Tuesday, March 1, 2016

#AskAPharmacist - Questions answered every Tuesday and Thursday

A message from the School of Pharmacy.

March is Pharmacist Awareness month! To celebrate, the School of Pharmacy is hosting "Ask a Pharmacist," a video series where Waterloo's pharmacist faculty and staff answer questions that the public submitted in February.

Today’s episode answers:

1. Can your pharmacist prescribe you anything, or do you always need to see a doctor first?
2. Can you do anything to lower your chances of getting osteoporosis?

Get the answers here:

New questions and answers are coming on Thursday.

How sweet it is as maple syrup flows on campus

The Faculty of Environment’s Ecology Lab hosted a maple syrup workshop last week where attendees learned all about maple syrup collection and production. Seasoned maple syrup producer Rachel Greene and Ryan Deska led the workshop.

The attendees learned that sugar maple is the ideal tree to tap as it has the lowest ratio of water to sugar (40:1) compared to other species of maple (up to 60:1). Although birch and black walnut trees can be tapped, yellow birch syrup is not appealing to our taste palate like the sweetness of sugar maple and the ratio of water to sugar in Black walnut is too high to be feasible. Several maples were tapped in the V1 campus woodlot. The collected sap was boiled down and all were able to enjoy pancakes and syrup, maple taffy even the pure maple sap!

In order for maple sap to flow, it is entirely weather dependent. The daytime temperatures must be no higher than 4°C in the daytime with nighttime temperatures dipping to -4°C, hence this production is limited to only a few regions in North America. Quebec produces 77 per cent of all maple syrup globally, and 94 per cent of Canada’s total production. The amount of syrup is approximately 8 million litres a year, resulting in $610 million in GDP and 12,000 jobs in rural regions.

Climate change is impacting maple syrup production in Canada, shifting the maple’s growing range northwards, affecting sap flows with fluctuating weather and the pH of soil also affecting tree health.

Pascal Lectures to ask big questions about small things

This year's Pascal Lectures on Christianity and the University will feature Professor James Tour of Rice University. During his lectures, Professor Tour will explore the intersection of nanotechnology and the Christian faith.

Professor Tour is a synthetic organic chemist with more than 590 research publications to his name. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Syracuse University, his Ph.D. in synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry from Purdue University, and postdoctoral training in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University. 

The schedule of public lectures and seminars is as follows:

• The Nanotechnologist and God. Wednesday, March 2, 7:30 p.m., STC1012.
• The Origin of Life: An Inside Story. Thursday, March 3, 7:30 p.m., STC1012.
• Nanotech: from Science to Industry. Thursday, March 3, 9:30 a.m., AL113 (seminar)
• Propelling your Career. Thursday, March 3, 2:30 p.m., PHYS 145. (seminar)

The Pascal Lecture series was established to create a forum for Christian issues in an academic environment by inviting outstanding individuals who have distinguished themselves in areas both of scholarly endeavour and of Christian thought or life. It is financed by donations and royalties from published lectures. Pascal Lectures have been taking place on campus on a regular basis since 1978.

The series is named after Blaise Pascal (1632-1662), a French academic and Christian, best remembered as a forerunner of Newton in the establishment of calculus. Pascal was also the author of the Christian meditation, Les Pensées.

Nutrition Month facts return and other notes

March has arrived, like a lion if the weather reports hold up, and today is the first day of National Nutrition Month. Dietitians of Canada are providing inspiration for making healthy choices in the 100 meals most Canadians will consume this month. The 2016 campaign, Take a 100 Meal Journey, is dedicated to encouraging people to make a small change, one meal at a time. Take the pledge and receive daily tips from Registered Dietitians, Canada’s must trusted food and nutrition experts.

With the arrival of National Nutrition Month comes the return of the daily Nutrition "Myth vs. Fact" feature.

"Beginning tomorrow, I will once again tackle some controversial and confusing nutrition-related questions that have been in the news or that I am commonly asked," writes Health Services Dietician Sandy Ace. "Check the Daily Bulletin each weekday in March to learn about nutrition myths and find out what scientific evidence really tells us."

You are welcome to forward comments to Sandy Ace by sending an e-mail to sace@uwaterloo.ca.

Human Resources is reporting that the following staff members retire effective March 1:

• Elizabeth Gerber, who started at the University in December 1990 and retires as a Cook at Conrad Grebel University College;
• Jenny MacIntyre, who joined Waterloo in February 1986 and retires as Manager, External and Safety Services in Housing and Residences;
• Louise Porter, who started working at the University in June 1999 and retires as Undergrad and Grad Programs Assistant in the Psychology department;
• Judy McTaggart, who started her career at Waterloo in September 1970, retiring as Library Associate, Information Services Delivery Co-ordinator in the Library;
• Roger Lycke, who joined Waterloo in September 1970 and retires as Network Support Specialist in IST;
• Wolfgang Dandyk, who started at the University in May 1976 and retires as Computer Systems Technician in the Library; and
• William Carroll, who began working at Waterloo in November 1981, retiring as Controls Supervisor in Plant Operations.

In addition, the following faculty have retired effective March 1:

• Ramon Aravena, who started at the University in September 1987, retires as Research Professor in Earth and Environmental Sciences; and
• Robert Shipley, who joined Waterloo in July 1997, and retires as Associate Professor in the School of Planning.

Congratulations to all, and enjoy your retirement!