Category: UW Experts in the News

Quoted: â??I think that skepticism is healthy in the scientific process,â? said Steve Vavrus, a senior scientist for climatic research at the Gaylord Nelson Institute of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. â??I think it would be very dangerous if everyone had the same view and didnâ??t question each other.â?

Quoted: While people in the study had acceptable LDL cholesterol levels, most of them had other conditions that increased their heart disease risk, said James Stein, a cardiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health. Those conditions included their age, being overweight and having slightly elevated blood pressure.

Quoted: Dr. James Stein of the University of Wisconsin-Madison said that doctors examining treatment guidelines should pay close attention to the new results.

Quoted: “In Wisconsin Supreme Court races, there is a large incumbency effect,” said UW-Madison professor Katherine Cramer Walsh. “People don’t follow the doings of the state Supreme Court.”

Quoted: Dr. Paul Smith, a UW-Madison family medicine physician, said he was surprised to learn after 15 years in practice that some patients didnâ??t understand instructions for taking medications or the various forms they have to sign.

Q: How can stimulant drugs, such as Ritalin, calm hyperactivity?

A: As any coffee drinker can attest, small amounts of caffeine usually do wonders for alertness, energy and the ability to concentrate. Quaff too many cups of joe, however, and jitteriness and insomnia set in.

Itâ??s the same with Ritalin, Adderall and other stimulant medications now taken by millions of Americans to quell the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). At low doses, these drugs calm behavior, boost mental performance and focus attention.

Ramp up the dosage, though, and they act like stereotypical stimulants: impairing thinking, and causing anxiety and even addiction, says UW-Madison psychology professor Craig Berridge.

Quoted: “This is a time-honored tradition in American politics,” says David Canon, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Congress does this all the time, too. It’s just something that political leaders like to do, to either recognize certain individuals or groups that are doing good things, to raise public awareness about a problem like a disease or just make a nice gesture to a group you want to support, like amateur radio operators. A cost-free way to make people feel good.”

The recently formed Linguistics Club will host an event on regional dialects Monday at 8:30 p.m. in Lalumiere Language Hall.

Joseph Salmons, co-director of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures and a professor of German at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will give an overview of different English dialects found in Wisconsin. Salmons refers to these dialects as “Englishes.”

Quoted: â??The good news then is that the recession, as captured by the official statistics, may not be as severe as it appears,â? said Edgar Feige, a professor at the University of Wisconsin- Madison who has studied the underground economy for 30 years. In past slumps, unregistered activity increased as a proportion of the official economy, he said.

Quoted: The economic crisis means some risk for MyMenuâ??s expansion, but the Midwest economy is stronger than other areas, said Kyle Stiegert, a UW-Madison assistant professor of agricultural and applied economics.

Quoted: “He is trying to do all four years in the first four months,” said Charles O. Jones, a University of Wisconsin emeritus professor who has written extensively on presidential power. “There is no question that he is not only doing that in his appearances. But also in those appearances, he is introducing and promoting a whole set of policies before people even have sort of caught their breath from the last one.”

Noted: The state Climatology Office, which maintains a list of dates for the ice status of Lakes Mendota, Monona and Wingra back into the mid-19th century, reports the official call is made after personal observations, including those at the Washburn Observatory at UW-Madison.

Climatology Office manager Lyle Anderson said his office has made the call for the last 30 years, trying hard to follow the observational practices that would have been used during the 19th century, but because the rules have been handed down orally, thereâ??s some question how scientific itâ??s been.

Quoted: Thereâ??s not much in the plan for smaller Wisconsin banks, said James Johannes, director of the UW-Madison Puelicher Center for Banking Education.

Ira Flatow is accustomed to having his guests take the spotlight, but this was different.

Midway through Flatow’s two-hour “Science Friday” show on National Public Radio, aired live Friday from Florida State University’s Fallon Theatre, Bruce Means went to his bag of tricks.

Means, the executive director of the nonprofit Coastal Plains Institute, produced a coiled racer king snake that he had found not far from Tallahassee.

He placed it on the table, then handed it briefly to the biologist to his left, University of Wisconsin professor Sean Carroll. Carroll gingerly stroked the snake as the appreciative packed audience hooted and clapped.

“I’ve been upstaged many times,” Flatow said, “but never by a snake.”

Noted: The campus climate survey will be led by Damon Williams, vice provost for climate and diversity at the University of Wisconsin. A contract still is in the developmental stages, but Williams’ work will measure attitudes of employees and students about equity and diversity on campus.

Quoted: Of course, presidents have always been under the microscope of grassroots activists. University of Wisconsin political science professor David Canon believes the basic elements of political discourse in the United States have been consistent, even with the rise of new media.

Quoted: “It is so much easier now,” said Marsha Mansfield, a clinical associate professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School and director of the school’s Economic Justice Institute. “In Wisconsin, now all you have to do is send out a notice. … It’s certainly not as consumer friendly.”

Q: Could global warming actually be good for cold-blooded animals?

A: Because cold-blooded animals are largely at the whim of their environment to regulate their body temperature, it seems reasonable that a warmer climate could help these animals by making it easier to stay warm. Could global warming actually benefit some species?

“It will in the northern and mid-latitudes, but not in the tropics, which is where most of the biodiversity resides,” says UW-Madison zoology professor Warren Porter

Quoted: Itâ??s crucial that motion sensors are set so they donâ??t turn on every time someone walks down the sidewalk, and that people are trained to pay attention and possibly call police when neighborsâ?? lights go on, said Michael Scott, director of the UW-Madison-based center.

Quoted: Itâ??s illegal for an employer to discriminate based on a host of factors including race, sexual orientation or a conviction unrelated to job functions, but companies have a wide pool of job applicants now, said Barry Gerhart, chairman of the UW-Madison School of Business department of management and human resources.

Quoted: Bruce Jones, a farm economist at UW-Madison, noted that the loss of farmland has slowed in recent years because of higher farm profits and turmoil in the housing and lending markets. But losses could pick up again in future years, he cautioned.

Q: Why doesnâ??t spring start on the same date every year?

A: According to the astronomical definition, spring occurs when the sunâ??s rays strike the equator at noon at an angle that is directly overhead. This time varies from year to year due to variations in the Earthâ??s orbit around the Sun.

Quoted: While Feingold has waged those fights alongside Republicans in Washington, it has not helped him with Republicans in Wisconsin, said Charles Franklin, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He said Feingold, who is up for re-election in 2010, remains a target among state GOP activists who have tended to focus on his more liberal positions.

Quoted: “It’s a fairly gray area, with valid points to be made on both sides,” says Dan Schaefer, chair of the UW-Madisonâ??s Department of Animal Science at UW-Madison. He says bacterial resistance is a biological fact. However, it may be difficult to prove whether regular antibiotic use in farm animals hinders human health. (Fifth item.)

Noted: Isthmus and The Daily Page have partnered with professor Sue Robinson and her UW-Madison journalism students to produce a series of issue-based reports on the county executive race. Look for those stories on TheDailyPage.com starting Monday, March 23.

Quoted: Anthony Milanowski, an assistant scientist at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has done his own research on teacher effectiveness and vetted other research on the issue, said various studies have drawn that line where seniority ceases to matter anywhere between three years and 11 years. West’s claim of three years is on the low side of most research, he said.

Noted: UW-Madison Journalism Professor Sue Robinson has been interviewing Cap Times employees, researching how papers are transforming themselves for the Web and what that means for traditional journalism. The interviews are confidential, but Robinson says staffers have been “grappling with brand-new beats and skill sets during a time of industry-wide strife and upheaval.” Amid a lot of quick-hit press-release and police-blotter items, reporters are “spending more time on longer depth pieces, going more narrow and deeper.” At the same time, many are blogging as well, creating a more informal kind of journalism. Video and other online features are added to the mix.

Quoted: â??Itâ??s really something that does not look good on the surface,â? said Mason Carpenter, a professor of management and human resources at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: “Currently, if you make a charge on your credit card, the interest rate could change in the future. It could go up considerably,” notes University of Wisconsin financial specialist Michael Collins.

Quoted: Despite the formidable resources a Wal-Mart brings to bear on any market it enters, Mason Carpenter, a University of Wisconsin business professor, said that he doesn’t see harm coming to Epic.

“I wouldn’t say they are a threat at all to Epic,” he said.

Quoted: UW-Madison Grainger School of Business economist Mason Carpenter told 27 News, even if AIG contract bonuses cannot be rescinded, new federal legislation should be enacted to more tightly require such bonus payments to reflect company performance, if a company receives federal funds.

Quoted: But given the term’s widespread use, UW-Madison professor Thomas O’Guinn said he was surprised the state was seeking trademark protection. O’Guinn, director of the school’s Center for Brand and Product Management, said a quick Internet search revealed broad use in the public domain.

Also: University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor Anuj Desai said he doubted the state would have legal problems. As long as there is no risk that consumers will confuse the state’s marketing with someone else’s, the likelihood of problems is low, he said.

Quoted: James Seward, an associate professor of finance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: “Age is a very poor criteria to judge competency,” said Mark Sager of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a physician and specialist in aging issues and Alzheimer’s.

“It’s ability, it’s competency, it’s performance that is the most important indicator of their ability to do a job,” Sager said.

Quoted: Pension borrowing deals are analogous to individuals borrowing on margin – a loan backed by stocks and bonds – and using the money to buy more stocks, said James Seward, an associate professor of finance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The risk rises with interest rates and the relative health of the financial markets, he said.

Quoted: University of Wisconsin history professor John Sharpless said that the two crises are different.

“There are some similarities but I think overall, the differences are enormous. Nothing rivals the Great Depression at all,” said Sharpless.

Sharpless marks the differences as double-digit unemployment, families divided because parents couldn’t afford children at home and bank failures in the thousands.

“I think when that generation looks back and obviously, there are fewer of those people in our society, it was a big deal. It was enormous. It produced a generation that didn’t want to ever be in debt,” said Sharp

Quoted: Dr. Dennis Maki, professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said it’s time for the government to become more proactive in stopping food-borne illnesses.

Marketing professor Deborah Mitchell recalls watching a hushed, serious scene on NBC’s “ER” that involved a stricken victim and the clicking of a dialysis machine. After the scene faded to black, she was surprised by a sudden change in tone, from soothing to stentorian, as an ad blared forth for snack food.

“How inappropriate! It’s one thing to have your creative be relatively upbeat, relatively perky, and you hope it’s not going to come right after a scene like that, very somber,” said Ms, Mitchell, a senior lecturer at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin School of Business. The sound is jarring, she said, but it certainly grabs the viewer.

Quoted: “The governor’s proclamation is an acknowledgment of importance of eating right to improve the health of Wisconsin citizens and the need for more emphasis on prevention and wellness in our health care system,” said Susan Nitzke, a registered dietitian and professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: â??This is definitely great news,â? said Jason D. Walker-Crawford, the pharmacy manager at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, in Madison. â??This gives us an opportunity to go back to those companies and see what they might do for us.â?

Quoted: “Most lenders are very afraid of you going into default and more afraid of you going into foreclosure because they lose a lot of money. So they are willing to work with you,” says University of Wisconsin financial specialist Michael Collins.

Quoted: The calm that meditation engenders produces physical and emotional changes that represent the flip side of fight-or-flight. For those with overtaxed lives, a bonus of meditation is that a little of it apparently goes a long way.

One study of individuals who were new to meditating showed measurable brain and behavior differences after just two weeks of daily 30-minute sessions, says Richard Davidson, director of the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. But meditation is like any other workout: To reap the benefits, don’t stop.

Q: How do ice ridges form on the lake?

A: Lake ice formation is dynamic. Even when a lake is completely frozen, the ice is not stagnant. It expands and contracts as it warms and cools.

CURIOSITIES We ask the experts your questions about our world.

Q: When we think about how hot or cold it feels, why do we worry about only wind at cold temperatures (i.e. wind chill), and only humidity at high temps (i.e. heat index)?

Quoted: There are several possibilities, speculated UW-Madison School of Business finance professor Jim Seward. It could be short sellers â?? investors who borrowed the stock and sold it with the idea they could buy it back later at a lower price â?? or it could be individuals watching the low price and thinking it may climb a few pennies.

Noted: Chris Marnay, a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has been working on microgrids for 10 years. He’s been working with Prof. Robert Lasseter at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who came up with one concept of a microgrid that involves small generators that monitor voltage and frequency nearby in the microgrid and use the information to maintain safe and stable operation when “islanded” from the larger grid. The challenge has been to create microgrids that have control when they are independent of the larger grid, as well as the ability to seamlessly disconnect and reconnect to utility power, says Marnay.

Noted: University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business Dean Michael Knetter said he’d stick to investments in the middle of the road.

“I would probably take a somewhat defensive and cautious position yet,” Knetter said. “What am I doing? I’m getting my flat screen TV for $1,000, maybe I’m keeping $1,000 in something fairly liquid, and I’m putting $3,000 in the market and probably betting on the technology sector in the U.S. to really carry the day.”

Quoted: “It is particularly important to test for contaminants at this time of year when snowmelt and spring rains recharge our water supplies,” said UW-Madison Water Resources Institute director Anders Andren. “We use more than 800 million gallons of groundwater each day, and Wisconsin is not immune to water contamination.”