Optimization-Based Approaches for Minimizing Deployment Costs for Wireless Sensor Networks with Bounded Estimation Errors.

As wireless sensor networks have become more prevalent, data from sensors in daily life are constantly being recorded. Due to cost or energy consumption considerations, optimization-based approaches are proposed to reduce deployed sensors and yield results within the error tolerance. The correlation-aware method is also designed in a mathematical model that combines theoretical and practical perspectives. The sensor deployment strategies, including XGBoost, Pearson correlation, and Lagrangian Relaxation (LR), are determined to minimize deployment costs while maintaining estimation errors below a given threshold. Moreover, the results significantly ensure the accuracy of the gathered information while minimizing the cost of deployment and maximizing the lifetime of the WSN. Furthermore, the proposed solution can be readily applied to sensor distribution problems in various fields.

The comparison of microbial communities in thyroid tissues from thyroid carcinoma patients.

Thyroid carcinoma is a common endocrine organ cancer associated with abnormal hormone secretion, leading to the disorder of metabolism. The intestinal microbiota is vital to maintain digestive and immunologic homeostasis. The relevant information of the microbial community in the gut and thyroid, including composition, structure, and relationship, is unclear in thyroid carcinoma patients. A total of 93 samples from 25 patients were included in this study. The results showed that microbial communities existed in thyroid tissue; gut and thyroid had high abundance of facultative anaerobes from the Proteobacteria phyla. The microbial metabolism from the thyroid and gut may be affected by the thyroid carcinoma cells. The cooccurrence network showed that the margins of different thyroid tissues were unique areas with more competition; the stabilization of microcommunities from tissue and stool may be maintained by several clusters of species that may execute different vital metabolism processes dominantly that are attributed to the microenvironment of cancer.

Transcriptomic analysis of de novo folate biosynthetic genes in Lactobacillus plantarum strain 4_3 in fermented soybean.

Folate is an important intermediate in cellular metabolism. However, because of a lack of key enzymes in the folate biosynthetic pathway, humans require supplementation with dietary folate. Some Lactobacillus plantarum strains have the ability to produce folate. To gain a better understanding of the folate biosynthetic pathway in the L. plantarum strain 4_3, which generates high folate yields, L. plantarum strain 4_3 was grown in folic acid casei medium (FACM) and fermented soybean, after obtaining a draft genome sequence. The pH values and folate yields were monitored during culturing, as were the transcriptomic profiles of cultured bacteria. The folate content increased for 12 h and then decreased before increasing again. All the genes involved in the de novo biosynthesis of folate were detected in both the genomic and transcriptomic data. The upregulation of the para-aminobenzoate biosynthesis pathway could explain the folate production in fermented soybean. Soybeans are a good substrate for the production of functional foods because of their well-suited cultivation and nutritional quality. The results of this study provide a good explanation for the high folate production observed during the fermentation of soybeans.

Cutaneous clear cell/signet-ring cell squamous cell carcinoma arising in the right thigh of a patient with type 2 diabetes: combined morphologic, immunohistochemical, and etiologic analysis.

BACKGROUND: The clear cell/signet-ring cell variant of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is extremely rare. Its carcinogenesis has consistently been linked to ultraviolet radiation and HPV in the literature. However, there is little definite information about the contribution of diabetes mellitus (DM) to cSCC. CASE PRESENTATION: A 78-year-old Chinese woman with type 2 DM presented with a mushroom-like lump in her right thigh. Histological findings revealed that the lesion was mainly composed of clear cells and signet-ring cells. The septa of vacuoles in cytoplasm displayed positivity for periodic acid schiff (PAS) and cytokeratins such as AE1/AE3, CK5/6, CK14, and CK19. Malignant cells did not express CK7, CK8, CK18, CK20, p16, p53, or c-erbB-2, and the Ki-67 index was less than 5 %. We further explored the etiology of clear cell/signet-ring cell cSCC using human papillomavirus (HPV) type-specific PCR and genotyping and confirmed that the patient was not infected with HPV. Nucleus positivity for p63 indicated the involvement of the p53 family in the lesion. Meanwhile, the expression of fibroblast growth factor receptor-2 (FGFR2), a downstream effector of p63, was upregulated in tumor cells. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first report on the clear cell/signet-ring cell variant of cSCC found in the right thigh of a patient with type 2 DM. Metabolic imbalance in addition to conventional pathogens such as UV and HPV may contribute to the development of the lesion via p63/FGFR2 axis.

Complete genome sequence of Salmonella enterica serovar pullorum RKS5078.

Salmonella enterica serovar Pullorum is a chicken-adapted pathogen, causing pullorum disease. Its strict host adaptation has been suspected to result in gene decay. To validate this hypothesis and identify the decayed genes, we sequenced the complete genome of S. Pullorum RKS5078. We found 263 pseudogenes in this strain and conducted functional analyses of the decayed genes.

A novel mutation in CACNA1S gene associated with hypokalemic periodic paralysis which has a gender difference in the penetrance.

Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HypoPP) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by periodic attacks of muscle weakness associated with a decrease in the serum potassium level. Several mutations in the skeletal muscle calcium channel α-subunit gene CACNA1S have been documented to be causative for HypoPP, but mutations in other genes have also been implicated in HypoPP. To further reveal the genetic causes of HypoPP, we genotyped members of a five-generational Chinese family with HypoPP patients and identified a novel His916Gln mutation in all male HypoPP patients of the family. Clinical analysis demonstrated that the penetrance of the mutation was complete in male carriers, but we did not find evident clinical features in female carriers. This study expanded the spectrum of CACNA1S mutations associated with HypoPP and demonstrated a gender difference in the penetrance of the disease.