
Home

Network Biology, 2016, 6(4): 75-85
[XML] [EndNote] [RefManager] [BibTex] [

Full PDF (145K)] [Comment/Review Article]

Article

Network robustness: Implication, formulization and exploitation

WenJun Zhang
School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Hong Kong

Received 12 March 2016;Accepted 11 April 2016;Published 1 December 2016
IAEES

Abstract
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.

Keywords network;structure robustness;parameter robustness;comprehensive robustness;stability;sensitivity analysis;biological networks.

International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences. E-mail: office@iaees.org
Copyright © 2009-2024 International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences. All rights reserved.
Web administrator: office@iaees.org, website@iaees.org; Last modified: 2024/4/19

Translate page to: