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Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:

 

International Coverage

Heparin probe highlights challenges of regulating global drugs market
The Canadian Press (Wire Service/Canada)

On a dusty lane in east China, a small factory sitting amid strawberry and vegetable fields processes chemicals from pig guts into heparin, a commonly used blood thinner linked to 62 deaths and hundreds of allergic reactions in the U.S. and Germany. …Even with inspections, heparin is tricky, said Liu Jian, an expert on the chemical at the University of North Carolina. "In producing heparin, it's very important to control the quality of the raw heparin," Liu said. "Once you have a contaminant that you didn't get rid of in the early stages, it's very hard to tell what you have there."

Can we trust imaging scans?
The National Post (Canada)

They are among the wonders of modern medicine: Machines that peer deep inside the human body and capture pictures of striking and invaluable clarity. …Dr. Richard Semelka, a Canadian radiologist who teaches at the University of North Carolina and has been outspoken about the risks of CT scans, said that with statistics ballooning, now is the time to act on radiation concerns.

National Coverage

Protesters Fail to Slow Animal Research
The Chronicle of Higher Education

…At least one scientist has decided he needs to publicly warn students about the dangers involved in working with animals. Robert G. Dennis, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, put this message on his Web page for potential graduate students and postdocs: "You should be aware that due to the highly controversial nature of this research, which involves animal-machine hybrids and, of course, stem cells, you will be constantly at risk from extremist groups and individuals. I have personally received many threatening messages."

Regional Coverage

Women athletes win equal time on injury list
The Boston Globe (Mass.)

A week from today, 10,375 women – and 14,737 men – are expected to run in the Boston Marathon. The presence of so many women – the most ever entered in the historic race – is a sure sign of how far women have come in athletics. …Cheerleading is now the leading cause of direct fatal and nonfatal injuries among high school and college women, according to the Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina. "Cheerleading used to be about shaking pompoms," said the center's director, Frederick O. Mueller. "Now, it's about throwing people 20 feet in the air."

Natural Medicine: Acupuncture for headache relief
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Washington)

More than 45 million people in the United States experience chronic, recurring headaches, and, of these, 28 million also suffer migraines. Approximately 4 percent of adults experience headaches almost daily. …One randomized, controlled trial conducted by the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, for instance, showed that medical management combined with acupuncture decreased pain and improved quality of life in people suffering from chronic daily headaches, while medical management alone did not.

Dental Heath Important For Mommies To Be
KTIV-TV (NBC/Sioux City, Iowa)

Are you thinking about having a baby? Then stock up on folic acid and dental floss. A growing body of evidence suggests women who take care of their teeth are more likely to have a healthy pregnancy. …Other pregnancy complications may include diabetes and pre-eclampsia, notes the University of North Carolina's Dr. Kim Boggess. Dr. Boggess says, "What we're doing with that information – is now studying the next step. Really — how do we intervene during pregnancy to reduce the risk of these adverse outcomes?"

Drivers ignore school-zone limits
The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)

Bright signs, flashing lights and even a parked motorcycle cop aren't always enough to stop motorists from speeding through school zones. …"I'm afraid, in general, a lot of drivers are multitasking and a lot of drivers are very focused on where they're going," said Lauren Marchetti, director of the National Center for Safe Routes to School, at the University of North Carolina.

State and Local Coverage

Students Hold Benefit Concert for Eve Carson
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)

A benefit concert in honor of slain University of North Carolina Student Body President Eve Marie Carson was held Sunday evening. …The memorial concert – organized by UNC students – was supposed to be held Saturday on the Polk Place quad, but was rained out. "One of the things that Eve talked about was having a great concert to bring the student body together," organizer Ronald Bilbao said.
Related Link:
http://www.wneg32.com/index.php/news/article/a-tribute-to-eve/868/
http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=6455

A site to help children, families
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

Assisting parents and children in crisis can be challenging, but a new Web site launched by the UNC School of Social Work should make it easier for communities and professionals to help strengthen families. The North Carolina Clearinghouse on Family and Child Well-Being (www.clearinghousenc.org) is run by the school's Family and Children's Resource Program. It connects individuals and North Carolina agencies, schools, courts and human services providers with training opportunities and information they need to prevent and respond to child maltreatment and family violence.

UNC volunteers mark 40 years of free care
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Anna McCullough was only three or four weeks into her master's program at the UNC School of Social Work when she volunteered at a Carrboro free clinic run by students from the School of Medicine and other medicine-related disciplines taught at UNC. …On Sunday, McCullough invited current and former student volunteers and the faculty who support them to a celebration at the Carrboro ArtsCenter, marking 40 years of the Student Health Action Coalition, known as SHAC.

UNC students wins top award
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

UNC Chapel Hill sophomore Elinor Benami has received a Morris K. Udall Undergraduate Scholarship, one of the nation's top merit awards. The award will cover tuition, books, room and board up to $5,000 for Benami's junior year.

Stone Center presents Big Read
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

The Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History at UNC is one of 127 national recipients of the Big Read Grant, given by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). As a part of the Big Read initiative, the Stone Center is presenting a monthlong series of events related to author Zora Neale Hurston's novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God."

UNC working up plans for $240M biomedical center
The Triangle Business Journal

Now that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has landed $50 million per year for its University Cancer Research Fund, it is plotting to get the money for a $240 million, 342,000-square-foot building to house the scientists to do the research.

Consumers flock to Quintiles' drug alert site
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Quintiles Transnational is tapping rising consumer concern about drug safety to expand its business. …But Aimee Wall, an assistant professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and a lawyer specializing in medical confidentiality, didn't detect any problems. She said the key is that iGuard users volunteer their confidential medical information.

Religious, Health Officials Want HIV Screenings for All Inmates
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)

Ministers and public health officials have called on prison officials to routinely screen every inmate and treat those infected with the HIV virus, saying prisoners are impeding progress to end the spread of the disease. …North Carolina's voluntary screening practices haven't produced much demand for the test, particularly among men. Dr. David L. Rosen, a medical and doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, found that about a quarter of men not previously diagnosed as HIV-positive in North Carolina asked to take the test when they came into prison.

Obama hedges on debate in Raleigh
The Charlotte Observer

A debate in North Carolina between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, proposed for April 27, is hanging in the balance. …There's little incentive for Obama to commit now, said Ferrel Guillory, founder of UNC Chapel Hill's Program on Public Life. If Obama wins Pennsylvania, where Clinton is favored, then pressure would mount for her to drop out, he said.

Senate hopefuls promise change
The Chapel Hill Herald

U.S. Senate hopefuls Jim Neal and Kay Hagan on Sunday discussed what they would do to change the way things are done on Capitol Hill. …Hagan and Neal presented platforms and answered audience questions at a community forum at the UNC School of Social Work on Sunday afternoon. …The forum was sponsored by the Orange County Democratic Party and UNC's Young Democrats.

Economists' tips on picking leaders (Question and Answer Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Q. What about costs then? Should voters worry about the costs of candidates' proposals or just focus on their ideas? A. "There is always an opportunity cost," said Patrick J. Conway, also an economics professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. "If we have a candidate who says, 'I'm willing to pay $60 billion to subsidize alternative fuels,' every voter should ask, 'What am I giving up to achieve that goal?'"

Protecting borrowers (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

News stories have highlighted the effects of the subprime meltdown on borrowers throughout North Carolina. While much of the focus has been on practices that many would construe as predatory lending, state legislation went into effect April 1 to regulate another set of practices, ones that consumer advocates have described as "predatory loan servicing."
(Sean Coffey is a student in the master of public administration program at UNC-Chapel Hill. His master's thesis focused on House Bill 1374.)

Erosion of faith: Students react to UNC move (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill News

As educators of young adults, we encourage our students to use their knowledge to take action and make a difference. …After the Sediment Rangers proposal was presented to Sharon Myers, a geologist and environmental specialist at UNC, we received an e-mail stating that the level of involvement expected by UNC was unreasonable and that the grant money that we had for the project would not suffice.

UNC discontinues year-old BCX bus route
The Chapel Hill Herald

UNC Department of Public Safety officials have decided to discontinue the Bible Church Express bus route, a move that has some university employees questioning the institution's commitment to public transit.
…Randy Young, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said that the university rents 241 spaces from the Bible Church, of which 50 spaces are used on an average day.

High medical fees not hospital's fault (Letter to the Editor)
The Chapel Hill News

his letter is for all those questioning the seemingly excessive UNC Hospitals fees, especially in comparison to those observed from private practices and perhaps even private hospitals (see "Reader questions UNC Hospitals' fees," April 2). Suggesting that the UNC Hospitals fees are due to covering the salaries of their CEO/senior administrative staff really demonstrates lack of understanding of the demise of the U.S. health-care delivery system. (Pamela Victoria, Chapel Hill)

Issues and Trends

Downtown could use the emergency call boxes (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald

In the dark of night, they are beacons of safety. The "blue light" call boxes that dot the UNC campus could also be protective towers for the neighborhoods immediately adjacent to campus. And that wouldn't be hard to do.

Campuses see rise in crime hoaxes
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Media attention and new campus alert systems established after the mass shootings at Virginia Tech may be responsible for a recent jump in false crime reports on college campuses nationwide. In the past two months, at least three crimes have been falsely reported at North Carolina college campuses. About a half- dozen more have been publicized across the country within the past six months.

The perpetual tragedy of misguided youth (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

It has been said a thousand times, yet it seems we must say it a thousand times more — How could anyone slaughter such a gentle soul? Barely beyond being a child but already swinging the world by the tail, the tender spirit of Eve Carson was no match for the appalling brutality of predatory beasts.
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1035481.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1034467.html

Claims shock doctor's backers
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Jean Boyles' reaction was visceral when she heard last week that Dr. Mel Levine, the pediatrician who treated her son for more than a decade, was accused of fondling patients. "I thought it was ridiculous," said Boyles, a Raleigh lawyer. "And so did my son."

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