A time-resolved proteomic and prognostic map of COVID-19

COVID-19 is highly variable in its clinical presentation, ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe organ damage and death. We characterized the time-dependent progression of the disease in 139 COVID-19 inpatients by measuring 86 accredited diagnostic parameters, such as blood cell counts and enzyme activities, as well as untargeted plasma proteomes at 687 sampling points. We report an initial spike in a systemic inflammatory response, which is gradually alleviated and followed by a protein signature indicative of tissue repair, metabolic reconstitution, and immunomodulation. We identify prognostic marker signatures for devising risk-adapted treatment strategies and use machine learning to classify therapeutic needs. We show that the machine learning models based on the proteome are transferable to an independent cohort. Our study presents a map linking routinely used clinical diagnostic parameters to plasma proteomes and their dynamics in an infectious disease

Evaluation of hair cortisol as an indicator of long-term stress responses in dogs in an animal shelter and after subsequent adoption

Shelter dogs are exposed to a variety of stressors. Among non-invasive techniques, hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is suggested an easy to collect biomarker for giving insight into long-term stress responses. We evaluated HCC as an indicator of long-term cortisol responses in dogs in an animal shelter over different chronological time points during sheltering and after adoption. Hair samples were collected from the neck region following a shave/re-shave protocol of shelter dogs (total n = 52) at four different time periods: T1 intake at shelter (pre-shelter period, n = 51); T2 after 6 weeks in the shelter (n = 23); T3 6 weeks after adoption (n = 24); T4 6 months after adoption (n = 22). HCC at T2 was significantly higher than HCC at T1, T3 and T4 (effect of sample collection moment: F 3,41  = 12.78, p < 0.0001). The dog's weight class, age class, sex, reason for admission, kennel history and melanin type also explained HCC variability. No significant difference in HCC was found between shelter dogs T1 and control pet dogs in their own homes (n = 20, one sample, t = - 1.24, p = 0.219). A significant but moderate positive correlation between HCC and urinary cortisol:creatinine ratios was found (т = 0.3, p < 0.001). As HCC increased in the shelter, the use of this non-invasive parameter appears a useful additional tool in dog welfare research

Nocturnal activity as a useful indicator of adaptability of dogs in an animal shelter and after subsequent adoption

Abstract Dogs in shelters are faced with the challenge of adapting to a kennel after relinquishment and to a novel home after adoption. To measure adaptability of dogs, more feasible behavioural and physiological parameters need to be validated in different contexts. To evaluate nocturnal activity as an indicator of adaptability, we compared nocturnal activity, urinary cortisol:creatinine ratio (UCCR), and body weight changes of sheltered dogs the first period after intake in the shelter and after adoption. Nocturnal activity and UCCRs were significantly lower the first days after adoption than in the shelter. After adoption, nocturnal activity was significantly lower on night 2 than night 1, but not on night 3 and 4, suggesting a form of ‘rebound of resting’ during night 2 in the new home. UCCRs significantly decreased 7 days after adoption. Body weight decreased in the shelter but increased again after adoption. These findings suggest that overall, dogs rest better in a novel home than in a novel shelter but, in both contexts, some form of adaptation takes place. Nocturnal activity measured by an accelerometer differentiated well between shelter and home environments, and corresponded to UCCR responses, which supports usefulness of the method to monitor canine adaptability to novel environments

Evaluation of hair cortisol as an indicator of long-term stress responses in dogs in an animal shelter and after subsequent adoption

Shelter dogs are exposed to a variety of stressors. Among non-invasive techniques, hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is suggested an easy to collect biomarker for giving insight into long-term stress responses. We evaluated HCC as an indicator of long-term cortisol responses in dogs in an animal shelter over different chronological time points during sheltering and after adoption. Hair samples were collected from the neck region following a shave/re-shave protocol of shelter dogs (total n = 52) at four different time periods: T1 intake at shelter (pre-shelter period, n = 51); T2 after 6 weeks in the shelter (n = 23); T3 6 weeks after adoption (n = 24); T4 6 months after adoption (n = 22). HCC at T2 was significantly higher than HCC at T1, T3 and T4 (effect of sample collection moment: F 3,41  = 12.78, p < 0.0001). The dog's weight class, age class, sex, reason for admission, kennel history and melanin type also explained HCC variability. No significant difference in HCC was found between shelter dogs T1 and control pet dogs in their own homes (n = 20, one sample, t = - 1.24, p = 0.219). A significant but moderate positive correlation between HCC and urinary cortisol:creatinine ratios was found (т = 0.3, p < 0.001). As HCC increased in the shelter, the use of this non-invasive parameter appears a useful additional tool in dog welfare research

Restless nights? Nocturnal activity as a useful indicator of adaptability of shelter housed dogs

Shelter dogs face the challenge of adapting to a kennel environment. Individual differences in adaptation are known to exist. Resting patterns might be indicative of adaptability to such a novel environment, but need to be evaluated for its usefulness, like every potentially physiological and behavioural parameter. Here, we evaluated nocturnal activity patterns of dogs as indicators of adaptability to novel environments. We measured nocturnal activity (3-axial accelerometer, the Actical®) and two physiological stress parameters, i.e. urinary cortisol/creatinine ratio (UCCR) and body weight in 29 dogs relinquished to a shelter (SD group) in the first two days after intake at the shelter (n = 29), after a 12-day habituation period in the shelter (n = 28) and >6 weeks post-adoption (n = 17). A control group of 29 pet dogs kept at home (CPD group), matching the SD group characteristics, was also assessed for its nocturnal activity and UCCR. Linear mixed model analysis, t-tests and Friedman tests were used to analyse the data. The main findings are: 1) the SD group exhibited higher nocturnal activity (total activity counts, activity duration and number of rest bouts) the first two nights after intake than on night 12, with decreasing inter-individual variances. Compared to the CPD group they showed higher nocturnal activity on night 1 (all p < 0.001) and night 12 (all p ≤ 0.001) except for total activity counts on night 12. We found no ‘first-night effect’, where sleep is disturbed during the first night; nocturnal activity in the shelter did not significantly differ between nights 1 and 2 in the shelter. 2) In line with literature findings, SD group UCCRs were higher shortly after intake than after a 12-day habituation period and after adoption, and higher than in the CPD group. 3) An interaction was found between weight class and both nocturnal activity and UCCR levels: in their first days in the shelter, smaller dogs showing higher levels than larger dogs. 4) Dogs in the SD group lost, on average, 5% of their body weight between intake and the two-week habituation period. In conclusion, nocturnal activity, as measured by an accelerometer, may be a valid parameter to monitor adaptability of dogs to a kennel environment. Monitoring nocturnal activity in this way can be a useful and cost-effective additional indicator for assessing dog welfare

Restless nights? Nocturnal activity as a useful indicator of adaptability of shelter housed dogs

Shelter dogs face the challenge of adapting to a kennel environment. Individual differences in adaptation are known to exist. Resting patterns might be indicative of adaptability to such a novel environment, but need to be evaluated for its usefulness, like every potentially physiological and behavioural parameter. Here, we evaluated nocturnal activity patterns of dogs as indicators of adaptability to novel environments. We measured nocturnal activity (3-axial accelerometer, the Actical®) and two physiological stress parameters, i.e. urinary cortisol/creatinine ratio (UCCR) and body weight in 29 dogs relinquished to a shelter (SD group) in the first two days after intake at the shelter (n = 29), after a 12-day habituation period in the shelter (n = 28) and >6 weeks post-adoption (n = 17). A control group of 29 pet dogs kept at home (CPD group), matching the SD group characteristics, was also assessed for its nocturnal activity and UCCR. Linear mixed model analysis, t-tests and Friedman tests were used to analyse the data. The main findings are: 1) the SD group exhibited higher nocturnal activity (total activity counts, activity duration and number of rest bouts) the first two nights after intake than on night 12, with decreasing inter-individual variances. Compared to the CPD group they showed higher nocturnal activity on night 1 (all p < 0.001) and night 12 (all p ≤ 0.001) except for total activity counts on night 12. We found no ‘first-night effect’, where sleep is disturbed during the first night; nocturnal activity in the shelter did not significantly differ between nights 1 and 2 in the shelter. 2) In line with literature findings, SD group UCCRs were higher shortly after intake than after a 12-day habituation period and after adoption, and higher than in the CPD group. 3) An interaction was found between weight class and both nocturnal activity and UCCR levels: in their first days in the shelter, smaller dogs showing higher levels than larger dogs. 4) Dogs in the SD group lost, on average, 5% of their body weight between intake and the two-week habituation period. In conclusion, nocturnal activity, as measured by an accelerometer, may be a valid parameter to monitor adaptability of dogs to a kennel environment. Monitoring nocturnal activity in this way can be a useful and cost-effective additional indicator for assessing dog welfare