By SUSAN ASCHOFF, Times wires
Published June 8, 2004
ONLY THE HAIRDRESSER may know a woman is dealing with an abusive partner. A salon may be the only place an abuser allows a partner to go alone, says CASA. CASA, for Community Action Stops Abuse, provides services in southern Pinellas County for survivors of domestic violence and their children. The agency is joining with the state attorney general's office to provide free domestic violence training for stylists so they can help their clients. The first session is scheduled from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday at CASA Community Center. Participants must register in advance by calling (727) 895-4912, ext. 114.
A MUSIC PROGRAM for Tampa Bay area residents with Alzheimer's disease wants to give people with dementia a way to express themselves. Called "Musical Memories," the idea, based on anecdotal research that music soothes and improves mood and behavior, is to provide harps, dulcimers and percussion instruments for patients. Positive results could bring expansion of the program to other assisted-living or long-term care facilities. Eight-week sessions began in May and meet every Tuesday and Thursday at the Alterra Assisted Living facility in Tampa. The program is sponsored by WUSF-TV Ch. 16, the University of South Florida Department of Aging and Mental Health and the Florida Center for Creative Aging. For more information, call Martha Bone at (813) 905-6909 or Stefanie Thompson at (813) 974-1309.
THE NO. 1 reason pregnant teenagers give for not using protection is that they weren't planning to have sex, according to surveys. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (www.teenpregnancy.org) asked teenagers what they would say to peers about preventing pregnancy. Here are their answers, provided by the Pinellas County Health Department:
1. Thinking it won't happen to me is stupid. Make a plan.
2. Just because you think everyone is doing it doesn't mean they are. Some are lying.
3. There are a lot of good reasons to say, "no, not yet," and protecting your feelings is one of them.
4. You are in charge of your own life. Don't be pressured.
5. You can always say no, even if you've said yes before.
6. Carrying a condom is just being smart; it doesn't mean you're easy.
7. If you think birth control ruins the mood, consider what a pregnancy test will do.
8. If you're drunk or high, you can't make good decisions about sex.
9. Sex won't make him yours, and a baby won't make him stay.
10. Not ready to be a father? Use protection every time, or don't have sex.
EXTRACTING LYCOPENE from tomatoes, a technology that could turn discarded produce into the source of a proven health elixir, has been refined by researchers at the University of Florida. "You have a shortage of lycopene, which costs $2,500 per kilo in its pure form, and you have farmers with tons of blemished tomatoes that they can't sell or even give away," says Murat Balaban, a professor of food engineering and processing at UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, in a news release. Balaban was part of a team of six researchers investigating new extraction methods. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant, protecting cells from damage and linked to lower rates of cancer and other disease. The supplement is sold separately and in some multivitamin formulas. The UF team uses a supercritical gas extractor to remove lycopene: a few grams from a few hundred pounds of tomatoes in a process similar to extracting caffeine from coffee beans. The technology is already in use in industry, but the UF team worked out some needed methodology.
