The chapters in this volume stem from the fifth in a series of conferences
designed to assist nutritionists in employing mathematical modeling in their
research. There is increasing controversy over whether nutrient requirements
should be based solely on the minimum intakes needed to avoid
overt deficiency diseases. Resolution of such questions is critical to determining
the optimum nutrient intake at the various stages of life and under
various physiological and/or pathological stresses. Mathematical modeling
offers a powerful tool for evaluating and simulating the functioning of
complex metabolic systems. In addition to presenting general information
on modeling (Canolty and Cain, 1985,1988), past conferences in this series
have focused on the application to amino acid (Abumrad, 1991), carbohydrate
(Abumrad, 1991), and mineral metabolism (Siva Subrarnanian and
Wastney, 1995). The goals for this conference were to provide a workshop
on the use of the Simulation, Analysis, and Modeling program (SAAM)
developed at NIH plus presentations on application of modeling to vitamins
and proteins, methods that might be useful for manipulating metabolic
systems and obtaining the kinetic data needed for modeling, and mathematical
theory and procedures relevant to modeling.