Skeletal muscle mass is a strong predictor of cardiorespiratory fitness in the Chinese population with obesity.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Although skeletal muscle is well-known as physiologically related to VO2max, the independent predictive value of skeletal muscle mass (SMM) VO2max in people with obesity has not been studied. This study aims to determine the relationships between maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and SMM in the Chinese population with obesity. METHODS AND RESULTS: Overall, 409 participants with obesity were included in this cross-sectional study. A maximal and graded exercise testing measured VO2max, and body compositions were measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Subsequently, correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple linear regression analyses were used to determine the relationships between VO2max and body compositions. SMM was found to have a significant correlation with VO2max (r = 0.290, P < 0.001) after adjusting for sex, age, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, and percent body fat (PBF). In previous studies, BMI was widely recognized as a strong predictor of VO2max. This study revealed surprising results: after SMM was controlled, the correlation between BMI and VO2max was reduced (from r = 0.381, P < 0.001 to r = 0.191, P < 0.001). SMM was found the most important independent predictor. In the regression model, the variance of VO2max was explained by the SMM which accounted for 27.4%. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, SMM is a stronger independent predictor of cardiorespiratory fitness in the Chinese population with obesity than sex, age, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, and PBF.

Advances in RIPK1 kinase inhibitors.

Programmed necrosis is a new modulated cell death mode with necrotizing morphological characteristics. Receptor interacting protein 1 (RIPK1) is a critical mediator of the programmed necrosis pathway that is involved in stroke, myocardial infarction, fatal systemic inflammatory response syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, and malignancy. At present, the reported inhibitors are divided into four categories. The first category is the type I ATP-competitive kinase inhibitors that targets the area occupied by the ATP adenylate ring; The second category is type Ⅱ ATP competitive kinase inhibitors targeting the DLG-out conformation of RIPK1; The third category is type Ⅲ kinase inhibitors that compete for binding to allosteric sites near ATP pockets; The last category is others. This paper reviews the structure, biological function, and recent research progress of receptor interaction protein-1 kinase inhibitors.

Multifunctional platinum(IV) complex bearing HDAC inhibitor and biotin moiety exhibits prominent cytotoxicity and tumor-targeting ability.

Despite the wide clinical use of platinum drugs in cancer treatment, their severe side effects and lack of tumor selectivity seriously limit their further clinical application. To address the limitations of the current platinum drugs, herein a multifunctional platinum(IV) compound 1 containing a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor (4-phenylbutyric acid, 4-PBA) and a tumor-targeting group (biotin) has been designed and prepared. An in vitro cytotoxicity study indicated that compound 1 exhibits comparable or superior cytotoxicity to cisplatin against the tested cancer cell lines, but greatly reduced toxicity in human normal liver LO2 cells, implying the potential tumor-targeting ability of compound 1. Molecular docking results indicate that compound 1 can effectively interact with a biotin-specific receptor (streptavidin) through its biotin moiety, enabling potential tumor-targeting capability. Further studies indicated that compound 1's cytotoxicity stems from inducing DNA damage via the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway and inhibiting HDACs. Consequently, this compound can not only take advantage of the tumor selectively of biotin to improve its tumor-targeting ability but also strengthen its anticancer activity via simultaneously targeting DNA and HDACs.

Selective catalytic reduction of NO x by low-temperature NH3 over Mn x Zr1 mixed-oxide catalysts.

Mn x Zr1 series catalysts were prepared by a coprecipitation method. The effect of zirconium doping on the NH3-SCR performance of the MnO x catalyst was studied, and the influence of the calcination temperature on the catalyst activity was explored. The results showed that the Mn6Zr1 catalyst exhibited good NH3-SCR activity when calcined at 400 °C. When the reaction temperature was 125-250 °C, the NO x conversion rate of Mn6Zr1 catalyst reached more than 90%, and the optimal conversion efficiency reached 97%. In addition, the Mn6Zr1 catalyst showed excellent SO2 and H2O resistance at the optimum reaction temperature. Meanwhile, the catalysts were characterized. The results showed that the morphology of the MnO x catalyst was significantly changed, whereby as the proportion of Mn4+ and Oα species increased, the physical properties of the catalyst were improved. In addition, both Lewis acid sites and Brønsted acid sites existed in the Mn6Zr1 catalyst, which reduced the reduction temperature of the catalyst. In summary, zirconium doping successfully improved the NH3-SCR performance of MnO x .

Effect of Indium Addition on the Low-Temperature Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO x by NH3 over MnCeO x Catalysts: The Promotion Effect and Mechanism.

A MnCeInO x catalyst was prepared by a coprecipitation method for denitrification of NH3-SCR (selective catalytic reduction). The catalysts were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, H2 temperature-programmed reduction, and NH3 temperature-programmed desorption. The NH3-SCR activity and H2O and SO2 resistance of the catalysts were evaluated. The test results showed that the SCR and water resistance and sulfur resistance were good in the range of 125-225 °C. The calcination temperature of the Mn6Ce0.3In0.7O x catalyst preparation was studied. The crystallization of the Mn6Ce0.3In0.7O x catalyst was poor when calcined at 300 °C; however, the crystallization is excessive at a 500 °C calcination temperature. The influence of space velocity on the performance of the catalyst is great at 100-225 °C. FTIR test results showed that indium distribution on the surface of the catalyst reduced the content of sulfate on the surface, protected the acidic site of MnCe, and improved the sulfur resistance of the catalyst. The excellent performance of the Mn6Ce0.3In0.7O x catalyst may be due to its high content of Mn4+, surface adsorbed oxygen species, high specific surface area, redox sites and acid sites on the surface, high turnover frequency, and low apparent activation energy.

Synthesis of Highly Energetic PolyNitrogen by Nanosecond-Pulsed Plasma in Liquid Nitrogen.

We report on an experimental study of nanosecond-pulsed plasma treatment of liquid nitrogen demonstrating synthesis of a highly energetic nitrogen material. Raman, FTIR analysis of gas phase products of decomposition, and the material explosion characteristics suggest synthesis of polymeric (amorphous) nitrogen compound which is stable at ambient pressure up to temperatures of about -150 °C. Addition of adsorbents with relatively large characteristic pore sizes (>5 nm) allows marginally improved recovery of the material as determined by temperature-dependent Raman measurements. By analyzing the shock wave propagation resulting from the explosions, we estimated the energy density of the material to be 13.3 ± 3.5 kJ/g, close to the previously predicted value for amorphous polymeric nitrogen.

Radiation induces autophagic cell death via the p53/DRAM signaling pathway in breast cancer cells.

Autophagy is known to play a role in the response of breast cancer cells to radiation therapy. However, the mechanisms that mediate the process of autophagy and contribute to radiation-induced cell death and cell survival remain to be fully characterized. Therefore, in this study, the functional role of autophagy in radiation-induced cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells was investigated. After MCF-7 cells were exposed to various doses of radiation, increased monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining and a greater deposition of LC3-positive puncta were observed. Expression of the autophagy-related proteins, Beclin 1 and LC3-II, were also found to be upregulated. Radiation-induced autophagic cell death was partially abrogated following the administration of 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and in knockdown experiments of Atg5 and Beclin 1. In the gene microarray analysis performed after irradiation, a number of differentially expressed genes were identified. In particular, upregulation of both the mRNA and protein levels of the autophagy-related genes, DRAM and TIGAR, were detected. However, inhibition of autophagy by 3-MA reduced the radiation-induced upregulation of LC3-II and DRAM. Conversely, silencing of p53 downregulated the expression of LC3-II and DRAM following radiation. Silencing of DRAM reversed the upregulation of LC3-II and DRAM following radiation, partially blocked radiation-induced cell death, and no significant change in p53 expression was detected. Based on these results, the p53/DRAM signaling pathway appears to contribute to radiation-induced autophagic cell death in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.