Boston University

About: Boston University is a education organization based out in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 48688 authors who have published 119622 publications receiving 6276020 citations. The organization is also known as: BU & Boston U.

Preservation of Memory With Conformal Avoidance of the Hippocampal Neural Stem-Cell Compartment During Whole-Brain Radiotherapy for Brain Metastases (RTOG 0933): A Phase II Multi-Institutional Trial

Abstract: Purpose Hippocampal neural stem-cell injury during whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) may play a role in memory decline. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy can be used to avoid conformally the hippocampal neural stem-cell compartment during WBRT (HA-WBRT). RTOG 0933 was a single-arm phase II study of HA-WBRT for brain metastases with prespecified comparison with a historical control of patients treated with WBRT without hippocampal avoidance.

Pharmacological Management of Obesity: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline

Abstract: Objective: To formulate clinical practice guidelines for the pharmacological management of obesity. Participants: An Endocrine Society-appointed Task Force of experts, a methodologist, and a medical writer. This guideline was co-sponsored by the European Society of Endocrinology and The Obesity Society. Evidence: This evidence-based guideline was developed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system to describe the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence. Consensus Process: One group meeting, several conference calls, and e-mail communications enabled consensus. Committees and members of the Endocrine Society, the European Society of Endocrinology, and The Obesity Society reviewed and commented on preliminary drafts of these guidelines. Two systematic reviews were conducted to summarize some of the supporting evidence. Conclusions: Weight loss is a pathway to health improvement for patients with obesity-associated risk factors and comorbidit...

Standards for epidemiologic studies and surveillance of epilepsy

Abstract: Worldwide, about 65 million people are estimated to have epilepsy. Epidemiologic studies are necessary to define the full public health burden of epilepsy; to set public health and health care priorities; to provide information needed for prevention, early detection, and treatment; to identify education and service needs; and to promote effective health care and support programs for people with epilepsy. However, different definitions and epidemiologic methods complicate the tasks of these studies and their interpretations and comparisons. The purpose of this document is to promote consistency in definitions and methods in an effort to enhance future population-based epidemiologic studies, facilitate comparison between populations, and encourage the collection of data useful for the promotion of public health. We discuss: (1) conceptual and operational definitions of epilepsy, (2) data resources and recommended data elements, and (3) methods and analyses appropriate for epidemiologic studies or the surveillance of epilepsy. Variations in these are considered, taking into account differing resource availability and needs among countries and differing purposes among studies.

Coastal eutrophication as a driver of salt marsh loss

Abstract: A nine-year whole-ecosystem experiment demonstrates that nutrient enrichment, a global problem in coastal ecosystems, can be a driver of salt-marsh loss. Salt marshes provide important ecosystem services such as storm protection for coastal cities, nutrient removal and carbon sequestration, but despite protective measures these ecosystems are in decline. Nine years of data from a whole-ecosystem nutrient-enrichment experiment now demonstrate that current levels of coastal nutrient loading can alter key salt-marsh-ecosystem properties, leading to the collapse of creek banks and, ultimately, the conversion of salt marsh into mudflat. The potential deterioration of coastal marshes owing to eutrophication adds another dimension to the challenge of managing nitrogen while meeting food-production demands in the twenty-first century. Salt marshes are highly productive coastal wetlands that provide important ecosystem services such as storm protection for coastal cities, nutrient removal and carbon sequestration. Despite protective measures, however, worldwide losses of these ecosystems have accelerated in recent decades1. Here we present data from a nine-year whole-ecosystem nutrient-enrichment experiment. Our study demonstrates that nutrient enrichment, a global problem for coastal ecosystems2,3,4, can be a driver of salt marsh loss. We show that nutrient levels commonly associated with coastal eutrophication increased above-ground leaf biomass, decreased the dense, below-ground biomass of bank-stabilizing roots, and increased microbial decomposition of organic matter. Alterations in these key ecosystem properties reduced geomorphic stability, resulting in creek-bank collapse with significant areas of creek-bank marsh converted to unvegetated mud. This pattern of marsh loss parallels observations for anthropogenically nutrient-enriched marshes worldwide, with creek-edge and bay-edge marsh evolving into mudflats and wider creeks5,6,7. Our work suggests that current nutrient loading rates to many coastal ecosystems have overwhelmed the capacity of marshes to remove nitrogen without deleterious effects. Projected increases in nitrogen flux to the coast, related to increased fertilizer use required to feed an expanding human population, may rapidly result in a coastal landscape with less marsh, which would reduce the capacity of coastal regions to provide important ecological and economic services.