Zinc is an essential micronutrient involved in structural, catalytic, and regulatory functions across all levels of biological organization. Despite substantial advances over the past two decades, the zinc literature remains highly fragmented, with mechanistic, nutritional, and clinical findings often reported in isolation. Additionally, the synergistic interactions between zinc and other micronutrients—particularly minerals and vitamins—are dispersed across multiple research domains, complicating efforts to understand their integrated roles in maintaining homeostasis. Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) present new opportunities to consolidate these data, enabling multi-scale analyses of zinc-dependent processes and the broader zinc interactome. Although a complete map of the zinc interactome is not yet feasible, an integrative perspective is needed to contextualize zinc’s contributions within the framework of the hallmarks of health. This narrative review highlights zinc’s involvement in cellular maintenance, metabolic regulation, stress response, and systemic physiological function. It further examines how disruptions in zinc status, alone or in combination with other nutrient imbalances, contribute to clinically relevant disorders. By combining current knowledge across molecular, cellular, and systems biology levels, this review illustrates zinc’s pleiotropic effects on physiological resilience and healthspan, with particular emphasis on its role in nutritional status, homeostatic regulation, and overall human health.

Cilj ovoga istraživanja bio je utvrditi utjecaj dodatka propolisa i/ili pčelinjeg peluda krmnim smjesama brojlera na sastav mikrobiološke flore voljke. Istraživanje je provedeno na ukupno 200 jednodnevnih pilića hibrida Ross 308 ravnomjerno raspoređenih spolova, koji su bili podijeljeni u pet skupina. Tijekom cijeloga pokusa kontrolna je skupina pilića hranjena krmnom smjesom, dok su pokusne skupine pilića hranjene istom krmnom smjesom uz dodatak propolisa i pčelinjeg peluda, svakim dodatkom zasebno ili u kombinaciji u određenome omjeru. Tov pilića trajao je 42 dana, podnim načinom držanja na stelji od drvene strugotine. Pilići su od 1. do 21. dana istraživanja bili hranjeni standardnom krmnom smjesom starter, a od 22. do 42. dana istraživanja krmnom smjesom finišer. Hranidba kao i napajanje pilića tijekom istraživanja bili su po volji. Na kraju istraživanja, 42. dan te nakon 10-satnog gladovanja slučajnim je odabirom žrtvovano po 10 pilića iz svake skupine. U sterilne bočice uzeti su uzorci sadržaja voljki u kojima se u ovlaštenom mikrobiološkom laboratoriju utvrđivao ukupni broj bakterija, broj bakterija iz roda Enterobacteriaceae te broj bakterija iz roda Lactobacillus. Mikrobiološka analiza sadržaja voljke pokazala je kako među skupinama pilića nisu postojale statistički značajne razlike u ukupnom broju bakterija i broju bakterija iz roda Lactobacillus dok su postojale statistički značajne razlike u broju bakterija iz roda Enterobacteriaceae (P=0,042) u sadržaju voljke pilića kontrolne i pokusnih skupina. Provedeno istraživanje potvrdilo je kako dodatak propolisa i/ili pčelinjeg peluda krmnoj smjesi za tov pilića značajno pozitivno utječe na pojavu korisnih i patogenih mikroorganizama u sadržaju voljke brojlera, što se očitovalo statistički značajno manjom vrijednosti broja bakterija iz roda Enterobacteriaceae u sadržaju voljke pilića pokusnih skupina 42. dana tova u odnosu na piliće kontrolne skupine.

Background: Animal identification is a topic of many studies, with a range of biometric methods currently in use. The cattle muzzle serves as a unique source of biometric traits.Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the best method for muzzle visualisation using imprints, the most frequent forms and minutiae points on imprints, and the minimum number of minutiae points required to establish an identity profile.Methods: Noseprints of 30 calves were taken on different surfaces and visualised using different methods (white paper and cardboard/ninhydrin solution and glass tile/small particle reagents and ceramic tile/fluorescent powder and glossy photopaper/grey instant or magnetic powder). The imprint of the entire muzzle was photographed and analysed using the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to detect the most frequent forms based on friction ridges and minutiae points. Further mathematical simulation revealed the minimal number of points required for animal identification.Results: The best imprint was obtained on glossy black photopaper with grey instant powder. After analysing the digitised images with the AFIS magnifier, the six forms of beads and ridges in the selected 12 minutiae points were detected, thus creating an identity chart. Computer simulation confirmed that the lowest number of minutiae points necessary for unique animal identification, and 0% possibility of form repetition at points, was nine of the 12 selected points.Conclusion: As a biometric method, the muzzle imprint in combination with AFIS has the potential to be stored on large scale and used internationally, enabling identity control that is not susceptible to the issues involved with other biometric methods.

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrditi utjecaj dodatka kamilice i koprive kao prirodnih dodataka u hranidbi tovnih pilića na kvalitetu njihova mesa. Istraživanje je provedeno na 120 jednodnevnih pilića hibrida Ross 308, podijeljenih u 4 skupine. Kont...

A three-year-old male bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) exhibited acute anorexia. Biochemistry revealed mild hyperproteinemia (88 g/L) and elevated liver enzymes (ALT 60 U/L, AST 272 U/L), while the hematology report showed marked lymphocytosis. The animal had been clinically normal at a routine examination 10 months earlier. Based on the clinical and laboratory findings, acute lymphoblastic leukemia was suspected. Treatment was initiated with methylprednisolone (1 mg/kg PO q24h), marbofloxacin (10 mg/kg IM q24h), and lomustine (80 mg/m² PO q14d), calculated according to reptile-specific body surface area formulas. A transient stabilization was followed by sudden deterioration on day 3, characterized by hematemesis and severe respiratory distress, leading to spontaneous death. A complete necropsy including histopathology and anti-CD3 immunohistochemistry revealed disseminated infiltration of neoplastic T-lymphocytes throughout all major visceral organs and confirmed the diagnosis of T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia (L/L). This case represents a rare report of systemic acute lymphoblastic L/L in a bearded dragon and underlies the importance of comprehensive diagnostics in reptiles with non-specific clinical signs and the challenges in the treatment of neoplastic diseases in exotic species.