University of Massachusetts Boston

About: University of Massachusetts Boston is a education organization based out in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 6541 authors who have published 12918 publications receiving 411731 citations. The organization is also known as: UMass Boston.

Advancing Suicide Prevention research with rural American Indian and Alaska Native populations

Abstract: As part of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Task Force, a multidisciplinary group of AI/AN suicide research experts convened to outline pressing issues related to this subfield of suicidology. Suicide disproportionately affects Indigenous peoples, and remote Indigenous communities can offer vital and unique insights with relevance to other rural and marginalized groups. Outcomes from this meeting include identifying the central challenges impeding progress in this subfield and a description of promising research directions to yield practical results. These proposed directions expand the alliance’s prioritized research agenda and offer pathways to advance the field of suicide research in Indigenous communities and beyond.

Evolution of cadmium resistance in Daphnia magna.

Abstract: A diverse laboratory population of Daphnia magna Straus was established by combining individuals from eight sources. Artificial selection for increased resistance to the acute toxic effects of cadmium was performed, and after eight generations, the average median effective concentration increased from 61 to 180 μg/L. No differences in life span, offspring production, time to first brood, number of offspring in the first brood, or intrinsic rate of population increase (r) were observed between the cadmium-adapted population and the controls under ideal conditions or under conditions of temperature or feeding ration stress, but cadmium-adapted daphnids were smaller. Control and cadmium-adapted populations were equally sensitive to copper and malathion, but the cadmium-adapted population was less sensitive to lead and more sensitive to phenol. Analysis of amplified fragment-length polymorphisms indicated a significant decrease in genetic diversity in the cadmium-adapted population. Although the evolved cadmium resistance would allow adapted populations to exist in areas where cadmium concentrations would be toxic to unadapted populations, the decreased genetic diversity, smaller size, and increased sensitivity to at least one other toxicant could reduce the probability of long-term survival even in the absence of future cadmium exposure.

Cns targeting aav vectors and methods of use thereof

Abstract: The invention in some aspects relates to recombinant adeno-associated viruses useful for targeting transgenes to CNS tissue, and compositions comprising the same, and methods of use thereof. In some aspects, the invention provides methods and compositions for treating CNS-related disorders.

Youth Mentoring and Resilience: Implications for Practice

Abstract: Despite findings indicating the importance of non-parental adults in the lives of youth, there is little research on these relationships, including those that occur in the context of youth mentoring. Compounding this problem is a positive slant taken towards youth mentoring in the media, often unsubstantiated by empirical evidence. This article outlines the research on youth mentoring by focusing on comprehensive literature reviews and evaluations of factors that influence the effectiveness and closeness of mentoring relationships. Review articles come to different conclusions about mentoring, in part because of differential emphasis on particular research findings. Further research indicates the importance of relationship duration and structure, as well as mentor skills, on youth outcomes. Implications for youth mentoring practices, including utilizing empirically-based mentor training, program implementation and evaluation of services, reducing volunteer attrition, and connecting youth mentoring with ot...

Marginalized Mothers: Parenting Without a Home

Abstract: The authors of this study used participatory and interpretive methods to capture the lived experience, strengths, and needs of homeless mothers. The interview data obtained challenge unfounded stereotypes and provide information about women's coping behaviors and resilience. The findings were developed in collaboration with shelter guests and staff and have important implications for public and university policy and shelter programs. For example, researchers need to become more aware of the limitations of current psychological theories and assessment tools designed to measure "effective coping" in disenfranchised individuals. To accomplish this goal, increased collaboration among researchers, activists, policy makers, and homeless families is recommended (e.g., by instituting roundtahle discussions as a standard part of shelter programs). It is also suggested that professional staff who work with women living in poverty avoid using deficit-oriented, victim-based models of intervention, and that staff provide women with opportunities to participate in the development of the curriculum for parenting classes.