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.

The impact of agricultural intensification and irrigation on land-atmosphere interactions and Indian monsoon precipitation — A mesoscale modeling perspective

Abstract: article i nfo Article history: Accepted 8 February 2008 Available online xxxx Using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) we show that agricultural intensification and irrigation can modify the surface moisture and energy distribution, which alters the boundary layer and regional convergence, mesoscale convection, and precipitation patterns over the Indian monsoon region. Four experiments were conducted to simulate a rain event from 16 to 20 July 2002 over the Indian region: (i) a control with Global Land Cover land use and observed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, (ii) an irrigated crop scenario, (iii) a non-irrigated crop scenario, and (iv) a scenario for potential (natural) vegetation. Results indicate that even under active monsoon conditions, the simulated surface energy and moisture flux over the Indian monsoon region are sensitive to the irrigation intensity and this effect is more pronounced than the impact of land use change from the potential vegetation to the agricultural landscape. When model outputs were averaged over the south Asia model domain, a statistically significant decrease in mean sensible heat flux between the potential vegetation and the irrigated agriculture scenarios of 11.7 Wm −2

Inviting Patients to Read Their Doctors' Notes: Patients and Doctors Look Ahead: Patient and Physician Surveys

Abstract: Information technologies offer new ways to engage patients in their health. Providers who have adopted electronic medical records are beginning to use secure Internet portals to offer patients online access to test results, medication lists, and other parts of those records (1–4). However, few portals offer access to notes generated in outpatient encounters, even though exploratory studies focusing on chronic illnesses suggest that such access may help patients and have little net effect on provider workflow (5– 8). To gain further insight into such a shift in care, we designed and initiated OpenNotes, a research and demonstration project involving primary care physicians (PCPs) and their adult patients in urban and suburban Boston, rural Pennsylvania, and inner-city Seattle (9). We asked PCPs whether they would volunteer for 1 year, starting in summer 2010, to send their patients electronic invitations to read their outpatient visit notes online and to review these notes before the next scheduled encounter. We expected that PCPs would be wary of such a change in care, particularly those who had been in practice for many years and those who spend many hours in direct patient care. We hypothesized that patients would be generally positive about open visit notes, that highly educated and younger patients would be particularly enthusiastic, and that many would want to share their notes with others. We surveyed eligible doctors and patients before the start of the voluntary program and report here on their attitudes and expectations toward electronic access to doctors' notes. Survey respondents included PCPs who volunteered to participate in OpenNotes, PCPs who declined to participate, and patients cared for by both groups of PCPs who were using the practices' online portals to access other information about their care (for example, test results).

Spontaneous Gamma Activity in Schizophrenia.

Abstract: Importance A major goal of translational neuroscience is to identify neural circuit abnormalities in neuropsychiatric disorders that can be studied in animal models to facilitate the development of new treatments. Oscillations in the gamma band (30-100 Hz) of the electroencephalogram have received considerable interest as the basic mechanisms underlying these oscillations are understood, and gamma abnormalities have been found in schizophrenia (SZ). Animal models of SZ based on hypofunction of the N -methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) demonstrate increased spontaneous broadband gamma power, but this phenomenon has not been identified clearly in patients with SZ. Objective To examine spontaneous gamma power and its relationship to evoked gamma oscillations in the auditory cortex of patients with SZ. Design, Setting, and Participants We performed a cross-sectional study including 24 patients with chronic SZ and 24 matched healthy control participants at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2012. Electroencephalograms were obtained during auditory steady-state stimulation at multiple frequencies (20, 30, and 40 Hz) and during a resting state in 18 participants in each group. Main Outcomes and Measures Electroencephalographic activity in the auditory cortex was estimated using dipole source localization. Auditory steady-state response (ASSR) measures included the phase-locking factor and evoked power. Spontaneous gamma power was measured as induced (non–phase-locked) gamma power in the ASSR data and as total gamma power in the resting-state data. Results The ASSR phase-locking factor was reduced significantly in patients with SZ compared with controls for the 40-Hz stimulation (mean [SD], 0.075 [0.028] vs 0.113 [0.065]; F 1,46 = 6.79 [ P = .012]) but not the 20- or the 30-Hz stimulation (0.042 [0.038] vs 0.043 [0.034]; F 1,46 = 0.006 [ P = .938] and 0.084 [0.040] vs 0.098 [0.050]; F 1,46 = 1.605 [ P = .212], respectively), repeating previous findings. The mean [SD] broadband-induced (30-100 Hz) gamma power was increased in patients with SZ compared with controls during steady-state stimulation (6.579 [3.783] vs 3.984 [1.843]; F 1,46 = 9.128 [ P = .004]; d = 0.87) but not during rest (0.006 [0.003] vs 0.005 [0.002]; F 1,34 = 1.067 [ P = .309]; d = 0.35). Induced gamma power in the left hemisphere of the patients with SZ during the 40-Hz stimulation was positively correlated with auditory hallucination symptoms (tangential, ρ = 0.587 [ P = .031]; radial, ρ = 0.593 [ P = .024]) and negatively correlated with the ASSR phase-locking factor (baseline: ρ = −0.572 [ P = .024]; ASSR: ρ = −0.568 [ P = .032]). Conclusions and Relevance Spontaneous gamma activity is increased during auditory steady-state stimulation in SZ, reflecting a disruption in the normal balance of excitation and inhibition. This phenomenon interacts with evoked oscillations, possibly contributing to the gamma ASSR deficit found in SZ. The similarity of increased spontaneous gamma power in SZ to the findings of increased spontaneous gamma power in animal models of NMDAR hypofunction suggests that spontaneous gamma power could serve as a biomarker for the integrity of NMDARs on parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory interneurons in humans and in animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders.