University of California, Irvine

About: University of California, Irvine is a education organization based out in Irvine, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Galaxy. The organization has 47031 authors who have published 113602 publications receiving 5521832 citations. The organization is also known as: UC Irvine & UCI.

Factors controlling long- and short-term sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in a mid-latitude forest.

Abstract: Net uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) measured by eddy covariance in a 60- to 80-year-old forest averaged 2.0 ± 0.4 megagrams of carbon per hectare per year during 1993 to 2000, with interannual variations exceeding 50%. Biometry indicated storage of 1.6 ± 0.4 megagrams of carbon per hectare per year over 8 years, 60% in live biomass and the balance in coarse woody debris and soils, confirming eddy-covariance results. Weather and seasonal climate (e.g., variations in growing-season length or cloudiness) regulated seasonal and interannual fluctuations of carbon uptake. Legacies of prior disturbance and management, especially stand age and composition, controlled carbon uptake on the decadal time scale, implying that eastern forests could be managed for sequestration of carbon.

Increased Intestinal Permeability in Patients with Crohn's Disease and Their Relatives: A Possible Etiologic Factor

Abstract: The cause of Crohn's disease is unknown, although alterations in intestinal permeability may play a primary role. Because we were interested in permeability changes that occur before the onset of intestinal inflammation, we took advantage of the known genetic predisposition to this disease and studied not only patients with Crohn's disease, but their clinically unaffected relatives as well. Intestinal permeability was assessed using the marker polyethylene glycol-400 ingested with a standard meal. We found that 17 normal volunteers absorbed 215 +/- 29.6 mg (mean +/- SE), whereas 11 patients with Crohn's disease absorbed 514 +/- 94.7 mg and their 32 healthy relatives absorbed 566 +/- 62.4 mg. The twofold increase in permeability of patients and their relatives (p less than 0.005 compared with controls) indicates that the intestinal defect in the ability to exclude larger sized molecules is not secondary to clinically recognized intestinal inflammation, but is a primary defect that may be an etiologic factor in this disease.

Carbonic anhydrase IX is an independent predictor of survival in advanced renal clear cell carcinoma: Implications for prognosis and therapy

Abstract: Purpose: Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has a poor prognosis and an unpredictable course. To date, there are no molecular markers which can reliably predict RCC outcome. We investigated whether a novel kidney cancer marker, carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), is associated with progression and survival. Experimental Design: Immunohistochemical analysis using a CAIX monoclonal antibody was performed on tissue microarrays constructed from paraffin-embedded specimens from patients ( N = 321) treated by nephrectomy for clear cell RCC. CAIX staining was correlated with response to treatment, clinical factors, pathologic features, and survival. Results: CAIX staining was present in 94% of clear cell RCCs. Survival tree analysis determined that a cutoff of 85% CAIX staining provided the most accurate prediction of survival. Low CAIX (≤85%) staining was an independent poor prognostic factor for survival for patients with metastatic RCC, with a hazard ratio of 3.10 ( P P P = 0.058). Overall expression of CAIX decreased with development of metastasis; as demonstrated by the lower CAIX staining levels in metastatic lesions relative to matched primary tumor specimens ( P = 0.036). Conclusions: On the basis of our data, CAIX is the most significant molecular marker described in kidney cancer to date. Decreased CAIX levels are independently associated with poor survival in advanced RCC. CAIX reflects significant changes in tumor biology, which should be used to predict clinical outcome and identify high-risk patients in need for adjuvant immunotherapy and CAIX-targeted therapies.

The Aneurysm Detection and Management Study Screening Program Validation Cohort and Final Results

Abstract: Background We previously reported the prevalence and associations of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in 73,451 veterans aged 50 to 79 years who underwent ultrasound screening. Objective To understand the prevalence of and principal positive and negative risk factors for AAA, and to assess reproducibility of our previous findings. Methods In the new cohort of veterans undergoing screening, 52,745 subjects aged 50 to 79 without history of AAA underwent successful ultrasound screening for AAA, after completing a questionnaire on demographics and potential risk factors. Results We detected AAA of 4.0 cm or larger in 613 participants (1.2%; compared with 1.4% in the earlier cohort). The direction and magnitude of the important associations reported in the first cohort were confirmed. Respective odds ratios for the major associations with AAA for the second and for the combined cohorts were as follows: 1.81 and 1.71 for age (per 7 years), 0.12 and 0.18 for female sex, 0.59 and 0.53 for black race, 1.94 and 1.94 for family history of AAA, 4.45 and 5.07 for smoking, 0.50 and 0.52 for diabetes, and 1.60 and 1.66 for atherosclerotic diseases. The excess prevalence associated with smoking accounted for 75% of all AAAs of 4.0 cm or larger in the total population of 126,196. Associations for AAA of 3.0 to 3.9 cm were similar but tended to be somewhat weaker. Conclusions Our findings confirm our previous cohort findings. Age, smoking, family history of AAA, and atherosclerotic diseases remained the principal positive associations with AAA, and female sex, diabetes, and black race remained the principal negative associations.