Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 1996)
The Battalion day • 0ctober2l r i iriv r f I Jo 11 Jo Wednesday Page 5 October 23, 1996 cientists develop cyanide exposure test lEW ORLEANS (AP) — Where there's e there’s often cyanide but it kills so y and the tests take so long that doctors check for it. iw scientists have developed a quick new ;or cyanide exposure that could save some Je who now die of smoke inhalation, etest uses equipment already found in hospitals and yields results in 40 minutes, Dr. Avery Tung, the University of Chicago [thesiologist who developed it. Doctors can administer cyanide antidotes that are either led or injected. irrent tests for cyanide are all but useless, take up to four hours, and because most itals rely on an outside lab to perform qtcan take days and even weeks to actu- et the results back. joctors can’t simply go ahead and admin- the antidote on the mere suspicion that a nt was exposed to cyanide. Unless there iubstantial amount of cyanide to treat, the otes themselves can kill, ng, who presented the test Tuesday at a ing in New Orleans of the American Soci- f Anesthesiologists, eventually hopes to lop a test that can be performed at fires, istic, paint, varnish, lacquer, wool and silk in release cyanide when burned. It kills by preventing cells from using oxygen. “If cyanide is present, if you do not treat the cyanide poisoning itself, no matter how much oxygen you give a patient he’s not going to be able to use it,” Dr. Paul Matera, an emergency room physician at Providence Hos pital in Washington said in a telephone interview. A study in England during the 1980s found cyanide in the blood of nearly half of the peo ple suffering from carbon diox ide poisoning caused by smoke inhalation, said Dr. Lar ry Weiss, director of emergency medicine at Louisiana State University’s Medical School. Such tests are rarely or dered unless a doctor “We don’t usually test for it, because if you don’t treat it immediately, it’s too late.” Dr. Larry Weiss Director, LSU emergency medicine out how much cyanide is in the blood. Current tests are more complicated. One requires a series of three chemical reactions, Tung said. The other uses an expensive ma chine that measures electrical conductivity in liquids. A quick, reliable cyanide test could make a big difference in how patients are treated, Mat- era said. “It’s certainly something I would use, especially if a patient wasn’t getting any better,” he said. Tung said nearly all of his ex periments have used blood to which he added cyanide. He said he also tried the test on a few cas es of smoke inhalation, but the patients’ cyanide levels were too low to warrant treatment. knows that the fire burned something likely to release large amounts of cyanide. “We don’t usually test for it, because if you don’t treat it immediately, it’s too late,” Weiss said. Tung’s test adds a chemical compound called methemoglobin to a blood sample. If there is cyanide in the blood, it changes color. A spectrophotometer reads the results to find Tung said he hopes to develop a stripped- down machine that ambulances could carry to fires. In addition, he said, he is working on a test that would check the amount of cyanide in a person’s breath, instead of blood. Such a test also could be used to check miners and factory workers who are likely to breathe small amounts of cyanide on the job, Tung said. imer, andjeremyf Command short! tonight atVertig' DFU. ind memberspte e music. I interest from reci 'aitingonourtape h them, we’ sulin pump to help diabetics stop injections he small pump iserted in the ibdomen releases ,ep j nsulin slowly without causing swings in lood sugar. IALTIMORE (AP) — A hockey- size insulin pump inserted lerthe skin can help some dia- ics avoid several-times-a-day ctions, keep their weight n and control their blood better, researchers say. ouse the device, which is in- edin the abdomen, patients themselves a blood test to de- une how much insulin is need- then hold a small transmitter rthe pump to tell it how much leliver. The pump then dispens- i steady trickle of insulin rather pnall-at-once dose. m manufacturer of the np, MiniMed Inc. of Sylmar, Calif., said it expects to receive Food and Drug Administration approval in late 1997. MiniMed helped pay for the study, which was led by Dr. Christopher Saudek, chief of the Johns Hopkins Hospital diabetes center, and published in Wednes day’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers studied 105 men with Type II diabetes at Veterans Affairs hospitals across the coun try. Half used the pump several times a day for a year; the other half gave themselves injections three times a day. The incidence of insulin reac tions, or hypoglycemia, was 68 per cent lower among pump patients. Hypoglycemia, or low-blood sugar, occurs in diabetics when they re ceive too much insulin. It can cause panic and even coma. Dr. William Duckworth of the Omaha VA Medical Center, co-au thor of the study, said the pump works better because it releases insulin slowly, without causing uestions, Concerns, Comments? Talk with your Vice President for Student Affairs. jyou have any thoughts or concerns regarding student life lere at A&M, I'm very interested in hearing them. I am |alon Southerland, your Vice President for Student Affairs jnd my office is on the 10th floor of Rudder Tower. My door i always open and I encourage you to come by if I can ever i of assistance. Feel free to call me anytime at 845-4728 or contact me through e-mail: malon-southerland@tamu.edu Jet. 2? its Hotel! I NOON. m } if you ^ ts you! ©BOB. )ian Barba* get Boo! 2.00! ntry Foods • 4 & Under Fl® 'directions {S ^samplIs, G ^ ts '' fee the latest trends in fashion, health and beauty at the et A&M's own 1996 Glamour Top College Women Winner - nily Norman, senior Mechanical Engineering major - and more! ctober 24 and 25 0:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Sbisa lawn 'lational Collegiate Clothing Drive Safety and Health Issues Workshops Stage Events )i$plays fee Product Samples Games, Prizes and Music ■jtholHwy105li’ r me.htm 'X* *«* A A Vi X V so sponsored by the Department of Food Services 3*grO^/ the swings in blood sugar that an injection can cause. Also, patients who received in jections gained an average of .8 pounds, while pump patients lost an average of more than 2 pounds. The researchers said that could be because the insulin reaches the liver more directly via the pump. Some scientists suspect that once injected into the blood stream, some insulin is used by the body to store fat, and that contributes to weigh gain. The pump is expected to cost about $15,000 installed and must be refilled every six to 12 weeks at a doctor’s office. Saudek serves on MiniMed’s advisory board but has no financial stake in the compa ny, said MiniMed president and chief executive Terry Gregg. Type II diabetes, the most common form of the disease, af fects about 10 percent of the gen eral population. Diabetics have difficulty processing sugar. Although many Type II diabetics can control the disease by limiting their sugar intake, about one third are treated with insulin, which they usually inject themselves, some times several times a day. They often administer the in jections just below the skin in the thigh, abdomen and the arm, varying the spot to prevent sore ness. The insulin goes into the general bloodstream and eventu ally reaches the liver, which uses the insulin to process sugar. One of the advantages of the pump is that the insulin is ab sorbed by blood vessels deep in the abdomen and reaches the liv er faster, Saudek said. Dr. Gerold Grodsky, a profes sor of biochemistry at the Univer sity of California at San Francisco who has studied insulin secretion for 35 years, said external pumps have proved to be a better method of controlling blood sug ar levels. The real breakthrough will come once implantable pumps can read blood levels and dispense insulin automatically, he said. Parents Night Out A free babysitting service for all Texas A8JVI Faculty,m Staff, and Students provided by the members of Alpha Phi Omega will be Friday, Oct. 25, 1996 6:30-10:00 p.m. 292 MSC Questions? Call the APO office at 862-2525 AGGIE RING ORDERS THE ASSOCIATION OF FORMER STUDENTS CLAYTON W. WILLIAMS, JR. ALUMNI CENTER DEADLINE: October 24, 1996 Undergraduate Student Requirements: 1. You must be a degree seeking student and have a total of 95 credit hours reflected on the Texas A&M University Student Information Management System. (A passed course, which is repeated and passed, cannot count as additional credit hours.) 2. 3Q credit hours must have been completed in residence at Texas A&M University, providing that prior to January 1, 1994, you were registered at Texas A&M University and successfully completed a fall/spring semester or summer term (I and II or 10 weeks) as a full-time student in good standing (as defined in the University catalog). 60 credit hours must have been completed in residence at Texas A&M University if your first se mester at Texas A&M University was January 1994 or thereafter, or if you do not qualify under the successful semester requirement. Should your degree be conferred with less than 60 resident credits, this requirement will be waived after your degree is posted on the Student In formation Management System. 3. You must have a 2J) cumulative GPR at Texas A&M University. 4. You must be in good standing with the University, including no registration or transcript blocks for past due fees, loans, parking tickets, returned checks, etc. Graduate Student Requirements If you are a December 1996 degree candidate and you do not have an Aggie ring from a pri or degree, you may place an order after you meet the following requirements: 1. Your degree is conferred and posted on the Texas A&M University Student Information Management System; and 2. You are in good standing with the University, including no registration or transcript blocks for past due fees, loans, parking tickets, returned checks, etc. If you have completed aM of your degree requirements and can obtain a “Letter of Completion” from the Office of Graduate Studies, the original letter of completion, with the seal, may be presented to the Ring Office in lieu of your degree being posted. Procedure To Order A Rina: 1. If you meet all of the above requirements, you must visit the Ring Office no later than Thursday, October 24,1996, to complete the application for eligibility verification. 2. If your application is approved and you wish to receive your ring on December 10, 1996, you must return and pay in full by cash, check, money order, or your personal Visa or Mastercard (with your name imprinted) no later than October 25, 1996. Men’s 10K-$309.00 14K-$421.00 Women’s 10K-$174.00 14K - $201.00 Add $8.00 for Class of ‘95 or before. The ring delivery date is December 10, 1996. LONDON “'pedtival Siaym!" Practice Wed., Oct 23,6 p.m. Academic Bldg, room 402 Paris Frankfurt Madrid Amsterdam Rome $225 $265 $275 $275 $295 Fa«s are each wait from Houston rased on a roundthp pur chase. fakes do not nquoe fedekai taxes or PFCs totaung BETWEEN S3-S45, OEPENDUG ON OESTMAnON OR DEPARTURE CHARGES PAJO OWECTUf TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. Fares ABOVE ARE VALID FROM NOV. 1 TO DEC. 15 AND VOU CAN STAV FOR A TEAR. Travel to Europe for Thanksgiving! We have Student/Youth tickets FOR $375 ROUNDTRIP TO ANYWHERE IN THE U.S.A! We CAN GET A Eurailpass to you IN ONE DAY VIA FED Ex. Call Us Today! We have great car rental RATES FOR EUROPE. Council Travel 2000 Guadalupe St. • Austin, TX 78705 512-472-4931 http://tvtctc.ciee.org/travel.htm EE UP R/V I L.PAS S E S AVAILABLE BY PM ONE I FREE ADMISSION rz_ SP& ~~ GO'S COLLEGE STATION HILTON^s N|\0&° stt/es 801 UNIVERSITY DR. SATURDAY OCTOBER 26TH IMp °m s PAT HUGE SELECTION AB ' Ua LOW PRICES OPEN 10 TO 5 • BUY SELL TRADE FREE ADMISSION We Sell Fun... Just Add Water UNOERWATEH VJ SCUBA UNOERWA TER 2 for i Special Learn to Scuba dive to lOCT deep What the course includes: • Tuition for Basic Open Water AND Advanced Open Water! • PADI or NAUI Open Water Book and Dive Tables! TYMT V • Log Book! CAEN LI • Entrance Fees @ Blue Lagoon or Lake Travis! d? 1 Q EL 00 • Pool use fees! q? -L ^7—/ ♦ • Use of all Scuba Diving Equipment! • All Air Fills! Call for details and course dates . 900 Harvey Road #5, College Station, Texas 77840 693-0104 Imagine a new Plasma Center on University that caters to New U#}/ \\ 4 ■YHSKN -ssU A Y7y\ , > 1 j \ \\ 77 K J )/}/ ^ Y( X ' (study, or just visit: then receive cash for Donors!” Smartest, easiest way to earn extra money. Lie back, relax. your lime, and plasma!! Westgate Biologicals, Inc. 700 University Dr. East $25 Suite 111 $25 call for an appointment: 268-6050 Bring in this coupon and receive $25 on your first donation Tve seen tfimpfoy since way Sad(wfien and. they've always had the grit; Tve seen ( em lose and Tve seen ‘em win hut Tve never seen 'em ({uit! n -PM. (DuValJr. ‘51 “FARMERS FIGHT!” watercolor (14 x 23) COMMEMORATING THE END OF THE SWC & CELEBRATING THE START OF THE BIG 12 LIMITED EDITION PRINT - $45 UNTIL NOV. 4 th MEET THE ARTIST AT THE TAMU BOOKSTORE IN THE MSC PRINT SIGNING 9:30 - 11:00, SATURDAY PRIOR TO THE A&M vs. TEXAS TECH GAME THE TM BENJAMIN KNOX. 90 FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL BENJAMIN KNOX GALLERY 696-5669 404 UNIVERSITY DR. E. COLLEGE STATION