The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 01, 1982, Image 23
features Battalion/Page 7B April 1, 1982 Researchers make baboons the latest human substitute United Press International SAN ANTONIO, — Re- iearchers at the University of exas Health Science Center turned to female ba tons in an attempt to find a way to get nutrients to human fetuses whose mothers suffer from hypertension. Pediatrics professor Dr. Yves Brans said: “interuterine growth retardation affects ab out one out of 10 newborns in the United States.” Brans said a fetus’ growth could be retarded by hyper tension, which often develops during pregnancy and dis appears after the baby is deli vered. Hypertension usually de velops in the first two-thirds of the pregnancy. It decreases blood flow to the placenta and breaks the baby’s nutritional supply. Basic research is aimed at determining if baboons can substitute for humans as lab subjects, particularly in ex periments to feed fetuses by direct injection. “Before such invasive tech niques are tried on humans, we want to try them on an animal model,” Brans said. “We also will need to know what to inject and how much.” Researchers will induce hypertension in the baboons, and when they become pre gnant, will test various methods of feeding nutrients to the fetuses. “Our long-range goal is to find alternative ways of get ting nutrients to the baby,” Brans said. “It might be possi ble, for example, to inject them directly into the amnio- tic cavity.” Brans said fetuses receive nutrients through the umbi lical chord and by swallowing amniotic fluid and digesting it to absorb proteins. During the study, resear chers will monitor both mother and fetus, collecting a variety of data to be compared with available information on human mothers. Go for broke with new toy Sales up despite economy United Press International DALLAS — The marketing strategy is simple — no matter what the shape of the economy, a family always will buy food and toys. Toys? Yes, toys, point out represen tatives of the U.S. toy industry that grossed between $4 billion and $8 billion last year and hopes to do much better in 1982. “You tell me which parent would like to see his child go without a present during Christ mas?” asked Henry del Castillo, Dallas district manager of Mattel Toys, unquestionably the Exxon of the industry. “We increased our business last year by 30 percent over the previous year and we expect the trend to continue,” said del Cas tillo. Ample evidence of the bullish nature of the industry was avail able at the recently concluded Toy Show at Dallas’ prestigious World Trade Center. The show occupied several floors of the Center and nearby buildings ... Paragon-Reiss of New York suggests their miniature version of the “Beetle” convertible. At $7,000 each, the toy can be a bargain for those with money to burn. and about every company taking a slice of the $>8 billion cake was represented. Thousands of buyers from across the Southwest and else where flocked to the show to see what Mattel and other industry giants like Fisher- Price, Kenner and Parker Brothers had to offer. If he or she had the money, the buyer was not disappointed. The offerings were bigger, better, more complicated and, above all, more expensive, all in keeping with inflation, higher prices and the sophistication and discerning taste of today’s American child. Most buyers were not asking if they could sell the product, but how much and if the manu facturer could meet the de mand. They were filling orders for as late as 1982 Christmas. Strawberry Shortcake, a license item featuring a cute girl with big wide eyes, is this year’s craze competing neck and neck with hand-held electronic games whose sales went through the roof the last two years. A masterpiece in plastic. Strawberry Shortcake comes in everything from doll houses to tea sets that carry her pictures and every item smells of straw berry. Accompanying her in the product line are her friends Blueberry Muffin and Lemon Meringue, all with their own fragrances. The companies manufactur ing these items expect to do $1 billion worth of business in the Strawberry line alone and that is only a conservative estimate. Mattel’s most popular offer ing this year is a child computer retailing for about $60. The more sophisticated variety aimed at the 6-to-ll group re tails for $89. “Parents these days are con cerned about the quality of edu cation in schools and we feel this (computer) is the answer,” said del Castillo. “The systems will teach everything from sounds to music to math. Our sophisti cated variety includes other school subjects. This year alone Mattel will introduce about 200 new pro ducts. Fisher-Price, another indus try giant, is also concentrating on educational toys. Their offer ings include taperecorders, pho nographs and other electronic items. The company has budgeted $12 million strictly to promote them on television. Then there are the old stand bys like Monopoly which has been minting millions for Par ker Brothers the last four de cades. This year Parker also is going electronic with the board game that teaches the American child all about the free enter prise system. If none of these interest the child, Paragon-Reiss of New York suggests their miniature version of the “Beetle” converti ble. At $7,000 each, the toy can be a bargain for those with money to burn. udge says groups [can sue over spill United Press International HOUSTON — A federal idge has issued a ruling allow- Texas and several other ||aintiffs to pursue $400 million i lawsuits against a Texas firm and a private Mexican company JivoJved in the world’s worst oil ■spill. However, U.S. District Judge tobertO’Conor said U.S. feder- il courts do not have jurisdiction Over complaints against the |lexican national oil company, Pemex, in the Ixtoc 1 ©dwell llowout. He cited the Foreign Sovereign Immunity act. That ruling was seen as a foreign policy decision. O’Conor ruled Tuesday the parties involved in the spill that blackened beaches along the tourist-rich south Texas coast were Secko Inc. in Dallas — founded by Gov. 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