Ontolog Scheduled Discussion session - Dec. 15, 2005    (HHH)

Topic: Ontology Applications & Implementations    (HHI)

Conference Call Details    (HHO)

Attendees    (HI2)

To register for this event, please add your name to this list of Expected Attendees or email peter.yim@cim3.com. Pre-registration is appreciated to ensure sufficient conferencing resources.    (HHY)

Abstracts    (HID)

Semantic Technologies in Bioinformatics    (IL1)

By ItzhakRoth, Unicorn Solutions, Inc.    (IKI)

The initiative funded by a division of the NIH (National Institute of Health) aims to create an environment that provides advanced information technology support in the production, analysis, archiving, and exchange of scientific data for a diverse community of life science researchers. The target system integrates highly diverse bio-science data from numerous disparate sources, enabling access to a broad array of reference data (e.g., genes, proteins, genomics sequences, SNP, human haplotype etc.) combined with experimental data from about 20 different experimentation platforms.    (IKJ)

The system overcomes the challenges of data diversity and disparity, by mapping data sources to one semantic model Ontology). The semantic model, as the name suggests, relies on meaning rather than on structure, thus elevating the level of interaction among agents from structure-driven to meaning-driven. Centered on a single semantic information model (ontology) of the domain of discourse, Semantic Technology introduces a single language that supports information exchange among agents, human or machine. The technology provides access to the data resources using only terms from the language (i.e., meaning) rather than using cryptic table and field names in the various databases (i.e., structure).    (IKK)

Unicorn participates in the project providing its semantic information integration platform. Via mapping of data sources to the ontology the system enables the creation of semantic queries and their execution. Semantic queries are queries that are created using terms from the ontology translated into SQL statements in the appropriate data base platform hosting the data. The system is intended to support hundreds of researchers access to diverse and disparate data from multiple sources. The semantic queries shield the users from the complexities of the data sources and the details of data base design enabling them create and execute queries using only terms from the ontology.    (IKL)

Semantic Interoperability via Business Rules in Open Vocabulary, Executable English    (IL2)

By AdrianWalker, Reengineering    (IK7)

New technologies are currently advancing the Semantic Web, based on the data semantics of XML and RDF. An advantage of RDF is that data from diverse sources can, in principle, be freely merged and repurposed. Yet we cannot expect meaningful results from simply merging previously unseen data under an existing application. We need to be able to easily state new meanings at the application level.    (IKE)

The presentation will argue that current approaches to semantics for machine-machine interoperability need to be extended, in order to capture real world meanings for human-machine communication. We show how this can be done in a system that combines inference based on a model theory of stratified nonmontonic logic [1], with support for lightweight, open vocabulary English. One can think of this as realizing application level semantics.    (IKF)

We use an example of name resolution for e-commerce [2] to describe the system [3,4] . The example uses three namespaces: retailer, manufacturer, and shared. A retailer orders computers from a manufacturer. However, in the retailer's terminology, a computer is called a PC for Gamers, while in the manufacturer's terminology, it is called a Prof Desktop. Fortunately, the retailer and the manufacturer can agree that both belong to the class Workstations / Desktops. Then, we find out to what extent a Prof Desktop has the required memory, CPU and so forth for a PC for Gamers.    (IK8)

The example, and others, can be viewed, run and changed by pointing a browser to [3]. For accountability, the system can explain, in business level English, results that it obtains from RDF or SQL.    (IK9)

[1] Backchain Iteration: Towards a Practical Inference Method that is Simple Enough to be Proved Terminating, Sound and Complete. Journal of Automated Reasoning, 11:1-22    (IKB)

[2] http://www.reengineeringllc.com/demo_agents/SemanticResolution1.agent    (IKG)

[3] Internet Business Logic, online at http://www.reengineeringllc.com. Shared use is free.    (IKH)

[4] Understandability and Semantic Interoperability of Diverse Rules Systems. http://www.w3.org/2004/12/rules-ws/paper/19    (IKC)

Agenda    (IKD)

  1. Self-introduction of participants (10~15 minutes)    (HII)
  2. Introduction of Moderators and Panelists    (HIJ)
  3. Opening by DuaneNickull    (HIK)
  4. "Degrees of Interoperability: Syntactic, Structural, and Semantic" by LeoObrst (10 + 5 minutes)    (IKO)
  5. "Semantic Technologies in Bioinformatics" by ItzhakRoth (10 + 5 minutes)    (HIL)
  6. "Semantic Interoperability via Business Rules in Open Vocabulary, Executable English" by AdrianWalker (10 + 5 minutes)    (HIM)
  7. Discussion by panelists and participants, moderated by KurtConrad (45 minutes)    (HIN)
  8. Summary / Conclusion / Follow-up by DuaneNickull    (HIO)

Proceedings    (HIA)

Questions & Discourse    (HJ2)

Audio Recording    (HJ8)