Diurnal tracking of anthropogenic CO_2 emissions in the Los Angeles basin megacity during spring 2010

Attributing observed CO_2 variations to human or natural cause is critical to deducing and tracking emissions from observations. We have used in situ CO_2, CO, and planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) measurements recorded during the CalNex-LA (CARB et al., 2008) ground campaign of 15 May–15 June 2010, in Pasadena, CA, to deduce the diurnally varying anthropogenic component of observed CO_2 in the megacity of Los Angeles (LA). This affordable and simple technique, validated by carbon isotope observations and WRF-STILT (Weather Research and Forecasting model – Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport model) predictions, is shown to robustly attribute observed CO_2 variation to anthropogenic or biogenic origin over the entire diurnal cycle. During CalNex-LA, local fossil fuel combustion contributed up to ~50% of the observed CO_2 enhancement overnight, and ~100% of the enhancement near midday. This suggests that sufficiently accurate total column CO_2 observations recorded near midday, such as those from the GOSAT or OCO-2 satellites, can potentially be used to track anthropogenic emissions from the LA megacity

Prostate cancer progression and mortality: a review of diet and lifestyle factors

PurposeTo review and summarize evidence on the role of diet and lifestyle factors and prostate cancer progression, with a specific focus on habits after diagnosis and the risk of subsequent disease recurrence, progression, or death.MethodsGiven the well-documented heterogeneity of prostate cancer and the long survivorship of the majority of diagnoses, our goal was to summarize and describe modifiable risk factors for clinically relevant prostate cancer. We focused where possible on epidemiologic studies of post-diagnostic habits and prostate cancer progression, defined as recurrence (e.g., PSA risk, secondary treatment), metastasis, or death. Where data were limited, we also describe evidence on risk factors and indicators of prostate cancer aggressiveness at diagnosis.ResultsA variety of dietary and lifestyle factors appear to affect prostate cancer progression. Several generally widely recommended lifestyle factors such as not smoking, maintaining a healthy body weight, and regular vigorous physical exercise also appear to affect prostate cancer progression. Several dietary factors, such as tomato sauce/lycopene, cruciferous vegetables, healthy sources of vegetable fats, and coffee, may also have a role in reducing risk of prostate cancer progression.ConclusionDiet and lifestyle factors, in particular exercise and smoking cessation, may reduce the risk of prostate cancer progression and death. These promising findings warrant further investigation, as their overall impact might be large

Selenium- or Vitamin E–Related Gene Variants, Interaction with Supplementation, and Risk of High-Grade Prostate Cancer in SELECT

BackgroundEpidemiologic studies and secondary analyses of randomized trials supported the hypothesis that selenium and vitamin E lower prostate cancer risk. However, the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) showed no benefit of either supplement. Genetic variants involved in selenium or vitamin E metabolism or transport may underlie the complex associations of selenium and vitamin E.MethodsWe undertook a case-cohort study of SELECT participants randomized to placebo, selenium, or vitamin E. The subcohort included 1,434 men; our primary outcome was high-grade prostate cancer (N = 278 cases, Gleason 7 or higher cancer). We used weighted Cox regression to examine the association between SNPs and high-grade prostate cancer risk. To assess effect modification, we created interaction terms between randomization arm and genotype and calculated log likelihood statistics.ResultsWe noted statistically significant (P < 0.05) interactions between selenium assignment, SNPs in CAT, SOD2, PRDX6, SOD3, and TXNRD2, and high-grade prostate cancer risk. Statistically significant SNPs that modified the association of vitamin E assignment and high-grade prostate cancer included SEC14L2, SOD1, and TTPA In the placebo arm, several SNPs, hypothesized to interact with supplement assignment and risk of high-grade prostate cancer, were also directly associated with outcome.ConclusionVariants in selenium and vitamin E metabolism/transport genes may influence risk of overall and high-grade prostate cancer, and may modify an individual man's response to vitamin E or selenium supplementation with regards to these risks.ImpactThe effect of selenium or vitamin E supplementation on high-grade prostate cancer risk may vary by genotype. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(7); 1050-8. ©2016 AACR

Metabolomics of prostate cancer gleason score in tumor tissue and serum

Gleason score, a measure of prostate tumor differentiation, is the strongest predictor of lethal prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis. Metabolomic profiling of tumor and of patient serum could identify biomarkers of aggressive disease and lead to the development of a less-invasive assay to perform active surveillance monitoring. Metabolomic profiling of prostate tissue and serum samples was performed. Metabolite levels and metabolite sets were compared across Gleason scores. Machine learning algorithms were trained and tuned to predict transformation or differentiation status from metabolite data. A total of 135 metabolites were significantly different (Padjusted < 0.05) in tumor versus normal tissue, and pathway analysis identified one sugar metabolism pathway (Padjusted ¼ 0.03). Machine learning identified profiles that predicted tumor versus normal tissue (AUC of 0.82 ± 0.08). In tumor tissue, 25 metabolites were associated with Gleason score (unadjusted P < 0.05), 4 increased in high grade while the remainder were enriched in low grade. While pyroglutamine and 1,5-anhydroglu-citol were correlated (0.73 and 0.72, respectively) between tissue and serum from the same patient, no metabolites were consistently associated with Gleason score in serum. Previously reported as well as novel metabolites with differing abundance were identified across tumor tissue. However, a “metabolite signature” for Gleason score was not obtained. This may be due to study design and analytic challenges that future studies should consider

Atmospheric oxidation in the presence of clouds during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) study

Deep convective clouds are critically important to the distribution of atmospheric constituents throughout the troposphere but are difficult environments to study. The Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) study in 2012 provided the environment, platforms, and instrumentation to test oxidation chemistry around deep convective clouds and their impacts downwind. Measurements on the NASA DC-8 air-craft included those of the radicals hydroxyl (OH) and hydroperoxyl (HO2), OH reactivity, and more than 100 other chemical species and atmospheric properties. OH, HO2, and OH reactivity were compared to photochemical models, some with and some without simplified heterogeneous chemistry, to test the understanding of atmospheric oxidation as encoded in the model. In general, the agreement between the observed and modeled OH, HO2, and OH reactivity was within the combined uncertainties for the model without heterogeneous chemistry and the model including heterogeneous chemistry with small OH and HO2 uptake consistent with laboratory studies. This agreement is generally independent of the altitude, ozone photolysis rate, nitric oxide and ozone abundances, modeled OH reactivity, and aerosol and ice surface area. For a sunrise to midday flight downwind of a nighttime mesoscale convective system, the observed ozone increase is consistent with the calculated ozone production rate. Even with some observed-to-modeled discrepancies, these results provide evidence that a current measurement constrained photochemical model can simulate observed atmospheric oxidation processes to within combined uncertainties, even around convective clouds. For this DC3 study, reduction in the combined uncertainties would be needed to confidently unmask errors or omissions in the model chemical mechanism.U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR); National Science Foundation; Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation, and Technology (BMVIT) through the Austrian Space Applications Programme (ASAP) of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG); NASA [NNX12AB84G]Open access journal.This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]