" /> Multimedia Reporting (Kuhr-Musser): March 2006 Archives

« February 2006 | Main | April 2006 »

March 31, 2006

More than just librarians; teachers

Bethany Bunch | March 31, 2006 07:06 PM |

KU researcher, Scott Walter, released information last month that librarians identify themselves as teachers.

A modest dress, hair in a bun, glasses on a chain, a bothered expression and the only thing missing is a shushing finger and a stack of books.

Like most professionals, librarians are subject to stereotypes. But there are at least two sides to academic librarians, one side that goes unseen. A January University of Kansas ScholarWorks publication shows that academic librarians have an equal duty of classroom teaching as other library jobs.

Scott Walter, assistant dean of libraries for information and instructional services, began interviewing Washington State University librarians two years ago. He said he found that every interviewed librarian identified themselves as teachers, what he refers to as having a teacher identity.

“The study was prompted by my observation that instructional responsibilities have increased dramatically for librarians over the past decade,” Walter said.

Walter said if a librarian has a strong sense of himself as a teacher, he is more likely to be successful at it. This suggests that librarians with a teacher identity will thrive at teaching instead of researching.

One of the questions Walter asked in the interviews dealt with how librarians felt they were perceived on campus. They said they felt their teaching was not well-known by other faculty and that students were generally surprised by what they do.

“How one thinks of one’s self as a teacher can affect everything from successful induction into the profession to effectiveness in the classroom to the ability to cope with change and to implement new practices in one’s instructional work,” Walter said.

Like professors, librarians are required to teach students. Academic librarians must have a Master of Library Science degree but are not required to take any education curriculum.

Bill Myers, director of library development and spokesperson for KU libraries, said, “Some librarians, and this is more prevalent among those who work in universities, hold master's degrees in other disciplines in addition to the MLS.”

According to Walter’s research, since 1999, KU librarians have taught more than 720 academic classes to nearly 10,500 students annually on average. Walter found that the academic librarians felt unprepared for the teaching responsibilities after completing professional school.

bb_librarians.gif Librarians consistently teach more than 500 classes a year.

Walter said, “One conclusion that I found that I wasn’t looking for or expecting was that the librarians overwhelmingly criticized their graduate preparation. They weren’t told they’d have to teach classes, they were only trained to do research.”

Walter said these findings emphasized the importance of telling librarians their exact roles when they first get a job.

“I uncovered a number of themes that have relevance for professional education and professional development programs for librarians, including the importance of introducing people becoming librarians today to the likely significance of their teaching role when they get their first professional position,” Walter said.

The daily tasks of librarians are varied. Myers said they select materials to be put into the libraries, help faculty researches find sources, answer student questions and help them find information, and teach graduate classes.

“Virtually everything that a KU librarian does is related to helping students and faculty find the information they need to support their academic work, whether learning, teaching, researching, or creating,” Myers said.

Posted by Bethany Bunch at 07:06 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Scientists develop non-invasive nasal anthrax vaccine

Nathan McGinnis | March 31, 2006 04:49 PM |






A University of Kansas professor is working on an innovative new vaccine that may make it easier to immunize people in the event of an anthrax attack.

In January 2006 Russell Middaugh, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Kansas, published a paper along with colleagues at private and government labs on the development of a powdered anthrax vaccine capable of being sprayed into the nose rather than injected into the muscle.

Laboratory tests confirm the effectiveness of the powdered vaccine on laboratory mice, and human testing has occurred on a limited basis.

“Tests on humans look encouraging,” Middaugh said, “you rely on the data you have, but you will only know if it works on the day you experience a terrorist attack.”

FluMist is prepackaged in a single-use unit that is sprayed into the patient’s nose either by a doctor or nurse. Middaugh hopes a similar delivery system would provide a more effective way for the mass immunization of a population exposed to anthrax.

“Vaccines are best absorbed by the same method we absorb bacteria,” Middaugh said, “which is what made the nose so attractive.”

The idea behind vaccines has changed little since Edward Jenner experimented with them in the late 18th century. Jenner discovered that if a patient were injected with a weak dose of a virus, the body would naturally build up antibodies against it and be resistant to further infection. Intramuscular injection by needle was the method used by Jenner, and still remains the most common delivery method for vaccines today.

To understand the innovative new powdered vaccine, one must first understand the anthrax virus and the problems with the old vaccine.

Anthrax is a combination of three different proteins: edema factor (EF), lethal factor (LF), and protective antigen (PA). The three proteins are non-toxic when separate, but when either LF or EF combine with PA, it acts a medium for the other proteins to enter the human cell with fatal outcomes. The anthrax vaccine is an injection of the PA protein that causes the body to build up a natural immunity. The LF and EF proteins are then unable to bond with the PA protein and enter the cells of the body.

The problem with the current liquid anthrax vaccine is it contains varying amounts of natural PA, Because of this, the current vaccine must be administered six times over a year and a half in order to be fully protected.

Middaugh synthesized a synthetic form of the PA protein called recombinant protective antigen (rPA). This new form standardizes the vaccines strength and eliminates the need for multiple vaccinations.
In synthesizing the rPA, Middaugh was not only able to develop a more consistent, uniform dose, but he also improved the shelf life of the vaccine.

rPA-Large2.jpg
A magnified view of the rPA protein in its powdered form.

Heat destroys the liquid vaccine. The liquid vaccine retained only 15 percent of its potency after 15 days at 77 degrees Fahrenheit and was unusable after just one day at 104 degrees, Middaugh found.
He synthesized a powdered version that after retained 90% of its potency after 29 days at both temperatures.

77%20Final.gif

104%20Final.png

These findings suggest the powdered vaccine would have the ability to be shipped worldwide and withstand long period of storage with little maintenance. This would be especially useful in developing nations where refrigeration and money are scarce.

The powdered vaccine is still several years away from mass production, during which time more research will be done to further refine the formula and delivery methods, Middaugh said.

Fact%20Box%20Final.png

Posted by Nathan McGinnis at 04:49 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Civil War In Iraq? KU Expert Says No

Daniel Luppino | March 31, 2006 04:15 PM |

A KU expert says that people shouldn't be so fast to proclaim a civil war in Iraq as inevitable.

Posted by Daniel Luppino at 04:15 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Matthew Doubrava | March 31, 2006 03:40 PM |

Bees are loved for their honey and feared for their sting. However, KU scientists get a different message from the famous insects. Matt Doubrava takes a closer look at what the ancient insect has to say.

Posted by Matthew Doubrava at 03:40 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Study critically analyzes 1997 adoption law

David Linhardt | March 31, 2006 01:14 PM |

Federal legislators created a 1997 adoption law to stop a trend of re-uniting children with biological families too quickly, but a study published last month by a former University of Kansas researcher says the law hasn't done all it was supposed to. David Linhardt tells us why some scientists are questioning the Adoption and Safe Families Act.

Posted by David Linhardt at 01:14 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Flint Hills Farming Threatens Bird Populations

Derek Korte | March 31, 2006 12:27 PM |

Research conducted by fomer master's student Alexis Powell suggests grazing and burning practices threaten bird populations in the Flint Hills.

Posted by Derek Korte at 12:27 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 30, 2006

Police Beat 3-30

Kimberly Lynch | March 30, 2006 11:10 AM |

02063731
Danielle Petters (double check spelling of last name)-victim
-purse snatched at 1500 Sigma Nu Drive
-police called at 1702
-$304 worth of property stolen
-some items in purse- Silver Maroon LG Cell Phone
digital recorder, batteries

02063786
Battery
Amber Ford, 20- student- victim
912 Main St.

Posted by Kimberly Lynch at 11:10 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 28, 2006

Police Beat March 28

Beth Breitenstein | March 28, 2006 11:47 AM |

There were no newsworthy crimes reported.

Posted by Beth Breitenstein at 11:47 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 27, 2006

Cop Beat Monday, March 27

Nicholas Nelson | March 27, 2006 01:17 PM |

3618
On Saturday, March 23, at 1600 hours, Andrew Rosdahl reported theft of his 1994 Ford Probe at the 1000 Blk. of New Hampshire St. It's valued at $3500.


3507
Maged Albilbissi reported criminal use of a financial card at 900 Ohio St. (Bank of America). Card was used between 3/14 and 3/23 for $1,662.30.

Posted by Nicholas Nelson at 01:17 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 17, 2006

Flint Hills Farming Threatens Bird Populations

Derek Korte | March 17, 2006 04:40 PM |

Fire is a common sight this time of year in the Flint Hills, but research conducted by Alexis Powell, a former University of Kansas master’s student, suggests burning and grazing practices threaten bird species that nest on the prairie.

“Grass bird populations are decreasing more than any other bird species,” said Mark Robbins, ornithology collection manager at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum and co-advisor for Powell’s master’s thesis.

Powell studied the effects of annual prairie burning and high-density bison grazing, called “double stocking,” on the populations of seven grassland bird species. He observed decreases in the population of birds dependent upon prairie grass and brush for breeding.

birdbox.jpg

Powell’s research focused on bison grazing, which is rare in the Flint Hills, he said. But cattle present a similar problem.

Both bison and cattle prefer the new growth that sprouts from burned pasture.

“Fresh growth has a lot less silicon and is high in nitrogen,” Powell said.

Livestock are attracted to the burned areas because silicon is difficult to digest. Farmers, who raise much of the livestock in the Flint Hills for the meat industry, want to add bulk to their livestock. They burn the prairie to encourage nitrogen-rich new growth, which livestock use to make proteins, Robbins said.

The problem is two-fold. Many farmers burn their fields annually, often burning the entire pasture. Birds that nest from May to July are left without suitable nesting habitat due to the burned prairie that is crowded with livestock.

“You put the cattle on in April or May, and they come off in June, whereas traditionally you would put them on at the same time, April or May, but leave them on until September or October,” Powell said. “Twice as many cattle are put on for grazing in about half the time.”

Robbins estimated that farmers burn between 60 to 70 percent of the Flint Hills each season. The Flint Hills is the largest remaining tall grass prairie in North America.

“The Flint Hills look like a golf course during this period,” Robbins said, referring to the tracts of barren land.

It is the nature of the prairie to burn, but Robbins and Powell agree annual burning and double stocking are unnatural.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against burning,” Robbins said. “But we need to try to mimic the natural system before Europeans arrived.”

That natural system, according to Robbins, could resemble “patch burning” in which certain sections of the prairie are burned at different times of the year. The burned portion is then the focus of that year’s grazing.

Powell agrees that patch burning could pose less of a threat to nesting bird populations.

“You can essentially attract cattle to the [burned] area,” Powell said. Livestock are attracted to the new growth in the burned areas, leaving the unburned portions fallow for bird nesting.

Patch burning is a potential solution to decreasing bird populations. But the system is not convenient for farmers who are strapped with economic and time concerns.

“One challenge of patch burning is that it is much easier to burn the entire pasture,” Powell said.

Powell said research from Oklahoma State University has shown double stocking is only marginally more profitable than other grazing systems. But the practice has become entrenched since the 1980s, and even if the system isn’t much more profitable, it is certainly easier.

“There is a lot of government involvement in the world of farming,” Powell said. “It wouldn’t take much money to make up for the losses, but the changes could have a big impact.”

Henslow%27s-Sparrow.jpg
Source: Alexis Powell

For more information on the Flint Hills and the Konza Prairie:

The Nature Conservancy operates the prairie in conjunction with Kansas State University.


Posted by Derek Korte at 04:40 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Natural stimulant increases hormonal levels in male baboons

Darla Slipke | March 17, 2006 04:38 PM |

A team of researchers working in Nairobi, Kenya, found that the stimulant khat increases testosterone levels in male baboons. The results may help the team understand how chewing khat, which is common in Africa, affects male hormones.

Africa-work.jpg

Khat is a leafy shrub grown in Africa and the Arabian peninsula. Its leaves contain cathonine, a mild stimulant to the central nervous system. Chewing khat has been a popular social activity in African countries for many generations- similar to having a drink or a cup of coffee with a friend, said Dr. Daudi Langat, research assistant professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center who was one of the researchers for this study.

Khat was introduced in the United States more recently by immigrants, and is sometimes used by people who need to stay awake for long periods of time on a job, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center.

The study was sponsored by a research grant from the World Health Organization Special Program for Research and Organization Training in Human Reproduction and conducted at the Institute of Primate Research in Kenya. The researchers, led by Dr. Jason Mwenda, wanted to investigate the effects of khat on human reproduction.
They did this by measuring changes in reproductive hormones. However, they didn’t use humans in their experimentation for ethical reasons. Instead, baboons were used as an animal model because the evolutionary development of baboons and humans are similar.

khat-yes.jpg Khat is bundled and wrapped in banana leaves to preserve moisture during transportation. After 48 hours, the chemical composition of the leaves changes and they no longer contain a stimulating effect. This photo is posted with permission from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Five male baboons were given a 250 gram oral dose of khat juice weekly for eight weeks. The amount of the dose was based on personal accounts and interviews of male Kenyans who chew khat regularly, and was then adjusted for the weight of the animals, Mwenda said.

During the eight weeks when khat was administered, scientists also collected blood samples of the baboons on a weekly basis. The blood was later used for analysis of hormonal levels. The body weight of the baboons dropped as much as 10 percent in the two month testing period, and blood pressure increased by about 36 percent. The baboons were under anesthesia during this procedure, so no changes in behavior were observed. However, researchers said that the baboons had penile erections during the experiment, a result of higher testosterone levels from the khat.

Testosterone levels increased with the administration of khat and remained higher than normal for a month after the conclusion of the experiment before gradually returning to normal. Khat had a reverse effect on prolactin and cortisol levels, which decreased during the study and remained low for several weeks before returning to normal. Body weight returned to normal after about three months.

bar-graph-take-ten.jpg

Langat said that several factors inhibited their research: a limited number of animals were examined over a short period of time. Thus, the scientists could only study short-term effects of the khat.

However, their findings provide important insight into the short-term effects that khat has on hormonal levels. They also suggest that this model of study may be a good way to study effects of khat on humans in the future.

Langat says the researchers hope to further investigate the findings from this research and to determine the long-term effects of khat use.
fact-box-.jpg

Posted by Darla Slipke at 04:38 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Local Expert Continues to Find New Frog Species

James Pinick | March 17, 2006 04:02 PM |

When William Duellman stumbled across a small, odd frog in the jungles of Panama in 1963, it was the start of a long—and strangely evolved career—.

While in the field with graduate students studying tree frogs at night, Duellman came across a frog with, of all things, a pouch on his back. It was sitting on a tree trunk. Now, 42 years later and 22 marsupial frog species later he is still adding to his life list.

“I am not one of, I am the leading expert on marsupial frogs,” Duellman said.

Duellman, retired ecology and systematics professor and curator of Herpetology at the University of Kansas, found the most recent frog species in northern Peru with the help of Pablo Venegas in November 2003. Venegas is a member of the faculty at Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria de la Universidad Nacional Pedro Ruiz Gallo in Peru. Their findings were recently published by the Herpetologists’ League in their quarterly journal, Herpetologica.

The new species is different from other species because of a flat spatula-shaped skull with skin that is fused to the skull and different coloration of the frogs, Duellman said. Most marsupial frogs have big robust skulls, according to Duellman. The new discovery brought the number of species Duellman has discovered to 22. Only 46 species of these amphibians are known at this time

The marsupial frog is a rarity in the frog world, said Juan Manuel Guayasamin, graduate student in the division of evolutionary biology at the University of Kansas.

“Marsupial frogs are one of the extreme products of evolution,” he said. “Through time, female marsupial frogs have evolved a pouch on the back where fertilized eggs are placed.”

http://reporting.journalism.ku.edu/spring06/kuhr-musser/media/Ecuador-Map2-thumb.jpg10 Species of Tree Frogs are scattered throughout Northern Peru and Ecuador. Based on the Peru Political Physical Map,1973

The marsupial frog generally lives from Costa Rica south to Argentina. Most of the species live in the Andes Mountains. These frogs can range from a couple of centimeters long to almost 4 inches long. They mostly eat insects, Duellman said.

“I have been chasing the damn things for 43 years,” he said. “Sometimes you are successful, but just as many times you are not.”

According to Duellman, there is nothing special about the structure of the brood pouch on female marsupial frogs. It is a pocket in the middle of the back that is used as a form of incubation system to hold fertilized eggs. The females carry these eggs in the pouch until they hatch as live froglets and leave “momma and go off on their own,” said Duellman.

Different Elevations (in meters) of Tree Frogs(Gastrotheca) in Northern Peru and Ecuador
Species Elevation Location
G. abdita 2970-3330 Peru
G. galeata 1740-3130 Peru
G. lateonota 2180 Peru
G. monticola 1900-34400 Peru/Ecuador
G. ossilaginis 3000-3100 Peru
G. peruana 2500-4600 Peru
G. phalarosa 3435 Peru
G. psychrophila 2770-2850 Ecuador
G. testudinea 550-2775 Ecuador/Peru
G. weinlandi 1100-2370 Ecuador/Peru

This evolutionary rarity has helped the marsupial frog become partially or completely independent of water, said Guayasamin. By being independent of water the marsupial frog can live up high in trees.

“It is possible that generations and generations can go by without any of these frogs ever touching the ground,” Duellman said. “These are the ones that are hard to find as you can imagine.”

Duellman has been doing research on the marsupial frog since that night in 1963. The species fascinated him and it seemed that scientists knew very little about marsupial frogs at the time, he said. He continues to do research on marsupial frogs because he, along with the museum, is trying to understand the biodiversity of the planet. The greatest diversity of life is in the tropics where his frogs live, he pointed out.

Since 1963 The National Science Foundation has funded all of his research on the marsupial frogs, according to Duellman. He has traveled the equivalent of traveling around the world many times to such places like Panama, Columbia and other central and south American counties looking in places where people haven’t been before, Duellman said.

Scientists think the marsupial frog evolved from another species of tree frog that had indentions similar to a honeycomb on its back where it kept the fertilized eggs, Duellman said. This type of tree frog lived mainly in North and South America. Over time, a brood pouch developed and the marsupial frog was born, according to Duellman.

Currently, Duellman is working on a diary of DNA analyses to better understand the marsupial frogs. He needs tissue samples that have not been preserved, so he must go back into the field and look for more live specimen, Duellman said.

Even though Duellman, 76, retired in December 1996 from teaching systematics and ecology, he still enjoys being able to use the University’s facilities for his work.

“What is better than getting paid for what you like to do,” said Duellman, and then he thought again, “ At least I used to get paid."

marsupialfrog.jpgMarsupial frogs are a rare species because of the pouch on their back. These frogs are found in varying elevations. Some even live high up in the tree tops.
ancestor%20frog.jpgScientists believe the pouch on the marsupial frog evolved from this species of tree frog. The honeycomb indentions on this frog were used to carry eggs.
both%20frogs.jpgMarsupial frogs can range from a few centimeters all the way to 4 inches long. These specimen have been collected from all over Central and South America.

Posted by James Pinick at 04:02 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Unique Breast Cancer Research Offers a New View

Beth Breitenstein | March 17, 2006 03:38 PM |

A recent study on breast cancer support groups, by a KU professor, offers new insight on what is said in these groups.





 Donna Neuner was diagnosed with breast cancer in December of 1994. A year later, she began attending Bosom Buddies, a support group for women with breast cancer. “I didn’t join for me, I joined to provide support for anyone going through the same thing as me,” said Neuner. Not only has Neuner attended this group for 12 years, she has recently become the group facilitator. “I find it a rewarding thing to do with my free time,” she said.
Support groups are often studied in medical journals and in psychological journals. University of Kansas Psychology Professor, David Holmes, studied coping in the scientific sense. “The support groups help boost leukocyte production in the brain which helps with stress,” he said. This is a psychological perspective, but not very often do scholars dip into what exactly is going on and being said in these groups.
Michael Dennis, an assistant professor in Communication Studies at KU, took a different approach. He said that this is uncharted territory. “Our goal was to examine the language, the strategies and the messages that are shown in these groups, some which aren’t always positive,” said Dennis.
To accomplish this detailed study, three KU professors, each in Communications Studies, attended The Bosom Buddies cancer support group, located in Lawrence, every week. “We got a grant from the school so that we could acquire proper cameras and transcription equipment to chart what was said and what went on,” said Dennis.
In all of 2003, the scholars attended the Monday evening sessions of the support group. They studied various aspects of communication that was occurring. Dennis’s main area of focus was something called problem integration theory. This theory consists of the probability that something can happen, and one’s evaluation of that probability. For example, relating to breast cancer, one might think of which treatment to use and how it will or will not work, and how one would cope with the results.
Dennis’s job was to track through all of the transcripts and note all instances in which a member mentioned the likelihood or probabilities of outcomes, positive or negative. His research found a significant amount of both.
Adrianne Kunkel, another researcher, looked at problem focused coping. Problem focused coping is any attempt to help someone fix a problem. She found that this theory appeared often because the veteran members of the group often helped the newer members by describing their experiences and giving advice.
Kunkel also looked at emotional focused coping, which involves sense making and positive reappraisal. Positive reappraisal is when one uses positive language to help someone see the “silver lining” in the face of trouble. “We saw positive reappraisal when one woman, who was going through chemo and lost her hair, said that the wig was rewarding because she did not have to do her hair in the morning, “said Dennis.
Dennis interestingly found an overlap between his and Kunkel’s research. “People would explain their good outcomes that had happened in their experiences, but then would end with a caveat by saying ‘but everyone is different’,” said Dennis. The “everyone is different” remark was seen as a probability statement, like Dennis observed in his research. “It’s like they didn’t want to be responsible for the guarantee, so they were saying it wasn’t necessarily true for everyone,” said Dennis.
However, these good outcomes that were shared exemplified Kunkel’s findings of emotional focused coping. “This was an interesting overlap,” said Dennis.
Another interesting finding had to do with the positive language difference between the holidays and what Dennis calls “the typical meetings.” “One would assume that there would be more positive talk during the holidays, but it was just the opposite,” said Dennis. However, he said that it makes more sense, in retrospect. He found that during “typical meetings” the group members were more positive and focused on pumping each other up, while during the holidays they were already in a good mood and did not have to speak so positively. “They also had other things on their mind like who was making Christmas cookies,” said Dennis.
Within this past week, undergraduates at KU have coded and charted the theories studied during this research, comparing which ones occurred most often and least often. “We found that the theory that most often appeared was positive evaluation, this is when someone says a positive word such as ‘good’, ‘great’, ‘better’, and so on,” said Dennis. Least common was the presence of informative avoidance. An example of this is if someone were to say “I don’t want to know”, or when someone tries to avoid the truth.
With all of his findings and data accounted for, Dennis said he is excited to share it with the support group. “ I want to get this information out there so that other scholars, and support groups can pick up on it and get better insight to what really goes on in these sessions,” said Dennis. Dennis plans on publishing the research to make it better available to those who are interested.
“Any social psychologist or researcher’s goal is to leave the subject better off than they found them,” said Dennis. “We think that we have done that with this research.”
G2.JPG

FB3.JPG
DNEU.png
Donna Neuner leads the "Bosom Buddies Suport Group" at the Prebyterian Manor in Lawrence. Neuner, who has lead the group for over 3 years, was pleased with Dennis' research. The group meets every monday evening.
More on Michael Dennis' research
auc.png
A support group member writes down her bid for chocolate chip muffins. The silent bake sale auction raised money for "The Walk of Life" which is held in June in Lawrence, and raises money for a cancer cure.

Posted by Beth Breitenstein at 03:38 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

PTSD Research

Marla Keown | March 17, 2006 03:24 PM |

Dustin Crook isn’t your normal University of Kansas freshman. While Crook deals with the daily stress of an academic lifestyle like studying for midterms and writing papers, he also has to cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Last year, Crook returned home to Kansas after serving a year in Kuwait and Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom II. “When you’re over there, you concentrate on getting the job done, and not how the RPG (rocket propelled grenades) that just missed your truck is going to affect your stress levels a year down the road” says Crook.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, isn’t confined only to combat exposure. According to Wikipedia.com, PTSD is a term used for “certain psychological consequences of exposure to or confrontation with stressful experiences that a person experiences as highly traumatic.” There are a variety of different experiences that are likely to induce PTSD such as: adult experiences of rape, war, or combat, natural catastrophes, violent attacks, or even physical or emotional abuse during childhood.

Dr. Gerardo Villarreal, the Medical Director of New Mexico’s VA Healthcare System and PTSD Program, hopes to learn more about PTSD through the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). MRIs are used to visualize the insides of living organisms. With the help of Dr. William Brooks, director of Hoglund Brain Imaging Center in Kansas City, KS and Department Professor of Neurology, Villarreal and a team of other professionals recently completed a study on PTSD.

According to Brooks, “little research is being done in the field of PTSD”, but it’s the little steps made by researchers to not only better understand the disorder, but to find ways to deal with it. Brooks and Villarreal worked together on two studies concerning Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Both studies looked at images of the brain in patients with PTSD and their corresponding control twins.

Villarreal sampled patients with a variety of traumas ranging from combat exposure to childhood sexual abuse. These patients, twelve total, were compared to a control group of similar subjects without the disorder. According to Brooks, “we found matching patients without PTSD.” Because so many different things affect our brains, it was important to find an opposing ‘twin’ to the PTSD patients. Sex, age, and even drug and alcohol use of both control and test groups were matched up.

Both studies led to interesting results. Patients with PTSD have smaller corpus callosum and hippocampal volumes than their control group twins. The corpus callosum is the largest white matter structure in the human brain. According to Villarreal, “the corpus callosum is a white matter structure that connects the two brain hemispheres and allows communication between them.”

http://reporting.journalism.ku.edu/spring06/kuhr-musser/media/PTSD%20Symptoms-thumb.png

Still not making any sense? Try thinking of the corpus callosum in computer terms. The corpus callosum is like your computer’s CPU (central processing unit). The CPU interprets instructions and processes data contained in software. The lack of good communication between the left and right hemispheres of your brain is like having a bad CPU, your computer just doesn’t work the way it should.

The hippocampus is “largely responsible for the mechanics of memory” says Brooks. Humans have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain. The worse your hippocampi are, the worse your memory.

The lower corpus callosum and hippocampi volume in PTSD patients is more than just your average brain deterioration, which happens naturally with age. “There is normal atrophy (decreased white matter volume) with age, but our findings suggest this is accelerated in PTSD” says Villarreal.

The big question lies in figuring out which factors are the causes and which are the effects. “Lots of people experience traumatic events, but only a small percentage of these people have PTSD” says Brooks. In other words, are people with smaller corpus callosums or hippocampi more vulnerable to develop PTSD after the trauma? Or are traumatic events and PTSD causing some type of brain damage that explains the lower volumes of the corpus callosums and hippocampi?

The only way to answer these questions is through further examination. More and more, students are being called up to serve overseas in combat situations. Through research similar to Villarreal’s and Brook’s, students such as Dustin Crook have a better chance of overcoming PTSD and dealing with more important ‘stressors’, like earning a bachelors degree.

For more information on PTSD click on the pop-ups below.

http://reporting.journalism.ku.edu/spring06/kuhr-musser/media/3%20symptoms-thumb.png

http://reporting.journalism.ku.edu/spring06/kuhr-musser/media/re-experience-thumb.png

http://reporting.journalism.ku.edu/spring06/kuhr-musser/media/numbing-thumb.png

http://reporting.journalism.ku.edu/spring06/kuhr-musser/media/arousal-thumb.png

You can also check out these links.

PTSD

Topeka VA

Posted by Marla Keown at 03:24 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Political messengers influence opinions

Kelly Lanigan | March 17, 2006 03:02 PM |






News media, advertisers and individuals influence people’s opinions and actions every day. How does this affect the average American? Just how much of what people believe is handed to them by politicians, celebrities and advertisements?

Mark Joslyn and Donald Haider-Markel, associate professors of political science, suggest that although Americans are definitely influenced by daily messages, brainwashing is not quite the case. Rather, these various messages only alter people’s short-term opinions.

This means that on a daily basis, advertisers affect personal decisions. A Burger King commercial depicting a tasty hamburger is enough to cause many people to choose Burger King as their food source for the day. With advertising, people do not need to permanently choose Burger King over McDonald’s.

“A temporary shift is all you need,” Haider-Markel said.

Similarly, media messages also influence larger topics such as politics. Joslyn and Haider-Markel conducted research on the effect of messages and messengers in forming political opinions. The study concludes that while political messages sway opinions, who delivers the message may not be important.

“There is a difference between the messenger and message, and both are important in politics,” Joslyn said. “However, from our study, it does appear that the issue itself, and how it is framed, is probably the most important aspect in terms of public understanding and influencing public opinion.

Individuality.gif

In order to measure the effect of messages and messengers, the researchers first surveyed public opinions regarding the morality of physician-assisted suicide. Then, a second survey group received a short, generalized speech about how “some people say” that physician-assisted suicide is positive or negative before being asked for an opinion on the topic. A third group also heard the short speech, with the messages attributed either to Jerry Falwell or Jack Kevorkian, prior to the survey.

Results of the study show that framing the issue as either positive or negative influenced the way people responded to the survey. However, whether “some people” delivered the message or Falwell or Kevorkian delivered the message did not significantly change the outcome of the survey.

“We expected to find that a messenger would have a powerful role in making for a more persuasive message – affecting public opinion,” Joslyn said. “However, given the issue that we chose, physician assisted suicide, and the messengers we chose, Dr. Kevorkian and Reverend Jerry Falwell, the results we obtained make sense. Indeed, both of these messengers come with significant baggage and both are often polarizing figures. As such, the messengers in this instance did not make the message more powerful, though they did not necessarily hurt the message either.”

Religious.gif

Haider-Markel notes that although these framed messages affected the outcome of the survey in the study, the effects are only short-term. Since politicians are not trying to sell hamburgers on a day-to-day basis, short-term influence is not beneficial in politics in the same way that it is beneficial in advertising. Changing political opinion requires constant, consistent influence.

“If you can focus people’s attention on just one side, you can influence their preferences,” Haider-Markel said.

If celebrities effectively sell products, why do politicians not effectively sell political issues? According to Joslyn and Haider-Markel, this is because advertisers use generally well-liked figures as spokespeople. People generally like Michael Jordan and as a result, he makes a good spokesperson for athletic shoes. Consumers associate Michael Jordan – a person they like – with the shoes.

“You are more likely to pay attention to something you like,” Joslyn said. “You associate the messenger with something you might not know about.”

Selling a product simply requires finding a universally liked celebrity. In theory, politics follows the same guidelines. Selling an idea requires a universally liked celebrity. This is where the problem comes in.

“Most messages come with reasonably popular figures – this is why many consumer products receive endorsements from Hollywood stars,” Joslyn said. “However, in politics, there is rarely a figure that is universally supported or liked. Most are liked by one party or the other, and so do not appeal to all. And, most issues are partisan as well. So, even if the messenger is initially popular, they, over time, are seen through a partisan lens because they are endorsing a partisan cause.”

Finally, both Joslyn and Haider-Markel note that the less informed a person is on a political topic, the more effective issue framing will be. Therefore, any prior knowledge of an issue helps to defend people against unwanted persuasion.

Learn more about how much advertising actually works.

Learn more about how advertising works.

Learn more about Michael Jordan and how he can sell just about anything.

Posted by Kelly Lanigan at 03:02 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Civil War In Iraq? KU Expert Says No

Daniel Luppino | March 17, 2006 02:55 PM |

As political pundits remain divided on the question of whether or not Iraq will erupt in a civil war, an expert at the University of Kansas claims that his research indicates it will not.

“I can’t predict the future”, Ron Francisco, political science professor, said, “but right now it looks highly unlikely.”

Francisco, who teaches a class in protest and revolution, maintains a website collecting data on protests and civil wars throughout history. In 2004 he published a paper entitled “After the Massacre”, which detailed various responses to examples of violence by one group against another. He calls these responses “backlash.” In most cases he has observed that the backlash will end after a few days unless leaders of the group continue to organize responses.

Francisco said that the patterns he noticed are mirrored in the response to the bombing of the Shiite mosque in Samarra on February 22.

“There was a backlash for about three days, but it died down,” Francisco said. “Mobilization couldn’t be sustained. It behaved the same way (as other backlashes)”

Graphmob1.png

Graphmob2.png

Francisco said that the main reason he sees civil war as unlikely is because the major target for both the Sunnis and Shiites is not each other, but rather U.S. troops.

“They do it because that is what Iran wants, and Iran, not the U.S., controls most of the Shiite population in Iraq,” Francisco said. He added that in order for the situation to turn to civil war, Iran would have to decide that they want to hurt Sunnis.

civilwartext.png

Francisco also said that he has not noticed any evidence in Iraq of the one factor that he has found leads to civil wars, which is the concept of co-evolution.

“It actually comes from biology,” Francisco said. “It’s when both sides realize they have to adapt in order to defeat the other side, and so they do, so the ratio stays at 1 to 1 and the violence escalates.”

Despite Francisco’s research showing a civil war to be unlikely, one of his colleagues at KU said that he assesses the situation much differently.

“It’s more or less inevitable,” Philip Schrodt, political science professor, said. “It’s basically already in a civil war.”

Schrodt said that he felt Francisco must be using a definition of civil war that is too narrow, and he believes the current situation constitutes one.

“It’s essentially an urban guerilla war,” Schrodt said. “You’ve got large scale violence defined by ethnicity. The Sunnis have the most to lose, and also feel they are ebing attacked, which they are.”

Schrodt said that Francisco’s observations about the backlash to the Mosque bombing were not accurate.

“It’s been 10 days since the bombing, it hasn’t died down,” he said. He also disagreed that there was no evidence of co-evolution in the situation, saying it exists “in the very early stages.”

One thing that both experts agree on is that a civil war would be a terrible thing for the region.

“In civil war the conflict comes to neighborhoods,” Francisco said. “They attack water supplies, more women are raped, food is contaminated, usually there are houses burned. It’s absolutely horrible.”

Posted by Daniel Luppino at 02:55 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Daylight saved but energy not; this spring it's something to lose sleep over

Katherine Loeck | March 17, 2006 12:37 PM |

Twice a year Greg Albrecht resets dozens of clocks in Anschutz Library.
As the night circulation desk supervisor, he thinks it's annoying to switch on and off daylight-saving time.

"It’s a hassle because our clocks usually end up a little bit off," Albrecht said. "It's an inconvenience to the patrons who come here."

The majority of America routinely changes to daylight-saving time. At 2 a.m. on April 2, Kansas and most of the nation will spring ahead an hour. Starting next year though, the schedule will extend by four weeks. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 changes the dates to March 11 through Nov. 4.

Click to view date changeshttp://reporting.journalism.ku.edu/spring06/kuhr-musser/media/Katdates-1-thumb.gif

The reason, lawmakers say, is to save energy. By having more daylight at the end of the day, they predict people will use less electricity at night. But one University of Kansas expert says daylight-saving time is not saving anything. In fact, there are better ways to conserve energy, he said.

Brian Rock, associate professor of architectural engineering, said that the 2007 daylight-saving time extension would not change America's energy consumption much. How much?

"A very minor, minor impact," Rock said.

Rock has known for a decade that daylight-saving time does not have much effect on energy use in residential buildings. In 1996, he studied his own Lawrence home to look at the relationship between daylight-saving time and heating, cooling and electricity consumption.

Rock's resultshttp://reporting.journalism.ku.edu/spring06/kuhr-musser/media/katgraph-thumb.gif

A computer program used his residence to create a model to predict how much electricity and natural gas would be used at 224 U.S. locations over a typical year. Clock-shifting by one hour consistently showed no significant change in energy consumption or cost, assuming a fairly typical home and lifestyle.

In fact, the analysis showed that many more sites had higher energy costs than lower under daylight-saving time.

Next fall, Rock will teach "Advanced Thermal Analysis of Buildings". He hopes a student will study energy use and daylight-saving time at Marvin Hall.

"I fully suspect that someone will do this project for the semester and we will have some results that are publishable," Rock said.

Research done by California's energy commission during a 2001 energy shortage was fairly consistent with the results Rock had from his study, he said. The commission reported that, if daylight-saving time began in March, overall electricity use would only decline by about one half of a percent.

Claudia Chandler, the commission’s then assistant executive director, told National Geographic reporters that non-critical energy use is basically shifted to later in the day.

Rock admits there are psychological advantages to having people think they are helping to save energy.

“Daylight-saving time will impact the energy problem, sure,” Rock said. “The question is how much. It could be a negative impact, but hopefully it’s positive.”

Last year, the University spent $11 million on gas, electric and water utilities, said Doug Riat, director of Facilities Operations at KU. Daylight-saving time had a very minor impact on campus energy use, he said.

Not everyone dislikes the change. Mark Rainey, a Lawrence farmer, thinks daylight-saving time is a good idea. Rainey works outside on his house, yard, fences and fields, until it gets dark on his 15-acre farm.

“It’s nice so you can work longer in the evenings,” he said. “It gets light so early now that the change will be good.”

ross-sunrise.jpg
The sky glows around 7:30 one mid-December morning at 10th and Tennessee streets. Next week, the sun will begin rising around 7 a.m. under daylight-saving time.

Rock says energy use in residences could be more effectively reduced through traditional conservation programs.

“I’ve installed compact fluorescent light bulbs in my house and that has a very significant reduction in energy,” Rock said. “This is a little flippant, but turn off the heat and air and you’ll use a lot less energy. Unfortunately a lot of us had to do that this winter. That is the major way to decrease consumption.”

Rock still monitors energy at his home. He said his electricity bill increased significantly after he installed a new computer. In the average home, 25 percent of electricity is used for lighting and small appliances.

“While we are trying to save money elsewhere, the bigger TVs and electronic gizmos we all are buying now are really increasing our electrical consumption rather than decreasing it,” Rock said. “So, if we went back to the Stone Age, we could save a lot of energy.”

Since Anschutz library is always up and running, the only energy that daylight-saving time is affecting is Greg Albrecht’s. He works from 3 p.m. to midnight and says the hour loss of sleep in the spring takes him a couple days to adjust.

Posted by Katherine Loeck at 12:37 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ancient Bee Gives the “Buzz” on Climate Change

Matthew Doubrava | March 17, 2006 11:43 AM |

Bees are loved for their honey and feared for their sting. However, KU scientists get a different message from the famous insects.
Matt Doubrava takes a closer look at what the ancient insect has to say.







During the Miocene Epoch, a period lasting from about 5 to 23 million years ago, the earth’s climate was beginning to undergo a cooling process. The Antarctic ice sheet began forming due to the drop in the earth’s temperature. Common mammals like wolves and horses were making their appearance. Apes didn’t just roam Africa, but southern Europe as well. And during all this, honey bees were…well…making honey, as they have for 30 million years.

Today, however, they may be playing a different role.

A recently discovered fossil reveals the largest ancient honey bee to date. It is compared to the modern “giant honey bee,” which is twice the size of the common European honey bee and can grow up to an inch in length. The fossil, which is 19 million years old, was found on the Japanese Iki Island and sent to Michael Engel, an entomology professor and museum curator at the University of Kansas.

The giant honey bee does not currently inhabit that area. The fossil may be a sign of global climate change, an occurrence that alters habitats forcing species to relocate. Therefore, fossils like this could be a window into the past climates of our planet.

JapanApis1a.jpg
Fossil of a "giant honey bee" found in Iki Island, Japan. KU Entomologist Michael Engel interpreted the fossil as being over 19 million years old.


Engel, associate professor of biological sciences at KU, said, “The significance of the fossil is the further support for the paleoclimatology of Japan during the Miocene epoch."

“Giant honey bees once had a wider distribution but are more restricted today because of the contraction of the tropical zone."

The giant honey bee, according to Engel, is entirely tropical. Its habitat today includes southeast Asia, throughout India and Indonesia. However, this fossil was discovered in a temperate zone in Japan. This suggests that the Japan area may have been a more tropical environment 19 million years ago and currently has a much cooler climate.

Ismael Hinojosa-Diaz, a KU graduate student in entomology and bee expert, said that scientists can use fossils like this to determine what kind of environment certain areas had. The study of paleoclimatology is studying climates that existed before human records. Studying the placement of fossils allows scientists to observe ancient climate trends.

beeterms.gif

“Species that were adapted to the cold took advantage,” Hinojosa-Diaz said of the steady drop in temperature that took place during this period. “Species that needed a tropical environment were contracted into smaller areas.

Diaz said that in order for this bee to have lived in Japan, the temperature and flora of the region had to be much different than it is today. It would have had to be humid, with a tropical jungle landscape.

Unlike the European honey bee, giant honey bees do not build their nests in hollowed-out, decaying places such as tree trunks. Their nests are high in branches in treetops and are completely exposed to the outside.

These nests cannot survive freezing winters. If the giant honey bee lived in Japan 19 million years ago, then ancient Japan could not have had freezing winters. The species would have been pushed towards southeast Asia as the temperatures dropped.

It is external forces like climate change that led and will continue to lead to variations in species. A species that lives in a wide area can get separated from the rest of its kind when the temperature zone contracts. When this happens, the species splits into fragments and begins to reproduce in its own division. Other external factors, like continental drift, would have the same affect on a species.

This natural process, Diaz said, affects bees and every other living thing on the planet. It is the continuing evolution of the earth and the species that inhabit it.

beepast.gif

Posted by Matthew Doubrava at 11:43 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Accurate measurements of aquifer water levels will lead to better monitoring

Kimberly Lynch | March 17, 2006 11:40 AM |

Three hundred meters, about the length of three football fields, is a long way down. That is how far the well extends down which two scientists used to see if they could detect changes in the aquifer water levels due to, in this case, rain.

Dr. Marios Sophocleous, a senior scientist specializing in geohydrology at the Kansas Geological Survey, and his colleague Dr. Earl Bardsley, an associate professor at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, have found they can clearly detect, almost a thousand feet down, events such as rainfall on the surface, in the water level of an aquifer.

well.jpg This well was used by the scientists in their experiment (Photo Courtesy of Kansas Geological Survey)

Aquifers are underground rock formations which hold water like a sponge. In Kansas, much of the water for irrigation comes from the Ogallala aquifer, which extends under eight states. As a result, the aquifer is being depleted faster than nature can refill it, Sophocleous said. Measuring the water levels in aquifers is important because the measurements give scientists an idea of the amount of water being used, Sophocleous said.

Picture%207.png This photo shows the extent of the Ogallala aquifer (Photo Courtesy of Kansas Geological Survey)


Currently, scientists must go to thousands of wells across the state to get measurements on the amount of water coming in and out of the Ogallala aquifer. This creates a greater margin for error because a large amount of data must be analyzed from the various wells and then put into an overall reading, Sophocleous said.

Sophocleous and Bardsley have found an easier method of measuring the amount of water in a confined aquifer. They used a confined aquifer below the Ogallala aquifer because the confined aquifer is more responsive to changes in pressure. A confined aquifer is surrounded by layers or impermeable rock or clay which restricts the amount of water which come in and out of it.

In the study, the confined aquifer is called a natural geological weighing lysimeter.

A lysimeter is a device which is used to measure how much water is evaporating from the soil. It is like a scale; only in this instance the water is on the scale instead of a solid substance, Sophocleous said.

The geological weighing lysimeter, in this case the well, “weighs” the changes in total water over a given area, Bardsley said. The deeper the well, the larger the area becomes that is weighed, Bardsley said. This method would not only simplify the process of monitoring the aquifer levels, but it would also lead to less error on the part of scientists.

The purpose of their experiment was to see if a load on the surface, such as rain, could be sensed accurately 300 meters down in the well. The well, located in Trego County, is about 260 miles away from Lawrence.

Just as satellites are remote sensors that circle the earth and record data, the method used by Sophocleous and Bardsley uses the same general idea. The only catch is that the remote sensing occurs underground instead of in outer space, Sophocleous said.

Although other scientists have drilled deeper, the significance of the findings of Sophocleous and Bardsley was that they found that at 300 meters the instruments in the well clearly detected or “weighed” the amount of rainfall measured on the surface.

l_linegraphsmall.gif
graph3.jpg
(Source Marios Sophocleous) This graph shows the rise in the water level of the Dakota Aquifer when it rains. The sensors, about 984 feet underground, detect a rise in the water level almost immediately.

The only unknown in this experiment is exactly how deep they can drill and still receive a clear reading of the amount of rain falling on the surface, Sophocleous said. Drilling costs hundreds of thousands of dollars however, which requires funding said Sophocleous. Also, depending on how deep the holes are, and how many holes are drilled, the costs increase, Dr. Sophocleous said.

Besides cost, being a factor, location is also a factor.

“The technique can only be applied in some places where the hydrogeology
is right,” Bardsley said.

When it can be implemented, this method would allow scientists to more accurately monitor the changes in the water levels of aquifers such as the Ogallala Sophocleous said. Scientists would not only know the amount of water coming in and out of the aquifer, but when water conservation needed to be implemented.

Picture%208.png
This picture shows the decline of streams in Kansas in 1961 and 1994 due to the depletion of the Ogallala (Source Kansas Geological Survey)

“We want to see how to best manage water resources,” Sophocleous said.

This method also may allow scientists to monitor ecosystems that were previously hard to monitor said Bardsley. An example would be the tropical rainforest or the desert, he said.

Better monitoring of these ecosystems could lead to more responsive climate models.

“This gives real-time measurement of changes in such environments which might be reflective of climate change effects,” Bardsley said.

Posted by Kimberly Lynch at 11:40 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

University Professor Assists Croatian Geologists

Nicholas Nelson | March 17, 2006 10:46 AM |






University of Kansas geology professor Stephen Hasiotis recently found a possible link between two ancient animal behaviors. However, he had to go to Croatia to do it.

Hasiotis traveled to southern Croatia to help scientists there better understand their rocks and the trace fossils within them. They had little training in the field and were not sure what to make of markings they had found. Near a mountain range along the Adriatic Coast, which he called the “Spine of the Adriatic,” Hasiotis examined evidence of complex marine animal behavior, only in shallow water. The pattern that was found near the mountain range is called Chondrites, a formation caused by burrowing, which looks like a pattern is produced by plant roots.

What Hasiotis discovered was that the Chondrites pattern was similar to another pattern called Paleodictyon, which is normally found in the ancient deep sea. Paleodictyon looks like a pattern that would be made if a chain-linked fence was laid down in the mud, and then pulled up. Hasiotis said that it is possible that the creature associated with Chondrites had, over time, changed its pattern of movement, for example changed to make only right turns rather than crawling all around. This causes the Chondrites pattern to possibly turn in to Paleodictyon.

Hasiotis believes that the unknown creature that made this recently discovered marking and the one that makes the deep sea pattern might be one in the same, but has evolved, changed its behavior and worked its way up closer to shore under similar conditions. The “similar conditions,” he said, are a big factor. Consistencies such as a low rate of sediment accumulation and energy must be taken in to account.

click to enlargehttp://reporting.journalism.ku.edu/spring06/kuhr-musser/media/Hasiotis-map-WEB-thumb.gif

“You wouldn’t find them on the beach with the kids at spring break,” Hasiotis said.
Dr. Bob Goldstein, chairman of the geology department at the University, said Croatian scientists have traveled to KU to study in