Contributing data

You can add experimental runs one at a time with the web form, or many at once from a spreadsheet with the bulk upload. Every contribution is checked by a moderator before it appears in the public dataset.

	Web form	Bulk upload
Best for	A few runs, or one paper	Many runs, several papers
Where	Contribute Data → Contribute Dataset	Contribute Data → bulk upload (/bulk-upload)
Account needed	No	Yes
Incomplete runs	Must be completed before submitting	Saved as Needs update, finish them later

The web form

The form has two steps: the publication and the experimental data. If you are signed in, your name and email come from your account. Otherwise a first step asks for them.

• Publication. Paste the DOI: the title and abstract are filled in from Crossref. Then say where the values come from (see Provenance). Unpublished data? Leave the DOI empty.
• Setups and runs. A setup holds what stays the same: the polymer solution, the collector and the needle. Each run below it holds what changes: voltage, flow rate, distance, ambient conditions and results. Use Duplicate on a setup for a similar one, and Add another setup for a different solution, collector or needle.
• The polymer solution. One card describes how the solution was prepared: its polymers, solvents, additives and concentration, and the properties measured on it (see Solution preparation).
• Units. Pick each column's unit in its header (e.g. flow rate in mL/h or µL/min). Enter values in that unit; they are not converted.
• Paste from a spreadsheet. Copy a block of cells and paste it into a run's cell. Values fill the columns to the right, and runs are added as needed. 1,5 and 15 kV are read as numbers.
• Fill down. The arrow in a column header copies the first value into the empty cells below.
• Duplicate or delete a run with the buttons at the end of its row.
• On a phone, each run is shown as a card, and units are chosen above the runs.
• Fiber images only? Switch to Fiber images only; then only the images are required.
• Drafts. A new contribution is saved in your browser as you work. If you leave and come back, you can continue where you left off. Drafts stay on that computer until you submit or discard them.
• Submitting. The bar at the bottom shows how many items are still missing; click it to list them. Missing parts are outlined in red, e.g. Setup 2, run 3: Flow Rate is required. Accept the Terms of Use and License Agreement there and press Submit for review.

Bulk upload

1. Download the template (.xlsx). It has one column per field, dropdowns with the accepted polymers, solvents, units and labels, a note on every column header, an Example sheet and a README sheet listing all columns.
2. Fill in one row per run. Rows with the same DOI become one contribution. Rows without a DOI are grouped together.
3. Upload the file (.xlsx or .csv; , ; and tab separators all work). Nothing is stored yet: you get a report for every row.
4. Review and fix. Each row is Ready, Check (a warning), Needs update (something mandatory is missing) or Error. Problem cells are highlighted with an explanation. You can fix values on the page, apply a suggestion with one click (optionally to every row with the same typo), or correct the file and upload it again.
5. Submit. Rows with errors are left out. The rest are stored as one contribution per publication; incomplete rows are marked Needs update and listed under My contributions so you can finish them.

What the upload understands

You write	It is read as
pan, Polyacrylonitrile, 25014-41-9	the polymer PAN (name, full name or CAS number, any case)
ml/h, ul/min, ug	mL/h, µL/min, µg
15 kV in the voltage cell	15, with the unit moved to voltage_unit
an empty *_unit cell	the column's default unit (shown in the README sheet)
150-250 in fiber_diameter	a range: 150–250, with 200 used as the mean diameter
~300, ca. 300 in fiber_diameter	an approximate diameter of 300
doi:10.xxxx/…, https://doi.org/10.xxxx/…	the DOI 10.xxxx/…
Bead; Smooth in morphology	two morphology labels
PLGA 75:25 in polymer_1	PLGA with composition LA:GA 75:25

Values that are valid but unusual get a warning, not an error, e.g. a voltage of 15 V (probably meant kV) or a fiber diameter of 0.3 nm (probably meant µm). Check them before submitting.

If you upload the same file twice, you are warned that it would create duplicate records. A publication that already has records in the database is flagged too.

The CSV or Excel file you download from the dataset page can also be uploaded; it is converted automatically (see The dataset files).

Mixed and core/shell solutions: the Solutions sheet

When the polymer columns of a row can't describe its solution, describe it on the template's Solutions sheet (.xlsx only) and refer to it from the Data sheet:

Case	Solutions sheet	Data sheet row
Polymers dissolved separately and mixed	Two or more rows with the same solution_id (e.g. S1), each with its part (A, B), share in the mix, polymer_1, solvent_1, concentration, …; mix_ratio_unit v/v (default) or w/w	solution = S1, polymer/solvent/concentration columns empty
Coaxial or triaxial needle	One solution per channel, e.g. S2 (core) and S3 (shell)	core_solution = S2, shell_solution = S3 (and middle_solution for triaxial), with flow_rate_core and flow_rate_shell in flow_rate_unit

• Shared solutions: one solution can be used by many runs, e.g. when a paper varies the voltage with the same solution.
• Measured properties: viscosity, conductivity and so on go on the solution's row.
• Preview: the upload lists the Solutions sheet with the runs using each solution. A problem in a solution is also shown on every run that uses it.
• Editing: to change a solution, edit the sheet and upload the file again.
• New names: an unknown polymer on the Solutions sheet can be proposed as usual. New solvents and additives can't be proposed there yet.

A polymer, solvent or additive that is not in the list

An unknown name is an error with suggestions ("Did you mean PAN?"). If the name is really missing from our list, choose Propose as a new polymer/solvent/additive and optionally add its full name and CAS number. The affected rows are then saved as Needs update without that component. An administrator reviews the proposal:

• Approved: the name is added to the list and your records are completed automatically and sent for review.
• Merged: the name turns out to be an existing entry (e.g. a spelling variant); your records get that entry and the variant is recognised in future uploads.
• Rejected: you see the reason when you use the name again, and the records stay Needs update for you to fix.

Copolymers, blends and additives

These three are recorded differently, because they are different materials:

	What it is	How to enter it
Copolymer	One polymer chain made of two or more monomers, e.g. PLGA (lactide + glycolide), P(VDF-TrFE), PVDF-HFP	Choose it as one polymer and give its composition, e.g. LA:GA 75:25 (mol% or wt%)
Blend	Two or more separate polymers mixed, e.g. PCL + gelatin	Add each polymer and its share (wt%); the shares add up to 100
Additive	Something in the solution that is not a polymer of the fiber: nanoparticles, salts, drugs, fillers	Put it under Additives with its amount: wt% of the polymer, the solution or the solvent, or mg/mL of the solution or the solvent

A blend can contain copolymers, e.g. PLGA (75:25) + PCL at 70:30 wt%.

• Web form. In the polymer solution, edit the polymers and first say what they are: Single polymer, Copolymer or Polymer blend.
  • Copolymer: pick it from the list (only copolymers are listed) and give its composition, one field per monomer.
  • Polymer blend: add two or more polymers, each a homopolymer or a copolymer with its own composition, and their shares.
  • Additives have their own line next to the polymers and solvents.
  • If the blend's polymers were dissolved separately and then mixed, see Solution preparation.
• Bulk upload.
  • Use polymer_1_composition (e.g. 75:25, in the monomer order listed on the README sheet), polymer_1_composition_unit, and additive_1…additive_3 with additive_1_amount and its unit.
  • PLGA 75:25 typed in polymer_1 is split automatically.
  • An additive typed in a polymer column, or a composition given for a homopolymer, is reported with a hint.

The composition is optional, but a stated composition raises the record's completeness score.

A copolymer or polymer that is not in the list

In the web form, open the polymer list and choose Not in the list? Define a new copolymer (or polymer). Give:

• a short name, e.g. P(LLA-TMC), and optionally its full name;
• for a copolymer, its monomers in the order you give the composition (pick them from the list or type a new one, e.g. TMC) and, if known, its architecture (random, alternating, block or graft);
• optionally a note for the reviewer, e.g. the supplier and grade.

Then enter the composition and the rest as usual. An administrator reviews the new entry, as for names proposed in a bulk upload: until then the run is saved as Needs update, and once the polymer is approved it is added to your run and the run goes to review automatically. If the entry turns out to exist under another name, it is merged into that entry. You can keep editing the run while you wait.

Solution preparation

The Polymer solution card of a setup asks how the spun solution was prepared:

	When	What you enter
Dissolved together	One solution: all polymers in one solvent system, including a blend dissolved together	Its polymers, solvents (with ratios), additives and polymer concentration
Mixed from separate solutions	Each polymer dissolved in its own solvent first, then the solutions mixed, e.g. PCL 10 wt% in DCM:DMF 7:3 mixed 70:30 with gelatin 8 wt% in HFIP	For each solution (A, B, …): its polymers, solvents, additives, concentration and share in the mix; and whether the solutions were mixed by volume (v/v) or by weight (w/w)

For a mix, each solution keeps its own solvents and concentration. The form also shows the polymer concentration of the spun solution. This is exact for a w/w mix; for a v/v mix it is an estimate that assumes the solutions have equal densities. The dataset gets this overall concentration, each polymer's share of all polymer and each solvent's share of all solvent. Where these can't be derived, they are left empty.

Viscosity, surface tension, conductivity, evaporation rate and pH are entered once, for the spun solution.

Coaxial and triaxial needles

With a Coaxial needle (or Triaxial), each channel can carry its own solution. Choose the needle first. In the polymer solution, Describe the core, shell solutions separately is then switched on, and you get a tab per channel: Core and Shell, plus Middle for a triaxial needle.

• Each channel's solution is described like any other: dissolved together or mixed, with its polymers, solvents, additives and concentration, plus its own measured properties.
• A channel may carry no polymer, e.g. a solvent sheath or a drug solution in the core. At least one channel must have a polymer.
• The runs table then has a flow rate column per channel, e.g. Flow Rate (core) and Flow Rate (shell), sharing one unit. The run's overall flow rate is their sum.
• The record has no single concentration then; each channel has its own.

If you switch the separate description off, one solution is described for the whole needle, as before. If you change the needle type afterwards, the polymer solution card tells you that it no longer matches.

In the bulk upload, mixes and core/shell solutions are described on the Solutions sheet (see below).

Provenance

For every run we record where its values come from, so others can judge and reuse the data:

Field	Values
Data origin	Literature (a publication) or Own lab (your own measurements)
Location in the source	free text, e.g. Table 2, Fig. 3b
How the values were obtained	Reported in text or tables, Digitised from a figure, or Estimated
Fiber diameter measured by	SEM, TEM, AFM, Optical microscopy or Other, and the number of fibers measured

In the web form you enter these once in Study information; they apply to every run. In the bulk upload they are columns, so each row can differ.

Statuses

Status	Meaning
In review (Pending)	Waiting for a moderator.
Needs update	Something mandatory is missing, a proposed name awaits approval, or the moderator asked for a change. Not yet reviewed.
Published (Approved)	Reviewed and part of the public dataset. Published runs can no longer be edited.
Rejected	Not accepted by the moderator. You can revise it and send it back.

Following up on your contributions

My contributions (in your account menu) lists every contribution with the status of its runs. Needs your action shows the runs waiting for you; the moderator's note and what is still missing are shown under each run.

• Fix runs: Fix (or Edit) opens the contribution on its runs, with the review feedback at the top. Saving sends every edited, complete run back to review.
• Rejected runs stay as they are until you choose Revise and resubmit for them.
• Remove a run: delete it in the form and save. You are asked to confirm; the run and its images are deleted.
• Withdraw: deletes all runs of the contribution that are not published. Published runs stay in the dataset; to correct one, contact us.

Completeness

Each record gets a completeness score from 0 to 100 %: the share of the important fields that are filled, with the fields the form requires counting double. Moderators see it on every record. Optional values such as viscosity, conductivity, temperature, humidity, diameter variation, morphology and provenance raise the score and make your data more useful.