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Furthermore, we find that sex workers exhibiting higher level of risk aversion are less likely to be infected with sexually transmitted infections. Results highlight that some associations between risk preferences and sexual and health behaviours are domain specific. To conclude, our results confirm the role of risk preferences in the spread of HIV/AIDS epidemic and suggest the importance of collecting information on self-reported risk aversion to identify individuals who are at a greater risk of HIV/AIDS. Finally, our results provide some rationale in using lottery-based financial incentives to prevent sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS among high-risk populations.Genipin is an aglycone derived from the geniposide, the most abundant iridoid glucoside constituent of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis. For decades, genipin is the focus of studies as a versatile compound in the treatment of various pathogenic conditions. In particularly, Gardenia jasminoides Ellis has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine for the prevention and treatment of liver disease. Mounting experimental data has proved genipin possesses therapeutic potential for cholestatic, septic, ischemia/reperfusion-triggered acute liver injury, fulminant hepatitis and NAFLD. This critical review is a reflection on the valuable lessons from decades of research regarding pharmacological activities of genipin. Of note, genipin represents choleretic effect by potentiating bilirubin disposal and enhancement of genes in charge of the efflux of a number of organic anions. The anti-inflammatory capability of genipin is mediated by suppression of the production and function of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammasoential toxic impact. Notably, our focus is the direct medicinal effect of genipin itself, whereas its utility as a crosslinking agent in tissue engineering is out of scope for the current review. Further studies are therefore required to disentangle these complicated pharmacological properties to confer this natural agent a far greater potency.Osteoporosis, characterized by disrupted bone resorption and formation, is viewed as a global health challenge. Arctiin (ARC) is a main component of Arctium lappa L, which exerts chemopreventive effects against various tumor cells. However, the role of ARC in bone remodeling is still unclear. Here, we first demonstrated that ARC inhibits osteoclast formation and bone resorption function induced by the receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) in a dose- and time-dependent manner without exerting cytotoxic effects. Mechanistic analysis revealed that ARC not only suppresses RANKL-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and calcium signaling pathways, but also enhances the expression of cytoprotective enzymes that are involved in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS). Further, ARC inhibits the activation of the major transcription factor nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 (NFATc1) during RANKL-induced osteoclast formation. Preclinical studies showed that ARC protects bone loss in an ovariectomy (OVX) mouse model. Conclusively, our data confirmed that ARC could potentially inhibit osteoclastogenesis by abrogating RANKL-induced MAPK, calcium, and NFATc1 signaling pathway, as well as by promoting the expression of ROS scavenging enzymes in Nrf2/Keap1/ARE signaling pathway, thereby2 preventing OVX-induced bone loss. Thus, ARC may serve as a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of osteoporosis.Introduction Recently, the endocannabinoid system has been identified in skin and it has been linked with the formation of skin fibrosis and wound healing. We aimed to find and analyse reported data on compounds acting in the endocannabinoid system with significant effect in skin fibrosis. Methods A literature search on PUBMED was conducted for studies published in English until February 2020 on cannabinoids and skin fibrosis. The initial search was performed with terms "cannabinoid" AND "skin". This search retrieved 296 publications from which 18 directly related to skin fibrosis or wound healing process were included in this review. Results CB1 receptor inactivation and CB2 receptor activation show anti-fibrotic effects on cellular and animal experimental models of cutaneous fibrosis. CB2 receptor activation also promotes re-epithelization. Other cannabinoid related receptors, like adenosine A2A receptors and PPAR-γ, are also involved. Their activation lead to a pro-fibrotic and anti-fibrotic effect, respectively. Conclusion Several molecular drug targets for endocannabinoid system were identified in skin. It may be a promising approach for the treatment of excessive skin fibrosis disorders.UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT)-mediated glycosylation is a widespread modification of plant natural products (PNPs), which exhibit a wide range of bioactivities, and are of great pharmaceutical, ecological and agricultural significance. However, functional annotation is available for less than 2% of the family 1 UGTs, which currently has 20,000 members that are known to glycosylate several classes of PNPs. This low percentage illustrates the difficulty of experimental study and accurate prediction of their function. Here, a synthetic biology platform for elucidating the UGT-mediated glycosylation process of PNPs was established, including glycosyltransferases dependent on UDP-glucose and UDP-xylose. This platform is based on reconstructing the specific PNPs biosynthetic pathways in dedicated microbial yeast chassis by the simple method of plug-and-play. Five UGT enzymes were identified as responsible for the biosynthesis of the main glycosylation products of triterpenes in Panax notoginseng, including a novel UDP-xylose dependent glycosyltransferase enzyme for notoginsenoside R1 biosynthesis. Additionally, we constructed a yeast cell factory that yields >1 g/L of ginsenoside compound K. This platform for functional gene identification and strain engineering can serve as the basis for creating alternative sources of important natural products and thereby protecting natural plant resources.Nasal colonization with Staphylococcus aureus is a well-referenced risk factor for postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs). Our health care system that performs >40,000 surgeries per year assessed both the diagnostic accuracy of the BD MAX StaphSR assay (MAX StaphSR), a PCR-based test that detects and differentiates S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), compared with our standard of care culture and the subsequent clinical impact on SSIs 1 year after implementation. In addition, residual specimens were tested by broth-enriched culture. Performance parameters for all methods were determined using latent class analysis. Direct culture was the least sensitive for S. aureus (85.1%) and MRSA (76.7%), whereas the MAX StaphSR assay and broth-enriched culture had similar sensitivities (96.7%) for MRSA. Prospective assessment using MAX StaphSR during a 1-year, postimplementation period revealed a lower rate of SSIs per 100 targeted surgeries (0.3) compared with MRSA-only screening (1.10) and no screening (2.28) (P less then 0.05 for StaphSR versus MRSA-only screening and StaphSR versus no testing). MRSA and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus SSIs occurred equally (n = 14 each). The MAX StaphSR assay provided accurate detection of both S. aureus and MRSA nasal colonization in presurgical patients, allowing infection prevention measures, including presurgical prophylaxis, to be implemented in a timely and consistent manner to avoid SSIs.Background Mutations in LMNA cause an arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (cardiolaminopathy) with high risk of ventricular tachycardia (VT). However, the natural history of VT amongst patients with cardiolaminopathy is incompletely understood. Objective To describe the longitudinal burden and progression of VT, including change in tachycardia cycle length (TCL), response to anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP), and prognostic significance of high-burden VT (> 5 episodes of VT at any device interrogation) in cardiolaminopathy patients. Methods Patients with cardiolaminopathy and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) were identified from a single center database. Serial device interrogations and the medical record were used to collect VT burden, TCL and response to ATP. Results Cardiolaminopathy patients with primary (n=27) or secondary prevention (n=16) ICDs were followed for 2 (IQR 1,5) years. VT burden was substantially higher in patients receiving secondary prevention ICDs (28±40.9 vs. 3.6±7.3 episodes per 100 patient years, p less then 0.001). ATP was highly effective (94%) at terminating VT except in short TCL ( less then 250 ms) where ATP failed in 60%. Amongst patients with recurrent VT, the TCL increased by 112±93.6 ms during follow up. Inappropriate shocks were rare (0.4% of all therapies). Median time to transplantation, ventricular assist device or death was 18 months (IQR 0.7, 27.1) in patients with high-burden VT. Conclusion In cardiolaminopathy, VT is recurrent and highly responsive to ATP which supports the use of transvenous ICDs iteratively programmed to manage VT of various TCLs. The onset of high-burden VT indicates poor prognosis and should warrant referral to a heart failure specialist.Background 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) criteria have been developed to identify idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) from the left ventricular (LV) papillary muscles (PAPs), but accurate localization remains a challenge. Objective To develop ECG criteria for accurate localization of LV PAP VAs utilizing lead V1 exclusively. Methods Consecutive patients undergoing mapping and ablation of VAs from the LV PAPs guided by intracardiac echocardiography from 2007-2018 were reviewed (study group). The QRS morphology in V1 was compared to patients with VAs with a "RBBB" morphology from other LV locations (reference group). Patients with structural heart disease were excluded. Results 111 patients with LV PAP VAs (age 54±16, male 59%) including 64 (55%) from the posteromedial PAP and 47 (42%) from the anterolateral PAP. The reference group included patients with VAs from the following LV locations fascicles (n=21), outflow tract (n=36), ostium (n=37), inferobasal segment (n=12), and apex (5). PAP VAs showed 3 distinct QRS morphologies in V1 93% of the time Rr (53%), R with a slurred downslope (29%), and RR (11%). Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for the 3 morphologies combined are 93%, 98%, 98%, and 93%, respectively. The intrinsicoid deflection of the PAP VAs in V1 were shorter than the reference group (63±13 ms versus 79±24 ms; p less then 0.001). An intrinsicoid deflection time less than 74 ms best differentiated the two groups (sensitivity, 79%; specificity, 87%). Conclusion VAs originating from the LV PAPs manifest unique QRS morphologies in lead V1, which can aid in rapid and accurate localization.Background The Micra leadless pacemaker (MLP) has proven to be an effective alternative to a traditional transvenous pacemaker (TVP). click here However, there has been concern about using the MLP in frail elderly patients because of the size of the implant sheath and perceived risk of perforation. Objectives The objectives of this study were to report the safety of the MLP and compare MPLs with TVPs in the very elderly. Methods All patients 85 years and older who received an MLP or a single-chamber TVP across 6 hospitals in the Northwell Health system from December 2015 to November 2019 were included. Demographic characteristics, procedural details, and procedure-related complications were reviewed. Results Over 4 years, 564 patients underwent MLP implantation. During this time, 183 MLPs and 119 TVPs were implanted in patients 85 years and older. The mean age was 89.7 ± 3.4 years, and 47.4% were men. MLP implantation was successful in all but 3 patients (98.4% success rate). There was no difference in procedure-related complications (3.