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.
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.
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.
Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison soil scientist James Bockheim.
Quoted: UW-Madison Political Science Professor Charles Franklin.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
Quoted: UW Law School professor Peter Carstensen.
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.
Quoted: Volker Radeloff, a forest ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discovered the pattern by looking at historical trends in the World Database on Protected Areas for 34 countries.
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.”
Quoted: ?The results made us very convinced that you should not have a stent procedure if you?re symptomatic,? says Dr. K. Craig Kent, chair of surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
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.
In an eight-way race to fill the seat of retiring state Rep. Spencer Black, a majority of the candidates are echoing the progressive, pro-environmental policies that defined Black?s 26 years in office. Politically speaking, it?s a smart move.
Quoted: Political science professor David Canon
Quoted: “That was a step in the right direction, but not a big step,” said Allan Odden, a Race to the Top expert with UW-Madison?s Wisconsin Center for Education Research. “Other states went farther than we did and that?s ultimately why we rated lower.”
Noted: A group of community leaders, including Susan Schmitz, president of Downtown Madison Inc.; Tripp Widder, Library Board president; and Alan Fish, UW-Madison?s associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and management, has recommended that neighborhoods be more transparent about who supports or opposes a project.
Quoted: 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.
Quoted: Zheng He was an admiral in the time of “empire”, when there were no boundaries, no frontier limits, says China expert Edward Friedman.
UW professor Max Schmeiser called the new federal consumer law a mixed bag, with some good elements and some bad for Wisconsin consumers.
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.
Quoted: UW Law School professor Michele Lavigne, a former public defender, who directs the public defender internship program at the law school and teaches classes about criminal defense. ?He?s been there so long, it?s hard to imagine it without him,? she said.
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.
Quoted: “What our research shows is the more (alcohol) density you have, the more problems you have,” said Dawn Crim, a nonvoting member of the ALRC and the director of community relations at UW-Madison.
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.
Quoted: John Young has been Wisconsin?s state climatologist for eight years. He is an emeritus professor in UW-Madison?s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and stills gets excited about the weather.
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.
Noted: Professor Richard Davis of UW-Madison points out that anyone growing up in America has been affected by the way the media and others present race.
Quoted: At a forum on redistricting, UW-Madison Political Science Professor Ken Mayer said that won?t happen to Wisconsin this year. He puts the odds of gaining or losing a seat at zero.
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.
Quoted: “We?ve had some good secretaries of agriculture, but I?ve got to say under Rod we?ve done more positive things for Wisconsin agriculture,” said UW-Madison dairy economist Bob Cropp. “There?s a lot of progress that?s been made under his leadership.”
Quoted: “The ballot is very heavily regulated real estate,” said Kenneth Mayer, a UW-Madison political science professor. Griffin will probably lose her battle, he said, because the ballot “is not designed as a platform for candidates to give political statements.”
A slain University of Wisconsin-Madison student?s fiance cannot sue authorities for mishandling her 911 call or the couple?s landlords for lax security because he doesn?t have the legal standing, a court ruled Thursday. The District 4 Court of Appeals dismissed two lawsuits filed by Jordan Gonnering, whose fiancee, Brittany Zimmermann, was stabbed and strangled by an intruder in their Madison apartment in April 2008. The killing remains unsolved.
Quoted: Barry C. Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, said voters would be reminded of the attack at the sentencing and again during televised debates in fall when it will be obvious he can?t fully use his hand. He compared it to former GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole, who didn?t have use one of his arms because of war injuries. “I think those kind of personal factors get more weight for voters who are paying peripheral attention and right now that?s most Wisconsin voters, frankly,” he said.
Rod Nilsestuen, the head of Wisconsin?s Department of Agriculture since 2003 who died while swimming in Lake Superior, was remembered Thursday as a consensus-building, bipartisan, visionary advocate for farmers. He earned a law degree from UW-Madison.
Quoted: Nilsestuen?s “passionate commitment” to preserving agricultural land will leave a “towering legacy of his influence,” said Molly Jahn, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison?s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Quoted: Barry C. Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, said voters would be reminded of the attack at the sentencing and again during televised debates in fall when it will be obvious he can?t fully use his hand.
Noted: Of course, those who follow campaign finance issues know that holding down spending suppresses turnout. Studies by UW-Madison professor Ken Goldstein and others have found that in races where there?s more spending, voters are more knowledgeable about the candidates and turn out in higher numbers.
The UW Center for Nonprofits will study how nonprofits may have contributed to a dramatic decline in Dane County?s black infant mortality rate in recent years, the center announced. The center received a $50,000 grant from the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research to look at nonprofits? influence on black babies surviving their first year. The county?s black infant mortality rate declined in 2002 to 2007, a decrease that gained national attention, but rose in 2008 and remained higher last year than the earlier years. ABC for Health, Access Community Health Centers and the South Madison Health and Family Center-Harambee are among the agencies that will be analyzed, said Jeanan Yasiri, executive director of the UW Center for Nonprofits.
Noted: An Illinois man accused of helping gang-rape a college coed more than a decade ago doesn?t deserve a new trial, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The 4-3 decision clarifies that criminal defendants can?t use civil statutes to request new trials. It also means Dimitri Henley must return to prison to finish the last half of a 20-year sentence, said his attorney, Wisconsin Innocence Project co-director Keith Findley.
A fatal crash following police pursuit in Madison early Wednesday morning was the second such incident in less than five months for UW-Madison Police. In Wednesday?s incident, Michael J. Benkert, 24, of Waunakee, was killed and his passenger was injured after he tried to elude police. The agency is still reviewing the incident and has asked the Madison Police Department to conduct an independent review.
Also quoted is UW-Madison law professor Michael Scott. “The general trend across the country has been pretty consistently toward more restrictive policies on pursuits,” Scott said.
Quoted: “Wolf recovery has seen a gradual expansion of what we?ve defined as wolf habitat,” says Adrian Treves, an environmental studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “They?re starting to form breeding packs in areas where we didn?t think, 20 or 30 years ago, that they could.”
Noted: By comparing consumption data from the national Health and Retirement Study, Thomas DeLeire of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Ariel Kalil of the University of Chicago found that spending money on leisure activities, which include vacations, movie theater tickets, and hobbies, improve happiness levels. (Happiness was measured by asking respondents to describe how they felt about their lives.)
Quoted: Both campaigns say they don?t want the contest to revert to mud-slinging, but it could be a nasty few months until November, said Dennis Dresang, emeritus professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Earwigs have been in Wisconsin only a couple dozen years, and they?ve only worked their way to the northern parts of the state in the last decade, according to Phil Pellitterri of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab.
Quoted: While both campaigns say they don?t want the contest to revert to mud-slinging, it could be a nasty few months until November, said Dennis Dresang, emeritus professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: “The difficulty with reproductive control [is] that such a high percentage of the population has to be treated in order to see any affect on the population,” said Scott Craven, a wildlife ecology professor at UW-Madison and an expert on urban geese control. “And it?s fabulously expensive.”
Quoted: Because cities are different, that potential benefit will vary from city to city, said Dr. Jonathan Patz of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A professor in the university?s Nelson Institute and Department of Population sciences, Patz is leading a team doing the same sort of bicycle risk-benefit analysis for 11 major cities in the Midwest.
Noted: The mythology grew and persists, however, in large part because ?in certain aspects, the shoes do work,? says Michael Ryan, Ph.D., the lead author of the study of female half-marathoners and currently a postdoctoral fellow in the department of orthopedics and rehabilitation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Motion-control shoes, for instance, do control motion, he says. Biomechanical studies of runners on treadmills repeatedly have proved that pronation is significantly reduced in runners who wear motion-control shoes.
Thirty square miles surrounded by reality.
Since the phrase was first muttered 30-plus years ago by one-term Republican Gov. Lee Dreyfus, the geographic footprint of the capital city has more than doubled. As Madison?s borders expanded, so did its population and that of Dane County.
In politics, population leads to regional power. The more people there are living in an area, the more representatives those residents are entitled to in the Legislature, which is why news that Dane County?s population has increased by 50,000, enough to warrant greater representation in the Capitol, may be a hard pill to swallow for some lawmakers.
Quoted: UW-Madison political science professor Ken Mayer
With unemployment rates still stubbornly high and likely to stay that way for awhile, the federal government is offering a new program to help those who aren?t working save their homes. And it bears a striking resemblance in concept to a plan advanced months ago by UW-Madison real estate experts. The program is similar to an idea developed by UW-Madison professor Stephen Malpezzi and some others in the university?s real estate department.
Veterinarians are practicing ever more advanced medicine on the nation?s 77 million dogs, 90 million cats and a myriad of other animals — treatments that vie with the best of human medicine. The driving force is “the changing role of the pet in our society,” said Dr. Patty Khuly, a veterinarian at Miami?s Sunset Animal Clinic. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, a new surgical technique to repair torn knee ligaments in dogs was so successful that it?s now being used on NFL players, said Dr. William Gengler, director of Wisconsin?s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
Quoted: Exhibit one, said James Kitchell, a professor of zoology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison?s Center for Limnology, is the blood-sucking sea lamprey.
Quoted: Ken Mayer, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the larger percentage of money from political committees Lassa received isn?t unusual for U.S. House members or candidates.
Quoted: At the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, a new surgical technique to repair torn knee ligaments in dogs was so successful that it?s now being used on NFL players, said Dr. William Gengler, director of Wisconsin?s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
For the longest time, the Earth and the sun lived in harmony. Then, in 1611, Galileo discovered sunspots. “For that period, that was really a big discovery, changing our understanding of celestial bodies,” said Alexandre Lazarian, a professor in the astronomy department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: “A successful mayor of New York with lots of resources and lots of ambition should never be counted out,” said Charles Franklin, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and co-founder of pollster.com.
Quoted: After Pasteur?s experiments, people started realizing “stuff wasn?t spoiling because of some mysterious aura around it, but it was due to these contagious ?bugs,? ” says Scott Rankin, a professor in the department of food science at the University of Wisconsin.
Troy Runge holds what could be America?s energy future in his hands — and it looks a little like dog food. A mix of sawdust bound into pellets, it?s Runge?s latest creation in his lab on the UW-Madison campus. There, he?s been trying different combinations of plant materials, or biomass, as a fuel to replace the coal that burns in the Charter Street power plant about a half-mile away. Runge?s work is part of a broader initiative on campus to develop renewable energy sources.
