Phonon dispersion of silicene on ZrB2(0 0 0 1)

We measured the phonon dispersion of silicene (monolayer Si with a honeycomb lattice) on ZrB2(0 0 0 1) using high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy. The measured phonon dispersion was compared with ab initio density functional theory calculations for a silicene model with [Formula: see text] periodicity of the substrate. The most stable [Formula: see text] silicene structure, which is similar to the so-called 'planar-like' model (Lee C C et al 2013 Phys. Rev. B 88 165404) reproduced the observed phonon modes very well. The recently reported soft phonon around the [Formula: see text] point (Lee C C et al 2014 Phys. Rev. B 90 241402(R)) was not reproduced, either experimentally or theoretically. The calculated electronic structure revealed that the silicene was metallic on ZrB2(0 0 0 1) and semiconducting on ZrC(1 1 1).

Uremic serum contains humoral factor(s) larger than fifty kilodaltons which suppresses endothelin production in cultured endothelial cells

Direct effects of human uremic serum on the production of endothelin-1 in cultured porcine endothelial cells were examined in this study. Uremic serum decreased the level of monomeric endothelin-1 secreted into the culture medium by endothelial cells. This effect occurred at a transcriptional step because uremic serum decreased the endothelin-1 mRNA level in those cells. For the partial characterization of this inhibitory activity, uremic serum was fractionated with a centricut column. Uremic serum contains humoral factor(s) larger than 50 kD which suppress the endothelin-1 mRNA level in cultured endothelial cells.

Abstract P4-01-05: Utility of Preoperative Routine MRI and PET/CT in Breast Cancer Staging vs. Surgical Staging

Background: Staging of breast cancer is one of the most important factors in determining treatment options. The aim of this study is to assess the utility of routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) in preoperative breast cancer staging.

Patients and methods: We examined 616 consecutive patients, who were newly-diagnosed with operable primary breast cancer less than 3 cm, at our institution between 2009 and 2011. They all underwent MRI and PET/CT to assign the clinical stage by TNM classification. Tumor size was measured by contrast MRI examinations and node status and metastases were evaluated on PET/CT. We examined their clinical and pathological T and N status retrospectively to assess the utility and concordance rate of preoperative imaging studies. Patients with tumors more than 3 cm were excluded from this study, since preoperative systemic therapy is the standard therapeutic strategy for those patients.

Results: The concordance rate of T status was 79.9% in clinical T1 patients (366/458) and 55.6% in clinical T2 patients (88/158). The concordance rate of N status was 83.8% in clinical N0 patients (495/591) and 60.0% in clinical N1 patients (15/25). As a result, the concordance rate of clinical stage was 66.5% in clinical stage I patients (296/445) and 55.0% in clinical stage II patients (94/171). In addition, 43 patients were diagnosed as contrary breast cancer by MRI (7.5%) and 31 contrary breast cancer (5.4%) and 12 other malignant disease (1.9%) were found by PET/CT.

Conclusions: MRI and PET/CT are valuable tools to provide information on tumor size, lymph node involvement, distant metastases and other occult primary disease. Preoperative routine MRI and PET/CT studies have a substantial impact on patients with operable primary breast cancer.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-01-05.

Inhibitory effect of statins on inflammatory cytokine production from human bronchial epithelial cells

Statins are 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-co-enzyme A reductase inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis, and have been reported to exert pleiotropic effects on cellular signalling and cellular functions involved in inflammation. Recent reports have demonstrated that previous statin therapy reduced the risk of pneumonia or increased survival in patients with community-acquired pneumonia. However, the precise mechanisms responsible for these effects are unclear. In the present study, we examined the effects of statins on cytokine production from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). Interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 mRNA expression and protein secretion in LPS-stimulated cells were inhibited significantly by the lipophilic statin pitavastatin and the hydrophilic statin pravastatin. As these inhibitory effects of statin were negated by adding mevalonate, the anti-inflammatory effects of statins appear to be exerted via the mevalonic cascade. In addition, the activation levels of Ras homologue gene family A (RhoA) in BEAS-2B cells cultured with pitavastatin were significantly lower than those without the statin. These results suggest that statins have anti-inflammatory effects by reducing cytokine production through inhibition of the mevalonic cascade followed by RhoA activation in the lung.

Occurrence of micro-organic pollutants on phosphorus recovery from urine

Increased population growth and food prices have resulted in more demand for fertilizers, especially phosphorus (P), to be used in agriculture and production of food crops. Phosphorus is one of the important natural resources and will be exhausted in the near future. Nowadays, struvite production is a good method to recover P from urine. However, the natural urines contain high amounts of micro-organic pollutants which may cause health risks. Therefore, in this contribution, we investigated the amount of micro-organic pollutants in struvite from urine. There are various kinds of pharmaceuticals and hormones which are used in the world. Nevertheless, we focused on 10 pharmaceuticals (amoxycillin, carbamazepine, erythromycin, furosemide, atenolol, ibuprofen, norfloxacin, trimethoprim, tetracycline, and acetylsalicylic acid) and one hormone (17β-estradiol) as representatives. The experiments were carried out with synthetic and natural urines. After the production of struvite, the results from synthetic and natural urine samples showed that only tetracycline, erythromycin, and norfloxacin remained in the struvite, and, especially, tetracycline remained in struvite with quite a high amount.