INTRODUCING ANALYTICAL RESULTS
DATABASE (ArDB): INTUITIVE DATABASE
MANAGEMENT, DATA VISUALISATION AND
QUALITY CONTROL
M. Sudnik1, M. Seed1,. and K. W. R. Taylor 1
1
Elementar UK Ltd, Product Marketing, Stockport, United Kingdom.
Why do we need ArDB?
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Designing, building and maintaining
a database can be difficult
Databases are critical to many applications
Most databases evolve over time and can become difficult to maintain
Designing, building and maintaining a database is not always straight-forward
Performing in-depth statistical analysis usually requires a third party tool
Sharing analytical results securely for further collaborative analysis can be difficult
Modern database requirements go beyond simple data storage
Finding a database platform with all the features required of a scientific database is difficult
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What is ArDB?
• ArDB is a Scientific / Analytical Results Database Management System (e.g. IRMS, EA, GC,
GC-MS, LC-MS, ICP-MS, etc.)
• ArDB brings key features from several software platforms into a single solution (Databases,
Spreadsheets, Statistical packages, Laboratory Information Management Systems, Scientific
Notebooks) and goes beyond
• ArDB is a purpose built database management system to contain analytical results and
associated metadata
• ArDB goes beyond simple data storage by making the data easily accessible for use with
inbuilt analytical tools and visualizations
• ArDB meets the requirements of a scientific database as standard (Security, Permissions,
Accessibility, Validation, Consistency, Publishing, Versioning, Auditing, Visualizations,
Analytics, Sharing, Collaboration, etc.)
How should the database be structured?
Where will the database be stored? Local? Network server? Cloud?
How to secure the database? Permissions? Audit trails?
What will the database be used for? Integrations into other software?
How big will the database become? Fast querying?
How to ensure data concurrency with multiple users accessing data?
How to handle metadata? Consistency in metadata?
How will the database scale with new research ideas and themes?
Acquisition date
Temperature
Species Name
Region
Plant species
Distance
Purity
Fig. 1 Centralised data makes
collaboration easy
Altitude
Windspeed
Latitude
Sampling person
Depth
Soil type
ph
Humidity
Diet
Fig. 2 Example Metadata
Pressure
Who might use ArDB?
What results can be stored in ArDB?
• Because there are no limitations on the types of data that can be held within ArDB, it is
compatible with many applications
• Work collaboratively with other research groups to build a common database, either locally
or internationally
• ArDB is supplied with a snapshot of the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP)
database
ArDB offers extended professional results management, analytics and visualization
capabilities for all forms of analytical techniques:
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ArDB Key Features
What does ArDB look like?
Centralize
IRMS
EA
GC
GC-MS
• LC-MS
• ICP-MS
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Instantly group your data
by parameters such as
country, site name, result
type, etc…
Visualize
Sort by columns
Pin columns and row
Choose to add an interesting chart to the Report tab,
add another chart to see charts side-by-side
Filter your data to
extract only the data
you need
• Central database for your results
• Multiple clients to a single database
• Data stored on a local network or in the
cloud
• Greater consistency and reliability of data
Collaborate
• Work with collaborators on data in the
cloud
• User access levels and permissions protects
data integrity
• Scalable cloud storage and seats for your
projects
Integration with Elementar
Instruments
• Automatically pass calibrated results from
instruments to ArDB
• Generate sample lists in ArDB, send to
instrument
• Use ArDB to evaluate instrument
performance over time
• Plot data on 2D and 3D charts
• Use ArDB as a Geographical Information
System and plot results on local, regional or
global maps
• Color scaled data for visualizing spatial
variations
• Column, bar and scatter charts
Search your data by
any parameter
• Simply perform multivariate analysis such
as PCA & LDA
• Analyze unknown samples against the
database
• Run customized R Statistics scripts directly
in ArDB
Data Security & Trust
• Data only accessible to users with correct
credentials
• Versioning and audit trails with publish /
draft status
• Roll-back to previous versions
• SSL security protects data sent to / from
server
• Advanced filtering within workspaces
• Grouping by fields and automatically averaging (or aggregating) fields
• Use R statistics to extend in-built functionality while taking advantage of ArDB data
management and visualization features
• Built in multivariate analysis (Principle Component Analysis, Linear Discriminant Analysis),
clustering analysis, etc.
Select series of interest to
investigate how a local data set
compares to the global data set
Perform Calculations
Manage R scripts
Submit test samples
Each sample has a
unique ID
Export your results to
Excel
Adding extra layers to
your chart allows you
to overlay other charts
to the view
See publishing state
of your data
Versioning of data
provides an audit trail
to track changes
Add a trendline to
your data set
Fig. 3 Grid view
Statistics
Advanced Queries, Analytics and R Statistics
Fig. 4 Charts view
By grouping data by country and sample site
name all data is aggregated allowing data to
be plotted as a single point
Edit the chart directly in the Report view or send it to
a new tab to re-work the chart
Smart Date functionality makes it
simple to filter data by date periods so
temporal variations (e.g. seasonal) can
be evaluated
Submit test samples
for testing against
the database.
Interpolate between points
to generate estimated
values
Add as many charts,
grids and maps to a
report view as you
like
Save image as a vector
file to use graphic in
publications and reports
Drag window edges to resize windows. Rearrange
panels to organize the
report view
Select a data point
and send to a new tab
for more detailed
investigation
Scalable color gradients make it
possible to isolate particular
result regions
Points can be plotted
discretely according to the
color scale, or interpolated
to generate an “isoscape”
Pan and zoom 3D charts
directly in the report tab
Add layers to a map to show country,
state and local boundaries as well as
major geographical features
Fig. 5 Maps view
Fig. 6 Reports view
Data Quality Control with Ar
ArDB
• Analysis results can be stored in ArDB
• Results can be combined from multiple instruments
• Automated recording of performance
metrics
• Data can be grouped by instrument, date,
user etc… to evaluate quality.
• Mean, n, SD, CV and Z-score calculated
ArDB uses the Shewhart Tests to determine data
quality: results that fail a Shewhart test are
clearly indicated
Getting started
ArDB Plans
Cloud
On-premises
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• Hosted on your own server and protected
by your IT
• 5 perpetual seats
• Unlimited number of databases
• Unlimited number of records
• 12 month server license support
Hosted on Elementar ArDB Cloud
Unlimited number of databases
Low cost monthly subscription
Scalable number of seats
Scalable cloud storage
Continuous upgrades
Choose to render your
data as a scatter, column,
line or area chart in either
2D or 3D
• It is easy to import your existing databases
• Talk to us about how we can help you migrate your data
• We can help you import your data so that you can get the most out of an ArDB free trial
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Check out your 90 day free trial at www.ardb.info
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For more information, including support material, documentation
and videos, please visit www.ardb.info