Working to improve the shelf life of meat products

Photo: Peter Morenus

When Richard Mancini '99 (CANR) goes to the supermarket meat counter, he brings more than just a shopper's eye for bargains.

He brings the perspective of a researcher who has published 15 studies on various aspects of meat quality.

Mancini returned to UConn last year as an assistant professor of animal science after earning a master's degree in meat science and a doctorate in food science at Kansas State University .

He teaches classes in animal food products and meat processing.

"A better understanding of the chemistry of meat will help the consumer from a food safety point of view," he says.

"If we can better understand fresh and cooked meat, we can help the meat industry to improve their product safety."

Mancini's research includes meat chemistry, including using meat color as an indicator for consumers of when fresh meat is spoiled. He also studies factors affecting the shelf life of beef and pork - such as storage temperature and packaging.

"It's of big interest to the meat industry and to retailers if we can improve the shelf life of the products," he says, noting two systems are used to provide fresh meat to consumers.

Most local supermarkets buy meat that can be cut up into steaks and chops by a butcher. Larger stores may receive pre-packaged meat.

When teaching, Mancini says, he brings both the applied, hands-on information, such as how meat is cut and packaged, and the hard science, such as why meat is red - because of a protein similar to the hemoglobin that gives human blood its red color.

As to his own shopping, Mancini says he tries to be a wise consumer, even with his extensive knowledge of meat products.

"I see the cost saving of buying a large piece of meat and cutting it up myself, but I also shop for bargains," he says.

"If it's priced right and cut up already, I'll buy it."

Researchers find consumer gain with car leases

Two finance professors and a UConn graduate have produced the first documented research demonstrating consumer benefits to those who lease automobiles and then go on to purchase their cars at the end of the leasing period.

Carmello Giaccotto and Shantaram Hedge, professors of finance in the School of Business, and Gerson Goldberg '67 (CLAS), '94 Ph.D., assistant professor of financial services at Roger Williams University, analyzed publicly available data on the automobile leasing industry for a study that will be published later this year in The Journal of Finance.

Photo: Peter Morenus

UConn researchers have found that consumers benefit when buying their vehicles at the end of the leasing period.

Using information on leasing of the most popular cars- General Motors Saturn, Honda Civic and Toyota Camry-the researchers found that the option to allow purchase of the car at the end of a lease period is worth more than $1,460 to consumers, nearly 10 percent of the value of these automobiles, which sold for around $15,000.

"The consumer is sitting on a valuable right and asset," says Hedge of the purchase option, which is embedded into standard automobile leasing contracts. "There is no separate line in the lease that says you're paying $1,500 for the right to purchase the car."

The researchers say auto manufacturers lose money when leased cars are purchased because if auto loan rates go up, a new car purchase is lost.

Giaccotto says the models they devised for the automobile industry could be developed to examine other segments of the multi-billion dollar leasing market in areas such as construction equipment, aircraft and shipping. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the renting and leasing industry produced $102 billion in revenue in 2004.

Public documents on the auto leasing industry took several years to collect, the researchers say, and more specific data from the auto manufacturers would provide improved insights.

"There are hundreds of thousands of contracts sitting on the books, but we can't get those from the companies," Hedge says. "Our hope is that after they read the study, they'll call us to do that."

Straumann gift supports implant center

In this model of a dental arch, a titanium implant supports an artificial crown.

A $500,000 gift from Straumann USA will help UConn's new Center for Implant and Reconstructive Dentistry expand its curriculum in the rapidly growing field of dental implant therapy.

The donation from Swiss-based Straumann, a world leader in dental implant and oral tissue regeneration products, will help fund research into new dental implant technology. It also will strengthen patient care and education programs at the School of Dental Medicine , which consistently ranks among the top three dental schools in the nation.

Straumann also is providing dental implants, prosthetic components, surgical and prosthetic instrumentation, training resources, and materials to support dental implant curricula.

"Straumann places high value and high priority on education and research in implant dentistry," says Thomas Taylor, head of the UConn Health Center 's department of oral rehabilitation, biomaterials and skeletal development.

"Their willingness to invest in our center clearly demonstrates the value they believe we can bring to education and research efforts."

Dental implant therapy has been growing in importance internationally as a preferred alternative to tooth replacement and other conventional restorations.

As a result of Straumann's support, UConn dental students will have the enhanced capability to place and/or restore dental implants during their clinical studies. This provides students with the tools they need to perform the latest dental implant procedures.

"The dental school is currently recognized as a center of excellence in dental implantology," says Peter Robinson, dean of the School of Dental Medicine.

"The support from Straumann will allow us to move to the next level."

The Center for Implant and Reconstructive Dentistry will be an integral part of the UConn Health Center 's Musculoskeletal Institute, serving both students and practicing dentists as a training center and support network for the advancement of dental implant studies in Connecticut and the surrounding region.

Ph.D. students keep science center on track

Two doctoral candidates with years of classroom experience teaching science are working at the planned Connecticut Science Center, helping to ensure that the center helps support the state's new K-12 science curriculum and standards. The new guidelines are set to go into effect in 2008, the same year the center is scheduled to open.

An architect’s rendering of the Connecticut Science Center.

Kurt Haste '99 (ED) and Heather Harkins are working as part of a three-year partnership between the science center and the Neag School of Education. Haste, who taught middle school science for five years, works closely with the center's full-time, in-house exhibits expert, while Harkins, who taught high school science in Connecticut for several years, is an integral part of the center's professional development outreach to state science teachers.

Haste recently brainstormed ideas for designing the center's physical sciences gallery around a common theme of transportation and the challenge of how to design faster vehicles. His suggestion: a series of related displays culminating at one station, where visitors will build their own vehicles.

Harkins has provided year-round support and encouragement to the teachers who took part in the center's Institutes for Inquiry training last year. The inquiry program shows teachers hands-on, inquiry-driven methods for tapping into their students' natural scientific curiosity.

"So often, ongoing support is the piece that's missing from professional development programs for teachers, but the center doesn't want their efforts to be just another flash in the pan," Harkins says.

In addition to Haste's and Harkins' direct participation, the partnership also provides the center ongoing access to the expertise of UConn's science education faculty.

"I've held the Neag School of Education in high regard for a long time," says Theodore Sergi '77 (ED), '86 Ph.D., president of the center and former commissioner of the state's Department of Education. "We've been very happy with the partnership and hope it can grow."

Supercomputer enhances research capabilities

Photo: Christopher LaRosa

Sanguthevar Rajasekaran and Ian Greenshields with the BECAT supercomputer.

UConn has a new supercomputer system installed in the Booth Engineering Center for Advanced Technologies (BECAT) to initiate the Connecticut Institute for Supercomputing and Visualization within the School of Engineering.

An 8-processor SGI ® Altix 350 mid-range server with 8 gigabytes of memory and a 64-processor SGI ® Altix ® 3700 Bx2 supercomputer configured with 64 gigabytes of memory now provides UConn researchers and students with a seamless computational and visualization platform.

The system was developed by Silicon Graphics (SGI), a leader in high performance computing, and will be linked to the school's existing computer system built by the same company.

The new equipment forms the basis for a supercomputing facility that will ultimately become a national center of excellence in supercomputing research and applications, says Ian Greenshields, associate professor of engineering.

He says the units are fully scalable, meaning they can be upgraded to accommodate expanding needs and features over time.

The supercomputing facility is under the supervision of Sanguthevar Rajasekaran, BECAT director and UTC Professor of Computer Science and Engineering.

The new integrated system will help provide faster, more accurate and realistic predictions in such computing-intensive research as biomolecular and metabolic engineering, fuel cells and alternative energy development, parachute dynamics and uncertainty analysis in biological systems.

In addition to its role in support of research, the new supercomputer will be used in the School of Engineering 's outreach activities such as the innovative Connecticut Education Network-the nation's first statewide K-20 optical network built exclusively using state-of-the- art high-speed fiber optic connections.

The K-20 network extends new technologies to all educational institutions across the U.S.

Working with leading UConn engineering scientists, the supercomputing institute aims to develop realistic and accurate models of important engineering challenges that will enable scientists and engineers to explore pressing problems in key areas such as energy and biotechnology.

Benton hosts national exhibitions

Photo: Harold Edgerton

The recently concluded exhibition of photography by scientist and photographer Harold E. Edgerton is among the national touring exhibitions that are part of the broad offerings at the William Benton Museum of Art.

While investigating the use of the electronic stroboscope that he had invented for stop-action photography, Edgerton began working in high-speed photography.

His photographs combined scientific discovery with art as he developed lighting systems that eventually had applications in space exploration, medicine, marine science and electro-optics.

Among Edgerton's most famous images is "Milk-Drop Coronet," a 1957 photo that shows a splash of milk creating the image of a crown at the moment of impact on a table.

"Edgerton was a scientist first, but he developed a technique and a procedure where he could, with certain kinds of images, look at them as aesthetic objects," says Thomas Bruhn, curator of art collections for the Benton.

"It's one of those instances, which doesn't happen often, where you can cross over between science and art."

Over the years, the Benton has hosted exhibits by Gordon Parks, the late photographer and filmmaker; the embroidered and beaded "memory cloths" of South African women depicting their lives before and after Apartheid; and poster art reflecting protests and propaganda of the Vietnam War era.

"Our first audience is the University but we are equally interested in exhibitions that are of interest to a broad community beyond the University," Bruhn says, noting that Benton exhibits are utilized by faculty and students as part of many classes across a variety of academic disciplines.

During the 2006-07 academic year, new exhibits will include one celebrating UConn's 125th anniversary.

In the fall, "The President and The Professor" will include some of UConn's earliest collected art-1920s New England landscapes donated by UConn President Charles Beach and works by the German expressionist Kathe Kollwitz donated by Walter Landauer, a former UConn animal geneticist.

Top students gain from Law Review experience

Photo: Peter Morenus

Joel Norwood, a second year law student, working at the office of the Connecticut Law Review.

Although the Connecticut Law Review has only about 500 subscribers, the importance of the journal for UConn law students involved in its publication goes far beyond its limited circulation.

"Law Review membership allows our members to be involved in the production of a scholarly journal, exposes our members to a diverse range of legal subjects, improves their technical writing skills, and allows them to meet and form friendships with a large number of students at the Law School," says Joseph Bernardi, a third-year law student who serves as editor.

The journal features articles written by outside contributors as well as shorter pieces called "notes" and "comments" written by UConn students who are members of the Review.

Although it is a quarterly publication, the Law Review has three formats: two general interest issues that include articles from among approximately 1,000 submissions annually reviewed by a committee of student editors; one edition focusing on the School of Law's annual legal symposium; and one commentary edition centered on a solicited lead article and comments from others based on that article.

The top six day students and top three evening students are invited to join the Law Review . Others may be invited based on results of their participation in two annual writing competitions.

Thirty-two new students were invited to join the Review last year. Senior editorial positions are elected by the members. There are about 60 members, of whom 30 are on the editorial board.

"The mission of the journal is to contribute to the national dialogue among scholars, judges and practitioners of the law on the important legal issues of the day," says Paul Schiff Berman, who has advised the publication for six years.

"Giving our students the opportunity to publish in Connecticut Law Review is a tremendous opportunity for them that would otherwise likely be unavailable."

The Law Review is funded through subscriptions and support from the School of Law.

Studying aborigines at the bottom of the world
Human rights course debuts in sociology

Studying aborigines at the bottom of the world

It was uncharted territory for Carolyn Schwarz, a doctoral candidate in anthropology, and nothing but instruction in the Yolngu language could have prepared her for it.

Schwarz spent 17 months in the most remote part of northern Australia on the island of Galiwin'ku conducting field research on the religious behaviors of the Yolngu people, an aboriginal settlement of about 2,000.

She is preparing a dissertation on how the Yolngu view their religious behaviors, values, and identities in their day-to-day negotiations with one another and with the world beyond their settlements.

Schwarz has a fellowship from the UConn Humanities Institute to study why and for whom religion and religious behaviors matter in the aboriginal community, which was evangelized in 1942 by Methodist missionaries.

"I'm interested in religion, particularly how indigenous peoples interpreted Christianity and how Christianity and Western religious systems either came together or conflicted with one another," she says.

During her stay, Schwarz lived with her two "adopted" Yolngu families, who housed between six and 20 people at a time. Most often she shared a room with two to three other people.

"Kinship is the most important aspect of their society. Being alone is considered a pitiful condition," she says, noting that large families live together in relatively small houses, sharing food, money and clothing.

"It was perfectly acceptable for someone to ask for a bite of another's sandwich or for a sip of someone's drink."

She says that lifestyle was jarring early on, so much so that when she returned to the United States , Schwarz says, she suffered "reverse culture shock."

"I was so used to being around people all the time, surrounded by kin," she says. "I had rarely eaten anything alone."

She says studying anthropology has evolved her approach to viewing cultures: "It forces you to think outside of yourself and outside our societal constructs, in terms of what is 'normal.' It makes you rethink your societal norms and values."

Human rights course debuts in sociology

Photo: Peter Morenus

Davita Silfen Glasberg, left, head of the department of sociology and Bandana Purkayastha, associate professor of sociology.

Human rights studies have continued to expand at UConn with students who minor in human rights and/or students who pursue individualized majors in human and economic rights.

Previously classes have focused on international issues.

That will change this fall with a new course, "Human Rights in the United States," developed by Davita Silfen Glasberg, head of the department of sociology and Bandana Purkayastha, associate professor of sociology.

The course will cover economic, racial, and gender justice; prisoners' rights and capital punishment; the role of the United States in international human rights agreements and treaties; and struggles on behalf of human rights.

Glasberg, former director of the human rights minor, says the new 200-level course adds a needed perspective on the subject matter.

"Many people are under the impression that human rights issues occur solely in countries outside the United States ," she says.

"I think it's a general assumption that the United States is the gold standard of human rights practices. Unfortunately, that leads students to believe that violations are typical elsewhere in the world but not in this country. It's a perception that is very unlikely to enhance a broader perspective of global patterns and global relations."

Glasberg says much research has been conducted in sociology on civil rights, women's rights and gay rights, but the language of human rights has not been used in studying those issues.

"Sociology is really poised as a discipline to take on these kinds of issues," she says. "We don't have any courses in the human rights minor or in other departments on campus that focus explicitly on human rights in quite this way."

Glasberg says currently there are no textbooks available for the new course.

Students will read a monograph or selection of journal articles and then discuss the issues involved.

She says reading current articles "sensitizes students to look at the world. We are looking at how these theoretical materials operate in the world as we speak."

Hospice arts program aids human communication

Second-year medical students at the UConn Health Center are developing their skills interacting with patients through an innovative course that brings the arts to terminally ill patients.

The program, Hospice Arts, addresses one of the most crucial and often neglected skills for a physician, the ability to make a human connection with patients, says faculty advisor Catherine Weber, an associate professor in the department of family medicine at the UConn School of Medicine.

"Students are hesitant about the topic of hospice and feel uncomfortable," says Weber, who has been involved with hospice research and spearheaded the program at UConn.

"To be able to connect with a patient in his or her own environment benefits both the patient and the physician."

Students earn credit for the course, which is offered as part of the medical humanities curriculum.

Weber says patients and students interact through music and dance, read poetry or literature, or work together on art or craft projects.

"We hope that students gain an appreciation for this profound phase of a patient's life and bring the lessons of these personal experiences to later clinical encounters with all patients," Weber adds.

Medical student Sarah Jane Borch, who worked in the course with a 92-year-old hospice patient, says that putting herself in the patient's space makes a big difference in how they relate to each other.

"You're more cognizant of their needs. You become humbled in a way," she says.

Weber says research has shown that when a patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness, caregivers, including physicians, tend to withdraw from all but the most basic interactions with the person.

Hospice Arts offer a focus for interaction.

Katherine Mascagna, director of Connecticut Hospice in Branford, worked with Weber to establish and coordinate the program.

She says medical students learn a more holistic approach to medical care and both patients and their families benefit.

"I hope this becomes a model for other medical schools as well," Mascagna says.

Studying post-traumatic stress after giving birth

Photo: Peter Morenus

Cheryl Beck, professor of nursing

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is typically associated with survivors of deadly events, such as wars, natural disasters or the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

But these victims aren't the only ones who experience PTSD, says Cheryl Beck, professor of nursing and one of the nation's foremost authorities on postpartum depression.

Her recent research has revealed that some new mothers also suffer from this anxiety disorder.

For the new mother, PTSD is the result of a harrowing birth experience, one in which the mother, her baby, or perhaps both were in real or perceived danger of dying, Beck says.

Existing research suggests that up to 6 percent of women experience PTSD linked to childbirth.

Beck conducted two qualitative research studies-one on birth trauma and another on PTSD due to childbirth-with 40 women from around the world, through Trauma and Birth Stress, a charitable trust located in New Zealand .

Earlier this year, she was co-author with Jeanne Driscoll '04 Ph.D. of a new book on her recent research results and other postpartum mood and anxiety disorders.

Beck found that many of the mothers experienced birth traumas ranging from emergency Cesarean deliveries and inadequate postpartum pain relief. For some of the women, celebrating their child's birthday, even years later, was traumatic because the birthday marks the anniversary of the triggering event.

"Birth trauma is truly in the eye of the beholder, the mother," Beck says.

"Many of the mothers said that their obstetricians and family members told them that all that mattered was the end result. If they survived and had a healthy baby, they were expected to forget the traumatic birth."

Beck says she hopes her research and new book, aimed at clinicians, will focus more attention on these mothers, who often suffer in silence, and hopefully will result in earlier diagnosis and treatment.

Students assist seniors with new drug plan

Photo: Jordan Bender

Katie Myers ’06 (PHR), working on helping senior citizens to decide on a new drug plan as part of the Medicare Outreach Program.

A group of 160 UConn pharmacy students assisted more than 16,000 senior citizens in Connecticut in finding the appropriate Medicare drug plan to pay for their medications under new mandated guidelines.

The students reviewed each person's medication regimen and narrowed the choices down from the 44 options available in Connecticut to three plans that cover all the person's medications, wherever possible.

The students worked to meet a May 15 deadline last spring for clients of ConnPACE, the Connecticut Department of Social Services program that helps eligible senior citizens and people with disabilities afford the cost of most prescription medicines.

A new federal drug program required seniors to either enroll in a Medicare drug plan without penalty or enroll in another covered plan.

Each of the 16,000 senior or disabled clients takes between three and six "maintenance" medications a month, not including occasional other prescriptions for infections or other problems.

The partnership between the School of Pharmacy and the state-believed to be a first of its kind in the nation-was lauded by the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and has drawn inquiries from other states hoping to duplicate it, says Peter Tyczkowski, the School of Pharmacy's educational outreach coordinator who also monitored the student work.

"The students are performing an invaluable community service by providing individualized reviews of our clients' medication regimens," says Michael Starkowski, deputy commissioner for the Department of Social Services.

"They are making sure clients receive the maximum benefits from the new Medicare drug plan. They also are helping reduce confusion at the pharmacy counter and reduce the need for doctors and pharmacists to request exceptions for non-formulary drugs."

"We are all proud that the state of Connecticut looked to student pharmacists as a valuable resource in such a project," says Meghan Scagliarini, a fifth-year pharmacy student.

"Knowing we can make a difference in our state as students is exciting and makes the hard work worthwhile."

Full reaccreditation awarded by commission

The School of Social Work has been reaccredited for a full eight-year cycle by the national Commission on Accreditation of the Council of Social Work Education.

The commission report noted that UConn's academic programs have "increased the overall professionalism of the state's social workers."

The report followed an assessment that included an accreditation team site visit in October, during which interviews were conducted with University officials, faculty, alumni, students, employers, and area agencies.

Prior to the site team visit, faculty and staff at the school had conducted an exhaustive two-year self-study.

"We're extremely happy to be reaffirmed," says Catherine Havens, associate dean of the school.

"This opens an eight-year window in which we will be able to implement a new short-term strategic plan and focus on creating a longer-term plan."

The reaccreditation report cited a number of areas of excellence, including diversity; programming, especially studies regarding populations at risk and social economic justice; field education; community relationships; alumni relationships; student participation; and leadership.

"The School has a strong faculty with many distinguished members whose names and contributions are widely known in social work education and practice," the report says.

"The diversity of faculty and the student body are exemplary. The program has reached critical mass of diverse perspectives which supports and affirms its emphasis on teaching and learning to serve a very diverse region."

Dean Kay Davidson's leadership was noted prominently in the report, particularly for raising the scholarly productivity of the faculty and expanding statewide service by the faculty that "has had a significant impact on the Connecticut workforce."

Another strength of the program cited in the report is the field education program for students, described as "wide ranging and carefully selected and monitored," which has a requirement that goes well beyond the accrediting agency's standard of 900 hours.