Hypothalamic AMPK-ER Stress-JNK1 Axis Mediates the Central Actions of Thyroid Hormones on Energy Balance

Thyroid hormones (THs) act in the brain to modulate energy balance. We show that central triiodothyronine (T3) regulates de novo lipogenesis in liver and lipid oxidation in brown adipose tissue (BAT) through the parasympathetic (PSNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS), respectively. Central T3 promotes hepatic lipogenesis with parallel stimulation of the thermogenic program in BAT. The action of T3 depends on AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-induced regulation of two signaling pathways in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH): decreased ceramide-induced endoplasmic reticulum(ER) stress, which promotes BAT thermogenesis, and increased c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation, which controls hepatic lipid metabolism. Of note, ablation of AMPK alpha 1 in steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) neurons of the VMH fully recapitulated the effect of central T3, pointing to this population in mediating the effect of central THs on metabolism. Overall, these findings uncover the underlying pathways through which central T3 modulates peripheral metabolism.Peer reviewe

Empirical correlations to predict thermophysical and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids

Nanofluids exhibits larger thermal conductivity due to the presence of suspended nanosized solid particles in them such as Al2O3, Cu, CuO,TiO2, etc. Varieties of models have been proposed by several authors to explain the heat transfer enhancement of fluids such as water, ethylene glycol, engine oil containing these particles. This paper presents a systematic literature survey to exploit the thermophysical characteristics of nanofluids. Based on the experimental data available in the literature empirical correlation to predict the thermal conductivity of Al2O3, Cu, CuO, and TiO2 nanoparticles with water and ethylene glycol as base fluid is developed and presented. Similarly the correlations to predict the Nusselt number under laminar and turbulent flow conditions is also developed and presented. These correlations are useful to predict the heat transfer ability of nanofluids and takes care of variations in volume fraction, nanoparticle size and fluid temperature. The improved thermophysical characteristics of a nanofluid make it excellently suitable for future heat exchange applications.