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Category: UW Experts in the News

Rwanda’s Renaissance Goes off the Rails

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Huffington Post

A column on the Rwandan situation by Lars Waldorf, senior lecturer at the University of York, and Scott Straus, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They are editors of the forthcoming book, “Remaking Rwanda: State Building and Human Rights after Mass Violence (University of Wisconsin Press).

Baby steps: A new program aims to raise awareness about early childhood mental health

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Can a baby be depressed? Can a toddler have a mental illness? Are pre-schoolers being expelled from childcare for aggressive, unmanageable behavior?

The answer to all these questions is ?yes,? and experts say a lack of understanding about the social and emotional development and psychological wellbeing of babies and young children is at the root of many vexing long-term problems, from school failure to serious mental health issues.

….A new postgraduate certification program that began earlier this summer at the University of Wisconsin aims to help. The UW Infant, Early Childhood and Family Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate Program is unique in Wisconsin and among only a handful of programs throughout the country that focus on the social and emotional health of very young children.

Quoted: Program co-director Roseanne Clark, a psychologist and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Forest Products Laboratory in Madison is ready for another 100 years

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Wisconsin State Journal

Bill Nelson now has the space to crush a 20-foot-long section of a bridge and test the strength of a two-story wall, complete with windows and doors. Down the hall, engineer C.R. Boardman can create, with a few keystrokes, Seattle-like rain or the blistering heat found in Arizona. The Forest Products Laboratory in Madison is ready for the next 100 years of research with the recent opening of the $38 million Centennial Research Facility. The 87,000-square-foot center, nestled on the west side of the UW-Madison campus, is owned and operated by the USDA Forest Service and is a gleaming but functional tribute and improvement to the previous 100 years of research at the FPL.

Curiosities: Is it safe to reuse plastic knives and forks?

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Wisconsin State Journal

Quoted: UW-Madison food science professor Barbara Ingham. Single-use kitchen plastics – such things as plastic eating utensils, cups and containers from cottage cheese, sour cream, chip dip, margarine and milk – are ubiquitous, and it may seem environmentally sensible to wash and reuse them. But according to Ingham, these items are not made of materials designed for repeated use or cleaning with hot soap and water.

Flu in August? It’s rare, but four people in Wisconsin have been sick recently

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Wisconsin State Journal

Four people in Wisconsin have had the flu in recent weeks, and two small outbreaks have struck eastern Iowa ? activity that normally doesn?t start until November.

“It?s unusual but not unheard of,” said Tom Haupt, influenza coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Health officials, vigilant after last year?s surprise appearance of swine flu, or H1N1, are alerting doctors to be on the lookout for more flu cases this summer, Haupt said.

….In a separate study this week, UW-Madison researcher Yoshihiro Kawaoka and other scientists identified a protein mutation that allowed the swine flu virus to replicate well in people.

Unconscionable Cobell (The Hill’s Congress Blog)

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The Senate is asked today to give approval, sight-unseen and by unanimous consent, to a $3.4 billion ?settlement? of a 14-year-old lawsuit brought by five individuals on behalf of all American Indians who have money or land held in trust by the United States. [A column by Richard Monette, law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.]

Expert: Solar Activity Could Affect Cell Phones

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WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis. — It sounds like science fiction: storms on the Sun?s surface having a ripple effect on Earth with far-reaching plasma interfering with all sorts of human technology. Some solar activity can be significant and cause widespread problems with satellites and other technology, but the latest activity isn?t thought to be a cause of concern. In fact, the activity was expected to produce some spectacular Northern Lights that were to be visible in Wisconsin on Wednesday night.

Quoted: UW-Madison astronomy professor Alex Lazarian

Another risk for families dealing with autism spectrum disorder — divorce

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Los Angeles Times

The researchers, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Georgia State University and Boston University, said they weren?t surprised that parents of ASD children were nearly twice as likely to divorce. Their results were in line with another study that found couples raising a child with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder were about twice as likely to split up compared to other couples.

Use of deadly force still a rare event

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Wisconsin State Journal

Population growth in Dane County in recent decades, coupled with a rise in the number of law enforcement officers, has increased the chance that contacts with officers will involve deadly force – but only slightly.

In Madison and Dane County, where law enforcement officers have a long history of exercising restraint, the probability that officers will use deadly force remains “very, very low,” said Michael Scott, director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing and a professor at the UW-Madison Law School.

H1N1 virus used ‘trick’ to cause pandemic, new study says

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Capital Times

The H1N1 “swine” flu virus used a biochemical trick to spread efficiently in humans, according to a new study released on Thursday.The virus caused a worldwide epidemic in 2009-10 that sickened up to 34 million Americans alone and caused up to an estimated 6,000 deaths in the U.S.

The report in the current issue of Public Library of Science Pathogens said H1N1 used a different way to jump from an animal host to humans than what was previously discovered by scientists.

Yoshihiro Kawaoka, professor of pathobiological sciences at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine and one of the world’s leading influenza experts, said the discovery of the mutation in the H1N1 virus helps explain how the virus replicated so well in humans.

Dr. Anthony M. D’Alessandro: UW a leader in kidney transplants for minorities

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Capital Times

Dear Editor: The transplant service providers at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics are proud to be leaders in treating kidney transplant patients, including minorities, at significantly higher rates than national averages. In fact, the most recent data available show that the percentage of African-American patients who received kidney transplants over a three-year period (2004-2006) at the University of Wisconsin is more than 38 percent higher than the national average.

Chris Rickert: A little girl’s death spurs a lawsuit and questions about all that happened

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Wisconsin State Journal

Deshaunsay Sykes-Crowder?s short life does not appear to have been a happy one. But it might be a profitable one ? for others, at least. Last month, Deshaunsay?s estate and her mother filed a civil rights suit in U.S. District Court in Madison against Dane and Cuyahoga (Ohio) counties and the 6-year-old?s aunt, Lynda Sykes, who was also her foster mother.

Quoted: Susan Michaud, a former child welfare worker who now runs the public child welfare training program at UW-Madison

Senate candidate Ron Johnson maturing quickly

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U.S. Senate hopeful Ron Johnson rolled into town last week for a question-and-answer session at the tony Madison Club. With his media team in tow, the latest rock star of the Republican Party made his way to the table at the front of the crowd ? and between the cross hairs.

Quoted: Charles Franklin, UW-Madison professor of political science

Curiosities: Is it true that cell phone use can cause health problems?

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Wisconsin State Journal

Q: I?ve heard that cell phones produce unhealthy electromagnetic waves that can cause health problems. Is this true?

A: Brain cancer is the major health concern with the electromagnetic radiation from cell phones, but most studies find “nothing definitive,” says Bruce Thomadsen, a professor of medical physics and human oncology at UW-Madison.

Property Trax: UW-Madison prof pans feds? new foreclosure prevention program for unemployed

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Wisconsin State Journal

Last week Tuesday in Property Trax, I reported on the federal government?s latest program to stem the rising tide of foreclosures driven by unemployment. And I noted it looked similar in concept to a plan put forward in late 2009 by experts in UW-Madison?s real estate program. Since then, I?ve heard from one of those experts, UW-Madison professor Stephen Malpezzi, a housing economist.

On Campus: Rural troops dying at higher rate, according to University of Wisconsin study

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Wisconsin State Journal

U.S. troops from rural parts of the country are dying at higher rates than urban soldiers in the Iraq War, according to a study by a UW-Madison sociologist.

People from rural areas enlist in the military at higher rates, said Katherine Curtis, assistant professor of sociology, and once there, are killed in disproportionate numbers.

Expert focus on fish and climate change

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Noted: Fish that specifically favour temperature cold water habitats are already showing signs of the struggle with climate change. John Magnuson, University of Wisconsin, says that cold water fish like trout and charr are affected. “We already have evidence that they are beginning to show poor performance and in many streams in the European and North American area, we have major declines in the abundance and distribution of these cold water species.”

Clinton comments, Korea drills roil US-China ties

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Associated Press

Edward Friedman, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said there appears to be disagreement within the U.S. government over how to deal with China. One side wants to remain soft on China to encourage it to consume more U.S. goods, while the security establishment favors a hardline approach, he said.

Campus Connection: UW-Madison helps persuade Nike to reverse course

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Capital Times

Reacting in part to pressure applied by UW-Madison, athletic apparel giant Nike has agreed “to help improve the lives of workers affected by the Hugger and Vision Tex factory closures in Honduras.”

….”I think this is one of the biggest victories that the student anti-sweatshop movement has had,” says Jane Collins, a UW-Madison professor of community and environmental sociology, and author of the 2003 book “Threads: Gender, Labor and Power in the Global Apparel Industry.”

“This is precedent-setting. Nike does not very often admit that it did something that needed fixing,” adds Collins, who also is a member of the university’s Labor Licensing Policy Committee.

Ask the Weather Guys: When we feel the wind on our bodies, what is it that we’re feeling?

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Wisconsin State Journal

Quoted: The wind is air in motion, say Steven Ackerman and Jonathan Martin. The atmosphere is made up of gas molecules, mostly nitrogen and oxygen. These gas molecules are constantly in motion and exert a force when they strike an object, like our bodies. The force exerted by the molecules hitting you is a function of the speed, number and mass of the molecules.

Hmong presence growing at Farmer’s Market

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Wisconsin State Journal

Quoted: Farmers markets are especially important for recent immigrants, said Alfonso Morales, an assistant professor of urban and regional planning at UW-Madison and an expert on public markets. A market, such as the Dane County Farmers? Market, where shoppers pay a premium, gives the Hmong a better outlet than a roadside stand or another farmers? market because of its great reputation and its large, affluent customer base.The income they make frequently gets plowed back into their operations and paid forward through investment in their children, he said.

Curiosities: What’s the difference between dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent and dish soap?

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Wisconsin State Journal

Quoted: Allen Clauss, a UW-Madison chemistry lecturer who previously worked at consumer products company Procter & Gamble Co., saying the main differences are in the pH, presence or absence of bleach, and the types of surfactants – long molecules that are water-loving at one end and oil-loving at the other. “Surfactants are active ingredients we put in cleaning products that bridge the gap between water and greasy dirt and help wash it away,” he says.

Stem cell camp whets appetite of future scientists

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Capital Times

The two dozen middle school students were tired and hungry at the end of a long day, but still fully engaged, raising their hands to ask such questions as, ?How do you spell cryopreservation?? and ?What, exactly, is a stem cell?? Renowned UW scientist Jeff Jones, a pioneer in stem cell research, had these kids under his spell.