A portion of specimen was stored at -20°C until further analysis at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway.
Stool specimens were collected using wide mouthed sterile plastic containers and a portion of specimen was stored in 1.8 m plastic nunc tubes (Nalge Nunc International, NY, USA) at -20°C until the time for analysis.
Primary endpoints: A: Portion of positive/abnormal specimens detected: Pe (new test) = 0.166, Ps (Pap control): 0.082; Ps' (ACS reported value for US in year 2000): 0.07.
A portion of unsubtypeable specimens were tested with the T5000 PCR/electrospray ionization mass spectrometer (ESI-MS) (Ibis Pharmaceuticals, Carlsbad, CA) as previously described [ 34] to identify influenza subtype.
Each patient provided a single stool specimen for clinical diagnosis and, if CDI-positive, a portion of this specimen was then shipped to TechLab, Inc. for tissue culture testing, toxigenic culture, ribotyping of isolates, and fecal lactoferrin analysis.
In a portion of the specimen, preexisting bone with areas of remodeling was present.
A portion of that specimen was placed directly into a heparinized ABG gas syringe, while the remainder was placed in an EDTA vacuum collection tube.
A portion of each specimen was sent for histopathological analysis, and classified by two independent observers (KL and TP) according to the Virmani scheme [1].
A portion of the specimen was centrifuged at 2,000 rpm for 10 min, and the pellet was processed for standard EM.
A portion of each specimen was sent in cool conditions to the research laboratory at Tel Aviv University where it was frozen at −80°C until plated on MacConkey and CHROMagar ECC plates for detection of E. coli.
Smear was prepared from a portion of each specimen, processed by the Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining technique and microscopically examined for acid-fast bacillus (AFB) as previously described [ 26].
