The aim of this study was to compare the n-alkanes and the ytterbium (Yb)/faecal index techniques as two methods for estimating the herbage intake of dairy cows fed indoors on different herbage : supplement ratios and feeding levels. The supplement was a mixture of maize silage and soyabean meal (ratio of 87 : 13 on a dry matter (DM) basis). In all, four treatments were studied. The herbage : s...

This study evaluated the diagnostic performances of an ELISA method and a molecular method for the detection of verotoxin in faecal samples during an outbreak of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) occurring in Apulia, Southern Italy. Two of the 16 faecal samples were positive for verotoxin when analysed by ELISA and resulted PCR positive for stx1, stx2, eaeA and serogroup O26. The other 14 faeca...

Thirty-seven patients undergoing routine investigation for malabsorption were given radio-opaque pellets (ROP) which were compared with polyethylene glycol and chromic oxide as continuous faecal markers. Percentage recovery of all markers showed a wide range. The recovery of all markers was very similar, and radio-opaque pellet-corrected daily faecal fat correlated very closely with PEG-and chr...

An 8-month sequential study at 4-weekly intervals of faecal Klebsiella aerogenes and clinical activity of ankylosing spondylitis is described. Similar frequencies of faecal K. aerogenes were found in the 44 patients and 36 healthy controls studied. Eighteen patients on 19 occasions had K. aerogenes cultured from their faeces, when the preceding specimen had been negative. Six (31.6%) of these o...

The microbiological quality of the River Riato (Spain) was evaluated. The influence of cattle that roam free in the warm season was marked. The degree of faecal pollution in the river was higher than predicted from the river basin geographical characteristics. The counts of faecal indicators greatly increased when the cattle were allowed to roam free. Counts of enterobacteria and faecal colifor...

Humans and livestock are known contributors of faecal waste to surface water. However, little is known about natural fluctuations of faecal bacteria, especially where wildlife may contribute substantial amounts of waste. I tested the hypotheses that ecological factors, including seasonal animal impacts, rainfall and physiochemical water quality, influence the abundance of total coliform (TC) an...

BACKGROUND Indirect pancreatic function tests available today are unreliable for clinical practice in early chronic pancreatitis due to their low sensitivity in mild and moderate exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. AIM To evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and practicability of faecal elastase 1 determination in patients with mild, moderate, and severe exocrine pancreatic insufficiency cat...

BACKGROUND Faecal calprotectin levels correlate with inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease. We evaluated the role of faecal calprotectin after anti-Tumour Necrosis Factor α induction in inflammatory bowel disease patients to predict therapeutic effect at one year. METHODS Faecal calprotectin levels were measured in stools of 63 patients before and after induction of anti-Tumour Necrosis ...

The effect of n-alkane faecal recovery on the accuracy of diet composition estimates, when increasing the number of diet components, was studied. Seven dietary treatments, composed of different proportions of herbaceous (Lolium perenne and Trifolium repens) and woody species (Erica umbellata, Erica cinerea, Calluna vulgaris, Erica arborea and Ulex gallii) were offered to 28 goats housed in meta...