Refinement for Ontology Evolution in Virtual Enterprises

Virtual enterprise is based on the premise that work should be done where it can be done most optimally. In virtual enterprises, geographical boundaries merge seamlessly. It enables organisations to act in a way of flexibility and ability to adapt to rapid changes on the fly. However, different parties in a virtual enterprise must understand each other before they go further details in business. Ontologies are such kinds of ideal baselines to assist parties to communicate. One of the essential research issues with ontology is how to deal with changes during their evolving cycle. Therefore, ontology refinement is a crucial component in ontology evolution. This paper presents a taxonomy structure focusing on the is-a relations. In particular, the concept of closeness measurement is introduced based on the “distance” estimation. An extended cluster analysis process is provided. According to the algorithm presented, a new concept is generated according to its attributes. Additionally, the refinement mechanisms for primitive operations are proposed. Unlike some other ontology refinement mechanisms which leave ontology consistency checking to human users after modification, our method emphasises the importance of consistency checking by applying description logics which is demonstrated based on the proposed ontology

E-Business Value Process Modelling

E-business development is a considerable complicated task because the underlying logics of e-business and its new processes that are originated from implementing enhanced information technologies to streamline business performance introduce many complex issues. One of the difficulties is to capture the dynamic aspects of e-business that can be used for monitoring the business performance, in a way that could be helpful for the business adaptation to meet competitive advantages. Among many dynamics of e-business, the value system is the most interested one that has recently been addressed. However a value system is at the strategic level with no formal approaches for its representation, which introduces a gap between system modelling and implementation in the e-business development. In this paper, we will investigate a so called value process that can be not only used for value system modeling, but executed for simulation of the resulted model. For the purpose of value process modelling, we will adopt the process algebra approach, which will be integrated with others such as workflow in our modelling environment

Regulation of AMPA receptors in spinal nociception

The functional properties of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methy-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) receptors in different brain regions, such as hippocampus and cerebellum, have been well studied in vitro and in vivo. The AMPA receptors present a unique characteristic in the mechanisms of subunit regulation during LTP (long-term potentiation) and LTD (long-term depression), which are involved in the trafficking, altered composition and phosphorylation of AMPA receptor subunits. Accumulated data have demonstrated that spinal AMPA receptors play a critical role in the mechanism of both acute and persistent pain. However, less is known about the biochemical regulation of AMPA receptor subunits in the spinal cord in response to painful stimuli. Recent studies have shown that some important regulatory processes, such as the trafficking of AMPA receptor subunit, subunit compositional changes, phosphorylation of AMPA receptor subunits, and their interaction with partner proteins may contribute to spinal nociceptive transmission. Of all these regulation processes, the phosphorylation of AMPA receptor subunits is the most important since it may trigger or affect other cellular processes. Therefore, these study results may suggest an effective strategy in developing novel analgesics targeting AMPA receptor subunit regulation that may be useful in treating persistent and chronic pain without unacceptable side effects in the clinics