unc.edu/news

International Coverage

Nursing homes undertreat dementia patients' pain
Reuters (Wire Service)
Nursing home residents with dementia appear to be less likely to receive pain medication than other residents, even though they have just as many painful health conditions, a new study suggests. Researchers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill evaluated data for 551 residents of six nursing homes across the state and found that residents who were cognitively impaired were less likely to receive regular doses of pain medication or to receive pain drugs at all.

National Coverage

McCain Health Plan Could Mean Higher Tax
The New York Times
Though Senator John McCain has promised to not raise taxes, his campaign acknowledged Wednesday that the health plan he outlined this week would have the effect of increasing tax payments for some workers, primarily those with high incomes and expensive health plans. ...“Anyway you cut it, if you make health benefits subject to taxation, that’s a tax increase,” said Jonathan B. Oberlander, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Regional Coverage

Wright's comments likely to draw voters from Obama
Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.)
With polls showing increasingly tight races in Indiana and North Carolina's Democratic presidential primaries, political experts in those states said Wednesday that Sen. Barack Obama's renouncement of his firebrand former pastor may not be enough to stop his political bleeding. ...Obama needs to focus his campaign's energy on convincing voters of all stripes of his authenticity, said Ferrel Guillory, the director of the Program on Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Obama walks fine line in quest for white votes
The Boston Globe (Mass.)
The walls of Simmons' Fourth Ward restaurant are covered with faded clippings and autographed photos of black celebrities who squeezed into the diner for fried chicken, ribs, and smothered pork chops. ...Isaac Unah, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina, said Simmons is typical of most black voters who understand that Obama's lower profile in their community is necessary to his ability to run a broad-based campaign.

Texas schools testing ways to ease TAKS anxiety
The Dallas Morning News
A quiet campaign is afoot in Texas schools to scrap a key part of the state accountability test: the pressure. ...About 20 percent of students in upper elementary grades are hamstrung by testing stress, according to University of North Carolina researcher Gregory Cizek.

Ohio House passes tough payday lending caps
The Associated Press
One of the nation’s strictest proposed crackdowns on payday lending cleared the Ohio House on Wednesday, backed by Republicans and Democrats who believed the protection of consumers would far outweigh job losses should the industry shut down. ...A University of North Carolina study on the impact of a shutdown in payday lending in that state found that the loss of the option did not greatly affect credit options available to consumers. Twice as many people surveyed said the absence of payday lending was a good thing as those who thought it was a bad thing.

State and Local Coverage

Study shows eating disorder on the rise
WTVD-TV (ABC/Raleigh)
Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill say 3-out-of-4 women suffer from some sort of disordered eating behavior. The study also shows the behaviors aren't just limited to one group of women. According to new research from Dr. Cynthia Bulik the women most affected by an eating disorder are between the ages of 25 and 45.
Related Link:
http://www.wschronicle.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1137&Itemid=42
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/survey-finds-disordered-
eating-behaviors-among-three-out-of-four-american-women.html

Researchers identify new cell targets for preventing growth of breast cancer, other tumors
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
Researchers at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered new targets for cancer treatment aimed at blocking a key step in tumor progression. This step – the creation of new blood vessels – enables tumors to grow out of control and ultimately spread cancer to other parts of the body.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/researchers-identify-new-
cell-targets-for-preventing-growth-of-breast-and-other-tumors.html

WNC schools see unease over corporal punishment
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
North Carolina is one of 21 states that allows corporal punishment, but there is no means of monitoring its use, and the policies are different at each school district, a child advocacy group said in a report released Tuesday. ...The report was done in conjunction with UNC Chapel Hill School of Social Work, though an investigation by the Citizen-Times found it contained some mistakes on which schools districts prohibit corporal punishment.

UNC chancellor search nears end
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The search for a new chancellor at UNC-Chapel Hill could be concluded next week, and at least one person approached for the job is an insider who has spent 15 years as a chemistry professor and administrator in Chapel Hill.

UNC says coach didn't endorse Obama
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC basketball coach Roy Williams has not endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, the team's spokesman said Wednesday. ...In a state where the Democratic primary between Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is days away, political observers are hanging on every word and action. But Williams' playful comments were not meant as an endorsement of Obama, said Steve Kirschner, spokesman for the basketball team.

Self-fed kids
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The nutrition majors from UNC sounded as if they were conducting an anthropological study of a primitive culture. ...But Mia Chabot, Michelle Tulley, Becca Wright and Stephanie Lu, all with UNC's Nutrition Coalition, weren't in a Third World nation studying undernourished youth. They were in Durham at the Museum of Life and Science volunteering with the second annual Kids in the Kitchen exhibition sponsored by the Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties.

Mom's specialty vs. prison meal (Mom wins) (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
What makes a meal special? What makes a meal cruel? My mother's holiday meals are highlights of the year for everyone in my family. The gatherings around the table are filled with laughter. The food is delicious. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Tasty snacks and minimeals
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Kids may be more apt to try something healthful if they have a hand in making it, but to keep them coming back it has to be tasty as well. Here are some proven crowd pleasers from our panel of nutritionists: Julie Paul with WakeMed, Ashleigh Miles with Rex Healthcare and Liz Watt with the UNC Wellness Center at Meadowmont.

2008 Massey Award Given To UNC Housekeeper
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Gloria Fortune is just two years away from retirement and has worked as a housekeeper on the 4th floor of Dey Hall on UNC’s campus for the past 18 years. Now, she's officially being honored for her service. Gloria Fortune is one of six recipients of the 2008 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards.

Student sit-in enters 3rd week
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
As the UNC student sit-in enters its third week, the rotunda of South Building looks like an odd meeting of university administration and finals week dormitory crash pad.

Just a little horse play at children's hospital
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
If you thought you heard a horse whinny Wednesday at the N.C. Children's Hospital, it was probably Snowball. The white miniature horse was one of three to visit young patients, and she let at least one startling, loud cry escape from her small body.

Visually impaired have high-tech fun
The Chapel Hill Herald
"Geeks making the world better one bit at a time." That's the playful slogan for UNC's "Maze Day," during which scores of blind and visually impaired children from across the state came out Wednesday morning to test drive computer programs especially designed for them.
UNC Media Advisory:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/media-invited-to-amazing-
maze-day-for-visually-impaired-children.html

Panel: N.C. needs public records primer
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A panel reviewing state e-mail policies agreed in principle Wednesday to recommend that government agency heads be required to make sure that employees who handle public records understand which ones must be preserved. ..."We need to frame it so that you're expected to do the public's business openly and transparently," said panel member Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC-Chapel Hill's Program on Public Life, and a former N&O editor.

Paul plans UNC visit (Under the Dome)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Ron Paul, a Texas congressman who is still seeking the Republican nomination for president, is coming to North Carolina on Friday for two public events. Paul will speak at 3:30 p.m. at Carroll Hall at UNC-Chapel Hill.

New UNC clinic opening today
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
UNC Family Medicine is opening today on 2201 Old N.C. 86. The location offers a full spectrum of primary care for the entire family and allow a broader range of people to receive care from a UNC Health Care practice, said Allen Daugird, medical director and vice president of ambulatory care.

Issues and Trends

In memory: Rameses XVII
The Baltimore Sun (Maryland)
Rameses XVII, the eight-year-old, blue-horned ram that led the University of North Carolina football team onto the field, died last Thursday of complications from an injury he suffered in an encounter with his own son. His son Pablo, 3, will now become the new university mascot, Rameses XVIII.

Public does have a right to know (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
In the interest of full disclosure, this newspaper had a strong interest in the legal motion decided by Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour and reported on in Wednesday's paper. ...The motion was brought by the newspaper company to unseal search warrants used in the investigation of the death of Eve Carson, the UNC student body president.

Deaths hit NCCU hard
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
..."In all my years in higher education, I've never experienced this number of student deaths," said Frances Graham, NCCU's interim vice chancellor for student affairs. "It's really unbelievable, actually." At Duke, three students died this school year, including Abhijit Mahato, the graduate student shot dead in his apartment. At UNC-Chapel Hill, four students died since last summer, including the student body president, Eve Carson, who was shot dead this year.