4. Modelling principles

First, a few words on key concepts used in EMULSION.

4.1. Individuals, populations, metapopulations

EMULSION models can represent the dynamics of several organization levels (or scales), through classical paradigms used in epidemiological modelling:

  • Compartment-based models represent aggregate populations sharing a same state (e.g. same health state, same age group…). Individuals, thus, are not represented explicitly. The population is the mapping between states and the amount of individuals in those states (Fig. 4.1, right).

  • Individual-based models (IBM), on the contrary, focus on an explicit depiction of individual specificities (in states, actions, processes…) to account for finer grained assumptions, or represent specific control measures. The population is a collection of individuals (Fig. 4.1, left).

  • EMULSION also provides hybrid models, which combine the capability of representing detailed information through individuals, with an adaptive grouping of individuals based on their state, to optimize computation (Fig. 4.1, center).

    In addition, EMULSION can handle metapopulations, i.e. a collection of interconnected populations (for instance through movements of individuals, airborne diffusion of pathogens, etc.). Metapopulations can aggregate populations built on compartment-based, individual-based or hybrid modelling paradigms.

From individuals to aggregate populations in EMULSION

Fig. 4.1 From individuals to aggregate populations in EMULSION

4.2. From flow diagrams to state machines

Flow diagrams

Flow diagrams are a broadly adopted representation in epidemiological modelling. Possible states are represented as boxes. Plain arrows specify at which rate individuals move from one state to another. For instance, a classical flow diagram to represent a SIR model (assuming frequency-dependent force of infection) will look as:

digraph { rankdir=LR; node[fontsize=16, fontname="Arial", shape="box", style="bold"]; edge[penwidth=1.5]; "S" [shape="box", label="S", tooltip="S (Susceptible): not infected"] ; "I" [shape="box", label="I", tooltip="I (Infectious): infected and able to transmit the disease"] ; "R" [shape="box", label="R", tooltip="R (Resistant): healthy again and resistant to infection"] ; "I" -> "R" [label="γ", labeltooltip="rate: γ", arrowtail="none", arrowhead="normalnone", dir=both, tooltip="I individuals become R at rate γ", minlen=2, style="solid"]; "S" -> "I" [label="βI/N", labeltooltip="rate: βI/N", arrowtail="none", arrowhead="normalnone", dir=both, tooltip="S individuals become I at rate βI/N", minlen=2, style="solid"]; }

Under the classical assumption that durations in each state follow an exponential distribution, this graphical representation can be easily translated into either an ODE system which provides a mathematical representation of a deterministic SIR model, or a system of stochastic difference equations.

However, flow diagrams have two main drawbacks:

  1. Dealing with several concerns at the same time (e.g. infectious process and age groups) implies that all states must be subdivided according to each concern (e.g. infected juveniles vs. infected adults), hence a multiplication of boxes and arrows;

  2. With more complex models which do not stand classical assumptions or intend to represent individual-based conditions or actions , many model features cannot be represented explicitly.

State machines

State machines (Fig. 4.2) is a formalism which completely encompasses flow diagrams but can also support more complex features while making them appear explicitly. Especially:

  • each process involved in the system dynamics (e.g. infection, age groups, demography, treatment protocol, etc.) has to be represented by its own state machine: hence, instead of a large, complicated diagram, EMULSION fosters a separation between concerns through several smaller diagrams

  • state machines represent the dynamics of individual situations instead of the evolution of populations

  • each state can be endowed with additional properties:

    • an explicit duration

    • actions to perform when entering, staying in, or leaving the state

  • each transition is labelled with either a rate, or a probability, or an absolute amount to better control the flow from one state to the other, and can also be associated with:

    • individual conditions to filter which individuals are allowed to cross the transition

    • temporal conditions to enable/disable transitions at targeted periods of time

    • escape conditions to allow some individuals to leave their state before the expected duration

    • actions to perform for individuals crossing the transition

  • in addition to transitions, production links can be used to represent the introdution of new individuals (e.g. births)

principles of a state machine

Fig. 4.2 State machines are similar to flow diagrams but can represent much more explicit details (here all features are represented at the same time)

Note

In a state machine, each possible pathway from one state to another must be represented by one transition, with its own features (rate/proba/amount, conditions, actions).