Asiatic acid alleviates liver fibrosis via multiple signaling pathways based on integrated network pharmacology and lipidomics.

Liver fibrosis is characterized by the abnormal deposition of the extracellular matrix with a severe inflammatory response and/or metabolic disorder. Asiatic acid (AA), a natural compound derived from Centella asiatica, exhibited potent anti-fibrosis effects. This investigation first confirmed the anti-fibrosis effects of AA in TGF-ß-LX-2 cells and CCl4-induced liver fibrosis mice, and then sought to elucidate a novel mechanism of action by integrating network pharmacology and lipidomics. Network pharmacology was used to find potential targets of AA, while lipidomics was used to identify differential metabolites between fibrosis and recovered cohorts. AA could suppress hepatic stellate cell activation in vitro and improve liver fibrosis in vivo. Network pharmacology unveiled the genes involved in pathways in cancer, peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors signaling pathway, and arachidonic acid metabolism pathway. Furthermore, five key genes were found in the both human and mouse databases, indicating that arachidonic acid metabolism was important. Changes in lyso-phosphocholine (22:5), prostaglandin F2α, and other related lipid metabolites also suggested the involvement of arachidonic acid metabolism the anti-fibrotic effect. In summary, our integrated strategies demonstrated that AA targeted multiple targets and impeded the progression of liver fibrosis by ameliorating arachidonic acid metabolism.

Gossypium barbadense genome sequence provides insight into the evolution of extra-long staple fiber and specialized metabolites.

Of the two cultivated species of allopolyploid cotton, Gossypium barbadense produces extra-long fibers for the production of superior textiles. We sequenced its genome (AD)2 and performed a comparative analysis. We identified three bursts of retrotransposons from 20 million years ago (Mya) and a genome-wide uneven pseudogenization peak at 11-20 Mya, which likely contributed to genomic divergences. Among the 2,483 genes preferentially expressed in fiber, a cell elongation regulator, PRE1, is strikingly At biased and fiber specific, echoing the A-genome origin of spinnable fiber. The expansion of the PRE members implies a genetic factor that underlies fiber elongation. Mature cotton fiber consists of nearly pure cellulose. G. barbadense and G. hirsutum contain 29 and 30 cellulose synthase (CesA) genes, respectively; whereas most of these genes (>25) are expressed in fiber, genes for secondary cell wall biosynthesis exhibited a delayed and higher degree of up-regulation in G. barbadense compared with G. hirsutum, conferring an extended elongation stage and highly active secondary wall deposition during extra-long fiber development. The rapid diversification of sesquiterpene synthase genes in the gossypol pathway exemplifies the chemical diversity of lineage-specific secondary metabolites. The G. barbadense genome advances our understanding of allopolyploidy, which will help improve cotton fiber quality.

Spectral analysis of the effects of 1.7 MeV electron irradiation on the current transfer characteristic of cadmium telluride solar cells.

The effects of device performance of 1.7 MeV electron irradiation on cadmium telluride polycrystalline thin film solar cells with the structure of anti-radiation glass/ITO/ZnO/CdS/CdTe/ZnTe/ZnTe : Cu/Ni have been studied. Light and dark I-V characteristics, dark C-V characteristics, quantum efficiency (QE), admittance spectrum (AS) and other testing methods were used to analyze cells performance such as the open-circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current (Isc), fill factor (FF) and conversion efficiency (eta). It was explored to find out the effects of irradiation on the current transfer characteristic of solar cells combined with the dark current density (Jo), diode ideal factor (A), quantum efficiency, carrier concentration and the depletion layer width. The decline in short-circuit current was very large and the efficiency of solar cells decreased obviously after irradiation. Reverse saturation current density increased, which indicates that p-n junction characteristics of solar cells were damaged, and diode ideal factor was almost the same, so current transport mechanism of solar cells has not changed. Quantum efficiency curves proved that the damage of solar cells' p-n junction influenced the collection of photo-generated carriers. Irradiation made carrier concentration reduce to 40.6%. The analyses have shown that. A new defect was induced by electron irradiation, whose position is close to 0.58 eV above the valence band in the forbidden band, and capture cross section is 1.78 x 10(-16) cm2. These results indicate that irradiation influences the generation of photo-generated carriers, increases the risk of the carrier recombination and the reverse dark current, and eventually makes the short-circuit current of solar cells decay.