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Review
. 2021 Feb 25;4(1):2-50.
doi: 10.1089/nsm.2020.0003. eCollection 2021 Feb.

An Early Stage Researcher's Primer on Systems Medicine Terminology

Affiliations
Review

An Early Stage Researcher's Primer on Systems Medicine Terminology

Massimiliano Zanin et al. Netw Syst Med. .

Abstract

Background: Systems Medicine is a novel approach to medicine, that is, an interdisciplinary field that considers the human body as a system, composed of multiple parts and of complex relationships at multiple levels, and further integrated into an environment. Exploring Systems Medicine implies understanding and combining concepts coming from diametral different fields, including medicine, biology, statistics, modeling and simulation, and data science. Such heterogeneity leads to semantic issues, which may slow down implementation and fruitful interaction between these highly diverse fields. Methods: In this review, we collect and explain more than100 terms related to Systems Medicine. These include both modeling and data science terms and basic systems medicine terms, along with some synthetic definitions, examples of applications, and lists of relevant references. Results: This glossary aims at being a first aid kit for the Systems Medicine researcher facing an unfamiliar term, where he/she can get a first understanding of them, and, more importantly, examples and references for digging into the topic.

Keywords: multiscale data science; multiscale modeling; systems medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Graphical representation of ANN. ANN, artificial neural network.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Example of a simple decision tree model, trained to choose between two treatments as a function of the age and sex of the patient.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
Deep-learning system developed for human face recognition. Source: https://www.quora.com/What-do-you-think-of-Deep-Learning-2
FIG. 4.
FIG. 4.
Schematic representation of a DPD model. DPD, dissipative particle dynamics.
FIG. 5.
FIG. 5.
Schematic representation of an FEM model. FEM, finite element method.
FIG. 6.
FIG. 6.
Schematic representation of an FVM model. FVM, finite volume method.
FIG. 7.
FIG. 7.
Graphical representation of the LB method. LB, Lattice Boltzmann.
FIG. 8.
FIG. 8.
Example of a graphical representation of a multilayer network composed of three layers.
FIG. 9.
FIG. 9.
Graphical representation of the typical scales in a multiscale modeling.
FIG. 10.
FIG. 10.
Example of two phase transitions, a first-order (red solid line) and a second-order one (dashed blue line).
FIG. 11.
FIG. 11.
Example of the creation of a small-world network.

References

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    1. Berry BJL, Kim H. Long waves 1790–1990: intermittency, chaos, and control. In: Chaos Theory in the Social Sciences: Foundations and Applications. (Kiel LD, Elliott EW; eds). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. 1996; pp. 215–236
    1. Zeng BZ. On the holographic model of human body. In: 1st National Conference of Comparative Studies Traditional Chinese Medicine and West Medicine (Medicine and Philosophy). 1992
    1. Kamada T. System biomedicine: a new paradigm in biomedical engineering. Front Med Biol Eng. 1992;4:1. - PubMed
    1. Zanin M, Chorbev I, Stres B, et al. Community effort endorsing multiscale modelling, multiscale data science and multiscale computing for systems medicine. Brief Bioinformatics. 2019;20:1057–1062 - PMC - PubMed

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