UF News and events of possible media interest (March 30)

Published: March 31 2015

Category:General

UF News for week of March 30 listed

Monday, March 30

VITAMIN D OBESITY -- Got milk? If you are overweight and have osteoarthritis, you may want to bone up on your dairy products that have vitamin D. According to a University of Florida study, higher levels of vitamin D may help to decrease pain and improve function in obese individuals with osteoarthritis. Findings indicate that obese individuals who suffer from osteoarthritis and have adequate vitamin D levels could walk, balance and rise from sitting to standing better than those obese participants with insufficient vitamin D levels. The findings suggest an association between obesity and vitamin D status for functional performance tasks such as standing from a seated position.

Tuesday, March 31

ALCOHOL TAX -- University of Florida Health researchers have found a significant reduction in fatal alcohol-related crashes resulting from an increased state tax on beer, wine and spirits. A team of UF Health researchers studied the effects of a 2009 increase in alcohol tax in Illinois and found a 26 percent reduction in fatal alcohol-related crashes in the state. The decrease in the number of fatal car crashes was even more marked for young people at 37 percent. The reduction was similar for alcohol-impaired drivers and extremely drunk drivers, with a reduction of 22 and 25 percent in the number of car crashes, respectively.

CAMPUS CLIMATE -- The University of Florida on Thursday will launch an online survey of 12,000 students in an effort to gauge the overall mindset on campus regarding sexual assault and related behaviors.

Wednesday, April 1

Open

Thursday, April 2

Open

 

Friday, April 3

Open

 

UF events of possible media interest listed

UPDATE: This just in... Rosalynn Carter will be unable to make it to the Phillips Center tonight, but her husband, former President Jimmy Carter will be taking her place. The time and location is still the same.

Rosalynn Carter to speak on ending the mental health crisis

ACCENT Speakers Bureau at the University of Florida will present former first lady and mental health advocate Rosalynn Carter at 8 p.m. on March 31. The event, which will be held at Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, is co-sponsored by the Bob Graham Center for Public Service.The speech is open to the public and admission is free.

Media requests can be sent to Nina Cusmano, ACCENT Director of Media Relations, at ncusmano@gmail.com.

 

The “father of modern agroforestry” to speak at UF

P.K. Ramachandran Nair, distinguished professor in the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, UF/IFAS, will discuss his book, “AgroforestryThe Future of Global Land Use,”on Thursday, April 2, at 4:30 p.m. in the Marston Science Library, conference room 136.

Nair grew up in India and is recognized worldwide for his expertise in agroforestry.

For more information, please visit http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/authorsuf/Index.aspxor contact Barbara Hood at bhood@ufl.edu, 352-273-2505.

 

Eighth annual 5K Autism Awareness Walk/Run

Eastside High School's “Students Together for Autism Research” will host the eighth annual 5K Autism Awareness Walk/Run on
April 4 at Boulware Springs Nature Park, 3400 Southeast 15th Street. The goal of the event is to help raise autism awareness and funds for the UF Center for Autism and Related Disabilities.

To learn more, please contact Meghan McCallister at 352-214-4246 or ehsehs.star@gmail.com

 

Ready. Set. Explain.
The 2015 Three Minute Thesis, or 3MT®, finals will be held Tuesday, April 7, at 2 p.m. in the Reitz Union Auditorium. A research communication competition Developed by the University of Queensland in Australia, 3MT® is a research communication competition that challenges graduate students to make a compelling presentation on their thesis topic and its significance in just three minutes.

For more information, please contact Regina Martuscello at rmartuscello@ufl.edu or 585-738-2443.

 

Bake the great American novel

On April 7, the George A. Smathers Libraries will hold their annual Edible Book Contest from 11 a.m. to noon on the Library West colonnade. UF students, faculty and staff, along with the community, are invited to submit an entry. The only rules are that the entries must be edible and are somehow related to a book. Prizes will be awarded to the winners of the five categories at 12:15 p.m.

Credits

News Budget Editor: Steve Orlando, sfo@ufl.edu

Events Editor: Paul Bernard, paulb@ufl.edu

Category:General