Figure 2

Sketch of the methodology. The proposed methodology consists of three main phases: (i) input/ouput characterization, (ii) key parameter identification, and (iii) key parameter analysis. Panels provide a general outline of each phase through a graphical representation of the proposed work-flow. Panel A - input/output characterization: model inputs are sampled (LHS technique) and then, starting from these values, model solutions are evaluated over time thus investigating possible model behaviors. Panel B - key parameter identification: monotonic relationships among model inputs and outputs are revealed with PRCC analysis over time, thus identifying key model parameters and time points where to expand the analysis. For each selected time, PRCCs and their significance (p-values) are provided. The yellow area shows non significant PRCCs. Panel C - key parameter analysis: C1. values of key parameters are partitioned into r equal intervals, and each interval is associated with a different color, thus designing a color-code. C2: model traces (i.e. time dependent outputs) are then colored following the color-code, thus highlighting the role of the selected parameter. Notice how the high concentrations of model outputs is mainly characterized by green lines, i.e. by high values of the key parameter. C3: relations among model outputs and key parameters are further emphasized by scatter plots (at a fixed time point), colored following the color-code.