Thursday, September 6, 2018
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Research roundup: childhood cancer rates, cholesterol and new batteries
The University of Minnesota recently published several studies on cancer. BY LEW BLANK lblank@mndaily.com
Recent studies published by University of Minnesota researchers examined childhood cancer rates, cholesterol in children and a new technology that increases battery life. Racial and socioeco nomic status and childhood cancer sur vival rates. University researchers investigated why AfricanAmerican and Hispanic children experience lower survival rates for certain cancers. “It has been known for some time that Black and Hispanic kids have lower survival rates for many types of cancer compared
to non-Hispanic whites,” said Rebecca Kehm, a University researcher. “But the reasons for those disparities is not really understood.” Kehm explored the extent to which childhood poverty levels fueled these differences in mortality rates. The research found that differences in socioeconomic status are root causes for these racial disparities for some forms of childhood cancer, but not for others. For non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and some forms of leukemia, socioeconomic status accounted for 28-73 percent of the racial disparity. However, it had no significant effect on some tumors and Hodgkins lymphoma. This link between race and class demonstrated that physicians need to consider ethnicity and socioeconomic status when
w o rki ng w i t h ch i ldr e n with cancer, Kehm said. “We need to have social factors on our radar when we’re treating children with cancer,” she said. “It’s important that physicians are aware of ... the context that the child is living in.”
Cholester ol found in children Heather Zierhut, a University genetics professor, also examined diseases in children. Her study looked into familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic form of high cholesterol, and why families sometimes fail to communicate information about the disease to other family members. According to Zierhut’s survey of children with FH, 76 percent of their grandparents and 71 percent of their aunts and uncles were notified of their condition. Since about half of the family members of
children with FH are also at risk of having this disease, putting them at risk of heart disease and stroke, this lack of communication could turn lethal. Zierhut delved into the reasons for why this information doesn’t always spread to family members. She found that the two primary reasons were fears that their family members wouldn’t understand the disease and a lack of information about the condition. “People really had a lack of information [and] ... resources to be able to communicate with their family members,” Zierhut said. “We need to do a better job educating and providing resources to these families.” New technology that expands batter y life Another study released by University researchers
Fraternity Phi Delta Theta returns to campus this year The fraternity had to disband in 2016 due to issues with their recruitment.
BY JORDAN WILLAUER jwillauer@mndaily.com After a brief stint off campus, a fraternity is currently in the process of reestablishing itself at the University of Minnesota. The Phi Delta Theta fraternity will return to the University this year after being shut down in 2016 due to low membership. The fraternity currently has one member and is working on recruiting new members at the same time that many existing fraternities and sororities at the University are in the midst of their own recruitment processes. Jacob Skraba, a senior
studying architecture, is aiding the launch of the fraternity as the founding member of the chapter. “To be able to join something and start it and impact the future members and organization really interested me,” Skraba said of why he wanted to
“This is a founding father experience, it’s not your typical fraternity experience.” LANDON KILLION expansion consultant from Phi Delta Theta national chapter
join the fraternity. Landon Killion and Andrew Norrie are two expansion consultants
from the fraternity’s national chapter who are working at the University as coaches and mentors in hopes of reinvigorating the fraternity. Norrie said he hopes energy from new recruits, support from alumni and learning from past years’ mistakes will make the fraternity more successful in its new life on campus. “We learned what to do [and] what not to do,” Norrie said. The national chapter wanted to reestablish the fraternity at the University in 2017, but decided to wait until 2018 to provide additional recruitment support from the national chapter, said Alex Atkinson, director of expansion for the fraternity’s national chapter. “[Phi Delta Theta] is going to be new on campus, so it’s going to have
that new car smell,” Killion said. Killion said he hopes the opportunity for members to offer input regarding building their own fraternity will boost recruitment. “This is a founding father experience, it’s not your typical fraternity experience,” he said. Phi Delta Theta was established at the University in 1881. The fraternity was shut down in the 1990s, partly because many members left the University to fight in the Gulf War, according to previous MinnesotaDaily coverage. The chapter was reestablished in 2008 before closing again in 2016. “Our legacy and longstanding history at the University of Minnesota is one that we are very excited to reinvigorate,” Atkinson said.
Nike unveils controversial Kaepernick ad to air during NFL season opener BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nike has unveiled its first “Just Do It” ad narrated by Colin Kaepernick, a spot scheduled to air during the NFL season opener Thursday night as well as during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and other major sporting events. The two-minute spot released Wednesday highlights superstar athletes LeBron James, Serena Williams and others, and touches on the controversy of NFL players protesting racial inequality, police brutality and other issues by demonstrating during the national anthem. Kaepernick narrates the full spot but first physically appears midway through. As a camera pans to reveal Kaepernick’s face, a reflection of a United States flag is visible on the facade of a building behind him. Kaepernick says: “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” At the start of the ad, Kaepernick says: “If people say your dreams are crazy,
if they laugh at what you think you can do, good. Stay that way, because what nonbelievers fail to understand is that calling a dream crazy is not an insult, it’s a compliment.” The former 49ers quarterback is revealed as the narrator toward the end of the spot. The commercial’s universal theme is about athletes pushing for bigger dreams. It features young athletes who compete amid various challenges, touching on issues of gender, disabilities and weight loss, among others. Kaepernick says at the end: “Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they are crazy enough.” The spot is expected to air this week during college football and MLB games, and stream on various music, gaming and other platforms, Nike spokeswoman Sandra Carreon-John said. Kaepernick hasn’t spoken to the media publicly since opting out of his contract with San Francisco and becoming a free agent in 2017. He scored a legal victory last week in his grievance
against the NFL and its 32 teams when an arbitrator allowed his case to continue to trial. The quarterback claims NFL team owners conspired to keep him out of the league because of his protests. His case hinges on whether owners worked together rather than decided individually to not sign Kaepernick. A similar grievance is still pending by former San Francisco teammate Eric Reid, a Pro Bowl safety who joined in the protests. Kaepernick already had a deal with Nike that was set to expire, but it was renegotiated into a multiyear agreement to make him one of the faces of Nike’s 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the detail had not been revealed publicly. The campaign includes video ads and billboards, like one displayed atop a Nike store in downtown San Francisco on Wednesday. Nike also will create an apparel line for Kaepernick, including a signature shoe,
and contribute to his Know Your Rights charity, the person said. The deal puts Kaepernick in the top bracket of NFL players with Nike. The endorsement deal between Nike and Kaepernick prompted a flood of debate Tuesday. It was a trending topic on Twitter and other social networks, with some fans urging a boycott of the company’s clothes and sneakers — even burning and cutting out the signature swoosh logos on their gear. “I stand for anybody that believes in change. I stand for anybody that believes in a positive attitude,” LeBron James said Tuesday night at a Nike fashion show and awards ceremony in New York. “I stand with Nike, every day, all day.” Nike also provides all NFL teams with game day uniforms and sideline apparel, a partnership that was extended in March to run through 2028. President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of protesting NFL players, tweeted Wednesdaythat Nike is getting “killed” over the endorsement deal.
“We need to have social factors on our radar when we’re treating children with cancer. It’s important that physicians are aware of ... the context that the child is living in.” REBECCA KEHM University Researcher
involved a new technology that could greatly extend the battery lifetimes of phones and computers. Jianping Wang, a University professor of electrical and computer engineering, helped develop a new style of topological insulators that are 18 times more efficient at computer processing and memory than standard materials. The research team used a technique called sputtering to deposit a thin layer of material onto
an insulator made of a material called bismuth selenide. This process results in an energy transfer that erodes the insulator material, which Wang found to make the semiconductors more energy efficient. This increase in efficiency would be noticeable if it were applied to someone’s phone, Wang said. “You would know the difference. It will actually prolong the lifetime of your battery,” he said.
Sting operation recovered Dorothy’s stolen ruby slippers BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — A pair of ruby slippers used in “The Wizard of Oz” and later stolen from a Minnesota museum were recovered in a sting operation after a man approached the shoes’ insurer and said he could help get them back, the FBI said Tuesday. The slippers were on loan to the Judy Garland Museum in the late actress’ hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, when they were taken in 2005 by someone who climbed through a window and broke into a small display case. The shoes were insured for $1 million. The FBI said a man approached the insurer in summer 2017 and said he could help get them back. Grand Rapids police asked for the FBI’s help and after a nearly year-long investigation, the slippers were recovered in July during a sting operation in Minneapolis. The FBI said no one has yet been arrested or charged in the case, but they have “multiple suspects” and continue to investigate. As they unveiled the recovered slippers at a news conference Tuesday, they asked anyone with information about the theft to contact them. “We’re not done. We have a lot of work to do,” Christopher Myers, the U.S. attorney for North Dakota, said. Myers said he would handle any prosecution. The North Dakota link to the case wasn’t evident and authorities declined to explain it. The slippers had been on loan to the Garland museum from Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw. Three other pairs that Garland wore in the movie are held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Smithsonian and a private collector. The stolen slippers’ authenticity was verified by comparing them with the pair at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History in Washington. The ruby slippers are key in the 1939 movie.
After mysteriously landing in the colorful Land of Oz after a tornado hit her farm in Kansas, Garland’s character, Dorothy, has to click the heels of her slippers three times and repeat “there’s no place like home” to return. Rhys Thomas, author of “The Ruby Slippers of Oz,” called the slippers “the Holy Grail of Hollywood memorabilia.” “They are maybe the most iconic cinematic prop or costume in movie history, and in fact, in cultural history,” Thomas said. “They are a cultural icon.” Thomas estimated that this particular pair could be worth between $2 million to $7 million. He said it’s not clear in which scenes they were used, but he was “99 percent” sure that they appeared in the film. Thomas said the slippers then went unseen for 30 years until Shaw, acting as a middleman, bought them for someone who intended to sell them to the late actress Debbie Reynolds, but Shaw ended up keeping them and often loaned them for exhibits. Law enforcement offered a $250,000 reward early in the case, and a fan in Arizona offered another $1 million in 2015. The shoes are made from about a dozen different materials, including wood pulp, silk thread, gelatin, plastic and glass. Most of the ruby color comes from sequins but the bows of the shoes contain red glass beads. The genre-busting Wizard of Oz — presented in black and white, and color — was a box office smash and was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, with wins for Best Song and Best Original Score. Garland, who was born Frances Gumm, lived in Grand Rapids, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Minneapolis, until she was 4, when her family moved to Los Angeles. She died of a barbiturate overdose in 1969. The Judy Garland Museum , which opened in 1975 in the house where she lived, says it has the world’s largest collection of Garland and Wizard of Oz memorabilia.