Health Science Center goodwill shines

As this year's State Employee Charitable Campaign begins Sept. 1 and continues through Sept. 17, faculty and staff will once again be called upon to help others, by supporting charitable organizations serving those in need.

The two-and-one-half week charitable campaign will include fund-raising events such as bake sales, taco and book sales. Judges from the SECC Advisory Committee will pick out the best of the best during Silly Hat Day on Sept. 16, and there will be a food-eating contest in conjunction with Hawaiian Shirt Day on Sept. 17. A food fair is set for Sept. 16, and the San Antonio Spurs Coyote will make an appearance with the 1999 National Basketball Association Championship Trophy. For $5, donors can have their picture taken with the Coyote and the trophy. Additional times and locations for fundraising events will be included in future editions of The News.

Employees who contribute a minimum of $24 to United Way or its affiliated agencies will be eligible to win two airline tickets to anywhere in the world, except Hawaii or Tokyo. Employees who contribute a minimum of $60 to any SECC-eligible organization will receive discount coupons for lunch and dinner at either Saltgrass Steak House location in San Antonio.

In the past year, most of the proceeds from activities and donations benefited local organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Any Baby Can of San Antonio, Association for Retarded Citizens of San Antonio, Child Guidance Center of San Antonio, the Jewish Community Center and Santa Rosa Children's Clinic.

The Health Science Center raised $208,000 with 42.1 percent participation, earning the university two statewide awards.

Campaign materials will be distributed to employees through each department's SECC representative. Faculty and staff may fill out contribution forms and donate to specific organizations by listing the charity's identification number. Donations may be made by check, cash or payroll deduction.

Smiles of appreciation

From left: State Senators Jeff Wentworth and Eddie Lucio join Joci Straus, president of the Health Science Center Development Board, former Governor Dolph Briscoe Jr., and Glenn Biggs, former Development Board president, at an Aug. 9 luncheon. The event was held to thank Sen. Lucio for leadership in strengthening the ties between South Texas and the Health Science Center.

Nowlin Appointed to AADS Executive Committee

Dr. Thomas P. Nowlin, restorative dentistry, has been appointed vice president for sections of the American Association of Dental Schools (AADS).

Dr. Nowlin, professor and head of the division of occlusion, has been active in the AADS since 1986. He has served as an officer in the Section of Dental Anatomy and Occlusion and as an officer in the Council of Sections for many years. As vice president, he looks forward to representing his colleagues.

The Council of Sections of the AADS is concerned with programs, workshops, and curriculum and teaching issues. It is one of seven AADS councils, each of which is headed by a vice president, who together with the president of the AADS make up the executive committee.

In addition to other duties, Dr. Nowlin will be actively involved in planning and preparing for the upcoming annual session of the AADS in April of 2000, in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Nowlin received his DDS degree from the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston in 1970. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Army Dental Corp as a captain.

He received several honors during his military service and left the Army in 1973 as a major. In 1976, he joined the Division of Dental Anatomy, Department of Restorative Dentistry, at the Health Science Center as a clinical assistant professor. A move to the Division of Occlusion in 1977 led to his current position as head of the division.

During his tenure with the Health Science Center, Dr. Nowlin has received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Accreditation Award for Leadership during 1989-1990 ADA Accreditation Self-Study and Site Visit, and the Outstanding Service Award, Restorative Dentistry.

Grant opportunity for innovations in genomics

Getting oriented

Dr. George Knight, restorative dentistry, addresses incoming Dental School students during the Aug. 3 Dental School orientation and "Welcome to the Profession" events held in the Health Science Center auditorium.

Banish bugs safely

Do you have a flea or roach problem? Do ants live in your kitchen cupboards? If you're like most people, the first thing you do is reach for the can of bug spray and let the little pests have it. But think before you spray. With each application of insecticide you are releasing potentially harmful chemicals into your home.

"These things are designed to be toxic," says Dr. Claudia Miller, family medicine. If you have an insect problem, "start with the least toxic approaches," Dr. Miller advises.

As a first step, reduce "harborage," places where insects like to live, such as piles of paper products, or opened containers of flour and sugar. Get rid of the stashed paper and enclose food boxes in self-closing plastic bags. If you still have a pest problem, go for the safer choices, Dr. Miller says. "Make sure the pesticide doesn't stay around for long." Traps and non-volatile bait systems, in which insects are attracted to a poisonous substance that they then carry back to their nests, are good alternatives.

This less-toxic approach is the concept behind "integrated pest management," or IPM, which is required for pest control in Texas schools. IPM is an orderly pest control method whereby all possible non-chemical methods are used before any pesticide is applied. These methods include good housekeeping procedures, caulking to close up cracks in the walls, and use of bait systems rather than sprayed chemicals.

If you choose to have your home treated, ask the companies you're considering whether they use IPM, recommends Dr. Miller. That's especially important in homes with small children.

When people have a baby, they naturally want everything in their home to be as safe as possible, so they bring in someone to exterminate, releasing chemicals that could be a lot more harmful to a baby than a few bugs. "You have to think very carefully before you do that," Dr. Miller says.

Learning the ropes

Junior volunteers from Doctor's Hospital in Laredo visited the Health Science Center last week to learn about health careers and the educational programs offered at the university.

ScienceDirect increases electronic journal
availability for Library

The Dolph Briscoe Library will host two training programs concentrating on a database search system for electronic journals available through ScienceDirect.

On Aug. 25, the sessions will be held from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in library room 2C. Attendance at the sessions is open to all Health Science Center employees and registration is not required.

The library is licensing ScienceDirect through the U. T. System Digital Library Initiative. Participation in this project allows the library to make available approximately 700 full-text journals in electronic format. In addition, tables of contents and abstracts are available for more than 300 "non-subscribed" journals. Health Science Center faculty, staff, and students will now have access to important journals in the life sciences, social sciences, computer sciences and physical sciences, including some that are out of the normal scope of the library collection.

Seminars on video technology set

The Health Science Center's Center for Distance Learning and Telehealth will hold its monthly faculty information seminar Wednesday, Aug. 18, at noon in room 409L in the Medical School. The session will focus on streaming video, which allows students the opportunity to view classes and other events from desktop computers using regular phone lines.

Calendar for August 16 - 22