate to the other services available in the VRE. ● Section 3, 4, 5 and 6 document the release of the Blue-Cloud VRE common services available at M36, reporting the design principles and reference software architecture of the released solutions. Specifically, Section 3 describes the analytics computing framework which includes the Analytics Engine, Galaxy workflows, the RStudio and the Jupyter Notebooks via JupyterHub. Section 4 presents the VRE Catalogue framework and its components, and section 5 reports on the Storage framework. ● Finally, section 6 concludes the report by illustrating the services composing the Enabling framework, which is used as a common ground for all the above-mentioned frameworks.DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18189109
Project(s): A federated European FAIR and Open Research Ecosystem for oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters, Blue-Cloud+2026
Metrics:
2025
Other
Open Access
D4Science interoperability framework: developer guidance for service integration
Assante M., Dell'Amico A., Molinaro E., Oliviero A.
The D4Science Interoperability Framework provides the architectural backbone for integrating and operating heterogeneous services within the D4Science ecosystem. D4Science is a distributed digital infrastructure supporting international research communities through the operation of Virtual Research Environments (VREs) that enable collaborative access to data, analytical tools, and computing resources in line with Open Science and FAIR principles. The framework integrates core components such as the VRE Gateway, Virtual Labs, Identity and Access Management (IAM), and the Analytics Engine to deliver secure, scalable, and reproducible workflows. This document offers detailed guidance for service developers, covering containerisation, orchestration with Docker Swarm, authentication with OpenID Connect and OAuth2, and integrated monitoring and auditing tools. By combining federated access, container based deployment, and robust governance mechanisms, this solution enables developers and researchers to create reusable, interoperable, and compliant services that advance collaborative and transparent scientific research.DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2025/015
Metrics:
Assante M., Dell'Amico A., Molinaro E., Oliviero A.
The D4Science Interoperability Framework provides the architectural backbone for integrating and operating heterogeneous services within the D4Science ecosystem. D4Science is a distributed digital infrastructure supporting international research communities through the operation of Virtual Research Environments (VREs) that enable collaborative access to data, analytical tools, and computing resources in line with Open Science and FAIR principles. The framework integrates core components such as the VRE Gateway, Virtual Labs, Identity and Access Management (IAM), and the Analytics Engine to deliver secure, scalable, and reproducible workflows. This document offers detailed guidance for service developers, covering containerisation, orchestration with Docker Swarm, authentication with OpenID Connect and OAuth2, and integrated monitoring and auditing tools. By combining federated access, container based deployment, and robust governance mechanisms, this solution enables developers and researchers to create reusable, interoperable, and compliant services that advance collaborative and transparent scientific research.DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2025/015
Metrics:
2024
Other
Restricted
FOSSR D6.1B - Architecture System Specification
Marangio F., Assante M., Candela L., Nuzzolese A. G., Scisci D., Ciampi M., Damiano E.
This document aims to illustrate the FOSSR system architecture and design methodology used. First, the deliverable describes functional and non-functional requirements appropriately categorized (e.g. requirements for the web portal, a marketplace that allows users to use FOSSR tools, single sign-on, suitable services for data curation, discovery, harmonization, anonymization, and management). Second, the document will describe the identified functions of the system and related scenarios using UML Use Case and Sequence diagrams. Finally, the architecture to be developed will be shown, going on to describe the modules that will compose it and some critical aspects, such as those related to security and the actual deployment of data centres.Project(s): Fostering Open Science in Social Science Research
Marangio F., Assante M., Candela L., Nuzzolese A. G., Scisci D., Ciampi M., Damiano E.
This document aims to illustrate the FOSSR system architecture and design methodology used. First, the deliverable describes functional and non-functional requirements appropriately categorized (e.g. requirements for the web portal, a marketplace that allows users to use FOSSR tools, single sign-on, suitable services for data curation, discovery, harmonization, anonymization, and management). Second, the document will describe the identified functions of the system and related scenarios using UML Use Case and Sequence diagrams. Finally, the architecture to be developed will be shown, going on to describe the modules that will compose it and some critical aspects, such as those related to security and the actual deployment of data centres.Project(s): Fostering Open Science in Social Science Research
2024
Other
Restricted
FOSSR D7.7 - Compliance testing of instruments purchased in Pisa
Piccioli T., Assante M., Oliviero A.
This document outlines the compliance testing of instruments purchased in Pisa for the FOSSR IT Pisa Node, located in the Data Center of the ISTI CNR in Pisa, and designed to enhance collaborative social science research. It begins with the project’s objectives and covers the acquisition of hardware through CONSIP agreements and competitive tenders. Details on the configuration and network setup of Dell PowerEdge R840 and Dell XE8545 servers are provided. It describes the testing protocols for the hardware, including order checks, power-on tests, and visual inspections. The conclusion summarises the infrastructure’s impact on supporting high-quality research, highlighting the strategic alignment with FOSSR's goals.Project(s): Fostering Open Science in Social Science Research
Piccioli T., Assante M., Oliviero A.
This document outlines the compliance testing of instruments purchased in Pisa for the FOSSR IT Pisa Node, located in the Data Center of the ISTI CNR in Pisa, and designed to enhance collaborative social science research. It begins with the project’s objectives and covers the acquisition of hardware through CONSIP agreements and competitive tenders. Details on the configuration and network setup of Dell PowerEdge R840 and Dell XE8545 servers are provided. It describes the testing protocols for the hardware, including order checks, power-on tests, and visual inspections. The conclusion summarises the infrastructure’s impact on supporting high-quality research, highlighting the strategic alignment with FOSSR's goals.Project(s): Fostering Open Science in Social Science Research
2024
Conference article
Open Access
D4Science: advancing ocean science through collaborative data analysis
Assante M., Candela L., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Pagano P.
In the realm of ocean science, addressing intricate challenges necessitates collaborative analysis of extensive datasets. This underscores the significance of infrastructures that facilitate multidisciplinary collaboration, effective communication, and timely data sharing. D4Science [Assante et al., 2019], an operational infrastructure initiated 18 years ago with European Commission funding, has evolved into an efficient solution. Utilizing the “as a Service” paradigm, D4Science provides webaccessible Virtual Laboratories [Assante et al., 2023; Candela et al., 2023] (VLabs) that proved to be also suitable for ocean science collaboration [Schaap et al., 2022]. These VLabs simplify access to marine datasets, concealing underlying complexities. Key functionalities include a cloudbased Workspace for file organization, a platform for largescale data analysis on a distributed computing infrastructure, a catalog for publishing research results, and a communication system based on social network practices. D4Science has been actively supporting diverse marine and ocean science Virtual Laboratories (VLabs), adapting to evolving research needs. Notable initiatives include contributions to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), starting with the ‘BlueCloud’ project in 2020 and its subsequent extension, ‘BlueCloud2026.’ In 2015, D4Science played a pivotal role in the BlueBRIDGE Horizon 2020 Project, which aimed to provide userfriendly data services and tools for the aquaculture, fisheries, and environmental sectors. Additionally, in 2013, D4Science contributed to the iMarine FP7 Project, which has since evolved into the current iMarine initiative. This ongoing effort is dedicated to establishing and operating an einfrastructure that aligns with the principles of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management and the conservation of marine living resources, further supporting the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Blue Growth Initiative. D4Science is currently supporting over 20 scientific communities and over 150 VLabs, and pioneers Open Science in ocean research. It fosters collaboration, offers userfriendly environments, and provides service for accessing, sharing, analyzing, and publishing oceanographic data. A detailed description of these services is given in the followingSource: MISCELLANEA INGV, pp. 284-286. Bergen (Norway), 27-29/05/2024
DOI: 10.13127/misc/80/109
Project(s): Blue-Cloud 2026
Metrics:
Assante M., Candela L., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Pagano P.
In the realm of ocean science, addressing intricate challenges necessitates collaborative analysis of extensive datasets. This underscores the significance of infrastructures that facilitate multidisciplinary collaboration, effective communication, and timely data sharing. D4Science [Assante et al., 2019], an operational infrastructure initiated 18 years ago with European Commission funding, has evolved into an efficient solution. Utilizing the “as a Service” paradigm, D4Science provides webaccessible Virtual Laboratories [Assante et al., 2023; Candela et al., 2023] (VLabs) that proved to be also suitable for ocean science collaboration [Schaap et al., 2022]. These VLabs simplify access to marine datasets, concealing underlying complexities. Key functionalities include a cloudbased Workspace for file organization, a platform for largescale data analysis on a distributed computing infrastructure, a catalog for publishing research results, and a communication system based on social network practices. D4Science has been actively supporting diverse marine and ocean science Virtual Laboratories (VLabs), adapting to evolving research needs. Notable initiatives include contributions to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), starting with the ‘BlueCloud’ project in 2020 and its subsequent extension, ‘BlueCloud2026.’ In 2015, D4Science played a pivotal role in the BlueBRIDGE Horizon 2020 Project, which aimed to provide userfriendly data services and tools for the aquaculture, fisheries, and environmental sectors. Additionally, in 2013, D4Science contributed to the iMarine FP7 Project, which has since evolved into the current iMarine initiative. This ongoing effort is dedicated to establishing and operating an einfrastructure that aligns with the principles of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management and the conservation of marine living resources, further supporting the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Blue Growth Initiative. D4Science is currently supporting over 20 scientific communities and over 150 VLabs, and pioneers Open Science in ocean research. It fosters collaboration, offers userfriendly environments, and provides service for accessing, sharing, analyzing, and publishing oceanographic data. A detailed description of these services is given in the followingSource: MISCELLANEA INGV, pp. 284-286. Bergen (Norway), 27-29/05/2024
DOI: 10.13127/misc/80/109
Project(s): Blue-Cloud 2026
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | imdis.seadatanet.org | doi.org | IRIS Cnr | CNR IRIS
2024
Other
Open Access
SoBigData++ - SoBigData e-Infrastructure Operation Report 3
Assante M., Candela L., Dell'Amico A., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Piccioli T.
This Deliverable builds upon and updates the previous reports, D9.2 - “SoBigData e-Infrastructure Operation Report 2” [5] and D9.1 - “SoBigData e-Infrastructure Operation Report 1” [3]. The SoBigData e-Infrastructure has been pivotal in enabling the core services and research support required for the SoBigData++ project, including Virtual Research Environments (VREs), the Catalogue, and Analytics Services. It is accessible through the SoBigData gateway (https://sobigdata.d4science.org), which provides end-users with seamless access to tools, datasets, and services. The SoBigData e-Infrastructure is built upon the D4Science infrastructure, offering a comprehensive platform that facilitates collaborative, transparent, and interdisciplinary research. The deployment and operation of VREs followed a well-defined procedure, leveraging the consolidated process inherited from D4Science. Throughout the 60 months of the project, a total of 27 VREs were created and operated to meet project and community needs. These VREs were classified into five categories: Exploratories, Applications, Virtual Labs, Training, and Management. Notable examples include, (i) SoBigDataLab and SoBigDataLab-PlusPlus for method development and experiments, (ii) Training VREs created for events like Summer Schools and specialised workshops, and (iii) Research spaces (formerly known as Exploratories) supporting targeted domains, such as Migration Studies, Sports Data Science, and Social Impacts of AI. The SoBigData Catalogue (https://sobigdata.d4science.org/catalogue-sobigdata) emerged as a critical resource for both human users and integrated services, enabling access to datasets, services, and analytical methods. The catalogue supports customisable item profiles enriched with metadata fields, controlled vocabularies, and validation rules. By end of term, the Catalogue recorded significant growth, particularly in key item types such as Methods (192 items) and Datasets (250 items). This expansion underscores the Catalogue’s role in promoting resource discoverability and supporting research workflows. Its usage indicators demonstrate its active adoption, with 31,909 total accesses, 29,595 metadata views, and 4,171 resource views recorded. Monthly trends reveal consistent engagement, highlighting its importance in the research ecosystem. The Social Mining Analytics Engine (SMAE) transitioned through the development of a new service, namely Cloud Computing Platform (CCP), offering enhanced scalability and automation through container orchestrations. Methods hosted on the SMAE span multiple categories, such as Text Processing, Web Analytics, and Image Analysis. Over the last year, the platform executed an average of 6.4 million method invocations per month, peaking at 16 million executions in July 2024. As of mid-December ’24, the e-infrastructure serves more than 13,000 users, with an overall trend in the use of the SoBigData VREs from January 2020 to December 2024, highlighting their importance for the research community. The steady engagement through 2023 and 2024, with peaks like July 2024 (2,592 sessions), underscores the VREs continued relevance and utility.Project(s): SoBigData-PlusPlus
Assante M., Candela L., Dell'Amico A., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Piccioli T.
This Deliverable builds upon and updates the previous reports, D9.2 - “SoBigData e-Infrastructure Operation Report 2” [5] and D9.1 - “SoBigData e-Infrastructure Operation Report 1” [3]. The SoBigData e-Infrastructure has been pivotal in enabling the core services and research support required for the SoBigData++ project, including Virtual Research Environments (VREs), the Catalogue, and Analytics Services. It is accessible through the SoBigData gateway (https://sobigdata.d4science.org), which provides end-users with seamless access to tools, datasets, and services. The SoBigData e-Infrastructure is built upon the D4Science infrastructure, offering a comprehensive platform that facilitates collaborative, transparent, and interdisciplinary research. The deployment and operation of VREs followed a well-defined procedure, leveraging the consolidated process inherited from D4Science. Throughout the 60 months of the project, a total of 27 VREs were created and operated to meet project and community needs. These VREs were classified into five categories: Exploratories, Applications, Virtual Labs, Training, and Management. Notable examples include, (i) SoBigDataLab and SoBigDataLab-PlusPlus for method development and experiments, (ii) Training VREs created for events like Summer Schools and specialised workshops, and (iii) Research spaces (formerly known as Exploratories) supporting targeted domains, such as Migration Studies, Sports Data Science, and Social Impacts of AI. The SoBigData Catalogue (https://sobigdata.d4science.org/catalogue-sobigdata) emerged as a critical resource for both human users and integrated services, enabling access to datasets, services, and analytical methods. The catalogue supports customisable item profiles enriched with metadata fields, controlled vocabularies, and validation rules. By end of term, the Catalogue recorded significant growth, particularly in key item types such as Methods (192 items) and Datasets (250 items). This expansion underscores the Catalogue’s role in promoting resource discoverability and supporting research workflows. Its usage indicators demonstrate its active adoption, with 31,909 total accesses, 29,595 metadata views, and 4,171 resource views recorded. Monthly trends reveal consistent engagement, highlighting its importance in the research ecosystem. The Social Mining Analytics Engine (SMAE) transitioned through the development of a new service, namely Cloud Computing Platform (CCP), offering enhanced scalability and automation through container orchestrations. Methods hosted on the SMAE span multiple categories, such as Text Processing, Web Analytics, and Image Analysis. Over the last year, the platform executed an average of 6.4 million method invocations per month, peaking at 16 million executions in July 2024. As of mid-December ’24, the e-infrastructure serves more than 13,000 users, with an overall trend in the use of the SoBigData VREs from January 2020 to December 2024, highlighting their importance for the research community. The steady engagement through 2023 and 2024, with peaks like July 2024 (2,592 sessions), underscores the VREs continued relevance and utility.Project(s): SoBigData-PlusPlus
2024
Other
Open Access
Blue-Cloud VRE operation report
Assante M., Candela L., Calanducci A., Cirillo R., Dell’amico A., Frosini L., Lelii L., Molinaro E., Mangiacrapa F., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Piccioli T.
The Horizon Europe Blue-Cloud initiative started in 2019 with the aim of creating a European Open Science Cloud for marine data. This involves federating data and e-infrastructures to provide data products and technologies as open science resources for the wider marine research community. Since 2023, the Blue-Cloud 2026 follow-up project has sought to further evolve this pilot ecosystem into a Federated European Ecosystem, offering FAIR and open data and analytical services crucial for advancing research on oceans, EU seas, and coastal and inland waters. Building on the pilot Blue-Cloud project, the current technical framework is designed to be extensible and open, continually evolving to meet the community's needs. The Blue-Cloud platform architecture comprises two major components: (a) the Blue-Cloud Data Discovery and Access Service (DDAS) component, which facilitates federated discovery and access to 'blue data' infrastructures, and (b) the Blue-Cloud Virtual Research Environment (VRE) component, which provides a Blue-Cloud VRE as a federation of computing platforms and analytical services. The VLabs leverage both DDAS and VRE, co-created with leading marine researchers to demonstrate the power of the Blue-Cloud Open Science platform through real-life scientific cases. \ This deliverable focuses on the VRE operation, specifically on how the VRE services have been utilised and managed to support the development of the Blue-Cloud VRE gateway (https://blue-cloud.d4science.org), its underlying infrastructure, and the VLabs on top of it, during the reporting period from January 2023 (M1) to June 2024 (M18). A total of 13 VLabs were created and operated to meet the needs arising from the Blue-Cloud 2026 project. Additionally, 7 VLabs from the previous Blue-Cloud project are being maintained. These working environments serve more than 1,700 users from 34 countries. Between January 2023 and June 2024, users initiated more than 26,000 working sessions via the Blue-Cloud VRE, averaging 1,447 sessions per month. Operating the VRE and VLabs involves managing support requests, issues, and incidents. A total of 143 tickets have been created and managed in the Blue-Cloud Project Issue Trackers (23 in the project consortium tracker and 120 in the support tracker), with 85% of these tickets closed. Additionally, 24 tickets related to Blue-Cloud have been created within the D4Science overall context, with an 88% closure rate.DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12667549
Project(s): Blue-Cloud 2026
Metrics:
Assante M., Candela L., Calanducci A., Cirillo R., Dell’amico A., Frosini L., Lelii L., Molinaro E., Mangiacrapa F., Oliviero A., Pagano P., Panichi G., Piccioli T.
The Horizon Europe Blue-Cloud initiative started in 2019 with the aim of creating a European Open Science Cloud for marine data. This involves federating data and e-infrastructures to provide data products and technologies as open science resources for the wider marine research community. Since 2023, the Blue-Cloud 2026 follow-up project has sought to further evolve this pilot ecosystem into a Federated European Ecosystem, offering FAIR and open data and analytical services crucial for advancing research on oceans, EU seas, and coastal and inland waters. Building on the pilot Blue-Cloud project, the current technical framework is designed to be extensible and open, continually evolving to meet the community's needs. The Blue-Cloud platform architecture comprises two major components: (a) the Blue-Cloud Data Discovery and Access Service (DDAS) component, which facilitates federated discovery and access to 'blue data' infrastructures, and (b) the Blue-Cloud Virtual Research Environment (VRE) component, which provides a Blue-Cloud VRE as a federation of computing platforms and analytical services. The VLabs leverage both DDAS and VRE, co-created with leading marine researchers to demonstrate the power of the Blue-Cloud Open Science platform through real-life scientific cases. \ This deliverable focuses on the VRE operation, specifically on how the VRE services have been utilised and managed to support the development of the Blue-Cloud VRE gateway (https://blue-cloud.d4science.org), its underlying infrastructure, and the VLabs on top of it, during the reporting period from January 2023 (M1) to June 2024 (M18). A total of 13 VLabs were created and operated to meet the needs arising from the Blue-Cloud 2026 project. Additionally, 7 VLabs from the previous Blue-Cloud project are being maintained. These working environments serve more than 1,700 users from 34 countries. Between January 2023 and June 2024, users initiated more than 26,000 working sessions via the Blue-Cloud VRE, averaging 1,447 sessions per month. Operating the VRE and VLabs involves managing support requests, issues, and incidents. A total of 143 tickets have been created and managed in the Blue-Cloud Project Issue Trackers (23 in the project consortium tracker and 120 in the support tracker), with 85% of these tickets closed. Additionally, 24 tickets related to Blue-Cloud have been created within the D4Science overall context, with an 88% closure rate.DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12667549
Project(s): Blue-Cloud 2026
Metrics:
2024
Conference article
Open Access
New tools for geo-scientific data management in the framework of the ITINERIS Project leveraging D4Science e-infrastructure capabilities
Gennaro S., Di Giuseppe P., Perrone E., Agostini S., Trumpy E., Assante M., Candela L., Pagano P., Procaccini M., Coro G., Provenzale A.
Open Science is a cultural movement based on transparency, inclusion, research integrity, collaboration, and cooperative work, promoting an enhancing approach to science. Benefits are expected from this approach, although doing open science can entail a contrast with several barriers, including: (i) cultural factors (e.g., the fear of the loss of control of the datasets); (ii) cost-base factors; and (iii) disincentive factors (Assante et al., 2019; 2023). The effectiveness of the Open Science approach of a project can be enhanced by using the D4Science infrastructure. This infrastructure promotes collaboration and cooperative work with Virtual Research Environments (VREs). As part of the ITINERIS Project, a comprehensive Italian Research Infrastructures (RDIs) hub in the geoscientific and environmental fields is under development, in which teams with a high level of trans-disciplinarity are working on the development of thematic VREs for topics that includes: (i) Critical Zone (CZ) VRE; (ii) Aquatic Biomass services (BIOMASS) VRE; (iii) Crops, Plants and Pests services (CPP VRE); (iv) Essential Variables (EV VRE); (v) Aerosol-biosphere (AERO VRE); (vi) Carbon Cycle services (CARBON VRE); (vii) Indicators and Impacts of Climate Change (CLIMA VRE); (viii) Downstream Effects of Environmental Change (DOWNSTREAM VRE); (ix) Isotope Database (ISOTOPE VRE). VREs are based on the D4Science infrastructure, and their development is based on the needs of the scientific communities and the specific stakeholders identified by the researcher. VREs are new eScience facilities that address scientifically and socially relevant topics, especially through the sharing of information and data produced. Research data and results products following international standards are managed and shared with the members of the VREs. In this context, these D4Science enabled VREs will become tools supporting the entire spectrum of the research lifecycle. Specifically, for data collection (i) the Collaborative Storage Framework promotes teamwork among users and offers a collaborative space to share digital objects. For data analytics, (ii) the Analytics Engine Framework equips VREs with Cloud Computing Platforms. For data publishing, (iii) the Publishing Framework facilitates the dissemination of research outcomes by means of the Metadata Catalogue and the Spatial Data Catalogue, which help organise and make research results available to the broader scientific community. Moreover, VREs are planned with a modular structure with semantic services for data discovery, harmonization and interoperability, and will contribute to share workflows, procedures and analysis tools which could be applied to analyse new datasets by the members of the VRE. Data from multiple sources, analysis and modelling tools will be integrated into the VREs, allowing users to gain insights into the problems at hand and add their data and analysis methods to respond to the changing scientific and practical needs.DOI: 10.3301/absgi.2024.02
Metrics:
Gennaro S., Di Giuseppe P., Perrone E., Agostini S., Trumpy E., Assante M., Candela L., Pagano P., Procaccini M., Coro G., Provenzale A.
Open Science is a cultural movement based on transparency, inclusion, research integrity, collaboration, and cooperative work, promoting an enhancing approach to science. Benefits are expected from this approach, although doing open science can entail a contrast with several barriers, including: (i) cultural factors (e.g., the fear of the loss of control of the datasets); (ii) cost-base factors; and (iii) disincentive factors (Assante et al., 2019; 2023). The effectiveness of the Open Science approach of a project can be enhanced by using the D4Science infrastructure. This infrastructure promotes collaboration and cooperative work with Virtual Research Environments (VREs). As part of the ITINERIS Project, a comprehensive Italian Research Infrastructures (RDIs) hub in the geoscientific and environmental fields is under development, in which teams with a high level of trans-disciplinarity are working on the development of thematic VREs for topics that includes: (i) Critical Zone (CZ) VRE; (ii) Aquatic Biomass services (BIOMASS) VRE; (iii) Crops, Plants and Pests services (CPP VRE); (iv) Essential Variables (EV VRE); (v) Aerosol-biosphere (AERO VRE); (vi) Carbon Cycle services (CARBON VRE); (vii) Indicators and Impacts of Climate Change (CLIMA VRE); (viii) Downstream Effects of Environmental Change (DOWNSTREAM VRE); (ix) Isotope Database (ISOTOPE VRE). VREs are based on the D4Science infrastructure, and their development is based on the needs of the scientific communities and the specific stakeholders identified by the researcher. VREs are new eScience facilities that address scientifically and socially relevant topics, especially through the sharing of information and data produced. Research data and results products following international standards are managed and shared with the members of the VREs. In this context, these D4Science enabled VREs will become tools supporting the entire spectrum of the research lifecycle. Specifically, for data collection (i) the Collaborative Storage Framework promotes teamwork among users and offers a collaborative space to share digital objects. For data analytics, (ii) the Analytics Engine Framework equips VREs with Cloud Computing Platforms. For data publishing, (iii) the Publishing Framework facilitates the dissemination of research outcomes by means of the Metadata Catalogue and the Spatial Data Catalogue, which help organise and make research results available to the broader scientific community. Moreover, VREs are planned with a modular structure with semantic services for data discovery, harmonization and interoperability, and will contribute to share workflows, procedures and analysis tools which could be applied to analyse new datasets by the members of the VRE. Data from multiple sources, analysis and modelling tools will be integrated into the VREs, allowing users to gain insights into the problems at hand and add their data and analysis methods to respond to the changing scientific and practical needs.DOI: 10.3301/absgi.2024.02
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | www.socgeol.it | doi.org | CNR IRIS
2024
Contribution to conference
Open Access
Blue-Cloud 2026 - Virtual Research Environment service
Assante M., Candela L., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Pagano P.
BlueCloud Virtual Research Environment Service The BlueCloud Virtual Research Environment (VRE) is one of the two main components of the BlueCloud technical framework, next to the BlueCloud Data Discovery and Access Service (DDAS). The BlueCloud VRE components are developed and operated by relying on the D4Science infrastructure [Assante et al., 2019; 2023; Candela et al., 2023] and range from services to promote the collaboration among its users to services supporting the execution of analytics tasks embedded in a distributed computing infrastructure, and to services enabling the cocreation of entire Virtual Laboratories (VLabs), also interoperable with the BlueCloud DDAS. The VRE services are instrumental in advancing Open Science practices within VLabs, empowering researchers to harness the advantages of stateoftheart einfrastructures. By leveraging these services, researchers can capitalise on the power of the Cloud and of einfrastructures, driving scientific progress and enabling collaborative research efforts within the realm of Open Science.Source: MISCELLANEA INGV, vol. 80, pp. 240-241. Bergen, Norway, 27-29/05/2024
DOI: 10.13127/misc/80/91
Project(s): Blue-Cloud 2026
Metrics:
Assante M., Candela L., Frosini L., Mangiacrapa F., Molinaro E., Pagano P.
BlueCloud Virtual Research Environment Service The BlueCloud Virtual Research Environment (VRE) is one of the two main components of the BlueCloud technical framework, next to the BlueCloud Data Discovery and Access Service (DDAS). The BlueCloud VRE components are developed and operated by relying on the D4Science infrastructure [Assante et al., 2019; 2023; Candela et al., 2023] and range from services to promote the collaboration among its users to services supporting the execution of analytics tasks embedded in a distributed computing infrastructure, and to services enabling the cocreation of entire Virtual Laboratories (VLabs), also interoperable with the BlueCloud DDAS. The VRE services are instrumental in advancing Open Science practices within VLabs, empowering researchers to harness the advantages of stateoftheart einfrastructures. By leveraging these services, researchers can capitalise on the power of the Cloud and of einfrastructures, driving scientific progress and enabling collaborative research efforts within the realm of Open Science.Source: MISCELLANEA INGV, vol. 80, pp. 240-241. Bergen, Norway, 27-29/05/2024
DOI: 10.13127/misc/80/91
Project(s): Blue-Cloud 2026
Metrics:
See at:
editoria.ingv.it | CNR IRIS | doi.org | IRIS Cnr | CNR IRIS
2024
Other
Restricted
FOSSR D6.8A - VRE catalogue release
Assante M., Candela L., Frosini L., Lelii L., Mangiacrapa F., Oliviero A., Paratore M. T.
The purpose of this document is to outline the software solution for the VRE Catalogue, enabling to effectively find, access and reuse every research artefact, offering the possibility to publish results as digital objects in Zenodo.org so as to ensure FAIR preservation, citation, and DOI minting for such objects. Scientists will be supported in this process by the VRE, which will transparently make sure the objects are deposited in Zenodo.org with links between them (e.g. workflow linked to methods objects used and to input and output datasets) and to the FOSSR project;Project(s): Fostering Open Science in Social Science Research
Assante M., Candela L., Frosini L., Lelii L., Mangiacrapa F., Oliviero A., Paratore M. T.
The purpose of this document is to outline the software solution for the VRE Catalogue, enabling to effectively find, access and reuse every research artefact, offering the possibility to publish results as digital objects in Zenodo.org so as to ensure FAIR preservation, citation, and DOI minting for such objects. Scientists will be supported in this process by the VRE, which will transparently make sure the objects are deposited in Zenodo.org with links between them (e.g. workflow linked to methods objects used and to input and output datasets) and to the FOSSR project;Project(s): Fostering Open Science in Social Science Research
2024
Other
Open Access
D4Science: advancing ocean science through collaborative data analysis
Assante M.
Project(s): Blue-Cloud 2026
Assante M.
Project(s): Blue-Cloud 2026
2023
Journal article
Open Access
ARIADNE: A data infrastructure for the archaeological research community
Bardi A, Assante M, Mangiacrapa F
The ARIADNE infrastructure provides tools and services for researchers to address archaeological grand challenges that require discovery and analysis of information scattered across different thematic and geographically distributed sources.Source: ERCIM NEWS, vol. 133, pp. 8-9
Project(s): ARIADNEplus
Bardi A, Assante M, Mangiacrapa F
The ARIADNE infrastructure provides tools and services for researchers to address archaeological grand challenges that require discovery and analysis of information scattered across different thematic and geographically distributed sources.Source: ERCIM NEWS, vol. 133, pp. 8-9
Project(s): ARIADNEplus
See at:
ercim-news.ercim.eu | CNR IRIS | ISTI Repository | CNR IRIS
2023
Other
Open Access
InfraScience research activity report 2023
Artini M., Assante M., Atzori C., Baglioni M., Bardi A., Bosio C., Bove P., Calanducci A., Candela L., Casini G., Castelli D., Cirillo R., Coro G., De Bonis M., Debole F., Dell'Amico A., Frosini L., Ibrahim A. S. T., La Bruzzo S., Lelii L., Manghi P., Mangiacrapa F., Mangione D., Mannocci A., Molinaro E., Pagano P., Panichi G., Paratore M. T., Pavone G., Piccioli T., Sinibaldi F., Straccia U., Vannini G. L.
InfraScience is a research group of the National Research Council of Italy - Institute of Information Science and Technologies (CNR - ISTI) based in Pisa, Italy. This report documents the research activity performed by this group in 2023 to highlight the major results. In particular, the InfraScience group engaged in research challenges characterising Data Infrastructures, e-Science, and Intelligent Systems. The group activity is pursued by closely connecting research and development and by promoting and supporting open science. In fact, the group is leading the development of two large scale infrastructures for Open Science, i.e. D4Science and OpenAIRE. During 2023 InfraScience members contributed to the publishing of several papers, to the research and development activities of several research projects (primarily funded by EU), to the organization of conferences and training events, to several working groups and task forces.DOI: 10.32079/isti-ar-2023/002
Project(s): Blue Cloud, EOSC Future , TAILOR
Metrics:
Artini M., Assante M., Atzori C., Baglioni M., Bardi A., Bosio C., Bove P., Calanducci A., Candela L., Casini G., Castelli D., Cirillo R., Coro G., De Bonis M., Debole F., Dell'Amico A., Frosini L., Ibrahim A. S. T., La Bruzzo S., Lelii L., Manghi P., Mangiacrapa F., Mangione D., Mannocci A., Molinaro E., Pagano P., Panichi G., Paratore M. T., Pavone G., Piccioli T., Sinibaldi F., Straccia U., Vannini G. L.
InfraScience is a research group of the National Research Council of Italy - Institute of Information Science and Technologies (CNR - ISTI) based in Pisa, Italy. This report documents the research activity performed by this group in 2023 to highlight the major results. In particular, the InfraScience group engaged in research challenges characterising Data Infrastructures, e-Science, and Intelligent Systems. The group activity is pursued by closely connecting research and development and by promoting and supporting open science. In fact, the group is leading the development of two large scale infrastructures for Open Science, i.e. D4Science and OpenAIRE. During 2023 InfraScience members contributed to the publishing of several papers, to the research and development activities of several research projects (primarily funded by EU), to the organization of conferences and training events, to several working groups and task forces.DOI: 10.32079/isti-ar-2023/002
Project(s): Blue Cloud
, EOSC Future , TAILOR Metrics: