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NCSU gets $356K in tobacco research grants
tobacco research grantsChanging economics boosts construction waste recycling
College of Veterinary MedicineUnder the dome: Smithfield makes artful appeal to Dems
hog lagoons
Collection
is a menagerie for studies of animals
The Word From -The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences
Television
station worker killed two days short of graduation
student
USPS
group gives stamp of approval to releases
Meredith J. Davis, graphic design
Altria
Raises Marlboro Prices After Market Share Gain
Blake Brown, agricultural and resource economic
Cancer
Study of Canine Heroes Offers Hope for Human 9/11 Work Crews
Iams Pet Imaging Center, College of Veterinary Medicine
Cisco
improves pricing for users
Matt Valenzisi, communication technologies
Tiny
critters might be lurking inside your Christmas tree
Christmas trees
SURVEY
SHOWS PUBLIC CAN DISCERN NANO'S BENEFITS
nanotechnology
EMC
Invests in North Carolina Education Program
computer science
W&M
defends admissions
State groups' study says 3 colleges use discriminatory practices in picking
law school students
Painted
poinsettias
poinsettia research
Obituary:
Dr. Thomas Barker Dameron, Jr.
poultry science
Dec. 14, 2004
News & Observer
By JANE STANCILL
© Copyright 2004
UNC system students and their parents may get a reprieve next year from the ever-rising cost of a college education.
Brad Wilson, chairman of the UNC Board of Governors, has urged the system's board to vote against tuition increases at the state's 16 public universities for 2005-2006.
The board is scheduled to take up the question next month. Many campuses are expected to ask for increases so that they'll have more money to spend on faculty salaries, technological improvements, libraries and other priorities.
Wilson said Monday that North Carolina should take a breather from higher education's "financial arms race."
"The tuition increases approved last year have gone a long way to slow the erosion the university is and was experiencing," he said. "We ought to skip a year and hold the line, work with the General Assembly to pass as strong a budget as the state can afford, and see where we are going into 2006."
Students praised Wilson's idea Monday.
"I'm really excited about Brad taking that very public and definitive stance against tuition increases," said Amanda Devore, an N.C. State University student and member of the UNC system board. "That's definitely the right thing to do in this situation."
She said the state's economic fortunes are improving, so students should be spared further increases next year.
Tuition has soared at the state's public campuses in the past five years. Last year, tuition and fees climbed despite heavy student protest. In-state increases ranged from 7 percent at NCSU to 17 percent at the N.C. School of the Arts. Increases in out-of-state tuition ranged from 2 percent at NCSU to 10 percent at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Last year's increases brought the campuses about $41 million. Of that, $9 million was spent to cover increases for financially needy students, according to figures provided by Wilson.
The schools spent $21 million on faculty salary increases and $5 million on administrators' salaries. The rest was used for student services, academic support, libraries and technology improvements.
As an alternative to tuition increases, Wilson suggested that the General Assembly consider a direct appropriation to each campus in the amount equal to the tuition revenue generated last year. In the Triangle, that would add up to about $2 million at N.C. Central University, $7 million at NCSU and $12 million at UNC-CH.
That is a tall order, considering that the UNC board is already seeking a 28 percent increase in its overall budget next year, including $73 million to cover an influx of more students next fall.
In a letter Monday to UNC President Molly Broad and UNC system chancellors, Wilson said it is important to remember the state constitution's promise of low tuition for its citizens. Under state law, campuses are free to request tuition increases each year, but the statewide board can vote them up or down.
"My position is not based on the economic merits of the cases that will be made for tuition increases, but one of educational policy that is consistent with the heritage of the University of North Carolina to keep tuition as low as practicable," Wilson wrote.
Wilson said his comments applied only to in-state tuition rates, leaving the door open for increases for students from outside North Carolina. He also asked the board to consider setting a four-year tuition rate for each freshman class, so that families could better plan for costs.
Campus officials, who already started planning for increases, are likely to bristle at Wilson's idea for a tuition freeze next year. They say they need the money.
"The trustees of the individual campuses know a whole lot more about their needs than the Board of Governors," said Richard Vaughn of the NCSU trustees, who recommended a $300 tuition jump for all students in each of the next two years. "They can sit over there and make any decision they want to. ... We happen to believe it's appropriate for our tuition to be increased."
If the board goes along with Wilson's request, it won't be the first time. The UNC board recommended a tuition freeze in 2003-2004 because of economic hard times. But in the end, the General Assembly raised tuition by 5 percent.
Dec. 14, 2004
News & Observer
By CATHERINE CLABBY
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH -- Last week, Becky Browning hustled to fill a loan request from an Ohio arthritis researcher. All he needed was 88 samples of the tibiotarsus, the main bone in a bird's lower leg.
For a woman who tends 20,000 bird skins, skeletons and eggs in the basement of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, that was simple enough.
"Let me grab my list," Browning said before cautiously pawing through one cardboard box after another.
White-tailed tropical bird? Check. The red-tailed types? Yes, ma'am. An acorn woodpecker? A rosy-capped fruit dove? An endangered parrot bred in captivity? A real-deal albatross? Got them all.
Hidden away from the public exhibits on dinosaurs and giant Atlantic whales, Browning and other specialists look after more than 1 million specimens painstakingly preserved for science's sake.
If all their prized objects in that collection tumbled out of their cabinets and drawers at once, they would resemble the cargo of a regional Noah's ark. Most specimens originate in North Carolina or the Southeast, donated by biologists, conservation workers, zoos or just plain folks.
Plenty of them come also from far away, sometimes gifts from donors looking for good homes for specimens leaning toward the exotic.
All are tagged and numbered in no-fade India ink. Written notations make clear where and when each was found.
Need to examine row after row of white-footed mice or red bats native to these parts? No problem. Want a peek at the remains of two miniature kangaroos from Down Under or a mountain lion that once prowled the western United States? You're in.
Rocks and minerals get preserved. So do fossils, fish, bugs and amphibians. Together, the specimens get used in ways as different as the outsiders who seek them out.
Some graduate projects at local research universities would be impossible without the museum specimens. Where else can an aspiring paleontologist from N.C. State University hunt down modern animal bones resembling fossils of extinct creatures?
But the impact of such collections, old-fashioned to some people in a day when molecular research rules science, can be bigger. Specimens collected a century ago can sometimes answer questions that could only be asked today.
Studies of the Smithsonian Institution bird collection, for one, taught scientists that a bird illness could not have caused the deadly 1918 flu epidemic. That information was vital for vaccine makers.
DNA studies on creatures' remains in Raleigh and elsewhere are guiding biologists on how to redraw branches on the tree of life.
And, of course, each specimen remains an irreplaceable, visual record of what actual creatures looked like. Although we can always imagine, seeing, truly, is knowing.
"A written observation isn't a good-enough record. Even photographs aren't good enough. People make mistakes," said Lisa Gatens, mammal collection manager at the museum.
Television station worker killed two days short of graduation
Dec. 13, 2004
Associated Press; News 14 Carolina; WXii 12; WTVD
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
(RALEIGH) - A Raleigh man set to graduate from North Carolina State University on Wednesday was killed in a weekend traffic accident.
The state Highway Patrol said Sean Roberts was killed when the car he was driving missed a curve on a rural road south of Henderson and hit a tree.
Roberts was a news production assistant at WRAL in Raleigh.
He'd worked at the station since February and was to graduate from N.C. State on Wednesday with a bachelor's degree in communication.
The patrol said Roberts was alone in his car when the accident happened around 4 a.m. Sunday.
UNC Leader Wants to Freeze Public University Tuition
Dec. 14, 2004
Associated Press; WRAL; NBC 17; Winston-Salem Journal; News & Observer; WCNC; Charlotte Observer; Durham Herald-Sun; WVEC, VA
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The head of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors wants his colleagues to freeze tuition next year because he believes the state has enough money to provide a good education.
"It is my judgment that the board should not raise tuition this year and I would urge you to vote against doing so," Chairman Brad Wilson wrote in a memo distributed Monday to board members, the chancellors of the 16 state university campuses and to UNC system President Molly Broad.
Fifteen of the state's 16 public universities increased tuition last year and leaders of many campuses are expected to ask for hikes again this year to pay for faculty salaries, technological improvements, libraries and other priorities.
Tuition has soared at the state's public campuses in the past five years. Last year, tuition and fees climbed despite heavy student protest. In-state increases ranged from 7 percent at NCSU to 17 percent at the N.C. School of the Arts. Increases in out-of-state tuition ranged from 2 percent at NCSU to 10 percent at UNC-Chapel Hill.
North Carolina should take a breather from higher education's "financial arms race," Wilson said Monday.
"The tuition increases approved last year have gone a long way to slow the erosion the university is and was experiencing," he said. "We ought to skip a year and hold the line, work with the General Assembly to pass as strong a budget as the state can afford, and see where we are going into 2006."
Under state law, schools can ask for tuition increases even if members of the Board of Governors have indicated they will turn down the request.
Even if the board approves a tuition freeze, there's no assurance costs won't go up. The state Legislature, which can override the board's recommendation, raised rates 5 percent in 2002 after the board asked for a moratorium on increases.
Campus officials, who already started planning for increases, say they need an increase again this year.
"The trustees of the individual campuses know a whole lot more about their needs than the Board of Governors," said Richard Vaughn of the North Carolina State University trustees, who recommended a $300 tuition jump for all students in each of the next two years. "They can sit over there and make any decision they want to. We happen to believe it's appropriate for our tuition to be increased."
Matt Calabria, UNC Chapel Hill's student body president, said Monday students will line up to support a tuition freeze.
"Among students, there is a presumption against tuition increases," he said.
Along with the tuition freeze, Wilson, the board chairman, wants his board to explore a new approach to tuition that would give incoming freshmen a set tuition rate for four years, as some other states do.
"It locks in certainty for a four-year financial plan for the student and the family," Wilson said. "It's a concept worth considering."
NCSU gets $356K in tobacco research grants
Dec. 13, 2004
Triangle Business Journal
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
The North Carolina Tobacco Research Commission recently awarded grants totaling $355,521 to North Carolina State University for 26 projects in 2005.
Individual grants ranged from $2,000 to support a project aimed at increasing yields of flue-cured tobacco, to $40,622 for research to evaluate new varieties of tobacco for disease resistance.
Funding for the grants comes from a 10-cent assessment on every 100 pounds of flue-cured and burley tobacco sold in North Carolina.
The Tobacco Research Commission is composed of representatives from the North Carolina Farm Bureau, the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina, the North Carolina Tobacco Foundation and the N.C. State Grange.
Changing economics boosts construction waste recycling
Dec. 10, 2004
Triangle Business Journal
By Denise Sherman
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH - Recycling demolition waste at construction sites is becoming standard operating procedure for contractors whose clients want to be environmentally friendly. The process is also turning out to be cost effective for the contractor.
" What we're finding out right now (is), it's almost a break even from doing a standard landfill dumpster and doing a recycling project," says Randy Grubb, project executive with Bovis Lend Lease. "You could even end up with substantial savings."
At the North Hills Mall redevelopment in Raleigh, Bovis Lend Lease, the construction manager, devised a plan where the subcontractors placed demolition materials from the tearing down of the old mall in a dumpster on site. The materials were then hauled to a landfill where they were segregated into recyclable and nonrecyclable wastes. The unsalvageable materials are dumped in the landfill.
This process is called co-mingling, says Grubb.
The other alternative is to recycle on site, but that requires a lot of real estate that is not being used in the construction process.
In cases where the recycling is done on site, "they do things like take the metal studs out of drywall," says Grubb. The salvageable materials are taken to the recycling center and the rest is taken to the landfill.
Bovis is also recycling construction waste at the new laboratory building it is constructing at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Grubb says Bovis has recycled about 70 percent of the waste at that project. Bovis contracted with PCM Construction Services to handle the recycling project, which was co-mingled. Masonry, concrete and drywall were recycled.
At the American Tobacco renovation project in Durham, Bovis recycled demolition wastes on-site and off-site.
"There was a lot of metal and wood created by virtue of ripping out and rebuilding," says Grubb. "On that job, we were able to salvage in place products and reuse them - the wood and the timbers, the steel joists, old brick. It was recycled and used in the masonry recycling program."
On that project, close to 60 percent of the materials were recycled or salvaged and used in the new building.
Bovis is also following a recycling plan as it builds the Medical Science Research Building 2 at Duke University. That project is following the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certification program. LEED's green building rating system is a set of standards for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. To earn LEED points, contractors must recycle wastes.
Seventy-five percent of the waste generated at the Duke project is to be recycled. Bovis also is following a co-mingling plan at that project.
"Most all the owners that we are talking with are interested in recycling and being environmentally friendly as part of their construction process," says Grubb. "I know all the contractors are interested in doing that too, in building environmentally friendly buildings, and it's prudent for business."
Grubb says there was a surge in recycling starting around 2001 or 2002 when landfill tipping fees increased significantly. At the same time, Grubb says the recycling community started becoming more aggressive and creative in their business."It made it more attractive to recycle than to go throw it in the landfill," says Grubb. "It was a strange timing how everything sort of came together there. I'm sure they all fed off each other."
Robert Hall, a project manager for Clancy & Theys, says his company typically designs a recycling plan for its projects. Hall's current project is the rennovation of the Hudson Belk building in downtown Raleigh into 64 condominium units and retail space.
"We separate our metals and send our metals to a scrap yard," says Hall. "All of the other - drywall, concrete - we send to a company called Material Reclamation. Then they separate it and recycle what they can and send the rest to the landfill."
Hall says for state-owned projects, contractors must keep track of, and report on, how they dispose of wastes.
"Material Reclamation will tell you how much went to the landfill versus recycling," he says.
The old Cotton Mill on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh was converted into condominiums several years ago and part of the resulting waste was recycled, says Rene Langford, president of Langford Construction Co., the contractor that handled the job.
"Metal stuff, anything that we could recycle, we took to the recycling center - cardboard, sheetrock," says Langford.
The construction company hired Waste Industries to handle the recycling project at the old mill, which was being used as a warehouse at the time of the conversion.
"The recycling place pays. We pay $35 a ton to dump at the city dump," says Langford. "It's quite a bit of savings on a job that size."
Under the dome: Smithfield makes artful appeal to Dems
Dec. 14, 2004
News & Observer
By DAN KANE AND J. ANDREW CURLISS
© Copyright 2004
They say passing legislation is a lot like making sausage. House Democrats may have a new saying after Monday night: making sausage helps pass legislation.
Smithfield Foods, the world's largest pork producer, hosted the House Democrats on the eve of their caucus today to select leaders for the upcoming legislative session. The company, based in Smithfield, Va., paid for dinner at the N.C. Museum of Art and exclusive access to the museum's "Matisse, Picasso and the School of Paris" exhibit.
Theresa Kostrzewa, a lobbyist for the company, was to be on hand to greet the legislators, but she said no business would be discussed.
"It's not about us," she said. "It's just about having a good time."
She couldn't say how much the event would cost the company. It costs $750 to reserve the museum's Egyptian Gallery for dinner. According to the museum's Web site, a full-course dinner at the museum's restaurant costs roughly $45 a person.
Smithfield and other pork producers have a reason to pay for such events. Lawmakers have extended a moratorium on new hog lagoons because they are concerned about the lagoons' impact on drinking water.
Four years ago, Smithfield signed a pact with the state to help develop alternatives to the lagoons. A professor at N.C. State University is close to recommending two alternatives that may be more environmentally sound -- but also more costly to the industry.
House Democrats are to caucus at 10 a.m. today in the Legislative Building auditorium.
More Dell incentives
Gov. Mike Easley's chief negotiator on the Dell Inc. incentives deal says it wouldn't be practical for the state to try to limit the type of bidding war under way in the Triad before Dell Inc. decides where to build a new assembly plant.
Responding to demands by Dell, Winston-Salem and Forsyth County are offering $37 million in various incentives. Greensboro and Guilford County are offering $12.4 million.
Some elected officials in the Triad say those amounts might have been lower if the state had included offers from the Triad as part of the overall negotiating -- essentially including the local offers early on to cut out a second-round of bidding.
Dan Gerlach, Easley's senior budget adviser, doesn't see that happening. He said the state in these situations is most concerned about landing a company -- acting fast and doing what's necessary to get it to North Carolina -- and that it would be difficult to include the locals early on as part of that.
Besides, he said, local governments offer only what they are comfortable doing.
"I don't think we'd want to put limits or mandates on local governments," Gerlach said.
He said it's also important for the state to not steer companies to any area.
"We want to let companies choose what is best for them," he said.
Dell hasn't chosen an exact spot for its computer assembly plant to serve the Northeast United States, but it is expected to choose this week or next.
Speaking of Dell
Former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr said he is now watching the local incentive offers closely, with the idea of bringing a lawsuit to stop them.
"Absolutely, we are," said Orr, who heads the nonprofit N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law. "We'd love to be able to save the taxpayers of Forsyth County $37 million. Think of all the elementary schools that would build."
Orr's group is already considering a lawsuit against the state, which passed a $242 million incentive package last month to lure Dell's assembly plant. The computer maker hasn't decided exactly where it will go.
Analysis: Nano needs research before rules
Dec. 10, 2004
Washington Times; United Press International; World Peace Herald, DC
By Dee Ann Divis
© Copyright 2004
WASHINGTON, DC, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Concerns are rising over the possible toxicity of nanomaterials and the safety of nanoscale manufacturing, but experts say the field is so new there is not enough research in hand to know what regulations are needed or even if there actually is a safety issue.
"For the most part, all we have is speculation on toxicity," said Mark Wiesner, an expert on the environmental implications of nanotechnology. "Some (nano)materials are likely to be toxic and some are likely to be completely benign, but we don't know."
Nanotechnology, which manipulates materials and manufactures machines on the scale of single atoms, is an emerging field promising new treatments for cancer, new techniques to clean pollution and new materials for a wide range of uses.
Already, new nanomaterials are being created with unique properties and unusual levels of strength. At the nanoscale level familiar materials take on strange characteristics. Gold for example, normally an extremely stable material, becomes a catalyst able to trigger chemical reactions at a particular size in the nanoscale range.
In fact, suggested Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, a toxicologist specializing in nanomaterials at North Carolina State University, the size of a nanomaterial may have to be considered separately from the raw material itself and the planned application when regulations are drafted for nano-derived products.
"The use of cosmetics and sunscreens has been heavily tested in the past," Monteiro-Riviere said. "Most of the nanomaterials that are in these cosmetics are zinc- or titanium-based. They have been tested using classic toxicity screens. They have been regulated based on their chemical composition, not on their size. I have been talking with some of the FDA people who are reevaluating this at the current time."
Monteiro-Riviere and Wiesner, a researcher at Rice University in Houston, corresponded Wednesday with readers during an Internet chat on nanotechnology and the environment sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The problem, they said, is scientists simply do not have enough information yet to know what the risks are in the body or in the environment. Some nanomaterials exist naturally in the environment and should pose no harm. Some materials could be rendered harmless in the environment while other could react with Mother Nature in a detrimental way.
"What is unknown," Wiesner said, "is how these materials will interact with the soup of materials naturally present in water, such as degradation products of leaves, products from bacteria and others. We believe that these materials can drastically change or perhaps dominate the properties of nanomaterials in nature."
In other words, it might be that nanomaterials, once released in nature, take on a natural coat.
"My concern," said Monteiro-Riviere, "is that the fish eat (the "soup" described above), and the people eat the fish."
Earnest efforts are underway to research the health and environmental risks, said Clayton Teague, director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. The NNCO is part of an interagency effort to integrate federal nanotechnology activities.
The National Toxicology Program, within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, already has begun a five-year effort to research the toxicology of nanomaterials Teaque said. Some $12 million to $15 million will be devoted to studies focused on nanotubes and buckyballs - both of which are made of carbon -- and quantum dots. Quantum dots are tiny devices made of semi-conductor materials that contain a controlled number of free electrons.
"Many quantum dots are made from heavy metals," said Wiesner, "and those heavy metals are a known environmental concern. Any medical waste would need to be managed."
The government already is looking at such manufacturing and work-related risks, Teague said.
"The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health over the last year has instituted a significant program of research to understand the various paths by which workers might be exposed to nanoscale materials and they have issued ... a statement about their thinking on nanoscale materials in the workplace," Teague told United Press International. "They also will be issuing ... over the next six months or so, recommended practices about how to work with nanoscale materials, to do so in a safe manner."
Other research programs are underway at the National Cancer Institute, which is looking at the safe medical use of nanotechnology, and at the Environmental Protection Agency, Teague said. EPA is studying what happens to nanomaterial when it enters the environment.
Teague estimated it would take a minimum of five years to begin to get a handle on the toxicology of nanomaterials.
In the mean time, he said, it is important to realize any risk is limited, because the amount of nanomaterials in existence right now is very limited and mostly in laboratories.
Cancer Study of Canine Heroes Offers Hope for Human 9/11 Work Crews
Dec. 13, 2004
BusinessWire
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
DAYTON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 2004--
9/11 search and rescue dogs show no signs of tumors at mid-term in five-year
study by University of Pennsylvania, The Iams Company and AKC Canine Health
Foundation
The families of survivors, first responders and workers who cleared debris from the 9/11 disaster at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon can take new hope from a study of 17 search and rescue dogs, who appear in good health and cancer-free.
The results are captured in the mid-term report of a five-year study by the University of Pennsylvania, The Iams Company and the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation, which is using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the Iams Pet Imaging Centers to identify and diagnose cancer-related diseases as a result of the 17 dogs' unprotected exposure to potentially hazardous dust and debris at the two sites.
"Animals often display early signs of disease when exposed to the same carcinogens as humans," said Dr. Liesa Stone, a veterinarian with The Iams Company, who has tracked the dogs' health since the study's inception in 2002. "The study allows us to track physical changes in the dogs, and may serve as an early warning of similar health problems in humans who worked at the sites."
The fear of potential health risks for human rescue workers has been a constant concern since 9/11. Human workers generally wear masks and other protective devices to shield them from possible dangerous particles in the dust and debris. But, service dogs work disaster sites for hours, even days at a time with no such protection. While Dr. Stone cautions the study won't be complete until 2006, she says preliminary findings can be taken as a hopeful sign the dogs and humans will not develop cancer as a direct result of their work at the 9/11 sites.
The high-tech, detailed MRI scans enable researchers to peer into the dogs' brains, sinus cavities, nasal passages, glands, and other soft tissue to detect disease that may have developed. To date, only one dog involved in the study has died, but not as a result of his work in the 9/11 tragedy. In June, "Rookie," a 9-year-old German Shepard with the Saginaw, Mich., police department, died of complications from an aggressive, fast-spreading cancer.
Experts later determined that the bone tumor of the mandible (lower jaw bone) most likely pre-dated the events of 9/11 and had no connection to inhaled carcinogens. Nonetheless, an MRI allowed veterinarians to properly diagnose his condition and added months of quality to the dog's life after the successful removal of the initial tumor.
"Without search and rescue dogs, we could not do our work as quickly as needed to find those affected by disaster," said Rookie's handler Officer Joaquin Guerrero. "We need our canine partners healthy and at the top of their game. This study allows us to see what risks are involved for our dogs so we can take the right precautions to protect them in the future."
For the past three years, as part of their continued commitment to pet health and well-being, The Iams Company has provided free MRI services to the 17 search and rescue dogs from across the nation that participated in the recovery efforts stemming from the 9/11 tragedy. MRI is an advanced diagnostic tool that uses magnetic energy and radio waves to create detailed images of tissue, allowing veterinarians to more accurately determine the cause and location of diseases such as cancer in pets without invasive exploratory surgery.
All of the MRIs to date have been performed at the Iams Pet Imaging Center in Vienna, Va. and will be expanded to a second Iams Pet Imaging Center on the campus of North Carolina State University (NCSU), in Raleigh, N.C.
In September 2002, The Iams Company opened its first Iams Pet Imaging Center in Vienna, Va. Since its opening, the Vienna center has become the world leader in pet MRI scans, based on nearly 3,000 case referrals. The Iams Company opened the second Pet Imaging Center on the campus of North Carolina State University (NCSU), in Raleigh, N.C., in August and is scheduled to open a third Pet Imaging Center in early 2005. These technologically advanced centers house state-of-the art equipment with technical expertise provided by ProScan, a world leader in human MRI technology and education.
To learn more about this study or Iams Pet Imaging Centers, visit The Iams Company on the Web at www.iamsco.com, www.iams.com, or www.eukanuba.com or call 1-866-4PETMRI.
About The Iams Company and Eukanuba
For more than 50 years, The Iams Company, a division of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), has enhanced the well-being of dogs and cats by providing world-class quality foods and pet-care products. To learn more about Eukanuba and Iams Dog & Cat Foods and the Eukanuba Veterinary Diets line of canine and feline therapeutic diets or general pet care and nutrition information, call the Iams Consumer Care Center at (800) 446-3075. You also can visit Eukanuba on the Web at http://www.eukanuba.com.
Cisco improves pricing for users
Dec. 14, 2004
Computer Weekly, UK; ComputerWorld; Australian Reseller News, Australia; Computerworld Australia, Australia; ARNnet, Australia
By Matt Hamblen
© Copyright 2004
Cisco Systems' prices have long been viewed as higher than those charged by its networking rivals. But some IT managers and analysts said this week that the pricing situation has improved modestly for Cisco users.
Two analysts who attended Cisco's Worldwide Analyst Conference in California, said that the networking market leader has in recent months lowered some of its prices by a small amount or improved the performance of products without increasing their cost.
Two longtime customers also said that they think Cisco has made steady strides on improving the price/performance characteristics of some products - although they added that there was still plenty of room for improvement in pricing on devices such as memory cards and peripherals for voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones.
"I'm of the opinion that, generally speaking, Cisco's prices are improving and I get more for my money," said Matt Valenzisi, network manager at North Carolina State University.
He said that is especially true for stackable switches such as Cisco's Catalyst 3750 product line, probably because Cisco has to compete against many other suppliers in that market segment. The university plans to buy 22 Catalyst 3750s in the next few months, adding to its installed base of about 2,000 switches from various suppliers.
In contrast, Valenzisi said he is alarmed by what he has to pay for memory upgrades to Cisco's switches and switching modules - something he routinely adds to purchases and buys from Cisco to ensure interoperability. For example, he said, Cisco recently charged him $10,000 (£5,220) for a 1GByte memory upgrade for an optical services module, many times what he expected to pay. "Their memory pricing is way too high," he said.
A network manager at a heath care provider with 6,000 workers said his company is getting an increased amount of services on core infrastructure products from Cisco, such as its switches and routers, for the same prices it was paying before.
But the user added that Cisco's prices "are still very high" for devices such as VoIP phones and their batteries and cables. A wireless VoIP phone can run well over $1,200 with all the added gear that end users need, he said.
John Chambers, Cisco's president and chief executive officer, acknowledged that users frequently voiced concerns about pricing when he talked to them in the past. However, Chambers said the complaints have stopped since he began conducting quarterly reviews of pricing and new product developments two years ago.
Earlier this year, some IT managers said they were willing to pay premium prices for Cisco's products because of its financial stability, reliability and strong customer service.
But Gartner analysts Mark Fabbi and Bob Hafner have written several reports over the past year urging users to seek rival bids in order to push Cisco's sales force to make more competitive counter-offers. That strategy seems to be working for users, according to Fabbi.
"There's a lot more response by Cisco on competitive bids than a year ago," he said.
Fabbi added that Cisco seems to be paying more attention upfront to the prices it is charging, especially with its biggest users.
"Cisco realises they can't take customers for granted and has been proactive with discounts," he said.
Zeus Kerravala, an analyst at The Yankee Group, said that Cisco's prices "are still an issue with customers". Kerravala agreed with Chambers that there has been some improvement, but he added that it is very hard to quantify.
EMC Invests in North Carolina Education Program
Dec. 13, 2004
Yahoo News; PR Newswire; mysan.de, Germany
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
APEX, N.C., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- EMC Corporation, the world leader in
information storage and management, today announced it has made a donation
in the form of grants and information storage and management technology to
Futures for Kids (F4K), an innovative career development program in North Carolina.
EMC's contribution will provide F4K the resources necessary to challenge and
encourage students to explore career opportunities in today's information-
and technology-intensive economy.
Joel Schwartz, EMC Senior Vice President and General Manager, Midrange Systems
Division, said, "Our employees in North Carolina play a crucial role in
enabling us to deliver the world's most comprehensive lineup of information
storage systems, software and services to customers around the world. To sustain
a pipeline of skilled workers in North Carolina, we continue to invest in education
programs, particularly math and science education. Futures for Kids will expose
students to professions that match their interests and skills, emphasizing
particularly how math and science skills can lead to careers in fields such
as engineering."
F4K is a non-profit corporation that leverages the Internet to help high- school students discover their unique abilities and make the transition from school to either the workplace or higher education. F4K also enables businesses to invest in their communities by developing local talent to meet future workforce needs.
"We are very excited to have EMC sponsor our program," said Geoff Cramer, Co-Founder of F4K. "Their level of support will enable us to foster workforce development in communities not only within North Carolina, but also eventually across the United States."
EMC believes tomorrow's workforce must be technically literate to succeed. Therefore, EMC is investing in local education programs that encourage students to pursue technology-related careers. EMC's Apex, N.C., manufacturing operations have cultivated strong partnerships with the Wake County School District, providing a variety of learning opportunities for students at Apex High School, Apex Middle School and Lufkin Road Middle School through program sponsorships, job shadowing, mentoring and career fair participation.
Earlier this year, EMC donated monies and laptop computers to Apex High School's Academy of Information Technology program, which equips students with the personal, analytical, technical and communication skills they need to thrive in a global economy. In the process, the program introduces them to career opportunities in today's digital economy. EMC also invested in North Carolina State University's computer science department through its ePartners program. A Super ePartner since 2001, EMC sponsors a computer science senior design project each semester, which offers students hands-on experience with real-life computer software design problems.
In 2003, EMC underwrote the cost of the Lufkin Road Middle School Quality Keys program and provided coaches and mentors to help the school become a certified Quality Keys school. Sponsored by the American Society for Quality, Quality Keys is an initiative to develop quality and continuous improvement tools for schools assessing their curricula needs.
EMC is one of North Carolina's largest high-tech employers. The company operates a manufacturing plant in Apex; a research and development facility in Research Triangle Park; and sales and services offices in Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh. The EMC CLARiiON® CX series of networked storage systems, EMC Celerra® network attached storage systems and EMC Centera(TM) content addressed storage systems manufactured in Apex, as well as the storage management software developed in Research Triangle Park, represent some of the fastest-growing segments of EMC's business.
About Futures for Kids
Futures for Kids (F4K) bridges the gap between the hopes and dreams of our students and the workforce development needs of our communities. It accomplishes this by providing students, families and educators with the nation's most comprehensive and user-friendly resources on post-high school educational, training and career opportunities. For more information about Futures for Kids, visit http://www.futuresforkids.org.
About EMC
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC - News) is the world leader in products, services and solutions for information storage and management that help organizations extract the maximum value from their information, at the lowest total cost, across every point in the information lifecycle. Information about EMC's products and services can be found at http://www.EMC.com.
EMC, CLARiiON and Celerra are registered trademarks, and Centera is a trademark of EMC Corporation. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Climate: Discovering the role of aerosols
Dec. 13, 2004
Washington Times; United Press International; SpaceDaily
By Dan Whipple
© Copyright 2004
Boulder, CO, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- One of the mystery villains in global climate change is the role of aerosols -- dust and small particle emissions -- on climate and temperature.
In her book "The Secret Life of Dust," science journalist Hannah Holmes wrote that between 1 billion and 3 billion tons of desert dust fly into the sky annually, 3.5 billion tons of salt flecks rise off the ocean and one-third billion tons of organic chemicals are exhaled from trees. Burning trees and grass provide 6 million tons of soot, while fossil fuel burning gives off 100 million tons of sulfur, 100 million tons of nitrogen oxides and 8 million tons of black soot."Picture a juice glass sitting on a porch railing in the sunshine," Holmes wrote. "It may look empty, but churning inside that glass are 25,000 microscopic pieces of dust -- at least."
In official science-speak, dust and other small atmospheric particles, such as fossil fuel-generated sulfur and black carbon, are called aerosols, which have an important but largely unquantified effect on climate. They can have either a heating or a cooling effect, depending on factors like size and chemical composition. They also affect the formation of clouds and that affects heat retention in the atmosphere.
"In terms of the chemistry, for the future, both of those sources (black carbon and organic carbon) are more important than we had previously thought, since they tend to stick around longer," Lynn Russell, associate professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego, told United Press International.
Russell and colleagues authored a paper in the journal Science last week that said aerosols may have a slightly greater cooling effect than climate models previously have estimated.
Another paper, in "Geophysical Research Letters," showed while aerosols can have both warming and cooling effects, the effects may be regional, depending on the surface area below -- whether forest, croplands or grasslands.
"The big issue with aerosols has been warming or cooling, but we know that climate is more than temperature change," said Dev Niyogi, North Carolina State University assistant professor. "Hydrology is, for instance ... the biogeochemical cycle leading to how the land use is affected. Those are dynamical features of the changing climate.
"We know that aerosols are partly responsible for holding back the warming. Aerosols have to some degree contributed to cooling," Niyogi told UPI.
The Science article found climate models have estimated an oxidation rate equivalent to 60 percent of organic particle mass per day. Previously, Russell said, data on this oxidation rate have not been available.
Russell and colleagues looked at four different aerosol samples that varied in size and composition. They included African mineral dust, Asian mixed combustion, and U.S. combustion on both foggy and clear days. The researchers found the oxidation rate varied between 13 percent for the African dust and 24 percent for the Asian sample, considerably less than the 60 percent estimated in most models.
What this means is the particles last two or three times longer in the atmosphere, working their magic on the climate. The precise impact depends on the size and composition of the particle. Black carbon, for instance, largely a byproduct of industrial processes, has a powerful direct warming impact.
Other forms have a slight cooling impact, which can be either direct, by absorbing light before it reaches the surface, or indirect, by influencing cloud formation.
A slower oxidation rate means organic aerosols will less readily absorb moisture, which will result in reflecting more radiation in its increased atmospheric lifetime. Overall, Russell told UPI, the net impact is a cooling effect of 0.5 watts per meter square.
Future effects of aerosols will depend upon which emissions increase faster -- black carbon or other organics.
"Both black carbon and organic carbon will increase," Russell told UPI. "You will have some offset of the effects. Different models predict different things about the way the net effect will go, and it depends on what control strategies are adopted. Most of those control strategies are in flux."
Niyogi found changes in levels of airborne aerosols change the terrestrial carbon cycle -- the way in which carbon dioxide is absorbed by plant photosynthesis and emitted by soil. The research showed the type of landscape is important in understanding this effect.
"In the research project, six locations across the United States -- encompassing forests, croplands and grasslands -- were studied," according to the paper. "Increased amounts of aerosols over forests and croplands resulted in surface areas below becoming carbon sinks (they absorbed more CO2 than they emitted) but increased amounts of aerosols over grasslands resulted in surface areas becoming carbon sources."
Niyogi said: "We found aerosols do have a very strong effect on the surface, a net ecosystem effect on CO2. This effect is more important than that due to clouds alone."
The picture remains very complex, Niyogi said, but added, "We do find that aerosols can have a significant contribution.
"With more aerosols in the environment, we definitely are going to have an altered carbon balance," he said. "Depending on whether they are sulfate or carbon aerosols, it could have a radiative or temperature feedback, and a third factor is soil moisture. We don't know what happens when the climate is drought-prone, for instance."
He said the processes being identified are important science issues and how they are included in policies and models "is a whole new level of application and debate."
USPS group gives stamp of approval to releases
Dec. 13, 2004
Houston Chronicle; Boston Globe
By MARK FEENEY
© Copyright 2004
The existence of the U.S. Postal Service's Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee came as a surprise to its newest member, Henry Louis Gates Jr.
"They called me up one day, out of the blue," says Gates, who is W.E.B. DuBois professor of the humanities and chairman of the African and African-American studies department at Harvard.
In October, Gates became one of the 14 members of the committee that, since 1957, has helped the Postal Service decide who and what appear on U.S. postage stamps.
That's no small task. Every year the public submits upward of 50,000 suggestions, and the Postal Service puts out approximately 25 new issues.
Reagan honored
Certain criteria help determine the choices. Living persons are not eligible.
There's at least a 10-year interval between a person's death and his or her
appearance on a stamp. The one exception is deceased presidents. They are honored
with a stamp the year after their death, usually on their first birthday after
their death. A Ronald Reagan stamp will be issued on Feb. 9.
Other stamps set to appear next year will honor actor Henry Fonda (it's his centenary), Jim Henson and the Muppets, author Robert Penn Warren, trees of the Northeastern deciduous forest, and '50s sports cars.
None of those stamps ran afoul of the policy that, generally, only Americans and American-related themes appear on Postal Service stamps. Or that unless it's a traditional theme (Christmas, for example), no subject will be considered for a stamp unless it's been 50 years since that subject was last honored.
Still, even with these criteria weeding out a large number of those 50,000 suggestions, many remain. That's where the advisory committee comes in.
A few members are famous, such as Academy Award-winning actor Karl Malden and former Notre Dame basketball coach Richard "Digger" Phelps. Others bring professional expertise to bear, such as Meredith J. Davis, professor of graphic design at North Carolina State University, and information design strategist Sylvia Harris.
Devoted to design
In fact, design is such an important consideration that one of two stamp advisory
subcommittees is devoted to it. The other is devoted to subjects.
Committee members "are chosen by the postmaster general," says Postal Service spokeswoman Rita Peer. "A list of potential candidates is maintained by the (Postal Service's) stamp services division based on expertise and knowledge of national events and American history and other pertinent factors."
How is the list assembled? "It may be we're looking for a specific need, like a baseball team seeking a free agent," says David E. Failor, executive director of stamp services. "If I'm the Red Sox and I need a new shortstop, say, I know where to look. Also, some people write and propose themselves. Other times a specific relationship forms over the years."
That's how committee member I. Michael Heyman came to be tapped. Now a professor of law at the University of California at Berkeley, he was formerly secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The National Postal Museum is part of the Smithsonian. One thing led to another -- and Heyman's glad it did. "I find it one of the most fascinating things I do," Heyman says of his service on the committee.
The committee conducts four meetings a year and also stages a retreat. The only compensation members receive is a stipend to cover expenses.
"Nobody's getting rich helping the U.S. decide stamps," says Failor. "But the people we have on the committee take the responsibility very seriously. They're passionate about coming up with a stamp program that reflects American culture."
The workload varies. "Sometimes I don't do too much preparation," says Heyman. "Sometimes I do a lot. It depends on the people who've been nominated. If I know them well, I do a little bit of research, mostly on the Internet.
"Also, from time to time, members on the committee initiate an idea. I've done that, and that took a tremendous amount of work."
Gates, who's looking forward to his first meeting, in January, says he's yet to be lobbied by anyone in support of a particular stamp candidate. That can happen, though.
In 2002, veterans of the Army Air Force's 39th Bomb Group, which flew missions over Japan in World War II, began a campaign to get the B-29 bomber honored.
They set up a Web site that listed the names, addresses, and phone numbers of committee members. Coincidence or no, the B-29 will be on a stamp next year to be issued as part of a series honoring American advances in aviation.
Gates, who says he'd like to see the 18th-century poet Phillis Wheatley honored, has a unique distinction among committee members: He's been on the receiving end of the selection process. Ghana put him on a stamp in 1998.
"Stamps have a certain kind of magic for all of us," Gates says. "It's a peculiar form of canonization. That's why there's so much energy surrounding the decision. It's truly eclectic and quite marvelous."
Make a suggestion
Eager to see something or someone put on a stamp? You can send your suggestion
to Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, Stamp Development, U.S. Postal Service,
1735 N. Lynn St., Room 5013, Arlington, VA 22209-6432. Be aware that the process
takes a minimum of three years.
Tiny critters might be lurking inside your Christmas tree
Dec. 11, 2004
The State, SC
By MEGAN SEXTON
© Copyright 2004
Some consumers have found something extra in their Christmas trees this year. Tiny bugs that hatch indoors.
The Charlotte Observer reported in early December that cinara aphids have infested some Christmas trees grown in two counties in the North Carolina mountains.
Aphids usually die there in hard freezes. This year’s first freeze didn’t come until early November, a month later than usual. That allowed some aphids to survive. Tree farms in Ashe and Mitchell counties, along the Tennessee border, have reported aphid problems to the Cooperative Extensive Service in North Carolina, which has warned growers to be on the lookout.
Dr. George Kessler, professor emeritus of forestry and natural resources at Clemson who also grows Christmas trees in Pickens County, answers our questions about aphids and holiday trees.
QUESTION: What are aphids?
ANSWER: Small insects, about a quarter of the size of a housefly. You’ll see them on individual branches of a Christmas tree, typically the smaller branches. An aphid’s mouth pierces the bark of the tree, and they feed on sap. They excrete a sticky substance that can drip through the trees. Aphids are common on all types of plants and trees, Kessler said.
QUESTION: Are they a problem on South Carolina Christmas trees?
ANSWER: “We encourage growers to treat the trees in the fall one or two times depending on the situation. That controls aphids so you don’t have a problem in the home. ... It’s controllable if growers take time to do it. Most choose-and-cut growers in South Carolina are doing that.”
Kessler said if you visit a cut-your-own tree farm in South Carolina, ask if the growers treat for aphids.
“If they do, the chances you’ll have aphids will be greatly reduced.”
Some trees, such as Frasier firs out of North Carolina, might not be treated. “As a result, you may have them come off in your house.”
QUESTION: What should you if you find aphids on a tree?
ANSWER: If you have many aphids on a tree, North Carolina State University suggests spraying the bugs with an organic insecticide soap, following the directions on the package. Discard the tree and vacuum up the dead bugs.
QUESTION: What type of problems do they cause indoors?
ANSWER: “One or two aphids, I wouldn’t even be concerned,” Kessler said.
If there are more, you might have some problems with their sticky droppings.
“You may get some on ornaments you cherish, hardwood floors or onto wrappings on packages. It could be a problem if you put unwrapped gifts under a tree.”
QUESTION: Are there other bugs to look for on Christmas trees?
ANSWER: Praying mantis can leave their egg case on a tree. The case, which holds 200 praying mantis eggs, is easy to spot. It’s light tan and about the size of a quarter or half-dollar. If you see one, pick it off the tree and put it outside to hatch.
Altria Raises Marlboro Prices After Market Share Gain
Dec. 10, 2004
Bloomberg
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA is raising prices for the first time in more than two years by cutting promotions on Marlboro and three other brands after the company increased its market share.
Philip Morris, largest U.S. cigarette maker, on Sunday will cut discounts to dealers on Marlboro, Basic, Parliament and Virginia Slims by 10 cents a pack to 55 cents, Philip Morris USA spokeswoman Peggy Roberts said. The discounts are set to expire Jan. 30 though the company has extended the deadline several times since last year.
Top-selling Marlboro shipments climbed the past year, spurring an increase in Philip Morris USA's market share to 49.9 percent last quarter as rival Reynolds American Inc. lost smokers. The discounts helped boost profit at Philip Morris USA 15 percent the past three quarters from a year earlier.
"They've been successful enough at growing share that they believe the brand can carry the price,'' said Thomas Russo, a partner at Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Gardner, Russo & Gardner, which manages $2 billion, including almost 3.3 million Altria shares.
Shares of New York-based Altria, which also owns almost 85 percent of Kraft Foods Inc., rose 10 cents to $58.95 at 10:25 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Before today they had gained 8 percent this year.
Altria Chief Executive Officer Louis Camilleri, 49, said in November he may divide the company into two or three units to increase the share price. The taint of tobacco lawsuits against Philip Morris USA has hurt Kraft, whose profit has declined for five straight quarters.
Discounts
The average price of Marlboro last quarter was $3.60 a pack in convenience stores, $1.14 higher than the most deeply discounted brand, Altria Chief Financial Officer Dinyar Devitre said on a conference call in October. He didn't identify the cheapest brand, which had an average price of $2.46 a pack.
Discounts last quarter helped Marlboro spur a 1.1 percentage point increase in Philip Morris USA's market share. Marlboro's share rose 1.5 percentage points to 39.6 percent from a year earlier.
Reducing promotions is "the first step towards resuming pricing power,'' Smith Barney analyst Bonnie Herzog Herzog wrote yesterday. "Ultimately, pricing power should drive faster operating income growth.'' The New York-based analyst rates Altria as a "buy.''
Philip Morris USA, based in Richmond, Virginia, started the 65-cents discount in late 2002 to stave off discount rivals, including Commonwealth Brands Inc. Discounters have grabbed about 13 percent of the U.S. market since 1998, Merrill Lynch analyst Martin Feldman said in a November report.
Shorter Smokes
Philip Morris is also trying to boost sales of shorter Marlboros to appeal to people who want a quicker smoke. Philip Morris will ship Marlboro Reds and Lights that are a half-inch shorter than the regular versions on Jan. 17, according to promotional materials obtained by Bloomberg News from a Marlboro distributor.
In October President George W. Bush signed into law a measure that ends 66 years of U.S. quotas that limited tobacco acreage and inflated prices. Cigarette makers must pay $9.7 billion of the total $10.1 billion buyout of tobacco farmers over the next 10 years, with payments based on producers' share of the U.S. market.
"The buyout really does give the major manufacturers a reason or excuse'' to raise prices, Herzog told clients on a conference call last month.
Of 15 analysts tracked by Bloomberg, 11 rate Altria shares "buy'' and four rate them "hold.''
State Taxes
Some producers may raise prices more than enough to cover the payments, muting higher costs including discounts that lowered profit, analysts said.
"Many times when we have seen increased costs in the cigarette industry we see a greater than one-for-one pass through to smokers,'' Blake Brown, an agricultural economics professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, said on a conference call last month.
Big manufacturers boosted promotions as higher state excise tax on tobacco raised overall cigarette prices, spurring some smokers to switch to less-expensive brands.
The biggest tobacco companies in 1998 agreed to marketing restrictions in a $246 billion health-claims settlement with U.S. states that included a ban on advertising on billboards and public buses. Philip Morris USA and Reynolds American Inc.'s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. raised prices to fund the 1998 settlement, driving smokers to discounters who were able to keep prices low because they weren't subject to the agreement.
Improved Fundamentals
As state legislatures in the U.S. close loopholes in the 1998 settlement and require smaller producers to help fund it, they're probably going to raise cigarette prices, according to Morgan Stanley analyst David Adelman, who's based in New York and has an "overweight'' rating on Altria.
Price increases by small producers could spur major manufacturers to raise list prices, Adelman wrote in a November. Producers including Philip Morris USA and Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp., now part of Reynolds American, raised prices 12 cents a pack in April 2002.
Philip Morris USA has "wiggle room'' to raise prices after it narrowed to 46 percent the price gap between Marlboro and the most deeply discounted brand, according to Herzog. The Altria unit's management "suggested they are `comfortable''' maintaining a gap from 45 percent to 50 percent, she wrote.
"By finally increasing its prices, Philip Morris has signaled that it has confidence in the improving U.S. fundamentals,'' Herzog wrote.
SURVEY SHOWS PUBLIC CAN DISCERN NANO'S BENEFITS
Dec. 10, 2004
Small Times
By Robert Francesconi
© Copyright 2004
Dec. 10, 2004 - Howard Lovy’s column, “How to fight misinformation in two easy words: honesty, imagination” published in the May/June issue stated what we all should know by now: Reactive approaches to counteracting misinformation (or just plain ignorance) simply do not work in any field, let alone in that of a cutting-edge technology.
When new technologies are introduced into the marketplace, it is rare that they are seen as unmitigated blessings. And in some cases, initial reservations can erupt into significant public backlash.
We don’t have to look far for an example of this. Genetically modified foods have become the poster child of negative public reactions to technological advances. The backlash engendered by the attempt to introduce that technology into the market without taking public attitudes into account helped to create an atmosphere of distrust that will impact biotech industries for years.
One can blame the public’s ignorance of basic science for this. One can blame the sensationalizing of negative issues by the media. The fact remains that “blame games” are reactive, and accomplish nothing. Once a fire has started, attempts to prove the benign effects of technology after the fact are usually seen as rationalization at best, and as corporate deception in the worst case.
Nanotechnology stands in a public position that genetically modified food technologies occupied at the beginning of the ’90s. Advances have reached the point at which potential is becoming reality.
Yet few in the public know much about nanotechnology; many do not even know approximately what it is. This may well leave the field open to the kind of alarmist reaction that damaged the genetically modified foods industry. To a certain extent, public resistance to new technology has to be expected as inevitable, but does the level of public impact necessarily have to result in public relations crises?
Proactive approaches to assessing and shaping public perceptions are a long, slow road and require planning, but the time has come to take them seriously as a way to avoid crises in the long term. A team of researchers at North Carolina State University is demonstrating that proactively seeking citizen input on the social impact of new technologies can be at least one tool in mitigating the tendency toward public alarm in encountering new technologies.
Under a grant from the National Science Foundation commissioned by the National Nanotechnology Initiative, the researchers used issue groups (focus groups), as well as more extended citizen conferences that involved both face-to-face meetings and online meetings, to seek citizen input on nanotechnology.
The issue groups were held in various parts of the country (San Diego, Calif., St. Paul, Minn., and Raleigh, N.C.) and the citizen conferences in Boston and Raleigh. The researchers probed citizen responses to the challenges of nanotechnology by providing them with dispassionate background information and, in the case of the extended conferences, “live” on-line meetings with scientists and policy makers prominent in the field of nanotech.
The issue groups were designed to gather quick public reactions to some basic information about nanotechnology and provide a framework of concerns and issues likely to arise in the more extended consensus conferences. The consensus conferences were different from the issue groups in that they were longer in duration, and the participants were expected to produce a report of their recommendations for public policy toward nanotechnology as a final outcome.
The encouraging news is that, though alarms were certainly raised, group discussion and interaction helped to mitigate alarm and result in conclusions that were reasonable and informed.
Of particular interest are the results from the more extended consensus conferences. It was very clear that the hope of benefits from the technology far outweighed any reaction that could be called alarmist. Both groups – in Boston and Raleigh – did call for recommendations that would address potential issues of public health and safety, as well as environmental concerns, through regulation.
However, these citizens also stressed the importance of research in nanotechnology to the economic future of the country and built in recommendations to encourage further research.
Far from dwelling on “nightmare” scenarios, these citizen groups, given objective background information, clearly saw the potential for the positive results that can flow from nanotechnology given any reasonable amount of oversight. Both groups were, in fact, concerned that regulation might be too restrictive and allow the focus of research and development to drift overseas.
The researchers at North Carolina State University have now conducted such citizen conferences on the social impact of three different technological issues: nanotechnology, genetically modified foods and global warming. In each case, “average” citizens appeared quite capable of learning the background information and evaluating the social consequences of technological issues to formulate reasonable suggestions for policy direction.
At the very least, the conferences served as excellent sounding boards for public attitudes toward, and perceptions of, technological progress. Combined with educational initiatives, such conferences promoting citizen input can help to defuse potential crises in the development and dissemination of this new technology. The best time to put a fire out is before it starts.
Dec. 10, 2004
Hampton Roads Daily Press, VA
By LAUREN WILLIAMS
© Copyright 2004
Two organizations have accused the College of William and Mary of unfairly favoring black applicants to its law school, based on data in a recent study.
The Virginia-based Center for Equal Opportunity collaborated with the National Association of Scholars and its Virginia affiliate to produce the study, which they say suggests discriminatory practices at W&M, the University of Virginia and North Carolina State University. Both groups are vocal opponents of affirmative action.
Last fall, the Center for Equal Opportunity filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. The organization plans to use the new study to add weight to that pending complaint. The study suggests the law school favors black applicants over white applicants with the same qualifications.
W&M Provost Geoff Feiss said the college's admissions procedures are in line with the guidelines set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court last year, when it ruled in a case involving the University of Michigan that race could be used as one of many factors in admissions.
Admissions are not based on any single criterion, he said. A wide range of characteristics is considered before a student is admitted to the college, he said.
"I'm kind of at a loss as to what their issue is," he said. "There is no student at W&M that hasn't met our standards and isn't qualified to be here ... There's no one here that doesn't belong here."
David J. Armor, chairman of the Virginia Association of Scholars and public policy professor at George Mason University, wrote the study. Schools that are historically harder to get into, like W&M, normally accept black applicants with fewer qualifications than accepted white applicants, he said.
W&M's admissions statistics suggest the school is trying to achieve a certain number of black students and heavily weight race in the admissions process, he said.
"As to whether or not it arises to being unconstitutional, that's something courts, judges and lawyers have to determine," he said.
Roger Clegg, Center for Equal Opportunity general counsel, said the organization wants to persuade public college and universities to discontinue the use of race in admissions, he said.
"Our hope is that whether that kind of discrimination is equal or not, the schools should not want to treat people differently because of skin color or where their students come from."
Dec. 11, 2004
Louisville Courier-Journal, KY
By Diane Heilenman
© Copyright 2004
Euro-gardening has hit the upper South and lower Midwest. That means this Christmas painted poinsettias are here — at a few gardening centers in Louisville and in a large display in Indianapolis.
By painted, we mean just that.
Poinsettias painted deep blue and with glued-on silver glitter are at Wallitsch Nursery and Garden Center in Louisville. A selection of variously glittered blue, lilac, purple, gold and rose poinsettias is at White River Gardens in Indianapolis.
The concept is at least 5 years old, said Mary Welch-Keesey, a Purdue University horticulturalist who works at White River Gardens. But she believes this is the first time painted poinsettias have been in the region.
"They are very unusual looking, that's for sure," she said. The ones in Indianapolis were painted at Purdue University with special dyes and glues.
Painting poinsettias is not a gardening craft anyone can do, said Welch-Keesey, primarily because the special floral dyes and glues are only available wholesale through a company that has exclusive distribution rights in North and South America. The company is not trying to sell retail and is keeping pretty mum about the formula, too, she said.
It is more a dye than a paint, and it is permanent.
"I tried (to remove it). I ran water on it for a few minutes, and it changed color (got a bit deeper hue), but it didn't come off," Welch-Keesey said. Trying to mimic the effect with regular paint, she said, likely would harm, even kill plants.
The color should last as long the poinsettia, noted Mary Wallitsch of the Louisville nursery. She said she presumes the effect is intended for those who, "like most of us, dump poinsettias in the garbage can at the end of the season."
And that would be fine with the growers and plant "paint" makers.
The bigger notion behind the trend of the painted poinsettia, at least in Europe, is to make the poinsettia salable any time of year – perhaps painted orange and black for Halloween or in pastels for Easter, said Welch-Keesey.
"The potential is huge," she said. "The question is whether the consumer will pay attention."
The painted poinsettias made a splash at Purdue's recent Poinsettia Day when the university unveiled annual winners in a 10-year, ongoing poinsettia trial with the University of Florida and North Carolina State University to assess new varieties for growers.
There are 109 poinsettias on view in Indianapolis, including established, named plants, new introductions and some still under trial. The display is done each year to permit public voting, as the final element of trial assessment.
The program at Purdue is led by horticulture professor P. Allen Hammer, who said he's not sure if American consumers will like painted poinsettias or not.
"The Europeans have loved it," he said. "Here, I think, typically, it's going to be the younger generation that likes it."
Obituary: Dr. Thomas Barker Dameron, Jr.
Dec. 14, 2004
News & Observer; Charlotte Observer
RALEIGH -- Thomas Barker Dameron, Jr. MD of Raleigh died December 11, 2004. Born June 1, 1924 in Rocky Mount, NC to Thomas Barker Dameron, Sr. and Isa Rebecca Sills Dameron, Dr. Dameron grew up in Goldsboro, NC. After graduating from Goldsboro High School, he attended The Citadel, in Charleston, SC and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated from medical school at Duke University where he met his bride, Nancy Jane Henry Dameron.
He interned at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas, completed his General Surgery Residency at Grady Hospital in Atlanta and his Orthopaedic Residency at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore before moving to Raleigh. In 1954, he went into private practice with Dr. Hugh Thompson and Dr. Walter Hunt, with whom he established Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic where he practiced medicine with great love for forty years.
As a boy, Tom Dameron was an Eagle Scout and was on the football and track teams at Goldsboro High School. In undergraduate school, he was on UNC's football and wrestling teams. He served at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune during World War II and later at the U.S. Army Hospital at Camp Gordon and the U. S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda, MD during the Korean War.
A member of Hayes Barton United Methodist Church for over fifty years, Dr. Dameron taught both adult and youth Sunday school classes, was a member of the Wesleyan Fellowship Sunday School Class, and served the church in various other capacities. He was chairman of the Medical Community United Way drives for many years, chairman of the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education Building Fund drive and Grandparents Chairman for the Annual Fund at Ravenscroft School. Dr. Dameron was on the Selection Committee of Morehead Scholars for UNC. He served as chairman of the Governor's Advisory Committee for Study of Crippled Children's Facilities and was on the Boards of Directors of the United Way of Raleigh and Wake County, Hilltop Home, Wake County Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Center, Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and the Wake County Board for Care Options Plans for the Elderly.
Dr. Dameron was an instructor in surgery at Duke University Medical School from 1954-1961, Adjunct Associate Professor of Poultry Science at NC State University from 1961-1968 and Clinical Professor, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill beginning in 1965. His work was published in many medical journals, and he authored chapters in numerous medical textbooks. He traveled xtensively, speaking and teaching throughout the US and Europe and in Africa, Russia and China. During two summers, he served as a medical missionary in Southern Ethiopia and Tunisia.
Dr. Dameron served as president of the Southern Medical Association, the North Carolina Medical Society, the Wake County Medical Society, the North Carolina Orthopaedic Association, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and the Duke Medical and Johns Hopkins Alumni Associations. He was a member of The Twentieth Century Orthopaedic Association, The Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, Societe Internationale de Chirurgie Orthopaedique et de Traumatologie (Chairman, US section), The Southern Surgical Association, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons and The American College of Surgeons (Fellow).
Dr. Dameron served on the Boards of Directors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, the SICOT Foundation, the Southern Medical Association (Chairman), Wake Medical Center, Triangle Bank and Carolina Federal Savings and Loan.
During his career, Dr. Dameron was named Physician of the Year by the American Medical Association, Physician of the Year by the Southern Medical Association, Rex Hospital Physician of the Year, Distinguished Citizen Award by the Occoneechee Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and Tarheel of the Week by the Raleigh News and Observer. He received the Distinguished Service Award from UNC Medical School.
He was also a member of the Terpsichorean Club, the Sphinx Club, the Circle Club, the Royster Club, and Zeta Psi Fraternity.