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Obesity is a global health threat, and the induction of white adipose tissue (WAT) browning presents a promising therapeutic method for it. Recent publications revealed the essential role of protein arginine methyltransferase 4 (PRMT4) in lipid metabolism and adipogenesis, but its involvement in WAT browning has not been investigated. Our initial studies found that the expression of PRMT4 in adipocytes was upregulated in cold-induced WAT browning but downregulated in obesity. Besides, PRMT4 overexpression in inguinal adipose tissue accelerated WAT browning and thermogenesis to protect against high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and metabolic disruptions. Mechanistically, our work demonstrated that PRMT4 methylated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) on Arg240 to enhance its interaction with the co-activator PR domain-containing protein 16 (PRDM16), leading to the increased expression of thermogenic genes. Taken together, our results uncover the essential role of PRMT4/PPARγ/PRDM16 axis in the pathogenesis of WAT browning.

Obesity is a global health threat, and the induction of white adipose tissue (WAT) browning presents a promising therapeutic method for it. Recent publications revealed the essential role of protein arginine methyltransferase 4 (PRMT4) in lipid metabolism and adipogenesis, but its involvement in WAT browning has not been investigated. Our initial studies found that the expression of PRMT4 in adipocytes was upregulated in cold-induced WAT browning but downregulated in obesity. Besides, PRMT4 overexpression in inguinal adipose tissue accelerated WAT browning and thermogenesis to protect against high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and metabolic disruptions. Mechanistically, our work demonstrated that PRMT4 methylated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) on Arg240 to enhance its interaction with the co-activator PR domain-containing protein 16 (PRDM16), leading to the increased expression of thermogenic genes. Taken together, our results uncover the essential role of PRMT4/PPARγ/PRDM16 axis in the pathogenesis of WAT browning.

Obesity is an increasingly serious epidemic worldwide characterized by an increase in the number and size of adipocytes. Adipose tissue maintains the balance between lipid storage and energy utilization. Therefore, adipose metabolism is of great significance for the prevention, treatment and intervention of obesity. Asprosin, a novel adipokine, is a circulating hormone mainly secreted by white adipose tissue. Previous studies have shown that asprosin plays a role in fasting-induced homeostasis, insulin resistance, and glucose tolerance. However, whether it can regulate the metabolism of adipose tissue itself has not been studied. This study intended to examine the roles and potential mechanisms of asprosin in adipose regulation. We first demonstrated that the expression level of asprosin was significantly downregulated in subcutaneous white adipose tissue (scWAT) of high-fat diet (HFD)-fed or cold-stimulated mice. Overexpression of asprosin in scWAT reduced heat production, decreased expression of the browning marker uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and other browning-related genes, along with upregulation of adipogenic gene expression. Mechanistically, we found that Nrf2 was activated upon cold exposure, but this activation was suppressed after asprosin overexpression. In primary cultured adipocytes, adenovirusmediated asprosin overexpression inhibited adipose browning and aggravated lipid deposition, while Nrf2 agonist oltipraz could reverse these changes. Our findings suggest that novel adipokine asprosin negatively regulated browning and elevate lipid deposition in adipose tissue via a Nrf2-mediated mechanism. Asprosin may be a promising target for the prevention and treatment of obesity and other metabolic diseases.

A series of silica gel supported sulfonic acid functionalized ionic liquid (SAFIL/SG) catalysts have been successfully synthesized through a sol–gel method by varying the organic amine loadings. The catalysts so fabricated were characterized by various physicochemical techniques such as FT-IR, XRD, TGA, FE-SEM, and solid-state 31P NMR probe molecule method and their catalytic performances during esterification of glycerol (GL) with lauric acid (LA) were assessed. The 20% N,N-dimethyl(benzyl)ammonium propyl sulfobetaine hydrosulfate embedded silica gel catalyst (20%[DMBPSH]HSO4/SG) was found to exhibit superior performance and durability during this eco-friendly synthesis of glycerol monolaurate (GML) owing to the high surface area and strong Bronsted acidity observed for the catalyst. Moreover, an experimental design was exploited via response surface methodology (RSM) for the optimization of process variables. Accordingly, a maximum GML yield of 83.9% was achieved for the 20%[DMBPSH]HSO4/SG catalyst under the optimal conditions: amount of catalyst 2.0 wt%, GL/LA molar ratio of 4.1, reaction temperature 418 K, and reaction time 45 min, which was in conformity with those predicted by a mathematical model. Further kinetic studies confirmed that the esterification of GL with LA to GML with an activation energy of 31.51 kJ/mol.

Recycling high-valuable metal elements (such as Li, Ni, Co, Al and Cu elements) from scrapped lithium ion batteries can bring significant economic benefits. However, recycling and reusing anode material has not yet attracted wide attention up to now, due to the lower added-value than the above valuable metal materials and the difficulties in regenerating process. In this paper, a novel regeneration process with significant green advance is proposed to regenerate anode material recycled from scrapped Li-ion batteries for the first time. After regenerated, most acetylene black (AB) and all the styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMC) in recycled anode material are removed, and the surface of anode material is coated with pyrolytic carbon from phenolic resin again. Finally, the regenerated anode material (graphite with coating layer, residual AB and a little CMC pyrolysis product) is obtained. As expected, all the technical indexs of regenerated anode material exceed that of a midrange graphite with the same type, and partial technical indexs are even closed to that of the unused graphite. The results indicate the effective regeneration of anode material recycled from scrapped Li-ion batteries is really achieved.

A pitch-derived soft carbon is successfully prepared by easy-accessible pyrolysis process in this work. The electrochemical performance of the acquired soft carbon can be improved via doping phosphorus. We found that the phosphorus doping can increase layer spacing and defects of soft carbon, which improved the capacity of soft carbon significantly. The cell's initial reversible capacity of the phosphorus-doped pitch-derived soft carbon is as high as 251 mAh g −1 , the capacity retention has been kept at 80.1% after 200 cycles. Herein, phosphorus doping is an effective way to improve the electrochemical performance of the pitch-derived soft carbon while phosphorus doped soft carbon is a promising candidate as an anode material for sodium ion batteries.

Orthogonal experiment was used to optimize the preparation process of hemostatic sponge. The factors and their levels for orthogonal experiment were established by single factor experiment with water absorption ratio as an index, and the effects of experimental factors on water absorption of hemostatic sponge were discussed. Additionally, the air permeability and in vitro procoagulant effect of hemostatic sponge were investigated. The results showed that the optimum preparation conditions of hemostatic sponge were as follows: the mass ratio of carboxymethyl chitosan was 2.50%, the mass ratio of calcium chloride was 1.0% and the volume ratio of glutaraldehyde was 1.0%. Under these conditions, the water absorption ratio of the hemostatic sponge reached 26.89, and preliminary evaluation indicated that carboxymethyl chitosan hemostatic sponge was of excellent air permeability and significant in vitro procoagulant activity.

In this paper, this study proposes Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm to segment pure Ground-Glass Opacity (GGO) nodules and solid part in part-solid GGO nodules and obtain their volumes as the features of GGO nodules. The features of GGO nodules are helpful to determine whether the GGO nodule is malignant. EM algorithm is used to segment pure GGO nodules and solid part in part-solid GGO nodules with different parameters. Experiments show EM algorithm can quickly segment solid part in part-solid GGO nodules and pure GGO nodules to reduce the burden of doctors.

The olivine-typed cathode materials of LiFePO4were prepared via solid-state reaction under argon atmosphere and co-doped by manganese and fluorine to improve their electrochemical performances. The crystal structure, morphology, and electrochemical properties of the prepared samples were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and charge–discharge cycle measurements. The result showed that the electrochemical performance of LiFePO4 had been improved dramatically by Mn–F co-doping. The initial discharge capacity of LiFe0.99Mn0.01 (PO4)2.99/3F0.01/C samples reached 140.2 mAh/g at 1C rate and only had a small amount of fading in 50 cycles.

To study the effect of CuO on the electrochemical properties of MgNi alloy, the MgNi– x CuO ( x = 3, 5 and 10 wt%) composites were prepared by ball-milling method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the structures of the composites were amorphous. The cycle stability of the composites was improved compared to pure MgNi alloy due to the enhancement of the anti-corrosion property in the alkaline electrolyte, and the composite with 5 wt% CuO ball-milled for 15 h exhibited the best performance. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potential-step measurements indicated that the electrochemical kinetics of the composites was improved.

We report here the preparation of Ag-doped LiV 3 O 8 for use as a cathode material in rechargeable lithium ion batteries. Synthesis was carried out by sol–gel methods and low temperature calcination using V 2 O 5 wet gel, LiOH·H 2 O, and AgNO 3 as raw materials. The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and its electrochemical behavior as a cathode material was studied by galvanostatic charge–discharge, cyclic voltammetry, and ac impedance techniques. The experimental results show that Ag-doped LiV 3 O 8 cathodes have greater initial discharge capacity than undoped cathode. And those Ag-doped LiV 3 O 8 electrodes, especially Ag 0.04 Li 0.96 V 3 O 8 , show the best long-life cycling performance. All of the doped powders show better stability at the 2.6 V plateau efficiency, due to their more stable cell impedance.

The olivine-type cathode materials of LiFePO4 were prepared via solid-state reaction under argon atmosphere and doped by chlorine to improve their electrochemical performances. The crystal structure, morphology, and electrochemical properties of the prepared samples were investigated using thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and charge–discharge cycle measurements. The result showed that the electrochemical performance of LiFePO4 had been improved by chlorine doping, and the effect of chlorine in lattice was discussed. The heavily doped samples show better electrochemical performance in relative high rates.

LiV3O8 was synthesized by the normal citric acid assisted sol–gel method and an improved citric acid assisted sol–gel method. The improved method compares with the normal method in detail by thermogravimetry (TG), FTIR, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), charge–discharge test, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Results show that the improved method can synthesize LiV3O8 successfully at much lower temperature than normal method.

We report here the preparation of Ag-doped LiV 3 O 8 for use as a cathode material in rechargeable lithium ion batteries. Synthesis was carried out by sol–gel methods and low temperature calcination using V 2 O 5 wet gel, LiOH·H 2 O, and AgNO 3 as raw materials. The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and its electrochemical behavior as a cathode material was studied by galvanostatic charge–discharge, cyclic voltammetry, and ac impedance techniques. The experimental results show that Ag-doped LiV 3 O 8 cathodes have greater initial discharge capacity than undoped cathode. And those Ag-doped LiV 3 O 8 electrodes, especially Ag 0.04 Li 0.96 V 3 O 8 , show the best long-life cycling performance. All of the doped powders show better stability at the 2.6 V plateau efficiency, due to their more stable cell impedance.