spread | The Veterinary Moxley, UNL professor of veterinary _. . ^ . and biomedical sciences. Diagnostic Laboratories The professors in the lab conduct handles more than 17 000 mostly a8ricultural research. They iidiiuies more man l / ,uuu work closely with similar faCiiities in cases.of diseases. conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Moxley said. The lab also acts as a teaching aid By LlNDSAY HeNSHILWOOD to farmers, at a cost, for finding out Staff writer what is wrong with their animals. -—- Most of the research is done E. coli and cataracts are diseases through animal autopsies, where about which little is known, but researchers find out their cause of through research at the University of death and how the animal caught the Nebraska-Lincoln’s Veterinary diseases. Diagnostic Laboratories, researchers The cases are mostly local because are gaining more insight into the dis- the animals have to be brought into the eases. •*> laboratories by the farmers or their The lab handles more than 17,000 owners, but some people come from cases of viral and bacterial diseases farther afield, Moxley said, affecting mainly animals, but that is The results of the UNL research is not where it ends, said Rodney more widely known because the uni versity works with other research institutions in the United States that conduct similar experiments, he said. Moxley stressed the importance of connecting diseases such as E. coli 015787, found initially in cattle, to humans, especially where it poses the greatest risk. This is done by conducting a series of tests on the animals and comparing the results to similar tests done with humans. By doing this it is hoped that the risk of humans catching the disease will be reduced and the disease’s spread to animals can be stopped, he said. Many misconceptions exist about this E. coli in particular - few know that it is simply carried by animals and causes major problems only if it is transferred to humans, Moxley said. It is hoped that with resources such as the large well-equipped laboratories that are available at UNL, more can be discovered about this disease and oth ers, Moxley said. This could lead to a reduction in the number of misconceptions that exist about the diseases. This in turn will hopefully prevent the far-reaching effects that can be associated with the viruses and bac terium currently under study, Moxley said. Another professor at work in the UNL lab is Maijorie Lou, a UNL pro fessor of veterinary and biomedical sciences, who works with cataracts affecting humans. She is researching to find out what causes them and says that she has had a lot of success. The tests she does do not involve live animals, as all the tests are done on pig lenses from the slaughter house. The research has shown that the main risk factor associated with cataracts is cigarette smoking, as nico tine is particularly harmful. Another factor is oxidation, where it is hydro gen peroxide that affects the eyes. Placing the lenses in a test tube with the harmful substances, Lou studies what changes in the lens including the biological function, metabolism and antioxidants. Lou said the ultimate goal of her and the other professors’ work “is to improve the quality of life for people and to compliment other research that is being done.” Further studies are being done into herpes, microbacterial infections that cause tuberculosis and bacterial infec tions of Legionnaires Disease. 2 die as peacekeepers, militiamen clash in E. Timor DILI, East Timor (AP) - Australian peace keepers repelled an ambush Wednesday, killing two anti-independence militiamen in the first clash since arriving 16 days ago. The violence came the same day Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Carlos Belo received a joyful welcome home. Belo, who fled during last month’s militia ram page through East Timor, is die first major inde pendence figure to return since the violence that forced thousands from their homes and destroyed much of Dili, East Timor’s capital. Wednesday ’s clash began in the morning, when Australian troops shot the tires of a truck full of militiamen that drove past a roadblock in Suai, a militia stronghold near die border with Indonesia. Four passengers were injured. Dozens of militi a members were disarmed and taken by peacekeepers to the border with Indonesian-controlled West Timor, where thou sands of anti-independence fighters have sought shelter along with an estimated 256,000 East Timorese refugees. I The ambush occurred nine miles east of the border, as tt&$afoe peacekeepers returned to Suai • It . V % At ] i 4 i i l later in the day. Two peacekeepers were wounded. “That small-vehicle convoy was ambushed by an unknown number of people with firearms. The soldiers immediately entered a counter-ambush drill,” Australian army Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, head of the international force known as Interfet, told reporters in Dili. The rest of the assailants fled the scene. The incident confirmed security concerns the peacekeepers have expressed as they have fanned out across East Timor. ‘This is die first time that Irtterfet soldiers have been wounded by enemy action. It is the first time that Interfet has been called upon, regrettably, to take lethal action against an adversary,” Cosgrove said.< ' The militias have been massing in West Timor and have repeatedly threatened to launch guerrilla attacks and retake East Timor. At the airport in Dili, Belo smiled broadly as he was embraced by Roman Catholic nuns, priests and others after stepping off a private plane from Darwin, Australia. Hefted East Timor bn Sept 7., ^ JHethen travbledto tlife eastern citybf Baiicau, Ji 2 <■ - \ 'i ‘' where joyous crowds threw flowers and sang hymns. At a church service, he called on thousands of East Timorese who fled the violence to come home and rebuild their lives in peace. He also described conditions in Dili, which was damaged when militias backed by the Indonesian military went on a rampage after East Timor’s overwhelming vote for independence Aug. 30. “It is worse than hell,” he said. Following the U.N.-sponsored referendum, Beio’s Dili home was burned and refugees who had sought shelter there were killed. Others were rounded up by Indonesian troops. Belo shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with Jose Ramos Horta for their peaceful struggle for East Timorese independence. In Dili, a U.N. official announced Wednesday the first of the refugees who fled to West Timor - many reportedly at gunpoint - would be repatriat edFriday. - 15 About 180 people were to arrive by air from Kupang, -Mfest/flnior’s capital. Later grbUjps would follow by boat aid road,’said LiseGtdhdfe: a: .. / ■ ' ' !m