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<H -{(VKi J ...V I '
humanitarian aid coordinator.
The World Food Program said Wednesday it
would begin distributing food to refugees in West
Timor.
Kelly also confirmed reports that a letter
smuggled out of West Timor claimed militias there
were raping and murdering refugees in a tiny East
Timor enclave that is separated from the rest of the
province.
In London, meanwhile, Horta criticized the
United Nations on Wednesday for being too slow
in providing humanitarian aid and security to hun
dreds of thousands of homeless refugees.
“We are not satisfied with slow deployment...
We are not satisfied with the slow progress in terms
of aid in humanitarian assistance,” Horta said dur
ing a news conference.
In Washington, the Clinton administration
expressed support for a proposal by U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the United
Nations to take control of all government functions
in East Timor. But a U.S. spokesman said
Wednesday thecost and some other issues had to
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