In Brief

What is the best learning situation?

The Office of Professional Development in the Warner School will present its fifth annual program on issues of values and democracy with keynote speaker Ira Shor. The event will be held at 4 p.m., November 9 in the May Room of Wilson Commons. Shor, an English professor at CUNY and College of Staten Island, supports the development of students as critical, discerning thinkers in a democratic educational environment. He will discuss what forms such learning situations should take, and why parents and educators should pursue them. A question and answer period and a panel discussion also will be held. Registration is $38; preregistration by October 29 is required. Call x5-8270.

Have you signed a donor card?

The Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network, a University department, is distributing organ donor cards with this pay period's paycheck. Employees who want to be organ donors should fill out the card, have two witnesses sign it, and drop it in the mail; postage is paid. Discuss your wishes with your next of kin as well. Although the Rochester community has been very generous about donation, there remains an urgent need for more organs. For more information, call the Donor Recovery Network, 272-4930.

Rochester is revealed

The Strong Employee Assistance Program would like to invite all faculty and staff to attend "Rochester Revealed," a reception providing information about the variety of activities and services in our community, Thursday, October 29, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the House of Six Nations Cafeteria. A wide array of community organizations and businesses will be represented, reflecting the arts and cultural opportunities, family and daycare programs, health and fitness, dating services, and options for housing. Please join us in exploring the opportunities available right here in our community!

Dress up or dress down

All University employees are invited to either dress up in a Halloween costume or dress casually for work Friday, October 30 in exchange for a $5 contribution to the Cancer Center's Patient Needs Fun. The event recognizes Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Cider and doughnuts will be served in Room G-3111 in the Cancer Center from 8:30 to 10 a.m. for participants. Send checks, payable to the University of Rochester Cancer Center, to Box 704, attention Meredith Chamberlain. Call x5-5199 for more information.

Donate blood at the Medical Center

The Medical Center's Red Cross Blood Drive will be held in the hospital cafeteria Tuesday, November 3, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Wednesday, November 4, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. All blood types are needed.

Exiled Polish poet to speak here

Anna Frajlich-Zajac, a renowned Polish language poet in exile and teacher of Polish literature at Columbia University, will present a lecture commemorating the bicentennial anniversary of Adam Mickiewicz's birthday. She will talk Thursday, October 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the Koller-Collins Library in Rush Rhees Library, as part of the Skalny Lecture and Artist Series.

Mickiewicz, a romantic poet who wrote in the early 19th century, is considered Poland's national bard. The lecture is sponsored by the Center for Polish and Central European Studies and co-sponsored by the Russian Studies Program. Call x5-3734 for more information.

Hear a spooky story for kids

The University Chamber Orchestra will perform "Boo!-tiful Chamber Music" for Halloween at 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 31. Storyteller Jay Stetzer will enact the classic Appalachian ghost story "Wicked Jack and the Devil" with musical interludes by string quartets, french horn ensembles and other musicians.

Audience members are encouraged to wear their favorite Halloween costumes to the performance. The free performance will be held in the newly renovated lower hall of Strong Auditorium on the River Campus. Call x5-2828 for more information.

Get a scare at the fair

Rush Rhees Library invites the University community to haunt the stacks and tour the tower with the library ghost, Pete Nicosia, during Rush Rhees Scare Fair on Friday, October 30 from 3 to 5 p.m. Witness a shortened version of Macbeth and other scary stories. Be amazed as a phrenologist reads the bumps on your head and reveals the secrets of your inner self. Win a prize by guessing which faculty members lurk behind mysterious masks. Refreshments will be served.

Gospel choir will perform

The Gospel Choir will present its fall concert, "Gospel Night '98," at 8 p.m. Friday, November 6 in Strong Auditorium. Tickets are $4 for University students and $5 for the public and will be available at the door. For more information, call x5-2828.

Volunteers sought

Financial management--LifeSpan seeks volunteers to help seniors with their budgeting and routine bill paying. Two or three hours/month. Call Allan Lippman, 454-3224, ext. 113.

Cancer awareness--The American Cancer Society seeks volunteers to promote cancer prevention through its Speakers Bureau and health fairs. Call 288-1950.

Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT)--Members are technicians who respond to emergency calls in the Med Center, providing care and transportation for employees, visitors, and patients who are not in inpatient care. (MERT members respond when doing so does not interfere with work responsibilities.) To find out more, call x5-3285.

Language interpreters--Employees or students who are native speakers of foreign languages (excluding Spanish) are needed to serve as interpreters in the Medical Center. Call x5-4778.

Sperm donors--Men ages 20-39, all ethnic groups, needed to participate for one year in confidential sperm donor program. Compensation. Call the Andrology Lab, x5-4020 or x5-2491

Research participants needed

HIV--HIV patients with memory loss and CD4 count of 300 or less needed for study of AIDS dementia. Volunteers can earn up to $150. Call Kim, x3-2114.

Sleep--Control subjects needed to participate in sleep studies. Call x5-8221.

Cold sores--Volunteers ages 18-60 with a history of cold sores needed to test investigational medicinal cream. Compensation up to $375 for scheduled visits. Call x3-4637.

Osteoarthritis--The Department of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology is conducting a number of clinical research studies, including studies of different drugs for osteoarthritis. For details, call Denise Coffin, x5-1647, or e-mail Denise_Coffin@urmc.rochester.edu.

Insomnia--Individuals suffering from insomnia for 6 or more months, ages 25-65, are needed to participate in a research study. Call x5-8221 or e-mail Colleen_McCallum@urmc.rochester.edu.

Cerebral palsy--Children ages 2 to 18 with severe CP that affects walking needed to participate in the North American Growth in Cerebral Palsy Project, a national study of the disease. Call x5-2986.

Kidney and muscle metabolism--Healthy volunteers ages 21-60 needed for research study on the effect of varying blood glucose levels on kidney and muscle metabolism. Outpatient and inpatient visits. $300 for completing study. Call x5-4517 or x3-4923.

High blood pressure--African Americans needed for a study of Teveten, an investigational blood pressure medication. Participation is 12 to 18 weeks; medicine will be prescribed. Call x3-3972.

Diabetes--Diabetics not taking insulin needed for study of combination of two approved diabetes drugs. Participants must take medicine prescribed and be seen regularly for six months. Call x3-3972.

Metabolism--(1) To study abnormalities in metabolism in patients with neuromuscular diseases. Volunteers must be healthy, 21-60 years of age, non-obese, and ambulatory. Call the Department of Neurology, x5-5409. (2) Normal, healthy volunteers ages 40-70 needed. Includes one outpatient and one inpatient visit. Stipends of $300 are provided for qualified volunteers. Call x3-4923.

AIDS vaccine--Healthy, HIV-negative volunteers ages 18-60 needed for clinical research trial of HIV prevention vaccines. Participants receive up to $700. Call x3-AIDS.

Smoking cessation--Project50 is recruiting 1,800 subjects for a study of self-help smoking cessation methods in smokers over 50. Participants will receive up to $15, and no classes or meetings will be held. Also, smokers 50 years old or older who smoke at least 10 cigarettes a day needed for study. Subjects can receive up to $15. Call x3-3871 or 1-888-222-3993 (outside Monroe County).

Alzheimer's disease--(1) Melatonin for sleep disturbances--Participants must be at least 55, have a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease, wear a wrist actigraph, and have a caregiver. Call 760-6564 or 760-6553. (2) Idebone to treat learning and memory deficits--Must be 50 years old, have a diagnosis of probably Alzheimer's disease, and have a caregiver. Call 760-6561, 760-6565, or 760-6553. (3) Aricept for vascular dementia--Study examines effects of Aricept on people over 40 who have cognitive impairment due to cerebrovascular disease. Call 760-6561 or 760-6553. (4) Aricept and sertraline for behavorial manifestations of Alzheimer's disease. Must be at least 50 years old. Call 760-6561 or 760-6553.

Gum disease--Individuals in generally good health who have periodontal (gum) disease sought for dental study to test a non-surgical treatment for gum disease. Call x5-5780 or x5-9001.

Hormone therapy--Women needed for one-year study of hormone therapy. Volunteers must be healthy, post-menopausal, and between 40 and 65, and must not have had a hysterectomy. Participants will receive $450 compensation. Call x5-4149.

Diabetes--Men and women at least 40 years old with Type II diabetes needed for clinical trial of an investigational drug. Participants will receive free lab testing, physical exams, and other tests and may be reimbursed for time and travel. For more information, call study coordinator Keri-Lynn Colicchio, CCRC, x3-4922.

Indigestion--This nationwide study aims to improve treatment for non-ulcer dyspepsia, or indigestion. Must have persistent stomach discomfort, indigestion, belching, heartburn, bloating, gas pain, or nausea. Participants will receive free examinations and study medication and compensation of $200. Call the Isaac Gordon Center for Digestive Diseases at the Genesee Hospital, 263-5616.

Parental depression--To study learning in children and parent/child relationships in families with a depressed mother. Need families with children from three to eight years old who meet a list of other criteria. One visit to the University required. Participants will be paid $20 for the visit. Call the Toddler Center, x5-2014.