Research Notes

Autism Treamtent Investigated
The University is one of eight institutions in the United States taking part in a nationwide study investigating whether dietary changes or intensive behavioral therapy can help treat children with autism, a developmental disorder that strikes in early childhood. The $7.5 million, five-year, National Institutes of Health grant also will fund investigations into neurobiology and genetics. “Autism treatment is very expensive financially and emotionally—and no single approach works for all children,” says lead investigator Patricia Rodier, professor of obstetrics and gynecology. In the late 1990s, Rodier led a team that was the first to identify a genetic link between autism and early brain development.

Fenno Explores Role of African-American Politicians in New Book
“Home, not Washington, is the place where most House member–constituent contact occurs and the place where judgment is ultimately rendered,” writes political scientist Richard F. Fenno Jr., in his new book Going Home: Black Representatives and Their Constituents. His research, interviews, observations, and storytelling focus on four African Americans elected to Congress and how they dealt with constituents. Fenno analyzes the work of Louis Stokes of Cleveland, the late Barbara Jordan of Houston, Chaka Fattah of Philadelphia, and Stephanie Tubbs Jones, now a Cleveland Congresswoman.

Study: No Detectable Mercury Risk in Seafood
An exhaustive study of 643 children from before birth to 9 years of age shows no detectable risk from the low levels of mercury their mothers were exposed to from eating ocean seafood, according to a Medical Center–led study published in The Lancet. The study is the latest by Gary Myers, professor of neurology, Tom Clarkson, professor of environmental medicine, and Phil Davidson, professor of pediatrics, who are studying a group of children born in 1989 and 1990 in the Republic of the Seychelles, an island nation in the Indian Ocean.

Researchers Track Identity of ‘New Russia’
A major report exploring the emergence of a national Russian identity in the post- Soviet era, codirected by Kathleen Parthé, professor of Russian and director of the Russian Studies program in the College, has been made available on the World Wide Web. “The Search for a New Russian National Identity: Russian Perspectives” is a transcription and analysis of in-depth meetings with high-level Russian politicians and thinkers that were conducted by James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, and Parthé. About 30 Russian editors, scholars, and government officials, participated in the 1998 and 1999 sessions. The report can be found on the Library of Congress Web site.

Link Between Passive Smoking and Risk of Cavities Found
Children who are exposed to passive smoking may be at an increased risk for developing cavities, according to a study by Rochester researchers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Using data collected in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Andrew Aligne, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics, and colleagues found a statistically significant association between a byproduct of nicotine found in the children’s blood and caries in baby teeth.