function of
this catalysis function is a function of this enzyme
a relation between a function and an independent continuant (the bearer), in which the function specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
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.
quality of
this red color is a quality of this apple
a relation between a quality and an independent continuant (the bearer), in which the quality specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
A quality inheres in its bearer at all times for which the quality exists.
nfdi matwerk consortium — NFDI-MatWerk ontology design pattern
Hossein Beygi Nasrabadi, Jörg Waitelonis, Ebrahim Norouzi, Kostiantyn Hubaiev, Harald Sack. NFDI MatWerk Ontology (mwo). Revision: v3.0.1. Retrieved from: http://purls.helmholtz-metadaten.de/mwo/3.0.1
CC BY 4.0 (repository); CC0 1.0 declared in the ontology header
the nfdi matwerk consortium tab of the NFDI-MatWerk curation workbook
Values become reusable and independently addressable, and one value may be shared by many entities. The cost: every `I` reference resolves by label, so labels must be unique and a typo yields a silently missing relation rather than an error.
To represent a nfdi matwerk consortium in the MatWerk Knowledge Graph: its identity, the value nodes that describe it, and its links to the other entities the NFDI-MatWerk consortium records.
SELECT ?x ?label WHERE { ?x a <http://purls.helmholtz-metadaten.de/mwo/MWO_0001022> ; <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#label> ?label } LIMIT 10
ROBOT template directives, row 2 of the nfdi matwerk consortium tab
“NFDI-MatWerk” is a nfdi matwerk consortium.
has value
A relation between an information content entity and its specific value.
material entity
An independent continuant that is spatially extended whose identity is independent of that of other entities and can be maintained through time.
Elucidation: An independent continuant that is spatially extended whose identity is independent of that of other entities and can be maintained through time.
(Elucidation) A material entity is an independent continuant has some portion of matter as continuant part
A human being; the undetached arm of a human being; an aggregate of human beings
realizes
(Elucidation) realizes is a relation between a process b and realizable entity c such that c inheres in some d & for all t, if b has participant d then c exists & the type instantiated by b is correlated with the type instantiated by c
A balding process realizes a disposition to go bald; a studying process realizes a student role; a process of pumping blood realizes the pumping function of a heart
Users that require more sophisticated representations of time are encouraged to import a temporal extension of BFO-Core provided by the BFO development team. See documentation for guidance: <Link>
relational quality
b is a relational quality =Def b is a quality & there exists c and d such that c and d are not identical & b specifically depends on c & b specifically depends on d
A marriage bond; an instance of love; an obligation between one person and another
has disposition
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
member of
An organism that is a member of a population of organisms
is member of is a mereological relation between a item and a collection.
nfdi matwerk consortium
Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur für Materialwissenschaft & Werkstofftechnik
National Research Data Infrastructure for Materials Science & Engineering
NFDI-MatWerk will focus on the research areas of materials science and materials engineering. The key challenges in these fields are the digital mapping of materials and their process and loading parameters. This process touches core aspects of scientific ways of working starting with scientific exchange, data handling and the resulting technological possibilities. The digital transformation of materials science and materials engineering is an opportunity to promote, structure and optimize this exchange - provided that transparent communication standards are created. This fundamental change is therefore being tackled in a joint effort by the consortium and the specialist community.
The National Research Data Infrastructure for Materials Science & Engineering (NFDI-MatWerk) is a consortium in Germany dedicated to developing a national infrastructure for managing research data in the field of materials science and engineering. Established in 2021, NFDI-MatWerk focuses on integrating and standardizing data from various sources, including experimental and simulation data, along with their associated metadata. This comprehensive approach supports the entire data lifecycle—from planning and collection to analysis, preservation, sharing, and reuse—aiming to enhance data accessibility, interoperability, and reusability within the scientific community. By providing tools and frameworks for efficient data management, NFDI-MatWerk facilitates innovative research and fosters collaboration among scientists. The consortium also emphasizes the development of standardized metadata and terminologies to ensure seamless data integration and sharing across different platforms and stakeholders. Through these efforts, NFDI-MatWerk aims to advance materials science and engineering by promoting effective data management practices and long-term accessibility of high-quality research data.
has realization
realized in
b has realization c =Def c realizes b
As for realizes
organization
PMID: 16353909.AAPS J. 2005 Sep 22;7(2):E274-80. Review. The joint food and agriculture organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives and its role in the evaluation of the safety of veterinary drug residues in foods.
An entity that can bear roles, has members, and has a set of organization rules. Members of organizations are either organizations themselves or individual people. Members can bear specific organization member roles that are determined in the organization rules. The organization rules also determine how decisions are made on behalf of the organization by the organization members.
BP: The definition summarizes long email discussions on the OBI developer, roles, biomaterial and denrie branches. It leaves open if an organization is a material entity or a dependent continuant, as no consensus was reached on that. The current placement as material is therefore temporary, in order to move forward with development. Here is the entire email summary, on which the definition is based: 1) there are organization_member_roles (president, treasurer, branch editor), with individual persons as bearers 2) there are organization_roles (employer, owner, vendor, patent holder) 3) an organization has a charter / rules / bylaws, which specify what roles there are, how they should be realized, and how to modify the charter/rules/bylaws themselves. It is debatable what the organization itself is (some kind of dependent continuant or an aggregate of people). This also determines who/what the bearer of organization_roles' are. My personal favorite is still to define organization as a kind of 'legal entity', but thinking it through leads to all kinds of questions that are clearly outside the scope of OBI. Interestingly enough, it does not seem to matter much where we place organization itself, as long as we can subclass it (University, Corporation, Government Agency, Hospital), instantiate it (Affymetrix, NCBI, NIH, ISO, W3C, University of Oklahoma), and have it play roles. This leads to my proposal: We define organization through the statements 1 - 3 above, but without an 'is a' statement for now. We can leave it in its current place in the is_a hierarchy (material entity) or move it up to 'continuant'. We leave further clarifications to BFO, and close this issue for now.
participates in
this blood clot participates in this blood coagulation
this input material (or this output material) participates in this process
this investigator participates in this investigation
a relation between a continuant and a process, in which the continuant is somehow involved in the process
has participant
this blood coagulation has participant this blood clot
this investigation has participant this investigator
this process has participant this input material (or this output material)
a relation between a process and a continuant, in which the continuant is somehow involved in the process
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.
role of
this investigator role is a role of this person
a relation between a role and an independent continuant (the bearer), in which the role specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
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.
has function
this enzyme has function this catalysis function (more colloquially: this enzyme has this catalysis function)
a relation between an independent continuant (the bearer) and a function, in which the function specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
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.
has quality
this apple has quality this red color
a relation between an independent continuant (the bearer) and a quality, in which the quality specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
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.
has member
has member is a mereological relation between a collection and an item.
matwerk project
A MatWerk project is a project within the NFDI MatWerk consortium that involves coordinated research, development, or infrastructure activities aimed at advancing materials science and engineering through data-driven methodologies and digitalization.
consortium
An organisation that consists of multiple independent groups and individuals, who join together to collaborate on a specific goal.
A consortium of autonomous organizations collaborating towards a shared goal, operating within the framework of an agreement.
agent
An independent continuant that acts autonomously and is entrusted with the authority to represent, negotiate, or act on behalf of another agent.
A class that represents entities that are capable of autonomous actions, decision-making, or interaction within a given environment, e.g. persons or organizations.
Torsten Schrade, Linnaea Söhn, Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz
consortium member role
A role inherent in an organization that is realized when the organization is a member of a consortium.
NFDI consortium
Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur
National Research Data Infrastructure
An NFDI Consortium is a collaborative organizational entity within the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) initiative, responsible for the development, management, and coordination of research data infrastructures in specific scientific domains.
The National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) is intended to sytematically manage scientifich and research data, provide long-term data storage, backup and accessibility, and network the data (inter-)nationally. The German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Joint Science Conference (GWK) are working together to establish and fund the NFDI, on the basis of the administrative agreement concluded by the Federal Government and the federal states on November 26, 2018. The NFDI is designed as a nationwide network, which is built gradually and cooperatively by the respective communities. The goal is to provide a reliable and sustainable service portfolio that covers generic and disciplinary requirements of research data management in Germany. The NFDI is developed step by step and science-oriented with services available to researchers from vaious disciplines, institutions, and federal states.
process
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])
event
(Elucidation) p is a process means p is an occurrent that has some temporal proper part and for some time t, p has some material entity as participant
An act of selling; the life of an organism; a process of sleeping; a process of cell-division; a beating of the heart; a process of meiosis; the taxiing of an aircraft; the programming of a computer
disposition
an atom of element X has the disposition to decay to an atom of element Y
certain people have a predisposition to colon cancer
children are innately disposed to categorize objects in certain ways.
the cell wall is disposed to filter chemicals in endocytosis and exocytosis
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.
internally-grounded realizable entity
(Elucidation) A disposition b is a realizable entity such that if b 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
An atom of element X has the disposition to decay to an atom of element Y; the cell wall is disposed to transport cellular material through endocytosis and exocytosis; certain people have a predisposition to colon cancer; children are innately disposed to categorize objects in certain ways
function
the function of a hammer to drive in nails
the function of a heart pacemaker to regulate the beating of a heart through electricity
the function of amylase in saliva to break down starch into sugar
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 its bearer's physical make-up & 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 artefacts) in order to realize processes of a certain sort
The function of a hammer to drive in nails; the function of a heart pacemaker to regulate the beating of a heart through electricity
project
A process of a scientific or business endeavor that aims to conclude an investigation or to answer a research question.
Why "project" as an occurrent: - A project typically has a start and end time. - It involves a sequence of activities, such as planning, conducting experiments, analyzing data, and publishing results. - It has temporal parts (e.g., Phase 1, Phase 2, review stages). So, it aligns well with the occurrent category - more precisely, it can be considered a complex process made up of various subprocesses. But what about the organization or plan behind it? - The institution running or participating the project would be a continuant (consortium). - The project plan might be a generically dependent continuant (a kind of information content entity). - But the project as executed over time is an occurrent.
role
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.
the priest role
the role of a boundary to demarcate two neighboring administrative territories
the role of a building in serving as a military target
the role of a stone in marking a property boundary
the role of subject in a clinical trial
the student role
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.
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.
externally-grounded realizable entity
(Elucidation) A role b is a realizable entity such that 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
The priest role; the student role; the role of subject in a clinical trial; the role of a stone in marking a property boundary; the role of a boundary to demarcate two neighbouring administrative territories; the role of a building in serving as a military target
generically dependent continuant
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.
the pdf file on your laptop, the pdf file that is a copy thereof on my laptop
the sequence of this protein molecule; the sequence that is a copy thereof in that protein molecule.
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])
g-dependent continuant
(Elucidation) A generically dependent continuant is an entity that exists in virtue of the fact that there is at least one of what may be multiple copies which is the content or the pattern that multiple copies would share
The pdf file on your laptop; the pdf file that is a copy thereof on my laptop; the sequence of this protein molecule; the sequence that is a copy thereof in that protein molecule; the content that is shared by a string of dots and dashes written on a page and the transmitted Morse code signal; the content of a sentence; an engineering blueprint
has part
my body has part my brain (continuant parthood, two material entities)
my stomach has part my stomach cavity (continuant parthood, material entity has part immaterial entity)
this year has part this day (occurrent parthood)
a core relation that holds between a whole and its part
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.
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/
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'.
has_part
characteristic of
this fragility is a characteristic of this vase
this red color is a characteristic of this apple
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.
realizable entity
the disposition of this piece of metal to conduct electricity.
the disposition of your blood to coagulate
the function of your reproductive organs
the role of being a doctor
the role of this boundary to delineate where Utah and Colorado meet
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) A realizable entity is a specifically dependent continuant that inheres in some independent continuant which is not a spatial region & which is of a type some instances of which are realized in processes of a correlated type
The role of being a doctor; the role of this boundary to delineate where Utah and Colorado meet; the function of your reproductive organs; the disposition of your blood to coagulate; the disposition of this piece of metal to conduct electricity
agent role
Role of an independent continuant that is realized through an agent's actions, enabling the agent to perform specific functions or achieve particular outcomes within a system or context.
occurrent
An entity that has temporal parts and that happens, unfolds or develops through time.
(Elucidation) An occurrent is an entity that unfolds itself in time or it is the start or end of such an entity or it is a temporal or spatiotemporal region
As for process, history, process boundary, spatiotemporal region, zero-dimensional temporal region, one-dimensional temporal region, temporal interval, temporal instant.
quality
the ambient temperature of this portion of air
the color of a tomato
the length of the circumference of your waist
the mass of this piece of gold.
the shape of your nose
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
The colour of a tomato; the ambient temperature of this portion of air; the length of the circumference of your waist; the shape of your nose; the shape of your nostril; the mass of this piece of gold
specifically dependent continuant
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
of one-sided specifically dependent continuants: the mass of this tomato
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.
the disposition of this fish to decay
the function of this heart: to pump blood
the mutual dependence of proton donors and acceptors in chemical reactions [79
the mutual dependence of the role predator and the role prey as played by two organisms in a given interaction
the pink color of a medium rare piece of grilled filet mignon at its center
the shape of this hole.
the smell of this portion of mozzarella
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])
b is a specifically dependent continuant =Def b is a continuant & there is some independent continuant c which is not a spatial region & which is such that b specifically depends on c
(with multiple bearers) John's love for Mary; the ownership relation between John and this statue; the relation of authority between John and his subordinates
(with one bearer) The mass of this tomato; the pink colour of a medium rare piece of grilled filet mignon at its centre; the smell of this portion of mozzarella; the disposition of this fish to decay; the role of being a doctor; the function of this heart to pump blood; the shape of this hole
continuant
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.
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
(Elucidation) A continuant is an entity that persists, endures, or continues to exist through time while maintaining its identity
A human being; a tennis ball; a cave; a region of space; someone's temperature
has role
this person has role this investigator role (more colloquially: this person has this role of investigator)
a relation between an independent continuant (the bearer) and a role, in which the role specifically depends on the bearer for its existence
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.
independent continuant
a chair
a heart
a leg
a molecule
a spatial region
an atom
an orchestra.
an organism
the bottom right portion of a human torso
the interior of your mouth
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])
b is an independent continuant =Def b is a continuant & there is no c such that b specifically depends on c or b generically depends on c
An atom; a molecule; an organism; a heart; a chair; the bottom right portion of a human torso; a leg; the interior of your mouth; a spatial region; an orchestra
has characteristic
this apple is bearer of this red color
this vase is bearer of this fragility
Inverse of characteristic_of
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.
part of
my brain is part of my body (continuant parthood, two material entities)
my stomach cavity is part of my stomach (continuant parthood, immaterial entity is part of material entity)
this day is part of this year (occurrent parthood)
a core relation that holds between a part and its whole
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.
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'.
part_of