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Simple Summary: Consumers' attention to sustainability and animal welfare has increased, strengthening the demand for eggs produced through alternative and extensive farming methods. At the same time, the need to reduce antibiotics has fostered the use of alternative dietary supplements. The aim of this research was to study the effects of botanical extracts from Boswellia serrata (Bs) and Salix alba (Sa) on serum and albumen proteins, serum iron and zinc, and egg cholesterol in Leghorn hens, during the critical phase of the onset of laying. The supplementation did not alter the protein profile of egg albumen and the cholesterol content of egg yolk. For the serum and albumen protein profile, no significant differences were observed between control and supplemented hens. Overall, this study confirms that the dietary supplementation with phytoextracts did not negatively affect the physiological variations in serum proteins and, therefore, can be safely used as a treatment to prevent inflammatory states during the early laying phase. Extracts from Boswellia serrata (Bs) and Salix alba (Sa) are used as supplements in poultry feed. The aims of this research were to study the possible effects of dietary supplementation with Bs and Sa extracts on serum and albumen proteins, zinc and iron, and yolk cholesterol content in Leghorn hens during the critical phase of the onset of laying. A total of 120 pullets, 17 weeks of age, were assigned to two groups (control (C) and treated (T), n = 60 each). The T group received a supplement containing Bs (5%) and Sa (5%) for 12 weeks. The study lasted 19 weeks. Serum proteins were fractionated using agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) and SDS–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE). Trace elements were determined in serum using atomic absorption spectrometry, and yolk cholesterol was determined using a colorimetric test. No significant differences were observed between control and supplemented hens for the analyzed biochemical indices. Moreover, the supplementation with phytoextracts did not negatively affect the physiological variations in serum proteins; therefore, it can be safely used as a treatment to prevent inflammatory states at onset and during the early laying phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Honeybees are vital pollinators for the human food chain. Colony depopulation is a serious threat to Apis mellifera populations and unfortunately it is also one of the most elusive and difficult to study. This research deals with the problem at its foundation: population imbalances. The proposed method allows to discriminate, with remarkably good performances, precocious foragers from proper aged ones using SDS-PAGE patterns of haemolymph proteins. Implications and future perspectives are discussed. Honeybees, as social insects, live in highly organised colonies where tasks reflect the age of individuals. As is widely known, in this context, emergent properties arise from interactions between them. The accelerated maturation of nurses into foragers, stimulated by many negative factors, may disrupt this complex equilibrium. This complexity needs a paradigm shift: from the study of a single stressor to the study of the effects exerted by multiple stressors on colony homeostasis. The aim of this research is, therefore, to study colony population disturbances by discriminating overaged nurses from proper aged nurses and precocious foragers from proper aged foragers using SDS-PAGE patterns of haemolymph proteins and a machine-learning algorithm. The KNN (K Nearest Neighbours) model fitted on the forager dataset showed remarkably good performances (accuracy 0.93, sensitivity 0.88, specificity 1.00) in discriminating precocious foragers from proper aged ones. The main strength of this innovative approach lies in the possibility of it being deployed as a preventive tool. Depopulation is an elusive syndrome in bee pathology and early detection with the method described could shed more light on the phenomenon. In addition, it enables countermeasures to revert this vicious circle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The aims of this study were to determine the urinary reference values and identify the most represented proteins of the urinary proteome in captive giraffes. The reference values for the urine specific gravity, total proteins, creatinine, and urine protein:creatinine ratio, reported as the median, and lower and upper limit, were 1.030 (1006–1.049), 17.58 (4.54–35.31) mg/dL, 154.62 (39.59–357.95) mg/dL, and 0.11 (0.07–0.16), respectively. Giraffes presented a low quantity of urinary proteins, which is in accordance with the data regarding domestic ruminants. In addition to albumin, the most represented urinary proteins were lysozyme and ubiquitin, which are involved in defense mechanisms against microbes. Urinalysis is widely recognized to be a useful tool in routine health investigations, since it can diagnose numerous pathologies. Considering the paucity of knowledge concerning giraffes, urine from 44 giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) (18 males and 26 females, from 3 months of age to 21 years of age) underwent routine urinalysis, 1D-electrophoresis, and protein identification using mass spectrometry, with the aim of identifying the urinary reference values and the urine proteome. The urine specific gravity (USG), urine total proteins (uTP), urine creatinine (uCr), and urine protein:creatinine ratio (UPC) reference values, reported as the median, and lower limit (LL) and upper limit (UL), were 1.030 (1006–1.049), 17.58 (4.54–35.31) mg/dL, 154.62 (39.59–357.95) mg/dL, and 0.11 (0.07–0.16), respectively. Mass spectrometry, together with electrophoresis, revealed a pattern of common urinary proteins; albumin, lysozyme C, and ubiquitin were the most represented proteins in the giraffe urine. It has been hypothesized that these proteins could act as a defense against microbes. Moreover, in giraffes, urinalysis could be a valid tool for gauging renal function and physiological status changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Feline morbillivirus is a newly discovered paramyxovirus infecting domestic cats. Its pathogenetic role in domestic cats is still debated, however some evidences suggest a potential involvement of this novel feline virus in the pathogenesis of feline chronic kidney disease. In this study, clinical data of cats infected by morbillivirus were retrospectively reviewed and compared with data obtained from healthy cats and cats affected by chronic kidney disease. The results of the present study suggest that this infection can be associated with the presence of a sub-clinical kidney damage and with different grades of renal dysfunction in cats younger than those typically affected by chronic kidney disease. Feline morbillivirus (FeMV) is a newly discovered paramyxovirus infecting domestic cats and its role in the pathogenesis of feline chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been suggested, however not confirmed. The primary aim of the study was to evaluate the renal damage associated with FeMV infection in cats. In this retrospective study, clinical and clinicopathological data were compared among 14 FeMV naturally infected, 21 CKD and 22 healthy cats. FeMV positive cats had serum chemistry analytes and main urine chemistry results similar to the healthy subjects. FeMV positive cats had significantly decreased urine specific gravity (median 1054, range 1022–1065) and urine creatinine (median 227.23 mg/dL, range 83.02–489.75) when compared with healthy cats (median 1067, range 1040–1080, p < 0.001; median 406.50 mg/dL, range 195.32–575.58; p < 0.001, respectively). Urine protein:creatinine ratio (UPC) results of FeMV and CKD were not different (median 0.20, range 0.08–1.03; median 0.23, range 0.10–0.80, respectively), however UPC results were significantly increased in both groups, if compared with healthy cats (median 0.1, range 0.04–0.250, p < 0.01). Based on clinical data, serum creatinine concentration, urine specific gravity and UPC results, CKD was suspected by clinicians in 3/14 FeMV cats. Urine protein sodium-dodecyl-sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) in 10/13 (77%) FeMV cats indicated a tubular pattern, with a decrease of uromodulin and an increase in the number and intensity of low molecular weight proteins. FeMV infection can be associated with different grades of renal dysfunction ranging from mild tubular proteinuria with less concentrated urine to azotemia in cats younger than those typically affected by CKD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]