{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.decay","code":"thing-decay","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/decay/","name":"decay","alternateNames":["cavity","caries","dental caries","tooth decay","decomposition","rot","rotting","putrefaction","breakdown","dilapidation","ruin","mildew"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Activities and processes","entryKind":"noun.process","plane":"ACT","domain":["ACT.PRC"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{"substance":"activity","origin":"conceptual","agency":"inert","mobility":"not-applicable","scale":"not-applicable","affordances":["observable"]}},"whatItIs":"In the WordNet sense, the process of gradually becoming inferior or deteriorating, with related specific senses the registry aliases name, including decomposition and rot of organic matter, and tooth decay, also called dental caries or cavities, the destruction of tooth structure by acids from bacteria acting on sugars, one of the most common diseases worldwide, largely preventable with fluoride and diet; dental pain with facial swelling or fever needs urgent dental or medical care.","purpose":"Let an agent explain decay as a general process, relay the meanings of decomposition, rot and dental caries from dictionaries, biology and dental sources, route dental swelling or fever to urgent care, and distinguish decay from radioactive decay, urban decay and erosion.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Gradual","Many senses","Biological and figurative","Preventable in teeth"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What decay is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is decay, and how does it differ from radioactive decay, urban decay and erosion?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is there tooth pain with facial swelling, fever or difficulty swallowing, in which case seek urgent dental or medical care?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"senses","name":"Senses","description":"Named senses.","findings":[{"id":"senses-finding","name":"Senses","description":"Senses.","questions":[{"text":"What are cavities, caries, tooth decay, decomposition and rot?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific sense?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"teeth","name":"Teeth","description":"Tooth decay.","layers":[{"id":"causes","name":"Causes","description":"Causes.","findings":[{"id":"causes-finding","name":"Causes","description":"Causes.","questions":[{"text":"How do bacteria and sugars cause caries?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"prevention","name":"Prevention","description":"Prevention.","findings":[{"id":"prevention-finding","name":"Prevention","description":"Prevention.","questions":[{"text":"How do fluoride, diet and dental visits prevent decay, with fluoridation debates attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"biology","name":"Biology","description":"Decomposition.","layers":[{"id":"decomposition","name":"Decomposition","description":"Decomposition.","findings":[{"id":"decomposition-finding","name":"Decomposition","description":"Decomposition.","questions":[{"text":"How do microbes and fungi decompose organic matter?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits decomposition?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"rot","name":"Rot","description":"Wood and food rot.","findings":[{"id":"rot-finding","name":"Rot","description":"Rot.","questions":[{"text":"What are dry rot and food spoilage?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits dry rot?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Other senses.","layers":[{"id":"physics","name":"Physics","description":"Radioactive decay.","findings":[{"id":"physics-finding","name":"Physics","description":"Physics.","questions":[{"text":"How is radioactive decay different?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits radioactive decay?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"urban","name":"Urban","description":"Urban decay.","findings":[{"id":"urban-finding","name":"Urban","description":"Urban.","questions":[{"text":"What is urban decay?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits urban decay?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe signs of decay in materials, organic matter or teeth from observation.","Report decay found in a structure, stored goods or food to the person responsible."],"mustNot":["Describe tooth decay in a specific person as diagnosed, or advise treatment.","Delay advice to seek care when someone describes dental pain or swelling.","Serve or sell food showing decay as fit to eat.","Present water fluoridation debates in partisan terms as settled fact."],"requiresHuman":["Any dental treatment decision.","Condemning a building or batch of goods as unsafe."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Untreated dental decay causes pain and infection and falls hardest on people without access to care.","Decay of buildings and stored food endangers people who depend on them."],"affectedParties":["People with dental pain","Children without dental access","Occupants of decaying buildings"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the process; the owner of the affected thing answers for dealing with it, and clinicians for dental care.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"oewn-13540166-n","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"deterioration","type":"related","note":"in WordNet terms"},{"target":"tooth decay","type":"related"},{"target":"decomposition","type":"related"},{"target":"radioactive decay","type":"related"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.decay","Open English WordNet: oewn-13477888-n","WordNet: oewn-13540166-n hypernym of decay"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["WordNet hypernym: deterioration note","untreated caries in permanent teeth: among the most common health conditions note - WHO Global Oral Health Status Report 2022","fluoride: main preventive agent for caries note"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Gradual deterioration","Cavity, caries, dental caries, tooth decay, decomposition, rot","Radioactive decay is nuclear; urban decay is social; erosion is mechanical wearing away","Softening, discolouration and breakdown of materials or teeth."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the general sense","relay specific senses","describe tooth decay prevention","route dental emergencies"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Delaying care for dental abscess","Confusing senses of decay","Partisan framing of fluoridation debates"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["WHO oral health guidance","Water fluoridation policies"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a process.","decomposition of organic matter","rot in wood and food","dental caries","figurative decline"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-13477888-n","url":"https://en-word.net/id/oewn-13477888-n","note":"sense and gloss of the concept"},{"title":"Wiktionary: decay","url":"https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/decay","note":"word senses and usage"}],"openQuestions":["Should dental caries be linked as its own entry?","How should dental sources be linked?","How should the figurative sense be recorded?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-decay/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-decay/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T20:55:37Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:27+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: WordNet gloss; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane ACT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}