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.

Trial by fire: understanding the design requirements for agents in complex environments

Abstract: Phoenix is a real-time, adaptive planner that manages forest fires in a simulated environment. Alternatively, Phoenix is a search for functional relationships between the designs of agents, their behaviors, and the environments in which they work. In fact, both characterizations are appropriate and together exemplify a research methodology that emphasizes complex, dynamic environments and complete, autonomous agents. Within the Phoenix system, we empirically explore the constraints the environment places on the design of intelligent agents. This article describes the underlying methodology and illustrates the architecture and behavior of Phoenix agents.

Does Human Facial Attractiveness Honestly Advertise Health? Longitudinal Data on an Evolutionary Question

Abstract: Inspired by the evolutionary conjecture that sexually selected traits function as indicators of pathogen resistance in animals and humans, we examined the notion that human facial attractiveness provides evidence of health. Using photos of 164 males and 169 females in late adolescence and health data on these individuals in adolescence, middle adulthood, and later adulthood, we found that adolescent facial attractiveness was unrelated to adolescent health for either males or females, and was not predictive of health at the later times. We also asked raters to guess the health of each stimulus person from his or her photo. Relatively attractive stimulus persons were mistakenly rated as healthier than their peers. The correlation between perceived health and medically assessed health increased when attractiveness was statistically controlled, which implies that attractiveness suppressed the accurate recognition of health. These findings may have important implications for evolutionary models.

Sex Differences in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract: Although autism spectrum disorders (ASD) prevalence is higher in males than females, few studies address sex differences in developmental functioning or clinical manifestations. Participants in this study of sex differences in developmental profiles and clinical symptoms were 22 girls and 68 boys with ASD (mean age = 28 months). All children achieved strongest performance in visual reception and fine motor followed by gross motor and language functioning. Sex differences emerged in developmental profiles. Controlling for language, girls achieved higher visual reception scores than boys; boys attained higher language and motor scores and higher social-competence ratings than girls, particularly when controlling for visual reception. Longitudinal, representative studies are needed to elucidate the developmental and etiological significance of the observed sex differences.

A Source‐Sink Hypothesis for Abyssal Biodiversity

Abstract: Bathymetric gradients of biodiversity in the deep‐sea benthos constitute a major class of large‐scale biogeographic phenomena. They are typically portrayed and interpreted as variation in α diversity (the number of species recovered in individual samples) along depth transects. Here, we examine the depth ranges of deep‐sea gastropods and bivalves in the eastern and western North Atlantic. This approach shows that the abyssal molluscan fauna largely represents deeper range extensions for a subset of bathyal species. Most abyssal species have larval dispersal, and adults live at densities that appear to be too low for successful reproduction. These patterns suggest a new explanation for abyssal biodiversity. For many species, bathyal and abyssal populations may form a source‐sink system in which abyssal populations are regulated by a balance between chronic extinction arising from vulnerabilities to Allee effects and immigration from bathyal sources. An increased significance of source‐sink dynami...