Welcome to the openGUTS information pages
OpenGUTS is a user-friendly
software to perform analyses with GUTS: the General Unified
Threshold model for Survival. GUTS is the leading
toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic framework for the endpoint
survival (and other non-reversible all-or-nothing effects).
Version 1.0 was released in December 2019, followed by
Version 1.1. in February 2021.
This site hosts the software itself, as a standalone Windows
executable, with manuals and background documentation. Since
openGUTS is (as the name implies) open source, also the
source files can be obtained here. Additionally, you can
download the Matlab version, which served as the blueprint
for the standalone version. The Matlab version has basically
the same functionality, and can be easily adapted or
extended to perform customised analyses. Finally, we provide
(links to) further information on openGUTS and GUTS.
The main features of the software are:
- Open and free: the software is open source and
freely downloadable. The fully-functional Matlab version that
served as the prototype is also available.
- User-friendly: fit models and derive
confidence intervals without requiring user interaction
(e.g., no need for starting values).
- Robust: always find the global optimum and
relevant intervals, even for awkward data sets.
- Flexible: allow time-varying exposure, missing
data, simultaneous fitting on multiple data sets, etc.
- Efficient: rapid screening of exposure profiles
(e.g., FOCUS
output) by batch processing.
- Supportive: the software follows the workflow
as laid down in the 2018
EFSA opinion on TKTD models.
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openGUTS standalone Windows executable
openGUTS in Matlab
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Announcements
Feb. 2021.
New version of the standalone launched (v1.1). The
openGUTS standalone has been updated: the error has been
fixed and extended batch capabilities have been
included.
March 2023. New installation file for the standalone
(v1.1). The installation file for the openGUTS
standalone has been updated: the version of Feb. 2021
triggered a (false-positive) trojan warning by some
virus scanners. We changed the packaged file docto.exe
(which creates the reports) to its latest version (v.
1.8), which does not trigger this virus warning. The
code for the openGUTS calculations has not changed, and
there was no new compilation of the C++ code. The only
change is thus a re-packaging with the new docto.exe.
Downside is that the line spacing in the produced
reports is increased, which does not look so nice.
However, that is easily modified manually in the Word
version of the report that is produced. If you have
successfully installed openGUTS v. 1.1 with the previous
installer, there is no need to update your installation.
Oct. 2023. OpenGUTS does not provide LCx at time
points needed for EFSA's bee guidance. EFSA's
2023 bee guidance requires GUTS to be used for
prediction of LCx (or LDx) after 10 and 27 days.
However, these time points are not, by default,
generated by openGUTS. This is easily solved in the
Matlab version. In the engine folder, there is the
function initial_setup.m. In Block 4 of the code (Line
159), the vector SETTINGS_PRED.T_LCx is defined, which
represents the time points at which LCx are calculated.
This can be modified in any way that you like, e.g.,
just adding 10 and 27 in there. For the standalone, this
requires a new version. We will take up this point with
the next update.
Important warnings/errors
Summary of errors (details
on the downloads
page).
Error in v1.0. The IT
calculations used a shortcut that did not work in all cases.
This led to errors for time varying exposure, where the
exposure scenario includes episodes of linear decrease over
time (for constant exposure and block pulses, it will be
fine). Repaired in the update of the standalone and Matlab
version, to v. 1.1.
Matlab R2023a throws errors (v1.1 and earlier). The
newest version of Matlab does not allow the cell-array
format for name-value pairs anymore. The update to v1.1a solves
this issue (6 April 2023). However, the new
version will no longer support Matlab
R2014b-R2016a.
OpenGUTS
standalone produces error for missing
observation at last time point. The
openGUTS standalone (v1.0 and v1.1) throws
an error when using a data set for survival,
with time-varying exposure, in which there
are one or more missing values at the last
time point. The Matlab version does not have
this problem. A workaround is available (see
downloads page).
News
- 15 October 2023: added a bit more explanation on the
error produced by the standalone for missing
observations at the last time point. Also included an
example of a data set that causes problems, and how to
split up the data set as workaround. See download
page.
- 6 April 2023: new version of the Matlab version of
openGUTS. This is a small update that makes openGUTS run
error-free under Matlab R2023a. No changes to the
calculation engine, only to the calls for plotting. See
download
page and the version log
for details.
- 3 March 2023: new installation file for version 1.1 of
the openGUTS standalone has been released. See download
page. This version does not trigger the
(false-positive) trojan warning that was thrown by some
virus scanners with the previous version. See more
detailed explanation above.
For old news items, click here.
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