HIGHLIGHTS:

HOW MANY FINGERS?  FREE VISION SCREENING FOR PRESCHOOLERS  July 6.  The College of Optometry, 338 W. 10th Ave., is offering free vision screening for preschoolers Thursday, July 6, from 8:15 to 11:30 and again on Aug. 24.  Testing takes 15 to 30 minutes and includes assessment of vision clarity, eye teaming, refractive error and eye health.  Vision disorders are the leading cause of handicapping conditions in childhood, but early detection increases the likelihood of effective treatment.  To schedule an appointment, call 292-2020 and select option 5.Contact:  Beth Haas, Vision in Preschoolers Study coordinator, (614) 292-3189.

WHERE AM I??  SUMMER ORIENTATION IS UNDER WAY  June 20 through August 10.   The undergraduate experience has officially begun as 6,000 incoming first-year students and 2,200 transfer students participate in Ohio State’s two-day orientation program.  Students will register for fall classes, explore their new campus, and learn more about academic programs, campus life, dorms and safety.  Parents are welcome to get involved in the process, too. Contact:  Julee Klima, coordinator of university orientation, (614) 292-4161.

GOT MILK?  Teenage girls who can't adequately digest lactose can still consume enough dairy products every day to provide their recommended daily dose of calcium, new research suggests. And they can do so with minimal symptoms of lactose intolerance. The key is to slowly add dairy products to the diet, said Steve Hertzler, a study co-author and an assistant professor of medical dietetics at Ohio State. The study involved 14 African-American girls. Nearly 60 to 80 percent of African Americans cannot adequately digest lactose, according to Hertzler. At the end of three weeks of eating and drinking dairy products daily, the girls had a marked decrease in common symptoms of lactose intolerance, particularly bloating and gas. Contact: Steve  Hertzler, medical dietetics (614) 292-8141.

BASKING ON THE BEACH  Each year, Lake Erie’s public beaches attract millions of visitors who spend more than $20 million in local communities.  And those visitors like to find picnic tables, smooth sand and lifeguards.  Ohio State professor of agricultural economics Brent Sohngen has studied the economic impact of beach amenities and has found that poor water quality advisories take a heavy economic toll on local communities, costing an average of $100,000 per beach in lost revenue.  He also found that one additional lifeguard hour per week in worth $3,684 per beach.  Five picnic tables per beach are worth more than $29,000, and reducing sand grain size, zebra mussel shells and cobbles on the beach by 10 percent in worth more than $700,000. Contact:  Brent Sohngen, agricultural, environmental and developmental economics, (614) 688-4640.

The person listed as Contact will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story--Reggie Anglen, 292-8423; Elizabeth Conlisk, 292-3040; Amy Murray, 292-8385; Lesley Deaderick, 292-0569; Melinda Sadar, 292-8298; and Karissa Shivley, 292-8295.

Compiled by Amy Murray, University Relations, (Murray-Goedde.1@osu.edu)