Nutrients have been recognized as essential for maximum growth, successful reproduction, and infection prevention since the 1940s; since that time, the lion's share of nutrient research has focused on defining their role in these processes. Around 1990, however, a major shift began in the way that researchers viewed some nutrients particularly the vitamins. This shift was motivated by the discovery that modest declines in vitamin nutritional status are associated with an increased risk of ill-health and disease (such as neural tube defects, heart disease, and cancer), especially in those populations or individuals who are genetically predisposed. In an effort to expand upon this new understanding of nutrient action, nutritionists are increasingly turning their focus to the mathematical modeling of nutrient kinetic data. The availability of suitably-tagged (isotope) nutrients (such as B-carotene, vitamin A, folate, among others), sensitive analytical methods to trace them in humans (mass spectrometry and accelerator mass spectrometry), and powerful software (capable of solving and manipulating differential equations efficiently and accurately), has allowed researchers to construct mathematical models aimed at characterizing the dynamic and kinetic behavior of key nutrients in vivo in humans at an unparalleled level of detail.

Theoretical Considerations in Compartmental Modeling: Balancing Needs, Efficiency, and Functionality in the Provision of Modeling Software: A Perspective of the NIH WinSAAM Project; P. Greif, et al. Compartmental Modeling of Human Lactation; J.A. Novotny, B. Caballero. Designing a Radioisotope Experiment Using a Dynamic, Mechanistic Model of Protein Turnover; H.A. Johnson, et al. Statistical Modeling in Nutrition: Measurement Error and Dietary Intake; R.J. Carrol, et al. Statistical Models for Quantitative Bioassay; M.R. Facer, et al. Statistical Issues in Assay Development and Use; D. Giltinan. Applications of Modeling: Development of a Compartment Model Describing the Dynamics of Vitamin A Metabolism in Men; D. von Reinersdorff, et al. Compartmental Models of Vitamin A and beta-Carotene Metabolism in Women; B.J. Burri, J.-Y.K. Park. The Dynamics of Folic Acid Metabolism in an Adult Given a Small Tracer Dose of 14C-Folic Acid; A.J. Clifford, et al. Chemical/Physical Analytical Methods: Protocol Development for Biological Tracer Studies; S.R. Dueker, et al. Plasma Source Mass Spectrometry in Experimental Nutrition; R.M. Barnes. 14 Additional Chapters. Index.