Introduction to Bio-Ontologies


Book Description

Introduction to Bio-Ontologies explores the computational background of ontologies. Emphasizing computational and algorithmic issues surrounding bio-ontologies, this self-contained text helps readers understand ontological algorithms and their applications.The first part of the book defines ontology and bio-ontologies. It also explains the importan




Biological Ontologies and Semantic Biology


Book Description

As the amount of biological information and its diversity accumulates massively there is a critical need to facilitate the integration of this data to allow new and unexpected conclusions to be drawn from it. The Semantic Web is a new wave of web- based technologies that allows the linking of data between diverse data sets via standardised data formats (“big data”). Semantic Biology is the application of semantic web technology in the biological domain (including medical and health informatics). The Special Topic encompasses papers in this very broad area, including not only ontologies (development and applications), but also text mining, data integration and data analysis making use of the technologies of the Semantic Web. Ontologies are a critical requirement for such integration as they allow conclusions drawn about biological experiments, or descriptions of biological entities, to be understandable and integratable despite being contained in different databases and analysed by different software systems. Ontologies are the standard structures used in biology, and more broadly in computer science, to hold standardized terminologies for particular domains of knowledge. Ontologies consist of sets of standard terms, which are defined and may have synonyms for ease of searching and to accommodate different usages by different communities. These terms are linked by standard relationships, such as “is_a” (an eye “is_a” sense organ) or “part_of” (an eye is “part_of” a head). By linking terms in this way, more detailed, or granular, terms can be linked to broader terms, allowing computation to be carried out that takes these relationships into account.




Building Ontologies with Basic Formal Ontology


Book Description

An introduction to the field of applied ontology with examples derived particularly from biomedicine, covering theoretical components, design practices, and practical applications. In the era of “big data,” science is increasingly information driven, and the potential for computers to store, manage, and integrate massive amounts of data has given rise to such new disciplinary fields as biomedical informatics. Applied ontology offers a strategy for the organization of scientific information in computer-tractable form, drawing on concepts not only from computer and information science but also from linguistics, logic, and philosophy. This book provides an introduction to the field of applied ontology that is of particular relevance to biomedicine, covering theoretical components of ontologies, best practices for ontology design, and examples of biomedical ontologies in use. After defining an ontology as a representation of the types of entities in a given domain, the book distinguishes between different kinds of ontologies and taxonomies, and shows how applied ontology draws on more traditional ideas from metaphysics. It presents the core features of the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO), now used by over one hundred ontology projects around the world, and offers examples of domain ontologies that utilize BFO. The book also describes Web Ontology Language (OWL), a common framework for Semantic Web technologies. Throughout, the book provides concrete recommendations for the design and construction of domain ontologies.




Data-Intensive Science


Book Description

Data-intensive science has the potential to transform scientific research and quickly translate scientific progress into complete solutions, policies, and economic success. But this collaborative science is still lacking the effective access and exchange of knowledge among scientists, researchers, and policy makers across a range of disciplines. Bringing together leaders from multiple scientific disciplines, Data-Intensive Science shows how a comprehensive integration of various techniques and technological advances can effectively harness the vast amount of data being generated and significantly accelerate scientific progress to address some of the world's most challenging problems. In the book, a diverse cross-section of application, computer, and data scientists explores the impact of data-intensive science on current research and describes emerging technologies that will enable future scientific breakthroughs. The book identifies best practices used to tackle challenges facing data-intensive science as well as gaps in these approaches. It also focuses on the integration of data-intensive science into standard research practice, explaining how components in the data-intensive science environment need to work together to provide the necessary infrastructure for community-scale scientific collaborations. Organizing the material based on a high-level, data-intensive science workflow, this book provides an understanding of the scientific problems that would benefit from collaborative research, the current capabilities of data-intensive science, and the solutions to enable the next round of scientific advancements.




Designs for the Pluriverse


Book Description

In Designs for the Pluriverse Arturo Escobar presents a new vision of design theory and practice aimed at channeling design's world-making capacity toward ways of being and doing that are deeply attuned to justice and the Earth. Noting that most design—from consumer goods and digital technologies to built environments—currently serves capitalist ends, Escobar argues for the development of an “autonomous design” that eschews commercial and modernizing aims in favor of more collaborative and placed-based approaches. Such design attends to questions of environment, experience, and politics while focusing on the production of human experience based on the radical interdependence of all beings. Mapping autonomous design’s principles to the history of decolonial efforts of indigenous and Afro-descended people in Latin America, Escobar shows how refiguring current design practices could lead to the creation of more just and sustainable social orders.




Ontologies for Bioinformatics


Book Description

Ontologies as a critical framework for the vast amounts of data in the postgenomic era: an introduction to the basic concepts and applications of ontologies and ontology languages for the life sciences. Recent advances in biotechnology, spurred by the Human Genome Project, have resulted in the accumulation of vast amounts of new data. Ontologies--computer-readable, precise formulations of concepts (and the relationship among them) in a given field--are a critical framework for coping with the exponential growth of valuable biological data generated by high-output technologies. This book introduces the key concepts and applications of ontologies and ontology languages in bioinformatics and will be an essential guide for bioinformaticists, computer scientists, and life science researchers.The three parts of Ontologies for Bioinformatics ask, and answer, three pivotal questions: what ontologies are; how ontologies are used; and what ontologies could be (which focuses on how ontologies could be used for reasoning with uncertainty). The authors first introduce the notion of an ontology, from hierarchically organized ontologies to more general network organizations, and survey the best-known ontologies in biology and medicine. They show how to construct and use ontologies, classifying uses into three categories: querying, viewing, and transforming data to serve diverse purposes. Contrasting deductive, or Boolean, logic with inductive reasoning, they describe the goal of a synthesis that supports both styles of reasoning. They discuss Bayesian networks as a way of expressing uncertainty, describe data fusion, and propose that the World Wide Web can be extended to support reasoning with uncertainty. They call this inductive reasoning web the Bayesian web.




The Ontology of Design Research


Book Description

This book seeks to establish the meaning of design research, its role in the field, and the characteristics that differentiate research in design from research in other fields. The author introduces a model to explain the relationship between the components of the ontological reality of design: the designed object, the designer, and the user. Addressing design research across disciplines, the author establishes a foundational understanding of research, and research paradigms, for the design disciplines. This will be crucial for the emerging field of design research to find its own identity and move forward, building its own knowledge base as it finds its positioning between science and art. The book will be of interest to scholars working in design history, design studies, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, architecture, fashion design, and service design.




Encyclopedia of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology


Book Description

Encyclopedia of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology: ABC of Bioinformatics, Three Volume Set combines elements of computer science, information technology, mathematics, statistics and biotechnology, providing the methodology and in silico solutions to mine biological data and processes. The book covers Theory, Topics and Applications, with a special focus on Integrative –omics and Systems Biology. The theoretical, methodological underpinnings of BCB, including phylogeny are covered, as are more current areas of focus, such as translational bioinformatics, cheminformatics, and environmental informatics. Finally, Applications provide guidance for commonly asked questions. This major reference work spans basic and cutting-edge methodologies authored by leaders in the field, providing an invaluable resource for students, scientists, professionals in research institutes, and a broad swath of researchers in biotechnology and the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Brings together information from computer science, information technology, mathematics, statistics and biotechnology Written and reviewed by leading experts in the field, providing a unique and authoritative resource Focuses on the main theoretical and methodological concepts before expanding on specific topics and applications Includes interactive images, multimedia tools and crosslinking to further resources and databases





Book Description




Anatomy Ontologies for Bioinformatics


Book Description

This book provides a timely and first-of-its-kind collection of papers on anatomy ontologies. It is interdisciplinary in its approach, bringing together the relevant expertise from computing and biomedical studies. The book aims to provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of the foundations of anatomical ontologies and the-state-of-the-art in terms of existing tools and applications. It also highlights challenges that remain today.