Thirty pelleted diets were given to broiler chickens (eight birds per diet; 21 to 35 days of age) for individual in vivo measurements of dietary net energy (NE) value, using three trials with 10 diets/trial. Amino acid formulation of diets was done on the basis of ratios to CP. NE was measured according to the body analysis method. The basal metabolism component of NE values was calculated on the basis of mean metabolic weight using a coefficient obtained in a previous experiment. Information about apparent metabolisable energy (AME) value of diets, AME corrected to zero nitrogen retention (AMEn) and digestibilities of proteins, lipids, starch and sugars was available from a previous publication. In each trial, mean NE/AME ratios of diets varied by about 6%. From the multiple regressions (n=30) expressing NE and AMEn values as functions of digestible component contents, it was deduced that the NE/AMEn ratios assigned to dietary components were 0.760, 0.862, 0.806, 0.690 and 0.602 for CP, lipids, starch, (sucrose+glucose) and fermentable sugars (α-galacto-oligosaccharides and lactose), respectively. The NE/AME ratio of CP was 0.680. Regression calculations showed that the NE values assigned to individual birds (n=240) could also be predicted with diet AMEn values (NE=0.80 AMEn; R 2=0.770) or with an equation combining AMEn value and CP/AMEn ratio (R 2=0.773). The latter ratio was found to be the only additional parameter that was significant when added in the NE regression scheme based on AMEn.

Thirty various pelleted diets were given to broilers (8/diet) for in vivo measurements of dietary metabolisable energy (ME) value and digestibilities of proteins, lipids, starch and sugars from day 27 to day 31, with ad libitum feeding and total collection of excreta. Water excretion was also measured. Amino acid formulation of diets was done on the basis of ratios to crude proteins. Mean in vivo apparent ME values corrected to zero nitrogen retention (AMEn) were always lower than the AMEn values calculated for adult cockerels using predicting equations from literature based on the chemical analyses of diets. The difference between mean in vivo AMEn values and these calculated AMEn values increased linearly with increasing amount of wheat in diets (P = 0.0001). Mean digestibilities of proteins, lipids and starch were negatively related to wheat introduction (P = 0.0001). The correlations between mean in vivo AMEn values and diet analytical parameters were the highest with fibre-related parameters, such as water-insoluble cell-walls (WICW) (r = −0.91) or Real Applied Viscosity (RAV) (r = −0.77). Thirteen multiple regression equations relating mean in vivo AMEn values to dietary analytical data were calculated, with R2 values ranging from 0.859 to 0.966 (P = 0.0001). The highest R2 values were obtained when the RAV parameter was included in independent variables. The direct regression equations obtained with available components (proteins, lipids, starch, sucrose and oligosaccharides) and the indirect regression equations obtained with WICW and ash parameters showed similar R2 values. Direct or indirect theoretical equations predicting AMEn values were established using the overall mean in vivo digestibility values. The principle of indirect equations was based on the assumption that WICW and ashes act as diluters. Addition of RAV or wheat content in variables improved the accuracy of theoretical equations. Efficiencies of theoretical equations for predicting AMEn values were almost the same as those of multiple regression equations. Water excretion was expressed either as the water content of excreta (EWC), the ratio of water excretion to feed intake (WIR) or the residual value from the regression equation relating water excretion to feed intake (RWE). The best regression predicting EWC was based on sucrose, fermentable sugars (lactose + oligosaccharides) and chloride variables, with positive coefficients. The best equations predicting WIR or RWE contained the sugar and chloride variables, with positive coefficients. Other variables appearing in these equations were AMEn or starch with negative coefficients, WICW, ‘cell-wall-retained water’, RAV or potassium with positive coefficients.

The purpose of this paper is to report a pilot of Group Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). The cognitive behavioural approach to the management of CFS has been proven effective and group therapy is often seen as a cost effective approach where possible. Six patients with CFS who met the inclusion criteria were taken from a waiting list for CBT and entered the group. Treatment involved 10 sessions of one hour spread over 18 weeks. Using questionnaire analysis, measures of pre, post, and follow-up scores were used. Analysis, comparing medians with the Wilcoxin Signed Ranks Test reached statistical significance on the Fatigue Questionnaire and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale (p <.05) between pre and post-treatment levels. The authors conclude that these results may represent a useful approach to the management of CFS, but that a controlled trial is now required to establish this.

Because wheat comprises such a large component of poultry diets, its nutritional characteristics and, in particular, its metabolizable energy (ME) content are critically important. This paper examines the popularly held view that the ME of wheat is variable by seeking out compositional factors which could account for the variation. The bioassays which have been applied to the derivation of the ME of wheat have also been appraised and it has been concluded that substitution techniques which are used in apparent ME studies may have contributed to the uncertainty which has been attributed to the ME value of wheat. Neither the variety nor the site of its cultivation appeared to affect the ME of wheat, but both density (positively) and α-amylase activity (negatively) were correlated with ME; however, neither effect was large and the commercial significance is doubtful. Attention has recently focused on the non-starch polysaccharides in wheat, specifically water-soluble arabinoxylan, and response experiments after xylanase addition to wheat-based diets have produced evidence that the viscosity of the digesta is a factor resulting in poor performance; the mechanisms involved have not, however, been elucidated.