Today's News Wednesday , July 11, 2012
Featured
Kingsland students set to 'Ramp-Up to Readiness'
Kingsland school officials proved to the University of Minnesota they were ready. Their success will pay off in ensuring that Kingsland students will be ready for life after graduation from high school though the Ramp-Up to Readiness program. Kingsland is just one of 20 school districts in the state outside the Twin Cities area that was selected for Ramp-Up to Readiness, a program that has been designed over the past three years by University of Minnesota faculty, staff and students in collaboration with educators in schools in the Twin Cities and Austin.
Spring Valley Tribune
http://www.hometown-pages.com/main.asp?SectionID=11&SubSectionID=94&ArticleID=44280
Administration
University of Minnesota Board of Regents to vote on stadium liquor sales
The taps might be flowing at this season's University of Minnesota football games if the Board of Regents passes a policy allowing the sale of beer and wine. The board will vote Wednesday, July 11, on whether to allow beer sales at TCF Bank Stadium.
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_21043157/gopher-football-university-minnesota-regents-vote-stadium-liquor
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/161873205.html
MPR
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/07/10/edu/
WCCO
Watch: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/07/10/u-board-of-regents-takes-vote-on-alcohol-wednesday/
KMSP
Watch: http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/18992130/2012/07/10/vote-wednesday-on-tcf-bank-stadium-liquor-sales
Research
Hennepin County, U of M Research Invasive Species Prevention
Hennepin County is hoping its latest strategy will get people to check their boats more often for invasive species. The county and the University of Minnesota studied what motivated people to check their boats properly.
KSTP
http://kstp.com/article/stories/s2685219.shtml
Study links BPA to changes in fish appearance, behavior
A hormone-mimicking chemical often found in rivers can affect the mating choices of fish, leading to changes in their appearance and behavior and to more interspecies breeding, a new study led by a University of Minnesota scientist has found.
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_21048561/study-links-bpa-changes-fish-appearance-behavior
New Scientist
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22047-plastic-ingredient-makes-fish-court-other-species.html
Mother Nature Network
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/blogs/bpa-causes-interspecies-mating-study-finds
PhysOrg
http://phys.org/news/2012-07-hormone-mimicking-chemicals-inter-species.html
London Free Press
http://www.lfpress.com/news/world/2012/07/11/19974356.html
JustStand Wellness Summit Discusses Dangers of Prolonged Sitting
Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic are presenting their "sit-stand" research findings today. Mayo Clinic's James Levine will talk about the collaborative study, which used Ergotron WorkFit sit-stand workstations that allow workers to alternate between a seated and standing position throughout the day.
KSTP
http://kstp.com/article/stories/s2684011.shtml
J&J-Pfizer Drug Long Shot Against Alzheimers
When 70-year-old Bill Price signed on in 2006 to become one of the early testers of the Alzheimer drug bapineuzumab, he held high hopes the injections would stop the disease that was starting to claim his memory. The drugs Bapineuzumab and solanezumab “represent a crucial test of the current dogma,” Jordan Holtzman, a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota said. “If they fail to show a significant benefit, it would be imperative for the pharmaceutical industry to search for new models.”
Bloomberg
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-11/j-and-j-pfizer-drug-seen-as-long-shot-against-alzheimer-s
NIPTE Will Participate in NIH's Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases Program
The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education has signed a contract with SAIC-Frederick, Inc. in support of the National Institutes of Health's Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases. The program aims to speed the development of new drugs for rare and neglected diseases. "We are honored to have been chosen as a part on this important program," said Vadim Gurvich, NIPTE associate director and a research faculty member at the University of Minnesota.
The Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/10/4621272/nipte-will-participate-in-nihs.html
My hearing is fine, thank you, but could you please speak up?
More than half of factory workers who thought they had excellent or good hearing actually suffered hearing loss and didn't even recognize the problem, a new study shows. Co-authors include Delbert Raymond, of Eastern Michigan University School of Nursing; Madeline Kerr, University of Minnesota School of Nursing.
Medical Express
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-fine.html
A deeper look into the pathogen responsible for crown gall disease in plants
Next week's Journal of Biological Chemistry "Paper of the Week" by Wai Mun Huang and colleagues at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center and the University of Minnesota reveals new insights into the molecular properties of the rod-shaped soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens, the pathogen responsible for crown gall disease, a tumor-forming infection in plants, such as tomatoes, walnuts, grapes and beets.
Phys Org
http://phys.org/news/2012-07-deeper-pathogen-responsible-crown-gall.html
Business and Politics
University of Minnesota licenses Clinical Decision Support technology
Clinical Decision Support technology developed by University of Minnesota researchers will enable healthcare providers to improve preventative care, communication and coordination among clinicians, researchers, and patients. Minneapolis-based startup Omicron Health Systems, Inc. will incorporate the technology in its Population Health Management offering to research networks and healthcare organizations.
PhysOrg
http://phys.org/wire-news/103375965/university-of-minnesota-licenses-clinical-decision-support-techn.html
Rate Scandal Stirs Scramble for Damages
As unemployment climbed and tax revenue fell, the city of Baltimore laid off employees and cut services in the midst of the financial crisis. Its leaders now say the city's troubles were aggravated by bankers' manipulation of a key interest rate linked to hundreds of millions of dollars the city had borrowed. A 2010 study conducted by professors at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Minnesota indicated that Libor was significantly lower than it should have been throughout 2008 and was particularly skewed around the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.
New York Times
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/libor-rate-rigging-scandal-sets-off-legal-fights-for-restitution/
People and Lifestyle
Dr. Jon Hallberg: Minn. health system scores high
Minnesota was recently ranked first in the country for its health system by the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. MPR's medical analyst Dr. Jon Hallberg discussed the rankings with Tom Crann of All Things Considered on Tuesday. Hallberg is a physician in family medicine at the University of Minnesota and medical director of the Mill City Clinic.
MPR
To Listen: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/07/10/health/hallberg/
Better eating is a tall order
For anti-obesity efforts to succeed, experts look to ongoing education rather than piecemeal programs. More than one-third of Americans are obese, and in Minnesota, every county has an adult obesity rate above 21 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One reason is that people think of food as a matter of personal choice -- not, like cigarettes, as something hazardous, said Simone French, director of the University of Minnesota's Obesity Prevention Center.
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/162016725.html
Top Summer Health Risks
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States, causing more deaths annually than floods, lightning, hurricanes and tornadoes combined. Of course, industrial and agricultural mishaps account for outbreaks of food-borne illnesses throughout the year, but the hot temperatures allow bacteria to thrive, making food more vulnerable to contamination, says Dr. Jeff Bender, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota.
WLS-AM
http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=2490848&spid=
Number of Incarcerated Parents is on the Rise in U.S.
The Senser daughters join a growing, staggering statistic. There are an estimated 1.7 million children with a mom or dad serving a sentence in a state or federal prison. A developmental psychologist at the University of Minnesota says since 1990 the number of moms serving time has nearly doubled.
KAAL
http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S2684723.shtml?cat=10151
High temps and dry plants
Current conditions prompt a clear course of action: Water, water everywhere --and maybe a bit of mulch. "We have seen some lawns turn brown, but I'm not overly concerned right now," said Brian Horgan, a turfgrass specialist with the University of Minnesota. "You call me back at the end of July, and it might be a different story."
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/161954905.html
Updates and Events
Alfalfa-Corn Field Day and Plot Tour
On Wednesday, July 18th, the University of Minnesota Extension will be hosting a field day near Russell, MN. The program will address a number of factors to consider when planting corn following alfalfa. The event will also include a guided plot tour of an on-farm field research site.
The Murray County News
http://www.murraycountynews.net/default.asp?storyid=58113&secid=105