Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition characterized by continuous inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract that varies in intensity over time. IBD is caused by several factors including aberrant gut flora, immunological dysregulation, altered environmental conditions, and genetic variations. However, the pathogenesis of IBD remains unclear. Studies have indicated that an imbalance between T helper 17 (Th17) and regulatory T (Treg) cells contributes significantly to the development of IBD. Intestinal Tregs suppress inflammation and are critical for maintaining tissue homeostasis. Th17 cells are known to play an important role in the development and pathogenesis of IBD and provide non-inflammatory support for the integrity of the intestinal barrier against bacterial and fungal infections. Therefore, the Th17/Treg cell balance is crucial in the pathogenesis of IBD and gut integrity. The microenvironment of the intestinal mucosal immunity is regulated by the secretion of cytokines associated with Th17 cells and Tregs. Several studies have indicated that the gut bacteria contribute to the control of the immune milieu and play a key role in the regulation of Th17 cell development. Intestinal bacteria and cytokines control Th17 cell development. Th17 cells secrete cytokines that regulate the immune microenvironment in the gut mucosa. This review provides an overview of Th17 cells and examines the strategies for treating patients with IBD using Th17 cell-targeted drugs.

A virtual vessel traffic control system is introduced to contribute to prevent a marine accident such as collision and stranding from happening. Existing VTS has its limit. The virtual vessel traffic control system consists of both data acquisition by satellite remote sensing and a simulation of traffic environment stress based on the satellite data, remotely sensed data And it could be used to provide timely and detailed information about the marine safety, including the location, speed and direction of ships, and help us operate vessels safely and efficiently. If environmental stress values are simulated for the ship information derived from satellite data, proper actions can be taken to prevent accidents. Since optical sensor has a high spatial resolution, JERS satellite data are used to track ships and extract their information. We present an algorithm of automatic identification of ship size and velocity. It lastly is shown that based on ship information extracted from JERS data, a qualitative evaluation method of environmental stress is introduced.