In native Mongolian horses, the incidence and distribution of Rhodococcus equi are poorly understood. One hundred and fourteen equine fecal samples and 71 soil samples were collected from the camp sites of 26 nomadic families located in three areas less than 100 km from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Five fecal samples were also collected from foals of Przewalski's Horses introduced into the Hustai Nat...

BACKGROUND Infant botulism is the most prevalent form of botulism in the USA, representing 68.5 % of cases reported from 2001-2012. Infant botulism results when botulinum toxin-producing clostridia (BTPC) colonize the infant gut with concomitant in vivo production of the highly potent botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT). The gut microbiota of infants with botulism is largely uncharacterized; therefore,...

In 2015, a major outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) infection devastated poultry facilities in Minnesota, USA. To understand the potential role of wild birds, we tested 3,139 waterfowl fecal samples and 104 sick and dead birds during March 9-June 4, 2015. HPAIV was isolated from a Cooper's hawk but not from waterfowl fecal samples.

The microbiological quality of coastal or river water can be affected by fecal contamination from human or animal sources. To discriminate pig fecal pollution from other pollution, a library-independent microbial source tracking method targeting Bacteroidales host-specific 16S rRNA gene markers by real-time PCR was designed. Two pig-specific Bacteroidales markers (Pig-1-Bac and Pig-2-Bac) were ...

Effects of dietary fiber on bile acid excretion and fecal bile acid concentration have been studied for seven subjects fed 26 g of either soft white wheat bran, corn bran, soybean hulls, or hard red spring wheat bran. Results indicate that even in a controlled study using a metabolic word, individual subject variation has a major impact on fecal bile acid excretion. This observation has not bee...

The California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) is under consideration for federal protection and has stimulated ecosystem-level management efforts in Sierra Nevada national forests. Because some populations are declining, we used a noninvasive fecal sampling method to estimate stress hormone (i.e., corticosterone) levels within a local population from April to August 2001. Fecal c...

Plasma corticosterone (CORT) measures are a common procedure to detect stress responses in rodents. However, the procedure is invasive and can influence CORT levels, making it less than ideal for monitoring CORT circadian rhythms. In the current paper, we examined the applicability of a non-invasive fecal CORT metabolite measure to assess the circadian rhythm. We compared fecal CORT metabolite ...

We read with interest the report of Guerrant et al. (1). It was stated that the fecal lactoferrin assay may be a useful diagnostic tool in the evaluation of patients with acute diarrhea syndrome (ADS), offering some advantages over microscopic examination for fecal leukocytes. We would like to comment on this and report data from a study carried out in Chile in which fecal lactoferrin was measu...

Total and fecal coliform bacteria were isolated from the cloaca and feces of the estuarine diamondback terrapin. The majority of samples contained fecal coliforms. Escherichia coli was the predominant fecal coliform species isolated, and members of the genus Salmonella were isolated from 2 of 39 terrapins. Fecal coliform numbers are used to regulate shellfish harvests, and diamondback terrapins...

Background & objectives: In recent years, iron nanoparticles have been successfully used to remove water pollutants. Fecal coliform is one of the parameters that reduces water quality and its removal is essential. The aim of the present study is using nanoscale zerovalent iron particles to enhance the usual sand filters in removal of fecal coliform of groundwater in Ilam city. Methods: Water s...