Information Artifact Ontology (IAO)
type: Ontology
version IRI: iao.owl
default language: en
contributor: Adam Goldstein
contributor: Alan Ruttenberg
contributor: Albert Goldfain
contributor: Barry Smith
contributor: Bjoern Peters
contributor: Carlo Torniai
contributor: Chris Mungall
contributor: Chris Stoeckert
contributor: Christian A. Boelling
contributor: Clint Dowland
contributor: Darren Natale
contributor: David Osumi-Sutherland
contributor: Gwen Frishkoff
contributor: Holger Stenzhorn
contributor: James A. Overton
contributor: James Malone
contributor: Jennifer Fostel
contributor: Jie Zheng
contributor: Jonathan Rees
contributor: Larisa Soldatova
contributor: Lawrence Hunter
contributor: Mathias Brochhausen
contributor: Matt Brush
contributor: Melanie Courtot
contributor: Michel Dumontier
contributor: Paolo Ciccarese
contributor: Pat Hayes
contributor: Philippe Rocca-Serra
contributor: Randy Dipert
contributor: Ron Rudnicki
contributor: Satya Sahoo
contributor: Sivaram Arabandi
contributor: Werner Ceusters
contributor: William Duncan
contributor: William Hogan
contributor: Yongqun (Oliver) He
description: The Information Artifact Ontology (IAO) is an ontology of information entities, originally driven by work by the OBI digital entity and realizable information entity branch.
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
comment: An information artifact is, loosely, a dependent continuant or its bearer that is created as the result of one or more intentional processes. Examples: uniprot, the english language, the contents of this document or a printout of it, the temperature measurements from a weather balloon. For more information, see the project home page at https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO
comment: IDs allocated to related efforts: PNO: IAO_0020000-IAO_0020999, D_ACTS: IAO_0021000-IAO_0021999
comment: IDs allocated to subdomains of IAO. pno.owl: IAO_0020000-IAO_0020999, d-acts.owl: IAO_0021000-IAO_0021999
version info: 2022-11-07

BFO OWL specification label
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: Relates an entity in the ontology to the name of the variable that is used to represent it in the code that generates the BFO OWL file from the lispy specification.
curator note: Really of interest to developers only
sub property of: label

BFO CLIF specification label
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: Relates an entity in the ontology to the term that is used to represent it in the the CLIF specification of BFO2
definition source: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
curator note: Really of interest to developers only
sub property of: label

editor preferred term
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: editor preferred term
has curation status: ready for release
definition: The concise, meaningful, and human-friendly name for a class or property preferred by the ontology developers. (US-English)
term editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>

example of usage
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: example of usage
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A phrase describing how a term should be used and/or a citation to a work which uses it. May also include other kinds of examples that facilitate immediate understanding, such as widely know prototypes or instances of a class, or cases where a relation is said to hold.
term editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>

in branch
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: in branch
definition: An annotation property indicating which module the terms belong to. This is currently experimental and not implemented yet.
term editor: GROUP:OBI
definition source: OBI_0000277

has curation status
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: has curation status
term editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON:Bill Bug
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot

definition
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: definition
has curation status: ready for release
definition: The official definition, explaining the meaning of a class or property. Shall be Aristotelian, formalized and normalized. Can be augmented with colloquial definitions.
editor note: 2012-04-05: Barry Smith The official OBI definition, explaining the meaning of a class or property: 'Shall be Aristotelian, formalized and normalized. Can be augmented with colloquial definitions' is terrible. Can you fix to something like: A statement of necessary and sufficient conditions explaining the meaning of an expression referring to a class or property. Alan Ruttenberg Your proposed definition is a reasonable candidate, except that it is very common that necessary and sufficient conditions are not given. Mostly they are necessary, occasionally they are necessary and sufficient or just sufficient. Often they use terms that are not themselves defined and so they effectively can't be evaluated by those criteria. On the specifics of the proposed definition: We don't have definitions of 'meaning' or 'expression' or 'property'. For 'reference' in the intended sense I think we use the term 'denotation'. For 'expression', I think we you mean symbol, or identifier. For 'meaning' it differs for class and property. For class we want documentation that let's the intended reader determine whether an entity is instance of the class, or not. For property we want documentation that let's the intended reader determine, given a pair of potential relata, whether the assertion that the relation holds is true. The 'intended reader' part suggests that we also specify who, we expect, would be able to understand the definition, and also generalizes over human and computer reader to include textual and logical definition. Personally, I am more comfortable weakening definition to documentation, with instructions as to what is desirable. We also have the outstanding issue of how to aim different definitions to different audiences. A clinical audience reading chebi wants a different sort of definition documentation/definition from a chemistry trained audience, and similarly there is a need for a definition that is adequate for an ontologist to work with.
term editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>

editor note
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: editor note
has curation status: ready for release
definition: An administrative note intended for its editor. It may not be included in the publication version of the ontology, so it should contain nothing necessary for end users to understand the ontology.
term editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obofoundry.org/obo/obi>

term editor
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: term editor
has curation status: ready for release
definition: Name of editor entering the term in the file. The term editor is a point of contact for information regarding the term. The term editor may be, but is not always, the author of the definition, which may have been worked upon by several people
editor note: 20110707, MC: label update to term editor and definition modified accordingly. See https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/115.
term editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>

alternative label
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: alternative label
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A label for a class or property that can be used to refer to the class or property instead of the preferred rdfs:label. Alternative labels should be used to indicate community- or context-specific labels, abbreviations, shorthand forms and the like.
term editor: OBO Operations committee
term editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>
comment: Consider re-defing to: An alternative name for a class or property which can mean the same thing as the preferred name (semantically equivalent, narrow, broad or related).

definition source
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: definition source
has curation status: ready for release
definition: Formal citation, e.g. identifier in external database to indicate / attribute source(s) for the definition. Free text indicate / attribute source(s) for the definition. EXAMPLE: Author Name, URI, MeSH Term C04, PUBMED ID, Wiki uri on 31.01.2007
term editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
definition source: Discussion on obo-discuss mailing-list, see http://bit.ly/hgm99w
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>

has obsolescence reason
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: has obsolescence reason
definition: Relates an annotation property to an obsolescence reason. The values of obsolescence reasons come from a list of predefined terms, instances of the class obsolescence reason specification.
term editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot

curator note
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: curator note
has curation status: ready for release
definition: An administrative note of use for a curator but of no use for a user
term editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg

term tracker item
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: term tracker item
example of usage: the URI for an OBI Terms ticket at sourceforge, such as https://sourceforge.net/p/obi/obi-terms/772/
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: An IRI or similar locator for a request or discussion of an ontology term.
term editor: Person: Jie Zheng, Chris Stoeckert, Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Person: Jie Zheng, Chris Stoeckert, Alan Ruttenberg
comment: The 'tracker item' can associate a tracker with a specific ontology term.

ontology term requester
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: ontology term requester
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: The name of the person, project, or organization that motivated inclusion of an ontology term by requesting its addition.
term editor: Person: Jie Zheng, Chris Stoeckert, Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Person: Jie Zheng, Chris Stoeckert, Alan Ruttenberg
comment: The 'term requester' can credit the person, organization or project who request the ontology term.

is denotator type
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: is denotator type
definition: Relates an class defined in an ontology, to the type of it's denotator
editor note: In OWL 2 add AnnotationPropertyRange('is denotator type' 'denotator type')
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg

imported from
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: imported from
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: For external terms/classes, the ontology from which the term was imported
term editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>

expand expression to
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: expand expression to
example of usage: ObjectProperty: RO_0002104 Label: has plasma membrane part Annotations: IAO_0000424 "http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/BFO_0000051 some (http://purl.org/obo/owl/GO#GO_0005886 and http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/BFO_0000051 some ?Y)"
definition: A macro expansion tag applied to an object property (or possibly a data property) which can be used by a macro-expansion engine to generate more complex expressions from simpler ones
term editor: Chris Mungall

expand assertion to
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: expand assertion to
example of usage: ObjectProperty: RO??? Label: spatially disjoint from Annotations: expand_assertion_to "DisjointClasses: (http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/BFO_0000051 some ?X) (http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/BFO_0000051 some ?Y)"
definition: A macro expansion tag applied to an annotation property which can be expanded into a more detailed axiom.
term editor: Chris Mungall

first order logic expression
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: first order logic expression
term editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg

antisymmetric property
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: antisymmetric property
example of usage: part_of antisymmetric property xsd:true
definition: Use boolean value xsd:true to indicate that the property is an antisymmetric property
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
sub property of: logical characteristic of object property

OBO foundry unique label
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: OBO foundry unique label
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: An alternative name for a class or property which is unique across the OBO Foundry.
editor note: The intended usage of that property is as follow: OBO foundry unique labels are automatically generated based on regular expressions provided by each ontology, so that SO could specify unique label = 'sequence ' + [label], etc. , MA could specify 'mouse + [label]' etc. Upon importing terms, ontology developers can choose to use the 'OBO foundry unique label' for an imported term or not. The same applies to tools .
term editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON:Bjoern Peters
term editor: PERSON:Chris Mungall
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
definition source: GROUP:OBO Foundry <http://obofoundry.org/>

has ID digit count
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: has ID digit count
example of usage: Ontology: <http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ro/idrange/> Annotations: 'has ID prefix': "http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/RO_" 'has ID digit count' : 7, rdfs:label "RO id policy" 'has ID policy for': "RO"
definition: Relates an ontology used to record id policy to the number of digits in the URI. The URI is: the 'has ID prefix" annotation property value concatenated with an integer in the id range (left padded with "0"s to make this many digits)
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

has ID range allocated to
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: has ID range allocated
example of usage: Datatype: idrange:1 Annotations: 'has ID range allocated to': "Chris Mungall" EquivalentTo: xsd:integer[> 2151 , <= 2300]
definition: Relates a datatype that encodes a range of integers to the name of the person or organization who can use those ids constructed in that range to define new terms
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

has ID policy for
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: has ID policy for
example of usage: Ontology: <http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ro/idrange/> Annotations: 'has ID prefix': "http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/RO_" 'has ID digit count' : 7, rdfs:label "RO id policy" 'has ID policy for': "RO"
definition: Relating an ontology used to record id policy to the ontology namespace whose policy it manages
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

has ID prefix
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: has ID prefix
example of usage: Ontology: <http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ro/idrange/> Annotations: 'has ID prefix': "http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/RO_" 'has ID digit count' : 7, rdfs:label "RO id policy" 'has ID policy for': "RO"
definition: Relates an ontology used to record id policy to a prefix concatenated with an integer in the id range (left padded with "0"s to make this many digits) to construct an ID for a term being created.
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

elucidation
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: elucidation
term editor: person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Person:Barry Smith
elucidation: Primitive terms in a highest-level ontology such as BFO are terms which are so basic to our understanding of reality that there is no way of defining them in a non-circular fashion. For these, therefore, we can provide only elucidations, supplemented by examples and by axioms

has associated axiom(nl)
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: has associated axiom(nl)
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
elucidation: An axiom associated with a term expressed using natural language

has associated axiom(fol)
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: has associated axiom(fol)
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
elucidation: An axiom expressed in first order logic using CLIF syntax

is allocated id range
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: is allocated id range
definition: Relates an ontology IRI to an (inclusive) range of IRIs in an OBO name space. The range is give as, e.g. "IAO_0020000-IAO_0020999"
term editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
comment: Add as annotation triples in the granting ontology

retired from use as of
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: retired from use as of
definition: relates a class of CRID to the date after which further instances should not be made, according to the central authority
editor note: In OWL 2 add AnnotationPropertyRange xsd:dateTimeStamp
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg

has ontology root term
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: has ontology root term
definition: Ontology annotation property. Relates an ontology to a term that is a designated root term of the ontology. Display tools like OLS can use terms annotated with this property as the starting point for rendering the ontology class hierarchy. There can be more than one root.
term editor: Nicolas Matentzoglu

may be identical to
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: may be identical to
definition: A annotation relationship between two terms in an ontology that may refer to the same (natural) type but where more evidence is required before terms are merged.
term editor: David Osumi-Sutherland
term tracker item: #40
ontology term requester: VFB
comment: Edges asserting this should be annotated with to record evidence supporting the assertion and its provenance.

scheduled for obsoletion on or after
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: scheduled for obsoletion on or after
definition: Used when the class or object is scheduled for obsoletion/deprecation on or after a particular date.
term editor: Chris Mungall, Jie Zheng
term tracker item: https://github.com/geneontology/go-ontology/issues/15532
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/ontology-metadata/issues/32
ontology term requester: GO ontology
range: dateTime

has axiom label
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: has axiom id
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
elucidation: A URI that is intended to be unique label for an axiom used for tracking change to the ontology. For an axiom expressed in different languages, each expression is given the same URI

term replaced by
type: AnnotationProperty
editor preferred term: term replaced by
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: Use on obsolete terms, relating the term to another term that can be used as a substitute
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
comment: Add as annotation triples in the granting ontology

logical characteristic of object property
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: This is an annotation used on an object property to indicate a logical characterstic beyond what is possible in OWL.
definition source: OBO Operations call
created by: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5208-3432

defined by construct
type: AnnotationProperty
example of usage: 'part disjoint with' 'defined by construct' """ PREFIX owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> PREFIX : <http://example.org/ CONSTRUCT { [ a owl:Restriction ; owl:onProperty :part_of ; owl:someValuesFrom ?a ; owl:disjointWith [ a owl:Restriction ; owl:onProperty :part_of ; owl:someValuesFrom ?b ] ] } WHERE { ?a :part_disjoint_with ?b . }
definition: Links an annotation property to a SPARQL CONSTRUCT query which is meant to provide semantics for a shortcut relation.
term tracker item: https://github.com/ontodev/robot/issues/963
contributor: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7356-1779
contributor: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8688-6599

temporal interpretation
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: An assertion that holds between an OWL Object Property and a temporal interpretation that elucidates how OWL Class Axioms that use this property are to be interpreted in a temporal context.

has broad synonym
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: An alternative label for a class or property which has a more general meaning than the preferred name/primary label.
term editor: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5208-3432
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/ontology-metadata/issues/18
sub property of: alternative label

has exact synonym
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: An alternative label for a class or property which has the exact same meaning than the preferred name/primary label.
term editor: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5208-3432
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/ontology-metadata/issues/20
sub property of: alternative label

has narrow synonym
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: An alternative label for a class or property which has a more specific meaning than the preferred name/primary label.
term editor: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5208-3432
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/ontology-metadata/issues/19
sub property of: alternative label

has related synonym
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: An alternative label for a class or property that has been used synonymously with the primary term name, but the usage is not strictly correct.
term editor: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5208-3432
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/ontology-metadata/issues/21
sub property of: alternative label

part of
type: ObjectProperty
inverse of: has part
type: TransitiveProperty
editor preferred term: is part of
example of usage: my brain is part of my body (continuant parthood, two material entities)
example of usage: my stomach cavity is part of my stomach (continuant parthood, immaterial entity is part of material entity)
example of usage: this day is part of this year (occurrent parthood)
definition: a core relation that holds between a part and its whole
editor note: Everything is part of itself. Any part of any part of a thing is itself part of that thing. Two distinct things cannot be part of each other.
editor note: Occurrents are not subject to change and so parthood between occurrents holds for all the times that the part exists. Many continuants are subject to change, so parthood between continuants will only hold at certain times, but this is difficult to specify in OWL. See http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ro/docs/temporal-semantics/
editor note: Parthood requires the part and the whole to have compatible classes: only an occurrent can be part of an occurrent; only a process can be part of a process; only a continuant can be part of a continuant; only an independent continuant can be part of an independent continuant; only an immaterial entity can be part of an immaterial entity; only a specifically dependent continuant can be part of a specifically dependent continuant; only a generically dependent continuant can be part of a generically dependent continuant. (This list is not exhaustive.) A continuant cannot be part of an occurrent: use 'participates in'. An occurrent cannot be part of a continuant: use 'has participant'. A material entity cannot be part of an immaterial entity: use 'has location'. A specifically dependent continuant cannot be part of an independent continuant: use 'inheres in'. An independent continuant cannot be part of a specifically dependent continuant: use 'bearer of'.
alternative label: part_of
temporal interpretation: RO_0001901

has part
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
editor preferred term: has part
example of usage: my body has part my brain (continuant parthood, two material entities)
example of usage: my stomach has part my stomach cavity (continuant parthood, material entity has part immaterial entity)
example of usage: this year has part this day (occurrent parthood)
definition: a core relation that holds between a whole and its part
editor note: Everything has itself as a part. Any part of any part of a thing is itself part of that thing. Two distinct things cannot have each other as a part.
editor note: Occurrents are not subject to change and so parthood between occurrents holds for all the times that the part exists. Many continuants are subject to change, so parthood between continuants will only hold at certain times, but this is difficult to specify in OWL. See http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ro/docs/temporal-semantics/
editor note: Parthood requires the part and the whole to have compatible classes: only an occurrent have an occurrent as part; only a process can have a process as part; only a continuant can have a continuant as part; only an independent continuant can have an independent continuant as part; only a specifically dependent continuant can have a specifically dependent continuant as part; only a generically dependent continuant can have a generically dependent continuant as part. (This list is not exhaustive.) A continuant cannot have an occurrent as part: use 'participates in'. An occurrent cannot have a continuant as part: use 'has participant'. An immaterial entity cannot have a material entity as part: use 'location of'. An independent continuant cannot have a specifically dependent continuant as part: use 'bearer of'. A specifically dependent continuant cannot have an independent continuant as part: use 'inheres in'.
alternative label: has_part
temporal interpretation: RO_0001901

realized in
type: ObjectProperty
inverse of: realizes
domain: realizable entity
range: process
editor preferred term: realized in
example of usage: this disease is realized in this disease course
example of usage: this fragility is realized in this shattering
example of usage: this investigator role is realized in this investigation
alternative label: is realized by
alternative label: realized_in
elucidation: [copied from inverse property 'realizes'] to say that b realizes c at t is to assert that there is some material entity d & b is a process which has participant d at t & c is a disposition or role of which d is bearer_of at t& the type instantiated by b is correlated with the type instantiated by c. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [059-003])
comment: Paraphrase of elucidation: a relation between a realizable entity and a process, where there is some material entity that is bearer of the realizable entity and participates in the process, and the realizable entity comes to be realized in the course of the process

realizes
type: ObjectProperty
domain: process
range: realizable entity
editor preferred term: realizes
example of usage: this disease course realizes this disease
example of usage: this investigation realizes this investigator role
example of usage: this shattering realizes this fragility
elucidation: to say that b realizes c at t is to assert that there is some material entity d & b is a process which has participant d at t & c is a disposition or role of which d is bearer_of at t& the type instantiated by b is correlated with the type instantiated by c. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [059-003])
comment: Paraphrase of elucidation: a relation between a process and a realizable entity, where there is some material entity that is bearer of the realizable entity and participates in the process, and the realizable entity comes to be realized in the course of the process

occurs in
type: ObjectProperty
inverse of: contains process
domain: occurrent
range: independent continuant
property chain axiom: part of
editor preferred term: occurs in
definition: b occurs_in c =def b is a process and c is a material entity or immaterial entity& there exists a spatiotemporal region r and b occupies_spatiotemporal_region r.& forall(t) if b exists_at t then c exists_at t & there exist spatial regions s and s’ where & b spatially_projects_onto s at t& c is occupies_spatial_region s’ at t& s is a proper_continuant_part_of s’ at t
alternative label: occurs_in
alternative label: unfolds in
alternative label: unfolds_in
comment: Paraphrase of definition: a relation between a process and an independent continuant, in which the process takes place entirely within the independent continuant

contains process
type: ObjectProperty
editor preferred term: site of
definition: [copied from inverse property 'occurs in'] b occurs_in c =def b is a process and c is a material entity or immaterial entity& there exists a spatiotemporal region r and b occupies_spatiotemporal_region r.& forall(t) if b exists_at t then c exists_at t & there exist spatial regions s and s’ where & b spatially_projects_onto s at t& c is occupies_spatial_region s’ at t& s is a proper_continuant_part_of s’ at t
comment: Paraphrase of definition: a relation between an independent continuant and a process, in which the process takes place entirely within the independent continuant

has measurement unit label
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: has part
type: FunctionalProperty
range: measurement unit label

obsolete_specifically denotes
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: ObsoleteProperty
example of usage: The process of creation is, for example, writing down on paper the name of a friend by deliberately creating a certain pattern using ink. Here the ink + paper is the independent continuant and the carrier is the pattern in the ink. c = pattern in the ink b = paper + ink r = friend
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: c specifically denotes r =def r is a portion of reality & c is a particular quality & c depends specifically on some independent continuant b & b acquired c as the result of the achievement of an objective to enable pointing to r repeatedly. Marked means there is a changed or additional quality of the bearer - the quality is the information carrier. Case 1 Memory trace as mark created when reading some description of some friend. The trace can denote. Case 2 Pattern of ink arrayed on paper as mark when writing down a friend's name Case 3 Pattern of magnetic domains on scattered pieces of a hard disk platter as mark when saving a file.
editor note: 8/6/2009 Alan Ruttenberg: The suggestions is to deprecate specific and generically denotes in favor of a single denote relationship that corresponds to the generic sense
editor note: see https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/25&q=denote
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Smith, Ceusters, Ruttenberg, 2000 years of philosophy
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

is about
type: ObjectProperty
domain: information content entity
example of usage: This document is about information artifacts and their representations
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A (currently) primitive relation that relates an information artifact to an entity.
editor note: 7/6/2009 Alan Ruttenberg. Following discussion with Jonathan Rees, and introduction of "mentions" relation. Weaken the is_about relationship to be primitive. We will try to build it back up by elaborating the various subproperties that are more precisely defined. Some currently missing phenomena that should be considered "about" are predications - "The only person who knows the answer is sitting beside me" , Allegory, Satire, and other literary forms that can be topical without explicitly mentioning the topic.
term editor: person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Smith, Ceusters, Ruttenberg, 2000 years of philosophy

mentions
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: is about
inverse of: mentioned by
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: An information artifact IA mentions an entity E exactly when it has a component/part that denotes E
editor note: 7/6/2009 Alan Ruttenberg. P4 RC1 munges our GCI so remove it for now: mentions some entity equivalentTo has_part some ('generically denotes' some entity)
editor note: 7/6/2009 Alan Ruttenberg: Add this relation following conversation with Jonathan Rees that N&S GCI for is_about was too strong. Really it was simply sufficient. To effect this change we introduce this relation, which is subproperty of is_about, and have previous GCI use this relation "mentions" in it's (logical) definition
term editor: PERSON: Jonathan Rees
term editor: Person: Alan Ruttenberg

mentioned by
type: ObjectProperty
definition: Inverse of the relation 'mentions'
term editor: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8844-9165
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/250
date: 2022-01-28T07:20:08Z

denotes
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: is about
inverse of: denoted by
domain: information content entity
range: entity
example of usage: A person's name denotes the person. A variable name in a computer program denotes some piece of memory. Lexically equivalent strings can denote different things, for instance "Alan" can denote different people. In each case of use, there is a case of the denotation relation obtaining, between "Alan" and the person that is being named.
definition: A primitive, instance-level, relation obtaining between an information content entity and some portion of reality. Denotation is what happens when someone creates an information content entity E in order to specifically refer to something. The only relation between E and the thing is that E can be used to 'pick out' the thing. This relation connects those two together. Freedictionary.com sense 3: To signify directly; refer to specifically
editor note: 2009-11-10 Alan Ruttenberg. Old definition said the following to emphasize the generic nature of this relation. We no longer have 'specifically denotes', which would have been primitive, so make this relation primitive. g denotes r =def r is a portion of reality there is some c that is a concretization of g every c that is a concretization of g specifically denotes r
term editor: person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Conversations with Barry Smith, Werner Ceusters, Bjoern Peters, Michel Dumontier, Melanie Courtot, James Malone, Bill Hogan

obsolete_materially denotes
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: ObsoleteProperty
editor note: see https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/25&q=denote
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

is quality measurement of
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: is about
inverse of: is quality measured as
domain: measurement datum
range: quality
definition: m is a quality measurement of q at t. When q is a quality, there is a measurement process p that has specified output m, a measurement datum, that is about q
editor note: 8/6/2009 Alan Ruttenberg: The strategy is to be rather specific with this relationship. There are other kinds of measurements that are not of qualities, such as those that measure time. We will add these as separate properties for the moment and see about generalizing later
editor note: From the second IAO workshop [Alan Ruttenberg 8/6/2009: not completely current, though bringing in comparison is probably important] This one is the one we are struggling with at the moment. The issue is what a measurement measures. On the one hand saying that it measures the quality would include it "measuring" the bearer = referring to the bearer in the measurement. However this makes comparisons of two different things not possible. On the other hand not having it inhere in the bearer, on the face of it, breaks the audit trail. Werner suggests a solution based on "Magnitudes" a proposal for which we are awaiting details. -- From the second IAO workshop, various comments, [commented on by Alan Ruttenberg 8/6/2009] unit of measure is a quality, e.g. the length of a ruler. [We decided to hedge on what units of measure are, instead talking about measurement unit labels, which are the information content entities that are about whatever measurement units are. For IAO we need that information entity in any case. See the term measurement unit label] [Some struggling with the various subflavors of is_about. We subsequently removed the relation represents, and describes until and only when we have a better theory] a represents b means either a denotes b or a describes describe: a describes b means a is about b and a allows an inference of at least one quality of b We have had a long discussion about denotes versus describes.
editor note: From the second IAO workshop: An attempt at tieing the quality to the measurement datum more carefully. a is a magnitude means a is a determinate quality particular inhering in some bearer b existing at a time t that can be represented/denoted by an information content entity e that has parts denoting a unit of measure, a number, and b. The unit of measure is an instance of the determinable quality.
editor note: From the second meeting on IAO: An attempt at defining assay using Barry's "reliability" wording assay: process and has_input some material entity and has_output some information content entity and which is such that instances of this process type reliably generate outputs that describes the input.
editor note: This one is the one we are struggling with at the moment. The issue is what a measurement measures. On the one hand saying that it measures the quality would include it "measuring" the bearer = referring to the bearer in the measurement. However this makes comparisons of two different things not possible. On the other hand not having it inhere in the bearer, on the face of it, breaks the audit trail. Werner suggests a solution based on "Magnitudes" a proposal for which we are awaiting details.
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg

obsolete_describes
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: ObsoleteProperty
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

obsolete_represents
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: ObsoleteProperty
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

denoted by
type: ObjectProperty
domain: entity
range: information content entity
definition: inverse of the relation 'denotes'
term editor: Person: Jie Zheng, Chris Stoeckert, Mike Conlon
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/206

has coordinate unit label
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: has part
type: FunctionalProperty
domain: cartesian spatial coordinate datum
range: length unit
comment: relating a cartesian spatial coordinate datum to a unit label that together with the values represent a point

is duration of
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: is about
domain: time measurement datum
range: process
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: relates a process to a time-measurement-datum that represents the duration of the process
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

is quality measured as
type: ObjectProperty
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: inverse of the relation of is quality measurement of
editor note: 2009/10/19 Alan Ruttenberg. Named 'junk' relation useful in restrictions, but not a real instance relationship
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

is quality specification of
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: is about
inverse of: quality is specified as
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A relation between a data item and a quality of a material entity where the material entity is the specified output of a material transformation which achieves an objective specification that indicates the intended value of the specified quality.
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: Person:Bjoern Peters

quality is specified as
type: ObjectProperty
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: inverse of the relation of is quality specification of
editor note: 2009/10/19 Alan Ruttenberg. Named 'junk' relation useful in restrictions, but not a real instance relationship
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: Person:Bjoern Peters

has time stamp
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: has part
type: FunctionalProperty
domain: time stamped measurement datum
range: time measurement datum
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: relates a time stamped measurement datum to the time measurement datum that denotes the time when the measurement was taken
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg

has measurement datum
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: has part
domain: time stamped measurement datum
range: Class
  intersection of: measurement datum
  intersection of: Class
    complement of: time measurement datum
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: relates a time stamped measurement datum to the measurement datum that was measured
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg

has_specified_input
type: ObjectProperty
equivalent property:
  inverse of: is_specified_input_of
sub property of: has participant
domain: planned process
editor preferred term: has_specified_input
example of usage: see is_input_of example_of_usage
has curation status: ready for release
definition: The inverse property of is_specified_input_of
editor note: 8/17/09: specified inputs of one process are not necessarily specified inputs of a larger process that it is part of. This is in contrast to how 'has participant' works.
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Bjoern Peters
term editor: PERSON: Larry Hunter
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Coutot
imported from: obi.owl

is_specified_input_of
type: ObjectProperty

has_specified_output
type: ObjectProperty
equivalent property:
  inverse of: is_specified_output_of
sub property of: has participant
domain: planned process
editor preferred term: has_specified_output
has curation status: ready for release
definition: The inverse property of is_specified_output_of
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Bjoern Peters
term editor: PERSON: Larry Hunter
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
imported from: obi.owl

is_specified_output_of
type: ObjectProperty
equivalent property:
  inverse of: has_specified_output
sub property of: participates in
range: planned process
editor preferred term: is_specified_output_of
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A relation between a planned process and a continuant participating in that process. The presence of the continuant at the end of the process is explicitly specified in the objective specification which the process realizes the concretization of.
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON:Bjoern Peters
imported from: obi.owl

characteristic of
type: ObjectProperty
inverse of: has characteristic
type: FunctionalProperty
editor preferred term: inheres in
example of usage: this fragility is a characteristic of this vase
example of usage: this red color is a characteristic of this apple
definition: a relation between a specifically dependent continuant (the characteristic) and any other entity (the bearer), in which the characteristic depends on the bearer for its existence.
alternative label: inheres_in
temporal interpretation: RO_0001901
comment: Note that this relation was previously called "inheres in", but was changed to be called "characteristic of" because BFO2 uses "inheres in" in a more restricted fashion. This relation differs from BFO2:inheres_in in two respects: (1) it does not impose a range constraint, and thus it allows qualities of processes, as well as of information entities, whereas BFO2 restricts inheres_in to only apply to independent continuants (2) it is declared functional, i.e. something can only be a characteristic of one thing.

has characteristic
type: ObjectProperty
type: InverseFunctionalProperty
range: specifically dependent continuant
editor preferred term: bearer of
example of usage: this apple is bearer of this red color
example of usage: this vase is bearer of this fragility
definition: Inverse of characteristic_of
editor note: A bearer can have many dependents, and its dependents can exist for different periods of time, but none of its dependents can exist when the bearer does not exist.
alternative label: bearer_of
alternative label: is bearer of
temporal interpretation: RO_0001901

participates in
type: ObjectProperty
inverse of: has participant
domain: continuant
range: occurrent
editor preferred term: participates in
example of usage: this blood clot participates in this blood coagulation
example of usage: this input material (or this output material) participates in this process
example of usage: this investigator participates in this investigation
definition: a relation between a continuant and a process, in which the continuant is somehow involved in the process
alternative label: participates_in

has participant
type: ObjectProperty
domain: occurrent
range: continuant
editor preferred term: has participant
example of usage: this blood coagulation has participant this blood clot
example of usage: this investigation has participant this investigator
example of usage: this process has participant this input material (or this output material)
definition: a relation between a process and a continuant, in which the continuant is somehow involved in the process
editor note: Has_participant is a primitive instance-level relation between a process, a continuant, and a time at which the continuant participates in some way in the process. The relation obtains, for example, when this particular process of oxygen exchange across this particular alveolar membrane has_participant this particular sample of hemoglobin at this particular time.
alternative label: has_participant
source: http://www.obofoundry.org/ro/#OBO_REL:has_participant

is concretized as
type: ObjectProperty
inverse of: concretizes
domain: generically dependent continuant
range: specifically dependent continuant
example of usage: A journal article is an information artifact that inheres in some number of printed journals. For each copy of the printed journal there is some quality that carries the journal article, such as a pattern of ink. The journal article (a generically dependent continuant) is concretized as the quality (a specifically dependent continuant), and both depend on that copy of the printed journal (an independent continuant).
example of usage: An investigator reads a protocol and forms a plan to carry out an assay. The plan is a realizable entity (a specifically dependent continuant) that concretizes the protocol (a generically dependent continuant), and both depend on the investigator (an independent continuant). The plan is then realized by the assay (a process).
definition: A relationship between a generically dependent continuant and a specifically dependent continuant, in which the generically dependent continuant depends on some independent continuant in virtue of the fact that the specifically dependent continuant also depends on that same independent continuant. A generically dependent continuant may be concretized as multiple specifically dependent continuants.

concretizes
type: ObjectProperty
domain: specifically dependent continuant
range: generically dependent continuant
example of usage: A journal article is an information artifact that inheres in some number of printed journals. For each copy of the printed journal there is some quality that carries the journal article, such as a pattern of ink. The quality (a specifically dependent continuant) concretizes the journal article (a generically dependent continuant), and both depend on that copy of the printed journal (an independent continuant).
example of usage: An investigator reads a protocol and forms a plan to carry out an assay. The plan is a realizable entity (a specifically dependent continuant) that concretizes the protocol (a generically dependent continuant), and both depend on the investigator (an independent continuant). The plan is then realized by the assay (a process).
definition: A relationship between a specifically dependent continuant and a generically dependent continuant, in which the generically dependent continuant depends on some independent continuant in virtue of the fact that the specifically dependent continuant also depends on that same independent continuant. Multiple specifically dependent continuants can concretize the same generically dependent continuant.

function of
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: characteristic of
inverse of: has function
domain: function
example of usage: this catalysis function is a function of this enzyme
definition: a relation between a function and an independent continuant (the bearer), in which the function specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
editor note: A function inheres in its bearer at all times for which the function exists, however the function need not be realized at all the times that the function exists.
alternative label: function_of
alternative label: is function of
comment: This relation is modeled after the BFO relation of the same name which was in BFO2, but is used in a more restricted sense - specifically, we model this relation as functional (inherited from characteristic-of). Note that this relation is now removed from BFO2020.

quality of
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: characteristic of
inverse of: has quality
example of usage: this red color is a quality of this apple
definition: a relation between a quality and an independent continuant (the bearer), in which the quality specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
editor note: A quality inheres in its bearer at all times for which the quality exists.
alternative label: is quality of
alternative label: quality_of
comment: This relation is modeled after the BFO relation of the same name which was in BFO2, but is used in a more restricted sense - specifically, we model this relation as functional (inherited from characteristic-of). Note that this relation is now removed from BFO2020.

role of
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: characteristic of
inverse of: has role
example of usage: this investigator role is a role of this person
definition: a relation between a role and an independent continuant (the bearer), in which the role specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
editor note: A role inheres in its bearer at all times for which the role exists, however the role need not be realized at all the times that the role exists.
alternative label: is role of
alternative label: role_of
comment: This relation is modeled after the BFO relation of the same name which was in BFO2, but is used in a more restricted sense - specifically, we model this relation as functional (inherited from characteristic-of). Note that this relation is now removed from BFO2020.

has function
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: has characteristic
domain: independent continuant
range: function
example of usage: this enzyme has function this catalysis function (more colloquially: this enzyme has this catalysis function)
definition: a relation between an independent continuant (the bearer) and a function, in which the function specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
editor note: A bearer can have many functions, and its functions can exist for different periods of time, but none of its functions can exist when the bearer does not exist. A function need not be realized at all the times that the function exists.
alternative label: has_function

has quality
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: has characteristic
range: quality
example of usage: this apple has quality this red color
definition: a relation between an independent continuant (the bearer) and a quality, in which the quality specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
editor note: A bearer can have many qualities, and its qualities can exist for different periods of time, but none of its qualities can exist when the bearer does not exist.
alternative label: has_quality

has role
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: has characteristic
domain: independent continuant
range: role
example of usage: this person has role this investigator role (more colloquially: this person has this role of investigator)
definition: a relation between an independent continuant (the bearer) and a role, in which the role specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
editor note: A bearer can have many roles, and its roles can exist for different periods of time, but none of its roles can exist when the bearer does not exist. A role need not be realized at all the times that the role exists.
alternative label: has_role

has disposition
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: has characteristic
inverse of: disposition of
domain: independent continuant
range: disposition
definition: a relation between an independent continuant (the bearer) and a disposition, in which the disposition specifically depends on the bearer for its existence

disposition of
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: characteristic of
comment: This relation is modeled after the BFO relation of the same name which was in BFO2, but is used in a more restricted sense - specifically, we model this relation as functional (inherited from characteristic-of). Note that this relation is now removed from BFO2020.

derives from
type: ObjectProperty
inverse of: derives into
example of usage: this cell derives from this parent cell (cell division)
example of usage: this nucleus derives from this parent nucleus (nuclear division)
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: a relation between two distinct material entities, the new entity and the old entity, in which the new entity begins to exist when the old entity ceases to exist, and the new entity inherits the significant portion of the matter of the old entity
editor note: This is a very general relation. More specific relations are preferred when applicable, such as 'directly develops from'.
alternative label: derives_from

derives into
type: ObjectProperty
example of usage: this parent cell derives into this cell (cell division)
example of usage: this parent nucleus derives into this nucleus (nuclear division)
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: a relation between two distinct material entities, the old entity and the new entity, in which the new entity begins to exist when the old entity ceases to exist, and the new entity inherits the significant portion of the matter of the old entity
editor note: This is a very general relation. More specific relations are preferred when applicable, such as 'directly develops into'. To avoid making statements about a future that may not come to pass, it is often better to use the backward-looking 'derives from' rather than the forward-looking 'derives into'.
alternative label: derives_into

location of
type: ObjectProperty
inverse of: located in
type: TransitiveProperty
editor preferred term: is location of
example of usage: my head is the location of my brain
example of usage: this cage is the location of this rat
definition: a relation between two independent continuants, the location and the target, in which the target is entirely within the location
editor note: Most location relations will only hold at certain times, but this is difficult to specify in OWL. See http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ro/docs/temporal-semantics/
alternative label: location_of
temporal interpretation: RO_0001901

located in
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
domain: independent continuant
domain: Class
  intersection of: independent continuant
  intersection of: Class
    complement of: spatial region
range: independent continuant
range: Class
  intersection of: independent continuant
  intersection of: Class
    complement of: spatial region
editor preferred term: located in
example of usage: my brain is located in my head
example of usage: this rat is located in this cage
definition: a relation between two independent continuants, the target and the location, in which the target is entirely within the location
editor note: Location as a relation between instances: The primitive instance-level relation c located_in r at t reflects the fact that each continuant is at any given time associated with exactly one spatial region, namely its exact location. Following we can use this relation to define a further instance-level location relation - not between a continuant and the region which it exactly occupies, but rather between one continuant and another. c is located in c1, in this sense, whenever the spatial region occupied by c is part_of the spatial region occupied by c1. Note that this relation comprehends both the relation of exact location between one continuant and another which obtains when r and r1 are identical (for example, when a portion of fluid exactly fills a cavity), as well as those sorts of inexact location relations which obtain, for example, between brain and head or between ovum and uterus
editor note: Most location relations will only hold at certain times, but this is difficult to specify in OWL. See http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ro/docs/temporal-semantics/
alternative label: located_in
temporal interpretation: RO_0001901
source: http://www.obofoundry.org/ro/#OBO_REL:located_in

Axiom
annotated source: located in
annotated property: domain
annotated target: independent continuant
editor note: This is redundant with the more specific 'independent and not spatial region' constraint. We leave in the redundant axiom for use with reasoners that do not use negation.

Axiom
annotated source: located in
annotated property: range
annotated target: independent continuant
editor note: This is redundant with the more specific 'independent and not spatial region' constraint. We leave in the redundant axiom for use with reasoners that do not use negation.

2D boundary of
type: ObjectProperty
inverse of: has 2D boundary
example of usage: the surface of my skin is a 2D boundary of my body
definition: a relation between a 2D immaterial entity (the boundary) and a material entity, in which the boundary delimits the material entity
editor note: A 2D boundary may have holes and gaps, but it must be a single connected entity, not an aggregate of several disconnected parts.
editor note: Although the boundary is two-dimensional, it exists in three-dimensional space and thus has a 3D shape.
alternative label: 2D_boundary_of
alternative label: boundary of
alternative label: is 2D boundary of
alternative label: is boundary of
temporal interpretation: RO_0001901

has 2D boundary
type: ObjectProperty
domain: material entity
range: immaterial entity
example of usage: my body has 2D boundary the surface of my skin
definition: a relation between a material entity and a 2D immaterial entity (the boundary), in which the boundary delimits the material entity
editor note: A 2D boundary may have holes and gaps, but it must be a single connected entity, not an aggregate of several disconnected parts.
editor note: Although the boundary is two-dimensional, it exists in three-dimensional space and thus has a 3D shape.
alternative label: has boundary
alternative label: has_2D_boundary
temporal interpretation: RO_0001901

member of
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: part of
inverse of: has member
example of usage: An organism that is a member of a population of organisms
definition: is member of is a mereological relation between a item and a collection.
alternative label: is member of
alternative label: member part of
definition source: SIO
temporal interpretation: RO_0001901

has member
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: has part
type: IrreflexiveProperty
definition: has member is a mereological relation between a collection and an item.
definition source: SIO
temporal interpretation: RO_0001901

DEPRECATED inheres in
type: ObjectProperty
comment: DEPRECATED This relation is similar to but different in important respects to the characteristic-of relation. See comments on that relation for more information.
deprecated: true

DEPRECATED bearer of
type: ObjectProperty
deprecated: true

has measurement value
type: DatatypeProperty
type: FunctionalProperty
domain: scalar measurement datum
range: double

has x coordinate value
type: DatatypeProperty
type: FunctionalProperty
domain: cartesian spatial coordinate datum
range: float

has z coordinate value
type: DatatypeProperty
type: FunctionalProperty
domain: cartesian spatial coordinate datum
range: float

has y coordinate value
type: DatatypeProperty
type: FunctionalProperty
domain: cartesian spatial coordinate datum
range: float

software development
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: planned process
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has_specified_output
    some values from: Class
      union of: software
      union of: source code module
subclass of: planned process
definition: A planned process that has specified output a software product and that involves the creation of source code.
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen
term editor: William R. Hogan
definition source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_development
elucidation: A planned process resulting in a software product involving the creation of source code.

count
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: data item
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: is_specified_output_of
    some values from: counting
subclass of: measurement datum
definition: A measurement datum that is the output of counting.
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen
elucidation: A measurement datum that is the output of counting.

counting
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: planned process
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has_specified_output
    some values from: count
subclass of: planned process
definition: The planned process of finding the number of elements in a finite set of objects.
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen
definition source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting
elucidation: The planned process of finding the number of elements in a finite set of objects.

source code repository
type: Class
subclass of: document
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: source code module
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: Class
    intersection of: data item
    intersection of: Restriction
      on property: is about
      some values from: source code module
editor preferred term: software source code version control repository
definition: A document that comprises at least one source code module and provenance data about who contributed the set of files making up the module(s), and optionally comprises also multiple versions of files with detailed change history about who committed files and when, a license for the software, readme files, documentation, executables, etc.
term editor: William R. Hogan
comment: Refers to the stuff that lives on GitHub, not to GitHub or the git software on which it is based

compiling software
type: Class
subclass of: software development
subclass of: Class
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has_specified_input
    some values from: Class
      union of: software
      union of: source code module
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has_specified_output
    some values from: software
editor preferred term: process of compiling software
definition: A planned process that converts human-written or curated software into a machine-executable or interpretable set of instructions.
term editor: William R. Hogan
comment: It's compiling "software" (scare quotes) and not "source code" because you can compile Java bytecode to machine code, and Java bytecode is not technically "source code". Compiling source code would be a subclass of this class (as would compiling Java bytecode, etc.).
comment: Source code can be automatically generated to some extent, but we're assuming humans still curate it minimally. Also, in the case of Java and its JVM, it's machine interpretable instructions, not directly executable. Ditto for other languages with intermediate form like Java byte code.

dataset creating
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: planned process
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has_specified_output
    some values from: data set
subclass of: planned process
editor preferred term: creating a data set
definition: A planned process that has a data set as its specified output.
term editor: William R. Hogan
alternative label: data set creation
alternative label: dataset creation

entity
type: Class
subclass of: Thing
BFO OWL specification label: entity
BFO CLIF specification label: Entity
example of usage: Julius Caesar
example of usage: Verdi’s Requiem
example of usage: the Second World War
example of usage: your body mass index
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: In all areas of empirical inquiry we encounter general terms of two sorts. First are general terms which refer to universals or types:animaltuberculosissurgical procedurediseaseSecond, are general terms used to refer to groups of entities which instantiate a given universal but do not correspond to the extension of any subuniversal of that universal because there is nothing intrinsic to the entities in question by virtue of which they – and only they – are counted as belonging to the given group. Examples are: animal purchased by the Emperortuberculosis diagnosed on a Wednesdaysurgical procedure performed on a patient from Stockholmperson identified as candidate for clinical trial #2056-555person who is signatory of Form 656-PPVpainting by Leonardo da VinciSuch terms, which represent what are called ‘specializations’ in [81
editor note: Entity doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. For example Werner Ceusters 'portions of reality' include 4 sorts, entities (as BFO construes them), universals, configurations, and relations. It is an open question as to whether entities as construed in BFO will at some point also include these other portions of reality. See, for example, 'How to track absolutely everything' at http://www.referent-tracking.com/_RTU/papers/CeustersICbookRevised.pdf
elucidation: An entity is anything that exists or has existed or will exist. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [001-001])

Axiom
annotated source: entity
annotated property: editor note
annotated target: Entity doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. For example Werner Ceusters 'portions of reality' include 4 sorts, entities (as BFO construes them), universals, configurations, and relations. It is an open question as to whether entities as construed in BFO will at some point also include these other portions of reality. See, for example, 'How to track absolutely everything' at http://www.referent-tracking.com/_RTU/papers/CeustersICbookRevised.pdf
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000004
comment: per discussion with Barry Smith

Axiom
annotated source: entity
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: An entity is anything that exists or has existed or will exist. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [001-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/001-001

continuant
type: Class
subclass of: entity
disjoint with: occurrent
disjoint with: Restriction
  on property: part of
  some values from: occurrent
BFO OWL specification label: continuant
BFO CLIF specification label: Continuant
definition: An entity that exists in full at any time in which it exists at all, persists through time while maintaining its identity and has no temporal parts.
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: Continuant entities are entities which can be sliced to yield parts only along the spatial dimension, yielding for example the parts of your table which we call its legs, its top, its nails. ‘My desk stretches from the window to the door. It has spatial parts, and can be sliced (in space) in two. With respect to time, however, a thing is a continuant.’ [60, p. 240
editor note: Continuant doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. For example, in an expansion involving bringing in some of Ceuster's other portions of reality, questions are raised as to whether universals are continuants
elucidation: A continuant is an entity that persists, endures, or continues to exist through time while maintaining its identity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [008-002])
has associated axiom(nl): if b is a continuant and if, for some t, c has_continuant_part b at t, then c is a continuant. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [126-001])
has associated axiom(nl): if b is a continuant and if, for some t, cis continuant_part of b at t, then c is a continuant. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [009-002])
has associated axiom(nl): if b is a material entity, then there is some temporal interval (referred to below as a one-dimensional temporal region) during which b exists. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [011-002])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x y) (if (and (Continuant x) (exists (t) (continuantPartOfAt y x t))) (Continuant y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [009-002]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x y) (if (and (Continuant x) (exists (t) (hasContinuantPartOfAt y x t))) (Continuant y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [126-001]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (Continuant x) (Entity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [008-002]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (Material Entity x) (exists (t) (and (TemporalRegion t) (existsAt x t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [011-002]

Axiom
annotated source: continuant
annotated property: editor note
annotated target: Continuant doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. For example, in an expansion involving bringing in some of Ceuster's other portions of reality, questions are raised as to whether universals are continuants
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000007

Axiom
annotated source: continuant
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A continuant is an entity that persists, endures, or continues to exist through time while maintaining its identity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [008-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/008-002

Axiom
annotated source: continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: if b is a continuant and if, for some t, c has_continuant_part b at t, then c is a continuant. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [126-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/126-001

Axiom
annotated source: continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: if b is a continuant and if, for some t, cis continuant_part of b at t, then c is a continuant. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [009-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/009-002

Axiom
annotated source: continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: if b is a material entity, then there is some temporal interval (referred to below as a one-dimensional temporal region) during which b exists. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [011-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/011-002

Axiom
annotated source: continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x y) (if (and (Continuant x) (exists (t) (continuantPartOfAt y x t))) (Continuant y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [009-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/009-002

Axiom
annotated source: continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x y) (if (and (Continuant x) (exists (t) (hasContinuantPartOfAt y x t))) (Continuant y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [126-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/126-001

Axiom
annotated source: continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (Continuant x) (Entity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [008-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/008-002

Axiom
annotated source: continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (Material Entity x) (exists (t) (and (TemporalRegion t) (existsAt x t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [011-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/011-002

occurrent
type: Class
subclass of: entity
disjoint with: Restriction
  on property: part of
  some values from: continuant
BFO OWL specification label: occurrent
BFO CLIF specification label: Occurrent
definition: An entity that has temporal parts and that happens, unfolds or develops through time.
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: every occurrent that is not a temporal or spatiotemporal region is s-dependent on some independent continuant that is not a spatial region
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: s-dependence obtains between every process and its participants in the sense that, as a matter of necessity, this process could not have existed unless these or those participants existed also. A process may have a succession of participants at different phases of its unfolding. Thus there may be different players on the field at different times during the course of a football game; but the process which is the entire game s-depends_on all of these players nonetheless. Some temporal parts of this process will s-depend_on on only some of the players.
editor note: Occurrent doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. An example would be the sum of a process and the process boundary of another process.
editor note: Simons uses different terminology for relations of occurrents to regions: Denote the spatio-temporal location of a given occurrent e by 'spn[e]' and call this region its span. We may say an occurrent is at its span, in any larger region, and covers any smaller region. Now suppose we have fixed a frame of reference so that we can speak not merely of spatio-temporal but also of spatial regions (places) and temporal regions (times). The spread of an occurrent, (relative to a frame of reference) is the space it exactly occupies, and its spell is likewise the time it exactly occupies. We write 'spr[e]' and `spl[e]' respectively for the spread and spell of e, omitting mention of the frame.
elucidation: An occurrent is an entity that unfolds itself in time or it is the instantaneous boundary of such an entity (for example a beginning or an ending) or it is a temporal or spatiotemporal region which such an entity occupies_temporal_region or occupies_spatiotemporal_region. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [077-002])
has associated axiom(nl): Every occurrent occupies_spatiotemporal_region some spatiotemporal region. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [108-001])
has associated axiom(nl): b is an occurrent entity iff b is an entity that has temporal parts. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [079-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (Occurrent x) (exists (r) (and (SpatioTemporalRegion r) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion x r))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [108-001]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (iff (Occurrent x) (and (Entity x) (exists (y) (temporalPartOf y x))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [079-001]

Axiom
annotated source: occurrent
annotated property: editor note
annotated target: Occurrent doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. An example would be the sum of a process and the process boundary of another process.
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000006
comment: per discussion with Barry Smith

Axiom
annotated source: occurrent
annotated property: editor note
annotated target: Simons uses different terminology for relations of occurrents to regions: Denote the spatio-temporal location of a given occurrent e by 'spn[e]' and call this region its span. We may say an occurrent is at its span, in any larger region, and covers any smaller region. Now suppose we have fixed a frame of reference so that we can speak not merely of spatio-temporal but also of spatial regions (places) and temporal regions (times). The spread of an occurrent, (relative to a frame of reference) is the space it exactly occupies, and its spell is likewise the time it exactly occupies. We write 'spr[e]' and `spl[e]' respectively for the spread and spell of e, omitting mention of the frame.
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000012

Axiom
annotated source: occurrent
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: An occurrent is an entity that unfolds itself in time or it is the instantaneous boundary of such an entity (for example a beginning or an ending) or it is a temporal or spatiotemporal region which such an entity occupies_temporal_region or occupies_spatiotemporal_region. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [077-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/077-002

Axiom
annotated source: occurrent
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: Every occurrent occupies_spatiotemporal_region some spatiotemporal region. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [108-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/108-001

Axiom
annotated source: occurrent
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: b is an occurrent entity iff b is an entity that has temporal parts. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [079-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/079-001

Axiom
annotated source: occurrent
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (Occurrent x) (exists (r) (and (SpatioTemporalRegion r) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion x r))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [108-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/108-001

Axiom
annotated source: occurrent
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (iff (Occurrent x) (and (Entity x) (exists (y) (temporalPartOf y x))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [079-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/079-001

independent continuant
type: Class
subclass of: continuant
disjoint with: specifically dependent continuant
disjoint with: generically dependent continuant
BFO OWL specification label: ic
BFO CLIF specification label: IndependentContinuant
example of usage: a chair
example of usage: a heart
example of usage: a leg
example of usage: a molecule
example of usage: a spatial region
example of usage: an atom
example of usage: an orchestra.
example of usage: an organism
example of usage: the bottom right portion of a human torso
example of usage: the interior of your mouth
definition: b is an independent continuant = Def. b is a continuant which is such that there is no c and no t such that b s-depends_on c at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [017-002])
has associated axiom(nl): For any independent continuant b and any time t there is some spatial region r such that b is located_in r at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [134-001])
has associated axiom(nl): For every independent continuant b and time t during the region of time spanned by its life, there are entities which s-depends_on b during t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [018-002])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x t) (if (IndependentContinuant x) (exists (r) (and (SpatialRegion r) (locatedInAt x r t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [134-001]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x t) (if (and (IndependentContinuant x) (existsAt x t)) (exists (y) (and (Entity y) (specificallyDependsOnAt y x t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [018-002]
has associated axiom(fol): (iff (IndependentContinuant a) (and (Continuant a) (not (exists (b t) (specificallyDependsOnAt a b t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [017-002]

Axiom
annotated source: independent continuant
annotated property: definition
annotated target: b is an independent continuant = Def. b is a continuant which is such that there is no c and no t such that b s-depends_on c at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [017-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/017-002

Axiom
annotated source: independent continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: For any independent continuant b and any time t there is some spatial region r such that b is located_in r at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [134-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/134-001

Axiom
annotated source: independent continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: For every independent continuant b and time t during the region of time spanned by its life, there are entities which s-depends_on b during t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [018-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/018-002

Axiom
annotated source: independent continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x t) (if (IndependentContinuant x) (exists (r) (and (SpatialRegion r) (locatedInAt x r t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [134-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/134-001

Axiom
annotated source: independent continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x t) (if (and (IndependentContinuant x) (existsAt x t)) (exists (y) (and (Entity y) (specificallyDependsOnAt y x t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [018-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/018-002

Axiom
annotated source: independent continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (iff (IndependentContinuant a) (and (Continuant a) (not (exists (b t) (specificallyDependsOnAt a b t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [017-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/017-002

spatial region
type: Class
subclass of: immaterial entity
disjoint with: site
disjoint with: continuant fiat boundary
BFO OWL specification label: s-region
BFO CLIF specification label: SpatialRegion
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: Spatial regions do not participate in processes.
editor note: Spatial region doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't exhaust all possibilites. An example would be the union of a spatial point and a spatial line that doesn't overlap the point, or two spatial lines that intersect at a single point. In both cases the resultant spatial region is neither 0-dimensional, 1-dimensional, 2-dimensional, or 3-dimensional.
elucidation: A spatial region is a continuant entity that is a continuant_part_of spaceR as defined relative to some frame R. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [035-001])
has associated axiom(nl): All continuant parts of spatial regions are spatial regions. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [036-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x y t) (if (and (SpatialRegion x) (continuantPartOfAt y x t)) (SpatialRegion y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [036-001]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (SpatialRegion x) (Continuant x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [035-001]

Axiom
annotated source: spatial region
annotated property: editor note
annotated target: Spatial region doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't exhaust all possibilites. An example would be the union of a spatial point and a spatial line that doesn't overlap the point, or two spatial lines that intersect at a single point. In both cases the resultant spatial region is neither 0-dimensional, 1-dimensional, 2-dimensional, or 3-dimensional.
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000002
comment: per discussion with Barry Smith

Axiom
annotated source: spatial region
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A spatial region is a continuant entity that is a continuant_part_of spaceR as defined relative to some frame R. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [035-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/035-001

Axiom
annotated source: spatial region
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: All continuant parts of spatial regions are spatial regions. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [036-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/036-001

Axiom
annotated source: spatial region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x y t) (if (and (SpatialRegion x) (continuantPartOfAt y x t)) (SpatialRegion y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [036-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/036-001

Axiom
annotated source: spatial region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (SpatialRegion x) (Continuant x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [035-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/035-001

temporal region
type: Class
subclass of: occurrent
disjoint with: spatiotemporal region
disjoint with: process
disjoint with: process boundary
BFO OWL specification label: t-region
BFO CLIF specification label: TemporalRegion
editor note: Temporal region doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't exhaust all possibilites. An example would be the mereological sum of a temporal instant and a temporal interval that doesn't overlap the instant. In this case the resultant temporal region is neither 0-dimensional nor 1-dimensional
elucidation: A temporal region is an occurrent entity that is part of time as defined relative to some reference frame. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [100-001])
has associated axiom(nl): All parts of temporal regions are temporal regions. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [101-001])
has associated axiom(nl): Every temporal region t is such that t occupies_temporal_region t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [119-002])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (r) (if (TemporalRegion r) (occupiesTemporalRegion r r))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [119-002]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x y) (if (and (TemporalRegion x) (occurrentPartOf y x)) (TemporalRegion y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [101-001]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (TemporalRegion x) (Occurrent x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [100-001]

Axiom
annotated source: temporal region
annotated property: editor note
annotated target: Temporal region doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't exhaust all possibilites. An example would be the mereological sum of a temporal instant and a temporal interval that doesn't overlap the instant. In this case the resultant temporal region is neither 0-dimensional nor 1-dimensional
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000003
comment: per discussion with Barry Smith

Axiom
annotated source: temporal region
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A temporal region is an occurrent entity that is part of time as defined relative to some reference frame. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [100-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/100-001

Axiom
annotated source: temporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: All parts of temporal regions are temporal regions. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [101-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/101-001

Axiom
annotated source: temporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: Every temporal region t is such that t occupies_temporal_region t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [119-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/119-002

Axiom
annotated source: temporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (r) (if (TemporalRegion r) (occupiesTemporalRegion r r))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [119-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/119-002

Axiom
annotated source: temporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x y) (if (and (TemporalRegion x) (occurrentPartOf y x)) (TemporalRegion y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [101-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/101-001

Axiom
annotated source: temporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (TemporalRegion x) (Occurrent x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [100-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/100-001

two-dimensional spatial region
type: Class
subclass of: spatial region
disjoint with: three-dimensional spatial region
BFO OWL specification label: 2d-s-region
BFO CLIF specification label: TwoDimensionalSpatialRegion
example of usage: an infinitely thin plane in space.
example of usage: the surface of a sphere-shaped part of space
elucidation: A two-dimensional spatial region is a spatial region that is of two dimensions. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [039-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (TwoDimensionalSpatialRegion x) (SpatialRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [039-001]

Axiom
annotated source: two-dimensional spatial region
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A two-dimensional spatial region is a spatial region that is of two dimensions. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [039-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/039-001

Axiom
annotated source: two-dimensional spatial region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (TwoDimensionalSpatialRegion x) (SpatialRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [039-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/039-001

spatiotemporal region
type: Class
subclass of: occurrent
BFO OWL specification label: st-region
BFO CLIF specification label: SpatiotemporalRegion
example of usage: the spatiotemporal region occupied by a human life
example of usage: the spatiotemporal region occupied by a process of cellular meiosis.
example of usage: the spatiotemporal region occupied by the development of a cancer tumor
elucidation: A spatiotemporal region is an occurrent entity that is part of spacetime. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [095-001])
has associated axiom(nl): All parts of spatiotemporal regions are spatiotemporal regions. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [096-001])
has associated axiom(nl): Each spatiotemporal region at any time t projects_onto some spatial region at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [099-001])
has associated axiom(nl): Each spatiotemporal region projects_onto some temporal region. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [098-001])
has associated axiom(nl): Every spatiotemporal region occupies_spatiotemporal_region itself.
has associated axiom(nl): Every spatiotemporal region s is such that s occupies_spatiotemporal_region s. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [107-002])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (r) (if (SpatioTemporalRegion r) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion r r))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [107-002]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x t) (if (SpatioTemporalRegion x) (exists (y) (and (SpatialRegion y) (spatiallyProjectsOntoAt x y t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [099-001]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x y) (if (and (SpatioTemporalRegion x) (occurrentPartOf y x)) (SpatioTemporalRegion y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [096-001]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (SpatioTemporalRegion x) (Occurrent x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [095-001]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (SpatioTemporalRegion x) (exists (y) (and (TemporalRegion y) (temporallyProjectsOnto x y))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [098-001]

Axiom
annotated source: spatiotemporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (r) (if (SpatioTemporalRegion r) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion r r))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [107-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/107-002

Axiom
annotated source: spatiotemporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x t) (if (SpatioTemporalRegion x) (exists (y) (and (SpatialRegion y) (spatiallyProjectsOntoAt x y t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [099-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/099-001

Axiom
annotated source: spatiotemporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x y) (if (and (SpatioTemporalRegion x) (occurrentPartOf y x)) (SpatioTemporalRegion y))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [096-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/096-001

Axiom
annotated source: spatiotemporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (SpatioTemporalRegion x) (Occurrent x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [095-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/095-001

Axiom
annotated source: spatiotemporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (SpatioTemporalRegion x) (exists (y) (and (TemporalRegion y) (temporallyProjectsOnto x y))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [098-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/098-001

Axiom
annotated source: spatiotemporal region
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A spatiotemporal region is an occurrent entity that is part of spacetime. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [095-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/095-001

Axiom
annotated source: spatiotemporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: All parts of spatiotemporal regions are spatiotemporal regions. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [096-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/096-001

Axiom
annotated source: spatiotemporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: Each spatiotemporal region at any time t projects_onto some spatial region at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [099-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/099-001

Axiom
annotated source: spatiotemporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: Each spatiotemporal region projects_onto some temporal region. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [098-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/098-001

Axiom
annotated source: spatiotemporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: Every spatiotemporal region s is such that s occupies_spatiotemporal_region s. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [107-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/107-002

process
type: Class
subclass of: occurrent
BFO OWL specification label: process
BFO CLIF specification label: Process
example of usage: a process of cell-division, \ a beating of the heart
example of usage: a process of meiosis
example of usage: a process of sleeping
example of usage: the course of a disease
example of usage: the flight of a bird
example of usage: the life of an organism
example of usage: your process of aging.
definition: p is a process = Def. p is an occurrent that has temporal proper parts and for some time t, p s-depends_on some material entity at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [083-003])
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: The realm of occurrents is less pervasively marked by the presence of natural units than is the case in the realm of independent continuants. Thus there is here no counterpart of ‘object’. In BFO 1.0 ‘process’ served as such a counterpart. In BFO 2.0 ‘process’ is, rather, the occurrent counterpart of ‘material entity’. Those natural – as contrasted with engineered, which here means: deliberately executed – units which do exist in the realm of occurrents are typically either parasitic on the existence of natural units on the continuant side, or they are fiat in nature. Thus we can count lives; we can count football games; we can count chemical reactions performed in experiments or in chemical manufacturing. We cannot count the processes taking place, for instance, in an episode of insect mating behavior.Even where natural units are identifiable, for example cycles in a cyclical process such as the beating of a heart or an organism’s sleep/wake cycle, the processes in question form a sequence with no discontinuities (temporal gaps) of the sort that we find for instance where billiard balls or zebrafish or planets are separated by clear spatial gaps. Lives of organisms are process units, but they too unfold in a continuous series from other, prior processes such as fertilization, and they unfold in turn in continuous series of post-life processes such as post-mortem decay. Clear examples of boundaries of processes are almost always of the fiat sort (midnight, a time of death as declared in an operating theater or on a death certificate, the initiation of a state of war)
has associated axiom(fol): (iff (Process a) (and (Occurrent a) (exists (b) (properTemporalPartOf b a)) (exists (c t) (and (MaterialEntity c) (specificallyDependsOnAt a c t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [083-003]

Axiom
annotated source: process
annotated property: definition
annotated target: p is a process = Def. p is an occurrent that has temporal proper parts and for some time t, p s-depends_on some material entity at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [083-003])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/083-003

Axiom
annotated source: process
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (iff (Process a) (and (Occurrent a) (exists (b) (properTemporalPartOf b a)) (exists (c t) (and (MaterialEntity c) (specificallyDependsOnAt a c t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [083-003]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/083-003

disposition
type: Class
subclass of: realizable entity
disjoint with: role
BFO OWL specification label: disposition
BFO CLIF specification label: Disposition
example of usage: an atom of element X has the disposition to decay to an atom of element Y
example of usage: certain people have a predisposition to colon cancer
example of usage: children are innately disposed to categorize objects in certain ways.
example of usage: the cell wall is disposed to filter chemicals in endocytosis and exocytosis
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: Dispositions exist along a strength continuum. Weaker forms of disposition are realized in only a fraction of triggering cases. These forms occur in a significant number of cases of a similar type.
elucidation: b is a disposition means: b is a realizable entity & b’s bearer is some material entity & b is such that if it ceases to exist, then its bearer is physically changed, & b’s realization occurs when and because this bearer is in some special physical circumstances, & this realization occurs in virtue of the bearer’s physical make-up. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [062-002])
has associated axiom(nl): If b is a realizable entity then for all t at which b exists, b s-depends_on some material entity at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [063-002])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x t) (if (and (RealizableEntity x) (existsAt x t)) (exists (y) (and (MaterialEntity y) (specificallyDepends x y t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [063-002]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (Disposition x) (and (RealizableEntity x) (exists (y) (and (MaterialEntity y) (bearerOfAt x y t)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [062-002]

Axiom
annotated source: disposition
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: b is a disposition means: b is a realizable entity & b’s bearer is some material entity & b is such that if it ceases to exist, then its bearer is physically changed, & b’s realization occurs when and because this bearer is in some special physical circumstances, & this realization occurs in virtue of the bearer’s physical make-up. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [062-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/062-002

Axiom
annotated source: disposition
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: If b is a realizable entity then for all t at which b exists, b s-depends_on some material entity at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [063-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/063-002

Axiom
annotated source: disposition
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x t) (if (and (RealizableEntity x) (existsAt x t)) (exists (y) (and (MaterialEntity y) (specificallyDepends x y t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [063-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/063-002

Axiom
annotated source: disposition
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (Disposition x) (and (RealizableEntity x) (exists (y) (and (MaterialEntity y) (bearerOfAt x y t)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [062-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/062-002

realizable entity
type: Class
subclass of: specifically dependent continuant
disjoint with: quality
BFO OWL specification label: realizable
BFO CLIF specification label: RealizableEntity
example of usage: the disposition of this piece of metal to conduct electricity.
example of usage: the disposition of your blood to coagulate
example of usage: the function of your reproductive organs
example of usage: the role of being a doctor
example of usage: the role of this boundary to delineate where Utah and Colorado meet
definition: A specifically dependent continuant that inheres in continuant entities and are not exhibited in full at every time in which it inheres in an entity or group of entities. The exhibition or actualization of a realizable entity is a particular manifestation, functioning or process that occurs under certain circumstances.
elucidation: To say that b is a realizable entity is to say that b is a specifically dependent continuant that inheres in some independent continuant which is not a spatial region and is of a type instances of which are realized in processes of a correlated type. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [058-002])
has associated axiom(nl): All realizable dependent continuants have independent continuants that are not spatial regions as their bearers. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [060-002])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x t) (if (RealizableEntity x) (exists (y) (and (IndependentContinuant y) (not (SpatialRegion y)) (bearerOfAt y x t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [060-002]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (RealizableEntity x) (and (SpecificallyDependentContinuant x) (exists (y) (and (IndependentContinuant y) (not (SpatialRegion y)) (inheresIn x y)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [058-002]

Axiom
annotated source: realizable entity
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: To say that b is a realizable entity is to say that b is a specifically dependent continuant that inheres in some independent continuant which is not a spatial region and is of a type instances of which are realized in processes of a correlated type. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [058-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/058-002

Axiom
annotated source: realizable entity
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: All realizable dependent continuants have independent continuants that are not spatial regions as their bearers. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [060-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/060-002

Axiom
annotated source: realizable entity
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x t) (if (RealizableEntity x) (exists (y) (and (IndependentContinuant y) (not (SpatialRegion y)) (bearerOfAt y x t))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [060-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/060-002

Axiom
annotated source: realizable entity
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (RealizableEntity x) (and (SpecificallyDependentContinuant x) (exists (y) (and (IndependentContinuant y) (not (SpatialRegion y)) (inheresIn x y)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [058-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/058-002

zero-dimensional spatial region
type: Class
subclass of: spatial region
disjoint with: three-dimensional spatial region
BFO OWL specification label: 0d-s-region
BFO CLIF specification label: ZeroDimensionalSpatialRegion
elucidation: A zero-dimensional spatial region is a point in space. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [037-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (ZeroDimensionalSpatialRegion x) (SpatialRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [037-001]

Axiom
annotated source: zero-dimensional spatial region
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A zero-dimensional spatial region is a point in space. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [037-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/037-001

Axiom
annotated source: zero-dimensional spatial region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (ZeroDimensionalSpatialRegion x) (SpatialRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [037-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/037-001

quality
type: Class
subclass of: specifically dependent continuant
BFO OWL specification label: quality
BFO CLIF specification label: Quality
example of usage: the ambient temperature of this portion of air
example of usage: the color of a tomato
example of usage: the length of the circumference of your waist
example of usage: the mass of this piece of gold.
example of usage: the shape of your nose
example of usage: the shape of your nostril
elucidation: a quality is a specifically dependent continuant that, in contrast to roles and dispositions, does not require any further process in order to be realized. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [055-001])
has associated axiom(nl): If an entity is a quality at any time that it exists, then it is a quality at every time that it exists. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [105-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (Quality x) (SpecificallyDependentContinuant x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [055-001]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (exists (t) (and (existsAt x t) (Quality x))) (forall (t_1) (if (existsAt x t_1) (Quality x))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [105-001]

Axiom
annotated source: quality
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: a quality is a specifically dependent continuant that, in contrast to roles and dispositions, does not require any further process in order to be realized. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [055-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/055-001

Axiom
annotated source: quality
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: If an entity is a quality at any time that it exists, then it is a quality at every time that it exists. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [105-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/105-001

Axiom
annotated source: quality
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (Quality x) (SpecificallyDependentContinuant x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [055-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/055-001

Axiom
annotated source: quality
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (exists (t) (and (existsAt x t) (Quality x))) (forall (t_1) (if (existsAt x t_1) (Quality x))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [105-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/105-001

specifically dependent continuant
type: Class
subclass of: continuant
disjoint with: generically dependent continuant
BFO OWL specification label: sdc
BFO CLIF specification label: SpecificallyDependentContinuant
example of usage: Reciprocal specifically dependent continuants: the function of this key to open this lock and the mutually dependent disposition of this lock: to be opened by this key
example of usage: of one-sided specifically dependent continuants: the mass of this tomato
example of usage: of relational dependent continuants (multiple bearers): John’s love for Mary, the ownership relation between John and this statue, the relation of authority between John and his subordinates.
example of usage: the disposition of this fish to decay
example of usage: the function of this heart: to pump blood
example of usage: the mutual dependence of proton donors and acceptors in chemical reactions [79
example of usage: the mutual dependence of the role predator and the role prey as played by two organisms in a given interaction
example of usage: the pink color of a medium rare piece of grilled filet mignon at its center
example of usage: the role of being a doctor
example of usage: the shape of this hole.
example of usage: the smell of this portion of mozzarella
definition: b is a specifically dependent continuant = Def. b is a continuant & there is some independent continuant c which is not a spatial region and which is such that b s-depends_on c at every time t during the course of b’s existence. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [050-003])
editor note: Specifically dependent continuant doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. We're not sure what else will develop here, but for example there are questions such as what are promises, obligation, etc.
has associated axiom(fol): (iff (SpecificallyDependentContinuant a) (and (Continuant a) (forall (t) (if (existsAt a t) (exists (b) (and (IndependentContinuant b) (not (SpatialRegion b)) (specificallyDependsOnAt a b t))))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [050-003]

Axiom
annotated source: specifically dependent continuant
annotated property: definition
annotated target: b is a specifically dependent continuant = Def. b is a continuant & there is some independent continuant c which is not a spatial region and which is such that b s-depends_on c at every time t during the course of b’s existence. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [050-003])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/050-003

Axiom
annotated source: specifically dependent continuant
annotated property: editor note
annotated target: Specifically dependent continuant doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. We're not sure what else will develop here, but for example there are questions such as what are promises, obligation, etc.
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000005
comment: per discussion with Barry Smith

Axiom
annotated source: specifically dependent continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (iff (SpecificallyDependentContinuant a) (and (Continuant a) (forall (t) (if (existsAt a t) (exists (b) (and (IndependentContinuant b) (not (SpatialRegion b)) (specificallyDependsOnAt a b t))))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [050-003]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/050-003

role
type: Class
subclass of: realizable entity
BFO OWL specification label: role
BFO CLIF specification label: Role
example of usage: John’s role of husband to Mary is dependent on Mary’s role of wife to John, and both are dependent on the object aggregate comprising John and Mary as member parts joined together through the relational quality of being married.
example of usage: the priest role
example of usage: the role of a boundary to demarcate two neighboring administrative territories
example of usage: the role of a building in serving as a military target
example of usage: the role of a stone in marking a property boundary
example of usage: the role of subject in a clinical trial
example of usage: the student role
definition: A realizable entity the manifestation of which brings about some result or end that is not essential to a continuant in virtue of the kind of thing that it is but that can be served or participated in by that kind of continuant in some kinds of natural, social or institutional contexts.
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: One major family of examples of non-rigid universals involves roles, and ontologies developed for corresponding administrative purposes may consist entirely of representatives of entities of this sort. Thus ‘professor’, defined as follows,b instance_of professor at t =Def. there is some c, c instance_of professor role & c inheres_in b at t.denotes a non-rigid universal and so also do ‘nurse’, ‘student’, ‘colonel’, ‘taxpayer’, and so forth. (These terms are all, in the jargon of philosophy, phase sortals.) By using role terms in definitions, we can create a BFO conformant treatment of such entities drawing on the fact that, while an instance of professor may be simultaneously an instance of trade union member, no instance of the type professor role is also (at any time) an instance of the type trade union member role (any more than any instance of the type color is at any time an instance of the type length).If an ontology of employment positions should be defined in terms of roles following the above pattern, this enables the ontology to do justice to the fact that individuals instantiate the corresponding universals – professor, sergeant, nurse – only during certain phases in their lives.
elucidation: b is a role means: b is a realizable entity & b exists because there is some single bearer that is in some special physical, social, or institutional set of circumstances in which this bearer does not have to be& b is not such that, if it ceases to exist, then the physical make-up of the bearer is thereby changed. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [061-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (Role x) (RealizableEntity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [061-001]

Axiom
annotated source: role
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: b is a role means: b is a realizable entity & b exists because there is some single bearer that is in some special physical, social, or institutional set of circumstances in which this bearer does not have to be& b is not such that, if it ceases to exist, then the physical make-up of the bearer is thereby changed. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [061-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/061-001

Axiom
annotated source: role
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (Role x) (RealizableEntity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [061-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/061-001

fiat object part
type: Class
subclass of: material entity
BFO OWL specification label: fiat-object-part
BFO CLIF specification label: FiatObjectPart
example of usage: or with divisions drawn by cognitive subjects for practical reasons, such as the division of a cake (before slicing) into (what will become) slices (and thus member parts of an object aggregate). However, this does not mean that fiat object parts are dependent for their existence on divisions or delineations effected by cognitive subjects. If, for example, it is correct to conceive geological layers of the Earth as fiat object parts of the Earth, then even though these layers were first delineated in recent times, still existed long before such delineation and what holds of these layers (for example that the oldest layers are also the lowest layers) did not begin to hold because of our acts of delineation.Treatment of material entity in BFOExamples viewed by some as problematic cases for the trichotomy of fiat object part, object, and object aggregate include: a mussel on (and attached to) a rock, a slime mold, a pizza, a cloud, a galaxy, a railway train with engine and multiple carriages, a clonal stand of quaking aspen, a bacterial community (biofilm), a broken femur. Note that, as Aristotle already clearly recognized, such problematic cases – which lie at or near the penumbra of instances defined by the categories in question – need not invalidate these categories. The existence of grey objects does not prove that there are not objects which are black and objects which are white; the existence of mules does not prove that there are not objects which are donkeys and objects which are horses. It does, however, show that the examples in question need to be addressed carefully in order to show how they can be fitted into the proposed scheme, for example by recognizing additional subdivisions [29
example of usage: the FMA:regional parts of an intact human body.
example of usage: the Western hemisphere of the Earth
example of usage: the division of the brain into regions
example of usage: the division of the planet into hemispheres
example of usage: the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the body
example of usage: the upper and lower lobes of the left lung
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: Most examples of fiat object parts are associated with theoretically drawn divisions
elucidation: b is a fiat object part = Def. b is a material entity which is such that for all times t, if b exists at t then there is some object c such that b proper continuant_part of c at t and c is demarcated from the remainder of c by a two-dimensional continuant fiat boundary. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [027-004])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (FiatObjectPart x) (and (MaterialEntity x) (forall (t) (if (existsAt x t) (exists (y) (and (Object y) (properContinuantPartOfAt x y t)))))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [027-004]

Axiom
annotated source: fiat object part
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: b is a fiat object part = Def. b is a material entity which is such that for all times t, if b exists at t then there is some object c such that b proper continuant_part of c at t and c is demarcated from the remainder of c by a two-dimensional continuant fiat boundary. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [027-004])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/027-004

Axiom
annotated source: fiat object part
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (FiatObjectPart x) (and (MaterialEntity x) (forall (t) (if (existsAt x t) (exists (y) (and (Object y) (properContinuantPartOfAt x y t)))))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [027-004]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/027-004

one-dimensional spatial region
type: Class
subclass of: spatial region
disjoint with: three-dimensional spatial region
BFO OWL specification label: 1d-s-region
BFO CLIF specification label: OneDimensionalSpatialRegion
example of usage: an edge of a cube-shaped portion of space.
elucidation: A one-dimensional spatial region is a line or aggregate of lines stretching from one point in space to another. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [038-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (OneDimensionalSpatialRegion x) (SpatialRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [038-001]

Axiom
annotated source: one-dimensional spatial region
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A one-dimensional spatial region is a line or aggregate of lines stretching from one point in space to another. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [038-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/038-001

Axiom
annotated source: one-dimensional spatial region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (OneDimensionalSpatialRegion x) (SpatialRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [038-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/038-001

object aggregate
type: Class
subclass of: material entity
BFO OWL specification label: object-aggregate
BFO CLIF specification label: ObjectAggregate
example of usage: a collection of cells in a blood biobank.
example of usage: a swarm of bees is an aggregate of members who are linked together through natural bonds
example of usage: a symphony orchestra
example of usage: an organization is an aggregate whose member parts have roles of specific types (for example in a jazz band, a chess club, a football team)
example of usage: defined by fiat: the aggregate of members of an organization
example of usage: defined through physical attachment: the aggregate of atoms in a lump of granite
example of usage: defined through physical containment: the aggregate of molecules of carbon dioxide in a sealed container
example of usage: defined via attributive delimitations such as: the patients in this hospital
example of usage: the aggregate of bearings in a constant velocity axle joint
example of usage: the aggregate of blood cells in your body
example of usage: the nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere
example of usage: the restaurants in Palo Alto
example of usage: your collection of Meissen ceramic plates.
editor note: An entity a is an object aggregate if and only if there is a mutually exhaustive and pairwise disjoint partition of a into objects
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: object aggregates may gain and lose parts while remaining numerically identical (one and the same individual) over time. This holds both for aggregates whose membership is determined naturally (the aggregate of cells in your body) and aggregates determined by fiat (a baseball team, a congressional committee).
definition source: ISBN:978-3-938793-98-5pp124-158#Thomas Bittner and Barry Smith, 'A Theory of Granular Partitions', in K. Munn and B. Smith (eds.), Applied Ontology: An Introduction, Frankfurt/Lancaster: ontos, 2008, 125-158.
elucidation: b is an object aggregate means: b is a material entity consisting exactly of a plurality of objects as member_parts at all times at which b exists. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [025-004])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (ObjectAggregate x) (and (MaterialEntity x) (forall (t) (if (existsAt x t) (exists (y z) (and (Object y) (Object z) (memberPartOfAt y x t) (memberPartOfAt z x t) (not (= y z)))))) (not (exists (w t_1) (and (memberPartOfAt w x t_1) (not (Object w)))))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [025-004]

Axiom
annotated source: object aggregate
annotated property: editor note
annotated target: An entity a is an object aggregate if and only if there is a mutually exhaustive and pairwise disjoint partition of a into objects
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000011

Axiom
annotated source: object aggregate
annotated property: editor note
annotated target: An entity a is an object aggregate if and only if there is a mutually exhaustive and pairwise disjoint partition of a into objects
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000301

Axiom
annotated source: object aggregate
annotated property: definition source
annotated target: ISBN:978-3-938793-98-5pp124-158#Thomas Bittner and Barry Smith, 'A Theory of Granular Partitions', in K. Munn and B. Smith (eds.), Applied Ontology: An Introduction, Frankfurt/Lancaster: ontos, 2008, 125-158.
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000300

Axiom
annotated source: object aggregate
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: b is an object aggregate means: b is a material entity consisting exactly of a plurality of objects as member_parts at all times at which b exists. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [025-004])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/025-004

Axiom
annotated source: object aggregate
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (ObjectAggregate x) (and (MaterialEntity x) (forall (t) (if (existsAt x t) (exists (y z) (and (Object y) (Object z) (memberPartOfAt y x t) (memberPartOfAt z x t) (not (= y z)))))) (not (exists (w t_1) (and (memberPartOfAt w x t_1) (not (Object w)))))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [025-004]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/025-004

three-dimensional spatial region
type: Class
subclass of: spatial region
BFO OWL specification label: 3d-s-region
BFO CLIF specification label: ThreeDimensionalSpatialRegion
example of usage: a cube-shaped region of space
example of usage: a sphere-shaped region of space,
elucidation: A three-dimensional spatial region is a spatial region that is of three dimensions. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [040-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (ThreeDimensionalSpatialRegion x) (SpatialRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [040-001]

Axiom
annotated source: three-dimensional spatial region
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A three-dimensional spatial region is a spatial region that is of three dimensions. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [040-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/040-001

Axiom
annotated source: three-dimensional spatial region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (ThreeDimensionalSpatialRegion x) (SpatialRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [040-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/040-001

site
type: Class
subclass of: immaterial entity
BFO OWL specification label: site
BFO CLIF specification label: Site
example of usage: Manhattan Canyon)
example of usage: a hole in the interior of a portion of cheese
example of usage: a rabbit hole
example of usage: an air traffic control region defined in the airspace above an airport
example of usage: the Grand Canyon
example of usage: the Piazza San Marco
example of usage: the cockpit of an aircraft
example of usage: the hold of a ship
example of usage: the interior of a kangaroo pouch
example of usage: the interior of the trunk of your car
example of usage: the interior of your bedroom
example of usage: the interior of your office
example of usage: the interior of your refrigerator
example of usage: the lumen of your gut
example of usage: your left nostril (a fiat part – the opening – of your left nasal cavity)
elucidation: b is a site means: b is a three-dimensional immaterial entity that is (partially or wholly) bounded by a material entity or it is a three-dimensional immaterial part thereof. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [034-002])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (Site x) (ImmaterialEntity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [034-002]

Axiom
annotated source: site
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: b is a site means: b is a three-dimensional immaterial entity that is (partially or wholly) bounded by a material entity or it is a three-dimensional immaterial part thereof. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [034-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/034-002

Axiom
annotated source: site
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (Site x) (ImmaterialEntity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [034-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/034-002

object
type: Class
subclass of: material entity
BFO OWL specification label: object
BFO CLIF specification label: Object
example of usage: atom
example of usage: cell
example of usage: cells and organisms
example of usage: engineered artifacts
example of usage: grain of sand
example of usage: molecule
example of usage: organelle
example of usage: organism
example of usage: planet
example of usage: solid portions of matter
example of usage: star
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: BFO rests on the presupposition that at multiple micro-, meso- and macroscopic scales reality exhibits certain stable, spatially separated or separable material units, combined or combinable into aggregates of various sorts (for example organisms into what are called ‘populations’). Such units play a central role in almost all domains of natural science from particle physics to cosmology. Many scientific laws govern the units in question, employing general terms (such as ‘molecule’ or ‘planet’) referring to the types and subtypes of units, and also to the types and subtypes of the processes through which such units develop and interact. The division of reality into such natural units is at the heart of biological science, as also is the fact that these units may form higher-level units (as cells form multicellular organisms) and that they may also form aggregates of units, for example as cells form portions of tissue and organs form families, herds, breeds, species, and so on. At the same time, the division of certain portions of reality into engineered units (manufactured artifacts) is the basis of modern industrial technology, which rests on the distributed mass production of engineered parts through division of labor and on their assembly into larger, compound units such as cars and laptops. The division of portions of reality into units is one starting point for the phenomenon of counting.
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: Each object is such that there are entities of which we can assert unproblematically that they lie in its interior, and other entities of which we can assert unproblematically that they lie in its exterior. This may not be so for entities lying at or near the boundary between the interior and exterior. This means that two objects – for example the two cells depicted in Figure 3 – may be such that there are material entities crossing their boundaries which belong determinately to neither cell. Something similar obtains in certain cases of conjoined twins (see below).
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: To say that b is causally unified means: b is a material entity which is such that its material parts are tied together in such a way that, in environments typical for entities of the type in question,if c, a continuant part of b that is in the interior of b at t, is larger than a certain threshold size (which will be determined differently from case to case, depending on factors such as porosity of external cover) and is moved in space to be at t at a location on the exterior of the spatial region that had been occupied by b at t, then either b’s other parts will be moved in coordinated fashion or b will be damaged (be affected, for example, by breakage or tearing) in the interval between t and t.causal changes in one part of b can have consequences for other parts of b without the mediation of any entity that lies on the exterior of b. Material entities with no proper material parts would satisfy these conditions trivially. Candidate examples of types of causal unity for material entities of more complex sorts are as follows (this is not intended to be an exhaustive list):CU1: Causal unity via physical coveringHere the parts in the interior of the unified entity are combined together causally through a common membrane or other physical covering\. The latter points outwards toward and may serve a protective function in relation to what lies on the exterior of the entity [13, 47
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: an object is a maximal causally unified material entity
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: ‘objects’ are sometimes referred to as ‘grains’ [74
elucidation: b is an object means: b is a material entity which manifests causal unity of one or other of the types CUn listed above & is of a type (a material universal) instances of which are maximal relative to this criterion of causal unity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [024-001])

Axiom
annotated source: object
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: b is an object means: b is a material entity which manifests causal unity of one or other of the types CUn listed above & is of a type (a material universal) instances of which are maximal relative to this criterion of causal unity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [024-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/024-001

generically dependent continuant
type: Class
subclass of: continuant
BFO OWL specification label: gdc
BFO CLIF specification label: GenericallyDependentContinuant
example of usage: The entries in your database are patterns instantiated as quality instances in your hard drive. The database itself is an aggregate of such patterns. When you create the database you create a particular instance of the generically dependent continuant type database. Each entry in the database is an instance of the generically dependent continuant type IAO: information content entity.
example of usage: the pdf file on your laptop, the pdf file that is a copy thereof on my laptop
example of usage: the sequence of this protein molecule; the sequence that is a copy thereof in that protein molecule.
definition: b is a generically dependent continuant = Def. b is a continuant that g-depends_on one or more other entities. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [074-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (iff (GenericallyDependentContinuant a) (and (Continuant a) (exists (b t) (genericallyDependsOnAt a b t)))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [074-001]

Axiom
annotated source: generically dependent continuant
annotated property: definition
annotated target: b is a generically dependent continuant = Def. b is a continuant that g-depends_on one or more other entities. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [074-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/074-001

Axiom
annotated source: generically dependent continuant
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (iff (GenericallyDependentContinuant a) (and (Continuant a) (exists (b t) (genericallyDependsOnAt a b t)))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [074-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/074-001

function
type: Class
subclass of: disposition
BFO OWL specification label: function
BFO CLIF specification label: Function
example of usage: the function of a hammer to drive in nails
example of usage: the function of a heart pacemaker to regulate the beating of a heart through electricity
example of usage: the function of amylase in saliva to break down starch into sugar
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: In the past, we have distinguished two varieties of function, artifactual function and biological function. These are not asserted subtypes of BFO:function however, since the same function – for example: to pump, to transport – can exist both in artifacts and in biological entities. The asserted subtypes of function that would be needed in order to yield a separate monoheirarchy are not artifactual function, biological function, etc., but rather transporting function, pumping function, etc.
elucidation: A function is a disposition that exists in virtue of the bearer’s physical make-up and this physical make-up is something the bearer possesses because it came into being, either through evolution (in the case of natural biological entities) or through intentional design (in the case of artifacts), in order to realize processes of a certain sort. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [064-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (Function x) (Disposition x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [064-001]

Axiom
annotated source: function
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A function is a disposition that exists in virtue of the bearer’s physical make-up and this physical make-up is something the bearer possesses because it came into being, either through evolution (in the case of natural biological entities) or through intentional design (in the case of artifacts), in order to realize processes of a certain sort. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [064-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/064-001

Axiom
annotated source: function
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (Function x) (Disposition x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [064-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/064-001

process boundary
type: Class
subclass of: occurrent
BFO OWL specification label: p-boundary
BFO CLIF specification label: ProcessBoundary
example of usage: the boundary between the 2nd and 3rd year of your life.
definition: p is a process boundary =Def. p is a temporal part of a process & p has no proper temporal parts. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [084-001])
has associated axiom(nl): Every process boundary occupies_temporal_region a zero-dimensional temporal region. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [085-002])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (ProcessBoundary x) (exists (y) (and (ZeroDimensionalTemporalRegion y) (occupiesTemporalRegion x y))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [085-002]
has associated axiom(fol): (iff (ProcessBoundary a) (exists (p) (and (Process p) (temporalPartOf a p) (not (exists (b) (properTemporalPartOf b a)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [084-001]

Axiom
annotated source: process boundary
annotated property: definition
annotated target: p is a process boundary =Def. p is a temporal part of a process & p has no proper temporal parts. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [084-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/084-001

Axiom
annotated source: process boundary
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: Every process boundary occupies_temporal_region a zero-dimensional temporal region. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [085-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/085-002

Axiom
annotated source: process boundary
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (ProcessBoundary x) (exists (y) (and (ZeroDimensionalTemporalRegion y) (occupiesTemporalRegion x y))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [085-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/085-002

Axiom
annotated source: process boundary
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (iff (ProcessBoundary a) (exists (p) (and (Process p) (temporalPartOf a p) (not (exists (b) (properTemporalPartOf b a)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [084-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/084-001

one-dimensional temporal region
type: Class
subclass of: temporal region
disjoint with: zero-dimensional temporal region
BFO OWL specification label: 1d-t-region
BFO CLIF specification label: OneDimensionalTemporalRegion
example of usage: the temporal region during which a process occurs.
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: A temporal interval is a special kind of one-dimensional temporal region, namely one that is self-connected (is without gaps or breaks).
elucidation: A one-dimensional temporal region is a temporal region that is extended. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [103-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (OneDimensionalTemporalRegion x) (TemporalRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [103-001]

Axiom
annotated source: one-dimensional temporal region
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A one-dimensional temporal region is a temporal region that is extended. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [103-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/103-001

Axiom
annotated source: one-dimensional temporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (OneDimensionalTemporalRegion x) (TemporalRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [103-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/103-001

material entity
type: Class
subclass of: independent continuant
disjoint with: immaterial entity
BFO OWL specification label: material
BFO CLIF specification label: MaterialEntity
example of usage: a flame
example of usage: a forest fire
example of usage: a human being
example of usage: a hurricane
example of usage: a photon
example of usage: a puff of smoke
example of usage: a sea wave
example of usage: a tornado
example of usage: an aggregate of human beings.
example of usage: an energy wave
example of usage: an epidemic
example of usage: the undetached arm of a human being
definition: An independent continuant that is spatially extended whose identity is independent of that of other entities and can be maintained through time.
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: Material entities (continuants) can preserve their identity even while gaining and losing material parts. Continuants are contrasted with occurrents, which unfold themselves in successive temporal parts or phases [60
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: Object, Fiat Object Part and Object Aggregate are not intended to be exhaustive of Material Entity. Users are invited to propose new subcategories of Material Entity.
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: ‘Matter’ is intended to encompass both mass and energy (we will address the ontological treatment of portions of energy in a later version of BFO). A portion of matter is anything that includes elementary particles among its proper or improper parts: quarks and leptons, including electrons, as the smallest particles thus far discovered; baryons (including protons and neutrons) at a higher level of granularity; atoms and molecules at still higher levels, forming the cells, organs, organisms and other material entities studied by biologists, the portions of rock studied by geologists, the fossils studied by paleontologists, and so on.Material entities are three-dimensional entities (entities extended in three spatial dimensions), as contrasted with the processes in which they participate, which are four-dimensional entities (entities extended also along the dimension of time).According to the FMA, material entities may have immaterial entities as parts – including the entities identified below as sites; for example the interior (or ‘lumen’) of your small intestine is a part of your body. BFO 2.0 embodies a decision to follow the FMA here.
elucidation: A material entity is an independent continuant that has some portion of matter as proper or improper continuant part. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [019-002])
has associated axiom(nl): Every entity which has a material entity as continuant part is a material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [020-002])
has associated axiom(nl): every entity of which a material entity is continuant part is also a material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [021-002])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (MaterialEntity x) (IndependentContinuant x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [019-002]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (and (Entity x) (exists (y t) (and (MaterialEntity y) (continuantPartOfAt x y t)))) (MaterialEntity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [021-002]
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (and (Entity x) (exists (y t) (and (MaterialEntity y) (continuantPartOfAt y x t)))) (MaterialEntity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [020-002]

Axiom
annotated source: material entity
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A material entity is an independent continuant that has some portion of matter as proper or improper continuant part. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [019-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/019-002

Axiom
annotated source: material entity
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: Every entity which has a material entity as continuant part is a material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [020-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/020-002

Axiom
annotated source: material entity
annotated property: has associated axiom(nl)
annotated target: every entity of which a material entity is continuant part is also a material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [021-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/021-002

Axiom
annotated source: material entity
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (MaterialEntity x) (IndependentContinuant x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [019-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/019-002

Axiom
annotated source: material entity
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (and (Entity x) (exists (y t) (and (MaterialEntity y) (continuantPartOfAt x y t)))) (MaterialEntity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [021-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/021-002

Axiom
annotated source: material entity
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (and (Entity x) (exists (y t) (and (MaterialEntity y) (continuantPartOfAt y x t)))) (MaterialEntity x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [020-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/020-002

continuant fiat boundary
type: Class
subclass of: immaterial entity
BFO OWL specification label: cf-boundary
BFO CLIF specification label: ContinuantFiatBoundary
definition: b is a continuant fiat boundary = Def. b is an immaterial entity that is of zero, one or two dimensions and does not include a spatial region as part. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [029-001])
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: In BFO 1.1 the assumption was made that the external surface of a material entity such as a cell could be treated as if it were a boundary in the mathematical sense. The new document propounds the view that when we talk about external surfaces of material objects in this way then we are talking about something fiat. To be dealt with in a future version: fiat boundaries at different levels of granularity.More generally, the focus in discussion of boundaries in BFO 2.0 is now on fiat boundaries, which means: boundaries for which there is no assumption that they coincide with physical discontinuities. The ontology of boundaries becomes more closely allied with the ontology of regions.
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: a continuant fiat boundary is a boundary of some material entity (for example: the plane separating the Northern and Southern hemispheres; the North Pole), or it is a boundary of some immaterial entity (for example of some portion of airspace). Three basic kinds of continuant fiat boundary can be distinguished (together with various combination kinds [29
editor note: Continuant fiat boundary doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. An example would be the mereological sum of two-dimensional continuant fiat boundary and a one dimensional continuant fiat boundary that doesn't overlap it. The situation is analogous to temporal and spatial regions.
has associated axiom(nl): Every continuant fiat boundary is located at some spatial region at every time at which it exists
has associated axiom(fol): (iff (ContinuantFiatBoundary a) (and (ImmaterialEntity a) (exists (b) (and (or (ZeroDimensionalSpatialRegion b) (OneDimensionalSpatialRegion b) (TwoDimensionalSpatialRegion b)) (forall (t) (locatedInAt a b t)))) (not (exists (c t) (and (SpatialRegion c) (continuantPartOfAt c a t)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [029-001]

Axiom
annotated source: continuant fiat boundary
annotated property: definition
annotated target: b is a continuant fiat boundary = Def. b is an immaterial entity that is of zero, one or two dimensions and does not include a spatial region as part. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [029-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/029-001

Axiom
annotated source: continuant fiat boundary
annotated property: editor note
annotated target: Continuant fiat boundary doesn't have a closure axiom because the subclasses don't necessarily exhaust all possibilites. An example would be the mereological sum of two-dimensional continuant fiat boundary and a one dimensional continuant fiat boundary that doesn't overlap it. The situation is analogous to temporal and spatial regions.
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000008

Axiom
annotated source: continuant fiat boundary
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (iff (ContinuantFiatBoundary a) (and (ImmaterialEntity a) (exists (b) (and (or (ZeroDimensionalSpatialRegion b) (OneDimensionalSpatialRegion b) (TwoDimensionalSpatialRegion b)) (forall (t) (locatedInAt a b t)))) (not (exists (c t) (and (SpatialRegion c) (continuantPartOfAt c a t)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [029-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/029-001

immaterial entity
type: Class
subclass of: independent continuant
BFO OWL specification label: immaterial
BFO CLIF specification label: ImmaterialEntity
editor note: BFO 2 Reference: Immaterial entities are divided into two subgroups:boundaries and sites, which bound, or are demarcated in relation, to material entities, and which can thus change location, shape and size and as their material hosts move or change shape or size (for example: your nasal passage; the hold of a ship; the boundary of Wales (which moves with the rotation of the Earth) [38, 7, 10

one-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
type: Class
subclass of: continuant fiat boundary
disjoint with: two-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
disjoint with: zero-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
BFO OWL specification label: 1d-cf-boundary
BFO CLIF specification label: OneDimensionalContinuantFiatBoundary
example of usage: The Equator
example of usage: all geopolitical boundaries
example of usage: all lines of latitude and longitude
example of usage: the line separating the outer surface of the mucosa of the lower lip from the outer surface of the skin of the chin.
example of usage: the median sulcus of your tongue
elucidation: a one-dimensional continuant fiat boundary is a continuous fiat line whose location is defined in relation to some material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [032-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (iff (OneDimensionalContinuantFiatBoundary a) (and (ContinuantFiatBoundary a) (exists (b) (and (OneDimensionalSpatialRegion b) (forall (t) (locatedInAt a b t)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [032-001]

Axiom
annotated source: one-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: a one-dimensional continuant fiat boundary is a continuous fiat line whose location is defined in relation to some material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [032-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/032-001

Axiom
annotated source: one-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (iff (OneDimensionalContinuantFiatBoundary a) (and (ContinuantFiatBoundary a) (exists (b) (and (OneDimensionalSpatialRegion b) (forall (t) (locatedInAt a b t)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [032-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/032-001

process profile
type: Class
subclass of: process
disjoint with: history
BFO OWL specification label: process-profile
BFO CLIF specification label: ProcessProfile
example of usage: On a somewhat higher level of complexity are what we shall call rate process profiles, which are the targets of selective abstraction focused not on determinate quality magnitudes plotted over time, but rather on certain ratios between these magnitudes and elapsed times. A speed process profile, for example, is represented by a graph plotting against time the ratio of distance covered per unit of time. Since rates may change, and since such changes, too, may have rates of change, we have to deal here with a hierarchy of process profile universals at successive levels
example of usage: One important sub-family of rate process profiles is illustrated by the beat or frequency profiles of cyclical processes, illustrated by the 60 beats per minute beating process of John’s heart, or the 120 beats per minute drumming process involved in one of John’s performances in a rock band, and so on. Each such process includes what we shall call a beat process profile instance as part, a subtype of rate process profile in which the salient ratio is not distance covered but rather number of beat cycles per unit of time. Each beat process profile instance instantiates the determinable universal beat process profile. But it also instantiates multiple more specialized universals at lower levels of generality, selected from rate process profilebeat process profileregular beat process profile3 bpm beat process profile4 bpm beat process profileirregular beat process profileincreasing beat process profileand so on.In the case of a regular beat process profile, a rate can be assigned in the simplest possible fashion by dividing the number of cycles by the length of the temporal region occupied by the beating process profile as a whole. Irregular process profiles of this sort, for example as identified in the clinic, or in the readings on an aircraft instrument panel, are often of diagnostic significance.
example of usage: The simplest type of process profiles are what we shall call ‘quality process profiles’, which are the process profiles which serve as the foci of the sort of selective abstraction that is involved when measurements are made of changes in single qualities, as illustrated, for example, by process profiles of mass, temperature, aortic pressure, and so on.
definition: b is a process_profile =Def. there is some process c such that b process_profile_of c (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [093-002])
elucidation: b process_profile_of c holds when b proper_occurrent_part_of c& there is some proper_occurrent_part d of c which has no parts in common with b & is mutually dependent on b& is such that b, c and d occupy the same temporal region (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [094-005])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x y) (if (processProfileOf x y) (and (properContinuantPartOf x y) (exists (z t) (and (properOccurrentPartOf z y) (TemporalRegion t) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion x t) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion y t) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion z t) (not (exists (w) (and (occurrentPartOf w x) (occurrentPartOf w z))))))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [094-005]
has associated axiom(fol): (iff (ProcessProfile a) (exists (b) (and (Process b) (processProfileOf a b)))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [093-002]

Axiom
annotated source: process profile
annotated property: definition
annotated target: b is a process_profile =Def. there is some process c such that b process_profile_of c (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [093-002])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/093-002

Axiom
annotated source: process profile
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: b process_profile_of c holds when b proper_occurrent_part_of c& there is some proper_occurrent_part d of c which has no parts in common with b & is mutually dependent on b& is such that b, c and d occupy the same temporal region (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [094-005])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/094-005

Axiom
annotated source: process profile
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x y) (if (processProfileOf x y) (and (properContinuantPartOf x y) (exists (z t) (and (properOccurrentPartOf z y) (TemporalRegion t) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion x t) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion y t) (occupiesSpatioTemporalRegion z t) (not (exists (w) (and (occurrentPartOf w x) (occurrentPartOf w z))))))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [094-005]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/094-005

Axiom
annotated source: process profile
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (iff (ProcessProfile a) (exists (b) (and (Process b) (processProfileOf a b)))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [093-002]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/093-002

relational quality
type: Class
subclass of: quality
BFO OWL specification label: r-quality
BFO CLIF specification label: RelationalQuality
example of usage: John’s role of husband to Mary is dependent on Mary’s role of wife to John, and both are dependent on the object aggregate comprising John and Mary as member parts joined together through the relational quality of being married.
example of usage: a marriage bond, an instance of requited love, an obligation between one person and another.
definition: b is a relational quality = Def. for some independent continuants c, d and for some time t: b quality_of c at t & b quality_of d at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [057-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (iff (RelationalQuality a) (exists (b c t) (and (IndependentContinuant b) (IndependentContinuant c) (qualityOfAt a b t) (qualityOfAt a c t)))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [057-001]

Axiom
annotated source: relational quality
annotated property: definition
annotated target: b is a relational quality = Def. for some independent continuants c, d and for some time t: b quality_of c at t & b quality_of d at t. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [057-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/057-001

Axiom
annotated source: relational quality
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (iff (RelationalQuality a) (exists (b c t) (and (IndependentContinuant b) (IndependentContinuant c) (qualityOfAt a b t) (qualityOfAt a c t)))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [057-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/057-001

two-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
type: Class
subclass of: continuant fiat boundary
BFO OWL specification label: 2d-cf-boundary
BFO CLIF specification label: TwoDimensionalContinuantFiatBoundary
elucidation: a two-dimensional continuant fiat boundary (surface) is a self-connected fiat surface whose location is defined in relation to some material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [033-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (iff (TwoDimensionalContinuantFiatBoundary a) (and (ContinuantFiatBoundary a) (exists (b) (and (TwoDimensionalSpatialRegion b) (forall (t) (locatedInAt a b t)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [033-001]

Axiom
annotated source: two-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: a two-dimensional continuant fiat boundary (surface) is a self-connected fiat surface whose location is defined in relation to some material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [033-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/033-001

Axiom
annotated source: two-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (iff (TwoDimensionalContinuantFiatBoundary a) (and (ContinuantFiatBoundary a) (exists (b) (and (TwoDimensionalSpatialRegion b) (forall (t) (locatedInAt a b t)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [033-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/033-001

zero-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
type: Class
subclass of: continuant fiat boundary
BFO OWL specification label: 0d-cf-boundary
BFO CLIF specification label: ZeroDimensionalContinuantFiatBoundary
example of usage: the geographic North Pole
example of usage: the point of origin of some spatial coordinate system.
example of usage: the quadripoint where the boundaries of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona meet
editor note: zero dimension continuant fiat boundaries are not spatial points. Considering the example 'the quadripoint where the boundaries of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona meet' : There are many frames in which that point is zooming through many points in space. Whereas, no matter what the frame, the quadripoint is always in the same relation to the boundaries of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.
elucidation: a zero-dimensional continuant fiat boundary is a fiat point whose location is defined in relation to some material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [031-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (iff (ZeroDimensionalContinuantFiatBoundary a) (and (ContinuantFiatBoundary a) (exists (b) (and (ZeroDimensionalSpatialRegion b) (forall (t) (locatedInAt a b t)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [031-001]

Axiom
annotated source: zero-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
annotated property: editor note
annotated target: zero dimension continuant fiat boundaries are not spatial points. Considering the example 'the quadripoint where the boundaries of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona meet' : There are many frames in which that point is zooming through many points in space. Whereas, no matter what the frame, the quadripoint is always in the same relation to the boundaries of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/0000001
comment: requested by Melanie Courtot

Axiom
annotated source: zero-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: a zero-dimensional continuant fiat boundary is a fiat point whose location is defined in relation to some material entity. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [031-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/031-001

Axiom
annotated source: zero-dimensional continuant fiat boundary
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (iff (ZeroDimensionalContinuantFiatBoundary a) (and (ContinuantFiatBoundary a) (exists (b) (and (ZeroDimensionalSpatialRegion b) (forall (t) (locatedInAt a b t)))))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [031-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/031-001

zero-dimensional temporal region
type: Class
subclass of: temporal region
BFO OWL specification label: 0d-t-region
BFO CLIF specification label: ZeroDimensionalTemporalRegion
example of usage: a temporal region that is occupied by a process boundary
example of usage: right now
example of usage: the moment at which a child is born
example of usage: the moment at which a finger is detached in an industrial accident
example of usage: the moment of death.
alternative label: temporal instant.
elucidation: A zero-dimensional temporal region is a temporal region that is without extent. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [102-001])
has associated axiom(fol): (forall (x) (if (ZeroDimensionalTemporalRegion x) (TemporalRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [102-001]

Axiom
annotated source: zero-dimensional temporal region
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A zero-dimensional temporal region is a temporal region that is without extent. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [102-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/102-001

Axiom
annotated source: zero-dimensional temporal region
annotated property: has associated axiom(fol)
annotated target: (forall (x) (if (ZeroDimensionalTemporalRegion x) (TemporalRegion x))) // axiom label in BFO2 CLIF: [102-001]
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/102-001

history
type: Class
subclass of: process
BFO OWL specification label: history
BFO CLIF specification label: History
elucidation: A history is a process that is the sum of the totality of processes taking place in the spatiotemporal region occupied by a material entity or site, including processes on the surface of the entity or within the cavities to which it serves as host. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [138-001])

Axiom
annotated source: history
annotated property: elucidation
annotated target: A history is a process that is the sum of the totality of processes taking place in the spatiotemporal region occupied by a material entity or site, including processes on the surface of the entity or within the cavities to which it serves as host. (axiom label in BFO2 Reference: [138-001])
has axiom label: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/bfo/axiom/138-001

conditional specification
type: Class
subclass of: directive information entity
editor preferred term: conditional specification
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A directive information entity that specifies what should happen if the trigger condition is fulfilled.
term editor: PlanAndPlannedProcess Branch
definition source: OBI branch derived
definition source: OBI_0000349

measurement unit label
type: Class
subclass of: datum label
editor preferred term: measurement unit label
example of usage: Examples of measurement unit labels are liters, inches, weight per volume.
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A measurement unit label is as a label that is part of a scalar measurement datum and denotes a unit of measure.
editor note: 2009-03-16: provenance: a term measurement unit was proposed for OBI (OBI_0000176) , edited by Chris Stoeckert and Cristian Cocos, and subsequently moved to IAO where the objective for which the original term was defined was satisfied with the definition of this, different, term.
editor note: 2009-03-16: review of this term done during during the OBI workshop winter 2009 and the current definition was considered acceptable for use in OBI. If there is a need to modify this definition please notify OBI.
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot

objective specification
type: Class
subclass of: directive information entity
editor preferred term: objective specification
example of usage: In the protocol of a ChIP assay the objective specification says to identify protein and DNA interaction.
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A directive information entity that describes an intended process endpoint. When part of a plan specification the concretization is realized in a planned process in which the bearer tries to effect the world so that the process endpoint is achieved.
editor note: 2009-03-16: original definition when imported from OBI read: "objective is an non realizable information entity which can serve as that proper part of a plan towards which the realization of the plan is directed."
editor note: 2014-03-31: In the example of usage ("In the protocol of a ChIP assay the objective specification says to identify protein and DNA interaction") there is a protocol which is the ChIP assay protocol. In addition to being concretized on paper, the protocol can be concretized as a realizable entity, such as a plan that inheres in a person. The objective specification is the part that says that some protein and DNA interactions are identified. This is a specification of a process endpoint: the boundary in the process before which they are not identified and after which they are. During the realization of the plan, the goal is to get to the point of having the interactions, and participants in the realization of the plan try to do that.
editor note: Answers the question, why did you do this experiment?
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Barry Smith
term editor: PERSON: Bjoern Peters
term editor: PERSON: Jennifer Fostel
alternative label: goal specification
definition source: OBI Plan and Planned Process/Roles Branch
definition source: OBI_0000217

narrative object
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
editor preferred term: narrative object
example of usage: Examples of narrative objects are reports, journal articles, and patents submission.
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A narrative object is an information content entity that is a set of propositions.
editor note: 2009-08-10 Alan Ruttenberg: Larry Hunter suggests that this be obsoleted and replaced by 'textual entity' and 'figure'. Alan restored as there are OBI dependencies and this merits further discussion
editor note: agree - DENRIE. Issue(alan) do we only mean text? What about a story told by mime. Does music count? (no) what about an oral report. Regarding definition, saying it is a set of propositions means we loose the idea that wording matters. Maybe adjust saying a narrative object has some relationshop to a set of propositions
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000013
definition source: group:OBI

action specification
type: Class
subclass of: directive information entity
example of usage: Pour the contents of flask 1 into flask 2
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A directive information entity that describes an action the bearer will take.
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: OBI Plan and Planned Process branch

obsolete_artifact
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

datum label
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
editor preferred term: datum label
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A label is a symbol that is part of some other datum and is used to either partially define the denotation of that datum or to provide a means for identifying the datum as a member of the set of data with the same label
editor note: http://www.golovchenko.org/cgi-bin/wnsearch#4n
term editor: GROUP: IAO
curator note: 9/22/11 BP: changed the rdfs:label for this class from 'label' to 'datum label' to convey that this class is not intended to cover all kinds of labels (stickers, radiolabels, etc.), and not even all kind of textual labels, but rather the kind of labels occuring in a datum.

software
type: Class
subclass of: plan specification
editor preferred term: software
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: Software is a plan specification composed of a series of instructions that can be interpreted by or directly executed by a processing unit.
editor note: see sourceforge tracker discussion at http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1958818&group_id=177891&atid=886178
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Bjoern Peters
term editor: PERSON: Chris Stoeckert
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
definition source: GROUP: OBI

obsolete2_digital entity
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
editor preferred term: obsolete_digital entity
definition: A digital entity is an information entity which is a collection of bits that can be interpreted by a computer. Two digital entities are the same if they are bitwise identical.
editor note: 3/22/2009 Alan Ruttenberg, obsoleted per http://groups.google.com/group/information-ontology/browse_thread/thread/789ad4b7708d5cf4 Superclass was 'digitial quality'
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000261
definition source: group:OBI
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

journal article
type: Class
subclass of: report
subclass of: publication
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is_specified_output_of
  some values from: publishing process
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is_specified_output_of
  all values from: publishing process
editor preferred term: journal article
example of usage: Examples are articles published in the journals, Nature and Science. The content can often be cited by reference to a paper based encoding, e.g. Authors, Title of article, Journal name, date or year of publication, volume and page number.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A report that is published in a journal.
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000159
definition source: group:OBI

information carrier
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: quality
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: concretizes
    some values from: information content entity
subclass of: quality
editor preferred term: information carrier
example of usage: In the case of a printed paperback novel the physicality of the ink and of the paper form part of the information bearer. The qualities of appearing black and having a certain pattern for the ink and appearing white for the paper form part of the information carrier in this case.
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A quality of an information bearer that imparts the information content
editor note: 12/15/09: There is a concern that some ways that carry information may be processes rather than qualities, such as in a 'delayed wave carrier'.
editor note: 2014-03-10: We are not certain that all information carriers are qualities. There was a discussion of dropping it.
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Smith, Ceusters, Ruttenberg, 2000 years of philosophy

model number
type: Class
subclass of: symbol
editor preferred term: model number
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A model number is an information content entity specifically borne by catalogs, design specifications, advertising materials, inventory systems and similar that is about manufactured objects of the same class. The model number is an alternative term for the class. The manufactered objects may or may not also bear the model number. Model numbers can be encoded in a variety of other information objects, such as bar codes, numerals, or patterns of dots.
editor note: manufactered items may have more than one model number, sometimes by rebranding, or because companies are sold and the products issued new model numbers
term editor: Person: Alan Ruttenberg

obsolete_material_entity
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
has obsolescence reason: placeholder removed
deprecated: true

obsolete2_binary digital entity
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
editor preferred term: binary digital entity
example of usage: MS Word document, ZIP file, DICOM file, JPEG file
definition: A binary digital entity is a digital entity that is encoded in a way that is not easily human readable and that contains other than text characters.
editor note: 3/22/2009 Alan Ruttenberg, obsoleted per http://groups.google.com/group/information-ontology/browse_thread/thread/789ad4b7708d5cf4 Superclass was 'digital entity'
editor note: digital_entity
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000244
definition source: group:OBI
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

obsolete_unit of measure
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
example of usage: The length of a ruler.
definition: a unit of measure is the quality of some material entity compared to which another quality is some multiple of.
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Smith, Ceusters, Ruttenberg, 2000 years of philosophy
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

programming language
type: Class
subclass of: plan specification
editor preferred term: programming language
example of usage: R, Perl, Java
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A language in which source code is written that is intended to be executed/run by a software interpreter. Programming languages are ways to write instructions that specify what to do, and sometimes, how to do it.
term editor: person:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000058
definition source: group:OBI

data item
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
editor preferred term: data item
example of usage: Data items include counts of things, analyte concentrations, and statistical summaries.
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: An information content entity that is intended to be a truthful statement about something (modulo, e.g., measurement precision or other systematic errors) and is constructed/acquired by a method which reliably tends to produce (approximately) truthful statements.
editor note: 2/2/2009 Alan and Bjoern discussing FACS run output data. This is a data item because it is about the cell population. Each element records an event and is typically further composed a set of measurment data items that record the fluorescent intensity stimulated by one of the lasers.
editor note: 2009-03-16: data item deliberatly ambiguous: we merged data set and datum to be one entity, not knowing how to define singular versus plural. So data item is more general than datum.
editor note: 2009-03-16: removed datum as alternative term as datum specifically refers to singular form, and is thus not an exact synonym.
editor note: 2014-03-31: See discussion at http://odontomachus.wordpress.com/2014/03/30/aboutness-objects-propositions/
editor note: JAR: datum -- well, this will be very tricky to define, but maybe some information-like stuff that might be put into a computer and that is meant, by someone, to denote and/or to be interpreted by some process... I would include lists, tables, sentences... I think I might defer to Barry, or to Brian Cantwell Smith JAR: A data item is an approximately justified approximately true approximate belief
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Chris Stoeckert
term editor: PERSON: Jonathan Rees
alternative label: data

symbol
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
editor preferred term: symbol
example of usage: a serial number such as "12324X"
example of usage: a stop sign
example of usage: a written proper name such as "OBI"
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: An information content entity that is a mark(s) or character(s) used as a conventional representation of another entity.
editor note: 20091104, MC: this needs work and will most probably change
editor note: 2014-03-31: We would like to have a deeper analysis of 'mark' and 'sign' in the future (see https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/154).
term editor: PERSON: James A. Overton
term editor: PERSON: Jonathan Rees
definition source: based on Oxford English Dictionary

numeral
type: Class
subclass of: symbol
editor preferred term: numeral
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A symbol that denotes a number.
term editor: PERSON: Jonathan Rees

information content entity
type: Class
subclass of: generically dependent continuant
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: entity
editor preferred term: information content entity
example of usage: Examples of information content entites include journal articles, data, graphical layouts, and graphs.
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A generically dependent continuant that is about some thing.
editor note: 2014-03-10: The use of "thing" is intended to be general enough to include universals and configurations (see https://groups.google.com/d/msg/information-ontology/GBxvYZCk1oc/-L6B5fSBBTQJ).
editor note: information_content_entity 'is_encoded_in' some digital_entity in obi before split (040907). information_content_entity 'is_encoded_in' some physical_document in obi before split (040907). Previous. An information content entity is a non-realizable information entity that 'is encoded in' some digital or physical entity.
term editor: PERSON: Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000142

integer numeral
type: Class
subclass of: numeral
editor preferred term: integer numeral
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A numeral that denotes an integer
term editor: PERSON: Jonathan Rees

scalar measurement datum
type: Class
subclass of: measurement datum
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has measurement unit label
  min cardinality: 1
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has measurement value
  min cardinality: 1
example of usage: 10 feet. 3 ml.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A scalar measurement datum is a measurement datum that is composed of two parts, numerals and a unit label.
editor note: 2009-03-16: we decided to keep datum singular in scalar measurement datum, as in this case we explicitly refer to the singular form
editor note: Would write this as: has_part some 'measurement unit label' and has_part some numeral and has_part exactly 2, except for the fact that this won't let us take advantage of OWL reasoning over the numbers. Instead use has measurment value property to represent the same. Use has measurement unit label (subproperty of has_part) so we can easily say that there is only one of them.
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot

directive information entity
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: realizable entity
has curation status: ready for release
definition: An information content entity whose concretizations indicate to their bearer how to realize them in a process.
editor note: 2009-03-16: provenance: a term realizable information entity was proposed for OBI (OBI_0000337) , edited by the PlanAndPlannedProcess branch. Original definition was "is the specification of a process that can be concretized and realized by an actor" with alternative term "instruction".It has been subsequently moved to IAO where the objective for which the original term was defined was satisfied with the definitionof this, different, term.
editor note: 2013-05-30 Alan Ruttenberg: What differentiates a directive information entity from an information concretization is that it can have concretizations that are either qualities or realizable entities. The concretizations that are realizable entities are created when an individual chooses to take up the direction, i.e. has the intention to (try to) realize it.
editor note: 8/6/2009 Alan Ruttenberg: Changed label from "information entity about a realizable" after discussions at ICBO
editor note: Werner pushed back on calling it realizable information entity as it isn't realizable. However this name isn't right either. An example would be a recipe. The realizable entity would be a plan, but the information entity isn't about the plan, it, once concretized, *is* the plan. -Alan
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Bjoern Peters

time trigger
type: Class
subclass of: conditional specification
editor preferred term: time trigger
has curation status: uncurated
term editor: PlanAndPlannedProcess Branch

obsolete_study interpretation
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
editor preferred term: obsolete_study interpretation
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A study interpretation is a textual entity about the implications of a study result. Examples include discussion of whether a hypothesis is false, whether the study failed to address the hypothesis, and whether the study results have led to new hypotheses
editor note: 2009-03-16: definition was "A conclusion is a narrative object which can be published in a paper summerizing and interpreting a protocol application."
editor note: 2009-03-16: work has been done on this term during during the OBI workshop winter 2009 and the current definition was considered acceptable for use in OBI. If there is a need to modify this definition please notify OBI.
editor note: The obsoleting of narrative object required a modest change in the definition of this term. Circularity with "interpretation... interprets" has been removed, using "about the implications" instead.
term editor: Lawrence Hunter
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Jennifer Fostel
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
alternative label: conclusion
definition source: OBI_0000005
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

dot plot
type: Class
subclass of: graph
editor preferred term: dot plot
example of usage: Dot plot of SSC-H and FSC-H.
has curation status: example to be eventually removed
definition: A dot plot is a report graph which is a graphical representation of data where each data point is represented by a single dot placed on coordinates corresponding to data point values in particular dimensions.
term editor: person:Allyson Lister
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000123
definition source: group:OBI

graph
type: Class
subclass of: diagram
editor preferred term: graph
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A diagram that presents one or more tuples of information by mapping those tuples in to a two dimensional space in a non arbitrary way.
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
term editor: person:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: person:Allyson Lister
definition source: OBI_0000240
definition source: group:OBI

obsolete2_text based digital entity
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
editor preferred term: text based digital entity
example of usage: XML file, C++ source code file
definition: A text based digital entity is a digital entity that is encoded so that it only contains text characters.
editor note: 3/22/2009 Alan Ruttenberg, obsoleted per http://groups.google.com/group/information-ontology/browse_thread/thread/789ad4b7708d5cf4 superclass was 'digital document'
editor note: digital_entity
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000132
definition source: group:OBI
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

rule
type: Class
subclass of: conditional specification
editor preferred term: rule
example of usage: example to be added
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A rule is an executable which guides, defines, restricts actions.
editor note: MSI
term editor: PRS
definition source: OBI_0500021
definition source: PRS

contour plot
type: Class
subclass of: graph
editor preferred term: contour plot
example of usage: Contour plot of SSC-H, FSC-H, and FL1-H.
has curation status: example to be eventually removed
editor note: generically_dependent_continuants
term editor: person:Allyson Lister
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000246
definition source: group:Flow Cytometry community

obsolete2_report figure
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
editor preferred term: report figure
has curation status: uncurated
definition: A report figure is a report display element that has some aspect of illustration, but may be a composite of figures, images, and other elements
editor note: I prepended the 'report ' to make it clear that we mean parts of reports here. We may want a more generic version of 'figure', in which case this would become a defined class - figure and part_of some report
editor note: Replaced by defined version of figure
term editor: person:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: person:Allyson Lister
definition source: OBI_0000027
definition source: group:OBI
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

algorithm
type: Class
subclass of: plan specification
editor preferred term: algorithm
example of usage: PMID: 18378114.Genomics. 2008 Mar 28. LINKGEN: A new algorithm to process data in genetic linkage studies.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A plan specification which describes the inputs and output of mathematical functions as well as workflow of execution for achieving an predefined objective. Algorithms are realized usually by means of implementation as computer programs for execution by automata.
term editor: Philippe Rocca-Serra
term editor: PlanAndPlannedProcess Branch
definition source: OBI_0000270
definition source: adapted from discussion on OBI list (Matthew Pocock, Christian Cocos, Alan Ruttenberg)

software interpreter
type: Class
subclass of: algorithm
editor preferred term: software interpreter
example of usage: R program, Perl interpreter, Java virtual machine
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A software interpreter is a software application that executes some specified input software.
editor note: Do we care? Jennifer: Yes, there was a particular version of R that had a bug and it was fixed later. That would imply that we mean specific version of an interpreter. So an instance of this would be a particular version of the interpreter
term editor: person:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000199
definition source: group:OBI

curation status specification
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  one of: example to be eventually removed
  one of: metadata complete
  one of: organizational term
  one of: ready for release
  one of: metadata incomplete
  one of: uncurated
  one of: pending final vetting
  one of: to be replaced with external ontology term
  one of: requires discussion
subclass of: data about an ontology part
editor preferred term: curation status specification
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: The curation status of the term. The allowed values come from an enumerated list of predefined terms. See the specification of these instances for more detailed definitions of each enumerated value.
editor note: Better to represent curation as a process with parts and then relate labels to that process (in IAO meeting)
term editor: PERSON:Bill Bug
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>
definition source: OBI_0000266

density plot
type: Class
subclass of: graph
editor preferred term: density plot
example of usage: Density plot of SSC-H and FSC-H.
has curation status: example to be eventually removed
definition: A density plot is a report graph which is a graphical representation of data where the tint of a particular pixel corresponds to some kind of function corresponding the the amount of data points relativelly with their distance from the the pixel.
term editor: person:Allyson Lister
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000179
definition source: group:Flow Cytometry community

report
type: Class
subclass of: document
editor preferred term: report
example of usage: Examples of reports are gene lists and investigation reports. These are not published (journal) articles but may be included in a journal article.
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A document assembled by an author for the purpose of providing information for the audience. A report is the output of a documenting process and has the objective to be consumed by a specific audience. Topic of the report is on something that has completed. A report is not a single figure. Examples of reports are journal article, patent application, grant progress report, case report (not patient record).
editor note: 2009-03-16: comment from Darren Natale: I am slightly uneasy with the sentence "Topic of the report is on something that has completed." Should it be restricted to those things that are completed? For example, a progress report is (usually) about something that definitely has *not* been completed, or may include (only) projections. I think the definition would not suffer if the whole sentence is deleted.
editor note: 2009-03-16: this was report of results with definition: A report is a narrative object that is a formal statement of the results of an investigation, or of any matter on which definite information is required, made by some person or body instructed or required to do so.
editor note: 2009-03-16: work has been done on this term during during the OBI workshop winter 2009 and the current definition was considered acceptable for use in OBI. If there is a need to modify this definition please notify OBI.
editor note: 2009-08-10 Alan Ruttenberg: Larry Hunter suggests that this be obsoleted and replaced by 'document'. Alan restored as there are OBI dependencies and this merits further discussion
editor note: disagreement about where reports go. alan: only some gene lists are reports. Is a report all the content of some document? The example of usage suggests that a report may be part of some article. Term needs clarification
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Chris Stoeckert
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
definition source: GROUP: OBI
definition source: OBI_0000099

obsolete_report element
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
editor preferred term: report element
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A report element is a narrative object in which information is presented and consumed by a human being, and is part of a report. Examples of report elements are figure (dot plot), table, text portion (may include a movie or audio clip on a web page).
editor note: 2009-03-16: needs some more work (clarify relations).
editor note: 2009-03-16: was report display element with definition: A report display element is a narrative object that is part of a report. Report display elements are set off from the textual parts of a report and are typically given a label(e.g. Figure 2) which is used to refer to the element from the text. Typically the 2d layout is part of the identity of such elements.
editor note: 2009-03-16: work has been done on this term during during the OBI workshop winter 2009 and the current definition was considered acceptable for use in OBI. If there is a need to modify this definition please notify OBI.
editor note: 2009-08-10 Alan Ruttenberg: Larry Hunter suggests that this be obsoleted and replaced by 'textual entity' and 'figure'. Alan restored as there are OBI dependencies and this merits further discussion
editor note: Replaced by textual entity and figure
editor note: There will be some issue here about whether these are defined classes. As intended these are meant to denote the parts of the report that are not textual but are typically boxed and set within the text, labelled with some identifier, and referred to in the text
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Allyson Lister
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
definition source: GROUP:OBI
definition source: OBI_0000001
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

obsolete2_binary executable
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
editor preferred term: binary executable
definition: Binary executable is a digital entity consisting of the binary representation of machine instructions of a specific processor or they may be binary pseudocode for a virtual machine. A non-source executable file is also called an object program. It is assumed that the binary executable file contains properly-formatted computer instructions. (derived from Wikipedia, Nov 1, 2007)
editor note: 3/22/2009 Alan Ruttenberg, obsoleted per http://groups.google.com/group/information-ontology/browse_thread/thread/789ad4b7708d5cf4 superclass was 'digital entity'
term editor: person:Jennifer Fostel
definition source: OBI_0000222
definition source: group:OBI
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

source code module
type: Class
subclass of: directive information entity
editor preferred term: source code module
example of usage: The written source code that implements part of an algorithm. Test - if you know that it was written in a specific language, then it can be source code module. We mean here, roughly, the wording of a document such as a perl script.
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A source code module is a directive information entity that specifies, using a programming language, some algorithm.
term editor: person:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000039
definition source: group:OBI

obsolete_report table
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
editor preferred term: report table
has curation status: example to be eventually removed
definition: A report table is a report display element consisting of a matrix of cells layed out in a grid, some set of which are filled with some information content
editor note: 2009-08-10 Alan Ruttenberg: Larry Hunter suggests that this be obsoleted and replaced by 'textual entity table'. Alan restored as there are OBI dependencies and this merits further discussion
term editor: person:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: person:Allyson Lister
definition source: OBI_0000265
definition source: group:OBI
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

data format specification
type: Class
subclass of: directive information entity
editor preferred term: data format specification
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A data format specification is the information content borne by the document published defining the specification. Example: The ISO document specifying what encompasses an XML document; The instructions in a XSD file
editor note: 2009-03-16: provenance: term imported from OBI_0000187, which had original definition "A data format specification is a plan which organizes information. Example: The ISO document specifying what encompasses an XML document; The instructions in a XSD file"
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PlanAndPlannedProcess Branch
definition source: OBI branch derived
definition source: OBI_0000187

data set
type: Class
subclass of: data item
editor preferred term: data set
example of usage: Intensity values in a CEL file or from multiple CEL files comprise a data set (as opposed to the CEL files themselves).
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A data item that is an aggregate of other data items of the same type that have something in common. Averages and distributions can be determined for data sets.
editor note: 2009/10/23 Alan Ruttenberg. The intention is that this term represent collections of like data. So this isn't for, e.g. the whole contents of a cel file, which includes parameters, metadata etc. This is more like java arrays of a certain rather specific type
editor note: 2014-05-05: Data sets are aggregates and thus must include two or more data items. We have chosen not to add logical axioms to make this restriction.
term editor: person:Allyson Lister
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000042
definition source: group:OBI

image
type: Class
subclass of: figure
editor preferred term: image
has curation status: ready for release
definition: An image is an affine projection to a two dimensional surface, of measurements of some quality of an entity or entities repeated at regular intervals across a spatial range, where the measurements are represented as color and luminosity on the projected on surface.
term editor: person:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: person:Allyson
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000030
definition source: group:OBI

data about an ontology part
type: Class
subclass of: data item
editor preferred term: data about an ontology part
definition: Data about an ontology part is a data item about a part of an ontology, for example a term
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

plan specification
type: Class
subclass of: directive information entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: objective specification
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: action specification
editor preferred term: plan specification
example of usage: PMID: 18323827.Nat Med. 2008 Mar;14(3):226.New plan proposed to help resolve conflicting medical advice.
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A directive information entity with action specifications and objective specifications as parts, and that may be concretized as a realizable entity that, if realized, is realized in a process in which the bearer tries to achieve the objectives by taking the actions specified.
editor note: 2009-03-16: provenance: a term a plan was proposed for OBI (OBI_0000344) , edited by the PlanAndPlannedProcess branch. Original definition was " a plan is a specification of a process that is realized by an actor to achieve the objective specified as part of the plan". It has been subsequently moved to IAO where the objective for which the original term was defined was satisfied with the definitionof this, different, term.
editor note: 2014-03-31: A plan specification can have other parts, such as conditional specifications.
editor note: 2022-01-16 Updated definition to that proposed by Clint Dowloand, IAO Issue 231.
editor note: Alternative previous definition: a plan is a set of instructions that specify how an objective should be achieved
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: Clint Dowland
definition source: OBI Plan and Planned Process branch
definition source: OBI_0000344
comment: 2/3/2009 Comment from OBI review. Action specification not well enough specified. Conditional specification not well enough specified. Question whether all plan specifications have objective specifications. Request that IAO either clarify these or change definitions not to use them

obsolete2_digital document
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
editor preferred term: digital document
definition: A digital document is a digital entity consisting of an electronic file which can be rendered into human-readable form by one or more computational applications. The digital document does not refer to the information content of the document but to an instance of the file.
editor note: 3/22/2009 Alan Ruttenberg, obsoleted per http://groups.google.com/group/information-ontology/browse_thread/thread/789ad4b7708d5cf4 superclass was 'digial entity'
term editor: person:Jennifer Fostel
definition source: OBI_0000195
definition source: group:OBI
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

measurement datum
type: Class
subclass of: data item
editor preferred term: measurement datum
example of usage: Examples of measurement data are the recoding of the weight of a mouse as {40,mass,"grams"}, the recording of an observation of the behavior of the mouse {,process,"agitated"}, the recording of the expression level of a gene as measured through the process of microarray experiment {3.4,luminosity,}.
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A measurement datum is an information content entity that is a recording of the output of a measurement such as produced by a device.
editor note: 2/2/2009 is_specified_output of some assay?
term editor: person:Chris Stoeckert
definition source: OBI_0000305
definition source: group:OBI

obsolete_identifier
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
has curation status: organizational term
editor note: _identifier is a container under information content entity for collecting types of terms to indicate a specific instance or clas of what was used or participated in an investigation. Identifiers are borne by a product or its packaging, and can be encoded in a variety of other information objects, such as bar codes, numerals, or patterns of dots. Note: everybody agreed that identifier is probably a too general term. We however felt that it would be appropriate to group "identifiying" terms under some kind of umbrella. We therefore propose to use _identifier for that purpose. As per OBI conventions, the _ prefixing identifier indicates that this is a helper class and shouldn't be considered as final.
has obsolescence reason: placeholder removed
deprecated: true

version number
type: Class
subclass of: symbol
editor preferred term: version number
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A version number is an information content entity which is a sequence of characters borne by part of each of a class of manufactured products or its packaging and indicates its order within a set of other products having the same name.
editor note: Note: we feel that at the moment we are happy with a general version number, and that we will subclass as needed in the future. For example, see 7. genome sequence version
term editor: GROUP: IAO

serial number
type: Class
subclass of: symbol
editor preferred term: serial number
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A serial number is an information content entity which is a unique sequence of characters borne by part of manufactured product or its packaging that is assigned to each individual in some class of products, and so can serve as a way to identify an individual product within the class. Serial numbers can be encoded in a variety of other information objects, such as bar codes, numerals, or patterns of dots.
editor note: Note: during the call there was some confusion between serial number and model number. We agreed that it would be very helpful for all those terms to have example of usages - please add if you have any :-)
term editor: GROUP: IAO

lot number
type: Class
subclass of: symbol
editor preferred term: lot number
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A lot number is an information content entity which is an identical sequence of character borne by part of manufactured product or its packaging for each instances of a product class in a discrete batch of an item. Lot numbers are usually assigned to each separate production run of an item. Manufacturing as a lot might be due to a variety of reasons, for example, a single process during which many individuals are made from the same portion of source material. Lot numbers can be encoded in a pattern of other information objects, such as bar codes, numerals, or patterns of dots.
term editor: GROUP: IAO
alternative label: batch number

setting datum
type: Class
subclass of: data item
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A settings datum is a datum that denotes some configuration of an instrument.
editor note: 2/3/2009 Feedback from OBI This should be a "setting specification". There is a question of whether it is information about a realizable or not. Pro other specification are about realizables. Cons sometimes specifies a quality which is not a realizable.
editor note: Alan grouped these in placeholder for the moment. Name by analogy to measurement datum.

obsolete_digital quality
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
editor note: 3/22/2009 Alan Ruttenberg, obsoleted per http://groups.google.com/group/information-ontology/browse_thread/thread/789ad4b7708d5cf4
editor note: Need to rework digital entity. Digital quality was suggested by Barry.
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

conclusion textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: conclusion textual entity
example of usage: that fucoidan has a small statistically significant effect on AT3 level but no useful clinical effect as in-vivo anticoagulant, a paraphrase of part of the last paragraph of the discussion section of the paper 'Pilot clinical study to evaluate the anticoagulant activity of fucoidan', by Lowenthal et. al.PMID:19696660
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A textual entity that expresses the results of reasoning about a problem, for instance as typically found towards the end of scientific papers.
editor note: 2009/09/28 Alan Ruttenberg. Fucoidan-use-case
editor note: 2009/10/23 Alan Ruttenberg: We need to work on the definition still
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

material information bearer
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: material entity
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has characteristic
    some values from: Restriction
      on property: concretizes
      some values from: information content entity
subclass of: material entity
editor preferred term: material information bearer
example of usage: A page of a paperback novel with writing on it. The paper itself is a material information bearer, the pattern of ink is the information carrier.
example of usage: a brain
example of usage: a hard drive
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A material entity in which a concretization of an information content entity inheres.
term editor: GROUP: IAO

histogram
type: Class
subclass of: graph
editor preferred term: histogram
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A histogram is a report graph which is a statistical description of a distribution in terms of occurrence frequencies of different event classes.
term editor: PERSON:Chris Stoeckert
term editor: PERSON:James Malone
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
definition source: GROUP:OBI

heatmap
type: Class
subclass of: graph
editor preferred term: heatmap
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A heatmap is a report graph which is a graphical representation of data where the values taken by a variable(s) are shown as colors in a two-dimensional map.
term editor: PERSON:Chris Stoeckert
term editor: PERSON:James Malone
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
definition source: GROUP:OBI

Venn diagram
type: Class
subclass of: graph
editor preferred term: Venn diagram
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A Venn diagram is a report graph showing all hypothetically possible logical relations between a finite collection of sets.
term editor: PERSON:Chris Stoeckert
term editor: PERSON:James Malone
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
definition source: WEB: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venn_diagram

obsolete_survival curve
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
editor preferred term: obsolete_survival curve
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A survival curve is a report graph which is a graphical representation of data where the percentage of survival is plotted as a function of time.
term editor: PERSON:Chris Stoeckert
term editor: PERSON:James Malone
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
definition source: WEB: http://www.graphpad.com/www/book/survive.htm
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

dendrogram
type: Class
subclass of: graph
editor preferred term: dendrogram
example of usage: Dendrograms are often used in computational biology to illustrate the clustering of genes.
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A dendrogram is a report graph which is a tree diagram frequently used to illustrate the arrangement of the clusters produced by a clustering algorithm.
term editor: PERSON:Chris Stoeckert
term editor: PERSON:James Malone
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
definition source: WEB: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrogram

scatter plot
type: Class
subclass of: graph
editor preferred term: scatter plot
example of usage: Comparison of gene expression values in two samples can be displayed in a scatter plot
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A scatterplot is a graph which uses Cartesian coordinates to display values for two variables for a set of data. The data is displayed as a collection of points, each having the value of one variable determining the position on the horizontal axis and the value of the other variable determining the position on the vertical axis.
term editor: PERSON:Chris Stoeckert
term editor: PERSON:James Malone
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
alternative label: scattergraph
definition source: WEB: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scatterplot

photograph
type: Class
subclass of: image
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A photograph is created by projecting an image onto a photosensitive surface such as a chemically treated plate or film, CCD receptor, etc.
term editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON:Joanne Luciano
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
definition source: WEB: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/photograph

photographic print
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: material entity
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has characteristic
    some values from: Restriction
      on property: concretizes
      some values from: photograph
subclass of: material information bearer
editor preferred term: photographic print
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A photographic print is a material entity upon which a photograph generically depends.
term editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot

obsolescence reason specification
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  one of: failed exploratory term
  one of: placeholder removed
  one of: terms merged
  one of: term imported
  one of: term split
  one of: out of scope
subclass of: data about an ontology part
editor preferred term: obsolescence reason specification
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: The reason for which a term has been deprecated. The allowed values come from an enumerated list of predefined terms. See the specification of these instances for more detailed definitions of each enumerated value.
editor note: The creation of this class has been inspired in part by Werner Ceusters' paper, Applying evolutionary terminology auditing to the Gene Ontology.
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot

textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
editor preferred term: textual entity
example of usage: Words, sentences, paragraphs, and the written (non-figure) parts of publications are all textual entities
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A textual entity is a part of a manifestation (FRBR sense), a generically dependent continuant whose concretizations are patterns of glyphs intended to be interpreted as words, formulas, etc.
editor note: AR, (IAO call 2009-09-01): a document as a whole is not typically a textual entity, because it has pictures in it - rather there are parts of it that are textual entities. Examples: The title, paragraph 2 sentence 7, etc.
editor note: MC, 2009-09-14 (following IAO call 2009-09-01): textual entities live at the FRBR (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_Requirements_for_Bibliographic_Records) manifestation level. Everything is significant: line break, pdf and html versions of same document are different textual entities.
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: text

citation
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: document
editor preferred term: citation
example of usage: Verspoor, K., Cohen, KB., Hunter, L. Textual characteristics of traditional and Open Access scientific journals are similar, BMC Bioinformatics 2009, 10:183.
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A textual entity intended to identify a particular publication.
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

author identification
type: Class
subclass of: written name
editor preferred term: author identification
example of usage: L. Hunter
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A textual entity intended to identify a particular author
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

institutional identification
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: institutional identification
example of usage: University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A textual entity intended to identify a particular institution
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

caption
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: figure
editor preferred term: caption
example of usage: Figure 1: A system diagram describing the modules of the Hanalyzer. Reading methods (green) take external sources of knowledge (blue) and extract information from them, either by parsing structured data or biomedical language processing to extract information from unstructured data. Reading modules are responsible for tracking the provenance of all knowledge. Reasoning methods (yellow) enrich the knowledge that results from reading by, for example, noting two genes that are annotated to the same ontology term or database entry. All knowledge sources, read or reasoned, are assigned a reliability score, and all are combined using that score into a knowledge network (orange) that represents the integration of all sorts of relationship between a pair of genes and a combined reliability score. A data network (also orange) is created from experimental results to be analyzed. The reporting modules (pink) integrate the data and knowledge networks, producing visualizations that can be queried with the associated drill-down tool.
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A textual entity that describes a figure
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

document title
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: document title
example of usage: Textual characteristics of traditional and Open Access scientific journals are similar
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A textual entity that names a document
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

table
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: table
example of usage: | T F --+----- T | T F F | F F
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A textual entity that contains a two-dimensional arrangement of texts repeated at regular intervals across a spatial range, such that the spatial relationships among the constituent texts expresses propositions
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

table of abbreviations
type: Class
subclass of: table
editor preferred term: table of abbreviations
example of usage: IAO information artifact ontology OBI ontology of biomedical investiations GO gene ontology
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A table where the constituent texts are abbreviations and their expansions
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

figure
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
editor preferred term: figure
example of usage: Any picture, diagram or table
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: An information content entity consisting of a two dimensional arrangement of information content entities such that the arrangement itself is about something.
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

diagram
type: Class
subclass of: figure
editor preferred term: diagram
example of usage: A molecular structure ribbon cartoon showing helices, turns and sheets and their relations to each other in space.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A figure that expresses one or more propositions
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

document
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
editor preferred term: document
example of usage: A journal article, patent application, laboratory notebook, or a book
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A collection of information content entities intended to be understood together as a whole
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

publication
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: document
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: is_specified_output_of
    all values from: publishing process
subclass of: document
editor preferred term: publication
example of usage: journal article, newspaper story, book, etc.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A document that is the output of a publishing process.
term editor: PERSON: Chris Stoeckert
term editor: PERSON: Jie Zheng
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: published document
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/232
comment: Revisit the term in Octorber 2020. Improve the defintion.

publication about an investigation
type: Class
subclass of: publication
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: investigation
editor preferred term: publication about an investigation
example of usage: Most scientific journal articles
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A publication that is about an investigation
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: scientific publication

patent
type: Class
subclass of: document
editor preferred term: patent
example of usage: US Patent 6,449,603
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A document that has been accepted by a patent authority
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

document part
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: part of
  some values from: document
editor preferred term: document part
example of usage: An abstract, introduction, method or results section.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: An information content entity that is part of a document.
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

abstract
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: document
editor preferred term: abstract
example of usage: The profusion of high-throughput instruments and the explosion of new results in the scientific literature, particularly in molecular biomedicine, is both a blessing and a curse to the bench researcher. Even knowledgeable and experienced scientists can benefit from computational tools that help navigate this vast and rapidly evolving terrain. In this paper, we describe a novel computational approach to this challenge, a knowledge-based system that combines reading, reasoning and reporting methods to facilitate analysis of experimental data. Reading methods extract information from external resources, either by parsing structured data or biomedical language processing to extract information from unstructured data, and track knowledge provenance. Reasoning methods enrich the knowledge that results from reading by, for example, noting two genes that are annotated to the same ontology term or database entry. Reasoning is also used to combine all sources into a knowledge network that represents the integration of all sorts of relationships between a pair of genes, and to calculate a combined reliability score. Reporting methods combine the knowledge network with a congruent network constructed from experimental data and visualize the combined network in a tool that facilitates the knowledge-based analysis of that data.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A summary of the entire document that is substantially smaller than the document it summarizes. It is about the document it summarizes.
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: precis
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

introduction to a publication about an investigation
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: objective specification
editor preferred term: introduction to a publication about an investigation
example of usage: Section labelled 'introduction' of a typical scientific journal article
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A part of a publication about an investigation that is about the objective specification (why the investigation is being done)
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: background
alternative label: introduction
alternative label: overview
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

methods section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: study design
editor preferred term: methods section
example of usage: The section labelled 'Methods' or 'Materials and Methods' in a typical scientific journal article.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A part of a publication about an investigation that is about the study design of the investigation
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: experimental
alternative label: experimental methods
alternative label: experimental procedures
alternative label: experimental section
alternative label: method
alternative label: methodology
alternative label: methods
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

results section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: study design execution
editor preferred term: results section
example of usage: The section labelled 'results' in a typical scientific journal article
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A part of a publication about an investigation that is about a study design execution
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: results

discussion section of a publication about an investigation
type: Class
subclass of: document part
editor preferred term: discussion section of a publication about an investigation
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A part of a publication about an investigation that is about the study interpretation of the investigation
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: discussion
alternative label: discussion section
alternative label: discussions
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

references section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: citation
editor preferred term: references section
example of usage: The list of citations found at the end of a scientific publication, grant proposal or patent application, sometimes called "literature cited" or "bibliography"
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A part of a document that has citations as parts
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: literature cited
alternative label: reference
alternative label: reference list
alternative label: references
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

author list
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: author identification
editor preferred term: author list
example of usage: Lawrence Hunter and Kevin Brettonel Cohen
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A part of a document that enumerates the authors of the document
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

institution list
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: institutional identification
editor preferred term: institution list
example of usage: The University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and the University of Colorado Boulder.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A part of a document that has parts that are institution identifications associated with the authors of the document
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

author contributions section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
editor preferred term: author contributions section
example of usage: LH conceived of the hypothesis, designed the study and contributed to the writing of the manuscript. KBC executed the experiments, analyzed the data, and contributed to the writing of the manuscript.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A part of a publication that is about the specific contributions of each author
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: author contributions
alternative label: authors' contribution
alternative label: authors' contributions
alternative label: authors' roles
alternative label: contributions by the authors
alternative label: contributorship
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

acknowledgements section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
editor preferred term: acknowledgements section
example of usage: The authors wish to thank Alan Ruttenberg for his constructive comments about an earlier draft of this manuscript
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: Part of a publication that is about the contributions of people or institutions other than the authors.
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: acknowledgement
alternative label: acknowledgements
alternative label: acknowledgment
alternative label: acknowledgments
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

footnote
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: document part
editor preferred term: footnote
example of usage: The referent in the text is usually indicated by a special typographic character such as * or a superscripted number, which is also used to indicate the footnote that refers to that text.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A part of a document that is about a specific other part of the document. Usually footnotes are spatially segregated from the rest of the document.
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: endnote
alternative label: footnotes
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

supplementary material to a document
type: Class
subclass of: document part
editor preferred term: supplementary material to a document
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A part of a document that is segregated from the rest of the document due to its size
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter
alternative label: additional file
alternative label: additional files
alternative label: additional information
alternative label: appendix
alternative label: electronic supplementary material
alternative label: electronic supplementary materials
alternative label: supplemental data
alternative label: supplemental information
alternative label: supplemental material
alternative label: supplementary data
alternative label: supplementary files
alternative label: supplementary information
alternative label: supplementary material
alternative label: supplementary materials
alternative label: supporting information
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

table of contents
type: Class
subclass of: table
editor preferred term: table of contents
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A table that relates document parts to specific locations in a document (usually page numbers). This is also a document part (subsumption there should be inferred).
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

table of figures
type: Class
subclass of: table
editor preferred term: table of figures
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A table that relates figures in a document to specific locations in that document (usually page numbers). This is also a document part (subsumption there should be inferred).
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

running title
type: Class
subclass of: document title
editor preferred term: running title
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A shorter version of a document title
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

copyright section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
editor preferred term: copyright section
example of usage: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A document part that describes legal restrictions on making or distributing copies of the document
term editor: PERSON: Lawrence Hunter

cartesian spatial coordinate datum
type: Class
subclass of: data item
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: denotes
  some values from: zero-dimensional spatial region
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has coordinate unit label
  cardinality: 1
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A cartesian spatial coordinate datum is a representation of a point in a spatial region, in which equal changes in the magnitude of a coordinate value denote length qualities with the same magnitude
editor note: 2009-08-18 Alan Ruttenberg - question to BFO list about whether the BFO sense of the lower dimensional regions is that they are always part of actual space (the three dimensional sort) http://groups.google.com/group/bfo-discuss/browse_thread/thread/9d04e717e39fb617
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
curator note: AR notes: We need to discuss whether it should include site.

one dimensional cartesian spatial coordinate datum
type: Class
subclass of: cartesian spatial coordinate datum
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: denotes
  some values from: Class
    intersection of: zero-dimensional spatial region
    intersection of: Restriction
      on property: part of
      some values from: one-dimensional spatial region
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has x coordinate value
  cardinality: 1
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A cartesion spatial coordinate datum that uses one value to specify a position along a one dimensional spatial region
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg

two dimensional cartesian spatial coordinate datum
type: Class
subclass of: cartesian spatial coordinate datum
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: denotes
  some values from: Class
    intersection of: zero-dimensional spatial region
    intersection of: Restriction
      on property: part of
      some values from: two-dimensional spatial region
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has x coordinate value
  cardinality: 1
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has y coordinate value
  cardinality: 1
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A cartesion spatial coordinate datum that uses two values to specify a position within a two dimensional spatial region
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg

three dimensional cartesian spatial coordinate datum
type: Class
subclass of: cartesian spatial coordinate datum
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: denotes
  some values from: Class
    intersection of: zero-dimensional spatial region
    intersection of: Restriction
      on property: part of
      some values from: three-dimensional spatial region
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has x coordinate value
  cardinality: 1
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has z coordinate value
  cardinality: 1
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has y coordinate value
  cardinality: 1
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A cartesion spatial coordinate datum that uses three values to specify a position within a three dimensional spatial region
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg

length measurement datum
type: Class
subclass of: scalar measurement datum
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has measurement unit label
  some values from: length unit
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is quality measurement of
  some values from: length
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A scalar measurement datum that is the result of measurement of length quality
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg

denotator type
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  one of: universal
  one of: defined class
  one of: named class expression
subclass of: data about an ontology part
editor preferred term: denotator type
example of usage: The Basic Formal Ontology ontology makes a distinction between Universals and defined classes, where the formal are "natural kinds" and the latter arbitrary collections of entities.
definition: A denotator type indicates how a term should be interpreted from an ontological perspective.
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Barry Smith, Werner Ceusters

mass measurement datum
type: Class
subclass of: scalar measurement datum
subclass of: Class
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has measurement unit label
    all values from: mass unit
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: is quality measurement of
    all values from: mass
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A scalar measurement datum that is the result of measurement of mass quality
editor note: 2009/09/28 Alan Ruttenberg. Fucoidan-use-case
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

hypothesis textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: hypothesis textual entity
example of usage: that fucoidan has a small statistically significant effect on AT3 level but no useful clinical effect as in-vivo anticoagulant, a paraphrase of part of the last paragraph of the discussion section of the paper 'Pilot clinical study to evaluate the anticoagulant activity of fucoidan', by Lowenthal et. al.PMID:19696660
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A textual entity that expresses an assertion that is intended to be tested.
editor note: 2009/09/28 Alan Ruttenberg. Fucoidan-use-case
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

time measurement datum
type: Class
subclass of: scalar measurement datum
subclass of: Class
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has measurement unit label
    all values from: time unit
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: is duration of
    all values from: process
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A scalar measurement datum that is the result of measuring a temporal interval
editor note: 2009/09/28 Alan Ruttenberg. Fucoidan-use-case
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

postal address
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A textual entity that is used as directive to deliver something to a person, or organization
editor note: 2010-05-24 Alan Ruttenberg. Use label for the string representation. See issue https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/59

email address
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
editor preferred term: email address
has curation status: metadata incomplete
editor note: Alan Ruttenberg 1/3/2012 - Provisional id, see issue at https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/130&thanks=130&ts=1325636583
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: Person:Chris Stoeckart

author role
type: Class
subclass of: role
editor preferred term: author role
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A role inhering in a person or organization that is realized when the bearer participates in the work which is the basis of the document, in the writing of the document, and signs it with their name.
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot

data item extraction from journal article
type: Class
subclass of: planned process
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has_specified_input
  some values from: journal article
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has_specified_output
  some values from: data item
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A planned process in which journal articles are read or processed and data items are extracted, typically for further analysis or indexing
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

publishing process
type: Class
subclass of: planned process
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A planned process of making information, such as literature, music, and software etc., available to the public for sale or for free.
term editor: Person: Jie Zheng
definition source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publishing
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/232
ontology term requester: VEuPathDB

document in preparation for publication
type: Class
subclass of: document
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A document that is in preparation for submission to be published.
term editor: PERSON: Jie Zheng
definition source: EFO_0001795 in preparation
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/232
ontology term requester: VEuPathDB

documenting
type: Class
subclass of: planned process
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has_specified_input
  some values from: information content entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has_specified_output
  some values from: document
example of usage: Recording the current temperature in a laboratory notebook. Writing a journal article. Updating a patient record in a database.
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A planned process in which a document is created or added to by including the specified input in it.
editor note: 6/11/9: Edited at OBI workshop. We need to be able identify a child form of information artifact which corresponds to something enduring (not brain like). This used to be restricted to physical document or digital entity as the output, but that excludes e.g. an audio cassette tape
term editor: Bjoern Peters
definition source: wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documenting

line graph
type: Class
subclass of: graph
editor preferred term: line graph
has curation status: ready for release
definition: A line graph is a type of graph created by connecting a series of data points together with a line.
term editor: PERSON:Chris Stoeckert
term editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
alternative label: line chart
definition source: GROUP:OBI
definition source: WEB: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_chart

assigning a centrally registered identifier
type: Class
subclass of: planned process
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has_specified_output
  some values from: centrally registered identifier symbol
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has participant
  some values from: centrally registered identifier registry
example of usage: A new pubmed ID being created for a journal article, and the associated pubmed record containing information to the journal article. A license plate number registered at the DMV to be belonging to a specific vehicle and owner. Placing a barcode on a product and entering information in a database that this barcode is assigned.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A planned process in which a new CRID is created, associated with an entity, and stored in the CRID registry thereby registering it as being associated with some entity
editor note: 2014-05-05: It is the CRID registry that assigns CRIDs, not the users of the registry.
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: Person:Bjoern Peters
term editor: Person:Melanie Courtot
alternative label: assigning a CRID

associating information with a centrally registered identifier in its registry
type: Class
subclass of: planned process
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has_specified_input
  some values from: information content entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has_specified_input
  some values from: centrally registered identifier symbol
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has participant
  some values from: centrally registered identifier registry
example of usage: Articles in Pubmed are reviewed by curators who add MESH terms to the Pubmed records in order to categorize them better and improve the ability to search for them.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A planned process in which a CRID registry associates an information content entity with a CRID symbol
term editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
alternative label: associating information with a CRID in the CRID registry

obsolete_establishing a CRID registry
type: Class
subclass of: ObsoleteClass
definition: a planned process with the objective to establish a system that allows to refer to specific entities of a certain kind and store information about them, by establishing a CRID registry and plan specifications for the process of 1) assigning a CRID and 2) looking up a CRID.
editor note: MC, 20101124: deprecated following discussion at IAO call 20101124. Term was deemed not necessary - no use case for now.
has obsolescence reason: failed exploratory term
deprecated: true

centrally registered identifier symbol
type: Class
subclass of: symbol
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: part of
  some values from: centrally registered identifier
example of usage: The sentence "The article has Pubmed ID 12345." contains a CRID that has two parts: one part is the CRID symbol, which is '12345'; the other part denotes the CRID registry, which is Pubmed.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A symbol that is part of a CRID and that is sufficient to look up a record from the CRID's registry.
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Bill Hogan
term editor: PERSON: Bjoern Peters
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
alternative label: CRID symbol
definition source: Original proposal from Bjoern, discussions at IAO calls

centrally registered identifier
type: Class
subclass of: identifier
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: centrally registered identifier symbol
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: Restriction
    on property: denotes
    some values from: centrally registered identifier registry
example of usage: The sentence "The article has Pubmed ID 12345." contains a CRID that has two parts: one part is the CRID symbol, which is '12345'; the other part denotes the CRID registry, which is Pubmed.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: An information content entity that consists of a CRID symbol and additional information about the CRID registry to which it belongs.
editor note: 2014-05-05: In defining this term we take no position on what the CRID denotes. In particular do not assume it denotes a *record* in the CRID registry (since the registry might not have 'records').
editor note: Alan, IAO call 20101124: potentially the CRID denotes the instance it was associated with during creation.
editor note: Note, IAO call 20101124: URIs are not always CRID, as not centrally registered. We acknowledge that CRID is a subset of a larger identifier class, but this subset fulfills our current needs. OBI PURLs are CRID as they are registered with OCLC. UPCs (Universal Product Codes from AC Nielsen)are not CRID as they are not centrally registered.
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Bill Hogan
term editor: PERSON: Bjoern Peters
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
alternative label: CRID
definition source: Original proposal from Bjoern, discussions at IAO calls

centrally registered identifier registry
type: Class
subclass of: code set
example of usage: PubMed is a CRID registry. It has a code set of PubMed identifiers associated with journal articles.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A code set of CRID records, each consisting of a CRID symbol and additional information which was recorded in the code set through an assigning a centrally registered identifier process.
term editor: Justin Whorton
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Bill Hogan
term editor: PERSON: Bjoern Peters
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
alternative label: CRID registry
definition source: Original proposal from Bjoern, discussions at IAO calls
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/237

looking up a centrally registered identifier
type: Class
subclass of: planned process
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has_specified_input
  some values from: centrally registered identifier symbol
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has_specified_output
  some values from: information content entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has participant
  some values from: centrally registered identifier registry
example of usage: Going to the PubMed website and entering a PubMed ID in order to retrieve the Pubmed information associated with that ID.
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A planned process in which a request to a CRID registry is made to return the information associated with a CRID symbol
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Bill Hogan
term editor: PERSON: Bjoern Peters
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
alternative label: looking up a CRID

time stamped measurement datum
type: Class
subclass of: measurement datum
subclass of: Class
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has time stamp
    some values from: time measurement datum
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has measurement datum
    some values from: measurement datum
has curation status: metadata incomplete

time sampled measurement data set
type: Class
subclass of: data set
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: time stamped measurement datum
example of usage: pmid:20604925 - time-lapse live cell microscopy
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A data set that is an aggregate of data recording some measurement at a number of time points. The time series data set is an ordered list of pairs of time measurement data and the corresponding measurement data acquired at that time.
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
alternative label: experimental time series

written name
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: written name
example of usage: "Bill Clinton"
example of usage: "The Eiffel Tower"
example of usage: "United States of America"
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A textual entity that denotes a particular in reality.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Hogan
definition source: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/114
curator note: The qualifier "written" is to set it apart from spoken names. Also, note the restrictions to particulars. We are not naming universals. We could however, be naming, attributive collections which are particulars, so "All people located in the boundaries of the city of Little Rock, AR on June 18, 2011 at 9:50a CDT" would be a name.

software method
type: Class
subclass of: software
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A software method (also called subroutine, subprogram, procedure, method, function, or routine) is software designed to execute a specific task.
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
term editor: PERSON: Michel Dumontier
definition source: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/80

software module
type: Class
subclass of: software
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A software module is software composed of a collection of software methods.
term editor: PERSON: Melanei Courtot
term editor: PERSON: Michel Dumontier
definition source: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/80

software library
type: Class
subclass of: software
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A software library is software composed of a collection of software modules and/or software methods in a form that can be statically or dynamically linked to some software application.
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
term editor: PERSON: Michel Dumontier
definition source: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/80

software application
type: Class
subclass of: software
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A software application is software that can be directly executed by some processing unit.
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
term editor: PERSON: Michel Dumontier
definition source: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/80

software script
type: Class
subclass of: software
has curation status: metadata incomplete
definition: A software script is software whose instructions can be executed using a software interpreter.
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
term editor: PERSON: Michel Dumontier
definition source: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/80

abbreviation textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: abbreviation textual entity
example of usage: From Shiba et al. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2013; 1: 45. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3893467/): BAC: Bacterial artificial chromosome; CR: Calretinin; GFAP: Glial fibrillary acidic protein; MAP: Microtubule-associated protein; MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging; NSC: Neural stem cell; PDA: Patent ductus arteriosus; PMG: Polymicrogyria; PNH: Periventricular nodular heterotopia; VSD: Ventricular septal defect.
definition: A textual entity listing abbreviations and their expansions that are used in a document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

abbreviations section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: abbreviation textual entity
editor preferred term: abbreviations section
example of usage: The section labelled 'abbreviations' in a typical scientific journal article.
definition: A part of a document where abbreviations and their long-forms used within the document are listed.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: abbreviation and acronyms
alternative label: abbreviation list
alternative label: abbreviations
alternative label: abbreviations and acronyms
alternative label: abbreviations list
alternative label: abbreviations used
alternative label: definitions for abbreviations
alternative label: list of abbreviations
alternative label: list of abbreviations used
alternative label: non-standard abbreviations
alternative label: nonstandard abbreviations
alternative label: nonstandard abbreviations and acronyms
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

author information section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: author information textual entity
editor preferred term: author information section
example of usage: The section labelled 'author information' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. in Takon. Ann Gen Psychiatry. 2011; 10: 25. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3204268/)
definition: A part of a document about the authors that provides biographical information and may discuss how the authors' professional experiences are relevant to the work described in the document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: author information
alternative label: authors’ information
alternative label: biographies
alternative label: contributor information
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

author information textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: author information textual entity
example of usage: From Takon. Ann Gen Psychiatry. 2011; 10: 25. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3204268/): IT [the author] is the lead paediatrician for ADHD services in East Hertfordshire, UK, where she runs a weekly joint ADHD clinic with the Child and Adolescent psychiatrist and works within an ADHD specialist team. IT also sees children with other neurodisability issues who may have comorbid ADHD, where the presentation may be more complex and challenging to manage. IT has vast experience in managing children with complex ADHD. She has 18 years of experience in paediatrics and also has extensive experience in the use of psychopharmacologic agents in managing children with ADHD.
definition: A textual entity expression information about an author of a document. This information may include biographical information and may discuss how the authors' professional experiences are relevant to the work described in the document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

author summary section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: author summary textual entity
editor preferred term: author summary section
example of usage: The section labelled 'synopsis' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. in Pendse et al. BMC Genomics. 2013; 14: 136. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3608171/)
definition: A part of a document, distinct from the abstract, that describes the significance and broader context of the document content. The author summary is often written in a non-technical manner and is aimed at both scientists and non-scientist readers.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: author summary
alternative label: summary
alternative label: synopsis
definition source: Article submission guidelines for PLoS Genetics (http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/s/submission-guidelines)
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

author summary textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: author summary textual entity
example of usage: From Pendse et al. BMC Genomics. 2013; 14: 136. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3608171/): The search for genetic risk factors for common human diseases often relies on the use of linkage and association studies to establish correlation between genomic markers and disease risk. These studies require additional functional evaluation of candidate genes, including their possible interaction with diet and environment. The number of candidate genes is typically large and the development of appropriate genetic tools in mammalian systems is slow. By contrast, large-scale genetic screens, using widely available genetic tools, are routinely conducted in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. In this study, we used Drosophila to screen candidate genes identified in human genome-wide scans as associated with risk of metabolic abnormalities such as type 2 diabetes. We show that a number of human candidate genes have fly orthologs that play an important role in Drosophila tolerance to high dietary sucrose. We further explored some of the specific metabolic abnormalities that can result when these genes’ activities are reduced in flies, focusing on a gene we call dHHEX (CG7056), the fly ortholog of human HHEX.
definition: A textual entity, distinct from the abstract, that describes the significance and broader context of the document content. The author summary is often written in a non-technical manner and is aimed at both scientists and non-scientist readers, e.g as described in the article submission guidelines for PLoS Genetics (http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/s/submission-guidelines).
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
definition source: Article submission guidelines for PLoS Genetics (http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/s/submission-guidelines).
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

availability section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: availability textual entity
editor preferred term: availability section
example of usage: The section labelled 'availability and requirements' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. Qi et al. BMC Bioinformatics. 2014; 15: 11. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3897912/).
definition: A part of a document about a resource described in the document, e.g. software, that describes where and/or how that resource can be obtained.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: availability
alternative label: availability of data
alternative label: data archiving
alternative label: data availability
alternative label: data availability statement
alternative label: data sharing statement
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

availability textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: availability textual entity
example of usage: From Qi et al. BMC Bioinformatics. 2014; 15: 11. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3897912/): Project home page:http://krux.googlecode.com
definition: A textual entity expressing the location of a resource, e.g. software, or the manner in which a resource can be obtained.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

case report section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: case report textual entity
editor preferred term: case report section
example of usage: The section labelled 'case report' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. in Taglia et al. Acta Myol. 2012 Dec; 31(3): 201–203. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3631801/)
definition: A part of a document about the medical history of a specific patient as it relates to the topic of the document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: case presentation
alternative label: case report
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

case report textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: case report textual entity
example of usage: Excerpt from Taglia et al. Acta Myol. 2012 Dec; 31(3): 201–203. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3631801/): The patient is a 50-year-old man. His medical history was not contributory. At the age of 37 years, he complained of persistent fatigue and dyspnoea even for modest efforts and oedema of lower limbs. The patient was examined at the department of internal medicine of the local hospital, and hospitalised with a diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy probably consequence of a myocarditis process. Soon after he was transferred to the cardiologic department of the regional hospital, and pharmacologically treated for heart failure and pulmonary hypertension.
definition: A textual entity that expresses a detailed account of a portion of the medical history for a specific patient.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

conclusion section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: conclusion textual entity
editor preferred term: conclusion section
example of usage: The section labelled 'conclusion' in a typical scientific journal article.
definition: A part of a document used to summarize the findings discussed in the document. The conclusion section is typically found near the end of a document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: concluding remarks
alternative label: conclusion
alternative label: conclusions
alternative label: findings
alternative label: summary
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

conflict of interest section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: conflict of interest textual entity
editor preferred term: conflict of interest section
example of usage: The section labelled 'conflict of interest statement' in a typical scientific journal article.
definition: A part of a document used to declare any competing interests regarding the authors and/or funding organization for the work described in the document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: authors' disclosures of potential conflicts of interest
alternative label: competing financial interests
alternative label: competing interests
alternative label: conflict of interest
alternative label: conflict of interest statement
alternative label: conflict of interests
alternative label: conflicts of interest
alternative label: declaration of competing interest
alternative label: declaration of competing interests
alternative label: declaration of interest
alternative label: declaration of interests
alternative label: disclosure of conflict of interest
alternative label: disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
alternative label: duality of interest
alternative label: statement of interest
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

conflict of interest textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: conflict of interest statement
example of usage: SD [an author] is a Merck employee and Merck is the sponsor of this study. [Taken from 'Effects of obstructive sleep apnoea risk on postoperative respiratory complications: protocol for a hospital-based registry study' Shin et al. 2016 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4735131/)]
definition: A textual entity that expresses a situation involving one or more of the authors, or the funding source of a document whereby the authors or funding source stand to potentially gain (typically financially) from the results reported in the document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

consent section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: consent textual entity
editor preferred term: consent section
example of usage: The section labelled 'consent' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. Shiba et al. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2013; 1: 45. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3893467/)
definition: A part of a document about the consent process that was used to enroll patients in a study.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: consent
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

consent textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: consent textual entity
example of usage: From Shiba et al. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2013; 1: 45. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3893467/): Written informed consent was obtained from the patient’s parents for publication of this Case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in chief of this journal.
definition: A textual entity that documents the consenting process used to enroll patients in a study.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

ethical approval section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: ethical approval textual entity
editor preferred term: ethical approval section
example of usage: The section labelled 'ethical approval' in a typical scientific journal article.
definition: A part of a document about the governance body responsible for approving the work discussed in a document on an ethical basis.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: ethical approval
alternative label: ethical requirements
alternative label: ethics
alternative label: ethics statement
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

ethical approval textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: study design
editor preferred term: ethical approval textual entity
example of usage: From McLean et al. Br J Gen Pract. 2014 Jul; 64(624): e440–e447 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4073730/): The NHS National Research Ethics Service had previously approved the use of these anonymised data for research purposes and this analysis did not require independent review.
definition: A textual entity that documents the ethical approval of some study design.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

figures section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: figure
editor preferred term: figures section
example of usage: The section labelled 'figures' in a typical scientific journal article.
definition: A part of a document that contains one or more figures.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: figures
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

funding source declaration section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: funding source declaration textual entity
editor preferred term: funding source declaration section
example of usage: The section labelled 'funding' in a typical scientific journal article.
definition: A part of a document used to detail information regarding the source of funding used in support of the generation of the document content.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: financial support
alternative label: funding
alternative label: funding information
alternative label: funding sources
alternative label: funding statement
alternative label: funding/support
alternative label: grants
alternative label: role of the funding source
alternative label: source of funding
alternative label: sources of funding
alternative label: study funding
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

funding source declaration textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: funding souce declaration textual entity
example of usage: From Stephan et al. Accid Anal Prev. 2011 May; 43(3): 1062–1067. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3062852/): This study was supported by the International Collaborative Research Grants Scheme with joint grants from the Wellcome Trust UK (GR071587MA) and the Australian NHMRC (268055). The funding sources played no role in study design, data collection, analysis or interpretation, writing the report, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.
definition: A textual entity documenting the source of funding that supported some study.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

future directions section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: future directions textual entity
editor preferred term: future directions section
example of usage: The section labelled 'future directions' in a typical scientific journal article.
definition: A part of a document detailing extensions of the described work that may be implemented at some future point in time.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: future challenges
alternative label: future considerations
alternative label: future developments
alternative label: future directions
alternative label: future outlook
alternative label: future perspectives
alternative label: future plans
alternative label: future prospects
alternative label: future research
alternative label: future research directions
alternative label: future studies
alternative label: future work
alternative label: outlook
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234

future directions textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: future directions textual entity
example of usage: Excerpt from Wang and Li. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2016 Jan; 37(1): 25–33. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4722976/): In the future, several questions will need to be resolved regarding the physiological assembly of KCNQ channels and their functional implications in complex neural circuits. First, we still lack sufficiently selective inhibitors and activators among the KCNQ family members.
definition: A textual entity expressing ideas regarding future work relevant to work described in a document that could be done.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

genome announcement section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: genome announcement textual entity
editor preferred term: genome announcement section
example of usage: The section labelled 'genome announcement' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. in Kim et al. J Bacteriol. 2011 Oct; 193(19): 5537. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3187466/)
definition: A document part announcing the publication of a novel draft genome sequence.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: genome announcement
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

genome announcement textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: genome announcement textual entity
example of usage: Excerpt from Kim et al. J Bacteriol. 2011 Oct; 193(19): 5537. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3187466/): Here we report the genome sequence of Lactobacillus malefermentans KCTC 3548, which we obtained using a whole-genome shotgun strategy (4) with Roche 454 GS (FLX Titanium) pyrosequencing (257,559 reads totaling ∼89.8 Mb; ∼45-fold coverage of the genome) at the Genome Resource Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB).
definition: A textual entity that describes the generation and public release of a novel, draft genome sequence.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

keyword textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: keyword textual entity
example of usage: From: Fu and Lin. Identification of gene-oriented exon orthology between human and mouse. BMC Genomics. 2012; 13(Suppl 1): S10. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3303729/): Exon orthology; alternative splicing; exon duplication; intron-exon structure.
definition: A textual entity listing keywords indicating the major theme(s) of a document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

keywords section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: keyword textual entity
editor preferred term: keywords section
example of usage: The section labelled 'keywords' in a typical scientific journal article.
definition: A part of a document where keywords selected by the author to categorize the major theme(s) of a document are listed.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: keywords
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

study limitations section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: study limitations textual entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is about
  some values from: study design
editor preferred term: study limitations section
example of usage: The section labelled 'limitations' in a typical scientific journal article.
definition: A part of a document about biases or short comings related to the study design and execution.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: limitations
alternative label: study limitations
definition source: Author guidelines published by The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1553-2712/homepage/ForAuthors.html)
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

study limitations textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: study limitations textual entity
example of usage: Excerpt from the Limitations section of Fermann et al 2015, Acad Emerg Med. 2015 Mar; 22(3): 299–307 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405051/). Owing to the nature of a post hoc study, any significant values must be interpreted with caution. In the current analysis, no multiple testing was conducted and p-values remain unadjusted. Moreover, a selection bias arising from the randomized open-label design of the original EINSTEIN PE study cannot be ruled out.
definition: A textual entity addressing a shortcoming or bias of a study design or execution.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
definition source: Author guidelines published by The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1553-2712/homepage/ForAuthors.html)
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

materials section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
editor preferred term: materials section
example of usage: The section labelled 'materials' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. Nguyen et al. BMC Bioinformatics. 2010; 11: 279. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2889936/)
definition: A part of a document about the materials required to reproduce the content of the document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: materials
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

notes section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
editor preferred term: notes section
example of usage: The section labelled 'notes' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. McLean et al. Br J Gen Pract. 2014 Jul; 64(624): e440–e447 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4073730/):
definition: A part of a document containing typically short notes about the document itself and/or the authors. Often the notes section contains subsections related to funding, competing interests, ethical approval, etc.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: notes
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

patients section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: patients textual entity
editor preferred term: patients section
example of usage: The section labelled 'patients' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. in Citak et al. Acta Orthop. 2013 Jun; 84(3): 326–327. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3715825/)
definition: A part of a document about the patients that participated in a study.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

patients textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: patients textual entity
example of usage: Excerpt from Citak et al. Acta Orthop. 2013 Jun; 84(3): 326–327. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3715825/): Between January 1996 and February 2012, we treated 4 patients with interprosthetic femoral fractures (3 of them women) (Figure 2) using a custom-made interposition device (Waldemar Link GmbH, Hamburg, Germany) (Figure 1). Mean age was 74 (59–86) years. The fractures occurred mean 18 (13–28) years after primary THA and mean 14 (10–17) years after primary TKA. At the latest follow-up, after mean 8 (0.5–16) years, revision surgery with a total femur replacement was required in 1 case due to aseptic loosening. No other complications requiring revision surgery occurred.
definition: A textual entity expressing information regarding the patients used in a study.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

pre-publication history section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: pre-publication history textual entity
editor preferred term: pre-publication history section
example of usage: The section labelled 'pre-publication history' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. in Xiao et al. BMC Anesthesiol. 2013; 13: 33. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4016475/)
definition: A part of the document about the publication history of a document. This section typically details dates of document submission to a journal and dates of any re-submissions as well as reviewer comments and responses to reviewers by the authors.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: notice of republication
alternative label: pre-publication history
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

pre-publication history textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: pre-publication history textual entity
example of usage: From Xiao et al. BMC Anesthesiol. 2013; 13: 33. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4016475/): The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2253/13/33/prepub
definition: A textual entity that expresses the pre-publication history (submission dates, reviewer comments, etc) for a document, often including a hyperlink to a web page detailing the information.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

related work section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: related work textual entity
editor preferred term: related work section
example of usage: The section labelled 'related work' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. Žitnik and Zupan. Bioinformatics. 2015 Jun 15; 31(12): i230–i239. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4542780/)
definition: A part of a document about work in other publications that is relevant to the content of the document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: related literature
alternative label: related work
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

related work textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: related work textual entity
example of usage: Excerpt from Žitnik and Zupan. Bioinformatics. 2015 Jun 15; 31(12): i230–i239. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4542780/): Our work presented here is similar in spirit to our recently developed methodology for data fusion via collective matrix factorization (Žitnik and Zupan, 2015).
definition: A textual entity that discusses work from other publications and expresses their relevancy to the content of a document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

requirements section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: requirements textual entity
editor preferred term: requirements section
example of usage: The section labelled 'availability and requirements' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. Qi et al. BMC Bioinformatics. 2014; 15: 11. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3897912/).
definition: A part of a document about a resource described in the document, e.g. software, that describes the requirements necessary to use the resource, e.g. operating systems, hardware, etc. in the case of a software resource.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: requirements
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

requirements textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: requirements textual entity
example of usage: From Qi et al. BMC Bioinformatics. 2014; 15: 11. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3897912/): • Operating systems: Platform independent • Programming language: Matlab, R, Python • Other requirements: None • License: GNU GPL v3 • Any restrictions to use by non-academics: None
definition: A textual entity that expresses the requirements necessary to use a resource, e.g. software.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

statistical analysis textual entity
type: Class
subclass of: textual entity
editor preferred term: statistical analysis textual entity
example of usage: From Mondo et al. Cardiovasc J Afr. 2013 Mar; 24(2): 28–33. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734881/): Data were captured into EPI-DATA (version 3.1), cleaned and then exported to Stata version 10 for analysis. Continuous variables were summarised as mean (± standard deviation) and median (inter-quartile range), and presented in the tables. Categorical data were analysed using frequency and percentages, and results are presented in frequency tables and bar charts. Test of significance (p-value) was determined using the chi-square test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.
definition: A textual entity documenting statistical analysis tools and techniques employed.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

statistical analysis section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: statistical analysis textual entity
editor preferred term: statistical analysis section
example of usage: The section labelled 'statistical analysis' in a typical scientific journal article, e.g. Mondo et al. Cardiovasc J Afr. 2013 Mar; 24(2): 28–33. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734881/)
definition: A part of the document used to describe the statistical methodologies employed in the work presented in the document.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: statistical analysis
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

tables section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: table
editor preferred term: tables section
example of usage: The section labelled 'tables' in a typical scientific journal article.
definition: A part of a document that contains one or more tables.
term editor: PERSON: Bill Baumgartner
alternative label: tables
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/183

postal code
type: Class
subclass of: identifier
definition: An identifier that denotes some postal delivery route, some aggregate of postal delivery routes or a geographical region and was created for the purpose of sorting and delivering mail.
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen

Postal delivery route
type: Class
subclass of: plan specification
definition: A plan specification that if realized, is realized by the delivery of mail to some facility or mailbox within some geographical region.
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen

zone improvement plan code
type: Class
subclass of: postal code
definition: A postal code that is used in the United States for the purpose of sorting and delivering mail, and that denotes some postal delivery route or some aggregate of postal delivery routes.
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen
alternative label: ZIP code

database extract, transform, and load process
type: Class
subclass of: planned process
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has_specified_input
  some values from: information content entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has_specified_output
  some values from: information content entity
editor preferred term: database extract, transform, and load process
definition: A planned process which takes as input a database and fills another database by extracting concretizations of information entities from the first, transforming them, and loading the transformed concretizations into the second.
editor note: Alan Ruttenberg 12/21/16: Maybe this definition instead: A planned process which takes as input a database and copies concretizations from the first, optionally transforms then copies the result to the second
editor note: Alan Ruttenberg 12/21/16: We don't define database in IAO, currently, as the bare word is ambiguous. Reasonable interpretations of the word might be the material entity, an information structure, an information content entity. However this definition commits, at least, to there being some material thing which bear concretizations of information entities and that there are new concretizations created during the process. We consider the ETL process in terms of information entities rather than the concretizations. No committment is made as to whether the specified output.
term editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
alternative label: ETL
definition source: WEB:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extract,_transform,_load
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/187

descriptive data section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
editor preferred term: descriptive data section
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A document part that lists and defines data variables, describes data characteristics (e.g. missing data information) and any assumptions and simplifications made.
term editor: PERSON: Chen Yang
term editor: PERSON: Jie Zheng
definition source: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/prisma/
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/235
ontology term requester: ONE ontology

additional results section
type: Class
subclass of: results section
editor preferred term: additional results section
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A results section that reports analyses other than main results of the study (e.g. subgroups analyses, adjusted analyses, sensitivity analyses, etc.)
term editor: PERSON: Chen Yang
term editor: PERSON: Jie Zheng
definition source: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/consort/
definition source: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/prisma/
definition source: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/strobe/
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/235
ontology term requester: ONE ontology

research participants section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
editor preferred term: research participants section
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A document part that describes human subject(s) that participated in a study (e.g. inclusion & exclusion criteria, recruitment methods, reasons for non-participation, grouping and randomisation, methods of follow-up, etc.).
term editor: PERSON: Chen Yang
term editor: PERSON: Jie Zheng
definition source: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/consort/
definition source: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/prisma/
definition source: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/strobe-nut/
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/235
ontology term requester: ONE ontology

measurement methods section
type: Class
subclass of: methods section
editor preferred term: measurement methods section
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A methods section that describes details of data assessment methods (data measurement).
term editor: PERSON: Chen Yang
term editor: PERSON: Jie Zheng
definition source: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/strobe/
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/235
ontology term requester: ONE ontology

research settings section
type: Class
subclass of: document part
editor preferred term: research settings section
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A document part that describes the physical/social/cultural conditions around a research trial.
term editor: PERSON: Chen Yang
term editor: PERSON: Jie Zheng
definition source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK262175/
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/235
ontology term requester: ONE ontology

study bias section
type: Class
subclass of: study limitations section
editor preferred term: study bias section
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: A study limitations section that describes systematic error introduced into sampling or testing by selecting or encouraging one outcome or answer over others.
term editor: PERSON: Chen Yang
term editor: PERSON: Jie Zheng
definition source: DOI: 10.1097/PRS.0b013e3181de24bc
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/235
ontology term requester: ONE ontology

graphical abstract
type: Class
subclass of: abstract
editor preferred term: graphical abstract
has curation status: metadata complete
definition: An abstract that is pictorial summary of the main findings described in the document.
term editor: PERSON: Jie Zheng
term editor: PERSON: Tim Beck
alternative label: visual abstract
definition source: https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/graphical-abstract
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/234
ontology term requester: Biomedical literature NLP project

ORCID identifier
type: Class
subclass of: centrally registered identifier
has curation status: pending final vetting
definition: A centrally registered identifier that is issued by ORCID (https://orcid.org/) and used to persistantly identify oneself as a human researcher or contributor.
editor note: "You can connect your iD with your professional information — affiliations, grants, publications, peer review, and more. You can use your iD to share your information with other systems, ensuring you get recognition for all your contributions, saving you time and hassle, and reducing the risk of errors." [https://orcid.org/]
editor note: This class was originally defined in Apollo_SV (http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/APOLLO_SV_00000496) but due to it being more in scope of IAO, it was decided to add it to IAO and deprecate its Apollo_SV equivalent. (2022-10-25)
term editor: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1595-3213
alternative label: ORCID ID
alternative label: ORCiD
alternative label: Open Researcher and Contributor ID
alternative label: Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier
definition source: https://orcid.org/
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/259

identifier
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: information content entity
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: denotes
    some values from: entity
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: is_specified_output_of
    some values from: identifier creating process
subclass of: information content entity
editor preferred term: identifier
definition: An information content entity that is the outcome of a dubbing process and is used to refer to one instance of entity shared by a group of people to refer to that individual entity.
term editor: Justin Whorton
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen
alternative label: proper name
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/237
creator: Mathias Brochhausen
comment: Sep 29, 2016: The current definition has been amended from the previous version: "A proper name is an information content entity that is the outcome of a dubbing process and is used to refer to one instance of entity shared by a group of people to refer to that individual entity." to more accuratly reflect the necessary and sufficient condition on the class. (MB)

grapheme
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
example of usage: alphabetic letters, Chinese characters, numerical digits, punctuation marks, and the individual symbols of any of the world's writing systems
definition: An information content entity that is a fundamental unit in a written language.
term editor: Justin Whorton
definition source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapheme
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/237
creator: Mathias Brochhausen
comment: Grapheme is not about anything and hence is likely to not be an information content entity. If a new subclass of GDC for information structure entities is created it should move there.

identifier creating process
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: planned process
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: has_specified_output
    some values from: identifier
subclass of: planned process
definition: A planned process that provides a reference to an individual entity shared by a group of subscribers to refer to that individual entity.
term editor: Justin Whorton
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen
alternative label: dubbing process
alternative label: naming
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/237
creator: Mathias Brochhausen

personal name
type: Class
subclass of: identifier
definition: An identifier referring to an individual entity that is ascribed personhood by the user of the identifier.
term editor: Justin Whorton
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen
definition source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_name
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/237
comment: Personal names "today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants orphaned by natural disaster for whom no written record survives.[citation needed] The Convention on the Rights of the Child specifies that a child has the right from birth to a name. Certain isolated tribes, such as the Machiguenga of the Amazon, also lack personal names." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_name)
comment: Personal names to not include names of fictional characters, e.g. Sherlock Holmes.
comment: Sep 29, 2016: The comment that including the wikipedia definition of personal name is not to be interpreted in a way that restricts this class to only contain strings of letters. A numerical or alphanumerical identifier that denotes a human is being is a personal name, too. (MB)

given name
type: Class
subclass of: personal name
definition: A personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name (surname). A given name is purposefully given, usually by a child's parents at or near birth, in contrast to an inherited one such as a family name
term editor: Justin Whorton
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen
alternative label: first name
definition source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Given_name
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/237

family name
type: Class
subclass of: identifier
definition: An identifier that is typically a part of a person's name which has been passed, according to law or custom, from one or both parents to their children.
term editor: Justin Whorton
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen
alternative label: last name
alternative label: surname
definition source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_name
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/237

code set
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has part
  some values from: identifier
definition: An information content entity that is a collection of other information content entities that has been created to identify or annotate things in a specified domain, and where the intention of its creators is that the collection has a one-to-one correspondence with those things.
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: Justin Whorton
term editor: Mathias Brochhausen
alternative label: code map
alternative label: code system
alternative label: codeset
alternative label: coding system
alternative label: controlled vocabulary
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/IAO/issues/237
contributor: Alan Ruttenberg
contributor: Clint Dowland
contributor: Matt Diller
contributor: Sarah Bost
contributor: William R. Hogan
comment: Code sets might include non-entities/things (e.g. missing thumbs).
comment: Does not imply absence vs. presence of any taxonomy.
comment: Does not imply that aggregated entities denote particulars, universals, or defined classes (a.k.a. attributive collections) or even that they denote only one of these three types of entities.
comment: Each aggregated entity is often (but not necessarily) associated with a text string—variously called a “description,” “name,” “title,” or “label”—that helps humans reach the target of denotation. When there is no such string, it is almost always because the entities take the form of human language words. For example, a “sex” or “gender” code set could contain “MALE” and “FEMALE,” or even “M” and “F” (by convention, we understand what these mean).
comment: For National Drug Codes (NDCs) and similar code sets, there doesn’t even have to be a single, fully-concretized copy somewhere (for example, for NDCs there is no centralized database or repository where they all live as one instance of concretization of code set). The code set can be “distributively” concretized. This seems like an unusual exception, but it also likely applies to Universal Product Codes (UPCs) and their follow on Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs).
comment: For each given domain, there can potentially exist multiple code sets. The multiplicity of code sets is partially due to the different specific purposes of those code sets.
comment: Many code sets are created for a specific purpose in addition to merely identifying or annotating core ideas of a specified domain.
comment: The information content entities do not denote each other.

ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: data about an ontology part
editor preferred term: ontology module
editor note: I have placed this under 'data about an ontology part', but this can be discussed. I think this is OK if 'part' is interpreted reflexively, as an ontology module is the whole ontology rather than part of it.
alternative label: ontology file
curator note: This class and it's subclasses are applied to OWL ontologies. Using an rdf:type triple will result in problems with OWL-DL. I propose that dcterms:type is instead used to connect an ontology URI with a class from this hierarchy. The class hierarchy is not disjoint, so multiple assertions can be made about a single ontology.

base ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: ontology module
editor preferred term: base ontology module
definition: An ontology module that comprises only of asserted axioms local to the ontology, excludes import directives, and excludes axioms or declarations from external ontologies.

editors ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: ontology module
editor preferred term: editors ontology module
definition: An ontology module that is intended to be directly edited, typically managed in source control, and typically not intended for direct consumption by end-users.
alternative label: source ontology module

main release ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: ontology module
editor preferred term: main release ontology module
definition: An ontology module that is intended to be the primary release product and the one consumed by the majority of tools.
editor note: TODO: Add logical axioms that state that a main release ontology module is derived from (directly or indirectly) an editors module

bridge ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: ontology module
editor preferred term: bridge ontology module
definition: An ontology module that consists entirely of axioms that connect or bridge two distinct ontology modules. For example, the Uberon-to-ZFA bridge module.

import ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: subset ontology module
editor preferred term: import ontology module
definition: A subset ontology module that is intended to be imported from another ontology.
editor note: TODO: add axioms that indicate this is the output of a module extraction process.
alternative label: import file

subset ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: ontology module
editor preferred term: subset ontology module
definition: An ontology module that is extracted from a main ontology module and includes only a subset of entities or axioms.
alternative label: ontology slim
alternative label: subset ontology

curation subset ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: subset ontology module
editor preferred term: curation subset ontology module
definition: A subset ontology that is intended as a whitelist for curators using the ontology. Such a subset will exclude classes that curators should not use for curation.

analysis subset ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: subset ontology module
editor preferred term: analysis ontology module
definition: An ontology module that is intended for usage in analysis or discovery applications.

single layer subset ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: subset ontology module
editor preferred term: single layer ontology module
definition: A subset ontology that is largely comprised of a single layer or strata in an ontology class hierarchy. The purpose is typically for rolling up for visualization. The classes in the layer need not be disjoint.
alternative label: ribbon subset

exclusion subset ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: subset ontology module
editor preferred term: exclusion subset ontology module
definition: A subset of an ontology that is intended to be excluded for some purpose. For example, a blacklist of classes.
alternative label: antislim

external import ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: import ontology module
editor preferred term: external import ontology module
definition: An imported ontology module that is derived from an external ontology. Derivation methods include the OWLAPI SLME approach.
alternative label: external import

species subset ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: subset ontology module
editor preferred term: species subset ontology module
definition: A subset ontology that is crafted to either include or exclude a taxonomic grouping of species.
alternative label: taxon subset

reasoned ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: ontology module
editor preferred term: reasoned ontology module
definition: An ontology module that contains axioms generated by a reasoner. The generated axioms are typically direct SubClassOf axioms, but other possibilities are available.

generated ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: ontology module
editor preferred term: generated ontology module
definition: An ontology module that is automatically generated, for example via a SPARQL query or via template and a CSV.
editor note: TODO: Add axioms (using PROV-O?) that indicate this is the output-of some reasoning process

template generated ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: generated ontology module
editor preferred term: template generated ontology module
definition: An ontology module that is automatically generated from a template specification and fillers for slots in that template.

taxonomic bridge ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: bridge ontology module
editor preferred term: taxonomic bridge ontology module

ontology module subsetted by expressivity
type: Class
subclass of: subset ontology module
editor preferred term: ontology module subsetted by expressivity

obo basic subset ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: ontology module subsetted by expressivity
editor preferred term: obo basic subset ontology module
definition: A subset ontology that is designed for basic applications to continue to make certain simplifying assumptions; many of these simplifying assumptions were based on the initial version of the Gene Ontology, and have become enshrined in many popular and useful tools such as term enrichment tools. Examples of such assumptions include: traversing the ontology graph ignoring relationship types using a naive algorithm will not lead to cycles (i.e. the ontology is a DAG); every referenced term is declared in the ontology (i.e. there are no dangling clauses). An ontology is OBO Basic if and only if it has the following characteristics: DAG Unidirectional No Dangling Clauses Fully Asserted Fully Labeled No equivalence axioms Singly labeled edges No qualifier lists No disjointness axioms No owl-axioms header No imports

ontology module subsetted by OWL profile
type: Class
subclass of: ontology module subsetted by expressivity
editor preferred term: ontology module subsetted by OWL profile

EL++ ontology module
type: Class
subclass of: ontology module subsetted by OWL profile
editor preferred term: EL++ ontology module

planned process
type: Class
subclass of: process
editor preferred term: planned process
definition: A process that realizes a plan which is the concretization of a plan specification.
imported from: obi.owl

investigation
type: Class
subclass of: planned process
editor preferred term: investigation
definition: a planned process that consists of parts: planning, study design execution, documentation and which produce conclusion(s).
imported from: obi.owl

study design execution
type: Class
subclass of: planned process
editor preferred term: study design execution
definition: a planned process that carries out a study design
imported from: obi.owl

data transformation
type: Class
subclass of: planned process
editor preferred term: data transformation
definition: A planned process that produces output data from input data.
imported from: obi.owl

study design
type: Class
subclass of: plan specification
editor preferred term: study design
definition: A plan specification comprised of protocols (which may specify how and what kinds of data will be gathered) that are executed as part of an investigation and is realized during a study design execution.
imported from: obi.owl

morphology
type: Class
subclass of: physical object quality
editor preferred term: morphology
definition: A quality of a single physical entity inhering in the bearer by virtue of the bearer's size or shape or structure.
imported from: pato.owl

length
type: Class
subclass of: morphology
editor preferred term: length
definition: A 1-D extent quality which is equal to the distance between two points.
imported from: pato.owl

mass
type: Class
subclass of: physical quality
editor preferred term: mass
definition: A physical quality that inheres in a bearer by virtue of the proportion of the bearer's amount of matter.
imported from: pato.owl

physical quality
type: Class
subclass of: physical object quality
editor preferred term: physical quality
definition: A quality of a physical entity that exists through action of continuants at the physical level of organisation in relation to other entities.
imported from: pato.owl

physical object quality
type: Class
subclass of: quality
editor preferred term: physical object quality
definition: A quality which inheres in a continuant.
imported from: pato.owl

length unit
type: Class
subclass of: measurement unit label
editor preferred term: length unit
imported from: uo.owl

mass unit
type: Class
subclass of: measurement unit label
editor preferred term: mass unit
imported from: uo.owl

time unit
type: Class
subclass of: measurement unit label
editor preferred term: time unit
imported from: uo.owl

example to be eventually removed
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
editor preferred term: example to be eventually removed

failed exploratory term
type: Thing
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification
editor preferred term: failed exploratory term
definition: The term was used in an attempt to structure part of the ontology but in retrospect failed to do a good job
term editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg

metadata complete
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
editor preferred term: metadata complete
definition: Class has all its metadata, but is either not guaranteed to be in its final location in the asserted IS_A hierarchy or refers to another class that is not complete.

organizational term
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
editor preferred term: organizational term
definition: Term created to ease viewing/sort terms for development purpose, and will not be included in a release

ready for release
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
editor preferred term: ready for release
definition: Class has undergone final review, is ready for use, and will be included in the next release. Any class lacking "ready_for_release" should be considered likely to change place in hierarchy, have its definition refined, or be obsoleted in the next release. Those classes deemed "ready_for_release" will also derived from a chain of ancestor classes that are also "ready_for_release."

metadata incomplete
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
editor preferred term: metadata incomplete
definition: Class is being worked on; however, the metadata (including definition) are not complete or sufficiently clear to the branch editors.

uncurated
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
editor preferred term: uncurated
definition: Nothing done yet beyond assigning a unique class ID and proposing a preferred term.

pending final vetting
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
editor preferred term: pending final vetting
definition: All definitions, placement in the asserted IS_A hierarchy and required minimal metadata are complete. The class is awaiting a final review by someone other than the term editor.

obsolete_core
type: NamedIndividual
definition: Core is an instance of a grouping of terms from an ontology or ontologies. It is used by the ontology to identify main classes.
term editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
term editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
has obsolescence reason: placeholder removed
deprecated: true

placeholder removed
type: Thing
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification
editor preferred term: placeholder removed

terms merged
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification
editor preferred term: terms merged
editor note: An editor note should explain what were the merged terms and the reason for the merge.

term imported
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification
editor preferred term: term imported
editor note: This is to be used when the original term has been replaced by a term imported from an other ontology. An editor note should indicate what is the URI of the new term to use.

term split
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification
editor preferred term: term split
editor note: This is to be used when a term has been split in two or more new terms. An editor note should indicate the reason for the split and indicate the URIs of the new terms created.

obsolete_other
type: NamedIndividual
editor note: This is to be used if none of the existing instances cover the reason for obsolescence. An editor note should indicate this new reason.
editor note: We expect to be able to mine these new reasons and add instances as required.
deprecated: true

universal
type: NamedIndividual
type: denotator type
editor preferred term: universal
editor note: Hard to give a definition for. Intuitively a "natural kind" rather than a collection of any old things, which a class is able to be, formally. At the meta level, universals are defined as positives, are disjoint with their siblings, have single asserted parents.
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: A Formal Theory of Substances, Qualities, and Universals, http://ontology.buffalo.edu/bfo/SQU.pdf

defined class
type: NamedIndividual
type: denotator type
editor preferred term: defined class
definition: A defined class is a class that is defined by a set of logically necessary and sufficient conditions but is not a universal
editor note: "definitions", in some readings, always are given by necessary and sufficient conditions. So one must be careful (and this is difficult sometimes) to distinguish between defined classes and universal.
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg

named class expression
type: NamedIndividual
type: denotator type
editor preferred term: named class expression
definition: A named class expression is a logical expression that is given a name. The name can be used in place of the expression.
editor note: named class expressions are used in order to have more concise logical definition but their extensions may not be interesting classes on their own. In languages such as OWL, with no provisions for macros, these show up as actuall classes. Tools may with to not show them as such, and to replace uses of the macros with their expansions
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg

to be replaced with external ontology term
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
editor preferred term: to be replaced with external ontology term
definition: Terms with this status should eventually replaced with a term from another ontology.
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: group:OBI

requires discussion
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
editor preferred term: requires discussion
definition: A term that is metadata complete, has been reviewed, and problems have been identified that require discussion before release. Such a term requires editor note(s) to identify the outstanding issues.
term editor: Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: group:OBI

out of scope
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification
definition: The term was added to the ontology on the assumption it was in scope, but it turned out later that it was not.
editor note: This obsolesence reason should be used conservatively. Typical valid examples are: un-necessary grouping classes in disease ontologies, a phenotype term added on the assumption it was a disease.
term editor: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5208-3432
term tracker item: https://github.com/information-artifact-ontology/ontology-metadata/issues/77
ontology term requester: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5208-3432