Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is highly expressed in human adipocytes and cancer cells and is considered as a dual therapeutic target for obesity and cancer treatment. Garcinone E is a natural xanthone and exists in the pericarp of Garcinia mangostana. In previous studies, xanthones were reported to be highly active inhibitors of FAS. In the present study, the detailed inhibitory mechanism of garcinone E on FAS was investigated. We found that garcinone E inhibited the activity of FAS in a concentration-dependent manner with a half-inhibitory concentration value of 3.3 μM. The inhibition kinetic results showed that the inhibition of FAS by garcinone E was competitive with respect to acetyl-CoA, mixed competitive and noncompetitive with respect to malonyl-CoA, and noncompetitive to NADPH. In addition, garcinone E showed irreversible inhibition on FAS, which was different from all other xanthones. Since FAS is believed to be a therapeutic target for obesity and cancer treatment, these findings suggest the clinical potential of garcinone E in the prevention and treatment of both obesity and cancer.

Background: : This study examines the effects of equine‐assisted activity (EAA) training on executive functioning (EF) (inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) in children aged 7–8 years.Methods: : Twenty‐Four healthy children aged 7–8 years with a 1:1 ratio of boys to girls were randomly divided into EAA group (EAAG) or control group (CG). The subjects in EAAG were trained for 12 weeks, and CG participated in normal daily activities. All subjects conducted the Flanker, 1‐Back, and More‐odd shifting tasks at rest and recorded the average reaction times (RTs) and accuracy data of each task.Results: : After 12 weeks of EAA intervention, EAAG showed a highly significant increase (p < .01) in mean RTs and accuracy in the Flanker and More‐odd shifting tasks and a highly significant increase (p < .01) in accuracy only in 1‐Back.Conclusion: : These findings suggest that 12‐week EAA training can be effective in improving EF and promoting cognitive performance in children aged 7–8 years.

Carbohydrate-protein supplement (CPS) intake is a well-established strategy for enhancing athletic performance, promoting glycogen replenishment, maintaining a positive nitrogen balance, and minimizing muscle damage in endurance athletes. Current CPS intake recommendations often rely solely on weight, lacking personalization. This study aimed to develop a machine learning-based personalized CPS intake recommendation system for endurance sports enthusiasts. We recruited 171 participants and collected 45 indicators from 12 diverse aspects, including lifestyle, psychological state, sleep quality, demographics, anthropometrics and body composition, physical activity levels, exercise capacity, blood markers and central nervous system parameters, cardiovascular metrics, meal timings, and beverage composition. Additionally, we assessed each subject’s performance in the Jensen Kurt’s 60-minute rowing ergometer distance race. Utilizing back propagation (BP) neural networks with 5-fold cross-validation, we identified the relationship between the 45 indicators and the 1-hour rowing distance, and observed a well-fitted model. We further employed an enumeration method to tailor the CPS intake protocol for each individual. Our results demonstrate the feasibility and potential of using machine learning to deliver personalized CPS intake recommendations. Future work will focus on expanding the dataset’s dimensions to iterate, update, and enhance the model’s robustness.

Objective: This study investigated the dose–response relationship of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on respiratory muscle strength, lactic acid accumulation and exercise tolerance in amateur runners. Methods: Thirty male amateur runners were randomly assigned to three groups: a high-intensity IMT (HIMT) group, a low-intensity IMT (LIMT) group, and a control group. In addition to their regular training regimen, the high-intensity and low-intensity IMT groups underwent a supervised IMT protocol for a duration of 8 weeks. The primary outcome measures included maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximal expiratory pressure (MEP), time to exhaustion (TTE), blood lactate (BLa), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and rate of perceived breathlessness (RPB). Secondary outcomes encompassed VO2 max, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁), and the FEV₁/FVC ratio. Results: After 8 weeks of IMT, the MIP of HIMT and LIMT were significantly improved (p < 0.01), and the MEP of both groups also increased (p < 0.01). There were no significant changes in FVC and FEV₁ (p > 0.05), but only FEV₁/FVC in HIMT was significantly improved (p < 0.01). Exercise testing showed a significant increase in TTE in both the HIMT and low LIMT groups (p < 0.01). Post-exercise RPE scores were lower in both the HIMT group (p < 0.01) and LIMT group (p < 0.05), and both HIMT and LIMT groups’ post-exercise RPB scores were also reduced in both (p < 0.05). In addition, blood lactate accumulation was significantly lower in both HIMT (p < 0.01) and LIMT (p < 0.05). There were no significant changes in VO2 max (p > 0.05) and HR peak (p > 0.05). Conclusion: IMT for 8 weeks can improve respiratory muscle strength, prolong exercise time, improve blood lactate accumulation, subjective fatigue, and dyspnea during exercise. Among them, high-intensity IMT can better improve exercise tolerance.

Background: Inhibitory control (IC), an important component of executive function, plays an important role in the overall development of children and has not been better studied in the field of equine-assisted activity (EAA). Therefore, this study investigated the effects of EAA on IC and the underlying brain neural mechanisms in children aged 7–8 years. Methods: Forty-eight healthy children aged 7–8 years from the Maple Leaf International School-Xi’an were randomly allocated to the equine-assisted activities group (EAAG) and control group (CG). The EAAG received 12 weeks of EAAG training from instructors at the MingLiu Horse Club while the CG continued their normal daily activities. The Flanker task was administered to both groups to assess IC pre- and post-intervention. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data were collected during the Flanker task to examine the underlying neural mechanisms. Results: Our findings indicate that after 12 weeks of EAA, the EAAG performed significantly better on the Flanker tasks than the CG, with congruent and incongruent higher accuracy and faster reaction (p < 0.01). Importantly, fNIRS data analysis revealed increased oxyhemoglobin levels in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (R-DLPFC) (p < 0.05) of the EAAG during the Flanker congruent task after the EAA intervention. Conclusions: Collectively, EAA demonstrated a positive impact on IC and could effectively activate R-DLPFC in children aged 7–8 years. Furthermore, it enhanced the activation of the brain regions related to IC and increased cognitive ability in children aged 7–8 years.

The purpose of this study was to discuss the effect of voluntary wheel running on striatal dopamine levels and anxiety-like behavior in rats with global cerebral ischemia. The male Sprague-Dawley rats were signed on in this study and randomly divided into following 4 groups: Control group (C group), Sham group (S group), ischemia group (I group), and 3 weeks physical exercise before ischemia group (3RI group). The rats in the 3RI group were placed in a voluntary running wheel for three weeks to exercise. Then, the rats in I and 3RI groups received bilateral carotid artery ligation (2-VO) operation. The C and S group did not perform voluntary running exercise and the bilateral common carotid arteries of S group were exposed without ligation. In vivo microdialysis was used in conjunction with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrochemical detection to ascertain the level of dopamine in the striatum. Elevated plus maze (EPM) and open field (OF) were used to test anxiety status at 24 hours and 7days after 2-VO cerebral ischemia. Meanwhile, gait and motor coordination evaluations were carried out to eliminate the influence of non-specific motor problems. The results indicated that cerebral ischemia instigate the increase of striatal dopamine in I group rats during acute cerebral ischemia. A 3-week voluntary wheel running significantly enhances the striatal dopamine before ischemia and obstructs a further increase of dopamine during acute cerebral ischemia in 3RI group rats. At 24 hours after ischemia, striatal dopamine returned to pre-ischemic levels in 3RI group. Striatal dopamine in I group were less than pre-ischemic levels at 7 days. Behavioral data indicated that 3-week voluntary wheel running promoted recovery of anxiety-like behavior and gait were not affected by 2-VO cerebral ischemia at 24 hours post-ischemia rats. Therefore, it can be concluded that 3-week physical exercise significantly increased the striatal dopamine and improved anxiety-like behavior by inhibiting the increase of dopamine during acute cerebral ischemia and suppressing the decrease of dopamine after 24 hours and 7 days cerebral ischemia.