title: A unified multiscale field/network/agent based modeling framework for human and ecological health risk analysis.
abstract: A conceptual framework is presented for multi-scale field/network/agent-based modeling to support human and ecological health risk assessments. This framework is based on the representation of environmental dynamics in terms of interacting networks, agents that move across different networks, fields representing spatiotemporal distributions of physical properties, rules governing constraints and interactions, and actors that make decisions affecting the state of the system. Different deterministic and stochastic modeling case studies focusing on environmental exposures and associated risks are provided as examples, utilizing the bidirectional mapping between discrete, agent based approaches and continuous, equation based approaches. These examples include problems describing human health risk assessment, ecological risk assessment, and environmentally caused disease.
authors: Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, a Joint Institute of UMDNJ-RW Johnson Medical School and Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. panosg@ccl.rutgers.edu
authors: Panos G
authors: PG
authors: Georgopoulos
authors: Sastry S
authors: SS
authors: Isukapalli
mesh_terms: D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D015233:Models, Statistical; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors