Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor Stimulates Muscle Glucose Uptake by a PI3-Kinase–Dependent Pathway That Is Impaired With Obesity

OBJECTIVE: Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) reverses muscle insulin resistance by increasing fatty acid oxidation through gp130-LIF receptor signaling to the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). CNTF also increases Akt signaling in neurons and adipocytes. Because both Akt and AMPK regulate glucose uptake, we investigated muscle glucose uptake in response to CNTF signaling in lean and obese mice. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Mice were injected intraperitoneally with saline or CNTF, and blood glucose was monitored. The effects of CNTF on skeletal muscle glucose uptake and AMPK/Akt signaling were investigated in incubated soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles from muscle-specific AMPKalpha2 kinase-dead, gp130(DeltaSTAT), and lean and obese ob/ob and high-fat-fed mice. The effect of C2-ceramide on glucose uptake and gp130 signaling was also examined. RESULTS: CNTF reduced blood glucose and increased glucose uptake in isolated muscles in a time- and dose-dependent manner with maximal effects after 30 min with 100 ng/ml. CNTF increased Akt-S473 phosphorylation in soleus and EDL; however, AMPK-T172 phosphorylation was only increased in soleus. Incubation of muscles from AMPK kinase dead (KD) and wild-type littermates with the PI3-kinase inhibitor LY-294002 demonstrated that PI3-kinase, but not AMPK, was essential for CNTF-stimulated glucose uptake. CNTF-stimulated glucose uptake and Akt phosphorylation were substantially reduced in obesity (high-fat diet and ob/ob) despite normal induction of gp130/AMPK signaling--effects also observed when treating myotubes with C2-ceramide. CONCLUSIONS: CNTF acutely increases muscle glucose uptake by a mechanism involving the PI3-kinase/Akt pathway that does not require AMPK. CNTF-stimulated glucose uptake is impaired in obesity-induced insulin resistance and by ceramide

Simulations of Flow Over Wind Turbines

One of the most abundant sources of renewable energy is wind. Today, a considerable amount of resources are being utilized for research on harnessing the wind energy efficiently. Out of all the factors responsible for efficient energy production, the aerodynamics of flow around the wind turbine blades play an important role. This work aims to undertake aerodynamic analysis of a Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine. A steady state, incompressible flow solver for multiple reference frames, MRFSimple- Foam is modified and used for performing simulations of flow over National Renewable Energy Laboratory Phase VI wind turbine rotor. The code is first tested on a locally modeled wind turbine blade and is then validated by using the actual NREL rotor. The flow behavior is studied and a comparison of results from the simulations and the experimental wind tunnel data is presented. The ability of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques in simulating wind flow over entire wind turbine assembly is also displayed by carrying out moving mesh simulations of a full wind turbine