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In a proof of concept study, we assessed the feasibility of designing a first-order logic (FOL) framework capable of translating SNOMED CT's terminological view on patient data as referencing concepts, into the realism-based view of the Basic Formal Ontology and the Ontology for General Medical Science according to which patient data represent instances of types. Because within the subject domain of this study, SNOMED CT's terminological coverage was excellent, and its EL++ axioms can be automatically translated into FOL as well as the antecedent part of bridging axioms between SNOMED CT and realism-based ontologies, we conclude that this is an area of R&D that deserves further attention and that may lead to new ways of federating terminologies with ontologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to access and share data is key to optimizing and streamlining any industrial production process. Unfortunately, the manufacturing industry is stymied by a lack of interoperability among the systems by which data are produced and managed, and this is true both within and across organizations. In this paper, we describe our work to address this problem through the creation of a suite of modular ontologies representing the product life cycle and its successive phases, from design to end of life. We call this suite the Product Life Cycle (PLC) Ontologies. The suite extends proximately from the Common Core Ontologies (CCO) used widely in defense and intelligence circles, and ultimately from the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO), which serves as top level ontology for the CCO and for some 300 further ontologies. The PLC Ontologies were developed together, but they have been factored to cover particular domains such as design, manufacturing processes, and tools. We argue that these ontologies, when used together with standard public domain alignment and browsing tools created within the context of the Semantic Web, may offer a low-cost approach to solving increasingly costly problems of data management in the manufacturing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a domain-specific, open access, reference ontology (ROMAIN) for the maintenance management domain. We use a hybrid approach, based on a top-down alignment to an open source top-level ontology, the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO), and a bottom up focus on classes that are grounded in maintenance practice. We constrain the scope of the ontology to the classes that are unique to the maintenance management practice, such as maintenance strategy, degradation, and work order management, rather than modeling the entire domain of maintenance. This approach reduces the scope of the development task and enables reasoning to be tested at a manageable scale. ROMAIN provides a unifying framework that can be used in conjunction with other BFO compliant sub-domain ontologies, such as planning and scheduling ontologies. The proposed ontology is validated using real-life data in the context of a use case related to evaluating the effectiveness of maintenance strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a proof of concept study, we assessed the feasibility of designing a first-order logic (FOL) framework capable of translating SNOMED CT's terminological view on patient data as referencing concepts, into the realism-based view of the Basic Formal Ontology and the Ontology for General Medical Science according to which patient data represent instances of types. Because within the subject domain of this study, SNOMED CT's terminological coverage was excellent, and its EL++ axioms can be automatically translated into FOL as well as the antecedent part of bridging axioms between SNOMED CT and realism-based ontologies, we conclude that this is an area of R&D that deserves further attention and that may lead to new ways of federating terminologies with ontologies.

The Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) class continuant fiat boundary and its subclasses, including fiat surface , are not heavily axiomatized; they have elucidations, not definitions; and the meanings of these elucidations are poorly captured by the relevant BFO axioms. This paper is an effort to make progress in these respects for fiat surface . We identify a range of desiderata for a BFO-conformant view of fiat surface , argue that the GitHub does not satisfy them, argue that the view of fiat surfaces in Arp et al. (2015) does a better job, and supplement that view in ways that do a still better job. Our discussion allows us to, inter alia , present a number of axioms relevant to our topic worthy of consideration for inclusion in BFO or dependent ontologies in specific domains and for specific purposes.

The notion of function is indispensable to our understanding of distinctions such as that between being broken and being in working order (for artifacts) and between being diseased and being healthy (for organisms). A clear account of the ontology of functions and functioning is thus an important desideratum for any top-level ontology intended for application to domains such as engineering or medicine. The benefit of using top-level ontologies in applied ontology can only be realized when each of the categories identified and defined by a top-level ontology is integrated with the others in a coherent fashion. Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) has from the beginning included function as one of its categories, exploiting a version of the etiological account of function that is framed at a level of generality sufficient to accommodate both biological and artifactual functions. This account has been subjected to a series of criticisms and refinements. We here articulate BFO's account of function, provide some reasons for favoring it over competing views, and defend it against objections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SNOMED CT is a large concept -based terminology designed according to epistemic, semantic and pragmatic principles relevant to clinicians. Its goal is structured clinical reporting in electronic healthcare records (EHRs). The Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) is an ontology designed on the basis of types claimed to exist in reality based on a domain-independent ontological theory. Its goal is faithful representation of reality within that theory. The Ontology for General Medical Science (OGMS) extends the BFO by providing definitions for types relevant within the clinical domain. Combining SNOMED CT with the ontological rigor of BFO and OGMS might improve clinical reporting by, f.i., preventing data entry mistakes and inconsistencies, and make EHRs more comparable. To that end, we are developing a logical framework capable of exploiting what SNOMED CT offers terminologically and realism-based ontologies such as the BFO and the OGMS ontologically by means of bridging axioms compatible with the BFO, and expressed in the same CLIF-dialect as used in its axiomatization in first order logic. In this paper, we report on our attempts to detect in the combinations of binary relations that are used in the definition of SNOMED CT's definitions of disorder concepts patterns which might at least partially automate the construction of such axioms. Our findings suggest that this partial automation is indeed possible, but to a smaller extent than we had hoped for. We compare our approach with a recent proposal that seeks to bring SNOMED CT and BFO closer together by reinterpreting SNOMED CT disorders as clinical occurrents. The proposal has its merit in providing a realist underpinning for that part of SNOMED CT's concept model in terms of the BFO, but is not discriminatory enough for an automatic translation into OGMS. Key problem is the lack of face validity of SNOMED CT disorder terms as compared to the formal definitions they are given and this in absence of textual definitions.

Today, Complex African Society; African Traditional Medicine (ATM) is used in parallel to Conventional Medicine (CM). Various attempts have been made to bridge the gap between African Traditional Medicine and Conventional Medicine in order to harmonize treatment and to create equal form of therapeutic cooperation. Although there is some minimal form of collaboration, African Traditional Medicine lacks formal structures; each practitioner has his/her own ways of providing healing services. Knowledge generated from Conventional Medicine is structured unlike African Traditional Medicine whose knowledge is not structured, isolated and mistrusted yet a lot of knowledge is generated in the practices which can be use across whole health sector. In this paper we are proposing ontology as a model to bridge the gap between African Traditional Medicine and Conventional Medicine for the benefit of users. We are proposing a methodology for structuring ATM knowledge as an extension of Basic Formal Ontology (BFO); a standard upper level ontology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]