Abstract Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the intestine, demonstrating an increasing incidence every year. TongXieYaoFang (TXYF) has been used widely in China as a complementary therapy to relieve the symptoms of IBD for hundreds of years. In the present research, a network pharmacology-based approach was used to systematically explore the intrinsic mechanisms of TXYF in IBD at the molecular level. Network pharmacology-based methods, which mainly included database mining, screening of bioactive compounds, target prediction, collection of IBD-related targets, gene enrichment analysis, network construction, and molecular docking, were employed in the present study. Network analysis revealed a total of 108 potential targets derived from 22 component compounds of TXYF, among which 34 targets were common with the IBD-related targets. In the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, 10 key targets were identified. The gene enrichment analysis suggested that anti-inflammatory processes, such as NF-kappa B signaling pathway and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, could be the core processes involved in the action of TXYF in IBD. Molecular docking results revealed that three compounds present in TXYF exhibited strong binding affinity for PTGS2. The present study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms and network approaches of TXYF action in IBD from a systemic perspective. The potential targets and pathways identified in the present study would assist in further research on the clinical application of TXYF in IBD therapy.

Abstract Machine learning (ML) featured on its ability of learning and extracting features from a large set of data and automatically building statistical models. Through cooperation with intelligent sensors, which is designed to imitate human organs to analyze the sensory characteristics of foods, ML-based intelligent sensory systems such as electronic nose (E-nose) and electronic tongue (E-tongue) are developed for sensing applications in food industry. Consumption of alcohol beverages keep growing worldwide in recent years and fraudulent activities are stimulated due to the high price of alcoholic drinks, which motivates the application of intelligent sensory technology with high efficiency and accuracy for real-time quality control. Thus, this paper firstly summarizes the novel intelligent sensors that is suitable for sensory evaluation and the advanced ML algorithms used to create intelligent systems. Then the paper describes the mechanism of commercial ML-enabled intelligent devices and summarizes their practical sensing applications on the real-time quality control of a variety of alcoholic beverages, in term of detection of frauds and adulterations, aroma analysis, monitoring of the production process, and correlation with human sensory perception. Finally, the potential applications and future opportunities of ML-enabled intelligent sensor systems in the alcohol industry are discussed.

Abstract The naturally occurring wild barley mutant eibi1/hvabcg31 suffers from severe water loss due to the permeable leaf cuticle. Eibi1/HvABCG31 encodes a full ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, HvABCG31, playing a role in cutin deposition in the elongation zone of growing barley leaves. The eibi1 allele has pleiotropic effects on the appearance of leaves, plant stature, fertility, spike and grain size, and rate of germination. Comparative transcriptome profile of the leaf elongation zone of the eibi1 mutant as well as its isogenic wild type showed that various pathogenesis-related genes were up-regulated in the eibi1 mutant. The known cuticle-related genes that we analyzed did not show significant expression difference between the mutant and wild type. These results suggest that the pleiotropic effects may be a compensatory consequence of the activation of defense genes in the eibi1 mutation. Furthermore, we were able to find the mutation of the eibi1/hvabcg31 allele by comparing transcript sequences, which indicated that the RNA-Seq is useful not only for researches on general molecular mechanism but also for the identification of possible mutant genes.

OBJETIVO: Estudar os efeitos da reconstrução percutânea com fixação de placa interna no tratamento de fraturas sacrais instáveis. MÉTODOS: A reconstrução percutânea com fixação de placa interna foi aplicada em 21 casos de fratura sacral instável (15 homens e seis mulheres, com idade variando entre 16 e 65 anos, média de 38,3 anos) incluindo quatro casos de Zona I de Denis, 14 casos de Zona II e três casos de Zona III. No ato operatório, uma incisão arqueada (cerca de 3 a 5cm de comprimento) foi feita ao longo da crista ilíaca na borda externa da espinha ilíaca supero-posterior (PSIS) em ambos os lados, e então a placa foi transportada do lado da ferida para o lado oposto através do túnel subcutâneo. RESULTADOS: O comprimento médio da incisão, tempo operatório e perda sanguínea intra-operatória foram, respectivamente, 4,3cm, 45,2min e 160,8ml. Todos estes pacientes foram acompanhados por 12 a 33 meses (média 16,3 meses), o que mostrou nenhuma infecção de ferida operatória, lesão neurovascular intraoperatória, perda da fixação interna ou quebra, desunião ou desigualdade nos comprimentos dos membros inferiores. O resultado funcional foi excelente em seis casos, bom em doze e falho em três, com taxa excelente de 85,7%, de acordo com o sistema de escore de Majeed. CONCLUSÃO: Reconstrução percutânea com fixação de placa interna é uma abordagem cirúrgica ideal para fraturas sacrais instáveis, sendo fácil e segura, causando menos trauma e poucas complicações, conduzindo a uma recuperação mais rápida.

PURPOSE: To study the effects of percutaneous reconstruction plate internal fixation in the treatment of unstable sacral fractures. METHODS: Percutaneous reconstruction plate internal fixation was applied on 21 cases of unstable sacral fracture (15 males and six females, at age range of 16-65 years, mean 38.3 years) including four cases of Denis Zone I, 14 cases of Zone II and three cases of Zone III. In operation, an arc incision (about 3-5 cm long) was made along the iliac crest on the outside border of posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS) on both sides, and then the plate was transported from the wounded side to the opposite one through the subcutaneous tunnel. RESULTS: The mean incision length, operation time, intraoperative blood loss was 4.3cm, 45.2min, and 160.8ml respectively. All these patients were followed up for 12-33 months (average 16.3 months), which showed no incision infection, intraoperative neurovascular injury, internal fixation loose or breakage, disunion, or obvious lower limb length inequality. The function result was rated as excellent in six cases, good in 12 and fair in 3, with excellence rate of 85.7%, according to the Majeed scoring system. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous reconstruction plate internal fixation is an ideal surgical approach to unstable sacral fractures, as it is easy, safe, causing less trauma and fewer complications, and conducive to quicker recovery.