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

 

International Coverage

Trans fats linked to pre-cancerous colon growths
Reuters (Wire Service)

A high intake of trans fats could increase colon cancer risk, according to new research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. People who ate the most trans fatty acids were more likely to have pre-cancerous growths or polyps in their colons than those who consumed the least, Dr. Lisa C. Vinikoor of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and colleagues found.

States of hope
Financial Times (United Kingdom)

As news of the US property market descends from bad to worse, it often seems as if every part of the country is suffering. In fact, some locations have been exhibiting remarkable resilience. …The dynamics are different for each market, says Stephen Cumbie, executive director of the Center for Real Estate Development at the University of North Carolina.

Is sex safe during pregnancy?
The Times of India (India)

Pregnancy is the most beautiful phase of a woman's life, but that doesn't mean putting a lid on one's sexual desires. Yet, sex during pregnancy remains a big taboo. A study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggests that sex may actually be beneficial in encouraging pregnancies to go full-term.

National Coverage

Spot on Popularity Scale Speaks to the Future; Middle Has Its Rewards
The New York Times

The cult of popularity that reigns in high school can look quaint from a safe distance, like your 20th reunion. …Some 15 to 20 percent of high school students fall into this category, according to Mitchell Prinstein, a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, and it’s not hard to find them.

A Statistics Professor Finds Grade Inflation a Difficult Problem
The Chronicle of Higher Education

…Grade inflation is among the oldest and thorniest problems in higher education. …Some faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill think the cure for grade inflation may be a mathematical formula. Spurred by a report in 2000 that showed a steady rise in grades at Chapel Hill, a faculty committee proposed a GPA alternative called the Achievement Index, a weighted class-ranking system that measures a student's academic performance relative to those of classmates.
Related Link:
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i02/02a01001.htm

Who Produces Black Ph.D.’s?
Inside Higher Ed

Black students have their choice of college in a way that was not nearly as true decades ago, a fact borne out by the numbers: In 2006, one in five African American bachelor’s degree recipients earned their diplomas from historically black colleges and universities, compared to well over a third in 1977. But even as they are educating a smaller proportion of black undergraduates, historically black colleges and universities are graduating a growing share of black Americans who go on to earn Ph.D.’s in science and engineering, a new report from the National Science Foundation reveals. (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is listed as producing 54 black science Ph.D.s from 1997-2006.)

Burr helps draft GOP platform with compromises
Media General News Service

In a year in which the Republican presidential nominee disagrees more than usual with the core of his party on key issues, reaching consensus on the party's official platform was always going to be a challenge. …Ultimately, the platform helps strengthen the ties that keep the party together, said Ferrel Guillory, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Regional Coverage

Strategies for talking people into anything
The Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)

Life is an endless series of negotiations, small and large. Luckily, emerging research by psychologists, economists and other experts can arm you with the skills you need to have things your way. …People are more receptive to an idea when it’s illustrated by a good story, says Melanie Green, a psychology professor at the University of North Carolina.

PRP football player's family awaits answers in his death
The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.)

…Max was the third high school football player to die this year in the United States of heat-related injuries, and the 33rd high school, college or professional player since 1995, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina.

Savvy businesses friendly to families (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Indianapolis Star (Indiana)

Your favorite business can double the return on a financial investment, even in the midst of today's sluggish stock market and uncertain economy. …According to research summarized by the University of North Carolina, "for every dollar spent on family-resource programs, more than $2 is yielded in direct cost savings. This holds true regardless of company size, industry type, or average income of employees."

State and Local Coverage

Carolina North delay should be worth it (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald

Planning for Carolina North has been going on for years, possibly decades and at times for what seems like centuries.UNC Chapel Hill worked hard to come up with a design for the campus to be located on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard north of Estes Drive Extension.

UNC launches center Tuesday
The Chapel Hill Herald

Under Secretary Jay Cohen of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will join U.S. Rep. David Price and Chancellor Holden Thorp on Tuesday to celebrate the launch of the Center of Excellence for the Study of Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure and Emergency Management at UNC Chapel Hill. …Carolina has received a multimillion dollar grant to establish the center, which will be used to study natural disasters in coastal areas.
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1199968.html
UNC Media Advisory: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/1529/107/

Fitzgerald to oversee new airport authority
The Chapel Hill Herald

A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine senior administrator will lead joint efforts to establish a new airport authority in Orange County. The 15-member airport authority will be led jointly by UNC-Chapel Hill and the UNC Health Care System, with representation from Orange County and its municipalities.
Related Link:
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/3457555/
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/1533/107/

NC veto override didn't feel that historic
The Associated Press

…After several veto showdowns resolved through negotiation that avoided embarrassing either the executive or legislative branch, the General Assembly handed Gov. Mike Easley the first override in North Carolina state history with hardly a regret by lawmakers. …"You're just four or five months from leaving town, it's not as significant," said Thad Beyle, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Veto: What difference has it made?
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Making history took about nine minutes. The vote by legislators to override Gov. Mike Easley's veto of a new state law opening state roads to wider boat trailers was the first defeat of a governor's veto in state history, and one meted out in less time than it takes to cook a pizza. …The technical nature of Easley's vetoes grew partly out of Easley's distant but not contentious relationship with the legislature, said John Sanders, former director of UNC-Chapel Hill's Institute of Government and a co-author of the current state constitution.

Time of essence with strokes
The Chapel Hill Herald

Stroke patients who can't recall when their symptoms started or do not arrive at the hospital in a timely manner cannot be considered for medications proven to help reduce the impact of stroke but which must be given within a certain time after the stroke occurs. That's the finding by UNC researchers who report on their study in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/1501/107/

Study ties spanking to harsher forms of punishment
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald

Spanking has been, and still is, a common method of child discipline used by American parents. But mothers who report that they or their partner spanked their child in the past year are nearly three times more likely to state that they also used harsher forms of punishment than those who say their child was not spanked, according to a new study led by UNC's Injury Prevention Research Center.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/1487/107/

Pardee fights shaken-baby syndrome
The Times-News (Burlington)

…Training and supplies were made available by Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina, a collaboration between the National Center on shaken-baby syndrome, the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center, and the Center for Child and Family Health. .
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/536/107/

Back smoking after birthing: Factors eyed of those who stay quit
The Chapel Hill Herald

Although many women quit smoking during pregnancy to protect their unborn children from the effects of cigarettes, half of them resume the habit within a few months of giving birth. By shedding light on the factors that enable the other half to put down that cigarette for good, a study by researchers at UNC could lead to programs designed to help women quit and stay quit.
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/1518/107/

Not so rare, brain aneurysms often fatal
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald

Weixi Qin was busy examining the chemistry of rats' brains when suddenly his own brain was stricken. …Approximately 2 percent of people have cerebral aneurysms, said Anand V. Germanwala, chief of cerebral vascular and skull base surgery at UNC Hospitals and Qin's doctor.

Volunteer gains insights on China (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Parin Desal is a senior journalism major at UNC-Chapel Hill. She was in Beijing as a volunteer for the Olympic Games and blogged about her experience at share.triangle.com/olympics. Here is an excerpt from her last post. With the Olympics over, I have time to reflect on all the different experiences I have had. Being a volunteer was one of the most exciting and strange experiences I've had in my life.

Software outfit Çicero flying on fumes
The Triangle Business Journal

Sluggish revenue and dwindling cash reserves are pointing to a possible end for Cicero, a Cary software company that was technology high-flyer Level 8 during the heady days of the technology boom. …In the mid-1990s, the market was flush with dozens of EAI vendors offering services, says Arvind Malhotra, professor of entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Current artists on rise
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

It would be easy to forget that behind the bustling, fenced-in site where the N.C. Museum of Art's 127,000-square-foot expansion is taking shape lies a building obscured by all the construction: the old museum, still open for business. …With the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University specializing in modern and contemporary, and with plans by the Ackland Art Museum at UNC-Chapel Hill to showcase new works, the landscape seems to be shifting.

PlayMakers start with 'Pericles'
The Chapel Hill Herald

PlayMakers Repertory Company at UNC Chapel Hill will kick off its 2008-09 mainstage season Sept. 24-Oct. 12 with William Shakespeare's "Pericles," an epic adventure that spans oceans and generations, is filled with princesses, pirates, assassins, exotic locales and multiple shipwrecks.
UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/1536/107/

Issues and Trends

Bowles: Drinking age should stay at 21
The Chapel Hill Herald

UNC system President Erskine Bowles on Friday came down firmly against lowering the drinking age, telling chancellors of the system's 17 campuses there's "convincing evidence that the age-21 law really does save lives." Bowles also told them he's "seen no scientific evidence that supports the contention that lowering the legal drinking age would reduce binge drinking" or other alcohol-related problems on campus.

Research campus expands its medical portfolio
The Independent Tribune (Kannapolis)

By adding Lovelace Respiratory Research Center, the North Carolina Research Campus has expanded its medical research portfolio. …UNC-Chapel Hill is focusing on nutrition and how it affects cancer, obesity and the brain.

Text messages send warnings to students
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

…Not long after the robbery was reported, Duke's new text messaging system kicked in to warn students, staff and faculty about the potential threat in the area. It was the first time the university used the new text messaging feature that is now part of a comprehensive early warning and notification system Duke has branded DukeALERT.

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