 |
Dec. 20, 2006
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Low LDL level linked to Parkinson's disease
United Press International
People with low levels of LDL cholesterol -- bad cholesterol --are more likely to have Parkinson's disease than those with high levels, found a U.S. study. Low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or LDL, are considered an indicator of good cardiovascular health, according to study leader Dr. Xuemei Huang, medical director of the Movement Disorder Clinic at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Hospitals.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec06/parkinsonsldl121806.htmUse your mind or lose it!
Xinhuanet.com (China)
A 15 million U.S. dollar study by the National Institute on Aging reinforced what people in the know have known for years: either use it or lose it! In this study the "it" is brain fitness, not physical fitness. ... Sheryl Zimmerman, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher on aging, said the study is important even if it doesn't show that mental training is a cure-all.
America the creative
The Economist (United Kingdom)
Sixty years ago, the tiny town of Salado in central Texas was “virtually a ghost town” ...These draw tourists—and artists, for their art, seem quite happy about the low cost of living. The town of Nelsonville, in southern Ohio, has become an “artists' Mecca” in recent years, according to Will Lambe, a research associate at the University of North Carolina who is working on a book about small-town economic development (which covers Colquitt too).
National Coverage
Public Universities Chase Excellence, at a Price
The New York Times
If there is any goal that the University of Florida has pursued as fervently as a national football championship for the Gators, it is a place among the nation's highest-ranked public universities. ...The Carolina Covenant at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the first such program. Started in 2004, it guaranteed low-income students enough aid to graduate debt-free. This year about 8 percent of the freshman class qualified, in the process helping diversify the student body, which for the first time is less than 70 percent white.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sept04/covenant092904.htmlWarnings Proposed for Over-the-Counter Drugs
The New York Times
The dangers of over-the-counter painkillers will be prominently highlighted on the labels of hundreds of common remedies under a proposal announced yesterday by the Food and Drug Administration. ...“People will take a medicine to go to sleep at night and they’ll take a cold medicine and they’ll take a medicine for their joint pains, and they won’t realize that each of one of those products contains, say, acetaminophen,” said Dr. Paul B. Watkins, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “
FDA wants sterner pain reliever warnings
The Associated Press (National)
Popular over-the-counter pain pills such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetominophen would have to carry labels with sterner warnings under a government proposal to better emphasize the drugs’ risks. ..."It’s a step that’s overdue and really reflects the consensus that came out of the meeting four years ago, which is helping the consumer know what they are taking," said Dr. Paul Watkins, a professor of medicine at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a member of the 2002 advisory panel.
Vitamin D given more credence as way to prevent MS
The Associated Press (National)
An abundance of vitamin D seems to help prevent multiple sclerosis, according to a study involving more than 7 million people. ..."There’s no question that vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic in the United States," said Dr. William Finn, a vitamin D expert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Brain Exercise Benefits the Elderly
The Associated Press (National)
Brief sessions of brain exercise can have long-lasting benefits for elderly people, helping them stay mentally fit for at least five years, one of the most rigorous tests of the "use-it-or-lose-it" theory suggests. ...Sheryl Zimmerman, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher on aging, said the study is important even if it doesn't show that mental training is a cure-all.
Low LDL Cholesterol Levels Linked to Parkinson's Disease
U.S. News & World Report
Doctors consider low LDL cholesterol levels one of the gold standards for good health as this type of "bad" cholesterol increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, the nation's leading killer. ..."However, people absolutely should not change their diet or try to change their cholesterol levels," says study author Xuemei Huang, a University of North Carolina School of Medicine neurologist who specializes in Parkinson's.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec06/parkinsonsldl121806.htmOwner of small coffee shop takes on java titan Starbucks
USA Today
After coffeehouse owner Penny Stafford sued Starbucks in September, she says she was stunned by hostile and anonymous telephone calls and e-mails. ...How should a monopoly and its "market" be defined? By range or type of products sold? By business region? Or, as alleged in the Starbucks lawsuit, by access to leased high-rise space — a narrow, hard-to-prove definition, says law professor Andrew Chinat the University of North Carolina.
Reporting's mass appeal
The Los Angeles Times
A woman in Venice Beach reviews "The Lion King" and declares it the best musical she's seen — of the four she's ever seen. ..."What you're seeing is a radical new way of doing journalism. We're back to the time of the lonely pamphleteer or the tramp printers in the Europe," said Philip Meyer, Knight Chair in Journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Roots of Audio Recordings Turn at 78 RPM
"Morning Edition," National Public Radio
University of North Carolina Music Professor Mark Katz was featured on today's (Dec. 20) edition of "Morning Edition." Our series on how technology affects art continues with a report on how those old 78 RPM records set the stage for music today's recordings.
State and Local Coverage
More aid may come to ASU
The Winston-Salem Journal
Officials at Appalachian State University are working on a program that will offer low-income students the chance to graduate from college with little or no debt. ...UNC's Carolina Covenant program has received national attention for its scope and size, and it is similar to Pack Promise, except that students do not take out loans. The program is in its third year. More than 900 Covenant students come from households living at 200 percent of last year's poverty level, or $38,700 for a family of four.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sept04/covenant092904.htmlGrandmother: DSS called to home before Brevard 3-month old died
The Asheville Citizen-Times
The grandmother of the Brevard 3-month-old who died of fractured skull said Tuesday that the Transylvania County Department of Social Services had been called to investigate the infant’s care prior to her death. ...An average of 40 children each year are shaken so hard they require hospitalization, said Dr. Desmond Runyan, chairman of the Department of Social Medicine at the University of North Carolina Medical School, who has studied the matter.
Committee has made significant progress (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
They're coming around the final bend, heading for home. They can almost see the finish line. The Carolina North Leadership Advisory Committee is wrapping up its work. It is supposed to issue its report early next year.
Tips for printing a Web page (Question-answer)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Sometimes when I print a Web page, the printout has lines cut off on the right side. ...Blocking images is the default for Outlook Express to avoid having users surprised by "unsuitable pictures," said Priscilla Alden with UNC-Chapel Hill's information technology services. Spammers often embed pictures in e-mail to identify active addresses, she said.
The art of 'Om'
The Chapel Hill Herald
From a gallery in the Ackland Art Museum, UNC professor Joanne Gard Marshall told her students to relax, focus and connect with their surroundings. ...Marshall, a professor at UNC's School of Information and Library Science, began teaching the Hatha yoga class once a month in June.
For health's sake, check restaurant sanitation score (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
Next time you eat out, don't pick up more than what's on the menu. Americans spend 40 percent of our food budgets eating away from home -- plenty of opportunity to catch a food-borne illness. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.
Critical Air
Up & Coming Magazine (Fayetteville)
AirCare is the free flight no one chooses to take. ...UNC's AirCare service has been working out of Cape Fear Valley Hospital for almost a year, but they've only started 24-hour service here in November, according to Patty Corbett, an AirCare representative. Prior to that, the helicopter would relocate to UNC Chapel Hill every evening.
Issues and Trends
Bridging the Gap: Recruiters help explain U.S. college life to Hispanic students
The Winston-Salem Journal
Gus Pena badly wanted Alejandro Gonzalez to come to Appalachian State University, or to at least consider it. ...According to estimates from the University of North Carolina system, the number of Hispanic high-school graduates is supposed to surge from a little more than 3,000 last year to nearly 36,000 by 2018.
Produced by News Services, Carolina in the News is an e-mail sampling of current news media coverage about Carolina people and programs, as well as issues and trends that affect the university. Stories usually will be online and available free for a limited time - often one to two weeks. Expiration dates before stories move to archives vary by media outlet. Some outlets require free user registration or a subscription.
Carolina in the News is also posted daily to the News Services Web page, http://www.unc.edu/news/clips/index.shtml.
Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.