Dr. Nasia Safdar, director of infection control at UW Hospital and Clinics and faculty at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, answered a few questions about Elizabethkingia and why it’s leaving investigators puzzled.
Quoted: June Paul, a doctoral student with UW-Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty, says the statistics aren’t surprising.“I think that a lot of youth who end up on the streets either overtly came out and were displaced because their parents were not accepting, or they feel like they can find a community of people that understand them better, so they take the chance by running,” says Paul.
Quoted: Katherine Cramer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said Trump’s rhetorical strategy has a lot in common with Governor Scott Walker.
Quoted: “These immunotherapy treatments are unquestionably game changers,” said Dr. Mark Albertini, an oncologist with the Carbone Cancer Center at UW Health.
Albertini said the courage patients like Daly showed in participating in the early trials of immunotherapy played a key role in the success now being seen.
“Those patients were both incredible and those patients were vital in getting where we are today,” Albertini said.
Evictions not only put poor families out on the streets, but simultaneously set off a cascade of consequences for both the people and neighborhoods affected. In his new book, “Evicted: Poverty And Profit In The American City,” University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate and Harvard University sociology professor Matthew Desmond examines how this process plays out for families and landlords in Milwaukee’s lowest-income neighborhoods.
Quoted: “The idea is that this is a person who brings something very special to the company, who is critical to the organization,” said Joan Schmit, a professor of risk and insurance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s business school.
Noted: Edgar Muciño is a Madison resident and father of two students in the Madison Metropolitan School District. Edward D. Vargas is a post-doctoral researcher at UW-Madison examining the effects of immigration policy and deportations on the health and well-being of Latino/a families.
Quoted: “There’s a lot of research to suggest that it matters a lot,” psychologist Ronald May said of a father’s presence in a boy’s life. May taught “The Psychology of Men and Masculinity” for 17 years at UW-Madison, and the university lists “raising emotionally healthy boys” as among his areas of expertise.
Noted: Dave Lovelace is a vertebrate paleontologist and scientist at the UW-Madison Geology Museum.
Noted: Steve Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, are guests on WHA radio (970 AM) at 11:45 a.m. the last Monday of each month.
During the course of a professional friendship spanning more than two decades, UW-Madison neuroscientist Richard Davidson has had many opportunities, formally and informally, to discuss his research with the Dalai Lama.
Quoted: Lee Rensimer, a doctoral scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studied the lack of regulation in the RAK Free Trade Zone and RAK Industrial Authority while at the Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research.
Quoted: “The idea is that this is a person who brings something very special to the company, who is critical to the organization,” said Joan Schmit, a professor of risk and insurance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s business school.
Quoted: “You have to be pretty sick to get it in the first place,” said Dr. Nasia Safdar, Medical Director for Infection Control at University of Wisconsin Health. “so that’s why already, the deck is stacked against you. And then once you get it, because it causes infections like bloodstream infections, which are as severe of an infection as you can get, it increases the death rate even further.”
Quoted: UW Infection Control Medical Director Nasia Safdar says those with underlying medical issues need to pay attention to the information.
“I think organ transplant, dialysis individuals or nursing home residents.”
Dr. Safdar says the symptoms of Elizabethkingia include a fever.
“It’s because you have bacteria in the blood stream, depending on the sight of the infection, if it’s pneumonia you would have respiratory issues, a skin infection, you might see redness at the wound,” Dr. Safdar said.
Quoted: UW plastic surgeon Dr. Ahmed Afifi, assistant professor of surgery, performs a migraine relief surgery that’s fairly new, and wanted to know how it was working for his patients. So, he went to Facebook.
He searched some support groups and migraine relief pages, and turned six months of patient posts into data. When he analyzed the results, they surprised him.
“81 percent of the patients after migraine surgery are saying that they got better after the surgery,” said Afifi. “And what’s amazing about that is when you compare … to the results from the big scientific articles that have been published, these articles are reporting a success rate of 79 percent, 82 percent, 83 percent.”
The phone sitting on the desk of Dr. Kathleen Antony, a maternal fetal medicine physician with UW Health, has been ringing regularly in recent weeks with calls from people asking questions about the Zika virus.
Quoted: Timothy Riddiough, a professor in the Department of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics at the Wisconsin School of Business, also believes that real estate is a healthy sector and that REITs are well positioned for the next few years. “There are a lot of very well-managed firms out there that do the right thing at the right times,” he says.
Quoted: The medical community has known about the bacteria for a long time, and its presence in the environment “is ubiquitous,” said Nasia Safdar, medical director of infection control at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics.
Doctors say a mild winter mixed with an early thaw means mold allergies are back earlier this season.
“When the snow starts to melt once the ground shows up that’s when we have outdoor mold,” Adult Allergist at UW Health, Dr. Tom Puchner, says. (Puchner is clinical assistant professor of allergy and immunology.)
Even though there is snow on the ground and below freezing temperatures, Dr. Puchner says current conditions can still affect those who suffer from mold allergies.
Noted: One of the president’s guests will be Donna Friedsam of the UW Population Health Institute.
She believes Milwaukee’s victory among 20 cities to increase health enrollment will have significant future benefits.
“It saves our employers money. It saves our communities money and it improves our quality of life overall. So, it is very important that we have people get enrolled in the coverage, so they they can get the care they need.”
Friedsam adds Milwaukee’s health coverage victory is a result of a coordinated effort throughout the city by a wide range of organizations.
Quoted: James M. Johannes, a professor of banking at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Business in Madison, Wis., told Bloomberg BNA that consumer debts were not bought and sold when the WCA was enacted more than 40 years ago.
Quoted: James M. Johannes, a professor of banking at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Business in Madison, Wis., told Bloomberg BNA consumer debts were not bought and sold when the WCA was enacted more than 40 years ago.
Quoted: “It’s pouring gasoline on the fire of someone who’s got a serious psychiatric disorder,” said Kenneth Robbins, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who reviewed the recording at the Journal Sentinel’s request. “Not only is that a horrible ethical position, but it’s a horrible decision with regard to the safety of society.”
Quoted: “I think that if the consumer is willing to pay more for a certain color, then it’s in manufacturers’ and marketers’ best interest to charge more,” said Christine Whelan, a professor of consumer science at the University of Wisconsin Madison and director of the university’s MORE (Money, Relationships, and Equality) program. “But I do mind that people don’t know about this.”
Gratton is a professor of entomology at UW-Madison.
Quoted: “The best-practice thinking these days has been to start providing access to these services earlier, before children are victims of abuse or neglect and before they have to be removed from their homes,” said Ellen Smith, the child welfare training coordinator at UW-Madison’s School of Social Work.
“There is a lot of interest in supporting biological families to prevent abuse and/or out-of-home placements rather than spending all of our limited funding to pay for out-of-home care costs.”
Quoted: Sarah Orr, director of the University of Wisconsin Law School Consumer Law Clinic, said Wisconsin is loosening regulations on the industry at a time when the federal government and some other states are looking at moving to tighten rules. “It’s another way that debt collectors can really put the screws to our (clients),” Orr said of the legislation.
Quoted: Even better, our soliloquies prove useful. For example. when it comes to looking for something, saying the word out loud makes the thing easier to find, says Gary Lupyan, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Quoted: But as the race continues and Sanders earns more exposure, his standing may change, said University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Barry Burden.
An analysis of Census data by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Applied Population Laboratory showed some troubling trends on poverty in the state.
Quoted: “If the document a worker presents ‘reasonably’ appears valid, they have to accept it,” said Stacy Taeuber, a law professor and director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at the UW-Madison Law School.
Noted: Steve Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, are guests on WHA radio (970 AM) at 11:45 a.m. the last Monday of each month.
Noted: Jim Lattis is the director of the UW Space Place, which is part of the astronomy department at UW-Madison.
Noted: The founder of the company, Gregory Piefer, studied at UW-Madison. The company performed a national search for places to locate their new facility, but Pitas said keeping the local company in Wisconsin brings the company full circle.
“The idea that work that goes on at the university should help people throughout the state. So, this is a great example of technology coming out of the university and helping people in Janesville with great-paying jobs,” she said.
Also quoted: Richard Steeves, professor emeritus of human oncology.
Quoted: “It’s just been a bad decision to associate your fantastic brand with something that was polarizing,” said Neeraj Arora, marketing professor at UW-Madison and executive director of the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research. “From a marketing standpoint, I think it’s fair to say that there was a misstep.”
Also: But Hart Posen, a UW-Madison professor of management and human resources and a Lands’ End observer, said by email that the Steinem episode suggests “a substantial gap in the top management team’s understanding of the current Lands’ End customer base.”
Quoted: “It’s very difficult to weather a storm like this when you as a key leader of your faculty lose the confidence of the faculty,” said Jerlando Jackson, who specializes in higher education governance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Usually at this stage, campus leadership will do damage control to try to keep faculty from abandoning ship.”
Quoted: “It’s this notion of this growing equality between husbands and wives having this paradoxical effect of growing inequality across households,” said Christine Schwartz, a sociologist who studies the topic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A controversial bill that would have banned the use and sale of aborted fetal tissue failed to make it through the Assembly this session, but one expert said he expects similar bills to be proposed in the future.
University of Wisconsin political science professor Barry Burden said the Legislature did not take up the bill likely because of overwhelming opposition from businesses and research organizations that were worried it would push jobs out of the state and shut down essential research.
Quoted: “70 to 80% of the time we get this correct, and every now and then there’s a miscalculation,” Dr. Jonathon Temte, UW Health, says
That’s because he says they are making the predictions 9 months before the flu season.
“Last year was one of those situations where the virus that emerged or started circulating was different than what was in the vaccine,” Dr. Temte says.
Noted: Research “is accelerating right now,” said Dorothy Farrar-Edwards, chair of the department of kinesiology at University of Wisconson-Madison and core leader of outreach, recruitment and education at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, referencing recently passed legislation that will give $300 million to the National Institute of Health specifically for Alzheimer’s research in 2016.
Also quoted: Barbara Bowers, professor and associate dean for research in the school of nursing at UW, said “decades of research” have shown that “social engagement is actually one of the most important things you can do for quality of life and longevity.”
Quoted: James Johannes, a University of Wisconsin-Madison business professor with expertise in banking, said he didn’t know enough about North Milwaukee State to say why it is struggling years after the recession. But speaking generally, he said, “The one thing we can say for sure is that some of the fallout from the Great Recession has been very much localized. Certain banks in certain areas of the country have just not done well. Certain areas of counties have not done well. But most of that has been flushed out of the system by now.”
Op-ed by Jaime Luque, Assistant Professor, Real Estate & Urban Land Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Noted: Kathy Cramer, director of the UW–Madison’s Morgridge Center for Public Service, says the university’s historic role helping policy makers solve state problems has shrunk due to suspicion on both ends of State Street. However, she says, some initiatives continue, including student internships and leadership programs, and embedding graduate students from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research in state legislators’ offices.
Quoted: Mike Wagner, associate professor of journalism; Kathy Cramer, director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service and political science professor; Donald Downs, professor emeritus of political science, law and journalism; John Sharpless, history professor.
Quoted: Mike Wagner, associate professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who is studying post-Act 10 politics in Wisconsin, says passage of the law and Walker’s recall win not only demoralized progressives, it also severely curtailed the political capital and political power of Democrats’ biggest allies—public sector labor unions. In 2015, Walker signed a right-to-work law that weakened Wisconsin’s private sector unions as well.
Quoted: “What we want folks to know is if they see a coyote, it’s not necessarily a bad thing,” said Marcus Mueller, a graduate student at UW-Madison working on the project, during a Feb. 22 public information meeting on coexisting with the animals.
After an anti-abortion organization released videos portraying Planned Parenthood as callously haggling the price of aborted fetuses, legislators have attempted to restrict research using such material, while scientists have found their work limited and riskier. Interviews with Anita Bhattacharyya, Gail Robertson and Alta Charo.
Quoted: During a public Monday night meeting, University of Wisconsin-Madison wildlife expert Dr. David Drake said that killing rather than trapping would open the door for other packs to move in.
The first comprehensive study of lower extremity body injuries in high school athletes shows those who specialize in one sport are at a much higher risk of injury.
Quoted: “We found overall slightly less than 40 percent specialized in a sport, meaning they really concentrated on that one sport. They may play in multiple sports, but concentrated on one,” says Tim McGuine, senior scientist at UW School of Medicine and Public Health and author of the study’s findings.
Quoted: Claudio Gratton, professor of entomology, who worked on the pollinator proposal for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; Paul Mitchell, associate professor and co-director of the UW-Extension’s Nutrient and Pest Management Program; Russell Groves, an insect ecologist and vegetable crop specialist at the UW-Madison Department of Entomology.
Noted: By 2012, virtually all corn seed, and about 30 percent of soybean seed planted in Wisconsin and across the country, was coated with neonics, said Paul Mitchell, a UW-Madison associate professor who co-directs the UW-Extension’s Nutrient and Pest Management Program. Neonic-coated seeds also are widely used on other crops such as potatoes and in lawns and gardens. Also: Russell Groves, an insect ecologist and vegetable crop specialist at the UW-Madison Department of Entomology, said farmers continually search for ways to reduce the risk of crop loss due to pests in part to meet consumer demand for low food prices. Groves said federal policies also incentivize larger farms, where natural pest solutions are less practical.
Quoted: It’s probably fine for watching a Netflix movie, but the service could struggle if other people in the home were online at the same time, said Barry Orton, a recently retired telecommunications professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It’s a Band-Aid approach, at best, and it’s an awfully expensive Band-Aid,” Orton said.
Quoted: Restricting these chemicals, however, may not be enough. Claudio Gratton, a UW-Madison entomology professor who helped develop the state’s plan, said pesticides probably aren’t the only factor causing bee decline. Disease, habitat loss, low food availability and “other stresses” are also taking a toll, he said.
Noted: Lindsay Palmer, a journalism professor at UW-Madison, said she realizes the challenges an independent journalist faces when covering conflict in foreign countries.
Quoted: “We’re trying to make the campus more accessible as a destination for the best and brightest students in our state,” said Ilia Guzei, director of the X-ray crystallography lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the organizer of the contest.
Quoted: “Yes, sometimes women do need smaller versions of things, and for jeans and other clothing, we want different cuts and different fashions,” says Christine Whelan, director of MORE: Money, Relationships and Equality at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “But the idea that that equates to somewhere between a 30 to 50 percent price hike is simply playing on the socialized culture that says women need to look a certain way.”
Noted: Unofficial returns show Justice Rebecca Bradley winning the three-way primary by only about 1.5 percent, with Appeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg just behind her. UW-Madison political scientist Barry Burden says it was a surprising outcome, given the fact that the incumbent Bradley’s name has been much more visible to voters in the weeks leading up to the election. “I would have thought her advantage would have been greater…but it ended essentially in a tie,” he says.
Quoted: “I think the conditions are there for Zika outbreaks,” said Jorge Osorio, a professor of pathobiological science at the University of Wisconsin who arrived this week in Misiones to advise the provincial government and investigate dengue prevention methods. “We have a mosquito population and we have people traveling from Argentina to Brazil.” Misiones is in northeast Argentina, bordering three Brazilian states and Paraguay.
Noted: To gauge which way the stock will tilt, it pays to think like an everyday consumer making the shopping list. “The upcoming quarter is going to be very interesting as investors will get a glimpse into how the company’s sales results were impacted by the holiday season, some huge winter storms and lower gas prices over the last two months,” says Brian Hellmer, director of the Hawk Center for Applied Security Analysis at the Wisconsin School of Business.
