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Sept. 20, 2005
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:National Coverage
Digital Mammograms Excel in Study
The Wall Street Journal
Digital mammograms are more accurate than traditional film-based X-rays in diagnosing breast cancer in women younger than 50, according to a study that involved more than 40,000 women. ...Dr. Pisano, director of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, said the results don't mean that women under 50 who have had a mammogram using film-based x-rays in the past year need to "rush out to get a digital." For one thing, she said, there aren't enough digital-mammogram machines in service to accommodate all the women who could be helped by the more-accurate screening.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/acrin091605.htmFor Many, Digital Mammograms More Effective, Researchers Find
The Los Angeles Times
Digital mammograms are 15% to 28% more effective than those using film at detecting breast tumors in women under 50, those with dense breast tissue and women entering menopause, according to a landmark study comparing the techniques. ..."These are cancers that kill women and [many] were missed on film," said Dr. Etta Pisano of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who led the study of about 50,000 women.
Related Link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-0509170132sep17,1,5217484.story
Note: The New York Times also ran the National Associated Press story about Pisano's work in its national edition on Saturday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/health/17mammo.htmlLittle Difference Found in Schizophrenia Drugs
The New York Times
A landmark government-financed study that compared drugs used to treat schizophrenia has confirmed what many psychiatrists long suspected: newer drugs that are highly promoted and widely prescribed offer few - if any - benefits over older medicines that sell for a fraction of the cost. ...The researchers, led by psychiatrist Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, then at the University of North Carolina and now at Columbia University, recruited 1,493 people with the disorder and assigned them to receive one of five drugs: Risperdal, from Johnson & Johnson; Seroquel from AstraZeneca; Geodon from Pfizer; Zyprexa; and an older drug, perphenazine.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/catie091905.htmSchizophrenia treatment lags
Newsday
A landmark federal study suggests that all of the antipsychotic medicines used for schizophrenia - even the cheaper, older ones - work about the same, and they are still not good enough. ..."These medicines are clearly an improvement on no treatment at all," said Lieberman, who led the study while he was at the University of North Carolina. "But it's also clear that we need new treatments."
Related Link: http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/112/110297.htmNo clear winner in major comparison of schizophrenia drugs
The Associated Press (National)
The nation's leading schizophrenia treatment doesn't work much better than an older, far cheaper drug, says a government study that is the most comprehensive comparison of therapies for the 3.2 million Americans with the devastating mental illness. ...(Jeffrey Liberman) was a member of the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when the study began. His co-principal investigators were Dr. Scott Stroup of UNC-Chapel Hill and Dr. Joseph McEvoy of Duke University Medical Center.
Additional Coverage: The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Myrtle Beach Sun News, San Jose Mercury News, The Miami Herald, The Charlotte Observer, The News & Observer (Raleigh), The Wilmington Morning Star, The Tallahassee Democrat, The Lexington Dispatch, The Winston-Salem Journal, Dateline Alabama, The Brandenton Herald (Fla.), The San Luis Obispo Tribune, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas), The Duluth News Tribune (Minn.), The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Ga.), The Biloxi Sun Herald (Miss.), WCNC-TV (Charlotte), and WVEC-TV (Va.)All Antidepressants Are Equally Effective
WebMD
Does it matter which antidepressant you take? ...The findings come from a pooled analysis of studies comparing one new-generation antidepressant to another by Richard A. Hansen, PhD, and colleagues at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/hansen091905.htmAdults With Wisdom Teeth Often Develop Gum Disease; Studies Show That Keeping Extra Molars Adds Health Risks
The Washington Post
Young adults who keep their wisdom teeth often quickly develop gum disease, which appears to increase the risk of pregnancy complications and possibly other health problems, according to the first large studies to carefully evaluate the risks posed by wisdom teeth. ...The first findings will be described at a news conference today in Boston in advance of the group's annual meeting. "The conventional wisdom is that people who have gum disease typically don't have a problem until they are 35 or 40 years old," said Raymond P. White Jr. of the University of North Carolina, who led the studies. "We found it is much more prevalent than anyone believed at a much younger age than anyone thought."
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/whiter091605.htmStudents link faith, work
The Chicago Tribune
Getting an MBA would have been a logical choice for Brian Murphy. ...Like many schools, Duke Divinity School offers a dual master's degree in divinity and social work. Students enroll in a four-year program at Duke and at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and are then qualified to do both ministry and social work.
Edwards got it right about poverty (Opinion-editorial column)
The Boston Globe
...Edwards has largely labored in the postelection shadows this year, as befits any national figure in an odd-numbered year. He has set up an institute at the University of North Carolina to be an antipoverty think tank, he is speaking some, and he is involved in projects that will beef up his foreign policy credentials. Inevitably, events like yesterday will be viewed through the distorted lens of 2008 politics.
Regional Coverage
Bingham girls 'on the run' for self esteem
The Lansing State Journal (Mich.)
Some are out of shape now, unable to complete a few quarter-mile jogs around their school building. ...The curriculum, which includes life lessons in addition to running, is based on research done at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Spyke said.
State & Local Coverage
Studies find little progress in new mental health meds
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
A sweeping pair of studies led by UNC and Duke researchers show that drug-makers have barely scratched the surface in developing useful new treatments for depression and schizophrenia in the past half-century. ... "Comparative evidence on these drugs suggests that there are only minimal differences in efficacy, although some of the drugs come with an increased risk of certain side effects," said Hansen, an assistant professor of pharmacy at the UNC School of Pharmacy. "Understanding the likelihood of the side effects and matching this information with patients' lifestyle and preferences for anticipated side effects may help improve drug treatment of depression."
UNC News Releases: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/catie091905.htm
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/hansen091905.htmMedical system raises wage
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC Health Care system will increase hourly pay for its lowest-paid workers by one dollar, lifting the minimum wage to $10 an hour. The adjustment, which system leaders announced Monday, follows a similar move by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which began paying a minimum hourly wage of $10 on Sept. 5. Those employees will see the increase in their Sept. 30 paychecks.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/ncwire_news/story/2799495p-9241655c.html
For details about the university's actions, see Chancellor Moeser's "State of the University" address, www.unc.edu.UNC Health Care raises minimum wage to $10
The Triangle Business Journal
The minimum wage for UNC Health Care employees will go up to $10 an hour, the system's board of directors announced Monday. ... The board acted in response to requests from UNC Health Care CEO Dr. William L. Roper and UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser to increase the minimum wage.
Student editor off a week after uproar
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The opinion editor at The Daily Tar Heel won't work at the student newspaper this week, after a national controversy over a column that advocated racial profiling of Arabs. The editor, Chris Coletta, a senior from Cary, will take a week off, "a decision that reflects our own culpability in the incident but also serves as another tool to help this circus cool down," Ryan Tuck, the top editor at UNC-Chapel Hill's student newspaper, wrote in Monday's edition.
Culture war erupts, again, on UNC campus (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
What is perhaps most interesting about the local furor and nationwide flap over the firing of a Daily Tar Heel columnist is that it has aroused such local furor and created such a nationwide flap. The reactions to what happened tell us, unfortunately, a lot more about the divisions in American life than they do about the columnist's opinions, the processes of the newspaper or journalistic ethics.
Triangle on front lines of war on AIDS
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
As a young man, John Paul Womble watched AIDS take his father's life. He watched him go blind and lose feeling in his hands. He never saw the purple lesions his father hid under makeup, but he knew the pain they caused. ...Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill run two of the largest federally funded clinics in the nation to test AIDS drugs.
Pinehurst eyes rich, poor
The Fayetteville Observer
As the village looks to extend its boundaries through annexation, it is considering two communities with very different needs. ...Jackson Hamlet residents should be able to afford the village’s property taxes on their own, said Anita Earls, director of advocacy for the University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights. The center is a legal advocate for Jackson Hamlet and is helping it obtain sewer service.
Edwards calls for aid for poor
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards said Monday that the devastation and dislocation of 1 million people by Hurricane Katrina provides a rare opportunity to help millions of impoverished Americans, not only in the Gulf Coast region but throughout the country. ...Edwards didn't talk about his political ambitions Monday, but he has been traveling throughout the country since establishing the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill.
'Jeopardy,' 'Martha' welcome local talent
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Seven Triangle young people have been chosen to show off skills born on the playground and in the classroom for two high-profile, nationally syndicated TV shows. ...The four contestants are: Peter Ellis of Cary, representing N.C. State University; Christopher Chilton of Holly Springs, representing UNC-Chapel Hill; Malisha Butts of Durham, representing N.C. Central University; and Qinxian "Chelsea" He of Raleigh, representing Duke University.
Aging enthusiasts bring new dimension to motorcycle safety
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Chrislee Hounshell broke ribs, bruised his heart and tore neck muscles in a motorcycle crash last April. ...In 2004, the UNC Highway Safety Research Center and the Gov.'s Highway Safety Program mailed surveys to 3,000 registered North Carolina motorcycle owners to ask about their driving habits. About half responded.
Furniture industry future hard to gauge in face of foreign imports
The Asheville Citizen-Times
A few years ago, says UNC Chapel Hill professor Meenu Tewari, many people thought the North American Free Trade Agreement and cheap Mexican imports would hit the North Carolina furniture industry hard. Right concept, wrong country.
Issues & Trends
This Year's 'Genius Awards' Reach Into Unusual Fields
The New York Times
The first woman to be the music director of a major American orchestra, a filmmaker who documented the lives of Romanian street children, and an engineer at the forefront of the movement to reduce worldwide vehicle pollution are among the 25 recipients of $500,000 "genius awards," announced today by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. ...The other winners are Terry Belanger, a rare-books preservationist; Majora Carter, a community organizer.
Note: Majora Carter is is the project director for an Active Living by Design program in the South Bronx – one of the 25 Active Living by Design communities across the country. Active Living by Design is the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded national initiative based in the School of Public Health and housed at Southern Village.
Proposed biotech center no threat, officials say
The Winston Salem-Journal
Having a nearly $1 billion biotechnology center planned for Kannapolis could have been deflating news to officials connected with the Piedmont Triad Research Park in downtown Winston-Salem. Especially a center backed by a California businessman's $700 million commitment and the University of North Carolina system. The Kannapolis center is expected to become operational by 2007.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/uncnutritioninstitute091205.htmLessons in environmental impact
The Chapel Hill Herald
September's here, and the UNC campus reverts to exhilarating anticipation of the 2005 fall semester. But before being overtaken by the new academic year, it's important to recall the university's more significant summer school offerings and assess their outcomes. From Chatham County's vantage, the most successful of the UNC summer offerings was Environmental Praxis 101, a short course whose basic theme was "How To Replace Green Trees With An Environmentally Sound Parking Lot."
No link available.UNC exhibits environmental values
The Chapel Hill Herald
I wish William Sommers had done his homework before writing "Lessons in environmental impact" [Sept. 12]. Lampooning UNC-Chapel Hill's new Chatham park and ride lot as a hands-on class titled "Environmental Praxis 101" is good for a laugh, but he overlooks the real environmental stewardship the parking lot represents. Nancy D. Suttenfield Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration.
No link available.Power plant concerns town
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Town leaders want UNC-Chapel Hill to account for the environmental impact its power plant has on neighbors before they approve a request to expand the plant's capacity. Some residents said Monday at a public hearing that the cogeneration facility off Cameron Avenue is a source of light, noise and air pollution. UNC officials say the proposed improvements -- including a new 20-megawatt steam-powered turbine generator and new cooling towers -- would meet town ordinances concerning noise and light pollution.
Power plant draws concern
The Chapel Hill Herald
Emissions, noise and light produced by UNC's steam and power plant on Cameron Avenue drew most of the discussion in a public hearing Monday. UNC wants to upgrade the "cogeneration plant" and boost its capacity to meet demands of the campus and UNC Hospitals.
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.
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