On the Iteration Method for the Optimal Transmission System Planning

The optimal transmission system design problem can be formulated by an integer linear program when the construction cost characteristics are expressed by a staircase function. In this paper, we deal with the iteration method to obtain more accurate approximate solution of integer linear program and the procedure to solve effectively the large linear program by use of a decomposition principle and a network flow theory. Two examples on this problem are presented

Solid variant of serous cystadenoma of the pancreas

We describe a case of a solid variant of serous cystadenoma of the pancreas. The preoperative examination results led to a diagnosis of a nonfunctional pancreatic islet cell tumour, and the patient underwent a pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy. The tumour was diagnosed as a solid variant of serous cystadenoma by histopathological examination. Solid variant of serous cystadenoma of the pancreas is difficult to diagnose preoperatively. More cases must be accumulated and investigated to obtain clues for accurate diagnosis

Upper Limit on Gravitational Wave Backgrounds at 0.2 Hz with Torsion-bar Antenna

We present the first upper limit on gravitational wave (GW) backgrounds at an unexplored frequency of 0.2 Hz using a torsion-bar antenna (TOBA). A TOBA was proposed to search for low-frequency GWs. We have developed a small-scaled TOBA and successfully found {\Omega}gw(f) < 4.3 \times 1017 at 0.2 Hz as demonstration of the TOBA's capabilities, where {\Omega}gw (f) is the GW energy density per logarithmic frequency interval in units of the closure density. Our result is the first nonintegrated limit to bridge the gap between the LIGO band (around 100 Hz) and the Cassini band (10-6 - 10-4 Hz).Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Interleukin-1α enhances the aggressive behavior of pancreatic cancer cells by regulating the α(6)β(1)-integrin and urokinase plasminogen activator receptor expression

BACKGROUND: In human pancreatic cancer progression, the α(6)β(1)-integrin is expressed on cancer cell surface during invasion and metastasis formation. In this study, we investigated whether interleukin (IL)-1α induces the alterations of integrin subunits and urokinase plasminogen activator/urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPA/uPAR) expression in pancreatic cancer cells. We hypothesize that the alterations of integrin subunits and uPA/uPAR expression make an important role in signaling pathways responsible for biological behavior of pancreatic cancer cells. RESULTS: IL-1α upregulated the expression of α(6 )and β(1 )integrins without any alterations of α(5 )and α(v )integrins expression. IL-1α also induced enhancement in the expression of uPA/uPAR in pancreatic cancer cells. IL-1α enhanced the proliferation, adhesion, and migration in pancreatic cancer cells, and IL-1α-induced alterations of uPA/uPAR expression correlated with the increased the migration of pancreatic cancer cells. Upregulation of α(6 )integrin subunit and uPA/uPAR correlated with the activation of Ras and downstream extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathways. IL-1α-induced activation of Ras and downstream ERK can be inhibited by using inhibitory antibodies against α(6 )and β(1 )integrin and uPAR, consistent with the inhibition of proliferation, adhesion and migration of pancreatic cancer cells. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated a significant association between strong expressions of α(6 )integrin with uPAR in pancreatic cancer specimens. Furthermore, the strong expression of α(6 )integrin and uPAR was found to be independent prognosticator in pancreatic cancer patients. CONCLUSION: Based on these findings, we conclude that IL-1α can induce selective upregulation of α(6)β(1)-integrin and uPA/uPAR in pancreatic cancer cells and these changes may modulate the aggressive functions of pancreatic cancer