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Friday
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
April 29, 1933
Vol. 82, No. 152
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By Lauri Hopple
Graduate student Wayne Zcllcr has made a scientific
breakthrough, right in UNL's Hamilton Mall. Zeller and
assistant professor Raymond Punk have synthesized the
compound dihydrocompactin, an anti-cholesterol agent
which has been found to reduce the production of
cholesterol in animals.
Dihydrocompactin has not been tested on humans and
is not yet on the market.
This is only the second compound of four hypocholes
toremics that have ever been synthesized, Zcllcr said.
Zeller and Funk are the first in the world to synthesize
dihydrocompactin. .
"We actually, physically had the molecule in our
hands last Friday,'" Funk said.
Compactin has been made by groups in Wisconsin,
Japan, Indiana and at the Merck Company, a commercial
chemical business.
Synthesis is the manufacture of a compound.
Products of synthesis are widely used because of
economic factors. Often production of large quantities
of natural compounds is more expensive than production
of synthesized compounds.
The problem with this, Zeller said, is finding out
how to synthesize the molecule. Zeller has been working
on the dihydrocompactin molecule since July of 1980.
After he leaves the university a year from now, he said.
Funk will continue the synthesis project with another
graduate student.
"He (Funk) lias done most of the thinking on this and
come up with some great ideas, and I've just done most of
the actual work in the lab," Zeller said.
Zeller said the decision to pursue a synthesis of hypo
cholesterolemics was made mainly because of its competi
tive pharmaceutical importance. He said since the mole
cule has potential for reducing heart disease and other
cholesterol-related diseases, many groups are actively
researching it.
Grants from the American Heart Foundation and the
National Institute of Health have funded the project.
Zeller said he and Funk" also are searching for synthetic
analogues to the natural molecule. Analogues are as
effective and have similar structures to the original
molecule.
"This may be biased, but our synthesis is the most
convergent, highest overall yield yet - the best in short,"
Zeller said.
Zeller said he hopes that the remaining two molecules,
will be easier to synthesize now that the door has been
opened through the synthesis of dihydrocompactin.
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GcGsgsfe biadlgei!: cufe lower morale
Editor's note: This is the final article in a three-part series
examining the financial state of the College of Arts and
Scieikes.
By Vicki Ruhga, Mike Sclimoldt and Lori Sullivan
A distinctive feature of an arts and sciences program is
its need to move forward to provide leadership for the
disciplines it offers.
. The latest legislative budget cuts have left the college
struggling to maintain existing programs and unable to
consier funding any improvements.
Gerhard Meisels, interim dean of the College of Arts
and Sciences, described the inevitable effects of budget
constraints;
"The most painful part is to see good programs cut -to
see the harmful effects that might occur in the long
run. One of the most important successes of a university
is constantly improving. Cuts affect morale because it
makes people feel bad to see programs slipping backward
instead of moving forward."
Arts and Sciences is the largest college in the university
in terms of credit hours produced. Its deficit last year was
between S3O0.000 and $350,000 in its permanent budget
(for expenses such as salaries and phone charges that
are incurred every year) and another $300,000 in its
temporary budget (for one-time expenses).
About 0.75 percent of last year's 2 percent across-the-board
cut was offset by the tuition surcharge, Meisels
said.
The rest of the cut made a bad situation worse because
financial resources were cut while enrollment grew,
Meisels said.
Professors also have less time to keep up with current
developments in their fields, are not as intellectually
active and devote less time to the needs of people in the
community, Meisels said.
"The solutions lie in the statehouse," Meisels said,
"more than the university." Grants and contracts that
bring money into the university are for research, he said,
and do nothing to help meet the day-to-day functions of
the colleee. such as teaching classes.
He said reallocating funds among various departments
may be necessary with continued budget problems but he
does not see how the college can cut departments.
Continued on Page 9
Mn!ays5aini film stair feds privacy,
cool Climate m fofeondly coty of Uimcofjn
By Marcia Warkentin
Movie stars on campus for the filming of "Terms of
Endearment" have added excitement to the last few
weeks of school. But few students know about a real
movie star who is a student-at UNL.
Sharifah Shalina Syed Abdullah (Sliasha to her
friends), a freshman marketing major from Malaysia,
received the award for best supporting acress in the 1980
Asian Film Festival.
Shasha, 22, said her first experience in front of the
camera was a crowd scene for a TV drama when she was
1 2 years old. When she was 18, she had a small part in
another drama.
At 19, she was picked from about 300 people to play
the lead in "Atik Manja" (Pampered Baby), a movie
about a girl's school.
"It was kind of an overnight success for me and
everyone who was involved in the movie," Shasha said.
The movie made more money than any other in
Malaysia up to that time, she said.
In 1980, Shasha was awarded best supporting actress
for her role in the movie at the Asian Film Festival,
which included 40 movies from 13 countries. She said she
didn't even attend the festival, which was in Jakarta,
Indonesia, because she didn't expect to win.
"I appreciated it," she said, "but I thought I
shouldn't be awarded yet because it was only my first
Shasha then worked with Syed-Kechik Film
Productions in Malaysia, acting and working with the
crew behind the camera. She played a small part in
another movie and had parts in 10 TV dramas.
The company had offered her scholarship to attend
acting schoolin America, but as there was some delay,
she decided to continue her schooling as soon as possible.
She was accepted into universities in Ohio and Hawaii,
but chose UNL, she said, because she wanted to
experience a colder climate, whic Malaysia doesn't have.
She loves Lincoln, she said.
"I think the people here are more friendly than in
my country," she said. "People say 'hi' everywhere; you
don't find that in my country."
Although she plans to take theater classes and possibly
act in some plays at UNL, Shasha said she wants to be
treated like any other student. In Malaysia, she had no
privacy, she said.
"1 felt free when 1 came here," she said. "Back home 1
used to wear sunglasses."
Shasha plans toreturn to Malaysia after she graduates
and continue working in the movie industry. Her dream
is to be a director, she said.
Acting is not as glamorous as it seems, she said.
The only time she felt overwhelmed was the first time she
apppared on screen.
"When people appreciated your acting, that's when it's
worth it," she said, "not the publicity and glamour."