Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy(TSE) Risk Project

Enhanced with SHOE

Background

This project is the first real-world, large-scale effort to annotate a web-site with SHOE. It will demonstrate the capabilities of SHOE and validate the concepts. Hopefully, this will serve as an example for future efforts. As progress is made on the project, we will periodically add or update the material here.

The Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) is working to expand the knowledge and resources available to support risk analysis in the food safety area. JIFSAN is a partnership between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the University of Maryland. One of the responsibilities of JIFSAN is to develop a clearinghouse on food safety risks. This web site demonstrates some of the research being done to create a food safety resource that will serve both the general public and individuals who assess risk.

TSEs are brain diseases that cause sponge-like abnormalities in brain cells. "Mad Cow Disease", technically known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), is a TSE that affects the central nervous system of cattle. Other TSE diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), affect humans.

Concept

The TSE Risk Website will focus on three main areas: Source Material, Processing, and End-Product Use. Each source, process, and product has its own web page. The links between these pages are provided by annotating SHOE relationships. The primary means of accessing information will be a graphical display which allows the user to view one of the following:

This display will be created dynamically based on SHOE relationships. As such, it will be automatically updated as new information becomes available, including information that has been made available elsewhere on the web. Other query methods will also be available, including the Parka Browser, a graphical tool to query the knowledge base.

How Will it Work?

Applications

Resources

Web Accessibility