Manipulating the growth environment through co-culture to enhance stress tolerance and viability of probiotic strains in the gastrointestinal tract.

The viability of probiotics in the human gastrointestinal tract is important, as some reports indicate that the health benefits of live bacteria are greater than those of dead ones. Therefore, the higher the viability of the probiotic strain, the better it may be. However, probiotic strains lose their viability due to gastrointestinal stress such as gastric acid and bile.

Emergence of cortical network motifs for short-term memory during learning.

Learning of adaptive behaviors requires the refinement of coordinated activity across multiple brain regions. However, how neural communications develop during learning remains poorly understood. Here, using two-photon calcium imaging, we simultaneously recorded the activity of layer 2/3 excitatory neurons in eight regions of the mouse dorsal cortex during learning of a delayed-response task.

Effects of volatile anesthetics on circadian rhythm in mice: a comparative study of sevoflurane, desflurane, and isoflurane.

Purpose: Volatile anesthetics affect the circadian rhythm of mammals, although the effects of different types of anesthetics are unclear. Here, we anesthetized mice using several volatile anesthetics at two different times during the day. Our objective was to compare the effects of these anesthetics on circadian rhythm.

Anthranilamide-protected vinylboronic acid: rational monomer design for improved polymerization/transformation ability providing access to conventionally inaccessible copolymers.

We have studied several protecting groups for vinylboronic-acid derivatives as monomers in radical polymerizations with the objective to improve the polymerization ability and C-B bond-cleaving post-transformation performance. Anthranilamide (aam)-protected vinylboronic acid (VBaam) exhibited experimentally a relatively high polymerization activity, which was theoretically corroborated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations that revealed a peculiar effect of the interaction between the aam groups on the polymerization behavior. The VBaam units in the copolymers can subsequently be transformed into vinyl alcohols or into ethylene units through C-B-bond-cleaving side-chain replacement, which affords valuable copolymers such as poly(vinyl alcohol--styrene), poly(ethylene--styrene), and poly(ethylene--acrylate).

Incorporation of a boryl pendant as the trigger in a methacrylate polymer for backbone degradation.

Alkenylboronate units were incorporated into poly(methyl methacrylate) as trigger sites for backbone degradation. The complexation of a fluoride anion to the boron pendant and subsequent activation by a manganese salt triggered the degradation through the generation of a main-chain carbon radical and β-scission in an adjacent methacrylate unit. The addition of catechol was required, and presumably the chelate coordination to the Mn center was crucial for the degradation.

Two synchronous pseudoaneurysms after bile duct resection for distal cholangiocarcinoma.

Pseudoaneurysm is a potentially life-threatening complication after hepatobiliary pancreatic surgery. Although various measures have been taken to prevent the formation of postoperative pseudoaneurysms, completely avoiding complications can be difficult. An 83-year-old man underwent bile duct resection and systematic regional lymphadenectomies for distal cholangiocarcinoma.

Spatial distribution of live gut microbiota and bile acid metabolism in various parts of human large intestine.

Gut microbiomics is based on analysis of both live and dead cells in the stool. However, to understand the ecology of gut microbiota and their symbiotic relationships with hosts, spatial distribution of live bacteria must be examined. Here, we analyzed the live composition of luminal microbiota (LM) and mucosa-associated microbiota (MAM) in the ascending and descending colons and the rectums of 10 healthy adults and compared it with the total composition.