BTK2000: Animating the Cellular Map

Important: Read this first!

This page contains the original Second Announcement for the BTK2000 meeting. The deadlines for registration and submission of manuscripts have now passed, and this page is intended only for back-reference. For updated information on the meeting, please consult the BTK2000 home page!

Think of the living cell as a city. BioThermoKinetics is not so much about the static map of this city, but rather about the traffic on the map that gives it life, and about how the map is adapted dynamically in response to change.

International Study Group of BioThermoKinetics	Department of Biochemistry University of Stellenbosch

Index to this page

• Second announcement
• Organising committee
• Contact details
• International advisory committee
• Travel arrangements
• Programme
  • Tentative schedule
• Workshop on Modelling of Cellular Processes
• Publication in the conference book
• Registration and payment
  • Registration form
  • Payment
  • Registration procedure and validation of registration
  • Financial assistance and bursaries
• Deadlines
• Venue
• Tourist information
  • Currency and banking information
• Links

Second announcement

We are pleased to announce that the 9th Meeting of the International Study Group of BioThermoKinetics (BTK) will take place from 3-8 April 2000 in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Participants will arrive on Monday 3 April, and the opening session will be on Monday evening. The meeting will end with the conference dinner on Friday evening 7 April, and participants will depart on Saturday morning 8 April. Programme details may be found here.

The period for pre-registration has officially ended. However, if you would like to attend the meeting and have not yet preregistered, please complete the electronic pre-registration form. You will then receive meeting updates by email. This will also help us to plan the meeting and to know how many participants to expect.

To validate your registration, we will need to receive your final registration form and proof of payment of the registration fees. See the Registration and Payment section.

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Organising committee

• Jannie Hofmeyr, University of Stellenbosch
• Jacky Snoep, University of Stellenbosch
• Johann Rohwer, University of Stellenbosch
• Brett Olivier, University of Stellenbosch
• Otini Kroukamp, University of Stellenbosch
• Patti Quant, Little Downham, Cambridgeshire (UK)

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Contact details of organisers

• Prof Jannie Hofmeyr
  Department of Biochemistry
  University of Stellenbosch
  Private Bag X1
  7602 Matieland
  South Africa
  
• Tel: +27-21-8083038
  
• Fax: +27-21-8083022
• Email: jhsh@land.sun.ac.za

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International advisory committee

• Luis Acerenza (Montevideo)
• Marta Cascante (Barcelona)
• Athel Cornish-Bowden (Marseille)
• David Fell (Oxford)
• Lena Gustafsson (Göteborg)
• Reinhart Heinrich (Berlin)
• Jacqueline Hoerter (Châtenay Malabry)
• Peter Ruhdal Jensen (Lyngby)
• Martin Kushmerick (Seattle)
• Vida Mildaziene (Kaunas)
• Stefan Schuster (Berlin)
• Hans Westerhoff (Amsterdam)

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Travel arrangements

Cape Town International Airport has daily connections to other South African centres and many European destinations. If the airline of your choice does not service Cape Town, you may have to fly to Johannesburg and change to an inland flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Detailed information on South Africa's airports, including flight schedules, may be obtained from the Airports Company South Africa website.

Shuttle buses will pick up participants from Cape Town International Airport on Monday 3 April and transfer them to the conference venue; a similar shuttle service will take participants from the conference hotel to the airport on Saturday 8 April. Please indicate your flight numbers and times of arrival/departure on the final registration form if available. The cost of these airport transfers is included in the conference registration fee.

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Programme

The image of traffic on a dynamic cellular map is used as an organising principle for the BTK2000 programme. This framework integrates theory and experiment. Therefore, we do not include separate sessions for control (analysis), regulation, kinetics, self-organisation, etc., but rather ask participants to weave these topics into their contributions and select an appropriate theme session from those listed below.

The programme will be divided into seven such theme sessions of 3 or 3.5 hours each, running either in the mornings (9h00 to 12h00) or in the afternoons (15h00 to 18h00) and including a coffee/tea break. Each theme session will have the following format:

• 1 or 2 long lectures "setting the scene" (25 min + 5 min questions)
• 3 - 5 short lectures (10 min + 5 min questions)
• Coffee/tea break and poster viewing
• General discussion (45-60 min) of the session's contributions

The evenings will be of a more informal nature, featuring round-table discussions of "hot topics". A number of discussions have already been suggested (see topics below). Participants are invited to suggest additional hot topics for round-table discussions by emailing the organisers. Further discussions can also be arranged on an ad hoc basis at the meeting.

Suggestions for round-table topics received so far:

• What (if anything) is a metabolic pathway?
• Specifying a standard metabolic language for modelling and data storage
• Promoting the BTK Research Programme in the new millennium

Tentative schedule

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Workshop on Modelling of Cellular Processes

In conjunction with the 9th BTK meeting we are planning a workshop on the Modelling of Cellular Processes. Click here for more details.

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Publication in the conference book

Apart from presenting a poster or lecture, all participants are invited to submit their contribution to BTK2000 in written form. The paper will be peer-reviewed and, if accepted, published in the conference book BTK2000: Animating the Cellular Map. The book will have an ISBN. The extent of the manuscript should be 3 - 4 pages including references, figures and tables (A4 size paper, 12-point font, single line spacing, 2.5 cm margins on all sides).

The paper should contain in sequence:

1. Title, authors, address(es), phone, fax & email
2. Introduction
3. Methods
4. Results
5. Discussion
6. References (according to European Journal of Biochemistry).

Please submit the manuscript in the following two forms:

• A high-quality printout on paper (including all figures, tables and equations) should be sent to the BTK organisers by mail.
• An electronic version identical to the printed one should be sent to the BTK organisers either as an email attachment or on a 3.5" PC-formatted diskette included with the paper manuscript. Please use one of the following formats for preparing the electronic version:
  • Text: Rich Text Format (RTF) or LaTeX
  • Graphics: Windows Metafile (WMF) or Encapsulated Postscript (EPS)
  • Be sure to submit the text and graphics in separate files.
  • Equations: When using RTF, do not send equations electronically as we will manually set them from the paper copy. When using LaTeX, include the coded equations as part of the manuscript, as you would normally do.

The deadline for submission of manuscripts is 15 December 1999.

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Registration and Payment

Registration form

Please print out and complete the final registration form.

Payment

The registration fees for the conference are 2700 South African Rand (ZAR) per participant. (Click here for currency exchange rates.) This is an all-inclusive fee and covers the cost of a copy of the conference proceedings, accommodation on the basis of 2 persons sharing a room, coffees and teas, all meals from Monday 3 April (dinner) to Saturday 8 April (breakfast) including the conference banquet on Friday evening 7 April, and shuttle bus transfers from and to Cape Town International Airport. Please note that the cost of any excursions is not included in the registration fee and will have to be paid for on site. Likewise, drinks and telephone calls will be for the participant's own account.

Please note that after 15 December 1999 the registration fee will increase to ZAR 3500 (strictly enforced).

Payment can be made by electronic transfer (SWIFT) or by sending a bank draft (cheque).

1. Electronic transfer
   Payment should be made into the following bank account:
   

   Bank Address	Boland PKS Bird Street 7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa
   SWIFT Code	BOLB ZAJC
   Account number	1023-600-703
   Account holder Address	University of Stellenbosch Victoria Street 7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa
   Reference	Cost centre R237, Participant's name

   
   Please ensure that
   • SWIFT charges are for your own account;
   • the reference (i.e. cost centre and your name) is indicated on the SWIFT form; and
   • payment reaches us before 15 December 1999 if you want to register at the reduced rate.
   
   
2. Bank draft
   Conference fees can be paid by mailing a cheque for ZAR 2700, payable to University of Stellenbosch, to reach us before 15 December 1999. The cheque should be payable in South African Rand and drawn on a South African bank. Please note that we cannot accept cheques payable in foreign currency or drawn on foreign banks.

Registration procedure and validation of registration

Please mail or fax your completed registration form and proof of payment (electronic transfer form or bank draft) to the conference secretariat to validate your registration. Payment should reach us before 15 December 1999 to ensure registration at the reduced rate.

Financial assistance and bursaries

The organisers are currently seeking additional funding and sponsorships. If you require financial assistance to attend the meeting, please email or fax the organisers explaining your situation and stating the amount you need. We will then try to contribute towards your cost with a bursary.

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Deadlines

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Venue

The 9th BTK meeting will be held at the Protea Hotel Devon Valley, situated in the Western Cape winelands just 8 km outside the town of Stellenbosch. The hotel offers full conference as well as recreational facilities, including two swimming pools, "boules", hiking, bird-watching and more. General information on Protea Hotels can be found here.

The Devon Valley Hotel is the ideal BTK venue, providing an "island situation" in beautiful surroundings, yet being close to the town of Stellenbosch. Unfortunately there is insufficient space in the hotel for participants to lodge in single rooms, and accommodation is provided on the basis of two persons sharing a room. Participants can indicate on the registration form with whom they would like to share if they have a preference. If you have serious objections to sharing a room, please contact the organisers.

Some photographs of the hotel and surroundings:

The hotel terrace
	View from the hotel overlooking vineyards with the Stellenbosch mountains in the background

More photographs of the hotel here.

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Tourist information

Tourist information on Stellenbosch can be found here. You can also visit the SATOUR (South African Tourism) website, or their link specifically for the Western Cape.

Currency and banking information

On 9 September 1999 exchange rates for the South African Rand were:
USD 1.00 = ZAR 6.05 / GBP 1.00 = ZAR 9.88 / EUR 1.00 = ZAR 6.37
For updated exchange rate information or for exchange rates of currencies not listed here, you may want to visit The Universal Currency Converter.

South African banking hours are Mondays to Fridays 08h30 to 15h30 and Saturdays 08h30 to 11h00. A nation-wide network of automatic teller machines (ATMs) provides instant 24-hour access to cash; all major cards (VISA, MasterCard, Cirrus, Plus) are accepted. The major credit cards are generally accepted for payment in shops, restaurants and hotels.

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Links

• BTK2000 home page
• BTK 2000 preliminary registration (submit if you want to attend the meeting and have not yet preregistered)
• BTK 2000 final registration form (mail or fax to us before 15 Dec 1999)
• Workshop on Modelling of Cellular processes
• BTK study group home page
• Department of Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch
• University of Stellenbosch home page