Intake measurements were carried out in 22 tapirs from seven UK zoological collections. Dry matter intake (DMI) ranged from 48 to 86 g/kg(0.75)/d. Across collections, the highest proportion of the ingested diet consisted of pelleted feeds (including grains and bread) at 46+/-17% DMI, followed by commercial produce at 26+/-12% DMI, roughage (excluding browse) at 17+/-11% DMI, and browse at 11+/-...

BACKGROUND Colonic obstruction is a relatively common condition in emergency care, with a mortality rate of up to 20%. In 90% of cases it results from colonic or rectal adenocarcinoma, volvulus, or stenosis secondary to diverticular disease. When fecal impaction is the underlying cause, the condition is usually managed conservatively, but may on occasion become complicated and even require surg...

Three groups of six healthy adult volunteers were randomly assigned to a treatment with 400 mg of oral cefpodoxime proxetil, oral cefixime, or placebo per day for 10 days. Informed consent was obtained from all volunteers. Clostridium difficile was not detected in the feces of any subject before treatment or at any time in the subjects in the placebo group. C. difficile was, however, detected i...

In mammals, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and immune system play an important role in the maintenance of homeostasis. Dysregulation of either system resulting, for example, from psychosocial or reproductive stress increases susceptibility to disease and mortality risk, especially in aging individuals. In a study of free-ranging rhesus macaques, we examined how female age, reprod...

INTRODUCTION Prebiotics positively affect gut microbiota composition, thus improving gut function. These properties may be useful for the treatment of constipation. OBJECTIVES This study assessed the tolerance and effectiveness of a prebiotic inulin/partially hydrolyzed guar gum mixture (I-PHGG) for the treatment of constipation in females, as well as its influence on the composition of intes...

Decision to test for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is usually made when patients have loose stools with Bristol stool score of ≥5. We aimed to assess the relationship between bacterial load of C. difficile and Bristol stool scale, as well as stool frequency in stool samples collected from patients infected with the organism. Samples were collected at baseline, during therapy, and at the...

Background. Calcium malabsorption after bariatric surgery may be harmful to skeletal health and demands for optimal skeletal management. Methods. 103 Patients were evaluated retrospectively at 12 months after surgery. The evaluation included a questionnaire about stool frequency and consistency and laboratory assessments. Results. 103 Patients, 27 males and 76 females, were included in the stud...

Diarrhoea is a universal human experience. It is both a symptom and a sign. On symptoms it is defined as abnormal passage of three or more loose or liquid stools per day. As a sign, diarrhoea is an increase in stool weight (or volume) of more than 200 grams (or mL) per 24 hours on a Western diet. Previous studies have suggested that stool weight is higher in Indians, and the upper limit of norm...

TO THE EDITOR: I would like to thank Dr. Lee for his thoughtful comments on the impact of constipation on fecal incontinence. The coexistence of fecal incontinence and constipation has been well characterized in children and the geriatric population. Fecal incontinence in children is secondary to ‘overflow’ which results from the presence of constipation. Also fecal incontinence occurs in a var...

to clarify fermentative alterations in the large intestine (hindgut) during grazing, fecal alcohol and volatile fatty acids (vfas) concentrations were evaluated in 30 dairy heifers. the heifers were kept in pasture growing mixed grass herbage from spring (mid may) until october, and their rectal feces were collected periodically. concentrations of ethanol, methanol and isopropanol were increase...