Endoscopic ultrasonography in the evaluation of condition and prognosis of ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is usually diagnosed through histopathology, enteroscopy, clinical symptoms, and physical findings; however, it is difficult to accurately evaluate disease severity. AIM: To investigate the value of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in the evaluation of the severity and prognosis of UC. METHODS: Patients with UC who were seen in our hospital from March 2019 to December 2020 were eligible, and disease severity was evaluated according to the modified Truelove and Witts and Mayo scores. We performed EUS, calculated the UC endoscopic index of severity (UCEIS) and EUS-UC scores, and administered appropriate treatment. The UCEIS and EUS-UC scores of patients were assessed in relation to disease severity, and the correlations between UCEIS and EUS-UC scores and disease severity was also analyzed. The UCEIS and EUS-UC scores before and after treatment were also compared. RESULTS: A total of 79 patients were included in this study. According to the Mayo Index, 23, 32, and 24 patients had mild, moderate and severe UC, respectively. The UCEIS and EUS-UC scores were higher in moderate cases (4.98 ± 1.04 and 5.01 ± 0.99, respectively) than in mild cases (1.56 ± 0.82 and 1.64 ± 0.91, respectively, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the UCEIS and EUS-UC scores (7.31 ± 1.10 and 7.59 ± 1.02, respectively) were higher in severe cases than in moderate cases (P < 0.05). According to the modified Truelove and Witts scores, 21, 36, and 22 patients were classified as having mild, moderate and severe disease, respectively. The UCEIS and EUS-UC scores were significantly higher in moderate disease (4.79 ± 1.11 and 4.96 ± 1.23, respectively) than in mild disease (1.71 ± 0.78 and 1.69 ± 0.88, respectively, P < 0.05). Additionally, the UCEIS and EUS-UC scores in severe disease (7.68 ± 1.22 and 7.81 ± 0.90, respectively) were significantly higher than in moderate disease (P < 0.05). The UCEIS and EUS-UC scores were significantly and positively correlated with disease severity according to the modified Truelove and Witts score and Mayo score (P < 0.05). The UCEIS and EUS-UC scores after 2 mo of treatment (3.88 ± 0.95 and 4.01 ± 1.14, respectively) and after 6 mo of treatment (1.59 ± 0.63 and 1.64 ± 0.59, respectively) were lower than the respective scores before treatment (5.93 ± 1.79 and 6.04 ± 2.01) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: EUS can clarify the status of UC and accurately evaluate the treatment response, providing an objective basis for formulation and adjustment of the treatment plan.

Paeoniflorin Prevents Intestinal Barrier Disruption and Inhibits Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Induced Inflammation in Caco-2 Cell Monolayers.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in humans is closely related to bacterial infection and the disruption of the intestinal barrier. Paeoniflorin (PF), a bioactive compound from Paeonia lactiflora Pallas plants, exerts a potential effect of anti-inflammatory reported in various researches. However, the effect of PF on intestinal barrier function and its related mechanisms has not been identified. Here, we investigate the PF potential anti-inflammatory effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human Caco-2 cell monolayers and explore its underlying key molecular mechanism. In this context, PF significantly increased TEER value, decreased intestinal epithelium FITC-dextran flux permeability, and restored the expressions of occludin, ZO-1, and claudin5 in LPS-induced Caco-2 cell. In vitro, treatment of PF significantly inhibited LPS-induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). In addition, we found that PF suppressed nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling via activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathways in ILPS-stimulated Caco-2 cells. Our findings indicate that PF has an inhibitory effect on endothelial injury. Our findings suggested that PF has an anti-inflammatory effect in ILPS-stimulated Caco-2 cells, which might be a potential therapeutic agent against IBD and intestinal inflammation.

[Determination of brix and POL in sugar cane juice by using near infrared spectroscopy coupled with BP-ANN].

The models of quantitative analysis of brix and pol in sugar cane juice were established by using near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) coupled with the back propagation-artificial neural network method (BP-ANN). The spectra of cane juice samples were obtained by the way of 2 mm optical length transmission and using the NIR spectrometer of 1,000-1,800 nm wavelength. Firstly, the data of original spectra were pretreated by Savitzky-Golay derivative and mean-centering. Secondly, the wavelength range of model was optimized by using correlation coefficient method coupled with the characteristic absorbance of the spectrum. Finally, the principal components, obtained by PLS dimension-reducing, were inputed into BP-ANN. The calibration models were established by calibration set and validated by prediction set. The results showed that the related coefficients (R2) of prediction for brix and pol were 0.982 and 0.979, respectively; and the standard errors of prediction (SEP) for brix and pol were 0.159 and 0.137, respectively. BP-ANN was more accurate in the prediction of brix and pol compared with the partial least square method (PLS). The method can be applied to fast and accurate determination of brix and pol in sugar cane juice.

[Real-time monitoring of industrial acetic acid production process using a new type of online NIR analysis system].

The safe and real-time monitoring of the production process of acetic acid is always a key technical problem. The conventional online chromatographic analysis can't satisfy the requirements of real-time analysis for its inherent disadvantages. A new type of on-line near-infrared analysis system has been developed for real-time analysis of the concentration of each component in acetic acid reaction kettles instantly. Its features and configuration were described in detail. Both the laboratory modeling and field application results have confirmed that this system is of high stability and accuracy. The proposed system can effectively solve the key technical problems in the manufacture and ensure the safety and stability of production process of acetic acid.