BackgroundPrevious evidence have demonstrated that p21-activated kinase PAK4 was correlated with breast cancer. The aim of this paper is to study the expression and interaction of p21-activated kinase (pAK)-4 and P54 protein in breast cancer.MethodsA total of 80 patients were enrolled in our study (breast fibroma n = 20, breast noninvasive cancer n = 20, early breast invasive cancer n = 20, and advanced breast invasive cancer). The expression of PAK4 was detected by immunohistochemical S-P method, and the relationship between them and the different pathological characteristics were compared. The subcellular localization of P54 and PAK4 in vitro was observed by immunofluorescence assay.ResultsThe expression of both PAK4 and P54 in breast cancer was much higher than that in breast fibroma. Meanwhile, we found that both PAK4 and P54 increased gradually as breast cancer progressed (advanced invasive > early invasive > noninvasive). The positive staining of P54 were mainly located in the cytoplasm, especially around the nucleus. There was no significant stained region in the cell matrix. The P54 localization in the cytoplasm was verified by confocal experiment, and the PAK4 was co-localized.ConclusionsPAK4 and P54 proteins may be used as molecular markers for diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

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Time synchronization is a key technique in large-scale wireless sensor network applications. In order to tackle the problems of multi-hop synchronization error accumulation, clock frequency skew swinging, and network topology changes, a time synchronization protocol based on dynamic routing and forwarding certification (DRFC-TSP) is proposed in this paper. During the time synchronization process, a reference node with fewer synchronization hops and a more stable clock frequency is selected for every single hop, in order to obtain the best synchronization route. In this way, synchronization error accumulation can be restrained and the impact of clock frequency skew swinging on the time synchronization precision can be reduced. Furthermore, changes of the network topology can be well adapted by dynamic routing, in which the reference node is updated in every synchronization round. In the forwarding certification process, the status of nodes forwarding synchronous information outwards is authored by information exchange between neighboring nodes. Only synchronous information of the certificated nodes with a better performance can be forwarded. The network traffic can be decreased and the time synchronization precision can also be ensured, even with less energy consumption. Feasibility testing in large-scale wireless sensor networks is verified on NS2 simulation and more performances are evaluated on an embedded Linux platform.

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The authors assessed treatment and control of blood glucose, blood pressure (BP), and blood lipids among patients from Inner Mongolia with diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) and identified the modifiable factors associated with treatment and achievement of blood glucose, BP, and blood lipid targets. The authors used a multistage stratified cluster sampling method according to geographical location and level of economic development in Inner Mongolia. Among patients with DM and HTN, the crude rates of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) treatment and control was 30.76% and 4.73%, respectively. Crude rates of BP treatment and control were 50.81% and 8.70%, respectively. The authors found that treatment rates of HTN and DM and control rates of BP and FPG showed a gradually increasing trend with increased age. Among patients with DM and HTN, the likelihood of treatment for HTN and DM was significantly increased among participants who were older, non-Mongolian, male, obese, smokers, and those with previous cardiovascular disease. The authors found that control of BP, FPG, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was far from optimal among study participants. Medical and health departments in Inner Mongolia should take appropriate measures to reduce the burden of DM and HTN in the population, such as by promoting and improving the quality of HTN and DM treatment to achieve control goals and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.