scholarly journals Exploring the Development and Maintenance Practices in the Gene Ontology

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Shuheng Wu ◽  
Besiki Stvilia
Keyword(s):  
Gene Ontology ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Ontology Development ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Assessment Framework ◽  
Collaborative Development ◽  
Diverse Communities

The Gene Ontology (GO) is one of the most widely used and successful bio-ontologies in biomedicine and molecular biology. What is special about GO as a knowledge organization (KO) system is its collaborative development and maintenance practices, involving diverse communities in collectively developing the Ontology and controlling its quality. Guided by Activity Theory and a theoretical Information Quality Assessment Framework, this study conducts qualitative content analysis of GO’s curation discussions. The study found that GO has developed various tools and mechanisms to gain expert feedback and engage various communities in developing and maintaining the Ontology in an efficient and less expensive way. The findings of this study can inform KO system designers, curators, and ontologists in establishing functional requirements and quality assurance infrastructure for bioontologies and formulating best practices for ontology development.

scholarly journals Analysis of readability and structural accuracy in SNOMED CT

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (S10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Abad-Navarro ◽  
Manuel Quesada-Martínez ◽  
Astrid Duque-Ramos ◽  
Jesualdo Tomás Fernández-Breis
Keyword(s):  
Gene Ontology ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Natural Language ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Snomed Ct ◽  
Quantitative Metrics ◽  
Label Content

Abstract Background The increasing adoption of ontologies in biomedical research and the growing number of ontologies available have made it necessary to assure the quality of these resources. Most of the well-established ontologies, such as the Gene Ontology or SNOMED CT, have their own quality assurance processes. These have demonstrated their usefulness for the maintenance of the resources but are unable to detect all of the modelling flaws in the ontologies. Consequently, the development of efficient and effective quality assurance methods is needed. Methods Here, we propose a series of quantitative metrics based on the processing of the lexical regularities existing in the content of the ontology, to analyse readability and structural accuracy. The readability metrics account for the ratio of labels, descriptions, and synonyms associated with the ontology entities. The structural accuracy metrics evaluate how two ontology modelling best practices are followed: (1) lexically suggest locally define (LSLD), that is, if what is expressed in natural language for humans is available as logical axioms for machines; and (2) systematic naming, which accounts for the amount of label content of the classes in a given taxonomy shared. Results We applied the metrics to different versions of SNOMED CT. Both readability and structural accuracy metrics remained stable in time but could capture some changes in the modelling decisions in SNOMED CT. The value of the LSLD metric increased from 0.27 to 0.31, and the value of the systematic naming metric was around 0.17. We analysed the readability and structural accuracy in the SNOMED CT July 2019 release. The results showed that the fulfilment of the structural accuracy criteria varied among the SNOMED CT hierarchies. The value of the metrics for the hierarchies was in the range of 0–0.92 (LSLD) and 0.08–1 (systematic naming). We also identified the cases that did not meet the best practices. Conclusions We generated useful information about the engineering of the ontology, making the following contributions: (1) a set of readability metrics, (2) the use of lexical regularities to define structural accuracy metrics, and (3) the generation of quality assurance information for SNOMED CT.

scholarly journals Risk Assessment Framework to Avoid Serial Failure for New Technical Solutions Applied to the Construction of a CLT Structure Resilient to Climate

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 247
Author(s):  
Charlotte Svensson Tengberg ◽  
Carl-Eric Hagentoft
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Technical Solution ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Assessment Framework ◽  
Construction Period ◽  
Design Build ◽  
Technical Solutions

Design-build contractors are challenged with the task of minimizing failure risks when introducing new technical solutions or adapting technical solutions to new conditions, e.g., climate change. They seem to have a disproportional trust in suppliers and their reference cases and might not have adequate resources or methodologies for sufficient evaluation. This creates the potential for serial failures to spread in the construction industry. To mitigate this, it was suggested that a predefined risk assessment framework should be introduced with the aim of providing a prequalification and requirements for the use of the technical solution. The objectives of this paper are to develop a comprehensive risk assessment framework and to explore the framework’s potential to adequately support the design-build contractor’s decisions. The framework uses qualitative assessment, relying on expert workshops and quantitative assessments, with a focus on simulation and probabilities. Tollgates are used to communicate risk assessments to the contractor. The framework is applied to a real-life case study of construction with a CLT-structure for a Swedish design-build contractor, where exposure to precipitation during construction is a key issue. In conclusion, the chosen framework was successful in a design-build contractor context, structuring the process and identifying difficulties in achieving the functional requirements concerning moisture. Three success factors were: documentation and communication, expert involvement, and the use of tollgates. Recommendations to the design-build contractor on construction of CLT structure are to keep construction period short and to use full weather protection on site.

Functional Requirements and Quality Assurance Necessary for Successful Incorporation of Electroporation-Based Therapies Into Clinical Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Pirc ◽  
Matej Reberšek ◽  
Damijan Miklavčič
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Medical Device ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged ◽  
Pulse Parameters ◽  
Disadvantaged Populations ◽  
Safety Guidelines

Abstract Electroporation-based therapies have a huge potential for implementation into clinical practice in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Currently, the price of electroporators and electrodes is relatively high, but custom low budget devices can be developed. In the paper, we describe three most established applications in medicine, with the focus on the basic mechanisms, which should be taken into account during the development process of a clinical electroporator. Also, typical pulse parameters used in each of the described applications are defined. In the second part of the paper, we describe technical functional requirements for a clinical electroporator and safety guidelines, with the focus on medical device standard. At the end of the paper, the focus moves to a more general problematic, such as quality assurance and the importance of measurement during the pulse delivery, which we firmly believe is necessary for successful electroporation.

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