Network robustness: Implication, formulization and exploitation

Network Biology

WenJun Zhang¹ 

[1] School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China;

关键词: network;    structure robustness;    parameter robustness;    comprehensive robustness;    stability;    sensitivity analysis;    biological networks;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Robustness refers to a system's capacity for maintaining some performance when the system's internal structure is perturbed. In previous study, network robustness, i.e., network structure robustness, includes both resistance capacity (connection robustness) of network structure to perturbation and restoration capacity (restoration robustness) of network structure if it is perturbed. Besides network structure robustness, in present paper I defined two more categories of robustness, network parameter robustness, and comprehensive robustness. Network parameter robustness refers to a network's capacity, without any structural changes, for maintaining between-node flows (fluxes) / link weights if it is perturbed. Comprehensive robustness refers to the network's capacity that not only the topological structure of the network, e.g., nodes and links, are not or less changed, but also between-node flows (fluxes), link weights, nodes' state values are maintained also if the network is perturbed. Comprehensive robustness considers both structure and parameter changes of a network. Furthermore, some new indices for network parameter robustness, and comprehensive robustness were proposed. In addition to specialized indices for network robustness, the inverse of various indices of global sensitivity analysis were suggested as indices for network robustness. Differences between robustness and stability were discussed. Misuse or inaccurate use of robustness / stability in ecology was clarified. In addition, I proposed methods to facilitate network robustness. Parameters / properties of some robust bio-networks were analyzed and summarized.

【 授权许可】

Unknown