Partly Cloudy with a 20% chance of rain HIGH LOW 86 62
Get to know Vol linebacker Austin Johnson
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E D I T O R I A L L Y
Thursday, September 9, 2010 Issue 16
S T U D E N T
PUBLISHED SINCE 1906 http://dailybeacon.utk.edu
Vol. 115
I N D E P E N D E N T
Country Queen Carrie Underwood excited for first feature film
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Bed bug infestation often unseen health hazard Robbie Hargett Staff Writer The fabled bed bug has been resurgent in the past couple of decades, threatening the mattresses of motels and dorm rooms all over the country. “There are still a lot of people who have no idea about bed bugs, don’t know what they are and most importantly how to avoid them and what to look for,” Jeff White, entomologist for Bedbugcentral.com, said. Bed bugs, flat, reddish-brown insects about a quarter of an inch in size, are parasitic creatures who feed on human blood at night. White said that many people will not actually see the bed bugs themselves because of the bugs’ habits. They are primarily nocturnal and will hide in cracks and crevices during the day. Another difficulty is the odd feeding habits of bed bugs; they may not feed often and may consequently avoid suspicion. “They take about five to 10 minutes to get a full meal,” White said. “Then, they go back to where they were hiding, and they may not come out again for seven to 10 days. They can go up to a year without feeding, and they will be perfectly fine.” Although bed bugs feed exclusively on blood, they have not been shown to transmit disease.
Physically, bed bug bites cause skin irritation and appear in rows and clusters on exposed skin, primarily the arms, shoulders, neck and face. However, White said the psychological effects of dealing with a bed bug infestation are often more significant. “It’s just creepy when you have bugs coming out of your mattress or box spring or wall to feed on you while you sleep at night,” White said. “For a lot of people, a bed is a sanctuary and getting attacked by bugs as you sleep is very disturbing.” White said bed bugs can spread quickly, a major concern on college campuses. He said it is best to limit the amount of things taken to and from your living space to avoid spreading the bugs. “There is really no true prevention for bed bugs,” White said. “There are some devices that you can put in your room, such as bed encasements, which can help you detect infestations early on.” One effective encasement device is called Protect-A-Bed, which started out as a mattress protector and allergen eliminator. “We found out after testing that it was also a good product for bed bugs,” Protect-A-Bed marketing director Mike Simpson said. “If you have bed bugs in your mattress, it will lock them in, and they will not be able to bite through the polyurethane backing. If they are not in your mattress, they can’t get in because Protect-A-Bed’s entry is through a zipper that is too
small for them to get into.” Protect-A-Bed offers a student bed protection kit, which includes a mattress protector, a mattress encasement and a pillow protector. Simpson said that, aside from protecting against bed bugs, Protect-A-Bed benefits health and hygiene. “More people today are using antibacterial hand lotion, and we never used to use that because we didn’t think about it — now we do,” Simpson said. “It’s the same with a mattress. Most people don’t realize they lose about a pint of water every night when they sleep. So it’s also a protection against allergies and germs.” “Protect-A-Bed’s encasement line is actually the best out there,” White said. But White said that for students living in the dorms, the first thing to do when faced with a bed bug infestation is to contact housing for an initial inspection. UT’s Superintendent of Sanitation Safety Randy Hamilton said that a thorough inspection of a dorm room takes roughly an hour to an hour and a half. Fortunately, he said there have been very few cases of bed bug infestations over the years. “We’ve gotten a lot of reports but we’ve actually not found them in most cases,” Hamilton said. “Most of the time it turns out to be something else — mosquitoes or scabies.” For more information on bed bugs and Protect-A-Bed, visit bedbugcentral.com and protectabed.com
Joy Hill • The Daily Beacon
Gubernatorial candidate Bill Haslam speaks with Aemish Patel, senior in business, about current events on Tuesday in the UC. Haslam was invited by the College Republicans group to speak about his policies and hotbed issues surrounding current politics.
Software tutorial to aid engineers Robbie Hargett Staff Writer Theta Tau, UT’s professional engineering fraternity, offered a free Autodesk Inventor tutorial to engineering students Wednesday. Theta Tau members Alex Sheinfeld, senior in industrial engineering, and Stephen Oi, senior in electrical engineering, taught the tutorial. “Autodesk Inventor is a program that allows the design, modeling and simulated testing of parts and assemblies in 3-D,” Sheinfeld said. “This can range from one-piece parts, such as a key chain, all the way up to full, complex pieces of machinery, such as a car.” Karl Hughes, senior in mechanical engineering and Theta Tau professional development chairman, said all industrial and mechanical engineering majors at UT will use Inventor in industrial engineering 330/mechanical engineering 366 and manufacturing processes, but it is not explicitly taught in any class. “Students are expected to teach themselves via the included tutorials, but the learning curve when starting out is pretty steep,” Hughes said. “It took me several hours of tutorials plus hours of trial and error to figure out how to make a simple part.” Sheinfeld said the level of exposure to these kinds of programs in the classroom is much too low. “The projects are mostly homework and very little time is spent in class teaching the techniques of the program,” Sheinfeld said. “Furthermore it’s only the very basics of the program which are covered, and it’s really up to the student to take interest and try to discover more of the program on their own.” Sheinfeld said he started using Inventor in the manufacturing processes class. He said he developed an interest in the program that remained after
taking the class. “I hope (to) go a couple steps beyond what’s normally taught in the classrooms to bridge the gap between learning how to make basic shapes and making the types of assemblies that we, as engineers, will be expected to make in the professional world,” he said. Hughes said Inventor and other similar programs are used frequently in the professional engineering world, and while there are many design programs other than Inventor, the skills are easily transferable. “The advantage of this free tutorial is that every student who attends will be better equipped to face the challenges of being a professional engineer,” Sheinfeld said. “The skills in this tutorial class will be very useful, not only in the context of how to use the program, but also in the context of how a product is designed.” He said he hopes students will obtain a greater appreciation for what it takes to actually make something, to “show students a more practical side of engineering than just bookwork.” “We’re entering an age where every product you see, from pencils to jets, has been designed in a program like Inventor,” Sheinfeld said. “This allows much greater precision in designing the product which results in more rapid prototyping, more efficient machine layouts, and an overall better and cheaper product.” Hughes said the overall goal of the tutorial was to reach out to fellow engineers, who could likely use the help. “We will be hosting several more professional development opportunities for engineers this semester and will be working with other engineering student groups to bring guest speakers and company representatives to campus,” Hughes said.
Doggie Dip The city of Knoxville is hosting its first-ever event catering to dogs and dog owners alike. The Inskip Pool will be the site of “Doggie Dip,” held on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Inskip Pool was closed this Labor Day to all human swimmers in preparation for winter. Dog owners, however, can take advantage of the event this Saturday and let their canines take a dip in the pool before the gates are closed for the year. The event aims to engage the whole family, including pets. Safety concerns should be quelled with the presence of aquatics professionals, including a lifeguard certified in pet first aid and mouth-to-snout CPR, all who will be in attendance for the event. The Doggie Dip is billed as a time for community members to get people outdoors and enjoy fun events at the same time. Costs for the event are $5 per dog with a maximum of two dogs per owner. There is no charge for the owner of the dogs but for any additional persons who want to join the event, the cost is $2 per person. All proceeds collected at the Doggie Dip will go toward the building of future dog parks in Knoxville. A raffle and auction will also be held for event participants to take part in. Various booths will be at the event, hosted by The Young Williams Animal Center, several veterinarians, various rescue groups and even a canine treat specialist. Requirements for all dogs at the event include leashes, all up-to-date vaccinations and tags. See BEACON BIS on Page 2