These outcomes advance the current underst and ing of Ca digestibility and utilisation , and should contribute towards establishing requirements for digestible Ca .
Consequently , pig diets will be more correctly formulated if digestible Ca values are used in estimating requirements for Ca
Ca digestibility and utilisation in growing pigs are not well understood , and are usually neglected in diet formulation .
This has implication s not only for the accurate determination of its requirements but also for its interactions with other nutrients .
A systematic review and meta- analysis ( meta-regression ) of published trials was carried out to quantify factors affecting Ca absorption and utilisation , and to derive an estimate of Ca endogenous excretion .
SYRCLE’s risk of bias tool for animal studies
Background Systematic Review s ( SRs ) of experimental animal studies are not yet common practice , but awareness of the merits of conducting such SRs is steadily increasing . As animal intervention studies differ from r and omized clinical trials ( RCT ) in many aspects , the methodology for SRs of clinical trials needs to be adapted and optimized for animal intervention studies . The Cochrane Collaboration developed a Risk of Bias ( RoB ) tool to establish consistency and avoid discrepancies in assessing the method ological quality of RCTs . A similar initiative is warranted in the field of animal experimentation . Methods We provide an RoB tool for animal intervention studies ( SYRCLE ’s RoB tool ) . This tool is based on the Cochrane RoB tool and has been adjusted for aspects of bias that play a specific role in animal intervention studies . To enhance transparency and applicability , we formulated signalling questions to facilitate judgment . Results The result ing RoB tool  for animal studies contains 10 entries . These entries are related to selection bias , performance bias , detection bias , attrition bias , reporting bias and other biases . Half these items are in agreement with the items in the Cochrane RoB tool . Most of the variations between the two tools are due to differences in design between RCTs and animal studies . Shortcomings in , or unfamiliarity with , specific aspects of experimental design of animal studies compared to clinical studies also play a role . Conclusions SYRCLE ’s RoB tool is an adapted version of the Cochrane RoB tool . Widespread adoption and implementation of this tool will facilitate and improve critical appraisal of evidence from animal studies . This may subsequently enhance the efficiency of translating animal research into clinical practice and increase awareness of the necessity of improving the method ological quality of animal studies
These outcomes advance the current underst and ing of Ca digestibility and utilisation , and should contribute towards establishing requirements for digestible Ca .
Consequently , pig diets will be more correctly formulated if digestible Ca values are used in estimating requirements for Ca
Ca digestibility and utilisation in growing pigs are not well understood , and are usually neglected in diet formulation .
This has implication s not only for the accurate determination of its requirements but also for its interactions with other nutrients .
A systematic review and meta- analysis ( meta-regression ) of published trials was carried out to quantify factors affecting Ca absorption and utilisation , and to derive an estimate of Ca endogenous excretion .