Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a narrowing of the arteries in the legs, usually due to atherosclerosis, and it becomes more common with aging. The prevalence of PAD in the general population is about 12%, affecting up to 20% of those over the age of 70 years [1]. Depending on its severity, treatment options include medications, angioplasty/stenting, or bypass surgery. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Many Listeria species including L. monocytogenes contain the pathway for the biosynthesis of protocatechuate from shikimate and quinate. The qui1 and qui2 operons within these Listeria spp. encode enzymes for this pathway. The diversion of shikimate pathway intermediates in some Listeria species to produce protocatechuate suggests an important biological role for this compound to these organisms. A total of seven ORFs, including quiC2, were identified within qui1 and qui2, however only three proteins encoded by the operons have been functionally annotated. The final step in Listeria's protocatechuate biosynthesis involves the conversion of dehydroshikimate by a dehydroshikimate dehydratase (DSD). In this study, we demonstrate that QuiC2 functions as a DSD in Listeria spp. through biochemical and structural analyses. Moreover, we show that QuiC2 forms a phylogenetic cluster distinct from other functionally annotated DSDs. The individual phylogenetic clusters of DSD are represented by enzymes that produce protocatechuate for distinct biological processes. Similarly, QuiC2 is expected to produce protocatechuate for a novel biological process. We postulate that protocatechuate produced by DSDs found within the QuiC2 phylogenetic cluster provides an ecological niche for representative organisms. © 2020 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation is being increasingly performed throughout the United States. To ensure safety, donors typically have to be young, healthy, and without significant comorbidities. Oral contraceptives are some of the most commonly prescribed medications for young women and have been associated with a variety of liver complications with clear consequences, including intrahepatic cholestasis, hepatic and portal vein thrombosis, and hepatic adenomas. What is of less clear clinical significance, however, is the presence of sinusoidal dilation on liver biopsy, which has been associated with oral contraceptives in a variety of case reports and case series. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Osteoporosis (OP) is a metabolic bone disease affecting nearly 200 million individuals globally. Morinda Officinalis How (MOH) has long been used as a traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of bone fractures and joint diseases in China. However, it still remains unclear how the compounds in MOH work synergistically for treating OP. In this study, we used prednisolone (PNSL)-induced zebrafish OP model to screen the antiosteoporosis components in MOH. A network pharmacology approach was further proposed to explore the underlying mechanism of MOH on OP. The PNSL-induced zebrafish model validated that two anthraquinones, one iridoid glycoside, and two saccharides exerted antiosteoporotic effect. We constructed the components-targets network, and obtained the enriched Gene Ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. A total of 26 candidate compounds of MOH and 257 related targets could probably treat OP through regulating osteoclast differentiation and MAPK signaling pathway. Our work developed a strategy to screen the antiosteoporosis components and explore the underlying mechanism of MOH for treating OP at a network pharmacology level. © 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.The dissemination of information associated with scientific achievement serves to advance research and guide future experimentation. In the sphere of environmental science, such advancements aim to better characterize harmful chemicals and the factors that influence in situ toxicity, which is central to the protection of environments upon which humans depend. While some information regarding the dangers associated with common anthropogenic contaminants reaches wider audiences, the nuance of this information is often lost, potentially leading to ineffective solutions, specifically as it relates to nonpoint source contamination. Bridging the divide between scientific research, regulatory implementation, and product innovation is imperative to find meaningful and lasting environmental solutions. Road de-icing salts are applied to impervious surfaces to protect human health and maintain the efficient transportation of goods by roadways during winter months. The toxicity of these salts in freshwater ecosystems is well understood and researched within the scientific community.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/eliglustat.html  Tentative regulations and solutions developed to mitigate the environmental damage caused by road de-icing salts, however, perfectly represents the disconnect between the scientific community and general public. Here, we use road de-icing salt as an example of how such disconnects can manifest in the form of ineffective solutions and regulatory standards and present a general framework by which environmental scientists can more effectively bridge the gap between the scientific community and society at large. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.BACKGROUND In the continuity equation, assumption of a round-shaped left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) leads to underestimation of the true aortic valve area in two-dimensional echocardiography. The current study evaluated whether inclusion of the LVOT area, as measured by computed tomography (CT), reclassifies the degree of aortic stenosis (AS) and assessed the impact on patient outcome after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). METHODS AND RESULTS Four hundred and twenty-two patients with indexed aortic valve area index (AVAi) of less then 0.6 cm2 /m2 , assessed by using the classical continuity equation (mean age 81.5 ± 6.1 years, 51% female, mean left ventricular ejection fraction 53.2 ± 13.6%), underwent TAVR and were included. After inclusion of the CT measured LVOT area into the continuity equation, the hybrid AVAi led to a reclassification of 30% (n = 128) of patients from severe to moderate AS. Multivariate predictors for reclassification were male sex, lower mean aortic gradient, and lower annulus/LVOT ratio (all p less then  .