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Tuesday, November 7, 2006

NOTE ON FORMATTING: When stories are transferred from the Web, certain punctuation marks and other marks in this report don't carry over and result in symbols and other formatting errors. To see or print the story in full without these translation errors, simply click on "full story" at the end of each item."

Total Clips: 9

	Date	Outlet
New Video Reveals Possible Key to Stopping Disease	11/07/2006	Nanotechnology Now
Holiday Fair set for Thursday	11/07/2006	Troy Messenger
Comic drama unfolds with opening of play at AU's Telfair Peet	11/07/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
Hearing to be held Thursday on project to restore Salvation Army building	11/07/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
2-year college program increases job skills	11/07/2006	Montgomery Advertiser
Robotics team made up of more than robots	11/06/2006	(Cincinnati) Community Press
Not for everyone	11/06/2006	The Journal of Commerce
Entrepreneurs Get Lessons On Starting A Business	11/06/2006	WTVM-TV
Auburn: Athletes not favored in independent study courses	11/04/2006	Anniston Star


New Video Reveals Possible Key to Stopping Disease 11/07/2006 Nanotechnology Now		Return to Top
This article mentions the invitation-only Auburn University conference of leading microscopy and biomedical scientists. Scientists released the first live video footage of calcifying nanoparticles, or CNPs, that might play a basic role in calcifying diseases ranging from heart disease to prostate disease and kidney stones. Calcification is a harmful condition found in most diseases on the leading-cause-of-death list, including cardiovascular disease—the nation's single leading cause of death. Even the lesser problem of kidney stones results in more than one million doctor visits and 250,000 hospitalizations every year. "We used a new, high-definition Nikon microscope system, validated with a new award-winning system from Aetos Technologies, which allowed real-time tracking of calcifying nanoparticles (CNPs) at a size of around 100 nanometers," explained Dr. Neva Ciftcioglu, Science Director of Nanobac Pharmaceuticals, which produced the video. "Before these technologies were created recently, we had to chemically treat the nanoparticles to see below the 200 nanometer threshold, which kept us from observing live processes." This video, for the first time, illustrates: 1) A decalcifying agent dissolving calcified structures while the particles inside seem unaffected and are released to potentially begin the calcification process again. 2) By contrast, inorganic crystals exposed to the same agent are dissolved without releasing nanoparticles. "Although preliminary, this is a significant scientific and medical finding," observed Dr. Arnold Mandell, professor emeritus at UCSD School of Medicine, research professor at the Emory University School of Medicine and a MacArthur Prize Fellow in the medical sciences. "It brings new scientific support to earlier findings that the pathophysiology of calcification in vascular and other organ systems might involve calcifying nanoparticles. More generally, it suggests that an as yet to be fully explored universe of nanoparticles might play critical roles in medical disorders. It also supports previous evidence that these particles can be viewed as distinct from inorganic crystals and form the basis for an exciting and independent area of research." Dr. Mandell was present as an independent observer when the results were announced by Nanobac scientists. "While these are early findings, we believe they merit serious investigation," explained Nanobac Co-Chairman Dr. Benedict Maniscalco. "Further investigation of these particles will be necessary to determine if this is the first step toward proving a biological mechanism for calcifying diseases, and will hopefully lead to drug therapies to treat calcification. These results, which were obtained from animal sourced particles, will now be applied to particles obtained from human blood." Evidence of CNPs was first reported in the 1990s, by Nanobac scientists and other scientists in peer-reviewed journals. The new video was first unveiled at a recent invitation-only Auburn University conference of leading microscopy and biomedical scientists, organized by the Fetzer Memorial Trust. The Trust specializes in supporting leading-edge medical technologies, and has been collaborating with Nanobac on this project since early 2006. For a copy of the video, for more information, or to schedule a briefing/interview please contact Carson Chandler (202) 367-1625, cchandler@akerpartners.com or Matt Taylor (202) 367-1631, mtaylor@akerpartners.com. ####
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Holiday Fair set for Thursday 11/07/2006 Troy Messenger Jaine Treadwell		Return to Top
AU's ACES is a partner in putting on this health fair. South Alabama Electric Cooperative's Pike County Holiday Fair has become a Pike County tradition. People visit the fair to get holiday decorating ideas and tips and to purchase those special gifts for under the tree. SAEC has now partnered with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Auburn University, to bring the Health and Holiday Fair to Pike County. The Health and Holiday Fair will be from 8:45 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Thursday at Cattleman Park. The fair is free and open to the public. Tammy Powell, Pike County extension coordinator, said the Health and Holiday Fair is an effort to make local residents more aware of the health issues in today's world. It also provides a day of shopping fun for the community. "We will have several regional extension agents who have expertise in specified areas to conduct workshops that will be of interest to most of those who visit the Fair," she said. "There will be something of interest for everyone." The workshops will be on "Holiday and Home Safety Tips," "The Importance of Knowing the Family Health History," "Elder Financial Exploitation/ Abuse" and "Holiday Cooking Blunders." Parico Osby and Wilber Golden, regional extension agents, sat down with Powell to discuss the workshops and the information they will share and why it is important. "I will be sharing information about the importance of knowing one's family health history," Osby said. "That's not something that we normally talk about around the family table. But, the holidays are a time when families get together and have time to visit with one another. This is an ideal time to discuss family health histories." Osby said family members can learn a lot about their own potential health risks by learning about the histories of other family members. "You might not know that there is a history of hypertension or diabetes or even mental illness in your family," she said. "It's good to know about these issues so that you can be proactive in your own health care." Golden will be informing workshop participants about potential scams that can bring havoc and financial doom to the elderly. "Our older citizens are more trusting and, therefore, more vulnerable," he said. "They are too often victims of financial exploitation and abuse. The predators know this and they target our elderly. I will give them tips on how to avoid these situations and combat this type of fraud." South Alabama Electric Cooperative will conduct a workshop on safety tips for the holidays. Powell said lights on Christmas trees and other decorative lighting can be hazardous. "We hear of a lot of fires during the holidays, and much of it is caused by faulty decorative lighting," she said. "Bridgette Griffin, regional extension agent, will conduct a workshop on holiday cooking blunders, and there are many. One of the most prevalent is the turkey. I don't know how many times I've gotten calls at home on Christmas Eve from people who want to know how to thaw their turkeys. I tell them they might want to have hamburgers." The workshops are scheduled from 9 until 11:30 a.m. For more information, call 566-0985.
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Comic drama unfolds with opening of play at AU's Telfair Peet 11/07/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Donathan Prater		Return to Top
"If a man falls down a flight of stairs and dies, it's a tragedy, but if a man falls down a flight of stairs, gets up, dusts himself off and keeps on going, then it's a farce," said Christopher Qualls, a theater student at Auburn University. Qualls is hoping for the latter when Auburn University's Telfair Peet Theatre puts on its production of "The Flea In Her Ear" beginning today. "The Flea In Her Ear," a play first produced in Paris in 1907 by playwright Georges Feydeau, is a farce that comically explores what happens when insecurity and mistrust meet mistaken identity. The production of "The Flea In Her Ear" that will hit the AU Theatre stage is a translation by Eric Forsythe. Because of the lack of amorous activity in her marriage, Renee, played by Whitney Thornberry in the AU production, suspects her husband Victor, played by Daniel Ochoa, of being unfaithful. In response to her suspicions, she pens an anonymous letter to her husband pretending to be the "other woman," desiring to rendezvous with him at an unsavory location (the Rampant Rooster Hotel), where she sends a close friend of hers to pose as the anonymous admirer. The play's plot, of course, hits a number of additional comedic hitches along the way before it's all said and done. And although infidelity is one of the underlying themes of the play, the play isn't exclusively about infidelity, according to director Qualls. "We're able to watch these characters and see ourselves in them," Qualls said. "This play takes a farcical view of a serious situation that we can sit back and laugh about because it’s not happening to us." "But it could," laughed Qualls. "You can liken this play to a modern sitcom like 'Friends' or a movie like 'Meet the Parents.'" And it's their actual lives that Qualls hopes audiences who view "The Flea In Her Ear" can parallel to their own as Renee misinterprets for infidelity what is basically just a stressed out spouse. "The Flea In Her Ear" was written in the early 20th century, but its subject matter and themes are ones that remain just as timeless and relevant to modern audiences nearly 100 years later, according to Qualls. "In real life we sometimes do the same thing where we try to read between the lines and in doing so, sometimes see problems that aren't really there," Qualls said. The Thursday performance of "The Flea In Her Ear" is the first time the play has been performed on campus and will also mark the kickoff of the Auburn University Theatre Patron Scholarship Benefit Performance Program, which will direct a portion of ticket sales proceeds to a scholarship fund for theatre students, said Linda Bell, AU Theatre marketing manager, in a news release.
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Hearing to be held Thursday on project to restore Salvation Army building 11/07/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Lindsay Field		Return to Top
This story is about the work of AU's Design-Build Master's Program. Plans for restoring the damaged Salvation Army building on Opelika Road are in the works. The facility, which was ruined by storm waters more than a year ago, has been "out of pocket" for some time. The roof is caved in and the Lee County Salvation Army is hoping that with help from university students the building will be accessible once more. Auburn University students from the school’s Design-Build Master's Program presented site plans and a construction model to the Auburn Planning Commission Monday after the group discussed the students' requests for two waivers on the project. The student program is requesting the commission waive Sections 433.05 and 426.04 of the Corridor Overlay Area Regulations for the design project that the students will help construct, saving on nearly half of the costs that would have been allotted to the Lee County Salvation Army. The waivers will allow building materials such as glazing-aluminum storefront systems, translucent kalwall panels, wood posts for vegetation, climbing vines, and a request for more than 16 contiguous parking spaces to be constructed without a landscape island. The space will still be considered quite green, a concept the Design-Build team was aiming toward. AU also challenged the students to be creative and forward-thinking in applying technology and natural materials to the design process. The purpose and intent of the student project was to meet the client's expectations by redeveloping and redesigning an existing retail site, while applying the fundamental principles of design theory and alternative solutions adhering to rules and regulations established by the city's zoning regulations. According to the report, the Salvation Army and Masters Program plan to construct a unique building by combining materials that are eco-friendly, energy efficient and durable. A public hearing will be held for the project during the commission's regularly scheduled meeting Thursday, 5 p.m., in the City Council Chambers on North Ross Street. For more information visit the Web at www.auburnalabama.org and click on "Planning Commission Packet," or call the Auburn Planning Department at 501-3040.
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2-year college program increases job skills 11/07/2006 Montgomery Advertiser David Irvin		Return to Top
This story is about AU teaming with Southern Union on a workforce development project. For all those liberal arts students tired of answering the question, "So, what are you going to do with that degree?" -- help has arrived. Auburn University has teamed with Southern Union State Community College, a two-year school in Wadley, to offer a unique program to teach the practical skills needed to enter the industrial work force. The Technical Systems Management minor is the first of its kind in Alabama, state education officials said, and program sponsors believe it is unique in the nation. Beginning next fall, Auburn students could begin transforming biology degrees into food processing expertise. The 15-hour program will turn applied-math students into industrial process analysts. "The real goal is to produce students who have the tools ... to be very structured in the way they try to isolate problems in a system," said Vic Uzumeri, associate professor in operations management at the Auburn College of Business. According to promotional material, the partnership brings together "the theoretical expertise of the (Auburn University) faculty with the practical expertise of Southern Union faculty to fill a serious void between line workers and engineers." The Alabama Office of Workforce Development has endorsed the plan, pledging $60,000 to help launch the program. If it succeeds, private businesses likely will take over funding needs, officials at the state office said. "If it proves to be a viable project ... we think it can be replicated between two-year and four-year programs across the state," said Tim Alford, the director of the Office of Workforce Development. The degree plan was first conceived two years ago when businesses along the Interstate-85 corridor asked Auburn researchers for advice on employment. Planning began for the program long before Kia Motors announced it would locate a $1.2 billion plant in West Point, Ga., about 20 miles from Auburn. However, that project underscores the need for lots of qualified workers, said Sharon Oswald, a professor of management at the college of business. "These companies can't find enough engineers to fill those types of positions and it isn't really what the (engineering) students went to school to do," Oswald said. The Auburn program will have about 25 to 30 students in the first year, but the program designers hope to "scale it up" to meet the workforce needs of incoming industry. Officials said the program costs the same as regular tuition, and interested students should contact Oswald in the Management Department in the College of Business.
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Robotics team made up of more than robots 11/06/2006 (Cincinnati) Community Press ANDREA REEVES		Return to Top
The BEST competition at AU is mentioned in this story. What's made of mostly wood, hangs laundry on and takes laundry off a line and drops it into a basket? It's a robot built by 16 Wyoming High School students. The Robotics team, which has been around for two years, recently placed second in the Bearcats Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology competition at the Duke Energy Center. It is now eligible for a regional competition at Auburn University in Alabama this month. The actual robots compete on a field. But the robot is surprisingly not the most important factor in the competitions. A project engineering notebook field with research, displays and even team spirit factor in along with robot performance. And as far as the displays go, these aren't your average tri-fold cardboard science project displays. No, the Wyoming team set up a washer, gutted of its inside parts and filled with a smoke and bubble machine. They had a television set up with videos of the work they did, and a slide show of photos of the process of building the robot. They even had a few members of the Wyoming marching band playing tunes. In fact, the robot takes quite a small amount of basic knowledge to construct, said Andy Felczan, chemistry teacher at Wyoming High School and leader of the robotics team. All the teams get the same kit with the same parts. And no two robots look alike at competition. Felczan says it's 15 percent understanding the parts and 85 percent creativity and trial-and-error and cooperation.'It's much more about engineering. If we want to market the robot, we would have to show investors research; that's the notebook.'How can we bring people to look at our product? A lot of that has to do with the spirit of the team.'Can you work with other teams? Can you show that you believe in your product,' he said.Felczan says the competitions teach the students that learning about a subject is much more than reading a book. And the competition isn't all about winning.'We're not out for 'win at all costs. It's fun,' Felczan said.'Our team really enjoys it, sees the potential for success and does it because they love it.'When Junior Briana King tells people she's on the Robotics team, she gets more than a few raised eyebrows.'I think it's really fun. Most people look at me like I'm crazy, but I love science,' says the Wyoming High School cheerleader. And actually, being a cheerleader goes along with being on the robotics team, since a big part of the competitions is team spirit.'I like that there's a spirit section. I led the group in chants, did some band dances, cheered us on,' said King, who wants to study biochemistry in college. Ella Manley, a senior, who also wants to study biochemistry or chemistry, said being on the robotics team has helped her in her studies.'This year they really made us focus on the scientific method and how to use it in engineering,' she said. areeves@communitypress.com
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Not for everyone 11/06/2006 The Journal of Commerce MONGELLUZZO, BILL		Return to Top
Brian Gibson, AU associate professor of logistics, is a source for this story on manufacturing practices. To cross-dock or not to cross-dock, that is the question. For some companies, it's a no-brainer to transfer goods from one truck to another without putting them in long-term storage. But there's still a place for traditional warehousing. Sometimes both practices are used by different divisions of the same company. Toyota is an example. The automaker's manufacturing division, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing, began converting just-in-time parts deliveries to its plants from traditional warehousing to cross-dock operations six years ago. A total of about 60 to 65 percent of parts to Toyota's plants are cross-docked, compared with 30 percent in 1999. By contrast, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., which oversees the shipment of service and replacement parts to Toyota dealers across the country, prefers to maintain inventories at warehouses to serve customers. Tony Minyon, national logistics manager at Toyota Motor Sales, sees an opportunity to reduce lead times and lower transportation costs by migrating some warehouse operations to cross-dock, but it will be a slow process. Cross-docking as a logistics strategy has been around for years. For some warehouse operations, it can be the most efficient way to move cartons from inbound containers or trailers to outbound conveyances. Toyota's U.S. manufacturing unit said it has reduced truck miles driven, created a more consistent flow of parts in smaller lots, allowed more frequent deliveries and encouraged dedicated delivery routes to specific divisions within the manufacturing operation. The ideal cross-dock facility is a long, narrow warehouse with many truck doors and bays on opposite sides of the rectangle. A cross-dock facility doesn't have to be costly to construct, nor does it need the storage racks and staging areas found in traditional warehouses. It doesn't have to be pretty, said Brian Gibson, associate professor of logistics at Auburn University, a speaker at last month's conference of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. In an efficient cross-dock operation, cartons are removed from inbound containers or trailers on one side of the facility and are scanned and moved immediately to a waiting trailer on the opposite side of the building without touching the floor. Cross-docking can be effective when properly managed. In one case study, Gibson said the shift from traditional warehousing to cross-docking reduced the product cycle time to two days from seven. In a second case study, a company that invested $20,000 in a software system to modify the sorting system at its cross-dock warehouse improved the sorting rate by 50 percent and eliminated the third work shift each day. In another study, a retailer of shoes and apparel asked suppliers to pre-ticket their shipments so the retailer could shift from a traditional warehouse operation. Cross-docking helped the retailer reduce its per-unit handling cost to 1.5 cents from 15.6 cents and the cycle time to one day from two to three days compared to its traditional warehousing operation, Gibson said. While such savings are attractive, not all logistics operations are suitable for cross-docking. Weber Distribution, which operates 19 distribution centers on the West Coast, maintains cross-dock operations for some customers, such as Scholastic Books. Weber deconsolidates book shipments and then cross-docks them into full trailerloads moving to Scholastic's distribution centers across the country. However, when some customers say they want to move to cross-dock, Scott Weiss, client solutions executive, tries to convince them to stick with traditional warehousing. Direct importers who ship small product lots to large retailers with multiple regional distribution centers across the country are usually not candidates for cross-docking, Weiss said. The shipping date and must-arrive date are hard to meet. It's not realistic, he said. Traditional warehousing, while producing some inventory-carrying costs, allows shippers and third-party logistics providers to manage inventory and replenish their customers' shelves with the right amount of product at the right time. Carrying inventory is inherently risky because merchandise is handled multiple times, exposing it to damage, theft and storage costs, noted Minyon of Toyota Motor Sales. There is also a danger of obsolescence. However, unless a warehouse operator can maintain a steady flow of product, preferably in truckload lots, to the same customers or distribution centers, cross-docking will not work. But the ability to consolidate shipments from multiple suppliers to feed close-by manufacturing facilities in a just-in-time delivery schedule makes a company a candidate for cross-docking. For example, Toyota's manufacturing division has a consolidation center in Los Angeles that receives parts from 40 suppliers in the region and ships the consolidated lots to three plants on the West Coast. That is one example of how Toyota's manufacturing division reduced cycle time and lowered transportation costs by shifting many of its operations across the country from traditional warehousing to cross-docking, said Steve Hagan, assistant manager of logistics at Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing. Toyota used to do numerous milk runs, picking up shipments at individual suppliers' facilities and trucking them long distances to manufacturing plants. The manufacturing division now routes many of its parts shipments to Toyota's regional cross-dock facilities and then trucks consolidated shipments to the plants, lowering its logistics costs through route planning, improved packaging, full-trailerload shipments and cross-docking. Kevin Thornberry, assistant logistics manager in Toyota's manufacturing division, said this strategy sometimes results in holding extra inventory at the cross-dock facilities to achieve more truckload shipments, but the reduced transportation costs offset the higher inventory-carrying costs. This strategy also allows Toyota to maintain dedicated delivery routes to each of the various divisions of its manufacturing operations, such as the welding shop, power train unit and assembly plant, Hagan said. Toyota sends correct shipment sizes to each division when they are needed for just-in-time manufacturing. Efficient cross-docking operations require cooperation from suppliers and service providers who may be asked to adjust their work schedules, pre-ticket merchandise or affix bar codes to cartons. This cooperation may come easier than anticipated, however, Gibson said. He cited a retailer that increased its cross-docking to 70 percent of its shipments from 38 percent, and ended up saving $21 million in operating costs. Cross-docking operations range from the manual movement of cartons by forklifts from inbound to outbound trailers to highly automated operations with costly conveyor belts and sorting machines. If the volume will support the large capital investment of automation, the per-unit costs of running cartons through a conveyor and sorting system can be as little as one-fifth that of the manual process, Gibson said. Minyon said that while automation can be good, it will produce large savings only if the underlying processes are efficient. The process and standard operating procedure are most important, he said. Weber's Weiss agreed. He said automation in many cross-dock facilities is confined to information-technology improvements such as handheld scanners or radio-frequency identification devices. The key to any effective cross-docking operation is the ability to reduce the number of times merchandise is handled. In traditional warehousing, where products are stored and retrieved at a later date, a shipment can be handled 10 to 12 times on the way to its destination. Eliminating two or more of those touches in high-volume operations will reduce handling costs, shorten the cycle time and result in a leaner supply chain. Copyright © 2006 Commonwealth Business Media


Entrepreneurs Get Lessons On Starting A Business 11/06/2006 WTVM-TV Brock Parker		Return to Top
This is about the work of AU's Small Business Development Center The Auburn-Opelika area is nationally known as one of the best small cities to start your own business, and Auburn University is helping many discover their entrepreneurial skills. Auburn's Small Business Development Center is helping people get their dreams off the ground. One of the most important pieces of information that's passed along is know your customer. "It's not that we have a product to sell to someone. We have a need to fill," said Dr. Jackie DiPofi, SBDC director. That certainly rings true for Harris Asbury at Alabama Office Supply in Opelika. His store has been in business for 60 years because of the relationships he's built. "We've been here a long time. We've been in Kiwanis Club with them, and we go to church with them. We do everything like that. You know people, and if they know you, they'll give you first shot at the business most of the time," said Asbury. Great customer service is just part of getting a business started. "The most important thing is to plan, and make sure that you have enough financing to carry you through the start-up period when you're not going to have as many customers as you're going to need down the road," said DiPofi. Asbury said most people work for someone else before starting their own company, and that's when the expenses hit home. "All of the sudden, they are going to have to pay all their Social Security and half of the Social Security for everybody that works for them. They got a payroll every week, and they got rent every month. They got all these expenses, and they just don't have enough business to carry them," said Asbury. DiPofi said a small business that can survive for two years is a success, and one that lasts for at least seven years is going to make it for the long term. The SBDC has workshops all over east Alabama, and they're free and open to the public. If you'd like to attend one, you can call (334)844-4220.
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Auburn: Athletes not favored in independent study courses 11/04/2006 Anniston Star Associated Press		Return to Top
AUBURN — Irregularities in Auburn University's independent studies program, which raised questions about easy grades for athletes, were limited to two professors and were the result of insufficient oversight and poor record-keeping, a university report said Friday. Auburn president Ed Richardson said in a statement that a new policy, implemented before the fall semester, should ensure the proper use of "directed-reading" courses, where students don't attend classes but do one-on-one work with the professor. Richardson said a committee of academic administrators, which investigated widely reported claims that a sociology professor was helping football players and other athletes stay eligible through such courses, found that the problems were limited to that professor, Thomas Petee, and another in adult education, James Witte. The committee's report said the two professors "had too many students in too many course sections, which led to their inability to accurately keep track of the students." Petee did not immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press. Witte could not immediately be reached for comment. The statement said the committee interviewed the people involved, including the professor who made the initial claims, James Gundlach, and reviewed applicable records. Gundlach could not be reached immediately for comment. "We have outstanding academic programs at Auburn and our new policies only enhance those programs," Richardson said. "I'm confident that Auburn is a stronger institution today because we have addressed this issue directly and openly." The university's athletic department has sent a separate report to the NCAA. That report will not be made public in accordance with NCAA protocol. The report released Friday says there were very few cases where students received grades in independent study courses for which they hadn't done the work. The few cases where that happened, the report says, were due to careless record-keeping. The findings suggest that athletes were not given special treatment, that Petee and Witte were "overly accommodating" to all students. The report also found that these problems are not widespread at the university, where only about 1 percent of undergraduate students are enrolled in such programs. The report said the new policy implemented in August should help avoid the problem in the future. It limits the number of students a professor can supervise in independent study per semester to three and limits the number of credit hours a student can receive from independent study to nine. In the 2004-2005 academic year, Petee had allowed some 250 students to take the directed-reading courses. After the issue was raised, Petee resigned as interim director of the sociology department and Witte stepped down as program chair of adult education. The committee also recommended that faculty, academic advisors, and athletic counselors regularly review students' records to avoid repeat registration in non-repeatable courses.
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