LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 25, 2001- 3A
RESEARCH
Anthrax receptor
discovered at U.
Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin researchers
in collaboration with scientists at Har-
vard Medical School have discovered
the receptor for anthrax toxin on cell
membranes.
The anthrax toxin receptor, or ATR,
is made of a single protein unit, and
researchers have already produced a
form that blocks anthrax toxin from
entering the cells.
Researchers said their short term
goals are to study the binding mecha-
nism of ATR and to make enough of
the blocking receptor to test it in animal
systems, according to a recent press
release.
By blocking toxin entry to the cell,
the bacteria cannot secrete the toxin,
* which consists of three factors. Two of
these factors, the edema factor and the
lethal factor, lead to problem in the cell.
The third binds to ATR and allows EF
and LF to enter.
The research, which did not use the
entire anthrax bacteria, identified -a
gene product called TEM8 as a major
component of ATR.
They also found that a small portion
of the receptor protruded outside of the
cell, which is the actual binding site.
By eliminating the third toxin factor,
researchers found that anthrax did not
bind to ATR effectively.
Chocolate intake
helps cholesterol
Dark chocolate and cocoa powder
help lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol
levels, according to a study at Penn
State University.
Researchers found that diets com-
posed of flavonoid-rich substances,
including tea, coffee, wine, apples, soy-
beans and grapefruits, helped to lower
the number of low-density lipoproteins.
Flavonoids inhibit the oxidation of
LDLs, which plays a major role in the
development of atherosclerosis or hard-
ening of the arteries.
Researchers studied 10 men and 13
women between the ages of 21 and 62,
who ate one of two diet plans contain-
ing a different amount of flavonoids.
After four weeks on their diet plan, the
participants had a two week break
before starting the other plan for anoth-
er four weeks.
At the end of each diet, the partici-
pants had blood drawn to test the LDL
in each sample.
Participants who at the cocoa and
chocolate showed an oxidation rate 8
percent slower rate of oxidation. Good
cholesteral (HDL) levels were also four
percent higher in people who ate
flavonoid-containing foods.
Males experience
sexuality anxiety
Historians at the University of North
Carolina feel that the rise in feminism,
immigration and racial ideologies has
led to anxiety in men over their sexuali-
ty.
With the rise in global networks and
companies, researchers said men identi-
fy with popular male figures who repre-
sent strength, freedom and life on the
wild side to cope with their stress,
according to a recent press release.
The historians use people like Hou-
dini, Tarzan and the idea of the "Perfect
man" as examples of strong masculine
figures because they represent courage,
strength and independence.
Effect of space
on heart studied
After receiving a $1.7 million grant
from the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, researchers at
the University of Texas Southwestern
can begin their research on the decrease
in heart size while in space for long
periods of time.
The condition, known as cardiac
atrophy, affects the ability of the heart
to pump blood, which causes the heart
to shrink and stifferi. It also makes
standing upright almost impossible.
The disease causes a heart arrhyth-
mia that limits the duration of extended
space missions, a problem with the
planned Mission to Mars, which is a
two and a half year mission.
The researchers are looking at ways
to reverse cardiac atrophy and have
found that exercise training prevents it.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Lisa Hoffman.
Asian student integration concerns grow
Toisa Ladika
Daily Staf Reporter
Seven deaths in the past four years among
Asian-Pacific students at the University -
five of which were suicides - and an offen-
sive e-mail addressed to members of the
Asian-Pacific student community last week
have spawned concern over the integration
and unity of these students at the University.
The e-mail, sent by a group identifying
themselves as the "Crew of UM AzN Voice,'
read, "day in and day out we walk around
campus and see groups of Asians walking
around like herds of sheep." It challenged
Asian-Pacific students to stop "walking
around campus like a bunch of hardasses and
staring everyone down."
Sunny Park, named as a commissioner of
the White House Initiative on Asian-Pacific
Americans by President Bush last August,
addressed the dilemma facing the Asian com-
munity at the University, saying Asian-Pacific
students are stereotyped as being overachiev-
ing, financially motivated minorities with no
problems.
Park said these stereotypes persist because
Asian-Pacific students are passive and do not
communicate enough with other faculty and
students. He stressed participation as the key
to integration, challenged them to socialize
and participate more at the University and
urged them to work to remove negative
stereotypes.
Identifying Asian-Pacific Americans as
"missing in history," Sunny also said the eth-
nic group needs to become aware of their his-
torical contributions in America.
Jason Kwah, the Asian-Pacific American
Coordinator at the Office of Multi-Ethnic Stu-
dent Affairs, said all minorities can easily feel
disconnected from the University, but the
problem is greater among Asian-Pacific stu-
dents.
Psychiatrist Daniel Park, director of
Research and Special Projects at the Universi-
ty, has been studying how Asian-Pacific stu-
dents isolate themselves and said there are
two primary reasons. First, participation in
extra-curricular activities is significantly lower
among Asian-Pacific students. Secondly, as a
group, they feel more disconnected upon
leaving their parents for college. As a result,
he said, Asian-Pacific students tend to congre-
gate with students of the same background at
college.
Kwah said the Asian-Pacific community is
very divided because there are many different
cultural backgrounds among the minority
group and not enough resources for these stu-
dents at the University.
Daniel Park said his office has encouraged
Asian-Pacific students to utilize the resources
the University does offer such as counseling
and psychiatric services. The office is also
developing an outreach program to help the
students become more involved around cam-
pus.
Kwah said he has been overburdened
because the University has employed only one
Asian-Pacific American coordinator since
1971, despite a large enrollment increase in
the minority group. Asian-Pacific Americans
constitute 14 percent of the student population.
Sunny Park's White House committee is
responsible for advising the President on the
integration of Asian Pacific Americans in the
government. He said the initiative also col-
lects data on the group and encourages com-
munity involvement in local communities.
In addition to working for the initiative,
Sunny Park began the Good Neighboring
Campaign, a program aiding the integration
of recent Asian Pacific immigrants by
instructing them to mingle with their Ameri-
can neighbors, learning American history and
exhibiting pride in their nation.
Sunny Park, the commissioner of the White House Initiative on
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, spoke yesterday in
Assembly Hall at the Business School.
CourseTools becomes
popular class resource
for students, professors
By Mathew Raoul Warren
For the Daily
In an effort to increase the availability of
class materials and student-professor com-
munication, many classes this semester are
using CourseTools, the University's software
that enables professors to create webpages
where students have access to syllabi, home-
work and class resources.
Glenda Radine, assistant director of com-
munications and events at the Media Union,
said that 1,517 CourseTools sites were pub-
lished this fall, 937 more than last fall.
In the Fall 2000 semester, 42.7 percent of
all students used course tools for one class or
more. This semester that percentage rose to
63.3. Those who use CourseTools use it
rather frequently, Radine said.
"All of these students visit CourseTools at
least once a week," she said.
French Prof. Pamela Bogart said she uses
CourseTools to avoid an overload of paper
and to make it easier for her students to share
material.
"Students can see each other's work, and
they won't have to turn in 30 pages at the end
"CourseTools can't ever
be a substitute for
classroom discussions."
- Megan Stohner
LSA sophomore
of the term," Bogart said. "Also, they don't
have to wait to come to class to get their
grades."
Some students who use the software have
found it a convenient alternative to actually
attending class.
"I missed class for two weeks and still
managed to stay ahead with CourseTools,"
said LSA sophomore Karl Hinburg.
Despite its advantages, not all students and
professors find CourseTools efficient.
"You can't make revisions once you post
an assignment," said LSA junior George
Khouri.
Physics Prof. Gus Evrard said he uses the
physics department server instead of Course-
ALEX HOWBERT/Daily
LSA freshman Gillian Feldman uses the CourseTools website in the Angell Hall Campus Computing Site.
Tools.
."My large introductory course requires a
functionality beyond CourseTools," Evrard
said. "Our server allows for an individualized
automated home work system."
Though more professors are using the
Internet, they don't think it will replace the
need for books.
"Students still need physical materials,
because reading off a computer is not too
healthy," Bogart said.
While many students appreciate the conve-
nience an online course site offers, many still
see the fundamentals of classroom activity to
be necessary.
"CourseTools can't ever be a substitute for
classroom discussions," said Megan Stohner,
an LSA sophomore.
October in Michigan:
tornadoes yesterday,
snowstorms today
r
-0, 1
The Associated Press
A mixture of rough weather hit
Michigan yesterday, with severe thun-
derstorms and high winds battering the
Lower Peninsula and heavy snow pre-
dicted for the Upper Peninsula.
In Calhoun County, winds gusting
up to 71 mph destroyed eight mobile
homes south of Tekonsha, said John
Townsend, director of the county's
Office of Emergency Services.
Seven residents of the mobile home
park were released from local hospi-
tals after being treated for minor
injuries, Townsend said. The Red
Cross was arranging for shelter for
seven families left homeless by the
storm, he said.
At least 20 residences elsewhere in
Calhoun County sustained wind dam-
age, Townsend said.
Wind gusts toppled trees and power
lines, knocking out electrical service
to 44,000 Consumers Energy cus-
tomers and 20,000 Detroit Edison cus-
tomers, the utilities said.
The hardest-hit area served by Con-
sumers was Kalamazoo, where 15,000
customers were without power last
night, spokesman Timothy Pietryga
said. Service might not be restored to
the last of those customers until mid-
night tonight, he said.
Detroit Edison spokesman Scott
Simons said 11,000 customers in Oak-
land County were without electricity
last night. "The storms are still going
on, so it's a little early to assess total
damage and total outages," he said.
"High winds are expected until
(today), so there could be more."
The National Weather Service had
tornado watches in effect for eastern
and central Lower Michigan, along a
line from southern Lake Michigan to
southern Lake Huron, until shortly
before 10 p.m.
The weather service issued tornado
warnings earlier yesterday for Saginaw,
Tuscola, Gratiot, Livingston and Oak-
land counties. But police emergency dis-
patchers in those counties said there had
been no confirmed reports of funnel
clouds touching down.
Highs reached the low 70s yesterday
afternoon in Detroit, Pontiac, Mount
Clemens and Flint. But highs in the
Lower Peninsula were expected to
reach only the low to mid 40s Thurs-
day, with rain and snow showers likely
through Saturday throughout the
region, the weather service said.
In the Upper Peninsula, forecasters
warned of storms possibly as intense
as the one that caused the storied sink-
ing of the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald
in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975.
"I wouldn't want to be out on the
lake," weather service meteorologist
John Dee told The Daily Mining
Gazette of Houghton.
Dream ii. Do it. DisneV.
Disney is coning
Don't miss your chance to check
to campus.
out the buzz behind the
Walt Disney Worlc College Program. Paid internships
with this world-famous resort
are available to all majors and all college levels.
Visit wdwcollegeprogram.com and then attend the
presentation to find out what Disney can do for you.
Presentation attendance is required to interview.
THE CALENDAR
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
EVENTS
Macromolecular Science
and Engineering 25th
music; Sponsored by the
University of Michigan
Hospitals, 12:10 p.m., U-
M Hospital Courtyard,
1500 E. Medican Center
Harvey Citron; a talk by
the New York Academy of
Art professor, Sponsored
by the School of Art &
Design, 5 p.m., Art &
SERVICES
Campus Information
Centers, 764-INFO,
info@umich.edu, or
Thursday, October 25, 2001
5:30 PM
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