TNR - 10.12.09

Page 1

THE Independent student news organization at the university of cincinnati

Vol. CXXVIV Issue 9

monday , oct . 12, 2009 take a bite out of this Four area grocery stores, four different receipts. page 2

practice facility

just a pynch Thomas Pynchon’s new novel is a twist on the detective genre. page 4

Thomas hopeful complex will be completed Sept. 1, 2010. page 6

UC stroke research to receive $3.6M grant randi taylor the news record

A University of Cincinnati team is set to receive a multimillion-dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund a study on using mental practice as a form of stroke rehabilitation. Stephen Page, an associate professor in the College of Allied Health Sciences’ rehabilitation sciences department, is the principal investigator for the study. Page and his research team plan to study the benefits of mental practice – a method for rehearsing or enhancing a physical

skill, on the recovery of specific body movements in stroke patients. Page and his team will work closely with the Cleveland Clinic to complete the research, which began Tuesday, Sept. 1. The Cleveland Clinic visited Page’s research lab, located at the Drake Center, known for its stroke recovery center. “The NIH grant is super-duperduper competitive,” Page said. “We competed with the best scientists in the country.” So far, most of the team’s efforts are spent in preparation for the study, Page said. Mental practice is not a new

University doctors search for cause of breast cancer

Weather

62° 1 News 2 College Living 4 Entertainment 5 Classifieds 6 Sports

Page conducted a decade-long study on the effectiveness of mental practice in stroke patients to improve motor skills. He was also part of the first steam in the world Stephen page to implement this practice. The grant money allows for the continuation of his research and will pay for the resources, time and manpower. The funding for the study ends see grant | page 3

DAAP international

Justin Tepe | the news record

Greta Gunther, a second-year fashion design student, takes the afternoon to work on a tote bag in a DAAP studio, Sunday, Oct. 11.

Design program places in top 30 worldwide Emphasis on business aspects sketches outline for success in arts curriculum carly tamborski the news record

The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning’s design school was recently named one of the top 30 design programs in the world. “BusinessWeek” interviewed graduates, professors and heads of several leading programs to determine which areas excel in promoting design’s critical role in business and emphasize the relationships between design, business and technology. DAAP’s school of design offers a general Master’s of Design degree to students who have a bachelor’s degrees in either industrial, fashion, graphic or digital design. “Design holds a huge role in business, that’s why our professors constantly take the role of a client and not the traditional professor,” said Joey Howell, a fourth-year graphic design student. “This gives students the chance to practice client-relationship strategies and appropriate business behavior and design approaches.” While “BusinessWeek” focused on DAAP’s relationship between business and design, it is not the first to place UC among elite rankings. Design Intelligence, a national college ranking survey focused on design, also placed UC in its top three for the 2009 rankings. “BusinessWeek” doesn’t rank numerically, they just select and feature the 30 best programs. We are in that group,” said Robert Probst, dean of DAAP. “But in my book we are clearly numero uno.” For 2009 alone, UC’s undergraduate interior design program placed No. 2 in the nation, second to Kansas State University. Until this year, UC held the No. 1 spot for nine years. DAAP’s graduate architecture program also placed second in the nation, behind Harvard University. The undergraduate industrial design program ranked third while the graduate industrial design program ranked eighth. DAAP also participates in the Live Well Collaborative, a product-design company that caters to those 50 years and older.By joining a studio or going on co-op, students can earn academic credit for business or design while working with company leaders to develop products. “The Live Well Collaborative gives students the opportunity to transfer what they have learned in studies into professional practice,” Howell said. A 2007 $10 million donation by UC alumni Myron and Cathy Ullman has providedrecent opportunities for DAAP students. “The Myron E. Ullman Jr. Endowed Fund is used in a number of ways: For endowed professorships, for faculty and student development and excellence, for a series of master classes and for new technology,” said Nancy Brinker, assistant director of DAAP’s School of Design. “Support from the fund allows us to avail ourselves of many opportunities that would not exist without this special gift. These opportunities factor into our success.” Several international trips, seminars, workshops, lectures and guest speakers for DAAP faculty and students used the donation as funding. “It’s obvious why UC has earned repeated international attention. It’s a great school that’s continually growing,” Howell said. “The possibilities are truly endless when you combine the teaching power of great professors with the will power to succeed that many have here in DAAP.”

47°

Index

they can use at home as guidance. Repetition of small movements to facilitate brain rewiring is the concept behind stroke rehabilitation mental practice. Those who participate in mental practice rehabilitation recover better than those who go through inpatient treatment and are able to integrate back into their communities more successfully, Page said. Ideal candidates for the study must already have the ability to perform small movements. The small movements can then be developed and patients may eventually be able to write with a pen or drink from a cup.

Ask her

amanda woodruff the news record

Statistically, more women are aware of the risks for breast cancer each year, and although they might take the recommended steps to protect their health, researchers have yet to pinpoint the exact cause of the cancer. Common factors in the onset of breast cancer include having children before the age of 20, or after 30, as well as premature pubescence in which the menstrual cycle begins earlier than age 10, said Dr. Kathy Havlin, associate professor of chronic medicine at the University of Cincinnati. “The longer there is unopposed estrogen, the higher the risk becomes,” Havlin said. Although a woman cannot control her age and the risks that follow, she can outline a family tree to test the genetic possibilities. “Pure heredity is responsible for only 10 percent of all breast cancer cases,” Havlin said. “We look at two genes, specifically, BREA1 and BREA2.” Aside from contributing factors, doctors are responsible for customized treatment dependent on the patient’s age, lifestyle, medical history, the size and stage of the tumor, Havlin said. “One breast cancer is not like another breast cancer,” Havlin said. “There is a different makeup of tumors and the treatment depends on that makeup. We gather more genetic information, look at the reoccurrence risk by performing an Oncotype DX.” Oncotype DX is a diagnostic test on the tumor used to assess the likelihood of the tumor’s return. This test is used when a patient must consider chemotherapy in addition to hormone therapy since the majority of breast cancer is rooted in estrogen, according to the Breast Cancer non-profit organization. As it is an isolated problem, the cancer does not necessarily affect other areas of a woman’s body. The effects depend on the treatment and some women experience fertility issues, Havlin said. Tamoxifen, raloxifene and tibolone are drugs noted to decrease the chances of developing the cancer and help control it, especially in postmenopausal women. Nationwide studies are still underway to confirm the results. The Charles M. Barrett Cancer Center at University Hospital is also taking part in the research. “It is a multidisciplinary cancer,” Havlin said. “We are always doing radiation studies and clinical trials as an attempt to improve.” Instead of drug, chemical and hormonal treatments, there are two surgical options. One type is a lumpectomy, or removal of the affected area while the second type of surgery is a mastectomy, either a complete or partial removal of the breasts. Every year, one in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Doctors recommend a balanced diet, regular exercise, vitamins and annual mammograms or physicals to stay up-todate with personal health. “We don’t know exactly what causes it,” Havlin said. “Women can eat right and exercise and still experience the inevitable.”

concept. Athletes use a similar method to improve their performances during games. The difference is recovering stroke patients are working on small movements rather than running or other physical activities, Page said. “The best part is that mental practice has a 50-year track record in the cognitive psychology and exercise literature,” Page said. “[It] is noninvasive and is easy for patients to use.” A total of 100 stroke patients will be accepted to participate. Every patient receives 10 weeks of therapy and access to audio and videotapes, which

Justin Tepe | the news record

DAAP is renowned for its design programs.

DAAP Facts There are no right angles in the building, which was designed by James E. Allen in 1958. Cincinnati’s design programs are ranked among those in London, Milan, Hong Kong and New York.

online @ www.newsrecord.org für Berlin

Slideshow

TNR all the time

Check out photos of the CCM Philharmonic’s concert in commemoration of the falling of the Berlin Wall.

TNR photo editor Coulter Loeb picks the week’s best pictures.

Now flip through the full issue online. Subscribe to The News Record Web site and RSS. If that’s not enough, follow us on Twitter @NewsRecord_UC.

HOUSE AD HERE newsrecordnews@gmail.com | 513.556.5908


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.