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Book Reviews |
University of Liverpool Department of Medicine Liverpool L69 3GA United Kingdom E-mail: nlowe{at}liverpool.ac.uk
Mathematical Modeling in Experimental Nutrition edited by Andrew J Clifford and Hans-Georg Müller, 1998, 423 pages, hardcover, $125.00. Plenum Press, New York
This volume provides a comprehensive guide to the latest developments in the rapidly expanding field of nutrient modeling by using a range of mathematical software packages. It is one of a CRC Press series, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, and was developed from papers presented at the sixth in a series of conferences centered on advancing nutrition through modern statistical and mathematical modeling and state-of-the-art physicochemical analytic techniques. This book provides an excellent way for new researchers in this area to learn the practicalities and pitfalls of modeling.
The book is divided into 4 parts. Part I focuses on the theoretic aspects of mathematical modeling. The first of the 8 chapters contained in this section covers the development of the modeling software package NIH WINSAAM (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD). It provides insight into the considerations behind the movement of the powerful SAAM and CONSAM software into the user-friendly WINDOWS (Microsoft Corp, Redmond, WA) environment. Chapters 2 and 3 provide clear examples to introduce the concepts of modeling to the beginner. Chapter 2 describes a practical step-by-step approach to developing a model of human lactation, from defining the objective of the model, to fitting the experimental data, to obtaining the desired information from the model. This chapter is complemented by chapter 7, which provides the theoretic background that is essential for the effective use of software packages. The use of the modeling software SAAMII is clearly described by Foster in chapter 4, who uses a zinc model as an example. Chapter 5, cowritten by Cobelli and Foster, discusses important theoretic issues, including a priori and a posteriori model identifiability and the assessment of the quality of the model fit to experimental data. An analysis of population kinetics (the method used to quantify intersubject variability), including helpful case studies and a description of available software, is presented in chapter 6.
Part II, entitled "Statistical Modeling in Nutrition," includes 4 chapters that describe parametric and nonparametric modeling techniques, tools for the analysis of nutrition effects on the survival of cohorts, and statistical models for the measurement of error in dietary intake studies. Part III, "Applications of Modeling," contains a series of chapters documenting the development of compartmental models across a diverse range of nutrients (eg, vitamin A, ß-carotene, calcium, folic acid, zinc, copper, and molybdenum) from human isotope studies as well as energy expenditure, resting metabolic rate, and 3-methylhistidine. Animal models include protein turnover and ruminant digestion and metabolism.
Part IV addresses issues associated with the analysis of labeled compounds used in tracer kinetic studies. Study design, use of radioactive compared with stable isotopes, and instrumentation, including inductively coupled–plasma mass spectrometry, thermal ionization mass spectrometry, and the latest developments in accelerator mass spectrometry, are discussed.
In summary, contributions from a distinguished array of experts provide valuable insights into the complex and often perplexing field of mathematical modeling of nutrient metabolism. I recommend this essential reference book for scientists already involved in as well as those planning to embark on tracer studies of nutrient metabolism.
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