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Background: Treatment failure following androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) presents a significant challenge in the management of advanced prostate cancer. Thus, understanding the genetic factors influencing this process could facilitate the development of personalized treatments and innovative therapeutic strategies. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in controlling cell growth and tumorigenesis. We hypothesized that genetic variants within this pathway may affect the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing ADT for prostate cancer. Methods: We genotyped 399 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across 28 core PI3K/AKT pathway genes in a cohort of 630 patients with prostate cancer undergoing ADT. We assessed the potential association of the SNPs with patient survival. Functional analyses of the implicated genes were also performed to evaluate their effects on prostate cancer. Results: After multivariate Cox regression analysis and multiple testing correction, GABRB3 rs12591845 exhibited the most significant association with both overall and cancer-specific survivals (P < 0.003). A comprehensive pooled analysis of 16 independent gene expression datasets revealed elevated expression of GABRB3 in prostate cancer tissues compared to that in normal tissues (P < 0.001). Furthermore, gene set enrichment analysis unveiled differential enrichment of pathways such as myogenesis, interferon γ and α responses, and the MYC proto-oncogene pathway in tumors with elevated GABRB3 expression, implying a role for GABRB3 in prostate cancer. Conclusion: Our results suggest that rs12591845 could potentially serve as a valuable prognostic indicator for patients undergoing ADT. The potential role of GABRB3 in promoting prostate tumorigenesis is also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strip‐typed antenna with the advantages of simple structure and easy fabrication is first proposed. When the antenna is mounted on a planar circuit board, it has the same radiation characteristics as a traditional microstrip antenna operated in the fundamental mode; however, the proposed antenna only occupies a space of a linear length for the surface of the circuit board. Then, A 1 × 4 array with ± 45° polarizations is realized using the strip‐typed antenna as a radiating element. The dual‐polarized array is excited with a pair of coplanar corporate feed networks. Simulated results show that the gains of the radiating element and array are up to 8 and 13 dBi, respectively; in addition, the isolation between the two input ports of the array is higher than 27 dB within an impedance bandwidth of around 11%. Experiments are also carried out, and they validate the simulated results. Details of the designs are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A design of frequency reconfigurable patch antennas is presented. The antenna has a radiating patch perpendicular to the ground plane, and it can be regarded as a one‐dimensional suspended patch antenna. By placing two varactors between the radiating patch and ground plane, the operation frequency of the antenna can be tuned from 3.3 to 4.2 GHz, and a stable broadside radiation pattern with low cross‐polarization can be obtained within the operation bandwidth. A prototype of the proposed reconfigurable antenna is constructed. Both measured and simulated results of the prototype are given, and the differences between them are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel pattern reconfigurable patch antenna is proposed. For the proposed antenna, the surface of the radiation patch is vertical to the ground plane, and it can be considered as a one‐dimensional wire antenna. By embedding two positive‐intrinsicnegative diodes into the radiating patch, a pair of tilted beams can be generated in the E plane, and they are directed to θ = ± 30°; besides, a side lobe level of less than −15 dB is also obtained. The mechanism of generating the tilted beams is explained. Based on the pattern reconfigurable antenna, a 1 × 8 phased array is designed. Both measured and simulated results demonstrate that the phased array operated at 3.45 GHz can give a gain fluctuation of less than 1 dB when the beam is scanned from −70° to 70°, and a side lobe level of lower than −11 dB is realized in the scanning range from −60° to 60°. Details of antenna structures and array performances are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A design for reconfigurable circularly polarized (CP) microstrip antennas with frequency agility is described. The main radiating element of the antenna is a suspended patch, and it is connected with two vertical feed probes. When one feed probe is used as a signal input port, the other probe can serve as a perturbation element of the microstrip antenna resonant at the fundamental mode, and consequently a CP radiation is generated. Because the dual probes are arranged in an orthogonal fashion, the antenna can be operated in right‐handed and left‐handed circular polarization modes. To vary the CP operation frequency, four varactors are mounted on the ring slot embedded on the radiating patch. Simulated results indicate that the CP frequency can be continuously tuned from 1.2 to 1.9 GHz with decreasing the capacitance of the varactors. A prototype is also fabricated, and only one DC bias is required to realize the reconfigurable antenna. The design concept of the proposed antenna is shown, and CP performances at different frequencies are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work we undertook the complete mitochondrial genome sequencing of an important glioma model inbred rat strain for the first time. The total length of the mitogenome was 16,308 bp. It harbored 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and 1 non-coding control region (D-loop region). The mutation events were also reported. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sodium-ion layered oxides are one of the most highly regarded sodium-ion cathode materials and are expected to be used in electric vehicles and large-scale grid-level energy storage systems. However, highly air-sensitive issues limit sodium-ion layered oxide cathode materials to maximize cost advantages. Industrial and scientific researchers have been developing cost-effective air sensitivity treatment strategies with little success because the impurity formation mechanism is still unclear. Using density functional theory calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, this work shows that the poor air stability of O3-type NaMn 1/3 Fe 1/3 Ni 1/3 O 2 (NMFNO) may be as follows: (1) low percentage of nonreactive (003) surface; (2) strong surface adsorption capacity and high surface reactivity; and (3) instability of the surface sodium ions. Our physical images point out that the high reactivity of the NMFNO surface originates from the increase in electron loss and unpaired electrons (magnetic moments) of the surface oxygen active site as well as the enhanced metal coactivation effect due to the large radius of the sodium ion. We also found that the hydrolysis reaction requires a higher reactivity of the surface oxygen active site, while the carbon hybridization mode transformation in carbonate formation depends mainly on metal activation and does not even require the involvement of surface oxygen active sites. Based on the calculation results and our proposed physical images, we discuss the feasibility of these treatment strategies (including surface morphology modulation, cation/anion substitution, and surface configuration design) for air-sensitive issues.

Human estrogen receptor (ER) isoforms, ERα and ERβ, have long been an important focus in the field of biology. To better understand the structural features associated with the binding of ERα ligands to ERα and modulate their function, several QSAR models, including CoMFA, CoMSIA, SVR, and LR methods, have been employed to predict the inhibitory activity of 68 raloxifene derivatives. In the SVR and LR modeling, 11 descriptors were selected through feature ranking and sequential feature addition/deletion to generate equations to predict the inhibitory activity toward ERα. Among four descriptors that constantly appear in various generated equations, two agree with CoMFA and CoMSIA steric fields and another two can be correlated to a calculated electrostatic potential of ERα.