The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 5A
Study: Money
can help people
quit smoking
General Electric Co. but he said those included too few
people or the financial incentives
paid workers up to were too tiny, some as low as $10.
The $750 was "a good incen-
$750 to quit tive," said Dan Anzalone, a study
participant who quit smoking cold
Dangling enough dollars in front turkey three years ago next month
of smokers who want to quit helps - after a 35-year habit.
many more succeed, an experi- "I was getting rewarded for
ment with hundreds of General something that I should be doing
Electric Co. workers indicates. anyway," said Anzalone, 54.
Among those paid up to $750 to "You'd be surprised at what that
quit and stay off cigarettes, 15 per- little incentive does."
cent were still tobacco-free about AlogisticsspecialistataGE plant
a year later. That may not sound in Schenectady, N.Y., Anzalone
like much, but it's three times the tried quittingwith antidepressants
successrate ofacomparisongroup about seven years ago but couldn't.
that got no such bonuses. He tried quitting on New Year's
GE was so impressed it plans Day most years, but generally only
to offer an incentive program lasted a couple days.
nationwide next year, aiming to So he signed up for Penn's fed-
save some of the company's esti- erally funded study, unaware that
mated $50 million annually in hewouldbe paid. Halfthe878 par-
extra health and other costs for ticipants, at about 85 U.S. GE sites,
smoking employees. were put in the financial rewards
"This kind of reward system group; the other half were just
provides them with direct, posi- encouraged to join quit-smoking
tive feedback in the present," not programs and use the company's
just delayed, intangible health health coverage for doctor visits
benefits, said Dr. Kevin Volpp, the and anti-smoking drugs.
lead researcher of the study. Results of the study, which
Volpp, who oversees the health began in 2005, were reported in
incentives center at the University Thursday's New England Journal
of Pennsylvania, called the study of Medicine.
the largest ever of employer incen- The incentive group got
tives to stop smoking. Several past increasingly higher payments the
studies failed to find higher quit longer they stayed off tobacco, up
rates linked to financial bonuses, to a total of $750 after 12 months.
losing, that's definitely feasible,"
PUBLICATIONS Bugli said.
From Page lA DailyEditorinChiefGaryGraca
said that improving the website,
To prevent further withdrawals of which includes a complete rede-
these funds, the board is crafting sign, is a top priority for the paper.
a series of cuts it hopes will total The Daily is also planning on add-
$64,302.97. While this number ing entertainment and restaurant
will be a substantial relief for the guides, as well as a listing of avail-
budget, it is not a guaranteed fix. able student housing and a crime
Chip Peterson, board co-chair, map, Graca said. As the website
said the board hopes to avoid tap- develops into a resource for more
ping the endowment again, but than just news, he said web traffic
that might not be possible. should increase, and with it, the
"Our goal is to not have to do costs paid by advertisers.
that," Peterson said. "However, Graca said that while the situ-
with where the numbers are com- ation isn't easy, it forces the staff
ing in right now, it's looking like to operate more efficiently and
we might have to." allows the current staff to leave
While the newspaper industry their mark on the paper.
has consistently suffered across "It'sagoodopportunitytolookat
the board, the situation for Stu- whatyou're doingand look atwhere
dent Publications has escalated you want to go in the next10 years,"
over the course of the past year. A Graca said, "to look at the future of
struggling economy, lackluster ad our publication in the national con-
sales and high building and main- text of how other newspapers are
tenance expenses have all put sig- changing and in the context of bad
nificant strain on the budget. economic times."
When the financial circum- In addition to efforts to increase
stances of Student Publications revenue through the website,
were beginning to cause concern Student Publications is making
about a year ago, then-Daily Edi- cuts where possible. The Daily is
tor in Chief Andrew Grossman eliminating some phone lines and
presented a proposal to the Board office supplies, and the editorial
about a year ago to save money staff is expected to take a 10 per-
through a website overhaul. The cent pay cut. The Gargoyle and the
Daily dropped its former web Michiganensian are both look-
host, College Publisher, in part ing at how they can cut down on
because the company took a cut printing costs. Most notably, the
of the Daily's online ad revenue. board decided to make a reduc-
The board then decided to invest tion in force of one professional
$100,000 to switch web hosts in staff position.
order to generate more revenue Peterson said the board is con-
for the Daily, which in turn would fident that Student Publications
benefit Student Publications as a will be able to continue to main-
whole. Since then, officials at the tain the Daily, the Gargoyle and
Daily say that online ad revenue the Michiganensian through the
has increased over 200 percent. cuts and increased focus on online
Online advertisements cost less and other revenue development.
than print ads, though, and can- Peterson said that in contrast
not entirely make up for the empty to many publications, the Daily
spots in the print edition of the benefits from a consistent read-
newspaper. According to Elaina ership and the ability to address
Bugli, the Daily's business man- that target audience in a way that
ager, the fall semester was slow no one else can.
and January was one of the worst "It's very likely that the Daily,
months for advertisements in being what it is and the role that
years. But Bugli said ad rates are up it serves to the students and to
substantially for February, and the advertisers, can be insulated from
business staff has already reached the overall market that's on a fair-
75 percent of their monthly goal ly sizable decline overall," Peter-
for advertising, as of last Friday. son said.
Bugli also said that while it may
be years before online ads become - Because of his central role
as financially viable as print ads, in the decision-making reported
they can compensate for the gaps. in this article, Editor in Chief
"We can make up what we're Gary Graca did not edit it.
Congrats!
January 18th-March 28th
U-M placed 6th in overall TIP: Print double-sided
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But 61st overall for the recycling percentage!
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University of Michigan Waste Management Services
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New treatment could solve lung
troubles for cystic fibrosis patients
Nanoemulsion that
was developed at 'U'
kills bacteria that
cause lung problems
By STEPHANIE STEINBERG
Daily StaffReporter
Thanks to anew treatment devel-
oped at the University, the 30,000
adults and children in the United
States suffering from cystic fibro-
sis may soon have a way to curb the
fatal lung infections that are often
associated with the disease.
John LiPuma, professor of pedi-
atrics and communicable diseases
at the Medical School, and James
Baker, director of the Michigan
Nanotechnology Institute for
Medicine and Biological Sciences,
headed the group of scientists that
discovered a new technique to kill
resistant bacteria that colonize the
lungs of people with cystic fibrosis.
"For unknown reasons, (the
lungs of those with cystic fibrosis)
get colonized with bacteria spe-
cies that are very difficult to treat,"
ART ABROAD
From Page 1A
versity student will swap places
with an international student from
a foreign institution, bringing that
student to the University. Schmidt
said the exchange program will
benefit both University students
going abroad and the School of Art
& Design.
"It will also enrich the environ-
ment here by their very presence,"
Schmidt said. "It works both ways."
Schmidt added that both
the University student and the
exchange student will be able to
keep their financial aid awards in
most cases.
Trumpey said that along with
the study abroad requirement there
will also be an increase in available
financial aid so that it is possible
for every student to participate in
an affordable international expe-
rience. This increase in financial
aid will come from alumni donors,
Trumpey said.
"Dean Rogers has stated that
this is kind of our No. 1 fundrais-
ing goal - trying to come up with
appropriate funding so that all of
our students can come up with an
experience without having a finan-
cial reason for not being able to par-
ticipate," Trumpey said.
Art & Design freshman Samara
Harte said thatwhile she thinks the
requirement will benefit students
by giving them the chance to inter-
act with art in another cultural set-
ting, it may also be restrictive for
students who don't want to study
abroad during college.
"I think that it's a good idea
because it introduces other cultures
and how it pertains to art, so I think
it's good for students to be required
to experience that," Harte said.
"But on the other hand, I feel like
it's kind of harsh to force someone
to go. What if they wanted to travel
said Paul Makidon, a lab specialist
who participated in the research
as a Ph.D. student. "Once they get
infected, these patients will develop
second pathologies in their lungs,
and these organisms are often pan-
resistant to antibiotics."
The researchers discovered a
way to use a nanoemulsion - a solu-
tion of two high-energy liquids that
do not mix, like oil and water - to
treat lung infections.
"It's not entirely clear how this
works to kill bacteria and other
microorganisms, but the belief
is that these very small droplets,
which now pack a lot of energy,
somehow fuse with and disrupt the
membranes that hold microorgan-
isms together," LiPuma said. "It
basically just blows microorgan-
isms up."
In the study, researchers tested
nanoemulsion on 150 bacterial
strains that harm those with cystic
fibrosis. The results proved suc-
cessful, as the treatment killed all
of the strains, including one-third
of those resistant to multiple anti-
biotics.
Baker said the drug they devel-
oped is unlike any other antibi-
otic because it physically interacts
with the bacteria to disrupt its
membrane. This kills the bacteria,
eliminating the problem of bacteria
resistance.
LiPuma said the leading cause of
death in people with cystic fibrosis
is lung failure.
"Ninety-five percent of people
with CF die from respiratory fail-
ure, and that respiratory failure
results from chronic and recur-
rent lung infections that eventually
destroy their lungs," he said.
The majority of lung infections
cannot be treated with antibiotics
currently on the market because
bacteria in the lungs have become
highly resistant to standard antibi-
otics.
"There's a need for novel anti-
biotics," LiPuma said. "This nano-
emulsion, at least in the test tube, is
very effective against the types of
bacteria people with CF get."
The goal of the research, LiPuma
said, is to make the nanoemulsion
into an antibiotic that can be used
in an inhaler.
Baker said nanoemulsion has
been used in clinical trials for treat-
ing skin infections like cold sores,
but it has never been used to treat
lung infections.
Makidon helped evaluate the
safety of using nanoemulsion inside
organisms. His work included mea-
suring the effects of nanoemulsion
in test tubes and looking at how it
could affect a living organism like
an animal or person.
"I was involved in looking at how
effective nanoemulsion is at killing
the pan-resistant bacteria organ-
isms and optimizing the platform
itself while at the same time trying
not to compromise the safety char-
acteristics of the material," Maki-
don said.
He said the new treatment
"potentially could have an extraor-
dinary impact on the well-being of
patients with cystic fibrosis."
The researchers have been devel-
oping the antibiotic over the past
two years, and hope to make it pub-
licly available within the next two
to five years.
"Drug discovery takes a very,
very long time and there are many
hurdles to overcome and lots of
obstacles in terms of getting a new
drug from the bench, as we say, into
patients," LiPuma said.
cHANEL VON HABSBURG-LOTH RINGEN/Daly
A student walks through the School of Art & Design yesterday. Starting in thefall of 2010, administrators will make study abroad
a requirement for all incoming students.
later on in life? I just think it puts a
big strain on the student."
Art & Design freshman Jenny
Forrest, who is planning to study
abroad in Italy during her time as a
student, said the requirement will
provide the opportunity for every-
one to get involved in an interna-
tional experience.
"They want you to experience
art in a different country, and
by going abroad it will be a bet-
ter experience than just stay-
ing another semester in the Art
School," she said.
Forrest, who is studying graphic
design and computer art, also said
that going abroad will give students
important skills to help them in the
job market.
"By learning it in a different
country you get more experience
and more education under your
belt, so when you come back here
you're more prepared because you
have that experience, especially if
you're looking into an international
job," she said.
Trumpey said the experience
will help students succeed in an
increasingly interconnected world.
"We live in a globalized world,"
Trumpey said. "Students will
learn a lot about home by getting
away from home. Gaining new
perspectives are really an impor-
tant part of the college experience
and this is really a meaningful
way to do it."
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