Factors affecting the accuracy of urine-based biomarkers of BSE

Table 3 Compare and Contrast the Samples of the Known and Unknown Sets.

Unknown Set
Age of Animals When Samples Obtained	BSE Status	male		female
		F	HxF	F	HxF
≥ 8 years old	Positive	0	0	4	1
	Negative	0	4	0	0
≤ 6 years old	Positive	0	0	2	2
	Negative	0	0	6	0
Known Set
≥ 8 years old	Positive	0	0	0	0
	Negative	0	0	0	0
≤ 6 years old	Positive	3	1	0	0
	Negative	1	3	0	0

The animals producing the samples of the known set were all relatively young steers. In contrast 15 of the samples of the test set were produced by females and five of these were much older in age than the samples of the known set. The unknown set also included four steers, but none of these were of the same age range as the steers of the known set. Note that the known set animals are located in the bottom left quadrant of the table that is unpopulated by animals of the unknown set.

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