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Kerby receives outstanding research in physiology award
Keith Edmisten, Extension & Engagement
Flu won't
catch N.C. off guard
Flu pandemic, McKimmon Center as care center for hospital overflow
RELIGION
ROUNDUP | MELANIE BASS
Grains of Time
Nanotech
leaders gather to debate nanotech pros, cons
Nanotechnology researchers
Kerby receives outstanding research in physiology award
Jan. 27, 2006
Western Farm Press
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
Tom Kerby, former cotton specialist with the University of California and vice president, technical services with Delta and Pine Land Co., received the 2005 Research Award in Physiology.
The presentation was made at the opening session of this year's Cotton Physiology Conference during the Beltwide Conferences in San Antonio, Texas. This is the first time the award has gone to an individual who works in the private sector.
Keith Edmisten, Extension cotton specialist at North Carolina State University who presented the award, cited contributions Kerby has made to the industry during his career. Kerby's focus on making this research practically applied on the farm helped revolutionize the industry, Edmisten said.
During Kerby's tenure with the University of California Extension Service, he pioneered many of the tools and initiatives that are used in cotton fields throughout the U.S. and around the world.
Some of the specific contributions include: plant-based applications of mepiquat chloride, in-season plant mapping, computer-assisted crop management, narrow row cotton production, potassium fertilization and heat unit-dependent planting guidelines.
"Tom exemplifies everything we could wish for in a crop physiologist with a strong understanding and considerable experience in production agronomy,” said Derrick Oosterhuis, distinguished professor of cotton physiology at the University of Arkansas. “He has been an inspiration to countless colleagues with ideas and explanations of physiological phenomena and interpretation of production problems.
Fully committed
“Dr. Kerby has repeatedly demonstrated his commitment to research and academic excellence. His concern for detail, precision and data integrity are apparent and reflected in the quality of his research, as well as in his impressive list of high quality, widely cited publications."
J.C. Banks, Oklahoma Extension cotton specialist, said he first learned of Kerby's work when he researched his possible entry into the specialist job. Later, Banks participated in a Beltwide team effort Kerby led that "conducted field experiments to develop and verify the nodes above cracked boll technique of timing harvest aid applications.
“This is another technique now used universally by cotton producers and consultants. He has taken complicated research concepts and delivered them to the turnrow where they are universally accepted by cotton growers and consultants."
Banks said that the type of cottonseed testing done prior to Kerby's entry into the industry caused confusion for customers trying to make variety selections. He cited Kerby's work at Delta and Pine Land as pivotal for the industry and critical to the successful introduction of transgenic varieties in the mid 1990s.
"When Dr. Kerby joined Delta and Pine Land Co., he used his knowledge of cotton development and statistical analysis to develop the most complete data set of cotton varieties and cultivars in the industry,” Banks noted. “He developed a data set to accurately analyze the potential of new strains of cotton and how they would perform as compared to standard varieties.
Data invaluable
“As variety development became more transgenic based, this data was invaluable to sort out genetic material for further development into varieties. The tremendous success of D&PL varieties is due largely to variety selection based on Dr. Kerby's expertise in analysis of genetic material."
Kerby created D&PL's technical service department in 1993. Prior to joining D&PL, he was the cotton specialist for the University of California. He earned his Ph.D. and master’s degrees in crop physiology at the University of Arizona. His bachelor’s degree is from Brigham Young University in soil science.
e-mail:flaws@prismb2b.com
Jan. 27, 2006
Charlotte Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
Events
West Avenue Presbyterian: 6:30 p.m. Jan. 29, viewing of the Tim Burton movie, "Big Fish." Discussions of biblical themes relating to the movie, 7 p.m. Feb. 6, 13, 20 and 27. 1015 W. Franklin Blvd., Gastonia. (704) 865-0932.Tabernacle Baptist: 7 p.m. Feb. 3 and 8:30 a.m. Feb. 4, regional leadership summit. Guest facilitator: Samuel Chand of Samuel R. Chand Ministries Inc., Atlanta. 519 W. 19th Ave., Gastonia. (704) 864-4051.
First United Methodist, Cherryville: Feb. 5, Souper Bowl of Caring. Youth collecting non-perishable foods and money to support Cherryville-area ministries. Youth also serving supper Feb. 4 at Salvation Army in Gastonia. Donations may be dropped off at the church, 601 N. Pink St. (704) 435-6732.
Annual Western North Carolina Prayer Conference: Feb. 7-9, Kings Mountain Family Worship Center, 1818 Shelby Road, Kings Mountain. 7 p.m. Feb. 7-9; with guest speakers the Rev. Thomas Propes, the Rev. Tim Hill and the Rev. Tony Cooper. 9:30 a.m. Feb. 8 and 9, services with Thomas Doolittle. 11 a.m. Feb. 8 and 9, guest speakers the Rev. Billy Claypoole and the Rev. Tim Hill. 7 p.m. Feb. 8, youth rally with Tom Madden. 9 a.m.-noon Feb. 9, women's ministry and complimentary breakfast with Mia Pittman-Head. (704) 717-0506.
First United Methodist, Belmont: 6 p.m. Feb. 11, Heart to Heart Family Celebration to benefit the Belmont Parish Nurse Ministry. Meal, silent auction and concert by Grains of Time N.C. State University's male a capella ensemble. $25 adults, $12 for children 12 and under. 807 South Point Road, Belmont. (704) 825-2106.
Flu won't catch N.C. off guard
Jan. 27, 2006
News & Observer
By Jim Nesbit
© Copyright 2006
Should a deadly flu pandemic strike the state, North Carolinians will live under emergency restrictions that echo those imposed for hurricanes, chemical spills and other disasters.
But if it goes as envisioned in a revised state crisis plan released Thursday, there will be some grim distinctions:
Refrigerated trucks -- which usually haul emergency food -- would hold the corpses of victims of a flu strain that could kill as many as 11,102 people statewide.
Dorton Arena at the state fairgrounds might house an overflow of patients from hospitals overwhelmed with as many as 49,026 flu-stricken patients statewide. Schools, shuttered to prevent pupils from spreading the disease, also might house the sick.
Instead of dusk-till-dawn curfews to combat looting, cops and deputies would enforce large quarantine zones and the isolation of infected people, carrying the threat of a two-year prison sentence and jail time without bail.
And, the emergency pacts that allow North Carolina to call on other states for manpower, supplies and equipment during a hurricane or flood probably would be useless. Those states would be stretching their own thin resources.
"We're planning under the assumption we're going to be on our own," said Brian Letourneau, Durham County health director. "It's unlikely we're going to be bailed out by the federal government or anybody else."
There are no signs that an influenza pandemic such as the 1918-19 Spanish flu outbreak, which killed 20 million to 40 million people worldwide and 500,000 in the United States, will strike anytime soon. But public health officials have been on the alert since a deadly strain of bird flu appeared in Asia and infected a small number of humans in Vietnam, Turkey and Indonesia.
And on Thursday, state health officials released a revised emergency plan that includes a beefed-up section on mental health counseling to combat grief, stress and hysteria from an outbreak that could infect between 1.3 million and 2.2 million North Carolinians.
An update of a plan released in October 2004, the revamped blueprint also clarifies the legal authority of officials to set up quarantine zones and order the isolation of infected people. It also establishes how to close public places such as schools, shopping malls, theaters and arenas.
And in that sense, the state's flu pandemic plan mirrors emergency responses for hurricanes, train wrecks, terrorist attacks and other disasters.
"This is a cookbook all pulled together in one place," said Leah Devlin, state health director. "It's not that we've changed what we're doing. The point is to be clear ahead of time."
Do-it-yourself survival
Public health officials are also pressing a lesson learned during hurricanes Katrina and Rita -- be prepared to fend for yourself and your family for the first 72 hours of a pandemic that could last for four months or longer.
"People need to start thinking how they will survive day-to-day -- how to keep food in the house, water, medicine -- until this thing is over," Letourneau said.
Such preparations for a flu pandemic aren't on Lisa Hathaway's to-do list -- yet.
"To be honest, I haven't given it a lot of thought, because it doesn't seem like a pressing problem," said Hathaway, 49, a stay-at-home mom who lives in northeast Raleigh. With one daughter in the fifth grade at Powell Elementary School and another a sophomore at the N.C. School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, Hathaway said it's easier to follow common sense directives to fight the flu, including regular hand-washing.
"We do that anyway," she said. "But there's not much you can do if something is running around at school."
Across the Triangle, county health officials are huddling with local emergency managers to develop their own flu pandemic plans. Still to come are talks with leaders of some of the Triangle's largest employers -- including Progress Energy, state government agencies and the three biggest universities -- about keeping essential employees on the job during the pandemic while allowing others to work at home.
"The garbage needs to be picked up; trucks have to go to grocery stores," Letourneau said.
Plans for the Triangle
In Wake County, health officials have already worked out an agreement to use Dorton Arena and the McKimmon Center at N.C. State University as care centers for hospital overflow.
"What we'd be doing is setting up a large venue for people who are too sick to take care of themselves, but don't need to be on a ventilator or don't require other forms of intensive care treatment," said Gibbie Harris, Wake County community health director.
A flu pandemic could quickly overwhelm Triangle hospitals, filling up bed space and creating a backlog of patients who need intensive care, said Jim Chang, emergency management coordinator at Duke Hospital.
"If you've got 10 ventilators and 20 patients who need one, who gets the ventilator -- the 14-year-old or the 80-year-old?" Chang asked. "There won't be enough beds; there won't be enough equipment; there won't be enough antivirals."
To handle the surge of patients, hospitals will probably cancel elective surgery and send home less critically ill patients, said Dr. Barb Bisset, executive director of the emergency services institute at WakeMed. Hospitals also would form special teams of doctors and nurses to care only for flu patients to reduce the risk of spreading the disease and make sure those patients are housed in rooms that restrict air flow.
"The other piece we have to consider is if some of our employees get sick," said Bisset, who says the experience North Carolina emergency medical teams gained during the aftermath of Katrina will help during a pandemic.
The last flu pandemic struck in 1968-69. Known as the Hong Kong flu, it killed an estimated 30,000 Americans. That means the next global flu epidemic is long overdue, scientists say.
Scientists think the most likely source of a worldwide outbreak is the H5N1 bird flu virus, which they fear could mutate to cause human-to-human transmission. So far, the H5N1 virus has not developed the ability to infect humans easily and has not been detected in either commercial poultry or wild bird populations in the United States. Still, planning and preparation are necessary.
"It's just like the fire department," Devlin said. "You want the fire department well-staffed, well-trained, working on their drills and ready to go."
Staff writer Jim Nesbitt can be reached at (919) 829-8955 or jim.nesbitt@newsobserver.com.
Ashford to Acquire Marriott Research Triangle Park for $28.0 Million
Jan. 27, 2006
Hospitality Net, Finanzen.net (Germany), Yahoo! News, PR Newswire (NY),
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
DALLAS, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AHT) announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the 225- room Marriott at Research Triangle Park in Durham, NC, from Host Marriott Corporation for $28.0 million in cash.
The purchase price, on a pro-forma basis excluding incentive management fees that would not be payable by Ashford and using a 5% FF&E reserve, equates to a 10.0x trailing twelve-month EBITDA multiple, an EBITDA yield of 10.0% and a trailing twelve-month net operating income capitalization rate of 8.2%. The property generated revenues of $9.8 million on a trailing twelve month basis. The acquisition is expected to close in February 2006.
Opened in 1988, the Marriott at Research Triangle Park has 225 rooms, 4,252 square feet of meeting space and two food and beverage facilities. The hotel has land available for an expansion opportunity to the function space. The hotel also benefits from its close proximity to Research Triangle Park, a 7,000-acre office park limited to organizations in research, development and scientifically-oriented production. The park is closely tied to the three major research universities of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University in Durham and North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Research Triangle Park has over 100 research and development organizations employing over 38,000 people.
The Marriott at Research Triangle Park completed a $2.5 million renovation in 2002 of the guestrooms and bathrooms, which included the replacement of softgoods and casegoods. Ashford will invest an additional $5.7 million over a two-year period to renovate the lobby, restaurant, function space, guest corridors, guestrooms and bathrooms. Remington Lodging & Hospitality, L.P. will assume management of the property.
Monty J. Bennett, President and CEO of Ashford Hospitality Trust, said, "The Research Triangle Park has been an important component of economic growth in the region for many years. With the strong Marriott brand and an excellent location in close proximity to both the Park and the Raleigh-Durham Airport, this asset is well positioned to capture more than its share of the RevPAR growth this market enjoys. Our planned renovation will also enhance our ability to continue to drive rate growth at the property, while an intense focus on improving operating margins and exploring the opportunity to expand the meeting space in the future should make the Marriott at Research Triangle Park a very compelling investment for Ashford."
Ashford Hospitality Trust is a self-administered real estate investment trust focused on investing in the hospitality industry across all segments and at all levels of the capital structure, including direct hotel investments, first mortgages, mezzanine loans and sale-leaseback transactions. Additional information can be found on the Company's web site at www.ahtreit.com.
Certain statements and assumptions in this press release contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. When we use the words "will likely result," "may," "anticipate," "estimate," "should," "expect," "believe," "intend," or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the forward EBITDA multiple, the forward income capitalization rate, the forward EBITDA yield, the expectation that the transaction will close in February 2006, the impact of the transaction on our business and future financial condition, our business and investment strategy, our understanding of our competition and current market trends and opportunities and projected capital expenditures. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside Ashford's control.
These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without limitation: general volatility of the capital markets and the market price of our common stock; changes in our business or investment strategy; availability, terms and deployment of capital; availability of qualified personnel; changes in our industry and the market in which we operate, interest rates or the general economy; and the degree and nature of our competition. These and other risk factors are more fully discussed in Ashford's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. EBITDA is defined as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA yield is defined as trailing twelve month EBITDA divided by the purchase price. A capitalization rate is determined by dividing the property's annual net operating income by the purchase price. Net operating income is the property's funds from operations minus a capital expense reserve of 5% of gross revenues. Funds from operations ("FFO"), as defined by the White Paper on FFO approved by the Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT") in April 2002, represents net income (loss) computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), excluding gains (or losses) from sales or properties and extraordinary items as defined by GAAP, plus depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, and net of adjustments for the portion of these items related to unconsolidated entities and joint ventures.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, changes in expectations or otherwise.
Nanotech leaders gather to debate nanotech pros, cons
Jan. 27, 2006
PhysOrg.com (VA)
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
Nanotechnology, defined as science and engineering done at the scale of a billionth of a meter, promises to have a profound impact on society. It has been heralded by many scientists, futurists and investors as the next industrial revolution.
But for every optimistic forecast of nanobots to perform microsurgery, or in-body sensors to monitor human health, there are doomsday scenarios, too: nanochips implanted in the brain that forever alter human identity, or nanosensors publicly revealing all private places and information.
Given this information, two questions loom largest of all:
• How can scientists, citizens and policy makers be adequately engaged in a dialogue about nanotechnology's potential for good – and its potential for abuse?
• How can we govern nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology leaders from across the nation will gather on ASU's Tempe campus Jan. 30 as the university launches its Center for Nanotechnology in Society. The culmination of the launch event will be a public forum, titled “Nanotechnology in Society,” from 4 – 7 p.m. in the Great Hall (Armstrong Hall) of the College of Law.
A distinguished panel of scientists, policy experts and ethicists will convene for this important discussion. The panel includes remarks from ASU President Michael Crow; David Guston, director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society; George Poste, director of the Biodesign Institute; and Jonathan Moreno, University of Virginia Professor of Biomedical Ethics and co-chair of the National Academies' committee on human embryonic stem cell research.
Guston calls the event “the beginning of an unprecedented effort to expand our knowledge of how emerging technologies like nanotechnology interact with society; to train students to understand those interactions; and to involve the general public in helping to make decisions, along with scientists and engineers and policy makers, about what nanotechnology's future will be like.”
Last fall, the National Science Foundation awarded ASU $6.2 million to establish the Center for Nanotechnology in Society (CNS-ASU). The center is a collaboration of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes and the Biodesign Institute at ASU.
CNS-ASU is the largest in a network of $14.3 million in newly funded NSF activities on nanotechnology and society, which includes a second $5 million center at the University of California-Santa Barbara, and additional projects at Harvard University and the University of South Carolina.
The ASU Center will be a “center of excellence” for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a federal research and development program established to coordinate the multiple-agency efforts in nanoscale science, engineering and technology.
According to the NNI, federally supported nanotechnology research and development in 2005 was $1 billion, and the global marketplace for goods and services using nanotechnologies will grow to $1 trillion by 2015.
Nanoscientists and engineers are still working out the rules and techniques for imaging, manipulating and manufacturing matter at this minute atomic scale (10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair). And social scientists and humanists are just starting to understand how such inquiries and technologies interact with the broader society.
The launch event will gather a broad network of CNS-ASU researchers and collaborators, including researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta; North Carolina State University, Raleigh; University of Colorado, Boulder; Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.; and other universities and private and public sector groups.
CNS-ASU focuses on two broad research themes:
• Freedom, privacy and security.
• Human identity, enhancement and biology.
CNS-ASU also will experiment with a novel approach of teaming social scientists and nanoscientists to consider the ethical and social dimensions of nanotechnology. The center also incorporates regular meetings with – and feedback from – citizens, policy makers and business leaders on their perspectives on nanotechnology.
“The center will help researchers and citizens develop a better understanding of where scientific and social values come from, what they mean and how they shape the direction that nanotechnology takes,” Guston says.
By understanding the interactions between nanotechnology and society, the center aims to encourage informed discussions, as well as improve policy choices and technological outcomes for the benefit of society.
The forum is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://cns.asu.edu