University of Vermont

About: University of Vermont is a education organization based out in Burlington, Vermont, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 17592 authors who have published 38251 publications receiving 1609874 citations. The organization is also known as: UVM & University of Vermont and State Agricultural College.

Natural climate solutions

Abstract: Better stewardship of land is needed to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement goal of holding warming to below 2 °C; however, confusion persists about the specific set of land stewardship options available and their mitigation potential. To address this, we identify and quantify "natural climate solutions" (NCS): 20 conservation, restoration, and improved land management actions that increase carbon storage and/or avoid greenhouse gas emissions across global forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands. We find that the maximum potential of NCS-when constrained by food security, fiber security, and biodiversity conservation-is 23.8 petagrams of CO2 equivalent (PgCO2e) y-1 (95% CI 20.3-37.4). This is ≥30% higher than prior estimates, which did not include the full range of options and safeguards considered here. About half of this maximum (11.3 PgCO2e y-1) represents cost-effective climate mitigation, assuming the social cost of CO2 pollution is ≥100 USD MgCO2e-1 by 2030. Natural climate solutions can provide 37% of cost-effective CO2 mitigation needed through 2030 for a >66% chance of holding warming to below 2 °C. One-third of this cost-effective NCS mitigation can be delivered at or below 10 USD MgCO2-1 Most NCS actions-if effectively implemented-also offer water filtration, flood buffering, soil health, biodiversity habitat, and enhanced climate resilience. Work remains to better constrain uncertainty of NCS mitigation estimates. Nevertheless, existing knowledge reported here provides a robust basis for immediate global action to improve ecosystem stewardship as a major solution to climate change.

Leaf Life-Span in Relation to Leaf, Plant, and Stand Characteristics among Diverse Ecosystems

Abstract: Variation in leaf life—span has long been considered of ecological significance.Despite this, quantitative evaluation of the relationships between leaf life—span and other plant and ecosystem characteristics has been rare. In this paper we ask whether leaf life—span is related to other leaf, plant, and stand traits of species from diverse ecosystems and biomes. We also examine the interaction between leaf, plant, and stand traits and their relation to productivity and ecological patterns. Among all species, both mass— (Amass) and area—based (Aarea) maximum net photosynthesis decreased with increasing leaf life—span, but the relationship was stronger on a mass (P .25, r2 = 0.01). Specific leaf area (SLA, leaf area/leaf dry mass) and leaf diffusive conductance also decreased with increasing leaf life—span. Decreasing Amass with increasing leaf life—span results from the impact of decreasing Nmass and SLA on Amass. Variation in leaf traits as a function of leaf life—span was similar for broad—leaved and needle—leaved subsets of the data. These leaf—scale data from several biomes were compared to a data set from a single biome, Amazonia. For several leaf traits (e.g., SLA, Nmass, and Amass) the quantitative relationship with leaf life—span was similar in the two independent data sets, suggesting that these are fundamental relations applicable to all species. Amass was a linear function of Nmass (P .001, r2 = 0.74) with a regression similar to previous analyses, while Aarea was not significantly related to Narea. These results suggest that the photosynthesis—leaf N relationship among species should be considered universal when expressed on a mass, but not on a leaf area, basis. Relative growth rates (RGR) and leaf area ratio (LAR, the whole—plant ratio of leaf area to total dry mass) of seedlings decreased with increasing leaf life—span (P < .001, r2 = 0.61 and 0.89, respectively). LAR was positively related to both RGR and Amass (r2 = 0.68 and 0.84, respectively), and Amass and RGR were also positively related (r2 = 0.55). Absolute height growth rates of young trees decreased with increasing leaf life—span (P < .001, r2 = 0.72) and increased with Amass (P < .001, r2 = 0.78). It appears that a suite of traits including short leaf life—span and high leaf Nmass, SLA, LAR, and Amass interactively contribute to high growth rates in open—grown individuals. These traits interact similarly at the stand level, but stands differ from individuals in one key trait. In closed—canopy forests, species with longer lived foliage (and low LAR as seedlings) have greater foliage mass per unit ground area (P < .001, r2 = 0.74) and a greater proportion of total mass in foliage. The aboveground production efficiency (ANPP/foliar biomass) of forest stands decreased markedly with increasing leaf life—span or total foliage mass (P < .001, r2 = 0.78 and 0.72, respectively), probably as a result of decreasing Amass, Nmass, and SLA, all of which were positively related with production efficiency and negatively related to total foliage mass. However, high foliage mass of species with extended leaf life—spans appears to compensate for low production per unit foliage, since aboveground net primary production (ANPP, in megagrams per hectare per year) of forest stands was not related to leaf life—span. Extended leaf life—span also appears to compensate for lower potential production per unit leaf N per unit time, with the result that stand—level N use efficiency is weakly positively related to leaf life—span. We hypothesize that co—variation among species in leaf life—span, SLA, leaf Nmass, Amass, and growth rate reflects a set of mutually supporting traits that interact to determine plant behavior and production, and provide a useful conceptual link between processes at short—term leaf scales and longer term whole plant and stand—level scales. Although this paper has focused on leaf life—span, this trait is so closely interrelated with several others that this cohort of leaf traits should be viewed as casually interrelated. Generality in the relationships between leaf life—span and other plant traits across diverse communities and ecosystems suggests that they are universal in nature and thus can provide a quantitative link and/or common currency for ecological comparisons among diverse systems.

Influence of diet on the gut microbiome and implications for human health.

Abstract: Recent studies have suggested that the intestinal microbiome plays an important role in modulating risk of several chronic diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. At the same time, it is now understood that diet plays a significant role in shaping the microbiome, with experiments showing that dietary alterations can induce large, temporary microbial shifts within 24 h. Given this association, there may be significant therapeutic utility in altering microbial composition through diet. This review systematically evaluates current data regarding the effects of several common dietary components on intestinal microbiota. We show that consumption of particular types of food produces predictable shifts in existing host bacterial genera. Furthermore, the identity of these bacteria affects host immune and metabolic parameters, with broad implications for human health. Familiarity with these associations will be of tremendous use to the practitioner as well as the patient.

Inflammatory and coagulation biomarkers and mortality in patients with HIV infection.

Abstract: Background In the Strategies for Management of Anti-Retroviral Therapy trial, all-cause mortality was higher for participants randomized to intermittent, CD4-guided antiretroviral treatment (ART) (drug conservation [DC]) than continuous ART (viral suppression [VS]). We hypothesized that increased HIV-RNA levels following ART interruption induced activation of tissue factor pathways, thrombosis, and fibrinolysis.