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To deliver membrane-impermeable drugs into eukaryotic cells, a lot of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) were discovered. Previously we designed an amphipathic α-helical peptide which dimerizes itself viaits two C-residues. This bis-disulfide-linked dimeric bundle, LK-3, has remarkable cell-penetrating ability at nanomolar concentration, which is an essential prerequisite for CPP. In an effort to optimize the sequence of LK-3, we adjusted its length and evaluated changes in the dimerization rate. We found that a 10-amino-acid monomer has the fastest dimerization rate and subsequently modified its hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues to construct a small peptide library. The evaluation of cell permeability of these derivatives showed that their cell-penetrating ability is comparable to that of the LK-3, except V- or H-containing ones. In this library, diLR10 was found to display fast nanomolar cell membrane penetration, low toxicity, and ease of production. The methotrexate (MTX) conjugate of diLR10, MTX-diLR10, has a 19-fold increased efficacy over MTX in MDA-MB-231 cells and efficiently deflates lesions in a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in vivomouse model.

Self-driving technology is on the verge of commercialization and is expected to be utilized in delivery services. At the same time, low efficiency and physical limitations of last mile robots (especially for non-standardized cargo, stairs, etc.) are being pointed out. In addition, as leading overseas companies design robots to complete delivery through interaction with the recipient, it may be difficult to implement the robots in delivery environments like South Korea, where most parcels are not delivered face-to-face. Therefore, this study considers a parcel delivery model in which a person, not a robot, is on-board an autonomous truck for door-to-door deliveries. This study takes three expected effects of a self-driving vehicle into consideration: (i) reduced travel time, owing to alleviation of traffic congestion; (ii) reduced service time, owing to relaxed parking restrictions; and (iii) benefits from en route preparation (planning and collecting in advance of arrival) that can be realized when a person is not required in the driver’s seat. The findings from a case study conducted in Seoul indicate that advanced self-driving capabilities and en route preparation can potentially lead to a doubling of the delivery capacity at a terminal, along with a reduction of over 40% in operating costs per box. As suggested in this study, the en route preparation activities are verified to bring benefits.

Invariant NKT (iNKT) cells are a distinct subset of T cells that exert Janus‐like functions in vivo by producing IFN‐γ and IL‐4. Sodium chloride modulates the functions of various immune cells, including conventional CD4+T cells and macrophages. However, it is not known whether sodium chloride affects iNKT cell function, so we addressed this issue. Sodium chloride inhibited IFN‐γ, but not IL‐4, production by iNKT cells upon TCR or TCR‐independent (IL‐12 and IL‐18) stimulation in a dose‐dependent manner. Consistently, sodium chloride reduced the expression level of tbx21, but not gata‐3, in iNKT cells stimulated with TCR engagement or IL‐12 + IL‐18. Sodium chloride increased phosphorylated p38 expression in iNKT cells and inhibitors of p38, NFAT5, SGK1, and TCF‐1 restored IFN‐γ production by iNKT cells stimulated with sodium chloride and TCR engagement. Furthermore, adoptive transfer of iNKT cells pretreated with sodium chloride restored antibody‐induced joint inflammation to a lesser extent than for untreated iNKT cells in Jα18 knockout mice. These findings suggest that sodium chloride inhibits IFN‐γ production by iNKT cells in TCR‐dependent and TCR‐independent manners, which is dependent on p38, NFAT5, SGK1, and TCF‐1. These findings highlight the functional role of sodium chloride in iNKT cell‐mediated inflammatory diseases.

AbstractLiquid crystal(LC) materials with 1,3,2-dioxaborinane group have been synthesized and their physical properties have been investigated to get new LC mixtures. The test LC samples were made up of a base LC material doped with 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% of each compound in weight. We have measured optical and dielectric anisotropy, nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature, and threshold voltages as a function of doping concentration. From our measurements, it is found that each compound has different properties compared with other ones. So, these results would contribute to development of new LC mixtures for LCD applications.

AbstractA set of new, blended nematic liquid crystal mixtures to improve the performance of highly multiplexed TN-displays are presented. The physical and electro-optical properties of new LC mixtures have been investigated, along with the frequency and temperature dependence of threshold voltage about newly developed liquid crystals. The multiplexable mixtures are completely miscible and can be blended, thus leading to new mixtures covering a wide range of threshold voltages 1.2 > V10> 2.0 V, nematic-isotropic phase transition temperatures 60 > Tc > 100[ddot]C, and/or optical anisotropies 0.13>Δ n>0.18.