Figure 1

Overview of analysis flow chart. 1). All the analysis is based on the hypothesis that a causal relation exists between expression levels of specific genes and an endpoint phenotype. 2) The strength of the relation is calculated by the proposed consistency degree, which is valid with the performance of thousands of models. 3) By maximizing the consistency degree, the endpoint phenotype can be redefined to be most consistent with gene expression levels. 4) Last, traditional and redefined endpoints are compared by the ranges of phenotype variance and the positions of unpredictable samples in gene expression levels.