In this review, we describe recent advances in our understanding of microRNA function 5-Fluoracil at synapses, the specialized

structures required for communication between neurons and their targets. We also propose how these advances might inform the molecular model of memory. [BMB reports 2009; 42(3): 131-135]“
“Introduction: This study describes the results of the Belgian ‘MabThera In Rheumatoid Arthritis (MIRA)’ registry: effectiveness, safety and evaluation of the current retreatment practice on the background of the Belgian reimbursement criteria for rituximab.\n\nMethods: All Belgian rheumatologists had the possibility to participate in the study. Patients entered the registry in November 2006 and the entry is still open.\n\nResults: By mid-September 2009, 401 patients had entered the registry with a mean follow-up time of 70 weeks. Overall, DAS28-ESR decreased from 6.0 at baseline to 4.2 at week 16. Further decrease of disease activity was observed at the end of year 1 and year 2 with mean DAS28-ESR of 4.0 and 3.7 at these respective time points. More than 80% of patients showed a EULAR response at week 16. Patients could be retreated if they had DAS scores of > 3.2 at least 6 months R788 in vitro after the previous course. Second and third courses were given in 224 and 104 patients, respectively. At month 6 after the second course, significantly lower DAS28-ESR

values were observed compared to the first course. This was especially the case for patients who were retreated before they showed an obvious flare (DAS increase > 1.2).\n\nConclusions: This study describes the follow-up of a daily clinical practice cohort of 401 RA patients with long-standing refractory disease treated with rituximab. Relatively high DAS28 values at the start of each retreatment, compared to values 6 months after each treatment course, were noted. Moreover, further decrease of DAS28 scores after the second course was significantly selleck screening library more pronounced in those patients who

didn’t show an obvious flare. These two elements suggest that treatment of RA patients with rituximab could be optimized by earlier retreatment.”
“Ubidecarenone (coenzyme Q10) has been widely used as a complementary therapy in heart failure and as a dietary supplement for over two decades. Ubidecarenone is manufactured by organic synthesis, yeast (non-Saccharomyces cerevisiae) fermentation, or bacteria fermentation. There are many reports on the safety of ubidecarenone. However, genotoxicity of ubidecarenone manufactured by bacteria fermentation has not been reported. We carried out genotoxicity evaluation of ubidecarenone manufactured by bacteria fermentation through the bacterial reverse mutation test (Ames test) and in vitro chromosome aberration test in compliance with the Japanese guidelines oil genotoxicity testing of pharmaceuticals and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines for testing chemicals.

In situ hybridization was performed on brain sections obtained from male hamsters held in long photoperiod (high body weight and developed testes) or short photoperiod (reduced body weight with testicular regression). This analysis revealed upregulation

in expression of genes involved in glycogen and glucose metabolism in short photoperiod and localized to the tanycyte layer of the selleck compound third ventricle. On the basis of these data and a previously identified photoperiod-dependent increase in activity of neighboring hypothalamic neurons, we hypothesized that the observed expression changes may reflect alteration in either metabolic fuel or precursor neurotransmitter supply to surrounding neurons. Gene expression analysis was performed for genes involved in lactate and glutamate transport. This analysis showed that the gene for the lactate transporter

MCT2 and glutamate transporter GLAST was decreased in the tanycyte layer in short photoperiod. Expression of mRNA Selleck Quizartinib for glutamine synthetase, the final enzyme in the synthesis of the neuronal neurotransmitter precursor, glutamine, was also decreased in short photoperiod. These data suggest a role for tanycytes in modulating glutamate concentrations and neurotransmitter supply in the hypothalamic environment. (C) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.”
“Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) is an inflammatory skin disorder affecting the scalp, face, and trunk. The treatment of SD is an important issue in dermatology. This study aimed at comparing the efficacy of sertaconazole 2 % cream versus pimecrolimus 1 % cream in the treatment of SD.\n\nIn this clinical trial study, 60 patients suffering from SD were studied.

Thirty patients received local sertaconazole 2 % cream and in control group, 30 patients received pimecrolimus 1 % cream. Patients were recommended to use the cream twice a day selleck chemicals llc for 4 weeks. At the beginning of referring and also 2 and 4 weeks after first visit, the patients were examined by a dermatologist to control improvement of clinical symptoms.\n\nThe mean age of members of the sertaconazole and pimecrolimus groups was 30.12 +/- A 12.56 and 34.67 +/- A 10.98 years, respectively. The highest level of satisfaction (90 %) was observed 28 days after sertaconazole application since it was 80 % in pimecrolimus group. The relationship between patients’ satisfaction and receipt of sertaconazole cream (on the 28th day) was statistically significant (P = 0.006).\n\nSertaconazole 2 % cream may be an excellent alternative therapeutic modality for treating SD.”
“Background: Neonatal death accounts for one fifth of all under-five mortality in Uganda. Suboptimal newborn care practices resulting from hypothermia, poor hygiene and delayed initiation of breastfeeding are leading predisposing factors. Evidence suggests focused educational prenatal care messages to mitigate these problems.

We report two patients who were FK228 in vitro treated acutely for this condition. Both presented with weakness in the upper limbs and paraspinal cervical musculature after a fracture of C2. Despite improvement in the strength of the upper limbs, the paraspinal muscle weakness persisted in both patients. One ultimately underwent cervicothoracic fusion to treat her dropped-head syndrome.\n\nWhile the cause of the dropped-head syndrome cannot be definitively ascribed to the injuries to the spinal cord, this pattern is consistent with the

known patho-anatomical mechanisms of both injury to the central spinal cord and dropped-head syndrome.”
“In this work, we review and comment upon the challenges and the ‘quo vadis’ GSK3326595 in Alzheimer’s disease drug discovery at the beginning of the new millennium. We emphasize recent approaches that, moving on from a target-centric approach, have produced innovative molecular

probes or drug candidates. In particular, the discovery of endosome-targeted BACE1 inhibitors and mitochondria-targeted antioxidants represents a significant advance in Alzheimer’s research and therapy. The case study of the development of rasagiline provides an excellent example to support the validity of the multitarget-designed ligand approach to the search for effective medicines for combating Alzheimer’s disease.”
“Deprivation of oxygen and glucose for 5 h induces Crenigacestat mw apoptosis in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell cultures. After combined glucose and oxygen deprivation (CGOD) addition of guanosine (100 mu M), a non-adenine-based purine nucleoside, significantly reduced the proportion of cells undergoing apoptosis. To determine whether guanosine was also neuroprotective in vivo, we undertook middle

cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) on male Wistar rats and administered guanosine (8 mg/kg), intraperitoneally, or saline (vehicle control) daily for 7 days. Guanosine prolonged rat survival and decreased both neurological deficits and tissue damage resulting from MCAo. These data are the first to demonstrate that guanosine protects neurons from the effects of CGOD even when administered 5 h after the stimulus, and is neuroprotective in experimental stroke in rats. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Genotypic and phenotypic characterizations of 50 clinical Vibrio cholerae isolates obtained during 4 consecutive y from 2004 to 2007 in Iran were studied. Antimicrobial susceptibility test, biochemical fingerprinting with Phene Plate system (PhP-RV) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were performed. Antibiotic susceptibility test of all isolates showed 12 different profiles. The predominant antimicrobial resistance profile (62%) was simultaneous resistance to SXT, streptomycin, chloramphenicol and erythromycin. PFGE revealed a total of 9 pulsotypes with a single dominant type in each y under study.

Here, we generated a recombinant avirulent NDV La Sota strain expressing the rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG) and evaluated its potential to serve as a vaccine against rabies. The recombinant virus, rL-RVG, retained its high-growth property in chicken eggs, with titers of up to 10(9.8) 50% egg infective find more doses (EID(50))/ml of allantoic fluid. RVG expression enabled rL-RVG to spread from cell to cell in a rabies virus-like manner, and RVG was incorporated on the surface of the rL-RVG viral particle. RVG incorporation did not alter the trypsin-dependent

infectivity of the NDV vector in mammalian cells. rL-RVG and La Sota NDV showed similar levels of sensitivity to a neutralization antibody against NDV and similar levels of resistance to a neutralization antibody against rabies virus. Animal studies demonstrated that rL-RVG is safe in several species, including cats and dogs, when administered as multiple high doses of recombinant vaccine. Intramuscular vaccination with rL-RVG induced a substantial rabies virus neutralization antibody response and provided complete BMS-345541 mw protection from challenge with circulating rabies virus strains. Most importantly, rL-RVG induced strong and long-lasting protective neutralization antibody responses to rabies virus in dogs and cats.

A low vaccine dose of 10(8.3) EID(50) completely protected dogs from challenge with a circulating strain of rabies virus for more than a year. This is the first study to demonstrate that immunization with an NDV-vectored vaccine can induce long-lasting, systemic protective immunity against rabies.”
“Background and Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze the stage migration and survival of endometrial

cancer by the revised FIGO 2008 staging system compared with the 1988 staging system. Methods A total of 355 patients with endometrial cancer, who underwent complete surgical staging, were enrolled. We compared the surgical stages and survival by FIGO 1988 staging system with those by FIGO 2008 staging system. Results 2008 FIGO staging system resulted in an increase of stage I patients and decrease of stage II and IIIa patients. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates for patients with 2008 FIGO stage IA and IB find protocol disease were 98.2% and 91.9%, respectively (P?=?0.004). Five-year OS rate of new stage II (82.6%) was significantly worse than that of new stage IA (98.2%, P?=?0.003). Patients with positive washing cytology alone revealed a 5-year OS rate similar to that of patients with new stage IIIA disease (96.2% vs. 90.9%, respectively; P?=?0.53). The 5-year OS rate for patients with stage IIIC1 disease was improved compared with that for patients with stage IIIC2 disease (85.7% vs. 63.0%, respectively; P?=?0.08). Conclusion New revised FIGO 2008 staging system for endometrial cancer produced better discrimination in OS outcomes compared with the 1988 system. J. Surg. Oncol. 2012; 106: 938941. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

To gain insight into the biologic basis of heparin sensitization, we have recently developed an animal model using wild-type (WT) mice in which murine PF4/heparin antibodies (anti-mPF4/H) arise

de novo after antigen challenge. Objectives and methods: This report describes Prexasertib in vitro technical refinements to the murine model and describes additional biologic features of the immune response to mPF4/heparin. Results: Our studies indicate that antibody responses to mPF4/heparin are dependent on murine strain, injection routes and doses of mPF4 and heparin. C57BL/6 mice are more immunologically responsive to mPF4/heparin antigen than BALB/c mice and robust immunization can be achieved with intravenous, but not intraperitoneal, administration of antigen. BAY 73-4506 order We also observe a direct relationship between initial concentrations of mPF4 and antibody levels. Additionally, we demonstrate that mPF4/H immune response in mice decays with time, is not associated with thrombocytopenia and displays characteristics of immune recall on re-exposure to antigen. Conclusions: These studies describe and characterize

a murine model for studying the immunologic basis of PF4/heparin sensitization.”
“Disulfide bonds are known to be crucial for protein stability. To probe the contribution of each of the five disulfide bonds (C9-C31, C30-C70, C37-C63, C61-C95, and C105-C113) in bee venom phospholipase A(2) to stability, variants with deleted disulfide bonds were produced by substituting two serine residues for each pair of cysteine residues. The mutations started from the pseudo-wild-type variant (pWT) with the mutation I1A (Markert et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 98 (2007) 48-59). All variants were expressed in Escherichia coli, refolded from inclusion bodies and purified as pWT. The activity of the variants ranged from 12 to 82% of pWT. From the transition curves of guanidine hydrochloride-induced unfolding, the contributions of the individual disulfide bonds to conformational stability were

estimated. They increased in the sequence FK228 C9-C31 <C105-C113 <C30-C70 approximate to C37-C63 < C61-C95. For two disulfide bonds (C9-C31, C105-C113) the effects were confirmed on additionally produced variants with the substitution of cysteine by alanine. Despite distinct differences in stability, all variants showed similar cooperativity in unfolding. Selected variants were also probed for proteolytic stability toward thermolysin. The removal of disulfide bonds increased the proteolytic susceptibility of the native proteins in the same way as the stability decreased. From the comparison of the results with literature data on phospholipase A(2) from bovine pancreas possessing seven disulfide bonds, it was concluded that conserved disulfide bonds in homologous proteins fulfill related functions in conformational stability. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Using rate-4 undersampling, BLOSM was compared with other CS methods such as k-t SLR that uses matrix low-rank sparsity applied to the whole image dataset,

with and without motion tracking, and to k-t FOCUSS with motion estimation and compensation that uses spatial and temporal-frequency sparsity. ResultsBLOSM was qualitatively shown to reduce respiratory artifact compared with other methods. Quantitatively, using root mean squared error and the structural similarity index, BLOSM was superior to other methods. ConclusionBLOSM, which exploits regional low-rank structure and uses region tracking for motion compensation, provides improved image quality for CS-accelerated first-pass cardiac MRI. Magn Reson Med 72:1028-1038, 2014. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, RSL3 Metabolism inhibitor Inc.”
“Lead (Pb), as a major environmental contaminant, could be harmful to humans when inhaled or ingested. In this study, we developed a selleck products sensitive, selective and fast colorimetric aptasensor for Pb+2 based on polyethylenimine (PEI) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). In the absence of Pb+2, aptamer binds to PEI. So the well-dispersed AuNPs remain stable with a wine-red color. Upon the addition of Pb+2, a conformational change happens and a G-quadruplex aptamer/Pb+2 complex is formed,

leading to the aggregation of AuNPs and a color change to blue. This sensor showed a high selectivity toward Pb+2 with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 702 pM. Moreover, our fabricated sensor was successfully applied for Pb+2 detection in rat serum and tap water. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“We determined the frequency of gallstones (GS) in iron deficiency anemia (IDA) patients and evaluated factors that could affect GS formation-like lipid levels and gallbladder

(GB) motilities of the patients. One hundred and eleven IDA patients (88 females, 23 males; median age, 42) and 81 healthy controls (68 females, 13 males; median age, 42) were included into our study. The clinical findings of all IDA patients were recorded down; biochemical values and body mass index (BMI) were determined; and abdominal ultrasonography was performed. In addition, GB emptying was monitored by ultrasound at 30-min intervals for 2 h after a mixed meal in randomly chosen, age-matched Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor 25 IDA patients and 26 controls. Fasting volume (FV), residual volume (RV), and ejection fraction (EF) for all GBs were determined. The frequency of GS plus cholecystectomy was significantly higher in IDA patients (15 cases, 13.5%) than in the control group (five cases, 6.2%, p=0.048). IDA patients with GS plus cholecystectomy were older than those without GS plus cholecystectomy (p<0.001). FV and EF did not differ between IDA and control groups (p>0.05). On the other hand, RV was significantly higher in IDA group than in controls (p=0.035). The frequency of GS in IDA patients was significantly higher than in controls.

This paper aimed to screen cholesterol analogues as membrane stabilizers of liposomes from botanical sterols, including beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, ergosterol and lanosterol. Liposomes containing four kinds of sterols were prepared

and evaluated in vitro AL3818 clinical trial and in vivo as oral delivery system of insulin. Liposomes containing beta-sitosterol (Si-Lip), stigmasterol (St-Lip) and lanosterol (La-Lip) was found not to protect insulin against degradation. Only 10% of the initial insulin in liposomes was preserved after a 30 min exposure to simulated gastric fluids. However, the protective ability of liposomes containing ergosterol (Er-Lip) was similar to that of liposomes containing sodium glycocholate (Sgc-Lip) and superior to that of liposomes containing cholesterol (Ch-Lip). In addition, the blood glucose level can decrease to about 50% of initial GDC 0032 inhibitor level after oral Er-Lip which was significantly superior to the in vivo performance of Si-Lip and Ch-Lip and similar to Sgc-Lip. Er-Lips of ergosterol/ phospholipids ratios of 1:4 or 1:6 exerts

more pronounced protective ability of insulin in simulated gastrointestinal fluids and hypoglycemic effects in rats than other formulations. Furthermore, Er-Lips exerted low toxicity to Caco-2 cells through a cell viability study. Meahwhile, insulin permeability was 4-Hydroxytamoxifen clinical trial significantly increased across Caco-2 monolayers by encapsulating in Er-Lip. It was concluded that ergosterol could be used as a substitute for cholesterol and bile salt derivatives in liposomes to enhance oral bioavailability of insulin. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“The optimal duration of clopidogrel administration

after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains unknown. Clopidogrel is currently recommended for minimums of I and 12 months after bare-metal stent and drug-eluting stent implantation, respectively. To determine the impact of clopidogrel discontinuation 1 year after PCI, the outcomes of 530 consecutive patients who underwent PCI from January 2004 to July 2006, were free of cardiovascular events for 6 months after PCI, and had follow-up available for > 12 months were examined. The outcomes of patients who received clopidogrel for >= 1 year were compared with those of patients who received it for <1 year. The mean age was 65 +/- 9 years. Patients often presented with acute coronary syndromes (57%), and 85% received drug-eluting stents. Clopidogrel was used for >= 1 year and for <1 year in 341 and 1,89 patients, respectively. During a mean follow-up period of 2.4 +/- 0.8 years, 40 patients (8%) died. 21 (4%) had acute myocardial infarctions, and 89 (17%) underwent repeat coronary revascularization.

In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that the hepatocyte nuclear transcription factor HNF1 alpha, which is predominantly expressed in proximal tubule

segments, may directly regulate the expression of ClC-5. In situ hybridization demonstrated that the expression of Clcn5 overlaps with that of Hnf1 alpha in the developing kidney as well as in absorptive epithelia, including the digestive tract and yolk sac. Multiple binding sites for HNF1 were mapped in the 5′-regulatory sequences of the mouse and human Clcn5/CLCN5 genes. The transactivation of the Clcn5/CLCN5 promoter by HNF1 alpha was verified in vitro, and the binding of HNF1 alpha to the Clcn5 promoter in vivo was confirmed by chromatin immunoprecipitation in mouse kidney. The expression of Clcn5 Selleckchem CUDC-907 was reduced in the proximal tubule segments BKM120 of HNF1 alpha-null kidneys, and it was rescued upon transfection of HNF1 alpha-null cells with wild-type but not with mutant HNF1 alpha. These data demonstrate that HNF1 alpha directly regulates the expression of ClC-5 in the renal proximal tubule and yield insights into the mechanisms governing epithelial differentiation and specialized transport activities in the kidney.”
“The major clinically relevant species in Scedosporium (teleomorph Pseudallescheria) are Pseudallescheria boydii, Scedosporium aurantiacum, Scedosporium apiospermum, and Scedosporium prolificans, while Pseudallescheria minutispora, Petriellopsis desertorum,

and Scedosporium dehoogii are exceptional agents of disease. Three molecular methods targeting the partial beta-tubulin gene were developed and evaluated to identify six closely related species

of the S. apiospermum complex using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), PCR-based reverse line blot (PCR-RLB), and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). qPCR was not specific enough for the identification of all species but had the highest sensitivity. The PCR-RLB assay Selleck Rapamycin was efficient for the identification of five species. LAMP distinguished all six species unambiguously. The analytical sensitivities of qPCR, PCR-RLB, and LAMP combined with MagNAPure, CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide), and FTA filter (Whatman) extraction were 50, 5 x 10(3), and 5 x 10(2) cells/mu l, respectively. When LAMP was combined with a simplified DNA extraction method using an FTA filter, identification to the species level was achieved within 2 h, including DNA extraction. The FTA-LAMP assay is therefore recommended as a cost-effective, simple, and rapid method for the identification of Scedosporium species.”
“More than 20 DNA mutations with different inheritance pattern have been described in patients with Bernard-Soulier Syndrome (BSS), leading to abnormal or absent synthesis and/or expression of GPIb alpha. Clinical phenotype shows considerable variation between individuals, such as bleeding, platelet count and the percentage of large platelets.

8 years. We ascertained total mortality according to self-reported marijuana use in the preceding year.\n\nResults A total of 52 patients reported marijuana use during the prior year, and 3 17 patients died during follow-up. Compared with nonuse, marijuana use less than weekly was associated with a hazard

ratio of 2.5 (95, % CI, 0.9-7.3). The corresponding hazard ratio for weekly use or more was 4.2 (95% CI, 1.2-14.3). The age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratios BV-6 associated with any use were 1.9 (95% CI, 0.6-6.3) for cardiovascular mortality and 4.9 (95% CI, 1.6-14.7) for noncardiovascular mortality. In a comparison of 42 marijuana users and 42 other patients matched on propensity scores, there were 6 deaths among marijuana users and one among non-users (log-rank P = .06).\n\nConclusions These preliminary results suggest possible hazards of marijuana for patients who survive acute myocardial infarction. Although marijuana use has not been associated with mortality in other populations, it may pose particular

risk for susceptible individuals with coronary heart disease.”
“It is of practical interest to investigate the effect of nitrates on bacterial metabolic regulation of both fermentation selleck chemicals llc and energy generation, as compared to aerobic and anaerobic growth without nitrates. Although gene level regulation has previously been studied for nitrate assimilation, it is important to understand this metabolic regulation in terms of global regulators. In the present study, therefore, we measured gene expression using DNA microarrays, intracellular metabolite concentrations using CE-TOFMS, and metabolic fluxes using the C-13-labeling technique for wild-type E. coli

HDAC inhibitor and the Delta arcA (a global regulatory gene for anoxic response control, ArcA) mutant to compare the metabolic state under nitrate conditions to that under aerobic and anaerobic conditions without nitrates in continuous culture conditions at a dilution rate of 0.2 h(-1). In wild-type, although the measured metabolite concentrations changed very little among the three culture conditions, the TCA cycle and the pentose phosphate pathway fluxes were significantly different under each condition. These results suggested that the ATP production rate was 29% higher under nitrate conditions than that under anaerobic conditions, whereas the ATP production rate was 10% lower than that under aerobic conditions. The flux changes in the TCA cycle were caused by changes in control at the gene expression level. In DarcA mutant, the TCA cycle flux was significantly increased (4.4 times higher than that of the wild type) under nitrate conditions. Similarly, the intracellular ATP/ADP ratio increased approximately two-fold compared to that of the wild-type strain.

“
“The pioneering work of Ramachandran and colleagues emphasized the dominance of steric constraints in specifying the structure of polypeptides. The

ubiquitous Ramachandran plot of backbone dihedral angles (phi and psi) defined the allowed regions of conformational space. These predictions were subsequently confirmed in proteins of known structure. Ramachandran and colleagues also investigated the influence of the backbone angle tau on the distribution of allowed phi/psi combinations. The “bridge region” (phi <= 0 degrees and -20 degrees <= psi <= 40 degrees) was predicted to be particularly sensitive to the value of tau. Here we present an analysis of the distribution of phi/psi angles CAL-101 chemical structure in 850 nonhomologous proteins whose structures CYT387 molecular weight are known to a resolution of 1.7 angstrom or less and sidechain B-factor

less than 30 angstrom(2). We show that the distribution of phi/psi angles for all 87,000 residues in these proteins shows the same dependence on tau as predicted by Ramachandran and colleagues. Our results are important because they make clear that steric constraints alone are sufficient to explain the backbone dihedral angle distributions observed in proteins. Contrary to recent suggestions, no additional energetic contributions, such as hydrogen bonding, need be invoked.”
“Reinforcement learning theories postulate that actions are chosen to maximize a long-term sum of positive outcomes based on value functions, which are subjective estimates of future rewards. In simple reinforcement MI-503 in vitro learning algorithms, value functions are updated only by trial-and-error, whereas they are updated according to the decision-maker’s knowledge or model of the environment in model-based reinforcement learning algorithms. To investigate how animals update value functions, we trained rats under two different

free-choice tasks. The reward probability of the unchosen target remained unchanged in one task, whereas it increased over time since the target was last chosen in the other task. The results show that goal choice probability increased as a function of the number of consecutive alternative choices in the latter, but not the former task, indicating that the animals were aware of time-dependent increases in arming probability and used this information in choosing goals. In addition, the choice behavior in the latter task was better accounted for by a model-based reinforcement learning algorithm. Our results show that rats adopt a decision-making process that cannot be accounted for by simple reinforcement learning models even in a relatively simple binary choice task, suggesting that rats can readily improve their decision-making strategy through the knowledge of their environments.”
“An 8-year-old girl was admitted for severe electrolyte imbalance and for hyponatremic seizure. In July 2005, at 3 years of age, she underwent isolated small-bowel transplantation of 100 cm ileum from her father.