News You Can Use

Eat healthy on vacation, submit your best shots in Duke Gardens' photo contest, get $5,000 for referring a nurse and more, all in this month's installment of tips and advice from Duke.

Take Healthy Eating Habits on the Road

If you're squeezing in a last-minute summer vacation this month, your healthy eating habits don't also have to take a hiatus. Elisabetta Politi, nutrition director at Duke's diet and fitness center, offered U.S. News & World Report readers advice on how to eat well while traveling. She suggests:

* Taking healthy snacks, such as pre-cut vegetables, yogurt and cheese with you in a cooler. Other good snack options include popcorn, trail mix, energy bars and dried fruit.

* Drinking water and avoiding sugary sodas and other soft drinks that add empty calories.

* Choosing lighter fare on the menu and sharing larger portions to limit calories.

* Always starting your day with a good breakfast. If your overnight hotel room has a refrigerator, load it the night before with cereal, low-fat milk, yogurt and fruit so you can start the day right.

Active Parents Have Active Kids

Children are more likely to join a sports team or be active if their parents enjoy team sports such as soccer and basketball, according to researchers at Duke and the Baylor College of Medicine.

The research was reported in the July issue of Health Psychology.

The researchers studied 681 parents and 433 fourth- and fifth-grade students at 12 schools in Houston, Texas. The children -- both boys and girls -- of parents who valued high-intensity team sports watched less TV, spent less time on their computers and were more active than other children.

Parents' approval of all types of exercise -- both individual and team sports -- was associated with increased activity levels among boys, but not among girls, said the researchers who found that gender bias continues to exist.

One of the study's authors said in a journal news release that "parents encouraged sons to partake in vigorous-and moderate-intensity team and individual sports, and vigorous-intensity home chores, such as heavy yard work, more than they encouraged these activities for their daughters."

Duke Gardens Photo Contest

Garden aficionados are invited to submit their favorite photographs to Sarah P. Duke Gardens' monthly Facebook photo contest. The theme for August is manipulated photos of the garden and/or photos showing water, snow or ice.

To enter the photo contest or view entries, go to facebook.com/dukegardens, sign up to be a fan and click on "events." RSVP on the exhibit topic you want and then enter the event page.

The contest ends at noon on Aug. 28. The top vote-getter in each category will win a 2010 wall calendar of the Gardens. Second prize is a DVD about the Gardens' history. Third prize is a certificate for 30 percent off a one-day total purchase at the Terrace Shop gift store, valid until year's end.

For more information, check out the Duke Gardens' blog: tinyurl.com/kv23oh.

Scoop the Poop

Dog owners who take advantage of the 40 miles of roads and trails in Duke Forest are urged to bag their dog's waste and throw it away in a trash can. Dog waste is not only a nuisance for other trail walkers, but is also a health and pollution risk, say Duke Forest officials. While other waste can be good fertilizer, waste from dogs can potentially spread disease to other animals and humans and end up in the water supply. Dogs must also be restrained by a leash at all times in Duke Forest. Visitors will notice new informational signs reminding them to keep their pets on a leash and to clean up after them for everyone's safety and enjoyment.

Refer a Nurse to Duke, Get $5,000

Duke employees who help recruit nurses to Duke, Durham Regional and Duke Raleigh hospitals are eligible to receive $5,000.

The nurse referral incentive is based on a simple premise: Employees at Duke should be rewarded when they help recruit people for hard-to-fill positions such as experienced nurses.

The program is one of Duke's top sources for recruiting experienced nurses. To participate, follow these two steps:

* If you know an experienced nurse who is interested in working at Duke but has not yet been offered a position, complete a nurse referral form and return the form to Nursing Recruitment through campus mail, Box 3714, or fax it to 681-7397.

* If a Duke hospital hires the nurse you refer within a year of the referral, you get $2,500 after the nurse has finished the 90-day probationary period, and another $2,500 after the nurse has worked 12 months at Duke.

For more details about the ‘Refer a Nurse' program, visit hr.duke.edu/referanurse.

Take Two?

An estimated 110,000 emergency room visits a year are related to acetaminophen, according to internist and pharmacist Judith Kramer, associate professor of medicine at Duke's Medical Center and a Food and Drug Administration committee member.

Last month, Kramer told USA Today that cases of acute liver failure and deaths related to the over-the-counter drug acetaminophen have been increasing. In response, the FDA committee met to discuss the safety of the drug, which is present in Tylenol, Excedrin, Nyquil and other medications labeled "cold and flu." Prescription painkillers Vicodin and Percocet also contain acetaminophen.

Kramer says accidental overdoses are becoming more common because drug strength is increasing, labeling is unclear and people may be unaware they are combining medications that contain acetaminophen, leading to potentially toxic doses. She says people should avoid taking more than 4,000 mg of acetaminophen per day.