☆ Objective

This study aims to assess and compare the variance and mean effects of metabolic traits between two progenitor mouse strains: A/J and C57BL/6J on two types of diets(HFHS and control). The metabolic traits include final body weight, BMI, glucose, insulin, HOMA(Homeostatic model assessment, a measurement used to quantify insulin resistance and beta-cell function), Cholesterol, TG (triglycerides, either in plasma or in liver), liver weight, liver TG, and total liver TG. The null hypothesis states that neither of the two strains or diets will differ significantly from each other in terms of any trait, whether considering central tendency or dispersion.

☆ Density Plot for Strains: A/J vs. B6

☆ Skewness & Kurtosis for Strains: A/J vs. B6

☆ Density Plot for Diets: HFHS vs. Control

☆ Skewness & Kurtosis for Diets: HFHS vs. Control

☆ Density Plot for Strains with Diet: AJ_HFHS, AJ_Control, B6_HFHS, B6_Control

☆ Skewness & Kurtosis for Strain with Diet: AJ_HFHS, AJ_Control, B6_HFHS, B6_Control

☆Variance Effect & Mean Effect

Variance Effect Visualization

-log10(0.05) = 1.3 If more than two methods yield p-values < 0.05, the ensemble voting method will determine the comparison as significant.

Mean Effect Visualization

Ensemble Voting for Variance and Mean

☆Parallel Coordinates Plot

In the parallel coordinates plot, each vertical axis represents a different metabolic trait, and each line connecting across these axes represents an individual mouse. For each trait, all the data was combined across both strains and both diets. Then each individual measurement was normalized as: (individual value – trait minimum)/(trait maximum – trait minimum). The normalization transforms all trait values to a scale between 0 and 1, where 0 represents the minimum value observed for that trait across all mice, and 1 represents the maximum value. By normalizing all values to a 0-1 scale, we’re able to see patterns across traits more easily and compare the effects of strain and diet on multiple traits simultaneously. After normalization, the data was turned back into the original four strain-diet groups.