UB Faculty Experts

Ten (Research-Tested) New Year’s Resolutions

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Need help choosing a New Year’s resolution? Research from the University at Buffalo can provide some direction. Below is a summary of useful health and wellness tips assembled from studies published by UB researchers in 2010.

Have a happy, healthy and safe new year. 

EXPERT CONTACT : Dr. Dietrich Jehle UB professor of Emergency Medicine Erie County Medical Center Expert in auto injuries, and behaviors that increase their probability phone: 716-898-4431 cell: 716-472-4094 email: jehle@buffalo.edu

Avoid a "back-seat bullet."

Stay with the traffic flow on innerstates and highways.

If you are driving a "high-profile" vehicle, be careful on curves.

These are some safe driving tips based on a series of studies on transportation patterns funded by the Center for Transportation Injury Research, conducted by Dr. Jehle.

"The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest times on roadways, and distracted and drowsy driving, always a danger,  are even more of an issue when there is more traffic on the roads," says Jehle.

Important safety tips:

"When there is a lot of food in your stomach, like after Thanksgiving dinner, more of your blood flow is directed to your stomach and less to your brain.  As a result, you feel tired and drowsy following a large meal. This is particularly an issue when traveling longer distances over the holidays.  And there is more alcohol consumption involved, particular the day before and after Thanksgiving when college kids return for the holidays.

"Driving much slower than the rest of the traffic is more dangerous that going slightly above the speed limit. Variance in speed is an important factor in traffic accidents. 

"Buckling the seat belt is crucial -  including every passenger. The odds of death are 2.6 times greater for an unbelted driver, and an unbelted back seat passenger is a potential "back seat bullet." An unbelted back seat passenger increases the odds of killing a person in the front seat in a head-on crash by 2.3 times.

"Be careful about speed when driving on a curve, especially if you drive a "taller" vehicle that may be more likely to roll over.  Roll-over crashes are responsible for approximately 30 % of fatalities, and seat belts are particularly important in preventing deaths in such crashes. 

"Drive carefully, and have a safe Thanksgiving!"

EXPERT CONTACT : R. Nils Olsen Jr. Professor University at Buffalo Law School 716-645-3193 nolsen@buffalo.edu

R. Nils Olsen, Jr., professor in the UB Law School specializes in federal post-conviction remedies and environmental policy.

With regard to anyone challenging the new full body scan used at airports, he says, "More than likely, federal authorities have the ability to require reasonable security. Short of suing to get it declared illegal, it is a condition of using this transportation mode."

"As long as there is a compelling justification for these searches, which there probably is -- having recently flown on an international airline -- and the means of employing those searches are the least intrusive while still effective," Olsen says,  "I'd be surprised if it would ultimately run into any fourth amendment or legal infirmities.  I don't see any challenge being successful."

EXPERT CONTACT : Joshua Dyck, PhD Assistant Professor of Political Science University at Buffalo (716) 645-8435 jdyck@buffalo.edu

Josh Dyck conducts research and publishes on  American electoral politics, how citizens interact with the institutional and social environment, and in particular, ballot initiatives and direct democracy.

"For the most part, the election proceeded as expected, both nationally and on the state and local levels," Dyck says.

"Nationally, Republicans outperformed expectations in the House and underperformed expectations in the Senate. Voter discontent was very high, but there was no clear policy message behind that discontent.

EXPERT CONTACT : James E. Campbell, Ph.D. Professor and Chair of Political Science University at Buffalo 716-645-8452 jcampbel@buffalo.edu

Jim Campbell is a nationally recognized and widely published political scientist who specializes in American electoral politics and forecasting. In papers presented before Labor Day in Buffalo and at the American Political Science Association Convention in Washington, DC, Campbell's  forecasting models predicted a Republican congressional seat gain higher than that of any political forecaster, and predicted that the 2010 midterm congressional election would be a massive victory for the Republican Party.

EXPERT CONTACT : Mark Bartholomew Associate Professor University at Buffalo Law School 716-645-5959 bartholo@buffalo.edu

The legal recommendation by the Justice Department to exclude human and other genes from patent eligibility suggests that the tide may be turning in determining whether patents should be granted for isolating gene sequences, according to Bartholomew, an expert on intellectual property law.

 "The federal government's position," he says, "follows on the heels of a district court decision holding, for the first time, that DNA is merely a sequence found in nature and, hence, unpatentable subject matter."

 "The district court decision is going up on appeal so this argument is far from over," Batholomew says. "For years, the biotech industry has proceeded on the assumption that isolated DNA is patentable.  Courts are usually loathe to disrupt the settled expectations of investors and businesses.  Moreover, in recent years, the Supreme Court has demonstrated an increasing willingness to decide patent cases. 

"My guess is that before too long the Supreme Court will weigh in directly on the patentability of DNA."

More details on the federal government's stance and the possible impact on the medical and biotechnology industry can be found in this New York Times article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/30/business/30drug.html?scp=2&sq=andrew%20pollack&st=cse

EXPERT CONTACT : Janice DeLucia-Waack Associate professor, Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology Graduate School of Education 716-645-1107 jdelucia@buffalo.edu

The Department of Education’s recent nationwide letter urging educators to combat bullying in their schools is a strong and significant message that this abusive behavior will no longer be tolerated, according to a University at Buffalo education professor instrumental in the university’s new center to prevent bullying and school violence.

“This letter indicates that the Department of Education is directing schools to clearly and significantly address the issues of bullying and student harassment,” says Janice DeLucia-Waack, associate professor in Department of Counseling School and Educational Psychology and a member of the search committee for the director of UB’s Jean M. Alberti Center for the Prevention of Bullying, Abuse and School Violence.

“What makes most sense is establishing a clear code of conduct that states positive respectful behavior is expected, and also outlines what is bullying and harassment – as well as stating clear consequences for those behaviors.”

The letter, sent to schools, colleges and universities throughout the country  – all addressed “Dear Colleague” – outlines legal obligations to protect students from various forms of harassment. The letter also provides examples of harassment and illustrates how a school should respond in each case.

At the same time, President Obama announced the next steps to address bullying and harassment in schools and scheduled a conference for early next year to raise awareness of the tools available to prevent it. In New York State, Gov. Paterson Sept. 8 signed a comprehensive anti-bullying bill called the Dignity for All Students Act.

DeLucia-Waack says it is not clear there is a dramatic increase in bullying and student harassment. However, the use of technology, as in the case of the Rutgers student who committed suicide after he was harassed on the Internet, shows technology is a factor in bullying that was not present years ago.

DeLucia-Waack also said all school personnel needed to have specific anti-bullying training, including those who supervise hallways, buses and the cafeteria where incidents often occur. This training needs to include what bullying is and how to intervene appropriately.

“Based on the Response to Intervention model developed by the Department Of Education  Education (and mandated to be implemented in NYS schools by 20112), classroom guidance to teach appropriate social skills must be provided to all students,” she says. “And then individual and small group interventions must also be utilized for those students who are bullied or are bullies to remediate the problems.  

“Proactive education to help all students develop empathy, respect and social skills is the key to prevention and effective remediation of bullying.”

EXPERT CONTACT : Mark Bartholomew Associate Professor University at Buffalo Law School 716-645-5959 bartholo@buffalo.edu

A recent lawsuit filed by astronaut Bruce McCandless against the singer Dido and her record label illustrates the tension between protecting a celebrity’s image and allowing free expression, says Mark Bartholomew, an assistant professor at UB’s Law School. In the suit, McCandless contends that Dido’s use of a photo of the earth also containing an image of McCandless in a spacesuit violated his “right of publicity.”

Bartholomew, an expert on intellectual property law, interprets the real-world implications for all of us in the growing number of lawsuits designed to stop use of celebrity images.

 “In 2010, we live in a world where celebrities are in more and more demand for their ability to attract consumer attention,” says Bartholomew. “Whenever a celebrity wins one of these cases, another party is blocked from its preferred choice in communicating with others.

 “McCandless contends that Dido’s choice to use a NASA photograph -- taken from the Space Shuttle in 1984 -- on her latest album cover violated his ‘right of publicity,’ "  The right of publicity, Bartholomew says, is a legal right that allows a celebrity to sue to prevent unauthorized uses of his identity.

“Although the right of publicity has been around, in some form, since the 1950s, this lawsuit may be an example of how recent interpretations of that right have gone too far,” says Bartholomew.

“The photo used on the Dido album shows the earth from space.  In the photo, the earth looks immense, and McCandless looks extremely small and fragile, hovering above the earth in his space suit.  Because the image of McCandless in the NASA photo is so small and his face is obscured by his helmet, no distinguishing feature of McCandless is visible on the album cover.”

Still, Bartholomew says, McCandless may have a case.

“He argues that the NASA photo at issue is so famous, and his presence in that photo is so well-known, that people know that it’s him on the album cover,” says Bartholomew. 

“Courts were once careful to limit to the right of publicity to appropriations of one’s name, facial features or actual voice. But recent cases have allowed celebrities to sue when advertisers used much more tangential aspects of celebrity identity, like a distinctive pitching stance or a particular mode of dress.” 

EXPERT CONTACT : Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD, co-PI, UB WHI Vangard Center and PI, new $8.2 million WHI funding Professor and assoc. chair of Department of Social and Preventive Medicine Adjunct professor of Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics University at Buffalo 716-829-5374 jww@buffalo.edu

Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD., a primary author on the newest study from the WHI published today in JAMA, says the findings showing an increased risk of more advanced breast cancer and an increased risk of death in women on hormone therapy were unexpected.

“These findings related to increased mortality in estrogen plus progestin users were surprising,” says Wactawski-Wende. “Prior studies had suggested that, although these women were diagnosed with breast cancer, their prognosis was more positive than those who were not on hormone therapy when diagnosed.

"This report shows that the opposite is true. Combined hormone therapy leads to breast cancers being diagnosed at a more advanced stage, causes more breast cancer related deaths and more deaths from all causes in these women.  The results also findicate that hormone therapy interferes with detection of breast cancer due to increased breast density.

"This study emphasizes the importance of clinical trial data to understand the risks and benefits of taking hormone therapy," says Wactawski-Wende.

EXPERT CONTACT : John Violanti, PhD Professor, Social and Preventive Medicine PTSD specialist Phone: 716-829- Violanti@buffalo.edu

John Violanti, PhD., expert in PTSD, says the risk of PTSD in the Chilean miners probably is a lot lower than being in combat because of the high degree of social support, not only among the group down in the mine, but also from their family and friends above.

Most research shows that support is the biggest factor that can ameliorate PTSD. 

Violanti, a military veteran and former member of the New York State Police, studies the effect of stress in persons working in dangerous professions, such as police, firefighters, and those in the military.