.. _cellmlcuration: ======================================================= CellML Curation in the legacy Physiome Model Repository ======================================================= As the Auckland Physiome Repository contains much of the data ported over from the legacy software products that powered what was called the CellML Model Repository, the curation system from that system was ported to Auckland Physiome Repository verbatim. This document describing the curation aspect of the repository is derived from documentation on the CellML site. CellML Model Curation: the Theory ================================= The basic measure of curation in a CellML model is described by the curation level of the model document. We have defined four levels of curation: - Level 0: not curated. - Level 1: the CellML model is consistent with the mathematics in the original published paper. - Level 2: the CellML models has been checked for (i) typographical errors, (ii) consistency of units, (iii) that all parameters and initial conditions are defined, (iv) that the model is not over-constrained, in the sense that it contains equations or initial values which are either redundant or inconsistent, and (v) that running the model in an appropriate simulation environment reproduces the results published in the original paper. - Level 3: the model is checked for the extent to which it satisfies physical constraints such as conservation of mass, momentum, charge, etc. This level of curation needs to be conducted by specialised domain experts. CellML Model Curation: the Practice =================================== Our ultimate aim is to complete the curation of all the models in the repository, ideally to the level that they replicate the results in the published paper (level 2 curation status). However, we acknowledge that for some models this will not be possible. Missing parameters and equations are just one limitation; at this point it should also be emphasised that the process of curation is not just about "fixing the CellML model" so that it runs in currently available tools. Occasionally it is possible for a model to be expressed in valid CellML, but not yet able to be solved by CellML tools. An example is the seminal Saucerman et al. 2003 model, which contains ODEs as well as a set of non-linear algebraic equations which need to be solved simultaneously. The developers of the CellML editing and simulation environment OpenCell are currently working on addressing these requirements. The following steps describe the process of curating a CellML model: - **Step 1:** the model is run through OpenCell and COR. COR in particular is a useful validation tool. It renders the MathML in a human readable format making it much easier to identify any typographical errors in the model equations. COR also provides a comprehensive error messaging system which identifies typographical errors, missing equations and parameters, and any redundancy in the model such as duplicated variables or connections. Once these errors are fixed, and assuming the model is now complete, we compare the CellML model equations with those in the published paper, and if they match, the CellML model is awarded a single star - or level 1 curation status. - **Step 2:** Assuming the model is able to run in OpenCell and COR, we then go onto compare the CellML model simulation output from COR and OpenCell with the published results. This is often a case of comparing the graphical outputs of the model with the figures in the published paper, and is currently a qualitative process. If the simulation results from the CellML model and the original model match, the CellML model is awarded a second star - or level 2 curation status. - **Step 3:** if, at the end of this process, the CellML model is still missing parameters or equations, or we are unable to match the simulation results with the published paper, we seek help from the original model author. Where possible, we try to obtain the original model code, and this often plays an invaluable role in fixing the CellML model. - **Step 4:** Sometimes we have been able to engage the original model author further, such that they take over the responsibility of curating the CellML model themselves. Such models include those published by Mike Cooling and Franc Sachse. In these instances the CellML model is awarded a third star - or level 3 curation status. While this is laudable, ideally we would like to take the curation process one step further, such that level 3 curation should be performed by a domain expert who is not the author of the original publication (i.e., peer review). This expert would then check the CellML model meets the appropriate constraints and expectations for a particular type of model. A point to note is that levels 1 and 2 of the CellML model curation status may be mutually exclusive - in our experience, it is rare for a paper describing a model to contain no typographical errors or omissions. In this situation, Version 1 of a CellML model usually satisfies curation level 1 in that it reflects the model as it is described in the publication - errors included, while subsequent versions of the CellML model break the requirements for meeting level 1 curation in order to meet the standards of level 2. Taking this idea further, this means that a model with 2 yellow stars doesn't necessarily meet the requirements of level 1 curation but it does meet the requirements of level 2. Hopefully this conflict will be resolved when we replace the current star system with a more meaningful set of curation annotations. Ultimately, we would like to encourage the scientific modeling community - including model authors, journals and publishing houses - to publish their models in CellML code in the Auckland Physiome Repository concurrent with the publication of the printed article. This will eliminate the need for code-to-text-to-code translations and thus avoid many of the errors which are introduced during the translation process. CellML Model Simulation: the Theory and Practice ================================================ As part of the process of model curation, it is important to know what tools were used to simulate (run) the model and how well the model runs in a specific simulation environment. In this case, the theory and the practice are essentially the same thing, and carry out a series of simulation steps which then translate into a confidence level as part of a simulator's metadata for each model. The four confidence levels are defined as: - Level 0: not curated (no stars); - Level 1: the model loads and runs in the specified simulation environment (1 star); - Level 2: the model produces results that are qualitatively similar to those previously published for the model (2 stars); - Level 3: the model has been quantitatively and rigorously verified as producing identical results to the original published model (3 stars).