EpiC: A Cyberinfrastructure that Supports the Plug-and-Play of Datasets & Algori

描述（由申请人提供）：流行病和社会传染过程的研究对于理解、预测和预防许多影响公共卫生的现象至关重要，例如传染病、酒精使用和吸烟习惯。因此，改进流行病和社会传染的研究对国家传染病研究所、国家传染病研究所和国家传染病管理研究所的目标十分重要。这一领域的研究进展是困难的，因为数据集和过程在多个时间和空间尺度上展开，需要能够处理非线性复杂现象的应用数学和计算方法。这需要一种综合的研究方法，在这种方法中，从单个个体到全球社会的许多层面都要同时进行分析。这种方法需要新的技术来支持数据分析功能、方法和可视化工具的交换、组合和应用，这些工具是在不同的研究领域开发的。该项目提出了流行病研究的计算基础设施的设计、实施、部署和维护，称为流行病网络基础设施（EpiC）。EpiC是一种新型的网络基础设施，它是一个“空壳”，支持数据集、算法和可视化组件在定制EpiC工具中的简单即插即用。拟议的EpiC基础设施在利用“学术市场”来共享常用的数据集、算法和可视化组件（EpiC工具的“填充”）方面也是独一无二的。最好将这个市场与流行的文件和内容共享社区网站，如Flickr （http://flickr.com/）、YouTube （http://youtube.com/）或维基百科（http://wikipedia.org/）进行比较。然而，学者们将使用EpiC来共享数据集、算法和与流行病研究相关的任何其他项目，而不是共享图像、电影或百科全书条目。EpiC的总体目标是改进和促进将社会数据的多尺度分析集成到动态系统建模、基于主体的建模和其他流行病过程模拟技术中；将专业研究领域的知识和成果直接转移到更广泛的跨学科科学界；发展开放、可用、可扩展和可持续的网络基础设施技术。本项目提出设计、实施、部署和维护流行病研究的计算基础设施，称为流行病网络基础设施（EpiC），以改进和促进社会数据的多尺度分析，并将其集成到系统动态建模、基于代理的建模和其他流行病过程仿真技术中。EpiC是一种新型的网络基础设施，它是一个“空壳”，支持数据集、算法和可视化组件在定制EpiC工具中的简单即插即用。拟议的EpiC基础设施在利用“学术市场”来共享常用的数据集、算法和可视化组件（EpiC工具的“填充”）方面也是独一无二的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The study of epidemic and social contagion processes is crucial for the understanding, prediction, and prevention of many phenomena affecting public health, such as infectious disease, alcohol use, and smoking habits. Improving epidemic and social contagion research is therefore important to the goals of the NIDA, NIAID and NIGMS institutes. Research progress in this area is difficult because the datasets and processes unfold over multiple temporal and spatial scales, requiring applied mathematical and computational approaches that can cope with non-linear complex phenomena. This requires an integrated research approach where the many layers - from the single individual to the global society - are analyzed at once. Such an approach calls for qualitatively new technology that supports the easy exchange, combination, and application of data analysis capabilities, methodologies, and visualization tools developed in very different areas of research. This project proposes the design, implementation, deployment, and maintenance of a computational infrastructure for epidemic research called the Epidemics Cyber infrastructure (EpiC). EpiC is a qualitatively new type of cyber infrastructure -- an "empty shell" that supports the easy plug-and-play of datasets, algorithms, and visualization components in customized EpiC Tools. The proposed EpiC infrastructure is also unique in the utilization of a "scholarly marketplace" for sharing commonly used datasets, algorithms, and visualization components - the "fillings" of the EpiC Tools. The marketplace might be best compared with popular file and content sharing community sites like Flickr (http://flickr.com/), YouTube (http://youtube.com/), or Wikipedia (http://wikipedia.org/). However, instead of sharing images, movies, or encyclopedia entries, scholars will use EpiC to share datasets, algorithms, and any other items relevant to the study of epidemics. The overarching goals of EpiC are the improvement and facilitation of multi-scale analysis of social data integrated into dynamic systems modeling, agent-based modeling, and other simulation techniques for epidemic processes; the direct transfer of knowledge and results from fields of specialist research to the wider interdisciplinary scientific community; and the development of a cyber infrastructure technology that is open, usable, extensible, and sustainable. This project proposes the design, implementation, deployment, and maintenance of a computational infrastructure for epidemic research called Epidemics Cyber infrastructure (EpiC) for the improvement and facilitation of the multi-scale analysis of social data and their integration in systems dynamic modeling, agent-based modeling, and other simulation techniques for epidemic processes. EpiC is a qualitatively new type of cyber infrastructure -- an "empty shell" that supports the easy plug-and-play of datasets, algorithms, and visualization components in customized EpiC Tools. The proposed EpiC infrastructure is also unique in the utilization of a "scholarly marketplace" to share commonly used datasets, algorithms, and visualization components - the "fillings" of the EpiC Tools.