Research
Tongue Wagging
A new invention from a team of UW-Madison students is a real mouth-opener — literally. It's designed to exercise the tongue and mouth, and could help the 15 million adults in the United States who suffer health problems because they have trouble swallowing.
Deteriorating muscles in the mouth can lead to pneumonia, malnutrition, and dehydration. But the device created by seniors Angela Hewitt, Christine Koranda, Aaron Kroner, and David Meister, all of the biomedical engineering department, is kind of like "tongue chi" for older patients. A wearable mouth guard rigged with sensors, it helps a patient perform simple mouth exercises and provides data for caregivers.
The invention was chosen from more than nine hundred entries to be one of sixteen finalists at the national College Inventors Competition, held in November in New York City. Although the students didn't win, they did attract the interest of UW's patent agency, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which is working to secure a patent on the mouth guard. That makes defeat easier to swallow.
— M.P.
Deteriorating muscles in the mouth can lead to pneumonia, malnutrition, and dehydration. But the device created by seniors Angela Hewitt, Christine Koranda, Aaron Kroner, and David Meister, all of the biomedical engineering department, is kind of like "tongue chi" for older patients. A wearable mouth guard rigged with sensors, it helps a patient perform simple mouth exercises and provides data for caregivers.
The invention was chosen from more than nine hundred entries to be one of sixteen finalists at the national College Inventors Competition, held in November in New York City. Although the students didn't win, they did attract the interest of UW's patent agency, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which is working to secure a patent on the mouth guard. That makes defeat easier to swallow.
— M.P.
Common Food, Uncommon Good
As over-the-counter herbal supplements continue to fly off the shelves, one UW-Madison researcher wonders why people don't hunt for health-promoting properties where they're easy to find — among garden-variety vegetables.
"There's no reason to believe that exotic botanicals are the only plants that have specific, health-promoting benefits," says Kirk Parkin, a professor of food science. "Domesticated plants do, as well."
The popularity of exotic herbal supplements such as echinacea, feverfew, valerian, and goldenseal has soared. So, too, have concerns about their effectiveness and safety. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration alerted consumers to possible liver-damaging effects of kava, a popular herb for relieving anxiety and insomnia. The Secretary of Health and Human Services recently campaigned for warning labels on the stimulant ephedra. And doctors have begun cautioning about the risks of using herbal supplements in combination with prescription drugs.
"There's no reason to believe that exotic botanicals are the only plants that have specific, health-promoting benefits," says Kirk Parkin, a professor of food science. "Domesticated plants do, as well."
The popularity of exotic herbal supplements such as echinacea, feverfew, valerian, and goldenseal has soared. So, too, have concerns about their effectiveness and safety. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration alerted consumers to possible liver-damaging effects of kava, a popular herb for relieving anxiety and insomnia. The Secretary of Health and Human Services recently campaigned for warning labels on the stimulant ephedra. And doctors have begun cautioning about the risks of using herbal supplements in combination with prescription drugs.
Meanwhile, Parkin is researching the healthful properties of decidedly less glamorous plants such as garlic, kale, beets, corn, and green beans. Not only are these common vegetables far less pricey and probably safer, he says, but, as staples of Wisconsin's farms, they also promote local agriculture.
Parkin and colleagues are showing that everyday vegetables may play a role in human health beyond simple nutrition. His team recently published results revealing that crude vegetable extracts trigger increases of protective proteins, called phase II enzymes, that work with other proteins in the body to detoxify and purge cancer-causing agents in the liver and other organs. An extract of sweet corn showed the greatest effect, causing a thirteenfold jump in enzyme levels. Kale raised the enzymes eightfold; snap beans increased them
fivefold; and beets twofold.
"If you simply tell the public that eating vegetables is good for them, you don't get much of a response," Parkin says. "To change eating habits, you need to give a specific reason why eating certain vegetables will benefit them."
— Madeline Fisher
Parkin and colleagues are showing that everyday vegetables may play a role in human health beyond simple nutrition. His team recently published results revealing that crude vegetable extracts trigger increases of protective proteins, called phase II enzymes, that work with other proteins in the body to detoxify and purge cancer-causing agents in the liver and other organs. An extract of sweet corn showed the greatest effect, causing a thirteenfold jump in enzyme levels. Kale raised the enzymes eightfold; snap beans increased them
fivefold; and beets twofold.
"If you simply tell the public that eating vegetables is good for them, you don't get much of a response," Parkin says. "To change eating habits, you need to give a specific reason why eating certain vegetables will benefit them."
— Madeline Fisher
It's in the Bag
Someday, the symbol of farming around the Midwest may not be the tall tower silos that now dot the landscape, but large bags that stretch out like two-hundred-foot-long sausages.
When it comes to silage, bags work better, says Gunnar Josefsson, an assistant scientist with the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. They offer more efficient use of silage, increased safety, and lower annual costs. Tower silos present farmers with a danger of falling from a high elevation and possible exposure to nitrogen dioxide, produced by fermenting forage. Bags, on the other hand, lie flat and allow toxic fumes to dissipate in open air.
Made of durable plastic, the bags typically are thrown away after one or two years of use, but some landfills won't take them. Josefsson is testing a device that will compress and bale the plastic so it can be easily transported for recycling.
"Between 40 and 50 percent of Wisconsin dairy farms now use bag silos," Josefsson says, "but mostly as a complement to the towers. Most tower silos are made of concrete staves, and there is cost and time involved in demolishing them." That means you should still see silos on the horizon for a long time to come.
— Candice Andrews '77
When it comes to silage, bags work better, says Gunnar Josefsson, an assistant scientist with the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. They offer more efficient use of silage, increased safety, and lower annual costs. Tower silos present farmers with a danger of falling from a high elevation and possible exposure to nitrogen dioxide, produced by fermenting forage. Bags, on the other hand, lie flat and allow toxic fumes to dissipate in open air.
Made of durable plastic, the bags typically are thrown away after one or two years of use, but some landfills won't take them. Josefsson is testing a device that will compress and bale the plastic so it can be easily transported for recycling.
"Between 40 and 50 percent of Wisconsin dairy farms now use bag silos," Josefsson says, "but mostly as a complement to the towers. Most tower silos are made of concrete staves, and there is cost and time involved in demolishing them." That means you should still see silos on the horizon for a long time to come.
— Candice Andrews '77
Ship Shape
It used to be that you had to be an expert diver to appreciate some of the many wrecked ships that lie off Wisconsin's shores. From land, all you could see were the waves that doomed them.
But now, thanks to the work of the UW's Sea Grant Institute and the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS), even road warriors can get a glimpse beneath the surface at those frozen moments of terrible history. The organizations have worked to create a state network of "maritime trails" — which meander above and below the water line to link aspects of Wisconsin's maritime history.
The trails include lighthouses, museums, and new interpretive signs that indicate the offshore sites of notable shipwrecks. You may not be able to see the ships, but the displays, full of pictures and histories of the ill-fated craft, will help you feel them. The first of the signs are up now, marking three sites in Door County.
But now, thanks to the work of the UW's Sea Grant Institute and the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS), even road warriors can get a glimpse beneath the surface at those frozen moments of terrible history. The organizations have worked to create a state network of "maritime trails" — which meander above and below the water line to link aspects of Wisconsin's maritime history.
The trails include lighthouses, museums, and new interpretive signs that indicate the offshore sites of notable shipwrecks. You may not be able to see the ships, but the displays, full of pictures and histories of the ill-fated craft, will help you feel them. The first of the signs are up now, marking three sites in Door County.
"The trails help bring together all of the aspects of our maritime history," says Russ Green, co-director of the project for WHS. "We hope to show that these sites are important and worth preserving."
Six years ago, the same team of researchers and historians created a now wildly popular Web site devoted to Wisconsin shipwrecks, which was named recently by Michigan State University's Center for Great Lakes Culture as the best site about the lakes. Check out the new companion site for a clickable map of where to find the new displays.
— Michael Penn
Six years ago, the same team of researchers and historians created a now wildly popular Web site devoted to Wisconsin shipwrecks, which was named recently by Michigan State University's Center for Great Lakes Culture as the best site about the lakes. Check out the new companion site for a clickable map of where to find the new displays.
— Michael Penn
Local Warming
You don't have to guess what the weather's going to be like in Thompson, Manitoba. In Thompson, or at least in the nearby forest, it's going to be warm - exactly five degrees warmer than in surrounding areas.
Tom Gower, a forest ecology professor, is making sure it stays that way. He's heating a small section of forest in an effort to understand what sort of effect global warming may have on the vast range of Boreal forest that runs across northern Canada and Alaska, and from Siberia through Scandinavia.
"Because of the high latitude," says Gower, "Boreal forest may experience greater warming than tropical regions. It's predicted to see an increase in average temperature of four to six degrees Celsius."
Tom Gower, a forest ecology professor, is making sure it stays that way. He's heating a small section of forest in an effort to understand what sort of effect global warming may have on the vast range of Boreal forest that runs across northern Canada and Alaska, and from Siberia through Scandinavia.
"Because of the high latitude," says Gower, "Boreal forest may experience greater warming than tropical regions. It's predicted to see an increase in average temperature of four to six degrees Celsius."
But Gower isn't waiting for predictions. Instead, he is heating up his own forest so he can measure and record the changes. He's rigged four fifteen-meter-square plots of land to act as giant heating chambers, each enclosing nine black spruce trees. The goal is to raise the temperature of the plots to a consistent five degrees Celsius warmer than the surrounding forests, which will require using 300,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. After doing this for as long as eight years, Gower hopes he will learn what a warmer environment means for the forest - not just the trees, but the entire ecological system, right down to the soil.
— John Allen
— John Allen
COOL TOOL - Let's Reel
At the bottom of the earth, work is beginning on IceCube, a mammoth network of under-the-surface detectors that will track elusive subatomic particles known as neutrinos as they zoom through miles of Antarctic ice. To get those detectors in place, engineers must drill eighty holes, each one more than a mile deep, into the ice, using a long hose that shoots hot water and bores a path downward. But where do you put a hose that's a mile and a half long? Easy — on the world's largest hose reel. Instrument-makers at the UW's Physical Sciences Laboratory built the twenty-three-ton monster, shown above, at their facility during fall semester, and later this year, it will be painted red and flown to the South Pole, along with the rest of the equipment necessary to build IceCube. Because Antarctic summer is hardly lingering, "we only have a two-month shot at construction every year," says Francis Halzen, professor of physics and leader of the IceCube project, "and the drill has to be perfect."
— M.P.
— M.P.
Scientists have identified an enzyme that is critical to the ability of cancer to metastasize, which is one of the traits that makes cancer so difficult to combat. The enzyme underpins cancer cells' ability to move from organ to organ, meaning that if scientists can devise a way to block it, they may be on the path toward preventing cancer metastasis. "Exactly how cancer cells metastasize has been poorly understood," says Richard Anderson, a professor of pharmacology. "This discovery is a breakthrough that could really have an impact."
UW's Environmental Remote Sensing Center is housed in a tall building on Dayton Street, yet it has a great lake view. Using satellites some four hundred miles up, researchers keep an eye on eight thousand Wisconsin lakes, monitoring water clarity and quality. Images and interactive maps are online at the center's Web site.
Students and professors from UW's civil and environmental engineering programs are converting waste-water lagoons near Madison into park land. The team devised a method to cap the sludge-filled lagoons, using a layer of ice to support a woven sheet of polymer, combined with soil and wood chips. The caps have sealed the lagoons, and the soil above has now been seeded with vegetation, enabling the lands to be incorporated into the Capital Springs Centennial State Park, a corridor popular with birds and bird watchers.
UW's Environmental Remote Sensing Center is housed in a tall building on Dayton Street, yet it has a great lake view. Using satellites some four hundred miles up, researchers keep an eye on eight thousand Wisconsin lakes, monitoring water clarity and quality. Images and interactive maps are online at the center's Web site.
Students and professors from UW's civil and environmental engineering programs are converting waste-water lagoons near Madison into park land. The team devised a method to cap the sludge-filled lagoons, using a layer of ice to support a woven sheet of polymer, combined with soil and wood chips. The caps have sealed the lagoons, and the soil above has now been seeded with vegetation, enabling the lands to be incorporated into the Capital Springs Centennial State Park, a corridor popular with birds and bird watchers.
Are Those Real?
When UW veterinary radiologist Robert O'Brien attends dairy shows around the nation, people recognize him. His expertise — which is to tell "fake" udders from the real thing — is in hot demand, and most people say that he's helping to keep judged exhibitions on the level.
Physical beauty matters in pageants among human contestants, and it does among cows, as well. Cows with large, full udders often produce more milk and thus bring higher prices for offspring. At dairy shows — which O'Brien says are like Miss America contests for cows — prizes can mean more lucrative breeding rights for owners, which makes udder tampering a profitable temptation. At national dairy shows, significant numbers of owners artificially enhance their cows' udders, using gas infusions or fluid injections to make them appear smoother and fuller, which scores more points.
"Really, this is an ethical problem," O'Brien says. "We are a background player making sure that everyone gets an equal chance at winning."
Physical beauty matters in pageants among human contestants, and it does among cows, as well. Cows with large, full udders often produce more milk and thus bring higher prices for offspring. At dairy shows — which O'Brien says are like Miss America contests for cows — prizes can mean more lucrative breeding rights for owners, which makes udder tampering a profitable temptation. At national dairy shows, significant numbers of owners artificially enhance their cows' udders, using gas infusions or fluid injections to make them appear smoother and fuller, which scores more points.
"Really, this is an ethical problem," O'Brien says. "We are a background player making sure that everyone gets an equal chance at winning."
In 1998, dairy show officials approached O'Brien about using ultrasound equipment, which he employs in his research on udder disease, to detect gas. They had been hearing rumors that owners were injecting isobutane gas "foamies," often used to treat udder infections, during competitions to boost the appearance of their cows' anatomies. Once officials began using the technology, evidence of foamies dropped dramatically — from as high as in half of all cows in 1998 to none in 2001.
Ultrasound has been employed at some shows for nearly a decade. But O'Brien's judgments "have more of a scientific basis, rather than just an impression," he says.
O'Brien's team has researched how effectively the machine detects various suspected substances, publishing results relating to gas foamies in 1999 and liquid silver protein in 2002 in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. They found that each substance presented distinctive patterns in the ultrasound images of udders.
Meanwhile, O'Brien continues to rely on ultrasound to detect the latest tricks. His international contacts clue him in on new schemes cheaters use to skirt the rules. "I kind of feel like a detective who is constantly trying to figure out what they might be doing next," he says.
Ultrasound has been employed at some shows for nearly a decade. But O'Brien's judgments "have more of a scientific basis, rather than just an impression," he says.
O'Brien's team has researched how effectively the machine detects various suspected substances, publishing results relating to gas foamies in 1999 and liquid silver protein in 2002 in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. They found that each substance presented distinctive patterns in the ultrasound images of udders.
Meanwhile, O'Brien continues to rely on ultrasound to detect the latest tricks. His international contacts clue him in on new schemes cheaters use to skirt the rules. "I kind of feel like a detective who is constantly trying to figure out what they might be doing next," he says.
The detective work is paying off. Recently, two large show sponsors announced that they would only endorse shows that use O'Brien's technology. O'Brien and his colleagues also offer training to anyone fighting the battle against fake udders.
— Edna Francisco
— Edna Francisco
A New Cheese in Town
What's noisy and crusty, comes from the far north, and just arrived in Madison? Don't worry — it's not your Uncle Ole from Rhinelander. It's juustoleipä, a traditional Finnish cheese.
For two hundred years, Finns have made juustoleipä (pronounced HOO-stah-lee-pah) from reindeer milk and baked it, giving it a breadlike crust. The Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research's new version of the cheese uses cow's milk and bakes it at a higher temperature, extending its shelf life to more than two months.
Juustoleipä has a mild, buttery flavor and squeaks like fresh curds. "It's really a delightful, versatile cheese," says Jim Path '68, an outreach specialist for the research center. "It can be served warm with jam or dunked in coffee, because it doesn't melt."
— Erin Hueffner '00
For two hundred years, Finns have made juustoleipä (pronounced HOO-stah-lee-pah) from reindeer milk and baked it, giving it a breadlike crust. The Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research's new version of the cheese uses cow's milk and bakes it at a higher temperature, extending its shelf life to more than two months.
Juustoleipä has a mild, buttery flavor and squeaks like fresh curds. "It's really a delightful, versatile cheese," says Jim Path '68, an outreach specialist for the research center. "It can be served warm with jam or dunked in coffee, because it doesn't melt."
— Erin Hueffner '00
