Yale University

About: Yale University is a education organization based out in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 89824 authors who have published 220665 publications receiving 12834776 citations. The organization is also known as: Yale & Collegiate School.

Soil-carbon response to warming dependent on microbial physiology

Abstract: The loss of carbon dioxide from soils increases initially under climate warming, but tends to decline to control levels within a few years. Simulations of the soil-carbon response to warming with a microbial-enzyme model show that a decline in both microbial biomass and the production of degrading enzymes can explain this attenuation response. Most ecosystem models predict that climate warming will stimulate microbial decomposition of soil carbon, producing a positive feedback to rising global temperatures1,2. Although field experiments document an initial increase in the loss of CO2 from soils in response to warming, in line with these predictions, the carbon dioxide loss from soils tends to decline to control levels within a few years3,4,5. This attenuation response could result from changes in microbial physiological properties with increasing temperature, such as a decline in the fraction of assimilated carbon that is allocated to growth, termed carbon-use efficiency6. Here we explore these mechanisms using a microbial-enzyme model to simulate the responses of soil carbon to warming by 5 ∘C. We find that declines in microbial biomass and degradative enzymes can explain the observed attenuation of soil-carbon emissions in response to warming. Specifically, reduced carbon-use efficiency limits the biomass of microbial decomposers and mitigates the loss of soil carbon. However, microbial adaptation or a change in microbial communities could lead to an upward adjustment of the efficiency of carbon use, counteracting the decline in microbial biomass and accelerating soil-carbon loss. We conclude that the soil-carbon response to climate warming depends on the efficiency of soil microbes in using carbon.

Essential role of mda-5 in type I IFN responses to polyriboinosinic:polyribocytidylic acid and encephalomyocarditis picornavirus

Abstract: The innate immune system recognizes viral dsRNA through two distinct pathways; the Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) pathway detects dsRNA phagocytosed in endosomes; the helicases retinoic acid-induced protein I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation-associated gene-5 (mda-5) detect cytoplasmic dsRNA generated during viral replication. Both RIG-I and mda-5 can bind polyriboinosinic:polyribocytidylic acid (polyI:C), the synthetic analog of viral dsRNA, and mediate type I IFN responses to polyI:C and multiple RNA viruses in vitro. We generated mda-5-deficient mice and showed that mda-5 is the dominant receptor mediating type I IFN secretion in response to polyI:C in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, mda-5−/− mice exhibited a selectively impaired antiviral response to encephalomyocarditis picornavirus, indicating functional specialization of mda-5 in vivo.

Sensitivity Analysis of Empirical Results on Civil War Onset

Abstract: In the literature on civil war onset, several empirical results are not robust or replicable across studies. Studies use different definitions of civil war and analyze different time periods, so re...

Central challenges facing the national clinical research enterprise.

Abstract: Medical scientists and public health policy makers are increasingly concerned that the scientific discoveries of the past generation are failing to be translated efficiently into tangible human benefit. This concern has generated several initiatives, including the Clinical Research Roundtable at the Institute of Medicine, which first convened in June 2000. Representatives from a diverse group of stakeholders in the nation’s clinical research enterprise have collaborated to address the issues it faces. The context of clinical research is increasingly encumbered by high costs, slow results, lack of funding, regulatory burdens, fragmented infrastructure, incompatible databases, and a shortage of qualified investigators and willing participants. These factors have contributed to 2 major obstacles, or translational blocks: impeding the translation of basic science discoveries into clinical studies and of clinical studies into medical practice and health decision making in systems of care. Considering data from across the entire health care system, it has become clear that these 2 translational blocks can be removed only by the collaborative efforts of multiple system stakeholders. The goal of this article is to articulate the 4 central challenges facing clinical research at present—public participation, information systems, workforce training, and funding; to make recommendations about how they might be addressed by particular stakeholders; and to invite a broader, participatory dialogue with a viewtoimprovingtheoverallperformanceoftheUSclinicalresearchenterprise.