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

 

National Coverage

New Diabetes Drug Works Well in Trial
U.S. News & World Report

One of a new class of diabetes drugs has done well in a trial conducted to help bring it to market, researchers report. …Exenatide is actually the form of GLP-1 found in the saliva of the gila monster, explained Dr. John Buse, vice president for medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association and a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina.

The Wrist As A Route To The Heart
"The Early Show" CBS News

About a million artery-clearing angioplasties are performed in the United States each year, and the usual route is to thread a tube to the heart through an artery in the groin. …"In experienced hands, it can be done more," said Dr. Sidney Smith, heart disease chief at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a past president of the American Heart Association, who wasn't part of the study.

Health sector lobbyists shovel big $ to McCain, Obama (Blog)
The Los Angeles Times

…Another article in the Aug. 21 New England Journal of Medicine summarizes the differences. "The candidates' opposing views of healthcare reform reflect fundamentally different assumptions about the virtues and vices of markets and government," writes Jonathan Oberlander, professor of health policy and administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of the article.

College Bookstores to Begin Selling eTextbooks on Demand
The Chronicle of Higher Education

Soon students will be able to buy electronic textbooks at the college bookstore, using kiosks that will download files and burn them to CD’s. …The first colleges to get the kiosks will be Bowling Green State University, New York University, San Diego State University, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Regional Coverage

McCain Seeks To Regain The Offensive
The Huffington Post (New York, N.Y.)

John McCain, losing ground as the economic crisis deepens, sought today to beat Barack Obama to the punch by suspending his campaign, postponing Friday's presidential debate, and calling for an emergency meeting between the President, congressional leaders and both nominees to produce legislation addressing the threat of a Wall Street collapse and a dangerous recession. …University of North Carolina sociologist Andrew J. Perrin contends: "I don't think either has been great, but Obama wins this round in my book. McCain is trying to re-fashion himself as an economic populist, which is going to be literally impossible with anybody who heard of him more than three months ago."

Coaches say don't quit football out of fear
The Star Press (Muncie, Ind.)

Dante Love's injury that likely ended his football career is every parent's nightmare. …The occurrence of a spinal fracture like the one Love suffered is still rare, according to an annual survey done by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina. Only six high school football players, or 0.40 per 100,000, suffered a cervical cord injury in 2007.

State and Local Coverage

UNC researchers study childhood hearing loss
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers will play a key role in a five-year, $8.9 million study aimed at understanding the impact hearing loss can have on children's ability to communicate, succeed in school, and have good social and psychological development. …The UNC School of Medicine researchers taking part in the study are Melody F. Harrison, Ph.D., a professor of speech and hearing sciences in the department of allied health sciences and Patricia A. Roush, Au.D., an assistant professor and director of pediatric audiology in the department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.
UNC News Brief:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/unc-researchers-to-take
-part-in-multi-center-8.9-million-study-of-childhood-hearing-loss.html

UNC: Patients' neighborhood income, Medicaid status affect heart attack care
The Triangle Business Journal

Heart attack victims who are on Medicaid or who are from poor areas face longer delays in getting to the hospital, says a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. …The study was led by Randi E. Foraker, a predoctoral fellow in epidemiology in UNC’s School of Public Health.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/heart-attack-victims-on-
medicaid-from-poor-areas-face-longer-delays-reaching-hospital-study.html

VA adjusts benefits to injured veterans
The Fayetteville Observer

The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to increase the amount of money it pays each month to some veterans who suffer from mild traumatic brain injuries and burn scars. …Kevin Guskiewicz, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has studied brain injuries in athletes and worked with the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, commended the VA for increasing money for brain injury victims.

Web program focuses on injuries from falls
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

How the public-health community is responding to falls among elderly people is the subject of a Webcast titled "Help older adults live better, longer: Prevent falls and traumatic brain injuries." …The program is a collaboration between the School of Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

All N.C. prisoners to be tested for HIV
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

In November, North Carolina prisons will begin screening all inmates for HIV, a sexually transmitted virus that attacks prisoners at rates seven times greater than those on the outside. …These old methods yielded few takers: Only about a quarter of the male inmates not previously diagnosed as HIV-positive asked to take the test when they entered prison, according to a report by a UNC doctor who analyzed the testing process.

Don't worry yourself sick
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

…Cooking should take care of most harmful bacteria. Otherwise, wash such fruits and vegetables thoroughly. If a surface is dry, your worries should be few, says Dr. David Webber, professor of epidemiology at UNC's School of Public Health.

Deer, car collisions on the rise
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)

Wrecks on North Carolina roads involving deer increased to 19,277 last year, including 11 deadly crashes. They accounted for 8.6 percent of all vehicle crashes, according to the UNC Highway Safety Research Center.
Related Link:
http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=8089

UNC plans new fundraising campaign
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald

The work involved in becoming "the leading public university in the world" never ends. Less than a year after completing the $2.38 billion Carolina First Campaign, UNC Chapel Hill has begun planning a follow-up fundraiser. According to a memorandum written by Matt Kupec, UNC vice chancellor for University Advancement, the next "mega-campaign" will have a goal of $3.5 billion to $4 billion and could launch in 2009.

UNC Group Looks To Help Autistic In Work Force
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)

Autism has its challenges, but one UNC organization is out to prove that people with this disability can still be an asset to the workforce.

UNC Among Nation's Top Sustainable Campuses
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)

UNC has been ranked officially as one of the nation’s top sustainable campuses. UNC’s Sustainability Director Cindy Pollock Shea said the Sustainable Endowments Institute gave the University a B+ rating this year, up from last year’s B- rating.

Guests join UNC orchestra Oct. 14
The Chapel Hill Herald

Special guests will join the UNC Symphony Orchestra in its first concert of the 2008-2009 academic year, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 in UNC's Memorial Hall. …The narrator will be UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp, appearing two days after his installation on University Day, Oct. 12.
UNC News Brief:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/arts/orchestra-to-perform-
copland-lieberson-ravel.html

'Human' day set at planetarium
The Chapel Hill Herald

What makes us human? Children and adults can discover some answers at Family Science Day: "It's Only Human!" Saturday at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.

Flexible planning, healthy results (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Home cooking can improve your diet and save you money. If only it were easier to fit kitchen time into our lives. …Your mindset about cooking can make it simpler and faster to fix a meal. It can also help you overcome the barrier of skill. You don't have to be a trained chef to make something good. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the department of health policy and administration in the school of public health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Art panel discussion set
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

A panel discussion on unconventional methods for organizing and displaying art exhibitions will be presented at the Golden Belt, 807 E. Main St., Building 2, Floor 3, at 6:30 p.m. today. …Also contributing to the discussion will be Courtney Reid-Eaton, exhibitions director for the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, A.T. Stephens, director of Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh, and Elin Slavick O'Hara, a UNC Chapel Hill art professor.

Butterfly release at hospital Oct. 2
The Chapel Hill Herald

One hundred bright Monarch butterflies will be released in the N.C. Children's Hospital Butterfly Garden Oct. 2 to honor the patients, families, health professionals and volunteers of the UNC Hospitals community.

Issues and Trends

Area homeless can receive services Thursday
The Chapel Hill News

Project Homeless Connect Orange County, a one-stop service center for people experiencing — or at risk of experiencing — homelessness, will be held in Chapel Hill from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday at Hargraves Community Center, 216 N. Roberson St. …The Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness is an effort among Chapel Hill, Orange County, Carrboro, Hillsborough, Triangle United Way, the Inter-Faith Council, Orange Congregations in Mission, OPC Area Program, UNC-Chapel Hill, and the Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce.

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