Thermochromic Hydrogels with Adjustable Transition Behavior for Smart Windows

With the fast economic development and accelerating urbanization, more and more skyscrapers made entirely of concrete and glass are being constructed. To keep a comfortable indoor environment, massive energy for air conditioning or heating appliances is consumed. A huge amount of heat (>30%) is gained or released through glass windows. Using smart windows with the capability to modulate light is an effective way to reduce building energy consumption. Thermochromic hydrogel is one of the potential smart window materials due to its excellent thermal response, high radiation-blocking efficiency, cost-effectiveness, biocompatibility, and good uniformity. In this work, polyhydroxypropyl acrylate (PHPA) hydrogels with controllable lower critical solution temperature (LCST) were prepared by photopolymerization. The transition temperature and transition rate under “static transition” conditions were investigated. Unlike “static” conditions in which the transition temperature was not affected by the initial and final temperature and heating/cooling ramp, the transition temperature varied with the rate of temperature change under dynamic conditions. The “dynamic” transition temperature of the PHPA hydrogel gradually increased with the increase of the heating rate. It was the result of the movement of the molecular chains lagging behind the temperature change when the temperature change was too fast. The results of the solar irradiation experiment by filling PHPA hydrogels into double glazing windows showed that the indoor temperature was about 15 °C lower than that of ordinary glass windows, indicating that it can significantly reduce the energy consumption of air conditioning. In addition, a wide range of adjustable transition temperatures and fast optical response make PHPA hydrogels potentially applicable to smart windows

Two new 2-arylbenzofurnan derivatives from the leaves of <i>Morus alba</i>

<p>Two new 2-arylbenzofuran derivatives, moracinfurol A and B (<b>1</b>–<b>2</b>), and ten known compounds (<b>3</b>–<b>12</b>) were isolated from the leaves of <i>Morus alba.</i> Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis including 1D, 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS. All of the 2-arylbenzofuran derivatives were evaluated for cytotoxicity against A549 cells. Some cytotoxic 2-arylbenzofuran derivatives might induce autophagy characterized by the accumulation of LC-3 Ⅱ.</p

Data_Sheet_1_Establishment of a triplex TaqMan quantitative real-time PCR assay for simultaneous detection of Cymbidium mosaic virus, Odontoglossum ringspot virus and Cymbidium ringspot virus.docx

Orchids are significant ornamental plants whose viral infection results in substantial economic damage. Cymbidium mosaic virus (CymMV), Odontoglossum ringspot virus (ORSV), and Cymbidium ringspot virus (CymRSV) represent three important and prevalent orchid viruses. The detection system proposed in this study uses a triplex TaqMan quantitative real-time PCR assay to identify CymMV, ORSV, and CymRSV in a simultaneous manner. We designed specific primers and probes for CymMV, ORSV, and CymRSV, with amplified sequences of 156 bp, 148 bp, and 145 bp, respectively. The minimum detection limit of the triplex qRT-PCR assay for CymMV and CymRSV was 1 copy/assay, and the minimum detection limit was 10 copies/assay for ORSV. The minimum stable detection limits for CymMV, ORSV, and CymRSV were 10, 102, and 102 copies/assay, respectively. Therefore, this system exhibited higher sensitivity (approximately 10 to 104-fold) than RT–PCR. The intra-and interassay CVs of Cq values are less than 0.55 and 0.95%, respectively, indicating that the triplex assay is highly reliable and accurate. In addition, 66 samples from five different orchid genera were analyzed using the established assay and gene chip. The detection results demonstrated that the triplex probe qRT–PCR demonstrated higher sensitivity than the gene chip, indicating that the triplex real-time PCR assay could be used for the detection of field samples. Our findings suggest that the triplex real-time RT–PCR detection system represents a rapid, simple, and accurate tool for detecting CymMV, ORSV, and CymRSV on orchids.</p

Flavonoids from the leaves of <i>Epimedium Koreanum</i> Nakai and their potential cytotoxic activities

Phytochemical studies on the leaves of Epimedium koreanum Nakai have resulted in the discovery of two new flavonol glycosides, koreanoside F (1) and koreanoside G (2), along with six known flavonoids. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of HRESIMS, UV, IR, 1 D NMR and 2 D NMR data. Absolute configurations of 1 and 2 was further determined by 13C-NMR spectra with gate decoupling (GD). All of the compounds were evaluated for cytotoxic activities by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assay. The results indicated that compounds 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 inhibited the proliferation of A549 and NCI-292 cells with IC50 values of 5.7–23.5 μM. Real-time monitoring in three kinds of lung cancer cells and a kind of human bronchial epithelial cells treated with compound 6 was also assessed.</p

Supplementary Figures from Exploiting Allosteric Properties of RAF and MEK Inhibitors to Target Therapy-Resistant Tumors Driven by Oncogenic BRAF Signaling

Supplementary Figures and Legends</p

Supplementary Video 2 from Exploiting Allosteric Properties of RAF and MEK Inhibitors to Target Therapy-Resistant Tumors Driven by Oncogenic BRAF Signaling

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Supplementary Tables from Exploiting Allosteric Properties of RAF and MEK Inhibitors to Target Therapy-Resistant Tumors Driven by Oncogenic BRAF Signaling

Supplementary Tables</p

Supplementary Video 4 from Exploiting Allosteric Properties of RAF and MEK Inhibitors to Target Therapy-Resistant Tumors Driven by Oncogenic BRAF Signaling

Supplementary Video 4</p

Supplementary Video 3 from Exploiting Allosteric Properties of RAF and MEK Inhibitors to Target Therapy-Resistant Tumors Driven by Oncogenic BRAF Signaling

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Supplementary Video 1 from Exploiting Allosteric Properties of RAF and MEK Inhibitors to Target Therapy-Resistant Tumors Driven by Oncogenic BRAF Signaling

Supplementary Video 1</p